Prologue:

Misunderstanding

With a twitch of her head, Brie Waters glanced over toward Severus Snape. He was one of the most deliberate and careful men she knew. That was part of his appeal to her. She knew he would tell you exactly what was on his mind, no pampering, no sugar coating, even if what he was saying was unpleasant. She could depend on him for that and appreciated it's value, as long as he kept at least a little bit of a hold on his snarky tongue. She knew all too well the rarity of people who would talk straight all the time.

It was because of that fact that she asked him to repeat whatever it was that he had just muttered, as she hadn't caught it. The birds out on the school grounds were loud and practically drowning out his voice, which was usually fairly low and even in the first place. For some reason, whatever he'd just said, he'd pitched his tone even softer and lower, almost like he didn't actually want her to hear it.

He was unnerved by what he had just revealed and couldn't meet her eyes. He didn't just go blurting out his private thoughts like that. What was wrong with him? Turning his head away, he let his hair swing forward to cover his face. 'Why did I say that?' he internally berated himself.

And why had he? Was it the warm spring breeze rustling through the leaves of the tree they were sitting under? There was something about the way it shifted her hair and made the curls dance around her face and brush against her cheek, so that he had the urge to reach over and pull one straight so he could let go and see it spring back to a coil again, as she so often did while deep in thought. Perhaps it was finally having someone near his own age to talk to, who didn't know anything about his past, who was a witty conversationalist to boot. Or was it the way the sun slanted over her face lighting up the deep blue of her sharp eyes right before she closed them and leaned comfortably into the tree? It could have been the feeling of having someone to spend time with who was willing to look past his prickly exterior. Maybe it was the blades of grass tickling at her bare feet as she flexed and curled her toes, like a cat stretching in the sun. He couldn't recall ever seeing any other professor at Hogwarts barefoot on the grounds and something about that, coupled with her bright purple painted toenails, tickled him in a way very few things did.

It could have been any of those things, or a dozen others. In truth, he enjoyed spending time with her despite the fact that it could sometimes make him feel confused and guilty. It was something he thought he would never ever admit to anyone, much less blurt out to her, but he had. He wasn't used to having a friend to talk to. His last experience with a friend of the opposite sex hadn't gone that well. And this one here was a Muggle. It was still hard for him to accept that he could want to spend time with her. But she was so smart...and so pretty, and she had a way of looking at things that intrigued him.

He could feel color seeping into his cheeks and was appalled at himself all over again. 'How am I going to fix this?' he wondered, still hiding behind his hair and refusing to meet her eyes.

"Severus?" she asked again.

Tilting her head and leaning forward, she reached out her hand, meaning to brush the hair from his face so she could see his eyes. She liked his eyes, the blackness of them. They held secrets that she was sure he had never told a soul, and probably never would and that was fine with her. She had her own secrets and never begrudged others their own.

He was still hard for her to read; their friendship was fairly new and could still be awkward, but she'd found that this was the best way to judge what was on his mind. On days like this, though, when he suddenly turned twitchy and elusive, she usually had worse luck.

He knew what she was trying to do and looked sharply away. It unnerved him when she would look directly into his eyes, as if she could see past them and into his thoughts. Sometimes it would remind him of his days as a Death Eater, when the Dark Lord would probe his mind, looking for any and all details of whatever it was Severus had been sent to witness, research, or uncover. The thing that unnerved him most about it, though, was that while the Dark Lord had never been able to see what Severus choose to hide, somehow the longer he and Brie knew each other, the more this Muggle woman was increasingly able to read him.

Right now he didn't want that, he wanted to ignore what he'd just said and continue on as if nothing had happened. He'd spent her first year at the school stubbornly ignoring her and insulting her in turns, and her second year awkwardly trying to disregard his past behavior and beliefs, while also trying to sort out his conflicted Muggle feelings. Now they were in the middle of her third year as a professor and they'd finally wandered into a place where they both felt comfortable enough around each other to have real significant chats and the occasional friendly debate. He didn't really want that to end because he could be such a sod.

"Fine!" she spat, suddenly angry.

He flinched, but she didn't care. He must have made another of his snide Muggle jokes, just when she was so sure that he'd fallen out of that annoying habit. This was always what he did when he slipped up and said something snide about her heritage out loud. Well, she wasn't going to be his Muggle punching bag. If he still harbored his dislike of Muggles then he could just leave her be and let her spend her time with people who didn't care if she had magic or not.

"Just...fine," She pushed herself up, pulled on her sandals, and looked down at him. "You know where to find me if you want me," she shot over her shoulder as she swiftly turned and walked off muttering under her breath about how some people had a lot of nerve, seeking out others and making them think they wanted to be friends when all they really wanted to do was insult them.

It had started out to be such a pleasant early spring day. She'd pushed her windows wide open and decided on the spot to go for a walk. She'd even dug out the sandals that she was wearing now, so she could slip them off when no one was looking and secretly run around the lush green grass barefoot.

On her way down to the front doors, she'd run into Severus and had impulsively asked if he'd like to come out with her. If she had known it would end this way, she would have stopped at the friendly wave they'd shared and saved herself this annoyance. At least then she wouldn't be stalking around, muttering to herself.

"I will never understand that man," she snorted.

She just couldn't pin him down. Once she'd chipped away a little at the walls he had built up around himself, she found that one minute he was passive and shy, while the next he could be the snarkiest, most outspoken person she knew. She was aware of his reputation around the school and had experienced it first hand more than once, but over time she'd found that there was more than that, just under the surface... and then there were days like today, where he apparently lived up to every nasty bit of whispered notoriety.

A few students glance at her oddly as they pass. Suddenly realizing that she wasn't muttering as quietly as she thought, she switched gears and smiled and nodded toward them. Faces friendly again, they smile back. With a sigh, Brie continued up to the castle doors, relieved that she'd checked herself quickly. All she needed today would be to have someone see her acting odd and thinking that it was because she was a Muggle, not because she was just a person who was mildly upset. It annoyed her that she had to be careful about things like that. She was still sometimes shocked by the apparent lack of Muggle contact many of the students seemed to have. So much so that some regarded them as practically another species.

Severus sadly watched her retreating form, still yelling at himself in his head. 'You are a right prat, Severus. What did you say that was so bad? It's not as if you accidentally insulted her again, or confessed some hidden, burning love!'

Assuming she'd thought this was a case of the former, he pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes before getting to his feet and starting across the grounds, all the while wondering what was wrong with him. His self admonishments had just raised a good question in his mind. The latter was something he'd wondered briefly about once or twice before feeling guilty and pushing the thoughts away.

Did he love her? No... he didn't think so... this friendship didn't feel like it had with Lily. There was no underlying, hidden feelings... that he could tell. ...Well, there was still that lingering little bit of shame, but he really was trying to get over that. He liked spending time with her, he liked talking to her and listening to her, he even missed her when she went home during the summer and looked forward to seeing her again in the fall. But was that love? He didn't think so. That was the beginning of good friendship...wasn't it? He was just getting old feelings of friendship and secret love mixed up with this new friendship because she was a she...wasn't he?

Definitely, probably, maybe. He sighed at his thoughts. Things had been so much easier when he just had his classes to teach and the schools hallways to prowl, and points to remove from dunderhead students.

Besides all that though, even if he did love her, he probably wouldn't act on it. 'Story of my life,' he interrupted his own thoughts before scowling while ignoring himself. She still wore a wedding ring though her husband had died several years before Severus had even met her. Even though she said she only wore it as a reminder now, Severus felt that there was something deeper in that gesture than she would admit. She didn't talk about him much, and that was also telling.

Doubly besides all that, he already loved someone else. Even after all these years, he still loved a dead woman who had chosen someone else.

Trying to get her mind off of Severus' behavior, Brie glanced around the grounds and up toward the school, remembering the first time she'd seen it. Before she'd come, Albus had told her it was a castle, but the idea just hadn't sunk in or really even registered until she'd been standing in front of it. Once inside, she'd been dumbstruck.

Though she still sometimes felt out of place, or sometimes like a sideshow, she still liked it at Hogwarts and was amazed by something new and magical everyday. Even three years into her stint as a professor of... Muggle stuff -her class was listed on the course schedules as Muggle-Led Studies because they had to call it something and it was hard to label since the class covered a very wide variety of subjects- her luck at being able to even be at the school still struck her at odd moments. Even if she wasn't a professor of magic and her classes were completely elective, there were still a good amount of students who wanted to learn from her. Albus had made it very clear when she started that she had full carte-blanch over her class content. He'd very vaguely told her to teach them about Muggles and what Muggles learn.

'What Muggles learn', she had thought to herself, highly amused at the time, 'where do I start?'

Her amusement had run out quickly, as it really had been a conundrum for her at the beginning of it all. With just a little questioning she had promptly figured out that each student had different educational backgrounds because, apparently in the Wizarding world, some parents sent their kids to Muggle schools until they were old enough for Hogwarts and some didn't, opting instead for home schooling until age eleven. It made for an interesting mix of students, some who had come into contact with the Muggle world, and some who essentially hadn't.

Eventually she had figured it all out, the solution being a lot of individual attention and personalized assignments, which made her grateful for her small class sizes. After the first few rocky weeks of trial and error, classes seemed to go well. She tended to come into a class with a loose idea of what she wanted to get across and let things go from there. Most of the time she would cover a lot of scientific subjects, as science was her strong suit and she held a PhD in Toxinology and a Masters in Herpetology, which helped lend credence to her career as a nature film documentary host and a venomous reptile handler. It also ensured that she was taken seriously in the medical research world, in which she dabbled whenever she could, in her home lab.

She'd had to step completely away from venom research in order to have enough time to teach at Hogwarts. It had been a bittersweet decision to trade research for magic, but so far she didn't have very many regrets, especially since she'd pretty much just switched from studying venom to studying magic, and she quickly found that she enjoyed teaching very much.

The students were always full of questions, no matter what subject they happened to be studying, and everything always just seemed to get covered. She'd learned right away that a general overview of what they would be studying next and a brief question and answer period to start with helped immensely in guiding her lesson plans and assignments. They might spend a few weeks on one subject and only a few days on another but the kids always left class richer in knowledge and with a better understanding of Muggles and Muggle culture.

Brie assumed that it must have been what Albus had wanted, because he seemed very pleased by her students progress. She still couldn't help being glad that the regular Muggle Studies class was still offered and that her own class had no OWL or NEWT exams in the fifth and seventh years. She gave regular tests to her students to make sure they were all on track and absorbing information, and that was good enough for all concerned. Whatever his logic, Brie had learned that Albus never did anything for no reason or half assed, so she was always sure to use her whole ass when teaching his 'pet class' as some of the professors called it.

When she had first started, the students... were students. They weren't sure of her, but they had elected to be there and were excited to learn, or maybe just excited to meet a Muggle, so all was well at the start of her new venture. After her first few weeks, Brie thought she could understand why Albus had wanted the students to have a better understanding of Muggles. Even the official Muggle Studies professor had their information a little off the mark. A little wizardy, you might say. Brie also disliked how the official class studied Muggles like they were some interesting exhibit in a zoo. When she'd seen how the class was run, it had given her a lot of direction in how she wanted to teach her own.

One of the first things she had done was to treat it like a class she herself might have taken while in school. Her students didn't so much study Muggles, as study what Muggles studied, and in a way that made it seem normal, and just like any other class. She mostly achieved the effect by avoiding the use of the words 'Muggle', 'witch', 'wizard', and 'magic' in her lectures, and sometimes in her questions. She was also particular about how the kids worded their own questions and answers. It was amazing what differences such small omissions could make.

Like the students in her classes, most of the professors had been nice to her when she started, though there had been a few who seemed not to like the idea of any Muggle at the school. Severus had fairly obviously been one of those, so for almost her entire first year, he and Brie had barely voluntarily spoken. The few times they did converse were short and to the point, almost terse. She'd sensed an animosity from Severus and had tried to keep to herself where he'd been concerned. It hadn't been hard to pick up on, with all the glares he'd sent her way and his snippy little comments.

For some reason though, it seemed like Albus had other ideas on how much contact his professors should have and had continually tried drawing them both into conversations.

Unbeknownst to Brie, Albus Dumbledore just happened to catch a glimpse of her out his office windows as she marched in from the grounds. Earlier, out that same window, he'd noticed his two youngest professors meet unexpectedly, and wander off together. If Brie's stalking pace now was any indication, something had gone awry between the two between then and now. With a chuckle and a shake of his head he hurried down to the Great Hall, hoping to beat Brie there so that he could wave her in to join him, and perhaps get a feel for what had gone wrong, or at least take her mind off it. She and Severus seemed sometimes to be stuck in a wheel of misunderstanding as they tested the waters in the formation of a truly unique friendship, which he himself had had no small hand in helping along.

When Brie had come to the school, Albus watched the two vastly different professors contact from a distance and after awhile decided that it was time to take matters into his own hands. Severus, understandably, harbored a very bad impression of Muggles, but Albus felt that the time had come for him to realize that not all Muggles were horrible. He'd been almost positive that Ms. Waters could teach the snarky Slytherin that, in fact, some Muggles were quite amazing. And even if she couldn't, he couldn't in good conscience continue to allow Severus to treat Brie as he did.

On and off over the years he'd heard of Gabrielle Waters, almost always during his contact with Muggle-born students and parents. Many times, as Albus let the newly informed parents have a little bit of private conversation time in some other part of the house, Brie would be chattering away on the telly. He found that his attention would be drawn to her voice and the way she imparted information about her subject. He noticed that she had the special ability to hold children's focus as well. When he'd come up with his plan to expose the students not just to Muggle culture, but also real Muggle knowledge, some further research had convinced him that Gabrielle Waters was just the Muggle he needed. She was well educated, well traveled, and didn't seem daunted by overwhelming tasks. In addition, she seemed like she possessed an open mind and a resilient spirit.

Finding, befriending, and convincing her to essentially change everything about her life had been a long and challenging process, all things considered at the time. She'd had some unfortunate events in her recent past that made the whole process more difficult than he'd anticipated, but he'd patiently succeeded, as he had with almost everything he truly set his mind to.

Her first few weeks at the school had not only confirmed that he'd been correct in his assumptions, but he also discovered that he might have inadvertently brought in someone who could crack through Severus' Muggle issues as well. It wasn't something he'd intended, but he knew how to take advantage of a situation when it presented itself.

Brie was always keen to learn about magic and the Wizarding world, especially when she had first arrived, and Albus never failed to entertain her with stories about great wizards and magical creatures, and different kinds of spells or potions, and what they did. He increasingly started to turn their talks to potions, at least once a conversation leaning out over the table to call for Severus' opinion, taking care to point out that he was Hogwarts' Potion Master after all, and was therefore more qualified to answer those types of questions.

Although he never looked happy about it, Severus would always give his opinion and sourly answer any query Brie had. Whenever Severus would try to catch his eye during these short conversations, Albus made sure not to be looking his way, while chuckling to himself as he watched from the corner of his eye. He had what he liked to think of as his 'ace in the hole' in the formation of a new friendship that he felt would do his Potions Master some good. Severus kept to himself too much, if you asked Albus. Having someone around on staff who didn't remember Severus' schoolboy days would be good for him.

Of course, he was going to need a little push, Severus being Severus. Albus was perfectly willing to give him that little push, or a big kick, whatever was needed. He had obviously researched Ms. Waters before contacting her about teaching at Hogwarts and he had found out some very interesting things about her. So he waited and watched as the contact between Brie and Severus became slightly less stiff over the course of her first year as professor. There were occasional mornings when they even greeted each other before sitting down. Brie always initiated the greetings, but Severus always responded. Albus considered that a good sign.

One Saturday morning, toward the end of the school year, he had leaned out over the table to talk to Severus.

"Severus, I don't believe I have mentioned this before. Are you aware that Professor Waters has an interest in reptiles? Don't you have a similar interest?"

He knew his eyes twinkled as he said this, knowing full well that Severus did have some interest in the subject. Most Potions Masters did and this particular Potions Master was a Slytherin besides.

Both Severus and Brie froze, mid motion, staring at Albus in surprise. Severus reaching for his glass and Brie with a forkful of eggs halfway to her open mouth. Severus shot Albus a pithy look, which Brie missed and Albus ignored, and said, "It's more an interest in the skin, scales, fangs, and venom, Albus," with such finality that Albus knew he'd been hoping that it would end the conversation right there, but Albus was made of tougher stuff than that.

"Oh come now, Severus. You must be at least a little curious."

The look Severus shot at him then could have melted glass.

Brie threw her weight into the giant front doors as she entered the castle, noticing that lunch was being served when she glanced toward the Great Hall. She had an internal debate as to whether or not she should get something to eat, since she didn't always have the best appetite when upset. Albus noticed her in the doorway and gestured for her to come take her usual seat next to him. With a shrug Brie entered the Hall, hoping a chat with Albus would take her mind off of things for awhile. He looked a little out of breath for some reason, and she noticed that he didn't have any food on his plate yet. He must have just sat down himself.

The twinkle in Albus' eye as he greeted her, coupled with her brain still worrying over Severus, suddenly reminded her of the day Albus had informed Severus that she had an interest in snakes. At the time it had seemed very sudden and random, but now that she knew Albus better, she suspected that he'd had an ulterior motive, especially because she'd seen that twinkle a dozen other times since then, and it always meant Albus was up to something that amused him. She took her seat and began to load up her plate, still dwelling on the memory as she let Albus' chattering small talk ring in her ears.

Brie was slightly shocked that Albus had basically announced that her Muggle career was not what it would appear to be. Up to that point the other professors seemed to assume that she had previously been a professor somewhere else in the Muggle world, and she'd been fine with that. She'd initially been worried that people would know who she was and it would instantly label her within the school as not just 'The Muggle', but as 'That Muggle'', so when that didn't happen right away, she felt a little better.

In her classroom, if she wanted to use her real life experience as an example, she had been telling stories as if they had happened to a friend or someone else she knew, or occasionally as if she'd seen them on TV. Only a few of the Muggle born students had recognized her from TV and Brie had quietly asked them to keep the information to themselves until people stopped looking at her like a sideshow act simply because she wasn't a witch. Luckily most of them understood, and a few even ventured to say that they rarely spoke of Muggle things while in the school because it made them feel awkward when they had to explain what things were to the students who had no idea. It was something that helped start a bond between Brie and several of her students.

When she'd heard Severus' snide and clipped response to Albus' query, Brie bristled and turned to him, unable to keep her temper in check so early in the morning, before she'd had enough coffee to think straight. His tone had clearly informed her that he had absolutely no interest in what went on in a Muggle's personal life. She just bet she could prove him wrong.

"What a coincidence, I also have a special interest in venom. Different from your interests, I'm sure," she sniped, after which she turned away and finally managed to eat the forkful of eggs Albus' declaration had interrupted. She wasn't surprised when Severus was unable to help himself and had asked what she meant. Smugly satisfied that she now was answering a question and not simply volunteering information, she continued on, feeling more in control of the situation.

"I assume your interest in snake venom is strictly its use in potions?" she asked, suddenly already sorry she'd been unable to bite her tongue. She had nothing to prove to the sour professor and didn't know why she was bothering to say anything. She absolutely hated that he was able to make her feel this irrational. Dealing with him was like being on a roller coaster.

Severus answered in the affirmative, so she had no choice but to continue. "My interest is more in anti-venom. I extract venom from venomous snakes and it is used it to make anti-venom. I travel the world collecting and releasing various species for my facility and I make educational films while I'm at it."

She was used to telling people what she did for a living, and she always did it quickly and very matter of fact. Then she would wait for the questions. They always came after the first initial shocked expression. The most common ones were, "You're kidding right?" and "Have you ever been bitten?" The answers were no and no, and Severus followed the script so perfectly that she couldn't help but smile.

Of course, he used the phrase, "Surely you aren't serious," and she answered, "Why would I lie? And the name is Gabrielle, not Shirley," and he rolled his eyes, but it was close enough for her. When he asked her why she was smiling and she told him, he smiled himself. A rare smile, albeit a small one.

The difference even such a small smile made was impressive. He no longer looked sullen and withdrawn, his lips curved, his eyes crinkled a bit and he looked almost happy for a moment. With a raised eyebrow, she shot him an ironic look. The smile disappeared. His sullen professor manner came down like a shutter as he hurriedly stood, making some excuse about checking a potion before sweeping out of the Great Hall with his robes billowing out behind him.

"Don't mind Severus," Albus said to her "We don't let him out of the dungeon often. He really is a decent fellow once you get to know him." With a smile, he rose from his seat to make an announcement, leaving Brie to wonder if he was right.

Brie shook herself out of her reverie when she heard Albus saying something about falling out of a tree. "Excuse me, Albus?" she asked, already having a vague idea of what he was asking her.

"I said I heard the Weasley twins telling the most animated story involving you, a tree, and gravity. I can't believe it to be true." He looked at her expectantly.

He loved to hear stories of her 'Muggle adventures', as he and most of the rest of the school called them. Although technically too young for her class until the following school year, the twins had asked if they might occasionally sit in on some of her lectures when they had free periods. She'd agreed after clearing the idea with Albus and Minerva.

"Knowing the twins, I'm sure the facts have been... expanded on," she began with a smile and proceeded to tell him the rest of the story as she had once told Severus, and yesterdays morning class, which, coincidentally, the twins had sat in on. As she did, she made a mental note not to tell them anything she wouldn't want bellowed across the Great Hall.

Cursing his pathetic social skills, and wishing he had more experience with matters of friendship, Severus entered the castle and thought about going straight to the dungeons and his private quarters even though lunch was being served. He chanced one glance into the Great Hall and saw Brie there, talking to Minerva and Albus. Albus was shaking with laughter at the story she was telling him and even Minerva was smiling. Severus was momentarily amazed at how quickly she could change gears. You wouldn't have known by looking that anything was bothering her.

Severus watched her animated hand gestures and decided that she was probably telling the story of when she had been filming a documentary in Brazil and had fallen out of a tree while trying to catch a snake. He was amazed that she could take a story that would normally be told and taken very seriously and make people laugh about it, and not feel bad about laughing.

He remembered the end of the previous school year, her second at the school as a professor, when she had told that story to him. It had still been the beginning of their friendship and he had asked about the very small hitch in her gait that he had noticed since the first day she'd been at Hogwarts. It was probably one of the very first truly personal questions he'd asked her. Until then he'd stuck to safe questions about her job outside the school; learning many things about world travel, documentary making, and animal handling.

"It was awful Severus," she said with laughter in her eyes. "We had been tramping around the rain forest for days without finding so much as a lizard. So when I saw the snake, I shot straight up that tree without even blinking an eye. The snake was already almost a third of the way up, but I knew I could get it. I can climb like a monkey and I caught up with it in no time."

"One second I had this beautiful boa in my hand, and the very next there was a horrible snapping sound as the branch I was standing on gave way. All I remember was falling like I was in slow motion, trying to grab at anything I could with my one free hand, because I was holding the boa to my chest to protect it. It felt like I cracked my butt on almost every branch on the way down. My crew said I landed with an almighty thump, held up the snake, yelled, "I still got it!" then passed out," she finished with a chuckle.

Concerned, he asked if she had gotten badly hurt. She answered in the affirmative, saying something about her hips having to be pinned back together and how she was very lucky she could still walk at all, let alone walk almost normally and without the assistance of a crutch or cane.

"I don't remember anything until a few days later when I woke up in the hospital," she stated when he'd asked how she had survived the pain. "By then they had me on so many pain killers I don't know what was real and what wasn't."

She didn't seem to want to talk about that particular part of the story, so instead, he asked if anyone else knew about her fall. With a forced laugh she said, "Of course! It was all caught on film. It was practically the only 'good' footage from that whole trip. The production company had to make money on it somehow, so they sold it to a blooper TV program in America that uses that clip when they open the show. Lots of people have seen it. At least once every few weeks back home someone runs up pointing and saying 'oh my God! It's that chick who fell out of the tree on that show!' I'm just hoping for the day when they decide to change the opening, then I should get some relief from it."

With a wry smile she added, "It's really discouraging to be known more for that than all the rest of the documentaries combined. I actually have seen the footage and it WAS pretty funny. I looked like a crash test dummy holding a short piece of rope. I didn't really hit that many branches on the way down, but I hit enough They obviously don't show the end where it's apparent I'm hurt, so... you know, it has comedic value. I signed off on the use of it to help pay the medical bills."

Severus shook himself back to the present and continued on to his rooms. He wasn't hungry anyway. A foul mood was coming on and even glaring at a group of first years hard enough to send them scurrying off did nothing to raise his spirits. He entered his rooms and flopped down in his favorite chair to think.

Not two minutes later he was up and pacing the length of the room with long, jerky strides. He couldn't quiet his mind, and he couldn't think clearly either. Hoping that he could at least take advantage of his agitated energy, he strode to his desk to mark essays. He had a feeling it was going to be a long weekend.

As Brie was telling Albus her story, she noticed Severus pause at the door for a moment, then walk away. She sighed inwardly, wondering again what his problem was. They had become fairly good friends over the course of this year, her third as a Professor at Hogwarts. She just couldn't understand why he couldn't see that, fundamentally, Muggles weren't very much different than witches and wizards. Of course there were differences, but there were also a lot of sames. Focusing on just one or the other pretty much assured you'd reinforce your own opinion of whichever you favored.

Quickly finishing up her tale, she excused herself saying that she had some essays to mark. As she left and headed toward her rooms, she realized that she really did have essays to mark, so she changed course and headed to her classroom instead. 'Better to get it done now,' she thought to herself, 'anyway, it will keep me from brooding.'

Not having as many students as the other professors- although each year the number did increase- it never took her very long to mark papers. After she was done, she looked around the classroom for something else to keep her hands and mind busy. Unable to find anything, she decided to go back to her rooms and read for awhile.

Some time later she tossed aside her book having finished it with surprising speed. 'Shoot' she thought to herself annoyed at having finished so quickly because she didn't have any other new books. 'Now what am I going to do?'

She figured she might as well change and go for a run. Running always cleared her mind and there was still some daylight left.

As she walked through the entrance hall she wondered again why Severus would seek her out for company if he really disliked Muggles so much. Shaking her head and trying not to think about it anymore, she jogged down to the path around the lake where she liked to run. Trying not to think about something seemed to be the best way to ensure that you endlessly did.

AN: Hello, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know with a little review so that it keeps me motivated to keep updating.