Once she was safely in her quarters, she rethought her day. It was definitely an eventful one. Evey sighed dejectedly and turned her attention to the four bags she had yet to unpack. Since there was little change that she would sleep, she decided to pass the hours by decorating and settling in. Better to take hours doing so than to take a whole year. And she'd not use magic.

After unpacking her personal things, Evey entered her classroom and lit a few candles, the better to see. It had taken her from nine O'clock to midnight to settle her things in her quarters. She hoped it would take until morning to set things up in her classroom.

First, she arranged the desks into small groups, four in each group; all ready it was starting to look better. Next, she arranged all of the accessories that were there when she arrived. Cleaning came next; she dusted down and washed off almost everything she could reach. She even swept and mopped the floor. She had just started mopping when a soft knock pulled her from her cleaning frenzy.

"Professor Loveless, might I ask what you're doing?" Evey merely grunted and went back to work. "It's two in the morning, professor. Why the bloody hell are you mopping your classroom? Have you slept?" Evey paused and looked up at Severus.

"Does it look like I've slept?" She retorted; he quirked an eyebrow at her smirked.

"I suppose not."

"What're you doing up?" She asked.

"Rounds. It's two in the morning, Professor. Do you plan to sleep at all?"

"Probably not." Evey replied with a shrug.

"I suppose that doesn't surprise me. I shouldn't have to remind myself that you've got enough energy to power London, should I?" He shrugged. She shifted the mop idly from one hand to the other.

"Anything else?" She mumbled with her eyes fixed on something over his left shoulder. Severus frowned slightly and shook his head.

"Nothing." He replied softly. Evey nodded and went back to work.

Severus thought he would be the first staff member at breakfast. Having not slept much the previous night after his encounter with the new professor, he found he couldn't keep himself in his quarters any longer. He was mistaken. Three other members of staff already occupied the staff table. Dumbledore, Minerva and, of course, Professor Loveless; Severus gritted his teeth and forced his eyes from traveling over the young professor's red hair and soft face. It took some surprisingly difficult restraint.

"Good morning, my boy." Albus said with a cheery smile. Severus grunted and poured himself some coffee. He noticed that the young woman next to him completely ignored his presence and wondered why he wanted to change that.

"How was your night, Professor Loveless?" He asked before he could stop himself. Minerva glanced over at him.

"Pleasant." Evey replied. Her answer was short and polite, but did not offer further conversation. It still made Severus flinch inwardly.

"Evey's got her classroom set up, Severus, have you seen it yet?" Albus asked.

"I've not yet seen the extent of the damage, no." Evey fought the urge to stick her tongue out like a four-year-old.

In small groups, students began to pour into the Great Hall. And as they sat, trays of food appeared in front of them. Evey stood up abruptly, still holding her coffee. Severus noticed that it was straight black; no wonder she was so bitter in the morning. He preferred his own with sugar, milk on some occasions. He wondered why he wanted to follow her.

She wondered why she wanted him to.

Evey loved the first years. Sure, their attention spans were short, but they had a lot of energy which made things a lot more fun. She waited patiently at the front of the class, a wide smile plastered on her face, until they took notice to her presence. Once they did, they fell silent and fixed their eyes on her.

"Good morning, class." She said brightly. She picked up a stack of books and began passing them around. "From now on," She continued, "this will be your bible. Please turn to the third page and read the introduction to defensive spells." Her pride swelled only slightly when they all did as they were told.