AN: Wow, longest chapter. We are getting somewhere here. Standard Disclaimer applies. Happy reading.

Chapter 13

Snape ran to the place he felt safest, the dungeons, with none of the Slytherins around he was at least able to access the professor's rooms without to many questions. He had to force open the oak door just because of its heaviness. He was slightly pleased to see no one had interfered with his old rooms; they were just as he left them.

He moved through the ebonised wood sitting room and into his pleasantly coloured chocolate and burnt orange bedroom. Having thrown his bag into a chair at the end of his bed, he slumped onto the middle of the metal framed double bed had known for years as a teacher. Burying himself around the smells and sights of the truth, he felt safe for a change. Almost like a home.

As with the `real` Snape few people seemed worried by his disappearance; only the heads of houses and the headmaster were worried from the beginning. Harry and Hermione became concerned after the first day when he hadn't reappeared and the first years after about a week with no Alan. The Slytherin's were none to quiet about there lack of unhappiness at the genius Gryffindor's absence.

After this time, it was Hermione who had the sudden thought to go down to the dungeons intent on finding the professors old rooms. Hermione thought that the general order of point me Severus Snape would not work but she tried it anyway and it did. Once the thought of `Why hasn't anyone tried this sooner? ` had left her head she followed her wands compass movements, once outside the potions master's rooms she felt that the wards had been unlocked but not re-locked. Hermione cautiously entered the domain of the potions master even though she knew he was currently fourteen she was still apprehensive. The steps she took were silent until she accidently stood on a loose floorboard outside the ajar door to Snape's bedroom. She pushed the door which unfortunately creaked, she thought she'd see chains or potions ingredients or something equally unsavoury. Hermione was not expecting the beautifully minimalist burnt orange and chocolate coloured bedroom, she even spotted a vivid blue rug probably of Indian origin hanging on the wall behind the bed; on which was a huddled Snape covered in his adult teaching robes. She was about to take a step into the room but was stopped by Snape's muffled voice under the robes.

"Go away, Granger."

"No. Come on, you know me."

"How do I know you're alone?"

"You don't unless you stick your head out." There was a light meow behind Hermione, as she looked down, Snape looked up.

"You had to bring Minerva along, didn't you?" There was a slight shift in the rooms magic as the Professor turned from cat to human.

"Miss Granger did not know I was following her, Severus. I watched you take on the training programme; I'm uncertain if you were showing off or not."

"Who do I have to show off to? No one that's who. I'm still me, Minerva. Still that easy to anger Potions Master everyone wants to avoid all the time. I still have my brain; it just seems to work quicker because I'm technically younger. I just bet my own high score, and Umbridge looked like I was going to kill everyone… Was I really that bad?" Neither McGonagall nor Hermione were expecting the last question to come from Snape's mouth, but it did.

"Not really, your just strict." Hermione tried to placate her young professor. He just glared at her.

"I know what the students say Hermione. Minerva is strict, I am a bastard. I used to be a student; I remember what I used to say about teachers I didn't like much." He looked at McGonagall and his expression softened a tiny bit. "You were alright, back then. You tried."

"Severus? How many detentions did you get because Peter or Remus lied about you starting on James and Sirius when it was the other way around?"

"A lot. Why do you ask?"

"How many were from me?"

"Less than you're thinking, Professor. Like I said you tried. Giving Lupin prefect duties was your idea wasn't it? You hoped he'd grow a spine."

"I'm no werewolf Severus, I had no idea a pack bound could go so deep with normal humans."

"They were animagi. That's why it worked as it did, well until sixth year. You know about that don't you?"

"I know the headmaster's version; I doubt it's the same as yours."

"Something like that." While Snape and McGonagall had been talking, they had allowed Hermione to wonder Snape's domain. She had spotted something like framed certificates sticking out of a box under a medium sized nest of tables. Granger being Granger had pulled out the box and started reading them. Most were understandable, OWL's, NEWT's and a Mastery; these to her made sense since they all had Snape's name on, what didn't made sense to her were the GCE's, O-levels and various university degrees and masters that also had his name on from well respected universities across the country. She found one from oxford that hadn't been as jammed into the box and could be removed without to much trouble. She returned to the two professor's pale as a ghost. Snape knew what she was holding as soon as he saw the edge of the frame. He paled just slightly. "Ah. I see you've been digging Granger."

"You have been to Oxford?" McGonagall seemed as stunned as Hermione at this piece of information.

"You can't have been."

"Why does everyone forget that I am a Half-Blood?"

"You don't seem like one." Hermione stared at her potions professor as if he'd grown a second head.

"If I even get angry enough, I do a Manx accent very well."

"You're from Manchester?"

"That is what I said."

"Then why do you not sound like it?"

"Years of practise, Miss Granger. I had to deal with rich elitist purebloods, I am neither rich nor pureblood. If I ever needed to get an acting job, I suppose I'd manage." Minerva chuckled.

"No wonder you fell in with them. I always wondered." I glared at Granger, and Minerva's chuckling stopped as she almost choked on air. "Sorry, I get curious."

"We both know you would make a shit cat, Miss Granger. And please stop being curious about how your potions professor who currently isn't here became a death eater, that would be great."

"Can I be curious about Professor Snape's extensive muggle education then?"

"I suppose that would be a safer topic." Snape's voice was clearly apprehensive about why Hermione cared at all about his previous education. He had a bizarre feeling that this probably wasn't going to get him killed when became an adult again. There was an odd thought that went through Snape's brain; that maybe these two women might not judge him quite as badly as others. That maybe he could trust them to keep his secrets, of which there were many.

"Professor?"

"Severus?" Both Minerva and Hermione spoke at the same time and they both sounded concerned. He had been thinking for longer than he thought.

"Just thinking, I'm fine." Snape uncurled properly and sat cross legged on the bed, he still had his adult robes wrapped around him, making him look like a baby reaper with his oddly pale skin and slightly disjointed nose. Nothing else of him could really been seen with the amount of fabric draped around him. McGonagall and Hermione looked oddly at each other and then Snape. "What is it?"

"You could scare someone to death looking like that." Snape's characteristic eyebrow rose at Hermione's comment, and she swallowed on reflex as if he was about to assign detention. But he said something odd, well, odder than usual at any rate.

"Nearly did once." Snape sighed and turned around on the bed. He could hear McGonagall and Granger muttering to each other asking what he was going. He could almost hear the shrugs in response. Snape began muttering in Latin, Hermione had no idea what about, but Minerva got the basics of it, to her it sounded like he was summoning a demon or perhaps the devil? McGonagall had no idea how accurate she was.