A/N: Sigh, its times like these when I would disable anonymous reviewing if it weren't for the honest, polite people. If you're going to completely trash something I write, please do it with correct grammar. Oh yes, and come to realize when a joke is a joke. There's more to a review than 'hey this is great' or even 'this sucked'. If you're going to trash, trash by all means. Just do it properly and professionally next time. Thank you and have a nice day.

Moving on, this is the last chapter of The Trouble with Being a Professor. I'm considering a sequel if people want one.

Disclaimer: I own nothing… especially not Harry Potter

Happy Reading!

Chapter Eight– The Trouble with Being a Professor

Miranda was leaning so close on her stool to the steaming cauldron that she was sweating. She jerked her head to the side to get the hair out of her face and studied the potion.

"Seems consistent throughout," She mumbled, ladling out spoonful of the runny potion and letting it fall back into the cauldron.

A drop of sweat formed on her brow and trickled down to the tip of her nose and she wiped it away in the crook of her arm as she carefully added an ingredient. The door opened and Severus came in, balancing three black, glass jars on top of each other. He closed the door with his free hand and strode wordlessly over to the nearby desk. After placing the jars carefully on the desk, he went over to see what progress Miranda was making. He leaned in, his face close to hers, and, with narrowed eyes, studied the boiling potion.

"Seems consistent throughout," Severus murmured and Miranda nodded.

"It's going well," Miranda said. "It's the most complicated potion I've ever attempted, but it's not taking as long as I thought it would. In fact, it could be ready by tomorrow – if we worked really hard, that is. Thanks for letting me use your office, by the way."

Severus nodded and pulled up a stool. He sat down on it and picked up the list of materials and procedure. Tapping his fingers on his thigh, he read the list over for the tenth time, checking to make sure that everything was in order.

"How much armadillo bile do you plan on using again?" Severus questioned, not taking his eyes off the list.

Miranda added a sprig of mint to the cauldron and turned the ladle, replying, "A gram."

"And powdered unicorn horn?"

"Severus, it's all on the list!"

"Sorry, but I'm a tad bit anxious," Severus snapped. "In case you haven't noticed."

"Oh, I've noticed alright," Miranda replied. "And by the way, was it you who gave Potter and Weasley those detentions?"

"Yes, yes it was," Severus replied, measuring out the amount of armadillo bile.

Miranda rolled her eyes, took the measured bile from him, and slowly added it to the cauldron. The potion inside frothed and turned a rather ugly shade of bogey green.

"I'd have thought you'd be too worried for your life to be handing out detentions, Severus," Miranda said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"I'm afraid not," Severus replied. "Besides, I am putting on a face that says 'I have no idea I'll be faking my own death'. Why not start off with a detention?"

"Or two."

Miranda suddenly stopped stirring the potion, which had began to bubble violently.

"Uh oh."

"What?"

"Hand me the –" Miranda started.

Severus quickly pressed it into her hand and she threw it into the cauldron. She and Severus both stared at the cauldron.

"Is it going to explode?" Severus asked.

"Not anymore," Miranda replied. "Note to self: added counter-clockwise turn is not recommended after adding armadillo bile."

When Severus shot her a nasty glare, which Miranda replied with a would-be innocent expression.

"What?" Miranda said, holding up her hands, palms up, and shrugging her shoulders defensively. "It's a learning experience, right?"

Severus didn't think so. He watched as Miranda worked, occasionally adding something or handing her something when she instructed. Normally Severus would be bitter towards the person who was able to do better than him in potions, but considering the circumstances, Severus was merely grateful to have a competent potioneer on board. And, he was suddenly struck with a thought, she was a bit more than a skilled potion-maker to him. Enough so that –

"Severus, hand me that jar of Gurdyroot," Miranda ordered. "I've got to add it in about ten minutes."

Severus seemed to snap out of his trance and shook his head. Miranda raised an eyebrow at him.

"What? Sorry," he said hastily.

"Gurdyroot," Miranda said slowly, her brows raised. "Need to add it in ten minutes. Can I have it?"

Severus hesitated before turning around, taking one of the solid black-colored jars he had brought in with him and handing it to her. Miranda opened the jar and nearly dropped it when she saw what was inside. The jar was empty except for, not Gurdyroot, but a small silver ring. Her mouth fell open and she fished the ring out of it, then held it between her forefinger and thumb, staring at it. It was a very simple ring with a silver band and a single, yet large, diamond.

"S-Severus," Miranda stammered, her eyes fixed on the ring. "Is this for… for me?"

She looked at Severus to see that he looked very nervous. A slight blush crept up his neck. He fidgeted with the collar of his robes and cautiously took the ring from Miranda before replying.

"Well, I was thinking about this whole potion thing, and if it doesn't work and I, you know, die, then I just didn't want to go with the thought that you might not know that I, well, you know, love you –" Severus began nervously, but Miranda cut him off when she pressed her lips firmly upon his and threw her arms around his neck.

After a moment of being shocked he returned the kiss. He reached up, found her hand, and slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. He was going to take this reaction as a 'yes'. Half a second after they broke apart, there was a knock on the door. Severus jumped up to answer it. He opened the door a crack, effectively hiding his smile behind a cold sneer.

"In," Severus said, and threw open the door so that Harry and Ron could enter, both looking moody.

Harry and Ron walked into the room to see Miranda, who, unsurprisingly, was smiling as if she'd just enjoyed a cold beverage and her favorite joke. Harry looked from the smiling Miranda to the distinctly aggravated-looking Snape and thought that he had never seen such an odd couple. Harry and Ron took their seats in the back of the classroom, but Snape's lip curled.

"I don't think so," Snape said airily. "No, Weasley, you'll be scraping the chewing gum off the undersides off all the desks. That should teach you to find better ways to dispose of your own. Potter, you can start off by washing the blackboard. Then alphabetize the bookshelves and the contents of the cupboards. After that, you may polish the sets of scales. No magic. Do not speak, either of you. Professor Kent and I are working and do not wish to be disturbed."

Snape sat down next to Kent and they began mumbling about their potion again in low voices so that neither Harry nor Ron could hear. When Snape looked down at a piece of parchment, Kent looked up and made a motion over towards the door with her finger. Ron looked and saw that there was a small chisel hanging by the door, and it was hovering slightly. Ron stood up, walked over to the door, and took the chisel from the hanging. With a grateful smile at Kent, he sat down and began to work. Due to the vast amounts of desks, Harry's well-practiced cleaning abilities and a quick alphabetization, Harry finished first. He sat down in a desk that had already been chiseled and made as if he was watching Ron, who was scraping at a desk with a look of concentration and revulsion on his face. In reality, Harry had turned his head so that he could try and pick up what Snape and Kent were talking about. He only heard tiny tidbits of their conversation.

"…okay, what about a dragon scale or two for protection?"

"That's not a bad idea in actuality, but make sure you stir them in using the figure eight motion so the consistency doesn't change. Dragon scales can be temperamental."

"Right-o, Sev."

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry. Back to the potion, now. We need to find something that will give you the impression of being dead, right? I put down Tentacula Venom for paleness and Essence of Murtlap to help bring you around later."

"Sounds plausible. But remember, this is no stunning spell we're working against."

Harry leaned slightly closer and watched as Ron added another piece of dried gum to the mountain already in a pile. So Kent and Snape were making something to block a spell but give him the impression of being dead? That could only be…

"I am well aware, thank you. Think, though, if we were the first to purposely and effectively block the Avada Kedavra –"

Snape made a shushing noise and turned to see how Harry and Ron were doing. He stood up and saw that Harry was sitting there, trying to look innocent.

"Potter!" Snape barked and Harry jumped. "There's no need to wait for Weasley; I'm sure he knows the way to Gryffindor Tower."

"Yes, Professor."

Harry stood to leave and looked back to see that Ron had just finished the last desk and was throwing out the disgusting amount of dried gum. Ron hurried up and met Harry at the door, and they left together. Harry told Ron what he'd heard, but Ron didn't seem all that worried.

"They can't do it," Ron said. "You can't block the Avada Kedavra."

"I beg to differ," Harry said stiffly, unconsciously reaching up and touching his lightning-bolt scar. "If anyone can do it, I bet Kent can."

Ron gave Harry a confused look.

"Why?"

Harry, who had told neither Ron nor Hermione about Kent's past, merely shrugged.

"Kent seems good at Potions, and we already know that Snape's good at it. Not to mention he knows just about everything about the Dark Arts. He was, or is, a Death Eater, you know."

Ron said nothing, but became rather interested with a hole in his secondhand robes. He suddenly looked up and smirked.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Did you see Kent's finger?" Ron said, and Harry shook his head. Why would he look at Kent's finger? "She had an engagement ring on it."

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"How'd you know it was an engagement ring?" Harry pressed doubtfully.

"Did you see the rock on that thing?" Ron exclaimed. "There's no way it could be anything else."

Harry said nothing this time, and wondered for the millionth time what Kent could possibly see in Snape.

o-o-o

Severus and Miranda stood on the Astronomy Tower at twilight, the still summer air of June full of the smells of warm grass, lake water, and wood smoke from Hagrid's cabin. Miranda looked down from the tower to see Dumbledore striding quickly down the sloping grounds towards Hogsmeade.

"Where do you think he's going, Severus?" Miranda asked, pointing towards Dumbledore.

"To visit a bar in Hogsmeade. He often goes to the Three Broomsticks or sometimes to the Hog's Head. His brother, Aberforth, is the barman there," Severus replied.

A gust of wind blew by, flowing trough Miranda's hair and making strands fall in her face. The breeze seemed to carry a sense of foreboding, as if something was going to happen on this very night. Miranda didn't know why, but she knew Severus felt it, too, for he drew his cloak closer around his neck and stared out at the sunset. She reached out and took his hand in hers.

"What do you think?" Miranda said, long after Dumbledore had disappeared form view.

Severus kept his eyes fixed upon the horizon, and Miranda knew he understood what she was talking about.

"I think it's a risk," Severus said. "But we've taken precautions and done everything we could possibly think of. It's ready, and now we can only wait."

He looked down at her and smirked.

"What? No witty comment from the peanut gallery?" He said mockingly.

Miranda shrugged and Severus watched the sun setting.

"I'm just nervous," Miranda said. "Everything's about to fall into place."

"Indeed," Severus replied, and turned his eyes back on the woman beside him. He furrowed his brows and asked, "You look different."

Miranda nodded and turned up to look at him.

"I was wondering if you'd notice," Miranda said. "When I was in my late teens, specifically, I was different than everybody else and some people accepted my magical abilities more than others. One day I changed my hair color to what it's been for the last decade or two. I told myself that I'd only change it back to its natural state if I was going to get married. Sort of a 'take me as I am' thing, you know? It's like a transition from trying to fit in to wanting me to be liked for me."

Severus gave a slight chuckle and pushed a strand of hair away from her face. Her natural hair was a dark blonde, dark enough to seem brown and have a red kind of sheen.

"I like it," Severus said quietly.

A few hours later, Miranda was sitting in Severus' office with Severus himself, talking quietly about things that didn't really matter all that much. Suddenly the door burst open and Flitwick came hurdling in, looking frightened.

"Death Eaters in the castle!" he exclaimed in his high-pitched voice. "They're here!"

Severus stood up, as did Miranda.

"We will join you as soon as possible, Filius; you must go and fight," Severus said hastily as Miranda rushed over to a cabinet and thrust it open.

Flitwick nodded and hurried off towards the battle once again. Severus took a deep breath, and turned to face Miranda, who was scurrying over with a bottle in her hand. He took it from her and uncorked it, then raised it to his lips.

"Severus, wait!" Miranda said loudly, and he lowered the bottle.

Her eyes were filled with tears and her hands were visibly shaking.

"What is it?" Severus asked.

Miranda said nothing at first, and then threw her arms around him and kissed him, tears falling freely from her eyes.

"I love you, Severus," Miranda gasped. "I just wanted you to know that,"

She pulled away and Severus, without a word, lifted the bottle once again to his lips and tilted his head back. He drank deeply from the bottle and shuddered. He corked it and handed it back to Miranda.

"Did it work?"

"I think so," Severus replied. "I must go."

"Do you remember that spell?"

"Yes."

"Good luck, Severus."

"And you, Miranda."

Severus and Miranda both exited the room and took different paths – Miranda into the heart of the battle and Severus to the lightning-struck tower.

Miranda hurried off into the battle, knowing what to do. Severus had not wanted her to go, but she had been too noble to comply. He had also wanted Miranda to take some of the potion, but she had refused because the potion contained herbal ingredients; herbs were on the list of things not to take during a pregnancy.

She had invented a spell that worked as a portkey, transporting the stuck person wherever you wanted them to go. The Death Eaters, when hit with the spell, would be instantly transported to a room Severus had prepared. The room was an anti-magic chamber, much like the one that Voldemort had used, and was a place that could properly house the Death Eaters until Dumbledore could figure out what to do with them. Draco would be transported to a similar room in the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters, where his mother, Narcissa Malfoy, had been transported already.

Miranda took a left and found herself in the entrance hall of the school. There, fighting in all different places, were students and Death Eaters alike. Immediately Miranda began hitting the Death Eaters with her spell, sending them off to where they were supposed to go. The other professors had been informed of the spell and were also using it. A massive blonde Death Eater Miranda recognized as Gibbon sent a spell at her and she ducked. She landed hard on the floor and received a scratch or two, but nevertheless hauled herself back up and continued with her task. The number of Death Eaters was greatly decreasing at a rapid pace.

Meanwhile, Severus sped up towards the Astronomy Tower, hitting Death Eaters with the portkey spell as he went, until he reached the door. He could hear voices on the other side and quickly performed a bit of Legilimency. Potter was up there, he concluded, for Potter's mind was as open as usual. Others were there, too, like Amycus and Alecto, who had never been much good at Occlumency. Severus could hear Fenrir Greyback's snarling voice through the door.

"I'll do it," Greyback said viciously.

"I said no!" Exclaimed a voice Severus recognized as that of Antonin Dolohov, and there was a sound like a bang and a crash.

Alecto's voice screeched out next, sounding aggravated.

"Draco, do it or stand aside so one of us –" she began, but at that moment Severus pushed open the door.

Everyone's heads turned and stared, shocked, at Severus as he stood in the doorway. Severus knew this affect would take place, and used it to the best of his ability. He first sent the portkey spell at Dolohov, who was the most likely to be quick-thinking. The other Death Eaters gave a shout as Dolohov vanished on the spot and Greyback rushed forward, his arms outstretched. Severus hit him next with the portkey spell and he, too, vanished into thin air. After doing the same to Alecto and Amycus, who seemed to have realized they needed to react, he turned to Draco. Draco took a hasty step backwards.

"I didn't – I, wait!" Draco exclaimed, but Severus had already turned his wand on him.

Draco vanished just as the others had, but Severus had made sure to send him to the proper location. Severus took a small vial out of his robe pocket and added a blonde hair to it. when he poured the contents of the vial onto the ground, they morphed into what looked like Draco Malfoy, unmistakably dead. There was silence in which neither Dumbledore nor Severus said a thing, and then Severus dropped his wand and rushed forward. He helped Dumbledore into a better sitting position, and Dumbledore struggled to speak.

"Severus, I need help," Dumbledore said faintly.

"I am aware," Severus replied quickly. "I'm transporting you to my office, where Miranda or myself will be with you as soon as possible."

Severus picked up his wand, pointed it at Dumbledore, and Dumbledore vanished. Severus straightened up and several more Death Eaters appeared in the doorway.

"It's Snape!" One of the Death Eaters, Rookwood, exclaimed, and then raised his wand.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Rookwood sent a green beam straight at Severus and it hit him squarely in the chest. Severus crumpled to the ground, dead, and hit his head on the ground with a thud. Under the invisibility cloak, Harry's heart skipped several beats. Snape was dead? After everything, Snape had been killed by a simple Avada Kedavra. And he hadn't done a thing to stop it, either; Snape had just stood there until he was killed. This confused Harry the most, and Harry realized that he was stuck up on top of a tower, covered in an invisibility cloak and unable to move.

"Malfoy's dead, too?" asked one of the Death Eaters.

"Obviously," snapped another. "Can't you see his body?"

"Should we take it?" Piped up another.

"No!" Said the second voice. "Leave them both here for the bloody Order to find. We've gotta go. Now."

The Death Eaters all laughed and, after seeing that nobody (visible) was still on the tower, hurried back downstairs. Snape's body lay on the ground, unmoving and limp. Harry didn't wish to look at it, but he couldn't do anything to keep from it. After a period time that felt like hours, the door opened yet again and Miranda Kent, followed by McGonagall, came onto the tower. Neither of the professors, Harry noted, had a trace of shock on her face at the sight of Snape's corpse. McGonagall flicked her wand and the look-alike of Draco's body disappeared in a wisp of smoke.

"Albus said he's here somewhere, Minerva. He's under an invisibility cloak and he's frozen under the Petrificus Totalus. Here, I'll do a heat-seeking spell."

Miranda raised her fingers and Harry suddenly felt his body glowing red under the cloak. Also, and this seemed strange to Harry, Snape's body was emitting the same red glow, though he was dead. McGonagall strode over to where Harry was, muttered the counter curse, and pulled the cloak off of him. Harry felt the motion return to his body and he blinked a few times, the red glow fading away.

"Hello, Potter," McGonagall said calmly.

Harry stared at Snape's body as Miranda knelt down beside it and lifted Snape's head onto her lap.

"Professor, the Death Eaters came up here and did it. The Avada Kedavra. I saw, there were a bunch of them that saw," Harry said weakly and quickly to whichever professor was listening.

It was Professor Kent who replied with something that stunned Harry.

"Good."

Harry's mouth fell open in shock, but he was unable to say anything. Kent was already taking a bottle out of her robes and uncorking it. She lifted Snape's head slightly and poured some of the potion down his throat. After a moment or two in which both McGonagall, who had turned to watch, and Kent held their breath. After a few second, however, Snape's body moved. McGonagall gasped and lowered herself to her knees. The two women watched as Snape moved again, gave a sharp intake of breath, and finally opened his eyes. Miranda shrieked and covered her mouth.

"Severus, it worked!" Miranda shouted. "They all think you're dead! Draco, too!"

Severus hoisted himself up into a sitting position and looked around, rubbing his head where it had struck the ground.

"Where's Albus?"

"I took care of him, he should be fine," Miranda replied, giving Snape a hug. "I was so worried, Severus, but it worked. The portrait of Phineas Nigellus said that the two Malfoys are safe in the room. He told them what was going on and they've recomposed themselves. The Death Eaters are all in the anti-magic chamber – we could hear them yelling. The door is impenetrable and unbreakable, so they're stuck. Tonks and the other Order members and the Ministry's dealing with them now. A few of them, the ones that saw you die, escaped, but that's good because they're going to go and tell Voldemort that you're dead."

Miranda looked up to see the Dark Mark twinkling green in the sky. Snape pointed his wand into the air and the Dark Mark vanished.

"Good," Snape said quietly, and his eyes landed on Harry. To Harry's surprise, Snape said nothing to him, but turned back to Miranda and said, "If you would, I feel a little under the weather from that potion."

"Yes, of course," Miranda said, and she and McGonagall heaved Snape to his feet.

"Come on, Potter, let's go to the hospital wing – everyone's meeting there," McGonagall said.

Harry nodded and led the way down the spiral staircase with Snape, McGonagall and Kent in tow, the two women helping keep Snape steady. They were greeted as they entered the infirmary by a group of students. The Order members came in next with word that the Death Eaters had been properly disposed of and that the Ministry was gone. Severus and Miranda sat together in two adjacent chairs, Severus with a steaming mug of tea between his hands. Severus stared down into it, reflecting over all the things that had happened during this one year. He had been showed up by a young woman who wore ridiculous combat boots; he had gotten someone pregnant; he had saved several people's lives; he had fallen in love; he had assisted in the discovery of the only blocking potion to the Adava Kedavra and tested it out himself; he was going to have to go into hiding; he had fallen in love, faked his death, and now he was getting –

"Hey Professor Kent, can I be your bridesmaid?"

Severus snapped his head up to look, in bewilderment, upon Ginny Weasley, who was smiling with her hands clasped behind her back. Other people laughed while some looked alarmed. Harry stood slightly behind Ginny, looking extremely peaky and apprehensive, as if he'd told Ginny who was getting married in the first place.

"How did you -?" Severus started, bemused and slightly aggravated, but was cut off by a barking laugh from Miranda.

Miranda slung an arm around Severus' shoulders and heaved her boot-clad feet onto an empty chair beside her.

"That's the trouble with being a professor, Severus," Miranda said, laughing. "Everybody knows about everything you do."

While everyone in the room, including Miranda, laughed, Severus scowled. He watched Miranda out of the corner of his eye and found himself smirking slightly.

Finally, after years and years, problems upon problems and detentions upon detentions, Severus thought, life is good.

o-o-o

FIN

A/N: And there it is – the ending of my epic tale. Heh.

Like I said in the A/N from before, if you want a sequel, just tell me. If three or more people want one, I'll write one.

But for now, thanks for reading this all the way through!