I am so sorry! I didn't mean to take this long to update! Please forgive this unworthy one! But really, I had finals and other school related things and I forgot. It's summer, so I should be able to keep a constant updating schedule, but I really can't promise anything because I'm lazy. Also, I'm just finishing my first novel, so I might be spending time doing that. I want to get published! Okay, I understand that this just sounds like a load of excuses. I'll try, I promise.

Oh, I forgot my disclaimer the past few chapters. Achem…- The Harry Potter series in no way belongs to me. I'm just borrowing them. They will be returned, if not completely sane. Sanity was not in the contract. :speaks to lawyer: You mean sanity was in the contract! Damn! Any of you know a really good therapist to return sanity to these characters?

Charmed as a Bleeding Rose

Chapter 10

By: Allore NightShadow

Hermione knocked on the room she had been told would be Professor Snape's. She waited a moment for him to answer and then went to knock again. The door opened before she had a chance to knock and so she stood there for a moment with her hand in the air.

"Miss Granger." He acknowledged.

"I'm sorry you had to come all the way out here." She said hurriedly.

Severus raised an eyebrow at her. "Indeed."

Hermione looked up at him carefully, making sure that he wasn't angry, before she continued speaking. "Would you like to see the potion's lab?"

Severus looked at Hermione for a moment before inclining his head and stepping out from the room that he had been set to.

Hermione took this for a yes. She had come to learn that Professor Snape was not one for more words than were necessary.

She led him outside and past the many buildings to the one on the farthest side of the school grounds. Alexandros followed silently behind and had Severus been anyone else, he wouldn't have know, but as it was, he was just annoyed at the man.

The building that Hermione led him to was a large one, perhaps the oldest in the area. She pulled out a key to unlock the door and locked it firmly again behind them. They were in a long hallway with only four doors. Hermione opened the first door on the right and led Severus through it.

"This is the Potions Classroom."

The room lit magically as soon as they stepped into the room. Though it was light outside, the room was lit only by the magical illumination. There were no windows in a healthy potions room because many ingredients were ruined by sunlight. This one was no different. There were tables set in a circle around the room with chairs on the inside so that the students would have to face the wall and be unable to see each other. Severus could see how this would be a beneficial learning environment. The teacher could stand in the center of the room and overlook each potion and each student without it being known who exactly they were watching.

Hermione continued walking to the other side of the room and opened a door behind the teacher's desk.

Severus followed Hermione at a brisk pace, not used to following others. He looked into the room that Hermione blocked and could feel his eyes open in shock. The tinted glass jars holding the different ingredients must have cost one hundred galleons each.

Severus swept in and surveyed the room.

Hermione smiled as she saw the way her feared potions master ran his fingers over everything in the room so delicately, the way he softened ever so slightly, and the twinkle of excitement that gleamed, most likely unknown, through his eyes.

"This is the potion master's laboratory?" Severus inquired.

"No, mine." Hermione replied.

Severus looked at her for a long moment.

"Feel free to use anything in the room."

Once again, Severus looked at the girl before him, trying to find any sign of alternate motive, but found none. In moves swift with practice, Severus set up equipment to his liking.

"Why have you not mentioned your father to Dumbledore?" Severus said, still focused on the potion he was brewing.

"Nobody ever asked." Severus looked up to stare at Hermione for a long moment. She began to fidget under his steady stare. "My parents don't get along. I fail to mention my father because it upsets my mother. I visit my father on school holidays and I'm afraid that if I mention it to anyone, that it will get back to my mother. She may live in the muggle world, surround herself with the muggle world, but she knows how to enact a magical contract. I am required, by the terms of my parents divorce, to live the years I am schooled with my mother and by the terms she added, forbidden to stay with my father. As long as my mother does not know, she will not magically bind me to the terms of her divorce."

Severus paused in the splitting of the beetle eyes that he was going to use for the potion he was making.

"Do you believe that your mother would really enact a magical binding to keep you from your father?"

Hermione stared at him for a moment, her eyes serious and hateful for a moment. When that moment passed, the look was gone and Severus had to wonder if that jaded look was all in his mind.

"My mother would give me to my father if she were able, but my mother has a terrible sense of spite. If she is forced to keep me, then she alone will keep me and my father would not be allowed to see me. I am not a daughter, I am a means to taunt the man she once called husband."

"Then why did she let you leave today? Your mother knew who you would be with."

Hermione closed her eyes briefly before opening them again and facing the question. "My mother would never appear to know anything magical in front of her dear muggle husband."

Severus looked at Hermione to see her jaw clenched and her nails biting into her palms so hard that her knuckles were turning white. Not knowing what made him do it, Severus moved his hand out to touch her hand. Ever so slowly her hand relaxed and then she pulled away as if nothing had happened.

(o)

One week went by at Salem School before Hermione was ready to return. It was a week in Hermione's laboratory, a week of avoiding Alexandros and a week of one large feline following Severus around. It seemed as if Raissa had taken a liking to him. Crookshanks, ever the wise animal, watched Severus like a hawk.

They were at the apparition point when Severus thought of something. "There is supposed to be a teacher and student from this school coming to Hogwarts. So you know anything of this?"

Hermione wouldn't meet his eyes. "Yes, I was told. They'll come the night before classes start."

He held out his hand for her.

Hermione looked at his hand as if it would bite her.

"Take my hand, Miss Granger." Hermione continued to look at the appendage as if it were the embodiment of evil. "Miss Granger, we a apparating back to Hogwarts. Unless you have illegally learned to apparate, in which case I would recommend that you not let me find out, you need to take my hand so that we can apparate."

Hermione nodded and gingerly placed her hand on top of his.

They apparated.

(o)

It was on day before the Hogwart's Express returned with all the students in tow. It was another before the new teacher arrived with the new student in tow.

The dining hall was loud with many different people speaking, all of them trying to speak load enough to be heard, so in effect, the volume of the room kept rising and rising. As this was normal at Hogwarts, nobody mentioned anything or asked anyone to be quieter.

Professor Dumbledore waited until the last of the food was finished and sent back down to the kitchens for the house elves to clean up before he began his announcement. He stood and shot a few rainbow colored sparks into the air to catch the students attention and waited until the hall fell silent. Albus Dumbledore may have been old, but he was as much of a child as many of the students of Hogwarts. Sometimes children responded better to other children than they did to the adults trying to run their lives.

"I would like to make a few announcements. First, I'm sure you all remember our dear Professor Yuki who ran screaming from our halls before you were let out on holiday. I'm sure you are all going to regret not having Professor Snape continue taking over you Defense against the Dark Arts class," There were a few well placed snickers throughout the hall and one loud "Yeah bloody right!" from somewhere in the vicinity of the Gryffindor table, "but we have found a replacement."

Professor Dumbledore motion to someone on the teachers entrance. He had dark auburn hair and blue eyes, was tall and thin. He was also unnaturally young for a teacher; he didn't look more than twenty-five. It was this last attribute that elicited the hoots and yells from the females of Hogwarts. They may be divided by houses, but they would not let a little thing like house rivalries keep them from ogling a handsome male.

Professor Dumbledore waited until the girl quieted down on there own before continuing. "This is Professor Alexandros Athan."

Severus had been ignoring the man before he mentioned the name. It could be a coincidence, could be, but Severus never believed in coincidences. He looked up into the grinning face of Alexandros. A scowl flew across his face as he searched the room for Hermione. When he found her at the end of the Gryffindor table she looked around as if she felt his eyes on her and then met his eyes. She shrugged and went on the ignoring her surly professor.

"With Professor Athan comes his nephew Artemis Athan, who will be joining us for the remainder of his seventh year. Both come from Salem School of Witchcraft." There were a few shouts of "Bloody Americans!" as well as a few groans from the crowd.

A tall male entered from the same door that Alexandros had entered. He was lean, not lank as his uncle had been, but clearly not sporting an ounce of fat. He was muscular, but in that way that was pure genetics, something he obviously didn't have to try for.

While his eyes were brown instead of the bright blue of his uncle's, his hair was the same color, though Artemis's hair was grown past his shoulders (and held back with a hair tie) and Alexandros's didn't fall past his ears. There was a resemblance in facial features, especially because their ages were so close together, but the resemblance was such that is was easily ignored.

"We would have sorted him in front of everyone, but Mister Athan insisted it be done immediately. He has been sorted into Slytherin."

The Slytherin house cheered, though the girls were perhaps the most inviting.

"Just what we need," Ron grumbled from beside Hermione, "Another Slytherin."

Hermione rounded on Ron. "Will you shut up! It's just a house."

Ron looked at Harry over Hermione, but he just shrugged. Neither knew what had crawled up Hermione's ass, though Harry was willing to bet that it was PMS and Ron stayed blissfully ignorant.

From across the hall, Artemis sought Hermione's eye and when he caught it, he grinned widely.

When Hermione turned back to her table, she was shocked to find Alistar standing next to her.

"Somebody's keeping secrets." He taunted.

(o)

Allore NightShadow

(o)

I really wanted to make this longer because of my long wait, but I couldn't think of anything else to write for this chapter. But, I do have the next three chapters nearly planned out, something I usually don't do, so it should not take as long for me to get out the next chapters as it took for this one. I hope I have not lost any readers during this long wait.

NOTE TO FLUFF SEEERS: I know that this story has been short of actual romance, and it is in the romance category, but I need to have plot, extensive plot. You'll be happy to know that I got most of my beginning plot out and there will be real romance (sort of) within the next few chapter. Love is in the air…. Or at least… well, I am really not sure what, exactly, is in the air.

Thanks to my reviewers:

Meenyrocks- The point of introducing Hermione's father is to help move along my plotline. Truthfully, I could have not put him there, but that little Hermione in my head told me to. I don't have any idea what she has planned.

GinnyGin- Actually, I have seen stories with American transfer students before. I needed to make this character form somewhere, and America is the place that I know best, though he's not really from America…. Never mind, forget I said anything. Bad Allore, bad, what have I told you about giving out plot hints. BAD!

Spike1368- She is powerful enough to still be believable. I hate those all powerful, suddenly they are stronger than everyone characters.

Natsuyori- Well, your hard drive must be larger than mine. I ran out of room after fifty episodes.

MagickAlianne- I have problems keeping my priorities in order. I update when I'm able and when that little Severus and Hermione make me.

Lily of the Shadow- I hope this explains things for you.

Also, thanks to…

SamSnape18

Watergodesskasey

Severus-Fan

Ayla3baby

Chantal J

Lu Ling Qi

Ariana the musical genius

Indil Elondili

Padfoot'smoon

LightofTitania

Psychoravenclaw

MORE!- nice name, it says it all.

Thanks again to everyone who read my story, even those who don't or can't review.

You know, it surprises me how many Harry Potter fans like anime as well. Is this just another wonder of the world?

Allore NightShadow