Internet is finally back!! Yayness!!

I know I don't know you

But I want you so bad

Everyone has a secret

Can they keep it?

Oh no they can't
------------Maroon5, Secret

Minerva may have said that they should start over and become friends, but Severus and Minerva had been avoiding each other as best as they could. It had been less than a week and every time they passed each other in the corridors or saw each other during mealtimes they acted like they didn't know one another and avoided eye contact. And when they actually spoke to each other they kept their gazes fixed on something else and only muttered a few sentences to each other and off they went going their separate ways.

It had been one fine Saturday and Albus had called all the staff members. Only two had arrived so far, the others may have been out doing something better. When other staff meetings were called only a few of the Professors actually arrived. Minerva and Filius were the first two to arrive. They could have been off doing something better somewhere else, but they didn't, so they just waited for the other Professors in the staff room, if the other Professors actually decided to come.

Minerva sat down eating from a bowl of peanuts and throwing the shells on the ground, Filius flicked his wand when the shells began to pile up on the floor. She seemed to be in a foul mood, so he decided to keep quiet and keep to himself, though he had been tempted to ask her what the problem was. When she ran out of peanuts she slammed her fist angrily on the table and yelled, "Why are there never enough peanuts?!"

Filius sighed, he inched a little closer to Minerva, making sure he didn't move to fast or get to close, his life long dream wasn't to be transfigured into a teacup. He patted her back and tried to talk soothingly with his squeaky voice, "There, there dear, what's bothering you?"

Minerva looked away, her brows were creased downward and her mouth formed a straight line, "Nothing Filius. What makes you think that something's bothering me?"

"Come now Minerva, what can I do to help you?"

Minerva picked the empty bowl from the table and shoved it in front of his face. "You can get me more peanuts."

Filius sighed, took the bowl and walked to the kitchen.

Severus walked briskly to the staff room, Albus had said ten o'clock and it was already ten thirty. He wasn't paying attention to the surroundings and he tripped over something and fell flat on his face. He lifted his head up and got to his feet in an instant, he looked down to the floor to find the source of his trip, and he found Filius, who was smiling and brushing his small robes, a bowl and peanuts were scattered beside him.

Filius said rather cheerfully while scooping up the scattered nuts and dumping them in the bowl, "I'm alright, I'm alright."

Severus would have just walked off and left the little man to himself, but Albus had asked him ever so politely to be nice to his colleagues, and Severus didn't want to disappoint Albus. So he offered his help to Filius.

"I'm so sorry Professor, I'm afraid it was my fault. I was not being careful," Severus mumbled quickly, that it sounded like he was speaking to himself instead of apologizing.

"Oh, don't worry about it my boy, accidents do happen after all," Filius squeaked cheerfully as he picked the bowl of peanuts up. "Where are you of to? And why are you running in the corridors? That is prohibited, even if you are a Professor now."

"The staff meeting, Professor, I'm already late and-"

Filius waved his hand, "Never mind that my boy, Albus won't be there anytime soon."

Severus nodded, "Well, if that's the case then I'll be there a little later. I have a potion brewing down-"

Filius cut Severus of again and grabbed his shoulder, leading him to the direction of the staff room. "Nonsense! You've been working so hard since you got here, and the students haven't even arrived yet! Come to the staff room and have a rest."

Severus seethed quietly and let the little man guide him to the staff room. When they arrived in front of the door Filius stopped and turned to Severus. He put his hand beside his mouth and whispered, "Someone's not exactly in the right mood, maybe we should enter quietly."

Severus nodded in response. He didn't really care; he was in a bad mood himself. He had been in a bad mood since the day he arrived at Hogwarts to be a Professor. As Filius opened the door and stepped in he said rather loudly, "We are back!"

Severus cringed at the high-pitched, squeaky voice. So much for a quiet entry.

"It's about time Filius," Minerva rose from her chair, she was about to say something more but she stopped speaking when she saw who was next to Filius.

"Well, Minerva! Here are your peanuts. I bumped into Severus a few moments ago, and since he was on his way here we decided to come together," Filius said cheerfully. He placed the bowl of peanuts on the table and took a seat. He noticed that both Minerva and Severus were just standing stiffly on their spots and were looking at the walls. "Um...why don't the both of you have a seat? It looks much better than just standing there."

The two of them took their seats; they were still staring at the walls. They had an uncomfortable look on their faces. Filius didn't know why, but he was starting to feel uncomfortable himself. The silence was getting too much and he felt a hostile atmosphere rising. He turned to Minerva and said, "I got your peanuts."

Minerva grabbed the bowl, started eating, and was throwing the shells to the ground again. She was still staring at the brightly colored walls. Filius again tried to relieve himself of the tension in the room by asking questions.

"Minerva, come now dear, what's your problem? I can help," said Filius.

Minerva still didn't take her gaze of the wall; she cracked another peanut open with her teeth and said, "Nothing."

Minerva was getting frustrated herself; she did have a problem, her problem was tall, thin, had black eyes, and was sitting a few meters away from her.

Filius saw that Minerva clearly didn't want to be interrupted from her snacking so he tried his luck on Severus, which turned out to be for naught as well. "So how was your first week at Hogwarts, Severus? It must be overwhelming to be back!"

Severus nodded stiffly as he stared at the wall, "Yes, very overwhelming."

"So...there are quite a few number of new Professors as well. Do you know them all by now?"

"Yes."

"Okay..." Filius fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat and twiddled his fingers. "You seem to be getting along with Professor Sinistra quite well..."

"Sylvia is not so bad. She follows me around and bloody irritates me with her talk of the stars. Sometimes I want to strangle her and feed her to the giant squid. But there has been worse." Severus said flatly.

Filiius laughed whole-heartedly and winked at Severus, "Oh, that will go away. Irritation can turn into something greater and more intimate you know!

That finally got Severus attention. He faced Filius, Severus was about to seethe at Filius and tell him not to meddle with his love life that did NOT exist. But his irritation disappeared when it was Minerva who was the one who answered for him. Severus was quite surprised.

Minerva was not staring at the wall anymore, instead she was staring forward and eating peanuts, "Don't be silly, Filius, you know Severus has no interest in Sylvia. He obviously has no interest in love as well."

Severus nodded, "That is absolutely correct."

Minerva threw more peanut shells to the ground and laughed, "You know Severus is incapable of holding a stable relationship! Remember in his fifth year? He had a girlfriend...what was her name?"

Minerva brought a finger to her chin and tried to remember, she was saying all this as Severus stared at her, his mouth agape. Minerva smiled and raised her hand.

"Now I remember! Her name was Milden Millina. They said they were going steady and after two days they broke up. Milden ate five servings of pastries everyday and Severus stopped washing his hair and never got a girlfriend after that."

Severus was about to say that was a total lie, but Filius spoke up first, "I remember that. The male staff had to drag him into the shower room and clean his hair up, and Milden disappeared, know one knew of her whereabouts. But he shouldn't give up all hope just because of one misfortune."

Minerva snorted, "I wouldn't be surprised if he did."

Severus was blood was boiling. Why was she doing this? He didn't think about what he was going to say, but he thought of something soon. He leaned back into his chair and smiled maliciously, "What about you Professor? I haven't seen you with a lover yet, not even when you were teaching us. Maybe you'll die an old maid," Severus shook his head, "That so sad, yet so true in so many ways."

Minerva's lips formed a straight line and she cracked more peanuts open.

"You know nothing of my love life. I think love and care is very important in a relationship, not just senseless shagging."

Severus shifted in his seat and said, "Are you saying that I just have sex with no regard for love? That I just have meaningless sex?"

Minerva threw a peanut shell to the ground, "I said nothing of the sort."

"How would you know that?" Severus said, his eyes glowering dangerously at her. He stood up and took a step forward; Minerva put her bowl of peanuts down and stood as well. Filius remained quiet and shrunk into his seat.

"Like I said, I said nothing of the sort."

Severus crossed his arms, "Don't judge people if you don't know."

Minerva put her hands on her hips, "I'm not judging, I'm just stating a fact."

Severus laid his hands on his side, clenched his fists and hissed, "How do you know that's a fact? Have you ever had sex with me?"

"Of course not! That would be the last thing on my mind! It's just so obvious that you wouldn't know pleasure even it barged into your office and slapped you on the face!" Minerva practically yelled.

So Severus matched the volume of her voice, "What about you? I bet you're so bad in bed, not even an ogre would dare touch you!"

Minerva threw her hands up in the air and yelled, "How do you know? Have you ever had sex with me?"

Severus yelled back, "I'd never!"

Minerva stormed out of the room and yelled, "I have papers to grade!"

Severus followed the suit but went in the opposite direction, "You could have at least come up with a better excuse! Classes haven't even started! I have a potion to brew!"

As the door slammed Filius flinched, maybe he should have never attended the staff meeting...He grabbed the bowl of peanuts and sighed, "Minerva is right, there are never enough peanuts."

After a few seconds the door opened and Albus stepped in, he scanned the room and saw only Filius. He sighed, just as he expected. He cleared his throat and said, "Thank you all for attending. I just wanted to thank you for coming to Hogwarts early and preparing diligently. I appreciate your hard work."

Filius clapped and Albus nodded and stepped out of the room, but before he left he said, "Now if you'll excuse me, my stove is broken and needs to be fixed."

Filius sighed, "Albus really has to think of a better excuse."

Minerva dropped her clothes on the floor and fell forward on her bed. She buried her face into her pillow and screamed. She was so very angry, and her anger was all aimed at Severus. She stood up and walked around her room and fell back down on her bed.

"What am I doing?" She said aloud.

Better yet, what had she been saying? She didn't know why she had reacted that way. Maybe she just wanted to say something since it was so quiet, maybe she just wanted to annoy Severus, maybe she just wanted to point out that nothing was going on between Sylvia and Severus, or maybe she had no idea why she had said that at all. Minerva grabbed her pillow and held it against her face. Maybe she should apologize, maybe she should say that she was only joking and she respected him as her colleague. Then she remembered what he had said to her.

Minerva got to her feet and stood on her bed, her pillow in her left hand and her right fist was clenched and was high in the air and she yelled, "Or maybe he should just drop dead!"

She collapsed on her bed and once again pressed the pillow against her face. "Or maybe I'm going mental."

Minerva rolled on her side and curled into a ball, she bit her thumb and closed her eyes. What was worse was that she had been reminded of that unspeakable night, and she was sure that he had been reminded as well. She bit her thumb harder when she heard knocking on her door; she decided to ignore the knocking.

"Minerva, I know you're there, I heard you scream a few seconds ago."

"Flora," Minerva grumbled, she didn't get up and she hoped Flora would give up soon.

"Minerva, just open the door."

Minerva opened her eyes slowly, she removed her thumb from her mouth and stared at it. "I feel like a three year old."

"Minerva, open the door before I bash it down."

Minreva decided to ignore the threat and stay curled up on her bed, but soon enough loud banging was heard.

"Minerva!"

Minerva grit her teeth and rose from the bed. "Fine! I'm coming!"

When Minerva opened the door she was clad in nothing but her underwear. As she opened the door Flora Sprout stood and smiled calmly at her.

"You know Minerva, answering the door in only your bra and knickers could lead to utter chaos." Flora chuckled as she stepped inside Minerva's room.

"I can answer the door in any way I want," Minerva snapped as she closed the door.

Flora sat on Minerva's bed and laid back. "Well, if you want to answer the door that way, I'm not stopping you."

Minerva crossed her arms and stayed in her spot. "What do you want Flora?"

"Come on now Minerva, is that anyway to talk to a friend?" Flora said as she stood up and started to tinker with Minerva's trinkets.

Minerva sighed and walked to her bed. "I'm sorry Flora, I just feel a bit stressed," Minerva raised an eyebrow, sat down on her bed and eyed Flora as she walked around her room.

Minerva suddenly remembered something, "But you never come here to visit me...What do you want Flora?"

Flora looked over her shoulder and stared at Minerva, "What are you talking about?"

"Come on Flora, what do you want?" Minerva repeated.

Flora realized that her cover was blown but she still tried to cover up, so she turned around and avoided eyecontact with Minerva. "Minerva, seriously I-"

"Just spit it out Flora."

Flora sighed, she knew that she couldn't trick Minerva, and if she tried any further she would be turned into a pumpkin or something else. "Well..." Flora turned around and circled Minerva. Minerva just stayed in her spot and remained calm, though her temper was slowly rising.

"Well?" Minerva repeated.

"I heard you and Severus argued earlier." Flora said.

Minerva looked quite confused, was that all she was going to say? "And so? Is that all?"

Flora looked surprised and she threw her hands in the air, "So? So? Minerva, you never get into an arguement with any of the staff! You're the one who always tells us to be at peace with other people and all that stuff. What happened? Why did you argue?"

Minerva sat on her bed. "Flora, is that such a big thing? So what if we argued. It's nothing," Minerva pointed to the door, "You can go now."

Flora sat beside Minerva, she was starting to sense that there was a problem. Flora put her hand on Minerva's back and said, "Minerva, something's bothering you, you can tell me."

Minerva finally got tired of that phrase, she stood up and yelled, "What is wrong with you people? I have no problem! I'm serious when I say that! So you can all stop asking!"

Minerva sucked in some air and hung her head low; she felt so tired. She just wished that people would not stick their noses where it didn't belong. Minerva lifted her head a little and saw Flora who sat quietly on the bed, her hands neatly folded on her lap as she stared at Minerva. Then, Minerva suddenly felt guilty for losing her temper like that, she knew Flora meant well.

"Flora, I'm sorry," Minerva started but Flora stopped her.

"Don't worry yourself Minerva, I'm fine," Flora smiled gently at Minerva and assured her that everything was alright. "But you obviously are not, no use in denying it. Is there any way I can help you?"

At that moment, Minerva felt like she wanted to tell Flora everything, but she was too embarassed to say anything. Minerva raised her head and smiled, "Flora, maybe I do have a problem, and if I do I'll need to solve it on my own. So please..."

Flora looked at her skeptically, "Are you sure?"

Minerva nodded, "I feel like I need to be alone now. Could you please?" Minerva motioned for the door. Flora wanted to protest and stay with her friend, but she had to respect her decisions and requests. Before Flora walked out the door she looked at Minerva and asked, "Are you sure you'll be fine?"

Minerva pushed Flora out the door playfully and said, "It will go away very soon, I'm sure."

Before Flora could say anything Minerva closed the door. She leaned against the door and slowly slid downto the floor.

The truth was, she wasn't sure if her problem would go away soon, because her problem was going to be there for a long, long time.

I'm not dead!! Actually, this chapter's been done for a while but Internet broke down so I couldn't upload it. Thanks to all of you that reviewed!!