If at First You Don't Succeed

The clock by the side of her bed beeped incessantly and she screwed her face up in pain. Opening one bleary eye she gazed round the room as it slowly swam into focus. Swatting the alarm into silence with one hand she warily looked at the time, it was gone 7.30! Cat sat up with a start and immediately regretted it as her brain rattled round inside her skull heralding the start of the mother of all hangovers.
" Shit " she muttered to herself as she pressed her palms to her temples. Apparently she'd overdone it again the night before. She threw back the covers and almost crawled out of her bed towards the bathroom, knowing her salvation was in the cabinet. Grimacing at her reflection in the mirrored door briefly before she opened it, she silently chastised herself for getting into this state again before reaching for her supply of hangover potion.

Empty!

" No, it can't be " she thought as she shook the glass bottle hopefully trying to dislodge any remnants from the sides. It was however completely empty. There was only one person who could replenish her supplies and he was the very reason she was drinking in the first place. The widely feared potions master of Hogwarts was, until about three months ago, her lover. Her relationship with Severus Snape had ended in an argument that was trivial by anybodys standards, but was the last in a series of trivial arguments that had gone on for nearly half a year before they told each other in no uncertain terms that it was over. That final row had climaxed in strings of insults being hurled by both parties until they were red in the face. As with every aspect of their relationship there was such intense passion behind it and belief in their own convictions that they vehemently ignored each other whenever they were forced to meet. Luckily these meetings were now only reduced to the weekly faculty gatherings organised by the headmaster, where they sat as far apart as possible and refused to even acknowledge each others existence.

" Bastard " Cat exclaimed as the pounding in her head redoubled it's efforts. She had to go and see him, there was no way on earth she could teach her classes in this state. Dressing slowly she promised to herself again that she would never drink on a schoolnight before making her way down, very timidly, to the dungeons.
" What a perfect way to start the day! " she thought to herself as she wandered through the stone corridors of the castle. She could just picture the smug, self assured expression on his face as he leered down at her. His perfectly arched eyebrow raising over those eyes that turned her knees to jelly every time she saw him, his soft delicious lips turning up in a sneer. Even now she still couldn't deny her attraction to him, that was one of the reasons she tended to drink a bit more now. Maybe if she drank enough she would forget that she wanted to jump on him everytime he was in the same room as her.

Snape was just getting ready to head to the great hall for breakfast when someone knocked on his door. To say he was surprised was an understatement, nobody had knocked on his door for a while. He was more unapproachable than ever since the end of his relationship with the contemporary muggle studies teacher a few months ago. That damned witch had a stubborn streak that was a mile wide and a temper that was more unstable than a blast ended skrewt in heat. He could see the final argument clearly in his mind and recall every small detail. Each insult they threw at each other, the way her dark eyes flashed as she shouted at him with her hands resting on the curve of her delectable hips, the flush on her cheeks that crept down towards her perfect breasts. Damn her! Why did she have to look so edible? Each time he saw her his mind kept wandering. Plastering an expression of indifferance and annoyance over his face he turned the handle and stared into the eyes of the one person he really hadn't expected. Secretly hoped for maybe, but not expected.

Cat looked up and her stomach lurched, partly because it was currently battling against it's own contents and partly because it always did when she looked in those damn eyes. Even when looking clearly shocked he was still one of the most handsome men she had ever met. At this point she was mentally berating herself for not making herself look more presentable. She may have been a mess on the inside but she didn't want the insufferable git to know that, he would be even more smug than usual if he knew he had the upper hand.

" Miss McEwen, can I help you with something? " his mouth had dried up as he looked down at the witch in front of him. Gods she looked terrible, and yet his insides still tensed as he stared at her.

Why did he have to speak? His voice was as velvety as always and it brought back too many memories that she had been trying to bury or drown. Damn him, being that sexy should be outlawed! Gathering up as much inner strength as she could she started to speak.

" Sorry to disturb you professor, I was just wondering if by any chance you had any hangover remedy to hand as I seem to have run out. "

Snape raised one eyebrow and looked into her eyes, a glint of humour crossing his face
" Apparently so! " he stated matter of factly, enjoying the flash of anger that his response caused in Cat. She would have to bite her tongue though if she wanted his help and he wasn't going to miss an oppurtunity to torment her, it was too much fun to watch the emotions play across her beautiful features.
" Please step inside while I check my stores " he turned on his heel and strode away to hide the smirk on his face. So this is how she was dealing with life without him, served her right for being so pig headed he mused to himself as he left her stood in the doorway.

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk, absent mindedly popping bon-bons into his mouth as he stared at nothing in particular, when one of the house elves suddenly appeared with a small pop. He wasn't taken aback by this he simply looked at it and smiled
" I is getting rid of the misses potion like you asked headmaster " the elf squeaked with a grin, knowing he had done well.
" Ah, yes. Thank you Sparky " Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he popped another sweet into his mouth. He, like the rest of the teaching staff, had reached the end of his tether with the petulant sulking that marred the meetings. The two of them were both too stubborn for their own goods! Anybody could see that they were indeed good for each other if only they could learn to compromise and control their tempers slightly. Plus, on a more selfish note, he had discovered that Severus was a lot more pleasant to deal with when he had a witch in his life. Well, phase one of the plan had been implemented!