Andromeda Tonks nee Black was single for the first time in over twenty years. It felt decidedly strange and of course she missed her husband. But sitting around the house all day was not going to change a thing and her mind kept seeing things around the house that reminded her of Ted.
Plus Nymphadora and Remus were constantly making out in random places.
So Andromeda had taken her daughter's advice and applied for the open position of Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. No one had been more surprised than she was when she actually got the position.
In all, she loved the job. It was thrilling to work with a new generation and all the other teachers assured her that she wouldn't be mysteriously killed off at the end of the year, like just about every other DADA teacher in the past decade.
The only downside was Severus Snape.
Andromeda remembered him from her own school years. He was just as dark and brooding as he had been back then. He'd also done something with his hair that kept it shiny and clean.
In short, he'd gotten hot. Even the silver creeping into his hair managed to do so with a cute grace.
She shook him from her thoughts and tried to focus on the essays before her.
That lasted all of ten minutes until she caught sight of something moving on the Lake. For a second she thought it was the squid but closer inspection disproved that theory.
It was a pirate ship.
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It took Andromeda three days to determine that the pirate ship bore investigating. She'd done her best to ignore it but it was not going away. Furthermore, she was getting curious.
So it was that fateful Friday evening, she transfigured a canoe out of a broom and propelled herself over to the boat.
A ladder lay against the side of the ship and she eyed it warily. Still, the war was over and she was safe on Hogwarts' soil (well, water, but who was going to be picky?).
She climbed it, hearing, as she did, the strains of someone playing the piano.
On deck, she paused. Her robes were soaking wet from her climb. She pulled them off, plucking at her thin tee shirt and her khakis, both of which were damp. She flicked her wand at them, pleased when they dried.
Wand at the ready, she moved towards the main hatch, from which the music was filtering out. The hatch was open and she tread softly down the stairs.
A grand piano sat in the open area. A man sat at it, his back to her but she knew who it was.
She lowered her wand as Severus finished playing Ode to Joy.
"If you were missing a hand, you would be a dead ringer for Captain Hook," she said.
Severus jumped then turned towards her. He was wearing a black shirt, open to mid chest and long black pants tucked into black boots. He made black look sexy.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I saw a strange ship on the Lake and as resident DADA expert, I thought I should look into it," she said. "I didn't know you played."
"Not well," he said, tapping out Moonlight Sonata.
"Liar," she said.
"You play, Andy," he said. "Show me how it's done."
She felt her cheeks flame, both at the old nickname and over the fact that he remembered that she played.
She walked over and took a seat beside him. "Any requests?"
"Mozart," he said.
She began playing the overture to The Magic Flute but stopped abruptly as she felt lips on her cheek.
"What are you doing?" she asked, turning to him.
He moved until she was cornered against the piano, her back striking discordant notes.
"Tell me, miss DADA teacher, what is it that pirates do?" he murmured, tracing her jaw with his fingers.
"What?" she breathed.
He captured her mouth with his in a searing, almost painfully perfect kiss.
"They steal things," he said, pulling back.
She curled her fingers into his shirt collar and pulled him to her again. "You could just ask. I might be in a giving mood."
"Are you?" he asked.
"Give me a reason to be," she said before he reclaimed her lips.
One thing was for sure, she thought several hours later as she lay with her head on his chest, she definitely liked pirates.
