Title: Verisimilitude

Author: GrapeSmshr

Rated: R

Coupling: HP/SS slashy goodness

Disclaimer: As much as I wish it were so, these charas don't belong to me.

Thanks to: Crazy Mary-J... You're my lifesaver with this, you know.

A/N: And once again with the beaming. Seventy-seven reviews, this is up to. For two chapters! Seriously, I think you guys are all crazy, but I love you all the same. Anyway, I wanted to clear something up. Harry is not a potions master. To become a master of something, I would imagine that one would have to study and train for years upon years. Alas, our dear Harry was only apprenticed for four years and then took over the professorship. While he does know what he's doing, he's not nearly as skilled as Sev. Of course, that leaves ample room for teaching... Ok, now that the boring part is out of the way, on with the chapter! Read on and enjoy!
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Chapter 3: Common Sense and Questionable Sanity

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Groaning, Severus slowly opened one eye. When all he met was the soft glow of candlelight instead of harsh daylight, his other eye opened. He promptly sat up, glancing about the room in suspicion. He was in the small sitting room that hooked onto the Potions classroom, and he was alone. He sighed, sinking back down onto the fluffy red couch. Maybe he just had a lapse of some kind, a bout of insanity.

But wait... His couch didn't used to be red and fluffy...

"Ah, you're awake yet again."

Head spinning sharply to the door, Severus felt another wave of dizziness wash over him, which he forced back down. In the doorway stood one amused but shockingly concerned Harry Potter.

"Careful there," Harry said, stepping closer. "Wouldn't want to faint again, would you?"

"I did not faint!" Severus retorted before he could stop himself, realizing half a second too late that he sounded childish and that he did indeed faint. He was quite relieved to find that Potter, who once would have taunted him to his heart's content, decided to let the subject drop.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked, all traces of amusement now gone.

"Fine," Severus replied curtly, unwilling to admit that he actually was still feeling a bit dizzy. He was quite startled to find Harry's gaze never leave his face. Defiantly, he stared back, taking the time to scrutinize the young man that had grown up in Severus's five-year stasis.

Those years had definitely been kind to the other man. His midnight hair was still as untamed as ever, still just long enough to have to brush out of his eyes with slight head movements. With the abandoning of his robes, his taller, more mature but still too lean stature was visible. Perhaps the greatest change, though, was his eyes, which were now free of spectacles. What used to be a darkened emerald with the weight of the world haunting their depths was now a gleaming shamrock that held a twinkle eerily similar to that of the headmaster. Been spending copious amounts of time with the old fool, Severus mused.

With a knowing smirk, Harry settled back into the worn leather chair across from the occupied couch. He stared a moment longer before commenting, "So. You must be wondering what has happened in this time that you've been gone."

"It was obviously enough time for everyone to lose their common sense and questionable sanity," Severus retorted with a snort, staring pointedly at Harry to leave no doubt as to what he was referring to. He still couldn't believe it, even thought he had seen it with his own eyes. Potter was teaching Potions? His Potions classes? There was something immensely wrong with that, considering calling him a mediocre Potions student was being far too kind. He sneered at Potter, bracing himself for a scathing comeback.

He was quite surprised when Harry only gave a slight smile and answered, "Sanity is only variable, after all." It would only be too easy for him to fall back into his old routine of sniping barbs back and forth with the potions master, but now his words were fueled by amusement and not anger.

Not about to let his thoughts be trivialized, Severus clipped nastily, "As I recall, you never once brewed a successful potion in your seven years of gracing my class. In fact, you were the worst Potions student I have ever taught. Save Longbottom."

Smile faltering just a hint, Harry returned, "Well, what can I say? I've honed my skills over the years."

"I can only imagine the dribble that you have been teaching the students, if teaching is even the correct word!" He stood, glaring at the other man with obvious loathing.

Harry rose as well, lips pursed and eyes narrowed. "I understand that you just came back to find your life upside-down, so I will forgive your remarks."

"Oh, the great Harry Potter found time in his busy schedule to forgive a lowly peon such as myself. I'm so honored," Severus remarked sarcastically.

Stepping up to the other man so that were eye to eye, Harry said coldly, "If you haven't noticed, I am an adult now, obviously more so than yourself. So I would appreciate it if you would refrain from talking to me like I am some incompetent neophyte. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some grading to finish before dinner." Without waiting for a reply, Harry left the room.

Pausing a moment to regain his wits, Severus followed Potter back into the Potions classroom. He was quite incensed to find Potter behind his desk, grading his students' papers. He didn't trust himself to not do something rash, so he stormed out of the classroom without a backward glance.

Not wanting to be around other people and having nowhere else to go, Severus made his way down the winding dungeon corridors to his private quarters. For a brief horrorstricken second, he wondered whether his room had been given to Potter as well. But as his password was accepted and he was bid entrance, he sighed in relief to see his room had not changed. Now, what to do about getting his classes back...

He had this gut feeling that Potter was not going to relinquish his position without a fight. Well, then that's what he was going to receive. Grabbing a fistful of floo powder, Severus set out to make a fire-call.

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Blowing a strand of unruly hair out of his face, Harry sighed yet again. He had been reading the same sentence for the past ten minutes, and it still just looked like garbled words. He groaned, dropping his quill and rubbing his eyes tiredly. He just couldn't concentrate. There was trouble brewing; he could feel it.

He knew he should step aside and allow Snape to return to the role he had frequented for so many years, but something in Harry just didn't want to give it up. Maybe it was the fact that Snape obviously thought him a talentless imbecile, and he wanted to prove the snarky man wrong. Or maybe, just maybe it was because he actually enjoyed teaching Potions. Either way, he wasn't about to just sit back and let his job be taken from him. He had earned his position rightfully. Besides, he was kind of looking forward to taking on Snape. He had been a virtual rage-aholic teenager the last time they butted heads, so he was very interested to see how his now adult self could handle the other man. All he had to do was wait for Snape to make a move...

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Dinner came and went, and Harry was still grading papers. He was swiftly growing more tired, wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed and pass out until the next morning. No wonder Snape's face had an almost permanent scowl, Harry thought wryly. Grading papers was way tedious.

At the mention of the other man, he heaved a deep sigh. He had managed to keep his mind off the situation at hand, but now that his thoughts had strayed in that direction, there was no way to ignore them now. Stacking the papers neatly away in his desk drawer, Harry rose and walked into the sitting room, pacing back and forth. It was a habit he had picked up a few years ago when working on the cure for...

What was going to happen? The situation was completely bizarre and inconvenient for both of them. Harry was not sorry that a cure was found to heal Snape. Quite the opposite, actually. But there was no way that the predicament would resolve itself. Harry ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He just didn't know what could be done to rectify things.

He was startled when another voice said kindly, "All right, my boy?"

Turning to the fireplace, Harry saw that the headmaster had fire-called him. "Albus. What can I do for you this evening?"

"I wished to speak with you at dinner, but you did not grace us with your presence." When Harry made to apologize, Albus plowed on, "No apologies are needed, Harry. I was actually calling because a meeting was requested with me, and your presence is required. I trust you know the reasons why?"

Harry sighed for the hundredth time that day. Oh, he definitely knew why his presence was required. And as much as he didn't want to have the upcoming conversation, he knew it would be less painful now than later. "When is the meeting?" he asked in defeat.

"Right now, assuming you're not to too busy?"

"No, now is fine."

"Splendid! When you are ready, step on through." And with that, the headmaster's head disappeared with a large crackling sound.

Shaking his head, Harry grabbed a handful of floo powder, threw it into the fire and stepped into the flames. He gracefully exited into the headmaster's office, almost smirking at Snape's apparent scowl. He took a seat next to the older man, turning his apt attention to Albus.

"Tea, Harry?" Albus offered, conjuring up a teapot and mug.

"No, thank you," Harry declined politely, watching as the tea disappeared with a wave of Albus's hand.

"Well, let's get down to business, shall we?" Albus started briskly. Receiving two inclines of the head in response, he continued. "I understand this is a... delicate situation, so I will try my best to please both parties with a decision. Now, Harry," he addressed the younger man, "Severus has expressed some concern about the position you now fill. He would like--"

"I want my position back," Severus interrupted bluntly, not bothering to hide the contempt lacing his words. He didn't want to waste any more time, seeing as so much of it had already been wasted. He just wanted to step back into his normal routine of teaching the brainless twits. Maybe he could still undo some of the damage that Potter had undoubtedly done to their schooling careers.

"Severus, I know that you are eager to pick up where you left off, so to speak, but you must understand that for the past year, your position has been filled by Harry."

"Which is why I want to return as soon as possible, to alleviate some of the incompetence that has no doubt transferred to the students," Severus snarled maliciously.

Harry, who had quietly watched the exchange until then, rose from his seat and glared at the potions master. "That is the second time you insulted my teaching skills, and you have yet to actually see me teach!" he pointed out angrily. "Do you think that Albus would have allowed me to teach if he didn't have confidence in my abilities?"

"I don't know. Look at some of the other professors he had employed: Lockhart, Lupin--"

"You," Harry shot back, making Snape bristle with rage.

"Enough!" Albus boomed out, effectively startling the two and stifling their bickering. As Harry sat back down, he continued, "Honestly. You two are arguing like a couple of second-years. Since it does not seem that you will be able to reach a solution on your own, I will provide one for you. You will both teach the classes. Together." As they both made to protest, Albus looked at them over his half-moon spectacles and said sternly, "I will hear no arguments from either of you. You have my final say in the matter. Now, I suggest you go and discuss your plans on how to work together." He leaned back in his seat, lacing his fingers together and staring at them both as if daring them to defy him.

Taking this as a dismissal, Harry stood and addressed Snape. "Would you like to return with me to the classroom so we can discuss this?" he asked stiffly.

"Fine," Severus answered curtly, rising as well.

"Headmaster," Harry nodded to him before disappearing into the fire.

Severus inclined his head and followed the bane of his existence, dreading their upcoming conversation.
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Hahaha! Leave it to Dumbledore to make them suffer like that!! Oodles of fun is in store for our two main charas. Of course, you'll just have to stick around to find out what kind of fun... And while you're here, please leave a review. I do so love to hear what you have to say. Plus I need to keep my charas in check. Well now, I do so hope you enjoyed this little bit. The next chapter will introduce another of my fave charas. Oh, I can hardly wait! Until next Friday, then!