I've made it to Chapter 26! Pretty cool, huh? Lots of action to come, so just stick with me. Oh, I had some wonderful ideas for my sequel. I'm so very excited.

I have a favor to ask... Well, I'm so unbelievably nervous about these little scenes between Severus and Hermione. It may sound stupid, but I need to know if I'm doing ok with it. I'm not fishing for compliments. I just need to know how I'm doing and if there's something I could do better.

Harry's Discovery

Ginny sat down on Hermione's bed with sigh. "Quite a night," she said with a grin. "You broke Ron's heart, danced with Snape, had some very up close and personal time with Snape, and then find out that you're a target for the Death Eaters. That's a lot of excitement for one day."

Hermione shook her head. "I didn't break Ron's heart," she mumbled with embarrassment.

"Maybe not intentionally," Ginny said. "He'll get over it, but he was furious when he saw you dancing with Snape. I think he'll probably want to give you a piece of his mind when he sees you tomorrow. Of course, I'm not sure he has much 'mind' to spare, so you may not have to worry about that." She grinned mischievously, causing Hermione to giggle.

The girls jumped when there was a knock at the door. Ginny cast a nervous glance at Hermione before she drew her wand and approached the door cautiously. She remembered that Draco Malfoy was still around and wanting to get rid of Hermione. She slowly turned the knob and pulled the door open, holding her wand up. She relaxed when she saw Professor Snape standing outside the door. "Professor," she said, releasing the breath she had been holding. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing Miss Weasley," Snape replied silkily. "It is after curfew."

"I'm keeping an eye on Hermione," Ginny retorted raising an eyebrow at him.

Snape rolled his eyes and stepped into the room. "Perhaps you can be of use," he said to her before turning his gaze to Hermione. She looked at him curiously. "We still need to honour your mother's request," he said holding up a camera. "I told her that you would have your picture taken when you had the opportunity to wear your dress robes. Miss Weasley here can operate the camera." He motioned for the girls to follow him and started to leave the room.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked him, standing up quickly.

"Back to the Great Hall," he replied smoothly. "It's still has that disgusting display of decorations which your mother will, perhaps, appreciate." Ginny and Hermione exchanged smirks when Snape turned his back and followed the professor down the hall.

Once in the Great Hall, Hermione looked uncertainly at Professor Snape. "Well?" he said impatiently. "Allow Miss Weasley to take some pictures of you." He folded his arms over his chest and looked at her expectantly.

Ginny immediately grabbed Hermione's hand and had her sit and stand in a couple of positions. Suddenly, she had an inspiration. "Professor Snape, you should be in at least one photo," she said slyly.

"What?" he said sharply.

"Well, Hermione did dance with you at the ball, and I'm sure Mrs. Granger would love a picture of it," Ginny said with a smirk. Without waiting for him to respond, she seized his arm and led him toward her friend. Snape mumbled something about "impertinent Gryffindor brats," causing Ginny to grin.

Snape swallowed hard and allowed Ginny to usher him to face Hermione. When the couple just looked at each other, Ginny sighed in exasperation. She pulled at Snape slightly and he allowed her to wrap his arms around Hermione's dainty waist. She guided Hermione's hands up to rest on Snape's shoulders. Ginny stepped back to look critically at the pair. "Ok, try to relax," she said impatiently. "Now, try dancing for a few moments so I can get the perfect shot."

"It is a moving photograph," Snape said incredulously.

"But, it needs to be just right," Ginny replied dismissively. "And if you just stand there, that's what you'll do in the picture as well. Now, if you're quite through arguing with me, we'll get this picture taken." Hermione stifled a giggle.

Snape sighed and tried to clear his mind as he began dancing slowly with the beautiful young witch in his arms. He twirled her around smoothly and gracefully, and was rewarded when she gave him a breath-taking smile. He almost didn't notice when Ginny snapped the picture. "Well, that's it then," she said with a little smirk. "I'll leave this camera on the table for you to pick up when you're through here Professor Snape. See you tomorrow Hermione." She set down the camera and rushed through the doors, leaving Hermione and Professor Snape looking after her.

"She's getting to be as bad as Albus," Snape thought wearily. "Come along Miss Granger," he said to her, picking up the camera and heading toward the door.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked, feeling a bit nervous.

"I'm escorting you to your room for the night," he replied smoothly.

They walked through the halls silently. Snape stole a few glances at her as they walked side by side toward the head girl's room. She appeared to be a bit nervous and seemed to be looking everywhere but at him. Arriving at her room, Snape opened the door for her. He followed her in and then looked over the room to be sure no one else was there. Satisfied that her bedroom was safe, he looked at Hermione, who was looking at the floor feeling slightly embarrassed. He could not keep his eyes from roaming over her body. He was quite pleased that she was still wearing the dress robes.

Snape finally lifted his eyes to her face. She looked rather tired and worried. No doubt, the effects of the night's events were catching up with her. Snape mentally berated himself for feeling anything even closely resembling concern for the little know-it-all. In spite of himself, he took a few steps toward her, almost forgetting to breathe when she looked up at him. He desperately searched his mind for something to say, feeling awkward.

"There's no need for concern," he said rather stiffly. "Professor Dumbledore merely wanted you to be aware of the situation. I will be with you, and you will be safe. You just have to trust me." He sighed inwardly. "Now she's going to think that you actually care about her being nervous," he thought in irritation.

Hermione offered him a small smile that caused him to forget his aggravation with himself. "Thank you," she murmured softly, never taking her eyes off his face. Without thinking, Snape took a step closer so that she was close enough to draw in his arms. Hesitantly, he brought up one hand to touch her face. His eyes drifted down to her mouth and, before he could stop himself, he leaned in to kiss her.

Hermione's heart fluttered as Snape's lips met hers. The kiss was tentative, as if he half expected her to turn away in disgust. To encourage him, she pressed her lips more firmly to his. It had the desired effect because Snape promptly brought his other hand to the back of her neck and ran his tongue along her bottom lip, as if begging for entrance to her mouth. Hermione opened her mouth slightly and shivered in delight as she felt his tongue caress hers.

Keeping one hand on the back of her neck, Snape let his other hand drift from her face to her shoulder. From there, he allowed his hand to run up and down her body slowly, learning every womanly curve. He loved the feeling of the silky material under his fingertips. He couldn't help thinking that he would like the dress robes more if they were pooled at her feet rather than obstructing his view of the beautiful body before him.

After a few moments, Snape ended the kiss. "I must go," he said, although his expression suggested that the last thing he wanted to do was leave Hermione's bedroom. "It is late and we have potions to work on tomorrow." Hermione nodded silently. Snape hesitated a moment before leaning in again to kiss her softly. Without another word, he left the room in a swirl of black robes. Hermione closed the door behind him and smiled to herself as she changed for bed.

The next morning, after showering and changing clothes, Hermione went to the Great Hall for breakfast. Hermione sat down next to Ginny, who was giving her a look that indicated that she wanted to hear every detail about the night before. Hermione smiled at the red head and turned to look at Harry and Ron across the table. "Good morning," she said cheerfully.

"Morning," Harry replied with a big smile. Ron muttered a greeting as well.

"Something wrong?" Hermione asked him.

"Why did you dance with Snape last night?" Ron demanded, glaring at her.

"Because she wanted to, you twit," Ginny said in annoyance, cutting off Hermione's response. "She works with Snape all the time. There was nothing wrong with dancing with him. You act like they were snogging in the middle of the Great Hall."

Ron shuddered with revulsion. Harry grinned and rolled his eyes, but then he noticed that there was a faint blush in Hermione's cheeks. Deciding that it wasn't a good time for questions, Harry ate his toast in silence.

"I just don't understand why you'd let that greasy git touch you," Ron said furiously. "That man is just plain evil. You already have to be around him more than anyone else is. I don't see why you'd want to dance with him too."

"Don't be a prat Ron," Harry said finally. "Leave her alone. She's spends a lot of time with him and it was polite to dance with him when he asked." He was glad that Ron didn't see the slightly guilty look cross Hermione's face. "So, Hermione asked Snape?" Harry thought to himself. He quickly focused his attention back to Ron. "Don't worry about it." Ron gave a shrug and went back to his breakfast.

Once they were finished eating, the four Gryffindors stood up to leave. "Ron, you go ahead, I need to talk to Hermione and Ginny," Harry said once they had stopped outside the Great Hall.

Ron looked confused for a moment, but he shrugged and walked down the hall. Hermione cast a nervous glance at Ginny and then looked expectantly at Harry. "Alright you two," Harry began as they walked down the hall together. "What's going on that you're not telling me?"

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked in what she hoped was an innocent tone.

"Don't play dumb with me," he said laughing. "Hermione, you've been acting funny for a while now. Sometimes I see you two look at each other as if you have some big secret. There's something going on with Snape, I'm just not sure what exactly." He paused and peered at them suspiciously. "I saw you dancing with Snape, Hermione. Just now, during breakfast, I got the impression that maybe you were the one that asked him to dance. Care to share what you're up to?" he asked.

Hermione sighed. She had no idea what to say now. She looked at Ginny. "Listen Harry," Ginny said quietly. "Hermione has spent loads of time with Professor Snape and, well, he's not exactly the cold-hearted bastard that we originally thought he was. He's actually pretty nice to her. Let's just say that they've had a few minor little confrontations..." She smiled in amusement. "It's been rather funny actually."

Harry looked at Hermione in surprise and then he noticed the necklace she was wearing. Wordlessly, he stepped closer and lifted the gold necklace away from her body to examine the gold pendant. "I've never seen this," he said slowly. He smiled as he recognized the Gryffindor lion. Curiously, he turned the pendant over and smirked when he saw her name and the words "Potions Apprentice" engraved on the back. "Minor confrontations, huh?" he said with a small smile. "This necklace indicates something a bit more serious." He frowned as he regarded Hermione thoughtfully. "Why Snape?" he asked. "We've always hated him, and he's so awful to you."

"You've always hated him," Hermione said gently. "I admired him, and working with him has allowed me to see other sides of him." Hermione looked down at her hands as she walked. "Are you terribly angry with me Harry?"

Harry frowned and then cast a quick look at Ginny before he said, "I can't say that I wouldn't prefer you with Ron. But, that's not for me to decide."

"Right," Ginny said helpfully. "I saw you when you danced with Snape, Hermione. I haven't seen you so happy before without you finding some interesting information in the library."

"That's true," Harry said, forcing a smile. He looked over at Hermione. "I'm not thrilled about the fact that you fancy Snape, but I guess I can live with that. I've been suspecting something since Christmas, so it's not quite a complete shock. I really don't think Ron needs to find out all at once though." Hermione shuddered at the idea. "He's going to find out though. We just have to know how to handle it when he does." Harry gave Hermione another puzzled look before continuing to walk to his first class of the day.

That afternoon, Hermione met with Professor Snape in the potions classroom. "Miss Granger," Snape said smoothly. "Today we'll be brewing several simple potions for the hospital wing." At Hermione's questioning look, he said, "We want to be prepared for this weekend. If there are any injuries during the confrontation with the Dark Lord's followers, we must be prepared."

Hermione swallowed hard and nodded. "You need not be concerned about any such injuries, Miss Granger," Snape said setting several ingredients next to a cauldron and not looking at her. "You will remain at my side and no harm will come to you."

"Thank you," Hermione murmured.

Snape watched as she brewed the potions that he requested. She worked quickly and efficiently with a grace that had mesmerized. "I can't think about her like this," he mentally scolded himself. "I don't want this little brat to be a weakness for me." His mind wandered to all the things that Dumbledore had said about the situation. It had made sense, but it had never occurred to him that he could be in love with this young witch. He frowned thoughtfully. Lust was definitely not the same thing as love, but he frequently found himself feeling concerned about her safety and health. The entire situation was shaping up to be quite irritating.

So many reviews! I couldn't reply to all of you but just know that I sit at my computer and take time out to read every single one. Each one always brings a smile to my face... So I smile a lot now. lol I love you guys!

FireKidd: I actually blushed when I read your review. Thank you so much.

Severus-Fan: No tears allowed:) I'm hooked now. I can't just quit.

Sparrow's Lovely Lass: I cried when I read HBP too. My goodness it was depressing.

Bronwyn: I liked the "sex is like air" thing too. You know, a lot of the funny side commentary in this story comes from my real life. That's a little "motto" me and two of my girlfriends have adopted. I crack up every time I hear it.

CapnSilver: No, Severus is still being stubborn. sigh He'll come around. Albus and Ginny just aren't going to leave him alone.

ash: Don't worry about it. I understand completely. I was frustrated and nearly just dropped the story entirely. It was quite a nasty shock. But, I'm glad you're going to continue reading. Thanks. Let's all cross our fingers and pray that JKR has something much better in store for us in book 7.

Wiily: Well, thank you. I tried really hard to figure out what Snape would have against love and all that. I'm pleased that I have your approval.

StrGzr974: I hope this didn't take to long. I had to wait for my beta to finish with it. You really think the bedroom scene was ok? I'm really nervous about writing that sort of thing.

Portkeys Miss-Mione: Thank you so much. I'm still trying to get over HBP. I have a hard time keeping my mind off of it while I'm creating these chapters. It's all so upsetting.

annelovesanimals: Oh, I'm thrilled that I'm not going to be chained to the computer. My fiance will be so happy. :)

LateNiteRomance: You put off your fiance to read my story? That's so flattering. Thank you. I hope he wasn't mad about that. Music theory is not fun at all. Also, I absolutely love long reviews, so no apology is needed.

Satan's Assassin 19902: I inspired you to write fanfic. That's sweet. I'll have to go check out your new story. I can't wait to read it. Good luck with it.

SeagullGirl: I haven't written in so long and it took me a little while to get into a rhythm. I was working a little too quickly. It was a quantity vs. quality thing. Now I have a beta fixing some of the errors I make in my haste to post new chapters... But, it's gotten easier and my beta doesn't have quite as much work to do. I'm so happy that you love it.

ninjaalexa: You're most welcome. And thank you so much for reviewing to tell me. I appreciate it.