A/N: Hiya! How's everyone? Now I've finished my exams I can update more regularly, so that should please you. Anyway, cheers for the reviews, chapter 12 was very boring, I don't blame you if you didn't like it. But guess who's back?

Warning Sign

After dinner Hermione swung her bag over her shoulder and trotted down the steps into the courtyard. She sat on a bench for a while whilst she finished her Charms essay, and hummed to herself. She hadn't realised she was being watched. She finished her last sentence and put the scroll back in her bag, then she looked up and jumped to see a pair of deep black eyes looking into hers.

"Hello," she said, straightening her Head Girl badge. "Do you need some help?"

"Oh no, I'm fine thank you." The girl's voice had a continental tang, French perhaps, Hermione thought. She looked older than her, probably in her mid-twenties.

"Did you come to Hogwarts? You look as if you know where you are going."

The girl laughed, "Do I? Well yes, but I haven't been here in eight years." She looked around herself, "hasn't changed much."

Hermione smiled, "Is there someone you've come to see?"

"Well you are certainly a model Head Girl Hermione! Yes, I've come to see the Potions Master, I've just graduated from a course in Highly Advanced Potions; following in my father's footsteps. I wanted to know whether I could teach some of the lower years."

"Professor Dee?" Hermione didn't ask how she knew her name.

"No, Professor Snape."

"Oh, he doesn't teach Potions any more, he teaches Defence Against the Darks Arts now. I can take you to Professor Dee, though if you want a position I think Dumbledore may be better to talk to."

The girls face fell, "oh, don't worry. I'll talk to him later. So, how are you Hermione?"

"Fine thank you, I'm sorry I don't even know your name,"

"Oh, yes, sorry, I am Parthenope, at your service." She held out a hand, which Hermione took, warily. "So what's been going on in your life recently?"

"Um, nothing much."

"Really?" she winked, "you can tell Parthenope you know; she always keeps her secrets."

Hermione stared at her for a moment and then racked her brain for excuses. "I'm really sorry I just realised I'm supposed to be meeting my friends."

"Great, let's go!"

"Um, I don't think…"

"Come on, the library?"

"Yes but…" Parthenope grabbed her arm and linked it in hers, then marched off to the library. Hermione caught a glimpse of Snape at the end of a corridor, he saw her and then saw Parthenope and his mouth swung open and he disappeared.

They arrived in the library and Hermione desperately tried to think of a way to get rid of her. As soon as she began to look at one of the books on the shelves Hermione turned and ran, taking several shortcuts, until she emerged breathless outside Severus's rooms, the sky outside was darkening. She took the silver snake out of her pocket and it slid through the stone, pulling it back to reveal the door. She took one look around herself and dived through the door.

She collapsed into Severus's arms as he stood on the other side of the door, "Hermione! What are you doing?"

"Sorry," she pulled herself up, "I had to get rid of that Parthenope woman. You know, she was with me when you saw me earlier."

"Yes, what was she saying to you?"

"Oh, something about wanting to teach lower years Potions, and she wanted to see the Potions Master, but when I told her you didn't teach it any more she went off the idea and started trying to ask me really weird questions. Anyway, enough of that, where's Spiritus?"

"I just got him to sleep. Look Hermione, I don't think you should get to know her. I taught her and she was bad enough then. I don't know what she wants, but whatever it is, it can't be good."

"OK, I mean it's not like I wanted to talk to her, she just kept following me. Do you know her father?"

He looked at her, "Why do you ask that?"

"She just said she was following in her father's footsteps; the whole Potions thing."

"Oh, yes I guess you could say that." He looked down at the floor, "you better go, it's getting late."

"But I haven't even said goodnight to Spiritus!"

"He's asleep; I don't want him to wake up again. Goodnight." He pushed her out the door and shut it in her face.

"Be like that then," she muttered and wandered back to the Gryffindor common room. She climbed through the portrait hole and sat down beside Harry and Ron.

"Honestly, I finished that Charms essay ages ago."

"We had a Qudditch meeting," Ron murmured, immersed in his scrawling.

"Oh," she thought about asking him why he bothered, but closed her mouth again. "Well I've got nothing to do. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

"Night," Harry replied, Ron grunted. She sighed and walked up to her dormitory, changed into her nightdress and collapsed on her bed. She hoped people would pay more attention to her tomorrow, if they even remembered. She drew the curtains around her and crawled under the covers to warm her feet up. She lay staring up at the roof of her bed, and heard the footsteps of her fellow seventh-years as they climbed the stairs.

"Lavender, you can't be serious!" Parvati Patil's voice shrieked,

"I promise you, he kissed her, on the lips, I swear." Lavender fumbled around in a drawer.

"But Snape!"

"Well I'm just telling you what I saw."

Hermione coughed gently, immediately clapping her hand to her mouth.

"Hermione? Is that you?" Lavender asked frantically,

"Yes," she sighed, it was pretty obvious she was there.

"Did you hear what we just said?" said Parvati,

"Yes, and I don't what you're talking about. Sounds like a load of rubbish to me." She sat up and pulled back the curtains.

"Why would you know what we're talking about? Lavender only just saw it. You tell her Lavender." Parvati sat on her bed,

"Well basically I was walking back from the library just now and I could see Snape out of a window and this girl came up to him and she kissed him. That's it really,"

"Who was she? What did she look like?" Hermione tried to sound as if she wanted to gossip,

"I couldn't see; it was dark. I just saw the shapes."

"Was it a long kiss? You know; a proper French kiss or something."

"I don't think so, but I didn't see very much, I told you it was dark. Anyway, why do you care?"

"I don't, I just wondered… Anyway, I better go to sleep. Night." She drew the curtains around herself once more and was asleep before her head hit the pillow. She tossed and turned, whilst a woman with auburn hair and deep onyx-black eyes haunted her dreams.

A/N: I've had a revelation! I've actually written a basic plot! You should all be very proud of me, after about eleven years of writing stories I've finally done a proper one that I might use. Wow.

Actually there is something very important that I must ask you. As it is just over a month before the publication of the Half-Blood Prince, want do you want me to do with the story? Should I edit all the chapters so they fit in with the new book? Should I ignore its publication completely? Or should I just keep the events in mind for the next chapters? Because deaths are really going to shake this up. But will definitely be starting a new SSHG fic soon, which will follow on from 6. Help guys! What should I do? Whoever comes up with the best solution I shall love forever ;) I bet all you fellow writers are having this problem at the moment…