Disclaimer # 1 - Not mine! Not at all!

A/N - in my rush to get this chapter up, I forgot to credit excessivelyperky for the "Hunt the Snake" comment, Lucretia & Linze for their various suggestions.

Severus.

After managing not to embarrass himself with his memories of Filius, Severus was quite glad to escape from the milling crowds to compose himself. He was drinking a glass of elderberry wine, deliberating radiating his "Leave me alone" aura, and wondering why he felt more ill at ease than he had at the beginning of this insanity.

It was Filius, he had to admit. Somehow the revelation that Filius Flitwick was Garuda had unsettled him. He liked the elder mage, he could admit that. He had thought of Filius as a mentor, as an even tempered soul willing to give even a Scummy Slytherin the benefit of the doubt. That was an all too rare quality when forced to deal with Dumbledore's noticeable pro-Gryffindor tendencies on a daily basis. But perhaps Severus had put the diminutive mage on too high a pedestal because India's memories had made Severus notice something peculiar. While everyone was oohing and ahhing over his bravery in India, focusing on Filius' truly magnificent wand work as he and Utta had battled against the Nagas, Severus had kept noticing the same emotional response in Filius' memories whenever Filius interacted with a snake.

Filius hated snakes.

Actually, he was terrified of snakes, especially cobras.

Severus had once possessed a familiar named Li, an emerald green Liochlorophis vernalis, and he remembered Filius' reaction to when he had first introduced it to the Charms Instructor. He had admired it, Filius had even crooned when he had pet it. Filius' admiring words seemed to be a trifle bit forced, Severus realized upon looking back, and then Filius had quickly left his quarters after he had met Li, claiming that he had forgotten an appointment. It had been an utterly gorgeous specimen of a Smooth Green Snake, and remarkably intelligent. Severus had quite enjoyed her company, often keeping her on his person. Plus, the sight of the Slytherin House Head with his very own emerald snake curled around his neck had made a few of the first years dribble piss down their legs.

Of such little joys was his miserable life made worth enduring.

Filius had often commented on how well trained Li was, but one day, he had asked Severus to stop bringing Li to his quarters.

"Rowena is an eagle, Severus. I'd hate for her prey instinct to take over."

It had been a simple and seemingly rather concerned request, but Filius had seemed… more relaxed the next time Severus sans snake had appeared in his quarters.

Oh yes, Filius had always asked after Li, but he had been quite chuffed never to see her again.

He was thinking deep thoughts when someone asked to speak with him. To his surprise, it was Mohammed Masood, the one-eyed, gray haired Fire Mage from India.

"Would you allow me to look at your wand, Severus?" The Indian asked politely.

Severus thought about the request, and he was uncertain about relinquishing his wand. His wand had, after all, at one time, belonged to Mohammed's father. While he doubted that Masood would declare it a family heirloom and demand it back, Severus was still rather chary about turning his wand over to another mage.

"Do not fear, Severus. I have my own wand. It is made of banyan wood with an inner core of two phoenix feathers. The feathers are from my parent's animagus forms, so I have no desire to acquire another wand. Besides, I do most of my magic wandless."

Severus still said not a word, and then Mohammed looked at his empty left sleeve. He plucked at his unfilled sleeve with his right hand.

"I was originally trained as a left handed mage. After my disastrous battle with Nisha, my badly damaged left arm required amputation. Filius-ji was unsuccessful in his noble attempts to retrain me in using my right hand. I can do the basics with it, but anything requiring finesse? I prefer not to bother with a wand. In fact, many mages in India run out of the room looking for safety when I use a wand. They claim I use my wand like a club; a great deal of raw power with very little control. They fear that I'd accidentally knock Kangchenjunga down. Please, if I actually wanted to bring down Kangchenjunga, it wouldn't be an accident."

The Indian barked a dry laugh at the thought of accidentally knocking down a Himalayan mountain, and he smiled.

"Very well," Severus decided. It would be bad form to refuse, after all. Plus he doubted that Masood was the type to duel with an unarmed mage, as he seemed to be a rather ethical sort of mage. Also, if Masood decided to set him on fire, people would notice, and most likely Minerva would intervene, thinking Severus was attempting to skive off his part in the party.

He carefully presented his wand to Masood, and the mage examined it closely. Mohammed weighed it, and then he closely examined it.

"It is my father's wand," Mohammed cheerfully exclaimed. "I am glad that it has found a new owner. It's a rather odd wand, so I am curious on how you became its Master. Has Filius told you its story?"

"Not really," Severus lied, quickly deciding that telling Masood the simple truth that Filius hadn't told him a damn thing about the wand would probably not be believed. "Why don't you tell me?"

Mohammed gracefully handed the wand back to Severus, and Severus quickly placed it back where he had it hidden. Once again, it wasn't a matter of not trusting the mage, but Severus always felt better when his wand was close by.

"Uttamjodh Singh was remarkable, even for the Sikh mages. As you saw, he was a two wand duelist. There are few that can master that skill, rarer still that can match the level of Utta. Among Utta's many personality quirks was that he was rather footloose. He wandered for a bit, traveling to the various continents, intent on learning as much as he could. In that regard, he was much like Filius-ji," Mohammed explained.

Masood paused, apparently amused by something as he again laughed, and then began to speak again.

"One day, he and Abhinandananatha Jain decided to visit London. Now, Trilochan had already had his vision about a Western Mage, and so he decided it was necessary for him to understand the culture that would produce our Garuda. That extremely dangerous duo ended in your Diagon Alley one day, completely unsupervised, standing in front of your Ollivanders. Utta had a disturbing tendency of shattering wands, so he had learned not to become attached to any one wand. He had heard much of your OIlivander and his skill with wands, and Utta thought he would like to purchase a wand from him."

Severus, through sheer force of will, refrained from interrupting and asking what Mohammed's point was.

"Ollivander presented him with that wand. He thought it would be a good match for our Sant Sipahi. To everyone's surprise, the wand would not work. Trilochan thought it was because Utta had put too much snap in his wrist gesture, and picked up the wand to demonstrate. The two of them argued, much like a married couple, and Utta promised to buy the wand for Trilochan if he could get it to respond to him. To everyone's surprise, the wand suitable for a warrior mage responded for a peaceful Jain."

Mohammed laughed.

"When the odd couple returned to India, they enthralled everyone with the story. Naturally, everyone wanted a demonstration of the wand that would not work for Utta. To Trilochan's utter surprise, it didn't work. Every Instructor in the school attempted to use the wand, and it failed to respond to any of them. Trilochan decided that the wand had simply wanted a trip to India, and he put the wand into storage, figuring that sooner or later, someone would be able to use it. A few years later, much to the surprise of the Instructing Staff, my father Burned, and in the process, burned down several of the greenhouses. He was in need of a wand, and so Trilochan thought to test him. It responded well to him, and in turn, it was passed on to Filius. He used it until he returned to Hogwarts, when the wand, once again, decided it no longer wished to respond. Now, may I ask how you got the wand?"

"My wand broke when I was a student. My family, being quite poor, would have been unable to replace the wand. Filius kindly offered me the use of any of his spare wands. The wand responded to me, and Filius gave it to me," Severus tersely explained.

The Slytherin wasn't about to tell the rather self-possessed mage that Severus had been bullied during his formative years.

"Use it well, Severus, but be forewarned, that wand has a mind of its own," Masood dryly commented. One of the Nepal mages gestured to Masood, and the Indian mage nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Time to speak to Taapasee. She's been trying to convince me to take a sabbatical with their school. All these magic schools drooling over my Elemental Mages makes me nervous. Besides that I'll be quite glad when we return back to Seclusion. I keep looking to the sky, as I fear that Jaya's brewing a wind storm. Your Ministry's disrespect of Filius has angered many of us, and some of my fellow Cadre members' self control is in danger of slipping."

"Seclusion?" Severus questioned. "And it's not My Ministry. They do whatever the bloody hell they want to do."

"The Cadre has a great deal of negative Karma to ... resolve..." Masood tilted his head, and then sighed. "Not sure if that's the right word. Indira thought it best if the school remained Secluded for a proper period of grieving. We would not have broken it, and rather spectacularly to boot except Indira insisted. For Filius-ji, Indira insisted that India should come out of Seclusion in such a dramatic fashion in order to rattle your Ministry's cage. Indira would have attended also, except she's gotten... fragile... and she claims that my magic's too Rough for her to safely use as a portal. I am of the firmly held opinion that it was quite fortunate that Indira stayed in India. I can easily imagine her challenging that woman in pink to a duel for insulting Filius-ji. Indira would have massacred her, in spite of being nearly a century her senior."

Masood laughed again, and Severus decided to reclassify him from serene, ethical practitioner of magic to a blood thirsty mage who'd bring down a mountain for laughs.

"At your service, Severus, Taapasee is about to strong arm Jaya into taking a position at her school. I need to nip that in the bud as I can't lose my Dueling Instructor."

The Indian mage wandered off, and Severus attempted to collect his thoughts.

He had managed to collect his thoughts when they decided to scatter like leaves in a windstorm.

Minerva was dancing... DANCING... with that entirely too jovial tiger Animagus from India. The Red Headed Bastard had his arm snuggly around Minerva' waist, and they were dancing cheek to cheek. Merlin's bloody knickers twisted and knotted in a bunch, if it was the Yule Ball, and he saw two students dancing like that he'd pour a lake's worth of Ice cold water on them, after taking two hundred points from each student's house. Obviously that damnable mage was charming Minerva's panties off with a witty quip and a merry twinkle in his eyes.

Severus scowled. He had thought better of Minerva!

Didn't any woman care about substance? No, Minerva was like every woman he had known, they all apparently went for the bright, flashy, shallow types.

St. John was just another Gilderoy Lockhart with Weasley colored hair. He was a fop. For Merlin's sake, Nigel matched his robes to his location. Winter white for the Himalayas and dark green for the Quidditch Pitch.

Severus' conscience nagged him.

Unlike Gilderoy, St. John doesn't run at the first sign of trouble. He's got a Bloody Order of Merlin, FIRST CLASS. How many of those do you have, Sev, my boy? St. John got it when he was sixteen years old for the Kali Massacre, plus that rather noticeable scar in his hairline. He's Senior Deputy Head Master of a very large magic school, not just a Brewer of Potions, and I doubt that Kritika would tolerate a fool in that position. He's funny and amusing, not a bad dancer, did you see that he's an Animagus?

No, I completely failed to notice the TIGER. Was that bloodthirsty beast really our dear, sweet Nigel?

No wonder Minerva is purring. Plus, he's a Gate Master, which means he's got a lot of power.

SHUT UP!

Oh look, Yuri's asking for the next dance. Too bad you didn't ask her to save a spot for you on her card. It's quite full by now probably. She'll have to dance with Albus, naturally, and this party for Filius is turning into a real Meat Market. You don't think that Albus and Minerva will rekindle their little fling, do you? Both of them have been drinking, and their inhibitions are lowered. He's a Head Master, Head Thingamabob of this and that, more than a suitable match for her. They seem really quite chummy today.

SHUT UP!

Wow! Who would have thought that Minerva could kick her heels up THAT high?

NOT LISTENING!

Did you just see a flash of silk stockings just now? And it wasn't tartan colored, was it?

NOT LOOKING!

They were black, Severus! Black, silk stockings! Can you imagine what it would be like to slowly, seductively remove each stocking?

I AM NOT THINKING LIKE THAT! MY THOUGHTS ABOUT HER ARE PURE! IF SHE AND ALBUS DECIDED TO SHAG IN THE MIDDLE OF THE QUIDDITCH PITCH, IT WOULD NOT BOTHER ME AT ALL!

Keep repeating that, you might actually start to believe it! Plus, you're protesting a bit loudly, my boy!

SHUT UP!

Minerva was in fine form, dancing with many a captivating mage. Bright, flashy, cheerful and accomplished mages, all of which dropped the subtle hint that they'd be more than willing to have some personal wand time with her later. Normally, she would have jumped at any of the chances to undo her hair and enjoy some adult time. She did get tired of the never ending adolescent angst that being a teacher at a boarding school entailed.

She craved Adult conversation. Needed Adult flirtation, oh, bloody hell... she lusted for Adult shagging.

Yuri was a charming rogue, plus a very good friend of Filius. That was very important in Minerva's mind, as Filius was a good judge of character. The Russian was also surprisingly light on his feet, which promised that bedding him could be... wonderful. Plus he had a nice, deep voice which combined with his exotic accent got her tingly all over. He gave her the subtle signs that implied he was quite interested, and for some unknown reason, she blushed and shook her head. Yuri was quite disappointed, but gave her a suitably chaste kiss on her cheek when they were done dancing.

None of the flashy boys were making her toes curl, she noticed with alarm. No, they made her laugh, caused her to blush, and even caused her to think a few illicit thoughts, especially Mohammed Massod's rather blistering tango, but for some reason Minerva simply was not interested.

Albus caught her eye, smirked, and approvingly nodded. She walked over to him, grabbed a glass of wine for both of them, and duly presented it to him. Albus thanked her, and they then clinked their glasses together.

"I must say with no false modesty, that this party was perhaps one of the most brilliant ideas in a lifetime full of brilliant ideas," Albus insisted, his voice full of pride.

"You're getting old, Albus. I would have thought your 'I told you so' would have taken place much earlier in the party," Minerva sniped.

Albus playfully winced, and dryly commented on Minerva savagely wounding him with her rapier wit.

"But seriously, I've been busy reforging old alliances while merrily stepping on a toad," the Hogwarts Head Master slyly insisted. He winked at Minerva, and she merrily laughed.

"With Tanaka?" Minerva sweetly questioned. "You might have problems separating him from his demiguise. The poor thing is still traumatized."

"Perhaps," he sadly admitted, before his grin turned wicked. "Fortunately for Yukiro's sake, Phoenixes and Demiguises get along quite splendidly. Now what about you, Ms. McGonagall? Is there anyone here who has tickled your fancy?"

Minerva playfully sighed, and she shook her head.

"Mohammed Masood? That was a rather explicit tango. I thought you two were about to consummate your passion right then and there," Albus' voice was prim, which was ruined by his twinkling eyes and his lecherous smirk. "His tango technique didn't seem too badly affected by his missing limb."

"Is he missing a limb? I didn't notice," Minerva retorted. "I was too busy tangoing."

"Come on, Minerva, you'll feel better when you admit you're human. Which mage has attracted your interest?"

"Not a one, they're all lovely, but they're like butterflies," admitted Minerva. "Bright, showy, flighty, but… they're not interesting me."

She wouldn't admit that she was becoming more and more fixated on a rather grim, sarcastic git. If Nigel Rhys St. John was the Life of the Party, Severus was most assuredly the Grim Reaper.

They watched the various pairings taking place on and off the dance floor, making highly apt, extremely caustic comments as the various odd couplings demanded, and then Albus softly sighed.

"Be careful with him, Minerva," he quietly requested.

"Who?" Minerva snapped.

Albus was continuing to watch the crowds, apparently enjoying the festivities, but instead, he had decided to involve himself in Minerva's love life.

"He lacks your experience in such pleasant matters as romance, so he may view tonight differently then you do," Albus seriously explained. His blue eyes peered at her over his half moon spectacles, and his eyes were distinctively worried. "He cares a great deal for you, Minerva. The boy's been hurt enough by those he loves, please don't unknowingly add to his pain."

"Albus…" she protested, even as Filius' comment echoed in her head.

"You could be so good for that boy, Min," Filius softly stated. "And he could be good for you, I believe."

"I can see myself teaching him some manners," Minerva said in a snippy tone. "But what could I get out of it? I don't need a new notch on my bedpost."

"A man's sincerest belief that his personal sun rises and sets upon you," he retorted.

"I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, when I first saw this development between you two. You probably are quite aware that he's always possessed a powerful crush on you," the maddening Albus explained. "You seemed to have calmed him."

"Calmed him?" Minerva burst out cackling, and she blushed when everyone in the immediate area stared at her.

"Do you honestly believe that he'd have worked so hard on this party if you weren't mixed up in it? Say if Pomona was involved?" The Head Master intently questioned.

"He would have worked just as hard," Minerva protested. "This party was for Filius."

"And a wonderful opportunity to prove to someone that the student she once known has grown into a man," Albus retorted.

"And that the Head Master has both of us under his thumb," was her immediate retort.

"That also," he easily admitted. "Ah, Yukiro is rounding up his mages. Seems that even this delightful afternoon must come to a close. It's time to say our goodbyes to our friends, Minerva."

Severus watched the last of the foreign mages leave Hogwarts. There were a few stragglers who had promised to find their own way home, and Rolanda Hooch, of all people, had apparently decided to lead a merry mad cap tour of London for the various interested foreign mages. She had one arm wrapped around Nigel St. John and she was grinning wildly. He wasn't sure if he pitied St. John or admired him as a crazed Don Quixote. Bedding RolandaHooch? And Septima Vector had apparently tagged and claimed the Crazed Bear Mage of Russia as her personal Teddy Bear. It was always the Arithmancy Instructors that turned out to have an addiction for living their lives on the very edge.

YURI?

Was the mage even current on all his shots?

But most importantly, the party was over, with no loss of limbs reported. Thank Merlin.

Filius had his tearful goodbyes with everyone, and now he and Kritika were no doubt merrily skipping toward his quarters where the lusty Indian witch was determined to shag Filius senseless.

Hopefully, she wouldn't kill Filius, as Severus would be quite vexed as he'd be required to help Instruct Charms until they replaced Filius. Plus no doubt Filius' death by sex would be blamed on him, much like anything else that went wrong at Hogwarts was blamed on the Slytherin House.

Six days of rain?

Slytherin involvement.

Potter falls off his broom during a Quidditch Match because a bunch of Dementors appeared?

Slytherin involvement, just because Cornelius Fudge had once Dated a Slytherin.

Quirrell?

The Hufflepuff had been led astray by a Slytherin temptress.

He could gratefully ease back his quiet, contemplative life. There was a pile of Potions magazines that he hadn't been able to enjoy. Who knew what fascinating potions had been discovered during the time he had spent focused on being the Party Planner of Hogwarts? Perhaps Rothschild had successfully refuted that incredible hypothesis that Samson had presented in the previous month's issue of Potions Monthly. The very thought process behind Samson's idea was chock full of crater sized holes, and he eagerly awaited the bloodletting and poisons pens that would occur during the next few issues.

Plus, he had papers to grade. Severus hadn't been quite as savage as he normally had been in the grading process, as he needed to focus on invitations, and important issues that only a Potions Master could handle, e.g. how much stout the party would need.

But no more party planning meant less time with Minerva. They still had their goal to make Dolores Umbridge's life an utter hell, but the Pink Toad seemed rather subdued at the moment. No doubt, she'd lick her wounds and come back with a vengeance. Perhaps, he could suggest a meeting with his fellow anarchist for the following week. He must not appear over anxious to spend time with Minerva.

Yes, perhaps he would take the rest of the day off. Not worry about the magazines that were unread, refuse to see the papers that were unmarked, and instead, he'd take a well earned breather from his life. Perhaps, he would have a nice glass of wine and enjoy a few hours where he had no pressing obligations.

He growled.

Who was he fooling? Severus knew that he'd go to ground in his Dungeon Quarters in order to obsessively review his relationship with Filius. He dare not reclassify it as a friendship until he examined it further. Severus needed to determine why a man, who hated snakes as much as Filius apparently did, actually talked with the Slytherin House Head. While those dark thoughts were percolating in his head, he'd be taunted by memories of Minerva tangoing with that damnable Masood and the knowledge that every damn mage at Hogwarts was getting shagged tonight except for him.

Even a humiliated Dolores would probably look for physical comfort from Filch.

The very thought of Dolores Umbridge in hot pink satin cooing at Argus Filch managed to kill his libido. Thank Merlin, else he'd be tempted to escape from Hogwarts and visit the girls at Sally's Sexcapades.

As he was leaving the Quidditch Pitch, tired but truthfully quite proud of how well the event had turned out, he was surprised when he heard Minerva call his name.

"Where are you heading? You're not taking Rolanda's tour of London?" Minerva gently quipped.

He growled his disgust at that thought. "I've seen London enough. It holds no special allure for me."

"Well, if you're not doing anything, I managed to grab a bottle of whiskey. It's the good stuff," Minerva softly confided before she showed him the label. "Why don't you come to my quarters, and we can toast our successful party?"

Severus paused, debating about the propriety of drinking in Minerva's quarters when the witch glared at him.

"Are you scared of drinking with me? Don't tell me you're an ickle, ickle Hufflepuff at heart?"

"Very well, I'll accept your generous offer of a drink," Severus decided.

Minerva flashed him a wide smile, and she laughed.

"Good, as I'd hate to drink this entire bottle by myself. People might start talking about my drinking problem." Her tone was light.

"So you've decided that by having a Potions Master help you quaff the brew that your reputation will be maintained?" Severus hesitantly teased the witch, and Minerva laughed.

"Yes, we'll be discussing the quality of the liquor. You know the clarity of the liquid, the taste of the drink. Is it the proper temperature? Should I grab some crisps so we don't end up utterly pissed?"

The boy was brooding about something. She could sense his emotions in the tracer bond, and Minerva hadn't missed the fact that Filius had attempted to talk to Severus several times before the party ended. The Potions Master had easily avoided Filius and Severus' musings had gotten steadily darker.

Since Severus Snape was her responsibility, Minerva McGonagall decided that it would be best if she took the boy to her bed, tucked him into bed and played hide the snake until the boy was exhausted. Albus' warning echoed in her head, but she had already accepted the fact that this would be no mindless coupling. If she took the Slytherin to her bed, Minerva knew that there would be no turning back.

But she needed to be careful in the seduction of Severus. Minerva knew that it would be far too easy to take the boy by the hand and lead him to her bed. Doing so would put her firmly in the role of teacher, and him the student. For Severus' pride, he needed to make the first move. So she began carefully flirting with him, noticing that his eyes lingered on her stocking clad leg and how he didn't move her hands away when she touched his.

Half a bottle of whiskey later, she and Severus were sitting very closely on her couch, laughing about some stupid thing that had happened at the party. The boy had turned to face her, and he was staring at her. His dark eyes were full of adoration, and he carefully put his fingers on her cheek. The gesture was tentative, and she was surprised when she realized that his shyness was easily the sexiest seduction she had ever experienced.

Oh Merlin, the boy's fingers were shaking.

"Minerva," he whispered. His voice was husky with longing.

"Yes," she whispered.

Severus then leaned close to her, and brushed his lips against hers.