Author's note: Oh my, oh my. It's been over three years since I wrote this... I'm amazed both at how much I've changed in that time, and at just how hilarious I was back then.

Chapter 7

It was morning, Saturday morning. Hermione stood outside Severus' office, from which one could reach his private lab. She was jittery, which she luckily wasn't very often when it just came to brewing potions. Potions brewing was impersonal, and professional. There was no way in which they'd possibly talk about personal things when brewing – it was all about the potion. Hermione would ask questions, Severus would answer. But today they'd have to use the unicorn hair, and that was personal.

Luckily Hermione had a late lunch with Narcissa so if the brewing today turned out to be horribly tense, then she'd at least have an excuse to get away.

She knocked on the door, which Severus opened without questions. He looked tired, and slightly wary. Like he knew today was going to be awkward. Hermione stepped into his office and took of her Glamour. Out of her robes she got a vial in which she'd put two unicorn hairs – she'd in totalt gotten thirteen.

Severus opened the door into his private lab – the door was situated in the middle of the wall you faced when you entered the room. Next to it stood a different door leading into the stores. On the left wall there was a door leading out into his classroom. Behind his desk stood several bookshelves.

She followed him into the spartan room. There were several tables, a storage filled with the more common ingredients – the rare ones he'd have to go and fetch in the bigger store – and various equipment were stood on shelves.

"Now, I checked the recipe for this potion. It would seem that the only really rare ingredient is the unicorn hair. Other than that there's," at this he held up a paper at some length from his eyes and squinted, "wormwood, spider's legs, sea anemone, rosemary, and quail feathers. It should only take two hours to make."

Hermione sighed, read through the recipe, and they set to work. Severus set up the cauldron – this one a small platina-covered one, so as not to interfere with the purity of the unicorn hairs – and Hermione fetched some dried sea anemone from the larger stores. When she got back into the lab she set to grinding down some to a fine powder. She then added the dried rosemary and ground that down too.

Without looking up she asked Severus, "Are the spider legs to be ground down with the anemone and rosemary?"

It took him a couple of seconds to answer – he was in the process of separating the barbs from the calamus on the feathers. "Yes."

Soon enough they were done with all the grinding and ready to begin. First, the water was to reach a temperature of 121 degrees Celsius – something which required a pressuring spell from Hermione. Then the things she had ground were added and the pressure was after five minutes brought down and the temperature decreased to 98 degrees.

Severus stood watching throughout all of this. "I won't be able to help you after you've added the unicorn hair."

She frowned. "Why not?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Because I'm not a virgin."

She hadn't expected for him to be, but she also hadn't expected for non-virgins to be unable to even handle the hair. "Oh. So you need to be one to handle the unicorn hair? Wait... does that mean that Ollivander hasn't... Okay, too much information. Too much information."

That seemed to break the tension. Severus snorted, "Yes. The potion will still work for non-virgins, but it can't be made by them – at least not from the stage at which the unicorn hair is added."

She said, "Huh," as she added the unicorn hair. Then she brought the temperature down to 48 degrees, picked up a platina ladle and stirred it twice, once clockwise and once counter-clockwise, before she backed away from it to let is rest for an hour.

She decided that now was as good a time as any to discuss what had been on her mind. "Severus, you've been acting weird around me these last few days." He frowned, and then shrugged. At least he wasn't denying it. "Why?" She turned to face him more fully.

He was staring at the potion when he said, "You seem very knowledgeable a lot of the time. I suppose it surprised me that you didn't know everything, after all. Also, it served to remind me of how young you really are."

"And this bothers you because...?"

He turned to face her. "I remember you saying that you were under the impression that we were more than friends."

It became hard to breathe. So he'd entertained the thought of them being together? But what did he think of it? Right now he gave of the impression that he wasn't too happy about it. Damn her PMS for making her all emotional. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again to ask, "Is that a problem with you?" in a small voice.

"I don't know how to answer that Hermione." He was clearly very conflicted. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

"No!" She grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. "Please don't just leave. I basically just told you that I'd like to date you, and you basically just turned me down. If you leave me alone right now I'm going to cry and probably get a bunch of tears in the potion so that it'll spoil." Merlin, she sounded desperate.

He paused in his tracks and turned back towards her. "I didn't really turn you down."

"You said that you didn't know how to answer my question – that's trying not to let me down too hard. Isn't it?"

"I said that I didn't know how to answer your question because I don't know if it's a problem with me. In fact, it isn't much of a problem with me and that is a problem." A warmth spread in her chest.

"Severus, would you like to go on a date with me then? You could make up your mind after that."

"I'm much older than you, Hermione."

She smiled up at him. "I don't mind."

"I'm horrible at relationships."

"Since I haven't been in any I'm betting I am too."

"That's not helping, you know." Despite the somewhat serious undertone he smiled. She simply smiled back at him. "Fine, I'll go on a date with you."

She stepped forward and hugged him tightly. It felt to her as if though she could breathe easier. Just as he was wrapping his arms around her he muttered, "I'm still not overly fond of hugs," into her hair. "And you're my apprentice – the Guild will have to take care of your testing from now on. And the younger version of you is in her sixth year!"

She giggled. "I'm not, though, so stop worrying."

"What will Albus think?"

"He's alright with it."

"What will Minnie think?" Now he sounded genuinely worried.

"Don't worry about it – I'll talk to her after lunch with Narcissa."

They were still hugging, and it was fabulous. After a while they had to separate, so that Hermione could finish of the Potion. But she added the feathers and spider legs with a smile on her face. Severus Snape liked her in that way. It made her giddy with joy. Ha, what would her teenage self think about that?

She finished up the potion, and it was close to perfect. The taste might've been a bit off, but it would work as intended. All in all it would last for about forty portions.

Severus eyed her and said, "I can go and give them to Poppy if you want more time to prepare?"

She kissed him on the cheek and said, "Thank you," before departing with a smile.

She was on her way to her room on the fourth floor when she came across Mini-Hermione and Harry and Ron. She walked by them, still smiling happily, and then heard Ron saying, "What's up with her?"

She laughed to herself, got back to her room and got changed. She was reminded of a memory from years ago that she hadn't thought of earlier in the day, in which she had registered that today was Saturday, and that that probably meant that 'Jane' had had some success in her battle for Severus' affections. So, that's what's going through Mini-Me's mind right now.

Of course, they weren't really in a relationship yet. They were both interested, and there was to be a date. A definition was to come at a later date. Ha, as in day in a calendar, not necessarily during a date.

As Hermione was apparating into Diagon Ally some time later she was still giddy. She saw Narcissa standing a few paces away, at their assigned meeting place.

She smiled, and said, "Narcissa! Am I terribly late? I must apologize!"

Narcissa turned around. "Oh no, I dare say you're early!" She seemed to be in a good mood, smiling jovially at her. However, when she scoured the masses of wizards and witches milling around the streets, she frowned and her lip rose a little, and so her face took on a not so complimenting look. "Now, we'll have to get through this mess of people before we can reach the restaurant I picked out. It's two streets from here," she muttered, still surveying the crowd.

Hermione simply smiled, and followed closely behind her as she walked briskly and primly towards their destination. That destination was a picturesque restaurant serving mainly vegetarian foods. They picked out what they wanted, and then sat down in a cosy corner.

"So, Jane. What's the latest gossip at Hogwarts?"

Hermione smiled. "Oh, I wouldn't necessarily know. Though I have heard it rumoured that there is to be a valentine's ball." She winked, for there was to be a valentine's ball.

"Oh my! Do you have any idea who Draco might ask?"

She did, for she'd seen him take a certain girl to the dance a number of years ago. Jane, however, wouldn't know. "No, I don't think so. Maybe he'll surprise you?" His choice of partner had certainly surprised her when she first learned of it.

"Hmm, well he's not allowed to surprise me too much. He mustn't give his poor mother a heart attack!" She laughed.

Hermione found herself grinning along with her when their food arrived. Her mouth watered at the sight of the lovely, crisp spanakopita that had been placed in front of her. The smell of spinach and feta cheese reached her.

They setteled into a companiable silence as they ate. Every once in a while a comment or two would be made, but there wasn't much more than that said before they were done.

After lunch the went out into the streets again. Narcissa wanted to visit a shop containing antique furniture, but neither of them found anything that caught their eye.

After that she asked, "Jane, do you wish to visit any particular shop?"

She put a hand to her chin. Would she dare...? Well, Voldemort already knew who she was, so it'd only be in-character of her to try such a thing. "Actually, there is. But I wouldn't presume that you'd like to go with me."

Narcissa raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't presume, ask."

"Well, you're not overly fond of the muggle world. I can't say that I am either, but I find a lot of their fiction very entertaining. After all, they lead their lives without magic, and I suppose that some of them then search for that lost thing by writing fiction, inventing magical worlds and what not."

Narcissa looked curious and dubious. "And your proposal is...?"

"Well, to exit Diagon Alley and visit a bookshop I know to be nearby."

Narcissa took her time before she answered, but when she did she surprised Hermione. "I suppose I could come with. Though I suspect that I'll only be disappointed in the unimaginative muggles."

They went to one of the back-exits to and from Diagon Alley, and there Hermione proceeded to transfigure their clothes into something more appropriate. A blouse and jeans for her, a skirt and blouse for Narcissa.

Narcissa seemed unimpressed by the new clothes, but on they went, out into the bustle of a London street during lunch hour.

Narcissa seemed incredibly perturbed by the muggles surrounding her, and any unsuspecting muggle watching her would've thought that she'd had a horrible day that only boded to get worse. Soon, however, they'd reached the bookshop Hermione had told about.

It was a normal bookshop; covering one floor, containing lots of sections promising different genres. Hermione went to the shelves containing sci-fi, Narcissa hot on her heels. O, o, o. There! She spotted it quickly enough – 1984 by George Orwell. It was her favourite book, and she'd sadly lost it when she travelled back in time. But here it was, finally in her hands again, lovely as ever.

"You know, if you want one you can pick one out and I'll pay for it," Hermione offered.

Narcissa seemed surprised by this, but actually began perusing the shelf in front of her. "Such weird subjects. What is that one you're holding about?"

"It's a dystopia – basically an imagined, in this case future, society that's a 'worst case scenario'," Hermione replied.

Narcissa frowned. "Well, if you were to recommend one of those to me, which would you recommend?"

Hermione smiled – she knew this one. "The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Actually, let's see," she immediately spotted it at the top of the shelf, and had to stand on her tip toes to reach it, but reach it she did. "Here it is!"

Narcissa took it from her and read the summary at the back. She then shrugged and said, "I suppose I could give it a go."

This was definitely going much, much better than Hermione had ever presumed that it would. "You may be confused by some of what you'll read – I doubt you're familiar with cars, for example – but it shouldn't be too confusing. You might also want to look into Christianity and feminism, especially in the eighties, to better understand the ideologies at play. But it really is a fabulous book."

Hermione paid for their books, and soon they were once again in Diagon Alley. They changed back their clothing and parted ways – Narcissa promised to write her, but seemed slightly subdued. Hermione suspected that it was because Narcissa knew that reading a muggle book went against the Dude's wishes.

Hermione apparated back to Hogwarts, holding her new book tightly in hand and walked back up into the castle. She reached her room before she realized that her day was not yet over – she had to talk to Minerva about Severus. She deposited her book on her bedside table and gave Florence some new food and attention. After that she walked to Minerva's quarters.

She waved to Minerva's painting, which featured an old man knocking down a pint of beer to a cheering crowd. Soon enough the painting swung to the side, revealing Minerva's living room. She entered, and noticed Minerva herself sitting at her desk, grading some papers.

"Minerva, it's Saturday. Aren't you supposed to do something fun?"

She set down the papers she was reading. "Well, yes, but I promised to be done grading these for Monday, so here I am. Anyway, I'll be done within the hour, and after that Hagrid and I have plans to go down to the Hog's Head."

"Ah. Very well. I came to discuss something with you, and I think tea might be in order. Do you mind?"

"No, no. Please take a seat," here she gestured at the chair in front of her desk. Soon enough tea was ordered and Hermione seated.

"So, what did you wish to discuss?" Minerva asked whilst pouring some tea.

"Uhm, well, Severus actually."

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "What'd he say now? Do you want sugar in yours?"

"Oh, no thanks. And he said 'yes', is all." Hermione tried to get comfortable in the chair.

Minerva frowned, asked "What did he say yes to?" and took a sip of her tea.

"A date." Minerva quickly spit out her tea – most of it landed on Hermione's face.

"Sorry, sorry," she procured a handkerchief for Hermione, "but did you just say that Severus agreed to go on a date with you?"

Wiping her face clean of any liquid, she answered, "Yes."

"Why'd he do that!?"

Hermione snorted. "Wow, thanks."

"Oh, I don't mean it in that way!" she chastised. "I just... he's not overly fond of relationships. It seems so out-of-character of him to want to go on a date."

"Ah," here Hermione let a tone of guilt creep into her voice, "well I may have been unfair to him and pressured him a bit. He did however say that he wasn't completely adverse to the idea."

Minerva snorted. "That's typical Severus for you."

Hermione smiled. "I suppose."

"Well," Minerva sighed, "I have a feeling that a 'good luck' is in order. You're going to need it."

Hermione chuckled. "I suppose. Now, I need your help."

"With what?" Minerva inquired.

"Since I'm the one that asked him, it seems like the duty of planning the date befalls me. And I have no idea what we could do. I do know the day though."

"Well... how many potions do you want to take the morning after?" Minerva grinned evilly.

"Minerva!" Hermione squealed.

"What? No sex for poor old Severus?"

Blushing wildly, Hermione smiled. "No."

Raising an eyebrow, Minerva asked, "How long are you going to make him wait?"

Shrugging, she answered, "As long as I feel like it."

"Wise words, from a wise woman."