Under My Skin

Disclaimer: Don't remind me!

Thanks for all the reviews and "petitions" to be my beta. I couldn't pick all of you, unfortunately, so the prize goes toooo...JTBJAB! And so thanks a lot to JTBJAB for beta-ing this story.

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Chapter 2

The damn staff meeting was an introduction to the new fucking professors. Harry bloody Potter, Ronald damned Weasley, and some young woman by the name of Grace Vasquez, who had wavy black hair and steel gray blue eyes with a nice tan figure. Potter would be taking the DADA posistion (once again, grrrr), Weasley was going to take Quidditch instructor, and the Vasquez woman would take the Arithmacy posistion. Severus thought he deserved a damn cookie or something for predicting two of the three new teachers, even if it was Hagrid who brought it up.

Vasquez was seated next to Severus in the comfortable plush chairs and he could see out of the corner of his eye that she was staring at him intently. "Is there something I can help you with?" he asked coldly. He turned to look at her and she blushed.

"Forgive me," she replied in a soft, almost Spanish accent. "I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Grace Vasquez, and you are?"

"Not caring at the moment," Severus mumbled, but apparently the woman had more wit than she let on for she replied,

"I see. Well, when you happen to care, Professor, I'd love to talk to you about potions and such," with much venom, and with that she got out of her chair to speak with that damned Potter. Severus sighed, and before he knew it, Aura Sinistra was sitting next to him.

She chuckled lightly and said, "Severus, those damn tactics will get you no where with women."

"As if I was meaning to," he said a cold, drawled voice. Aura chuckled more at this and patted him on the arm. He mocked disgust and moved his arm away. She sighed and they both just stared off into the fire...

"I hope you found your accomodations suitable," Harry Potter tried to make conversation with Grace during dinner that evening. As he was sitting next to her at the Head Table, it was only polite that one should talk to her. Unfortunately, Ron Weasley was also sitting next to the beautiful woman, so the men were practically fighting for her attention.

"Very much so," she replied, with a slight giggle.

"So, Grace, where are you from?" Ron asked sweetly. He scooted his chair closer to her's. Severus, all the way down the table, saw this manuever and rolled his eyes at how immature and stupid these little boys were being. He also noticed that Vasquez had a look of discomfort on her face, from what he supposed; was from their closeness. Neither boy noticed this for they were too busyswimming intheir own self-confidence.

Damn it, he thought sourly. He got up from his place at the table and walked the few feet where the three were sitting. "Professor Vasquez," she looked up and he eyed her intently. "I think I would like to discuss those potions, now, if you don't mind."

Apparently, he had startled her with his politeness and it took her a few moments to respond with, "Oh, yes, yes of course, Professor. Excuse me, guys." She mocked reluctance as she stood and the boys just stared at her and Snape increduously. He put his hand on the small of her back to guide her out. The boys' faces were beyond red now, and when Snape turned around, he tried his hardest to keep a straight face.

He led her out the Great Hall and when they were out of earshot, she began laughing uncontrollably. Severus found he quite liked Vasquez's laugh. It wasn't shrilly and squeaky, nor too deep; it was perfect. "Professor Vasquez-"

"Grace," she corrected when air filled her lungs finally. She even had to hold onto the stone gray walls to keep herself steady.

"Miss Grace, don't expect me to come to your rescue everytime those buffoons think they know everything about women."

The mood around the two immediately changed and Severus could tell Grace was getting angry. She spoke in a clenched voice, "I didn't need you to 'come to my rescue', as you so adaquently put it, Professor Snape. I was quite capable of letting Messers Potter and Weasley know that I didn't feel like talking with them at the moment."

"Whatever you say, ma'am. Good evening." He was about to walk back down to his cold dungeons, until a small tan hand grabbed his arm. "You honestly think you saved me? I ask you, Snape, what in the hell makes you think that you're better than me?"

"I said nothing of the sort, Vasquez," his demeanor was now set with a ready-rage fury. How dare she... "And given the fact that you know nothing of me other than I'm a Potions Master here at Hogwarts, doesn't help your case. Now, if you'll excuse me," He quickly stole his arm away from her's and walked down the hall and into his dungeons without a second glance.

The nerve of that woman... Severus thought to himself as he entered his chambers behind his classroom and office. His chambers were very luxuriously furnished, compared to his office and classroom. In the sitting room was a black leather couch and chair in front of a dark wood fireplace. The room had shelves upon shelves of books about potions and other literature as well. A bear rug sat underneath a cherrywood coffee table in front of the firepalce. There was a door leading to his bedroom, which was also fully furnished.

The bedroom had a king-sized canopy bed with a black satin comforter and silk sheets. Next to cherrywood bed was a bedside table with various potions that matched with the bed. There was also a cherrywood dresser, desk, and wardrobe. A door in there led to a gray marble bathroom with your standard utilities. Every room had a dark ceramic tile for the floor. And it was just how Severus liked it.

A knock on his quarter door interrupted his reverie. "Enter," he called from his sitting room.

"Severus," a very amused-looking McGonagall entered the room. "I just got done talking to a very ill-tempered Mrs. Vasquez-"

"Mrs.?" he questioned.

"What? Oh, yes. She's married to Julian Vasquez, but I could've sworn she said something about a divorce. Anyway, as I was saying, she was talking about the little incident in the Great Hall. Now, what on earth happened? I could barely get two words out of the young woman; she was too busy ranting."

"I did nothing you might be thinking in that small little head of your's, Minerva. Now, please, I have syllabuses to plan." He walked out of sitting rooms and into his office; unfortunately, McGonagall followed him with a stern eye and a stiff walk. She sat in a brown leather chair in the front of his desk and sighed.

"There seems to be a lot of that going on, madame," he stated as he looked up from his blank paper on his desk.

"I'm sorry?" she seemed so very confused.

"You were thinking that secrecy iscircling all around us. You are more correct than you know."

"You and that damned mind-reading. I suppose I shall be going. Severus, my dear boy, I'll be in touch," she said with another sigh and then she exited the office and out of the classroom. Severus put down his quill he had been holding and lounged in his chair. The nerve of Vasquez to go tattle-tale to Minerva!

Knock, knock.

"Door's open!" yelled Grace from her new rooms the next day. She was trying her hardest to get the decorations she wanted in her sitting room, but for some reason, the room refused to change. She was already clad in sweat from the heat and exhaustion. Grace was wearing a gray blue t-shirt that matched her eyes with blue jeans when Ron Weasley walked in.

"Hello, Mrs. Vasquez," he greeted politely and smiled.

She returned the smile and replied, "Please, Grace. Hi, Ron. What brings you over here on the Ravenclaw side...all the way to my little ol' rooms?"

He chuckled slightly and ran a hair through his flame red hair. "I, uh...wanted to know if you would like to come to dinner with me tonight," he said with a lot more confidence than what he was feeling. The young woman looked up at him uncertainly and smiled.

"Sure, Ron. Is anyone coming with us?

"Uh, well, um...no?

She laughed silently and replied,Sounds great. I'll meet you in front of the Great Hall at seven then. She looked up at him expectantly.

"Yeah. 'Bye, Grace" he practically skipped with joy as he left her rooms and the young woman occupying said rooms just sighed at how unfortunate she was. Not because Ron Weasley had asked her to eat dinner with him; oh, no he was very handsome and and seemed funny and good-natured. She was sighing because she realized that coming to Hogwarts was causing a battle within herself, and she didn't know how to get rid of it.

"Guess what, 'Mr. Seductive'. I'm currently in the lead with our little bet! Ha, I just know I'm going to get Grace in my bed before you do" Ron exclaimed as he entered his best friend Harry's office. The office in question was not as creatively fashioned as Albus Dumbledore's was and it wasn't as dark and sinister as Severus Snape's. It was...a mix.

"So, I walk into her rooms, right? The woman is wearing a tight fitting t-shirt that matched the sexiness of her eyes and these cute little jeans that hugged her figure in all the right places. She was soaking in sweat, too...she probably just knew I was coming and was getting all hot and bothered by the mere thought of me! I ask her out for dinner tonight and BOOM...man, she is mine"

Harry rolled his eyes. "What makes you think she'll be in your bed by the end of the night"

"Oh I don't. I mean, c'mon, she's a married woman and all. But I heard she's getting a divorce, anyway. I expect that if we go out enough, she'll be on her knees saying, 'Oh, Ron. Please let me-'"

"AHH! Come on, still here" Harry exclaimed in a disgusted voice.

Ron seated himself in a comfortable chair in next to Harry's desk and flipped his legs over the armrest. "Have you even talked to since that night Snape took her away from us"

"Well...no" Harry replied sullen. It wasn't fair that Ron was getting a headstart on this. Ron only wanted to have Grace in his bed because if he did it before Harry, it meant he was better. Harry actually sort of kind of liked this woman. She was funny and intellgent and above all pretty.

"Don't worry about me, Ron. There's still plenty of time to shag her" Harry retaliated with all the determination he could muster. "Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do."

I'm so very, very sorry that some dialouge has no punctuation. This is not my nor my beta's fault. I was in the middle of correcting a bit of it, and all of a sudden it started going crazy and would delete letters and such everytime I pressed a button. I hope it's easy enough to understand!

Quick question. And this is for future reference, as in not anytime soon. Would you guys want Vasquez to be Hermione some way (and I already have a way if yall want it like that) or for Vasquez and Snape to eventually get together, but Hermione comes to Hogwarts (and I also have a way she'd come to Hogwarts)?

I can't want until the third chapter, though. I already have it written and should be posting it soon because I'm going to Disney World in a few days for a whole week.