Chapter 4


'I guess we're going to the library, then?'

It's Ron presenting the question to her and Harry, but it rather sounds like he doesn't want to do any such horrific thing. Seeing as she is used to Ron after all these years, she only spares a fraction of her time to that how strange it is for him to feel that way, when Hogwarts' free periods are specifically designed for library time. Only he would see time at the library as a curse that has no counter.

'I guess,' Harry answers him, saving her the trouble of opening her mouth with a snappy reply.

She swears, between Moody's methods of teaching (which she thankfully just exited) and Ron's very verbal intolerance for extra study and research time, she doesn't need much else to set her off towards producing a jinx. It's just as well that her free periods are now dedicated to Potions, because she's not all that certain that she would be able to endure more of Ron, while in her usual post-Moody mood.

'You two can go ahead,' she tells them, 'I won't be going.'

She wouldn't have imagined that she said anything wrong, had Ron not chosen the moment she makes to go her separate way, to stand in front of her, wearing a puzzled look on his face. Well, actually no, now that she's studying him, trying to figure out what he means by blocking her way and looking at her that way, she corrects herself to think that he rather looks unsure of her identity at the moment; she swears, his expression says that he doesn't recognise her.

'Hermione?' he calls her name as though testing it, as though he's not entirely sure that she goes by that name anymore.

Not amused by his tone, she acidly spits, 'What Ronald?'

He should know by now, that she only uses his full name under two circumstances; when he's talking rubbish that she cannot organise in her head, and when he attempts to get under her skin, where he clearly cannot fit.

'Are you quite all right?' he wonders, maintaining his air of puzzlement.

'I'm perfectly fine,' she replies, although the answer comes out snappier than it should.

'Then why aren't you rejoicing that we're offering to go to the library?'

That's a totally ridiculous question, she hotly thinks in her head, while her eyes narrow at him. Is she his mother? Is she supposed to congratulate him on every responsible choice that he is supposed to make in and for his life? Well, she has news for him, her role in his life did not expressly come with that strict requisite! But of course, the sensitive boy that Ron is, she can't tell that to him, not if she doesn't want to spend the weeks not talking to him. She will have to water down her response.

'I said you two can go ahead, didn't I?' she mildly replies to him. 'Besides, I have Potions with Professor Snape now.'

Solely for courtesy's sake, is she referring to him as Professor Snape in front of her friends. They call him Snape amongst each other all the time, but she likes to believe that she did something right to get the teacher to give her permission to brew potions, and so should not be taking any chances that lead her in the direction of losing that. It's only that more than before, Ron looks at her as though her face just disfigured completely.

'Hermione, you can't mean remedial Potions?'

Ugh! Ronald Weasley! He's changed to now looking at her as though she has overly large teeth all of a sudden, and that doesn't sit well with her. Honestly, he's the only wizard she is close to, who can animate his face so theatrically.

'And why would I need remedial Potions, Ronald?' she snaps at him. 'I'm quite capable of brewing potions, in case you haven't noticed.'

'Then why are you having extra Potions with Snape?' Ron insists.

'Because I asked him, and he said yes.'

'You're mental, Hermione!' he exclaims, turning to Harry to say the same thing to him. 'She's mental, isn't she, Harry? I mean, Snape's going to deduct even more house points from her when he can. Why would she ask him for extra Potions lessons?'

As much as she can't keep herself from rolling her eyes at his unfair deduction, she does manage not to exclaim her response to him, because at the very last moment, she realises that it's not worth it to argue with Ron. Truly, why would an argument with him be worth the action itself, when, for the love of magic, he thought that she'd be having remedial Potions. She, Hermione Granger, doing remedial Potions? Ha! Ronald Weasley. He's a character, that one.

'They're not Potions lessons, if you must know.'

'What will you be doing with him, then?' it's Harry who asks her this time, his calm curiosity being a welcome difference to Ron's bursts.

That's a more sensible question from Harry, less judgemental, in fact, and yet, its answer is one filled with a small list of accompanying reasons, that she doesn't want to have to explain, where they stand. They only get fifteen minutes of intervals between classes, solely to provide them enough time to get from one class to another on time, and she can't waste much of that time, getting into the specifics of everything that has lead her to have brew potions with Professor Snape. Of course, she could just right out tell him that she will be brewing potions, but that what would that answer be to Harry, if it didn't have a context that would satisfy his curiosity?

Another time, when and if Harry brings up the subject, and they are somewhat in a settled state, she will gladly tell him the truth. It's quite easy for her to make this mental promise, because throughout the years, she's learned that Harry, although foolishly impulsive, is more understanding and able to trust her with decisions.

He doesn't always listen to her, but in a way, he's like her parents, who trust her to make the better of choices for herself and those important to her. The good thing about Harry, is that even when it feels like he wants to judge, he doesn't immediately do it in the way that Ron does it. Tactlessly, in other words, which in turn leads her to want to confide better in him.

'I'll only be brewing potions, I promise,' she calmly tells Harry. 'I doubt I'll even get the chance to speak to him, because he sort of made it clear that I am not to speak to him.'

'It's strange, though, isn't it?' Harry says through a frown. 'Why would Snape allow you to brew potions with him?'

'I don't know,' she shrugs, 'and I didn't want to ask him either. I'm just fine with brewing potions.'

She won't correct Harry on the bit about brewing with Professor Snape, but only because it's not an important thing to mention out here in the corridor. What's more pressing, is him knowing that she's really just all right with brewing potions. She doesn't necessarily expect more than that from Professor Snape, and he's made it clear that he wants nothing to do with her, so she is perfectly all right with just having control of having how a potion turns out once she is finished with it.

'You'll let me know if Snape does anything to you, won't you, Hermione?'

'He's a teacher, Harry,' she softly argues, although she does appreciate his concern for her. 'He won't do anything to me.'

'I don't mean like hit you, or anything…' Harry defends his offer. 'But he's Snape, so I don't really trust him with you.'

'I'll be fine,' she assures him, choosing to trust her teacher. 'Plus, he told me that if I want to quit, all I have to do is tell him.'

'That's probably what he'd like you to do anyway,' Ron comments a little darkly.

Now that he's mentioned it, her brain quickly gathers itself together to expertly create the theory, that he must've purposely set it up that way, just so he can shove it in her face what a quitter she is, and he hadn't expected anything from her either way. But why hadn't she thought of that when he was presenting that to her? She knows why, now. She's remembering just how happy she'd been to receive a positive answer from him, that she allowed her emotions to cover her mind against its proper use. How could she have been so stupid?!

'Well, I'm not going to quit,' she violently declares, only afterwards realising that her answer could be heard as an attack on Ron.

She instantly regrets it, seeing Ron's taken aback reaction, although on the other hand, she won't apologise and give him the satisfaction of him being accurately right about something against Professor Snape. He's irritated her enough during their exchange, for her previous response to have been a small act of revenge, even though she hadn't meant for it to be that way at all.

'We,' Harry points between him and Ron, 'know that, but what will you be brewing anyway?'

'I'm not allowed to tell.' she hesitantly says, her eyes moving from Harry to Ron. 'And to be honest, Ronald, I wouldn't tell you right now. You're being a little unreasonable.'

Apparently, Ron is offended by that accusation, because he pulls his face back in protest as the mirroring words leave his mouth, 'Unreasonable? I'm worried about you being alone with Snape, brewing poison most likely, with him, and I'm being unreasonable? You are something else, Hermione,' he concludes by shaking his head.

'Think what you will, Ronald Weasley' she advises him, 'but I don't want to be late, so I'll see you both in the next class.'

'See you,' Harry says, apparently accepting her decision, where Ron only stares at her.

No matter, she tells herself, Ron will learn to get used to it. Or better yet, he will find something to distract that fact concerning her. She'd much rather prefer the last of the two, but whichever she gets, she will be content with. Led by that thought, she starts to go in the direction she is needed in, when she remembers something important, making her stop in her steps, and turn around to tell them what she forgot to say.

'Do some research on your next task, Harry,' she sternly commands. 'Help him, Ron! He needs both our help.'

She's sure, she's absolutely sure that Ron has some question in his head about why she's always telling them what to do, but he thankfully doesn't ask it. It's just as well that he doesn't ask her, because she is saved from answering, that if she left them up to them, they wouldn't get much –in the sense of progress in any part- accomplished


26Chapters


Although she finds his office door already open, she still knocks on it, for permission to enter. Experience has taught her that Snape is predictably unpredictable. With him, there's always a certain way that he's sure to react, but there are times when he could be deceiving someone into believing that he would be different, only to pounce on them. In order to preserve her interactions with him about brewing potions, she has to make certain that she does nothing to help her in losing this opportunity that she has been given.

'In,' comes a gruff reply from inside in his office.

Carefully stepping in, she doesn't immediately have a view of him once she is a few steps away from the door. His profile only comes into view when she is a good ten steps inside, and is able to see more inside the room. Only upon seeing him studying one shelf on his feet, does she offer him a greeting.

'Good afternoon, Professor.'

'Everything you need is on the table,' is his deep response to her greeting. 'Do not bother me.'

Wow, she thinks, what a greeting. But oh well, she is all right with this. It could've been worse. He could easily have been narrating to her, how stupid she is, or humiliating her in some verbal form, but instead he is leaving her to own devices, as though he trusts her to follow his instructions.

She must think, though, that she is surprised that he has decided to be present while she brews. He'd assured her that he is a wizard, and would by no means be holding her hand, or watching over her while she brewed, and yet here he is. Really considering it now, the failure to do what he said he would do, actually negates her previous thought of his trust towards her.

Only, that in itself, is not as simple as it should be.

Not when she goes deep into thought about it.

On the one hand, he clearly doesn't trust her to leave her alone in his office, while on the other, he seems to not trust his own protective spells against her. Any which person could think of the second fact, and choose to look at it as a compliment on their person, that he believes them competent enough to break through his protection. However, she, knowing Snape, finds it be more logical to look at it from another angle; the angle that he suspects her of having the audacity to attempt to break through his protection, for the purpose of stealing from him. So really, in the end, when it all comes down from the boil, he simply doesn't trust her. End of story.

Well, she inwardly scoffs, that's nothing new. It's only a shame that she used a portion of her time to come to a conclusion that she should've easily assumed from the beginning. But in any case, even though he doesn't trust her, he's giving her a chance to be here. She imagines that that must be something hard for him to have agreed to, and for that sacrifice, with whatever agenda lies behind it, she is currently grateful for, and she intends to let him know.

'Thank you, Professor,' she says to him, meaning it dearly.

Having been shunned before in her life, having experienced the -sometimes- pure and selfless desire to help, she knows what a genuine word of appreciation can do for someone in that position. She is well aware of how easy it is to be cast aside, and be distrusted for being who she is, and so she feels that in a very sugar cube sized sort of way, she can relate to her teacher in the moment. Just now she considered that he might have an agenda for giving her this opportunity, instead of giving him the benefit of the doubt, which is why she thanked him from the sincerity of her soul. Her verbal gratitude, is primarily her atonement for her mental suspicions of him, but she appreciates that he hears it, and looks up at her then, with his face clean of anything negative for a moment. That is, until he apparently finds that she's looking at him for far too long.

'I said not to bother me, Miss Granger,' he pronounces quite clearly.

Of course, her stomach sinks a little bit at the blatant rejection, he wouldn't be Snape, if he didn't find anything to snap about. She should've just kept quiet, but really, can't he just accept something of appreciation? Is he so closed up, that nothing enters him?

'I was just thanking you, Professor.'

'As I was just telling you to not bother me,' he maintains in a dismissive tone before going back to studying his shelf.

Him returning to his work is definitely a sign that he has no intention of entertaining her again. He already told her that she is not to leave a brew unfinished, and the more time she spends looking at him and wondering, the more time she'll spend in here and possibly be late for her next class. If that happens, he's probably not going to give her note for that.

Still, though, she would've liked him to accept her gratitude.

Honestly, that Severus Snape professor. He's a whole set of degrees of separation from the entire wizarding community courtesy, that no one can ever be on the same plane as him.