A/N: Wow, I am thrilled with the response from the last chapter! Thank you! I hope you don't mind shorter chapters from now on, because that's the only way I'm able to update within a reasonable timeframe. Enjoy~

"Spyr, Melanie. . .SLYTHERIN!

"Tate, Kendrick. . .SLYTHERIN!

"Tilley, Aliza. . .SLYTHERIN!"

All of the Gryffindors groaned as Professor McGonagall signalled the end of the Sorting. It had been a bad year for their house, with only one Gryffindor for every four Slytherins. Hufflepuff had done alright, and Ravenclaw had had the second most new members, but nearly half of all the new first years had gone into Slytherin.

Their depression had set in long before the Sorting had even begun, however; with Dumbledore gone, this place had turned into a nightmare. The enchanted ceiling was endlessly stormy, the food was dull and tasteless, the candles were less bright than usual, and worst of all: Dementors were lurking in the shadows. Umbridge, the newly-instated headmistress, claimed these were merely security measures to ensure their safety, but everyone feared their new 'guards' nonetheless.

Only yesterday it had been announced that Umbridge was taking Dumbledore's post as Head of Hogwarts. Severus was infuriated by this, but it hadn't really surprised him. The woman was a power-hungry lunatic, and her temperament could only have gotten worse since the Wizengamot acquitted him back in July.

August had gone by much too quickly for Severus. Wanting to get as far away from the Ministry's headquarters as possible, he had returned home for the rest of the summer and spent nearly every waking moment with Lily. He could see that she was still deeply shaken from all of the madness that had occurred over the past year, especially her brush with death in the final days of their second year. Almost losing her best friend had really unravelled her, making her more anxious and jumpy than usual. Severus wanted to be able to tell her everything was fine, but he, too, was shaken by the Ministry incident. He knew Umbridge hated him, but he didn't realize how easily persuaded even the Minister of Magic could be. As much as he tried telling himself that the Ministry was really on his side, he simply couldn't see past the corruption. If it weren't for Dumbledore, he didn't know what would have become of him. . .

As Umbridge began her start of the term speech, Severus stared up at the ceiling, determined to ignore her. It was blacker and gloomier than ever; not a good way to start off the year. He shivered as the light mist grew denser in the hall. Dementors in a school had to be the most ridiculous thing he'd ever seen. Nobody but the sixth and seventh years would stand a chance against them if they decided to go after one— or several— of the students. True, they were supposedly there to 'protect' the students, but from what? Deep down, Severus held onto his theory that they were here only to instil fear in every student, to discourage any revolts against Umbridge from students who remained loyal to Dumbledore.

Severus pounded his fist on the table in frustration. Dumbledore hadn't said one word to him after his hearing; he had literally disappeared without saying anything about what was going to happen to them without him around as headmaster. Surely he didn't plan on leaving Hogwarts forever?

The only clue he had left was that the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor held some importance to Dumbledore. Were they super-powerful and would be able to defeat Umbridge on the spot? Did they have connections to some secret alliance of witches and wizards that wanted to destroy Umbridge? What could have possibly made this person so valuable to Dumbledore?

Severus looked up at the staff table. The only new face up there was a rather plain-looking woman with wild brown hair and overlarge teeth. Severus sighed disappointedly. Leave it to Dumbledore to pick yet another lousy Defence teacher.

"Not much, is she?" James muttered under his breath, following Severus' gaze.

"Probably cleaned offices at the Ministry," Sirius said. "She looks like someone who enjoys dull jobs."

"Teaching Defence isn't exactly a 'dull job,'" Severus pointed out.

"Why is she staring at us?" Remus whispered.

Severus casually glanced back up at the staff table from the corner of his eye: Remus was right, she was looking at them. Actually, it rather looked like she was staring at James.

"Family friend?"

James shrugged. "I've never seen her in my life. What's her name?"

". . .I'd like to introduce this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Hermione Granger."

Umbridge did not sound pleased as she said this, but clapped anyway when the younger woman got to her feet and waved to the students.

Sirius, Severus, and Remus all looked at James, waiting for some sign of recognition. He shook his head.

"I've never heard of her before. Trust me, I'd know if my parents knew any Grangers. She's probably just good at figuring out who the best students are."

Severus rolled his eyes. Only James would think he was a good student. Still, even after Professor Granger sat down, she continued watching their group with unusual interest. Upon closer inspection, she looked a lot younger than Severus had initially believed. She couldn't be older than twenty-five, making it highly unlikely for her to have known any of their parents.

After a few minutes of silence, his friends moved on to Quidditch and this year's new subjects. Severus, however, was still curious about Professor Granger. He didn't know why he was so concerned; Umbridge had given him a lot of attention last year as well. He sincerely hoped Professor Granger wouldn't be as bad as Umbridge had been.

Severus looked back up at the new teacher, but her attention was now on her conversation with McGonagall.

Sighing to himself, Severus glanced down at his schedule. They had Defence with the Slytherins first thing tomorrow morning.

xXxXxXxXx

"Hey Sev," Lily greeted her friend as she walked into the darkened classroom and took the seat next to him. Laika and Narcissa were still unhappy to see that she was sitting with him again, but Lily cheerfully ignored their scowls.

"Lovely weather," she commented sarcastically in an attempt to get her friend to smile. In reality, the weather was stormier than ever, strange for this time of year. Noticing Severus' frown deepening, Lily frowned as well. "What's wrong, Sev?"

He looked at her blankly. "What?"

Somebody's distracted today, Lily thought silently before asking again, "What's wrong?"

Severus sighed. "Nothing. . .I just. . .I think there's something off about her."

Lily was puzzled. "Who?"

"Professor Granger."

Lily laughed. "She looked pretty ordinary to me. I was just thinking how funny it was that she and Petunia's boyfriend have the same last names—"

"—That's right!" Severus jumped to his feet at once, startling Lily. "You reckon they could be related?"

"Well. . .that would make Daniel a Squib, wouldn't it?" Lily asked, sounding thoroughly unconvinced. "I don't know. . ."

Disheartened, Severus sat down. "Yeah. . .you'd think he'd know a little magic. I think he's definitely a Muggle."

"It's just a coincidence, then. I'm sure there's plenty of Grangers out there."

Severus nodded, though he still felt inexplicably frustrated. Was the new atmosphere at Hogwarts just getting to him? Was he going mad? Or was he really onto something?

"Hello students," a voice greeted them from the back of the room once everyone had taken their seats.

Severus watched Granger carefully as she strolled down the aisle, hoping to find something to ease his worries.

"As you all know, I am Professor Granger. I taught Potions at another school, but I assure you, I have enough experience to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts as well."

Severus wondered what school she taught at previously. He knew there had to be other wizarding schools out there, but he couldn't imagine why Dumbledore would have wanted an outsider to teach at Hogwarts.

"Why does she keep looking at us?" Sirius whispered.

Severus looked up and accidentally made eye contact with her. She smiled warmly at him before breaking the contact and continuing on with her speech.

Bewildered, Severus turned to his friends. "Do you think she's doing it by accident?"

James grinned. "Perhaps she can't get over how good looking I am."

Severus and Remus rolled their eyes.

"Oh yes, I'm sure she can't resist your impossible beauty," Severus replied sardonically. "She's too old for you, mate."

"And girls don't like younger boys, especially an arrogant prat like you, Potter," Lily hissed.

"You're one to talk, Evans. Regulus is a year younger than you and you're completely obsessed with the git."

"He's just my friend, you idiot," Lily said as her cheeks reddened slightly. "It's not like we're dating or anything."

James' eyebrows rose as he noticed Severus' lips twitch upward. Was it just him or did it seem as though Severus liked Evans a little more than he let on. . .?

"Why did Umbridge want you to teach us?" Laika demanded once Granger was done speaking.

The woman smiled. "Actually, Professor Dumbledore appointed me as the Defence teacher."

"Why?" Severus found himself asking aloud.

The question had been burning in his mind even before he ever saw Granger— in fact, he had a million more questions. Why had Dumbledore agreed to leave quietly? Why was the Defence post so important to him? Why did he leave without even putting up a fight? Why did he allow the Ministry to leave Umbridge in charge? Why did Dumbledore decide to help him after all? Why did he allow Severus' hearing to happen in the first place? Had he done anything about the basilisk yet? What had become of Pettigrew? Where was Dumbledore now?

Severus had so many unanswered questions swarming around in his head that he was giving himself a headache. He looked up into Professor Granger's eyes, begging her to tell him something useful, something to erase his concerns.

"Professor Dumbledore has his reasons," she answered vaguely. Severus nearly slammed his fists on the table in frustration. She was just like him! Would nobody ever tell him the whole truth?

"What school did you teach at?" he demanded, trying to squeeze any information— no matter how insignificant— out of this mysterious teacher. Normally, he would have simply ignored these suspicions, but with all of the chaos surrounding Umbridge and her new regime, Severus wanted to know the truth.

"Beauxbatons," she answered smoothly, not missing a beat. Personally, Severus had never heard of this 'Bo-buh-ton' school, but she certainly didn't sound like she was lying. He glared up at her. He was infuriated by the amused look on her face; she didn't look like the type to hide things from others, but he couldn't help but feel suspicious of her.

Then again. . .perhaps it really was nothing.

I'm going mad, Severus moaned silently, and hid his face in his arms.

xXxXxXxXx

"Professor. . .can I. . .can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing, Snivvy, you know how much I adore obnoxious little gits."

Severus turned away from the mirror and glared at his friend. "Shut up James."

James threw the covers back on his bed and sat up. "It's three in the morning Sev! Just go to sleep already!"

Severus continued glaring at him. Yes, it was rather late, but he simply couldn't sleep. His dreams were playing tricks on him. Every time his head touched the pillow, he would be greeted by the strangest dreams he'd ever witnessed. Some were downright impossible, yet others were a little too close to reality for him to sleep peacefully. Severus wondered if he had some sort of Seer abilities. He was taking Divination this year and the first of those classes was tomorrow. He after all that he had done and seen lately, he wouldn't be surprised if his professor proclaimed him to be the greatest Seer that ever lived. That, or he was still going mad.

He feared it was the latter.

"James," he hissed urgently, hoping his friend was still awake.

James stirred under his blankets, then looked up at Severus. "What?"

"Am I. . ." he wondered how he should put this, "Am I crazy?"

James simply stared at him, unsure if he should laugh or take his friend seriously.

"Why?"

"I. . .I don't know. I keep thinking there's something odd about Professor Granger, but nobody else thinks there's anything wrong."

James observed him carefully for a moment. "Well, in case you forgot, people need to sleep. You see, it keeps you from losing your mind—"

"It's not from a lack of sleep, I seriously think—"

"—Stop overanalyzing things!" James hissed irritably, "Look, you tend to notice tiny details more than most of us do, and that's great. Good for you for being so observant. But Granger's just another teacher. There's nothing special about her, alright? You're just trying to solve some nonexistent puzzle and driving yourself mad because everything fits perfectly when puzzles aren't supposed to work that way. Just give it up."

Severus stared at him in shock. Who knew James could be rational about anything? Perhaps sleep deprivation was good for him. . .

Unable to argue with that kind of logic, he nodded reluctantly. After sending a few rude gestures Severus' way, James turned over and went back to sleep.

Severus, however, still found it difficult to sleep comfortably. If nobody else thought Granger's subtle glances and questionable background were anything to be concerned about, then neither should he. He had been planning on confronting her about this, but now that he thought about it, that was a rather foolish idea. Not to mention disrespectful.

It's just stress, he told himself silently. That was a very likely cause, seeing as the Dementors floating around and the gloom-and-doom atmosphere of his once-favourite place were enough to drive anyone mad.

With a pang of sadness, he finally realized what everyone else had already come to terms with: Hogwarts just wasn't the same anymore.

The thought alone was more frightening than the Dementors themselves.

A/N: I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible, probably after I update GND. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and all feedback is appreciated, as always :)