August 15, 2005 - Hogsmeade

The loud pop at the far end of Hogsmeade High Street signalled his arrival. The streets were deserted, the residents inside enjoying their suppers or doing the washing up. Gathering his work satchel closer, Severus began the short walk toward the Hogwarts grounds with his trunk scampering behind.

He took his time walking through the gates and down the gravel path that led to the castle entrance. Severus enjoyed his stroll; he'd forgotten just how good it felt to breathe in the highland air and how magnificent the scenery was in the peaceful pre-term period. Birch and oak trees rustled gently in the breeze and the rowans were just beginning to show their fall finery. Hagrid - he assumed Hagrid was still groundskeeper - had allowed thistles to grow wild at the borders of the manicured lawn. Their showy blossoms were still bright in the setting sun. He supposed they must have been charmed as they should have long ago gone to seed, but they likely continued to provide pollen for the school apiary that was in the woods behind the groundskeeper's hut. His senses overwhelmed him with a nostalgia that nearly made him grin. Severus had come home.

All too soon, he arrived at the castle's entrance. Stones old and new greeted him as he passed from the sun and into the shadow of the castle's gothic arches. With a sigh, Severus turned his mind to business. He wandlessly gestured for his trunk to remain in the foyer, Filch (was it still Filch?) would see that it arrived at whatever rooms he had been assigned. Severus made his way toward the familiar spiral stair that led to the Headmaster's office.

The stone gargoyles that guarded the Headmaster's sanctum stood to the side of the open door. Minerva was seated at a large, ruthlessly organized desk, scribbling on a piece of parchment. She glanced up at the man in her doorway and motioned for him to come in "One moment and I'll-oh, Severus. Good you've arrived. Take a seat, I just need to finish this missive to Kingsley" she said.

Severus sat in the dark wood chair in front of the Headmistress' desk, marvelling at the changes to the office since Dumbledore's and, indeed, his own tenure. He'd banished the whirring and clicking magical devices that had populated Albus' space to an extended closet at one end of the office when he'd become headmaster, but he had kept and enjoyed the creature comforts of the plus throne-like chair behind the desk and comfortable seating alcoves. Minerva clearly favored a more streamlined working environment, though he could see her personal proclivities in the deep burgundy fabric covering the stone walls and the sheer gold-toned curtains at the window. The room was far from spartan, still containing the myriad portraits of past headmasters and a small collection of enchanted clocks, but her desk was a simple affair of walnut with naught but a padded desk chair behind it. A tartan shawl draped over the back of her chair for the chilly evenings he remembered all too well.

He noted that Minerva herself had changed little over the years. Her hair was more liberally streaked with grey than in years past, but the lines on her face still seemed to reflect more years of good humor than actual age. She had upgraded her wardrobe a bit since attaining the position of Headmistress, discarding the dark teaching robes of a Professor of Transfiguration for deep plum robes trimmed in maroon and gold braid. A thistle brooch rested at her neck.

Minerva raised her eyes to meet Severus', interrupting his survey of the room and its primary occupant. "Welcome back to Hogwarts, Severus." She blinked at him for a moment. "I'm happy to see you here again, though I'll admit I hardly would have recognized you."

Snape colored slightly at her comment but otherwise did not change his expression. "I thought some changes were in order."

In fact, he was still getting used to changes in his appearance. While he hated the term "makeover", he supposed that is just what he had accomplished. His straight hair, still black thankfully, had been styled into a simple brush cut and was held in place by a dab of his own personal pomade formula. He had chosen to dress casually for his arrival at Hogwarts, eschewing the traditional teacher's robes for the more comfortable muggle combination of dark jeans and a button-down shirt of deep green with the sleeves rolled to the elbow. He would have been embarrassed to admit that he had sought the assistance of several muggle salespeople before settling on this simple, understated style.

"Well, I'll say the changes suit you. It's nice to see your face when I speak to you. And I suppose I'll have to get used to you wearing actual color."

"You did say that I should view this appointment as a 'third career'. I took your advice. I'll borrow a phrase from the muggles and call this Snape 2.0" he said with a slight smile.

Minerva regarded him with some confusion. "I'll take your word for it, dear. So! I was just preparing to forward your final addendums for the new D.A.D.A. curriculm to Kingsley. I have to say, we've both been impressed with the level of thought and creativity you've poured into these. I don't think you'll have any issues gaining his full approval for your plans."

Severus replied with a cordial nod of the head. "Thank you. I'll admit that I'm pleased with the progress I made on the curriculum over the last few weeks. There are still issues to be worked out, of course, but assuming my plans meet the Ministry's approval I'm well set for fall courses. Were the supplies I requested delivered to the Defense classroom?"

"Most of them, yes." She glanced at the paperwork on her desk. "We're still waiting on approval on some of the darker items. As I'm sure you can understand, the Hogwarts wards were strengthened after the battle; the school Head has to have explicit approval from the Ministry to lift the most top-level ones."

"Bureaucracy is your province now, Minerva. I'll leave the matter in your capable hands. I do have fallback plans if some of the items fail to gain approval, of course."

"I would expect nothing else." She paused before proceeding. "Severus, I have to ask...just what have you been doing with yourself the last six years. So few of us in the Order heard from you after your recuperation - which is something I fully intend to take you to task for later, you know. I can't help but think it was significant. You're so changed from the Severus I worked with for nearly two decades, and I'm not just referring to your sartorial choices."

Severus felt a genuine smile cross his face. "Minerva, surely you can imagine that some time away from Britain, away from having to live three lives simultaneously might have had a positive effect? I won't give you all the details as we'd be here until end of term if I did, but suffice it to say I spent the first couple years after the Dark Lord's fall and my subsequent recovery helping the Ministry track down those of his followers who escaped to the continent. I had been privy to rather a lot more information than any of them realized. I don't think half of them even knew me to be a Legilimens. After I'd given the auror office all the assistance I was capable of, I decided to stay on and do what I never had the chance to in my youth: I took a grand tour. My first vacation." He sat back with some satisfaction.

"You mean to tell me you've spent the last six years on vacation ?"

"Not quite, six years. More like three. But yes, I spent my time seeing the traditional sites and exploring some of my own research interests. I kept the Minister aware of my travels, of course, and let him know if I stumbled across any traces of Voldemort's followers. In fact, that's likely why he suggested me for the post. I also collected a number of artifacts and immersed myself in the darker spells and charms of some of our European cousins. In fact, a number of the items on your to-be-approved list are likely acquisitions from my stay abroad."

Minerva harrumphed. "So that's what you've been doing. You realize that the occasional owl with a scribbled line or two about your welfare was not what I had in mind when I told you to keep in touch and tell me how you were."

Severus raised a sardonic eyebrow at his employer "Well I could hardly send you the full truth, could I? I can see it now: Dear Minerva, Keeping well here in outer Mongolia. Found an ancient vessel in a small cave that contained a poison that puts basilisk venom to shame. Wish you were here! Love, Severus. Hardly discreet, that."

She chuckled at his joke. "No, I suppose you couldn't." She met her friend's gaze for a moment and wondered if he could see the true extent of the changes the post-war era had wrought in him. Yes his hair was decidedly less oily now that it was short and he didn't spend the majority of his time over a cauldron, but he also seemed to sit taller and appeared more at ease with himself. Perhaps his face still settled into a scowl more naturally than anything else, but she had seen him smile at least twice today. And he'd made a joke! Would wonders never cease? She wondered how the rest of the staff would react to this polite D.A.D.A. professor.

Shaking her head to clear it, Minerva rose from her chair. "Well! This isn't the time to reminisce. There will be time enough for that at the faculty social-don't give me that look-later this evening. Our first staff meeting will be tomorrow morning at 8am in the staff room. Nothing there has changed. Else, there's very little you need in the way of faculty orientation, I imagine."

Severus smirked at his employer. No, I don't imagine there's much she can tell me about the school that I don't already know.

Minerva nodded. "Good, then. How about we find you some rooms? I believe you expressed interest in the newer suites in the West tower, yes?"

"Yes, if that's possible. I've always enjoyed the view of the Black Lake at sunset" Severus said with a slight nod.

"Of course. Well come along. There's only one suite left in the tower; we have another new hire and he specifically requested rooms on the ground floor, so only the upper level suite is still available."

Severus waited for the bantam woman to stream past him, slightly checking his stride to match hers as she marched through the corridors toward the main staircase. She talked as she walked, barely stopping for breath, pointing out the repairs done to the castle just after the battle.

"...completely refitted the main archway and charmed it to withstand bombardment-Filius' work of course-and then we had to commission new stone soldiers to flank it. It took over three years to repair" she prattled as they walked up the stairs. Severus felt his knees protest at both the stairs and the pace. He'd have to get used to castle-walking again now that he was in residence.

The empty school seemed sunnier and more open than it had when he'd last been in residence, perhaps because of the newer stone and mortar mixed in with the aged. The portraits, he noticed, were as curious as ever; he saw a number of their occupants following him for a few frames and heralding his return. It was a surprising and welcoming experience.

Minerva hardly paused when they entered the Western wing of the castle. "There are two suites here on the ground floor occupied by Thurston Hagen-I believe you met during your recovery?-and the Ministry appointment for a new department on international magical cultures. He'll be arriving shortly. I'll venture a guess that you'd prefer the upper room for its view of the lake anyway" Without waiting for him to agree, she began to mount the stairs.

"This will be your suite if you like it," she said, gesturing to the door to the left of the stairs. "I think you'll find it both more comfortable and more aesthetically pleasing than your former rooms." She gestured wandlessly to open the door. "You'll be free to ward it as you see fit and make minor adjustments if needed."

Severus preceded the Headmistress into the airy room and widened his eyes a bit at the sheer amount of light. The front door had opened into a small foyer with a cloak closet table before branching into a cavernous sitting room/library space. The vaulted, two-storied space featured a wall of windows with their pointed arches on the right, a set of massive (and blessedly empty) floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in dark cherrywood to the left, and a stone fireplace in the center. A deep sofa and two leather reading chairs flanked the fireplace, above which hung an intricate tapestry depicting the wizard Aesop speaking to his fabled animals. A wrought-iron chandelier loaded with charmed no-drip candles dangled above a lovely rug of intertwined russett vines on a cream background. Everything was cream and cherrywood, espresso leather and faded elegance. It was, in a word, stunning. And far more luxurious than his former quarters in the dungeons.

Severus peered to the left of the shelves and saw a hallway leading into what appeared to be a dining space and (he assumed) a kitchen. Following his curiosity, he walked past a spiral stair and into a small dining room with space that was large enough to accommodate six. Doors on either side of the room led to a half-bath and surprisingly spacious galley kitchen. He would have to check that a silencing charm was placed on the bath door-what an odd place to stick a toilet.

Climbing the spiral stair with its polished cherry railing, Severus found himself in a hall with three doors. The closest door on the right led to a room that was clearly meant to house a workspace or lab. The door next to that led (Gods!) to a bathroom of nearly sumptuous design. A large tub nestled on the far wall with shelves built into the tile for bath products. The entire space looked like a high-end muggle bath complete with slate tiles that warmed to the touch, a large vanity counter, and window sconces charmed to emit soothing light.

Severus turned to Minerva in amazement. "What on earth ? This is the most stunning set of faculty quarters I have ever seen. The headmaster's quarters didn't even come close to matching this!

The proud Headmistress laughed lightly at the professor's ill-concealed astonishment. "The headmaster's quarters far exceed this now, actually. A great deal of the castle was destroyed in the Battle of Hogwarts. The Ministry allocated an astronomical sum of money from war reparations - many of which I believe came from your old friend Lucius - toward its refurbishment and volunteers from around the country helped with the rebuilding. We upgraded all of the faculty quarters since they were universally antiquated and added in some features that our muggle-born friends insist improve overall quality of life. I have found that they were not incorrect. You won't believe the number of witches and wizards who helped with reconstruction and re-warding." She twinkled at him.

Severus ran his hands through his hair (coming up short when his hand abruptly ran out of hair to run through-would he never get used to that?) "Minerva, this is amazing. I can't imagine not being content here."

"You haven't even seen the best part! Open the door on your left."

Severus did as she bade and walked into a lofted bedroom with an open wall overlooking the sitting area. More windows graced the far wall and a small door led to what appeared to be a private balcony. A large canopied bed sat at the center of the room. A wardrobe and magical mirror (blast, he preferred the muggle ones) sat by the door. Despite lacking a wall, the space was...cozy, he supposed. Inviting.

He heard Minerva's chuckle over his shoulder again. "The windows are charmed to keep out the worst of the morning light in the spring and summer months, so you can even have a lie-in on the weekend without dealing with the bed curtains."

Peering to his left, Severus looked out into the sitting room, taking note of the library ladder and narrow supported walkway that allowed access to the upper level of the books. For the first time in a very long time, Severus felt completely at a loss for words. This space was comfortable, welcoming, warm. It was a space that could be a retreat and a home during the school year, and the amount of care that went into its creation made him feel...valued.

"So will it do, Severus?"

"You know damn well that this is a sight better than my old quarters and far more comfortable than my house. Yes, Minerva. This will do very well indeed."

"I'll leave you to settle in for a bit. We have another new professor joining us this term and he's due to arrive shortly, so I should make my way downstairs to give him a tour. Please do join the rest of the staff for the start-of-term social in my quarters at nine this evening. Just drinks and welcomes, very casual. The password for the evening is 'shortbread'. Oh, and welcome home Severus." With a smile and gentle pat on the arm, she moved toward the stairs.

"Minerva?" Severus called over the balcony railing. "It's good to be home."

He didn't see the witch's broad grin as she closed the door behind her.

Severus made short work of warding his rooms (password: Chrysopogon zizanioides - let someone try to guess that!) while he waited for his trunk to arrive. He unpacked the essentials in his work satchel - ink, syllabi, some of his rarer texts that he didn't dare leave sitting in his trunk unattended, a change of clothing, a bottle of Ogden's, and his toiletries - then set to work making small alterations to his new abode. The stone walls of the bedroom were quickly covered in forest green fabric and the bed hangings changed from cream to jade. He transfigured the small floor rug into a large Persian of the same shades and considered the job done.

He was just putting the finishing touches on his bookshelf charm - an elegant piece of wandwork that would automatically sort and shelve his texts - when the knock on his door heralded the arrival of the caretaker (yes, still Filch). After thanking the man politely (and entirely missing Filch's look of shocked surprise) he immersed himself in the task of filling his new quarters with his personal belongings. The next hour was spent with objects whirling past Severus' head. A tea service flew to the kitchen, books scurried onto the shelves, clothes appeared in the wardrobe, shoes and boots walked themselves into the cloak closet, and spare linens appeared in a trunk at the foot of the bed. With a quick tempus charm, Severus saw that it was closing on nine. He sighed; setting up his office and laboratory would clearly need to wait.

Grabbing a light blazer from his wardrobe - really, these muggle clothes were more comfortable than his teaching robes would be, particularly against the scars on his neck - he made his way down the stairs and walked briskly back toward the Headmistress' offices. Blast. I'm going to be late.

As he moved through the empty castle, Severus couldn't help but wonder who he would find in the staff gathering. He'd been seriously out of touch with the goings on at Hogwarts since leaving the country six years before. Surely most of the professors had remained? I know Slughorn is still here and Longbottom had just begun his apprenticeship with Pomona when I left the country, so it seems likely that he'll have taken her place by now. Bathsheda, bless her, perished in the battle...I'm fairly sure Thurston took her position. Only an exorcism would rid the castle of Binns and I doubt Filius is ready to retire yet. He curled his lip a bit at the worry that he wouldn't be welcomed by his former colleagues, despite his pardon and Order of Merlin. I must remember to be polite. Try to smile, but not that ghastly smile that scares people. Try not to snark too much. Compliment people. Don't be an arse. His mental instructions were cut short by his arrival outside Minerva's personal rooms.

The door was already slightly ajar, negating the need for the password. Severus slipped in quietly in order to observe the crowd and breathed a sigh of relief that he recognized most of the faces in the room. Filius was ensconced on the couch with Minerva, apparently engaged in a deep conversation. He spotted Hagrid (how could he have missed him) near the window apparently conversing with Sybill and Septima. On the balcony Neville Longbottom was speaking with two witches whose features he could not make out against the dark Scottish hills, though both seemed to have long hair. Aurora and Slughorn - who was fatter than ever - stood in the kitchen, the former mixing what appeared to be a Buck's Whiz while Slughorn picked over the hors d'oeuvres.

Rather than interrupting Minerva, who was beginning to gesticulate broadly - a sure sign that conversation was heating up - Severus chose to move toward Neville and meet the new professors. It mightn't be a bad idea to put the poor sod at ease around me. The last thing we need is a Herbology professor who jumps whenever I come near. He caught Longbottom's eye and noted that the man jolted, but did not shy from his gaze. Good. He extended a hand toward the young professor as he moved onto the darkened balcony.

"Neville. I'm glad to see you-I assume you've taken over for Pomona now?"

Longbottom drew himself up a bit and responded in a voice that had deepened a bit over the past two years. "Professor Snape? Is that really you? Welcome back sir. Yes, I took over Herbology three years ago, in fact. I'm also heading Gryffindor house this year." He gave his former Potions master a sheepish smile.

"Well congratulations. I can't think of anyone better suited to the role." He watched as Neville's eyes widened in surprise at the compliment.

"You're looking very well, Professor Snape. I had wondered if Minerva was going to convince you to return. I'm glad she did." His voice rang with Gryffindor sincerity.

Severus rolled his eyes a bit. "Please, Neville. We're going to be colleagues now, call me Severus. Won't you introduce me to your-Miss Lovegood? Miss Granger?"

He stared in astonishment at the two women who stood by Neville. As he'd turned toward Neville's companions to introduce himself, he'd suddenly realized that the two women he'd failed to recognize where also his former students. (Though to be fair, Severus had quite a few former students these days.) While he knew that there had to have been some changeovers in staff in the past seven years, the last two people he expected to see at a staff gathering were Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger.

Severus laughed in astonishment. "Never tell me you're both teaching here too!"

Luna recovered first, "It's Luna Longbottom now, actually, and yes we both are after a fashion. I teach writing part-time and will hopefully be starting a journalism club this year. I still write for the Quibbler too. You've cut your hair. Did you lose your magical strength at the same time?"

Severus' eyes crinkled at the corners as he remembered Luna's rather unique conversational style. "Erm, no. Or, not that I know of. I have to admit it's a recent change. I'm glad you're teaching writing courses; it's about time we had proper writing instruction at the school. Some of the essays I had to read in my last tenure were worse than a bout cruciatus. Those from present company are excepted from this statement, of course." He turned to Hermione. "And you, Miss-is it still Granger? What are you teaching?"

Hermione stared at the former Potions teacher with a strange expression on her face. "Yes," she bit off stiffly. "Still a Granger. I took over for Minerva last year. I also do the occasional lecture in Muggle Studies, at Mistral's invitation of course. She took over after Professor Burbage...disappeared."

Severus caught the small flash in Hermione's eyes at that last and bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. His failure to save Charity Burbage was one in a long line of regrets from his past, one that had become public after Voldemort's defeat. He was not complicit in her death, but that didn't seem to stop him from feeling guilt over his presence at her execution. He scrubbed a hand over his hair. He was glad Minerva had coaxed Mistral Jarsdel out of retirement to teach muggle studies the next year. The long-retired teacher had been a great favorite when he'd been in school. He'd have to make sure to speak with her as her expertise as a muggle-born witch would be invaluable in the implementation of his planned curriculum. She was smart to have Granger guest lecture on occasion, though he wondered on what subject. He realized that Hermione was still staring at him with a hard look on her face.

He cleared his throat slightly. "Well congratulations to all of you on your appointments. And to you, Neville and Luna, on your marriage." He nodded his head cordially toward each of them and ventured another compliment. "I'm looking forward to working with each of you this year."

He sighed a bit at the look of absolute incredulity on each of their faces. Clearly ingratiating myself with the staff is going to take a bit longer than I thought . He glanced at the empty glasses in Neville and Hermione's hands.

"I'm going to get myself a drink. Would either of you care for a fresh one?" He attempted to school his voice to avoid obsequiousness, wincing internally as he slid just past the mark of gracious. Hopefully none of them caught that .

Hermione glanced at her empty glass. "Yes, actually. But I can get it myself. Neville?"

"I'm good, thanks." Neville smiled and turned Luna toward the balcony rail to take in the night air.

Snape followed Hermione back into the living room and toward the bar. Blast. Forgot Horace was standing there. Well, no help for it.

"Severus, m'boy! Damn me for a pixie but you're a sight for sore eyes. Come on, come on, grab yourself a drink. Minerva's put out quite the spread this year. Pleased as punch you've come back to us, dear boy. Just pleased as punch!" Slughorn's bear hug nearly lifted Severus off his feet, causing his back to twinge in protest.

"It's good to see you too, Horace, but please gentle your greeting. I'm afraid my body isn't quite up to those terrifying hugs of yours." Severus took a cautious step away and straightened his blazer.

"Of course, of course! My apologies." He slapped Severus on the back with a wallop that made his neck protest. "Ah, there's Thurston. Excuse me, dear boy, I need to confer with him on the timing for a new brew I'm trying. I shall return!" Slughorn waddled off to greet the Runes professor with an equally exuberant (and apparently unwelcome) hug.

"They never work, you know."

Severus paused in the midst of pouring a measure of Ogden's over ice and looked at Hermione questioningly.

"His experimental potions. They never work. Oh, Horace is competent, but he doesn't have your hand at potions. Gives up on it most of the time...not enough Slytherin tenacity to see it through."

Severus made a sound in his threat and raised the bottle of Ogden's. "Miss Granger?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Neat please. Thank you Professor Snape." Somehow she made his name sound like a spoiled pie.

Severus raised an eyebrow as he took her empty glass. "Severus."

"What?"

"We're colleagues. You, Luna, and Neville should call me Severus." He tried smiling again and imagined he could see if falling flat on the floor.

"I-yes, alright. Thank you. Severus. You should probably call me Hermione. The rest of the staff does."

Severus simply nodded his thanks and handed her the refilled glass, looking into the young professor's face. He found himself intrigued by the changes he saw there; the coltish girl had somehow become a woman in the past few years...and not one to be easily charmed. He wasn't sure why this annoyed him.

"I didn't take you for a fan of Ogden's, Hermione. I'm afraid that I'm still thinking of you and your friends sipping Butterbeers in the Three Broomsticks during Hogsmeade weekends."

"Tastes change Severus. Most of us grow up, if we're lucky, and I find that there are things that suit me better than Butterbeer these days. Just as I'm sure you don't prefer the choices of your youth anymore." She met his eyes squarely and raised an eyebrow in return.

"How right you are" he murmured.

"I have to admit, I'm finding it rather disconcerting to talk to you without your hair obscuring your face. Whatever possessed you to cut it?"

"Ever heard of a clean break, Hermione? I thought that my return to Hogwarts might herald a new chapter in my life. I wanted to start that chapter differently than the rest of the metaphorical book. Though I'll admit I find it disconcerting too. I keep reaching up and finding myself shocked that nothing is there."

"I like it, actually. Much less menacing."

Severus barked out a laugh. "Ouch. Once a Gryffindor...haven't you ever heard of pulling your punches, Hermione?"

"What's the point? My ability to prevaricate was usually outmatched by your ability to find to the worst possible interpretation anyway. Unless that's changed too?"

"I hope it has. Um…" he grasped for a way to continue the conversation politely. "I could say that I'm not the only one who has changed his hair. I distinctly recall you having a mop that looked like it was chasing you half the time. What on earth happened?" He gestured to the fall of tamed curls down the back of her robe.

Hermione gave him a sarcastic half-smile. "Yes, I recall. You rarely missed an opportunity to insult my teeth or my hair. Luckily, growing up as an insufferable know-it-all included researching the proper way to care for curls. I threw out my brush and invested in a quality muggle conditioner."

Severus simply rolled his eyes at that. Seriously, are we going to stand here talking about hair care the rest of the evening while she rehashes every horrid thing I said to her in her youth?

"Well, I'm um, glad that worked out for you. Then. At least Horace won't have to ban you from his classroom for fear that you contaminate his students' work." He ventured a chuckle.

Hermione simply blinked and tilted her head. "I used a stick-fast charm on my hair during potions class. All of the girls did after you screamed at Hannah Abbott second year. We were all terrified you'd hex our cauldrons if we shed in class."

"That was probably wise of you. I would have. Back then, I mean." Wrong move, dimwit. Now you're not just talking about hair, you're still talking about what a horrible bat you were a decade ago. Chage. The. Subject. You were supposed to be ingratiating yourself to your colleagues this time 'round, not giving them reasons to continue hating you! Of course it might have been nice for Minerva to tell me that half the bloody staff was former students! He was saved from further attempts at small talk when Minerva moved to the center of the sitting room.

"If I can have your attention, please. Neville, Luna-pop inside for a moment. I wanted to say a few words of welcome now that we're all back to start the new term. First, I want to welcome our two new faculty members this term: I'd like to welcome Mohinder Bhatti, who will be teaching our new Magical Cultural Studies courses as well as sponsoring the Orchestra. I'd also like to welcome back Severus Snape to the Defense Against the Dark Arts post; Severus will be launching a new interdisciplinary initiative that he will explain in further detail in tomorrow's faculty meeting." Severus watched as shocked eyes swiveled from Mohinder's face to his as Minerva plowed on.

"Now, I won't try your patience or keep you away from my good whiskey too long. I just wanted to state how terribly excited I am to see you all after the long summer holidays. You were sorely missed, of course, but more importantly I believe this is going to be one of the best years in Hogwarts history. I'm grateful to work with such a talented lot of intellectuals. We have two new programs to explore thanks to Mohinder and Severus and I've received word from Kingsley that we have approval to expand our efforts to train better magical communicators by adding a journalism club and a school newspaper to our writing curriculum. Well done, Luna." She nodded at the young witch with approval.

"I'll have more details on our plans for the year at our first faculty meeting. We'll only meet in the mornings tomorrow and Wednesday so that you have some time to settle into your living quarters and set up your classrooms. We have two weeks before the start of the semester, so let's prepare to work hard and make magic happen. Welcome back to Hogwarts one and all! Go make merry and I'll see you all at eight tomorrow morning in the staff lounge. Severus-a word." Minerva began making her way through the group to where he stood with Hermione.

"I just wanted to let you know I received final approval from Kingsley just an hour ago. Your field training idea was approved, so I want you to explain the basic outline at the end of tomorrow's meeting. Is that alright?"

"Most satisfactory, Minerva. I'll charm copies of the plan's outline this evening when I return to my rooms."

"Excellent! Oh, Hermione. I want you and Neville to work with Severus on this initiative. It's going to be an important focus of our curriculum for the next few years, but this first year will likely be a bit of a to-do."

Hermione shot an enigmatic look at Severus. "Of course I'm happy to help in whatever way I can."

"Good, good. Excuse me, I should rescue Mohinder from Sybill." With that she whirled with a sweep of her tartan leaving nothing but the slight trace of lavender oil behind her.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, but for the exclamations from some of his former colleagues. Filius had batted his hip and reprimanded Severus for not telling him sooner that he was returning to Hogwarts whilst a bemused Sybill breathed that she had "of course seen this coming" but hadn't wanted to influence the actions of her colleagues over the summer by revealing the truth. Rolanda and Sinistra had, of course asked him to join them for their customary tot in their quarters at the end of the first week of courses, which Severus gladly accepted.

Mohinder had turned out to be quite a surprise. Severus found himself discussing some of his travels on the continent with Mohinder and promising to show him some of the magical items he had returned with. Severus found the man to be both charming and intelligent, and thought it likely that he'd enjoy his friendship. And so it was that Severus took his first step toward what he hoped would be normalcy in his life and invited the younger wizard to join him for luncheon the next day and continue the conversation. He was greatly gratified when Mohinder accepted.

As the hour drew nearer to eleven, the gathered began to disperse. He waited as Sinistra and Rolanda, Hagrid, and finally Hermione bade farewell to their host before making his way to take his leave. He found himself surprised by the swift hug that Minerva gave him as she bade him good night and bemusedly began to make his way back to his own rooms, calling out his own good nights to those he passed. He found himself trailing behind Hermione as she began to walk toward the West tower. He stayed slightly behind Hermione, not wanting to force his presence on her as they walked in silence.

As they approached the stairwell, Hermione suddenly spun toward him, causing Severus to walk straight into her shoulder. He grunted and reached up to rub his bruised sternum.

"Why are you following me?"

"What? I'm not. My rooms are here."

She looked surprised. Again. It was actually starting to annoy him. "You took the upper room in the West tower?"

"I...yes? Was I not supposed to? Minerva indicated it was unoccupied."

Hermione deflated a bit. "No, I'm sure it was perfectly available. I assumed you'd just move back into your old rooms."

He sneered a bit at that. "After nearly seven years living above ground I find that I'm loathe to return to the dungeons."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Well I rather liked the privacy of having the floor to myself. No help for it, I suppose. It would appear we're...neighbors."

Severus blinked at her, unsure of how to respond. "Neighbors?"

She huffed. "Yes, you know. People who live in close proximity to one another? My rooms are across the hall from yours."

"Ah. Well. I can promise I'm not the noisy sort, so I shan't disturb you overmuch."

"Oh, I've no doubt you will." she muttered as she turned to climb the stairs.

Severus was confused by her annoyance. He knew that the golden trio, while grateful for his war efforts, had never really warmed to him but it wasn't as if he'd known that she was the other resident on his floor. And even if he had, he didn't have any intention of invading her privacy or waking her with loud noises. He watched as she stomped her way up the stairs in front of him and found his own annoyance rising to match hers. Well if she doesn't like it she can bloody well move! I don't know why she's in such a snit about it, but I like these rooms and I'm not going to live in the dungeons just to appease some immature bint who can't learn to share her little fiefdom. He kept climbing, glad that she was at least climbing at a fast enough pace that he didn't get stuck behind her on the narrow stairs.

He felt her wards release and heard her door click open as he neared the top of the staircase and her door.

"Good night Hermione," he said politely.

The door clicked shut and her wards slammed back in place before he heard a barely audible snort through the wood.