Hermione was becoming more adept at recognizing intrusions into her mind. She was now able to detect roughly half of Severus's attempts. It was great progress in such a short amount of time. He'd be even more pleased if the girl wasn't as agitated and nervous as she apparently was on this particular night. He didn't even need to peek into her head to know that something was up. Plus, she was definitely hiding something. He'd be impressed at her skill of occluding him, if he wasn't so annoyed with the girl.

"Miss Granger!" Snape raised his voice to get her attention. "Am I boring you?"

Hermione jumped in her seat and quickly answered him, "N-No, sir. Sorry, did I fail again?"

"How could you not tell?" he asked. "I was hardly being subtle this time. You should have detected me right away."

"I apologize, Professor. I-I, well, it's that, I-I," the witch stuttered.

"Out with it, Granger! I don't have all night, and you clearly have something to say." Snape sneered.

"Yes, I, um, that is…" Hermione started, then took a deep breath. "Is there any way we can change when we meet, sir? It's just that something else has come up and well, it's very important. As important as this, and in some ways maybe even more important. Not that I'm saying that this isn't important. It is! It's just that this other thing is…. I can't explain, but I wouldn't ask if it weren't important." She said in a rush.

Severus rolled his eyes, feeling his own frustration mount. This year was proving to be rather troublesome. Not only was he caught between two masters, he also had to contend with that nosy and insufferable toad, Umbridge. Now, his pupil had better things to do when he had so graciously offered his own time and invited her into his own home, such as it is. "Miss Granger," he began. "You assured me that you were committed to your training, and now only a few weeks in, you need to what, reschedule?"

The girl had enough sense to look embarrassed. "Yes, I'm so sorry. I would change it if I could, I just can't."

"I will need a lot more of an explanation, Granger." Snape threw back at her.

"I can't, sir," she repeated.

"And here I thought you trusted me," he mocked. "That didn't last long, now did it?"

"No, sir, I mean. Yes, I do trust you. That isn't the issue." Hermione said earnestly.

"Oh, really and just what is the issue?" Severus's patience was wearing thin.

"I can't really say. Well, unless you make a commitment not to repeat it, and I don't want to ask that of you. I do trust you. I really, really do. Can't you just try to trust me for once?" She looked across to him from "her" chair by the fire.

Severus considered this for a moment. He knew the girl wasn't one to waste her own time, let alone his. Also, He wasn't an idiot. He had an idea of what she and Potter were up to. As much as he was loath to admit it. The students desperately needed defense training. They couldn't afford to lose another year to yet another incompetent DADA teacher, and Umbridge was certainly terminally incompetent. One could not learn defense through books alone. If these Gryffindors thought they could manage to teach some of the children under the toad's nose, then so much the better.

"Very well," Snape said after a few minutes of silence. "I will trust you." Hermione instantly smiled. "But," he continued. "If I am to humor you in "rescheduling", I will want something from you as well."

"Of course, sir. How can I help?" she said looking confused but deeply curious.

"We can change our meeting time to Thursday evenings. I believe you have rounds at 9 pm that evening, am I correct?" He looked over to the girl.

"Yes, I do," she responded.

"As to I," he continued. "You will come here at 6 pm. Since you are encroaching on my own duties, I will require you to grade exams and essays for my 1st and 2nd year students."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "Yes, sir, I'd love to help."

Again, the man rolled his eyes. "I imagined, you would. You may take your supper here while you grade. Afterwards we will continue in your studies until 9 pm."

"Thank you, sir! You have no idea; I so appreciate this. I really, really do," the girl was practically dancing in her seat.

"That will be enough, Miss Granger," he drawled. "I trust that now that this is settled, that you will be able to sufficiently focus on your studies for the rest of the evening?"

"Oh, yes of course, Professor," the witch happily responded.

"Then let's get back to it, shall we?" the girl nodded enthusiastically. "Then continue reading."

*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*

Much to his surprised, this new arrangement was quite convenient. Granger was as diligent as ever, and he'd allowed her to start grading his 3rd years. Having someone else do some of his more tedious duties was quite the luxury. Plus, the girl seemed to enjoy the work. Also, Longbottom had yet to melt his caldron so that was yet another advantage. He found that he enjoyed their Thursday meetings.

Hermione was steadily improving as the weeks went on. Soon she would be ready to move on from detecting an intrusion to deflecting them. She was halfway decent at keeping an intruder out, but needed to learn how to hide information without seeming to. It was a difficult skill to master, but he was confident that she would excel given time.

As much as he hated to admit it and against his better judgement, he was fond of the girl, even proud of her. Not that he'd tell her of course, that would be unseemly. Despite his solitary ways, he found her company pleasant. Hermione had taken to arriving at 5:30 pm so that they could eat their meal together before attending to coursework. They often spoke of whatever academic topic that had caught her fancy that week. She was a voracious learner and wholly unafraid of hard work. Which was good considering that he had no time for foolishness.

Despite himself he looked forward to Thursday nights. He'd never felt quite so invested in a student before. He'd, of course, heard his colleagues drone on and on about whatever star pupil they had that year. Hermione was often the subject of discussion amongst the professors considering her studious ways. It always seemed ridiculous to be so attached in a student, but he was beginning to understand the appeal. Not that anyone would ever catch him speaking fondly of the young witch at staff meetings. He had a reputation to maintain, after all.

All in all, he was glad he'd agreed to tutor Hermione. The world was getting darker by the day, and it was comforting to see that there was still light in it. He didn't feel like he deserved it, but was selfish enough to indulge all the same. He sometimes wondered if he'd had a child, if they would be like Hermione. If, by some miracle, he and Lily had…. No, that was one indulgence that he definitely didn't deserve. Not that he wanted children, of course…ever….but, if he did have one, he liked to imagine that they'd be a lot like Hermione Granger.