Disclaimer: None of these wonderful characters is mine; they are J.K. Rowling's.
Summary: Hermione graduated from Hogwarts 2 years ago and is now twenty. War rages on and she builds barriers around her heart.
Genre: Angst/Romance Rating: Mature/Lemon Warnings: This is very OOC. If you want the characters just the way they are in the book, stop now and click on the back button. This is also AU. If you do not like it, do not read it! Now for those who want to, enjoy!

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I Don't Believe In Love

Chapter four: The Courtyard Scene

Hermione woke up the next morning. It took her quite a while to realize that she was now at Hogwarts and a teacher and that it was fifteen minutes to breakfast.

She cursed, jumped out of bed, shot off towards the bathroom, and took the shortest shower she ever had.

She just put on a dark red shirt, black jeans and shoes, brushed her hair once, and dashed off to the Great Hall.

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She opened the door and WHAM! She found herself sprawled face down to a person's back.

"Miss Granger. Once again, you prove yourself to have the finesse of a hyperactive cow. Kindly remove yourself from my back."

'Ohh not again!' She mentally groaned. She stood up and offered Snape her hand.

Severus snorted. "Do you honestly think that you would be able to support my weight?"

"Auror training. Trust me; I've lifted heavier things than you." She took back her hand and proceeded to the table.

Snape stood up and brushed dirt off his robes. He glided to the table but unfortunately, the only place unoccupied was between Sybill Trelawney and Hermione Granger.

'Brilliant! My two favorite people!' Sarcasm oozing from his thoughts. 'I am most definitely going to need a headache potion before this day is done.'

He reluctantly sat himself down on the chair and started eating breakfast.

"My dear," Sybill began. "I see dark clouds heading your way..."

"Watch out professor. You might want to use an umbrella when you go out today." Hermione said smirking.

"Thank you professor. I believe I will." Snape was whole-heartedly thanking Hermione now. The spectacled Woman just annoyed him to no end.

A silent truce was formed.

"Hmm...The weather does seem bad today. I have to bring an umbrella before I go to Hagrid's today..." Hermione thought aloud.

"I do hope this bad weather would end soon." Snape agreed with her. Annoying Sybill is just too sweet to be passed.

"The inner eye sees the complete ignorance of the both of you." Sybill got up from the table and bumped her goblet accidentally. Thankfully, the goblet was empty.

"Too bad. The inner eye must have cataract." Hermione murmured after Sybill left. She did not count on Snape hearing her. Being a half-blood, and living in a muggle community however, taught Snape of the ordinary muggle things.

Hermione heard him chuckle. She was so surprised that her head snapped up and she stared at him disbelievingly.

Unfortunately, the sight of her huge eyes and slightly opened mouth in shock only served to amuse Snape even more. His chuckle turned to a full out laugh.

The whole great hall fell silent and they all watched him.

The laughter, Hermione decided, was contagious. Her lips twitched and soon she was joining him in laughter.

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Needless to say, the incident in the great hall was the talk for the whole week.

Eventually, people started to realize that laughter does not change the bat.

The potions classes continued the same way. Loss of points, gain of detentions, and biting remarks.

There is however, a sliver of light for the students. They gain the lost points in DADA. Sadly, the detentions are a hopeless case.

Both the defense teacher and the potions master developed a sort of friendship. Sort of. They would still fight of course. These fights ranged from the food they eat, the clothes they wear, their looks, their personalities, the classes. Even the weather. No need to say that they both enjoy it.

A snippet of their conversation:

"Honestly, don't you two get tired of fighting every time?" Minerva exasperatedly asked. "You two fight over the simplest of things. Even the color of the sky."

"Oh please. Everyone knows the sky is blue." Hermione told her.

"Not really. At sunset, the sky turns red, and at night, I am quite sure you know, it is black." Serevus interrupted her.

"Well, it is nice to see that you actually look at the sky. You know, some people actually think you are a vampire. What with you never going out, and your skin. It looks like its dead." Hermione intended it to be only a simple statement; however, Severus did not take it like that. On the other hand, maybe he just wanted another fight.

"What makes you think I'm not?" He raised his eyebrow.

She just laughed. When he did not laugh, she sobered. "You're joking right?"

"Yes. I am." And he stood up and left.

After the door closed, she unmistakably heard laughter.

'Ooh he is going to pay.'

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The hallways were dark. Only the moonlight guiding him. It was his usual rounds. Prowling hallways, looking for students he might catch and take points off them.

Severus Snape had just finished searching the castle and was walking to the dungeons for his well-deserved sleep.

Approaching the courtyard, the clouds covered the moon. He saw a figure. Female. It was unmistakable. Someone was out. And he was going to catch her.

Silently, he stood behind the rock the person was leaning on. The clouds moved and he saw the figure. It was Hermione.

"Can't sleep?" She asked even though she wasn't looking at him.

"What makes you think that?" He asked.

"Because you're awake..." She turned to look at him. "Hello professor. Would you like to join me?"

He looked at her. Her ordinary face was illuminated by the moonlight. She was young, he knew, but right now, he thought she looked both as if the weight of the world was at her shoulders, and that she did not care if it was.

He could not turn her down then. He walked towards her and sat down on the grass beside her. The fountain in front of them was flowing freely. 'When will I be free?' He asked himself silently.

He looked at his companion. She looked so wise. She stretched out on the grass, her body perpendicular to his. Head near his legs. He did not know how it happened but he found himself lying in the grass too. His head beside hers, just above her shoulders, and hers likewise. Their feet farthest from contact.

It was night. The sky was black. A few stars in the sky. "You know, you were right. The sky is black now." Hermione spoke. He just grunted.

"It's beautiful." She said solemnly. "People never really see its beauty because it's always there."

"He didn't mean to sound insensitive but the words just came out of his mouth. "Please spare me the romantic ramblings about love and lovers under the moonlit sky."

"I don't believe in love." She said. He turned his head to look at her.

"I don't either." He responded and turned his head to look at the sky again.

"Love is just a word used by lustful humans to get their partners to bed. And if they already have, it is just to ensure that their partners will stay with them be easily accessible. In other words: Marriage." Hermione told this to her friends before, but they just looked at her as if she were crazy. She hoped Severus would be different.

"Love is a word for comfort. People desperately want to believe that they are of great use and that another sees them as such. The want this word because if not, they believe they are useless. They would drown in their sorrow." He responded.

"People do crazy things in its name." Hermione desperately wanted him to prove her wrong. And she was not disappointed. "Maybe people are just crazy." He said.

She turned to him. Just looked at him. And he turned to her again, and smiled a smile of understanding. She smiled back. He knew what she felt. They both gained a new friend from the other.

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I love you people so much. I recieved reviews again. (Kisses you all in the cheek.) I'm open to suggestions by the way.

Mish Michelle: Thank you so much! mwah!

aniamifan1988: I know! I love it too!

limegirl62: I'll try to update soon.

Potion Muse: Hmm I'll have to think of some arguments.

By the way peeps, there is going to be some angst from now on. There will be some intrigue concerning the dark lord. And a big fight will happen later on. Oh and by the way, Hermione and Snape are not what they really look like.The courtyard scenegave you guys a peek at their real personalities. Snape also will find out something about Hermione. That chapter I am so sure is going to make me cry.

Thanks for all who reviewed. I hope you guys enjoyed the story. Review. Please. And thanks for reading. - Darque