Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character of Harry Potter or the story itself. This entire wondrous world is the possession of J.K. Rowling.
Author's note:Sorry it took so long! I had to keep a little distance from my story to see if it was going where I wanted to! Plus, I felt more like reading all the wonderful stories you are writing! Hope you still enjoy reading it!
The first thing Hermione did when she entered Hogwarts was to see her friends to ask them what she missed that day. Having young Severus Snape to "take care of" was not a reason for her to lower the importance she gave to studying.
"So, we have a transfiguration essay for the class next week and we have an exam in charms?" she repeated her tasks.
"Yeah, but you will surely have more time than us to do it, as you missed class for important affair." stated Harry.
"Nonsense, I don't need this. I will be ready for both of our works. In fact, I will begin the essay tonight!"
"Tonight...? Mione, I will never understand you! We've got a week to do it!" said Ron bewildered.
"At least, I don't ask my friends for their work because I'm not able to do a proper schedule!"
Ron only answered to her attack with some grumbles as he tried to hide is head into his shoulders. Harry tried to stifle his laughter. 'They will never change...' he thought happily.
"Say, William... I remember I wanted to tell you something..." asked Harry turning his head to him.
Severus only raised an eyebrow, showing him that he waited for the question. Harry took that as a 'yes...?' and followed.
"...I was wondering if you were there at the Triwizard tournament. I'm sure I've seen you somewhere before... but I just don't get it where. I though that as you were from Drumstrang...maybe..."
Hermione glanced at Severus with a look of fear in her face. 'Does he know it is Professor Snape younger self...? Did he recognize him?'
"I was not in the Triwizard tournament. You must have mistaken me with somebody else." Snape answered flatly.
"...You know what is really strange?" continued Harry.
'I don't like this... I don't like this...' the voice in Hermione head kept repeating as she watched the scene.
"What is it?" asked Severus with exasperation in his voice. 'Is it typically Gryffindor to never come to the point quickly...?'
"Well, you don't look like...from there. I'm mean. How can I say this...? The traits of their face are pretty much stronger than yours... and you have a British accent. Some would think you're not really from Drumstrang..."
'Ok! That's enough Hermione, get the hell out of here before it becomes out of hand!' she cried in utter panic in her head.
Surprisingly, Severus was very calm and that calmed Hermione a bit. 'Maybe he has a plan...' she hoped biting her lower lip.
"You're right. I have a British accent. My parents come from here, but they moved out as I was a kid, I still got the accent and the look of the British, even thought I studied in Drumstrang." he smirked.
"Oh. Okay. Sorry... I've made a big scene of this for nothing." He lowered a little his head to his feet as some red colour was spreading across his cheeks.
Severus nodded accepting his apologize. He didn't want to say 'it's nothing' or anything like that... it was Potter son! He didn't want to be nice with him. Already talking to him was a big deal.
On her side, Hermione was finally taking back her breath. Severus came with a wonderful explanation! Harry could not suspect anything strange from him anymore! Could he...? She decided to take this moment of silence to excuse herself from her two friends saying that William and she had a lot of study to do. Plus, she had to see if at "Drumstrang" they were at the same point in their lessons.
---
The two of them passed the evening studying and working together in their living room with books spread everywhere on the floor. By the end of the day, Hermione and Severus had time to finish the transfiguration essay. She was very happy to finally talk to someone who gave as much importance as her to her school grades. They both wanted nothing less but excellence. They spent mostly all the evening in silence, they only talked to ask for a book or for sharing their point of view on some information the books gave. They both enjoyed a lot the time they spent together, loving this sweet silence.
---
At midnight, Hermione was still studying her charms lessons in her bed. Severus and she split to their respective room two hours before. She yawned and decided it was time for her to sleep. She gathered all her books and placed them near her bed on the floor; she stood up and made her way to the bathroom for preparing herself to sleep.
When she went out of the bathroom, she noticed the light that came from the small overture of the door of Severus's chamber. She tip-toed to his door and peeked her head in the overture. She saw that he was still awake, reading a book. She decided to finally talk with him some more before going to sleep and she entered his bedroom.
"Can't sleep?" she asked as she opened the door.
Severus jumped in his bed, startled, closed the book quickly, put it under his cover and looked up at Hermione. When he saw her, he raised an eyebrow.
"Can't you knock on the door?" he snarled.
"Yes! Look!" and she knocked as she said it.
He frowned. "I mean before entering my personal space."
"Ah! Your personal space? Isn't it you who invade my room?" she replied angrily.
"It's not as if I had a choice!" he barked.
"Ugh! You are insufferable you know? I just wanted to chat with you a little before going to sleep but you had to make a big fuss out of it, because I surprised you looking at your yearbook!" she snapped back.
"...You...?" his eyes widened.
"Yes! I saw! Even how hard enough you tried to hide it to me, and for what I don't know, because there is no shame to show that you miss your time! But nooo, you have to be the bitter-without-emotion-Snape again! Well, stay alone! I do not wish you good night!" she finished storming out of his room.
Some seconds later, Severus heard a loud thud when she closed the door of her chamber. He startled a little at the noise. He sighed and decided to leave her at her crisis. It was her anyway who started everything... not knocking on his door. With a flick of his wand he closed all the lights of his room and tried to sleep.
Two hours later, Severus opened his eyes again. It has been an incredible amount of time he turned into his bed without being able to sleep. 'It must be because I'm not acclimated yet to my new environment.' he tried to convince himself, but he knew too well why he couldn't sleep. He growled.
"Why do I even care...?" he whispered to himself wondering why the fact that he hurt Hermione's feelings prevented him to sleep. He sighed again and decided to go see her, hoping she would still be awake.
When he was in the front of her room, he took a deep breath and knock quietly at her door. No one answered. He knocked again a little louder. The same. He decided to turn the knuckle of the door and noticed that it was locked.
"Alohomora." he whispered.
He entered her room and went to her bed. She was sleeping peacefully. Even though, he noticed all the handkerchiefs beside her bed. 'So I made her cry...' he thought bitterly.
Just when he was about to leave her room, ruminating about the way he is, he heard some mumbling and then a more distinct voice.
"You could knock on the door, you know..." Hermione said wryly.
"...I... knocked! Two times." he said protectively.
"I was joking..." a small smile formed on her lips as she sat in her bed.
"...You are not mad at me?"
"Not anymore."
"Why?" he asked very surprised of her change of mood.
"Because it's not worth it... Sometimes, we have to forgive some mistakes some people do... We have to move on. Don't you think?"
Severus blinked once... and twice. 'She gives me another chance? She forgives me? That's unexpected.'
"Yes, I do...I-I'm...Sorry..." he mumbled, the words being very painful to pronounce.
"What?" she raised an eyebrow.
"You heard me. Don't make me repeat." he warned her.
She grinned showing all her white teeth.
"May I...?" Severus asked pointed the end of her bed.
She nodded as he sat at the complete opposite of her in her bed. They stayed silent for some minutes, an awkward silence this time.
"You were looking for her, right...?"
He looked up at her, in shocked. 'How does she now...? She knows for Lily...?'
"...Your Gryffindor friend, Dumbledore talked about...? she continued her voice barely audible.
"Oh!... Yeah."
"Do you miss her?"
"A little."
Hermione lowered her head at this answer. 'Of course he misses her. What do you think? And why do you care anyway...?'
"...But only a little, because you're here with me." the words slipped from his mouth as he extended a hand to put it gently on hers. 'Did I say that?' He looked ad their hands together, blushed and took it away abruptly. Hermione blushed too. Fortunately, it was to dark in the room for them to notice the colour on each other cheeks.
She looked up and smiled warmly at him. "This is really sweet Severus."
He shrugged feeling uneasy.
"May I ask you who it is...?" she asked as the curiosities take it over.
'Do I tell her the truth...?' "Lily Evans." he sputtered. 'Why do words keep slipping out?!'
Hermione eyes widened as she realized the proportion of what she had learn. "...This is why you hate Harry! Because James took Lily from you! This is why you make our life as students insufferable when we are around you! Oh, this is so immature of you!... I mean... from Professor Snape."
"...I guess so. But I'm not him. To be honest, I know it is a mask. He's not like this. I'm not like this. Being mean is the best way to hide our weaknesses."
Hermione simply nodded at that. It was strange for her to have the other-side of the medal. She never had though it could be a mask. Nevertheless, she always thought that his past... the future of young Severus had change a lot of his personality. The young Severus didn't seem like a happy person, but at least, he didn't look tormented.
"What happened...between you and her?" she asked unsurely, not knowing if she was going too far in her questioning.
"...I called her a Mudblood." He murmured as he lowered his head.
"Oh... I see... Do you...regret it?"
"Everyday. I said this without thinking... That Potter and Black were bullying me and Lily tried to take my defence... only take my defence... and I screwed everything because of my arrogance... I never thought a word of what I said... She was my best...friend... and I lost her." he finished with a strangled voice.
Hermione noticed that he tried to retain the tears that were forming in his eyes and was very surprised to see Severus in such a helpless state. He was still young, now, like her... with the same problems that people of their age had. Though, she began to notice that his teenage years didn't look like a fairytale at all. 'As he ever been happy...?'
She put off the blanket of her and approached him before taking him into a warm soothing embrace. That gentle attention was enough to break all the walls of the young Severus as he burst into tears on her shoulders.
Hermione felt now pretty uneasy. A crying man was already really weird and touching, but her...professor? It was weirder and even more touching. When he sobbed on her shoulders, she was stroking his back in a comforting way, telling him that it was okay to cry and that he needed it. After what seemed to be like hours to Hermione, Severus stopped crying; he released himself from her arms gently and rubbed his arm uneasily.
"Sorry... It was pitiful. I'm never like this."
Hermione shook her head with exaggeration. "No! It was not pitiful at all, Severus! Stop lowering yourself! It's normal. You're not in your time. You saw what you've become. You learned a lot of painful things in only one day... It's a lot to cope... There's just one thing I not sure I heard well...James and Sirius were bullying...you? Why?"
"I'm an easy target it would seem..."
"Strange how perceptions are wrong sometimes. Whose seem means are good and good are means... I always had a better...perception of them. I never thought they would..."
"Be cruel?" he snapped.
She barely nodded. "That's a revelation..." she bitted her lower lip. "But...you know Severus... Harry is not his father. He didn't even have the time to know him."
"I know this. I'm not dumb."
"Oh really?" she said playfully.
He blinked. "Hey! You're supposed to comfort me! Not saying I'm a dunce!"
She laughed heartedly and then her features became more serious again. "...Severus?"
"Yes?" he looked up at her.
"Would you thing lower of me if I told you I am a muggle-born too...?"
His eyes widened in surprise. 'Life has a lot of surprises...' "Not at all."
She smiled and squeezed his hand to let him know that it meant a lot to her.
"...And...would you think lower of me if I told you I'm a half-blood?" said Severus.
"...Wait? What? You're not a pure-blood?"
"No... Is it bothering you?"
"I'm just surprised... You being a Slytherin... and well you were about to join the deatheaters who only thinks pureblood are great."
"I know... What you should know though is that I wasn't going there with all my heart. It was all that was left for me."
"You know you're wrong. We always got a choice. Two possibilities." she scolded.
"I know. Now. I didn't really notice before. It was there... but I wasn't seeing it. You change a lot of things in me in only one day Hermione Granger." he smiled.
At that, she was at loss of words. Her. Hermione Granger. Speechless.
"I should...go to sleep now... shouldn't I?"
"I don't want too" she chimed.
Severus only raised an eyebrow.
"...I would like to talk some more Severus. It's too...nice..."
Severus smirked, but deep inside him he was jumping of joy. He lay in the bed beside her and they talked till they dozed off in the early morning hours, cuddling.
