August 1999

The headache of last year had convinced Minerva that a change was desperately needed. Several of the professors teaching last year were either completely incompetent or too passionate. While Minerva appreciated teachers passionate about teaching, there were times that a passion began to interfere more than encourage. Slughorn, for instance, had been far too passionate about how much he missed retirement. So passionate, in fact, he felt the need to talk about it at every staff meeting.

This year, she hoped that the right balance would be struck between the professors. She did have several professors who had not abandoned her in her time of need. Professors Sinestra, Flitwick, Hooch, Sprout, and Vector had all stayed on. Sprout was planning on taking her sabbatical next, but she had assured Minerva that Neville Longbottom would be more than qualified to fill in for her that year. He was currently helping his fiancee, Hannah Abbott, rebuild the Leaky Cauldron, which had been demolished during a Death Eater attack some time back. With the money he had received from his uncle, he had bought it and they were well on their way to restoring the original business.

The first meeting was set to commence that very afternoon in the staff room. Minerva sat in her office, wondering whether it would be better to go down to it early, or she should enjoy the peace while it lasted. Deciding on the later, she pulled out the stack of scrolls she had been working through all week. Distractedly, she reached for a biscuit, cursing the house elves for keeping her goody jar well stocked.

"Breaking the diet already, Minerva?"

She looked up at Dumbledore's portrait and glowered. "It's your fault I'm in this situation, Albus. Besides," she primly touched her dark hair that was as always pulled into a bun, "At my age, better the waistline to go than the hair color."

"Ah," Dumbledore said. "You know, I believe I took the opposite approach."

Minerva took a bite out of a second biscuit and looked at him appraisingly. "I believe you did."

Dumbledore smoothed his beard, appearing unbothered. "It will most certainly be an interesting year, Minerva."

She sighed. "I wouldn't expect anything less. If the first years are as eccentric as their teachers, it certainly will be."

"True, but that was not what I was referring to."

Minerva finished off the second biscuit. "Then what were you referring to?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Sometimes the only way to see the truth is to wait for it to reveal itself."

"If you weren't a portrait, I would hex you, Albus. If there is something going on, I intend to know about it," Minerva said sharply.

"That is a noble notion, Minerva. Might I suggest seeing what our professors have gotten themselves into," he said, winking at her.

Looking at the clock, she cursed the time, Albus, and the wayward crumbs clinging to her robes as if determined to show her weakness to the world.

"I will get an answer from you, Albus. I've had enough secrets to last me a life time," she informed him on her way out the door.

By the time she had gotten there, almost everyone else had gotten there. Filius, Aurora, and Pomona were deep in conversation, as were Septima and Hermione Granger. Tonks was entertaining Hagrid and Rolanda who roared in laughter at her Celestina Warbeck impersonation. Lavender Brown sat alone in a corner. Severus had reclaimed his seat and was sitting in an opposite corner, glaring at anyone who dared to look at him. His scowl only depended as Remus slipped into the room and sat in the last remaining seat.

McGonagall cleared her throat.

The door burst open, and Elias Biswas entered, out of breath and flustered.

Everyone else's eyes followed him as he looked around for a place to sit before finally conjuring up a chair. "I apologize," he said, breathing hard. "I got stuck on the staircase."

Minerva nodded and continued on."Now that we're all here, I would like to take a moment to welcome you all back. I trust you have had an relaxing and predictable summer and are now ready to get back to the world of chaos and unpredictability."

The veteran professors all chuckled.

"I will try to keep this as short as possible, but there is quite a bit to go over this time."

"The first of which is to introduce our new professors. They should be familiar to you. Remus taught here several years ago, and Nymphadora,"-Tonks scowled - "Hermione, and Lavender are all fairly recent attendees. Last but certainly not least, Mr. Elias Braswas is a graduate of Beauxbatons Academy who has spent considerable time learning Muggle history and customs.

"I also want to take a moment to address appointments for the year. Professor Flitwick has agreed to continue on with his position as Deputy Headmaster. Our heads of houses are Professor Sprout for Hufflepuff and Professor Sinistra for Slytherin. Filius has been the head of Ravenclaw for many years now, but," she turned towards him, "I heard that you were ready to pass the on the role to someone else."

"I have greatly enjoyed my time as Ravenclaw's head of house," Flitwick squeaked, "But since I am no longer living in the castle, I think the role would be better suited to someone who lived here."

"I would be willing to take on the duties of Head of House for Ravenclaw," Professor Vector said.

"Excellent. That brings us to Gryffindor." Minerva looked around the room. "We seem to be in a room full of Gryffindors."

Severus snorted.

Ignoring him, Minerva continued. "Are any of you interested?"

Remus looked around to see if anyone was going to say anything. "Unfortunately, I would not be able to do it." He nodded to Flitwick, "I also have a family waiting for me at home."

"Well, Miss Brown? Miss Granger?"

For once, Hermione was silent when she was asked a question. After a brief pause, Lavender tossed her hair over her shoulder and said, "I'll do it."

"I'm glad that's settled. Moving on, I want to mention that house points are still in place, however, there is a limit to the number of points a professor or prefect can give or take away in a day."

"It's about time," Pomona said. There were a murmur of agreements.

"It will certainly help keep things fair," Vector agreed.

"I know some of you were asked to come here rather last minute. I appreciate your flexibility and willingness to help. Others of you have been here for quite some time, and will be leaving at the end of the year. As I'm sure most of you are aware, Pomona and Poppy have their sabbatical next year."

There was a polite smattering of applause.

"I feel comfortable leaving now that I know who will be taking my place," Pomona beamed. "My star student, Neville Longbottom, will be returning next year to teach."

A small smattering of conversation broke out. Minerva raised her hand to regain everyone's attention.

"I won't keep you here much longer. I have two more announcements before we can go about our day. There will be two additional NEWT-level classes offered this year. The first of which is Astrology, which will be co-taught by Aurora and Lavender, with guest lectures by Firenze. The second class is Healing Magic, which will also be co-taught, by Severus and Poppy. Both of these classes were highly requested last year. I am also considering additional opportunities for collaboration, so please let me know if you would be interested."

The meeting quickly wrapped up. As almost an afterthought, Minerva called out as people headed out the door, "If you were not an instructor here last year, please come see me in my office by eight this evening." And with that, the first staff meeting of the 1999-2000 school year ended.

He couldn't believe it. Even as he had sat there, he could not believe it. With everything that had happened, surely, surely, he wasn't still paying penance. He had lost every person he ever loved. He had taught dunderheads for years, and he had spent nearly twenty years spying on one of the darkest wizards in modern history only to be attacked by a snake. And, the cherry on top, while he was still in critical condition at St. Mungo's, Potter had shared his private memories with the world. Well, with the ministry, but the press was present, so Severus didn't see much difference.

Now, back at Hogwarts, he thought that maybe he would find some peace. Apparently there was none to be had. Filius and Pomona had both repeatedly apologized for attacking him right before the Battle of Hogwarts. He had finally been able to wave them away. Minerva, on the other hand, had not apologized, but was clearly feeling some kind of guilt, because she avoided him and if she was obligated to speak to him she did so briefly and stiffly.

But this was arguably worse than the purgatory he had found himself trapped in for the past twenty years. This was hell. He watched, horrified, from his chair in the corner of the staff room as Tonks walked in. Then Brown. Then- and this one was the worse- Hermione Granger herself came in and plopped herself down in a seat like she owned the place. By that point, he did not think his mood could grow any darker, but then, Lupin came in on Minerva's heels. Just like a dog.

On top of an already horrendous evening, he was now obliged to attend a second meeting that promised to be equally horrendous. Although it could not be much worse than discovering he only had a year before he would have to face Longbottom's clueless face everyday.

So lost in thought, he did not notice notice how much time had passed. When he cast a tempus spell, he cursed. It was 7:45, giving him just enough time to get from the Dungeons to the Minerva's office before 8 PM.

He quickly made his way to the gargoyle that stood at the base of the steps, and it was only then that he remembered that he did not know what the password was. He stood there, at a loss for what to do in that moment. He supposed he could wait and see if someone else had procrastinated, or he could just talk to Minerva tomorrow. He cast another tempus spell. Five minutes til. He might as well wait for those five minutes. Not feeling like staring at the gargoyle, he sat on the cold stone and closed his eyes.

"Ragdoll," a voice said.

He heard the shift of stone, and opened his eyes. Hermione Granger was standing there looking too tired to be how ever old she was now.

"Know it all," he muttered, getting off of the floor.

"What were you doing?" She looked at him, confused that there was not a clear reason for him to be sleeping in the hallway across the castle from his own rooms.

He felt himself prickle at her judgement, and settled with, "Praying that there might someday be a day that goes by without having to answer an inane question." Not his best, but serviceable. When she didn't move, he gestured for her to head up the stairs before reluctantly following her. Minerva was nowhere to be seen, and the feeling of dread that had begun when he woke up in the hallway only grew. He was stuck in the room alone with Granger for at least another five minutes.

"Phineas! Hello."

Well, not alone. Could portraits act as eye witnesses if he broke something in a fit of rage?

"If it isn't Hermione Granger. I still haven't forgiven you, you know."

"I know," Hermione nodded agreeably. "But I feel like we have reached a point of understanding nonetheless."

Phineas waved his hand in dismissal. "We'll see."

"Is that Hermione Granger I hear?" Dumbledore wandered into his portrait. "How are you, my dear? I heard that Minerva roped you into teaching rather last minute."

"This school has done so much for me. I couldn't just stand by when Professor McGonagall needed help."

"How thoughtful. Transfigurations is an admirable subject. I was quite proficient back in the day."

This seemed like a bit of an understatement from one the most powerful wizards in history who had happened to teach Transfigurations for years before he became headmaster but Dumbledore was always cagey at the oddest moments.

Dumbledore continued,"Do remember that you are more than welcome to address the faculty by their given names. You are one of us now."

Dumbledore turned his attention to Severus. "Ah, Severus. I haven't seen you in quite some time. How are you?"

Severus knew that even the portrait of Dumbledore would not say much more to him in front of Granger, even now that most of their secrets had been laid bare.

"I'm well as could be expected," he answered, "Considering I'm standing here talking to a portrait."

Dumbledore chuckled and twirled his beard around his finger.

McGonagall came into the room, looking unsurprised to see the two of them standing there.

"I must admit that I am not surprised that it is you two that show up mere seconds before being late."

"I was visiting some old friends," Hermione said. "I hope that this isn't an inconvenience... Minerva," she tried, the name clearly feeling as odd to her as it did to him.

"I told you to be here before eight, and here you both are. It is not an inconvenience in the slightest. This will not take long at all as I trust you both to know what to do. Hermione, there will be papers when you return to your room. They contain your class schedules and information on how to set up a lesson plan. Of course, you can always come to me or any other faculty member if you have any questions."

He tuned out the next few minutes of Granger discussing different lesson planning methodology while nodding emphatically.

"I am sure you already know what to do, Severus, but a similar set of papers will be waiting for you also."

"How thoughtful," Severus drawled.

"Quite. Apparition and student advising are part of the responsibilities of each Head of House. I'm sure that you are both relieved to not have that on your plate."

McGonagall and Snape gave each other a look. "Trust me," she said, "It's a freedom worth experiencing. My faith in the next generation has never been higher."

"Substitute teaching is a part of the job description of professor at Hogwarts. While you are teaching Transfiguration, if for any reason another professor cannot make it to class, you might be asked to step in. As you took 7 N.E.W.T.s, it is likely you will be called frequently.

Snape gave her a disgusted look.

"Pay him no mind, Hermione. He's just bitter because his record was beaten. "

"Of course," she said. "I would expect nothing less."

Minerva smirked at Severus's dumbfounded expression.

"Thank you, Hermione. That will be all for tonight."

"Goodnight, Minerva," Hermione said, glancing at Dumbledore who nodded in approval. "Severus."

He turned, ever so slowly, and stared at her. She apparently had a death wish because she met his gaze, her chin jutted out defiantly.

There was a soft chuckle, and all three of them turned to see Dumbledore smiling down at them, twiddling his thumbs in a mischievous manner.

Feeling like she had just become part of something she did not understand, Hermione bid goodnight once more and left.

After Hermione left, Severus turned back to face the portrait of Albus Dumbledore.

"You told her to call me by my name."

"It is only right. She is your equal now."

Severus' lip curled in distaste at the idea.

"I assume that you and Minerva have more matters to discuss. I bid you both goodnight," Dumbledore said, inclining his head.

Minerva pulled out a large container of Ogden's Firewhisky that Snape had been nursing his way through a couple of years later.

Severus stood there and watched her, until she snapped, "Sit down."

She sighed and poured them both a drink. "If we are going to have this talk, I would rather not have to remember it in the morning." She handed him a glass.

He toyed with the glass for a moment. "I was unaware that we needed to have a talk."

"I had hoped to avoid it," Minerva said. "I rather liked where we left things at Spinner's End, but frankly I need to see a change from you, and the easiest way to instigate that change is to participate personally. You can't act like you always have. It is unacceptable." She paused and looked at him closely. "So… we are going to talk."

He did not say anything for a long time, and she could only imagine what he was thinking. Finally, he gave a curt nod in agreement.

"When we dueled, I tried to kill you, Severus," she said. "I wanted you to die. I saw what was happening to students under your watch. This is not a squabble over quidditch."

His jaw clenched. "This is not necessary."

"It is. Because I have been a subordinate to someone I had a grudge against. I have no desire to continue the trend." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Severus. I'm sorry for what I did and for what happened after. I'm sorry about Albus, and Lily, and for everything that went wrong in your life." She took a large sip before continuing. "But-" she said, pointing at him. "I am still so angry at you. You were a coward. You took the easy way out and cried when you found out that it was not as easy as it looked. You treated my House like trash for years, bearing down on my students. Even now, you can't look at Granger like she's a person. You are still so consumed by what Potter did to you as a child that you can't see anything else.

Harry Potter saved you, Severus. He saved you. And as much as you may hate him for that, that is what he did. There is no going back now. I know that you don't want to be here, but you need to make the most of it. It's time for you to find a new purpose, to find some joy in your life. Severus, the only thing less bearable than a miserable, bitter young man is a miserable, bitter old one. You still have a hundred years ahead of you. Do something with that."

Severus had sat in silence while Minerva spoke her piece. When she finished, he drained his glass. "I didn't ask for another hundred years. I didn't ask for even a second past getting Potter into adulthood."

She refilled it without comment.

He drained the glass again. "I didn't ask for my life to end up like this."

She bit her tongue on the comment about the mark on his arm.

"Then perhaps you should quit keeping a running list of the things that you didn't ask for and find something that you did." Minerva downed her own glass. "I'm still not sure how I feel about you, Severus, but as long as you teach at the institute I run, we'll have to deal with each other. That means that you are going to show kindness and compassion, and that goes for professors, students, and yourself."

He blearily gave his agreement. Minerva refilled both of their glasses in silence, Albus' fake snores the only the sound in the room.