Grr! I hate not being able to finish things that I start. I started to write this chapter almost 2 months ago and I've barely made any progress on it since then.

Shadow-Hawk Opal: Yea it is unrealistic, but sometimes it does happen. They're wizards, so they can cover almost anything up with a few clever spells. No, Arsenius never raped Severus: he's too proud for anything like that. He was just overly abusive. He's not a Death Eater as far as anyone knows, but he's one of those that at least follows Voldemort from a distance, so to speak. As for the cutting that normally goes on, it just didn't seem right. Coming from an abusive childhood myself, I've never had the urge to physically harm myself, nor did I take a bunch of pills. What Harry and Severus do is a reflection of what I've done.
Lady Darkness13: Thank you for supporting me on the whole Jade thing. Don't worry, things will be explained as I go along. I'm still trying to figure it out :-P

Kelei: Yea, I know. But remember: victims of abuse think that by telling, things will get worse because they've been threatened.

I just looked at Chapter 21 and it seems that my page breaks between scenes and stuff aren't showing up. Which sucks, cuz I know I'm putting them there, and I know I don't wanna have to use HTML coding to fix all that. Damn Microsoft.

On to the story.

Word passed quickly throughout the castle of the Headmaster's mysterious disappearance.

Harry wasn't sure how he felt about it. He was more than tired of Albus' games and plans, but having the old man gone left a void in Harry's life, in everyone's life. Without Albus, there was little hope of defeating Voldemort.

There wasn't a single smile on any of the Gryffindors' faces following the news of their headmaster's mysterious disappearance. The entire House was sitting in the common room, doing nothing but sitting there. Some were talking to one another in whispers while others were simply staring off into space. For several hours they all sat that way, until the portrait swung open. It was Professor McGonagall.

"Good evening," she said, clearly not meaning what she was saying. Some students muttered their acknowledgement in return.

"We have just received a post from the Ministry regarding our temporary headmaster," McGonagall continued, her nostrils flaring slightly as she unrolled the parchment in her hands. "'Approved by Cornelius Fudge, the following person has been elected to take the place of temporary headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Arsenius Snape."

There was a shocked silence following these words. McGonagall scanned the room.

"I see that you are as pleased with this decision as I am," she noted. "However, we must go along with this, at least until the governors can find a more suitable replacement." With that, she turned and left the room.

Almost immediately, everyone started talking.

"Why?" Lavender moaned. "Why him, of all people?"

"Great, just bleeding fabulous," Colin muttered from his armchair next to Harry and Ron.

Hermione looked at them. "Now what are we going to do?" She asked.

"There isn't much we can do," Ron said defeatedly. "The only thing we can do is hope he doesn't get any worse than he already was."

Harry didn't say anything. His mind was numb. His stomach churned just at the thought of the elder Snape holding the highest position in the castle. He would get no chances whatsoever, no matter what he did. Not only that, but he would have to face Arsenius' cruel treatments without a hope in the world of avoiding them.

Without saying goodnight, Harry rose from his chair and wandered up to the dorm. He didn't even bother changing before falling onto his bed.

"I can't believe this!" Severus exclaimed. All of the Hogwarts staff were gathered in the staffroom, excepting Arsenius. "Why!"

Madam Pompfrey shook her head sadly.

"Out of all the people they could have chosen to be Albus' temporary replacement, why in the heavens would they pick Arsenius?" Binns asked.

"Because the Ministry is biased, and the Minister is a bumbling fool," Minerva said.

"Shouldn't they have chosen you, Minerva?" Poppy asked. "You are the Deputy Headmistress, after all."

Severus frowned. "That's a good question," he said slowly, looking at Minerva, who shrugged.

"I don't know," she whispered. "But our main priority is to keep the students safe while giving them the education they need. We cannot forget that.

One by one, they left the room, shaking their heads and muttering in discontent. Severus was the last to leave, and it was with a heavy heart that he descended the stairs to the dungeons.

I'm sorry that this is so short, but I wanted to get something out before I put it off any longer. Also, I'm stuck trying to figure out what to write for this part, but I've gotten some ideas so I'm gonna see if I can put them to use.