Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. The story, however, is mine.

A/N: Sorry that I haven't gotten another chapter up in so long, I've been very busy. I promise, Chapter 5 will be up soon. The revision of this chapter is due to some advice from Emily, who gave the inspiration to write this story. Much thanks to her and all my readers who are encouraging me to continue - it means a lot.

On to the new (and hopefully improved) chapter 4!

Hermione's alarm clock seemed to be abnormally loud as it woke her up. It was a Wednesday morning, two and a half weeks into the first term, and Hermione was finally beginning to get used to the castle again. She liked her job helping Madame Pomfrey, and was well praised for her antidotes and medical potions she had made. However, working with Severus was a different story. Hermione was having a rather difficult time keeping her temper around him, his cold attitude was so frustrating sometimes. Not that he was cruel to her, exactly, but he remained as stony and silent as ever, and made it very clear that her presence was only tolerated by him because he was forced to. She definitely enjoyed Madame Pomfrey's company much better, to be certain. With a sigh, Hermione finished getting ready and went down to breakfast, not feeling very enthusiastic about the day ahead.

After a somewhat tiring day in the hospital wing, Hermione retired to her rooms and changed her clothes quickly, putting on a different set of robes to wear for her work with Snape. Arriving in the Potion's lab, Hermione joined Severus, greeted only by the usual silence that occurred in the room. "Good evening," she said softly, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Indeed, Miss Granger, may I ask what is so good about it?" Snape countered, in his usual sneering voice. Hermione's face dropped, but instead of feeling better, Severus noticed that he felt somewhat worse. Over the past two weeks, Hermione had shown him nothing but kindness and respect. As a matter of fact, she had not lost her temper with him at all, with the exception of the first day. Inwordly, Severus had grown to realize how mature and intelligent the girl had grown up to become, and he had not failed to notice that she seemed slightly less unattractive than she was as a child. Quite pretty, to tell the truth. Not that he would admit that to her or anyone else, he had a hard enough time admitting it to himself. "Today the Memondorian does not require a lot of physical work. However, it does require stirring every 20 minutes, and I would like to get some work done checking these essays that my Third years wrote. You may work on anything you feel necessary while the potion doesn't need stirring."

Hermione nodded and quickly walked to her chambers and back with an enormous book that she had been reading. She settled down in an armchair and became immediately immersed with the book while Severus set a magical clock to warn them when the potion would need stirring. While he checked his papers, Snape couldn't help looking over at Hermione every now and then. She looked so pretty tonight.he didn't even know why. There was something about her eyes and face that just sparkled, even more so now that she was reading. Her cleverness astonished him, as she seemed to radiate more intelligence every day. Curiosity filled him as he wondered what she was reading, and he returned to the extremely horrible paper he was grading. Finally, Severus gave in and walked over to her. Sensing his presence, Hermione looked up, his dark eyes piercing her soul. "Yes.sir?" she asked, rather nervously.

"I was wondering, Miss Granger, what you are reading," he said in a not quite pleasant, but much softer tone than he usually used.

Hermione was quite taken aback by his sudden change in attitude. "Umm.the book is actually the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. He is a muggle author."

"Oh yes, I have heard of him. I think I actually read one of his plays before, one called Hamlet. Have you read it?

"No, I've only read A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet before. I'm re-reading Romeo and Juliet right now because its been quite a long time."

A long conversation then took place between the two of them, with short breaks to stir the potion. Hermione was astonished at Snape's interest in the plays, and she preceeded to explain the plot of the play to him, eventually lending him the book so that he could read it himself. It was nearing midnight when Hermione finally looked at the time, realizing how late it was. As their conversation drew towards a close, Hermione finally got up the nerve to ask Severus the question she had been wondering about since the beginning of their conversation. "Professor...," she asked, "If I may ask, why have you been talking to me tonight? Usually the times we work together are so silent.and I had such an enjoyable time tonight." The moment she asked the question, Hermione knew it had been a mistake. The mood in the room darkened with Snape's face and the peace that the partners had found was immediately broken.
"It is late, Miss Granger, and time you left. Close the door as you leave."

Tears filled Hermione's eyes as she nodded slightly and left, his harsh sneer still very much alive in her mind.