Learning to Grow - Remus Lupin

Chapter 4

Atlas decided to walk around the castle to meet the other professors. They were nice and kind to her, greeting her and welcoming her to the staff. However, it came as a surprise to her to see Severus Snape in the potions classroom. It was shock for both of them, really, but It wasn't long before he set a hard, long glare on her.

Atlas cleared her throat and spoke up, "Good morning, Professor Snape. It's nice to see I'll be working with you." She politely told him.

"Don't try to flatter me, Lovell." He sneered at her. Atlas was taken aback, " I'm not here to be your friend, and it's already bad enough I have to work with two of you scoundrel idiots." He snapped.

She gasped as his rudeness. It was obvious their past was pushing up against them. Since she was friend with The Marauders, she had to admit that she was sometimes apart of the teasing of the former Slytherin. She never took it as far as they did though and she really didn't enjoy it at all. However, she admits that she never stopped her friends from their antics with him.

So as she straightened her back and narrowed her eyes, Atlas stood her ground. She might have been a Hufflepuff, but she was a badger trained by lions. "I was not trying to be your friend Professor, I was only hoping to be professional. We both have a job to do and if you're going to act childish about it than forget it." She corrected him.

He still glared at her for a long time, "Ms.Lovell, I'm not happy about your employment here nor the other, yet I must deal with it. I insist we keep our ways apart unless absolutely required." He told her.

She still did not like his tone but knowing Snape that was the best she was going to get out of him. "Agreed then." She agreed. She turned to leave but stopped, something hitting her. "You referred to two people. Who else are you talking about?" She asked.

Snape raised an eyebrow, "You don't know who took the position of the Defense of Dark Arts yet?" She shook her head no, "Hm, well I'll leave it a surprise then. Now get out ." He told her coldly.

She grunted, walking out of his classroom. She never liked the dungeons anyway, they were always cold and dark. Nothing but mold grew there.

However, Snape did manage to catch her attention for once. Why did he make it such a big deal of who the other new teacher was. Maybe it was someone famous again such as how Gidroy Lockhart was the teacher last year. She did hear he was just an idiot, he might of been referring to another then. But she was curious and she needed to find out.

So she left the dungeons, thankfully, and made her way down the corridors to the Defense of the Dark Arts classroom. She looked up at the large wooden doors and took a deep breath. Another one to go.

She knocked on the door three loud times, hoping the occupant would hear her. However no response came from inside. So she knocked three more times in hopes for someone to answer. No one responded. Maybe they weren't in their class at the time. However, she was still too curious.

She gently pushed open the class door to reveal the familiar sent of burnt rosemary and gunpowder. The tables were still lined up the same and the sunlight shown in just the same way.

Atlas made her way down the aisles, running her fingers over the tables. It was nostalgic to say the least. She remembered a lot of different things that happened in these class rooms with her friends. For a second there, she became flooded with memories of them again. That's all that happened in this castle, really.

She closed her eyes and could almost hear her friend's laughter again.

It pained her.

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