I forgot to add in to the last intro that every chapter is a month of the school year. The story will be nine chapters (from September to May) and then an epilogue. All but the last chapter and the epilogue have been written, so motivate me with reviews to post 'em quicker ;D
Do I really need another disclaimer? I think you all know that I'm not JKR and therefore none of this belongs to me but the rambling writing that I've put it together into.
Hermione was running. She was never late to class and she never missed a class unless she had been put in a near-death situation.
Even then it was debatable whether she'd actually miss the class or not.
So, she was running through the dungeons, trying her best not to slip on the rough stones and crack her head open. Near-death may have almost been an acceptable excuse, but being near-death due to clumsiness and stupidity was most definitely not.
She could've kicked herself when she thought about why she was forced to run through the hallway to make it to Potions on time. The truth was that she had been daydreaming about a certain bat-like Potions Master.
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief when she made it to the class before Snape had entered. She moved toward the nearest open seat and had almost completely placed herself in the chair when a sneering voice announced, "Five points from Gryffindor for lack of preparedness for my class."
Her face flushed a deep red, one that she was sure it had never been before. How dare he take points when she was there on time? Just because she wasn't already seated when he entered didn't constitute a punishment!
She fumed for most of the class, overreacting to the unjust actions of her professor because it gave her an emotion to focus on that was easier to understand than the budding attraction she felt towards him.
She didn't understand it at all. He was old, greasy, and had treated her like the scum of the earth since she had arrived at the school. She shredded the asphodel in front of her angrily, noticing belatedly that she needed it in even portions for the potion at hand.
Hermione Granger was normally a clear-headed girl. Hermione Granger did not get upset with inanimate objects.
Hermione Granger did not have a crush on Professor Snape.
Growling in frustration, she added the ill-prepared ingredient to her potion, not caring what the outcome was.
For the average student, adding the oddly proportioned slices of asphodel wouldn't have mattered. For Hermione Granger, master of everything she attempted (Divination and Quidditch didn't count), it meant her potion wasn't the exact shade of blue it should be.
She knew he'd notice. She knew she wouldn't get perfect marks on the potion. She knew she'd been stupid to think she could make a slight mistake once in her life, especially in his presence.
What she didn't know was that the professor had been watching as she ripped apart the small root in anger. Curious as to why she had taken such forceful measures against the innocent plant, he decided to let it go and see how this sudden burst of emotion turned out.
He gave her a perfect mark.
She looked at him questioningly, but his eyes never met her gaze. Shrugging it off as good luck, Hermione left the potions classroom feeling as confused and distracted as ever.
