6. Classes resume

When Severus and Bobbie arrived at the lounge Minerva said, "I had the suspicion we would have to have breakfast without you two. After all, you are newlyweds." She winked at them.

Severus rolled his eyes but still smiled when he said, "There is only so much newlywed stuff one can do, Minerva."

Filius chuckled and went back to his newspaper.

Severus pulled out a chair for Bobbie to sit down and then he sat down between her and Minerva and said, "I have a couple of questions for you, Minerva."

"Yes?"

"Bobbie and I would like to go to Canada to see her family during the holiday. I was wondering if we could schedule something in advance. I know one of the head of houses has to be at the school at all times. I would just like to make sure the two weeks I am gone don't fall into somebody else's. Especially now that the school holidays will start 4 weeks later and are only one month long this year."

Minerva said, "That can be arranged. You are the first one to ask. Why don't you take the first two weeks? I do not think it would raise a problem."

"Thank you, we will plan on that. So it is official that classes resume until the end of August this year? Have you heard any complaints from the parents?" Severus asked.

"No, the parents are fine with it but I presume the students aren't too enthusiastic about it. There was no other way though. With Hogwarts being close for a whole month after the war, when were the students supposed to make up their classes?"

"I agree! Especially the OWL and NEWT classes would have had a hard time making up their work."

"Yes, even though they are hopefully studying at home it isn't the same," Minerva said and then asked, "What was your other question?"

"I think I have found something against Lycanthropy. Unfortunately I have no way to test it on anybody. I was wondering what you would suggest."

Minerva and all the others stared at him. Poppy was the first one finding her words. "Are you sure?"

"I am 99% confident that it will work. Unfortunately the potion won't be very stable and has to be taken immediately after the brewing process is finished. I will have to brew a test batch and see how long it will take me to brew it. I'm estimating 3 to 4 hours. I also require a volunteer who would be on standby. Another problem is that the potion has to be taken precisely at the same time the full moon is coming up and the person is starting transformation," Severus said.

"I understand! There really is no use brewing the potion before you have someone who would be willing to take it..., well, aside from a test batch," Poppy mused.

Filius asked, "As busy as you have been, when did you have time to do all that?"

"Mostly during the time I was... I was Voldemort's Headmaster here...," Severus said quietly.

"No wonder we never saw you," Minerva said and then added after a thought, "Well, that and the way we treated you. To be honest I would have stayed away from myself in your case also."

"Minerva, please give it a rest," Severus said. "Those were different circumstances."

Minerva nodded and patted his arm and then said, "Let me talk to Kingsley about that Lycanthropy thing. Maybe he has a solution. If this potion works it would be a miracle, Severus."

888

Bobbie spent the time until the opening feast with Poppy in the infirmary stocking the potions Severus and Horace had brewed and making some last minute changes while Severus was looking over his newly restored DADA classroom. Now that Voldemort was gone he knew the curse on the position of Defense teacher was broken. He could already feel the difference in the magic around him.

He looked at his pocket watch and made his way to the Great Hall. The students would arrive shortly. He had always loathed this part but this time it would be different. Yes, the chatter and bustle of hundreds of students still wasn't one of his favorite pastimes, but he was determined to look at it a little more relaxed. He didn't have to play favorites anymore and the danger of him blowing his cover as a spy was gone. The most important change being that he wasn't lonely anymore. He remembered how alone he had been as a boy even though there had been hundreds of children around him, and then later as a teacher because the constant danger of blowing his cover had been looming over his head. Now he had colleagues who had come to respect him, he had a beautiful wife and a baby on the way. Well, that baby was a very long way off, but he still couldn't help feeling excited about it. He thought about it a little more and the irony that his own child could be in that hustle and bustle of students one day wasn't lost on him. He decided that he better started to relax about that now.

When he came to the Great Hall he saw Minerva calling him over to the seat to her right. "Come on Severus. You are the Deputy Headmaster and have to sit here." Then she motioned to everyone else saying, "Sit wherever you like."

When Severus saw Slughorn aiming for the seat beside him he pulled it out and waved Bobbie over to it. Minerva watched it and had to turn her head away to hide her grin. She didn't blame Severus in the least that he didn't want Horace sitting next to him. That man could just drone on and on about famous or semi-famous people he knew or had known. Now that Severus was a war hero he had also become suitable for his Slug-Club. Unfortunately that made the seat to her left the next target. Luckily Filius was a bit faster and she sighed with relief.

When the staff was seated the doors opened and the plethora of students poured in like a flood wave through a broken dam. Severus watched as everyone finally settled down. His eyes went over the students and he noticed that several faces were missing. When he went over the Gryffindor table he noticed the Creevey boy missing and remembered how Bobbie, he and the two house elves had stolen his camera out of Alecto Carrow's rooms. It was a bitter sweet memory.

His eyes stopped when he noticed that the places where Potter, Weasley and Longbottom used to sit were empty also. The three of them had decided to take up the offer to get into the Auror programme.

When his gaze went to the Slytherin table he noticed Vincent Crabbe gone and Draco giving him a nod of greeting which Severus returned.

When Minerva got up everyone became silent. "Welcome back!" She inclined her head in greeting and then continued. "The war is over and even though we have lost a lot of good people, life goes on. Professor Snape who had been Headmaster in the beginning of the year has declined the position. You all know by now what happened from the newspapers and we don't have to rehash the whole story. Professor Snape will be the acting Deputy Headmaster, head of Slytherin house and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Professor Flitwick will still be head of Ravenclaw house and Charms professor. Professor Sprout is going to stay Herbology professor and head of Hufflepuff house. Our new head of Gryffindor house will be Professor Hagrid who will stay on as the Care of Magical Creatures professor."

Minerva was interrupted with a huge round of applause from the Gryffindor table with this announcement.

She smiled and then held up her hands for silence. "Professor Figg will be our new Muggle Studies teacher. She was a good friend of the late Professor Dumbledore. All the other teachers will stay the same as they have before. There will be no changes in the infirmary either. We still have Madam Pomfrey and Dr Cater, which you will know now as Dr Snape."

Minerva again was interrupted but this time by a room filled with low whispering. Minerva had to hide a grin and then asked for silence once more.

"Yes, you have heard correctly. Professor Snape and Dr Carter were married yesterday. I hope the rest of the school year will be productive and I hope you all, especially the OWL and NEWT years have gone through the homework I have sent out for you to go through. Now, enjoy your food!"

888

It was the morning of the first day of school and Bobbie and Severus still lay in each others arms when the alarm sounded. Severus smiled at her and after a kiss he said, "Good morning Dr Snape!" Then he scooted down and kissed her belly and said, "Good morning, baby."

After that he got up and said, "It is hard to believe the school year is over in just two months. It seems so uncanny after this war."

"I agree! It seems like nothing changed but then again everything has. You are free, and that is the most important thing that changed."

Severus stood there thinking about that. It still didn't feel real to him.

Then Bobbie asked, "I meant to ask you this earlier, how are we going to Canada? Can you Apparate that far or are we flying?"

"We go by Portkey," he answered.

"What is a Portkey?" she asked.

Severus sat down on the side of the bed and said, "It is an enchanted object that takes you to a specific location when you touch it. There are international Portkeys. There are two or three places here in Britain and there are some in Canada or America. King's Cross Station would be the one we use to leave here and it depends on which place in Canada would be closest to our destination."

"Is it safe for pregnant women?" she asked.

"It usually is but I don't know in your case. You aren't a witch. We need to find out," he said. He got up and started pacing. "How can we find out, without giving you away?"

Bobbie got out of bed and said, "Let me call my grandfather. I told you some of us are married to Wizarding folk. Maybe they know and he can find out."

"I hope he can. We may have to fly in one of those Muggle planes, because I am not willing to risk you or our unborn child." He shuddered at the thought of being trapped inside one of those flying tin cans and then looked at his pocket watch, "Shite, we better get going. Breakfast will start in 30 minutes."

888

They made it just in time. After breakfast Bobbie went with Poppy to the infirmary and Severus to his first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It was Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw first years. They had only known him as Headmaster and since he had made himself scarce during that time, it was safe to say they only heard but had never seen him as the acerbic and cruel professor he had to personify during his Death Eater days. Good, Severus thought to himself, I will be able to start with a clean slate.

When he walked into the class room the students all jumped up from their seats and greeted him. He heard a mix of 'Good morning Professor Snape' and 'Good morning Headmaster'. He had to hide his amusement. Some of the children clearly hadn't paid attention during last nights feast.

He said, "Just for your information, after Voldemort's fall we will get back to the normal routine. I realise you don't know how it used to be, so I will explain. My name is Professor Snape and you don't have to jump to attention when I walk into the room. It would be nice if you would wish me a good morning or a good afternoon but you can do that while you are sitting down. Having said that, who can tell me what you have learned during the time you had Professor Carrow as your Defense teacher?"

A boy in the front of the class tentatively raised his hand. Severus said, "Yes, Mr Ashton."

"We were just learning the Expulso Curse, Professor," the boy said.

Severus stared at the boy for a moment, knowing that this was a dark curse. Then he blinked and cleared his throat before saying, "Well, I see we will have our work cut out for us. Can I see your class books you used?"

The students looked around at each other with sheepish looks and finally the same boy said quietly, "We didn't have any, Professor."

Severus thought to himself, of course they didn't! And to the children he said, "It appears that you have learned exactly what you are supposed to defend yourselves against. Does anyone know 'Expelliarmus' or 'Protego'?"

Again they looked around at each other and finally he heard a girl say, "No, Professor."

Severus took a long audible breath and let it back out before he said, "I see!"

Severus and Minerva had talked about books after the fall of Voldemort. They both had the suspicion that the children didn't have books for DADA and also Muggle Studies. If they would find that this would be the case they had agreed on giving them old class books because it wouldn't be fair if the students would have to buy books for just the last two school months. Minerva had sent books to the classes 2 through 7 to study at home while the school was rebuilt because they already had the basics but with the firsties it would be a different story. There was no way to learn the basics out of books, since underaged Wizards weren't supposed to use magic away from school.

Severus went to a cabinet and opened the door and told the students to each get one of the books that were stacked in there. When all the students were back at their desks Severus said, "I want you all to go to page 11 where you will find the Wand-Lighting Charm and later we will continue to the Smokescreen Spell."

Severus was glad to see that it didn't take the children too long to go through both of them plus a few more. He figured that it had to do with the fact that they already knew how to hold their wands and some movements. At least they had learned something useful from Amycus Carrow.

At the end of the class he said, "Before I dismiss this class, let's talk about homework; I would like you to write a short summary about all the spells and charms you have learned today. A foot long will be enough, but I also would like you to read ahead to page 50 in your books. Class dismissed. I will see you on Thursday."

The Students filed out and he had about 20 minutes until his next class, which were third year Slytherin and Gryffindor. Those would be students who already knew him from before. He looked over the material he was going to teach. After a while the students filed in one by one or in small groups. When it was time for class to begin he looked around and noticed everyone was sitting in their seat.

He got up off his chair and walked around his desk to lean on it with his backside, his legs stretched out in front of him and his arms crossed. "Before we start I would like you all to know we are going back to the way things were before I was appointed Headmaster by Voldemort. I want you all to know that I loathed having to replace Professor Dumbledore after his untimely passing. This honour would have been Professor McGonagall's in the first place. Professor Dumbledore was a great man and he will be sorely missed.

"We will go through the books which had been sent to you and I will find out how much you have learned from them. I realise things have been difficult without having the ability to practice being underaged and away from school. Taking this into account you won't be losing any points if you aren't able to make your defensive spells work right away."

Severus let the students work on each other for spells that wouldn't hurt anyone and the rest of the time was spent practicing on dummies that he had conjured up against the wall. He noticed that things went off a little stiff since the students didn't know how to act around him. They all knew him from the way he had run classes before the battle. By the time the class was done things were a little more relaxed and he even had given a few points here and there to Slytherin and Gryffindor. He did however have to take 10 points off of Gryffindor when a boy from that house called a boy from Slytherin a Death Eater during a heated argument, which arose during an exercise, because the father of the Slytherin boy was in Azkaban for supporting Voldemort. Severus also gave a lecture to all of the students after the incident. "We are not insulting each other for what our relatives have done. The war is over. Most everyone is relieved that the reign of Voldemort is over, including a good number of people who had been Death Eaters. Some of Voldemort's supporters made a mistake in pledging allegiance to him only to find out later that they were nothing more than slaves and had no way of getting out of the situation alive. I want you to think about that."

After an appraising look over the kids he said, "Good! I want you to write a foot long essay about what you have learned today and read ahead to chapter 15 in your books. Class dismissed."

After the students had left, Severus thought about what he had said about not insulting others because of what their relatives did and knew that he had been guilty of the same thing with the way he had treated some students, especially Potter. He and Potter had since come to an understanding and if he was to be honest to himself, he didn't even know how he had let himself fall into that pit of hatred against the boy. He vowed to himself that he would not take his bad mood out on innocent victims anymore. With this in his mind he packed up his papers and went to the Great Hall for lunch.

When he sat down beside Bobbie he took her hand underneath the table so nobody would notice and squeezed it and gave her a small smile.

She asked him, "How did everything go?"

"Adequate! The first years have a lot to learn and even though the third years are a little better off, I had to break up a pissing contest between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. I fear it will be a long two months." Then he changed the subject and asked, "Have you talked to your grandfather about our little problem yet?"

"No, it is way too early for that. They are in a different time zone. I'd hate to wake him up."

"Indeed! I had totally forgotten about the time change."

"I asked Poppy what she thought about it though. Since she knows I am a Nevari there was no reason not to tell her that we know an hour after having sex if we have conceived. I told her I will be two months into a pregnancy by the time we are leaving for Canada."

"What did she say?" Severus asked.

"She said she knows that Muggles can use Portkeys with their magical spouses without a problem. She also thinks since I can side-along Apparate with someone and use the Floo that it would be fine. She said Apparating was a milder form of using Portkeys."

Severus wasn't convinced and told her so. "I don't know. How similar are Muggles and Nevari? Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of testing it."

"Well, maybe we do. We could just use a Portkey in a week or two and see what happens. We can always make another baby." Bobbie said with a mischievous smile.

Fortunately for Severus he was able to mask his embarrassment, otherwise he would have been as red as the Weasley's hair in his face when she said that. Then he said, "I don't like how casually you talk about testing on yourself and that baby."

"Severus, it is only a week. It isn't a baby yet." Bobbie felt like she was saying that for the hundredth time.

Severus looked around and said, "Let's talk about this later."

Bobbie chuckled and said, "I agree, this isn't a good subject for a lunch conversation. I will call my grandfather later today."