Opening her eyes she stared at the top canopy on her fourposter bed, she was slow to wake that morning. As she felt throbbing in her head that she really could not understand. Hermione was not one to partake in underage drinking, even on special occasions.

Trying to recall the night before produced nothing of use. She remembered telling the boys she would be back, but then had very vague memories of wondering the castle before realizing she knew then answer to her question, after all. It almost seemed to just appear in her mind. She had initially thought to go to Professor Snape, but never seemed to have made it there. Or did she? it was all a blur.

She sat up and allowed her bare feet to touch the cold floor as she established her bearings and prepared to start her day. She dressed begrudgingly, and made her way down to the common room. As always, she met both Harry and Ron and they made their way to breakfast in the great hall.

She decided not to say anything to the boys about her strange evening, as she knew they both had enough on their plates, especially Harry. They lowered themselves down to the Gryffindor table and began to start in on their breakfast. Hermione however wasn't particularly hungry, the longer she was awake, the more she began to wonder about her night last night. She risked a glance up at the teachers table, and made eye contact with none other than Professor Snape.

For some unexplained reason, she felt embarrassed. Actually, that was an understatement, she felt mortified. It seemed wrong to look him in the eyes, it made her feel dirty. She had never looked at someone and felt that way before, it was a completely foreign feeling. He was not breaking eye contact either, he continued to meet her gaze. It was too much for her, she broke eye contact and looked down at her plate.

Eager to look anywhere but into the eyes of her professor again, she allowed her eyes to roam the room. Landing on Draco Malfoy however, she had another interesting experience. His eyes seem to burn into hers, an unbridled anger under the surface. He always looked at her with hatred, but this was different, far more intense. She shook her head, eyes falling onto her empty plate once more.

What on earth was going on? She felt as though she was missing something. What had happened between yesterday and today that caused such bizarre reactions from these two. Harry and Ron seemed as if nothing had changed, nothing at all.

As today was a Friday, their morning classes would be Potions and Charms, and after Lunch they would be stuck with the Slytherins for double Defense Against the Dark Arts. She was excited to finally be able to turn in her essay to Professor Slughorn, and to brew the potion that she had been working so hard on. However, she was not looking forward to having an extra long class with the Slytherins, Nor was she looking forward to facing Snape, although she was unsure as to why.

Having only had some pumpkin juice she gather her belongings and made her way to potions with a Harry and Ron. They were currently discussing some Quiditch techniques and maneuvers that they were excited to try with the team. It was nice to hear them speaking of things that made them happy, as it was such a rare occurrence these days.

They were ushered into the class room by Professor Slughorn, took their seats, and began. An hour and a half later, she had an exceptional potion in front of her. It was a miracle that she had been able to focus on her assignment, and not allow outside forces to take over her thoughts. Putting the cork on her sample bottle, she brought it to Slughorn's deak and exited the classroom with the rest of the students.

The next class was rather uneventful. They had discussed practical charms to be used around the house, which in Hermione's opinion was quite similar to a lesson they had recieved from Professor Flitwick in their third year. At the end of class, they were assigned a roll of parchement reiterating the purpose of all of these charms. Again, a rather remedial lesson.

They made their way back up to the castle, for their last class of the day, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Following slightly behind the boys, she suddenly felt a strong grip on her upper arm and turned to her right, looking alarmed. Draco Malfoy had her pulled into a small alcove quicker than she could say quidditch.

"I'm assuming the talk last night reminded you of your place mudblood?" Malfoy asked, without waiting for an answer. Hermione looked at him baffled, tilting her head slightly, completely unaware of what it was he was referring to.

"You had no business being where you were, and overhearing what you heard, surely Professor Snape demonstrated what happens to those who eavesdrop." Malfoy stated confidently, with a small smirk in place.

Clearly something happen last night, someone must have modified her memory, as they do not want her to remember what had transpired. Now she knows, it includes both Professor Snape and Malfoy. Her best bet to get out of this current situation was to play along, let Malfoy believe he had the upper hand, as painful as that was for her.

"Yes, I am well aware." Hermione said curtly, raising her chin slightly, attempting to look strong. He stared at her a moment more before whispering,

"Good. Just remember to watch yourself Granger. You're a pretty little mudblood and it would be a terrible tragedy if someone had to hurt you" he pushed her harshly against the wall, He then walked away leaving her standing there, more confused than she had felt in her life.

Feeling quite shaken, she hurried into Professor Snape's classroom, having already been late, she apologized profusely, looking pleadingly at him. He was not the forgiving type, never one to be lenient or understanding. She attempted to make her way over to a desk near Harry and Ron, one they had evidently saved for her, but was called over by a commanding tone.

"Approach my desk Miss Granger." Snape said with a small gesture of his hand, not looking up from the papers on his desk. As she closed the distance between herself and her Professor, an anxious feeling in her gut. He looked up at her, eyes narrowing with plain dislike.

"Your Detention will be served this evening, seven sharp. I do hope you're not late to that as well." He said, finishing with a snide tone.

Her face flushed bright red as she took her seat next to Hary and Ron, she had loads to tell them, but was unsure where to begin. She herself hardly knew what was happening to her, or what had happened to her. She shuddered at the thought.

Professor Snape was widely disliked amount students at Hogwarts, especially by her two best friends. Over the years there were more times than she could count that something would go awry and their first reaction was that Professor Snape must be behind it. From the beginning, assuming Snape was trying to steal the stone in their first year, hex Harry off of his broom, and most recently, Harry blamed Snape for not hurrying to help him save Sirius.

Time and time again she had vowed on his behalf, saying that he was a Hogwarts teacher, Dumbledore trusted him, and he had done far more to help rather than to cause harm, despite his hatred for all those around him. Now she feared she might have been wrong. Hermione highly doubted that Draco Malfoy would be powerful enough to cast such an effective memory modification charm, as it is very high level magic. So far the only other person involved in this seems to be Professor Snape, and that is who she fears must have cast the charm.

She was hardly even listening to his lecture, which was out of character for her, however she could not bring herself to focus. She was terrified, as the question was looming over her. What had happened to her?

She glanced over at Harry and Ron, who both looked like they would like to be anywhere but in this classroom. She tried to imagine what Harry was thinking of, was he feeling more guilt over the death of his Godfather? She knew that was a constant thought, as she could see it on his face when he thought she wasn't paying attention. A feeling of copious amounts of regret and remorse over his impulsive actions of last year. It broke her heart to see her friend in so much pain, upon this realization, she decided not to tell the boys until she had a better idea of what exactly she needs to tell them.

Harry turned his head toward her and gave a puzzled expression, upon receiving a small shrug from Hermione, he scratched down a few lines on a piece of parchment and sent it her way.

Have you been paying attention to the lesson at all? You look like you're in your own world. I've never seen you do this, is everything alright?

As she neatly wrote out her response, in contrast to his messy scrawl, a large hand reached for the note, gently taking it from her hands. Professor Snape had ceased his lecture upon seeing Hermione writing on a scrap of parchment, she was so engrossed, she failed to hear him wordlessly walk over to her desk.

"As crucial as it obviously is for Potter to know that you have a lot on your mind, I believe that there would be a better time to say this than in the middle of my lecture. Ten points from Gryffindor." Snape said in an excruciatingly calm voice, crumpling the paper in his hands and returning to the front of the class before saying,

"See me after class, I would like a word with you Miss Granger."