The theme for this one...Champagne toast

And as always, a large thank you goes out to Yen for editing. ^-^

A Formal Welcome

Minerva called all the faculty together for a meeting in the staffroom to welcome Severus back. They had two days until the rest of the students returned on the train, and three until classes started again. She had claimed lesson plans as the reason to call him back this early, but it was really so that he and Alexander could iron out their difficulties without a lot of students as witnesses. She knew it was going to get messy.

For the last week she had to listen to Micheal Alexander telling anyone who would listen about how he was going to show Severus that he was better than Harry. 'He must have had a chance to find out just how good Severus is. Alexander is worse than Slughorn about collecting people. At least Slughorn was just after the connections. I've tried to tell him that there's no chance for him, but Alexander doesn't believe me.'

She remembered the look on Severus' face when he told her that he had to consult with Harry before he could agree. 'Of course the sheer fact that he consulted with Harry said it all. He allowed his actions to be controlled by Potter. Severus only let two other people control his actions, Albus and Voldemort, and he never consulted with them.'

Filius, Pomona, and the other older professors settled into their chairs and waited. They knew that Severus would be there right on time. Neither early nor late.

"Where is he?" Allyson Carr dropped into her chair her nervous gaze darting around. A look of relief crossed her face when Micheal Alexander sat next to her.

"He is not bringing the boy with him, is he?" The blond looked at the Headmistress. He knew he would have a better chance with the top notch Potions Master if the black haired brat wasn't there. It was nice to know Snape's preference of partners right up front.

Pomona's eyes widened. "You are not going to try to get Professor Snape's attention are you?"

Rolanda patted her arm, "If he does, I want to have a better view today."

Minerva frowned at the Defense professor. "Do not rile Professor Snape up," she said before shifting her frown to the Muggle Studies professor, "and he is known for his punctuality."

Even as she finished speaking, the door opened and the dark form of the Potions Master strode into the room.

Severus entered the room and let his eyes rake over the gathered teachers. He was slightly nervous how the older ones would handle him back as a professor since the last time they had a staff meeting in this room he had been the Headmaster. All he saw was contained humor and welcome in their faces. He was greeted with a small smile on Minerva's face.

"Headmistress." He nodded towards her before turning to nod to the others. As he did, he noticed that his usual seat was empty. He swooped about to it and settled down to see what the meeting held.

Minerva made sure that all the professors knew that Severus was not going to be there on weekends, and the other stipulations that had been put into place. Once they were done, she called for the house elves to bring out the champagne. It was a Muggle drink, but one she thought suited the occasion.

Holding her glass up, she looked at all the other professors before letting her gaze rest on Severus. "Severus Snape, I thank you for coming back to us. I know that you will never suffer a dunderhead to do wrong unpunished, that the points are going to take some interesting moves, but that comes with having our dungeon bat back. Some of us have missed you swooping through the halls and the students doing their best to avoid being in your path. I know that the students will be thrilled when they learn that you do not have hall duty, but know that if you are ever inclined to stroll around the castle, you are free to do as you are used to doing." She caught the old Heads nodding in agreement. "I know that I speak for all of us that know and miss you - the best part of you being back is that our students are going to be taken care of. Potions will once again be the most dreaded class. Not because they are worried about injuries, but because of the professor teaching it. The class shall be as safe as it can be and the storerooms warded properly once again. Thank you."

The professors that knew him raised their glasses and repeated Minerva's thanks.

Severus looked at each one of them, holding their eyes briefly before he spoke. "I thank you for such a heartfelt welcome. I might be inclined to stroll on occasion, and I shall do my best to make sure that my reputation is secure."

Chuckles floated around the table as they finished the toast. After the meeting broke, Severus cornered Minerva to ask her about the type of champagne, it had a smooth flavor that Harry might like to have at the wedding. It was then that Alexander sidled up to him.

"I did some research on you. Ellingson was right, why are you here? Your name would take you anywhere in the world. Is that brat holding you down?" Alexander ignored the glare he received when he cut off Minerva's answer.

Severus locked down on his emotions as he looked into Minerva's eyes seeking permission. See it there as clear as it had ever been in Albus', he shifted his cold stare to the blue eyes that were looking at him. "I have no clue what brat you are talking about?"

Alexander gave a crooked grin. "Ah, so you admit that Potter is not worth knowing now. I knew that you would come to your senses when you had a better offer given to you." He leaned closer, but was careful not to touch Snape.

Severus spoke in a tone that any of the current seventh years would know to duck and cover if they heard it. The other professors knew it as their sign to pay closer attention. Someone was about to learn a lesson and they didn't want to miss it. "You were referring to Harry? He is not a brat." He shifted just enough to keep the man out of his personal space. He was quite aware of the attention they were drawing.

"Really, he is young enough to be your son. You're surely not that interested in him. As you said earlier, you both were wanting to see how it would work." He ignored the snort of laughter that came from their audience.

Minerva looked from Severus to Alexander, wondering if she should tell the blond that for Severus to even bother to introduce someone to them, it meant that they were long past the 'see how it works stage'. She decided that he wouldn't listen just as he hadn't listened all week.

Severus spun about, his robes flaring around him, and glared down at the blond. "As you are obviously denser than a Gryffindor and have problems understanding things told to you in a subtle manner, I shall lay this out to you once and only once. I am only doing this to save Minerva issues throughout the rest of this term. So listen closely." He held the blue eyes with his. "You do not have a chance with me. You can not replace Harry. I will not tolerate your behavior anymore, nor will I accept you doing anything that will annoy, irritate, distress, or harm Harry. Messing with Harry will land you in the Infirmary or worse. So, get this through your thick skull and go away."

"But, what does he have that I don't?" Alexander didn't notice Minerva moving back away from them.

Cold black eyes pinned him to the floor. "Me. Never come near me again unless it is school related. Never come near Harry."

Alexander stepped forward, his hand out stretched. "But..." That was the last that he was able to say before the unknown hex hit him. He was out cold before he hit the wall.

The black wand slipped back into the black robe. Severus looked at Minerva and raised an eyebrow. "That is the second time he was caught off guard, and he was warned this time. How long has he been here?"

"Since you left. He is pretty good at teaching the students, but he is never going to be up to your level, Severus. He just doesn't have the experience." Minerva looked over at the crumpled heap. "I should have you take him to the Infirmary so that you can tell Poppy what you cast..." She trailed off at his glare. "Dilly."

A small house elf appeared next to the Headmistress. "Dilly is here, Headmistress."

Her eyes flicked from Severus to the elf. "Please take Professor Alexander to the Infirmary."

"Yes Headmistress. Dilly will take Professor Alexander." The crumpled body floated out the door with the house elf under it.

Filius looked about the room and decided to break the gathering silence. "So Severus, are you going to start brewing for the Infirmary again?"

Severus smirked. "Perhaps. It depends on the contract that the school is under."

Minerva just shook her head. She needed to read the clauses to see if she was going to have to pay her new Potions Master to brew their potions.