Severus Snape was right. Teaching the Potter brat was an absolute nightmare. The boy had no interest in learning, and he had no patience for laziness. It made teaching Hermione seem like a walk in the park compared to this. To make matters worse, the Dark Lord had been stepping up his plans, and that toad Umbridge was still lurking about causing trouble.

He came to dread his lessons with Potter as much as he came to look forward to his lessons with Granger. His meetings with her at least allowed him to catch up on his grading, and well, he did enjoy the girl's company. She'd been practicing over break, that much was evident, and she could now detect even more delicate intrusions. They often strategized on how best to teach Potter.

Much to his chagrin, Granger had started to gently scold him on his teaching methods. While that irritated him to no end, he really couldn't dispute her accusations. She wasn't wrong. He'd been a spy for most of his adult life. It required a great deal of cunning and control, but all of that was lost when he was near Potter. He knew it stemmed from his past, from Lily, from those damned Marauders. He was forced to deal with Lupin and Black at each Order meeting and Pettigrew when he was summoned to the Dark Lord. On top of all that, he now also had to contend with Bellatrix Lastrange. That was one harpy that he would have gladly never seen again.

He was frustrated with himself, so he allowed Hermione to scold him, if only to assuage his guilt somewhat. He was well aware that if the boy managed to make any type of progress it would be thanks to her. He knew he was failing abysmally. He was being pulled in so many directions, that he felt as if he may break apart at any moment. He had to start pulling himself together. For Merlin's sake, he was an adult, and yet the children were doing a better job than him at preparing for war. For all that Potter neglected his training, he was working hard teaching the other students defense against the dark arts in secret. What was he doing? Moping like an adolescent, while children take the lead?

He resolved to help where he was able. Since Potter couldn't keep him from invading his mind, Snape had a clear view of the lessons the boy taught. He was impressed, although he had no intention of sharing that. There was still a lot the boy had to learn, but he thought he had a way to help out in that regard. He just needed to run the idea by Hermione.

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

"Miss Granger," he began. Hermione looked up from the essay she was grading. "I don't need you to confirm this, but I am aware of your Monday night meetings."

Hermione's eyes went wide in alarm. She opened her mouth to speak, but Snape raised his hand to halt her. "As I said, I don't need confirmation, I already know. I have no intention of turning you in. In fact, I would like to offer my assistance."

Hermione frowned, "H-how did you find out?"

"You weren't always as adept as you are now at hiding your thoughts," he explained. "Mister Potter, on the other hand has never been adept at it, and I have a very clear idea of what you are doing. I also suspect that you cannot speak of it to others, is that correct."

Hermione nodded. "Good, it's wise to be cautious, especially in these trying times."

"How could you help if we can't discuss the subject?" the witch asked.

"Simply," he responded. "I get the information I need from Potter without him betraying whatever oath he took, and then I can teach you how to improve on your training. There are many spells, charms and hexes that could prove most valuable. I can teach them to you and then you, in turn, can teach them to your friends."

"You'd do that for us?" Granger looked hopeful.

"Of course, it was my idea, was it not?" he questioned.

The girl smiled brightly at him, and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he'd made the right decision.

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

So, his lessons with Granger changed to include defense training. It was easy enough for her to pass on what she learned. No one questioned a know-it-all. Everyone just assumed that she'd read it in some book or another. She learned quickly and with Potter's help was able to improve the other children's defensive skills.

They began meeting twice a week. On Tuesday evenings, they discussed Potter's progress or lack there of and then had defense training. On Thursdays they maintained their old routine of a meal, grading and occlumency. He had begun teaching her how to direct her thoughts in order to distract and mislead intruders. He was proud of the girl, so very proud. It made training Potter almost bearable. Almost.

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

The tedious mellow drama in Potter's head was unbearable. He had no desire to wade through endless Quidditch strategies, adolescent infatuations, and all the bluster and pomp of the self-absorbed boy. It was enough to give a wizard a headache. The boy lacked focus. Even with Hermione's outside coaching, Potter's occlumency skills were as non-existent as the day they started. They both found the whole effort pointless and a waste of time. Unfortunately for the them, Dumbledore didn't agree with that assessment.

"Professor, would you mind delivering this for me?" Hermione's voice was almost timid.

Severus looked up from his meal, drawn from his musings. "What's this now?"

"It's the letter, sir. For the elves, you said you would deliver it to them." She looked at him expectantly then continued. "Um…that is…..unless you've changed your mind, of course. I would understand if you did, I'm sure…."

Snape brought his hand up in a now familiar motion to stop her ramble. He then reached out to take the letter. "May I?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, please. I'd appreciate your insight," the witch said enthusiastically.

The wizard quickly read through the letter. It was blessedly only one page long. The prose was a little too flowery for his taste and probably for the elves as well, but it was earnest and sincere. "This will work," he said after a moment. "I will deliver it to Bilby later this evening."

"Oh, thank you, sir!" She smiled so brightly that he almost felt the warmth of it in his own heart. It was a peculiar feeling, but pleasant enough.

"It is no trouble, Miss Granger. I see Bilby often. It is but a simple matter to hand it off. "The wizard said dismissively.

"Even so, sir. Thank you. It means a lot," she pressed.

"Hmmph," he hummed noncommittally and returned his attention to his plate. Hermione, still smiling, happily returned to her plate as well.

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

"Have you heard anything?" Hermione asked as soon as Severus had opened the door to his chambers.

"No, Miss Granger," he drawled. It had been two weeks since he'd handed off the witch's apology and no response had been given. The girl was a bundle of nerves. Not only was she concerned by the elves' silence, the OWLS were quickly approaching. She was revising like mad. She had pushed her housemates to study so often, that half would no longer speak to her and went out of their way to avoid the persistent little witch.

Hermione removed her outer robe and hung it on a hook by the door. "Do you think I should do something else? Perhaps I should have apologized in person. Maybe I could stop by the kitchen….."

"I think we both know that would not be appreciated, Miss Granger." Snape interrupted. "They will respond, or they will not. It will do no good to pressure them. Be patient."

"Easy for you to say," Hermione grumbled.

Severus let the cheek slide as he handed her a book. "We are going to study something a little different today," he announced.

"No defense training then?" the witch questioned.

"No, but this is just as valuable." He responded.

The girl looked down at the book. "The Wild Witch & Wizard's Guide for Health & Healing," she read.

"This was my mother's book. It's a staple in many wizarding families. A basic, let's say…book of home remedies and self-care methods. It may seem simple, but the information in this book has saved my life on more than one occasion," he explained.

"Knowing basic triage and first aid can be as vital in battle as shields and hexes. I've seen men die before healers could be summoned. A simple bonding spell can sometimes be the difference between life and death."

They both sat in their chairs in front of the fire as Severus started his lesson. Hermione listened with rapt attention, taking copious notes. They were deep into a discussion on the proper way to set a broken bone, when a folded note on top of a silver plate popped into being on top of the coffee table, addressed to Hermione.

She reached out for it with trembling fingers. They both knew exactly who had sent the missive. Hermione slowly unfolded the note, then let out a gasping sob. Severus sat up quickly at her reaction. "Miss Granger?" he enquired when the girl remained quiet. The witch looked up at him, face beaming despite the tears. That bright smile on her face once again as she handed the note to her professor. It only contained two words.

"Apology Accepted".