Alex strode into the laboratory and took a seat in the back. Professor Snape was teaching a class of third-year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. He caught her eye for a moment with his usual sneer, then turned away to snap at a pair of students whose cauldron was boiling over. Outwardly, Alex was calm. Inside, her stomach was in knots. Exactly two weeks had passed since the start of the term. She was determined to confront the potions master about the status of her job.

She had awakened in the still-dark potions lab with a stiff neck after crying herself to sleep at her desk. Dawn was breaking as she finally got back to her rooms. There hadn't seemed to be much point to trying to go back to sleep. She'd settled for a long soak in the sinfully large bathtub and a dose of Hammer & Downes' Heroic Hangover Remedy. She had found the latter in the bathroom medicine cabinet along with a variety of aphrodisiacs and a bottle of peroxide, apparently left there by a former occupant of the apartment. Bless the impotent blond drunk, whoever he was.

Thanks to Hammer and Downes, her eyes were no longer bloodshot and swollen. No one could tell she'd been up crying half the night. She had managed to make it through her class without incident. And a good thing, too. Snape had observed the class, sending his trademark glares her way whenever she had glanced to the back of the room where he lurked.

Now the tables were turned; she observed him. Not having a very good day today. The potions master had already taken ten points from Ravenclaw and an astonishing sixty points from Hufflepuff. Dang, and there's still a half hour of class to go. Alex counted eight students in varying degrees of emotional collapse. The two whose cauldron had boiled over were both sobbing piteously. Well for cryin' out loud, you've been doing this for three years and you haven't figured out how to stir yet ? Sheesh, this isn't rocket science, she thought, exasperated with the girls' stupidity. In spite of herself, though, Alex felt a touch of sympathy for them. She still felt pretty lousy herself, the aftermath of last night's foray into self-pity.

Even Snape looked unhappy. Well, ok, he looks about the same as always, but the lesson is going so badly, he's gotta be upset. As though reading her thoughts, he turned and glowered at her. Four-point-five, she thought automatically. Snape, usually a favorite of the judges, is badly off his form. Alex slouched in her seat. She usually managed to amuse herself with her little rating game, but not today. The atmosphere in the potions lab was pure, distilled misery.

Decisively, Alex got up and headed for the storage closet. I know exactly what this dump needs. She emerged a few minutes later holding a bundle of herbs and her wand. "Incendio." She lit one end of the bundle, which flared like a torch for a moment, then smoldered. Fragrant smoke drifted out. She directed it with her wand. Clockwise around the room she strolled, wafting the incense over the dismal potions lab.

"Miss Rose," came the cold, sneering voice from directly behind her as she paused to direct the smoke over a shelf filled with dead creatures preserved in bottles, "if I may be so bold as to ask, what do you think you're doing ?" Alex grinned. A fetal pig, floating in purple liquid, seemed to wink at her. Hiding the smirk, she turned and gave Severus Snape her own trademark expression of wide-eyed innocence.

"Smudging."

He closed his eyes briefly, a pained expression on his face. Alex took the opportunity to surround him with a cloud of incense. "Smudging," he repeated incredulously. Impatiently, he waved the smoke away. Alex nodded solemnly, flicked her wand surreptitiously. The tendrils regrouped and swirled around him. The wizard glared at the cloud. Unintimidated, the smoke refused to disperse. He redirected his glare at the young woman. "And what is this novel method of disrupting my class supposed to accomplish ?"

"Clears the air. A little psychic housecleaning, so to speak. The place needs it, don't you think ?"

"I liked it the way it was just fine," he huffed.

One corner of Snape's mouth twitched. Alex didn't bother to hide her grin. "I think I see a smile," she teased.

"What you see, Miss Rose, is my heroic effort to restrain myself from wringing your neck," he snorted. "Now if you'll excuse me, I do have a class to teach." He gave an exaggerated cough at the cloud of smoke and turned away.

Yeah, sure, I saw you smiling, you big liar. She continued smudging the room, feeling her spirits rise as she did so. No one was crying any longer. Everyone seemed to have calmed down enough to actually concentrate on the lesson. Some of them gave her curious looks, but the class didn't seem to be particularly disrupted by her actions. Soon the students were quietly packing up, scribbling down the homework assignment Snape had written on the chalkboard. Alex completed her circuit of the lab as they filed out the door.

Snape was erasing the chalkboard. She waited patiently for him to finish. Finally, he turned around and faced her. "Was there something else ? I have another class coming in a few minutes."

"Well, it's been two weeks. What's the verdict ?" Alex asked, carefully keeping her tone light. She ignored the knot that had reformed in her stomach.

"I find your manner irritating, your ability to maintain discipline questionable, and your teaching methods unorthodox."

Oh. Well, that's the end of that, then. Alex felt as though she'd been kicked in the gut. She didn't let it show, but looked the potions master in the eye. "Thank you for your candor. I'll pack up my stuff after classes are finished." she said quietly.

"Miss Rose, I did not say that I wanted you to leave. On the contrary, I had planned to have you take on the third-year classes. You'll have to work from my syllabus, but I think you can just possibly be trusted to draw up your own lesson plans." He was smiling now, the expression reminding Alex of a coyote. "Unless, of course, you do not wish to stay on at Hogwarts. Will you be returning to the States, then ?"

You bastard, she thought. You did that on purpose. "Not on your life." She couldn't really be angry with him; for one thing, the magic of the smudging ceremony still lingered in the room, bouying her spirits. Anyway, he looks so... cute when he smiles. "Pleased with yourself, aren't you ?" she asked. "Sadist." He bowed to her, smirking. Alex became aware of voices in the hall. The second-years were arriving for another round of double potions. She spoke impulsively. "So, Professor, I have an appointment in London this afternoon. I was thinking, do you want to meet me afterwards, maybe go out to dinner ?"

Snape looked taken aback. "Um. I have to take a detention tonight."

"Tonight ? For cryin' out loud, it's Friday."

"Fighting in the halls," he said stiffly. "One of my Slytherins was involved. I cannot allow such misbehavior to go unpunished."

"So ? Let Filch deal with 'em, he'd love the opportunity," Alex said heartlessly. Snape looked hesitant. "Meet me at St. Mungos at six o'clock," she told him. "It'll be fun. Well, more fun than detention, anyway. Heck, a lot more fun than detention."

"You are most persuasive, Miss Rose," he replied dryly as the students filed in and began taking their seats.