Still don't own Harry Potter. You'll have to see Mrs. Rowling for that...

anyhoo, on with the show!

Sitting back at the table I watched the man in front of me, thoughts and questions swimming in my brain. He stared right back at me, sipping his drink.

"Okay," he said, putting down his glass. "Let's say I start, yeah?"

I nodded.

"Alright, let's say." I agree.

Snape poked an ice cube in the glass, making it bob, as he took a breath and let it out slowly. He pushed it aside, and rested his now crossed arms on the table.

"I didn't die," He said. This merited another lady-like snort from yours truly.

"Oh, well, hey that's a great place to start. Thanks for the clarification." I smarted off.

Snape rolled his eyes at me.
"Don't you start with your sarcasm, I wasn't finished," he scolded. I crossed my arms and waited for him to finish, eyebrows raised in anticipation.

"The only reason I'm still alive is because of a bezoar and many, many potions that I was smart enough to hide before hand." He continued. I nodded.

"I suspected as much," I said. He raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, you and Voldemort must have known each other well enough by this point; he wouldn't have expected you to do something as simple as that in that situation." I explained.

"And I'm sure you saw something like that coming." I added. He nodded.

"Another thing I saw coming was my need to go into hiding. I knew that, at least for a while, I wouldn't be very well received by either side." He said grimly.

"It wasn't too long after I'd settled myself in Russia that a man came up to me with the newest edition of the Daily Prophet. All they knew was that I was either dead or missing, and I was honored with an Order of Merlin. Instead of a one way ticket to Azkaban."

"So you decided to go back?" I asked. He laughed a little and shook his head.

"No, no. The man who gave me the paper...he informed our minister of my whereabouts. He came to my home personally. Apparently, I'd been voted in as Headmaster." He said with a bitter edge to his voice. I could feel my head moving from side to side, slowly, in disbelief.

"Doesn't get any more ironic, does it?" I asked him. He laughed, humorlessly.

"No, Miss Granger, I suppose it doesn't"

We sat in silence for a moment or two when he suddenly tapped the table in front of me.
"Which brings us to you; why I'm here." I could feel my skin pale slightly. I was hoping we'd avoid the topic of me. I took a deep breath, letting it out in a huff. I was considering my options: A) Tell him a contorted version of the truth, or B) Just tell him the truth. I smiled to myself. Ah, to tell the truth. To have a confidante; relief, or burden? Taking a swallow of wine, I settled for the former, and gathered my thoughts. I took another breath and began.

"You know, of course, neither Harry nor Ron is with us, yes?" He nodded.
"What you don't know is that my parents, family, and several of my muggle friends I was still in contact with are also casualties of the war." I paused, not knowing my emotions quite yet. I'd thought about these people often but I hadn't actually talked about them. Double checking myself, I decided I could go on.

"When the war was over with, and all the casualties were tallied up I didn't know what to do with myself. No matter how much I loved magic, it still killed the ones I loved more. I didn't want anything to do with it. I left. I hid my wand, not having the heart to smash it, and I left."

Snape watched my face as I glared down at the floor. His brow creased, confused.

"So that's it? You just picked up and left? Where is your wand?" He asked quickly.

"Yeah, that's it. Isn't that enough? I'm my own person, I'll do as I like." I replied shortly.

"And as for my wand, you can forget it. I'm sure the ministry has found it and has it locked away some where." I said waving my hand in the air.

"Ah, who cares, anyway? I'm never going back, so it won't do any good for me." I said bitterly. Suddenly, Snape was sitting very close to me.

"Let me tell you something. You need to care because people who survived, people who love you are worried and scared for you. Half of them think you've offed yourself out of grief."

I was pressed up against the back of my chair. Severity marked his face as he said this to me.

"And as a matter of fact, there are people who need you." He added, relaxing his face a bit. I had the audacity to snort at this.

"Oh, really? Tell me one person and I promise I'll come running back, wand in hand, eager as my eleven year old self." Bad move on my part. Turns out he had just the person in mind.
His face slowly unveiled his smug smirk and he crossed his arms.

"Me."

now why would Snape need our Miss Granger? Tune in next time to hear Snape say...*something sarcastic*