The students shuffled into Snape's classroom on the first Monday of the term. It was truly Snape's classroom; he had made that rather clear. His office, his supply cabinet, his cauldrons, his blackboard, his desk. The only things Sabine could call her own were her animals and her suite, which was located next to Snape's office.
Oh well. Maybe he'd come around. She'd seen that look in his eyes. He was more vulnerable than he knew.
She refocused her attention on the students. They were all from various houses, because the first class was Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts and there were only a few students from each house. Among the students was Harry Potter and a group of very beautiful girls who all seemed to be Sabine's age. She hoped they were nice.
The truth was, if Sabine didn't have Sinistra, her wolf, with her at all times, she began to feel very lonely. Snape hardly ever talked to her, except to explain that he would not tolerate her interrupting his class. Her duties were to prepare the magical creatures that were to be talked about and escort injured students to the hospital wing. That was it. Of course, nothing goes as planned...
She found herself at the front of the dreary classroom, with the students looking up at her curiously. The bell rang to start class, and Snape was still rummaging around in the supply cabinet. There were about five beats of silence as Sabine and her students looked at one another, and then she launched into an introductory speech.
"Hello, and welcome to Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts! My name is Sabine Rose Champignon Delalune, but you may call me Professor Delalune. I will be your co-professor this year, along with Professor Snape, who I assume you all know. Today we will be talking about--"
Snape poked his head out of his supply cabinet, and the Exploding Watermelons he was throttling looked as though they were ready to burst. He was livid.
"Um, well, here's Professor Snape. I'll let him tell you all about it." And then she ran out of the room.

Sabine avoided Snape for the rest of the day, hiding in the back of the classroom meekly and petting Sinistra, who would bare his teeth any time Snape got too close. She observed the way Snape smoothly held his classroom's attention; he radiated a certain type of confidence that made him impossible to ignore. She wondered if he had a wife, or children. What would Mrs. Snape be like? Probably gorgeous. And if any of his children inherited his shiny midnight hair or his intelligence, or his obvious talent, they must be quite wonderful. (A/N: this is a lot easier to do if I imagine Alan Rickman, not the Snape I have in my own head...)

SNAPE'S POV!!!

Snape looked up from his last class of the day to see Sabine raptly taking notes in the corner. Good. That would show her for trying to steal his thunder. He had actually had to work for this job, unlike her. He hadn't realized that it would be so easy for Dumbledore to fall under the spell of a beautiful young woman. Indeed, she was much more good looking than anyone else at Hogwarts, with her silky auburn hair and curvy figure. And she spoke with the slightest hint of an accent, too. "Where are you from?" he asked her, so that he might hear her accent again.
"Southern France," she replied shyly, but looking him square in the eye. He found her eye contact unnerving, if only because she had the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen. But also, she was a confirmed Legilimens. How much had she seen that first day?
"You forgot to tell your students about the Yule Ball Talent Show," Sabine said, the corners of her lips curling slightly. "It will be for students and teachers, held on Christmas Eve. Will you be entering the talent show? It's for charity."

Snape merely stalked off