The Potion Mistress & the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter 31: The Headmaster & His Deputy

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people or places that belong to the wonderful world of Harry Potter, as they belong to J.K. Rowling. The OC (Katherine) is entirely my own.

Severus growled in frustration, as he threw his quill aside. He hadn't even been back at Hogwarts for a whole week, and already the paperwork was piling in. The portraits around him would chat with each other every so often, before disappearing to their other frames. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and sighed heavily.

'How did Albus manage all of this?' Severus sighed, as he looked again at the piles of paper that lined his new desk in the Headmaster's office. And to top it all off, there was a staff meeting tonight.

The floo suddenly blazed green and emitted the slender figure of Katherine. Severus glanced up only to come face to face with a very cross Katherine at that.

"Sev, explain to me why Slughorn is still here," Katherine snarled, as she glared down at him. Her hands resting on his desk and her blue eyes were ice cold with anger.

"Slughorn is here as a secondary teacher," Severus explained as he leaned back in his chair, matching Katherine's glare. "You will be co-teaching with him."

"What the bloody hell do you mean co-teaching," Katherine spat, as she pushed herself away from the desk and began to pace. "If you're telling me that I have to teach side by side with that walrus, I'm telling you right now that there will not be any pieces of him left by the end of the first day."

"Katherine," Severus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose again. "What I mean is that he will be teaching half the classes and you will be teaching the other half."

"What?" Katherine asked, as she stopped and turned to look at him like he was half mad. Severus silently summoned his Firewhiskey and two glasses. He poured two fingers in each glass and calmly got up and handed one to her.

"Slughorn will be teaching the first through fourth years," Severus put his hand up to stop Katherine, who had opened her mouth to protest. "You will be taking the fifth through seventh years.

"I decided this because one...you will have more responsibilities now with being not only the deputy headmistress, but also the Head of Slytherin. And two...I can trust you to handle the more rebellious fifth, sixth and especially seventh years, who will be constantly fighting with you due to their loyalty towards Potter."

Katherine remained silent, and Severus could almost see the gears turning in her head as she thought about his conclusion. She sighed, before taking a sip of the amber liquid in her glass.

"Alright," Katherine said, perching herself on the edge of his desk. "But if he messes with my stores again, be prepared to take him to the hospital wing in a matchbox." Severus chuckled slightly at her, as he leaned against the desk next to her. The two went silent as they sipped the whiskey from their tumblers.

"Are you ready for tonight's staff meeting?" Katherine asked, as she finished out her glass.

"Do I look ready?" Severus said, as he gestured to the mess of papers and folders on his desk.

"Need help?" Katherine smirked, setting down her glass amidst the pile of parchment.

"Don't tell me your done with your lesson plans and inventory already," Severus sneered at her, as she just shrugged.

"I was done on Wednesday," she replied smugly, as she hopped down off his desk and started slowly walking towards the fireplace. "But if you don't want my help, I'll just heading back to my rooms then."

"Witch!" Severus snarled at her. Katherine turned back to face with a raised eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Help would be appreciated," Severus said grudgingly. She smirked lightly at him, before summoning a quill and pulling a chair up to his desk.