"We will begin this class with an announcement."

Twenty-four students seated around tables in groups of four.

Forty-eight eyes blinking up at Nora Springer, waiting on her to introduce herself.

Three students shifting in their seats; two throats clearing; six pairs of eyes glancing at each other; two stifled snickers behind two hands.

Nora's throat was dry and when she opened her mouth to begin, only a strangled noise came out. She cleared her throat and tried again. Why was she so nervous anyway? These kids were eight years younger than her, in no way should she feel intimidated by them. But she was beginning to realize that even though she had proficient skills in potion-making, her public speaking skills were quite lacking.

"Hello, class. My name is Nora Springer. By now I'm sure you were wondering who the strange girl in the corner was." She paused and gave a nervous laugh. The young students only continued to blink at her. "Yes, well. I will be acting as your professor's assistant this year. I am here to help with any questions you may have, provide tutoring if necessary, and I can also act as a great therapist after class." Here, the class chuckled slightly, but quickly stifled themselves when Severus cast a glowering look over the room.

"I hope that we can all get along well this year, and good luck with your first year at Hogwarts." Nora bowed slightly and looked at Severus, signaling that the floor was once again his.

He cast her a look that said, "We will definitely be talking about this after class," and he resumed his position at the head of the class. "Do not get too comfortable with Miss Springer. She is not your professor. I am. Do not forget that I am the one that hands out the detentions, the one who takes away the points, and the one who will ultimately decide whether you pass or fail. She is simply here to learn how to deal with incompetent students such as yourselves," Severus drawled. Any warm, fuzzy feelings the children may have had, were squelched immediately, and it was written all over their tiny faces.

The lesson for the day was a simple sleeping draught. While the students worked diligently, Severus glided between the tables, harshly pointing out what they were doing wrong, sometimes hovering silently behind one particular student, before moving on to terrorize another, leaving the previous a quivering mess of nerves.

Nora's self-appointed task for the lesson was to follow behind her professor and provide gentle instructions and words of encouragement.

"No no, Miss Rogers. Your lavender paste is not creamy enough, but it's okay you're almost there. Mister Winchester, you're going to have to get over your fear of fire in order to make it through this class. Perhaps a nice pair of fire resistant gloves would make you feel more comfortable?" The plump blonde boy sniffled, and nodded enthusiastically.

As Nora sped off to fetch her own personal gloves (she figured an eleven year old boy's hands would still be small enough to fit them), she crossed paths with Severus on his way back to his desk.

"Don't get too close to them, Springer," he said. "They are here to learn, not to have their hands held."

"Some of these kids didn't even know magic existed until they received their letter. I think some hands deserved to be held, at the very least, during the first week."

She turned away so angrily, her hair whipped around and into her eye. Eye streaming, she grabbed her gloves from her bag, and made her way back to the boy-who-was-afraid-of-fire, avoiding Severus' scowl.

By the end of the lesson, only three students failed to properly brew the sleeping draught. As the chattering class left the room, some still drowsy even after the counter-potion, Nora waltzed up to Severus' desk with a smug expression planted on her pale face.

"Seems to me," she purred, "that the class excelled today. But you're right, I shan't get too close to them, else every student may just stand a chance and pass the class. How troublesome."

The Potion's master glared at his assistant. "Don't...get...cheeky," he replied through gritted teeth. "Perhaps you forgot that I was kind enough to allow you to do anything today, despite the fact that you broke into my classroom, slept on my desk, and went through my drawers."

Nora felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach, as she remembered lying to his face that morning. The image of the lily resurfaced in her mind and she was absolutely sure by now that it had extreme importance to the man sitting in front of her. "I-I didn't go through your drawers, sir," she squeaked. That's it Nora. Just pile more lies on top of more lies. Solid plan.

Severus stood abruptly, and Nora took a step back. Was he going to curse her? She was his subordinate after all, and whatever guilt she had felt before, multiplied by ten. Nora finally became all too aware of just how unprofessional she had been acting towards Severus. Sneaking around, talking back to him, her sass. If she were in his position, she would fire her. Although they were close in age, he was still in charge, and she had been acting like a stubborn child who climbed up chairs to reach the cookie jar before dinner.

But he did not curse her. In fact, he barely moved a muscle, save for the vessel throbbing in his temple. Nora held her breath. She was going to be sacked, she knew it.

The bell rang throughout the castle, signalling that it was lunch time in the Great Hall, and finally, with a swoop of his black robes, Severus moved out from behind his desk and walked towards the door. Nora remained rooted in her spot, unsure of whether she was allowed to follow, or if he was going to order her to make the classroom spotless like before.

"Are you coming or not, Springer?" The young Head of House was waiting by the door, clearly impatient. Stunned, Nora slowly followed him out the door and into the corridor. The two made their way up the dungeon staircase in silence. In her head, Nora was struggling. He didn't punish her. She was unhappy with this; she felt she deserved it. She snuck a look at the man beside her, but his face was clear of any emotions. She wanted to grab the front of his black robes and shake him.

They arrived at the Great Hall and wound their way up to the Head Table, which had been elongated to accommodate the additional staff. Albus Dumbledore sat in the middle, with Professor McGonagall on his right, and Professor Flitwick, the tiny Charms professor, on his left. Seated on McGonagall's right, was a tall young man with sandy hair. He made eye contact with Nora, as she and Severus took their spots next to the Astronomy professor, and he quickly looked down at his plate, his bangs falling into his face, obscuring it from Nora. Looking down the rest of table, she observed the other assistants brought on for the year. Nora recognized the girl next to Flitwick; she was in Hufflepuff and they had shared both Herbology and Arithmancy together. She had a kind face, with warm brown eyes and equally chocolatey brown hair, which came down to her mid-back. The girl and Nora were not necessarily friends, but Nora had enjoyed the few conversations they shared during their times in the greenhouses.

A couple seats down sat a burly man with deep brown hair and striking blue eyes. His robes were taut against his arms and chest, and Nora's face flushed. She could only assume the former Gryffindor was the Care of Magical Creatures assistant, and Nora fondly remembered daydreaming while she sat in class, about him hoisting her body over his shoulder, and away into the sunset. Or his quarters. Depended on her mood.

Turning her head to the other side, her eyes met those of another young man, who was seated next to the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He stared deeply at her with stormy grey eyes, and Nora immediately felt uncomfortable, as if he was delving into her mind and accessing every corner of her brain. Forcing herself to not look away, she committed his face to memory- black hair, straight nose, pale skin that looked untouched by any adolescent skin woes. This was the face to avoid in the hallways and staff room. Nora finally broke away from his gaze and glanced up at Severus, instantly feeling strangely calmer. Even with his temper problems and cold black eyes, his face felt the most familiar to the young woman. Severus, himself, kept shooting dirty looks at the new Dark Arts professor next to him, who was shoving ham into his broad face.

Stifling a giggle at the sight of Severus being clearly jealous, she began considering what kinds of food to place onto her plate, but found that her appetite was not there. The guilt of lying and playing around with Severus still lay heavily in the pit of her stomach. She resorted to sitting back in her chair and watching the witches and wizards of the school interact over their own meals below. By focusing on one area at a time, she could focus on the babble taking place in that spot, and over the next half hour, she had heard three early-in-the-term love confessions, plenty of gossip amongst the female students, two Slytherins in a heated argument over whether Voldemort was dead or not, and a group of Gryffindors planning their test of courage games that night. She would have to remember to let Severus know about said plans. Or maybe not. Maybe she could take care of it herself. Afterall, she was staff of the castle now.

"Why are you not eating, dear?" Nora jumped.

McGonagall was on her way out of the Great Hall, but paused behind Nora with a stern look on her face. Her assistant was behind her, shooting Nora shy glances, his cheeks becoming more pink each time.

"I guess I'm not so hungry at the moment, Professor," said Nora.

"A balanced diet is necessary for a budding teacher, Miss Springer. Or else you will find yourself too faint to lecture properly, let alone grade all the papers after class before bed."

Nora gulped. Was that really what it was like? She forced a smile, and nodded. She reached for the turkey leg on the platter in front of her, and McGonagall, satisfied, continued walking, young man in tow. As soon as they were some distance away, Nora dropped the leg back onto the platter and sat back with a sigh. Severus, who had remained quiet the whole time, looked at her, his face blank, but his eyes searching.

"I think I will head back to the classroom now, sir," announced Nora after several minutes. "I think some of those tables could use a scrub down before the next lesson. Flubberworm mucus tends to get everywhere…as...you obviously know…"

Severus searched her face once more, before slowly nodding. "Yes, this is true. I shall meet you in fifteen minutes." He then scooted in his chair towards the new Dark Arts professor and struck up a conversation. Well, not so much a conversation as much as Severus provoking him with questions about his teaching methods.

Nora stepped into the chilly classroom and took to cleaning up the messes that the first years left. She had just scourgified the last puddle of slimy mucus off a table, when Severus strode in, his robes billowing behind him.

"Oh. You actually did clean up the mess those little ingrates left," he remarked taking in the freshly cleaned work stations.

"Yes, well, those children are still new to the art. Have a nice chat with our new professor?"

Severus grunted and didn't answer. He made his way over to his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out the next set of lesson plans for the fifth years due in several minutes. Nora watched him, and noticed that he was carrying a bundle of napkins in his hand.

"What's that?" she asked, motioning towards the bundle.

Not meeting her eye, Severus simply placed it upon his desk and opened it. Laying within the cloth, were a couple rolls, the turkey leg Nora had abandoned, and a pastry.

"Professor McGonagall is a witch that has been at this school for many years, and I hold the highest respect for her. To not heed her advice would be a large mistake on your part." Severus busied himself with his lesson plans, still not looking at the now shocked Nora.

He had brought her food from the Great Hall. Nora tried to hide her red face as she walked up and took the food from his desk, placing it instead on one of the student tables. Struggling to not to falsely get her hopes up that Severus was warming up to her, she settled on the explanation that he was only doing this to avoid having his assistant faint on him in the middle of class. Regardless, her appetite had returned as soon as she had entered the classroom, and was thankful nonetheless.

"Thank you, sir," she said meekly, digging into the turkey.

"I only did it because I don't need you falling over into a cauldron and causing a scene," Severus snapped.

Ah, yep.

Nora had just finished her last roll, when the fifth years began strolling into the room, taking their seats and eyeing her, with her greasy hands and face covered in crumbs. It was then, that she realized the students most likely never even noticed her from her silent spot in the corner of the room the day before, and now her first impression was that of a starved lunatic.

Clearing her mess, she moved to take her place in the front of the room, tossing the dirtied napkin and turkey leg bone into the wastebin near Severus' desk.

The day continued on without incident. As with the first years, Nora introduced herself, Severus resumed control, and then she floated between the students, offering a tip or two here and there. Occasionally she would catch up with a couple of the students who remembered her from her time as a Ravenclaw in the castle.

Before she knew it, her and Severus were once again making their way up the staircase and back into the Great Hall for dinner. Nora had begun to feel more comfortable in her role as the Potion Master's assistant, and all doubts about being sacked for her childish behavior had disappeared from her mind. This time, however, she found herself seated directly next to the new Dark Arts professor.

"Ah, you must be Miss Springer," he said kindly, offering his hand for Nora to shake. "My name is Henry Ayers. I have heard much about you from Professor Snape here!"

Nora raised her eyebrows and gave a sidelong glance at the dark man beside her, who had found himself very interested in his soup, his curtain of black hair shielding his face from her scrutinizing eyes. "Did he now? And what did he say, if I may ask?"

"Well just that you are a very proficient potions-maker, of course. Which, you will have to forgive me, was highly in defense to my remark about how the younger generations these days seem much too absorbed in their own lives to care about anything other than themselves." He gave a jovial laugh, but it quickly ended when he noticed the dark look Nora was giving him. "Ah, but if I must say so myself, Severus failed to mention what a beautiful assistant he had." He made to grab her hand to raise to his lips, but she quickly withdrew her hand and filled it with utensils.

"Well, I can assure you that I do indeed, care about many things other than myself," she replied hotly, brushing aside his compliment.

"Of course, of course, my dear, please forgive me. I have just had many bad experiences with past assistants-" the Dark Arts professor continued on, attempting to further defend himself. Nora tuned him out and began to fill her plate haphazardly with meats and mashed potatoes.

"-I believe you and young Berkley here shared a class, did you not?"

Nora turned her attention back to the wide man next to her. "Pardon?"

Professor Ayers leaned back in his seat, revealing the young man she made eye contact with at lunch earlier in the day. Berkley, as he was called, looked up from his own plate and over at Nora, once again filling her with a sense that he was probing her mind with his cold, grey eyes.

"N-no, I don't believe we had a class together, sir," she answered, quickly looking down at her half-eaten food.

"Well, probably not, he was in Slytherin and a year ahead of you. Berkley! Introduce yourself, lad! One of the many things you will need to do when you come back to teach at this magnificent school."

Berkley's voice was just as icy as his eyes, as he said, "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Springer. I am Berkley Caulfield. I hope that we will work well alongside each other this year."

"Y-yes, nice to meet you as well," Nora replied softly, trying to look anywhere other than his face. Berkley nodded curtly and went back to his food.

For the second time that day, Nora's appetite shrank to nothing, but this time, she refused to run away again.

The Great Hall was filled with laughter and talk, and the professors talked classes and students that were already causing problems for them, but Nora did not partake in these conversations, instead picking at her meal with her fork. After about twenty minutes of this, Severus finally spoke to her.

"Are you ill?" he asked in hushed tones. Nora looked up into his face. Yes, his black eyes were definitely cold, but they were nothing compared to the ones two seats down. She blinked quickly, feeling her eyes prickling from tears that were threatening to build and escape.

"No, everything's fine. Just very exhausted from actually working with the classes today, sir." She hoped she sounded convincing, and gave a small laugh, but Severus was not a dumb man.

"If you are ill, you need to tell me immediately. We only have more work to do tomorrow, and I cannot have you slacking off. Tell me your symptoms and I will brew something for you before bed."

"I'm fine, Professor!" Nora squawked, louder than she had intended. Chairs creaked as the other professors leaned over to see what the commotion was about. Several students sitting near the Head Table, looked up, a mixture of confusion and interest on their faces. Was a fight about to break out? Had that happened before? They began to whisper amongst themselves, shooting furtive glances back at Nora. Severus himself was staring at her with wide eyes, and she couldn't determine whether it was anger within them, or something else.

Feeling her chest growing tighter, Nora hastily stood up, almost knocking her fork and knife to the ground in the process. "I-I just need some fresh air is all. Excuse me."

Nora practically ran out of the Great Hall and booked it out the front doors and across the grounds towards the Great Lake. The breeze was cool against her flushed and sweaty face, and Nora could smell autumn quickly approaching. She trudged across the moonlit grass, stopping when she hit the sandy bank of the lake, the water gently rippling with each breeze.

Plopping onto the ground, she pulled her knees tight against her chest and buried her face into them, fighting back sobs. She was so disappointed in herself. She had thought this assistant position was going to be like an extension of her schooling- except less rules, a salary, and more bossing other kids around. But this was actual work, and she did not feel cut out for it. She was happy with her little tutoring side job as a student, holed up in the library with a couple classmates, helping them prepare for their exams. Now she ran the risk of being thrown out on her butt if she kept showing up late. No detentions- this was adulthood. Not to mention, she was a constant thorn in Severus' side, despite his respectful words about her to Professor Ayers. To top it all off, she thought it couldn't get worse, until some creepy guy kept giving her creepy looks, seriously creeping her out.

Wiping her eyes, Nora decided the best thing to do was to pack her bags, give her sincerest apologies to Professor Dumbledore, and leave Severus to take control of his classes the way he does best and remove herself as the bane of his existence forever.

She was about to get up to put this plan in action, when she heard footsteps approaching. Nora quickly pulled her wand from her robes and aimed it in the direction of the sound.

"Put that thing away, Springer," drawled a deep voice.

"Professor? Why are you not inside?"

Severus came at a stop next to her, and gazed down his hooked nose at the young woman still crouched on the grass.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked bluntly.

Nora sputtered. For reasons unknown to her, she began to blurt out everything on her mind, unable to stop until all troubling thoughts were purged from her head.

Severus was silent for some time before speaking.

"First of all, you really need to work on your lateness. No one in the professional wizarding world will take in a witch to refuses to show up on time for her duties. Unless you want Filch's job, in which case I might as well get rid of you now just for being a plain idiot. Secondly, as much as it pains me to say it, I meant what I said to Professor Ayers. You are indeed proficient in potions, and you have potential, if you just quit screwing around. Your marks in school alone was proof of this."

Nora's mouth had dropped open and she was staring at Severus as if he grew two arms out of his head.

"Professor...are you...complimenting me?"

"No. Don't...don't you dare start getting those thoughts."

"But-"

"Stop it." Severus glared at the water, which was being disturbed by a long tentacle breaching the surface.

"I could hug you right now," Nora breathed, still surprised by the conversation that had just taken place.

"Please, for the love of Merlin, don't," Severus responded darkly, stepping away from her for added measure. "I see nothing wrong with Caulfield, however. I find him to be just as incompetent as his dolt of a superior."

"Have you even spoken to him, sir? Or are you just going along with your bias against the new professor?"

If Severus had an answer, he didn't give it, choosing instead to cross his arms, wrapping his robes around him at the same time. The act gave Nora the impression of a large bat, folding his wings.

"I believe you are looking into this whole Caulfield thing too deeply. But I suppose, if it eases your mind, it would be best to avoid him. Which won't be hard, seeing as how I'll be making you clean the classroom and restock my ingredients too often to even allow you a chance to run into him." With this, Severus turned on his heel and began the trek back up into the castle.

Nora followed suit, disappointed both by the lack of help from her superior, and by him ruining what she considered a tender moment between the two of them. She trailed behind him back into the castle and down into the dungeons, pausing briefly to tell off a student for loitering near the main staircase ("Get to your dormitory! Ten points from Gryffindor!").

They reached their respective quarters, located next to each other. Nora fumbled with her key, but paused, noticing that Severus had not yet entered his room. Instead he stood in front of his door, looking as if he was losing a battle with himself.

"Sir…?" Nora asked, tilting her head to get a better look at his face.

Severus tensed, and slowly turned his head to stare at a point above Nora's head. "I," he began, but he stumbled with finding words, before settling on, "nothing, Springer. Go to bed. Do not be late tomorrow."

He pushed his door open, and disappeared behind it with a slam so quickly, Nora could have sworn he found a loophole in the anti-apparating charm around the school.

Shaking her head, she entered her own room, changed into her sleeping robes and crawled into bed. Severus' words had eased a good deal of her anxiety, but she still dreamt of being cornered by an unseen force and probing grey eyes.

A/N: This semester is already kicking my butt, but I am trying.