Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, except the one I created myself. All others belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I have only borrowed them for my amusement and hopefully yours as well.
A/N: This is my first fanfiction. I have attempted to be accurate in all of the details but if I messed up somewhere along the way, please forgive me. There are also one or two little points that I gave my own 'spin'. I would appreciate your reviews, if you have the time. I hope someone out there enjoys my work. I've had a blast writing it!
Chapter 1
Severus Snape had spent a most enjoyable summer. There had been almost no interruptions to his work – no lessons to plan, no papers to grade, no crowds of students yelling, fighting, getting into all kinds of mischief. Most important of all, there had been no Granger, Weasley, and Potter. Those three had been the source of many a headache to Severus. Granger, although an excellent student, was a know-it-all; Weasley was a bumbler; and Potter, well, he was just Potter. Harry was the least favorite of his students, even though he was 'The Boy Who Lived'. He had no patience for such things. He had sunk even lower into disfavor when Snape had caught him with the Pensieve. "How dare he learn of my most private thoughts! Albus was foolish to have asked me to teach Occlumency to Potter," thought Severus. The boy obviously had no talent for it. His mind was like the front page of The Daily Prophet – open for perusal to anyone with the power. It was such a relief when they all left for summer vacation. Peace at last!
The Headmaster had occasionally popped in to see what Severus was up to, all the while encouraging him to get out of Hogwarts for a least part of his vacation. The pleas fell on deaf ears. Snape had spent his free time doing what he loved best- chopping, weighing, calculating, brewing, testing – in other words- he had spent the summer with his beloved potions.
He was even happier when Dumbledore and McGonagall left for two weeks in August to attend the COMET (Conference of Magic & Enchantments Teaching) being held near Montreal. Every two years, one of the world's most prestigious magic schools played host to teaching witches and wizards from all over the globe. They came together to discuss methods, policies, differences in approach from country to country. There were workshops, panel discussions, seminars, conferences. You name it, they had it. It was the place to be if you were involved in the shaping of young witches and wizards. Minerva McGonagall herself was to speak on her teaching methods for Transfiguration. Hogwarts had been host ten years ago. This year, L'Académie de Sorcellerie de Montréal in Quebec, Canada had the honor.
Albus and Minerva had practically begged Severus to join them. They had said,
"It will do you good to get away; it will do you good to speak with other Potions Masters; it will do you good to meet new people; it will do you good.., do you good…, do you good…." Snape had politely, but vehemently, declined their offer. He remembered what it had been like ten years ago. He had found it most boring and the whole time he had wished he had been elsewhere, anywhere but there. He saw this as his chance to work uninterrupted – to make some real progress in his experimentation. So, it was not with a sad heart, that Snape wished his fellows a safe journey. In fact, he even smiled a crooked little smile as he saw them off to the Portkey. Real peace at last! And that he had - Severus Snape spent the next two weeks alone, save for the house-elves that brought him his meals in the lab. He was really and truly alone.
