This is the shortest chapter I've written in a while, but please, try to enjoy it

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Chapter Twenty-Three

Staring at the door before her, Hermione wondered if she had the guts to raise her fist to knock. The walk down had been an easy enough to complete, but now, that she had reached her destination, she hesitated.

She had not seen Severus Snape since dinner time an hour ago, and they had not spoken all week. Despite not expecting to do so, she could not help but admit to disappointment, though only to herself. Throughout the week, she had glimpsed him while on her Head Girl's rounds, but they had never approached each other. She didn't dare.

But his invitation had lingered in her mind, and now, that she had nothing to do as the boys and Ginny had Quidditch Practice, she decided o test it. It was Friday night and already ash hac completed all of her homework. She had gone to the library to try to research Organ Freezing Hexes and their counter curses, but had found nothing. Curious to know more about them after Professor Flitwick had mentioned them in class, she wondered if Professor Snape would have any information on them. Before she knew what she was doing, she had walked down to the cold dungeons.

Taking a breath, she pulled herself together and knocked on the heavy wooden door. Moments later, the door was pulled open by Professor Snape.

As he often had while she had stayed with him, he was simply wearing his black pants and top, his usual black billowing robes discarded. Much to Hermione's despair, it emphasised just how thin her Professor was.

Looking down on her, he raised an eyebrow. "To what do I owe this honour?" He drawled in his quiet, silky tones.

She found herself feeling suddenly very nervous, and afraid of what he would say. Taking another breath, she responded with, "I was hoping you may have some information for me." She watched as his dark eyebrow rose again. "You told me that I would be able to use your books at some stage," she was quick to remind him.

"Yes, I did tell you that, didn't I?" he stepped back, taking Hermione by surprise. "Come in," he beckoned her to her to follow him through his office. "Is this for class?" He inquired.

"No, sir," she said as they entered his sitting room. This was really only the third time she had been in this room, at least while conscious. It delighted her to see once again the entire wall filled with books. On the wall she could not see from his bedroom was another door, which she knew lead to a hallway, from which his private potions lab and another room branched off from.

"It's just something that Professor Flitwick mentioned, something I'd like to look further into." She explained as they stood in the warm room. In the corner of the room, between the door to his bedroom and the door to his hallway, a fireplace contained a beautifully burning fire. Upon the other side of the door, joining the wall that contained hundreds of books, sat more bookshelves yet. Hermione longed to read them all.

At her words, she found herself watching as his eyebrow rose yet again in a silent question. "Organ Freezing Hexes," she supplied the answer. "Or, more so, their counter curses."

"It is my belief, Miss Granger, that you would be wasting your time," he said smoothly. "There is no such counter curse to Organ Freezing Hexes."

She could mistake the tone in his voice, the tone that quite plainly told her what he thought of her idea. "I'm aware of the, sir," she struggled to keep her voice level. "Which is, in essence, the exact reasoning behind my wanting to research these Hexes." She watched him carefully, not sure what his reaction to such an idea would be.

"I do believe it has been quite sufficiently explore before, Miss Granger." He said, as he tuned towards the bookshelves. "However, if it will keep you quiet…" his voice trailed off before picking back up. "Did you not feel it was necessary to ask Professor Flitwick himself? This is, after all, his area of expertise."

Hermione felt anger rising within her at his words, which were so carefully crafted to make her feel like a first-year. "I thought it may have been nice to take up your offer first," she said, opting for the honest truth.

His body still facing the bookshelves, Snape's head turned to give her yet another raised eyebrow. She was quickly tiring of this expression. "What do you know of Organ Freezing Charms?" he asked. "They are not common these days."

She caught the tightening of his voice and knew instantly what days they had been common in. Choosing not to dwell, she quickly responded, "I know they are a very difficult hex, the level of difficultness depending on the organ the hexer may wish to freeze, and for how long." She paused at these, and on seeing the slight incline of his head, continued on. "It involves the caster quite literally freezing an organ of the body, turning it to ice."

"However, it is not always lethal," Snape stated, reaching up for a book. "Can you tell me why that is?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione felt the familiar eagerness of answering a Professor's questions correctly rise. "While, yes, it can be lethal, depending on the organ frozen, as well as the strength of the caster. If he or she is weak, they may only be able to freeze one part of the body for say a few seconds. While this may cause extreme pain, the organ will thaw quickly with no lasting effects."

"Except for the memory," Snape murmured into the books startling Hermione. She was certain he hadn't meant for her to hear that. Quite suddenly he straightened up and moved over to where Miss Granger stood. "Why are you so interested in these?" He asked, his eyes meeting hers.

Hermione felt herself go red even before she had answered his question. "Well…" she began, unsure of how to continue without looking foolish. "I'm researching them for medical purposes. The creations of counter-curses, how else such hexes could be used and so forth." She mumbled, lowering her gaze to the floor.

She felt surprise surge through her once again, as Snape moved across the room and handed her a book. "You may find some of what you are looking for in this book," he told her. "However, I am busy; therefore do not wish to have a witch as yourself interrupting your work. More so, if anything happens to that book, you will pay quite dearly – I do not care that you are a student and I a teacher in regards to my personal books." He moved off towards the door which led to his lab. "Do see yourself out, Miss Granger, and have that book back to me by Sunday at the very latest." Without waiting for a response, he yanked open the door and closed with it with a snap.

Hermione looked at the book that she now held in her hands (Eighteenth Century Hexes, Curses and Charms), she couldn't feel anything but shock running through her body. Snape had just almost being civil, appearing to simply enquire information, instead of demanding it in his usual cruel fashion. Not only that, but he had leant her a book, a told her to she could borrow it for the whole weekend. Clutching it to her chest, she let herself out of his rooms and quickly hurried back to Gryffindor tower, where she instantly flung herself into her room, ready to begin her study.

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Leaning against the door of his potions lab, Severus Snape was furious with himself. Hadn't he vowed, at the start of the week to be cold to her? If he had, what had happened this evening, when that resolve had apparently soared out the door and he had found himself being almost social with the young witch, even if it was on an academic level?

Growling in frustration, he made his way over to his cauldron, determined to make some Calming Potion, as the now-well Madam Pomfrey had requested. Unfortunately, he could not make this potion until he himself was calm, or his frustration would be embedded into the potion. So he began to pace back and forth across his lab floor, thoughts turning over in his head.

So the little witch was researching Organ Freezing Hexes! What for? As far as Snape was concerned, they could never do anyone any good. It just wasn't possible. Then again, he had always thought that it was never possible for a first year muggle born to have half the knowledge she contained in her head when she had first arrived at Hogwarts. How was it possible?

This wouldn't do, he was not calming, he thought as he took another turn and kept pacing his lab. He began to recite the ingredients of the potion in his head, thinking of when they had to be applied to the potion, going over it all again and again in his head. He pushed the idea of wishing Miss Granger was here to help him.

This wouldn't do, his mind sneered at him. He had wasted too much time this past week thinking of that little witch, he could not allow it to continue. But if she was going to really dare to turn up at his private chambers…

Why had he invited her, he thought, as strode across and back again. Why?

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Hermione spent the weekend reading, studying, noting. She found the book fascinating, and though beginning with studying Organ Freezing Hexes, began to note everything she possibly could from the book, filling pieces of parchment with her writing on different curses and hexes. Harry and Ron had become increasingly annoyed with her over the weekend, as she'd hardly step out of her room. She simply told them that she was studying for the upcoming N.E.W.T.S.

A funny jolt occurred in her stomach every time she thought of the final exams, and she knew that instead of studying these books, she should be studying for them instead, they were hardly a few months away. Yet, the lure of this book was too much; she'd never get another chance to read such a book. She kept telling herself that she'd start her studying in an hour or so, when she'd finished taking notes on Shrunken Head Curses, or when she'd done with reading up on Intoxicating Charms.

It had horrified her to read some of the curses that featured in the books. Many of them had been banned upon their creation, and then forgotten about it. There was so much out there she realised that she didn't know, and the more she read, the more she craved knowing.

After dinner Sunday night Hermione felt as though she had written out most of the book, and was feeling really quite pleased with herself. Knowing she should return the book to Snape before too late, she quickly stood and hurried from the common room before anyone could protest, clutching the book tight.

Making her way down to the dungeons, she just wondered what type of Snape she would meet tonight. Giggling, she thought of his different personalities, he almost had one for every day of the week. Fearing that she would meet a grouchy one, she planned to make the visit very short, just returning the book, thanking him and dashing again.

She definitely did not count on meeting a very happy, but really, very drunk, Severus Snape.

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Very odd chapter, I know. Moves a little too fast on the second part, I know.

Hopefully you'll find the Organ Freezing Hex interesting, I've no idea where that came from to be honest!

Snape's little scene is very confusing I've been told, but this is leading up to the next chapter, and explaining just why he is rather drunk!

I hope you all like a drunk Snape!