"What do you mean, you can't come to the Qudditch game?" Ron's voice carries throughout the Great Hall and several people, much to my chagrin, turn to look.

I narrow my eyes at him. "You know perfectly well that I can't go," I huff. "I've had my detentions with Snape for the last twelve straight days. And don't you dare imply I didn't tell you; you and Harry found out the next morning."

"And you never did tell us why you were roaming the halls after hours. Figured you would have invited us to come along, but I guess we aren't that important to you."

"How dare you!"

Harry, bless him, chooses this moment to sit beside Ron.

"Well good morning to you, too," he says when neither Ron nor I greet him. "Have a pleasant chat?"

"I'm quitting the team, Harry," Ron says suddenly. "I'm done. After this game, McLaggen can have my spot."

"Oh don't be ridiculous, you'll be fine-"

"No. If my best friend," Ron glares at me pointedly, "isn't confident enough for me to play well and isn't going to even show up, I don't see why I'd bother playing."

My face goes red. "That is completely untrue and you know it!" I shriek. "I would much rather go see you play than be serving detention with Snape-"

"Oh? Then why the bloody hell haven't you got out of it?"

"Got out of it'? Ron, you have to be the thickest person I've ever met! One does not 'get out' of a detention with Snape! Tell him, Harry!"

Harry looks torn, but finally cedes, "She is right, mate. Snape never changes detention times. Besides, he probably did this on purpose so she couldn't watch you play and you know it."

"Well did you even try?"

At this, I glare heatedly at him.

"Yes! I tried my best, Ron, but I'm sorry if that isn't good enough for you!" My voice echoes against the walls, but I don't care.

Harry clears his throat awkwardly before passing a cup to Ron.

"Well, if you still want to quit, I can't stop you. But you should probably drink something before we go down to the pitch."

I watch as Harry makes an obvious show of pulling his hand back and I notice a glint of light on glass.

"Don't drink that!"

Ron glares at me. "What do you honestly think Harry is poisoning me now?"

"No, you daft moron! Harry put his Liquid Luck in there! I saw the vial, Harry! You can't drink that Ron; it's illegal!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about. Go on, Ron. Have a drink."

"Stop!"

I try to grab the cup away from him, but Ron yanks it back and downs the contents. "Don't tell me what to do," he hisses, slamming the glass back on the table.

I pick up my cup and throw the pumpkin juice into his face, before gathering my things. I hope he lets every one of the bloody goals in- it would serve him right. I pass Ginny as I storm out of the Great Hall, but she doesn't say anything after one look at my face- I must look royally pissed. Because I very much am.

I make my way to the DADA classroom. My detention is scheduled to last for the next six hours, ending well after the Qudditch match. Which is a good thing. I don't think I can deal with Ron for the rest of the day.

I knock loudly and storm into the classroom. I all but throw my bag onto a desk before covering my mouth with my hands and letting out a muffled, but frustrated, scream.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for your childish behavior."

Snape is sitting at his desk and not even looking at me. His head is down as he grades an essay. After finishing whatever comment he is writing, he glares at me.

"Problem, Miss Granger?"

"No, sir." My voice is tight both with anger at Ron and embarrassment that I hadn't noticed he was in the room.

"If you are planning on pleading your case to postpone your detention to see your boyfriend play Qudditch, I'm afraid you are not off to a very good start."

"Believe me, sir, I would much rather be here than be anywhere near Ronald at the current moment… And he is most certainly not my boyfriend."

"Oh?" He is enjoying my anger and frustration. Bastard.

This time I don't even bother scolding myself for insulting a teacher; I am too furious.

"Well if you enjoy being here so much, I suppose we can increase your detention to ten hours."

Jackass!

"And what will I be doing, sir?"

"Grading." He motions to a large stack of papers on the desk closest to his own.

I walk to the desk and sit down. The stack of papers is the most recent essay we have written for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Your essay is somewhere in there," he says, now looking back down at the essay he is grading. "I might think you are not too stupid to grade the other essays, but I will not let you grade your own. On second thought, give me Potter and Weasley's too when you find them."

While I am secretly pleased he believes in my intellect to grade the essays, I am also offended that he thinks I would give Harry and Ron higher grades simply because they are my friends. I snort. Ron will not be receiving any help from me anytime soon.

"Is there a problem, Miss Granger?"

"No, sir. No problem."

"Then get to work."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

I sit up and crack my neck. Grading is exhausting and tedious; no wonder Snape made that my punishment for this evening. I was rather skeptical that grading could last ten hours, but I was sadly mistaken. After finally finishing the essays from my year, those alone took well over four hours, Snape handed me essays from the fifth years.

We hadn't spoken during the detention, not that that was unusual. The only thing Snape said after giving me my punishment was to run down to the Great Hall to fetch us some food when it was time for dinner.

I look up from the paper I'm grading. Snape is bent over an essay, writing furiously. Some of his black hair falls into his hair and he scowls as he pushes it behind his ear. Funny, I don't think I've ever seen him do that before.

I continue to look at him. He isn't particularly unattractive, although he certainly is not that best looking man I've ever seen. His features are pale and angular, but not unpleasant. His nose is hooked and a tad too long for his face, but the man's high cheekbones counterbalance it. And, after much critiquing, his hair isn't really all that greasy.

I lower my eyes to the essay and dip my quill into my ink well. After scratching out a line and detecting a few more points, I am finally finished. I place the graded essay on the top of my finished pile and wait.

I dare not ask Snape for permission to leave- Merlin knows he'd only keep me later and my sleep schedule, as well as my homework, are starting to suffer as a result.

"Finished, Miss Granger?" he doesn't look up at me as he speaks.

"With these batch of essays, yes. Are there more you would like me to grade?"

Snape hums to himself, as if in thought. "Yes, but I will have you grade those tomorrow evening. Your detention is over; you may leave."

I scramble to gather my things before he can call me back. Dismissing me and it is only nine o'clock? He must be in a good mood for some reason. Not that I am questioning it.

"Miss Granger?"

Damn it. I am just a few steps away from the door to freedom, my hand already out sketched to grasp the handle. Surely he wouldn't make me stay after just dismissing me? Although this is Snape. The git probably will keep me for another hour just because he can.

"Yes, sir?"

"Why were you in the potion's classroom in the dead of night two weeks ago?"

Shocked, I turn to look at him.

"What?"

"Five points from Gryffindor for not paying attention." There is a smirk on his face and my hand itches to smack it away. "I shall ask you again, Miss Granger; why were you in the potion's classroom so late in the evening?"

I narrow my eyes at him. I don't want to tell him the truth. Not with him sitting at his desk, smirking at me. He doesn't deserve it.

"I was stealing potion ingredients-"

"Ten points for lying. I checked and rechecked the storeroom, Miss Granger. Nothing was missing. I will only ask one more time- what were you doing in the potions classroom?"

Of course, trust Snape to make sure every ingredient is accounted for. Although that does make more sense than him not doing such a thing. But I swore off stealing from him back in my second year. The guilt was difficult to deal with, but the anxiety over him catching me was worse.

"I'm waiting, Miss Granger."

My eyes flicker to the ground before I look back at him. Fine.

"I was brewing a potion to help me calm down and focus," I snap, noting with satisfaction that he blinks in surprise. "I find that brewing is an excellent method for tuning out the world around me, as I have to focus solely on my cauldron."

"And why would an insufferable know-it-all like yourself be in need of a method to calm down and focus?" he sneers.

"I should ask you the same question. Surely you find potions comforting or at least enjoyable; otherwise you would have left the Potion Master position and done something else with your life."

My words come without thought and I quickly clamp a hand over my mouth. My face goes hot and I know my skin must be the exact shade of crimson as the red in the Gryffindor house colors. Snape merely smirks.

"Touché, Miss Granger. Good evening."

I step out of the classroom in a daze. He didn't take off points for snapping at him? I practically insulted him and didn't even bat an eyelash. He must really be in a good mood.

I grip the shoulder strap on my bag tightly as I walk through the hall. Snape was... nice? No, not nice. Whatever that was, I would not consider it 'nice'. Tolerant maybe, amused perhaps, but not nice. No, I don't really think Snape has the capability of being nice.

I make my way back to the Gryffindor common room and to find the Fat Lady huffing about in her frame.

"Something wrong?" I ask.

"Oh no, your fellows Gryffindors are merely having a rather loud and rather long party. It's been going on since the Qudditch matched ended. This have been going on for hours. Followed by random outbursts of a horrible song-"

The rest of the Fat Lady's sentence is cut off when the Gryffindor common room erupts into a chant of "Weasley is Our King." She rolls her eyes and opens her portrait after I yell the password.

I wish I hadn't.

Ron stands in the middle of the common room, surrounded by everyone in Gryffindor House. That, however, isn't the problem. The problem is the girl he has wrapped in his arms with their lips firmly locked together. I wonder if it is physically possible to feel one's heart breaking.

Yes, Ron made me furious this morning. Yes, I stated that I wanted nothing to do with him today. But I still love him. I still love him every much. And he is snogging Lavender Brown. In the middle of the Gryffindor common room, where everyone can see.

"Hermione?"

I meet Harry's green eyes. I open my mouth to say something, only to find that no sound comes out. I shake my head slowly and back away. The reality of what is going on has finally hit me. I can feel tears threatening to fall and I bolt.

Harry calls after me, but I do not look back. I know exactly where I am going- the potions classroom. Now is exactly a time for me to forget the world around me.

I throw open the door, not bothering with wards or silencing charms. I heave a cauldron onto a work station and retrieve my potions textbook. I open the book to a random page and start brewing without even looking at what potion I am making. Tears are rolling down my cheeks and I hastily wipe them away. I'm going to focus on my potion. I am notgoing to think about Ron.

I stir my potion counterclockwise twice followed by clockwise seven times. I add in another rat tail, all without thinking. It is as if my entire mind has gone blank. I am not thinking of anything. I am not seeing anything. My motions are completely robotic.

It takes me hours to finish the potion and by the time I've finished, I'm exhausted. The moment the potions turns clear and I know it's finished, I rest my head in my hands and start to cry. Making the potion calmed me down, but now that I'm finished, I'm a wreck.

"Miss Granger, what on earth are you doing in here?"

I whip around to find Professor Snape looming in the doorway. I hastily wipe the tears from my face.

"I was b-brewing." I hate how my voice shakes.

Snape arches an eyebrow and steps closer to my cauldron. I have a sudden urge to cover my work so he can't see it. The last thing I need is for him to start criticizing my work.

"You brewed this yourself?"

"Y-yes, sir," I say. "I told you brewing calms me but not today."

Regrettably, I start crying as an image of Ron kissing Lavender fills my mind. Through my tears, I notice Snape roll his eyes. He digs into his robes and hands me a small black handkerchief.

I wipe my eyes, embarrassed by my tears. I am not the type of person to cry in front of people- especially professors who don't really care about my feelings and will probably make everything worse.

"Are you aware what potion you brewed, Miss Granger?"

I glance at my potions textbook. "Skele-Gro, sir."

Snape stares at me. His black eyes appear bottomless and I have to look away.

"Surely, you must be aware how difficult of a potion Skele-Gro is to brew? And yet you claim to have done so in what appears to be a few hours. I assume you started this shortly after leaving your detention with me and that was five hours ago."

"Five hours?"

Snape sneers at me, which only makes my already worse mood deepen.

"Surely your hearing has not worsened since then?"

He pauses to look at me critically. I squirm under his gaze before looking once around the room and then back at my potion.

"Miss Granger, have you ever prepared Skele-Gro before?"

"No, sir."

He nods once and then his face turns into a sour scowl.

"It is well past your curfew, Miss Granger and as a professor, I am obligated to give you some form of punishment."

My face falls. This is exactly what I need- another deduction of house points and another two weeks of detention with Snape. Fan-bloody-tastic.

"However, I am willing to look past you most recent rule breaking," he pauses, no doubt trying (and unfortunately succeeding) in making me nervous.

"You are?" I ask when he doesn't continue.

"I will give you excess to my private labs for you to use at your leisure. In exchange, you will give me something."

The offer to use Snape's private lab is so tempting, that I am tempted to agree to anything he asks for in return.

"And what would that be, sir?"

"One hour of your time to be redeemed at an unidentified date."

"Deal."

Snape arches an eyebrow at my eagerness. "I will show you to my labs tomorrow after your finally detention. In the mean time," he sneers, "fifteen points from Gryffindor for being out after curfew."

My eyes harden at him, enhancing his smirk. Although, I really shouldn't have expected him to let me off completely, even if he said he would.

We are halfway back to Gryffindor Tower when I realize that Snape took twenty-five less points when he caught me tonight than he did two weeks ago for doing the same thing.

Maybe Snape could be nice... in his own, dark and twisted way.