An Unknown Emotion

Snape sat fuming in his lab. The nerve of that woman!-girl! Intruding into his space, the space that was supposed to be a retreat away from that insufferable know-it-all. Why did he invite her down here anyway? He hadn't, not explicitly speaking. She had somehow weaseled her way into helping him make the potion.

What infuriated him the most was the affect she was having on him. He didn't mean to be such a 'prat' as she called him. He could actually be civil. He had proved that on countless occasions when Dumbledore would drag him into his office for some tea.

It was those damn eyes. Whenever she felt challenged or threatened, her eyes seemed to expand and he could see that glint of anger flash in them. He enjoyed seeing that fiery glow. Then there were the times that they would light up with curiosity when she would hurl a million questions a minute. Or when he would say something that made her sad.

Her eyes were very enthralling. When she was happy her eyes seemed to smile. He felt weird whenever that happened so he preferred them when they were angry the best. He surmised it was because he was a Death Eater and had been spending too much time with heartless sods. But honestly she was much more entertaining mad then when she was reading. Damn, why was he thinking about her eyes! He should be concentrating on how infuriating she was…is!

She was so annoying because she was always right. She knew too much and she was younger than him. She was his student for Merlin's sake, or former student. He shouldn't be enjoying her company or looking for ways to make her mad just because he preferred her to look at him then those books. She shouldn't be clever and as smart as him. There were so many sides to this puzzle he just couldn't concentrate on just one.

One thing was certain; he needed to finish the potion by the end of next week. Therefore, he desperately needed her help. That was why she was down here, damn. He needed a drink. More importantly, he needed to snap out of whatever his brain was telling him about Miss Granger at the moment. She was a child, a very independent and stunning and clever child, a child who looked like a woman. A somewhat attractive woman. Bloody hell, he was in trouble. Snape headed upstairs banishing all thoughts from his mind and just concentrated on staying mad.

He knocked quietly on her door and waited. She yanked it open her eyes cold and angry. Snape felt that familiar pang in his stomach but quickly brushed it aside. Just a child, just a child he kept saying in his head.

"Miss Granger," he greeted coolly.

"Snape," she bit back.

He cleared his throat unsure how to approach this situation. He couldn't just apologize but then she wouldn't agree to come back downstairs if he didn't.

"The daisy roots still need to be chopped."

She raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. That didn't work.

"When I add the peppermint," he tried again "I am going to need some to immediately put in the orange peel and monks food."

"If you don't have anything to say to me besides ingredients then I suggest you leave,"

Snape matched her icy glare. He needed her help there was no arguing that. "I apologize."

She raised her eyebrow expecting more but Snape would not bend. He had apologized and he had never done that. He wasn't going to grovel. He really needed that drink.

"Fine," she swept past him and down the stairs. Snape followed her back to his lab and they immediately started back on the potion. He tried not to glance at her too much or make any snide remarks.

"Do you have any Acromantula venom?" she asked after a while not looking up from her potion.

Snape went over to his cupboard and shuffled around a few of his ingredients until he ran into the vile of venom. He returned with the vial clutched in his hand and held it out for her. She looked up from her potion with a look of shock and surprise.

"You actually have Acromantula venom lying around?"

He rolled his eyes annoyed. "You asked Miss Granger and I provided. If you did not think that I had some why waste my time in asking."

She shrugged. "I don't know. This is a really rare ingredient, not one that many people have." Her eyes turned to that curious look, "Did you collect it yourself? How did you get it? Was it really dangerous?"

He placed the vial on the table since it was clear she wasn't going to take it from his hands and sneered, "I suggest you be extremely careful with this ingredient Miss Granger because as you said it is rare and therefore very precious."

He went back over to his desk and looked at his notes again trying to get her stupid eyes out of his head.

"Professor?"

"I thought I told you not to call me that," he said looking up from his potion. She stood there with a bewildered look on her face.

"I didn't think you were serious, sir."

Snape smirked and folded his arms. "I am always serious Miss Granger. I think I have already told you that."

She smiled faintly and shook her head. "Yes, you have told me that but I have found that it isn't true."

"No?" Snape said raising one of his eyebrows.

"You often make sarcastic comments. And I feel that you really don't hate the world as you often profess. And I think secretly you enjoy my company," she smiled triumphantly thinking that she had just discovered a truth that not even Dumbledore knew.

"I think you give yourself too much credit Miss Granger. And for once you are wrong."

"For once sir?" her smile grew a little bigger and Snape mentally kicked himself. He could not win today.

"Get back to work. Your potion is boiling," He snapped. She glanced down at her boiling potion and let out a little surprised yelp. Snape smirked and turned back to his station.

After a few minutes of silence in which Miss Granger wrestled with her potion to get it back under control, she spoke again.

"Um, sir?"

Snape looked up when she didn't continue.

"What should I call you?" she finally asked.

He stared at her for a moment, confused till he remembered to what she was referring to.

"You may call me Severus if you must," he said gruffly. "But this doesn't mean we are friends Miss Granger. So don't come crying to me—"

"About my personal problems," she said interrupting him. She smiled. He glared. "Of course I would never dream of thinking that we were anything but two unfortunate people who have to spend almost every waking moment together. So, never fear I shall not turn into some 'tempestuous teenager during my duration in your house."

"As it should be," he said turning back to his potion to hide his smirk.

After a few more hours Snape had managed to once again ruin his potion. He knew that he was closer to getting it right. Luckily, he had not botched it up as much as to cause an explosion. He looked over at Miss Granger's table to see how she was fairing. He was happy to note that her potion had turned a murky brown color and she was frowning.

Of course he reasoned, he shouldn't be feeling elated at that moment since he still didn't have a potion for the Dark Lord but he was glad that she hadn't been successful on her first try.

"It seems your potion is not the color that it is supposed to be Miss Granger." He said smugly.

She glared at him and then glanced at his potion. "And how would you know what color my potion is supposed to be?"

"A shade of orange I do believe. If you are using the Bulbadox Powder that is."

"Your potion seems to have turned a nasty yellow color, sir. Not orange."

They eyed each other for a moment before Snape cleared away both of their potions with a wave of his wand. Another failed day. "It seems that neither of our potions were very successful."

"Nope," she smiled. Snape felt that little flutter in his stomach and decided it was about time to call it a night. "Do you want some dinner?" she asked.

He nodded and they went upstairs to prepare dinner. They went over what they had used in their potions and what had worked and what hadn't worked. By the end of the meal they had decided what went wrong and what they needed to add and take away for the potion to work.

"I think I am going to go to bed now," Hermione said rising from the table. Snape cleared the table with another wave of his wand and followed her into the hall.

"Good-night Miss Granger," he called after her. She turned around on the stairs and smiled down at him.

"Good-night Pro—I mean Severus," she flashed him another big smile and headed the rest of the way to her room. Snape was left at the bottom of the steps feeling a little out of sorts. He was thinking that perhaps he should have let her keep calling him Professor. That would serve as a reminder to him and to whatever his deranged head was thinking was wrong.

Thanks so much for the wonderful reviews. Glad that you guys liked the last chapter and that it did flow well. This chapter was closer to how I imagined things to go. I have a feeling that these two will continue to be a thorn in my side. At least Severus is cooperating…somewhat. He is at least developing some sort of feelings for Herimione. I will try to have the next chapter up by Thursday at the latest.