A.N: Whoa, long overdue again, and I'm sorry. Short pointless chapter but hey! It's a chapter.

Chapter 10 – Helping Hands

Severus was pushing his glass away from him when Alana slipped into the chair beside him during breakfast the following morning. She was quiet, dressed in her black robes, and when she helped herself to some food, she kept her head down. He sat back and watched discreetly as she picked at her breakfast, drinking more than she ate, before finally giving up. He rolled his eyes.

"What's bothering you?"

She seemed startled at the sound of his voice and looked at him, eyes wide with surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Unless you were trying to analyse your bagel on a molecular level, I'd hazard a guess that something was on your mind," he said dryly, gesturing to her plate of crumbs. She sighed and gave him a weak smile.

"Actually, I was working up the courage to ask you something." She turned in her chair to face him properly. "Now's probably not a good time..." She trailed off; glancing at the student's who were chattering noisily at their tables.

"Go ahead," he urged her, his curiosity having piqued from her strange behaviour. She seemed unsure, like there was some inner conflict going on behind her eyes and he was used to her being quite a strong and confident young woman.

"The boy who I suspected had cheated is in your House. I told him I'd be discussing the matter with you, and I was hoping," Alana added, drumming her fingers on the table, "you'd fight my corner."

Snape smirked. "Fight your corner? I was under the impression you were quite capable of taking care of yourself."

"Listen," she said, sounding snappy and as if asking him for anything was driving her to a point of madness. "He doesn't give a damn no matter what I say to him. But someone needs to sort him out. I took points away, and he's rewriting the work, but you're his Head of House. I think he'd probably show you a little more respect than he has me. He'd probably listen to you."

"It sounds like you're handling it just fine. This is your problem, Professor Cross. Your pupil."

"I know that," she hissed. "Don't you think I know that I need to deal with it myself? I don't really want to have to run to you every time I have a problem!"

People started to move around them; it was time for the lessons to begin. Without realising it, the plates and food before them had completely vanished, taking Alana's worried plate of bagel crumbs with them. She stared at him resolutely, and expectantly, demanding an answer from him. Snape rose also, standing over her and looking down as he thought it through. Something behind her eyes – that earnest, pleading look that she was trying to hide – made him relent.

"Come to my office later, and we'll discuss this further," he said simply.

"Thank you," Alana replied with a nod, waiting until he'd gone before she stood and headed to the dungeons herself.

XXXXX

Alana sat in the armchair patiently for Snape to return, examining her watch for what seemed like the hundredth time since he'd left the room. She'd met him earlier that evening to discuss everything that had happened and then he'd left to speak to the boy, commanding her to wait for him. That had been just over half an hour ago, and she was growing restless; she had work to be getting on with, and she was exhausted too, but there was little chance for sleep when there was so much marking to be done. She was contemplating getting up and returning to her rooms when the door to the office opened with a soft creak and Snape breezed past her to sit opposite at his desk.

"You'll be pleased to know the issue has been dealt with," he said blankly, lifting a quill. "I 'fought your corner' and I doubt you'll have any more trouble from him."

Alana kept her sigh of relief in and smiled gratefully instead. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"But I would advise you to be a little more careful – Jackson Mott's father is an influential character within the Ministry at the moment, particularly in Education," added Snape calmly, watching as Alana's brow furrowed. "You don't need an enemy before the inspection begins. Hopefully, young Mott has been sufficiently frightened into silence, and from preventing any further difficulties."

The young woman opposite him nodded and rose from the chair. "Thanks for the warning." She went to walk away when a thought suddenly struck her. "What did you say to Jackson then? Or did you just give him detentions and be done with it?"

"He said very little." Snape's head bowed slightly and he put his hands together. When he looked up, his features were set and he simply stared at her. "And no, I didn't give him detention."

"Did you ban him from Hogsmeade?"

"No."

Alana laughed, confused. "Then how did you punish him?"

"I didn't," Snape sighed, obviously impatient.

Alana's smiled dropped and she folded her arms. "Why ever not?"

"For the very reasons I just said," he snapped, rising to place some books on the shelf. He'd known she'd be like this. "To prevent Jackson Mott from going to his father and causing any more disruptions. He's an influential student – he could cause a whole class to turn on you if he felt so inclined."

"But he cheated, Professor," cried Alana, totally incredulous. "And you're just letting him get away with it?"

"Sometimes," Snape said in a low voice. "You need to learn which battles need fighting, and which ones to let go."

"So what did you say to him?" argued Alana, frowning hard with a fiery look behind her eyes. "Did you just give him a verbal slapped wrist? I should have known you'd look after one of your own. Perhaps if he was anything but a Slytherin you might have been a little stricter."

"Don't be so petty. This is not about favouritism, or Houses," he hit back. "You know, you could try to be a little grateful. I was thinking of your career, which you've accused me of not doing. You seem to be a bundle of contradictions."

"Forgive me, but I assumed you'd actually punish him. You know, like a real professor?"

Snape narrowed his eyes at her. "Do not lecture me on how to be a teacher – I've been teaching far longer than you. And as such I know that there are times when you have to be careful. This is one of them, but by all means if you think you know better, go ahead and make an example of Mott. He'll soon use his father and the inspection to make an example of you."

Alana took a deep breath and buried her face in her hands, letting out a frustrated groan that reverberated around the dark dungeon. When she finally lowered her hands she looked tired and cross. "You're right. Sorry."

Snape started with surprise but cleared his throat to regain his composure. She apologised of her own accord, and admitted he was right? That action was akin to the world turning on its axis, but he didn't say as much.

"I guess I'm just lashing out – the whole inspection thing has everyone, not just me, on edge. I should have accused you of being unprofessional," Alana continued calmly, slumping back in the chair she'd been in before. "Especially not when you've just done me a favour."

Snape folded his arms and leant against the desk, searching for something to say. "Well, I suppose that's understandable."

"Do you think Jackson will cause any more trouble?" she asked him, looking up at him with wide eyes, filled with worry. Like the look at breakfast, it softened him a little, in a way he didn't like. He shook his head.

"Not unless you give him reason to. Just...let sleeping dogs lie for now. At least until the inspection's over. Then you can reprimand anyone you like."

"Thank you, Professor," she sighed, rising again. "I mean it. You've been very helpful."

He bowed his head slightly and turned away from her smile, pacing around to sit at his desk and continue with his work. "Goodnight Professor Cross," he said simply. He didn't acknowledge her thank you, but then again, she hadn't expected him to. Instead she went to the door and left silently. Once she had left the room, he looked up again at the place she had occupied, frowning into it with a puzzled expression, as if he could decipher everything he wanted to know about her from the empty air.

XXXXX

Alana wandered slowly down the corridor as she headed back to her room. There was nothing of the outside world to see in his part of the castle but she liked the walk all the same – she'd grown quite fond of the dungeons and the grim stone surroundings the lower levels of the castle brought. To think how she used to dread coming down for her first detentions with Snape back when she was a student, and how that dread had quickly turned into excitement. Great deals of her happy memories of Hogwarts were locked up in this part of the caste. A lot of her bad ones too.

She wondered if Snape ever thought about...them. Perhaps not. He struck her as the kind of man who would draw a line under it and move on, especially if – as he had thought at the time – he'd never see her again. He certainly wouldn't spend his evenings thinking over his illicit relationship with his student.

She hadn't thought about it in a long time, but she supposed, being confronted with him all the time, it was difficult not to. She'd get these awful flashes of her eighteen year old self, pining after him. Alana couldn't work out how she felt over the memories that had been awakened by coming back. She hadn't spent the time away from him fantasising about him. Neither had she remained single in the hope they'd meet again. She'd had boyfriends, and she hadn't spent her time comparing them to the memory of Snape. But now, seeing him every day, and consulting him, arguing with him, well – it was almost like old times.

Apart from the old feelings of course.