The next day, when Severus awoke, he felt that he had

been dreaming; he'd never had such a wonderful night before. He sat

up and stretched, thinking about his 'disguise.' He looked in the

mirror, "Time for you to go, old friend. No more greasiness, no

more yellow teeth...just me." His reflection simply stared back at

him, although the mirror said, "It's about time! Humph!"

* * *

The following Monday brought interesting reactions from

the student body when they realized that this was Severus' true

form. He had more attention during Potions than he had ever had in

his entire teaching career, especially from the female students.

They also noted that his temper wasn't as foul as usual; he had

seemed to tone it down since his time at the dance. He was,

however, far from docile; Gryffindor still lost the usual amount of

points, whilst Slytherin gained profitably.

That afternoon Severus was rounding a corner when

someone knocked into him painfully, "Ouch!" he roared as he fell to

the ground. He looked to see who it was to discover Hermione

Granger over him saying, "Oh! Terribly sorry Professor! Didn't

mean to-" "Ten points from Gryffindor now get out of here!" he

shouted, rubbing his stomach sorely as he stood up. 'Stupid

Gryffindors,' he thought as he walked away; then he noticed that

Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were watching from around a corner,

giggling at Hermione. He stopped, thought about what had happened;

somehow, he knew that they had dared her to run into him. "What're

you two doing?!" he snarled down at them, taking them by surprise.

"N-N-Nothing, Professor," said Parvati, "just...er...nothing."

"You're up to something," he snapped, "get out of here. Ten points

from Gryffindor!"

The two girls hastened down the hall quickly, trying to

stifle giggles as they went. 'If I can just get Dumbledore to

outlaw giggling in the hall my life would be great,' he thought,

storming down to the Great Hall.

* * *

The next few weeks passed quickly, and before anyone

knew it, Christmas was almost upon them. Unfortunately for

everyone, however, Dumbledore wanted to do a talent show followed by

another Yule Ball. "Albus," said McGonagall during a staff meeting,

"aren't you being just a little...voracious, with all these special

events?" "Not at all, Minerva, not at all," he said, "because this

is a very important year." He would not explain it any further than

that, so the staff gave up. "Besides," said Sibyl Trelawney

mistily, "the Fates predict that many good things will come of these

events." "I got your Fates right here," muttered Severus to

himself, balling up a fist. Only Alexis, who was seated next to

him, heard it, and she stifled a laugh, turning it quickly into a

cough.

"Now," said Dumbledore, "back to the talent show. I

would like for each of the teachers to participate in some way..."

The entire room groaned, and Severus sank down in his seat about a

foot, supporting his head with one hand. "Now I'm sure all of you

have a talent...that doesn't relate to your subject," added

Dumbledore. "What?!" shouted Vector, "We have to do something that

doesn't relate to our subject?!" "Of course," said Dumbledore.

"WHY?!" shouted Vector, standing up. Dumbledore stiffened, "Because

it'll be good for you." Vector sat down with a moan of horror,

putting her head in her hands. "Now," said Dumbledore, "I suggest

you come up with something soon, because it will be at the end of

this week. That is all; thank you."

The staff meeting adjourned with much huff and anger, a

few of the teachers nearly running from the room. Severus and

Alexis, however, continued to sit, too depressed to move. "I don't

do anything," said Alexis, "I have no talents." "Me neither," said

Severus, "except for making potions and casting spells." For a

moment, they were both quiet, then, "I suppose I could sing," said

Alexis, "but I haven't sung in years. My voice would be pretty

coarse." "I'd sooner shoot myself than sing," he said out loud, "I

mean, so far as my voice goes." She shrugged, "Well, how are you

going to get out of it then?" He shook his head, "I don't know..."

Suddenly Alexis perked up, "Hey! Do you play piano?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, "Yes, why?" "Then be my accompanist!

That's a great idea!" she said, "It'll get us both out of it!"

Severus thought about it seriously for a minute; everyone's eyes

would be on her for most of the performance anyway... "Alright,

done deal," he said, "let's just hope this goes over smoothly..."

* * *

Severus and Alexis were snogging in a closet near the

Great Hall when they heard their names being called over the Magical

Megaphone; they had, ironically enough, won first place in the

talent show. "Oh bloody hell," muttered Severus as they opened the

doors to the Hall and stepped inside. A roar of applause met them

as they received their trophy, which Severus already knew he'd be

hiding somewhere in a cardboard box at home in the dungeons of his

mansion. "Can we get off stage now?" said Alexis through gritted

teeth as they both smiled politely at the audience. "I don't know,

let's try for it," said Severus; they both left quickly, and no one

forced them back on stage. "So," said Alexis, "what now?" Severus

shrugged, "Throw away the trophy and go back to the closet?"

"Sounds good!" said Alexis.

* * *

Christmas break went by too quickly (especially the

Yule Ball; it didn't last long enough,) so far as Severus and Alexis

were concerned; having the whole castle to themselves, all they did,

for the most part, was sit and talk to each other for hours on end.

For the both of them, it was refreshing and wonderful, and by the

end of break, both of them were falling deeper in love.

It was only when Dumbledore called them both up to his

office that they realized Life was not as wonderful as it seemed.

"I have news for the both of you," he said, "and it may be...rather

difficult for you to...accept." Severus and Alexis did not look at

each other; they both already knew, intuitively, what they were

thinking. "I have received word from a very good, reliable friend

of mine that Voldemort has somehow managed to return," said

Dumbledore. Alexis looked down at the floor, her heart dropping

into her stomach. Severus's face grew whiter, but he said nothing,

so Dumbledore continued.

"Although there is little we can do to root him out of

hiding, being as well-concealed as he is, the best we can do is

alert the Ministry, as well as keep the grounds on a tighter lock

down. Normally, I would not tell anyone else of this matter, but

since there are a select few of you who have had such involvement

with Voldemort that I thought it best to reveal this to you and you

alone." There was a moment of silence, then, "I hope that neither

of you will conduct yourselves in an irrational manner." Severus

and Alexis both knew what that meant; in other words, don't go back

to Voldemort pretending to be a spy. Don't get yourself killed.

"That is all," said Dumbledore, "thank you for

responding to my summons so quickly." Alexis and Severus both left

in silence, neither of them saying a word as they walked down the

stone steps. Alexis followed Severus down to the dungeon, and they

were completely silent until he closed the door. "What the hell?"

said Alexis, "The sonofabitch must be immortal! We've killed him

twice already for God's sake!" "I know," said Severus, sitting down

at the desk in his office. Alexis followed him in, mildly

reflecting that only years earlier Severus had blatantly rejected

her in this same room.

"We're being punished for our previous actions," said

Alexis, "that must be it. Why the hell else would this be happening

to us?" "I don't know," said Severus, "but we have to find a way

to...dispose of him permanently." They both sat deep in thought for

at least twenty minutes, not a word spoken, when they both looked at

each other with a gaze of understanding. "Last time the Potter boy

used a spell to dispose of him," said Alexis slowly. "And the time

before Potter's mother used a spell to protect him," said Severus.

"But clearly spells alone don't work."

"So it's impossible to use just the area of Defense Against the Dark

Arts alone."

"Combine that science with another and it might be strong enough to

do the job right."

"Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions."

"Indeed."