A/N: This chapter is just a revised version of the original Chapter Nine with a bit of editing brought to you by my fab new beta, Evan M. applause. That's all!

Changes Made

Chapter Nine

"Legilimens!" A shadowed room illuminated only by a dying fire….a greasy-haired boy alone by a window….a lovely woman with bright green eyes and a mischievous smile…. It all stopped as Snape fought the spell away.

"Better," he said grudgingly. "Potter, your turn." Hermione sat, patting Harry consolingly on the arm as she passed. This lesson had not been going well for her friend. Harry had barely taken his "duel stance" when Snape shot the Legilimency spell at him. This time, however, it seemed that Harry's morning practice had not gone to waste. Snape struggled only a short time with Harry before their mind link was broken.

"You practiced," Snape remarked, gesturing Hermione to stand and come forward. Before her mind was fully cleared, Snape struck, producing memories from nowhere. She sat on the stairs listening to a party on the ground floor of her home….a young girl waved frantically as a bus pulled away from a stop….laughter from all sides as she fell on the playground….beetles covering the floor and her feet, crawling and biting… At this, Hermione found a fleeting urge to laugh. Shoving Snape's spell away, she raised her wand.

"Legilimens!" Now memories of a different sort filled her mind. A moon-swept evening, washed clean by recent rain….a candle flame, dancing atop an alabaster tower….a hook-nosed man bellowing at a cowering woman….a teenage boy being poked sharply in the back with a wand as others looked on, laughing….Hermione herself, relaxed in a chair, smiling…. This unnerved her. Hermione withdrew quickly, staring at Snape with wide eyes. He met her gaze and studied her for a moment before speaking.

"Well done. That's enough for today. You may go."

…………

"Did you hear that?" Harry asked incredulously. "He said, 'Well done.' Honestly!"

"I heard him," Hermione said without thinking. She and Harry made the familiar walk back from their Occlumency Lessons to their rooms.

"What did you see today when you got Snape with the spell?" Hermione asked.

"It didn't last very long. I got a bubbling cauldron and Mrs. Norris, I think. You?"

"Well, the first time, I got a dark room, Snape by a window, and then, I think it was your mum."

"My mum?" Harry asked, looking surprised. "Was she by herself?"

"Yes," Hermione answered.

Harry shrugged. "What else?"

"The second time, I got a sort of out-doorsy scene and a candle and a fight-"

"A fight?"

"Yeah, a hook-nosed man, and a frightened blond with stringy curls."

"I saw that last year!"

"I think I saw the famed Marauders, too," Hermione added thoughtfully.

"Doing what?" Harry asked, without excitement.

"Poking someone – Snape, I think – in the back with a wand. Not very nice. It might not have been them, though," she finished. "I didn't get a good look at their faces before it was gone." She left out the bit about seeing herself. "What kinds of things does he get from you?" she inquired with interest.

"Lots of stuff from Privet Drive," Harry answered. "My Aunt and Uncle and Dudley, of course. Some things from Hogwarts like you and Ron and some from the trials. A lot of really normal stuff. Practicing helped me shake him off, though. Thanks for your help. Do you think I could borrow that book?"

"Sure," Hermione answered. "And you might try that meditation stuff I told you about earlier. If you want, I can give you some yoga to try so you get used to moving at the same time."

"Thanks," Harry said gratefully. "He'll slaughter me otherwise. Actually," Harry continued, "he might not, considering how he acted today. He kept looking at you, you know. You must have really surprised him, or else there's something going on that I don't know about. He didn't pull anything really weird out of your head, did he? I mean, last year, he almost caught me kissing Cho, but I got away in time."

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "There wasn't anything that I can think of….the alley was a little weird, but there wasn't enough of it to catch one's attention…"

"D'you mean Diagon Alley?" Harry asked. "What happened there?"

"No, it was an alley in London when I was six years old. I got lost amongst the rubbish bins and this drunk came down the alley. Lucky for me he was nice. He tried to pat me on the head and I started crying, but my parents found me before too long. It's sort of funny now," Hermione answered.

Harry cracked a smile. "I can imagine that." By this time, Harry and Hermione had reached their rooms, indicated in the corridor only by two niches in the wall. Hermione tapped the rightmost niche with her wand, revealing the door to her room. Harry followed suit with the leftmost niche and each entered their room. Hermione opened the door separating their rooms, letting Harry into her cozy, library-like foyer.

"Fancy a game of chess?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Sorry, Harry. I have some studying to do. Plus practicing my Occlumency stuff. Let me get you that book." She disappeared into her bedroom and returned holding a medium-sized book bound in leather. "Here you are."

Harry took it. "Thanks. When do you need it back?"

"Whenever. I've got what I need from it for now. Don't spill anything on it, though, all right?"

"Right. I guess I ought to finish my summer homework." Harry smiled ruefully at hsi friend and left.

Hermione sighed and went back into her bedroom. She threw herself onto the soft bed, rolling over onto her back to stare at the ceiling. She couldn't get over the feeling that accompanied the image of herself as seen through Snape's eyes. It was like stepping from a cool room into bright sunshine – that unfamiliar, warm sensation that you feel from your scalp to your toes, Hermione decided. Harry's comment about Snape looking at her was evoking strange feelings in the pit of her stomach.

The logical part of Hermione's mind was sure that there was nothing to be thinking about at all. Harry was right, Snape had just been surprised at her abilities. The less reasonable part of her was convinced that there was more to it. Snape had always known Hermione was good at almost everything, so why should Occlumency surprise him? And that look in his eyes, first in the city, then in the Hospital Wing the day before. When he caught her eyes after she'd seen herself in his memory, Hermione had felt that she couldn't look away. She'd been completely transfixed by the depth she saw there. It was like she'd never really looked at him before, and thinking about it, Hermione realised that she hadn't. If she looked at Snape at all it had been during a lesson or whilst being scolded. When she'd seen Professor Snape that day in the street, she'd been looking at him as a man who had just pushed her from the path of a moving vehicle, not as a teacher or an enemy. In the hospital wing, she saw him as a teacher, but in a different way…as a teacher who cared, strange as it sounded.

And then, during the lesson, something changed. Maybe it was seeing herself, relaxed and comfortable. Happy. Maybe it was sharing something as intimate as personal memories with him, but Hermione couldn't help feeling that there was something important developing between Severus Snape and herself.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

In the library, Severus Snape was recovering from the day. He could not shake from his mind the feeling that something important was going to happen, or perhaps was happening, like there'd been some announcement he'd missed that everyone else knew about. Next to that, images of Hermione Granger kept popping up unexpectedly in his mind. Hermione Granger, of all people! A student at Hogwarts, of his no less. Snape couldn't have felt more embarrassed when Hermione had pulled the memory of the Hospital Wing earlier in the day from the recesses of his mind.

That was one of the things about Occlumency lessons he didn't appreciate – you could never tell what your students were going to pull out of your skull when you weren't expecting it. Surprisingly enough, that feeling had faded when her eyes met his. The expression there, shock mixed with curiosity, took his breath away. Or maybe it was the colour and intensity of her gaze – deep, velvety brown flecked with gold. As the shock in her eyes gave way to soft amusement and warmth, Snape had felt he could go on looking into those eyes for an eon, but the Potter boy shifting in his seat snapped him from the momentary reverie. That, he'd decided, had been enough, and he'd released his students.

Thinking about it now, Snape couldn't fathom the reactions, mental and physical, that passed over him every time Hermione Granger was in close proximity to himself. In the Infirmary that morning, he'd been delivering a batch of wart-removing potions to Madam Pomfrey when Potter and Hermione had entered, calling for Madam Pomfrey. The first things Snape noticed were Hermione's bare feet and the angry welts covering them. Her soft explanation of the beetles in her wardrobe would have been amusing at another time, but Snape could tell she was feeling pain, and that affected him oddly.

Without even thinking about it, he was off for the anti-venom in his office, and then back in the Hospital Wing. After dismissing Potter, he'd set about administering the potion to her tortured skin, his eyes irresistibly drawn upwards to see only an expression of intense relief and pleasure spread across her delicate features. Entranced, he'd continued to massage the potion into her skin, moving his fingers gently over her feet. It was strange how erotic a foot massage could sound, Snape thought with a touch of amusement. Very strange.

When Hermione left the Infirmary, she'd thanked him politely, smiling, and then nearly danced out the doors into the hallway beyond. This had left Snape feeling quite accomplished and rather pleased with himself. He hadn't felt that way for a very long time.

…………

At dinner that evening, Snape was well aware of his closeness to Hermione Granger. She and Harry held a light conversation about Quidditch, or rather, Harry talked about teams and Hermione listened. Hermione was good at listening, Snape decided, sipping his pumpkin juice. On his other side, Hagrid was eagerly discussing his lessons plans for the coming year with Dumbledore. His class subjects would range, it seemed, from Billywigs to Puffskeins and beyond. Professor McGonagall listened with interest as Professor Flitwick told her about the table he'd charmed to clean itself every twelve hours. Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout were deep in conversation about the medical uses of Alihotsy leaves.

Next to him, Hermione shifted in her seat, moving her arm to grasp her goblet. Snape suddenly became aware of the fact that he could feel the heat from her skin next to his. He found that he didn't want to pull away.

............

A/N: Goody gumdrops. Another chapter! I think maybe Hermione's POV is easier to write because i identify better with teh mind of a teenage scholar than I do with a middle-aged Potions Master. :-) Thanks so much for all the reviews! I appreciate your patience, understanding, and suggestions. To a couple in particular I have responses.

Kerichi: Thanks a lot. Yes I am familiar with Hyacinth. She makes me laugh! I hope this bit of Snape's brain gives you what you're looking for. If not, write me, okay?

duj: For one thing, says who? :-) For another, this is Hermione's interpretation, not necessarily the truth.

Have a fab day!