"Sir? Sir!"

Snape looked up from the newsprint, already aware of what Mister Filch had to say. "Don't take them to Dumbledore, bring them to me!" Ooooooh, those boys... They wouldn't slip into Dumbledore's protection just yet. Potter and Weasley would pay consequences. He looked back down at the photograph of the car as Mister Filch ran back up the staircase to the ground floor. He paced a few times, momentarily forgetting his own dilemma.

A few minutes later, Mister Filch presented the two frightened boys to him. He stared at them angrily in silence for a few long moments, leaning across one of the tables in his office. They stared back, wide-eyed and fearful.

"Oh, how I will enjoy punishing you for this..."

**********


Dismal. The first day of term was always absolutely dismal. After explaining to each class the seriousness of potion-making, and effectively making two students cry, Severus was ready to be quite alone. Standing at the long table at the front of the classroom, he prepared a potion which was to be the topic of the first lesson. As he expertly sprinkled in some dried Belladonna, the door opened to reveal Dumbledore. What was it now?

"Headmaster," Snape greeted unenthusiastically.
Dumbledore padded into the room, smiling in response.

Awkward silence. Dumbledore broke it.
"So it appears that your concerns were for nothing."
"Certainly not," Severus retorted. "My brother had a child--sooner or later, that will catch up to me. Fortunately, just not now."

Another silence. Snape broke it.
"He broke the rules. I will be the one facing the consequences. Unfortunately, there is no alternative. No...civil...alternative."
Albus sighed.

"Is that all you came to say, Headmaster? Or did you want to tell me that you've rewarded Potter for finding an ingenious but illegal way to arrive at Hogwarts?"
"They have been punished, Severus, but not to the extent you'd prefer."

I'd prefer to have expelled them their first year, he thought angrily as he stirred the potion, but he didn't want to have this argument. "Good night, then, Headmaster."

Albus took the hint and left, leaving Severus to his cauldron.

The next few days lulled Severus into forgetting his problem, and immersing him in the pleasure that was his job. There was nothing he loved more than attempting to make his students appreciate potion-making. There were a few good ones. A few good Slytherins. And Malfoy's son, of course. But it did cheer him up to be able to make the really foolish ones suffer.

Two weeks into the term, Snape was making his rounds, checking the potions he had instructed them to brew. Awful. Simply awful. There were two good cauldrons out of the ten. One belonged to the annoying Miss Hermione Granger, and the other to Malfoy. He was about to deduct points from the Gryffindors for cheating when the door to the dusty classroom opened. Snape whipped his head around, standing straight. Dumbledore stood there, his expression unreadable. All the students turned their heads.

"Severus, may I speak with you?"
Snape didn't move. Dumbledore sighed, then turned to look at someone just out of the potion master's view.

A small, twelve-year-old girl took two steps into the room, looking about it. She had shoulder-length brown hair, wore a lace choker, and... When she looked at Snape finally, he was looking into all-to-farmilliar eyes. He half-shook his head slowly and shifted his weight. The students were aware of his uneasiness.

"Severus, this is Tanya Reynolds. She will be part of your classes this term."

Reynolds? No. There was no denying, no doubt in his mind, that this girl Tanya was a Snape. This was the nightmare he'd been waiting for.


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Sorry I haven't posted in so long! I hope this makes up for it!