A/N: thanks to everyone that reviewed, and so fast too. I really like it that you like what I have written. Here is the next installment of the story, poor Severus is stuck going to the party and we see who Hermione picks to help train Prince.

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Over the next week they were able to successfully produce enough Potions for the party. By the end of each day they were both so exhausted that even though they would eat a light meal together after they were done, little if any conversation occurred. Severus though was more than happy with the fact he could see Hermione daily and for an extended period of time. To be in the same room as her was both torture and satisfaction. He wanted nothing more than to run his fingers through her hair, take her into his arms, and kiss her, but he knew he could not. She deserved much better than him, someone much younger, more handsome and with a clean past. He felt honored that she would consider him a friend, that would have to be enough for him. He didn't even deserve such a wondrous thing as her friendship, but would cherish it nonetheless. He did not and would not expect her to feel anything more towards him.

The day of the party they did not brew anything as they had finished the day before and other individual preparations had to be made. There were also the job of finding the guests that would be attending, places to crash; I mean sleep after the party. Hermione used her well earned 'day off' by sleeping in until she woke up and then spending time with Prince and Lucy before she started to train them. She finally made up her mind as to who she was going to ask to help, all that remained was to ask and hope for the best.

Later that evening she assessed the dress she had worn for the first Anniversary party. She decided that she would make a few alterations. Showering and put the dress on and she stood before a full length mirror. Pointing her wand at herself she lowered the neck line to a graceful V that hinted at cleavage and widened the spaghetti straps to a form fitting halter top. She gave the flowing dress an empire waist and then angled the layers of fabric that fell to her ankles so that they rode towards her right hip; a split to her knee. Satisfied with the form she added some color. With a twirling flick of her wrist she gave the bodice a deep midnight blue color that changed with each shear fabric layer to a lighter shade until the bottom layer was of the purest white silk. Diamond rhinestones looked like the stars thrown against the night sky above her waist and frosted the edges of each gossamer layer of her skirt, catching the light and twinkling with each movement. Throwing her hair up in a French knot she added a few more diamond rhinestones to add some sparkle and contrast to her honey colored hair.

As a final touch to the presentation she brought out the only real diamonds she would wear that night. She had found the necklace and earrings in her father's hiding place for presents. It was to be his 25th Anniversary present to her mother. They had missed it by only three days. The necklace and earrings were in silver settings and held three stones of graduating sizes on a graceful S curved bar, none of the diamonds were over half a kart. The last thing she added to the ensemble, though it did not go with the dress, was her medal distinguishing her as part of the Order of Merlin, pinning it to her left shoulder strap. With a final check in the mirror and a light wash of slivery blue eye shadow she slipped her wand into her garter and went off to the party.

Severus woke to the dreaded and yet far too familiar ache in his arm early in the morning while the rest of the castle slept. Looking almost frighteningly at his arm he saw that the old Dark Mark was the same dead grey color as it seemed to have faded to. 'Will this happen each year?' He asked himself. 'Must I be plagued by this forever? Have I not paid enough for my crimes?' He thought angrily. "At least he will never return." He sighed to himself lying back in his big bed all alone to stare at the ceiling, reflecting again, unable to get back to sleep.

At least the second year since Voldemort's defeat had been more productive than the first. He had been acquitted where he was sure he was going to be convicted. He had gained the trust and friendship of Hermione, and he had his old teaching position back from which to train and terrorize small children. He was not quite sure if he should believe that things were finally going to go well in his life, or if he should steel himself for the explosive disappointment that was sure to result if things kept going so well. He tended not to be an optimist, he had seen too much to the contrary in his life.

His preparations for the party that night were sparse at best. He really did not want to go. 99% of the people in the room would probably not be happy to see him there, and he could not blame them. He had been a Death Eater after all, arch enemy to them all, killer of Dumbledore. But he had been a spy and provided critical information as to the other's movements. The knowledge he had provided had allowed Potter to win against Voldemort. He would not have gone on his own, but Minerva had made it explicitly clear that she expected him to attend and to stay until the speeches had been completed. 'Keeping up appearances', she had called it. What appearance she was trying to uphold or to whom was a mystery to him, but he was unable to find a way out of the ordeal and obliged to attend. He wore his normal black attire minus the billowing teaching robes and made sure his hair was clean. That was it; he felt that no more special arrangements were necessary. He would have much rather spent the evening contemplating his time as a Death Eater and a spy working to take Voldemort down. Too many had died in the War to throw such revelry.

At the appointed time for the party to begin he prepared himself and walked resignedly to the Great Hall. Slipping in and finding the darkest corner he stood back to do what he did best, observe but seemingly not participate. After about ten minutes of his own personal pity party in the corner Hermione spotted him and headed his way, he did not notice her until she was standing beside him. How she had accomplished such a feat was a mystery to him, but there she was. He looked at her face from the corner of his eye.

"The speeches will start in a few minutes, they will most likely last for the better part of an hour." She told him quietly, standing beside him to look over the throng assembled. "The refreshments and the bar will be open all night, when it will stop serving is a mystery because I left early last time. I could not stand the idea of partying so hard after losing so much. Perhaps it will get easier one day, but I have too many memories that are too fresh to party too much, even on the occasion when we killed Voldemort." She lightly fingered her necklace remembering her parents with a soft sniffle.

Hearing the sadness in her voice he turned his head to look at her properly. What he saw caused him to pause for a moment. Sweeping his eyes from the floor to her face he was astonished. She wore silver high heels that laced around her ankles and a dress with a sloping skirt. Beginning at the floor with white silk and progressing to the deepest of midnight blues at her shoulders with a glazing of small stones that sparkled in the flickering of the candles floating above them. Her flowing hair had been contained in a knot and was also dusted with the reflective stones. Three jewels hung from each of her ears and her necklace. Severus felt that she was an angel that had fallen from heaven standing beside him. His breath caught in his throat for a moment before he could re-school his face to a look of impassive indifference at the general affair.

"Thank you Severus." She said with a touch of a smile touching her lips.

"For what?" He asked suspiciously with a scowl and raising an eyebrow.

"I could see the complement in your eyes." She said quietly.

"I doubt you saw anything of the sort." He grunted with a frown, but did not take his eyes from her, still looking at her appreciatively at her; still amazed at the vision that stood before him.

"It has been said that the eyes are the window to the soul." She said quietly. "I have seen much of what has been left unsaid in your eyes. You may frown a lot, but you eyes can tell a different story. They are far more expressive than I believe you know. I can see that inside you have a heart and it is not stone, don't change that." She smiled kindly at him, warming his heart, even though he tried for it not to show. Before he was able to make any comment their attention was drawn to the front of that hall where a small platform was set up.

What followed was forty five minutes of politicians blowing hot air and a moment of silence for those who had been lost in the War. A list of those who had received the Order of Merlin the year before was read, along with a brief sentence as to why and what class in the order they had received. Severus struggled to keep his face impassive when Hermione's name was called and the magical spotlight illuminated her briefly before the next name was called. He had not noticed the medal hanging from her dress before, as he had been so distracted by the rest of her. She was one of five mentioned in the death of Voldemort; Potter, Ron, Tonks, and Lupin were the others.

She smiled prettily and waved when the spotlight was on her. But as everyone else's attention was drawn elsewhere he noticed as her shoulders dropped slightly, fingering her necklace with a sad look on her face as she did. He wondered what she was thinking about that would make her both happy and sad at the same time, but did not feel right about asking at the party or looking into her mind. Once the speeches were completed he was more than ready to leave and hide back in his dungeons, but Hermione would not let him.

"Severus," she said quietly while everyone else began to talk and mingle again, the dance floor clearing and the band tuning up. "I would like to talk to you privately after the party. Well, I guess I should really say an hour or two, I don't plan on staying any longer than that, I really can't stand being around so many drunks for one thing. Harry made me promise to dance at least one dance with him; will you stay at least that long?" She looked almost frightened-ly up at him from under her lashes, hoping she had not gone too far in her request.

Severus contemplated this for a moment with a deep scowl, watching Hermione fidget with her skirt. He did not want to stay at the party any longer than he had to but, he also did not want to pass up the opportunity to be near Hermione for what possibly could be the last time until school started again. "I will stay one hour and no more." He told her with a soft reluctant growl.

"Thank you." She said with a sigh of relief and smiled happily up at him. "I will take no longer than that. I shall search Harry out in a song or two, as he promised Ginny the first dance. I guess I shall meet you back here than in an hour?" He nodded silently. "The time will pass much quicker if you would mingle a little." She told him kindly, he scoffed and waved her away. "Ok, well the food is good at least." She told him with a shake of her head and then began to wade her way through the crowd towards the other end of the room.

He watched as she went away marveling at her beauty and kindness. She was a specter of loveliness, youth and intelligence and she was willingly seeking him out to speak with him alone. He felt greatly honored and slightly comforted to know that not everyone in the world hated him; though he felt certain that she was unaware of his more damming activities in his past. If she was aware, he was sure she would have stayed as far away as possible.

From his dark corner he watched almost breathlessly as she floated across the dance floor with Potter. He found himself torn between loathing Potter and envying him. He wanted to hold her close and have her smile at him and him alone. Potter got everything he had ever wanted, it was far from fair.

'Life isn't fair; you should know that by now.' The voice in his head told him. 'Just be happy with the time you have with her, it will have to be enough; unless of course you decide to grow 'some' and ask her to dance yourself.'

'I could not ask her to do such a thing, for it is never 'just' anything with me.' He retorted back to himself.

'Your loss. Just don't be surprised if this becomes a repeat of your 7th year again the way you keep going on.'

Severus tried to completely ignore the voice and his already dark look about him got darker still. He really was not into the whole partying aspect of things, ever; quiet solitude was his forte instead. About halfway through his allotted hour Luipn came over to his corner and tried to engage him in some conversation.

"Hello Severus." He said kindly if not cautiously.

"Hello." He replied with a deep scowl, he did not more than glance in his direction, but kept an eye on Hermione who was now dancing with Ginny and Shannon as the Weird Sisters played a lively, faced paced song.

"I am glad to see you here. I am honestly surprised you even came at all. You have never seemed to be one for parties." Lupin told him.

"I'm not." Severus growled almost angrily. "But Minerva made it quite clear I was to attend until after the speeches."

"The speeches have been over for a half hour and yet you are still here." Lupin said also hinting at the question he was almost afraid to ask.

"I said I would stay for one hour." He said still watching Hermione as she and the girls shimmied across the dance floor consequently leading nearly the entire gathering in the Macarena. "I am a man of my word, despite the belief of many here."

"That you are." Lupin agreed.

"I would like to thank you." He told Severus after a few minutes in silence. "Without you I would not be able to hold a job. Wolf's bane Potion was incredibly hard to procure during the War and horribly expensive. What I was able to find was never as good as what you brew either. I am exceedingly grateful for the time you put in each month on account of my… condition, there are few that would."

"Far too many dunderheads are being awarded the title of Potions Master these days. Without perfection Potions do not work correctly and the risk that someone will get hurt because of it is high. Such a risk is not acceptable, especially at a school." Severus replied.

"I am grateful for your prowess and willingness to help. I could not agree more that risks of such great magnitude should not be taken. That is why I was more than surprised to receive my letter inviting me back to teach again. I did not accept until I was told you would be on staff as Potion's Master."

"There are few more qualified than one in your position to teach astronomy, one whose life is dictated by the moon phases." Severus said, paying him a growled complement.

"Thank you." Lupin said.

After a few more minutes in silence the clock chimed in its low baritone voice the hour and ended Severus' promised time. Hermione glanced over in his direction from across the room. He nodded and looked purposefully at the door with a scowl. She could see he wanted nothing more that to be quit of the whole merriment and revelry that was erupting around them as the ever filling (heavily spiked) punch bowl was being drained again by the guests. With a soft smile she nodded. Severus swept himself out of the Great Hall to nearly no one's notice and Hermione begged her goodbyes to her friends and left shortly after him. Hermione found Severus leaning against the banister of the main staircase, arms crossed and customary scowl on his face.

"Well that was pleasant enough while it lasted and everyone was still sober." She commented. "I am glad that you stayed."

"You said you wanted to talk to me privately." He said both a question and a statement.

"Yes, well would you like to come to my chambers and have something to drink, not spiked like the punch, we can talk there. I really got to get out of these shoes; they may look good but man, are they killer on the feet." She offered cautiously.

"You are inviting me to your chambers to talk?" He asked unsuccessfully keeping the astonishment out of his voice, an eyebrow rising questioningly.

"Yes," she answered with a nod. "I don't want to intrude on your space and the lab is no place to go dressed like this. I don't want to kill myself on the stairs in the dark, and in my room I can get out of these shoes and not have to put them back on for hopefully an entire year. Other than that, the only difference between inviting you to my chambers and going to your lab is the location. I have nothing to fear of in the lab save an explosion, so I have nothing to fear in my own chambers."

"People might think something else." He said carefully with a scowl.

"Everyone is at the party and will be so drunk out of their minds tonight that they won't remember much of anything. Last year half the people couldn't remember how they ended up where they woke up, or with whom. Ginny told me the conversations over breakfast were most interesting. I was up and going long before everyone else." She told him.

"Peeves I am sure will be more than happy to inform the world of anything he thinks is out of the ordinary." He admonished with a growl trying to make her see reason.

"I dealt with Peeves three weeks after I got here." She said with a smile. "I had to do some research, but I found a spell that only I can remove from him, mostly because I'm the only one in the castle that knows about it, except you now. He turns fluorescent pink every time he gets within seven hundred feet of my chambers in any direction, including the floor above and below and I have made sure my Wards will not allow him through." She told him with an evil grin on her face. "I even threatened to extend the spell in include me so that he would always have to be on the lookout or risk turning color if he didn't leave me alone. He hasn't bothered me since that."

"You threatened him and he listened?" He asked truly astonished, his scowl disappearing and both eyebrows rising skyward. No one in the castle had ever had any real success and 'controlling' Peeves before, even the Bloody Barren could only do so much.

"Well not the first time. He thought I was joking until he got too close and was varying shades of pink for nearly a week as the effect of the spell wore off." She giggled. "He tried dropping things on me for another week, but then I threatened to include myself, then he cleared off." She smiled happily. "Wish I had found that spell years ago. Besides when did you start worrying so much about what people thought of you? I thought you didn't care."

"I don't care what most people think of me, it's not my reputation I am commenting on, that can get no blacker." He looked at her purposefully. "Yours, on the other hand shines quite well, especially when you consider why you have that medal." He nodded towards the Order of Merlin hanging from her dress.

"I thank you for the concern, but I am not worried about that. If I was I would not have visited you while you were in Azkaban or stood for you at trial. Besides people will believe what they want no matter if it is true or not. If anything people will be more adapt at believing I was drunk out of my mind or you carried me off. We both know the truth so I am not much worried."

"Just as long as you know the consequences that may result from you inviting me to your chambers; even if it is as innocent as just to talk." He scowled.

"I understand and thank you again for your concern. So will you come and talk then?" She asked him almost pleadingly, angry with his stalling.

"Yes." He said finally after a moment of thought. "Come along then." He stood and offered out his arm as he did in the dark hallway. With a smile she took his arm and he guided her up the stairs towards her chambers. Upon reaching her chambers he let go her hand and backed up a couple paces. She looked at him questioningly. "Your chambers, your password, your Wards. You are a powerful witch; I have no reason not to believe you have powerful Wards that I do not wish to interfere in."

"Thank you, that is thoughtful." She smiled and then reached down to pull her wand out from her garter. It was very difficult for Severus not to look as her skirt fell back to reveal a lovely long leg and knee. He felt his pulse quicken, but reminded himself she would never think of him in that manner, he was lucky she trusted him enough to be his friend. Mentally keeping his face straight and his eyes averted from her and the door he felt her Wards pulse, but not drop yet heard her door open. "Come in," she said drawing his attention back to herself. She was standing in the doorway with the door open.

"But your Wards are still up." He said carefully.

"I have invited you in; you have no worries passing through them while I have the door open to you. Once I close the door though, expect no mercy if you try to break in." She said with a smile. "You will likely find yourself buried in the far wall if you do, depending on the power of the spell you throw at the door." Walking forward he passed through the door unaffected, though felt the Wards flicker around him in acknowledgement of his presence. Closing the door behind him she smiled.

"Besides I have made them more powerful since the last time you tried to break in. Why you tried them I am not sure, but I find it intriguing you did not succeed." Severus stood stock still; she knew and yet chose until now to tell him. Why? "Don't worry," she said with a light laugh, "there was no harm done and I got to see how well they worked. I must say that your Wards are a dozy to try to outdo."

"You are trying to outdo my Wards? Why? And how do you know how strong my Wards are?" He asked both astonished and curious.

"I know you have powerful Wards because I encountered them. I had some time in the summer to explore the castle from top to bottom properly, as I did not have time during my schooling here. I came upon your chambers by way of hitting what felt like an invisible brick wall. Upon a disillusionment spell that threw me back several feet I felt obliged to see if I could produce something better. I had nothing better to do with my free time, so I decided that I would see how powerful I could make my Wards.

Ahhh… freedom at last." She told him as she removed her shoes and proceeded to chuck them across the room towards her bedroom door. About halfway there she caught them with a flick of her wand and the pair went zooming away into her bedroom of their own accord, presumably to put themselves away. She put her medal back in its place above the mantle and began the task of taking down her hair.

Severus continued to stand just inside the door as she fluttered around the room. Looking around Severus saw that her rooms were very similar to his own, disregarding the color scheme and his room's lack of large windows, it was a dungeon after all. He saw she had bookcases lining the fireplace wall as well as the walls through to her office space. Almost all her available space was filled with books and muggle photos of what he assumed was her family and moving photos of her time in school. He saw a few pieces of crystal on some of the upper shelves and most of the books looked well warn and loved. The room had a cozy comforting presence to it despite the overwhelming presence of red everywhere.

"Well you can come and sit down." She said as she placed her hair pins in a box on the mantle. "I am not going to make you stand there all night." She said with a smile motioning to one of the wingback chairs. Her hair hung in waves along her shoulders and he wanted so badly to run it through his fingers. She began to remove her earrings and place them in a small box with her hair pins.

Severus sat in a chair as he watched her finger the necklace with a sigh. "What is it about that particular piece of jewelry that makes you so melancholy?" He asked. "I was under the impression that diamonds were a girl's best friend."

"My parents were married nearly 25 years." She said quietly. "They died three days before their Anniversary. This was to be my father's present to my mom, I found it in his 'hiding spot' when I cleaned out the house. I guess it is a bitter sweet memory when I wear my mother's jewelry. It has been three years since their death almost a month ago, I miss them both greatly." She said sadly with a sniffle, she would not cry, there were other things to talk about. "They were killed in a Death Eater attack."

Severus stiffened in his chair, not quite sure what was to come out of this, it seemed he had opened quite the can of worms. Only his pride kept him from bolting for the door rather than suffer her wrath. "I am sorry." Was all he could say and rather mumbled at that.

"It was not your fault." She said quietly placing the necklace in the box with the earrings and then levitating them towards the bedroom door as well. "I would not blame you for their deaths even if you were part of the attack that killed them. It was Voldemort that ordered the attack and I lay the blame on him, not you. But let us not talk of such sad tidings, especially on the day he was defeated. I did not ask you here to talk of death but of other things." She sighed and sat in the chair opposite him, tucking her legs beneath her.

"Well I suppose we should eat something, or at least I need to. I did not eat much of anything at the party." She pointed her wand at the table between the chairs and conjured up a plate of sandwiches and a pitcher of red liquid.

"What is that?" Severus asked eyeing the pitcher carefully, unsure of the color and purpose.

"Oh, that is muggle fruit punch, cool-aid, not spiked either. I would much rather have a clear head than get hammered any day. Just be warned that it is murder to get out of anything if you spill it, so be careful." She told him with a smile. Then pointing her wand behind her and opening the windows, she turned her wand towards the grate and a roaring fire sprang to life. "I guess you could say it just feels more comforting with a fire." She told him as he looked at her questioningly. Putting her wand on the table between them she poured herself and Severus a cup of punch and grabbed a sandwich. "Go ahead and have some, there is plenty for both of us."

They sat in silence for a few minutes as each ate and stared into the fire. As wonderful as it was to be so near to her, in her chambers no less, Severus found that it was also annoying. The whole reason he was here was because she wanted to talk to him and yet here they were sitting in silence. "So what is it that you wish to discuss with me Hermione?" He asked after the silence had stretched on for several minutes.

"Well, I am still deciding how exactly to approach the topic I would like to discuss." She said honestly.

"Then why did you ask me to come here if you did not know how to proceed with your conversation yet?" He asked slightly annoyed.

"Because I have to know the information tonight so that I can have recourse if things do not go as I hope." She told him.

"And what information is that?" He asked, pressing for an answer.

"Will you promise to answer my questions?" She asked him.

"That is far too vague a question to answer. But I shall answer the questions I see fit and relevant. My private life is just that, private" He conceded with a careful tone.

"Fair enough." she nodded. "So, where are you going for your summer?"

"Why?"

"Please just answer the question; it certainly is not a private question."

"I will be here at the school."

"What were your plans for the summer?"

He was tempted to ask why again, but restrained himself. "I will be brewing and experimenting. I have some research that I have laid aside for nearly four years that I would like to pick up again, now that I have the time."

"What do you know about horses?"

"I know enough to get by. What is the point to this line of questioning?"

"Well," she said nearly reluctantly. "I need some help this summer, and before you say no please hear me out." She held up her hand as if it would stop him from speaking. "I now own two horses. They are both in the school stables and are two year olds, ready to be broke and trained. When I only had one I planned on this summer being his time to be trained. But now that I have two I know that I cannot do them both by myself, nor is it really safe to be alone while I work with them.

I went to Minerva a few days ago to see who would be available to help me train them this summer. I had been hoping for there to be a girl on the list because, well, let's just say that Prince reacts much better to women than men, but there weren't any other girls. She told me that I had to choose between you and Hagrid. After some thought I made the obvious decision; so will you help me train Lucy? I can train Prince myself if you will help with Lucy." She asked him cautiously.

"So Hagrid said no then." He said almost hurt.

"What? No! I haven't asked Hagrid, I'm asking you."

"But you said you made the obvious choice. Hagrid is the Care of Magical Creatures teacher and an animal fanatic anyway you look at it. He is also much easier to get along with. He is the obvious choice in this situation." Severus informed her.

"No, he is not the obvious choice for me. While he is good in general and with animals, he is far too loud and large for the help that I need. I need to break them to ride, not break them in half. I need someone with grace, quiet power and a presence about them to help me. You fit the description and as for getting along, we have brewed together as well as gotten along well over our chess matches.

I must tell you though, that you will be on my turf when dealing with my horses, they are my babies. What I want in regards to their care and training goes." She told him both trying to sooth him and put him on notice as well. "I believe that whatever you don't know about horses or what I want done with them I can teach you, as long as you will accept my instruction. What I'm asking will not take all day, only a few hours five times a week. Saturdays and Sundays I won't be working them, everyone involved will need a rest. You will have time to yourself to brew. I really do need the help and think you the best candidate for the job."

Severus was not quite sure how to take her speech. He would have assumed Hagrid to be the obvious choice, for obvious reasons. But he did have to admit that her reasons for not picking him were valid as well. Her reasons for claiming him to be the obvious choice seemed to ring true enough on the surface, but he wondered if she had looked deeper. He suspected that she had, knowing her nature. What she had found that would have make her pick him was a mystery.

He pushed off answering her by chewing his sandwich more than usual. He knew that this was his chance to secure her attentions for the whole summer, which was more than he could ever dream. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with her, but he did not want to be obvious about it. Now here she was asking him to spend the summer with her, working granted, but with her nonetheless. She was even making every effort to make it seem less of a time consuming thing than it was, trying to convince him that it would not take too much of his summer; he really did want to get some research done.

"If you want to say no I understand." Hermione sad sigh after the silence stretched out. "It's ok, I will ask Hagrid then, he can help me somehow I'm sure."

"I have given no answer." He said with a soft menace in his voice. "I have no problem saying no if I so desire, silence does not always mean that I have rejected an idea, merely contemplating my options."

"Oh," she said in a small voice staring back into the fire, drinking her punch.

"If I was to say yes it would put me at least another year behind on my research." He said rather sternly. "I have been unable to do proper research in far too long. But on the other hand, letting you train two horses by yourself or with Hagrid, who I am quite sure has never dealt with horses in the manner that will be prescribed, would be putting you in a predicament as well. He is far more apt to baby and spoil your horses than train them." He contemplated his glass in the firelight for a moment, a spark of an idea flickering to life in his mind.

Rolling the idea around in his head for a few more, almost agonizing minutes for Hermione, he let a smile creep onto his face. This did not go unnoticed by Hermione who sat almost transfixed by the transformation in the man before her when he smiled. "You should do that more often." She said in almost a whisper.

"What?" He grunted scowling and glancing at her for interrupting his thoughts.

"Smile." She told him with her own. "You look so much more approachable when you smile, it really does suit you."

"If you frown at enough people it will drive away the dunderheads." He commented. "Now, to the task at hand. I have decided that I will help you on one condition."

"And that would be?" She asked carefully.

"Since if I choose to help you, my time in my lab will be greatly decreased, I will require your assistance. I have already drawn up a deadline schedule for my brewing this summer." He told her, he was going to have his cake and eat it too if he got his way.

"I am honored you believe me capable of working so closely with you." She gasped, not expecting him to even offer her the idea of his line of research.

"Likewise." Severus nodded in her direction.

"Of course I will help you." She told him taken aback.

"I will help you with your horses then." Severus told her. "When will we begin training?"

"In two days, once everyone who is going to leave the castle has." She told him confidently. "That way there will be no distractions for any involved."

'If she only knew.' He thought to himself.

"We can meet by the front doors at nine in the morning." She told him.

"Very well." Severus said. "Now I shall beg my leave as I wish to avoid a slew of drunken dunderheads on the way back to my chambers." He told her, setting aside his empty glass and rising from his chair.

"You can use the Floo." She offered, "You would be assured of avoiding the others if you want."

"No, I prefer to walk tonight." He told her walking to her door.

"Will I see you at breakfast then?" She asked rising and following him to the door.

"No, I have things to prepare. Good night Hermione." He told her.

"Good night Severus, I will see you in two days then." He nodded and left sweeping out of her door and blending into the shadows of the hall. Hermione closed the door behind him feeling her Wards solidify again. Grabbing her wand she banished what was left from their meal and headed for her bedroom for a well earned night's sleep a large smile on her face.

A/N: well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I would have had it up earlier in the day, but real life was kicking me in the butt, day two of college and I have a full load of homework already, ughg. Oh well, I don't think that is what you all are worried about. Some of you it seems have guessed that Hermione would ask Severus, but remember, it is not her choice as much as Prince's. we get to see how Prince reacts to Severus next semester. Can't give you all the answers at one time, that would be considered a one shot, and well, that isn't what this is, oh yeah that's right, you're still here. Oh well, now I'm just rambling, could be a side affect of the 2 hours of sleep I had last night, but then again not sure. oh well, 5 more reviews and you get to see how our dear little stallion, reacts to the new guy on the block. Grin. Ok, hope you all enjoyed the chapter, Dragons Quill.