Chapter 3

Thus far the day had gone on without a hitch, nor a sign of Professor Snape, to Minerva's great relief. After last night's embarrassing encounter, she'd rather not see him for some time. Gone was the flowing hair and lavender nightgown. Minerva was prim and proper as usual in her emerald green gown and black hat tilted atop her tightly pinned hair. She felt quite back to normal after a few glasses of morning tea and a biscuit. She'd already checked on how things were going with fixing the war damages, and had just finished three transfiguration classes without a hitch. Now that lunch was nigh, she felt famished and ready to head to the great hall.

"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall," one of the paintings greeted her.

"Good afternoon," she replied about to walk on.

"Late night, hmm?" he inquired with a wicked smile on his face.

McGonagall paused in her tracks and turned to face him, "What did you say?"

"The Fat Lady said she saw Snape leaving your room last night," he said, not bothering to wipe the ridiculous smirk off of his face. He had a good piece of gossip and he was proud of it.

"She said what?" Minerva's face paled and then she pursed her lips together tightly and scowled at the painting, "Not another word of this or I'll use you for fire wood."

"Second time I've been threatened. I am sick of it, I tell you!" the painting retorted, storming off.

Minerva thought about how curious this was, who else had threatened him? She shook the question from her mind, suddenly determined to go speak with the Fat Lady, she no longer felt hungry.

Minerva stormed up the stairs in a hurry, willing none of them to dare change directions while she did so. She managed to make it to the appropriate floor in record time and rushed to the Gryffindor entrance way.

"Why hello, professor!" the Fat Lady greeted her cheerfully.

"What do you think you're doing?" Minerva snapped.

The Fat Lady looked taken aback, "Why, whatever do you mean?"

"I just spoke to a painting near the Great Hall who says you're spreading rumors about Professor Snape and I."

"I am not spreading rumors!" The Fat Lady said in a screechy voice, "I am merely telling the truth. I saw Professor Snape enter your private quarters late last night."

"Yes. He's recently woken up from his coma and wanted to come and thank me. I hardly think that the man was in his right mind at the time considering the circumstances. You have no right to exploit my visitations with colleagues as something more."

The Fat Lady looked put off before sighing dramatically and agreeing to mind her own business, "My apologies, professor."

"Thank you."

Minerva decided to take lunch in her quarters today to gain some kind of peace of mind, she'd suddenly felt a headache coming on. Minerva waved her wand as soon as she'd walked in and began subconsciously preparing a tea without much other thought. She walked over to her writing desk and scribbled a note for the house eleves in the kitchen, making a request for a tray to be sent her way. She attached it to her fluffy barn owl and sent him on her way. She poured herself a cup and sat in her favorite arm chair thinking over the day's events. Things were going as well as they could be in the damaged wings, and though there was a low student body count since they'd begun school again just weeks after the war, it had become a lot quieter in the halls of Hogwarts. But all in all, Minerva could not complain. After what had taken place here just weeks ago, she couldn't blame parents for being hesitant to send their children. After all the strict security codes had been breached and Voldemort himself attacked the castle. What else could she expect? Besides the school year was nearly over anyway. Security was now tighter than it had ever been, even without any more underlying threats, but she figured it would take some time to regrow the student population again. Minerva's owl flit through her window and landed on his perch. He was a handsome old owl and he'd been loyal to her for many many years.

"Thank you, Bernard," she smiled at him wearily. A few moments later there was a knock at her door. When Minerva opened the door it revealed a steaming tray sitting just on the other side of the threshold.

She smiled and picked it up and took it to her room. Minerva found herself again distracted by thoughts of the night before as she picked at her food. Had she been imagining it, or had Severus been…very tender? The thought seemed ridiculous, Severus was about as tender as a cacti, but still she couldn't shake the thought from her mind. Her back tingled as she remembered how he'd gently fastened her button, having caught her not only with her nightgown open but her hair completely down around her back. She'd never allowed anyone to catch her this off guard before, and it had felt as if she was standing before him stark naked. It was an unsettling feeling knowing that someone like Severus Snape had seen her in her frilly bedtime attire. Still she couldn't stop thinking about how gentle his gaze had been the night before and how he'd looked fevered and desperate when she'd opened the door, as if he'd had an urgent message, only to reveal his gratitude.

This all seemed peculiar and Minerva felt she was getting too old for mysteries. She rose quickly from her chair and left her quarters, having never so much as touched her meal. She hastily walked down the familiar stairs and found herself running smack into Pomona Sprout.

"I'm sorry, Pomona!" Minerva apologized immediately, "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Are you alright?"

Professor Sprout nodded her head spritely and offered a small smile, "I'm fine, Minerva. You seem distracted this morning. Everything okay?"

"I'm fine," Minerva said dismissively, "don't worry about me. How are things going with your classes today?"

"Actually that was what I was coming to talk to you about. Things are going fine in my class, Minerva, but Severus Snape kicked out his substitute and has been teaching his classes all morning to the horror of Madam Pomfrey."

Minerva sighed, this was not going to be a battle easily won, "Thank you, Minerva. I'll handle it. Have you seen Poppy around? I better talk to her about his condition before demanding he abandon torturing his students," she said dryly.

Pomona smiled, "Ol' Poppy's been sitting in DADA classes all morning, fretting over Severus. You can imagine how pleased the old grizzly bear is, but Poppy won't be intimidated. You know how she can be…stubborn as an old mule."

Minerva chuckled at the thought, "Thank you, Pomona. I'll go see to this immediately."

Meanwhile, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Severus was growing more and more irritated by Pomfrey's insistence on monitoring him while he taught. She was ruining his reputation as well, making him seem fragile in front of his pupils.

Class had just been dismissed and now was the time to confront the old goat. Severus walked slowly and purposely towards where she sat at the back of the room, looking as tenacious as an old stone gargoyle is determined not to move from it's mount on a cathedral.

"Madam Pompfrey," Severus began with as much patience as he could muster, "I am feeling quite well and I beg of you to please take your leave. Do you not have a whole ward to look after? I'm surely not your only patient after everything that happened at this very school."

"I will not," she said determinedly, her voice sounded a bit like a goose with ruffled feathers as she couldn't keep the mix of emotions from her voice: irritation and a bit of fear, "I have staff looking after some of the others, and many since the war have been transferred to St. Mungo's. You are my top priority right now, to both mine and your dismay. You have only just woken from your coma and you are still very weak. We somehow managed to detract most of Nagini's poison, but there is still enough venom flowing through your veins that you could collapse at any moment and need constant supervision, as I've reminded you several times."

"And I reminded you," Severus began, irritation at top speed, "I am not an insolent child. I am a grown man and I have the right to teach my own class. I've waited a long time for this position and I'm bloody well going to teach it. Not old fool! Now kindly leave me alone."

"I cannot do that," Pomfrey said stubbornly, "my apologies."

Severus was about to truly lose his temper now when his classroom door opened and Professor McGonagall entered the room.

"Is there a problem?" she questioned calmly.

Madam Pomfrey quickly explained the situation leaving the headmistress to the problem.

"If you don't mind Professor, I am going to relieve myself and I will return shortly to continue observing Professor Snape's behavior."

"Merlin's beard," Snape grumbled as he watched the old bat leave the room, "I'm quite all right, I assure you," he then said to Minerva when they were alone in his classroom.

Minerva couldn't help but smile.

"What's so funny, pray tell?" Snape asked sourly.

Minerva laughed at his unpleasant demeanor, "Severus, all Poppy wants you to do is take it easy. Is there no way to compromise? Can you at least take half a day off until you're well again?"

Severus sighed, he hated to admit it to her or even himself, but he was tired. Poppy had been right, he was still weak, "I suppose."

"Thank you, Severus. I will let Madam Pomfrey know the new conditions and perhaps I will be able to talk her into going back to the sick ward as long as you hold your end of the deal," Minerva said wisely.

"I did not see you in the Great Hall at lunch," Severus said suddenly just as Minerva turned to leave.

She turned and faced him once more, "I've had a lot on my mind…I decided to take lunch in my quarters."

"Pity."

Minerva arched an eyebrow in his direction, "And why's that?"

"I was hoping to talk with you."

"So talk now, Professor Snape, by all means."

"As you wish," he said snidely, "I wanted to apologize for my bizarre behavior last night. I wasn't in my right mind, I should not have come to your quarters so late night. Forgive me."

This caught Minerva completely off guard, first a thank you and now an apology? Maybe Severus was more sick than she'd originally realized. Maybe he wasn't ready to be teaching again.

Severus remained solemn, his steady gaze resting on her face brought her back to the present, "Not a problem, professor. Don't think another thought about it."

With that, Minerva turned to leave.

"You look lovely in lavender," he blurted out in a panic.

Minerva McGonagall stopped abruptly, what had he just said to her?

He turned her head slightly, "Thank you," she said before walking out of the classroom in a haste. Severus watched her in dismay. He hadn't known what had possessed him to say that, nor had he known exactly how he'd expected her to respond, he only knew now that he was disappointed by her lack of one.

"Buffoon," he mumbled to himself as he turned to put some books away. When he was finished tiding up, he decided that instead of returning to the sick ward to be fussed over by Madam Pmfrey, that he'd head to his quarters in the dungeons. When would he stop humiliating himself? He found himself thankful that there were only a few more weeks left of the school year thanks to the attack from Voldemort and following cancellation of all N.E.W.T.s and O.W.L. testing. Maybe by the following school year he'd have his senses back. One could only hope.