Author's Notes: Hello! I recently was encouraged to get back to work on my other fanfiction piece posted here, but I needed to practice writing something else before I could get back to it. I'm going to revamp it to try to fill the plot holes, but I'm quite busy with off and on-line responsibilities at the moment. As for this story, I originally wanted this to be simply a ficlet, but I think it actually will develop into a complete story. If you decide to review, please be gentle. I have not written a story for a long time and I'm sure I'm very rusty. Thanks and enjoy, but be aware that I will probably be editing this first chapter while I work out the outline of my story. This story is going to be AU while sticking as many canon details into the story as possible. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The characters, settings and the like in this fiction piece do not belong to me, nor am I making any money off of it. I have simply borrowed from Ms. Rowling's world for the time being.

"Something to Remind Her"
Written: November 12, 2004
Updated: June 19, 2005

The Prologue

She could feel his eyes fixed upon her. She felt his pointed gaze sear her the tender flesh on the back of her neck and the unsettling burning sensation that accompanied the heated glances. "Gods," she said, emitting a barely audible sigh, massaging her neck the sensitive area with her free hand. Again? She cringed inwardly. This was not the first time she had been aware of the way his onyx eyes scanned her person, however, this was becoming far too frequent an event for her to continue to ignore. After all, his dominant, threatening demeanor would not allow anyone to ignore him for long.

Daring a glance at the Head Table, her eyes narrowed and zeroed in on her professor's. She then made her message so crystal clear that it was impossible for him to misinterpret, even without using his skills as a legilimens. Bugger off, Professor! What have you been on about lately? He responded to her inquiry by simply raising an eyebrow and glaring at her as if he did not have the slightest clue of what she meant. Oh you know what I mean! She shot him a frustrated, challenging look and quickly turned back to her chatting friends. No point in having Harry or Ron catch our 'affectionate' exchanges, she mused, letting a short giggle escape her lips. What does HE want with me anyway? The mysterious ever-brooding man seated at the front of the room with the rest of her teachers clearly wanted her -- NO! He probably wants something from me, she reasoned. But what exactly does he want from me? I'm just one of Harry's sidekicks. The Gryffindor know-it-all. I've heard it all, Professor.

Professor Severus Snape had been acting strangely unprofessional and Hermione was admittedly a bit thrown off by his glances. It had started about two weeks ago and seemed to have come out of nowhere. She'd at first pretend not to notice him, which was an relatively easy feat in the Great Hall. She would simply make a point to sit with her back to the middle of the room at meals and engage herself in a book or in a conversation with Ginny, Ron, or Harry who always sat nearby. Predictably, double potions was much harder to get through. Every usable table in the room was facing her Professor's desk and there was no way to avoid seeing the look of want and...was that...longing? written across his face. Hermione Jane Granger intuitively knew that look was reserved for only her though she was quick to deny it whenever those thoughts would cross her mind.Being the carefully guarded man he was, Severus Snape would only throw impassioned looks her way when he was absolutely sure every one of his students save for Hermione were engrossed in their assignment. Professor Snape? Staring at me? Not a chance. He's probably waiting for a chance to catch me off guard. Then he'll attempt to embarrass me as usual. I know your tricks, Professor. They're getting quite old. She could deny it all she wanted to, but it was true. There were moments when he gave her his undivided attention but not in the usual way. The thing was, Hermione had not decided whether the heated glances he sent her way were welcome or bothersome, nor had she figured out why he had become fixated on her to begin with. What bothered her for sure was her inability to solve this 'problem.' As you know, Hermione lives to solve problems. She snorted, It's not as if I could go up to him and say, "Hey Professor Snape, would you mind telling me why you keep staring at me? Do you find me attractive or something?" Hah. I'd be in for it then. There will be months of detentions and I'll be stuck cleaning cauldrons by hand until the end of my days, or his...

After dinner that evening, instead of immediately retreating to the library or her room in the Head Suite of Gryffindor Tower, (where she could usually be found) she left her friends and took a stroll to clear her head. An endless amount of thoughts raced through her mind as she stepped out onto Hogwarts' front lawn, but none were in the slightest bit useful to the matter at hand. Professor Snape's behavior was really getting to her. She felt almost...suffocated. Two more weeks. Two more weeks. Oh, wait. No, you're forgetting your summer apprenticeship. Ah, bugger me! Since she would be spending the entire summer at Hogwarts to begin a full-time apprenticeship, there would be no avoiding the dreaded Potions Master. She might even have to sit next to him at meals. Hermione again inwardly cringed at that thought, yet she almost smiled at the same time. I'm going to go mad... She passed a few rosebushes and saw the lake in the distance. Grinning, she gave a little wave to the giant squid who was practicing his backstroke.

Pausing on her journey through the dimly lit grounds, she suddenly felt something pull her focus down to her feet. A soft mew gave her familiar away. "Crooks!" She exclaimed, both happy and surprised to see her half-kneazle out of the Head Suite. "What are you doing out here? Off to play with Mrs. Norris again?" She smirked and bent down to stroke his ginger-colored fur. Crookshanks purred silkily in response. When he lifted his paw to rub it against her knee, a glittering metal band barely sticking out of the ground caught Hermione's eye. "Wow. I wonder who dropped this?" She tenderly picked it up and pulled her wand from her sleeve. "A simple cleansing spell should do it and then..." She paused to cast the spell as well as a drying spell so she would not have to wipe the ring on her skirt. "There. Good as new."

Of course, admiring the ring wasn't enough for Hermione, being the overly curious young woman she was, she had to try it on -- that is, once she was satisfied that it was in wearable condition. Hermione was a perfectionist if nothing else. To her amazement, the ring slid perfectly on to her ring finger. It actually kind of hugged it, giving her a strange feeling of comfort and an eerie feeling of deja vu.Had she worn it before? I bloody well don't remember losing a ring...and certainly not one so exquisite as this. I should turn it in to Professor McGonagall. Someone might be missing it. She reveled in the soothing sensation she had felt earlier but unfortunately, it was not meant to last. After the first few seconds of standing around marveling at the beauty of the silver band -- as well as the intricately attached rubies and emeralds adorning it -- a rush of cold air hit her hard and knocked onto the grass. "What the...?" She muttered, rubbing her now throbbing head while Crookshanks let out a concerned "Meow!" "Crooks, I'm okay...just...sore..." she said breathlessly -- and then all went black. It's a good thing she didn't think to check the inside of the band. She would have been in for a real shock.

While Hermione was lying there quite unconscious and helpless at the side of the lake, a scene with the quality of an overused Muggle video cassette recording played out against the darkness of her eyelids...

"I have to go," Hermione heard her voice resignedly call out into the dark hallway adjacent to the hospital wing. "I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to see me leave."

When a desperate unknown masculine reply reached her ears, it saddened her to no end. It sounded almost like this mysterious man was begging -- no, more like pleading! "Stay here with me! Christine, I love you."

"I love you too. I always will." Hermione said softly, barely whispering. For a moment, she hesitated, wanting to stay more than anything in the world. When she heard heavy footsteps running towards her, she regained her bearing. "Home," she said resolutely, summing up all of her strength, "I have to go home."

A/N: A special thanks to Nicole's marvelously written Phantom of Hogwarts (found on Ashwinder) for getting me obsessed with The Phantom of the Opera. This is where I borrowed the name "Christine" from.