Warnings: fighting, cursing, potions abuse, divorce, apathy, sex

Thanks to NarcissasKnickers for helping me come up with a potion name :D

Anger Management

by teshara for qui_quae_quod

Part 1

-+-+- Hermione -+-+-

Hermione at quietly in the stark waiting room.

The red plastic chair she was sitting in was hard and uncomfortable, and the magazines had to have been scoured from only the best rubbish bins in all of Britain. The one on trout fishing in Alaska was dated 1979.

A lone, flourishing fern sat near a bare window. Hermione suspected the blond haired receptionist that had shown her in must have a special talent for Herbology since the bit of grey afternoon light that filtered through the bare, dingy window was hardly enough to keep a plant alive, let alone flourishing like this one was. There were two doors, the one she came in through and another on the other side of the room.

Hermione was uncomfortable and nervous.

The room was decidedly unpleasant, but she supposed people like her weren't supposed to be feeling comfortable in a room like this. People like her were made to sit in sad rooms, in uncomfortable chairs, while someone else went over a file listing all of their faults.

A room like this said: what are we going to do with you?

She was actually thinking of reaching over and retrieving the lone copy of Wizarding Tradition which advertised articles like: Selecting the Best Wax for Your Candles, Weaving for Witches, and Wool Spinning: Lama or Sheep?, when a small, pleasant looking, round witch opened the door Hermione didn't enter through and smiled at her.

She had thin white streaks in her fading auburn hair. It was swept up into a bun and round gold glasses perched on the end of her nose. Brown robes seemed to sweep around her when she moved.

"Master Granger?" Hermione stiffened at the formal title, but the small witch peering at her didn't seem to have anything but a comforting smile on her face.

"Hermione," Hermione said sheepishly. "Please."

"Nice to meet you Hermione," the witch extended a hand towards her, which Hermione grasped and shook. It was a strong hand, but her skin was very soft. "I am Mrs. Nancy Johnson."

Mrs. Johnson ushered Hermione into a cozy office lined with dark wood paneling and bookshelves lined with heavy books and the occasional houseplant.

It was a decidedly comfortable and cozy room. Hermione relaxed a bit.

Mrs. Johnson sat in a comfortable looking brown leather chair and Hermione settled into an identical chair across from her. There was a small table with a pitcher of water, two tumblers with ice, and a few cans of a Muggle soft drink sitting between them.

To Hermione's surprise, Mrs. Johnson cracked open a can, poured herself some of the fizzy drink, and took a sip.

"Now, let's talk about the incident." Mrs. Johnson peered at Hermione over the tops of her glasses and Hermione felt herself blushing.

"I have no idea what came over me." Hermione admitted, her cheeks turning red. "I'm usually not like this at all."

"So start at the beginning." Mrs. Johnson said, still smiling pleasantly.

"I- I think it all started when Ron transferred to that desk job." Hermione rubbed her forehead as she felt her stomach begin to turn. Mrs. Johnson looked surprised that Hermione wasn't talking specifically about the accident that had brought her here, but didn't interrupt. "We'd always been an… independent couple."

Hermione paused for a minute, thinking of all those late night spent alone in her potions lab, working while Ron filled out paperwork and watched Muggle television with their dog, Patches.

He said he was fine with it. Had he been lonely? Had he even known it himself?

"I had my research and he had his work. Then after the incident at the Yaxley estate he decided he needed a bit of a break." Hermione took a deep breath.

"Do you think he was happy?" Mrs. Johnson asked Hermione. Her eyes were warm and Hermione found herself wanting to confide in her.

"I think he was comfortable until he moved to the desk job and met Jenny." Hermione's stomach lurched at the mention of the other woman's name.

"Then what happened?" Mrs. Johnson asked. She took another sip of her tumbler and when she put it back down Hermione found herself focusing on the water left on the table.

She should really be using coasters,Hermione thought.

"Some of his office chums convinced him to start going out with them, as a group." Hermione took another deep breath and it felt shaky. "Jenny was one of them. They got close. Honestly, they're quite suited for each other."

"So you accepted the affair?" Mrs. Johnson asked. It was not accusatory, just asked as if she were curious.

Hermione laughed.

"Gods, I wish it had been an affair!" She knew she sounded a little hysterical. Mrs. Johnson quirked an eyebrow at Hermione. "Then at least I could blame it on his hormones!"

"There was no affair?" Mrs. Johnson frowned. She settled back in her chair, the brown leather crackling under her shifting weight.

"He just… fell out of love. They didn't even get it together until two months after the separation. She didn't even know it was about her until he confessed it one day when a booby trapped music box went off on his desk and he took in a lungful of powdered veritaserum." Hermione shook her head, feeling annoyed that a stray curl was brushing her cheek. How credible she must look with her hair in disarray. "She came to me and apologized."

"She did?" Mrs. Johnson looked surprised and genuinely interested. "What did you do?"

"Well, it's not like it was her fault, was it?" Hermione said bitterly. "She didn't even have a clue."

"So?" Mrs. Johnson prodded.

"So I told her he likes lavender water in his sheets, cocoa with his crossword on Sundays, and not to let him eat broccoli before bedtime or she'll be sleeping on the couch." Hermione said regretfully.

Mrs. Johnson laughed. "Did you really?"

"I did." Hermione quirked a corner of her mouth. "Well, it wasn't like we weren't already separated. I'd gotten over the shock of it all, there was no inappropriate behavior, and honestly…"

Mrs. Johnson looked completely focused on what Hermione had to say, and Hermione found herself feeling better once she got it all out. She was feeling so guilty about it all.

"Honestly, I didn't miss him." Hermione's shoulders sagged. Mrs. Johnson looked a little surprised, but her face broke into a wide smile. "I mean, I love Ron, I always have, and I always will, but honestly, while it was comfortable coming home to him, my life has been under a lot less pressure since I don't have to worry about the needs of another person. My work has become more focused and I find myself thinking about how much energy I've wasted and how far along my work would be if this had happened years ago."

"This frustrates you?" Mrs. Johnson was nodding and Hermione felt relief flood her. Mrs. Johnson didn't seem shocked or judgmental. In fact, she was nodding as if she understood completely.

"It makes me want to tear my hair out at times." Hermione shook her head, wondering if that made her sound mad. "So when McDonald made that snide comment about why I hadn't cracked the hex on that enchanted helmet he found…"

Hermione trailed off, horribly embarrassed. She felt her face flush.

"Is that when you broke his nose?" Mrs. Johnson asked gently.

"Yes." Hermione's voice sounded very small. "I don't know what came over me."

"Well, Hermione, I think that's a perfectly reasonable explanation of events." Mrs. Johnson reached over the table and grasped Hermione's hand. "You will be going back to work tomorrow. I suggest you apologize to Master McDonald."

Hermione's heart soared. Thank the gods the Ministry was using programs like this to assess people instead of just chucking them out like they used to.

Where would she be without her funding?

And anyway, she was a Potions Master, not a Curse Breaker. It wasn't her job anyway. She was just doing it in the spirit of inter departmental relations.

Well, now that had gone well, hadn't it?

"However," Mrs. Johnson said seriously, tilting her chin down as she looked at Hermione. "You have a lot of pent up frustration. I'm going to suggest you come to my anger management group so you can work on that."

Hermione sighed in resignation. It wasn't ideal, but if she learned how to control her emotions she'd be able to focus on her work more, she reasoned.

Hermione nodded and Mrs. Johnson looked satisfied. The round woman rose and went over to a small table with a drawer. She pulled the drawer out with a squeak and brought out a green brochure from inside.

"We meet Wednesday evenings," Mrs. Johnson said as she handed the folded paper to Hermione. "Eat supper before coming. Sometimes being hungry can affect people's moods."

"Thank you." Hermione said as she took the brochure and tucked it into her robes. "For everything."

"Don't thank me yet." Mrs. Johnson said with a twinkle in her eye as she showed Hermione to the door leading outside. "Wait until we get that temper of yours under control."

-+-+- Severus -+-+-

"I hardly touched him!" Severus Snape's arms were crossed and he was glaring at the fat, patronizing witch sitting across from him.

"That's not what your report says." Mrs. Johnson peered at him over the tops of her glasses.

"I don't care what that bloody thing says," Severus grumbled. It was annoying the way this woman stared at him. It reminded him of Dumbledore, except he suspected this cow was twice as daft. "Perkins was an incompetent oaf at Hogwarts and no doubt still is. Did he even spell my name right in that thing?"

He threw a look at the manila folder as if it had personally wronged him.

In a way, it had.

Mrs. Johnson opened the folder and read it. "Oh yes, he did. And, quite remarkably, a few other details from the incident as well."

Severus shifted uncomfortably in his chair as she read from the folder.

"Let's see what else he spelled right," she said silkily. "Well, he got 'assault with a mug of ale' correctly… as well as 'beat him to the ground with a chair.'"

Severus snorted and flipped his head, rearranging a lock of hair that had fallen into his face.

"Hardly touched him?" Mrs. Johnson quirked an eyebrow at him.

Severus stayed stubbornly silent.

"So what started all this?" Mrs. Johnson looked at him pointedly.

"A rude buffoon in a pub," Severus grumbled as his arms gathered tightly to his body.

"Care to explain?" Mrs. Johnson asked.

"First he wanted to see my scar," Severus' hand went to the high collar he wore and he rubbed it. He felt a sliver of sympathy for Harry Potter, blast it. Everyone wanted to see that damn scar. "Then he said some rude things about 'fence-sitters' and 'turncoats' and followed it all up with a comment about my mother."

"Is that when you hit him with the mug?" Mrs. Johnson asked, smiling in sympathy.

This was all lost on Severus, who felt she was far too entertained by the whole incident.

"No, that's when I hit him with a Leg Locker Curse," Severus said grouchily. Then much quieter: "Then I hit him with the mug."

Mrs. Johnson pulled her lips into her mouth and bit down. Snape got the distinct impression she was fighting back laughter.

In the old days they would have either forgiven him or chucked him out, not this wishy-washy nonsense with a glimmer of hope at the end of laborious mental torture.

"I'll be honest with you." Mrs. Johnson said with a shake to her head. "I don't think you belong here."

Severus looked at her with surprise. He expected her to at least get some more of the Ministry's money by saying he needed further observation.

"Dangerous to the students of Hogwarts? No."

Severus found himself feeling a bit more chipper than he had a few moments ago. This wasn't going to disrupt his life at all.

"Dangerous to yourself…" Mrs. Johnson tilted her head and gave him a questioning look.

"And just what's that supposed to mean?" Severus gave her a cold glare.

"I mean a balanced Professor Snape would have made him feel like a complete moron without even turning around, not bash him over the head and beat him to the ground." Mrs. Johnson said with pursed lips. "Looking for a fight, were you?"

Severus said nothing, but scowled at the rotund woman. He tried to place her in one of his many classes and failed, but she was quite obviously a former student of his.

"Well, I think I have the solution to help you channel some of that energy more productively." Mrs. Johnson smiled pleasantly at him. "I don't think you have a problem. Society does have a problem with you. That man in the pub may have deserved a smack, but we can't do that in polite society."

She raised an eyebrow at him and Severus felt a little ashamed, in spite of himself.

Dammit! Was she a Slytherin? This was maddening!

She rose to her feet and waddled over to a small battered table and opened a squeaky drawer. Snape watched as she pulled out a folded piece of green paper and walked back to him. She held it out to him and he took it and looked at the cover. It had a picture of an angry looking wizard hurling a hex at a terrified looking, fleeing wizard.

Severus frowned. "A dueling club?"

"I'm afraid not," Mrs. Johnson said with a pat on Severus shoulder that made him flinch. "It's an anger management group. Perhaps we'll be able to find a way for you to calm down a bit."

"Is this really necessary?" Severus sneered at the pamphlet.

"If you want me to approve your continuation at Hogwarts, yes," said Mrs. Johnson sweetly.

Severus was reminded of Umbridge briefly and felt his lip curl. He opened, and then closed his mouth. Mrs. Johnson gave him a satisfied smirk.

He took a breath. "When is this group?"

"Wednesday nights." Mrs. Johnson said as Severus stood. "Eat something before you come."

Severus picked up his cloak from the back of the chair and tucked the pamphlet into a pocket inside it. He reminded himself it could have gone far, far worse.

-+-+- Hermione -+-+-

Hermione adjusted her brown tweed robes and adjusted the fat bun on the back of her head before throwing a handful of Floo Powder in her kitchen's stone fire place.

"Forty Three Willard Circle," Hermione said before she took a step into the leaping green flames.

She felt herself spin as she flew through the Floo network to her destination.

She felt her feet hit the floor and she stumbled slightly as she arrived at the location that had been in the anger management pamphlet. She reached out her hand and she felt cold marble under her fingertips.

"And who are you supposed to be? Sherlock Holmes?"

Hermione blinked as the familiar sneering voice filled her ears. Her eyes darted around the unfamiliar room until they settled on her former Potions Master.

"Oh dear God, you expect me to be able to go through this with that tosser?" Hermione heard herself blurt out.

She instantly decided it was worth it to see the look on his face. A small thrill went through her.

Thankfully, Mrs. Johnson wasn't in the room to witness the exchange.

"Touché, Master Granger," Snape said, tilting his head.

A balding man in heavy dark green robes was sitting in a soft looking brown chair. He quirked a corner of his mouth at the exchange.

A slight, blond witch in flaming red robes looked as if Christmas had come early. She was sitting cross legged on a maroon beanbag and she was grinning from ear to ear.

Hermione had surmised that he had greeted her in much the same way.

Well, she may have to learn to keep her temper, but she didn't have to put up with that type of treatment.

It's not like she had hit him.

The room she had entered was actually quite large. There were several chairs and beanbags colored in natural tones scattered about the room for people to sit in. The walls were paneled in dark wood. Amber colored shades were on all the lamps. The dueling dummies covered in brown leather that matched the rest of the earthy, comfortable looking room didn't escape her notice, either.

She strode into the room and settled into a comfortable tan chair where she could glare at Severus freely.

He was even starting to look uncomfortable. Brilliant.

A panel in the wall opened and Hermione smiled as Mrs. Johnson came through.

"I'm glad to see you all on time," Mrs. Johnson said warmly. "Now, seeing as we have some new faces this week why doesn't everyone say a bit about themselves."

"Well," the man in green started, "I'm Barnaby Krause. Father of four. I work at Gringotts. I'm here because I hexed my wife's lover."

"That seems reasonable!" Snape frowned, as did Hermione.

"At the bank when he came in to make a withdrawal," Barnaby said sheepishly.

"Oops," Hermione heard herself saying.

"I'm Kristie Perkins," the witch in red said. She shifted on the beanbag and it made a swooshing sound. "And I… behaved inappropriately with my wedding coordinator."

She blushed as red as her robes.

Hermione chuckled. She loved Molly to pieces, but she nearly got throttled when she and Ron were planning their nuptials.

"Would you like to go, Master Snape?" Mrs. Johnson asked encouragingly.

Snape threw a sharp look at Hermione, who looked at him with curiosity.

"You needn't call me Master, and since we are no longer at school Professor hardly seems appropriate," Snape said slowly, as if he were trying to put off telling what he did as long as possible. "I suppose… Snape would be acceptable."

It sounded as if it pained him to say it.

Hermione snorted.

Snape threw her a look of barely veiled outrage.

"I am a Potions Master and Professor at Hogwarts," Snape said through clenched teeth. "And I'm here because I started a pub brawl."

"What?" Hermione laughed. "You've go to be joking!"

"Now, Hermione," Mrs. Johnson said with disapproval in her tone.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said as she tried to compose herself.

"And what are you here for, if I might ask?" Snape snapped.

"I am Hermione Granger, Potions Master and employee in the Department of Mysteries-

"Potions Master?!" Snape blustered as he sat straight up. "When the bloody hell did that happen?"

Mrs. Johnson cleared her throat loudly and Snape crossed his arms tightly and settled back into his chair. He glared at Hermione.

Hermione found herself smirking. "After Hogwarts of course," she said airily. "I traveled to Bulgaria and studied under Master Kunin. It was an incredible experience and a great honor."

"You have to teach for two years before you get Mastership status!" Snape frowned.

"And I did so with Master Cornwall at the Camden estate near Burton-on-Trent. They had seven children and I oversaw their potions training." Hermione said crossly. "I can provide you with a resume if you like."

Snape crossed his arms, raised his eyebrows at her and leaned back in his chair. Hermione felt the need to ignore him for the moment.

"Anyway, I am here because I broke my coworker's nose," Hermione muttered.

She heard Snape snort from his chair.

She glared at him.

"Well, as you can all see you all have the same thing in common: you've all had a moment where you've lost control of yourselves," Mrs. Johnson said calmly. "If you were career trouble makers this would be far more serious, but your records indicate these types of behaviors are out of character for you and that's why you are here instead of being detained or fired from your jobs."

They all seemed to shift uncomfortably.

"Now, I have sensed a pattern that all of you have been under stress more than normal lately," Mrs. Johnson said to all of them. "We're going to work on how to deal with that stress before we get into what managed to set you off."

Hermione listened intently to Mrs. Johnson as Snape glowered across from her.

They were asked to examine their feelings over their own self worth, talked a bit about why they took irrational people seriously enough to act on it, and a bit of what their logical actions should have been.

Hermione felt as if the woman was stating the obvious, but she nodded along and agreed to think about why she acted the way she did more thoroughly.

When their hour was over Hermione rose, ignoring Snape and thanked Mrs. Johnson. She made her way to the fireplace and took a handful of Floo powder when she realized the last thing she wanted to do was go home to an empty house.

That was what had started this, after all.

'Leaky Cauldron,' Hermione heard herself say.

Green flames leapt forth in the fireplace and Hermione stepped into them, feeling the familiar tug and flying sensation of being swept through the Floo Network.

Her feet landed with a thud and she opened her eyes to see the large, cheerful common room on the bottom floor of the Leakey Cauldron. She wiped her sooty feet on the fireproof mat near the hearth and stepped in.

"Hey, Hermione!" Neville Longbottom called from behind the bar.

"Tending bar again?" Hermione asked as she made her way up to the counter.

"Yea," Neville said making a face. "Francine's out with the flu and Katie was having morning sickness something awful. I put her in a room upstairs with a potion. She'll be out for another hour."

"Nothing we can't handle."

Hermione turned to see the speaker and Neville's wife, Hannah, spun out of reach of a drunken wizard as she balanced a tray of empty mugs. She placed her tray next to Hermione and gave her husband a weary look.

"You sure about that?" Neville grinned at her.

"Four tables are asking for their tabs, so we'll be fine," Hannah said as she bustled behind the bar and started tallying figures in a small book. She absent mindedly waved her wand at a row of bottles and a tall, dark bottle rose out of the crowd and poured out four shots of a glowing green liquid.

"So what'll it be, Hermione?" Neville's eyes flicked behind her for a moment as he glanced at someone arriving in the fireplace.

"Just a pint," Hermione sighed. This really was much better then just going home to go over the latest issue of Potions Worldwide. "Surprise me."

Neville poured a dark brown liquid into a pint glass and handed it to Hermione. "I'll start you a tab."

Hermione took the glass and turned around, sloshing some of it onto the wizard standing behind her.

"Oh I'm terribly-" Hermione's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

"I haven't been banned from every pub in the world, yet, Master Granger." Snape said snidely.

"Well, I suppose it's nice to have goals." Hermione said flippantly. "Excuse me."

Hermione wished she could have seen the expression on Neville's face as she pushed past Snape and made her way to a small, recently vacated, wooden table in the corner. She waved her wand and cleared it of the debris of its former occupants and stacked a small pile of shot glasses near he edge of the table.

She pulled her copy of Potions Worldwide from her bag and had just had her first sip of her pint when the chair next to her was pulled out and Hermione found herself looking at a drunk, dark haired wizard with a cocky expression.

"Wuzza nice bird like you doin' readin' in a bar like this?" He asked as he clumsily fell into the chair beside her.

"What?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows going up.

He flipped her magazine shut and waggled his eyebrows at her. "You could be talkin' t' anyone. Doin' anythin'."

There was that eyebrow waggle again.

"I believe you're in my seat."

A cold voice came from behind Hermione and the young man, and her new drunken friend threw a dirty look over his shoulder, then nearly fell over himself and knocked the chair over trying to get to his feet quickly.

"You!" Was all the drunken man could muster.

"Indeed," said Snape as he waved his wand and the chair was righted. He held a pint glass in his hand. "Now you want to go back to your friends."

"Of course," the drunken man said as he turned around and stumbled back to his friends.

"Performing Unforgivables as pub tricks, are we?" Hermione hissed at him.

"Hardly," Snape snorted as he took the seat nearest Hermione and set his pint down.

The young man had headed back to his group of friends and he was now gesticulating wildly.

"Can I help you?" Hermione asked, exasperatedly.

"Yes." Snape glared at her. "Tell me why you went to Bulgaria to continue your potions training."

"So I wouldn't have to deal with you." Hermione returned his glare as she reopened her magazine. "Anything else?"

"Yes," Snape said as he relaxed a bit and took a drink from his pint. "When did you find your spine?"

"About the same time my marriage broke up," Hermione said coldly.

"I saw in the papers," Snape said as he sipped his pint again. He licked the foam off his upper lip and Hermione wondered what he was getting at.

"It made the papers?" Hermione barked out a laugh. "Gods, they must be hurting for real news."

"Hey!"

A hand fell on Snape's shoulder and Hermione frowned. Snape closed his eyes and appeared to be counting.

"Can I be of assistance?" Snape said slowly.

Hermione began looking for either Neville or Hannah, but Neville was shaking a martini and Hannah was totaling up several tickets and neither was looking in their direction.

"I believe my friend here was trying to talk to that bird!"

Snape turned around and saw a short, stocky wizard standing behind him with his arms crossed. His blond hair was cropped close to his head and stuck out wildly and his brown work robes were stained. Snape rose to his feet and Hermione took a deep breath.

"And I believe my colleague and I were having a discussion." Snape said as he frowned down upon the little man. "And your 'friend' needs to learn how to talk to a lady."

"And wot you gun do about it?" The dark haired, drunk young man challenged loudly.

That got Neville's attention. His head snapped up and his brows furrowed. He put down the cocktail shaker and fished his wand out of his robes.

"I beg your pardon?" Snape thundered.

Then the blond wizard shoved him.

-+-+- Severus -+-+-

"I suppose you're going to reason you didn't start this one?" Mrs. Johnson peered at Snape over the top of her glasses.

He glared at her. He certainly had not started this one. Even the witnesses had said so.

"However, it was your wand that threw the hex that shattered all those bottles." Mrs. Johnson flipped the manila folder shut.

"I did reimburse the Longbottom's for their loss." Severus grumbled. He felt his lip twitch and he tried to control it. "They were very reasonable."

"Indeed they were, if not for their testimony you might be in some serious trouble."

"Thank heaven for small favors," Severus said flatly.

Longbottom was a college of his and hadn't liked anyone trying to be pushy with Granger, either.

"What I want to talk to you about was why you felt the need to stalk Hermione to the Leakey Cauldron." Mrs. Johnson looked at Severus seriously.

Severus took a deep breath and tried not to sound irritable.

"I wanted to know why she sought her education in Bulgaria instead of here." Severus' attempt to sound professionally curious had failed. "We are colleagues. Perhaps she had some insight on a project I'm working on."

"Really," Mrs. Johnson said skeptically. "I think it was more like you wanted to know why she avoided you after graduation."

"I'm not the world's most popular teacher." Severus scoffed. At least that much was true. "Why would I care?"

"Do you know the answer to that?" Mrs. Johnson asked pointedly.

Severus stayed sullenly silent.

"Well, that's another thing for you to think about," Mrs. Johnson said as she put her hands on her knees and rose to her feet. "I'll tell the board it was all a misunderstanding, but I think you knew that."

Severus rose to his feet and reached for the cloak over the back of his chair.

"Severus."

His eyes snapped to her at the sound of his first name.

"Think about what motivates you to do things." Mrs. Johnson met his eyes pointedly. "Before it gets you into real trouble."

Severus took a deep breath and nodded once.

-+-+- Hermione -+-+-

"So that's when the light fixture came down?" Barnaby asked excitedly.

"No! That's when the little blonde one hexed the big bloke in the red robes that tried to break it up!" Hermione thought for a moment. "Then he shoved him into Snape and that's when his wand misfired and the light fixture came down."

"Good heavens!" Kristie said, looking quite excited. Her hand fluttered to her neck and the wide sleeves of her bright orange robes fell to her elbow, showing off her gold and orange bangles. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No," said Hermione with a sigh of relief. "Neville managed to get off a levitation charm and held it steady before it crashed into the fray."

"Is that when the Aurors showed up?" Barnaby chuckled.

"Yea," Hermione grinned and shook her head. "What are the chances we'd leave here and someone would pick a fight with us?"

"I'm afraid to say a lot of people wouldn't mind giving Professor Snape a go," Kristie said blushing. "Dumbledore was an excuse. He's tortured nearly everyone that's gone through Hogwarts over the years."

Hermione grunted an agreement as green flames leapt up in the hearth in their anger management meeting room. Snape stepped through and shook himself off slightly. Water droplets pooled on the floor and Hermione frowned at them.

"Rain?" Barnaby asked. "Where on earth is it raining?"

"Scotland," Snape grumbled. "On a wild goose chase for Hopkirk Daises."

"Hopkirk Daises haven't been in Scotland for over a hundred years," Hermione scoffed.

"Well an advanced student of mine said he might have spotted some while chasing a snitch that had gone out of control," Snape took his cloak off and Hermione felt a bit more relaxed as she watched him dry out his clothing and the floor. "I did come upon some Peony Mice, though."

Hermione's face went slack and she gaped at him.

He smirked.

"How did you find them?" Hermione said, getting excited.

"My thoroughness and excellent Herbology skills," Severus said loftily as he hung his dark cloak on a hook near the fireplace.

Mrs. Johnson chose that moment to enter the room and they all took their seats.

"Since the scuffle at the Leakey Cauldron warranted coverage in the Daily Prophet, I'd like to talk about how you all felt about the incident," Mrs. Johnson sighed.

The discussion was positive, with Mrs. Johnson only having to chide them for laughing a few times. Snape stayed stonily silent throughout the discussion.

"I think the point so easily overlooked, is that for some reason they managed to get off while we are here examining out feelings," Snape spat.

"Oh, they didn't get off," Mrs. Johnson said lightly. "Don't you worry about them."

Hermione wondered what the woman was referring to, but didn't ask.

Snape grumbled under his breath, but didn't say anything out right. Mrs. Johnson ignored him.

"So what is your best recourse when encountering an unreasonable person?" Kristie asked curiously. "You can only walk away if they let you."

"You do what they did. You defend yourselves and then escape as soon as possible."

"We did not escape as soon as possible," Snape said defensively. "The Aurors came and broke it up."

"Never give up, never surrender." Hermione said sarcastically. Snape gave her a dirty look.

Mrs. Johnson chortled, but the others only looked confused.

"I believe Miss Granger has gotten to the heart of the matter." Mrs. Johnson said, looking around at the members of the group. "You were going through a lot of stress in your lives when you had the incident that brought you here. Something inside you decided that conceding one more time would signify some loss of self, even when you were dealing with an unreasonable person."

She turned to Snape. "Snape, you seemed angry at the idea of us thinking you defended yourself and Miss Granger and got away."

"He didn't defend me!" Hermione said with a frown on her face.

"And you," Mrs. Johnson looked directly at Hermione, "easily get upset when someone even hints at the idea that you need to depend on anyone else for anything."

Hermione's nostrils flared, but she said nothing.

"But you are all here because of similar situations. I want you all to think about how your interpersonal relationships effect your mood and temper." Mrs. Johnson said, signaling the end of the meeting.

They all rose and Kristie grinned at Hermione, who felt a bit sheepish.

Mrs. Johnson was right, after all. They all had issues with their competency being questioned in one way or another.

"The Three Broomsticks!" Hermione overheard Snape say.

She turned around quickly, but he was already through the fire and gone.

"Damn!"

Hermione bustled over to the fireplace. She grabbed her cloak before throwing a handful of Floo Powder into the fire and following Snape.

-+-+- Severus -+-+-

Severus scurried away from the fireplace with a smirk toying around his lips. He knew he had her.

Peony Mice were nearly as rare as Hopkirk Daisies. By chance he had gotten lost on his quest for the daisies, but he'd never admit it to Granger. He'd seen a single light out in the darkness and had found an abandoned, nearly destroyed cottage. The light was from a half an ever-burning candle in the rubble.

He'd walked around to the back of the house for exploration's sake and there he had found about five square meters of perfect garden among the wreckage.

Whatever witch or wizard had lived here, their spells had been powerful and their Herbology skills exceptional.

The Peony Mice were running wild, but most had chosen to nest nearby the garden that supplied their food. With the charm repelling any predators they had a small safe haven in which to flourish.

He had captured a few and they were nestled in a pouch inside his cloak, away from harm. He'd be nearly gleeful to show Professor Longbottom tomorrow, but he'd hardly let his coworker know. He would simply allow himself a small smirk when presenting the mice to his former student.

Granger was bound to follow him, expressing the excitement Severus wouldn't allow himself to show outwardly. She never could let anything alone when she was curious.

He snatched two mugs of ale off a blond haired serving girl's tray as he swept by, ignoring her annoyed look he quickly maneuvered to a table and quickly set the mugs down. Then he draped his cloak on the back of a chair and sat down quickly, truing to land in as casual a pose as possible.

He watched her come through the fireplace and nearly upset a large overstuffed chair sitting by the fire occupied by the elderly Madam Rosmerta, who slopped ale down the front of her robes.

Severus chuckled as he watched a flustered Granger apologize profusely and he took a leisurely drink from the mug in front of him.

Madame Rosmerta cleaned the spill with her wand and waved Granger on, smiling as if this sort of thing happened all the time.

Severus watched as Granger scanned the crowd milling about the common room of the Three Broomsticks and her eyes finally fell on him.

As she approached, her serious look turned to a frown as she spotted the second mug of ale next to him.

"You're nothing, if not predictable Master Granger." Severus said snidely.

She threw him a dirty look.

He was feeling a deep sense of satisfaction at the range of looks he'd managed to get out of her tonight. In fact, he nearly felt jovial. Perhaps these meetings were good for him, after all.

He tossed a black pouch on the small table and it moved as if something was inside it.

Granger slipped into the chair Severus had reserved for her and stared at the pouch. "How many are in there?"

"Three." Severus sipped at his mug of ale. "There were others, but I decided not to disrupt their colony entirely."

"That was probably a good idea." Granger said. Severus watched her fingers twitch as she fought back the urge to snatch the bag up. "So what are you going to do now?"

Severus felt his eyebrows raise, in spite of himself. He would have expected her to insist he report the find to the Ministry immediately. He expected her to bore him with her insistence that this was a great find for all of Britain.

But she didn't.

It looked as if she weren't so predictable after all.

"I thought I'd contact Rolf Scamander," Severus said stiffly. He didn't like being caught off guard. "I know he would treat… the situation with the meticulous care it warrants."

Granger snorted.

Again, Severus was surprised.

"Never thought I'd hear you ask Luna Longbottom for assistance." Granger chuckled as she took a sip of her ale.

"I said Rolf Scamander!" Severus said coldly, feeling his lip twitch. He tried to tense his muscles so it didn't, but he could still feel movement.

Granger gave him a pitying look.

Severus sighed and contented himself with taking a giant swig from his mug. She was right, but she didn't have to be… so much like him about it.

He glanced at her and watched in horror as she poked the opening of the pouch with her wand.

He would have said something, but a mouthful of ale prevented him.

Instead, he gurgled as the first Peony mouse poked her small pink snout out of the bag and sniffed at the air. She crawled out, tentatively, her pink ruffled frill standing out in a defensive pose.

"Oh, look how big you are!" Granger whispered to the small mouse.

"They're really much faster than you'd think!" Severus said quickly, but it was too late. Two other Peony Mice, in red and yellow, darted quickly out of the bag and off the table.

"Oh, Jesus!" Granger blurted out as she struggled to get to her feet.

"What have you done, you stupid girl?" Severus snapped as he drew his wand.

A witch screamed near the bar. "Something just ran over my foot!"

"You leave her alone!"

Severus felt a shove at his back.

"What?" Severus turned around with an annoyed look on his face to see a short, balding wizard in dark brown robes and a shabby brown bowler hat.

"You'll not be calling respectable witches stupid and drawing your wand on them while I'm around!"

Severus only had enough time to register surprise before the man head butted him in the nose.

Then all he registered was stars.