DISCLAIMER: Yes, I know I should have put this on the first chapter, but I forgot. Anyway, I do not own any of these characters. JK Rowling does. I don't even own the whole plot, JK Rowling owns a bit of that too!

AUTHORS NOTE: Actionliker, here you go, I've updated like I promised. Good news is, it's the weekend tomorrow, more time to write! Started work on the third chapter, hope to have it posted tomorrow!

Cairo, hope you've found this and enjoyed it… :)

Everyone else, please review! I love hearing your feedback! Even if it's just short, knowing that you've read my story will make me happy! :D

And if you completely hate it… do tell me (in a nice way though). I'm trying my best, but if there's anything you think I should change about my writing, or there's a mistake I've made, TELL ME, or I won't know!

Dumbledore and Snape apparated just outside the entrance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and headed towards the castle, where loud complaints from tired students could be heard.

Dumbledore hadn't told the students yet, and he'd asked the other teachers who knew not to say anything – Lily and James deserved to be the first to know.

"Dumbledore?" Snape asked hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure I should even be here? I am a death eater after all…"

"Severus, I trust you. That's all that matters. Besides, you promised."

"Okay…" Snape sighed and trudged after Dumbledore. They entered the Great Hall, and there was a chorus of sighs and mutters of 'finally!' could be heard throughout the hall.

"Silence!" Dumbledore's voice rang across the Great Hall. "I'm sure you're all wondering why you're all here." Several students nodded frantically, the rest all blinked up at him with sleepy curiosity.

"Voldemort is dead!" he exclaimed, and cheers rang through the hall; students and teachers hugged each other and cried from joy and relief. It took a couple of minutes for the hall to become quiet enough for Dumbledore to speak again, and when he did his voice was serious.

""Students, the death of Voldemort didn't come without sacrifice. Two others died that night – Frank and Alice Longbottom. Their boy lives though, Neville Longbottom. They died to save him," he said, and a mournful silence hung over the Great Hall, broken only by a few hushed whispers.

"Well, before you all go back to bed, I have an announcement to make. This is Professor Snape. He will be our new Potions teacher. Let's all welcome him, shall we?"

Snape stood up nervously as the students and teachers began to applaud, expecting someone to call him a death eater, a traitor. But nothing happened; nobody realized who he truly was, and when the applause died down Snape sat back down in his seat next to Minerva McGonagall, who smiled at him reassuringly.

And then a strange thing happened. A seventh year student at the front of the Ravenclaw table stood up and pulled out her wand, pointing it to the starry ceiling of the Great Hall and casting a small white light that floated up, reaching to touch the stars. A few of her friends stood up after her, repeating her gesture, and then a few brave Gryffindors joined in as well.

Dumbledore, then McGonagall did the same, and soon everyone was standing, casting lights for Frank and Alice, and every other life lost in the havoc that Voldemort wreaked upon the magical world.

It was hauntingly beautiful, the whole school silent, the hall filled with little white lights, and a few teachers had tears in their eyes, and Snape could feel tears welling up in his own, though he quickly hid them away. He wasn't an emotional person anymore, the pain of losing Lily to James had hurt him and turned him self-destructive, and joining the death eaters only made him angrier at himself, and he'd soon learnt to hide away his true emotions. Then Dumbledore had come along, given him salvation, a reason to fight, and things started to become better. He now felt more pain, and his time spent with the Dark Lord had made it so that he wouldn't tell anyone, he'd think it a sign of weakness, something to be ashamed of. And he didn't mind this new pain, because it kept the memories of the good times he had with Lily close, and even though it had torn a hole in his heart to see her with James at Godric's Hollow, he was glad to see her safe, alive, and still the same Lily he knew when they first met.

Snape's thoughts were interrupted by the raucous laughter and jeers of Peeves, Hogwarts' poltergeist, flying around the Great Hall yelling "Mouldy Voldy's dead! Hahahahaha!" which ended in some students throwing things at him (which of course fell straight through Peeves, him being a ghost and all), others yelling at him, and a few laughing nervously.

Somewhere amongst all of the hectic confusion that followed, Dumbledore yelled out that it was time for the students to return to their dormitories, and the prefects for each house began to run around trying to gather the students from their house. Eventually things settled down, and the students all went to bed and Snape left the Great Hall with Dumbledore.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Dumbledore said.

"Yeah… I guess."

They walked together, Dumbledore telling Snape everything he'd need to know for his first day teaching, and parted ways when they reached the stone gargoyle that guarded the spiral staircase to Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore and Snape said goodnight to each other, and Snape walked by himself to the Potions classroom, began organising it for the lessons that would begin the next day, hoping that nobody would ever find out the truth about him.