Author's note: A big Thank You to Draco lover 91 and a guest that noticed that the upload was gibberish and let me know.
If Severus Snape was being honest with himself, Hermione Granger made very little impression on him during her first few years at Hogwarts. During her sorting, he was focused on Potter. He'd hoped that the whelp would take after his mother, but was sorely disappointed. He had foolishly hoped that he may be able to catch a glimpse of his friend once more in the boy. It felt as if James was still mocking him from the grave. Would he ever be free of arrogant Potters? Oh, he had his mother's eyes, but even that seemed like a cruel joke, distorted as they were by the boy's glasses. No, Snape had little time for the bushy haired girl.
She still annoyed him like all Gryffindors, but she was just one of a sea of children who filtered through his classes. Her association with Potter didn't help his opinion of her. Neither did her insistence with helping Longbottom with his work. How was the boy to learn if she did everything for him? Her eagerness to please was an embarrassment, but considering that he disliked most of his students, she hardly stood out.
As she found herself involved with Potter's antics more often, she was increasingly brought to his attention. Which hardly helped his opinion of her. What he did notice though was how often the girl was with Weasley and Potter over school breaks. It seemed odd to him considering that, by all accounts, Miss Granger had a good relationship with her parents. He brought it up to Albus only once. It wasn't as if he cared for the girl. It was just that since she seemed key to keeping the Potter brat alive, that maybe her wellbeing should be maintained. It only made sense after all.
Albus had been evasive, he cited friendship, safety issues and an assumed preference for being around other magical people with the result that Hermione spent less and less time in the muggle world. Severus found the explanation to be trite, but asked no more. He resolved himself to watch the situation more closely in the future, and he did.
He discovered that the idea to cut her time short with her parents rarely originated with her. The suggestion always came from someone else. Playing on her emotions and sense of loyalty was often used. Snape suspected that this was Dumbledore's doing. Upon further thought, he also noticed that the Weasley's security was prioritized over the Granger's which made little sense to him. The family comprised of five adult members of the Order. Surely, they could handle their own security. The Grangers on the other hand were helpless. The one magical member of their family wasn't even allowed to use magic while away from school. They were sitting ducks. While that explained why Hermione was often separated from her family, it didn't explain why their security was such a low priority. Severus found the whole situation to be disgraceful, but apparently even amongst the Order, muggles just weren't that important.
It was for that reason that Severus Snape found himself outside the Granger home the summer after Hermione's fourth year. The Dark Lord had risen. The world was about to turn dark, and he would do what he could to save as many people as possible. That included the three Grangers inside their home.
He had hoped that his arrival would go unnoticed. Although as soon as he started laying wards around the house, he realized how absurd that hope was. One did not use these types of wards without the occupants being aware, well the magical occupants at least. Hermione swung the front door open wand in hand. She lowered it as soon as she saw him. Snape silently scolded her for this. Now wasn't the time to be overly trusting.
The girl did seem to trust him though and understand that he was there to help not only herself but her parents as well. Severus didn't acknowledge his student and continued his work. He'd expected a barrage of questions as was in the girl's nature, but she seemed more sedate now. She said nothing, only sitting on the steps of her porch and watching.
It had taken almost two hours for him to finish his work with Hermione as his constant companion. She had left but once only to return with two cups of tea. She set one on the sidewalk next to him and then returned to the steps to sip her own. Snape decided a break was in order and reached down for the cup. It wasn't the best cup of tea he'd ever had, but it wasn't the worst and certainly better than nothing. As he sipped, she spoke, "Are you hungry?"
He shook his head and she said no more. He didn't mind the silence. They hardly had anything to talk about. Honestly, he was just grateful that the girl even had the ability to be quiet. Once he finished, he returned the cup to the sidewalk and resumed his work while Hermione watched.
Once he was finally done, he lowered his wand once again. Hermione sensing his work was over got up and retrieved the used cup. She paused in front of him. He looked down at the petite young witch as she looked up. "Thank you," was all she said. She then turned away and quietly reentered her home.
The whole experience had been surreal but not unpleasant, Snape reflected. He hadn't minded her company when she was quiet and not making a nuisance of herself. At least she and her parents would have some security in such dark times.
He saw her again after she had been coerced into spending the rest of her summer at Grimmauld Place. Despite his fears, she didn't say a word about their encounter either to him or anyone else for that matter it seemed. Which was good since he hadn't exactly mentioned the visit to anyone either. She was polite as ever and seemed to make a point of not annoying him. That was until Dumbledore told Harry about the occlumency lessons.
He had been furious when Albus had suggested it. It was an absurd idea. The boy hated him and that hatred was mutual. It certainly wouldn't lead to productive learning environment. It made absolutely no sense why the old man didn't just train the idiot himself. But no, of course not, when did Albus ever take the easy way when there was a more convoluted option available? There was no conceivable way that this would work. He agreed that the boy needed to learn to keep the Dark Lord out of his head, but this was not the way to go about it.
It was only two days later that Hermione approached him. She had been exceedingly polite and deferential in her request. She outlined the benefits of such training. Occlumency would be beneficial to the war effort. She acknowledged the animosity between himself and Potter and preposed that she would be able to help Harry with his lessons if she herself received proper instruction. She made it clear that she knew his time was valuable, and that she fully expected that he would turn her down. She told him that if he declined, she wouldn't mention it again.
He wasn't really sure why he considered her request. Normally he would have refused her immediately, but on this day he didn't. He only told her that he would think on the matter and get back to her. She nodded her head and said no more which was odd for her. Maybe that was why he considered her offer, maybe it was because she didn't mention his appearance at her house, maybe it was that he knew that Harry's lessons were a lost cause and perhaps Miss Granger could salvage the situation. Maybe it was because this 15 year old girl was taking the war more seriously than most of the adults around her. Maybe it was because she asked and didn't demand, that she gave him the choice. For whatever reason, the next day, Severus agreed to train the girl.
He stipulated that the lessons would start the following week. If she was to be of any help to him, then she needed to be further along in her lessons than Harry. Plus, he knew that unlike most children, she wouldn't balk at summer classes. She seemed pleased with the proposal and quickly accepted.
Hermione arrived promptly at the designated time for her first lesson. Severus had chosen to use the small potions lab in the basement of Grimmauld Place for their "classroom" for lack of a better term. He quickly went over the basics and concepts of occlumency, while the girl took furious notes. Snape rolled his eyes at her eagerness. She'd be sick of him soon enough once the real training began. "Put your notes down, Miss Granger. They will hardly help with this skill. It must be honed by practice and experience," Snape drawled.
Hermione frowned but dutifully set her paper aside. "Stand and face me," he said gruffly. The girl shot to her feet and stared at him nervously which please Snape. Good, she should be nervous, he thought. Without another word, he whipped out his wand and pointed it at her. "Legilimens!"