A/N: Sorry for long-time, no-update to anyone who was reading this. I kept forgetting to add to it… plus I was being kinda lazy. Feel free to pester me about it. : D It's good for me if you do. So, yeah… well, here it is!

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Disclaimer: I dream of saying "I own Harry Potter." At least, "I own Snape." Alas, this is not the case. All this stuff 'cept my character and the romantic plot belong to JKR.

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Katherine stepped through the doors into the entrance hall, looking about in awe as the shut behind her. It looked the same as it did those years before. She dropped her bags and walked around the deserted area, tucking a lock of wavy, blonde hair behind her ear. As she moseyed back to her bags, she heard the clep, clep, clep of someone coming down the stairway.

"Ah, I see you've arrived Katherine." Professor Dumbledore greeted her with a warm smile. Katherine felt it was impossible to keep from smiling also. "Welcome back," he said.

"Thank you," she replied with a nod. "It's good to be back."

"As soon as you pick up your bags, Katherine, you can follow me." She snatched them up and they set off at a brisk pace for his office. The whole way there, Katherine felt amazed, as if she'd gone back in time; she grinned, knowing that everything had just remained as it was. She couldn't say the same for herself.

With a murmur of "jelly slugs," the staircase leading to his office door began its spiraling way up, and the two stepped onto it like a muggle escalator.

Once inside, Dumbledore motioned for her to sit. "Now," he said, "as for your class, you will be teaching Spell Application. I assume the name explains itself, but you'll be teaching how to apply normal spells to everyday life." He carried on with procedures and the like. When he had finished, his eyes twinkled as he said, "Well, now that I'm done jabbering, I might as well show you your classroom, quarters, and the other places you'd probably like to know about."

First on the tour was her classroom. It was a beautiful, spacey room. When entering, a simple desk was at the far right, behind which was a blackboard. Next to the blackboard was the door to her office. Pairs of desks sat in neat rows most of the way back through the classroom, but there was a small area in the back. The wall opposite the entrance was full of large, windows, letting in lots of light. The whole place had a rather cheery atmosphere.

In her office was a beautiful mahogany desk and armchair, along with a large filing cabinet. A decently sized window let in the rays of sunlight, and a small fireplace was in the corner. The room was small but not cramped. Instead, it was a cozy type of small.

Katherine was then led by Professor Dumbledore to the professor's lounge. One long table filled the center of the room, drawing your eyes from the right wall all the way to the fireplace at the far, far left. A row of tall, narrow windows lined the wall opposite the door. Surrounding the table and scattered throughout the room were plushy armchairs. Some were battered, some new, and not a single one matched another, but they were comfy-looking nonetheless.

"There is but one last thing to show you," she was told. And with that, the Headmaster led her to one of the towers. They came to a door, and he handed her a key. "This is now yours."

She nodded curiously, inserting it into the door's lock; it seemed too simple a key to provide any real security. The key and lock must have been enchanted, for she felt a tingle in her fingers as the lock clicked open.

"This," he said to her as the door swung gently open, "is your room."

With a mystified smile, Katherine stepped inside. As she walked in, there was a small area with counter and cabinets to the left and also a round table and four chairs. The chairs' and table's frame was iron, the seats and tabletop were of a light wood, most likely pine; the floor was beautifully rich dark wood.

A few steps further, and the floor was covered with a large, red and gold and blue rug, except for a small path of wood floor, leading to two doors on the right. One was close to the front door, the other was on an angled bit of wall, partially around the corner. On the rug was a couch and armchair, facing the fireplace. Even further, where the room began to curve in an L-shaped fashion, the floor became carpeted, dusty blue, and there was a large desk and armchair not far from a deep window. Katherine went ehind this to find a bookshelf, and where the room went into the branch of the L, on the bookshelf's other side, was what was to be her "bedoom."

This "bedroom" was separated only by the bookshelf, but it had a beautifully made bed; a curvy, brassy headborad curling gracefully up from behind; the quilt a royally dark blue, accented with bits of gold; and accented with red, velvety pilows. There was also a wardrobe, dresser, vanity set, and full-sized mirror.

"I get... all this?" She said in amazement.

The headmaster chuckled. "Yes, for the students we have proudly embellished common rooms, not to mention fine dormitories; the prefects get elaborate bathrooms; and the teachers get extravigant quarters."

"This is incredible..."

"You should see the Heads of Houses'. Especially Minerva's." He smiled, eyes twinkling, then he laughed at the expression that overtook her face. "Well, this is where I shall leave you. As you know classes start in a week."

"Thank you, sir."

"My pleasure, my pleasure. Remember: classes start in a week." And with that, he turned and left with a jovial saunter.

She immediately set out in unpacking her belongings and organizing everything, putting things in drawers, on shelves, in cabinets, and otherwise.

After accomplishing that, Katherine gathered up some of her papers and walked to the professor's lounge, trying to organize them as she walked.

"I think I forgot one..." she murmured to herself as she reached the room. Flipping through the pile she held as she stood outside the doorway, she breathed a sigh of relief as she found the one she wanted. She was about to go in when someone in the room attracted her attention very, very quickly.

He didn't notice her, and though she couldn't properly see his face, as his head was bent over his papers, she could recognize him. The hair, long, dark and lank; the little she could see of his nose; and simply the way he sat almost hunched over his papers, fully concentrating on them, were characteristics she could never forget.

"Severus?" she whispered, probably louder than she'd intended, because his head snapped up.

Her breath caught in her throat as she found herself staring into those onyx-black eyes, which seemed like endlessly deep abysses. For a single moment, recognition sparked through them.

"Katherine," he said simply. "I was wondeing when you'd show up here." He smirked, just staring at me.

She gave a small nod, regaining her ability to speak. " Hello, Severus. Oh, you were expecting me to be teaching, eventually? I turned here because I couldn't support myself well enough at Diagon Alley."

"Hmm. What luck for you to have attained a position." He rolled his eyes and glanced down at his papers, as if asking when he could go back to them.

She couldn't bear this, anyway; she felt humiliated. His short, noncaring, and rather sarcastic answers weren't exactly the nicest greeting. He'd always had a bit of an acerbic attitude and way of speaking, but never so much so as now.

Not wanting to get any deeper into this situation, but feeling that leaving the room would be just as awkward, she went to the opposite end of the table to work quietly.

Every so often, she'd find herself simply looking at him, though; maybe it was normal after the 'conversation' they'd shared, maybe she was just studying how his features had changed, or maybe she just didn't know.

His features had changed since she'd last seen him. Of course, the last time she'd seen him was more than ten years ago, so his features were bound to have changed. They were more mature. He seemed slightly more severe; he was also a bit paler, if that was possible. Somehow, though, something captivated her about his features; there was something intriguing about him. For one thing, she was amazed by his eyes. They were as black as the ink on the parchment he read, possibly even darker, and they were so deep, almost endless.

He finally finished whatever he was doing, and rose to leave; Katherine watched at he gathered his papers. He glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, noticing the stares, and she blushed crimson. He never saw that, though; he left too quickly.

With a sigh, she finished as quickly as possible. Why did I even bother to come here in the first place? she wondered. I could have saved myself some embarrassment and stayed in my room.

Days flew by in peace, and finally the last day before the students' arrival came. Walking past Katherine in the hall, the Headmaster paused her for a moment. "I'd like to inform you of one thing: a student-- you will immediately know who he is, I'm sure of it-- is arriving tomorrow. I want to tell you to be careful what you say and do; try not to show favoritism... if that's possible, for I thought you the most likely professor to do so. I say this not condescendingly; I say this because... well, you'll know soon enough." He smiled, leaving Katherine slightly dumbfounded.

What student would I be most likely to treat with favoritism? she asked herself. Why would I? Maybe because I knew them... or their parents... who of my friends has children? I've barely been corresponding with anyone since… well, for a long time. She pondered this as she walked back to her room.

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A/N: I actually made a blue-printish thing of her quarters. I'll have to scan it in, sometime. Haha, feel free to pester me to get it done. : D