Chapter Eleven
Son of a...
Snape's POV
I was debating whether or not to find Hermione. I'm certain you must think me a dirty old man. Believe me, if I could turn this off I would. The problem was this: she acted well above her age.
I know, I know. Countless men have used that as an excuse. Hermione Granger did though. There was a seriousness to her that no other girl had ever had. Lily had been wonderful but I had always known that she needed someone like James Potter. Personally though, I felt her and Sirius were a better match.
That doesn't mean I liked either Potter or Sirius. The second generation of Potter wasn't as bad when he wasn't thinking I was the root of the most recent set of problems. Really I was getting a little tired of being the villian of everything.
Hermione caught me off guard. I knew Potter was coming when he arrived at school but I had given up on expecting anything from any students. Draco Malfoy was what I expected from Lucius' son. Potter was predictably annoying and yet he was saving the world. Ginny Weasley was a pleasant surprise but she wasn't as vehement as Hermione Granger.
Hermione was excitable and zealous and just so mature. She was like nothing I had ever seen before or will again. No, Hermione Granger was in a class of her own.
The door to my classroom flung open and, like a jean clad answer to my thoughts, Hermione Granger danced in, her arms full of books.
I got to my feet, moving around to take a few books from her stack.
She grinned at me and leaned over to give me a quick kiss. "Thanks!"
The kiss flustered me a little bit and I turned my attention to the books in my hands. "I thought we were looking for information on the Dragon Riders?"
She blushed. "Well, I ordered some books but they won't come in for a while. I thought we could...work on some other things I've wanted to try."
I looked again at my stack of books. Most of them were potions related but one caught my eye. I pulled it out and set the others down.
"Is this what I think it is?" I asked her.
Her blush intensified. "Maybe."
I continued to look at her, a smile tugging at my lips.
"I thought, you know, if we had some time."
She was so cute that I couldn't help myself. I leaned over and kissed her back.
I don't know if I would have let it go further, for Ginny Weasley burst into the room then, accompanied by Draco and (surprisingly) her brother Ron.
"Miss Weasley?" I asked, detaching myself, but not distancing myself, from Hermione.
"Ginny? What's wrong?" Hermione asked, turning fully to face her friend. Her hand slipped into mine.
"Have you guys seen Blaise?" Ginny asked.
"Miss Zabini? Can't say I have."
Ginny's worry intensified. "She was supposed to come down to see you."
That caught me off guard. What could Blaise have to talk to me about?
"About what?"
"Well... actually she was supposed to go see Dumbledore about Parkinson."
Now I was intrigued. "Start from the beggining, Miss Weasley."
She took a deep breath. "Well, Parkinson was suitably upset when Draco and I started dating."
"Understandably," I muttered. Parkinson was not the brightest and she had always been fixated with Draco Malfoy.
"So she wanted to fight me for him. Since Draco and I were both confident I would win," Ginny continued. "I took her up on the offer. Just a little bit ago though, Parkinson came after me with a spell that she should not have been able to do. The Cruatis. Blaise was there and diffused it. She was supposed to take Parkinson up to Dumbledore but when I came back to ask her something, I couldn't find either her or Parkinson. So I came to get you."
My mind was buzzing with what she had just told me. All I could manage was, "Let's go to Dumbledore."
(A/N: Another shorter chapter but I'm pretty happy with it...kinda. Setting the stage for things to come!