It started off with a kick... how did it end up like this ?

The war had ended with bang , and then a whimper.

He'd barely escaped with his life , and others had not escaped at all.

The Dark Lord was dead, and the boy who lived had gone down with him.

As he stumbled to the battlefield assisted by the Granger girl , who's quick thinking and endless bag of supplies had saved him when he was too injured to reach for his own emergency stash of healing potions, he was among the collective masses that waited for the boy to rise once he fell.

And waited.

And waited.

But the boy did not rise.

The dark lord was dead, truly dead with no means of returning.

The boy had served his purpose, as he had always been raised to do so .

And now he had died, as he had always been raised to do so.

When they finally realised that the boy was truly gone, a grievous howl tore from the weasley girl as she fell to his side and it snapped both sides out of their reverie and the dark lords forces scattered to the wind at the loss of their leader , as order members and fighters for the light took down as many as they could before they escaped.

Grief was heard plainly in the sobbing and cries of those around him, all had lost someone dear to them , someone known to them.

Each body fallen was family, a friend, a colleague.

But he and the girl holding him up did not cry, and just stared blankly at the surrounding chaos, before making their painful way inside.

They had won , but no songs were sung as they carried the dead and injured inside.

They had won, but there was no celebration.

They had won, and the dark lord was dead and gone.

They had won, and yet

and yet

they had not.

There were no winners here

There were more side affects to the venom than he anticipated , and he could not avoid the short stay in mungos as it worked its way out of his system.

For a week he alternated between paralysis and muscle spasms , and the only visitor he got was the granger girl.

Not that he wanted her mind you , but she had simply followed him to Mungos the day after his admission and refused to listen to his growling to send her away.

He glared daggers at her from under the sheets , as she let herself into her room after the nurses left after his verbal dressing down at her accosting of his person.

The venom caused his skin to itch and crawl and he was naked under the sheets, a fact that seemed to hold no end of fascination to more than one nurse who'd tried to take a peek at the infamous slytherin, under the guise of ministering his care.

He felt on show and exposed and growled at the girl as she walked in and plopped herself in the only chair like she belonged there.

"I do not want you here Granger "

"Well you've got me Professor..it's up to you , you can either have me or you can have photos of your dick in the daily prophet courtesy of nurse handsy over there , because either way you're going to be here until the venom works it way out of your system"

He'd glared at her , and she'd glared right back.

"Close the fucking door and bring me something to read"

She'd stayed close by for the week he was bed bound, she'd transfigured the chair into a small bed and slept beside him in the room , she barely spoke to him unless necessary.

If he hadn't been so angry and uncomfortable , it would have almost have been...not quite pleasant, but companionable , and a welcome break from the loneliness that had surrounded him for the year.

She asked nothing from him , wanted nothing from him , she was just...there.

She read with him , ate with him , and they slept side by side , as close as they could be without being in the same bed that is.

When the nurses attended to him , she stood guard and hexed a nurse that was a bit too forward, and he had to fight a smirk at that.

She was a vicious little thing indeed, the past year had changed her , hardended her and she had a world wisdom about her, that could only be gained from experiences, not books.

The wards she placed around his room were formidable , only the healers were added as exceptions , and any looky-loos were kept out.

After a week in Mungos he had been discharged, he left the hospital without a backward glance and apparated home.

He did not say goodbye to her , even though her company had been...almost nice.

She did not want to be associated with him , he was bitter , angry and tainted.

It was better this way.

Minerva had offered him his old job back , head of slytherin and his choice of potions master or dark arts.

He'd taken potions , it was familiar , routine , safe.

He'd had enough dark arts to last a lifetime.

He did not accept the offer of headmaster, thank you very much , though he did agree to be joint deputy to her with filius.

When term started anew he noticed her and the weasley boy among the returning "8th" year students, all the 7th years who had or hadn't attended had been offered the opportunity to come back and study the year in full, as none had seen the proper education they should have had.

The Weasley boy was not happy to be back , rumour has it that the Auror academy refused to take him without at least an E in all his subjects, he had cited experience from the war, but anyone who knew the boy , knew that he was not the brains or the brawn of the now broken trio , he didn't have the strength or heart the potter boy had, and didn't have a fragment of the girls resilience or intelligence. He was bull headed and quick to anger, not good traits for an auror and Severus had a sneaking suspicion that the DMLE had asked him for all E's , in the hopes he would fail and they would not have to hire him.

The girl remained quiet and collected , and her eyes met his across the tables , almost sensing his regard.

She nodded slightly to him , and he inclined his head in responce , before turning away.

With some rogue death eaters still on the loose , the school had seen fit to offer self defence duelling lessons to all students, and he had of course ended up volunteered for the demonstration at the end of the day.

Mcgonnagol had suggested her for the demonstration with him , and she had declined , which of course angered him.

"Afraid to be bested in front of your peers Miss Granger , after all you cannot be the best at everything ?" he baited her.

"Afraid that we don't have anyone competent to cover potions if I put you back in Mungos"

There was an awed silence , even among the staff.

No one had ever dared to sass Severus Snape, and yet here she was firing back at him without a second thought.

"You really think you can defeat me in a duel little girl ?"

"The question is not whether I can defeat you , it's what do I get when I win ?"

"You wish to make a wager ? and what exactly do you propose?"

"If I win...I want a potions apprenticeship"

There was a collective gasp and ooooh from the crowd, no one wanted their lessons with him , let alone to stay on for another 4 years underneath him , directly answerable to him.

"I..do not...take...apprentices"

"I'm aware... I know you will not accept an apprentice any other way , especially me, if you are so confident in your abilities then you should have no problem agreeing to the terms"

He studied her expression closely , her look was fierce but her eyes , her eyes were like his. She had seen too much.

"Very well Miss Granger, and if I win... you remove yourself from my potions class, taking an incomplete for the NEWT, you don't speak to me, you don't approach me, in fact I cease to exist to you"

McGonnagol spluttered in outrage

"Severus! You cannot.."

" Deal"

You could have heard a pin drop in the great hall as she answered him , she approached him and stood face to face with him , a few feet apart.

Even the headmistress was shocked into silence

"Your terms ?" he questioned her.

"No podium , no bowing...street style duelling, anything goes, the only rules are No unforgivables, nothing deadly, nothing permanant...ANYTHING else is fair game , start on a whistle... first one to to incapacitate their opponent is the winner... agreed ?"

"Agreed... Filius, you will cast the signal ?"

"why..I...yes ?"

The students were ushered back until they formed a circle around the two duellers , they stood a few feet apart in battle ready positions , word of the duel seemed to have spread and it seemed that half the school was in attendance.

Filius stood on the edge of the circle looking concerned, and released the signal.

Then all hell broke loose.

She was good.

She was very good.

The formidable wards she set on his hospital room sprang to mind as she dodged and weaved and blocked his curses with ease.

She sent some vicious hexes his way , that made some students gasp at the thought of the Gryffindor princess knowing such dark spells, and he responded in kind.

Her defence was impeccable, her form perfect... battle honed and truly impressive, but her attack was not strong enough to hold him back for long.

They fought like a dance, dodging and parrying with no clear leader at any point.

He soon realised with his strength of attack and her formidable defences, they were quite evenly matched and neither could get the upper hand for very long.

There was one thing that he could outmatch her in though, speed in close quarters.

Letting her believe she was getting the upper hand, he waited until she pressed her attack and came closer to him , then with a quick as a flash stunner to throw her off balance , he had petrified her and she froze in front of him.

With a vicious smirk he approached her , standing a few scant feet in front of her.

"Well well Miss Granger...it seems... we have a winner"

He suddenly got the feeling that he was a mouse being toyed with by a cat, as she met his eyes, smiled and winked at him... something a petrified girl should not have been able to do.

She flicked her wand hand in the slightest of movements , and he hurried to raise his wand...a reaction which she had obviously planned on.

Without hesitation she used his distraction to her advantage and kicked him hard.

Right between the legs.

Severus snape was a death eater.

a dark wizard

and a champion dueller.

But he was still just a man.

And after a moment of silence where everyone waited for his reaction and every male in the vicinity flinched in sympathy ,he dropped to his knees on the ground cupping himself and dry heaving.

The fucking little bitch just walked over an plucked his wand from his hand and said in that insufferable way of hers.

"Guess you're right master snape...we do have a winner"

She threw his wand to the ground out of his reach and just walked out of the hall without looking back , leaving him still clutching his goods on the floor and wondering if his testicles were now lodged by his kidneys.

The hall was in silence

The male students were terrified

The female students were in awe

The staff were gobsmacked

...The apprentice papers were on her desk the next morning.

AN: Please review , thanks guys :-)