Disclaimer: Not mine…
Severus stared into the cauldron pensively, the headache building steadily behind his eyes making him more irritated with the incorrect color of the potion he was experimenting with. While he was working towards an ultimate goal of iridescent blue, the sludge of a potion he had created was a dull brown. Sending his failure to destruction with a flick of his wrist, he stalked into his office angrily and sat heavily behind his desk. Rubbing the bridge of his nose thoughtfully, he wondered if he had some subconscious perverse pleasure in leaving his headaches untreated. He was a Potions Master after all, he probably could manage the effort to create a simple headache potion. Granted, his dismal failure today might suggest otherwise.
Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes and tried to relax, although the gods choose only to mock him. The owl tapping impatiently on his window he ignored on principle. However, the insistent banging on his door was a little harder to push aside, although that didn't mean he wouldn't give it his every effort. Yet because of what others would call Slytherin paranoia, and what he would call simply common sense, a thousand and one different scenarios ran through his head. What if his Slytherins had caused some trouble in the common room? What if Longbottom had managed the inconceivable achievement of blowing some one up outside of class? What if… The flaring of the fireplace in front of him interrupted his thoughts quickly. None other than Albus Dumbledore stepped nimbly through his fireplace. The headmaster then proceeded to ignore Severus' best efforts at a death inducing stare and walked from the room to open the class room door. A few minutes later Albus, accompanied by Miss Granger, entered the room. Albus gestured her to take a seat and walked over to retrieve the letter from the still tapping owl, continuing to ignore Severus.
"Well my boy, it seems like you are quite difficult to get in touch." Albus choose a chair thoughtfully, twinkling over at the brooding younger man. "You do seem to be quite popular these days…"
A strangled laugh escaped from Granger's lips as she fought the incredulousness of the situation. Severus shot her a dark look but it didn't erase the soft smirk from her lips. Apparently the girl found some courage in having the Headmaster there for support.
"To what honor do I receive this most agreeable visit, Headmaster?" His voice was velvet acid, the pounding behind his eyes increased to blinding stabs.
"I came down to talk to you, Severus, and had the pleasure to run into Miss Granger on my way down to the dungeons."
Granger had the sense to send an apologetic smile towards her professor. "Our first meeting was supposed to be tonight… sir." She seemed to struggle with the decision to say something, glancing hesitantly at Dumbledore. "Professor, would you like me to go to Madame Pomfrey for a headache remedy?"
The only sign of his surprise was the immediate rise of his eyebrow. He was about to snap at her, until he saw the infernal twinkle glowing brighter than ever in Albus' eyes. It would give me a chance to talk to Albus in peace, he sighed. "If you could Miss Granger, it would be… appreciated."
The strangled thanks brought a becoming pink blush to her cheeks. She nodded quickly and headed from the room.
Hermione made her way out of Professor Snape's office quickly, her robes flapping gently against her legs. It was the Tuesday after the Hogsmeade trip that had allowed the group of girls to meet and talk about the Plan. Since that day, Hermione had been dutifully writing in her diary each night. The diary's proposal was that she quickly arrange her project meetings with Snape and use them as a way to show she wasn't a child. So Monday after Potions, she had given Professor Snape the outline of her free time and they had both agreed on tonight as their first meeting.
She was slightly concerned by his apparent neglect to remember their scheduled meeting, but she was more concerned about the lines of pain around his eyes. Walking quickly towards the Hospital Ward, she allowed her mind to wander. Tonight she had to make sure she didn't act like a child in front of him. She had stayed up late the night before adding more detail to her already comprehensive notes. The last thing she wanted to do tonight was embarrass herself further. Already he probably thought she had the maturity and intelligence of a four year old, tonight was the night she could make up for lost ground. Sighing to herself as she entered the ward, she wondered what the Headmaster had come to talk to Severus about. But then again, that was probably something she would have to stop. Her incessant questioning and need to know 'why' was another habit of hers that annoyed her professor. So Hermione, she admonished herself silently, try not to berate him with a thousand questions. Her quick call in the empty ward had Madame Pomfrey bustling out of her office, a frown on her face.
"Miss Granger, not breaking any more school rules are we?" Her lips were pursed, her voice stern.
"No ma'am… I came here to get a headache remedy for Professor Snape." Honestly, she thought to herself, a girl turns herself into a cat once and she's labeled as a troublemaker for the rest of her years. She fought the amused smile that tried to bloom on her face.
The school nurse's expression immediately softened. "That man…" She murmured under her breath disapprovingly as she walked back to her office. Walking out a few moments later, Hermione recognized the familiar headache remedy in one hand, but the other potion the nurse held was unfamiliar. Pomfrey must have noticed the look of curiosity on Hermione's face, because her expression grew stern once again. "Just make sure he drinks both of them. Some one has to make sure he takes care of himself…" The last statement was said to herself after she handed the two bottles to Hermione and walked back to her office, her shoes clicking on the stone floor.
Hermione watched her walk away before she made her way quickly back to the Potions classroom, the matron's words echoing in her mind. She imagined the nurse, although not a member of the Order, had taken care of Snape more then once when he returned from a Death Eater's meeting in need of medical assistance. Once again she was struck with how dangerous and unjust Snape's life had been and still was. Even with Voldemort gone, Snape was still treated with suspicion. Her footsteps were the only sound as she made her way down to the dungeons, entering the Potions classroom with a courage she had never felt before when entering the room.
"Professor Snape?" She called out, wanting to give him the privacy of he was still talking with the headmaster.
"In here, Miss Granger." His voice sounded resigned.
When she entered his office, she was surprised to find him alone. "Here you are sir." She carefully put the two vials down on his desk and sat down, keeping her mouth shut against the questions she wished she could ask.
Snape watched her speculatively, that damned eyebrow raised in what might be amusement. She could tell he was waiting for a barrage of questions and the last thing she would do was give in. Uncorking the bottles and drinking both quickly, he still watched her silently, with those glittering dark eyes. When she refused to speak, instead only staring back at him with wide brown eyes, he decided to end the silence.
"The first potion, as you should have recognized, was a standard headache remedy. The second potion…" He noticed how her eyes glowed with excitement, that familiar eagerness to learn. "Is a remedy I myself created, although I fail to understand why that woman would think I have none in my stores." Shaking his head, he leaned against his desk, his arms crossed over his chest. "The potion was created to combat the effects of multiple exposures to curses." Her eyes widened in understanding. "Although I suffer no serious damage from my exposure over the years to the Dark Lord's Cruciatus when I begin to become rundown in energy, I find myself experiencing some of the… minor side effects." The girl simply nodded sadly, although thankfully she continued to stay silent.
He nodded, thankful that conversation was out of the way. Albus had warned him to be nice to the girl and help her any way he could. Which was Albus' way of subtly telling him to be nice… or else. Sighing, he pushed himself off the desk and walked towards his private lab. If he was going to spend hours helping this girl, it would be in a comfortable place. "This way Miss Granger, I'm waiting to be stunned by your intelligence." It was somewhat disconcerting to him, that his voice seemed to lose its usual acerbic edge when he spoke to Granger and that the girl was smiling at his uncharacteristically teasing tone.
Hermione followed him, trying not to blush at Snape's slightly teasing tone. Following him quietly, she looked around in curiosity when they walked through Snape's private rooms to reach his labs. Although the room was dark, Hermione had a sense of space and rich decorations. She wished she could study it further, but from what she saw, she could at least defend Snape against the rumor that he lived in a spider webbed coffin. Sighing softly, her eyes widened in surprise when she entered the lab. It was a room that every potions experimenter dreamed of. Every possible tool Hermione could imagine needing was set up carefully around the room.
"Will this settings suit your needs, Miss Granger?" That eyebrow was raised again, but Hermione was beginning to grow attached to that expression of amusement.
"Yes sir, this is…" She let out a breath, searching for the right word.
"Your silence tells me more than any words you could say." With a quick gesture and soft saying, the fireplace flamed to life as well as the sconces throughout the room. "So Miss Granger, let us discuss this plan of yours." He sat down gracefully, all the while watching her with an indecipherable expression.
Hermione had a moment of panic, thinking that maybe he had found out about the Plan. But when common sense returned, she realized he was simply talking about her seventh year project. "Sir, I was hoping we could talk about those ethical concerns you mentioned before?"
AN: Sorry if this isn't the most amazingly exciting chapter, but I wanted to get something out because it's been awhile (delay definitely from work). I will try to get out another chapter soon and I promise it will be more exciting (and longer). Thank you all who have reviewed, you guys are amazing and it's wonderful to know you like my work.