Again, thanks to Endilwen...

* * *

The next day was not very lucky for her. With sore eyes and yawning from time to time, she did well in Arithmancy, and Transfiguration wasn't too bad. But as the minutes went by, she felt herself become more and more weary and couldn't help shuddering when approaching the Potions Classroom.

Dealing with Snape was going to be a nightmare. And that was even before she saw him coming angrily, wrath shining in his eyes, even more so than she was used to. She fighted the impulse to run to her room, and walked into the class. Neville Longbottom sat next to her. Damn. Today they were suppossed to develop a potion on their own, weren't they? So probably Neville would need more subtle help than usual. She was not in the mood to whisper instructions to the clumsy boy that would lead him nowhere, as he would mess everything up. Somehow, she managed a smile, and began working.

"Shh. Ahem... Hermione"

She tried to ignore him, but Neville had nearly shouted her name. She looked up, searching for Professor Snape and expecting a murderous glance from him, but he wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Neville... try to make smaller pieces when you cut the roots" she advised

"What?"

"Try to make smaller pieces when you cut the roots"

And then she felt it. A pale hand on her shoulder. The long fingers grabbed her and made her turn to face the sneering face of Severus Snape.

"What do you think you are doing, Miss Granger?"

And - she couldn't help it. All the tension, all she had been through last night, all her weariness, everything came to an end- and she yawned- Oh, Merlin. She actually yawned in the face of Severus Snape, Potions Master, ex Death Eater, and Very-Dangerous-and-Irritable.

He first seemed puzzled. Then, he was more than angry. She thought he was about to shout at her, but then suddenly he calmed down and hissed:

"Detention, Miss Granger." – he knew this would hurt. She wanted to be awarded at the end of the school year, and detentions were not exactly the best way to get an award.

"Every evening this week"

She vaguely heard Ron and Harry groaning but she bent her head down into her cauldron, all her hair hiding her face. Perfect. She wouldn't let the bastard see her cry.

"Miss Granger" she started at the voice. "Are you asleep?" She looked up with horror and realized all her companions had left the classroom. Snape seemed to be having a real good time with the situation.

"No, Professor. Sorry, Professor" She picked up her books and walked away from her cauldron.

"Miss Granger?" she turned slowly. "What... what the... for heavens' sake, what is this?" He was giving her a half amused and half annoyed look, and pointed inside her cauldron. She leant over it and saw it was full of white liquid. She couldn't breathe. What was that? The gnome-killing potion was suppossed to be green! Thinking as fast as she could as well as trying to avoid the infuriated look the Professor was directing at her, she tried to remember what had she put in it.

They both reached the same conclusion at the same time.

"I am afraid..."

"Oh, Merlin, I can't believe it. You put... virgin's tears in it!" He knew she had realized it also, but he said it aloud, with malevolence.

She didn't know what had made her blush, the fact that the perfect Hermione Granger had failed, and not in front of any teacher, but in front of Snape, or a topic such as her sexual life being laughted at by him. Or maybe what really bothered her was that he now knew she had been crying.

She uttered a silent curse.

"Well, bottle it, that could be useful as a basis for some other potion, and then get out."

She hurried up. Ron and Harry were waiting for her in Gryffindor Tower.

"Hermione, what happened to you?"

"Too busy talking about Quidditch to stop and think about poor Hermione, huh?"

"What?"

"Nothing. I was being told off by that... that... that vampire".

Harry and Ron exchanged glances of surprise. Not that the insult was original, or striking, but the fact that it came from Hermione was unusual. A very angry Hermione. All the times they had said anything bad about a teacher, she had defended them, even when it was about Snape and his habit of unfairly taking points from Gryffindor. She had never said a word against Hogwarts teaching staff in six years.

"What did he say?"

Hermione could have slapped herself. She didn't want to explain what had happened.

"I made a mistake with the potion"

Another surprised look from the boys.

"Hermione, are you feeling ok?" asked Ron.

She grumbled and said something about going to her room. As a prefect, she could enjoy the peace of her own room. She felt different from the other girls, far from that complicity (and sometimes competition) established among  teenage witches.

She thought of having a quick bath, but it was nearly lunch time. She sighed, and joined her friends to the Hall.