Hi guys, chapter 4! Please tell me what you think, reviews really help me improve! Thank you for those who have reviewed/favourited/followed! Hope you enjoy this one (:

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As the term progressed, Harry, Hermione and Professor Snape rekindled their previous friendship, with Snape even offering to tutor Harry in Potions. Hermione, being the bright witch that she is, devoured more and more books, and spent many evenings discussing various aspects of magic with Snape in his quarters. Harry would sometimes join them and they would open a bottle of Firewhiskey and talk late into the night, having discovered over the weeks how much they all enjoyed the drink. Weeks passed, and the three were quickly becoming fast friends, with Hermione's intelligence complementing Snape's sharp mind, and Harry's stubbornness matching Snape's perfectly, leading to very interesting, and sometimes heated, debates. This friendship between them was highly fulfilling and educational, even for Snape, and yet both Hermione and Snape could not help the heartache that followed each conversation. Harry, being the sensitive one, sensed that something was missing, and he was determined to find out what it was that was making both Hermione and Snape more dejected by the day.

Harry could see that Hermione was hiding under a mask of happiness, and every time they left Snape's quarters for the night, Hermione became more withdrawn. Likewise, while Snape seemed to be his usual snarky self on the outside, Harry noticed that his eyes were more guarded, and he often stared into the fire with his eyebrows furrowed, seemingly lost in thought. He observed how Hermione's eyes would linger on Snape, and how when they toasted their friendship, a flicker of sadness would appear in her eyes. He observed how Snape would allow a smile to form on his lips whenever he spoke to Hermione, and how his face would fall, however slightly, when Hermione wasn't looking. Harry thought he knew what was going on.

One night, when Harry and Hermione were the only ones left studying in the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry decided to confront Hermione about her feelings. "Hermione, you know you can talk to me, right? Whatever's bothering you about Snape. I know there must be something."

Hermione looked at him, alarmed, then avoided his eye. "What are you talking about, Harry? Nothing's bothering me."

"C'mon, Hermione, I've known you for seven years. Do you honestly think I can't read you by now?" Harry was determined to get a confession out of her.

Still unwilling to meet his eye, Hermione said, "What do you mean?"

Harry took Hermione's hand and said gently, "You like him."

Hermione gasped, her eyes filling with tears as she met Harry's eye imploringly, shaking her head. She started sobbing, the shock of being found out and the strong belief that Snape would never return her feelings becoming too much for her to handle. Harry wrapped his arms around her and promised himself that he would bring them together no matter what.

Harry was convinced that Hermione's feelings were returned, but before he did anything rash, he had to make sure that he hadn't misread Snape's emotions. After Potions the next day, he went up to Snape and said, "Professor, can you please teach me Legilimency? I think it will be a very useful if I become an Auror." To be honest, he didn't even know whether he really wanted to be an Auror, but a little lie wouldn't hurt anyone.

Snape raised an eyebrow and looked at him coolly. Harry forced himself to stare back as blankly as he could. Seemingly satisfied that Harry isn't up to no good, Snape nodded and said, "We shall begin tonight."

That night, Harry went to Snape's office for his first lesson. "Before you can learn Legilimency, you must first master Occlumency. In order to enter another's mind and leave unscathed, you must first strengthen your own mind. The mind is a complex, many-layered thing, and meddling with it is very dangerous. You have experienced the dangers of not being able to Occlude, but now I tell you, you will never accomplish Legilimens without a very strong foundation of Occlumency. Now, we will begin. You know what you have to do. Clear you mind, empty your thoughts and remove any emotions. Legilimens."

Immediately, Harry felt the familiar feeling of memories flashing past in his mind like a flickering film. This time, however, he was prepared for it. He focused memory by memory on Hermione, how her eyes lit up when Snape looked at her appraisingly, how her face fell when Snape was being particularly scathing, and at last, how she silently admitted to liking Snape. Harry could feel Snape losing his grip on his mind as the shock of what he was seeing distracted him completely. Grasping his chance, Harry forced his way back into Snape's mind, watching as memory after memory flitted through his mind until he found Hermione. He saw how Snape's attention always lingered on her, how he allowed himself to smile at her, and how he dreamt always of her brown eyes and gentle smile.

Having confirmed his suspicions, Harry forced himself to pull out of his mind. He staggered back from the effort, waiting for the blow that was sure to come for invading Snape's privacy. Unexpectedly, the blow never came. Snape was staring at him, a strange glint in his eyes as he traced his thin lips with his finger. "It seems that you are not so inept at controlling your mind," Snape said slowly. Turning until his back was facing Harry, he asked, "What I saw just now, is it true?"

Harry swallowed and replied quietly, "Yes, sir."

Snape nodded. "Thank you. We will leave it there for tonight." With that, he went into his quarters without looking back, closely the door silently behind him. Harry knew that Snape understood what was going on, so he went back to his room, eager to see what Snape would do, hopeful that he had done the right thing and that everything would turn out fine.

Back in his quarters, Snape was pacing to and fro in his bedroom. On the one hand, he was glad to know that his feelings were returned. On the other hand, he didn't know what to do. Being solitary for so many years meant that he had little to no experience in matters of the heart. One thing he was sure of though, now that he knew he wasn't alone in this, he was determined to pursue Hermione. He was determined to have the happy life that he hadn't been able to have all those years as a spy. It didn't matter that he was her professor. Hermione was of age and there were no rules stating that professor-student relationships were not allowed. It didn't matter that he was so much older. If Hermione could love him, who was he to deny himself the chance of being loved and of loving? He was going to have Hermione, and there was no doubt about it. With that thought it mind, he fell for the first time in ages into a deep, untroubled sleep.