Random facts you don't know about me:

I didn't see both HP seventh movies.

I didn't read the seventh book-all the things I know about it is just from friends and family.

I did both 1 and 2 because I hate Rowling for killing my Sev so I'm not going to ever see the movies or read the book.

I cried and isolated myself for a week when my friend called me the day HP 7 came out and told me Snape died in it.

Now: thanks for my super wonderful and amazing beta: Sarah Rensi who I'm afraid I really hurt but still hope she likes me because I couldn't do without her lovely beta-ing!

Now, for some answers to my reviewers:

Kebby- no. it's not what making them fall for each other. I'll explain it better in chapter 14

Lovely Fiasco- I hate Dumbledore too. As I said above, I didn't read the seventh book, though I heard rumors so...but I always hated Dumbledore. he's just too fake and uses everyone like puppets!

HughSoSexy- Snape is an heir of Gryffindor, but he's a Slytherin. So what? The sorting hat didn't make any mistakes. Snape's attributes are all Slytherinish, regardless to his legacy :). And BTW, thanks for the detailed reviews! And sorry you ruined yourself the surprise, but you're in for some more, so have fun!

Chapter 9

They were at Ellie's house…well, mansion, eating the long-promised dinner Maddy practically forced Hermione into.

To Hermione's dismay Professor Snape was there as well as Draco Malfoy. Tobias Snape however wasn't present since he was visiting friends. She understood why Malfoy was there; he was probably hiding from his master after his failure in his mission like the coward he was. Although she didn't understand why Snape…well, a particular Snape had to be there. He was thirty-something for Merlin's sake, why would he eat at his parents'?

The get-together was tense and it took all Hermione's willpower not to avada kedavra Malfoy on the spot. He, on the other hand, smirked and acted, to Maddy's benefit of course, as if he didn't know her, kissing her hand gentlemanly and politely.

She wanted to wash her hand; Repeatedly.

With Snape, though, it was different. She didn't look at him at all. She couldn't. Not after the talk they had.

"So…you probably were thrilled to hear that Hermione's best friend is your mysterious Harry." Maddy shoved a forkful of pasta to her mouth.

"Mmm…" came the noncommittal mumbling from around the table.

"You know, he's a really cool guy." Maddy continued, unaware to the strained atmosphere. "Ellie and I had lots of fun with him and his girlfriend. It wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be; what with hiding the truth from him and all…"

"How nice…" said Eileen over-cheerfully.

"It was! I think you should meet him, Drake; he's like your black-haired twin or something. I'm sure you'd be best friends in no time!"

"I bet." Malfoy laughed, though the sarcasm was lost on Maddy.

"Yes, and guess what, Sev. Apparently Hermione's hatred toward you is not personal."

"It isn't?" he raised an eyebrow at Maddy.

"Nope." She said with a smile. "When I told Harry how much she hated you, he told me that at her boarding school in Scotland she was deeply in love with her chemistry teacher."

"It was more of a meaningless crush, Maddy" Ellie tried to interfere in a small voice.

"Nuh, Harry specifically said she was head over heels for that teacher, weren't you Mione?"

Hermione couldn't answer. She couldn't talk, or move, or even breathe. She sat rooted to her place, looking at Snape with pure horror. She internally cursed Maddy and her big mouth. There was no way Snape wouldn't understand that chemistry was their non-muggle analogy for Potions, was there?

"Don't be embarrassed, we were all in love with one of our teachers at one point in our life. Anyway, Sev, turned out that teacher of hers was a back-stabber. He killed their headmaster because he was from another gang or something like that…so that's, according to my theory, the reason Hermione hates you." She finished triumphantly.

Snape's eyes were locked with hers. She was fixed to her seat, unable to avert her eyes from him. "Is that true? Were you in love with your teacher?" he asked quietly.

"No" she answered weakly.

"Hermione why are you lying to him? He really doesn't deserve that treatment from you, you know." Maddy was stubbornly trying to make Snape feel comfortable in Hermione's unpleasant presence. "He's done nothing but try to be nice to you. Don't you think you at least owe him an explanation for your behavior toward-"

"Shut up Maddy" Ellie nudged her with an elbow, desperate now.

"I'm only trying to help" she said, hurt. "She sulks around him for a reason he cannot control!"

"Were you in love with your chemistry teacher?" he asked again, more penetratingly this time.

"Yes" her voice broke as she answered him, unable to stand his gaze.

"And now you hate him." he stated in a soft tone that Hermione didn't recognize.

"As intensely as I loved him." she said voice cracking with every word.

"There is no need to bring that matter up now, why won't we go back to our cheery selves?" Eileen said trying to lighten the air.

They kept eating in silence, when suddenly Malfoy snorted "from another gang…" he muttered under his breath.

Hermione was shooting daggers at him now. "You know, Draco, at that school of mine, there was a worthless shit of a student, who let that other gang in; allowing the son of a beach to kill our headmaster. The weakling then ran away, and went into hiding. But if I could see him, I'd tell him to run and hide. There isn't a place far enough for him, for I'm going to find him and personally kill him." She finished, rising from the table, letting her fork fall, making a ringing noise. "Thank you for the dinner, Mrs. Snape, it was lovely." She fled the room, not trusting herself to be in this house anymore.

"Hermione!" Ellie ran after her. "Please don't leave! I'm sorry about what Draco said. Please!"

"I can't!" tears strolled freely down her face now. "I'm not sure I won't kill your boyfriend or brother, and I really just want to get away from him. I can't bear to be near either of them. I just want to curl up in my bad and…"

"I'm sorry, please, just…argh! Why is Maddy so tactless? Can't she take a hint?"

"Don't blame her. She really is trying to make things better. It's not her fault she only makes things worst!"

"Hermione!" it was Maddy now "please don't go! Was it something I said? I'm sure Drake didn't mean to be disrespectful to your grief… he's just a bit stressed out now over something with his parents…please come back or he would feel terrible. He's a really nice guy who wouldn't hurt a fly!" she rambled guiltily.

The whole situation seemed so surreal to Hermione, and with combination with what Maddy, unaware of their history, said, and all the stress she was going through, she simply laughed.

Maddy looked puzzled, and eventually she dragged Hermione back to the dining room, where they finished dinner in awkward silence.

~~~!~~~

"Please take your seats" Severus ordered the minute he entered his classroom.

"Are you okay, Mister S?" one of his more clinging students asked, her eyelashes fluttering quicker than a butterfly's wings.

No he was not okay! It was Thursday again, and it was only yesterday at dinner that he found out His Hermione hated him. Not that he didn't know that before, but he discovered she used to be in love with him, and now he missed his opportunity, forever.

"Why wouldn't I be" he asked bitterly. "I'm just super. Now take out your books and start reading from where we left. If you have any questions I'm here" he said, sitting heavily in his desk.

"What, like…read alone?" another student asked "we never did anything like that."

"So start now!" he snapped at them. For the first time in all his years as a teacher here, at Greenmeadow high, he acted like Professor Snape. The whole day he walked the corridors of the school like a grey cloud. He didn't flirt once with any of his students, he didn't smile and he gave more punishments than he gave on a bad day at Hogwarts. His student didn't understand what came over him. Even his homework assignment for his students was Hogwarts-like.

"I want to see a paper about what you read for our next lesson. It has to be at least six pages long. No excuses." He shot instructions. To his annoyance, Hermione was smiling widely at the back of the class, and he couldn't see why.

"But how are we supposed to do it? In our book there are only two pages about the topic, where would we find-"

"I trust you are not deprived of the internet, Sam, run a search" he interrupted him. "Now be gone. All of you" he barked, and they all filed out hurriedly, concerned and bewildered.

"What?" he snarled as he saw Hermione approaching to his desk. All he wanted to do was to wallow in his misery, but the source of it was coming to further torment him, no doubt.

"It's Thursday. I'm supposed to take a test."

A tingly sensation ran through his dark-marked arm. His master was calling him. What a great timing!

"I'm sorry, Miss Granger, but I don't think you can take the test now. I am being summoned." he held his arm in his other hand.

"So I will have to take it next week?" she asked, disappointed. "Can't I... can't I take the test at home? I'll hand it over to you next week." she quickly promised undoubtedly not wanting to be at his presence a day more than necessary.

"No, but you can take it and bring it to me this evening." He was starting to feel uncomfortable sensation in his arm by now. Usually, his master didn't inflict pain upon him when he summoned him; not like he did with the other death-eaters, due to his high rank and closeness to his master. Although now, when he failed to show, the Dark Lord started to slowly cause some pain. "Ask Ellie for the address. Now if you'll excuse me, your grandfather's becoming persistent" and with that, he disapparated.

~~~!~~~

She knocked a few times at the door, her heart in her throat. She was facing Severus Snape's apartment now. She wanted to run away before he'd be able to open the door. She didn't understand why she hadn't thought about leaving the test in his mailbox, but it was too late, since the door swung open almost as soon as she knocked.

"Come in" he motioned for her to enter, scattering every hope she had to hand him the test and escape.

Hermione entered hesitantly. She scanned the apartment as he led her to what apparently was his study. Tons of books adorned the walls of it, and Hermione's breath was taken away with the sight. How she would love to go through each and every one of them! To her surprise, she discovered there a few pictures of her. Some of him holding her baby form, and some of her in recent years, mostly cut out of newspapers or duplicates of photos she recognized from her parent's house.

He still seemed to be in the same foul mood he had been in earlier, but it looked like he was trying to be civil. He took a folder from one of his drawers, and placed her test carefully there. Then he took from the same folder a paper handing it over to her.

"That's your test from last week." She swiftly snatched it from his fingers, eagerly skimming the pages for the grade.

98%, in a blood red pen was mocking her. What did he take the two points for?

"I'm sorry, sir, but I did explain it." she said, referring to the explanation that was neatly written next to the question he deducted the points from.

"No you did not. I believe I can read." his anger was back in an instant.

"Really, professor, here it is, I clearly stated that-"

"If I decided to take those points it probably wasn't as clear as you think it was."

"It's not the first time you've deducted points just for the sake of it. It's as if you do it just to spite me! What did I do to you?" her face was red with anger and she couldn't seem to control herself.

"Do I detect an accusation, Miss Granger?" he asked in a dangerously low and calm voice.

"You most certainly do sir!" she wanted nothing more than to punch him as he advanced, doubtlessly trying to intimidate her by looming over her "you keep pushing me, trying to piss me off in purpose, trying my patience, driving me to the edge of my self-control calling me pet names as if I were your own to-"

"Mine!" he roared possessively at her before he crashed his lips to hers hungrily, brutally.

Hermione's mind froze, her senses becoming numb from the breath-taking kiss. It was as if he was trying to shove her as closely to him as possible, as she found herself flinging her arms around his neck, pulling him close. She was tugging at his hair, playing with it, not wanting the kiss to ever end. His tongue was battling hers; when the hell did she grant it permission to enter? It was making her loose her sanity, and her knees buckled, giving away.

'I'm kissing Severus Snape.' She thought as she wrapped her legs around his waist, knowing she'd fall otherwise.

Was it a dream? Another one of her desire-filled fantasies that left her yearning and empty? Was she going to wake up frustrated again?

God, he felt so good!

Eventually Snape pulled away just a little bit to enable them both to fill their deprived lungs with air. Their foreheads were resting against each other, both breathing heavily.

Suddenly, Hermione realized the situation she was in. She quickly untangled herself from his torso, and without looking back she ran away from his house.

What was she thinking kissing her teacher with such abandon, so wantonly? Was she crazy? Did she lose her mind? He was a murderer! She shouldn't have…no, couldn't have let herself participate in such...sheer madness!

She was driving blindingly to her apartment, and thankfully she didn't run anyone over. Not even realizing when she unlocked her door and drifted to her room. She dropped to her bed and started to cry in pain.

She was a fool; a fool for giving into him; a fool for giving in to her feelings; a fool for kissing him.

And for the first time since Dumbledore's death she admitted to herself that she was also a fool for so burningly being in love with him.

~~~##*##~~~

Finally a kiss! Lovely Fiasco, you must be thrilled!

Though Hermione didn't take it so nicely, did she now? I don't know what she was thinking to herself. I mean, hello! Sev's kissing you! Shut up and kiss him some more!

Oooooh… and I liked how Maddy tactlessly told Snape Hermione used to love him…

What do you think? Review now! Yes you! I'm talking to you!