Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc. of the Harry Potter series are not mine. I just play with them.

Of Love and Livelihood

Part One

Severus Snape did not consider himself to be a man predisposed to being unnecessarily violent. He had never been tempted to harm people simply for the sake of watching them suffer. Violence was something he'd only ever resorted to out of a need for self defense. Until, of course, this moment.

But, Severus thought as his hand reached into his pocket to grasp his wand, the old man had brought it upon himself. Teasing him about being in such a good mood the mornings after Hermione spent the night in the dungeons was not conducive to keeping him complaisant. Thus, Snape had no choice but to murder the old doddering fool. Bastard had it coming, as far as he was concerned.

And it wasn't as if he was going to make it a painful death. No, no. A swift Avada Kedavra and the old man would be down, without ever knowing what had hit him.

"Severus!" Minerva McGonagall hissed from where she sat in a chair beside the one he'd planned on placing himself in until he'd been presented with the need to cast an unforgivable. "No hexing the headmaster!"

"Bastard deserves it," he grumbled, knowing he'd been caught out, as he sat himself in his chair and frowned.

The old man had the nerve to chuckle and twinkle in Snape's direction. Severus grumbled again and rearranged himself in his seat, trying to get more comfortable. If he loathed anything in life, it was the start of term staff meetings. Albus was always in such a bloody good mood, and Minerva was almost always at her most sanctimonious. Thus, on the first of September, Severus often felt nothing but pure and unadulterated hatred towards his friends.

Despite the insinuations Albus had made before the entire teaching staff, having Hermione stay with him the previous night had not made him one jot happier this morning. With term was starting again, he'd probably be seeing less of Hermione and much, much, much more of his students. Which, he supposed, was in the job description, but it truly seemed that the students became worse behaved and more intolerable as time went on.

"And finally," Albus said with a great sigh, "I am afraid that it is once again those of you in the even numbered group's review year. I will be spending much of my time in your classes, observing your teaching habits, and composing a detailed report for the Board of Governors. That's all, I believe. I will see all of you in the great hall for supper this evening. Don't be late."

With that, Dumbledore stepped away from the center of the room, and Severus's co-workers began standing to leave, chatting amongst themselves.

"Well," Minerva said from his right. "I'm glad I'm not an even. I hear this year's new governors plan on being rather strict with the reviews."

"Minerva," Snape said, frowning in anticipation of the response to his unasked question. "I'm in the odd group, aren't I?"

"No, Severus," she replied, also frowning. "You're an even. Number four, I believe."

"Damn," said Severus, "damn, damn, damn."

-----

When he returned his rooms, he found Hermione lying on his couch with what looked to be like a half dozen of his Potions books. Had he not been so distracted with the start of term and the impending class observations, he might have noticed that she was wearing the shirt she had practically torn from his body the night before and very little else. Lying on his couch with his books and wearing his shirt, Hermione presented a very pretty picture that Severus might have found to be quite appealing.

However, Severus was far too preoccupied to notice any of this.

Severus walked from the doorway to stand before the fire. He stared at the flames for a few moments before he began to pace. If he remembered correctly, it was the even group who had been reviewed by the Board of Governors only two years before. Therefore, that meant that it was most certainly the odd group's turn. Which, in turn, meant that somebody had either made a terrible mess of the records or someone was calling for the evens to be reviewed once again.

And for reasons unknown, this made Severus's stomach tighten and his pulse quicken as if he were nervous. It was disgusting, really.

"Very distracting when you do that," Hermione murmured as she turned a page of one of his books.

He stopped pacing to turn and scowl at her. "Well, I do apologize Miss Granger, but I am rather distressed at the moment."

Her eyes flitted upwards to rest on his face for a moment before returning to the pages of his book. He could see one her eyebrows raise upwards in an expression he knew mocked one of his own. "Well, forgive me, Professor. How am I to know such things when you don't tell me? Should I read your mind? Would you like me to suddenly take up the practice of Legilimency?"

Severus felt his frown deepen. Hermione was doing it again. It had started up just after she announced they'd been seeing each other for a year. She said it to him one evening at dinner and had paused, as if she expected something very particular to follow that announcement. He had simply nodded and tucked in, noticing when he stopped forking food into his mouth in order to take a sip of his wine that she was scowling at him.

Since then, there were constant questions. Some of them were jabs; others were rhetorical. At least, he was fairly certain they were rhetorical.

Sighing, Severus moved from where he stood to sit on the end of the couch the books were occupying. He shoved them closer to Hermione before sitting down. "I am coming under review once again this term."

"Well, don't worry about that," Hermione said as her eyes moved across the pages before her. "You'll get a fantastic review, I'm sure. Dumbledore has kept you on the staff for this long, hasn't he? What would make him change his mind now?"

"Yes, but it's not the headmaster who makes the decisions regarding the staff's employment. Not the final decision, anyway," he said.

"And who does?" she asked, her eyes still working their way down the page.

"The Board of Governors," he replied.

"So," Hermione said, finally looking up from the book to inspect his face, "you're wary because you're having delusions of the Board of Governors being out to get you. Is that it?"

"Not necessarily out to get me," Severus sighed. "But out to get someone."

Hermione smirked, and Severus once again decided that he hated the way she'd picked up his mannerisms. "Fitting your description?"

He scowled in response.

"You know," Hermione began as she closed the book before her and sat upright on the couch. "If I didn't love you so much, I might not be able to stand your paranoia. Your amazing ability to distrust everyone and their motives is something we ought to look into, Severus."

He shrugged. "I believe it may be a byproduct of working as a spy for approximately half of my lifetime, Miss Granger. That need to always be one step ahead of the game, if you will."

She smiled. "Of course, Professor. How silly of me to think that you might just be mad."

He sneered at her. "Indeed."

"Anyway," she began again, rising from the sofa, "I'm going to shower before I head back to London." She walked towards his bedroom, pausing once in his doorway to turn and grin at him. "Are you coming?"

And though he hated double entendres, Severus nodded and stood from his seat, following her dutifully into the bedroom.

-----

Apparently, all of the adults in all of the Wizarding World - and, to be quite fair, some of those who belonged to the Muggle community - had thought it quite logical to procreate approximately eleven years before this evening. Severus had never seen such a large batch of incoming first years, and by God, if watching them being sorted hadn't constituted the longest hour and a half of his life, he didn't know what did.

Minerva had given a rather great sigh after finishing the list of students and had looked quite weary as she made her way back to the head table. "Oh," she said as she fell into the chair beside his and took a large sip of the water she'd transfigured from her wine, "my throat is positively raw."

Severus nodded. "I can only imagine."

"If the group is this large next year, Severus, I think you may have to share the list with me," Minerva whispered as Dumbledore began to speak.

"I will do no such thing," Severus hissed back, before silently turning his attention to the headmaster.

Dumbledore droned on about the Forbidden Forest and Filch and other things of little importance and interest. The sad truth of the matter was that since Voldemort had been defeated, there was very little for the old man to go over in his start of term speeches. Without the need to call upon all of the houses to unify, without the need to make foreboding warnings regarding the third floor corridors, and with no student murders to be explained, Dumbledore's speeches lost a good bit of their color, and Snape's interest waned accordingly.

Luckily, Albus gave his speech in merely a fraction of the time it had taken to sort all of the first years, and before long, Severus's plate was full and all around him people were beginning to eat.

"So," Minerva said after she'd swallowed a bite of her food. "When did Hermione leave?"

"About an hour ago," Severus said. "She found it imperative to waste as much time as possible lying around my rooms and reading my books when she knew very well that she had a flat to clean in London." Severus chose not to mention the three hour shower that had followed Hermione's reading and had resulted in the worst back pain he'd had in years.

Minerva snorted softly. "Are you her father or her boyfriend, Severus?"

He winced at the word. He hated that word, 'boyfriend.' His hatred for it was only surpassed by his dislike for the term 'lover.'

"Oh," said Minerva. "I am sorry, Severus. I meant to ask if you were her father or her significant other."

"Indeed," he said, avoiding making a direct response. It was yet another question he was going to assume was merely rhetorical.

Minerva pushed on, after chewing carefully on the bit of beef she had stuck in her mouth. "When are you going to propose the girl, anyway? I think she's getting restless, you know. Quite ready for you to pop the question."

Severus turned his head towards her quickly and felt his eyebrows shoot heavenwards. "What did you say?"

"She wants to get married, Severus. She told me over tea the other day that she's been hinting at it for months and months, but still you won't ask her."

"Good Lord, Minerva!" he exclaimed, practically throwing his fork onto the table and not noticing the curious stares he received from both students and co-workers. "Is that what she's been after!?"

She smiled at him. "For someone so remarkably clever, you can be incredibly dense."

-----

After supper, Snape had gone to the library to check on the status of the few periodicals he had requested Pince order for him. They, of course, had not yet been ordered. When he had inquired as to when, exactly, the daft, old cow planned on getting around to ordering them, he had been snapped at and ordered out of the library as she had to close for start of term inventory.

Thus, Severus headed back to his rooms, grumbling and plagued by a very foul mood. His mood did not improve one bit when, upon entering his rooms, he found Albus Dumbledore sitting on his couch and grinning.

"I hear that congratulations are in order," he said from his spot on the sofa, the sound of a lemon drop lodged in his mouth distinct in his speech pattern.

Severus stood still in the doorway and scowled at the man. "Why?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Love and marriage, Severus. Love. And. Marriage."

Apparently, the old man was just begging for Severus to end his life that day. "I don't know what you're talking about," Snape said as he walked into the room, heading past the couch towards his bedroom. Once there, he began taking off his robes and dress coat.

He stared at the wall as he worked the buttons at his wrists ignoring the sounds of Dumbledore scurrying through his quarters and into his bedroom. "Oh Severus," he said as he entered the room, chuckling. "No need to be coy."

Snape grunted in response as he threw his coat onto his bed, and leant down to untie his boots.

"So, how will you ask her? And when will ask her? And ooh, Severus!" Dumbledore said, clapping his hands twice and reminding Severus greatly of the silly girls he taught. "What sort of ring will you purchase?"

Snape stood upright and glowered at the man as he kicked off his boots. "No ring. Just lemon drops."

Dumbledore's expression of ecstatic glee faltered slightly. "Lemon drops?"

"Yes," Severus said. "A large satchel of them. One drop for each year I pledge to remain her husband."

"Oh!" said Albus, his eyes twinkling brightly. "How terribly romantic…"

"Indeed," Severus replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, Headmaster, I have a proposal to plan and classes to prepare for."

"Yes," Albus said, blushing lightly as he turned to make his way out of Snape's room. "Of course you have. Have a pleasant evening, Severus."

"You also," he replied, watching as Dumbledore left his bedroom and waiting until he heard the door to his rooms closed before allowing his posture to become more flawed and to rake a hand through his hair.

He observed his bed, making no effort to hide the desire in his eyes. Stripping his pants and shirt from his body, Severus pulled back his bed sheets and climbed in, snuggling into the comfort of his blankets and pillows. Sighing, he closed his eyes,. He felt each muscle in his body relax and knew sleep would not be long coming.

"Severus," he heard Hermione's voice whisper from the direction of his fireplace. "Severus, darling, are you asleep?"

He snuggled closer to his pillow and shut his eyes as tight as he could. She only called him darling when she wanted something from him.

"Severus, I know you well enough to realize that you never fall asleep before midnight. Despite the fact that you are doing your best to deceive me, I know you're not sleeping." She paused. He supposed she was waiting for some sort of response on his part, and he purposefully gave none.

"Well," she continued. "I suppose I'll just have to lie here alone in my bed and be terribly nude and terribly lonely all night long."

Severus groaned into his pillow. "Five minutes, damn you. Just give me five minutes."

She giggled softly. "I'll be waiting, darling."

----

Author's Note: Happy Halloween! Next chapter will be posted sometime in the near future. Thanks, as always, for reading!