Severus Snape was bored. It was that simple. After spending most of his adolescence and entire adult life as a double spy, returning to a life of teaching seemed mundane. He was absolutely thrilled that he no longer had to worry about death or destruction, but he wasn't quite ready to return to the dunderheads until the end of his time. He wanted to research, test theories, invent potions- something other than filing out student accident reports or scolding misbehaving nincompoops. Most of all, he didn't want to be alone. He had over 30 years of experience being alone and didn't want to add another 30 to his already impeccable expertise in the area. The only problem was finding that woman who was as intellectual, confident, and strong as he was. Gone were the days of the vapid flings in the dingy rooms of Hog's Head, Severus wanted something, or rather someone, permanent.

He supposed that's why he took the Headmaster position. It was something steady that he could use to create the stable life that every woman wanted in a relationship, but now that he had that only the actual woman was missing. The hardest part was yet to be found.

On the other hand, he mentally reassured himself, you could have been left to die-which was more accurate than he would have ever wanted to admit to himself. His salvation came from none other than the insufferable-know-it-all herself, Hermione Granger. Her impeccable wit and intellect had saved him and given him another chance at the life he never had. For three weeks, so he was told, she failed to leave his side unless it was necessary and remained steadfast in her presumption that he was going to make a full recovery. Despite this knowledge, he never gave her any inclination that he knew just how his life had been preserved. He was grateful, but then again he had expected to die and hadn't planned anything past the war. That played another reason in his decision to return to Hogwarts. He had no idea what else he wanted to do now that he had a new life. He was confused and relieved at his new beginning, but still unsure how to thank the Gryffindor.

Throughout his Hogwarts career he never extended one ounce of attention towards the girl, unless he was insulting her or sneering and now he found himself regretting that. Who was he kidding- the girl was a genius with a bright future ahead of her, the type of future that he, literally, killed for. It was the Hermione Grangers of the world that he chose to fight for. The bright minds, the misunderstood children, the Muggleborns- those were the ones he risked his life for because those were going to be the people who eventually ruled and shaped the wizarding world. People were crazy if they thought he was going to leave the fate of his world to the likes of Ronald Weasley, a boy who would probably choose to solve international disputes by taking a Quaffle to the head.

No, it was the Granger girl that he had secretly watched for years now. Not in the perverted sense, but in the 'why can't you be 25 years older because you're so damn smart' sense. He admired her courage and bravery, and was completely astounded by her intellect. She had no 'worst subject' and that is what made her so interesting. She dedicated herself to learning about as much as he gave himself to 'the cause', so he found it a privilege to see her magic in action that morning.

Like clockwork, he stumbled into the Trio being led by Potter, followed by the dim-witted ginger and the talented witch. He approached the three, noticing that Hermione was lost in thought and drawled slowly,

'I would have been foolish to assume the Miss Granger would have taken a position offered by the Ministry, but my, I never would have expected the Potter-Weasley team to return to a life of education as well. Clearly, you two have grown up. Isn't that right, Miss Granger?'

He knew her attention was elsewhere, but he couldn't help himself by catching her off guard. Besides, watching her stumble and blush was oh so endearing. Look who let herself wander, Severus thought to himself, how I wish she wasn't so bright then I could really understand what she's thinking. He knew for a fact that she had some semblance of Legilimency, and decided to settle for her embarrassment and not his if he was ever caught invading her mind.

'I'm sorry sir, I didn't hear the question,' she blushed.

'I do hope your performance in today's class is better than that of your attention span,' he responded. Severus really didn't want to insult her, but he found himself at a lack of words or niceties for the girl.

There was just something about the way she responded to him when he insulted her that made him feel like she needed his jibes. Nothing inspired a person more than being condescended, right? Well, at least that's how his life had been. Whenever he was looked down upon, that was always the driving factor in his successes because nothing made him feel better than when he did something incredible to the chagrin of a superior. He only hoped that she felt that same way too.

He made his way into the classroom and sat himself in the back, making a mental note of the seat Hermione chose for herself- and the other two dimwits. If it wasn't for the fact that he was going to be able to see her defenses in action, he would never have agreed that sitting in on the new classes was necessary. After what these children had seen, what did it matter what they taught them now? They had already defended themselves against the most powerful wizard of their time, so there was hardly anything to show or teach that they didn't already know. That point was clearly missed by the Ministry, and a new approach was created and put into place. He knew that he needed someone the children could liken themselves to, which was why he immediately thought of Remus. A strange decision on his part (wasn't he supposed to dislike him?), but he knew that it would be the best for the school at the moment. It wasn't met without outraged parents, but he pointedly reminded them how they had just ended a war fueled by intolerance and the subject was left alone.

He listened to Remus' instructions and monitored the classroom, while paying special attention to the witch with the not-so-bushy-hair. Just as he was about to return his attention to the front, Hermione slowly craned her neck to glance at him, and he couldn't help but match her gaze until she swiftly turned away. Now why on earth would she be glancing this way, he pondered, perhaps she is upset that I never thanked her properly for saving my life? She didn't appear angry, but Severus was sure that something sparked her interest. Interesting, he continued, I suppose we shall wait and see where today's lesson takes us.

As soon as Remus began the practice, Severus' patience began to wane quickly. He was definitely not interested in the petty fears held by children and found Potter's revelation uninspiring to say the least. He thought about excusing himself, when Hermione stepped to the front of the line. He couldn't even fathom what type of fear she could ever harbor, mostly due to the knowledge of what she had endured previously.

Remus flicked opened the trunk and Severus strained to make sense of the scene before him. It took him no more than three seconds to realize that he was staring at himself. A very dead version of himself. Hermione was being told that her efforts had been for nothing and that he had not survived. But why isn't she moving? Severus wondered.

Sure enough, Hermione was frozen with a look of absolute horror plastered on her face, almost as if she was upset by the news, Severus continued. How could she possibly be that upset over the death of someone who had tortured her for so many years? Then again, he never once talked to anyone about what she had done for him. He merely shrugged off the comments of another secret prophecy and denied vehemently accusations of a student/teacher liaison. It was the moment her sob rang through the classroom that Severus decided he would finally reach out to Hermione and discuss the night she put his safety before her own. Still in complete shock from what had occurred, Severus failed to remove his eyes from the sight in front of him, and kept his gaze on her long after she ran crying from the classroom.

It took about two minutes before dead silence turned into mass confusion.

'Do you think they were having a secret affair?'

'Now that you mention it, she did look rather bloated. She's pregnant!'

Those comments were no bother to Severus until he heard a very clear,

'Ew, who would ever want a man like Snape anyway?' and in an instant, with a wave of his wand, each student's desk burst into flames.

The students, while alarmed at first, quickly realized that the fire was not burning and they turned to face a very irate Headmaster,

'Like fire can burn, false accusations and distasteful comments can also spread and hurt. You are all lucky that I was setting an example and not proving a point, or we would have had a full hospital wing,' Severus spat.

He then turned to Remus, 'Professor Lupin, you might find it in your favor to control your class or see to it that they learn some respect.' He drawled the last part out slowly whilst he eyed the vocalist of the last comment. He continued, 'Might I suggest a four-foot parchment essay detailing the process a boggart undergoes when it is repelled?'

He glanced up and Remus and added, 'Anyone who begs to differ with my suggestion can spend some clearly much-needed time with Filch.'

With that addition, Severus turned on his heel and stormed out of the classroom.

A conversation needed to be had, and soon.