Title: What Women Want

Author: Zanthia

Disclaimer: Not mine, seeing as how this is If you wanna read the real stuff, go buy the book. Because I'm going to borrow people and have some fun with them here. Title is not mine either, it is from a wonderful Mel Gibson movie. If you've seen the movie, then you know what's guna happen.

A/N: This is an AU story. Because people are in situations that would in truth, never happen, and two Albus is alive! Yeah! I do not want to believe that book six ever happened. Nope. Never did. Biggest waste of money. Stupid book…. Got thrown against the wall it did…… sooooo…. On with the show!


"Sweet Merlin girl, if you stare any harder you'll bore holes right through him," Minerva whispered, giving Hermione a gentle jab in the ribs.

"Sorry," Hermione murmured, pulling her eyes from the man that was sitting across the table from her. "I can't help it."

All Minerva could do was roll her eyes. Young people, honestly, they were forever mooning over each other.

Hermione on the other hand wasn't allowed many opportunities to openly stare at her heart's desire, especially since he was so close for a change. This reason, and this reason alone was the only reason she enjoyed going to faculty meetings on Sunday nights.

"That brings this meeting to an end." Albus said cheerfully, looking around the staff room. Hermione wondered if he even noticed that no one really paid him much attention. The meeting this evening was only about students that were still having difficulty coping with being away from home. It was already five weeks into term, if the students didn't learn to deal with being away from mommy and daddy, then they shouldn't be here at all. If she had to hear one more story about a student crying in the halls, she would cry herself. "I will see you all again next Sunday evening, and like always, if there are any new issues, please let me know some time during the week."

Members of the faculty began to rise from the table as they grabbed their notes, and began to head back to their quarters. Hermione couldn't help the sigh though that passed her lips as Severus rose from the table. How could a woman not appreciate the beautiful grace in which he rose from a chair? It was a stunning display of power.

Hermione watched as Severus went and spoke quickly with Albus before leaving the room, never once glancing though in her direction. It wasn't new. He didn't even pay her much mind that she was ever there anyway. As if was, she had been pining for him for over a year and the man had yet to pick up on any of the clues.

"Sweet Merlin," Minerva exclaimed yet again. "You have really got it bad, Hermione."

"I can't help it," Hermione replied, shuffling her papers into a pile. "He's perfect."

"If you want my opinion, you need to do something about it, and do it quick," Minerva countered. "I don't know how much longer I'll be able to stand the "looks" during meeting and during meals."

The two women said quick goodnights to Albus, and began their walk back towards their quarters.

"What do you mean do something? I'm not suicidal Minerva." Hermione gave a short laugh, holding her stack of papers close to her chest. "Severus would kill me if I made a move on him."

"Oh, please." Minerva huffed. "What man would kill a willing woman who was throwing herself at him?"

"Severus would." Hermione replied. "No doubt saying, 'Really Miss Granger, I detest the very sight of you, I'll feel no remorse for what I'm about to do'. Then he'll quickly kill me before I die of embarrassment."

"How do you know he detests you? You are an attractive young woman after all, and you have brains. Surely those two things would appeal to any man."

"Have you seen him noticing?" Hermione asked, shooting a sidelong glare at Minerva. "Honestly, if I didn't know better I'd say he's blind."

"What about talking with him?"

"I've tried, on many occasions. He either ignores me entirely, or tells me to go away. I don't think we've ever actually had more than four sentences pass between the two of us at one given time."

"What about touching him. Say while you're talking. I hear that a lot of men are able to pick up on that move."

"I tried the touching of the arm while talking to him. He literally cringed away from me." Hermione replied. "Cringed, as if I was going to hurt him or something."

"Then try something drastic! How about going to his door in only a robe? Let it fall right in front of him and propose activities that are best suited for a bed." Minerva wiggled her eyebrows so that Hermione would know what she was hinting at. It would have taken a deaf, blind and dumb fool not to know what she was hinting at.

"Well, one, I don't know where his quarters are, no one does, and two, he'd never let me in even if I did. I don't fancy the idea of baring it all in a corridor of a school no less." Hermione sighed. "What if it's just because he doesn't like women? What if he prefers men after all?"

Minerva scratched her chin for a moment; the notion that Severus may not like the company of women had never crossed her mind.

"We could recruit Albus in on this. He would be able to get answers out of Severus no doubt. Men are willing after all, to talk more willingly to another man."

"I don't know, Minerva. Albus isn't very good at the art of subtlety when it comes to relationships. I could picture him going up to Severus and asking, 'So young man, are you gay? Because that young Miss Granger has a thing for you, you know.'"

"But I'm sure he'd be happy to help you out. There isn't anything he likes more than seeing two lovely people get together, especially if one of those people is Severus. I could ask him to talk with Severus about the prospects of dating, women and marriage, that sort of thing. Severus would be none the wiser."

Hermione stopped outside of her portrait portal and mulled over the idea that Minerva threw out onto the field. It would be too easy.

"Alright. But have him keep it subtle."

Minerva beamed a smile at Hermione.

"I'll talk with Albus this very evening."

"Alright. Goodnight, Minerva."

"Goodnight, Hermione."


Severus grumbled as he sprinkled the final ingredient into the cauldron. If this attempt didn't work, that would make twenty-three failed potions. A number that he even thought was a step away from being like Longbottom.

Severus stirred the powdered opal into the potion, watching as the color changed from a murky brown to gold.

At least the color was working this time around.

Severus stirred the potion five more times before allowing it to simmer. He took notes in his book about his next step in the process, and then paged back to the other attempts to see where he had gone wrong.

After fifteen minutes of fruitless searching, it became time to add the final ingredient; one tablespoon of virgin's blood.

Severus really didn't know how Albus was able to get such an expensive ingredient in such large supply. He had been working on his project for over several months now, and the cost alone for the blood should have hampered the speed of the project significantly. But here he was using more of it than he had ever though possible.

Severus stirred the blood into the potion, wondering idly if Albus personally knew the woman. He wondered as well what other rare ingredients he would be able to persuade Albus to get for him from the girl. There was after all a nice healing drought he knew of that utilized virgin's blood. Perhaps he could look into it more if Albus was ever so kind as to assist him with getting more supplies.

Severus stopped stirring his potion and looked down at it. The liquid continued to swirl, shining like molten gold.

"Interesting," Severus grumbled again, jotting down more notes in his book.

He extinguished the flame beneath the cauldron and allowed the mixture to cool. This was it. What was to be the final product, and it finally looked the way he had envisioned it months before. The only question now was would it work? Would it be and effective block against mind controlling spells? If so, how long would it last? What would the side effects be? His list of testing questions began to grow and grow.

Severus reached for a set of bottles to store the new potion in, but as he turned away, he wasn't able to see what was beginning to happen in the cauldron. It began to smolder, giving off tendrils of gray smoke.

As Severus turned back to his cauldron, he happened to breath in the smoke, causing him to cough. Severus fanned a hand over the potion, figuring that it was ruined. There was no way that a smoking potion, such as the one before him, could be the right one. So, Severus withdrew his wand was ready to banish the ruined potion.

But he began to stager, as the smoke began to increase. The room around him began to fade in and out, and he could feel his legs weaken.

Severus Snape was completely unconscious by the time he hit the potions classroom floor. Only moments after he fell, the potion ceased to smoke, and the cauldron became calm. Now it was complete.


"What happened to him?" Hermione questioned, taking a seat on the edge of Severus' bed. If he had been awake, or if there was the possibility of him waking, there would be no chance in heaven or hell that she would be taken the privileges that she was allowing herself. She didn't care about formalities anymore, not when he lay in a white hospital bed.

"Just another routine potions disaster, that's all." Poppy replied, using her wand to scan the sleeping man in the bed. "He's lucky Albus went looking for him last night. There's no telling what could have happened if he didn't find Severus."

Hermione picked up one of Severus' hands. It was warm and soft to the touch, his fingers seductively long. She held in gently between her own. She didn't know what she would do if he had really been hurt. It was bad enough he was knocked out. Hermione didn't like the idea of Severus getting hurt, not one bit.

The shy handholding did not get past Poppy's trained eye. The old matron couldn't help but smile. It was about time that Severus had a concerned female at his bedside. Many a times had Severus ended up in the exact position, and the only person that was ever there when he woke was the Headmaster himself. The idea that Hermione Granger fancied Severus just warmed her heart. They would make a nice match indeed.

"How long have you loved him?" Poppy asked, seating herself in a chair by the bedside. Poppy saw the blush fill the young woman's cheeks. Apparently Severus did not know the true feelings of this woman, nor did a lot of people according to how deep blush was.

"To long," Hermione replied, stroking the hand that was held between hers.

The longer she was able to hold his hand, the calmer she became. Ever since Minerva told her early that morning that there had been an accident in the potions classroom, she had been worried sick straight until her first break period after lunch. Now that she was able to see for herself that he was all right, and feel the strong pulse in her hand, the tightening in her stomach began to subside.

"He doesn't know does he?"

Hermione gave a short laugh, and then looked over at Poppy.

"He doesn't have a bloody clue." Hermione gave the Medi-Witch a weak smile. "I'll get over it in time though I suppose."

"Love, true love that is, is very hard to get over my dear."

"I'll have to, Poppy, I have no choice." Hermione replied. "I was thinking about all of this last night that perhaps how things are now are just the way they're suppose to be. That if I have to manipulate the situation so much for him to even get him to notice me, then how true can it be?"

Poppy understood all to well the pain the young woman was feeling.

"Don't give up quite yet, Hermione. Give him a little more time."

"All I've given him is time." Hermione replied. "Every chance I get, I try to make him notice me. A nice smile, some kind words, a pleasing appearance, but nothing seems to work." Hermione looked over at Poppy. "I'm getting tired, so very tired of trying to catch his attention all the time."

"Hang in there my dear." Poppy encouraged. "Sometimes the greatest things in life are worth more work than we are willing to put in to getting them. This, right now, is the point where you can either give up and continue on with your life or you can push forward and see things through to the end. Wouldn't you rather have Severus give you a definite yes or no, or would you want to wonder for the rest of your life, 'what if?'"

"A definite answer I suppose is what I'd like to hear, no matter if it's not what I want to hear."

"That's my girl." Poppy smiled and rose from her chair. "Spend all the time you'd like, heaven knows not enough people have spent time at his bedside over the years."

Poppy began heading back towards her office.

"Thank you Poppy," Hermione called out.

"Any time dear."

Hermione sat at Severus' bedside, holding his hand throughout the evening. Being able to stroke his hand was more comforting then she could ever have imagined. She had even dared to reach forward and stroke the hair away from his face a time or two. Hermione would never allow herself to forget the way his hair felt running through her fingers.

"Hermione," Poppy whispered, interrupting her vigil. "It's late dear; you should head back to your bed for the evening."

"Hmm?" Hermione pulled herself awake. The idea of sleeping in her own bed was a fine one indeed. "Will you find me if he wakes?"

"Of course dear. Now off to bed with you."

Hermione stood and left the infirmary, a sleeping Severus was left behind.


The next morning, Hermione made her way down to breakfast; the late hour in which she stayed up was clearly showing on her face. Her eyes were shadowed, and her complexion was pale. The only thing that got her going that morning was the promise of some strong coffee at breakfast.

"Hermione dear," Albus called down the hallway.

Hermione groaned. Albus was keeping her from her coffee.

"What is it Headmaster?" Hermione questioned, pausing long enough for the elder wizard to catch up.

"As you are aware, Severus will be unable to teach for a couple of days."

"I know."

"I need a few people to take over a couple of classes of his for me. I'd hate to just assign written work for the time that he is gone, and seeing as how you did spectacularly well in potions, I was hoping that you would agree to take on his morning schedule."

"Me?" Hermione made a full stop. There was no way that she wanted to get put through teaching potions. Especially today. Everyone knew that Advanced Potions on Tuesdays and Thursdays was the worst class in the whole entire history of the school. That class made her own Gryffindor and Slytherin class while she was in school look like angels. "I have my classes to teach, Albus."

"I know. But I would fair better covering your classes, rather than Potions, after all, I have lived through a lot of what you're teaching at the moment." Hermione noted that Albus raised his eyebrows at her, giving his face an almost pleading look. Was there ever a time that a person could refuse that look?

"Alright. I'll do it." Hermione conceded, noting that she was not one of those people that could refuse 'the look'.

"Fabulous!" Albus handed her a sheet of paper with Severus' class schedule on it. "I'll need you to cover his classes up until noon. Madame Sprout has agreed to take on the late afternoon classes."

"She gets the young ones." Hermione grumbled. "Honestly Albus, the seventh years this year are absolutely terrible. I don't know what has gotten into them."

"Neither do I dear." Albus replied, giving her a pat on the back. "But I'm sure you'll do just fine, you did after all survive those classes with Severus teaching. Perhaps taking a page out of his teaching methods will allow you to survive teaching them."

"Let me get this straight, you want me to teach like him? To scowl, growl, take points, put fear into the hearts of students and swoop around like a bat?" Hermione questioned. "Are you out of your mind?"

"It has worked this long hasn't it?" Albus replied with a smile. "And thank you for sitting with Severus last night. Minerva and Poppy have told me about how worried you are about that young man."

"Oh dear gods." Hermione cried, covering her face in embarrassment. "You haven't said anything to anyone else have you?" Hermione asked the old man, wondering if he'd even remember if he did. She even went so far as to look around the hallway to make sure that no one else was around to hear what they were talking about.

"Of course not," he smiled. "Minerva told me how worried you are about it getting around the castle, so there's no need to fear, your secret is safe with us"

"You don't think I've lost my mind have you?" Hermione asked, earning a chuckle from Albus. "We've all lost our minds I think."

"Of course not, dear. I think you've just found it. It's a good match I say, and once Severus opens up his eyes to the fact, he'll agree as well."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"By opening his eyes for him of course," Albus replied as if it were the simplest answer in the world.

"Just keep it subtle, Albus." Hermione pleaded. "Subtle."

"When have I ever not been subtle?"

Albus left her standing there alone in the hallway before she was able to answer.


Hermione jumped quickly from foot to foot and rolled her shoulders a couple of times. If any student had been out in the hallway, they would have thought she was going to enter a boxing ring and not a classroom.

"You can do this, Hermione." Hermione said to herself. The sound of her voice added just a little hope on her side of being able to survive this class.

She had seen Severus enter his classroom hundreds of times. She just had to get a good running start, bang the door against the wall good and hard in order to scare the students within and then begin the lesson. She could do this.

With one last reassuring breath, Professor Hermione Granger took on the greatest acting role Hogwarts would ever see; she would become Professor Severus Snape. Hermione smoothed her skirt, and then her hair. She had opted to wear it in a strict bun for this class. She had even decided to wear a black robe set for the occasion. The seventh year Advanced Potions class wouldn't know what hit them.

Hermione charged forward, hitting the door with such speed and force that it indeed slammed back against the stone wall inside. The effect was more than she could have bargained for as several students in the back row jumped in their seats. Hermione withdrew her wand, pointed it at the door, and it slammed just as hard shut as when it opened. She did a dramatic sweep to the front of the classroom and took her time looking over each and every face in the room.

Two of the Slytherins made the mistake of giggling. Now was a perfect opportunity to show the class that she wasn't here to mess around.

"Ten points Mr. Seth, and ten points Mr. Able. Apparently they do not teach you manners in Slytherin." Hermione waited to see if either of them would object to the point taking. As it was, Mr. Able had the nerve to open his mouth. "Close your mouth Mr. Able, less you catch a fly."

She spun on her heel and headed to the board to begin writing out their tasks for the day. Once she was done, she turned back to the class.

"I expect perfection when it comes to potion making." Hermione began, allowing herself to indulge in what she decided to call 'the walk'. It was a habit that had unnerved her when she was a student and that was when Professor Snape would stalk through the rows of tables. "I don't know what Professor Snape has allowed to let slide in this classroom, for I recall an incident not two weeks ago that happened in here." Hermione said, eyeing young Mr. Fallon of Gryffindor House.

Two weeks ago, he had allowed his cauldron to overflow. It wouldn't have been all that bad, but the stench alone forced them to evacuate the dungeons until well after six o'clock that evening.

"This is Advanced Potions after all, and if I have the misfortune of witnessing such a blatant display of stupidity, I will banish you from this class. Any questions?" She looked around the room, and one person had their hand up. "Yes Miss Robinson?"

"Professor Granger, is that correct on the board?" She asked. Hermione couldn't help the grin that passed over her face. So, someone had bothered to start reading the board.

"It's called homework Miss Robinson, and it is due on Thursday if your precious Professor Snape is back or not."

There was a chorus of grumbling.

"Why do I hear grumbling?" Hermione snapped. "Do you need permission all of a sudden to get-to-work?" She yelled.

Hermione stalked to the front of the classroom, and when she turned around she was silently pleased to see the students getting down to work. She now had only one-hundred-and-ten more minutes of this class to go.


Hermione quietly opened the door to the infirmary, and shut it just as quietly behind herself. It had been a long day, and this was the first chance she had gotten to see Severus. As it was, she was already dressed for bed in a long red nightgown and matching robe.

She went straight for Severus' side, and took up his hand.

"Your students are horrible," Hermione said to the sleeping form of Severus. "Of course, you know that by now." With her free hand, she rubbed the stress spot right in the middle of her forehead. "I had thought things were going well, until your Slytherins decided to take it upon themselves and began pulling pranks in class. Needless to say I had to have Minerva change my hair back to its proper color after Mr. Able thought it would look better black." Hermione touched a strand of her hair. "They thought since I was acting like you, that I should look a little more like you."

Hermione ran her hand along Severus'. She knew she could sit like this for hours.

"I think this is the longest I have ever talked with you. Does it count that you're not talking back?" She watched his chest rise and fall, and there was no response. "I don't suppose it does. Perhaps when you're out of here I can tell you personally why there are so many points missing from your House."

She rose from the side of his bed and took up her position in the chair next to it instead.

"Any time you decide to wake up, I'll be right here." Hermione said, wrapping her feet underneath of herself. She settled in to watch Severus sleep.


E/N: I made up the student's names from Slytherin House. Can anyone guess where I got the names, Seth, Able and Robinson from? No, it's not biblical in any way shape or form. Perhaps a Red Dragon will make an appearance in latter chapters:-)