Chapter Text
PROLOGUE
She was at a charming ski resort in Colorado when she noticed a large owl approaching her. She braked sharply, snow piling up a beautiful hill beside her. She looked around to make sure no one else was around and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she was completely alone.
The owl landed in a nearby tree, so she rode up to it, careful not to go any lower. She dug her ski poles into the snow, took off her gloves, and pushed her goggles up onto her forehead.
"Hi, little one, who sent you here, hmm?" She unwrapped the envelope from its leg and petted the owl, which hooted softly in satisfaction. She tore open the paper and began reading the letter.
Mrs. Jane Henderson,
I would like to offer you the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. Of course, I know you have your own things to do, but I would like to ask you to consider the offer of cooperation.
I hope I'm not writing too late and that the owl arrived in good time (unfortunately, I didn't have information about your exact location).
Accommodation, meals, salary, etc. – all the necessary information is on the second page.
Please reply by the end of July this year.
Best regards,
Hogwarts Headmaster
Albus Dumbledore
P.S. I would be grateful if the owl could rest with you for a while after the flight.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore,
Thank you for contacting me. I am very flattered that you consider me worthy of this demanding position.
I would gladly accept the offer of employment at Hogwarts.
All the information looks very good. I just wanted to let you know that I have a cat, but from what I remember, that shouldn't be a problem. I've cast a small returning charm on the letter, so as soon as you touch the paper with your wand, I'll know when to arrive.
I can't wait to get back to England.
Sincerely,
Jane Henderson.
CHAPTER 1
It was so good to be back in England! She'd been gone for quite a few years, but every time she returned, it warmed her heart. She packed her bags, and Fairfax snored in his carrier. He hadn't woken up for a moment since she'd arrived in London.
She sat down in an empty compartment and wrapped herself in her cloak. Students were walking along the train corridor, trying to find empty seats before they left.
She glanced out the window, the corners of her mouth curling up involuntarily. She remembered her first day at Hogwarts vividly. She'd barely made it to the train, and to make matters worse, she'd tripped in the aisle, broken her glasses, and Fairfax had fallen out of his carrier. She'd searched the entire train for two hours until she found a ginger kitten under a seat in the teachers' compartment. She was utterly embarrassed and apologized, quickly escaping with the animal in her arms.
Somehow, she hadn't expected to return to school, certainly not as a teacher, perhaps just to visit. She actually enjoyed it. She had always helped others with their studies, knew many spells, was knowledgeable about the Dark Arts, and especially about various curses. She had been immersing herself in all sorts of information since her mother died from a curse cast by one of the Death Eaters – she was still in school, her sixth year.
The train finally moved, and two little girls joined her. They were wearing ordinary robes, so they were just about to join one of the houses. They were shy, so she encouraged them and started a conversation, telling them a bit about the castle.
She also read a book and even took a nap. She had always enjoyed traveling by train, often choosing this route in Muggle cities, even though she had a driver's license. She had obtained one just in case. In case she couldn't Apparate, or the situation demanded it.
She stepped off the train, her luggage taken by the house elf, who bowed deeply, so she gave him a warm smile and apparated just outside the grounds, to be ahead of the students at the castle.
Ah... Hogwarts, so many memories!
She walked through the corridors, knowing them all by heart, straight to the Headmaster's office. She stopped at a sculpture, then said, "Lemon drops," to open the passage.
Two people were waiting for her inside and greeted her with warm smiles.
"Headmaster," she bowed her head slightly, "Minerva!" She immediately hugged the woman. "I've missed you!"
"Me too, my dear," she laughed, "look! You've grown so much!"
"Ladies, I invite you to dinner before the students arrive, and after the meal, we'll meet again, Mrs. Henderson, and we'll finish the paperwork. I'm very pleased, once again, that you've agreed to teach." He shook her hand.
“My pleasure, Headmaster.”
“Please call me Albus.”
“So, Albus,” she corrected herself.
The three of them left the office, Minerva heading towards the main entrance, and the two wizards were already in the Great Hall. Several people were already seated at the table on the dais; she recognized Professor Flitwick, Mrs. Sprout, and Sybil. She greeted everyone and took one of the seats Albus had given her.
It was strange, almost indecent, to see the Great Hall from this perspective. She was young and still remembered her student days and sitting at her house table.
Eventually, the other teachers began to arrive, so she greeted each one individually, and to her surprise, no one seemed to dwell on the fact that they had taught her, but rather treated her as equal. She enjoyed talking most with Filius, who sat two chairs away, and between them, there was an empty one still waiting for someone.
Just moments before the students entered the room, followed by Minerva, a black-haired man entered through the back door. She looked at him carefully, and only after a moment did she remember who he was.
"Oh, Severus!" Flitwick waved, and he grimaced slightly. "Please sit down, meet one of the most talented witches of your generation." She rose to shake his hand, which he did very reluctantly, and a moment later sat down, wrapping himself in his black robes.
"Jane Henderson," she introduced herself.
"S..us...Snape," he muttered.
"I don't think I heard you, Professor," she giggled, seeing his murderous look.
"Severus Snape," he drawled, turning his head away.
"You'll have to forgive him, he's a hothead." The dwarf chuckled, and the Headmaster had to shush them.
First, Albus gave a welcome speech and reminded us of a few rules, and shortly after, the Sorting Ceremony took place – there weren't many new students, or at least there were enough, but many more people used to come to school.
"I'd like to introduce you to Jane Henderson," she stood as the wizard introduced her to everyone, "who will be taking over as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year." A murmur rippled through the room, but the older students applauded shyly. She bowed and sat down again, looking at everyone. She narrowed her eyes at the Gryffindor table and stared at one boy for a moment. "...and now," the Headmaster paused, "I invite you to a feast!" Food appeared on the tables, and the first years' eyes widened (or at least some of them) and immediately began eating, chatting with their new classmates.
"Jane," Minerva sat down on the other side of the woman. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you! You've missed so much here!" The witch immediately began the conversation. "Oh, I have so much to tell you!"
"Then we can go for tea," the younger one suggested. "I'd love to rest after the journey. Long Apparition always gives me headaches."
"I'm not surprised at all," she agreed. "Severus, whenever he goes out for some bugs, just grumbles for the rest of the day when he comes back."
"I'm not grumbling at all," he said in a deep voice.
"You've probably met each other already."
"Yes, err... charming impression." Minerva snorted with laughter. "Besides, I remember the professor."
"Ah, right! You were at school together. At least for a year."
"Were we?" the black-haired man interrupted their conversation and began staring at the new woman.
"Oh, Severus. You were in your seventh year when Jane joined Hogwarts. You didn't have the opportunity to meet face-to-face."
"Perhaps it's for the best," he replied quietly, and began eating his roast beef.
Minerva simply waved her hand and returned to her conversation with her niece. They chattered away for a good half hour about the latest news, until the Head of Gryffindor House had to excuse herself and go with the new students to the Common Room to say a few words.
Meanwhile, Jane finished her meal, said goodbye to her closest professors, and, together with the Headmaster, headed back to his office.
***
She emerged from her quarters, which were located behind her office near the classroom, straightening the collar of her striped shirt. She buttoned up her light waistcoat and, together with Fairfax, headed towards the Great Hall for breakfast.
"Merlin...it's cold in here, isn't it, Fairfax?" "—the cat purred, managing to grab the woman with its claws and leap into her arms. "Come on, come on." She crouched down, scooped him up, and the cat climbed onto her shoulders, where he'd always sat, finding a position where he managed not to fall unless Jane started carelessly walking. "Oh, you're so warm," the cat purred and yawned, wrapping himself around her neck.
She began descending the stairs to one of the main corridors, where students were already filing out to eat breakfast before their first classes. She smiled warmly at them and nodded. She remembered Professor Sean O'Connor, who had once taught at the DADA for several years before he died in the war. He was an absolute jerk, hated children, hated teaching, always claimed he was only at Hogwarts because of the excellent food, and on top of that, he deducted points for everything. Was someone running too fast? Minus points, a poorly fitted tie, more points, shouting (no one shouted in his presence) – more points.
Jane didn't want to be like him, so when slightly sleepy students ran through the corridors, she simply smiled, moved out of the way, and told them to be careful, instead of deducting points. She knew that ever since the contract was signed, her voice had been powerful, and she didn't want to abuse it.
In the corridors, where paintings hung and their figures were awake, she nodded in greeting, and they even responded.
In a matter of minutes, she reached the Great Hall, and even before entering, she could hear the buzz of conversation, papers, and the clink of cutlery. She could see from a distance that Severus was having a lively discussion at the teachers' table with Minerva, who sat with a serious expression, listening, but at one point her lips curved into a smile, and then she roared with laughter. She walked over to them and sat down in her spot between them, releasing the cat to the ground, where it settled at her feet.
"What's so funny this morning?"
"Oh, Jane," Minerva said, wiping tears from her eyes, "Severus is playing at lining up wizards when..."
"Don't say anything!" the man murmured with annoyed tone in his voice. "A puppet show!" Jane raised her eyebrows.
"Who is the cheese slice?"
"None of your business!"
"Severus, don't be so rude," the older witch finally sat up straight. "Actually, I think it's necessary, but it's up to Albus, not you." The dark-haired man muttered something and returned to his scrambled eggs. Jane shrugged and poured herself a cup of coffee, followed by some milk.
"Oh, exactly. You have to tell me briefly what happened these past few years while I was gone," she said to the older witch.
"I don't even know where to begin," she sighed. "We survived that awful Ministry woman last year..." she began to list off. "And we had the Triwizard Tournament, and even hippogriff flights... not from the teachers at all." She giggled. "Lockhart was here and ended up in St. Mungo's when he Obliviated himself." She snorted. "He was a boy! But Harry and Ron took him down and showed off their Gryffindor strength!" Not like the Slytherins," she said, shooting a glance at Severus, who merely snorted. Jane noticed that Minerva liked to tease him.
"Is this Harry whoI think he is?"
"Yes, exactly. My own ward," she smiled proudly, "a very powerful wizard. We also have Miss Granger, who I think is second only to you in the ranking of the most intelligent witches at Hogwarts, after Rowena. She's solved riddles that even the teachers had trouble with, and she eats books for breakfast! I think you'd like her."
"Interesting... other gems? I'll only meet them later, but it's worth knowing what I have to prepare for."
"Hmm..." Minerva began describing what she considered the most interesting students, and Jane memorized every detail.
After breakfast, she went to her classroom to get there early. She used one of the passages between the walls and arrived a few minutes later. She opened the door and then went to her office to take a final look at what was in the book. It was Monday morning, so she was starting classes with the sixth-year students. They were mainly going to be learning about Charms, so she could show off her skills in that area.