Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, except the one I created myself. All others belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I have only borrowed them for my amusement and hopefully yours as well.

A/N: Thanks to my beta-reader Francine. I couldn't have done it without ya, kid!

Chapter 2

Severus awoke that morning with a groan. Albus and Minerva would be returning from their trip that afternoon. Blast! The time had gone by all too quickly. He let out an even bigger groan when he realized that September first was just one week away. The students would be returning to Hogwarts to start another term. Blast and damnation!  Slowly, his fellow teachers would be returning as well. Professor Sprout had, in fact, arrived last night. She had spent a fabulous summer in South America and had come back with all kinds of exotic plants to show her students. Sprout had tried to corner Severus so she could regale him with all of her botanic adventures, but he managed to escape by pleading a severe headache. Close call! He snuck back to his lab to get in one more night of solitude.

So, on that last morning, Severus begrudgingly arose, showered, dressed and proceeded to the staff room for breakfast. He was pleased to see that Professor Flitwick had also returned. He and Sprout were engaged in animated conversation, each telling the other about their summer, and neither one listening to what was being said. Snape ate in relative peace and tried, as best as he could, to block out the chatter. He threw in an occasional "oh really" or "you don't say", whenever he thought it was expected.  Thank Merlin for Flitwick! He shuddered to think it would have been him on the other end of that blabbering.

Severus decided that it was time to get back into 'teacher mode' – grab the bull by the horns, so to speak. He went to his office and reviewed his course outlines to see if there were any modifications to be made. He worked diligently and only realized that it was 1:30 when his stomach grumbled.  On his way to lunch, he spotted Albus and Minerva, who waved enthusiastically and beckoned him to come over.

 "Albus, Minerva, welcome back! I trust you both had an enjoyable and worthwhile trip?"

 "Severus, my boy, wonderful to see you! We had an amazing time, didn't we, Minerva?" Dumbledore replied with great glee.

McGonagall nodded wholeheartedly. Albus requested that Snape join them in his office at 3:00 saying that there were a few things he would like to discuss with him regarding the conference. Severus agreed and left them to settle in while he went for a late lunch.

Promptly at 3:00, Severus presented himself at Dumbledore's office. Albus told him briefly of some of the sessions he had attended. There were some new ideas that intrigued Albus and he was anxious to discuss them at the term's first staff meeting on Friday. Minerva blushed when Albus said she had been the star speaker at the conference.

 "Tut, tut, my dear, you know I only speak the truth", he replied to her blush.

Snape was surprised that McGonagall could blush –she didn't seem the type. Dumbledore gave Severus a large stack of documents. They were papers written by some of the world's foremost experts in Potions. He glanced quickly at some of the authors and recognized them immediately – Swigworth from America, Zaubertrank from Germany, Kifimbo from Africa, and even Yoshimatsu from Japan! Snape was truly touched that the headmaster had remembered him in such a fashion. He thanked Albus profusely and said he couldn't want to tuck into them.

Minerva spoke highly of the great hospitality they had been shown by Madame Baguette, the Headmistress of L'Académie de Sorcellerie de Montréal. The Canadian school was considered to be second only to Hogwarts amongst the wizarding world's schools.

"Madame Baguette seemed to be quite taken with you, Albus," said Minerva. It was Dumbledore's turn to blush.

"Well, I don't believe she still has the same opinion of me after what I did." 

Snape raised an eyebrow – "What did you do, if you don't mind me asking, Headmaster?"

 Albus cleared his throat and said, "That was one of the main reasons I wanted to speak to you today, before the staff meeting, Severus."  Snape raised the other eyebrow. "I am afraid that I 'stole' one of her staff members. I had the great fortune to be able to entice Miss Jolicia Medwin to become our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She should arrive in time for the meeting on Friday. "

Severus stiffened. This did not go unnoticed by both Dumbledore and McGonagall. They had been concerned about his reaction. They both were keenly aware, as was the whole school, that Snape had desired this position for many years. In spite of his expertise in and love for potions, he, himself, always felt that he was well suited to take the DADA job. Every time a new professor was engaged to fill this post (and there had been many), he took it as a slap in the face.

Dumbledore continued, "She comes very, very highly recommended – was tops in her class, in fact, she was tops in all of North America. I engaged her for two reasons – one, she will undoubtedly be a great asset to all of our students and two, she will be even more so to Harry Potter." At the mention of Potter's name, Snape bristled.

 "Jolicia will be able to continue teaching Harry Occlumency. Please do not take this as a criticism of your abilities. You know I hold you in the highest esteem, no matter what. I was wrong to have asked you to undertake that task, Severus, but there was no one else of your caliber available at the time. Harry needed help right away. Now, he needs to be taught by someone who has no emotional ties to him. I am truly sorry that I made that request of you."

Snape showed no outward reaction, save for an icy stare.  "I see, Headmaster. I am sure that you know what is best for Hogwarts and for Mr. Potter. If there is nothing else, I have some business to attend to. Thank you once again for the articles," replied Severus calmly. He grabbed the stack of papers and left.   

"Oh, Albus, do you think that we did the right thing? He is so upset," queried Minerva, in her lilting Scot's accent.

"Don't worry, Minerva. This will be the best thing that ever happened to Severus. I know it will, for a fact, I know it will," answered Dumbledore. His eyed twinkled.