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Dear Mum and Dad

I hope you're both well and the practice is running smoothly. I've been meaning to write for a while now, but I've had a busy few with weeks with everything that's been going on.

But before I get into all of that, I want to say thank you so much for the birthday card and cake! It was delicious, and don't worry, I didn't eat it all at once (tempting as it was to do so), and yes, I brushed my teeth well after each piece. It was a wonderful surprise when I received it.

So, as I mentioned before, things have been slightly hectic lately. When I arrived at Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall immediately asked me and Neville to go to her office. She asked us both if we wanted to study for apprenticeships in our final year. This is something that doesn't happen very often at all, and I jumped at the chance to study not one, but two apprenticeships in Potions and Transfiguration. It's a challenge, managing the huge workload, but I'm coping so far. The work is fascinating, and I'm so glad that I decided to take the risk and study both of them.

Harry's doing well too. There's been a huge difference in him since he's had all the pressure of previous years taken off his shoulders. He's been a very good friend to me these last few weeks. Which leads me onto my next piece of news – I've split up with Ron. It's a long story, and we're not on speaking terms at the moment, but you don't have to worry about me. I'm absolutely fine about it.

At this point, Hermione paused. She felt guilty for not writing to her parents in so long, but she had been occupied with many other things. As such, she was sat on her bed on penning them a letter. It was Saturday afternoon, and sunlight was streaming through the window next to her, though a cold November chill was beginning to set around the castle.

Before she had come back to Hogwarts, Hermione had promised her parents that she would tell them if anything dangerous were to happen during term time. She had readily agreed to this at the start of the school year, thinking that the majority of the danger had passed, and anything that happened would pale in comparison to what she had already been through. It was a shame that she did not have the benefit of hindsight, for now she was struggling to find a way to tell her parents that she had been attacked not once, but twice in the first few months of term. Combined with everything that had happened with Ron and Lavender, she knew that her parents would be very worried for her wellbeing, and she really didn't want to worry them.

That was the reason that she hadn't given her parents the full details of everything that had been going on in her earlier years at Hogwarts. Worrying them would cause more problems than it would solve, because they would be powerless to help her in any way. She had therefore given them a rough version of what had been going on, but hadn't gone into specifics. When her parents had found out that she had been in a lot more danger than they knew, they were furious and upset with her. They had therefore made Hermione swear to tell them everything.

It was difficult, therefore, to put the events of recent weeks down on paper. Whilst she wanted to keep her promise, there would be nothing that her parents could do if they did know that she had been the target of two attacks. It was even possible that they would try and withdraw her from the school, but this wouldn't help at all, as she would be far less protected at her parents' house and she would also have to worry for their safety as well.

It was with some reluctance that she decided to adopt her previous approach and play down the things that would cause her parents to worry about her.

In general, things are getting better in the Wizarding world. Everyone is trying to rebuild their lives and cope with everything that has happened. There have been a few minor incidents, of course, but that's bound to happen in the immediate aftermath. You can both rest assured that I'm safe and well.

Hermione justified this approach by thinking that she had not technically lied to her parents. Compared to the extended period of wartime, her being attacked paled into insignificance, and she was safe and well thanks to Snape's timely interventions. The castle also afforded her a much higher standard of protection than living at home would.

She signed off by sending her parents her love, and curled the parchment into a scroll and sealed it with a tap of her wand. Rising from her bed, she began the walk to the Owlery.

Although she wasn't as shaken by the attacks as she probably should be, Hermione still was very cautious when she was walking around the castle on her own. It had been four days since the werewolf attack and there hadn't been a repeat performance. Not that Hermione was surprised – after two failed attempts, the staff and students were on high alert. It would make more sense for the assailant to maintain a low profile for a while, until everyone was more relaxed.

She also hadn't seen more than glimpses of Snape since they had parted near the Gryffindor common room. Since he had not sought her out, she assumed that the search of the castle had yielded no results. The evening of that day, Professor McGonagall had announced to the students that they were to remain vigilant when they were wandering around the castle, and that they weren't to venture out alone unless it was absolutely necessary.

Although she knew she was disregarding Minerva's advice, Hermione couldn't help but think it was for the best for her to complete errands such as this on her own. If she was the target it was safer for the people around her that she travelled around the castle alone. At least that way they wouldn't get hurt because of her.

Arriving at the Owlery, she scanned the roosts for Athena. When she spotted her she called her name softly and the owl glided down towards her, landing gently on her outstretched arm. After giving her instructions to take the letter to her parents, Hermione took Athena to the window and the bird took flight majestically. She watched her owl soar into the sunshine before turning to walk back to the common room.

Over the last few days, she had also tried very hard to prevent her thoughts straying to Snape unless it was in a general context. Her reactions to the man frightened her more than she would like to admit. Never had she been affected in such a way by another human being. She was satisfied, however, that she wasn't fully emotionally invested in him, and that was a good thing. It meant that it would be easier to get over this infatuation.

She had decided that it would be best to push back any untoward thoughts or feelings that she may have about him. This probably wasn't the healthiest way for her to deal with the matter, but it was the best way for her to work through the year. If she had to see Snape on a regular basis, she would have to make sure that none of her thoughts were at the forefront of her mind, as he was a Legilimens and could quite possibly pick up on them. The thought that he already might have picked up on something was worrying, but she decided that she was nothing she could do about it if it had occurred, so she tried to put it out of her mind.

Being the logical person that she was, she had thought it all through as she had stared at her canopy at night. First she had acknowledged that she was, in whatever way, attracted to Snape. However, immediately after she had admitted that, the realisation that he would never feel the same about her followed. She was his student, much younger than him and he had devoted the majority of his life to Lily Potter. He was also the type of man to conduct himself with the utmost propriety, and so he would not wish to enter into a relationship with her.

It had seemed, therefore, that quashing such thoughts would be the best course of action. However, she thought that the tentative friendship that had been created between the two of them was something that she would like to continue to develop. Strong-willed as she was, she thought that she could manage to maintain that friendship without it blossoming into something further. The fact was that Snape was far too interesting and clever for her to pass up such an exciting prospect of friendship. She had finally found someone as passionate about academia and learning as she was, and it was refreshing to have conversations with him that she couldn't normally have with her peers.

She would trial this approach for a while and see if it worked. If it didn't, she could always come up with a new one. However, she was confident in her own mind and its strength, and she knew that if this was the course that she wanted to pursue, she would do it determinedly and would see it through.

Hopefully this would get her past this attraction. It wasn't like she hadn't had secret feelings about a teacher before. This time around, she was adamant that she would do a better job of hiding it and getting over it faster than she did with Lockhart.

For Severus, the past few days had been occupied by trying to find a way to ensure Hermione's safety if she was used as bait. He had already considered and discarded several different options. It would be far easier if he could ask Minerva for help, but he decided that this would be unwise – after Phineas's accusation he didn't want the Headmistress to think that anything illicit was occurring between his apprentice and himself.

His method of helping Hermione couldn't be ostentatious in any way. He couldn't logistically follow her everywhere, nor could he ask somebody to do it without awkward questions. There was no viable way of monitoring her movements throughout the castle, and even this wouldn't inform him if somebody attacked her from afar.

Involving anybody close to Hermione was also out of the question. Severus could easily imagine the look on Potter's or Miss Weasley's face if he consulted them. No doubt the newspapers would be creating further stories about the pair of them if anyone found out that he was taking a particular interest in Hermione – and he was determined that he would give the press no reason to print such slanderous material, not only for his sake, but for Hermione's too. Loath as he was to admit it, being intimately linked with him would not cast a favourable light on her.

It seemed, therefore, that the most logical way of helping Hermione would be to give her a way to summon him if she required his immediate assistance. That way, he could be with her when she needed him without having to follow her every move.

Now the only puzzle was to figure out a method for her to summon him. Being the ex-Death Eater that he was, he was very much against the idea of making a mark on any area of the body and such a thing was too permanent anyway, which meant that it would have to be something that she could keep on her person at all times without arousing suspicion. It would have to be something small and discreet, but easily within reach should she be ambushed, and something she could activate without her wand if she were disarmed.

This was a matter that needed further research. Right now, however, Severus had to plan Hermione's next lesson. He had devised a small test – unbeknownst to her – which would challenge her in a way she had never been challenged before. It was a bit of a cruel trick, but he was hoping that she would realise what he was up to and do spectacularly well.

On Monday at breakfast, Hermione had received a missive from McGonagall, politely asking her to visit the Headmistress in her office as soon as possible. Naturally, she had set off as soon as she had finished eating, and when she reached the heavy, wooden door of the office she knocked three times upon it. The Headmistress bid her entrance and offered tea, which Hermione declined.

"I suppose you're wondering why I have requested your presence so early," McGonagall began.

"I assume it's something to do with what happened last week?"

"Partly, yes. Before we get into the details, how are you coping with everything that happened? No lasting physical or mental damage?"

"I'm fine, thank you professor. I'm just grateful that the wolf didn't hurt anyone else."

The Headmistress looked at her sternly over the top of her glasses. "You must never put yourself in danger the way you did last week, Hermione. The teachers of this school have a duty to protect the students, not the other way around. As soon as Professor Snape and I came to your aid, you should have left it to us."

"I appreciate that you have a duty to the students, professor. However, when I helped you and Professor Snape that day, it wasn't out of duty. That wolf came after me, and if either of you had been hurt as a result of you saving me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I wanted to help you both because you are two teachers who I have the utmost respect for."

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Minerva said, "You seem to be getting along a great deal better with Professor Snape lately."

Hermione didn't allow herself to show any outward reaction to these words. It would be nothing short of disastrous for the Headmistress to guess that she had lately been experiencing feelings for her Potions professor that she probably shouldn't be having. "I think we came to an agreement of sorts when we had the confrontation in this office after I quit the apprenticeship. Things have been much more cordial since."

"Very well. I had hoped that would be the case. Now, to other matters. Naturally, you realise the problem that this werewolf poses to us. A werewolf that can roam free in the day and may or may not be able to infect people residing in the school is not something that we can tolerate."

Nodding her assent, Hermione wondered where the Headmistress was going with this statement. A swooping feeling of dread hit her stomach – was she about to be banished from the castle, in case another attack were to happen? As upset as this notion made her, she couldn't actually think of a defence against it. It would make perfect sense to remove her if she was the target to ensure everybody else's safety.

She wondered where she would be sent away to. Wherever it was, she was hoping that she and her parents would have some form of protection given to them, hopefully in some sort of safe house. Away from the castle, nothing was stopping the assailant from showing up in her Muggle neighbourhood and causing devastation. As accomplished a witch as Hermione was, she could not keep every occupant of the street safe from the wolf, and it would be all too easy for an innocent to get hurt, even if she was the main target.

No, it would be better all around if Hermione and her family were to be put in a remote, anonymous location, away from other potential victims. As sure as she was of this fact, though, she had no idea how she was going to convince her parents to leave their practice again and go into hiding with her. When she had sent them away to Australia she had modified their minds to keep them safe, which meant it hadn't been necessary to give them the full details of what was going on. Now, however, she would be staying with them, and so they would need to be apprised of the full situation.

Tasting blood, Hermione realised that she had nibbled at the skin of her lower lip so much that it had begun to bleed. Focusing her attention back onto McGonagall, she saw that the older woman was looking at her with concern, her brow creased over her nose.

"Hermione, I don't want to force you into something that you don't want to do. The decision is entirely yours. I'm ashamed to have to ask this of you, and you must know that it's not something I've considered lightly."

Nodding again, she stayed silent, tensed for the blow of McGonagall asking her to leave the school.

"It's probably occurred to you that it's highly likely that you are the main target of these attacks. As such, we would benefit from your assistance in catching the culprit."

Hermione blinked at the professor in shock. The phrasing of McGonagall's statement suggested that she wasn't going to be sent away from the castle, for she couldn't possibly assist if she wasn't in the same place as the werewolf.

"How would you like me to help?"

Before she spoke, McGonagall sighed and closed her eyes briefly. "I can't believe I'm going to ask this of you. We think that the best way to identify this wolf is to draw them out into the open. Then we can use the element of surprise to subdue the wolf and thus find out their identity. Would you be willing to help us achieve this?"

McGonagall was being unusually reticent. It seemed to Hermione that she was skirting around whatever it was she was actually trying to say. Thinking over the Headmistress's words, she finally came to understand what was being asked of her.

"You want to use me as bait," she said matter-of-factly.

Sighing again, McGonagall replied, "I know it's a lot to ask of you, Hermione. However, these attacks need to stop-"

"I'll do it."

McGonagall looked shocked for several seconds. "Do you not need to think it over?"

"The possibility of somebody else getting hurt in my place isn't something that I can accept. I'll do whatever it takes to make Hogwarts safe again."

The two women stared at each other silently for a moment. Hermione could see concern in McGonagall's expression, so to alleviate it she said, "I understand what a difficult situation this is for you, professor. But it's like you said – if we're using me as bait then you can monitor the situation. It's the safest possible way to deal with this."

"I'm sorry, Hermione," McGonagall said sadly.

"Professor, you've given me a choice in whether or not I agree to this. I could say no, and you haven't pressured me into agreeing. Please don't feel bad."

The Headmistress was silent for a few seconds more, before she sighed, "Very well. I do have a question for you, however – when I said we'd benefit from your help, you seemed shocked. Why was that?"

"I thought you were going to send me away to keep everyone safe," Hermione said somewhat embarrassedly.

With a gentle smile, McGonagall said, "You should never fear any such thing. We can protect you here. Did we ever send Harry Potter away with all that happened to him?"

Hermione hadn't thought about it that way. When the teachers all thought that Sirius had been after Harry, they hadn't sent him anywhere – in fact, they had demanded that he remain in the school and didn't go to Hogsmeade in case he was attacked and he couldn't be protected. Of course, Sirius wasn't actually trying to attack Harry at all, but the teachers hadn't known that, and had done their utmost to protect Harry inside the school.

Something that Hermione had long suspected about Harry's treatment over the years was that Dumbledore had actually been manipulating Harry, training him, using the events to prepare Harry for what was coming when he finally met Voldemort for the last time. Harry had been kept in the dark a multitude of times, and though it was mostly to protect him because of his age and to allow him to have a happier life, Hermione thought that it would have been better to tell him exactly what was going on from the outset. This was partly why she didn't blame McGonagall for what she was asking her to do – her teacher recognised that she was a capable witch above the age of seventeen, and was asking for her assistance rather than leaving her uninformed. At least this way, she would be aware of what was going on around her and was not being wrapped in cotton wool.

Returning her Headmistress's smile, Hermione enquired, "What exactly is your plan, Professor?"

"It's nothing overly complicated, I assure you. We shall come to some arrangement as to how this plan will fit in around your day-to-day schedule, but I think the easiest thing to do would be to have you walk around the castle alone – or seemingly alone – at designated times. During these times you will be monitored by a member of staff. I would ask you that outside of these times that you don't walk around on your own, for your own safety."

Again, Hermione made sure that no reaction showed on her face, but she was concerned about McGonagall's latter request. It was difficult to make sure that she was accompanied everywhere around the castle, purely because she had so few friends these days. Nobody ever came to the library with her either, though she supposed that she could try and make sure that she arrived and left at the same time as another member of Gryffindor house. That or she would alert Harry to when she was leaving the library by Patronus and he could follow her on the Map to make sure that she was safe.

She would make it work somehow.

After seeing Hermione's acquiescent nod, McGonagall said, "Well, that's settled then. We shall arrange the times you are to be monitored in due course. Do you have any other questions?" Hermione shook her head no. "Then that will be all. Thank you, Hermione."

Hermione smiled at McGonagall and turned to leave. However, a thought struck her as she reached the doorway.

"Professor? Who is this 'we' you've been talking about? You kept saying 'we think'."

"I took counsel from Albus here," she said, indicating the portrait of her predecessor, who smiled down at her, "and also from Professor Snape."

"Oh. All right then," Hermione said neutrally, before leaving the office.

It made her feel slightly strange that Snape had been a part of the plan to use her as bait. Objectively, she could appreciate why he thought that it was wise, and being the strategist that he was, he probably thought it was the best course of action. But a part of her couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed and hurt that he didn't feel more protective over her.

The NEWT Potions class passed without incident, and before Hermione knew it, it was time for her evening lesson with Professor Snape. After entering the classroom, she moved to her usual workspace and began to take out everything she would need. Snape, however, interrupted her halfway through this task.

"You won't be needing your textbook tonight," he said evenly. "I will be providing you with instructions on the board."

This made Hermione slightly curious. Snape had never before provided the instructions for her on the board – did this mean that she would be trying a more difficult, more advanced potion tonight, one that wasn't found in Advanced Potion Making? A thrill of excitement zinged its way through her body. She had been eager to move away from the syllabus that was taught in the NEWT class and start working on advanced potions.

When she had everything neatly arranged on her desk, Hermione looked up to see the process for making Felix Felicis on the board – a potion whose recipe was in her textbook. Frowning slightly and feeling disappointed, she looked questioningly at Snape.

"This is a very complex potion," he explained. "I wouldn't want you to waste time flicking through the pages of a book, as that's a distraction. You need to have your eye on this potion at all times. The board is placed such that you can still monitor your potion peripherally for changes as you read the next instruction."

Understanding, Hermione nodded. "I thought Felix Felicis takes six months to stew though, professor."

"It does, Hermione."

His deliberate use of her first name brought the realisation that she had failed to use his. "Sorry, Severus."

With a nod, he said, "Yes, Felix Felicis does take six months to stew. However, that is the very final stage of the potion. All I'm interested in seeing is your preparation of the potion up to that point. You may begin."

As he moved to sit down, Hermione noticed that his desk was moved slightly to the right so that she could see the board. Thinking back to the beginning of the year and her first lessons with Snape, Hermione realised how far they had come in such a short space of time. Previously, Severus would have preferred to watch her struggle and risk her making a mess of a potion so that he could berate her for it. This version of Severus was definitely preferable, and she had come to trust him a lot more.

She turned to her cauldron and started to work.

After giving Hermione her instructions, Severus returned to his seat and pulled a stack of essays towards him. Although he was marking assignments, he was going to keep a close eye on Hermione and her progress with her potion. However, he was doing so with a scowl fixed on his face. It was a false scowl, but the expression came to him naturally, especially when he was reading the drivel placed in front of him. This was all part of the plan.

He kept making covert glances at her when she wasn't looking at the board to keep an eye on things. Having been a spy, he was very well practiced in watching someone without being detected. He saw that she was concentrating intensely from the very beginning, and he was happy to see that. It showed that she was taking care with the potion and doing it properly, as any good potioneer should.

Severus was hoping that she had been her usual self and had read her textbook from cover to cover several times over. Since she had started his apprenticeship with him he had noticed that she had been reading up on the next week's potion beforehand, but this was a surprise test – and one with a twist. It was cruel and deceitful, perhaps, but it would teach her a very valuable lesson.

He settled back to his marking, glancing at her often. However, he had to exercise self-control by determinedly not looking at her too often. Although he didn't like to admit it, he was still having trouble in defining the relationship he shared with her.

Keeping an eye on her, he waited for the results of his test to become apparent.

Felix Felicis certainly was a finicky potion which used some very expensive ingredients. Hermione had particular difficulty with removing the anemone-like growth that grew on the back of Murtlap, but managed it eventually. She made sure that the growth didn't need to be cut into a smaller piece, as if it was over-consumed it could cause the drinker to sprout purple ear hair. After ensuring that this wasn't the case, she added it to her potion and raised the temperature of the fire below her cauldron.

Taking a couple of seconds to sigh and re-focus, Hermione looked at the next line of Snape's instructions, written in his usual spiky script.

Add a dash of tincture of rosemary and stir slowly.

Hermione froze.

Panic started to rise inside her. Up until now, she had been going through the process as if it was second nature, recognising the instructions as she had read them before in her textbook. However, after reading this instruction, the smooth flow of her potion making was interrupted, like a piece of music skipping on a turntable.

She read the line again, biting her lip. Although the instructions specified tincture of rosemary, Hermione had thought that the recipe used tincture of thyme. Her mind was racing as she tried to recall the instructions saying rosemary, but she couldn't. Tincture of thyme was firmly embedded in her mind. The two bottles of tincture stood side by side in her potion making kit, the rosemary labelled with red, the thyme in green.

She didn't know what to do. The panicked feeling heightened. One way or another, she had to act soon because if she took too much time, the potion would be ruined anyway.

After reading the line again, she moved her gaze to the right, looking at Snape. A look of intense fury was on his face. A pile of parchment was in front of him, and he had his quill poised over the topmost sheet. It was loaded with red ink, and he was making liberal use of it, scribbling comments with aggression, a look of severe displeasure on his face.

Hermione hesitated, opening her mouth uncertainly. The look on Snape's face, however, made her close it again. She certainly didn't want to interrupt him when he was obviously in such a terrible mood, and questioning his potions expertise was a sure-fire way of directing his temper towards her. They had been on good terms for a while now, and she didn't want to make things awkward by igniting his wrath.

Trust him, she thought out of nowhere. Hadn't she just been thinking about how well they had been getting along recently? About how she could trust him a lot more than she used to be able to? He had shown her time and time again that he was deserving of her trust, that he was steadfast and dependable. This was also his area of expertise; he wasn't a Potions Master for nothing.

Although there was still a tiny niggle of doubt in her mind, she picked up the red-labelled bottle. Squeezing the top of the dropper to draw some of the liquid into it, she removed it from the bottle, and hesitated one final time, before adding a dash of the rosemary tincture to the potion.

A shockwave passed through the room as soon as she had finished adding the rosemary tincture, a colossal bang accompanying it. Hermione jumped back in shock, arms half raised to protect her head, before she realised that the explosion had been contained by a protective shield around the rim of her cauldron. Looking up, Hermione saw that Snape was standing, his wand pointed at the cauldron. He had clearly cast the protective shield that had prevented the explosion from causing any damage.

Looking at her calmly, he said, "You so very nearly passed."

Still in shock, it took a few seconds before Hermione could answer. "Passed?" she said in confusion. Then her brain caught up and a little anger coloured her tone as she said "This was a test?"

"Precisely."

Hermione stared at him wordlessly, her mouth slightly open.

"I know that you know your textbooks inside out. Your theoretical knowledge is extensive and wide-ranging. However – and I know that you are going to find this difficult to accept – books can only take you so far in Potions."

He paused here as if to gauge her reaction. Hermione stared at him and didn't say anything. Of course, she had been told before that books could only take her so far, but that had been in Divination. Since she had slightly more faith in Snape and his reasoning than she did in Trelawney, she decided to hear him out. She waited for him to speak again.

Smirking slightly, Snape continued. "You were too trusting in my instructions. You shouldn't automatically believe everything you read. I was watching you. I could see the indecision, the struggle you went through. You knew that what you were reading on the board was wrong.

"The first mistake you made was that you doubted your own knowledge. Despite all of the times in the past where it has served you well, and all of the times you could quote an author word-for-word, you didn't have confidence in your own ability to recall the instructions. Such a small thing, and yet it changed everything you thought you knew. Your confidence was so shaken that you didn't even think to check your own textbook."

At this statement, Hermione closed her eyes in a pained expression. It hadn't even crossed her mind to check her own textbook. However, remembering Snape's words previously, she replied, "I thought you said the message here was that books couldn't be relied upon."

"So I did. However, I am merely using this example to make the point that you didn't have faith in yourself to question my method. You didn't check the textbook because your recall had been tested and you assumed that you had got it wrong.

"Your second mistake was that you failed to ask when you were unsure what to do. You are here to learn from me, Hermione, to benefit from my expertise. Potions is a very dangerous subject, and a mistake can have disastrous and even life-threatening consequences. Mistakes have to be prevented from happening at all costs. If you are ever uncertain, you should always ask."

"I did consider asking. But…" she tailed off. Snape raised his eyebrows inviting her to continue. "I noticed that you seemed to be… erm… in a particularly bad mood. I didn't want to make you mad by challenging you," she said, somewhat embarrassedly. After admitting this, she fully expected some sort of jibe about her Gryffindor courage failing her. She was entirely surprised, however, when he nodded.

"I thought so. I admit that I was feigning that expression, wondering whether or not it would intimidate you so much that you didn't ask for help."

Hermione's shoulders slumped. She had been so very close to asking Snape whether or not the instructions were right, but she had been too cowardly. Perhaps Snape noticed this, for he said softly, "Even if I do seem to be in a bad mood, Hermione, you should never be afraid to ask me for help. If you don't, you could end up hurting yourself. That's something that I would never wish to happen. Have confidence in yourself. Don't trust something that is placed directly in front of you. Challenge me. I would never ridicule you for making sure that something is right."

Although she was slightly miffed that he had deceived her, Hermione could understand why he had done it. It was true that Potions accidents could kill, and the explosion that had been created from her ruined Felix Felicis was proof of that. The message was, therefore, well and truly understood.

"Now, a third lesson can be learned from tonight's events. I deliberately provided you with instructions and told you that you wouldn't need your textbook. Regardless, you would have been following written instructions to the letter whichever instructions you used."

Here he paused, and his mouth tightened slightly before he said, "When I returned to teaching Potions, I checked the scores that every student attained in their previous year of study. I noticed that in your previous academic year, Mr Potter's scores were often higher than your own."

This statement caused Hermione to grimace. It had annoyed her to no end that Harry had beaten her in so many lessons in sixth year, especially since he had essentially been cheating his way through the class. It still stung to think about it now. Looking back at Snape, she saw that his tense expression had given way to a small smirk again, as if he knew what she was thinking.

"Regardless of how ill-deserved Potter's marks were, the fact remains that they were higher than yours. Nevertheless, you ploughed on with the method in the textbook, even though they produced poorer potions. My point is that you can't always rely on a textbook. While it produces acceptable results, it doesn't always produce potions of the best quality.

"This is the main difference between the NEWT and the apprenticeship. You need to learn specifically about individual ingredients, what their properties are and how they will react with other ingredients. There are endless ingredients that can be used in Potions, and therefore endless combinations. In some cases you can identify an ingredient that will work better than the one in the current official method, or that adding one can counter certain side effects.

"Knowledge such as this would have made you realise that rosemary tincture, when combined with squill bulbs, creates a powerful explosion."

And finally, Hermione understood. It wasn't copying someone else's work that made one achieve great things. Original thought was far preferable. To truly be an expert in one's field, one had to truly understand a process and why certain methods worked and others didn't. In Potions, this meant not just remembering a process, but it meant understanding why certain ingredients were used together.

"I'm supposed to understand the method, as opposed to just memorising it," she summarised.

"Exactly."

"Could you not have just told me these things, though, Severus? Was it really necessary to put me through a test and make me feel stupid?"

"Making you feel stupid was not my intention at all. But I thought that a practical application would drive the message home more than simply just telling you."

Thinking about it, Hermione realised that that made sense. She really didn't want a repeat of this occurrence, blowing up her potion and ruining ingredients. She didn't want to experience the humiliation of getting it wrong in front of Snape.

"I understand."

"At least I didn't put the mistake in after the occamy egg shells are added. That would be a waste of expensive ingredients."

Occamy egg shells were made of pure, soft silver, and were therefore costly to purchase. "Oh, thanks very much," Hermione replied sarcastically, causing Snape's near-black eyes to glow in humour as a small smile appeared on his face. Noticing this, Hermione felt a swoop in her stomach. His eyes were fascinating when they glowed in that way, the harsh blackness of his irises warming and softening.

Perhaps Snape noticed her attention, because he broke eye contact with her in order to check the time. "It's almost time to finish. So, you have learned three lessons here tonight. What are they?"

"I've got to have confidence in myself and trust in my own knowledge."

"And?"

"If I'm ever uncertain, I should ask for help."

"And?" Snape prompted.

"Think for myself; learn about ingredients and how they will react when combined with others."

Nodding, Snape said, "That will be all for tonight."

Hermione quickly and quietly packed away her things. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she made towards the door, turning back to him before opening it.

"Thank you Severus. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Hermione."

The door clicked closed behind Hermione, and Severus stared at it for a few seconds before moving to his quarters.

In all, he was slightly disappointed that she hadn't passed his test, but he was still proud that she didn't fail miserably. Her indecision showed that she had potential; she was close to asking for help and questioning his methods, but hadn't had the confidence to do so. It was a necessary lesson to teach her, and now she would know to start studying the ingredients themselves, rather than just the potion. Confidence could be built with time and experience, and so he wasn't too worried about that.

What had been slightly worrying was that her sarcasm had almost caused him to burst into laughter. Sarcasm, although widely considered to be the lowest form of wit, could be highly amusing to Severus. When she had stared at him for so long afterwards, he knew that she had probably noticed him holding his laughter in, and had found it strange. It had thrown him off-guard, and he had lurched for an excuse to look away from her before he became too uncomfortable. He wasn't accustomed to such scrutiny, and seeing him laugh must be a strange sight indeed for her.

It was difficult to let himself go around someone, as he was used to keeping himself to himself. He hoped that it didn't come across as social awkwardness – though he had to admit to himself that was pretty much what it was.

As he climbed into his bed, he realised that Hermione was definitely starting to get under his skin. Usually, he would never worry or wonder about how he acted around someone, because he wouldn't normally care. The fact that Hermione's opinion mattered so much to him was starting to set alarm bells ringing in his mind.

He laid his head on his soft pillow, his eyes closed, his thoughts a swirl in his mind. As he was drifting off to sleep, however, a single thought came to the forefront of his mind and made him sit bolt upright. Grabbing a piece of parchment, he wrote two words quickly on it.

Alarm bells.

Underneath it, he scribbled for the next ten minutes, with many crossings out and arrows pointing back and forth to different sections. Finally, he drew a diagram, before finally set down his quill and lying down again.

He had figured out how Hermione could summon him, should she need help whilst acting as bait to catch the werewolf.

Hermione walked slowly on the way back to the Gryffindor common room, using the time alone to think about what she had learned tonight.

It had been a dirty trick, but Hermione could very much see the reasoning behind it. It was all well and good to be told something, but seeing it in application really made sure that the principles behind the information were understood. It was definitely a lesson that she was going to take on board.

However, something that she didn't understand was the man who had tested her tonight. Today she had received conflicting pieces of information about him. When she had been in the Head's office, McGonagall had given her the impression that Snape was all for using her as bait to keep everyone else safe, and yet in their lesson tonight he had told her that he didn't want her to injure herself. She was genuinely touched by this, but then she hadn't forgotten the sting of realising that he had suggested that she put herself in danger to catch a rogue werewolf.

Another thing to consider was his insistent use of his first name, highlighting the fact that she had stuck to formalities. He was so insistent in the way that he pointed it out that it obviously mattered to him that she hadn't used his first name. Why would he be like that if he didn't care about her in some manner?

On Halloween night he had also gone out of his way to help and protect her. When he had startled her and she had embedded her chopping knife in her hand, he had quickly and carefully assessed the wound and mended it. These were yet more instances that didn't match up with his readiness to use her to provoke a werewolf to attack.

It didn't make sense.

What was worse that Hermione was worrying and thinking about it so much. It shouldn't bother her how Snape was treating her, so long as he wasn't being unkind to her.

If her current thoughts were anything to go by, Hermione had learnt a fourth lesson tonight: in relation to her thoughts and feelings about her professor, she was in big trouble.

Thank you so much for reading, as usual!