Hermione ran to the library as soon as her last class was over. She had
been inattentive in all of her classes, and even Harry and Ron had noticed
something unusual.
"What's wrong with you, Hermione?" Ron had asked. "You didn't even raise your hand when Prof. Flitwick asked what we read for the last assignment. And I know you did the reading, that's all you would talk about at supper yesterday!"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just a little tired. I didn't sleep well last night," she had replied. Well, that much was true. She didn't feel like the boys would understand how a dream could bother her so much, and she was afraid that if she told them about the sleepwalking, they would insist on keeping watch in the common room to make sure it didn't happen again.
When supper was over, she ran over to the library. As soon as she inhaled the stale, musty, bookish air, she felt a little more focused and relaxed. She began her search in the section about animals, magic and muggle, and decided to look in the music section when she was done.
After going through about 50 animal books, all she had found on bats were references to vampires. "Maybe I'm turning into a vampire," she thought. But she wasn't showing any actual vampire symptoms; hers were generally more mild and nicer. Aside from being a little out of it all day, she'd been feeling the overwhelming urge to do things like run through a field of flowers, and cuddle small, furry animals. Although she was a nice girl, she wasn't that sickly sweet most of the time. It was really beginning to get on her nerves.
Suddenly, she felt an odd lurch in the pit of her stomach. She jerked her head out of her book and looked toward the door. Prof. Snape had just slinked in. Hermione wasn't sure why he had attracted her interest, because he didn't really make any noise, and his black robes blended into the shadows of the entranceway. But something about him held her eye, and she saw him go to the very section she had been looking through.
He searched through the shelves for a few minutes before looking straight up at her. He noticed the pile of bat related books next to her and made his way over to her.
"So, Miss Granger, doing some research, I see?" he leered.
"I was just looking up a few things, Professor," she replied.
"What's this, 'Stalkers of the Night,' 'The Feeding Habits of Vampire Bats,' 'Fifty Ways to Kill the Undead,'" He casually tossed the books aside as he read the titles. "'Dracula?' You realize, of course, that the last one is a highly inaccurate book by muggles, don't you?" he sneered at her.
"Of course. I just thought it might have something useful in it. None of these other books do. I even looked in Lockhart's 'Voyages with Vampires,' but it was even worse than the others," she answered indignantly. She wasn't sure why she felt she had to defend her selections to him, but she didn't want him to think she was uninformed on anything.
"What's wrong, didn't you learn enough about vampires from Prof. Lupin's little essay a few years ago? Surely he isn't repeating himself by assigning it again."
"No, I was just doing some independent research. I was just curious, that's all." She nonchalantly tried to cover up for her previous fervor. After all, it was none of his business what she was reading about.
Snape raised one eyebrow and just looked at her for a moment before giving her a brisk "Very well," and storming out of the library. Hermione was so flustered by this encounter that she didn't notice that in going through her books, Snape had taken several of them out of the pile and carried them off with him when he left.
As Severus Snape approached his office, he pulled the purloined books out of his robes. He had snuck away the few that actually held valuable information so that he could reread them himself. Of course, he had sought out all books on vampires when he had become one, but he didn't remember ever seeing mention of a cure. Just to be sure, he started reviewing the books he had gotten.
'Why was that little Granger girl looking up vampires?' Snape mused to himself. 'Surely she doesn't suspect me, even after last night. I wonder what exactly she remembers.'
"What's wrong with you, Hermione?" Ron had asked. "You didn't even raise your hand when Prof. Flitwick asked what we read for the last assignment. And I know you did the reading, that's all you would talk about at supper yesterday!"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just a little tired. I didn't sleep well last night," she had replied. Well, that much was true. She didn't feel like the boys would understand how a dream could bother her so much, and she was afraid that if she told them about the sleepwalking, they would insist on keeping watch in the common room to make sure it didn't happen again.
When supper was over, she ran over to the library. As soon as she inhaled the stale, musty, bookish air, she felt a little more focused and relaxed. She began her search in the section about animals, magic and muggle, and decided to look in the music section when she was done.
After going through about 50 animal books, all she had found on bats were references to vampires. "Maybe I'm turning into a vampire," she thought. But she wasn't showing any actual vampire symptoms; hers were generally more mild and nicer. Aside from being a little out of it all day, she'd been feeling the overwhelming urge to do things like run through a field of flowers, and cuddle small, furry animals. Although she was a nice girl, she wasn't that sickly sweet most of the time. It was really beginning to get on her nerves.
Suddenly, she felt an odd lurch in the pit of her stomach. She jerked her head out of her book and looked toward the door. Prof. Snape had just slinked in. Hermione wasn't sure why he had attracted her interest, because he didn't really make any noise, and his black robes blended into the shadows of the entranceway. But something about him held her eye, and she saw him go to the very section she had been looking through.
He searched through the shelves for a few minutes before looking straight up at her. He noticed the pile of bat related books next to her and made his way over to her.
"So, Miss Granger, doing some research, I see?" he leered.
"I was just looking up a few things, Professor," she replied.
"What's this, 'Stalkers of the Night,' 'The Feeding Habits of Vampire Bats,' 'Fifty Ways to Kill the Undead,'" He casually tossed the books aside as he read the titles. "'Dracula?' You realize, of course, that the last one is a highly inaccurate book by muggles, don't you?" he sneered at her.
"Of course. I just thought it might have something useful in it. None of these other books do. I even looked in Lockhart's 'Voyages with Vampires,' but it was even worse than the others," she answered indignantly. She wasn't sure why she felt she had to defend her selections to him, but she didn't want him to think she was uninformed on anything.
"What's wrong, didn't you learn enough about vampires from Prof. Lupin's little essay a few years ago? Surely he isn't repeating himself by assigning it again."
"No, I was just doing some independent research. I was just curious, that's all." She nonchalantly tried to cover up for her previous fervor. After all, it was none of his business what she was reading about.
Snape raised one eyebrow and just looked at her for a moment before giving her a brisk "Very well," and storming out of the library. Hermione was so flustered by this encounter that she didn't notice that in going through her books, Snape had taken several of them out of the pile and carried them off with him when he left.
As Severus Snape approached his office, he pulled the purloined books out of his robes. He had snuck away the few that actually held valuable information so that he could reread them himself. Of course, he had sought out all books on vampires when he had become one, but he didn't remember ever seeing mention of a cure. Just to be sure, he started reviewing the books he had gotten.
'Why was that little Granger girl looking up vampires?' Snape mused to himself. 'Surely she doesn't suspect me, even after last night. I wonder what exactly she remembers.'