Author's Note: Hello All! I'm so glad to be able to update this story again so soon. It seems that fall break has been good to me. As it stands I have three chapters in the works right now and I should be able to post those shortly. Please enjoy this chapter!

None of the familiar characters belong to me, they are all the work of JK Rowling.


Grading papers was not nearly as bad as Severus had expected it to be. Certainly it was not the most interesting part of his job. It did, however, pass the time and give him something to do. Indeed this part of the job was a nice break from much of the fieldwork he had to do. Unfortunately it was not a terribly long break, merely a temporary diversion.

Today he was grading essays from his fourth year student; he had assigned them each 14 inches of parchment which he did not consider to be terribly unreasonable. Apparently his students did not feel the same about this. Of the 30 essays he had graded so far there were only two that met the requirement in length. He would have to make the requirements clear to the students during the next class period. As this was only the first paper he had assigned he decided that he would still read the papers rather than not giving them credit at all. After this things would be a bit different, papers not meeting the length requirement would be automatic failures.

His predecessor had been rather soft when it came to enforcing rules, this was why his students were so far behind where they should have been at this point. There would be no Slug Club in his classroom, all students would be graded based on the work they presented. His classroom would be different than that. He would do whatever it took to bring his students up to par, even if it meant being completely insufferable at times.

Severus was interrupted suddenly by the appearance of his house elf, Abner, in his office. "Hello Master Snape, Abner has a message for Master from Professor Dumbledore." The little elf squeaked.

"You may deliver the message." Severus replied

"Professor Dumbledore says you is to come to his office now. He says he is wanting to speak with Master Snape." Abner said. "You is to come right away."

"Thank you Abner, please tell the headmaster that I am on my way." Severus said smiling at the little elf.

"It is Abner's pleasure." the little elf said before bowing and disappearing with a pop.

Severus quickly got up from his chair and made sure that the remaining papers on his desk were in neat and orderly piles. If there was one thing he couldn't stand it was clutter. As a potions master he had to be meticulous in his trade, this particular trait carried over to his life outside of work as well. On his way out the door he grabbed his cloak. He needed to gather some potions ingredients from the forest, he could do that after meeting with the Headmaster.

It was not a terribly long walk from his office in the dungeons to the Headmaster's office if you knew the right passageways to use. After being back at the school for a few weeks now Severus had found many of the passages he had used as a student, and some he had not even known about before.

Ducking through a tapestry of a King Arthur and his knights Severus found himself face to face with the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office. "Peppermint Humbug" he said, and the gargoyle leapt aside revealing the staircase which would take Severus up to the Headmaster's office. Upon reaching the door Severus did not even have to knock before promptly being admitted.

"Welcome Severus." Professor Dumbledore said standing up from his desk and coming over to greet him. "How have you been?"

"I've been doing well Headmaster. I trust everything is well with you?" Severus asked.

"About as well as can be expected." Albus replied curtly. "How do you find the students?"

"With all due respect to my predecessor they are dreadfully behind on their studies. They should be leaps and bounds ahead of where they are now. I'm doing all that I can to get them up to the level they should be at. Even if it means that I will be the strictest professor they have. They will pass, and they will succeed." Severus said with conviction.

"I am glad to hear that you are taking this position seriously Severus, you will be a great asset to both our staff and students here. More of our professors should be of the same mind." Albus said.

This was one of the first compliments Severus had heard from the Headmaster since he had arrived here. He hoped the Headmaster would soon realize that he was sincere in his repentance. As it was he still felt that Albus did not place much, if any, trust in him. Still, this was progress.

"You're probably wondering why I called you here Severus, so I shall get straight to the point." Albus said. " I would like for you to meet with Madam Pomfrey today. I believe that she is in need of some potions, and since the two of you will be working concurrently I believe that now is as good a time as any for you to begin that working relationship."

"As you wish Headmaster. Will that be all?"

"Not quite Severus." he replied. "Tonight there will be a meeting of the Order. You will not be attending this meeting as I am not quite ready to introduce you to the Order. However I will be using some of the information you supplied me with from your last meeting death eater meeting."

"Headmaster, if I may. I would prefer you not refer to them as my meetings. At this point this is a group that I am loathe to associate myself with, the thought of truly being one of them sickens me." Severus interjected.

"Indeed Severus? Not so long ago you considered yourself one of them, need I remind you that you betrayed some very valuable information to Voldemort in just these few months past? Information that put the Potters in danger, that put Lily in danger." Albus said

His words reopened wounds that had not yet begun to set properly. "I am well aware of my past sins Headmaster, and I regret them deeply with every fiber of my being. I regret anything that I have ever done to endanger anyone's life. I will do everything in my power to see the Dark Lord fall, and to make amends for my past choices." Severus replied forcefully.

"I'm glad to hear it Severus. Let us hope that you truly mean what you have said." Albus said giving Severus and appraising look.

"I mean every word of it Headmaster."

"We shall see Severus, only time will tell." Albus replied carefully. "Getting back to our previous discussion I would insist that while I am away with the Order tonight that you please keep a record of anything that might happen in my absence. Anything that you find worth reporting that happens here should be written down. If by any chance you happen to be summoned during this time you will go to the meeting and you will immediately report to me on your return."

"Shall I owl you if I am summoned, or send a message with Abner?" Severus asked.

"Please do. Send Abner with a note if this happens." Albus replied.

"If I somehow return before you do Headmaster?"

"Return to your rooms and I shall summon you the next morning." Albus said. "Do you have any more questions?"

"None than I can think of Headmaster." Severus replied.

"Good. I expect this alliance between Poppy and yourself will prove to be invaluable, especially once we really get into the school year. "

"I would hope for nothing less." Severus said.

"I'm glad to hear it. That will be all then. Good evening Professor Snape."

"Good evening." Severus replied with a slight bow of his head before retreating from the room.

The Headmaster's words had cut him deeply this evening. He knew right there and then that he would have to do everything he could to change the Headmaster's opinion of him and convince him that he truly was who he had he was. His resolution became stronger as he walked through the hallways and corridors to the hospital wing.

As he was about to go inside he found himself face to face with none other than Minerva. Since they had started meeting more frequently for games of chess and Exploding Snap, which Minerva was as it turns out, rather dreadful at, they seemed to be seeing one another around the school more often. Severus would be lying if he said he did not enjoy this.

"Is something ailing you?" Minerva asked gesturing to the hospital wing before them.

"No, not at all." Severus replied. "The Headmaster has asked that I meet with Poppy this evening. He wants us to work together on potions and remedies for different illnesses that might affect the students and staff throughout the year."

"I'm glad to hear that the two of you will be working together. This should prove to be an invaluable alliance." Minerva said smiling. "Even better than when Horace was working here. He always seemed a bit more concerned with flirting with Poppy, than actually working on creating potions."

"I can safely assure you that will not be a problem. I am meeting with Poppy to work, and that is all." Severus replied.

"I am glad to hear it, and I am sure Poppy would be too. Although she might miss some of the compliments from Horace." Minerva said.

"I shall be sure to compliment Poppy as I see fit, I assure you. We cannot have her feeling too downtrodden on account of my presence." Severus said with a smirk.

"Just don't overdo the charm."

"As you wish." Severus said with a bow of his head.

"Good. I'll let you get back to your work then. Don't talk Poppy's ear off" Minerva said smiling.

"There is very little chance of that." Severus said looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You're right, if anything it will be Poppy doing all of the talking." Minerva replied.

"Indeed." Severus said in reply.

"I've kept you too long, I'm running late for an appointment myself. I enjoyed this conversation. I'll see you tomorrow evening in my office then?"

"Yes, I believe that was what we had agreed upon."

"Good, I'll have the chessboard set up."

"I look forward to it."

After another goodbye the two parted ways, Minerva going in the direction of the clocktower, and Severus opening the doors to the hospital wing.