First Chapter: A new year

It was in the middle of the night when Severus Snape was awoken from one of his nightmares. As always a redhead woman was killed and her horrible scream let his blood run cold each time. Tired he wiped the sleep out of his eyes and got up. Although it was already dark outside he scuffed his feet towards the fireplace. With a little spell the pieces of wood began to burn. He sat down next to the fire and warmed his cold fingers. Frustrated he remembered that the new school year would started in the morning. He hated the noise of the new children which come to Hogwarts every year to become tolerable wizards and witches. In his opinion most of them were a lost cause. He took a look at the big long case clock which stand next to the fireplace and decided to try to fall asleep again.

Humming Hermione was packing her school books into her bag. She was looking forward to meeting her friends, Ron and Harry again. Furthermore she missed her second home Hogwarts a lot. She couldn't wait to search in the library for some good books, to go with Ron and Harry to Hogsmead or to visit Hagrid. "Hermione, come downstairs, we want to go!", she heart her mother calling. Elated she grabbed for her baggage and went downstairs. While her father was loading her things in the boot, she looked for Crookshanks. He was lying on the window board of the kitchen and spat at her, when she tried to catch him. "Come on, Crookshanks! We're going to Hogwarts !", she told him amusing. Finally everything and everyone was in the car and her father started the engine. During the drive Hermione read in her potion book. Although nasty Professor Snape was teaching this class, she liked potion a lot. She was always be fascinated by this subject. Being lost in thought she didn't notice that they arrived at the station. "Hermione are you dreaming?", her father shook her up . In response she jumped out of the car leaving her head shaking dad. The reasons for her abrupt leaving were two boys which were standing next to the entry. After hugging each boy wild she began to ask them about their holidays. Laughing and chatting they cleaved through the Hogwarts Express having their parents in tow. Before she got inside the train she gave her parents a kiss on their forehead. Luckily they got a empty cabin and sat down. "I hope the feast is as good as each year !", Ron said and looked at the lunch packet his mother gave him. "When does she realise that I don't like lamb pies ?", he asked unhappy. "You can have my ham sandwich!", Hermione said well and began to forage in her bag. "Who do you think will become the defends against the dark arts teacher this year?" , Harry suddenly asked. Hermione stopped, much to the dissatisfaction of Ron, and looked at Harry helpless. "I don't know, but we could only hope it isn't a blithering idiot like Professor Lockhart!" she said and stood up. "Sorry Harry, but Ron and I have to go to the prefect cabin now", she apologized and left with a nerved Ron.

The great hall was full of good – humored pupil – a horror for Snape. Not only that he had to sit next to the new defends against the dark arts teacher , who wasn't him, but also set out to a rabble for hours. During the ceremony he let his eyes wander across the crowd. His eyes came to rest upon the human, who he hated most - Harry Potter. He couldn't imagine how Dumbledore could like that boy. If it had his way Potter would have been expelled from school long ago. "What a pity that it wasn't up to him...", he thought. But not only Potter was a fool, his friend Weasley was a lost cause as well. And Miss Granger,he looked at the girl closely, might be bright, but her smart- alec character turned her into a neg. And in his opinion this was as bad as a fool. He was so engrossed in his thought that he didn't hear someone called for him. He just wanted to go on letting his eyes wander, when suddenly the Granger- girl was looking at him. It wasn't a causal look, it was a look as if she knew that he was looking at her and what he thought. He shivered – only Dumbledore was able to let him feel like this, when his light blue eyes met his one. "Severus, would you please listen!", a voice shouted at him. Appalled he started up looking for the owner of the voice. Dumbledore smiled at him. "You didn't sleep well this night, did you?", he asked and for a second his eyes became pitying as if he knew what he was going through each night. Filled with bitterness he mumbled: "Not really". Dumbledore was so nice going not into details and asked instead: "You will come to the conference, won't you?".

In front of their noses appeared dozen of nice food after Dumbledore had finished his little speech and had clapped into his hands. Hermione noticed how Ron's cheerless face turned into a bright smile and can't prevent laughing. "Who are you laughing at?", he asked her with full mouth. "At nobody", she said hasty, "I'm just happy to be here!". Ron shacked his head and mumbled: "Girls!", before he applied himself to his meal.

While Hermione was talking to Ginny who was sitting in front of her, she suddenly felt as somebody was watching her. When she turned her head round, she noticed Professor Snape who was seeing in her direction. His eyes were full of hate and she had the feeling as if he wasn't thinking nice about her. At once he winced and turned his head. Lost in thought she starred at her plate. "Hermione, are you listening?", Ginny asked her annoyed. "Oh, yes..., you...", she stuttered and looked at Ginny helpless. " Forget about it!", her friend excused. Relieved Hermione sighed and came back to their talk.

Second Chapter: The potion class

Tired Hermione opened her eyes and got up. But after a shower she felt refreshed and ready for the day. In her new school uniform and with her bag she went to the Great Hall where Harry and Ron were already staying. "Are you ready for two lessons Potion?", Harry asked her unenthusiastic. "Whether you believe me or not I look forward to having potion!", she said. "How could you say that ? Have you forgotten who teaches it ?", Harry said with a strange view and Ron looked as if she went mad. "Certainly I know! I just ask myself what we will do this year!", Hermione answered back. " And I was even worried about you !", Harry shouted relieved and continued eating. She rolled her eyes: "Don't be stupid!".

After they finished breakfast – that means Hermione and Harry did, Ron was still eating a sausage – they set out for the dungeons. In front of Snape's classroom they met Draco. "Were your holidays nice, Potter?", he shouted at them. "Did you blow your aunt again?", he laugh dirty. "Shut your stupid mouth, Draco!", Ron screamed at him. "Leave him alone!", Hermione held him back who was seeing Snape approaching. Still laughing Draco was following Snape into the class room the rest of the class in tow. While the Slytherins chose the places in front of the class, the gryffindors tried to catch the last benches. "Today I want you to brow the good – temper potion! When you turn to page 122 you will find the instructions!", Snape assigned them to do. Conscientiously Hermione opened her book, although she already knew the prescription and brought the pieces of wood under her cauldron to burn. After that she went to the pantry to get the ingredients for her potion. The content in her cauldron was bubbling in the right colour , when she looked up from her work. Ron and Harry were grappling with their potions which turned in a dangerous red. Suddenly she heart Neville swearing quietly. She turned round and realised in a second that the class would exploded when she didn't do anything. Hasty she thought about what she could do. Her eyes wandered to Professor Snape who was involved with another spoiled potion, when there came a idea to her mind. "It could be work!", she whispered and ran to the pantry. Luckily she found what she was searching for directly - dragon scales would make the potion safe. In the last minute she through them into Neville' s cauldron and breathed a sigh of relief. But her action wasn't without any consequences. Snape had seen how she had put something in Neville's potion and came to hear with threatening glisting eyes. "What did you do, Miss Granger?", he hissed. "I just..", she started stuttering. But Snape interrupted her: "I tell you what you do! You manipulated the potion of your classmate to distract me form your one ! 15 points from gryffindor for this attempt of deception ! ". Hermione looked outraged: "How could you say that? It's not my fault when you didn't notice that behind you a cauldron will blow up immediately! I just prevent the worst !". "That's enough! Detention, Miss Granger !", Snape yelled at her and stamped to his desk angrily . Appalled and ashamed at the same time she looked at her hands. "What's gotten into me?", she asked herself. "That was brilliant, Hermione!", Ron said and gave her a pat on the back. "No, it wasn't!" she nagged. "She is right, Snape's detentions are horror!" , Harry agreed with her.

After lesson Hermione went with a heavy heart to Professor Snape, who was sitting at his desk. When she arrived, he just said three words: "Detention after dinner!".

When he entered the room, he was virtually certain that this lesson would be a disaster. How could it be different ? Potter was sitting in his class and good – for nothing Longbottom. But at first to his surprise everything was okay. Nobody was asking him silly questions and know – all Granger was even silent at the moment. However, he was pleased too quickly. From Crabbe's cauldron dark drift smoke was rising. Irritated he got up to help him. Cursing he viewed at the potion and told Crabbe charged: "If you weren't in my house, I would take 50 house – points!. Then he put some unicorn hairs into the cauldron to make the potion useless. When he turned round he just see in time that the Granger – girl was putting something into Longbottom's potion. "How dare she was to help this idiot ?", he thought. "Just wait", he whispered sarcastically and came up to his victim. But his manoeuvre was a complete flop. He couldn't believe how she could tell him that it was his fault ! "But she would repented it ! ", he laughed inside.

Chapter 3 : Detention

Half-heartedly Hermione was picking at her food. The upcoming hour of detention were like a heavy stone in her stomach. Ron and Harry didn't look very encouraging as well. She trembled when she remembered how Snape looked at her when she shouted at him. "What the hell came over her? She had to apologized !", it crossed her mind. Sighing she laid her fork down and stood up. Ron looked at her appalled: " You haven't eaten anything!". "I'm not hungry", she answered sarcastically. "I'm going now..", she added and her friends threw pitiful looks at her, while she left.

Hermione was alone in the dungeons. She saw Snape nowhere, but when she pressed the handle, the door of his office opened. Hesitantly she entered the room and closed the door behind her which was creaking quietly – still not a bit of the Professor. Slowly she approached to the desk. But after a view steps she stopped. That was the first time she had entered Snape's office. Although Harry who spent a lot of time here told her that there were glasses and bottles full of ingredients for potions, she was stunned. She couldn't take her eyes from this view. Circumspectly she came closer to the receptacles in the shelves. She reached out for one of them, when suddenly Snape came into the room. At first he stood rooted to the ground but then his black eyes began to glisten. Instinctively she put her hand down and shied at the shelves. "The way I see it, you have fun anger me", he whispered menacing. "No, Sir... ", Hermione said, "I want to apologize! What I told you was stupid!". "Indeed", Snape agreed, "and because of that, I have a nice punishment for you!". He took of his wand and trained it on the desk. Two little bottles were detaching themselves from the desk top and flew into the hands of the Professor. One look and she knew what in the bottles were – Ron and Harry's good- temper - potion. Or better said – their trying. The red colour and the plumb consistency wasn't typical for this potion. She didn't want to know what would happened when someone tried to drink it. But to her horror Snape aimed at doing this. Smirking he said: "How I see you just know what that is, don't you?". Hermione nodded slowly. "I'd like you to drink it!", he said triumphantly. "But Sir..", she tried to protest. "Drink it!", Snape commanded. She looked into his black eyes, when she reached for one of the bottles – a killing glance. She cringed: "Didn't he have any feelings?".

At first a pleasant feeling spread in her body, but then the good feeling disappeared and she became cold inside. Seeking help she looked at Snape before she blacked out.

At the first moment he was paralysed. Then he picked up courage and knelled down to the senseless Hermione. He felt her pulse and decided to use cocker - potion to revive her. Snape swayed his wand and a few minutes later the desired potion appeared. Slowly he brought the bottle to her lips and filled some of the content into her mouth.

She began to cough and opened her eyes. Warily she tried to stand up. "How are you?", he asked her and to her surprise she heard some kind of solicitude in his voice. "I'm okay!", she informed him and looked at the broken bottle in which was one of the boys potion. "I think Harry or Ron did some weak kind of the living death. I could remember Harry put some dragon blood into his cauldron," she said thoughtful. Confused Snape looked at her. "She just escaped being killed and she think of nothing else than of how her stupid friends managed it to brow such a potion", he thought. "You can go now", he told her and the breath of a smile came up to his face.

In reality Hermione was anything but brave. What she told him was not more than what you would say when you were shocked. Only now being outside of the office she began to realise what she was escaped from and some tears ran down her face. At first she thought of telling Dumbledore and her friends about what Snape did to her, but then she remembered how he looked at her and she changed her mind. It was better to tell nobody about it.

But of course Ron and Harry weren't blind and asked her what happened. "He let me clean every bed-pan he could find," she answered. "This sod!", Ron and Harry shouted at the same time. "I'm tired..", Hermione answered evasively and went upstairs. "Good night!", the boys shouted behind her irritated.

Relieved she closed the bathroom's door and sat down on the bathtub's brink. "What a day," she thought and a bitter laugh slipped out of her mouth. Then she stood up to undress. The hot water huddled gently against her body, when she got inside of the tub and for a moment everything what happened this day was forgotten.