A/N – Thank you all for reviewing! I'm happy that there are people looking forward to the next chapter.

Jameth – That question…is so hard for me to answer! LOL. It's complicated. I guess I'll say yes.

Artemis MoonClaw – Note's in this chapter.

Disclaimer – I own nothing, only my crazy plot.

Italics used to show dreams, flashbacks, thoughts, etc.

To The Bat Cave

Severus Snape was in his chambers, pacing like there was no tomorrow. What the hell had just happened? WHY had he responded to his student in that way? How could he possibly ever face Hermione Granger again? But more importantly, how was it that her and Malfoy had formed that magical bond with each other, right in his very classroom? It shouldn't have happened…not yet. That was nine months from now. Nine months until their lives would change forever. Nine months until the beginning of the end. Nine months from now, he would definitely have to face her again. It was already planned. He couldn't get out of it.

There was no point in telling Dumbledore yet. Surely the strange happenings in his classroom were a fluke. There weren't enough signs yet to prove it. He would wait awhile longer.

With a sigh, Snape sat down in his armchair and buried his face in his hands. His thoughts again turned to Hermione. He had no feelings for her he was sure. Definitely not, it was simply a normal human reaction. But she just reminded him so much of her. He tried to forget the similarities every time he looked at Hermione, but they always lingered there on the surface, in her smile and her eyes. Well he wasn't getting anywhere just sitting in that chair. He looked up at the clock; nearly time for lunch. Where had the day gone?

With another sigh, he heaved himself from the chair and walked back out into his classroom. Something white lay on his desk. It looked like a piece of parchment. He strode over to his desk and picked it up. A note…from Granger! Dreading what it might say, he looked down upon her perfect handwriting.

Professor Snape:

I must give my sincere apologies for my behaviour in your class today. Firstly, my decision to leave my lab partners and sit down. I was only tired and felt I could've put myself or them at risk if I had tried to complete the potion. I have every intention of further researching this potion in the library and lengthening my essay as a way to make up for this. Thank you for not giving me a detention. I now have work to catch up on and would like to get more sleep. Secondly, my outburst with Draco Malfoy. I didn't know what I said would have such an effect on him. And thirdly, well, hopefully I don't need to explain this one. I'm sure it's still fresh in your mind. Please just try to forget about it. It was only an accident.

-H. Granger

P.S. I hope the rest of your day is uneventful.

His mouth was hanging open. She had written him a note. Since when did students take the time to write him a note? He read over the note a few more times as if he needed to memorise it. That's when he noticed it: she was thinking more about that collision with him than about Malfoy. She hadn't even thought about how Malfoy was unable to hit her, or the fact that the two of them had caused such weird things to happen. She didn't even seem that worried about her zero in the grade book. Since when does insufferable know-it-all Granger give a damn about her Potions professor? And was her P.S. meant to be humourous?

Snape carefully rolled the parchment back up and hid it in his robes. He finally left his classroom and headed off to the Great Hall.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hermione entered the Great Hall a few minutes after her other friends had sat down.

"Hey, Hermione! Where did you go off to? You said you were only going to write a note." Harry gave her a worried look.

"Well, I decided to go to the library for a bit. That way, I won't have to go back this evening. I need the extra sleep." Whoa, what a lie. I haven't even been near the library yet. Too much on my mind to think about Potions.

"Sit down and eat already! You could use the food, you're looking a bit pale today."

"Thanks, Ron."

Hermione sat down and stared at the bowls and plates of food surrounding her, a vacant expression on her face. What's the use? I'll only lose it later.

"Here, allow me!" Ron shoveled heaps of everything he could find onto her plate.

"Not too hungry."

"I don't bloody care! You haven't eaten at all today!"

"Please eat, Hermione." Harry looked at her with pleading eyes.

Seeing that Harry was truly worried about her, she picked up her fork and nibbled on a few bits and pieces. The others seemed to be satisfied with this and went back to their conversation. Hermione remained silent, staring across the hall to the Slytherin table. Her eyes locked with those of Draco Malfoy. They had only been like that for seconds when Hermione's vision seemed to disappear. Everything went blurry and then black. She could've sworn she heard a faint screaming in her head. When her vision had returned, Malfoy was no longer there. She blinked her eyes to rid herself of the blur.

"You okay, 'Mione?"

"Yeah, just a bit dizzy I suppose."

"Hmmm I have an idea. Maybe you should…EAT!"

She grinned. "Thanks for the advice, Ron. I think I've got it under control."

She shoved a big piece of turkey in her mouth just to get Ron to shut up. It worked. With the problem solved, she went back to her daydreaming. The encounter with Snape played itself over and over in her mind.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Snape sat at the head table with all the other teachers. Draco Malfoy had just left the hall quite abruptly and with no apparent reason. He turned to look at Hermione sitting amongst the Gryffindors. She looked like she was deep in thought. He had been wondering why she was so tired. Was she having trouble sleeping? Was she having dreams, or nightmares rather? Should I try to use Legilimency on her? You don't always need straight eye contact. When a person's emotions are high, sometimes just looking at them is enough. I'm all the way over here, she'd never know.

"Legilimens," he whispered under his breath.

He pushed into her mind with great ease. This certainly didn't seem to be the beginnings of a nightmare, as she was in his classroom! In this dream of hers, he was suspended above everyone. He saw himself sitting at his desk. Hermione and Draco had stopped stirring their potion and were now shouting at each other. He realised this wasn't a dream at all, it was merely a repeat memory of what had happened hours earlier. He watched as he strode across the room to help her clean the spill. They both fell to the ground. It seemed to happen so slowly. Only this time it was different than before. Hermione reached out a tentative hand to stroke his cheek. He cupped her chin in his fingers. They both looked into each other's eyes, and then he placed his mouth firmly on hers. Another correction: this wasn't her dream, it was her fantasy! She ran her hands over his shoulder blades and continued down his back. He pinned her arms above her head against the floor. The kiss deepened. The other students stared in shock and disgust. And then it was over. As easily as he had entered her thoughts, he was pushed out.

Snape blinked a few times and refocused on Hermione. No wonder! The girl was sleeping. It was quite impossible to have high emotions while you were practically unconscious in the middle of the table.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

What a strange (yet oddly intriguing) dream she had been having! And then she felt something weird against her face, something warm and mushy. Something jabbed her in the shoulder a few times.

"Hermione, wake up!"

Her head snapped up from her plate and she turned to glare at Ron, his finger still hanging in midair. Ron tried his best to keep a straight face, but seconds later he was almost falling off the bench in a fit of laughter. Hermione turned around to face Harry with an inquiring look. He made a motion of swiping his hand over his face before he, too, joined in laughing with Ron. Parvati and Lavender were next.

Well, at least Harry had offered her a clue. Hermione now understood why they were laughing. Dreading how bad it could be, she reached a hand up to her forehead. Mushy! She continued down her nose. There too. Upon examining her fingers, she saw they were covered with potatoes. She snatched her wand from its pocket.

"Scourgify!"

After their laughter had subsided, Ron and Harry both gave Hermione serious looks.

"Look, 'Mione, we know sleep isn't one of your top priorities, but you could really use some more of it," Ron stated as if he had this little speech all planned out.

"Really, Ron! And what would you know about it?"

"Well, we know you've been having strange dreams and they keep you up at night. Maybe you should talk to Pomfrey? Or Dumbledore?" Harry suggested.

Hermione directed her most venomous glare across the table to Lavender and Parvati.

"WHAT IS THIS? DO YOU TELL THEM EVERYTHING THAT GOES ON IN OUR ROOM?"

Noticing all heads in the hall had turned to stare, she lowered her voice to a hissing whisper.

"How hard is it for me to get a little privacy around here? First you tell me to eat, now you tell me to sleep!" She tossed her hands in the air in exasperation.

"We were only trying to help…"

"I don't need your help, okay? Why can't you four just mind your own damn business for once and stop taking control over MY life?"

They all stared in shock. A curse word was rarely heard from Hermione's lips. It was evident that something was truly bothering her.

She sprung up from her seat and snatched her bag, with one last glare at her roommates.

"I just can't wait till I move into my own room."

And with that, Hermione fled from the Great Hall, not knowing where she was going, just as long as it didn't involve those four meddlesome people she had just left behind. She decided to spend the rest of her lunch in the library. She'd have to face them again in the rest of her classes that afternoon, but she could definitely deal with ignoring them.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Snape sat at the head table during dinner, making his usual scan of the hall. Just like breakfast, Granger was absent from the Gryffindor table. He had seen her stomp out early from lunch in a terrible rage. He wondered if it could possibly have to do with him invading her mind? No, certainly not. A seventeen-year-old witch wouldn't have the power to detect or reject Legilimency. Well, she was actually eighteen if you took into account the Time-Turner. Why was she having those thoughts about me? No teenage girl would ever fantasise about me in that way, whether on hormone-induced rampage or not. I tried to tell myself it couldn't be true, it's too early, but what else could explain these occurrences? I need to talk to her and find out if she's having other sorts of weird dreams. Must talk to Malfoy too, but Granger is more important right now. I can find her after dinner. She's probably in the library.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

After dinner, Snape strode out the door of the Great Hall and down the corridor. It wasn't long before he realised this wasn't exactly the best way of finding Hermione. He had been caught up in the mob of students heading for their common rooms, and now every last one of them stared at him as if he had an extra head. He could see why. Since when did he "mingle" with students in the corridors? Then he remembered the hidden corridor, the narrow one that went behind the backs of all the house common rooms, the prefects' bathroom, and led straight into the library. Acting like he had every reason to go back to the Great Hall, Snape walked in the opposite direction. He stopped next to a portrait of two old ladies, tapped twice, and entered.

He had already walked past all the common rooms, and was getting closer to the library, when something ran smack into his side and nearly knocked him over. He only did what was natural: he reached out his arms to shield himself from further attack from whatever this was. And his hands landed on something soft. Upon opening his eyes he saw…Hermione Granger. In a fluffy maroon bathrobe! With a gold lion emblem above her left—whoa!

"P-Professor S-Snape! So s-sorry I ran into you! Are you okay?"

"Yes, Miss Granger, I'm fine."

She blushed furiously. "Well then…I'll just be…on my way."

"No. Actually, I was on my way to speak with you."

"In the prefects' bathroom?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not! This leads to the library. I assumed you'd be there doing Potions research?" He took this opportunity to raise his own eyebrow.

"Oh yes. Well…I was a bit stressed…"

"That's one of the reasons I need to speak with you."

"You mean, you know?" Her mouth hung open.

"Know what, exactly?"

"About my…about my…" And then she passed out, Snape catching her before she hit the ground. Oh dear, what will I do with her? I certainly can't carry her straight into her room, Patil and Brown would hex me on the spot. And then…the rumours. Oh god, she feels so thin! She certainly wasn't this thin before. I can't take her to Pomfrey, the old bat'll shove sleeping potions and food down her throat all night. That only leaves…MY rooms! I can just get her up early so she can go back to her room before Patil and Brown wake up.

This corridor never came close to the dungeons. He'd have to backtrack out of it and continue on from there. Snape hesitantly stood up straight and cradled Hermione in his arms. As he walked, the top of her bathrobe slipped down ever so slightly, revealing her cleavage. He stared. With all the concealing robes she had to wear, he had no idea Granger had cleavage at all. After it slipped down even more, he reached out a hand to fix it, but then changed his mind, realising he had no business in touching a student in that way. Well, if that damn thing was going to continue it's slippery course down her chest, he'd have to get to his rooms much quicker.

And so Snape broke into a brisk jog all the way down to the dungeons.