The Calm Before the Storm

By Loralee

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Summery: After the fall of Voldemort, Snape has a sense of foreboding. Is it the rise of a new dark lord or something more sinister?

Severus Snape, Potions Master and Professor, woke with a start. He wasn't sure just what was bothering him. He dressed and began to roam Hogwarts, checking his rooms, labs, storage and personal wards before beginning a circuit of the school checking wards, locks and secret passages in a habitual but unthinking manner.

The war had been over for more than a decade, Voldemort defeated, Dumbledore retired and Harry 'bloody' Potter savior of the Wizarding world was well away from Hogwarts. Severus ended his circuit up on the battlements looking out over the site of the final battle. He rubbed absently at his left forearm as a sense of foreboding washed over him.

As he stared out he wondered why he was still here at Hogwarts. He hated teaching the little dunderheads. Oh, it was much better now, he had an apprentice that taught the lower levels. He had time to research and develop new potions, had patents, money and fame for his potions and his role in the war. He 'guest lectured' the advanced DADA classes three or four times a year and enjoyed it. He had no lack of partners for the few social function he attended. So what exactly was wrong that made him so fretful this early in the morning. He finally gave up trying to figure it out and descended to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Good morning, Severus," called McGonagall as he entered, "Are you ready for the term to begin? It should be an interesting year."

Snape sat and turned to the Headmistress. "Why should this year be any different than any other?" he questioned.

She looked surprised and he heard a chuckle from Vector.

"I told you he'd forgotten. I'll wager he hasn't looked over his class role for the first years yet either," said the Arithmancy professor.

"Forgotten what? What are you on about?" snarled Snape, the unease of earlier returning stronger.

"It's been just over twelve years since the last battle Severus. The incoming first years are a rather larger than normal class," said McGonagall with just a hint of a smile on her lips.

Severus paled as the sense of foreboding and unease were explained. The results of Harry 'Bloody" Potter's defeat of Voldemort would be coming to Hogwarts. As well as the Potter spawn.

"I quit!" he snarled appalled.

"You can't quit Severus. Your contract is quite specific and you are passed the deadline. You are most definitely committed to teaching this next term. The students will be here tomorrow." This time McGonagall was certainly smirking.

Snape left the table bile rising in his throat.

"Don't you want any breakfast Severus?" Vector called after him as he stalked away.

"No," he snarled, "I going to kill myself!"

The laughter behind him only added to his dismay.

In his quarters he fumed. He could just walk away. His apprentice could take over from him. McGonagall couldn't hold him to the contract if he just left. No, he decided that would be rather cowardly.

Potter, he hadn't given much thought to the boy savior for some time. He idly hoped that Potter had suffered for what he'd done. He often wondered how the boy had gotten himself into the predicament he had. Had Potter hoped to died taking out the Dark Lord? He still didn't have a clue. Perhaps it was time to find out.

Snape remembered it quite clearly.

The months before the final battle, after he'd been found as a spy, Snape had watched Potter and his harem dance around each other. Dumbledore had been sure that the Potter brat's defeat of the Dark Lord would be an instinctual use of wild magic. The Granger girl had a different idea and Potter had sided with her.

Snape sneered to himself. Love would be the power to defeat the Dark Lord. Granger had convinced Potter and several other girls that he needed their strength, their love. The bed hopping that had accompanied that plan had staggered even Dumbledore and try as the Headmaster had even he could not stop the plan.

By the time of the final battle Potter, to his shock and surprise, had managed to impregnate six girls. If he had not managed to defeat the Dark Lord in the fashion that he did, he'd have been strung up by irate parents. Others in Potter's class had taken advantage of the 'the final battle is coming I don't want to die a virgin' line to further populate the incoming class of first years.

The Board of Governors blamed Dumbledore for a to permissive an atmosphere.

Now Snape was left to deal with the results. The evidence all to clear on the roster of first years; a Bones-Potter, a Granger-Potter, a Greengrass-Potter, a Lovegood-Potter, a Longbottom, a Patil-Potter, dear gods a second Patil-Potter, and one, two, three Weasleys.

Feeling terribly ill Snape dropped his head to his desk and for the first time in years he cried.