A/N: Chapter two! Hoozah. Thank you to everyone who alerted/favorited/reviewed. It means quite a bit! Anywhoo, on with the next chapter.

Battle Lost

Of all of the students to come back to Hogwarts, it had to be that bloody frizzball. Of course. Was he not already suffering enough? Now he had to put up with Gryffindor Granger, girl who had an insatiable need to be correct all of the time. Gryffindor pride at its finest. Muttering to himself, Snape entered his brewing lab, staring at the potion simmering before him. With more force than necessary, he threw a chunk of salamander into the bubbling liquid, cursing as some spilled onto the table and left a scorch mark.

He would just have to ignore her. Nothing new there. And if she dared to approach him, he would just flash his cold onyx eyes and belittle her until she turned away. Just because he was on the Light side didn't mean he didn't derive some perverse sort of satisfaction from watching others squirm. Especially when it was he that they squirmed under.

After stirring the draught, he placed a cauldron top over the potion and exited, mind racing. There was no way that Granger would work on the Room of Requirement with him. No. Way. That was his project, and his project alone. He wasn't going to allow a meddling Gryffindor, of all people, work alongside him. McGonagall wouldn't allow it, would she? Severus groaned. Of course she would. She would be all for the two of them teaming up and working together.

He couldn't allow it.

He wouldn't.

Hermione surveyed the damage around her. She had yet to go to the higher levels of the castle, but what she had seen already was disconcerting. There were many staircases out of use, and shreds of paintings clinging to the wall. Classroom after classroom was torn apart in various states of disrepair. As they made their way to the Room of Requirement, she trailed a finger alone the crumbling handrail; there were divots and grooves from where chunks had been blasted away.

She stopped dead as they came to rest by the tapestry of trolls. This was by far the worst damage she had seen. A gaping hole stood where the door once hid. Inside was a mess; it was as if it were trapped between the various needs that it had been used for. There was the mirror, the hidden door which they had used to get from the Hog's Head to the castle. Further down rested a pile of chamber pots, nearly hidden by the towers of discarded items. With a pang, she spotted the whistle that Harry had used during the DA meetings resting in a pile of ashes.

"Devastating, isn't it?" the headmistress whispered. The young witch merely nodded. "We have no clue which spells were used, but whatever they were, the damage, as of yet, has proven to be irreversible."

"When may I begin working on it?" Hermione asked, staring around. She knew that this was the room she wanted to repair. Too much had happened here to not want to fix it up.

"Well..Professor Snape has been looking into the damages," McGonagall said. "If you would like, I will schedule a meeting for the two of you to get together and talk it out."

"Oh..alright," she said. Professor Snape? He's never liked me…why does she think he will start now? "Well, if you do not mind, professor, I think I'll head off to bed..I'm rather tired."

"Oh, yes, of course! You'll be staying above the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. Professor Flitwick has done much to restore it to its previous standing."

"Thank you, professor," Hermione said, casting a levitation spell over her luggage. After a moment, she hugged the wizened woman. "It's good to be back," she said. "Good night."

She awoke to the sound of an owl tapping on her window. Mumbling to herself, she rolled out of her bed and onto the ground, slow to pick herself up into a standing position. Mornings had become difficult for her. Shuffling over the window, she brought the owl in and pull the scroll from his leg. Before she could reward it, it took off again. Yawning, she opened the paper.

"Miss Granger,

Professor Snape, though begrudgingly, has agreed to a meeting at noon today. If this works for you, please come by my office. The password is, 'phoenix.'

Cordially,

Professor McGonagall, Headmistress."

With a sigh, she set the note down. This was going to be a real barrel of laughs, she could already tell. Kicking off her slippers, she headed to her closet. It wouldn't do well to be late to this meeting. She needed every chance she could get to prove to Professor Snape that she wasn't just a child anymore.

"Severus,

I would like to have a word with you at noon. Please come to my office, and do not be late.

Minerva."

Gritting his teeth, he cast the note into the fire. No doubt, he would be meeting up with Granger today. Excellent, because there was nothing more he wanted to do than to spend his afternoon with the Gryffindor Princess and the headmistress. Muttering to himself, he pulled on his cloak and headed to his classroom. Double potions with first years. How exciting.

"Wand away before I confiscate it, Miss Hartley," he drawled as he entered. "LaBianca, if I ever see you do something so vulgar again, I will personally ensure your expulsion from this class." Striding to the front of the room, he turned and faced the class. They all squirmed and avoided eye contact with him. Good. That would make his job easier. "The instructions are on the board," he said, lazily flicking his wand. "Get to work. I want a full flask from each of you before the end of class.

Seating himself behind his desk, he set to work correcting the last of the essays. Ridiculous. No one knew how to write a good essay these days. The last good essay he had seen was from his potions class two years ago. It was becoming a dying art.

By the end of class, he had a pile of D's, a smaller pile of A's, and only one E. Atrocious. Add the cherry on top of a perfect day, he had to go meet with Granger and the headmistress. Chair scraping as he stood, he tightened his cloak and exited. He would get this over with as fast as he could, and he would come out on top.

"Headmistress," he said as he entered. "Miss Granger," he added, teeth gritted. Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"Hello, professor," she said in a slightly tense voice. She refused to let him make this difficult for her. He could scowl all he wanted, but she would do nothing but shower him in positive thoughts. She suppressed a smirk and turned to face Professor McGonagall.

"Miss Granger believe she may be of assistance in helping restore the Room of Requirement, Severus, and I have seen fit to assign her to help you." She spoke in a no-nonsense voice.

Dammit all, Snape thought, I lost this battle before it even began! Giving a curt nod, he looked at the girl sitting before him. "I work at night, eight until whenever I see fit. Come at eight, and not one minute after." Before anything else could be said, he strode from the room, muttering bitterly to himself the whole way.

"Well..he took it better than I expected him to," McGonagall said. She wore no expression, but Hermione could have sworn she was repressing a laugh.

A/N: Well? Thanks to everyone who favorited/reviewed. I know I said it before, but I would like to say it again. Thanks! Review, please! It's what keeps me going.