A/N: God! My fics pop out quicker than gerbils reproduce! I blame it all on the bunnies! *George agrees*

Chapter One:

Severus Snape rushed through the Saturday morning crowds in Diagon Alley, a magical shopping district. He pushed past disgruntled witches and angry wizards as he made his way into the Leaky Cauldron. Sitting at the bar and ordering a shot of Ogden's Old Fire Whiskey, he finally relaxed long enough to examine his surroundings.

Two men were arguing rather loudly about England's Quidditch standings at their seats further down the bar. Several young witches were gathered around a table, giggling over an article in Witch Weekly. Other customers held discussions on everything from politics to the latest hair-growing potion with their friends and relatives. Severus Snape, however, was completely alone.

The though didn't bother him. He was used to the customary silence. He took comfort in his lonely lifestyle, never really having been close to anyone except Albus Dumbledore. The reason for the closeness of the two being the older man's uncanny way of always knowing exactly what was going on in his younger colleagues mind.

An old woman struggling to sit in the high stool next to him at the bar interrupted Severus' thoughts. He glanced at her. She ordered up a butterbeer before turning to wink at him.

"Wotcher, Professor." the old woman croaked.

Snape politely inclined his head to the witch. He finished his whiskey and got up from the bar, wondering where he'd met this witch before. He turned as she tapped him on the shoulder.

"See you tonight." she winked again, disappearing from the bar.

What? What had she said? She must have thought he was someone else. Severus shook his head of his confused thoughts, and made his way outside. He made a quick stop at the apothecary before Apparating into Hogsmeade and heading back to the castle.

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Severus entered the door of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place that evening at seven sharp. He made his way into the basement/ kitchen /meeting room, and took his usual seat in the shadows. Severus let his thought wander as the other members of the Order filed into the room in pairs and small groups. Remus Lupin sat next to him and smiled knowingly.

"Had any encounters with nosy old witches today, Snape?" he asked.

"What? Ho did you--?"

"Wotcher, Professor." a voice whispered in his ear.

Snape jumped and saw the young woman come around his seat and slump into the chair on his other side, laughing with Remus. Severus took in her long black hair and startlingly blue eyes, he had seen those eyes somewhere before.

"Didn't even recognize me, Remus! It was quite funny watching him try to puzzle out who the old hag sitting next to him was." The young woman laughed.

"Miss Tonks. Lupin." Severus greeted them.

"Sorry, I know I shouldn't have. I just couldn't resist." Tonks laughed.

"You might want to learn to …resist, Miss Tonks."

"Miss? Honestly, Severus! That's almost as bad as--"

"Nymphadora?" Severus smirked.

"That was bloody rude. Totally uncalled for." Tonks muttered while Lupin tried to conceal his laughter.

"What is rude about addressing a young lady by her name?" Snape asked smoothly.

"When the young lady's name happens to be Nymphadora there's a lot wrong with it!" Tonks hissed.

"Of course. My mistake." Severus sneered.

"Ok, you got your revenge for my little trick earlier, now sod off!"

"Of course, Nymph--"

"Don't even!" Tonks said, poking her wand into Severus' thigh.

"Aren't we aggressive?" Severus commented evenly.

"Very." Remus muttered under his breath.

Severus quirked an eyebrow at him, receiving in return a look that plainly said 'I can't tell you in front of the woman with the wand in your thigh'. He nodded slightly, and turned to Tonks. He quickly wrapped his fingers around her wrist and shoved her hand away from his leg gently, slipping her wand up her sleeve in a split second. Tonks blinked at him in disbelief.

"You'll get it back when you behave, Nymphadora." Severus sneered.

Tonks made a noise of fury in her throat, and sat with her arms crossed for the rest of the meeting. Snape and Remus left the meeting after briefing on the progress of their assignments, leaving some members still deep in discussion.

"Aggressive, Remus?" Severus smirked.

"Very. Threatening, to say the least." Remus grinned in reply.

"How so?"

"Let's just say last time I called her by her first name, I couldn't piss properly for a week." Remus said, shuddering at the thought, "Can I suggest sending her wand back by owl post? And make sure you're hundreds of miles away, preferably well hidden."

"SNAPE!" Tonks pushed the door to the meeting room open and furiously marched towards them.

"Uh-Oh. Too late." Remus muttered, slipping away.

"Yes, Miss Tonks?" Severus asked calmly.

"MY WAND!" Tonks' eyes turned a violent shade of red.

Severus decided not to anger the girl any further. He whipped her wand out of his sleeve and handed it to her, giving a mock gallant bow as he did so. Mistake, BIG mistake. Tonks put a hand on each of his shoulders and sent her knee hurtling to his groin before snatching her wand from his grasp.

"This, Snape, is war." she hissed, stepping around his doubled-over form. She tripped and fell on a coat rack next to the door. Tonks rose up and brushed herself off, hastily exiting with the remainder of her dignity.