SUMMARY: Hermione looses her two best friends in the war against Voldemort. Because of this, she becomes depressed and flees from the world she loves. To London she goes and chooses to live as a muggle. Six years pass. Hermione slowly begins to forget how to use magic. Will the staff of Hogwarts be able to teach her again before the damage becomes permanent?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.

PAIRINGS: Hermione Granger, Severus Snape (eventually); Rated M

A/N: Thank you to iloveseverussnape, Kelly Roxton, KieraLee, bRaTsKi, and Katyes for your reviews.

CHAPTER NINE

Hermione needed no guidance to get to Snape's classroom. She remembered the way.

As Hermione walked down the dungeon hallways, the air around her seemed to drop below zero. It was colder than she remembered it when she had arrived last night. Much colder. She hoped the classroom's temperature was warmer.

At night the dungeon was always quiet. The only thing Hermione heard was her own breathing and the click of her shoes on the stone floor. In any other situation, she would have turned back immediately. But, Hogwarts was the safest place Hermione knew and probably the safest in the world. She highly doubted anything would happen to her.

When Hermione reached the door that would lead into the classroom, she placed her hand over the knob. She proceed to twist it, but then stopped.

"Maybe I should knock first." she said to herself, as she removed her hand from the door knob. She made a fist and lightly knock on the door. There was no answer. It should have been loud enough for him to hear, Hermione thought. She tried again, then called out his name. "Professor Snape?" Again there was no answer. "Don't tell me he's not in there." She hesitantly opened the door, unsure of what she might find. "Professor..." Her eyes fell upon a sleeping Potions Master. He's a asleep?

"How dare he sleep! If I don't get to, neither does he..." she mumbled under her breath as she closed the door behind her entry.

There Snape sat, eyes closed, at his desk, with his feet resting atop it. He was lounging in his sleep.

As Hermione walked closer, she saw that his desk was covered in papers. He must have been grading then. Her eyes finally fell upon Snape's sleeping form. His hands were folded over his chest, head resting against the back of the chair. He looked so...peaceful.

It was too bad that Hermione had to wake him up.

Hermione walked casually to him. She leaned over to look at his face. For an old guy, Snape doesn't have that many wrinkles. If he was younger, I might consider dating him. Hermione stepped back. Whoa!

"Where did that come from?" she questioned herself. Her, dating Snape. Why would she ever think something like that? Trying to envision him in another way other than her teacher, made her skin crawl. She shuttered. "I think I might be getting too much sleep."

This time Hermione decided to give him a light tap on the shoulder.

"Rise and shine." she said. He didn't move. "Professor Snape?" He shifted slightly, but didn't open his eyes. "WAKE UP!"

"MUST," he started, "you yell?" Snape opened his eyes.

"I tapped you, but apparently it wasn't strong enough." Snape smirked. "Shall we."

Snape got up from his seat and walked over to a vacant desk. On it were various potion ingredients, mixing equipment, and of course, a cauldron. Hermione joined him by the desk.

"What will I be making?"

"You will be mixing a potion to cure boils. It was the very first potion you ever made." he added. "I'm sure you remember it."

"Vaguely." answered Hermione, scanning the desk's contents.

"Well, why not refresh your memory?" With that, he walked back over to his desk and began to grade a handful of second year essays, leaving Hermione standing alone.

"Um aren't you going to help me, or at least supervise?" Snape looked at her, eyebrow raised. "I mean, I haven't done this stuff in a long, long time." she said as she gestured toward the cauldron. "I could blow us both up."

"Oh, for heavens sake, Ms. Granger! You're not Neville Longbottom! You couldn't possibly blow us up. Only he could accomplish that."

Hermione had tried her hardest to perfect the curing boils potion. She had tried seven times. Sparks of fire splattered from the cauldron and once again, Snape had to clean up the unusable potion.

Hermione placed her head on the desk. Why was this so hard? Snape was just as frustrated. He found it hard to believe that Hermione was unable to do this when so long ago she perfected it on her first try.

"Ms. Granger, you must try again."

"Why," she asked as she met his gaze, "so it can spew fire, or bubble over, or..." She stopped. "Oh, no!" Snape looked perplexed. "Don't you see? I've become Neville."

"Ms. Granger, don't say that." Snape said quickly.

"It's true. I've become Neville. With any luck the only thing I'll be good at is Herbology." She buried her head in her hands. She felt like crying.

"You are nothing like Longbottom." Hermione stood.

"I'm sorry. I've wasted your time."

"What?"

"I'm leaving." she said. "Lets face the facts! I can't do this potion!"

"Yes, you can."

"No, I can't."

"This is why you can't! You lack confidence!" he screamed. Hermione stepped back at his unexpected reaction. Snape sighed. "You must do this. You need to do this, correct?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to do this?"

"Of course I do." she answered.

"Then do it." he said simply. "Or, are you too afraid to do it?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're afraid, aren't you?"

"I am not afraid!" she said, stepping to him, awakening her Gryfindor bravery.

"Prove it."

Hermione was never one to back down from a challenge. She was more than happy to accept his.

This time Snape stayed to watch. Hermione was chopping and dicing and smashing ingredients. She simmered, boiled, and stirred. And before she knew it, Hermione had successfully made a potion to cure boils.

When Snape approved her mixture and said she was free to go, Hermione was over come with the urge to celebrate. She began to jump and shout and dance around like she had just won the lottery. She even found herself giving Snape a hug. And in her sudden celebration, Hermione also gave him a small peck on the lips. That's right, the lips.

Snape was speechless. He didn't know what to say. Hermione, on the other hand, said her goodbye to him as though nothing happened. He was left there, alone, standing in his classroom, unable to move.

Meanwhile, Hermione walked down the dungeon halls to her bedroom, completely overwhelmed on finally mastering the potion. Only when she touched the door knob to her quarters did she realize what she had done.

"Oh...my...god. I just kissed Professor Snape."

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