A/N: Hoper you have enjoyed this so far. Don't worry; I will get to the relationship eventuall. Until then, I hope you at least find it interesting. Once again a big thanks to EnsignAbby proofing and helping me to write this.

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Chapter Three: Fear of Failure

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The next two evenings with Professor Snape passed much the same, with Hermione assisting him brewing the mysterious potion. It had been grating on her nerves that she didn't know what it was. She came to view it as another potions assignment that she could not fail. Why she felt this way she did not know only that she fear to fail it for some reason.

She had been trying to research it by ingredients and procedure since Monday night to no avail. She had concluded that it must be something so dangerous or rare that it could only be found in the Restricted Section. Like Snape would ever give me permission to look in the restricted section, she thought, closing Risky Restoratives and Other Helpful Potions with a mental sigh. Maybe Professor McGonagall will write me a not. Or there is always Harry's cloak, I suppose. She had her suspicions of what it was but without confirmation, she wouldn't run it by the supercilious potions master. She hated not knowing. She even thought it would give her an edge in her detentions if she could research the process and be able to anticipate the next step. She determined that she would ask her Head of House after class in the morning. She had to find out what the potion was, she just had to.

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"No. I'm sorry, but nobody can research I the Restricted Section for their own pleasure, not even you," said the Transfiguration professor the next morning. "If it is not for a legitimate class project I can't give you permission. If Professor Snape wanted you to know then he would give you permission to research it. Now I believe Mr. Potter and Weasley are waiting for you in the hall. I would suggest you leave before you're all late for Charms," she hinted.

"Yes, Professor," Hermione responded disappointedly. She was a little angry that her Head of House didn't trust her enough to do research and not abuse it. That left two choices: As Snape or Harry's invisibility cloak. I'll never get Snape to give me permission. He told me to figure it out myself, she thought. She sighed heavily as she headed for the door. It looks like I'll be breaking a few rules today. I can go lunch. Joining her friends outside the classroom, they headed towards Charms, Hermione resigning herself to ask Harry for the cloak after class.

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Making sure that the cloak covered her completely, she kept to the edges of the corridor to avoid hitting people and causing a commotion as she made her way to the library. She silently let out the breath she had been holding as she entered her favorite wing of the castle. She dodged around the fellow students, mostly Ravenclaws, taking advantage of the longer break and paused outside the wooden gate. She looked around quickly to be sure that neither Madame Pince nor anyone else were looking her way to see the gate opening and closing of its own volition, before slipping carefully into the Restricted Section. Once the gate was closed and no one seemed to have noticed, she headed to the P section. Finding the one she needed, she quickly pulled Moste Potente Potions: Revised under the cloak and started to flip through it. Coming to the Ws, the title Wolfsbane Potion caught her eye. Scanning down the page a smug smile cracked her face. Reading the page again more carefully she memorized the parts she didn't know already. Closing the very informative tome, she looked around before quickly returning it to its place on the shelf. She left the library, hoping to catch the end of lunch before her Muggle Studies class.

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Upon entering the dungeon classroom Hermione took her usual position at the worktable awaiting instructions. Except this time she knew what to expect. She hoped. He turned towards her, still stirring the contents of the cauldron in with evenly strokes without looking. Brief admiration for his innate talents crossed her mind, before flitting away again. "Get the blue jar, second on the left, third row, on the fourth shelf. Measure out exactly three ounces, mince it them grind it until a fine powder results. It will need to be added a half an ounce every five minutes until gone. Have it ready in five minutes. This potion is time sensitive," he ordered her.

After retrieving said jar an beginning to prepare the moonflower root it contained, she interjected the silence by saying, "This is Wolfsbane potion, isn't it sir? Is it Professor Lupin?" Hearing a thump of stone on wood, she paused and turned to look at the man standing next to her.

He had dropped the pestle he was using when she had spoken so nonchalantly about things that would terrify most people. He had not been surprised at her knowing the potion but that last question had caught him off guard. How did she figure it out? he thought. Well, she probably did research to discover the potion. I'm surprised it took her this long. But, I didn't think any of the students figured out what I was hinting at with the werewolf lessons. Of course, if anyone would, it would be her, the know-it- all. Annoyance flashed across his face He paused musingly before responding with a scornful edge to his voice, "Correct deduction, Miss Granger. I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out. Tell me though, when did you conclude that Professor," he stressed the word with a sneer, "Lupin was the recipient of this particular potion?" After a slight pause he said, "Don't stop working we still need that to be powdered."

Returning to her work she told him, "It was shortly after you gave us the werewolf essays. I noticed the way he looked ill before he 'left' and then better when came back. After the research I had done for the essays I started to connect the dots. Later, after class, I actually asked him. He was a little surprised, but said it was actually a relief that there was one less person to hide from. He made me promise not to tell any of the students unless they already knew, not even Harry and Ron. Anyway, when I figured out that we were making that Wolfsbane potion, it was only logical that we were making it for him, unless there is another werewolf that is hanging around the castle." Concentrating on grinding the root fine enough, she didn't see the appraising, yet loathing look on the potion master's face.

"If you know what this is and have done the research I expect you did, what are the next steps?" he challenged her. Finished grinding the roots, she looked at the minute glass, waited ten seconds then added the powder to the smoking potion.

She turned to him and replied in her most matter of fact voice, "After the addition of the moonflower root, seven ounces of Wolfsbane or monkshood, as you like, is shredded and added at ten minute intervals over and hour's time. It must then brew untouched until midnight the following day. Exactly on the twelfth stroke of midnight the hair of the werewolf is meant for is added. The hair is not necessary, but doing so personalizes the potion to work for that particular mind better. The potion should turn a dark brown a give off faint wisps of smoke and sparks." Finished with her textbook recital, she reached fro the clear jar containing what looked like mushrooms with leaves, but were actually Wolfsbane flowers. Pulling the scales closer she carefully began to measure out the most important ingredient.

With slight surprise he observed her preparing the Wolfsbane. He continued to add the moonflower until gone. When she was finished, he told her to add the first portion then go. She did as she was told, but paused before leaving.

She cleared her throat and gathered her courage before asking, "Professor, I was wondering...if...if I could stay and help you finish. For the learning experience."

He regarded her for a moment. Slightly annoyed, he nevertheless agreed. "Very well. Stay. I dare say you might learn something," he sneered sarcastically. So they continued working through the evening.

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**One Week Later**

"I need to ask Professor Lupin about the essay on kappas due tomorrow. I'll be back in a bit," Hermione explained to Ron and Harry when she started to leave the common room that evening.

Ron rolled his eyes and said, "Why? You already have it done anyway."

"I need to clarify if he meant that we only needed to describe them or provide historical examples of attacks and defenses as well. I'll be right back," she said. Not giving them time to comment further, she left.

She headed down to the third floor and reached to knock on the door, when she heard a scuffling noise and a curse as something heavy fell to the floor. Tentatively she edged open the door and entered before looking around. She stopped dead in her tracks at what she found.

The usually neat desks seemed to have been pushed out of the way haphazardly. Chairs lay toppled and broke all over the place. The scrabbling noise came from claws of the giant brown wolf searching for purchase on the stone floor as it slid across the room. The heavy "something" and source of the swearing had been Professor Snape hitting the floor. The professor was bleeding from a gash on his forehead. He seemed not to have noticed her being there. Just as he was getting to his feet again, the werewolf that was Professor Lupin launched himself for another attack.

A million thoughts raced through her head in a split second. The potion didn't work. Why didn't it work? I have to help. Where's my wand? I need to get help. Grabbing her wand from her sleeve she aimed at the brown blur heading for the professor and yelled, "Impedimentia!"

Unfortunately Snape had shouted, "Stupefy!" at the exact same moment. The two curses hit each other and ricocheted, missing the werewolf completely, leaving him free to attack them.

Lucky for Snape, Hermione's shouting distracted the enraged beast and it pause in its headlong rush to change direction. Instead it launched itself toward Hermione.

Seeing the face contorted in rage and hunger for blood, she panicked. She screamed as she rushed backward, but she tripped on an overturned chair, causing her to drop her wand. She closed her eyes and screamed again. She felt the hot breath on her face and scream one last time. A massive wiehgt pushed her into the unyielding floor. Searing pain coursed through her as sharp claws dug into her shoulders.

Just when she was expecting to feet the cruel poisonous teeth ripping into her, the growling fell quiet and the entire weight of the beast settled on her chest the open mouth millimeters from her neck.. She hastily tried to push it off her, but the now motionless form was suddenly removed and she could see her professor standing above her.

He bent to check that she was indeed alive before letting out a relieve sigh. He couldn't have students dying on his watch. He regarded her as she gasped for breath hindered by the heavy werewolf. He noticed blood on her shoulder and for a panicked moment thought she had been bitten. His racing heart slowed when he realized that they were even marks on both shoulders: claws rather that teeth. He suddenly filled with anger at her stupidity. She saw this on his face and cringed inwardly through the pain of the wounds as he demanded, "What in Merlin's name did you think you were doing? Did you not realize that this was the full moon? When you saw what was happening, why didn't you leave to get help? No, you had to stay and help. You stupid girl, you could have been bitten! You could have been killed!"

She whimpered slightly and opened her mouth to reply, but her brain seemed to be frozen. Her throat hurt from screaming. The pain in her shoulders seemed to be spreading to her neck and head. The adrenaline that had come with the attack was swiftly leaving her system. The blood seemed to be rushing out of her face as she fainted into the calming blackness of unconsciousness.

He saw her go deathly pale before passing out. He suppressed his anger and resigned himself to getting answers to his questions later. The prone Remus Lupin wolf lay stunned on the floor. Just in cause he came out of it while he was gone; Snape transfigured a desk into a large metal cage and levitated the creature into it, before locking it securely.

That done, he turned to the still form of Hermione. He conjured up a stretcher and placed the girl on it. Checking that the door to the classroom was securely locked, he proceeded to direct the stretcher to the Hospital Wing as quickly as possibly.

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A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Chapter four maybe awhile as I am going to be working a lot. So please be patient.