Ginny shut the bedroom door softly and spun around to face Hermione excitedly. Her excitement fizzled a little when she saw the brunette's obvious distress. "Well?" she said curiously.

Hermione's face was flushed and she was chewing her lip nervously. She looked down at the floor and fought to keep herself from trembling. Ginny gently guided her to sit down on one of the beds. Ginny sat down next to her and smiled. "So, that was interesting," Ginny said casually, examining her finger nails.

Hermione buried her face in her hands. Ginny lay a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave Hermione time to collect herself a bit. "How did that happen?" Hermione moaned through her hands.

"Fred," Ginny said with a smirk. When Hermione looked up at her in confusion, Ginny said "As we were leaving the drawing room to go to dinner, Fred put a charm on the mistletoe. If two people pass beneath it without the traditional kiss, the charm holds them there until they do kiss."

Hermione groaned. "I should have known," she said scowling. "I can't even tell them off because I certainly don't want the boys to know that I kissed Professor Snape." She shuddered at the idea. She'd never hear the end of it, and she wouldn't really be all that surprised if Ron's head exploded if he ever heard that bit of information

"Well, actually, he kissed you," Ginny said grinning. "He initiated it, although I must say you didn't look as if you objected to it."

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, blushing again.

"Oh, come on Hermione," Ginny said smiling. "It couldn't have been that bad. I certainly thought that it looked enjoyable." Hermione smiled slightly. "What was it like?" Ginny asked gently.

"It was surprising," Hermione admitted reluctantly. "I didn't think he'd kiss me. When I realized that he was going to, I thought it'd be a quick peck and we'd be done with." Hermione looked at Ginny frowning slightly. "It certainly wasn't long, but it was…"

"Lingering?" Ginny supplied. Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, I could see that," Ginny said with a small smile. "I was shocked as well. I wish someone would kiss me like that." She gave a wistful sigh. Hermione looked sharply at her. Ginny smiled. "That kiss looked so gentle. Almost tender if you can believe that. And since you closed your eyes," she smirked at Hermione, "you didn't see Snape's face. He looked completely relaxed for a moment. I half expected him to caress your face. But, he ended the kiss too quickly." She scowled as if that fact had been a source of great inconvenience for her.

"You're hopeless Ginny," Hermione said laughing. "You're disappointed that you didn't get to see a teacher snogging his student. That's kind of sick don't you think?" she said with a smirk. Ginny shrugged and fell back on the bed giggling. Hermione grinned in spite of her anxiety about what had happened with her professor. She wondered how he was feeling about the situation.

Downstairs, Snape was pacing furiously in the drawing room. He refused to allow himself to consider what had just happened. Hermione Granger was a student and he had only kissed her to release himself from that bloody charm. His pacing was interrupted when Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall entered the drawing room. They paused briefly under the mistletoe for Albus to give Minerva a quick kiss before walking up to Severus Snape. Minerva was looking irritatingly smug. "So, I see you and the head girl have managed to escape that little charm. However did you accomplish it?" she asked with a smirk.

"You know bloody well how we accomplished it," Severus replied sneering at her.

Albus chuckled softly. "I must say Severus, you had her stunned." At the Potions Master's confused look he said "I stayed nearby to see what would happen," Albus said looking slightly guilty. "You handled it fairly well. And I'm sure Miss Granger is fine. Miss Weasley will see to that."

"Miss Weasley?" Severus asked sharply.

"Well, she came down the stairs in time to see…. It happen," Albus said carefully to avoid making Severus more angry. "She seemed to find the scene very interesting. Then she took Miss Granger upstairs, no doubt to discuss a certain a professor." He smiled brightly. Severus scowled. Minerva seemed to be enjoying the situation far too much.

"Handled it well, did he?" she said with a smirk to Albus. She looked over at Severus. "Perhaps you and your apprentice will have a special bond now."

"Minerva, you are the most vexing woman I have ever had the misfortune of being forced to come into contact with," Severus growled at her.

"Severus, you know flattery gets you nowhere with me," she replied haughtily.

"Let's play nice," Albus chided them. "Minerva and I are taking the floo back to Hogwarts. Get a good night's sleep Severus. I'll be back in the morning and we'll prepare for the meeting." Before Severus could reply, Albus and Minerva had disappeared through the fireplace.

Severus sighed in irritation and stalked up the stairs to the room that had been set up for him. He slammed the door and dressed for bed. Little did he know that his room was next door to the room Hermione and Ginny were in.

The two girls heard the door next door slam and they looked at each other, slightly startled. "Well, I guess that means Professor Snape has the room next door," Ginny said smiling. "I assume that he's going to bed."

Hermione sighed. "I bet he's so angry about what happened. By the sound of that door slamming, he's irate," she said nervously.

"Don't be silly, Hermione," Ginny said patting her friend's hand. "I bet you anything that Dumbledore was down there twinkling at him and McGonagall was driving him crazy." At Hermione's amused look, she said "I've noticed a few things. A few times I've noticed Snape and McGonagall looking in your direction from the head table. McGonagall always looks like she's finding something unbelievably funny and Snape always looks furious. Of course, Dumbledore just watches them like it's a Quidditch match or something." The girls laughed.

"You know, you're a little scary," Hermione said grinning. "Why on earth have you been watching Snape and McGonagall?"

"Well," Ginny said smirking, "I had started wondering how things were going with you working with Snape all the time. You got along well. Harry and Ron told me about that oddly convenient temporary sticking charm. I thought that perhaps something more could possibly happen. You are older than the other students thanks to that time turner. You certainly don't look like a child anymore." Ginny looked critically at her friend's mature body. "You don't find those curves on most seventh years. I'd kill for hips like yours." Hermione blushed.

"Erm… Well, thanks," Hermione said with a small smile.

"Let's go to bed," Ginny said smothering a yawn with her hand. "We'll get to see the effects of the infamous lip-lock in the morning."

Hermione grinned and the two of them dressed for bed. They fell asleep soon after laying down. Hermione's dreams that night were haunted by a familiar dark figure.

Hermione woke up early the next morning and dressed in jeans and a pale blue sweater with a v-neck and bell sleeves. She slipped out of the room quietly so that she wouldn't wake Ginny. Hermione walked down the stairs and walked into the dining room. She almost panicked when she saw Professor Snape sitting at the table drinking coffee and reading the Daily Prophet. She hurried and into the kitchen and made a cup of hot tea before returning to the dining room to sit at the table. "Good morning Professor," she mumbled.

He glanced up at her and grunted in response. He refused to look her in the eye. A moment later, they looked up when Dumbledore entered the room with McGonagall trailing behind him. "Just flooed in," he said cheerfully. "Ah, glad to see you two in the same room and not stuck together." He grinned at Hermione, who blushed slightly but returned his smile.

Professor Snape glared at the headmaster but didn't say anything. The crazy old man was worse than McGonagall and he didn't want to give them more ammunition to make him uncomfortable by commenting. It was going to be a long and trying day with the two of them smiling away and enjoying his discomfort.