Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, things, or ideas (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings. I borrowed an old saying, "Denial is not just a river in Egypt."

Chapter 9: Her Black Knight

Their chess games began to include verbal sparring as well as the usual discussions and advice. For Christmas, Minerva received quite a surprise when she found a new chess set bearing her name. It was a Wizard's Chess set, but the figures were Romans. She smiled and wondered whom it was from as she looked for a tag. However, she did not find one.

Rolanda visited her later that day and eyed the chess set with curiosity. "Are you sure you don't know who this is from?"

"I have my suspicions, but I cannot confirm that it's from the person who sent me the notes," Minerva remarked.

The other witch sighed and rolled her eyes. Minerva raised an eyebrow. "What is that look supposed to mean?"

"Min, as the old saying goes, 'denial is not just a river in Egypt.' I think you have a pretty good idea of who has been sending those notes to you. But, you are in denial because you do not wish to believe it," Rolanda suggested before leaving.

Minerva scoffed after she had left. What do I have to be in denial for? She doesn't know what she's talking about. But what if she does? Am I merely postponing the inevitable by telling myself that I don't know who has been sending the notes? Maybe she has a point after all, she thought to herself.

She and Severus' first chess game after the winter break fell on January twelfth. As Severus took a seat, Minerva handed him a cup of tea. "I hope the new year is starting well for you," she remarked.

"It's as good as can be expected. No one has tried to kill me yet, so I suppose I should be grateful," he replied sardonically.

I should have known that he would still be angry with Potter and Black over their escapade with the Shrieking Shack, she recalled. "By the way, I ought to wish you a 'Happy Birthday.' It was this past Monday, wasn't it?"

He nearly chocked on his tea. "I'm surprised that you remembered; hardly anyone else did. My eighteenth birthday nonetheless, and it goes virtually forgotten. How do you know when my birthday is?"

"All of my students' birthdays are by their names on my roster," she answered plainly. Then she brought out the Roman Wizard's Chess set. "I thought we would try something new today."

He smiled approvingly as the pieces arranged themselves. "Someone has good taste in chess sets. This time the pieces are dressed."

She laughed. "You arestill bothered by the chess set that I told you was based on works of art?" she asked rhetorically as the game began.

The two enjoyed watching the pieces move and said little to each other for the first few minutes of the game. Then Minerva decided to begin a new conversation. "Mr. Snape, this is your seventh year. Do you know what you want to do once you have graduated from Hogwarts?"

He shrugged and smirked. "I have a better idea of what I don't want to be doing after I graduate."

Telling her rook to move, she turned back to him. "You should think about your future. I know that your talent for Potions is outstanding. Have you ever considered becoming a Potions Master?"

"That does sound interesting, but I would need to spend time being someone's apprentice. And frankly I would rather help Gryffindor win a Quidditch match against my own House than be an apprentice to Professor Eygore," he explained with a wry grin.

She laughed. "I'm guessing that you still harbor a grudge for Professor Eygore."

He told his bishop to move and watched as it hacked on of her pawns. "It is what Slytherins do. Gryffindors fight battles, and Slytherins hold grudges. A Slytherin without a grudge is trying to be a Gryffindor," he answered plainly.

"There are times when I wonder if you are actually a scoundrel," she joked after telling a rook to move.

"And there are times when you would be correct," he paused to watch his knight attack her rook. "I am curious though, who on earth will you play chess with when I graduate?"

She laughed again. "I suppose I shall have to be content playing chess with our esteemed Headmaster once again. Checkmate."

"So it is. And now I must take my leave. It seems that I have an obnoxious four-foot Transfiguration essay to write. How can I not hold a grudge with such long essays looming over me?" he goaded her.

"Go, shoo. And have a good day, Mr. Snape," she remarked.

He stood and nodded. "As should you, professor." She watched him go as the chess pieces cleaned themselves up, wondering what made him tick. Later that day she received another note:

Dear Aphrodite,

You have a knack for making a person's day brighter. I only wish that I could accept that, but I am forever in my own darkness. I wish you well, that I may some day repay you the favor.

Your Black Knight

For the next several weeks she continued to ponder what Rolanda had said to her. She and Severus continued their chess games well into February before he had any career ideas. Their next meeting occurred on the last Thursday of February. Minerva had been through a particularly bad day and nearly forgot about the meeting. The first-year class that she was teaching had completely fouled up the spell she had attempted to teach them and when she intervened, she was hit by a spell from another group.

Fortunately the only damaged it caused was that her hairpins would no longer stay in place, so that her waist-length obsidian black hair was down for the remainder of the day. Not only did every class after have to comment on her hair, but they had the nerve to attempt practical jokes in front of her, thinking that she might not be feeling like herself and overlook their antics.

A knock at the door reminded her of what day it was, a small piece of sanity after an intolerable day. "Come in Mr. Snape," she beckoned.

He sat down as she brought out the chess set. When she faced him, she realized that he was staring at her. "Professor, why is your hair down today?" he asked bluntly.

"A misfired spell from a first-year student caused my hairpins not to stay in. It should wear off by tomorrow, but in the meantime I can do nothing else with my hair. Does it look that out of place?" she inquired.

He shook his head. "No, actually it makes you look more youthful."

She blushed and the black chess king, looking like Jupiter (Zeus) holding a lightening bolt, whistled. Turning her attention immediately to the chessboard, she gave the king a look that put him back into a more stoic attitude. "Let's begin," she stated.

"I have decided to become a Potions Master," Severus announced as he told a pawn, which resembled a Roman foot soldier, to move.

"That is good news. Now all you need is to find someone willing to take an apprentice. I might be able to help you find a few professors, if you would like," she offered.

He thanked her and the game continued quietly for a while. As she moved her rook, she decided to ask him the usual questions. "Mr. Snape, how are you doing in your Potions class?"

Moving a pawn, he looked up to respond. "I'm still receiving top marks on my homework and class work. Professor Eygore, however, has not been so fortunate."

She noticed his smirk and raised an eyebrow after telling her bishop to take one of his pawns. "What, may I ask, did you do to that man?"

He snorted. "Though I despise him, I did not do anything to him. One of the other Slytherins was terribly clumsy and spilled his potion all over Professor Eygore's shoes, after which the potion had a similar affect to itching powder. Remember when I told you about his gout? He was furious with the student, sentencing him to a month of detentions with Filch."

I don't know whether to feel sorry for Eygore or laugh. Though he deserved what he got, he is still one of my colleagues. "I just hope that I don't here reports of you pulling stunts like that."

"Don't worry, professor, you won't. The trick is not to be caught," he relayed, putting her king in check with his knight.

She shook her head and chuckled, telling her king to move. "If I did not know you better, I would say that you had a mischievous streak in there somewhere."

He scoffed. "I believe that mischief is a thoroughly Gryffindor trait."

Looking at the board at the move he had just made, she told her queen to move. "You would say that. Mischief is a universal trait."

"As if you had ever gotten into any mischief, professor," he said wryly.

She laughed. "In my earlier schooldays I would have surprised you. In my fourth year, a few friends and I had found a way to move the paintings that guard the house common rooms, but we all got caught."

"That would have been a sight to see, Professor McGonagall getting herself into trouble," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "Enough about my sordid past, checkmate," she finished. He conceded defeat and the chess pieces packed themselves away again.

"You were right," he began after their game had ended.

She raised an eyebrow. "What about?"

"I did find someone who suits me better," he relayed.

"What is she like? Do you know if she likes you as well?" Minerva inquired.

A faint hue of pink appeared on his pale cheeks. "She's very intelligent, compassionate, beautiful, and wise. But I don't think she knows how I feel about her, even though I have tried to get her attention."

"Perhaps you should try a more direct approach," she suggested.

He smiled genuinely as he stood to leave. "I think that may be the best approach, something less subtle. Good day, professor."

She nodded and returned his smile. "And to you, Mr. Snape."

He turned to leave as she returned to her work, but then he changed his mind. "Professor," he called back, returning to the desk.

"Yes?" she responded, not immediately looking up.

She then realized that he felt closer to her than before. She looks attractive when she looks up over her glasses like that, he thought to himself. As she slowly peered up at him, he slid a hand under her chin and quickly pressed a kiss to her lips. She was too stunned to pull away as he moved his other hand to the back of her neck, feeling her silky raven-black hair. The sound kiss became more passionate and she placed her hands on his shoulders, responding to the kiss.

She was grateful to find herself seated, or else she would have lost the ability to stand as soon as their lips had touched. Half of her wondered how he had learned to kiss like that. The other half did not wonder about anything at that moment because it had turned to jelly and was not able to think clearly. He pulled away slowly and watched her to assess the possible damage he had done.

As if in a trance, she seemed to watch him for a while. Suddenly her eyes grew as big as saucers and she gasped, jumping to her feet. "Merlin's beard," she gasped in horror. "What have we done? I'm your professor!" she exclaimed frantically.

Bloody hell, I've really done it this time, he thought to himself as he sighed heavily. "I should probably-"

"You should probably leave now. I need to sort this situation out," she interjected with irritation.

He nodded and slapped a piece of paper on her desk face down before he left. As she turned it over to read it, she inhaled sharply as her suspicions were confirmed:

Beautiful Aphrodite,

If you are reading this, then I have made my feelings known and left the decision in your hands. No matter what you decide, meet me at the Leaky Cauldron in two days at 8:00pm.

Your Black Knight

She began pacing back and forth, attempting to sort out what had just occurred. The problem was not that he had boldly expressed that he was in love with her. She realized that her problem related to what would happen to her if she could not get control of the situation. Merlin, this is bad. Rolanda was right: I knew it was him all along, but I did not want to believe it. I wish this had never happened. I've never met anyone who can kiss like- wait, I should not be thinking about that. Should I even bother to show up? No, no, no, the answer must be no to everything. I've got to stop this nonsense immediately. This is what a spontaneous moment of affection has brought me: one colossal headache, she surmised.

(My thanks to duj, katplwe (), excessivelyperky, and Leta McGotor for reviewing :D)