Severus Snape Meets His Match

Monday and Tuesday were very busy for Randi. Her classes were in full swing, and she had doubled her workouts in anticipation for the raid against Voldemort. Harry had done a great job getting The Holy Sword spell down pat. Each time, he got better and better at it. She was sure he wouldn’t choke when he faced the Dark Lord. The young man had a score to settle, and she could tell he meant business.

Wednesday morning, Severus stopped at the Gryffindor table and handed Harry a small bottle of potion. “I trust you know what this is, Mr. Potter?”

Harry looked at the bottle and nodded. “Yes, Sir. It’s luck potion. Thank you.”

“The least I can do for “The Chosen One””, Severus replied then continued walking towards the head table with Randi following behind him.

She took her seat then smiled at him. “That was very kind of you. I’m sure he appreciates it.”

He glanced at her and smirked. “I don’t take well to losing, Miss MacKenzie. If we’re going to do this, we might as well ensure ourselves a victory.”

She grinned and looked at Harry, who had just finished drinking the potion. “I have a feeling Lord Voldemort won’t know what hit him.”

They ate breakfast quietly and kept up a normal appearance throughout the day. Randi taught the seventh years one of her low level spells meant to knock an opponent off their feet stun them. They had some trouble with the strong concentration it required, but they did all right for their first try. Harry did better than most, but his friend Neville Longbottom seemed to do the best of all. She had heard of his parents and what happened to them. He would assuredly follow in his father’s footsteps and become an Auror.

After class she asked him to stay. He approached her desk nervously and politely said, “You wanted to see me, Professor?”

She smiled and him and asked, “How are you enjoying my class, Neville?”

“I like it very much, Ma’am.” He answered respectfully, “You’re a wonderful teacher. I’m learning so much, and it’s a lot of fun as well.”

“You want to be an Auror, don’t you?” she grinned.

He nodded emphatically. “Oh, yes, Ma’am. My father was an Auror, and his father before him. It’s kind of in my blood.”

She leaned toward him and softly said, “You’re the best out of all my students, Neville. Promise me you’ll continue to work very hard, and I guarantee you’ll get an Outstanding in my class.”

Neville smiled happily. “Thank you, Professor. I hope I’ll end up as good as my father was someday.”

“I’ve heard about what happened to him and your mother.” Randi said sympathetically, “I’m sorry that you lost them at such a young age.”

“It bothers me sometimes,” he admitted, “But I still have my Gram. She looks after me.”

“She must be very proud of you.” Randi said with a smile, “I know I am.”

“Thank you, Professor.” He replied shyly.

“Have a good day, dear.” She said gently, “We’ll talk again soon.”

She watched him leave and wondered if possibly tragedy had a way of turning ordinary people into heroes. Out of all of her students, Harry and Neville had lost the most, and yet, they performed better than any of the others. She would have to invite young Mr. Longbottom to the extra classes that she would be starting soon. No doubt, he would do a fine job.

“Deep in thought, I see.” Came Severus’ silky voice from behind her.

“I was just thinking about Mr. Longbottom. He’s doing exceptionally well in my class, even better than Mr. Potter.”

He stood beside her and looked out the door, “I thought I heard you speaking to someone. I wish I could say that he had the same skill in Potions, but I’m afraid he’s hopeless in that area.”

“We can’t be good at everything, Severus.” She reminded him, “Sybil tells me you failed Divination your first time around.”

“Remind me to have a little talk with her later about minding her own business.” He scowled.

“What do you want this time, Professor?” she chuckled.

“I came to wish you good luck this evening.” He replied frankly, “If the raid is successful, I bet you’ll be the youngest Witch ever to receive an Order of Merlin.”

She stood up and looked him in the eyes, “Is that all? I still have classes to teach.”

She was stunned as he bent down and gently brushed his lips against hers in a soft kiss. She took a step backwards and gave him a puzzled look. “What in Merlin’s name was that?”

He smiled coyly and replied, “It’s called a kiss. Did you enjoy it? I’m sure I can do better if you’d like.”

“You arrogant bastard!” She laughed as her cheeks began to blush.

He lifted her chin and smiled smugly, “Well, I don’t hear you complaining, so you must have enjoyed it. Would you like another one?”

“Do you really want me to hex you again?” she warned.

He lifted his hand to brush a stray strand of hair away from her eyes and replied, “No, Miss MacKenzie. I want you to kiss me.”

She pushed him away and pointed towards the back door that he had come from. “Get out of my classroom.”

He flashed her a triumphal smile and turned to leave. “Perhaps later then. believe you know where my room is.”

She shook her head in disbelief as she watched him disappear down the hallway on the other side of the door. The nerve of him, thinking that he could just come in to her classroom and plant a kiss on her like that! Granted, it had been a very nice kiss, but she wasn’t about to tell him that.