Disclaimer: None of the recognizable characters and settings belong to me. They are all the intellectual property of J.K. Rowling. I'm just playing around with them for the fun of it…no monetary gain is sought.

This story is dedicated to scattered logic for her cherished friendship and all her invaluable help. :)

Chapter Three: A Logical Progression

Irma Pince set her teacup carefully on the small table in front of her and glanced across at her friend as she sipped her tea. It was always nice to spend some time with Minerva McGonagall, and she was enjoying having a little break from her work in the library as well.

Minerva's sitting room, where they were currently seated, was a very pleasant room with the organized clutter of many, many years arranged around them. There was shelf after shelf full of books and knick-knacks, the souvenirs of a lifetime of travel and experience, all of which added to the homey atmosphere. A cheery fire burned in the grate in front of them, and the chairs in which they sat were comfortable and well used. After the brilliant warmth of the previous day, the weather had settled into a cold dreary rain much more common for the month of November, so the fire was much appreciated by both women.

"Did you enjoy the Quidditch match yesterday, Minerva? You seemed even more excited than usual when Mr. Potter caught the snitch right out from under the nose of Mr. Malfoy," asked the librarian with a smile.

Minerva smiled in return and nodded pleasantly. A glint of amusement lit up her eyes giving a very attractive look to her often rather severe face. "I thought it was a very well played match, and such a perfect day for it, too. All in all, I was very pleased. Of course, winning five Galleons from Severus, didn't hurt either."

Irma laughed at the mischievous expression on her friend's face. "Wagering with Professor Snape again, huh? You'd think he'd have learned by now that you almost always win when the two of you wager."

"You know, I don't think that's really ever occurred to him. He's so sure that his team should naturally come out ahead that he simply can't resist the urge to wager."

"Well, to be fair…Slytherin did win much more often before Mr. Potter took over as Gryffindor's Seeker," Irma suggested. "Yet for some reason, Professor Snape seems more willing to wager now that the young man's playing than he was before. It doesn't make sense to me. You'd think he'd have realized that Mr. Potter's playing has shifted the odds of Slytherin winning into the more unlikely column."

"I don't think that he'd agree with you, Irma. Harry's playing just makes Severus more determined than ever to make sure that his team is victorious. I don't pretend to understand what he truly thinks about this. Severus' thought processes are often a mystery to me. I just know that the odds of winning are distinctly in my favor, and that most likely Severus won't be able to resist wagering. All in all, it's tended to be a highly profitable situation for me." Minerva sipped her tea and flashed her friend a knowing look over the rim of her teacup.

The librarian laughed. "If I didn't know better, Minerva, I'd say that you were the Slytherin here, not Severus."

Her friend smiled smugly. "Simply because I'm willing to take advantage of a situation that's so clearly in my favor? Nonsense. That's only being practical…and thrifty."

Irma nodded and reached for a little lemon pastry from the dish that sat next to the tea service. "If you say so. How is Severus doing, anyway? I can't exactly say that I've missed his smiling face around the library since he's been laid up, but it has been strange not having him haunting the stacks at odd hours. Has his leg just about mended?"

"Yes, it has. I think Poppy will get him out of bed and let him try walking around on it later today or tomorrow. Not that that's soon enough for him."

"No, I imagine not. Poor Poppy. It's always so wearing on her to have him confined up there. He makes life so difficult for her at times," said Irma sympathetically.

"Well, it can't be easy for Severus either, you know. He's used to being so active and independent. Accepting help or admitting a weakness has always gone against the grain with him. Being confined has never been something he's been overly tolerant of. So you can hardly expect him to enjoy being forced to do nothing but lie around in bed for weeks at a time when he feels perfectly fine."

Minerva's tone was emphatic, and it surprised her friend a bit to hear her jump to Snape's defense so easily.

With a slight gleam of speculation in her eye, Madam Pince commented casually, "I have noticed that you've been spending quite a few of your evenings up in the infirmary playing chess with Severus since he was injured."

Minerva's hand trembled ever so slightly and her teacup rattled softly as she replaced it in its saucer and reached for a small cake. "I knew that Severus' injury would result in his being confined for some time and that that would be difficult for him…and for Poppy. After all, as Deputy Headmistress, it falls to me to see that things run as smoothly as possible for the staff. I've just been trying to keep Severus occupied for a bit and take a little of the pressure off of Poppy as well."

"Ah…of course." Irma nodded pleasantly as she watched her friend's face carefully, noting a sudden slight heightening of color. How interesting.

Still seeming slightly defensive, Minerva continued, "I haven't had the opportunity to play chess so regularly in a long time either. People get so busy around here. It was probably selfish of me to try to take advantage of Severus' captive status like that."

"Well, he must not have minded. He's not one to go along with something simply because someone else wants it."

Minerva smiled in agreement. "No. Most definitely not."

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When Minerva entered the infirmary, shortly after dinner that evening, she found Snape up on his feet and attempting to move around the room with the help of a stout ebony cane. His movements were still a bit stiff and awkward and a thin film of sweat coated his forehead. As she got closer, she could see that he was trembling ever so slightly from the exertion.

"I think that's just about enough for one try," exclaimed Poppy, who'd been watching her patient's attempts at moving on his own with a very careful eye. "As you can see, Severus, it's not quite as easy as you thought it would be. We have to approach this slowly. Still, I'm very pleased with the amount of progress that you've made here. When you were first brought in here with your leg torn open so severely, I thought you'd be laid up for a minimum of six weeks, but I'm thinking now that we'll have you out of here and back to teaching in four."

Snape's head snapped up and he glared at the matron in annoyance. "That's still more than another week away! Surely you can see that it won't take that long. I'm doing fine. I should be able to return to my quarters now and to my classroom tomorrow. I don't need to be able to stand and walk to teach effectively. It won't do the little miscreants any harm to have to bring their work to me."

Poppy placed her hands on her hips and glared right back at him. "Just who is the Healer here, you or me? I'm the one who makes medical judgments around here not you, and if you don't become a lot more cooperative, I'll be forced to keep you under my direct observations for much longer."

Snape was trembling now with fury in addition to fatigue. "This is outrageous! I've just proven to you that I can stand on my own two feet and move around without falling down. There's absolutely no reason to keep me a prisoner here any longer. I can just as easily rest in my rooms as here, and I'm fully capable of returning to my classroom as well. God only knows what a shambles it all is by now with Albus and Filius handling things. They've probably set my students back months in their studies."

"I hardly think that's likely, Severus," Minerva interjected as she came up to stand next to the irate matron. "Both Albus and Filius are highly qualified teachers, and they've been working directly from your lecture notes. Your students aren't suffering too much from your absence. They've been able to come to you directly if they've had any questions, after all. No one has banned them from the infirmary. Yet I haven't noticed a flock of them in here every day clamoring for your help."

Snape shot her a nasty glare. "That's probably because they don't even know enough to realize that they need help yet. I'm feeling much better. I've proven that I can move around under my own power. There's absolutely no reason for me to continue to have to stay here in this prison with bedpans. I want to go back to my own rooms. If you won't back me up on this, Minerva, then I demand to see Albus. I simply cannot continue to lounge around here in the infirmary. Others will begin to wonder about my fitness. That is not a wise thing to permit."

Minerva and Poppy exchanged uneasy glances. They were both well aware that Snape's usual duties extended far beyond the confines of his classroom.

Realizing that he'd scored a hit, Snape turned away from the women and headed back to his bedside. His trembling was increasing and before long it would be too difficult to hide how fatiguing it truly was to remain on his feet. So he felt that his cause would be better served if he continued his argument from a sitting position.

Poppy jumped forward to assist Snape back into his bed, ignoring his exasperated looks completely. She was also careful to take the cane from his hand and leave it just out of his reach against the neighboring bed.

When he'd settled in comfortably once more and opened his mouth to continue his argument, Poppy got her words in first.

"Severus, I do understand that life has many demands on you; however, you need to understand that I have a responsibility first and foremost to my patients' well-being. If you rush your recovery too fast, you're only going to have a relapse. Would it really do your reputation any good for you to collapse in your classroom in front of your students? Or possibly somewhere else in front of someone else?" she asked plainly.

Snape sighed and looked away from her to fasten his eyes on Minerva who was now standing quietly on the other side of his bed. "Poppy's right, Severus. You know she is."

When he opened his mouth to argue the point, she added, "However, you have a valid point as well." That stopped him cold.

Minerva turned to Poppy. "Wouldn't it be possible for Severus to go back to his quarters and rest there for a few days? You can still go and see him there, and I won't advocate allowing him to teach until you say he's ready, but his being in his rooms instead of the infirmary would be seen as a definite sign of progress. It would look better to anyone who's watching."

Poppy frowned and looked doubtful. "I suppose that it would be possible for him to go back to his quarters…but he'd need to have his activities carefully monitored." She turned back from the Deputy Headmistress to the Potions master. "I don't want you to think for a moment that letting you out of my sight means that you can be on your feet constantly trying to get well faster. If you do that you'll only exhaust yourself and end up right back up here. If you go back to your rooms, I expect that you'll rest, truly rest…off your feet. I'll set up a schedule of exercises you can do, and we can come to an agreement on how much time you can spend on your feet each day. If you're willing to abide by my guidelines, I'll allow you to leave and go back to your rooms. However, there'll be no teaching for at least another week."

Snape frowned darkly and considered his options. It would be better to be back in the privacy of his own rooms than to continue to appear the invalid here in the exposed openness of the infirmary. He'd already had to find a way to indicate his inability to attend the Dark Lord should he wish his presence. The answer that he'd received to his plea of being injured had worried him a bit. The longer he remained laid up here, the more likely he was to be viewed as a weakness and possibly more of a liability than an asset to Lord Voldemort. That wouldn't be good for anyone, least of all himself. At least if he was out of here, he'd appear to be improving…and he was sure that he could circumvent any arrangements Poppy would make, if necessary. Given half a chance, there were things that he could try that might hasten his recovery, but none of that could be accomplished if he remained here.

"Very well." He raised his head and stared at Poppy. "I will abide by whatever restrictions you put on me…within reason. And I will not push the issue of returning to the classroom immediately, but I must be allowed to return to the privacy of my own rooms as soon as possible."

Poppy nodded. "Tomorrow then…"

Snape shook his head. "No. Tonight. There's no reason why I can't spend tonight sleeping comfortably in my own bed."

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Leaning on Poppy's arm and closely followed by Minerva, Snape entered his quarters for the first time in weeks and immediately felt a sense of relief. This was the only place within the castle that he ever felt completely safe and comfortable. With his extremely strong wards to watch his back and his possessions at his fingertips if he had need of them, this was very much his sanctuary, and it felt good to be back inside it again.

The infirmary was far too vulnerable a place to be, and being a patient there left him appearing to be far too weak a person. This would be a much better arrangement, even if he had to put up with daily visits from Poppy and the annoying presence of her house elf spy.

As both women were getting him comfortably situated in one of his wingchairs before the fire, he'd refused to get into bed immediately, a knock sounded on his door, which was quickly opened to reveal a smiling Albus Dumbledore standing in the doorway.

"It's so good to see you back in your own quarters, my boy. Can I take this return to your rooms to mean that my days of teaching Potions are rapidly coming to an end?"

Poppy frowned. "Don't go giving him ideas, Albus. He's here under strict orders not to move too quickly. He's improved greatly, but he's not quite ready to return to teaching just yet. He needs to recuperate a bit more and gradually ease back into using that leg to support his weight. We've agreed that he can do that here as easily as in the infirmary, though."

"Excellent." Dumbledore beamed at them all.

Snape leaned back in his chair as Poppy fussed about getting his leg propped up on an ottoman. "What brings you down here, Albus? You obviously didn't know that I was returning to my rooms."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I had gone to the infirmary looking for Minerva actually. I found Winky changing the linens on your bed, Severus, and she told me that the three of you had come down here. So I followed along."

Minerva, who'd been watching quietly while standing beside Snape's chair now looked with interest at the Headmaster. "Why were you looking for me, Albus?"

"I just received an owl from the Board of Governors. They've decided that, considering all the turmoil we went through last year, it was probably time for them to do their own assessment of the workings of Hogwarts. I guess they figure that we're already used to the upset. So they're sending one of their number for a little visit. He or she, the letter didn't say which, will be here in a few days and will stay for a week or two assessing how things run around here. The letter implied that they were hoping to find ways in which they could assist us with our needs…once they determined what they were, of course."

All three members of his staff stared at him for a moment, then three identical expressions of suspicion blossomed at the same time. It almost appeared as if they were thinking with the same mind. Minerva was the first to speak.

"If they really wanted to be of assistance, they'd trust that you know how to run this school effectively, and that we're much more capable than they'll ever be of assessing our own needs. This just sounds like another attempt to play politics with the running of this school." She folded her arms across her chest and looked disgusted.

"Minerva's right, Albus. It sounds as if, now that the Ministry seems to be through trying to take over, the Board of Governors wants their turn. Who do you think they'll send?" Snape asked.

Dumbledore sighed. "I'm not sure. The Board was a fairly supportive and consistent entity for many years, but since Lucius Malfoy was removed, there's been a fair amount of turnover in the positions. There have been a couple of new people appointed lately, and I haven't had an opportunity to meet them or even discover their names. Most likely, it will be one of them who will be given the job of coming and assessing our needs."

Poppy snorted and straightened up. "Our needs. I'll give you our needs. I could use a full-time assistant. I know that Irma needs a larger budget for library acquisitions. Every time I go in there looking for some books, I hear that they're out or missing or had to be deaccessioned because of excessive wear. Half the classrooms need new desks…I imagine there are a lot of supplies that need replenishing as well. Yet somehow, I doubt if that's what they'll be assessing."

"No," Minerva added. "That would actually be useful. I imagine, just as the Ministry did before them, they'll be assessing us. What are we teaching? How are we teaching it, and how can it all be turned to their advantage? The Board has generally been a fairly benign group, but they are political in nature. With so much up in the air at the Ministry of Magic with Fudge's resignation, and the search for a replacement, perhaps someone on the Board wishes to use Hogwarts as some sort of jumping off point for a campaign to take his place."

Dumbledore nodded. "I suppose that's a distinct possibility. Perhaps we'll discover just what's going on in a few days when their representative comes for his or her visit."