A/N: It's been so long since I wrote this I can't even remember where it's going, but it looks like fun.
As ever, not mine and broke. Looking for a tall dark man who can charm away the grass in my front yard.

Chapter 3 – Butterbeer

Snape and Lia walked back to her rooms in relative silence after dinner. When they reached the portrait, she saw that the angel in the exact same position it was in when they left.

"I'll be back to get you in thirty minutes, if you would like to change into more casual robes," Severus said.

"That sounds like a great idea," she replied. He gave her a stiff bow, then turned away with a sweep of black.

Lia headed straight to her bedroom and considered what to wear. During her stay with the Potter's, Ginny had explained that casual wear for magic folk could range from looking like a Muggle in robes, to still being slightly formal in slacks and dresses or skirts, or to dressing like a Victorian undertaker like her Head of House did. She giggled.

Ginny and Harry seemed to favor Muggle casual wear, so she had dressed in that fashion during her brief stay with them. She sat back down on her bed for a minute, fingering the locket at her neck. Mechanically, she opened it and looked at the pictures inside, then closed it again.

Lia thought about wearing jeans and a sweater, but considering that it might offend the formal appearing Professor, she decided to stay in the middle ground. She settled on a green summer dress, bought in Diagon Alley, and paired it with tawny brown robes and similarly brown knee boots. She brushed out her waist length strawberry blonde hair, watching the waves and curls bounce back to life after being pinned in submission under her veil.

She glanced at her watch. Professor Snape would be back for her in about fiteen minutes. She decided to call up Harry and Ginny on a quick "Floo Call", as Harry had insisted on having her fireplace connected with theirs. She grabbed a handful of powder on the fire, watched it turn green, and called out, "Number Twelve Grimmauld Place", and stuck her head in. After a dizzying flurry of spins, she faintly saw the Potter kitchen and smiled.

"Harry, Ginny, are you home?" she called out.

She heard footsteps walking to her, then Harry's feet and legs came into view. The room became clearer as he bent down to the fire.

"Well hello, Lia. Ginny is out with the kiddo, so you are stuck talking to me," he said, grinning.

"I don't have too long to talk I'm afraid – I just wanted to let you know that I got sorted today."

"Hufflepuff?" he asked, but the expression on his face let he know he didn't believe that to be true.

"Slytherin," she said with a smile.

Harry cocked his head to the side and looked at her very thoughtfully. "Are you okay with that?" he finally asked, after looking at her so long she was almost uncomfortable.

"I think so," she said. "I just want to find out who I am, and if this is part of it, then it should be."

Harry sighed. "We'll find out who your mother really was, Lia. Your mother covered her tracks very well, but nothing is impossible to solve." He didn't meet he eyes when he said this, but Lia was too distracted to notice.

"Thank you, Harry," she said. Lia sighed, as she wished she could be there with the Potters and their sweet little boy for a little while longer.

"Promise me one thing though Lia," he said.

"Depends on the promise," she laughed.

"Gods, you may really be a Slytherin then," he said laughing back her. "Snape is now your Head of House and primary mentor with Madam Pomphrey then, correct?" She nodded. "You'll let me know if he gives you any crap won't you? He can be a bit of a wanker."

"Harry," she admonished, until she realized he was right. She frowned.

"Already felt his effects then?" he asked her, a little too smugly for her taste.

"Well, he's making up for it by treating me to a drink in Hogsmeade tonight."

Harry started a little. "That's … huh." He genuinely looked puzzled at this.

"It's because he won a pool with the professors about what house I would sort to."

"That bastard," Harry laughed.

"Speaking of which, he should be here soon."

"Don't be a stranger, Lia," he said, backing away from the fire. "We're just a Floo Call away."

She grinned and pulled her head back. With a jilting whirl, she was suddenly fully back in her rooms at Hogwarts. She walked back to the mirror and made sure she hadn't gotten any ash on her robes or face.

"Mrs. Stanfield, the Headmaster is here for you," called the angel from the other room.

"Who?" she asked as she walked back into her sitting room.

"Professor Snape, ma'am, I meant Professor Snape," it said, now visibly quaking as it rushed back to the larger portrait. It swung open wide, and she climbed out, and just caught herself before she tripped.

"You sure do looked different without your black robes on," Lia said as she took in his appearance. She made a face as she heard the twang in her voice get worse – an indication she was nervous as she well knew. Snape had changed out of his long, swirling black robes and severely buttoned suit into a snowy white shirt with green caveat, dark grey trousers, and soft grey flannel robes. It made him look younger – skin less pale, the longish salt and pepper hair less of a contrast. It suited him. He almost looked handsome, she thought to herself and blushed at the thought.

He frowned at her. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," she said, as the portrait swung shut behind her.

"Goodnight ma'am!" it yelled behind her as they walked away.

"Why did the angel call you 'Headmaster'?" she asked Snape.

"Because it's an idiot," he ground out between clinched teeth, staring ahead the whole time.

Lia didn't say anything else. She decided to let speak him to her when he was ready to say something. And if that was never, all the better luck for her.

They made their way out of the castle and were about halfway to the main gate before he spoke again. He stopped, and asked her to stop walking as well.

"What is it?" she asked.

Snape looked at her for a long minute. "You will find out more about this from Hermione, but I was once the Headmaster of this school, for a year during the second war. I was also a Death Eater. I was a double agent and a spy for the Order, but a Death Eater first, and a Death Eater foremost." he caught her eye as she tried to look away.

"Look at me Mrs. Stanfield."

She complied with difficulty. His dark eyes looked at her with open curiosity.

"I thought Mr. Potter would have told you some things before you came to the school."

"He did not," she said, trying very hard to keep her eyes on his. "He told me his opinion on some things would be a little biased, and that Hermione would be the best source of information about the wars. And we left it at that. But I do know what a Death Eater is. Like I told you, I have been reading," She knew it sounded lame, being so clueless to this world she had entered to, but it was unfortunately true.

"It was the worst time during the war, and I did things that any man would greatly regret – all for the 'greater good'." This time he looked away, looking back at the school. "The ghosts and especially the portraits sometime forget that Minerva is the rightful Headmistress of the school, so it is something you will hear from time to time. Although, as I am the Deputy Headmaster now, I guess I am still due some of the respect they give me."

"Thank you for telling me yourself," she said, unsure of what she really needed to say. "It's hard to come here and be such an outsider."

He nodded. "It is a common problem with the Lost Ones who decide to come into the Magical fold. With the Muggle born children, or the children of the Lost Ones who are educated here, it's just learning our history slightly behind the others. With the adults, you all are like …" he paused while trying to find a word.

"Aliens," she finished for him, grinning a little.

"Aliens," he agreed. "Come, before it gets any later." He motioned for her to follow him, and they continued their way to the main gate.

"Harry has been trying to find out who my parents really were," she said. "Who knows, maybe you knew them," she added brightly.

"How old are you?" he asked quietly.

"Thirty two."

"It's possible, perhaps," he said. "Your parents were probably several years ahead of me, if they went to Hogwarts, that is."

"If my mother told me her correct age, she would have been fifty this year. I actually don't know how old my father was. He died when I was little," Lia said quietly.

"It's very possible, then," he said. "I'm forty eight. Do you have any pictures of them?"

She nodded her head. "I do have one of my mother, but it tiny. Everything is in America at my home, except for a picture Harry has to help his investigation. He doesn't think it will help though – he suspects she altered her appearance and possibly mine."

They stopped at the gate, waiting for it to open for them.

"We'll apparate to the village, if you prefer," he said. "Did you do any Side-alongs with Mr. or Mrs. Potter when you stayed with them?'

Lia shook her head. "We traveled everywhere by Floo. They said they were afraid they would scare me home – apparently neither of them consider themselves good at it."

He smirked. "Well, I happen to be rather good at it, but I'll warn you that most people get sick their first couple of times."

She grimaced. Snape offered her his arm.

"Brace yourself. On the count of 3. 1 … 2 … 3!"

She was caught up in the sensation of falling and spinning, and feeling both trapped by tremendous pressure, yet free in the constant freefall. Her stomach flipped-flopped, stopped, and then started again, her heart beating very fast as strong arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

Then it was over. Lia was standing in Snape's arms, trying to catch her breath and willing her heart to slow down. He tightened his arms further, and she struggled not to moan a little as the smell of sandalwood surrounded her. Very confused by her reaction to him, she took a step back, tripped over her own feet, and fell hard onto the ground. She put her head to her knees, trying to hide her face from him.

"Do you always fall this much, or is it just for my benefit?" he asked, just as harshly as she expected. He held out a hand for her.

"Usually much more than this," Lia said, the words muffled by her skirts.

At least it's not muddy, she thought to herself as she looked up at the dark man. She took his hand and pulled herself back to standing.

"Do you need to take my arm?" Snape asked, noticing a slight wobble in her step as they arrived into the village.

Lia nodded, and taking his arm they walked to The Three Broomsticks. When they entered the cozy tavern, they were greeted with warm smiles for her and a few sideways glares for him. Snape directed her to a booth near the fireplace.

"What would you like to drink?" he asked.

"Ummmm . . . you'll probably laugh but I'm a little fond of Butterbeer."

She thought she heard him mutter the word, "Lightweight," as he walked to the bar.

Lia looked around, trying to see if any face looked familiar to her, but of course, the tavern was full of strangers, save for the person she came with. She opened her locket, but quickly snapped it shut when she realized that he had returned to the table.

"A Butterbeer for you," he said, giving her the corked bottle in his hand.

He sat down, and drank from the glass of dark amber liquid he brought back for himself.

"Thank you, Professor," she said, and grinned as she uncorked the bottle and took a drink.

"You may call me Severus, if you like," he said.

"I guess would like that," she said. She hoped that this could signal the end to their mutual animosity. "And if you like, I think you may call me Lia, considering that you've now seen me fall twice and made a tidy sum because of me."

His lips twitched. "We should be more formal in front of the others, or else people will think we're in love."

Lia laughed, giggles pealing before she covered her mouth. She swatted his hand with hers.

"You are a very bad man," she said, still giggling.

"Trust me, Lia, you have no idea," he said darkly.

"From your behavior today, I think I might," she teased as she took another pull from the bottle. She looked at the fire, which had turned bright emerald green as some travelers Floo'd into the pub. When she looked back, she realized that Severus had been staring at her.

"What? Has my face turned as green as the fire?"

"You probably wish it could, it would tone done those ridiculous looking red cheeks of yours."

She stared at him as the well-honed filter in her brain turned completely off.

"I think that may be the rudest thing anyone has said to me in a long time, Professor Snape. Thank you for being a total shit," she huffed, and stood up. "I can't believe I agreed to come here with you." She started to walk to the front door of the tavern.

"Lia, stop," he called after her.

She stilled against her better judgement. She turned back to him, leaned on the table, and, as she was raised too properly to make a scene that would have to be explained later, she said very quietly, "Why should I not walk out, go right back to the castle and just forget this whole thing? You are supposed to be my mentor, and you can't go 10 minutes without being nasty to me. You insulted me the first second you saw me. Don't think for a minute it wasn't very vivid in my mind when someone called me an idiot when I fell in the door. Believe me, your voice is too distinctive for it to have been anyone else."

She took a breath, and stared hard into his eyes while clearing her own head of anything but the emotion of plain pissed off that was high in her thoughts.

"Honestly, I don't have to put up with it. I can move to London and live with Harry and Ginny until I find an apartment. I can easily work at a Muggle hospital while doing classes by correspondence. Hell, I could have stayed in America and gone to Salem, but Harry was determined that I needed to be at Hogwarts and really talked up having an education here." She felt her cheeks turn scarlet as her temper flared brighter than the sun.

"I know you are a Potions Master, which apparently is the highest education you can get as a wizard. Did you know that I've got a Master's in Nursing and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice? In the Muggle world I was Dr. Amelia Stanfield, and I was the youngest administrator in the history of a huge pediatric hospital. Do you think I really like the prospect of being a student again?"

She was breathing heavily now, trying so very hard to control her emotions while letting him know she not was a runty teenager who could be bullied.

"I know from Harry that wizards generally don't like the Lost Ones because we are so completely out of step. If I realized it was this bad I would have just stayed in America and played with Harry's spare wand in my free time. Right now, it doesn't seem like such a bad idea." She really was near tears now. One bad word from him, and she was going to start crying outright.

And she decided that if he makes her cry, she was going to make him pay for it. To hell with propriety.

Severus watched the angry little witch as she delivered her tirade, and if she weren't so upset, he knew he would have started grinning.

As pretty as she was normally, anger made her positively stunning. Her eyes sparkled with green fire amidst the blue depth, her cheeks were ridiculously high in color, her lips red and trembling. He looked at the rise and fall of her ample chest underneath her travelling robes while she spoke, then back up to her face. When he saw the tears sparkling in her eyes as she said her final sentences, he knew he really had gone too far and cursed himself.

"Sit down, Mrs. Stanfield," he said as kindly as possible, which unfortunately, was not very kind at all.

She sharply inhaled a breath, and spoke one word through her gritted teeth. "Why?"

"Because you really do need a real drink – something stronger than Butterbeer." He passed her his glass of Firewhisky. Lia raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't have a communicable disease, if that's what you are thinking. Take the damn drink." As he watched, she tilted her head back and downed the whole glass in one swallow, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand when she was done.

"Not as proper as you look, are you?" he challenged smugly as he hid a smirk. "Now, will you sit down?"

She lifted her head haughtily, and tilted it to the right side. "I've had a 'real drink' now. I still need a reason."

He fought hard not to roll his eyes, and counted to ten in his head very slowly.

She raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest.

"Because, regardless of my … unfortunate … inability … not to be a snarky arse, I would actually like to get to know you better. I find you extremely intriguing." He decided to be as honest as he could be with her, without completing scaring her away. "And, I happen to enjoy the company of intriguing women," Severus finished.

Lia looked at him through narrowed eyes. He watched her chew on her very full lower lip and fought the urge to pull it out of its prison between her teeth. She relaxed her stance, and sat down next to him in the little booth. It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. She was close enough that he could smell her soft perfume. Lavender, mixed with something soft and sweet that he couldn't immediately place.

"Explain intriguing, and be quick about it. I haven't decided if I'm really staying yet," she said, motioning to the bartender that they wanted another round.

"Does this mean I have to call you Doctor Stanfield in front of the students?" he asked with a smirk, as he decided just how to explain intriguing.

"I guess so, Professor Snape," she replied, smirking back.