A/N – Just wanted to say, I took the time to sort out all major events in this story up to chapter 10, and that's not even halfway through the school year. So hopefully, this story will have a total of 15-20 chapters when I'm through. Also, if it works out according to my plan, chapter 10 is when you actually find out the story behind the prophecy.

Disclaimer – J.K. owns all these wonderful characters.

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

That Thing You Do

Hermione lay in her comfortable bed. She was awake but with her eyes still closed, savouring the fact she had slept soundly the whole night without one nightmare. She was the most rested she had been in months. With a smile and a deep sigh of contentment, she finally opened her eyes.

It was as if time had stopped. Along with her breathing. And her heartbeat. No Parvati. No Lavender. THIS ISN'T MY ROOM!

It was actually much bigger than her room, although it had only the one bed. It was a king-sized bed, with many layers of soft flannel sheets and a dark green comforter. The frame was made of dark rosewood, and the headboard behind her seemed to go on for miles. The only other pieces of furniture in the room were a large dresser and a nightstand, made from the same rosewood. There was a door to the left of the dresser that appeared to lead into a bathroom. The walls were a light, soothing shade of green. The floor was covered with a greyish sort of carpet. Well actually, it's more of a silver. Hmmm, green and silver, gee Hermione, I wonder what that could mean! Oh look, a painting of a serpent on that wall right there!

Although she was in no dire need of rescue, Hermione did the first thing that came to mind: she screamed.

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Snape's eyes flew open and he stared at the old clock by his bedside. 8:30! I slept in! I haven't slept this good in years. Shit, class starts in half an hour. What the bloody hell is wrong with that girl?

He leaped out from under his covers and dashed down the hall to the guest room. The screaming was getting louder and more high-pitched by the second, making it sound like the Dark Lord himself had shown up in Hermione's room. He flew through the doorway, almost crashing into the dresser before he could stop himself.

"MISS GRANGER! Please calm yourself, girl!"

The screaming stopped, and she stared at him with wide eyes. She started at his chest and slowly worked her way down…

Snape followed her eyes to their destination, only to discover…black boxers. That was all he had on. Black. Boxers. Not only that, but he was also sporting something else, although you couldn't quite consider it an article of clothing. He fought the urge to start screaming himself, but then just settled with a glare. Oh yes, that's intelligent. Glaring at it will cause it to shrink away like some frightened little animal. Something tells me it won't be that simple.

Well, it was obvious nothing got past Hermione Granger. No wonder she had stopped screaming so suddenly. She was still staring at her professor's lower extremities when he decided to retreat back to his room.

He walked calmly back into the room a few minutes later, wrapped in a thick bathrobe the same colour as the comforter. She hadn't said anything to him yet. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Miss Granger, my apologies for that little…distraction. I think it's safe to say you can leave now."

"But what am I doing here in the first place?"

"You mean you don't remember last night?"

Last night! WHAT? She shook her head no.

"I was coming to find you in the library. We had a small collision in the corridor, and then you fainted."

"I fainted? Well how did I end up here?" What a stupid question.

"I called on the house-elves and had them carry you down here on a stretcher," he replied with his usual sarcasm, noticing her lip twitch into a small smile. "I carried you, Miss Granger."

"But why didn't you just take me to Madam Pomfrey and be done with it?"

"I figured you'd much rather spend the night in a comfortable bed than be tormented by that old bat all night. Was I wrong?"

"Um…no, actually. I slept wonderfully! The best I have in months. Thank you, Professor," she said blushing. Why did I just tell him that?

"Yes, so did I…" he barely mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Nothing!" he shouted, just a bit loud. Calm yourself, man. This is a teenage girl, not Voldemort. "You should be leaving now, before you miss breakfast, or you could be late to class. You can go first, and I'll follow a few minutes after. We don't want people suspecting anything."

"Oh no, you can just go now, I'm not going to breakfast."

"Miss Granger, I know for a fact you didn't eat anything yesterday."

She glared at him. "Fine, I'll eat breakfast, but you can still go first."

He opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off.

"I'd like to go to my room and get some clean clothes."

"Yes…of course."

Snape walked over to the bed and offered her a hand to help her up, but she had already stood up on the other side. Her robes were a crumpled mess and her hair was twice as tangled as it was on normal mornings. If not for the matter that Hermione Granger, a student, had just spent the night in his guest room, Severus Snape would have laughed. Even after reminding himself this, he was finding it very hard not to.

"I'd like to thank you again, Professor. I certainly preferred this over a night with Madam Pomfrey." And then before he could show her out into the hallway, she marched right into the bathroom. Well, fighting the urge to laugh had just grown about ten times more difficult.

In a moment she came bursting back out of the bathroom, blushing for the second time that morning.

"Er…made a mistake. Perhaps I should let you show me out."

"That just might work, Miss Granger."

He led her down the hallway, through his living room, and out into the familiar Potions classroom. He opened the door and stood to the side to let her pass when she stopped next to him.

"Maybe you forgot, but what was it you were coming to speak with me about last night?"

She's right. I did forget. Might as well just let it go. She slept fine, she said. No harm done.

"Nothing important, Miss Granger. If it becomes an issue in the future, I'll speak with you then."

She gave him a curious look but then nodded and stepped out into the corridor. Snape waited a few minutes, and then making sure it was all clear, headed for the Great Hall.

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Hermione made her way to the Gryffindor common room. She was relieved everyone was at breakfast and she would get a few minutes to herself before class. She didn't plan on eating breakfast. It wasn't like she actually cared what Snape wanted her to do. If she could last a day without food, she could certainly last a few more hours until lunch. Speaking of Snape, it was only her second day of school, and this was already turning into the most embarrassing year of her life. If things like this happened every day, how would she even last till Christmas?

She entered through the portrait of the Fat Lady and made a run for the girls' staircase.

"Hermione! Where did you come from?"

Hermione whipped around and saw Harry sitting on one of the couches by the fire. She walked over and sat down next to him.

"Harry, why aren't you at breakfast?"

"Hey, my question first," he said teasingly. "I know you were never in your room last night, Parvati and Lavender told us."

"Oh fine! To make a long story short, I fainted while I was doing research in the library. Madam Pince got Madam Pomfrey to take me down to the infirmary, where I spent the night. She gave me a Dreamless Sleep potion and made me eat some food."

"Did she say anything?"

"Well, I didn't tell her about my nightmares if that's what you're getting at, Harry. She just told me to eat more."

Harry grinned. "Hermione, we've known each other for seven years. We've been through quite a lot, don't you think?"

"What?"

"Hermione, you don't have to lie to me."

"What are you talking about, Harry?"

"I can tell when you're lying. You do this thing…"

"What…what thing?"

"I dunno. It's like you bite the inside of your lip."

Okay, so he's right. I DO have a lip thing.

"Harry, I'll tell you, but only because I know I can trust you to take me seriously. Whereas Ron would just laugh. So you can't tell Ron, alright?"

"You've got my word."

"I wasn't in the library. I haven't been to the library at all yet." Harry's eyebrows rose at this unbelievable statement coming from Hermione. "I had been taking a long soak in the prefects' bathroom and when I walked out the door, I ran right into Professor Snape!" Harry's eyebrows disappeared beneath his unruly mass of hair. "He was on his way to the library to speak with me about something, and I still don't know what because he changed his mind about telling me. Anyway, I fainted. He carried me down to his private chambers and I spent the night in his guest room. He thought it'd be better for me than spending the night with Madam Pomfrey. We both overslept, and now here I am sitting on this couch."

Harry was quite sure that even if he did have something to say, it would be impossible to speak. His throat had gone completely dry at the words spent the night in his guest room.

"Well now that I've rendered the great Harry Potter speechless, why don't we move on to what's bothering him?"

"What are you talking about?"

"That thing you do with your eyebrows. I can tell when you're upset about something."

"With my eyebrows?"

"Yes…I can't explain it though. Is it Voldemort, Harry? Has your scar been hurting?"

"No, it's not that. I had a dream about Sirius. He was alive, Hermione! I was living with him, and you and Ron came over during summer vacation to visit."

Hermione put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, don't give up hope. You never know what could happen with the veil."

"I know, I just miss him so much. All these years, I've had to spend every summer at the Dursleys when I could've lived with him. I think of all the fun we could've had in that house."

"I'm sorry, Harry. Just don't forget, Ron and I will always be here for you. And remember, you never have to go back to the Dursleys again." She smiled.

"Yeah, straight to Auror training as soon as the year's over." Without warning, Harry leaned further in and placed a soft kiss on Hermione's cheek. "Thank you so much, Hermione. For letting me tell you all this, I mean. Ron's a great friend, but sometimes he's a bit…"

"Impossible?" she offered.

He laughed. "I suppose you could call it that."

"Glad to have someone I can confide in without the conversation resulting in a history lesson on the Chudley Cannons." They both laughed as they thought about Ron's long-winded Quidditch stories.

"I'll see you in class, Harry. I need to get straightened up." She pointed down at her crumpled robes.

"Later, Hermione!"

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Someone to confide in, indeed. It was astounding how different Harry behaved when he wasn't with Ron. It was like he actually cared about her feelings and was willing to hear the stories behind them. She had never known Harry could be so honest and trusting with her. What had brought about this sudden change in him? Hermione continued getting dressed, feeling her stomach flutter whenever she thought about the kiss she had just received from The Boy Who Lived.