Summary: Returning to Hogwarts after an unexpected adventure, Harry discovers Severus has a new nightly regime.

A/N: In response to atypicalsnowman's spur of the moment challenge on Severussighs yahoo group. She wanted someone to explain whatever happened to Snape's hair... how did it go from greasy to curly and bouncy? Well, here's my silly tale. (Sorry to those who'd prefer something a little longer!)

Harry sighed in contentment as he approached the castle. Hogwarts had always felt like home to him and now it would be his home.

After he'd defeated Voldemort, his days were filled with Auror training, representing hope for Wizardry in Britain and saving Snape.

Severus Snape- the thought of the dour man brought an unlikely smile to Harry's lips. In the five or so years after the war he and his former nemesis had become friends. Almost. Kinda. Sorta. He hoped.

Actually he hoped for much more. He'd fallen in love with the Potions Master and that, not work-related stress or coming out publicly, was the real reason he'd left Britain, and indeed all his celebrated Gryffindor courage. Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Faced-Death-Bravely had kissed and run. And kept running. For a year.

But now he'd done his soul searching and he was back. McGonagall had hired him to teach DADA and she was the only person who knew of his return. Not Ron, not Hermione and certainly not Snape.

Harry clutched his package carefully to his chest and smiled smugly. He hadn't been able to get Snape out of his mind and had bought rare potions ingredients, books and other paraphernalia at every stop on his itinerary-less world tour.

Standing at the top of the stairs to the dungeons, he took a deep breath. He hadn't written to Snape once during the past year. He only hoped Snape would be accepting of him.

Snape swooped down on some unsuspecting students making out in a dark corner. Terrified they ran screaming back to their dorms like they'd seen a bat out of hell.

The snarky git smirked, raising a bemused eyebrow and straightening his soft terry robes. Black of course. Yes, even dressed in comfort he still had 'it'.

War and Auror instincts kicked in as Harry heard the screams. His wand was out immediately, his precious cargo tucked safely under his arm.

'Run! Run! He's coming!' screamed a terrified girl.

'Who?' Harry paled. He hadn't kept up with the news. Who was terrorizing Britain?

'H-him! The 18th century wigged ghost!'

Harry stayed alert, wand still drawn but now he was confused. This was Hogwarts, surely a little ghostly encounter shouldn't scare the students?

Venturing bravely forward, he rounded the corner stealthily.

'Argh!' he cried at the scariest sight he'd beheld in ages.

A tall dark robed figure with a bumpy pale green face, pitch black eyes and face framed by silver circles screamed back, 'Gah!'

Wands drawn the men, or Harry and... something scary, faced each other ready to duel.

'H-Harry?' Snape's voice asked in disbelief.

'S-Severus?' Harry's eyes widened in shock. He reached out carefully to verify with his hands what his eyes seemed to see.

The robes were soft and... Terry cloth? The bumpy green skin was a... whatever his female housemates used to plaster over their faces at night and the silver circles were... curlers!

'S-Severus?' Eloquence was impossible.

'Yes. Well.' Snape sheathed his wand and flounced off back towards his room, the rapid action shaking one of the curlers loose and revealing a gorgeous bouncy lock of hair. 'I wasn't getting any younger waiting for you, you know!' He huffed.