A/N: Sorry for the short chapters, it's the way I write. I plan to update each Friday night UK time. Review if you want to :)

1. Conflict

'First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win."
― Mahatma Gandhi'

Outside the staff room of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hermione Granger was steeling herself. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and shook her shoulders to release the tension that had gathered there in her walk from the dungeon.

'You're twenty-two, not twelve. You are a fully qualified Potions Mistress. You have an Order of Merlin, First Class. Undeserved, but never the less, it has your name on it. You are bright, smart, and far more attractive than you used to be. Most of the people behind that door love you. Be a brave Gryffindor…' she muttered to herself.

Unfortunately it wasn't 'most of the people' that Hermione felt the need to protect herself from. In fact, there was only one person who could possibly have the effect of reducing such a paragon of the Wizarding world to a boneless and pathetic bunch of quivering nerves and that was Severus Snape, Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor and Deputy Head of the school.

Ever since Hermione had joined the staff in September, Severus Snape had taken great pains to make her life a misery whenever he saw her. He belittled her, sneered at her, tried to undermine her in front of the other Professors and was downright bloody rude. She couldn't understand it. She had been so looking forward to working alongside the man she had admired for years, and not just because he truly had been the saviour of their world. His skills with Potions surpassed anything she had ever encountered, and she could only hope to come close to his achievements. After completing her NEWTS, Hermione had absorbed everything ever written by Severus Snape, Potions Master, and she had quickly come to see why he had been such a harsh tutor. He had an intuition and a natural instinct towards the subject that Hermione had never fully understood as a student, and it was only now that she was furthering her studies that she understood that recipes and methods were simply guidelines that could be tweaked and improved upon if the potion maker felt it necessary. Trying to teach Potions to such a limited group of students, while at the same time playing such a pivotal role in the war, must have tested Snape's patience to the limit. Hermione had thought that surely now that the war was over he could relax his spy persona and at least be civil, but apparently not. Although he looked healthier, and his school robes were of much better quality, his personality was just the same. Hermione had already given up trying to be nice to him, and was now practising being polite to him in front of others but privately calling him all the names under the Goddess Moon in her head at the same time. In fact, coming up with creative ways of referring to him that didn't include the words 'greasy', 'bat' or 'git' was fast becoming one of her favourite hobbies. Hermione decided she wouldn't give Snape any ammunition to goad her with, so she took a deep breath and pushed the door open, striding in with as much grace as she could muster.

'Hermione, you're just in time.' Minerva eyed her from over the top of her glasses and gave her a brief smile before gesturing her to sit. Hermione returned the smile and looked around the table. Her stomach clenched as she realised that the only spare seat was between Snape and Professor Hooch.

'Of course it is,' she thought to herself, while trying to maintain her outward appearance of calm indifference. She walked towards the spare chair as if she felt totally comfortable. 'Professors,' she said, nodding at each of her colleagues in turn as she sat. She noticed Professor Snape stiffen and lean slightly away from her, a sneer curling his lip oh-so-slightly, and in her head she came up with the best insult she could think of at short notice.

'Wanker'.

Severus Snape was not in the room. He was in a hot country, far, far away from Hogwarts, sitting in a bar getting pleasantly pissed and watching sultry senoritas giving him the glad eye. He was absolutely not listening to Minerva's waffle or taking any notice whatsoever of the Most Irritating Witch That Ever Lived writing quick, scratchy notes on a parchment pad beside him. Nor did he observe said witch scrawl the word 'Wanker' in the margins, surround it with lightening bolts and then silently vanish it with a huff. He snorted in amusement, and his wool-gathering was abruptly halted as Minerva called the meeting to a close. He didn't miss anything, he was certain of that, and even so, he was sure that Winky the house elf would be dispatched with the minutes before the start of his first class.

Ever since the war, it was always thus. He spent every meeting not contributing and planning his escape. He hated teaching. He had only come back because Minerva had begged him, and on the understanding was that the post would be temporary. He had categorically refused to teach Potions. The classes were stark reminders of his other life, the one he had supposedly moved on from. He hadn't expected to survive, so he hadn't bothered saving any money for a rainy day or made any plans for a future. He had spent his money on Potions ingredients for the Dark Lord because it had been expected of him, and copious amounts of Firewhiskey to drown his guilty sorrows. He would never admit it to anyone, but the reality was that he had returned to Hogwarts because he simply had nowhere else to go. Since the war, he'd had the feeling that he was simply treading water and that somehow, his happily ever after had been given to someone else. He had a sneaking suspicion that person was Harry Potter, who was married to someone so physically like his own mother he should probably spend a good deal of time in therapy. The only pleasure he had, now the opportunity presented itself, was whittling down the ego of an over-inflated Gryffindor witch.

He waited for said witch to leave before making a move. He enjoyed following her down the corridors, watching her rear as she sashayed away, her cheeks brushing together even faster as she became more aware of his heavy footsteps behind her. There wasn't much excitement to be had these days, despite what the end of the war might have promised. He had to grab what small pleasures he could. He continued to wait, and then realised that Granger wasn't going anywhere and that Minerva was staring at him expectantly.

'Headmistress?' Severus raised an eyebrow and sat up straighter, knowing that something had been asked of him and that he didn't have a clue what. He purposely ignored the sigh that slipped from the rosebud lips of the witch to his left.

'Severus, were you listening at all?' Minerva chuckled and looked pointedly at him.

'I was actually considering my next class, Headmistress, which is due to start in ten minutes. If I appeared distracted, it was solely for the greater good of the students,' he lied smoothly. This time even Granger had the audacity to laugh at the incredulous look on Minerva's face, and the little mischief imp inside him started to dance with glee.

'Professor Granger,' Snape spat as if her title was ashes in his mouth, and turned to look down at her. 'I should think that even you would understand the importance of prior thought being given to a forthcoming lesson?' He smirked as the colour drained slightly from her face.

'Indeed I do, Professor Snape.' She turned her eyes up at him. 'But I thought that was what lesson plans were for?' Her voice sounded innocent, but the spark of amusement and challenge in her eyes belied her outward appearance. The cheeky little …

'That's enough, both of you.' Minerva interrupted, spoiling what had promised to be the best part of Severus' day, and he scowled at Granger before turning back to his only slightly less irritating boss.

'We don't have time for this, Professors,' Minerva continued, her voice stern, 'and in the circumstances it would do my heart good to know I can trust you both to be in each others' company without killing each other.'

Severus frowned, and spoke without thinking. 'What circumstances are you referring to?' Damn. Now it was clear that he really hadn't been paying attention. Granger sighed again, and he clenched his fist around his wand reflexively.

'Hermione is going to need an assistant for her project, Severus. She had suggested Miss Gilroy, from your own House, but I fear it is far too dangerous to risk a student.'

'Miss Gilroy is a very competent student, Minerva, and I am sure that whatever 'project' Professor Granger is attempting will pose little danger,' he said, his voice positively swimming with sarcasm. The witch was bright, but he was certain that everything she had achieved was by sheer fortune of circumstance. The ability to memorise verbatim any text book in front of her nose, and her association with the Boy Wonder, was surely all she had needed to secure her current tenure.

'The project is for your Mastery, Hermione, am I right?' Minerva smiled indulgently at the witch, and Severus thought he might have to throw up in the few minutes he had left before his classes.

'It is,' Granger said quietly. Severus had to admit his curiosity was piqued when she didn't divulge the nature of her project or bore them both to tears with a detailed, four parchment essay on the subject. Minerva graced him with one his own trademark eyebrows, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. He had been caught in a pincer movement that even Albus would have been proud of. If he didn't help, he could put a student in danger, negating the sole purpose of his life so far. He gave in, albeit on his own terms.

'I shall look it over, if it will satisfy you, Minerva. Then I shall assess the level of risk to Miss Gilroy.'

Minerva smiled at him, triumph in her eyes, while Granger leapt from her chair and all but ran for the door before any more could be said. He pondered this as the last curls of her hair disappeared, and a frisson something started in his stomach. He smirked to himself, realising that he would be alone in the dungeon lab with Professor Granger. Such opportunities shouldn't be wasted.