Chapter 2

A/N Sorry for the slow update. School started, and I just started high school, so very hectic and everything, so thank you for waiting. Thanks to Patcheye for corrections! And thanks for the reviews!

I will never in my life marry Snape, Hermione thought.

Quietly she mumbled, "Yes."

No! she thought. Why did I say that?

"What was that, Miss Granger? I couldn't hear you," said Snape. He had actually heard her the first time, but for some reason he wanted to hear it from her again.

"I said yes," she repeated clearly. "I mean—no. Wait, I mean yes. I mean no, yes, no, yes, no, I DON"T KNOW!!!!!! Would you two please stop staring at me? It's making me fucking nervous! Look, you can't expect me to choose my life's entire course in three hours. I can't—I won't do it!"

Hermione sank deeper into her chair. Too late, she became aware of what she had just said to her professors.

Snape gaped at Hermione. Did Miss Granger really just use the f-word, he wondered, or am I hearing things?

Hermione looked up into Snape's eyes and saw that she had surprised him. Still feeling not quite herself, she said sarcastically, "What, you've never heard a girl say the word 'fucking'?"

Snape's bewildered expression reverted back to its usual sneer. "Miss Granger, you are not to address a professor in that manner. Fifty points from Gryffindor for your poor use of the English language."

"You can't take points from me! That's not fair!" Hermione replied, "I was just told that I was to marry the likes of you, and that is hard for me to grasp. And before you say any smart arse comment, I'll tell you—yes, there are things in life that even a person like me can't fully grasp. You should know all too well. After all, you can't seem to grasp that people have feelings, and that the words you say greatly affect others!"

With those final words, Hermione bolted out of Dumbledore's office. She wasn't going to wait around for Snape to recover from her latest blow to his overgrown ego.

She ran down the stairs, and out the front doors toward the pond.

Since Voldemort's death during the final battle, most of his Death Eaters had been either imprisoned or killed. Harry was always busy these days trying to fight off masses of screaming girls. The rest of his time he spent with Ginny, and Ron… well, Ron had died in the final battle too.

Hermione's relationship with him had finally begin to progress before the battle. In fact, they had finally reached third base… and then… It was too painful to remember. Every time she thought about it she burst into tears. How dare him! How dare him!

He had known he would die. Yet he wouldn't let her save him. He had put her in a body binding spell. He didn't want her protecting him and getting killed in the process. She had begged and pleaded, but he wouldn't budge. She tried every spell she could think of to get out of it, but he and Harry had been taking lessons with Lupin, and he had gotten much better in DADA.

Sometimes Hermione came to the pond just to sit and think. She had forgotten about the library. She didn't like going there anymore. It was the last place she and Ron had made love. That had been the last time he had made her feel on top of the world. He always had made her feel special. Ron had a talent for making her feel things that most people rarely felt—that was what she had loved about him. He was funny at times, and could actually be smart—although he never applied himself when it came to school work—and he had made her feel special.

Stop thinking about him, Hermione thought to herself. It will only make you feel worse, and it won't help this situation.

I miss Ron. If he were here, I wouldn't have to worry about marrying Professor Snape—Severus—

The sound of his name in her head made her suddenly ill. She got up, ran over to behind the big white oak that shaded a small area not twenty-five feet from the pond, and puked.