Four

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"Not a word passes between us, not because we have nothing to say, but because we don't have to say anything."
Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

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Hermione desperately wished for a Time-turner. A part of her still hoped this might all just be a nightmare, but in all honesty, she new the truth. By tomorrow every last person in Slytherin would be laughing at her and what was worse, she could think of no biting remark to throw back at them.

Why? Why did she have to take out that cursed notebook in his class? Snape and his malicious pleasure to make a fool of her. She bitterly hoped he wouldn't decide to start lecture evenings and that he would eventually give her the book back.

Ron and Harry had, of course, noticed something was wrong that evening. As they cleverly remarked, never had she spent an evening staring into nothingness, completely ignoring their assignments. Hermione doubted she could concentrate on anything.

That night sleep evaded her. She simply couldn't get Snape's smirking face out of her mind's eye and it was infuriating. Ironically, when she finally fell asleep, Hermione was yet again confronted with the same smirk. She was standing in a circle of people, all bearing the same mocking expression. Hermione tried to walk away but her feet would not obey her. She looked down and then back at the people surrounding her, which were now floating several feet in the air. And then she saw herself, from the same perspective as the others did, and she was completely naked.

That image had awoken her and one glance towards the night table told her it was still rather early.
That morning Hermione was the first to enter the Great Hall for breakfast. All those hours lying awake were now taking their toll, but she didn't want to be seen by anyone, not while she could still avoid it.

It was a paradox how fast time had passed, but her day had been far more bearable than Hermione had expected it to: no one had said a mocking word to her and she had successfully managed to avoid Snape.

Until now, that is. There was no way to avoid her detention after dinner, so there she was, Hermione Granger, 17 years old and shaking in front of the Potions Master's office. She heard a clock strike eight times from within it and with that Hermione gathered all her courage and knocked.

"Enter" she heard him say, and enter she did.
Snape's office was dimly lit by a couple of candles placed on his desk. He was leaning against said desk, with his back towards her. He made no move as she closed the door behind her.

Hermione waited for what seemed like an eternity (she really hated time's sarcasm) before she spoke. Whoever said silence was golden had surely never been confronted with Snape's silence.
"Sir…" she almost whispered. "Sir, I'm here for the detention."

Severus finally turned to face the girl. She was standing near the door with an uncertain, fearful expression on her face. Severus forgot to mentally congratulate himself for still being able to do that, for not having lost his touch.

"Your detention has been canceled, Miss Granger" he said, the words sounding foreign even to himself.
"Take this and leave."
Hermione stared up at him in disbelief. He was holding out her book, staring back at her.

Not another word passed between them as they regarded each other with equal, undisguised curiosity. Not because they had nothing to say, but because they didn't have to say anything. Slowly, Hermione reached for the book, still holding his gaze. As Snape let go of the leather-bound object Hermione shyly smiled at him in gratitude.
He was still watching her as she turned and left the room.

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Entering his office the next morning to retrieve some essays, Severus noticed a book he hadn't placed there, lying on his desk. He cautiously picked it up and read the title:

Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Carl G. Jung

His eyebrows lifted in surprise. He had read that name just yesterday, but this was extraordinary.
Severus opened the book and stared at the words he saw on the first page:

To Professor S. Snape

"A dream has power to poison sleep." Percy B. Shelley

H.G.

A/N: Well, that was it, last chapter, I hope you liked it, I had a great time writing it.

Reviews are always welcome ;)

Edit: I had planned on this story ending here, I don't know...should I continue?