Severus walked down the darkened halls, robes billowing behind him. Filch walked behind him, Mrs. Norris hot on his trail. With a curt nod, Severus continued patrolling the halls of Hogwarts.

'It must be near midnight' he decided as he turned a corner. Something fell in front of him. He couldn't see it but this invisible being knocked into a suit of armor. Severus pulled out his wand and reached out, feeling fabric. He tugged on it gently and saw the crumpled body of Haley Potter underneath her invisibility cloak.

Severus placed her on his couch. How could the infirmary be closed at this time? Family emergency or not, Poppy was always there. He thought of the sign tacked on her door.

~My daughter went into labor. If you are a student in need of assistance, go to Professor Snape. ~

Blasted woman, She dare have ignorant whelps come to him? In the middle of the night? He tried to remove the note but found a rather strong sticking charm behind it. Haley shifted in her sleep; Severus looked at her with mild interest. It was no surprise to find her sneaking out afterhours. The question was why had she fallen asleep? He should wake her up but she looked so tranquil….

'No, not tranquil… more like irritating. Yes, that's right. She looks irritating. I'm getting too soft with these children. I need to give out more detentions tomorrow. I should get more sleep.'

With that thought, Severus headed to his chambers for a night's rest.

Haley woke with her face pressed against cool leather.

'Crap, I fell asleep in the Gryffindor common room again.'

She turned to face the fire place, wiping the sleep from her eyes. But instead of the familiar sights of the common room, she was met with something else. A fireplace surrounded by old books, two worn leather chairs faced it. The couch she rested on was off to the side. A small coffee table sat between the chairs, a bottle of scotch resting on sat up and she glanced at the two doors on either side of the fireplace.

'Where am I?' She looked around as if to find some clue to her location. The place looked lived in, few personal belongings other than some books.

'One of those doors leads out….But which one?' She did a quick round of Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe and ended up with the left door. She stood up and headed towards the door on the left. With a sharp squeak, she pushed the door open. It was a bedroom, richly decorated in deep emerald green and onyx black. Inside the four poster bed, a figure slept. Haley stepped closer.

'Oh bloody hell, it's Snape.'

Haley stepped back, searching for the door knob without turning around. But something in his face stopped her.

'He looks so peaceful…The lines of his forehead smoothed out, his breath is even, and he's not so scary anymore.'

Haley knew if Ron was here, he would want to play a trick on their professor. But Haley just stood watching his sleeping face, mesmerized. She took a tentative step forward reaching out but then heard…

"Pray tell what you are staring at, Potter" bellowed Professor Snape.