"Miss Granger."
I looked up, startled by the sudden voice in my ear. I stiffened, realizing that none other than Severus Snape stood behind me.
"Yes, Professor?" I replied courteously, trying to repress the venom that seeped into my words.
Snape shifted in front of me, examining my potion. His head bowed in concentration, greasy hair falling into his face.
I clenched my jaw as the repulsion and hate threatened to overwhelm me. How dare he stand here, bullying students, as Dumbledore lay rotting due to the spell he cast?
"How many eel eyes did you add?" he whispered in a deadly soft voice. Half the class turned and glanced at me.
"Three, sir," I whispered, looking down.
"And how many are required?"
I bit my lip, determined to hold my head up. "Two, sir."
Snape swept behind me, evaporating the contents of my cauldron. "You will stay behind and make a new one or receive a zero."
"But sir, that'll take hours!" I gasped, stomach already protesting the idea of skipping dinner.
"Would you like a zero, Granger?" Snape drawled lazily, moving to the front of the room.
Say yes, the rebellious voice inside me pleaded. "No, sir," I sighed, cleaning off my table with the flick of my wand.
…...
I shot Snape an icy glare. His hooked nose bent over the paper he was grading, oily hair hanging limply around his sallow face.
Murderer, my subconscious hissed at him. His eyes flickered up, whether sensing my gaze or my thought, I didn't know.
"Yes?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Nothing, sir," I spat. He should crawl back to his Death Eater friends and-
In an instant, he was bending over my table, eyes flashing.
"I'm sorry, Granger, but seeing as I am the Professor and you are an insolent little child, I must request that you think carefully before you talk about things you don't know," he said, not sounding the least bit sorry.
"I didn't say anything, sir," I replied innocently, stabbing at my poor horned toad. My eyes slid up and met his- a choice I soon regretted.
Snape wordlessly slipped into my mind, memories at his mercy.
" 'I welcome the opportunity to uphold out finest Wizarding traditions and values-' Like committing murder and cutting off people's eat, I suppose! Snape, headmaster! Snape in Dumbledore's study- Merlin's pants!"
I leapt up and dashed up the stairs, ears pounding with my rage…
"Stop it!" I shrieked, scooting my stool back as far as it would go.
Snape's sneer became more pronounced. "Not a word, eh? I bet you had a heyday when you found out that the Ministry decided to keep me Potions Master, didn't you?"
I gulped. "You can't just-"
"Watch me," he snarled, delving once more into my memories.
I smiled as Viktor twirled me around, as gracefully as a ballerina. His large, warm hands held my waist firmly.
"I'm really glad you decided to come vith me," he smirked, lips raising as couples spun and danced around us.
"Thank you for inviting me," I replied shyly, knowing full well that most girls would trade their wands to be in my high heeled shoes.
Even before he licked his lips and leaned in, I could feel our kiss coming…
Our lips brushed, then met. He kissed me passionately, but I half-heartedly- it lacked something; the electricity I'd come to associate with kissing.
…...
"Where do we go, then?" Ron asked, breaking the smothering silence.
Harry ran a hand through his already tousled hair. "I dunno! I dunno, Ron. I don't know the first thing about where to start."
"Maybe we should start at places that meant something to him," I suggested. "Like Little Whinging, his Orphanage, or- Merlin's beard!"
"What?" the boys pressed eagerly.
"I know the most important place to Voldemort. Somewhere that he could easily hide one… and I know just how to look for it."
Snape pulled back.
"What was that?" he asked lowly, sneer and cockiness leaving his face. He now looked pale and… scared?
I licked my parched lips, mind racing to think of an excuse. "I… don't know, sir."
Snape let out an incredulous snort, sweeping back to his desk. He looked up and met my eyes, and I flinched, expecting him to break into my mind again.
Very seriously, he warned me, "If you are keeping secrets from me, I must warn you that I will find out. You are dismissed, Miss Granger."