Title: Shadow

Author: --Starbuck--

Rating: PG13

Summary: Someone from Snape's past is the new DaDa teacher...PLEASE READ! It's not that horrible...

Genre: Drama/Romance



The next morning Snape paused as he entered the Great Hall. There was only one vacant seat (he had come to breakfast later than usual), the other one beside Laszla, who was sitting next to Professor McGonagall. Snape took it and glared at all the students, especially Harry Potter, with his special look of loathing.

"'Morning," Laszla murmured.

"Yeah," Snape replied. They both seemed extremely uncomfortable, and discomfort was not a feeling usually felt by Professor Severus Snape, head of Slytherin House.

They finished breakfast without another word to each other, and then took off together for the dungeons.

"Listen, about last night--" Laszla began, but Snape cut her off.

"It's alright. Forget about it."

"Are you sure?"

Snape answered, "No."

"Make up your mind, Snape," she said, turning to face him, her lips turning upward in the frightening grin Snape often used to frighten annoying students. Snape had to grin--something he hadn't done in years.

"What?" She asked dangerously.

"Nothing," he said.

"What?" She asked again, raising her tone.

"It's just your...smile."

"What about it?" She said, frowning.

"I do the same thing...frightens off students...they think I'm dangerous."

"Wonder why," Laszla said sarcastically. She seemed more alive than she had before, even when Snape watched her catch the Snitch to win the Quidditch Cup for the fifth year in a row in their seventh year.

Snape's scowl returned as three students walked passed them to get into the Potions dungeon. Laszla snapped at them.

"Not so loud! Next time you go by shouting like that, detention!"

Snape smiled an evil smile at her. "I think you're getting it."

As they stopped in between the Potions dungeon and the Defense Against the Dark Arts room, Snape and Laszla stared each other straight in the eye.

"Are you still mad at me?" Snape asked softly.

"No," she said finally. "I guess...you were right about Voldemort. You know...my brother, Fearse, he went off to be a Death Eater too. Never heard from him again. I'm glad you were different." She gave an extremely rare smile.

Snape was caught off guard. "Er--"

"It's alright. Forget about it."

There was an awkward pause, as some third year Hufflepuffs sniggered while entering the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. But both Snape and Laszla forgot to bark at them for laughing.

Instead, Snape did something very uncharacteristic, something that he hadn't done since his seventh year at Hogwarts--

He pulled Laszla into a passionate kiss.

And as Harry, Hermione, and Ron turned the corner to the corridor, they all dropped their books in fright and almost fainted dead away.

==XxXxX==~FIN~==XxXxX==