Disclaimer: I dont own any of the characters mentioned in this fic, nor Hogwarts (well, who in my mind is a character). Jk Rowling does. She and warner brothers and whoever else has any rights to Harry Potter books. This is not intended for profit, only for fun, and I in no way claim to be talented.

Character Pairings: Severus Snape/Nymphadora Tonks

Warnings: Mild use of language, adult situations, possible slight ooc (though i try desperately to avoid that)

This contains no overly complex plot, and is written mainly to make people smile while hopefully avoiding being overly cheesy although I do NOT mind cheesy, so..yeah

A/N: I grew fascinated with (after reading several that made me shudder) the idea of if a Snape-Tonks romance could be pulled off even halfway believably, without going horribly ooc on the characters or making it gag-a-maggot sweet. I dont know for sure if everything is going to work out in the end, it may not do so. Keeps it interesting for me. If you spot any errors in any of the chapters, please leave them in a review so I can correct them (thanks to my beta for suggesting this--revised note May 9,2004)

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Tonks threw herself backwards on to the huge gold and green four-poster bed in her new bedroom, and giggled as she looked around. She was a teacher. The thought struck home just then. She really was a teacher. She was responsible for more than just herself and her partner now.

Wow.

Wait a second, she didn't even have a partner now.

Oh crud.

Who was she going to talk to when things got to be too much for her? It was not like Kingsley would understand how hard it was to watch over 30 something odd kids several times a day. To have to hand out detentions and ta-

She was getting ahead of herself.

Surely it wouldn't be THAT bad. They were just kids. She was the adult. The responsible one. She could handle it. She could teach them. As soon as she figured out where to start, that was. Organization was NOT one of her strong points. But she would almost bet Severus was organized...

That led to another thought, and then another, and before she realized it, instead of falling asleep, she was on her knees in front of the fire, tossing in a bit of floo powder, and calling out the Potions masters address.

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Severus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked down at a paper he was writing about improvements on the Polyjuice Potion. He detested writing. Working with his hands on his potions was much more enjoyable. However, seeing his name in print, and being honoured for what he was, made it almost worth it.

With that in mind, he turned his attention back to the paper, and had just touched the tip of his quill to the parchment when a chime sounded throughout the room, and as he swiftly looked over, the fire turned green.

Getting to his feet, he strode over just as Tonks' head appeared and sank down in front of the fire. "Yes?"

"Er...Sev...verus. Uhm, see, I'm not too good with this teaching stuff. I know I've got to do er...lesson plans? But I don't even know where to start." She concentrated and grew long lashes, which she batted playfully at him. "Would you be willing to help me? Pleaaaaaase?"

He resisted both the urge to sigh in annoyance, and grin at the Metamorphmagus. Instead he settled for a sharp nod. "Bring your notebooks here. Floo through if you'd like."

"OOooh! Severus Snape, I adore you!"

He rolled his eyes. "Sometime tonight, woman."

"Yes, Master." She winked and disappeared from view for a second. He'd barely had time to rise to his feet and back up before she came through the floo, several notebooks and random papers clasped in her arms.

Immediately she stumbled, and he grabbed her around the waist to keep her from falling.

When they realised the position that put them in, with her backside pressed against him, and his arm holding her to him, they both froze for a long moment, and then he hastily withdrew his arm, and Tonks took a step away, blushing.

"So-oo," she said shakily. "Where do I put these, and where do we start?"

Swallowing hard, Severus pointed to the inn-table in front of the black leather couch facing the fire. "There will be fine. Did you bring a quill?" She glared at him.

"I'm not an idiot Sev...verus."

He smirked at her. "Did you bring ink? And you may call me Sev, woman, since you seem incapable of stringing my name together properly." He crossed his arms and stared at her. "However, never in public and if you tell anyone I've let you, that privilege will be rescinded immediately." 'Ugh. I'm going soft.'

She went red as she sat down everything she'd brought with her where he indicated. There was no inkbottle in the lot. Tonks looked up at him at his next words, and nibbled on her lower lip as she considered him, finally saying softly: "Thank you." 'Only he has to put limits on being nice,' the Metamorphmagus thought with a mental grin before she patted the seat beside her and opened the blank ledgers. "Where do I start?"

Two hours later Tonks closed the last book with a triumphant sound, and turned to face the Potions Master. "I could kiss you!"

'I wish you would,' he surprised himself with the thought, and immediately sneered at her. "I seriously doubt that." He grabbed up the bottle of green ink he'd let her write with, and strode over to his desk, where he placed it down easily before turning back to her.

He found her studying him carefully, and had to resist the urge to shift under her stare. 'What the bloody hell is she thinking?' he wondered.

'Why does he have to be such an arse? He has moments where he's almost nice, and then goes and pulls something like that. Over a simple light-hearted comment.' A small voice in the back of her head whispered that maybe he had a cob up his rear, and her lips twitched as she fought vainly not to smile. "I don't understand you, Severus Snape," she finally said.

He arched a brow. "I can say the same of you, Nynniphadora Tonks."

Tonks stared at him in shock for a moment, and then burst out with: "You made a joke!", and promptly fell over on the couch laughing helplessly.

Snape frowned in consternation and walked over to the couch, where he put his hands on the back ridge and stared down at her. "I do have a sense of humour," he said flatly. He had to wait a long moment for a response, and when it came, it was surprisingly serious.

"I see that now, Sev." At this, he walked around to the front of the couch, and offered a hand to her.

"You should get all the rest you can, those brats will drive you up the walls on a good day. Sleep-lacked you'll be a candidate for St. Mungos." Tonks nodded as he helped her up, and as she bent down to pick her stuff up, said:

"You know, for a supposedly greasy git..." she straightened up, her eyes meeting his, "sometimes you're alright." Then she took a pinch of floo powder from a pocket of her trousers and was through the fire before he had a chance to respond.

He did anyways, saying to the air. "And sometimes you surprise me."

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A/N: I can't believe the nice responses I've been getting so far! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, and please, feel free to tell me if I've missed anything, or spelled something wrong...whatever. Only through input can I do a proper job :) Also: taking recommendations for scenes. If I use one you suggest, I'll credit you for it :)

Thanks to: MajinSakuko and TeenTypist!