So this chapter has the first real interaction between Hermione and Snape. Hopefully, you all like it!

Also, I am working hard on grammar etc but I am not the best and sometimes don't always get it right - due to a lack of a beta. I hope it's not affecting any of you too much; if so let me know and I'll look into finding a beta but I'm not exactly sure how that whole process works.

Happy reading everyone :)

*There was an error and the update date of this chapter had not changed so I reuploaded the chapter. Thanks for your patience!*

Severus Snape woke up from quite an unrestful sleep. It would be one of the last nights he would sleep in his chamber - as the newly appointed head of Gryffindor, he would be relocated by weeks end, to be closer towards the students; much to his dismay. It had been 25 long years that he had called the dungeons his home. He couldn't believe Minerva would pull this stunt, she was infuriating.

He took the waistband of his pyjama pants and slunk them down his legs, revealing a gauzed wrapped leg. The bandage was tainted with fresh blood that had fallen over the night. The blackened skin was spreading, testimony that his last attempt to cure the curse had faltered, and it seems that the brew had made it worse by producing a small open wound. With it increasing so drastically, he didn't expect to survive to the beginning of the next school year.

He walked down the corridor into the great hall for Breakfast. He always arrived early - 7 am to be exact. He would ask for his house elf Teasel to bring him two plain buttered slices of toast and black coffee every morning; without fail. He saw Minerva arrive a few moments later and shot her the most spiteful look he could muster towards her direction. Minerva held her head back and let out a soft chuckle but still rang loudly in Severus' ears.

"Oh Severus...if only I hadn't of bet you at Wizards chess, then you wouldn't have needed to teach the seventh years the contraceptive potion. Next time be more aware that you are playing one of the best chess players at Hogwarts before you agree to a game" She gave him a playful wink that he shied away from.

"Agree? you forced me you insufferable woman" he muttered into his toast, just loud enough for Minerva to hear. "Besides, there are currently only 9 students in my class, that's hardly all of the seventh years, so don't go boasting your greatness around like some arrogant Gryffindor student" he piped up louder as he dropped his toast onto his plate.

By this time, more students had been walking into the great hall for a spot of breakfast. Minerva had noticed Miss Granger concealing a small vial with her hands that she showed to only her friends. Minerva nudged Severus and urged him to look towards the direction that had caught her attention.

"Looks like by the end of today, everyone will know about your little lesson yesterday and the sentence I had bound you to say due to your dismal chess performance" She was having much too fun with the bargain she had made over the summer holidays.

Severus Snape inwardly cringed at the sentence he was forced to say to uphold his end of the bargain. 'You will not be required to hand these potions in, but instead, you are to take these and use them when the time permits'. If he hadn't, he would have been turned into a rather fluffy bunny; and he would have rather died.

xx

Hermione was walking into the great hall and noticed it was still quite empty. Only a few other students were around and a couple of teachers were scattered throughout the hall talking to one another or to the students who were early risers. She sat down where they all usually sat. She found it amusing that they had to extend the tables by a few extra inches to accommodate the extra students who had returned to Hogwarts. While she was thinking about the sheer number of people who had come back, she started to feel amazed by how many of her peers truly did care for their education and wanted to make the most of it.

While Hermione was focusing on her thoughts, she hadn't noticed her two best friends sit in front of her. "Earth to Hermione!" Harry stuck his hand in front of her face and waved it around while laughing to himself. She brought her attention back to where she was and smiled at her two friends.

"I have something to tell you guys, it happened yesterday and it was the strangest occurrence ever since this enchanted ceiling turned pink because of peeves 30 years ago!" Hermione started to babble. "Um... Hermione, what are you talking about?... a pink ceiling?" Ron looked at her puzzled.

Hermione shook her head "Oh never mind that! during potions yesterday Professor Snape assigned us to make a contraception potion...a contraception potion is to stop a witch from getting pregnant". She said as she noticed Ron's confused expression. Ron's cheeks flushed "I know what a contraception potion is Mione, bloody hell".

She pulled the small vial out of her pocket and tried to hide it so only the boys could see. "And he actually told us to keep it and might I quote "for when the time permits," She said this with her best Professor Snape imitation she could and the boys burst out laughing. "Maybe Nagini's venom went straight to his head and it is making him go crazy." Ron blurted out perhaps a little bit too loudly. But one thing was for sure, they all enjoyed being able to just have fun with no woes.

The day's classes passed by uneventfully, and it was just like any other day. Hermione sat in the common room around her friends on one of the plush velvet couches that were scattered around the room. Harry was sitting next to Ginny and they were talking to one another, in their own little world. He had his hand rested on her lap and Hermione admired their easy love for one another. After the war, they had latched onto each other emotionally to both deals with their grief. Harry had hated the attention he received by the ministry and by the outer community, and Ginny acted as a weight that brought him back down to earth; he could just be himself around her. She knew the boy had been offended by the thought of the ministry offering him a position without achieving it by merit and instead by who he was. He had turned down the several owls that had flown into the burrow over the summer break.

Ron was messing around with the chess board that was in front of him; testing out his plays. He had accepted to play for the Kenmare Kestrels when he finished school. She thought back on the day that he had received the news.

It was a Tuesday morning a few days after Christmas and she had been upstairs reading the book that Harry had gifted her. She was enjoying her morning being tucked up underneath the covers of her bed. She had not slept well the night before due to the prevalent nightmares she had just after the war had ended, and this made her feel comfortable and at peace. She was so engrossed in the massive tome that she didn't hear the ruckus beginning to start downstairs.

The sleek black owl had flown in while Mrs. Weasley had begun to cook breakfast. She went over to the elegant owl and reached out to grab the letter. But the owl had snipped at her fingers - obviously trying to tell her that the information was classified. She saw that it was addressed to 'Ronald Weasley'. But just before the woman could call upon her son, she noticed he was walking up towards her.

"Who's owl is that Mum, is it for Harry?" The boy had got used to the countless letters Harry had received. "No, actually it's for you Ron, it looks quite official too, go on and open it" His mother replied with a smile. She had seen the disappointed and ashamed looks on his face every time Harry had received an offer.

Ron reached eagerly over to the owl who then dropped the letter into his hand. With a shaky hand he opened up the letter and a massive grin spread across his face. "What is it, Ron?" Mrs. Weasely asked her son with an impatient but excited tone. "I've got asked to play for the Kenmare Kestrels!" He said so loudly that it caught the attention of both Harry and Hermione who was still planted firmly upstairs.

By the time she managed to get downstairs to find out why Ron had just shouted louder than a banshee, he had already signed off that he accepted their offer and had sent the letter back with the black owl.

She frowned as she thought back on this. He hadn't even discussed this with her and she was his 'girlfriend'. He would be located in Ireland to train and this was something that he should have discussed with her if he had wanted any sort of future with her. She wasn't just going to pack up and leave to live in Ireland like he had expected her too. She was just not that type of woman- the type to give up her dreams and aspirations for a man. It was part of the reason why she felt like she was growing apart from Ron.

The common room fell unusually quiet for it being 5:30 pm. Standing by the door-frame was Professor Snape. He moved closer towards the middle of the room. "Seeing as I've been forced to spend more time with all of you than necessary, there will be an introduction of firm rules. If anyone one of you breaks these rules you will be put on the next available train back to wherever you came from. I will not tolerate excessive noise, absolutely no soirées, and you will all be in your respective rooms by 9 pm" He finished speaking.

All the children let out audible groans. "If I hear one other person open their mouths to discuss their disapproval they will lose 10 points" And with that, everyone closed their mouths and looked at each other and rolled their eyes. He turned to leave but halted after a split moment. He opened his mouth to speak "Miss Granger..follow me". She got up from her seat and followed him out of the common room and stopped at the stairwell where he was waiting for her.

She looked up at her professor, waiting for him to say something. "I've decided you will do your detention now instead of after dinner...follow me" he said and she nodded in response. She was trying to keep up with his long strides as they walked down stairs and corridors all the way down to the dungeons.

He muttered something under his breath which Hermione assumed would be the password into the potions lab. "Sir? I didn't need to bring anything with me, did I?" she asked her professor. "If I required you to bring anything, don't you think I would have told you to?" he said with a scowl etched on his face. "Now, as standardised practice, i'll need to confiscate your wand for the duration of your punishment" She looked at him with a dubious look but handed over her wand reluctantly and he pocketed it.

The doors swung open and she stepped inside. She had never served a detention with Professor Snape before, but she had heard the rumours around the school. But surprisingly she didn't huff at the thought of having to clean out the cauldrons by hand.

She went over to where the sinks and scrubs were and picked one up. "What are you doing?" Professor Snape drawled. "Oh, aren't I scrubbing the cauldrons? She replied sheepishly as she dropped the scrub back into the wash-up area. "You would have been if Madame Pomfrey hadn't needed an extra batch of the contraceptive potion to stock up her stores in the infirmary" she noticed the slightest hint of embarrassment in his eyes as he spoke, but as soon as she noticed it, it disappeared. He continued on, "and seeing as you learned it today, I expect you to be able to brew it again but in a higher quantity as I will be busy myself tonight and can not dedicate the time to brewing it" She nodded to his question.

"I'll be in the next room" And with a swish flick of his wand, all of the equipment and ingredients she needed appeared on the bench beside her, including instructions for a bigger batch.

She went over to the bench and had a quick peek at the instructions. 'Nothing difficult about this' she thought. It was the same as the potion she had produced today, just slight differences to allow for a bigger size. Just like it would be to add extra ingredients and preparation needed to cook bigger portions of foods.

She looked at the cauldron - it was massive. She thought about just making the potion on the bench but it was far too small to be able to prepare the ingredients properly. Without a wand, she had no other option to try and lift it, asking Professor Snape for help would definitely be the last resort. She slipped her fingers underneath the ridges of the cauldron and she picked it up with all the strength she could muster. She managed to carry it fine until her foot got caught on one of the bench legs and led to her tripping. She dropped the cauldron, right onto her left foot. She heard a crack and she yelled out in pain. Whimpering she clutched her calf as she let out sobs on the rough hard floor of the potions lab.

xx

Severus Snape was distracted by a loud thunk that came from the next room, which was then followed by a sharp cry. He rummaged through his robes to find his wand and walked into the room with it clutched strongly. Whatever he was expecting to find, definitely wasn't the scene he had just walked into. He raced over to the girl who was clutching her leg; the cauldron lay by her side. He put two and two together, "Are you not a witch? it's a simple charm to levitate the cauldron" He replied incredulously. Through irregular breaths and sobs, she muttered,"You took my wand". He gave a firm shake of the head 'that was true' he thought.

He crouched down and begun to take her shoe off, she whimpered in pain as he pulled the sock down to inspect the injury. Her foot was already turning blue and black as bruises formed. "You've definitely broken some toes, Miss Granger. I was in the next room like I said I was, you could have asked for help" His tone came off calmer than he had expected it too, perhaps he just couldn't put enough spite into his voice when there was a student in front of him who was in obvious and extreme pain. She lazily nodded in reply. He noticed her start to sway so he quickly pulled her upright and swung her arm around his shoulder as he helped her down to the infirmary.

'Could she of picked a worse time to do this' he cursed the girl in his mind. It was just before dinner would begin and all the students were making their way to the great hall - which happened to be uncomfortably close to the infirmary in Severus' opinion. She had offered to him that she would be fine to walk on her own, and he had turned to her with a look of disbelief and told her to shut up. She quickly closed her mouth after hearing him say that. Her big eyes looked over at him, in obvious pain. He looked away. He could hear the students mumbles as he wove himself in and out of the crowds with Hermione at his side.

He had finally made it to the Infirmary and as he was setting her down the bed, he raised his voice to let Madame Pomfrey know Hermione had broken her three outer toes. And as quickly as he came into the room he was just as quickly leaving it with a quick turn of his heels. However, he managed to hear the girl call out "It's called a party...not soirée, sir, I think you left a lot of students confused, we don't call it that anymore" before he left. He hoped it was her dazed state, he didn't need any more insolence brewing.

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