"He's a teenager," he reminded her as he got off the bed and reached for his deep purple robe. "He is in the throes of hormones and desires. You should be flattered."

"Well, I am, I suppose. And a little disturbed. He's not who I would have expected, you understand. It's not that I don't…appreciate…"

"Minerva," Dumbledore leaned down and planted a very soft kiss on the tip of her stern nose. "No one is accusing you of anything."

"Then why do I feel on trial?" She got off the bed as well; taking her long tangle of hair and twisting it very efficiently back into her requisite bun. "I see him watching me and I see the smiles and smirks of all the other professors and it's not easy. Especially as you are the most guilty of them all."

"He's young, Minerva. And, if you think about it, it must gall him to fancy a Gryffindor, wouldn't you think?"

"That isn't helpful, Albus."

"I so rarely am in matters of the heart, my dear."

"You know more about the human heart than any other man alive, Albus Dumbledore and your modesty is all the more insincere for its falseness." She placed her hat back on her head and tapped it into place. "And so, almighty headmaster, what do you propose I do about our young Mr. Snape?"

"I would think it obvious, Minerva." He smiled, mischief in his eyes. "Unless of course, you harbor some deeply buried desire for the young man, in which case, I think it best that you take advantage of your experience and his sexual peak and have your way with him."

"Albus!"

"Only joking, my dear." He grabbed her arm lightly and pulled her toward him. "What would you do if it were any other student?"

"I would most likely go to my headmaster for advice."

"Oh, that wouldn't be wise. I hear he's got quite a fancy for you himself. Might not bode well for the young man if the headmaster thinks he's got competition."

"You are not helping."

"He's done nothing overt, Minerva." Dumbledore chuckled. "Don't encourage. Don't discourage unless it becomes apparent that he has every intention of escalating beyond a very innocent crush." She was about to speak and he stopped her, shaking his head as he held up a restraining hand. "He is a fragile young man, I do agree. He has a great intellect but very little sense when it comes to the world. He will most likely fall victim to someone who will offer him everything he's ever wanted, only to find that the price that it extracts from him is far more than he was ever willing to pay."

"Is that one of your statements that I will look back on in several years and admire your great foresight, Albus?"

"I should expect not, Minerva. I rather think you'll be, at that point, looking down on me as if I were a doddering old fool."

"I do that now."

"Ah, but now I am the doddering old fool that you love to distraction." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "Tread lightly, Minerva. And if it does escalate, then we will find something to do to break our dear Mr. Snape's heart."

"Early for Transfiguration again, eh, Snape?" Sirius Black sat down on the edge of Snape's desk. "I guess you're doing your best to try and win back some points for poor old Slytherin's depleted hourglass, eh?"

"Gryffindor's not all that impressive this year, Black." Snape sneered. "I mean, they must be scraping the bottom of the barrel if you and Potter are kings of the castle."

"Sitting in the front row even," Sirius continued as if he hadn't heard. "You must want to be impressive. Or perhaps you just fancy the teacher, eh?"

Snape's pale skin flushed and his eyes glittered. "Just because you run around like a dog in heat, Black, doesn't mean the rest of us are so slave to our baser natures."

"I think that was something of a yes, don't you, lads?" He grinned at James and Remus. "Our friend Snapey here has got himself a thing for McGonagall. Tell us the truth, Sev, old chap, are you planning on asking her to the Yule ball? Maybe you can score yourself a passing grade under the mistletoe."

"Mr. Black?"

Sirius started and turned to face professor McGonagall. "Yes, Professor."

"You will take your seat now, as unless you possess some sort of time alteration device, it will be impossible for you to have done it two minutes ago when my class started."

"Yes, Professor."

"As for the rest of you, I will make this announcement once and never again. I may be head of Gryffindor House, but there is to be no rivalry in my classroom. Headmaster Dumbledore's decision to combine houses for various classes to try to create a more unified school will not fail in my classroom because my Gryffindors cannot manage to employ enough civility. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Professor," everyone stated.

"Very well then. Look in front of you and find today's exercise. You are to turn your radishes into rabbits. For those who succeed, there will be an additional exercise to keep you from getting into further mischief." She looked over the students, her gaze landing on Sirius. "And I expect that there will be more than a few of you who manage to graduate to the next task."

Her gaze swept to Severus. He was giving her his approximation of a smile and, while sincere, it couldn't help but send a sigh past her lips.

"I tell ya, he's got a horrible crush on McGonagall." Sirius poked his lunch with his fork. "You can see it. He's even greasier than normal. Oozing around her."

"You protecting McGonagall's honor," Peter smirked. "That's a laugh, Sirius."

"She doesn't need protecting," Remus reminded all of them. "I'm pretty sure, when it comes to anything, even lovesick schoolboys, Professor McGonagall is more than enough to handle it."

"But Snape," Sirius reiterated, jabbing his chicken again. "I mean, he's…well, he's Snape, isn't he? Lurking around like some vulture, preying on innocents."

"He's not Jack the bloody Ripper, Sirius." Remus laughed. "He's just an introvert."

"You're defending him."

"I'm reminding you that we have a huge test in Transfiguration in two days thanks to you chivalry and I'd rather get through lunch so that I can study for it. Besides," he lowered his voice, "what do you care who's got the hots for McGonagall? She's not your type exactly, is she?"

Sirius' eyes widened and he shook his head, wrapping his arm around Remus' shoulders in a friendly fashion and pulling him closer before pushing him away. As he released him, he dropped one hand under the table and squeezed Lupin's thigh in a much more than friendly gesture. "No. Not exactly."

Snape knocked softly on the door, glancing around him quickly, checking the shadows to make sure there was no one around. When there was no answer, he bent down, slipping the parchment under the door, gathering his robes around him as he hurried down the corridor toward Slytherin.

McGonagall sighed and bent down, picking up the parchment carefully. The wax seal was a thick, luscious green, the seal a generic S, not the standard seal of either Slytherin or the Snape family. Sighing again, she pressed her thumb to it and slowly unrolled the parchment.

Headmaster Dumbledore introduced us to this writer my second year. It seems strange that a Muggle would have the insight that seems to elude some full-blooded wizards.

She closed her eyes, the last sentence, though most likely meant in complete innocence tightening her heart. There was a long gap between his initial paragraph and the poem, and she couldn't help but smile as his precise writing loosened, the words, the poetry falling from the ink in a beauty of their own.

My mistress's eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lip's red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun,
If hair be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
In some perfumes there is more delight
Than the breath with which my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know,
Music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

"A love note, Minerva?"

She started and turned quickly. "Albus, you startled me."

He smiled and rested his hand in the small of her back, guiding her to a chair by the blazing fireplace. "You seemed a world away."

She looked down at the parchment, following Dumbledore's eyes. "He seems to have progressed past adoring looks in class."

"He actually gave you adoring looks?"

"Well, the intent was there, even if the actual gaze seemed a bit more off-putting than attractive and adoring." McGonagall smiled, her finger trailing over the dark ink that seemed to match the wax seal, a deep, forest green full of reflective secrets. "He sent me a poem."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Oh? An original composition?"

"A Muggle author, actually." She gave him a knowing look. "One you introduced him to, if I'm not mistaken."

"Excellent. Good to know some of what I drone on about does sink into their heads. Which one? Wilde? Swift?"

"Shakespeare."

"Oh my. It delights me that Severus can find the irony of him. I wonder if he made it past the tragedies." He shook his head. "Something tells me the answer to that would be an emphatic no. May I?"

McGonagall nodded, still holding the parchment. She traced the seal then forced herself out of her reverie, handing the paper to Dumbledore. "What am I going to do, Albus?"

"Ah. A favorite of mine." He read the poem aloud; his rich voice adding layers and texture to the age-old words. "And so fitting of Severus, don't you think? Who better to understand that beauty is much more than skin deep, that few of us are just as we appear." He caught McGonagall's eye. "Not that you are not lovely, my dear."

"I didn't take it as an insult, Albus."

"No. You never would. But just the same, I feel the need to make sure you do know exactly how beautiful I find you to be." He patted the arm of his chair, tilting his head in invitation. "As wise a woman yet to fall in love with me."

"As if I could have resisted you." She laughed and moved over to his chair, letting him settle her in his lap. "All charm and twinkling blue eyes as you swooped over to our table in a flurry of scarlet robes. You were made to impress, Albus."

"I don't recall you being all that impressed."

"I did dance with you."

"Ah, but you went home with…what was his name?"

"That, my dear Albus, is neither here nor there."

"You lived with the man for five years, Minerva. Surely you remember his name."

"Just as readily as you do, you old faker." She leaned against him, inhaling the warm, sweet smell of him. "You stole my heart that night, Albus. I was just too stubborn to admit it. And you were too cocky by half."

"By at least that much." He tugged her hair from its bun and let it spill over his hand, running his fingers through the silky strands. "He admires you so, you know. You are fair and honest and beautiful. You stand up for what you believe in. I think, for someone of Severus' background and familial situation, that is something that he has no choice but to admire. I doubt he has seen loyalty to anything more than the pursuit of galleons in all his life."

"What do I do, Albus?"

"Be just those things, Minerva. As that is all you can do."

"Perhaps I should talk to him? Sit down with him…"

"And say what, pet?" He turned so that their eyes met. "Tell him that he doesn't stand a chance with you so that he can hear you say that he doesn't stand a chance with a woman like you? Tell him that you're too old so he can hear you say that he is not mature enough for you? Tell him that you're his student so he hears that you'd rather spend your time with the headmaster who is at least twice your age?" His thumb graced her jaw, stroking the strong profile. "Men who fancy themselves in love do not hear with the ears of reason."

"I don't want to see him get hurt. Sirius Black is torturing the poor boy in class…"

"I fear that childhood will not be kind to our Gryffindors or our Slytherins." He looked at her, his eyes somewhere far away. "The best you can do for him, Minerva, is to pretend as if this does not exist. Otherwise, Black and his friends will not let it rest. And, sometimes, what seems the cruelest course is often that which is most kind."

McGonagall nodded and rested against him. "I can't help but feeling that this will just stir the pot, make it all worse."

"Something wicked this way comes," he nodded, kissing her temple. "And were I a better man, I would perhaps give you leave to do what you think would be best. But I am not a good man, Minerva."

"Liar."

"When it comes to you, my love, I am not a good man. I am a selfish one."

Remus glanced over at Sirius and shook his head. Sirius stuck his tongue out and nudged James, who looked up and shook his head as well. Sirius folded his arms over his chest and pouted, kicked Remus in the foot.

"Ow."

"Well," Sirius grinned, "you won't let me have any fun."

"So you inflict pain?"

"Maybe I thought you'd like it."

"Maybe you thought I'd get mad enough not to notice that you've already got your wand out and if you don't leave him alone, you're bound to get us detention and I'd rather not." Remus met Sirius' irritated look with a cool one of his own. "Besides, James has Quidditch practice tonight and I'm sure he'd prefer that to a rousing evening of scrubbing trophies with Filch."

"Besides," James added, "you've got a date tonight, don't you? I saw you chatting up Amaryllis Anderson earlier."

"A date, Sirius?" Remus' eyes grew big and wide. "Oh, I knew you were just the best. Did you flex your muscles or just show her your wand?" He pretended to swoon. "Sirius Black, big man on campus."

"You're the bloomin' prefect," Sirius glared.

"Only because Dumbledore thinks I've got some hope of controlling you idiots. Sadly, he's very mistaken. You think you'd all do me the favor of growing up so that I can stop having to pretend to be responsible."

"You love it and you know it. You get that nice bathroom all to yourself."

"You've never smelled it after the girls have been in their primping."

"Can't be worse than ours after Sirius has finished primping." James laughed at Sirius' face. "Now then, speaking of which, I've got a date with Lily," they all chuckled at this, James's dates with Lily consisting of him following her and teasing her until she snapped at him to grow up now a standing joke, "before practice, so I'm going to leave you to keep him from torturing Snape all by yourself."

"Thanks," Remus drawled.

"Oh, come on, Remus," James' eyes shone with laughter. "Surely you can think of some way to keep Sirius from running off and howling at the moon, can't you?"

"Nothing that won't get in the way of his date tonight."

James ruffled Remus' already mussed and shaggy hair. "As if you'd mind that so much, eh?"

"Say hello to Lily, would you?"

"And tell her to get some taste in men?" James added.

"It couldn't hurt." Remus waved and turned his attention back to Sirius. "Give me your wand."

"I'm not going to hex him or anything."

"I don't trust you." Remus crossed his arms and stared at Sirius until he handed over the slim sliver of wood. "Now, tell me about your date tonight."

Snape set the book down on the library table, ignoring the looks he was getting from the tableful of girls nearby. A chorus of whispers clouded around him, choking the air. He was about to get up and move when Madame Pince hurried over, chastising them all to be quiet.

His finger ran down the page, skimming the words as he passed them. "Excuse me?"

He looked up, surprised to see a girl standing in front of him. "Yes?"

"You're Severus Snape, aren't you?"

He sighed, bracing himself. "Yes."

"I thought so. I mean, I didn't get much description, but you just…sort of fit your name, don't you?"

"Is there a reason you're wasting my time?"

She straightened, indignant. "There is, actually, although now that it's come down to it, I've got half a mind not to tell you what it is." She held out a note, practically shoving it against his roman nose. "I was asked to give you this."

"What is it?"

"It's a parchment." She laughed rudely. "And they told me you were smart."

"And they told me all Ravenclaw girls were pretty." He sniffed. "Looks like generalizations are the bane of us all."

She dropped the parchment and spun on her heel. Snape looked around, searching for the familiar figures of Potter and his gang. Not seeing any of them, he carefully unrolled the parchment. The edges slipped and curled around his fingers until he uncovered two small words, barely there in pale silver ink.

thank you

Hope grabbed his heart and he looked up, intent on finding the blonde who had delivered the message. He left the book and bag at the table, hurrying in the direction she'd gone.

He caught up with her just outside the library, grabbing her arm, his fingers curled like a vice. "Wait."

"Let go of me!"

"Please," he gasped the word, his eyes searching hers. "Please wait."

She shook off his grip and crossed her arms across her chest. "What?"

"Who gave you the scroll? It's important, please?"

"One of the prefects. Gryffindor, I think. Amaryllis or something? She said she'd just had Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall and she'd asked her to deliver it to the library. She wasn't heading this way and I was. I offered to take it for her." She sniffed. "Had I known it was going to you, I might have reconsidered."

"Yes." Snape glanced down at the paper still clutched in his hand. "Yes. Thank you." He turned around, completely distracted now, completely consumed as he headed back into the library.

She watched him for a few moments then hurried around the corner. "Is that what you wanted?"

"Not me," Peter shrugged. "Just doing Sirius a favor."

McGonagall sat next to Professor Sprout, trying to keep her attention focused on the conversation going on around her. Instead, her eyes kept falling naturally to the long Gryffindor table and the four friends gathered there. Remus Lupin caught her gaze and waved, waggling his eyebrows and smiling. She returned his smile and forced herself to turn to Madame Pomfrey as she started speaking.

"Minerva?" Dumbledore's voice was low and surprisingly hot on her neck. "A word, if you please?"

She nodded, excusing herself from the table and following Dumbledore to a small room off the side of the Great Hall. The door closed behind them and Dumbledore spelled the lights, blanketing them in the soft glow of candlelight. "Is there something the matter, headmaster?"

"I just received a proposal today and I wanted your sharp insight."

"You're beginning this conversation with a compliment, Albus. That means that you've already made up your mind and are determined to have my backing."

"I wish to present this to you before I present it to the faculty as a whole and then, if we so decide, to the students." He held out a letter, watching her face as she read it. Her eyebrows lifted slightly and he nodded. "You see my concern?"

"The Ministry backs it, Albus, I really so no reason for us to deny it happening. You know if we do you'll either be faulted for depriving our students of the opportunity or they'll just mange to do it behind your back at another venue. One you cannot control as easily as Hogwarts."

He nodded and took a deep breath. "As I thought." He stroked his beard. "I admit that it would be with some trepidation that I allow Lucius Malfoy unlimited access to my students."

"As I said, better where you can control it."

"I fear that control is exactly what the issue of this whole arrangement is." He sighed. "Well, shall we return to our dinner?"

"Yes."

"And do stop flirting with Remus Lupin, my dear. I'm afraid Severus is getting dreadfully jealous."

"Albus," she warned.

"I'm beginning to think I had better schedule my time with you. I know if I'm on your schedule, you're much less likely to run off with one of your handsome students."

"You're incorrigible."

"I am at that." He stopped her before they reached the door, tugging her toward him and kissing her softly. "I believe that is a large part of why you love me."

Slytherin was dark at the best of times, at night even more so. Snape moved through the dungeons without making a sound, slipping from shadow to shadow, his pale face never seeing even the silver light of the moon.

The door was unlocked and he moved into the potions lab then into the stores, moving across the floor and down the two steps by memory. As he closed the heavy door behind him, he cast a spell to light the small room, bending immediately over the long worktable, his dark hair blocking out much of the light his wand had provided.

He removed the book from the inside of his robe, enlarging it and setting it carefully on the table as well. He glanced around out of habit, making sure his light stayed centralized. He thumbed through the pages, searching and scanning, stopping as he reached the piece he was looking for, breathing deeply as he read through the words.

He carefully copied them, line by line, whispering the words as they sprawled across the paper, bringing them to vivid life before setting them in ink. Finished, he reread them, making sure there were no mistakes, then sat there, quill in hand, staring at the remaining parchment.

He leaned in suddenly, scribbling furiously then rolling the scroll before he could change anything, capturing the words inside the tight rolls. He pulled a green stick from his robe, heating it with a spell then letting the thick wax pool on the seam. He pressed the smooth S into the small pile and pulled it away, staring down at the mark, releasing a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.

McGonagall looked up at the knock on her office door. "Come." Sirius stuck his head in the door, followed quickly by the taller Lupin. She fought a quick smile and schooled her face into its usual stern expression, knowing from their own smiles that she hadn't reacted quickly enough. "Yes, gentlemen?"

"And she uses the word loosely, especially in your case, Sirius." Remus followed his friend into the office, closing the door behind them. "Hello, Professor."

"Mr. Lupin. Mr. Black." She gestured toward seats near the fireplace and moved from behind her desk to join them. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Because, as much as I flatter myself when it comes to my wit and personality, I find it hard to believe the two of you can't come up with enough mischief to keep yourselves amused without my help."

Remus rolled his eyes in Sirius' direction, waving his hand to defer to his friend. "This is your show, Black."

"It's about the career fair."

"I see." McGonagall nodded, trying to keep from smiling. "And what about the career fair, Mr. Black?"

"Well, as you know, there is a large representation from the private and government sectors."

"Those are the two largest employers in the Wizarding World, Mr. Black."

Remus snuffled a laugh under his breath, his sideways glance at Sirius warm and affectionate. "She does have a stunning point, Sirius."

"We were thinking…"

"And by we, he does mean he," Remus added.

"We were thinking," he glared at Remus, "that we'd like you to give some sort of speech about what teaching is like, why we should aspire to train and mold the young minds that shall come after us."

"Please, I beg of you, Professor, do not let Sirius near a young mind. Or, for that matter, a young anything. Especially a young Ravenclaw girl."

"It was just one date, Remus," Sirius reprimanded him gently then turned back to McGonagall. "I'm sure the attendance at such an event would be overwhelming. I know Lily's talked about becoming a professor. And James. I bet he'd do it."

"And you, Mr. Black? Where do your interests lie?"

"Oh, I fully intend to live off my parents' money as long as it will annoy them." He grinned impishly. "As that will irritate them more than almost anything else I might consider for a career. I think I shall spend lavishly on the most unnecessary items known to man, most of them attached, in some way, with the Muggle world because nothing is more attractive than the vein that pops out on my mother's forehead whenever it gets mentioned."

"You, Mr. Black, are going to find yourself in trouble one day, much like the boy that cried wolf."

Sirius cast a glance at Remus, his eyes filled with enough emotion to make McGonagall blush. "You're quite right, Professor. I call out wolf far too much. But I do so enjoy it. And each time I do, I swear the wolf does come."

Remus' gaze was locked on Sirius', McGonagall no longer in the room with them. "I think, Sirius, that we've taken up enough of Professor McGonagall's time, don't you?"

He nodded, his eyes still held captive. "Do think about our proposal, won't you, Professor?" He forced his gaze back to her. "I really do think that all of us would be enraptured by whatever you would have to say. You are, after all, everyone's favorite."

"I appreciate the flattery, Mr. Black, but I think you've exaggerated your case quite enough." She stood and followed them to the door. They walked close together, the shift in the mood still carried between them. "But I will consider your proposal."

"Excellent." Sirius smiled back at her as they stepped out into the hall. "Thank you for your time, Professor."

She nodded, shutting the door slowly. She continued watching them long after she had ceased to exist for them, her lips curling into a smile as Sirius tugged Remus closer to him, kissing him desperately in the shadows.

"Do you remember that urgency?" Dumbledore asked softly. "Remember that need?"

"Fondly. And not so fondly." She chuckled and closed the door all the way, turning back to face the headmaster. "They are quite lovely together."

"We can only hope that Mr. Lupin is a calming agent when it comes to Mr. Black, rather than the other way around," he chuckled. "Although his round as prefect hasn't given me that impression at all, I'm afraid."

"Did you hear their proposal?"

"I did," he nodded, moving to the chair that Sirius had vacated. "It's an interesting one. And quite valid, I should think. We shall not all be at Hogwarts forever."

"You will always be here, Albus." She sat on the arm of his chair, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his head. "And I will be here at your side."

"What if you grow tired of me?"

"Are you fishing for compliments, Albus?" She chuckled and let him pull her into his lap, snuggling against him. "There is too much about you for me still to discover. I cannot fathom growing tired of you."

"No?" He inhaled the warm scent of cinnamon from her hair. "I understand from my lectures in Muggle literature that I'm quite boring."

"Oh, I think not." She moved off his lap to her desk and picked up a parchment. "As you've inspired yet another missive from my admirer."

"Who do we have this time?" Dumbledore took the scroll with a delighted smile. "Hmmm. A very nice choice, I should think.

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body . . ."

"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

that this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

"He's branched out on his own. I don't recall assigning this one."

"I'm so glad you're deriving such intellectual appreciation from my somewhat disturbing situation."

"He's completely harmless."

"He's an excellent potions student, he's interested in the dark arts and he's writing me love notes. Surely, Dumbledore, you see some cause for my concern?"

"You're a Gryffindor," he reminded her softly. "If he can see past the prejudice, can't you do the same?"

"It's not the same, Albus, and you know it."

"He is harmless, Minerva. A few simple love notes, none of which I assume you've encouraged." She shook her head and he nodded. "So I see no cause for alarm. In fact, doing anything in regards to this is more likely to have some adverse effect than pretending it doesn't exist."

McGonagall sighed and shook her head. "I don't know, Albus. He's…"

"He's a teenager, Minerva, and you are no doubt destined to break his heart." Dumbledore chuckled. "But, more importantly, you're destined to make him find the most interesting poems. Only Severus Snape would woo a woman with ironic love poetry."

"Being involved with you, Albus, I'm beginning to doubt there's any other kind."

"You wound me, Minerva." He came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders, kneading them gently before sliding his fingers down her arms, his touch lighting her nerve endings with a warm flame. "Make it up to me, won't you?"

"And how," she turned to face him, her expression rapt, "do you propose I do that, Albus?"

He kissed her, his lips warm, inviting, insistent. "Urgently."

Snape sat silently at the back of the class, watching the rest of the room with narrowed eyes. No one was concentrating, as no one ever did in Binns's class. He glanced away from the rest of his co-Slytherins, turning his attention back to the parchment in front of him. The two small words stood out starkly despite the pale ink and he traced them with a long finger.

"Pardon me, Professor Binns?"

His head snapped up at her voice and his eyes followed her as she walked toward the front of the classroom. He kept his gaze hooded, hidden, the Slytherins being more dangerous than Black, Lupin, Potter and Pettigrew could ever hope to be.

But he still watched her.

"Of course, Professor McGonagall." The ghost drifted back, his irritation at being interrupted obvious. "I was almost finished discussing the Goblin Wars as it was."

A snark of laughter went around the room at the comment, stopped by McGonagall's piercing look. "Thank you, Professor." She turned her attention to them all, surveying them as she did in every Transfiguration class. "As many of you no doubt know, we will be having a career fair of sorts next week. We would like all students to sign up in the Great Hall under the headings they would be most interested in. There are quite a few outside interests that will be present, beyond the typical Ministry of Magic representatives. And, of course," a light blush dusted her cheeks, "Hogwarts will be present as well. Represented."

She surveyed the bored faces and sighed softly. "If you're not signed up for an interest, you will be given one at Dumbledore's discretion." She did grin at their sudden interest. "And I think it's common knowledge that our Headmaster has a somewhat…impish sense of humor."

A hand shot into the air and McGonagall nodded. "How long do we have to sign up? I mean, I'm not really interested in ending up in Muggle Studies or anything." A quick sneer. "Not that anyone should be."

"Of course not," McGonagall nodded, "especially as they outnumber us about 5000 to one." She refrained from rolling her eyes, though the cost to her was obvious. "You have until Friday evening to sign up. After that, you're at Dumbledore's mercies." She turned and nodded to Professor Binns. "Thank you, Professor."

Binns nodded and picked up his lecture in the middle of the word she had interrupted. McGonagall swept toward the door, stopping only when she felt a hand brush her sleeve. She turned, swallowing hard as she looked down into Severus's eyes. "Professor?"

"Yes, Mister Snape?"

"Who will be representing Hogwarts?"

His hand stayed on her sleeve though it did not move, caress or otherwise touch her. She felt the heat of his skin nonetheless. "I will, Mister Snape." She glanced meaningfully at his hand. "If that's all?"

He nodded. "Thank you."

McGonagall continued out of the room, leaning back against the heavy oak door as it shut behind her, sighing out the breath that had been trapped in her chest since he'd touched her.

"You've got to be kidding." Sirius leaned against the wall in front of Remus, smirking at his friend. "There's no way in hell I'm signing up for that."

"I didn't ask you to."

"Remus, you listen to McGonagall every day. Why on earth would you want to go listen to her lecture on being a teacher?"

"Maybe," Remus smiled indulgently at Sirius, "because I've actually thought about becoming one?"

"A teacher?" Sirius wrinkled his forehead. "Of all the things there are in the world to do after we get out of here, you want to come back?"

"There are worse places." Remus finished signing his name to the sheet. "Besides, I've got no desire to sit through a lecture on the joys of Quidditch with James and Peter. And I'm certainly not going to sit through Dragon-wrangling with you."

"Romania's beautiful."

"So is Scotland." He pressed his finger against Sirius's chest, letting it linger there. "I'm not a thrill seeker, Sirius."

"Not usually," Sirius caught Remus's finger with his own and pulled him closer, "though you've had your moments."

Remus licked his lips. "You're going to get us in trouble."

"How?"

Remus shook his head, his breathing heavy and hot. His eyes held Sirius's and he licked his lips, the world narrowing around them. "Did you see the other names on the list?"

The spell was broken and Sirius moved in front of Remus, scanning the parchment. "Bloody hell. He signed up."

"You didn't expect him to?" Remus put distance between them, moving to lean against the wall where Sirius had been. "I thought that was the whole point."

"He's already signed up on the Malfoy one." Sirius gestured down the length of the hall at another sheet. "They're at the same time."

"Maybe he's got hold of a time-turner."

"Yeah, like they'd let a Slytherin get hold of one of those." Sirius shook his head, his eyes narrowing. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

He stopped and looked back at Remus, the slightest hint of a blush on his cheeks. "Er. I need to go talk to…"

"Your girlfriend?" Remus smirked. "Using girls to do your dirty work, Sirius Black," he shook his head, tsking quietly with his tongue. "Shame on you."

"Well, I'd offer to let you seduce him, but the bloody bastard seems to be the straightest Slytherin in the history of the house, though one has to question his eyesight in falling for Professor M." Sirius moved closer, taking advantage of the empty hallway to press Remus to the stone wall. "You want to do my dirty work, Remus?"

"You want me seducing other men?"

Sirius's lips were inches away, too close and too far all at once. "I have to go."

"Can't keep the lovely young lady waiting."

"The sooner I'm done with her, the sooner I'm back to you."

"You'll remember to come back?"

Sirius's hand curved over the thrust of Remus's cock through his dark robes. "I'll always come back to you."

"Be still my heart."

"It's not your heart I want in motion." Sirius pressed a quick hot kiss to Remus's mouth. "Wait up."

Remus swallowed as he walked away. "No choice about that, mate."

"Amaryllis?" Sirius's hand snaked out, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from her friends. She started to protest, stopping when she realized who held her.

"Well, if it isn't Sirius Black, the man who never owls." She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "I did what you wanted the other day, Black, and as I recall, I didn't get what I was promised out of the bargain."

"You got two galleons."

"That's not what the deal was." She moved closer, her hand splaying out on his chest. "The deal was a lot less monetary and a lot more personal."

"I'm spoken for, remember?"

"I don't care if you've got a girl back home in every room of your mansion, Black. All I care about is the fact that you promised me a good and proper session in an abandoned classroom and all I got was manhandled by a panting Severus Snape." She undid the clasp of his robe. "So I'd say you owed me."

He put his hand up, stopping her as she leaned in for a kiss. "How would you like me to owe you more?"

"I'd really rather you paid up first." She leaned in again then stopped, her eyes narrowing. "Or actually, maybe it's better that this time I get payment in advance?"

"Severus?"

He stopped walking, turning suspiciously. His eyes widened at the sight of the Ravenclaw girl from the library standing coyly in the doorway of a darkened classroom. "Yes?"

She held up a parchment, tilting it from side to side. "I have something for you."

His throat went dry and he took a step toward her, stopping, his suspicions clouding his eyes. "Why?"

"Why what?" She stepped back into the classroom, her wand lighting the sconces that lined the walls.

"Why do you have it?" He followed her reluctantly, his eyes scanning the walls, looking for traps. "Why would anyone give anything for me to you?"

"Because they knew I'd come looking for you." She put her hands behind her back, the action thrusting her chest out slightly. "I wasn't as bothered by our last meeting as I made out."

"You do know that I'm a Slytherin, right?"

She looked at him oddly then nodded, closing the door behind him as he finally walked into the room. "Of course. Why?"

"Then you shouldn't be trying to outsmart me."

"Smart is the Ravenclaw specialty." She leaned against the door and held out the parchment. "Do you want it?"

"Give me the parchment."

She unrolled it, pulling away from his hands. She held up the empty scroll then let it drop to the floor. He was just inches away from her, his anger flashing in his eyes. Without dropping his gaze, she leaned in and gave him a swift, hard kiss.

Snape pulled back, shocked, nearly tripping over a desk as he did so. "What the bloody hell was that?"

"I looked for your name. I thought I'd attend the same lectures as you. I wanted to be around you. Watch you." She blushed lightly. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."

"You've got to be daft."

"Why?" She moved in, closing the distance between them. "Because I fancy you? You think I'm so shallow I can't see more than the surface?"

"No, because beneath the surface is just like the surface," he sneered. "I'm not some stupid git, some bloody frog waiting for your kiss to turn into a Prince. What you see is what you get. Through and through. So if you're done telling lies, I've got homework I'd like to…"

"Must be nice."

"What?"

"I was just thinking that it must be nice to be so assured, so satisfied that you aren't even tempted by a girl," she moved closer to him, her fingers brushing over his shoulders as she circled him, "alone in a classroom." Her fingers left his shoulders as she came around to the front of him, feathering them over his lips.

"I am a Slytherin," he reminded her again in a voice that barely shook. "Temptation is our stock in trade."

Her breath replaced her fingers, the light feminine scent of her assaulting his senses. "But is resisting it?"

Snape held himself still, not moving as her mouth found his, her tongue pressed to his slightly parted lips. She caught his hands, guiding them up to her breasts. Without thinking, he groaned, his hands cupping the soft mounds.

Amaryllis touched his pale face with light fingers, stroking the sallow skin. He barely moved as her tongue stroked over his, sliding across the surface as if she owned it. Owned him. Snape pulled away suddenly, panting harshly. "I don't know what you're doing…"

"Seducing you," she informed him in a quiet voice. She took his hands again, guiding them back to her breasts. "I'd really thought that part was obvious."

"Why?"

She smiled slightly at the word, the hint of soft pleading giving her a quick rush of pleasure and power. She ran a finger along his jaw line. "Because I can."

Snape closed his eyes as her teeth nipped at his lower lip, her hand grasping his wrist and guiding his hand under her robes, under her sweater.

"Severus," she breathed hotly as his finger and thumb closed around her nipple, the thin, lacy wisp of her bra offering no protection from his warm touch. "I want to be with you. Wherever you are."

His other hand slid beneath her bra and she shuddered as his flesh met hers. "My room…"

"Everywhere." She bit his lip hard, her hand reaching down to stroke his cock, smoothing over his robe. "In public, Severus."

"Oh," he licked his lips, tasting blood, tasting her. "I…"

"At the fair."

"I signed up for Malfoy…"

"The Hogwarts," she gasped as he slid his arms around her, his hands slipping under the waistband of her skirt, curving over her ass. Her hips jerked forward, her hand constricting around his cock. "You signed up for both."

His hands slid down further, holding her tight against him, their bodies rocking into one another's. "Going after." He freed his hands and undid the zipper on her skirt. It fell to the floor unimpeded. "To McGonagall."

"Oh." It was half response, half moan as he brought one hand around, slipping long fingers past wet flesh. "Oh."

"Mr. Snape. Miss Templeton." McGonagall's thick brogue was like a wash of ice in the room. Severus stepped back, leaving Amaryllis exposed to McGonagall's unforgiving eyes. "Dress yourself, Miss Templeton."

"Yes, Professor." She hastily grabbed her skirt and fixed it, pulling her robes tightly around her body.

"I will give you both credit for being adults, although you've done nothing to prove it. So against my better judgment, I will simply say nothing more than that Hogwarts is a school and this is a classroom. And you will treat it as such, not as a bedroom. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Professor." Amaryllis's voice trembled as badly as the hands she used to hold her robe closed.

"Mr. Snape?"

He met and held McGonagall's eyes, a high flush on his sallow cheeks, his dark gaze glittering with unspent lust. McGonagall held herself still, not shifting under the weight of his stare. "Yes, Professor."

"Good. Now that that's clear, twenty points from each House for conduct unbecoming, and I'll see you both in detention tomorrow immediately after dinner."

"Yes, Professor." Tears of embarrassment and anger glistened in Amaryllis's eyes. She turned and glared at Snape the second McGonagall looked away. He ignored her, his eyes still locked on the older woman.

McGonagall looked hard at him. "Mr. Snape?"

He smiled slowly, his eyebrow quirked. "Yes, Professor."

McGonagall nodded and held the door open. "Back to your Houses, both of you."

They both walked past her silently, only Snape looking her way as they passed.