Disclaimer:

All characters and locations from the Potterverse belong to J K Rowling. Assorted international publishing houses and film companies also have rights. I have none. I have never made money from anything Harry Potter BUT I have spent money on books, films, merchandise and web space. Please don't sue.

My only rights are to this story & the 2 original characters & 1 original location therein.

Please ask if you want to link to it or archive it. © Copyright August 2005; NJH; Note:

This story is set about 3 years after the fall of Lord Voldemort and the death of the Potters and many years before Harry comes to Hogwarts. (Thank you to Twilight Feather from Airborne Virus for the bright idea of setting fics before Book 1 of the Canon to give greater flexibility).

This is my first ever Fanfic so please be as constructive and kind with your reviews as possible. I would like to improve my writing but without beating my poor fragile ego to a bloody pulp, if possible.

The Long Game

by Geekerella

Chapter 1.

Xiomara Hooch was assiduously polishing a broomstick handle that she had repaired earlier. She was totally engrossed in her task and appeared not to realise that the eyes of every wizard in the staff-room were following her dextrous hand movements as she held the broom between her legs and oiled it, stroking and circling the wood to bring up the grain. Minerva, walked into the staff room and, realising what was going on, decided to entertain herself by coming up behind Filius Flitwick and speaking loudly

'Filius, could I have a moment of your time, please?'

The diminutive Charms Professor nearly fell off the tall stool where he sat, ostensibly marking homework.

'Oh' he squeaked in a higher-pitched voice than usual. The remaining wizards in the room hurriedly dropped their eyes and went back to whatever tasks they should have been doing. Filius cleared his throat and attempted to regain his composure. He turned to address Minerva in his usual tones.

'How can I help you Minerva?'

'I was just wondering, Filius, if you would be interested in conducting a joint class on charming transfigured objects?" Minerva, improvised.

'Oh that is a good idea. Let me think about it and then we can put our heads together and sort something out.'

'Certainly Filius, do get back to me at your convenience,' she smiled. Filius floated down from his perch and scuttled out of the staff room. The other wizards had already left, under cover of Minerva's conversation. She walked towards Xiomara and sat in an armchair opposite.

'You are a spoilsport, Min.'

'And you are the most frightful tease, Xiomara Rolanda Hooch!'

The beautiful hawk-eyed woman looked up at her friend and colleague with a wicked, predatory grin.

'Well may you call me a tease but I have few enough pleasures as it is and I have to amuse myself somehow. It's not as though either Hogwarts or Hogsmeade are overrun with gorgeous men that I can have my wicked way with. It's alright for you…you've had an "understanding" with Albus for half a century.'

'Yes, I have been lucky with Albus and I'm very happy with our relationship, although it is considerably less physical than it used to be. However, there is one Professor here who would be perfect for you.'

Xiomara sighed and put down the broomstick but said nothing.

'You do realise the sexual tension between the pair of you is palpable don't you?' Minerva continued.

'You say that, Minerva, but we barely even look at each other, let alone speak. I've never seen any indication that he's interested in me at all, and frankly I doubt he's capable of doing anything for fun. He's so gothic and intense that he would probably either want to tie me up and beat me or fall in love and possess me completely; and frankly, neither of those options suit me at all. I'm not sado-masochistic and I am commitment-phobic,' Xiomara protested. 'I just want to have some fun, a fling with a young wizard or muggle who'll make me laugh and won't get all clingy.'

'Methinks the lady doth protest too much,' Minerva quoted wryly and changed the subject.

At dinner that evening, Xiomara found herself mulling over Minerva's words. It wasn't the first time that Minerva had hinted at sexual tension between herself and Severus Snape. This time, however, Xiomara's libido was bothering her sufficiently for her to consider it. She glanced down the table at him and had the misfortune to catch his eye. He merely stared back at her coldly then inclined his head slightly in greeting and returned his attention to the soup bowl in front of him. Bugger! Now he has the satisfaction of knowing that I was looking at him, she thought immaturely. Unbeknownst to both Severus and Xiomara, Minerva was watching the pair of them at dinner and was now convinced that she would need to take a hand if the attraction they obviously felt for each other was to amount to anything and not just fizzle out over time.

Dinner was usually followed by coffee in the staff room but not all the staff attended every night. Tonight Minerva dragged Albus away as soon as she could; not an easy task as he was in gregarious mode. Albus would have a party every night if he could, she thought. Once they were finally alone together in his quarters, he helped her to a nightcap and softly asked,

'I sense, Minerva, from the tension writ large over every inch of you that there is something on your mind. I trust that there is nothing untoward that I need to know about?'

'Not untoward as such, Albus, no. But there is something that I need your help with.'

'By all means, my dear, what is it?'

Minerva proceeded to tell him her theory about Severus and Xiomara's attraction to each other and the pair's stubbornness that prevented them from ever acting on it. When she had finished, Albus merely twinkled over the tops of his half-moon spectacles at her and sighed,

'Oh Minerva. I had hoped that you had finally got this penchant for match-making out of your system, especially after trying to match Filius with Sybil.'

'Albus Dumbledore,' she countered 'you know fine well that I was carried away by our own blossoming relationship and that my judgement was compromised. This is nothing like that time.'

Albus smiled at his partner of 50 years and rummaged around in his robes, producing a crumpled paper bag of sweets,

'sherbet lemon?' he asked her, still with a twinkle in his eye. Minerva accepted and they sat in companionable silence sucking on their sweets. 'I should like to see Severus, happy' he finally said 'he has suffered a great deal in his life and I have always said that nothing can heal past wounds and protect one from future hurts like love. Xiomara, being a Ravenclaw, can certainly match his intellect and she is a strong woman so I suspect that she will be able to handle his temperament. Alright, Minerva, let us see if we cannot effect a match.' Minerva did not answer. She stood up, took his hand, and drew him unresisting out of his chair. She then proceeded to kiss him. Thoroughly. Luckily, he had finished his sherbet lemon.

Two weeks passed and Xiomara forgot all about Minerva's attempt to persuade her that the miserable, and frankly odd, Severus Snape was perfect for her. She was busy providing extra coaching to a handful of exceptionally gifted 7th years who wished to try out for Quidditch teams and for aerial rescue, aerial stunt display teams and other flying-related professions. As the Hogwarts clock struck six, Xiomara realised she would be late for a staff meeting that had been announced earlier that day. She headed towards the staff room, hair and clothes still damp from flying in drizzle. It was only when she removed her short flying cloak and there was a sudden intake of breath just on the edge of hearing that she realised that her clothes were clinging to her body and she was titillating the wizards yet again. Her wicked streak taking over, she stretched languorously like a cat and reached up to shake out her short silver hair. She could sense every male eye in the room upon her. The witches were used to her by now and, since there were no staff romances in the offing they found her amusing rather than threatening. Xiomara smiled to herself and turned towards the fire, intending to take a seat in the warmth. Severus was already sat in one of the Queen Anne chairs, staring into the flames and completely ignoring her. Xiomara felt unaccountably irritated. Who the hell did he think he was? She looked good enough for every wizard in the place to have at least one impure thought and go to sleep happy, except, it seemed for the least attractive of them all. With his greasy hair, hooked nose, sallow complexion and odious personality, he ought to be grateful to even get the opportunity to steal glances at her athletic figure. She took the empty seat opposite him in silence, avoiding eye contact; the diva in her thoroughly put out. Albus arrived shortly thereafter and the meeting commenced.

At dinner that evening, the only topic of conversation amongst staff and students was a surprise field trip that was to take place at the end of term. Nobody questioned how it was that information presented at a staff meeting that same day could so quickly trickle through the student body without a formal announcement. It seemed to be an immutable law: There Shall Be No Secrets at School. Albus and Minerva were past masters at raising student excitement by using the House Elves as a conduit to seed information throughout the student body in record time. Finally, as dinner came to an end Albus rose and gestured for silence. He smiled at the students,

'Some of you may have heard a rumour about a field trip. It is true that this year all 5th year students are to go on field trips to the Ministry to get a taste of the job opportunities that are available to you when you leave school and to help you decide which NEWTS you will need to take in order to qualify for your chosen jobs. Since the 5th year is rather large, each field trip will last three days and four nights. There will be sixteen students per group and each group will be escorted by two teachers. Dates, groups, staff escorts and so forth will be posted on your House notice-boards closer to the time. I trust you will all avail yourselves of the excellent opportunity these trips will provide to get to know yourselves and your colleagues from all houses better.'