Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Potterverse, or anything that J. K. Rowling does. I do, however, own the plot... which means no stealing. However, if for some reason you would like to use parts of it, just ask.

Warning One: You will soon notice that this story is not canon. That obviously means the characters are going to be undoubtedly OOC at times, and that not everything in the books happens or has already happened in this story. Keeping that in mind, and also that this is in the Romance/Drama category (you can't take everything seriously, now can you?), don't complain about the things I just mentioned. If you're looking for strict canon, I suggest you look elsewhere and not waste your time going any further.

Warning Two: In this story, the main characters take their own side and refuse to align themselves with either the "Light" or the "Dark". I will say upfront that there will be some Dumbledore bashing, and Ron will pretty much be a foul idiot, so if either of those offend you I suggest the same thing I did in the first warning: don't waste your time reading and getting upset.

Even though there is humor and lightheartedness in this story, it will also have its own touch of darkness.

In other words, read at your own risk :)

A/N: As of 29 October 2010, this chapter has been rewritten and reposted.

Chapter One

The Beginnings Of The Web

"W-what?" The amber-eyed girl blinked, obviously confused and fairly certain that her hearing ability had temporarily deserted her.

There was no way this was happening.

She stood with her mouth agape, wearing an expression not unlike that of someone who had just been stupefied. She was rarely dumbfounded like this, and when she was Hermione felt it was rather unbecoming. She realized this and snapped her mouth shut, but not before the dark-haired man sitting across from her had a chance to smirk.

"You heard me, Miss Granger," his oily voice said (though it was dripping with more contempt than grease).

He had kept the foolish girl after class under the pretext of assigning her detention, presumably for letting Mr. Weasley copy off of her Potions test in class. Even though both of the classroom's occupants knew that the bookworm had done no such thing, it hadn't stopped the professor from berating her (and therefore utterly humiliating her) in front of his classmates. In reality, he was under the dear old Headmaster's rather sudden orders (which Professor Snape thought were beyond ridiculous and completely unnecessary) to inform the unfortunate student that she would no longer be allowed to reside in her private quarters.

By the looks of it, the girl was not taking the news well... or at least comprehending it, as evidenced by the shock plastered all over her face.

The older man sighed and addressed the seventh-year Gryffindor again, beyond irritated that he needed to repeat himself but trying to keep his temper under control. It would not do to scare the girl off before he could complete his task. "You are to fetch Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter. You will all pack your belongings. Then the three of you- together- will report to my office. Have I made myself clear?"

Hermione blinked, still dazed, and Snape cursed angrily under his breath. "I will not allow you to force me to repeat myself yet another time," he spat. "It's not my fault you are incredibly thick-headed. Maybe that infernal hair of yours is getting in the way."

Hermione looked up at the pallid man, snapping out of her momentary lapse in thinking. "Professor Snape, this is absolutely ridiculous! Have you gone mad?" she demanded, absently reaching up to push a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "And I resent the comment you made about my hair, if you must know. I am not daft, and there is certainly nothing wrong with it."

"My apologies, Miss Granger," he sighed irritably. It was more than obvious that his tone was far from sincere, and it was rather disheartening. Everyone knew the great bat of the dungeons would never actually apologize to somebody.

Hermione bowed her head in shame as she felt the familiar pull of self-consciousness, and all of her previous anger seemed to vanish.

Seeing that his words failed to incense the poor girl any further, Snape tried a different approach. He was not going to let this silly girl get the best of him, especially when he had the opportunity to play with her emotions. "I must say, however," he began, smirking, "that I had expected an insufferable know-it-all such as yourself to have the basic ability to comprehend even the simplest of orders, but clearly," he paused for effect and continued, "I was mistaken."

Hermione looked up once again with a newfound fire in her eyes. She had known the professor had been taunting her just to get a reaction, but this was just too much. She was no idiot, and with the news she had just received, she was in no mood to simply sit there in silence any longer.

"I will not stand for this, Professor!" she shouted, her voice raising in volume with each word. "You can't just force me out of my rooms! Where am I supposed to go? I just got here and haven't even had time to do anything wrong! Not that I would, of course," she added, eyes glittering with rage. "Unless you think you're- no you wouldn't dare expel me, sir. I mean, I can understand getting rid of Malfoy because he's just a git, but Harry hasn't done anything wrong either. You can't just... expel us!"

"Are you quite done?"

"You can't get away with this! I'll just go see what the Headmaster has to say about this. Wait until he hears what you've done now!"

"Miss Granger, I can assure you that I do not particularly enjoy keeping you here any more than you enjoy being here, but I never said I was expelling you, your bratty little hero friend, or young Mister Malfoy. You are simply being reassigned, you foolish girl, as are they. I would greatly appreciate it if you ceased running your mouth because frankly, I don't have the patience or the willpower to listen to your petty ramblings. I have more than graciously allowed you to speak without interrupting, but I will tolerate your nonsense no longer. Now, it is imperative that you cooperate so that-"

"Cooperate? COOPERATE? You expect me to-"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor," Snape said silkily, interrupting her yet again, "for your cheek. And ten more for interrupting a professor during an important discussion."

Hermione began to protest at this latest injustice, but she was soon silenced by an impatient hand wave. If she had been angry earlier, she was certainly furious now, and her usually dormant and restrained Gryffindor temper was getting the best of her. First, she was unjustly kept after class and threatened with a detention. Then she was personally affronted with, in her opinion, an inappropriate insult about both her hair and her intelligence. She was also led to believe, apparently incorrectly, that she was going to be expelled along with her best friend and another classmate. And now she was losing the private room she had just moved into, which she believed was well-earned.

Hermione, anger settling down to a simmer at the embarrassing deduction, looked down at her shoes as the professor continued. "If you must know," he drawled, "it was the Headmaster himself who asked for- or forced, rather- this to happen. I will give you the details of your new assignment when you return with your classmates so I don't have to repeat myself a third time."

Once again Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but she bit back her angry retort upon receiving a murderous glare that left little room for argument. It took all of her self-restraint to remain silent, but she knew this man's temper, and if holding her tongue for now may give her a chance at fighting back later, she would take it.

"Very well," she said, gritting her teeth.

"If you are finally done being a pain, I do believe you have a task to complete. Now go, before I am forced to subtract even more points from your miserable House total."

"But-"

"Go!"

Severus Snape smirked in amusement as he watched the girl spin on her heel and practically bolt out of the classroom in fear.

This year is sure going to be interesting, he thought.

. : . : . : .

Coming up: Hermione visits her soon-to-be former room and has an unexpected discussion.

Thank you for reading. Reviews are greatly appreciated.

-=Nix=-