Chapter 3
//NoNoNoNoNo!!!! This can't be right!!! Snape? Professor Snape!? The Potions Master with greasy hair and an even greasier personality???!? Why!?// Hermione was practically screaming at herself. The man in her dreams, the man with such heavenly hands. that couldn't possibly be Snape.
Mulling the recent discovery over in her mind, she couldn't even consider sleeping. //How could those soft and gentle hands belong to a slimy git like him???? She pondered. Well, he did have that spicy smell. and his hands did seem to have a certain grace similar to those tapering fingers that had undone her robes so expertly. //Oh, what I wouldn't give for those hands-// She smiled to herself in the dark. //Wait!! What the hell am I saying?!? This is Snape, Hermione, get a grip on yourself!//
With that final word, she drifted off, thankfully, into a dreamless sleep.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
"Class dismissed," announced a harried Potions Master. "Miss Granger, if I could see you in my office tonight at 7:15 please."
Hermione nodded and turned out into the hall, and fell in step with Ron and Harry. "What'd you do Hermione?" Ron asked her. "Why the hell would Snape need to see you?"
"I really dunno, Ron." And she really was at a loss as to why he would need to talk to her. To her knowledge, she hadn't done anything to get him pissed. With a sigh, she joined her friends in the Great Hall, not looking forward to spending any more time with Snape than she had too.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
By the time the last golden hues of the sunset over Hogwarts had disappeared, Hermione was on her was down to the Potions dungeons to her appointment with Professor Snape. She had given herself plenty of time, convinced that it was better to arrive early and have to spend an extra five minutes with Snape than arrive late and get another long winded lecture, or even worse, lose points for Gryffindor.
The halls were dark; only illuminated by the faint flicker of a torch strategically placed every few meters to add to the already present eerie feel of the castle.
// Why on earth would any sane person want to spend time here, much less live in this creepy place? // she shivered. Quickly, she strode into the Potions dungeon, which was apparently unoccupied. Hermione observed the classroom swathed in shadows. There were no windows of course, being a dungeon and all, and shelves lined the walls holding countless substances that intrigued her to no end. But before she could make her way over to the shelves, she noticed a book lying open on Snape's desk. With a curiosity that continually got her into trouble, Hermione walked forward and ran her fingers over the yellow, aged pages. With care not to loose the Professor's page, she traced her fingertip along the spine and gasped when she saw what was indented on the faded leather binding.
An amused snort escaped her lips. //Professor Snape keeps a journal? Who would have guessed?//
She flipped back to the page that she had saved and dissected the Potions Master's graceful scrawl under the day's date.
December 14th
More pains today. IT is becoming almost unbearable to ignore the summons. I informed Albus again today, but that man is too far off his rocker to make and sense.
Hermione chuckled to herself at the accuracy of the comment about Dumbledore, but was bewildered at the mention of the "summons." Voledemort was gone, and had been since her sixth year when Harry finally vanquished him. What could be summoning Snape was beyond her comprehension. She kept reading in an attempt to piece things together.
I think I may be finally making some progress in developing the cure, or at least a treatment for the problem, all I need is to buy a little more time.
Below he had made a neat list of potion ingredients. She was about to skim over them to see if they would give her a clue as to what kind of potion Snape was concocting, but she was cut short by the doors of the classroom bursting open. Hermione hurriedly replaced the journal and whirled around, trying to feign a look of innocence.
A tired voice broke the silence. "Miss Granger. I would attempt to fathom what you have just been up too, but at the moment, I am a bit too distracted. Please get rid of that absurd attempt to appear angelic and come over here."
Hermione's expression changed to one of puzzlement as she made her way over to where the exhausted Professor beckoned. Before she could utter a sound, Snape continued.
"Miss Granger," he held up a jar. "Do you know what this is?"
"Well, Sir, I'm not sure, but it looks a bit like an herb my mum cooks with: oregano?"
Snape looked at her. "Were you aware, Miss Granger, that it holds magical properties?"
"No sir, I wasn't. "
"That's because no one in the wizarding world has attempted to find a use for it. I believe I am correct in assuming that I am the first to discover its magical value. Oregano, Miss Granger, can be combined with the proper substances to create a very effective way to replenish red blood cells at an astonishing rate."
Hermione nodded in understanding. "So it could save someone's life who had suffered immense blood loss, then?"
"Yes, miss Granger, it could do precisely that."
"Sir, may I ask how you went about making this discovery?" Hermione had just gotten a very comical mental picture involving the Potions Master, a flowered apron, a cauldron of pasta, and a big explosion.
Snape's cheeks acquired a tinge of pink, and Hermione almost burst out in hysterics when he replied sharply, "No, Miss Granger, you may not. But I asked you here for a reason. The Headmaster seems to have unblemished confidence in your research abilities, and has suggested rather vehemently that I request your help dealing with a current project that I have taken on involving a complex potion and ingredients such as this." He gave the glass jar containing the herbs a shake. "You must realize that this will require a large amount of time and effort. If you decide to join me, then you will be exempt from regular Potions work, and you will receive and A on the final following the completion of the work I assign you."
"Professor, I'm sure that I would be up to the task, and I think I would benefit from the experience with whatever it is this project will require of me, since you were a *bit* vague on the details. I could use the relief from the exam, and - yes, I accept your offer." Hermione tried to sound confident. Even if she had to endure Snape's company, if it guaranteed an A on her exam, she would do it. Not to mention, a challenge intrigued her.
Relief subtly spread over the professor's face. "Alright then, Miss Granger. We will get started immediately tomorrow after your afternoon classes. I have asked Mr. Potter to configure the rest of Quidditch practices around our working schedule. You may go to your rooms now," he finished with a wave of his hand.
"Thank you Professor," Hermione turned and practically ran into the hall, she couldn't wait to get started on whatever experimentation they were going to be doing. She made her way up to her rooms and fell onto the pillow into a deep and peaceful sleep.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Back in the dungeons, Snape was getting ready to retire to bed himself when he noticed the leather bound journal on his desk. He glanced at it suspiciously for a minute, fairly certain that he had not left it upside down earlier that day.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A/N: *YAWN* well, here's chapter three! I hope you like it! By the way, I'm an American and therefore have a very small grasp on British grammar and wording. So if I have something that should be changed, don't hesitate to tell me!!! Pretty Please Review!!!!! I'll try and have Chapter 4 up soon.
~Raven @----
//NoNoNoNoNo!!!! This can't be right!!! Snape? Professor Snape!? The Potions Master with greasy hair and an even greasier personality???!? Why!?// Hermione was practically screaming at herself. The man in her dreams, the man with such heavenly hands. that couldn't possibly be Snape.
Mulling the recent discovery over in her mind, she couldn't even consider sleeping. //How could those soft and gentle hands belong to a slimy git like him???? She pondered. Well, he did have that spicy smell. and his hands did seem to have a certain grace similar to those tapering fingers that had undone her robes so expertly. //Oh, what I wouldn't give for those hands-// She smiled to herself in the dark. //Wait!! What the hell am I saying?!? This is Snape, Hermione, get a grip on yourself!//
With that final word, she drifted off, thankfully, into a dreamless sleep.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
"Class dismissed," announced a harried Potions Master. "Miss Granger, if I could see you in my office tonight at 7:15 please."
Hermione nodded and turned out into the hall, and fell in step with Ron and Harry. "What'd you do Hermione?" Ron asked her. "Why the hell would Snape need to see you?"
"I really dunno, Ron." And she really was at a loss as to why he would need to talk to her. To her knowledge, she hadn't done anything to get him pissed. With a sigh, she joined her friends in the Great Hall, not looking forward to spending any more time with Snape than she had too.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
By the time the last golden hues of the sunset over Hogwarts had disappeared, Hermione was on her was down to the Potions dungeons to her appointment with Professor Snape. She had given herself plenty of time, convinced that it was better to arrive early and have to spend an extra five minutes with Snape than arrive late and get another long winded lecture, or even worse, lose points for Gryffindor.
The halls were dark; only illuminated by the faint flicker of a torch strategically placed every few meters to add to the already present eerie feel of the castle.
// Why on earth would any sane person want to spend time here, much less live in this creepy place? // she shivered. Quickly, she strode into the Potions dungeon, which was apparently unoccupied. Hermione observed the classroom swathed in shadows. There were no windows of course, being a dungeon and all, and shelves lined the walls holding countless substances that intrigued her to no end. But before she could make her way over to the shelves, she noticed a book lying open on Snape's desk. With a curiosity that continually got her into trouble, Hermione walked forward and ran her fingers over the yellow, aged pages. With care not to loose the Professor's page, she traced her fingertip along the spine and gasped when she saw what was indented on the faded leather binding.
An amused snort escaped her lips. //Professor Snape keeps a journal? Who would have guessed?//
She flipped back to the page that she had saved and dissected the Potions Master's graceful scrawl under the day's date.
December 14th
More pains today. IT is becoming almost unbearable to ignore the summons. I informed Albus again today, but that man is too far off his rocker to make and sense.
Hermione chuckled to herself at the accuracy of the comment about Dumbledore, but was bewildered at the mention of the "summons." Voledemort was gone, and had been since her sixth year when Harry finally vanquished him. What could be summoning Snape was beyond her comprehension. She kept reading in an attempt to piece things together.
I think I may be finally making some progress in developing the cure, or at least a treatment for the problem, all I need is to buy a little more time.
Below he had made a neat list of potion ingredients. She was about to skim over them to see if they would give her a clue as to what kind of potion Snape was concocting, but she was cut short by the doors of the classroom bursting open. Hermione hurriedly replaced the journal and whirled around, trying to feign a look of innocence.
A tired voice broke the silence. "Miss Granger. I would attempt to fathom what you have just been up too, but at the moment, I am a bit too distracted. Please get rid of that absurd attempt to appear angelic and come over here."
Hermione's expression changed to one of puzzlement as she made her way over to where the exhausted Professor beckoned. Before she could utter a sound, Snape continued.
"Miss Granger," he held up a jar. "Do you know what this is?"
"Well, Sir, I'm not sure, but it looks a bit like an herb my mum cooks with: oregano?"
Snape looked at her. "Were you aware, Miss Granger, that it holds magical properties?"
"No sir, I wasn't. "
"That's because no one in the wizarding world has attempted to find a use for it. I believe I am correct in assuming that I am the first to discover its magical value. Oregano, Miss Granger, can be combined with the proper substances to create a very effective way to replenish red blood cells at an astonishing rate."
Hermione nodded in understanding. "So it could save someone's life who had suffered immense blood loss, then?"
"Yes, miss Granger, it could do precisely that."
"Sir, may I ask how you went about making this discovery?" Hermione had just gotten a very comical mental picture involving the Potions Master, a flowered apron, a cauldron of pasta, and a big explosion.
Snape's cheeks acquired a tinge of pink, and Hermione almost burst out in hysterics when he replied sharply, "No, Miss Granger, you may not. But I asked you here for a reason. The Headmaster seems to have unblemished confidence in your research abilities, and has suggested rather vehemently that I request your help dealing with a current project that I have taken on involving a complex potion and ingredients such as this." He gave the glass jar containing the herbs a shake. "You must realize that this will require a large amount of time and effort. If you decide to join me, then you will be exempt from regular Potions work, and you will receive and A on the final following the completion of the work I assign you."
"Professor, I'm sure that I would be up to the task, and I think I would benefit from the experience with whatever it is this project will require of me, since you were a *bit* vague on the details. I could use the relief from the exam, and - yes, I accept your offer." Hermione tried to sound confident. Even if she had to endure Snape's company, if it guaranteed an A on her exam, she would do it. Not to mention, a challenge intrigued her.
Relief subtly spread over the professor's face. "Alright then, Miss Granger. We will get started immediately tomorrow after your afternoon classes. I have asked Mr. Potter to configure the rest of Quidditch practices around our working schedule. You may go to your rooms now," he finished with a wave of his hand.
"Thank you Professor," Hermione turned and practically ran into the hall, she couldn't wait to get started on whatever experimentation they were going to be doing. She made her way up to her rooms and fell onto the pillow into a deep and peaceful sleep.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Back in the dungeons, Snape was getting ready to retire to bed himself when he noticed the leather bound journal on his desk. He glanced at it suspiciously for a minute, fairly certain that he had not left it upside down earlier that day.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A/N: *YAWN* well, here's chapter three! I hope you like it! By the way, I'm an American and therefore have a very small grasp on British grammar and wording. So if I have something that should be changed, don't hesitate to tell me!!! Pretty Please Review!!!!! I'll try and have Chapter 4 up soon.
~Raven @----