Disclaimer: All characters, names and places belong to JKR. I just wrote this small piece.

A/N: This is my first writing I've posted. My favorite characters are Minerva and Severus. Any comments appreciated since this piece is a trial. By the way, this is an AU piece, so, yes, it may seem OOC or slightly off. Don't worry about it. ^^ If it really bothers you, message me to discuss...otherwise, it's not important. I have made some changes since initial publishing, but they're not major...so no, you don't need to reread unless you really want to...haha

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Challenge Set: Chapter 1

Minerva McGonagall sighed and got up from her desk. She was stuck at the castle reviewing class timetables, lesson plans, and learning the duties associated with being the Head of Gryffindor House. Although she was Acting Head the previous year, this would be the first term she would be the actual Head. Rubbing her eyes, she walked to the window.

It was the beginning of August and she was cooped up indoors. Wistfully looking out her window at the beautiful day, she sighed again in longing. She straightened her light green dress, fixed her hair anew, and exited her rooms. She walked towards the Headmaster's office for their appointment.

When she arrived at the twin gargoyles, they sprang apart before she spoke the password, as if they had been expecting her arrival. She stepped onto the platform and the spiral staircase ascended. Once the platform stopped, she stepped forward and knocked. The great oak doors swung open.

"Come in," Albus Dumbledore called from behind his desk.

"Headmaster –" Minerva started to say, as she walked to the desk and sat in one of the comfy chairs across from Dumbledore.

Dumbledore held up a hand, silencing her. "What did I say? When we're in private, you may call me Albus," he interrupted.

Minerva nodded her head. "Forgive me, Albus." The older man smiled. "You asked to see me?"

Albus nodded. "Yes, Professor –"

"If we're on a first-name basis, you may call me Minerva," she interrupted him, smiling faintly.

Albus's eyes twinkled with merriment. "Very well, Minerva. Yes, I wanted to discuss a few things with you."

"I have completed the timetables as you requested." A true Gryffindor, Minerva was always straightforward, getting to the point right away.

He held up a hand, stopping her from further explanations. "Thank you, Minerva, but I did not mean that."

Minerva frowned slightly. "I have looked over my duties for the upcoming term." She eyed the older man warily.

Albus smiled. "Do you agree?"

She sighed and asked, "This isn't going to be a short chat, is it?"

Albus laughed and, grinning, replied, "Well, no, not exactly." Getting up from his desk, he indicated the fire. "Please, sit and be comfortable. Tea?"

Minerva moved to the comfy plush couch and nodded her head. "Yes, please. Tea would be lovely."

Albus, sitting on the couch next to her, summoned a house elf and requested tea for two. The house elf immediately went to the kitchens and returned with the desired items. Albus thanked the house elf, who again disappeared. Albus then turned to Minerva and served her tea, milk, no sugar, and filled his own cup with plenty of milk and sugar. Minerva smiled, shaking her head slightly at Albus's indulgence of sweets.

Sipping their tea in silence, Albus realized that Minerva was waiting for him to start. Even as a student she had known him well. She would wait on his time for him to divulge the real reason for their meeting.

"Minerva, how many years have you been teaching?" he cautiously asked.

She glanced up at him, surprised. "Technically, this term will be the fourth year of my official teaching." Her mouth quirked into a half grin. "But I have been here for five years."

Albus nodded. "And what do you think, my dear?" He always called her "my dear" when he was serious about something. She stared at his blue eyes. There was no customary twinkle, no sign of emotion. Whatever she said, she had to be serious. Putting down her teacup, she sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"Albus, it has been trying these past two years. My students," she gave him a knowing look, "have been worse behaved than when I attended my first two years!" She placed her head in her hands. "I have tried to stop their mischief, but it seems that Potter's gang is too arrogant for their own good. It's embarrassing the amount of detentions and points lost the lot of them have accumulated! I'm sure just two of them combined have set a new record."

Albus sighed. "My dear, I'm sure they'll grow out of it."

Minerva shook her head. "They need less bias." She gave Albus a disapproving glare. "Albus, they think you approve of them and their antics." Her thin lips became thinner in disgust. "They think that just because you are a Gryffindor they can get away with everything."

"But Minerva, they haven't done anything that could be a legitimate excuse for expulsion."

"What about how they treat Severus Snape?" she shot back. "Don't think I don't see it, Albus. You know what they call him." She shivered. "I thought Miss Evans would help them settle down, or even poor Mr. Lupin. But because of Remus's condition…" her voice trailed off.

Albus patted her knee comfortingly. "But my dear, with Remus gone so often he can't help much."

Minerva nodded in defeat. Then, slamming her fists down on the tea table, she yelled, "And what does Horace do? If Severus had some friends in Slytherin –"

"But he does," Albus said sadly.

"You know what I mean. True friends, Albus. If Potter's gang," she spat in disgust. "If they hadn't singled Severus out the first day, he might have been better off."

Albus sighed, "What can we do?"

"Severus needs more options, Albus. You know about his family?"

Albus nodded silently, face somber.

"Exactly. Even though Horace does his best to keep Severus out of trouble, his Potions grade is impeccable, not to mention all the extra assignments keep him busy, it still doesn't help the poor boy socially."

Albus beamed. "I'm glad you take an interest in him."

Minerva regarded Albus coldly. "It's my duty as a teacher, Albus. I have to notice when a student isn't doing well."

Albus frowned. "Were his grades unsatisfactory? Is he slipping?"

"No, Albus," Minerva sighed, feeling like she had to simplify everything for him. "His grades are impeccable in every subject. He keeps his scholarship for yet another year." She took a biscuit in an effort to control her temper. "I meant socially he's not accepted, not even by his fellow Slytherins. They respect him for his good marks and when he helps them in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions. But they don't see eye to eye on other issues." She shot him a dark look and grimaced. "If only Horace were around more. His Slug Club might help Severus open up and meet more students, if Horace would accept him." She frowned, thinking about Horace's selective eye. Horace wasn't prejudiced, but he selected candidates based on connections.

"The poor boy is struggling, for sure. But he can't help his half-blood status."

"Yes, but Albus, how do we draw him away from Lucius's crowd?"

Albus shrugged. "Does that matter? Isn't that his choice?"

Minerva abhorred how Albus would dote on Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, the occasional Ravenclaw, and ignore Slytherins. His bias was so clear even the students knew that Gryffindors got the best end of the stick. "Albus," she reprimanded in her best schoolteacher's voice, "he needs help. Severus needs to know that as his teachers and, yes, as his Headmaster, we are there for him. He needs to know that his has our support, should he need us." She gave Albus a pointed look.

Albus was amused. "And does Mr. Snape deserve this," he struggled for the right word, "chance?" He floundered, looking for the right phrase. "Why should we interfere?"

Minerva was exasperated. "Do you think I don't know? They're saying –" she took a breath to steady herself. Closing her eyes, she steeled herself to say, "Tom's back."

Albus closed his eyes and nodded in assent. "Yes, so I've heard."

"That is why it's imperative we do something now, Albus," Minerva pressed.

Albus was more amused, but tried to hide it at such a crucial point in their conversation. "And what do you propose we do for Mr. Snape?"

"Is it possible to give him hope that his teachers, or at least a teacher, and his Headmaster are on his side? Severus thinks we're all out to get him. And no wonder, from the way Potter struts around." She rolled her eyes. "Severus thinks we all side with Potter's insufferable gang. He thinks no one takes Tom's return seriously. You saw him in March how every time the Prophet came, he'd dart out of the Great Hall. You know where he went. He was sick of it. Every time he saw the mark he blanched and ran out. Even if it was a class." She was trembling as she thought about it.

Albus placed a soothing arm around her shoulders. "Now, what do you think you can do for Mr. Snape if, as you say, he doesn't trust us?" Albus gave her a sidelong look as he took a sip of tea.

"We need to show Severus that he is not mutually hated by teachers and students. We need to prove to him that he does have other options. I loathe to think about what his home life is, but he considers Hogwarts a refuge from all that. You see how often he goes to the owlery. He doesn't have his own owl, but he writes once a week, always to his mother. We need him to think of Hogwarts as his home if he is to turn from his current path. He must be treated better in order for him to believe us." She turned to face Albus. "You've seen how he cringes from us when he thinks he's done something bad. He recoils from the other students if he thinks he says something wrong. It's like he expects us to beat him. If he's seen by a Slytherin talking to a student from another House, he hurriedly runs away. He thinks that inter-House relationships are frowned upon by his fellow Slytherins. He sees the difference between what we can provide for him and what the other students have. The worst is the holidays. He sees all the other kids go home happily while he's stuck, unwanted, in a dingy home. Even people like Mr. Sirius Black, who is shunned by his family for being in Gryffindor, are better treated than Severus." She scowled at Albus, registering his ausement for the first time. She sternly said, voice dangerously low, "I fail to see how any of this can possibly be amusing or entertaining, Albus."

"You are rallying for his cause. Do you feel for him, Minerva?" Albus teased, trying to lighten the conversation.

Minerva's icy stare made him reconsider his words. He thought, for once, he had overstepped his bounds. She retreated further behind the schoolteacher's mask, displaying intense disapproval and disappointment. He had seen that same look on her face many times in the past two years, mostly directed at Mr. Potter and his friends. He shivered and realized they had probably deserved it.

At last, Minerva said, "Don't you?"

Albus was struck by her blunt and pointed question. He decided to tread lightly. "Well, of course, I, er, I thought…" he trailed off, lost for words.

She had him and she pounced. "You thought what? This is serious, Albus. He can not be left on his own to fall through the cracks. I don't want him to follow the same path as Tom did. Hogwarts can not afford to keep failing her students simply because the Headmaster is prejudiced and the teachers are too busy to notice when a student needs help. We can not lose Severus simply because we choose to let him make poor choices. We cannot let him think we feel that it is not our obligation to interfere for the better of the student." She sneered as she used his words against him.

Albus gave her a knowing look.

"Stop that!" Minerva balked. "No, I am not infatuated with a student. And, as you'll recall, Tom was infatuated with me, not the other way around! He was especially interested in me when he learned I am a half-blood." She collapsed further into the couch, exhausted from her argument. "Albus," she said in a weary voice. "I don't know how much longer I can fight for him on my own. I don't know how much longer he'll be able to last."

Albus was shocked by her display of emotions. Trying to recover his point, he asked meanly, "And what if a certain Slytherin has his eyes on you?"

Minerva sat up. "What do you mean?"

"Only that your efforts for equality have not gone wholly unnoticed."

She distrusted the twinkle in his eyes. Maybe he was just bluffing, teasing to lighten the air. Or maybe he was hinting at something. "If you mean that Horace HAS talked with you –"

"No, no, my dear. You mistake me. Of course Horace has talked with me about Mr. Snape and several other Slytherin-related issues." He smiled smugly, "It was my suggestion that Horace give Mr. Snape extra Potions assignments and let him help on weekends. I told Horace that if he talked with Filius and Pomona, they would probably give Mr. Snape extra assignments, too, in order for him to show that he did know what he was doing and therefore bring his grades up. I also suggested that Pomona and Horace allow Mr. Snape to grow potion ingredients in one of the greenhouses."

Minerva gasped. "Albus, you really did all that?"

Albus beamed. "Of course. My dear, I'm not completely blind. I'm also not as biased as some may think. Although, I must say, between you and Hagrid, Mr. Potter left Mr. Snape alone for most of last term, if I recall correctly. I can't say much for the behavior of Mr. Black and Mr. Pettigrew last term, but without Mr. Potter, they were – lacking."

Minerva tried to scowl, but instead a small, tight-lipped smile formed on her face. "I see."

Albus laughed. "As you can tell, many have seen what you have done. In particular, Mr. Snape himself. He has realized what you have done for him. And I think you'll find that, though he can not articulate it himself, he is very grateful to you. However, if you two were to talk, I have no doubt that he would either deny it, refuse to speak, or speak in monosyllables." Minerva's eyebrow shot up. Her smile faded as Albus continued, "Yes, I believe that Mr. Snape has made himself scarce around you to avoid your wrath. He appreciates that almost all of his classes are shared with Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts are his favorite subjects, but Transfiguration is one of his favorite classes. He's doing very well, too. Have you noticed?" Albus's voice had softened considerably towards the end of his speech, causing Minerva to flush noticeably.

"I don't see what you mean at all, Albus," she scoffed.

"Come now, Minerva. Surely you've noticed that several of the young men here at Hogwarts have formed a crush on you? Over the past few years, I've seen several of them graduate, still infatuated with you."

Minerva blushed even more. "Well, certainly it is true that several are infatuated. But they remain infatuations only. Nothing more than that, thankfully."

Albus sighed. "My dear, you are very young, you are beautiful, and you aren't much older than the students who graduate from here." Minerva's blush deepened as she shot Albus a warning look over her teacup. "You must realize that, to the young Mr. Snape, you are a hero." Albus enjoyed watching her face turn from embarrassment to shock.

"You're not serious, are you?" she croaked, barely able to fathom what he was telling her.

Albus nodded. Getting up, he said, "And that is why you will be in charge of him until term starts next month."

Minerva was stunned. "What was that, Albus?"

"You know how Mr. Snape dreads going home during the summer?" Minerva nodded. "Well, his parents are no longer able to look after him and there is no orphanage willing to take him in. He needs a home." Minerva's mouth opened, but no sound escaped. Albus laughed at her comical expression. "Yes, my dear, the poor boy of your noble cause has no relations and nowhere to turn."

Minerva finally found her voice. "And how can we accomplish this?"

"Not we," Albus chuckled. "You."

Minerva stood up, realizing what Albus had done. "Fine. I will look after Severus. What do I need to do?"