The Great Hall was filled with the usual chatter as Hermione walked through the tall oak doors. Every student sat eating cheerfully gossiping about different things that had passed around the school. They talked about the sudden changes in people because of the end of the war, the hiring of Professor Lupin, and the general teenage rumors that spread normally from ear to ear.
Hermione walked down the center isle with her robes loosely flapping at her sides to seat herself next to Harry and Ron. Ginny sat calmly across the table watching Hermione as she sat down. A curious look of respect was etched on her face.
"What is it Ginny?" Hermione asked as she filled her plate with some lunch.
"Well, nothing, I just noticed, well…."Ginny fiddled with her lunch a bit before continuing. "You have matured a bloody hell of a lot over the summer. I was wondering if it was for a specific reason." Ginny blushed trying to hide what she really wanted to ask.
"Ginny, life just goes on. No more stress over the Dark Lord, no more worries of fighting in a big battle, all there is, is life itself now. So, I guess that is my reason. Is that it?" Hermione took a bite of her lunch and flashed a smile at Ginny before chewing her food.
Ginny set her fork down, which she had been stabbing her food with mindlessly, and seemed to gather some courage.
"Good, I have heard some rumors and I really didn't know if they were true. It's good that you have changed. I mean, well, there was nothing wrong with you before, just…o bloody hell, I think I just put my foot in my mouth." Ginny sat back seemingly having lost her courage. Hermione almost choked on her drink. She chuckled a bit.
"It's ok Ginny. Thank you for the compliment." She smiled again and listened as Harry and Ron started a conversation on Quiditch that she did not want to join in. Ginny had stopped eating and pulled out a copy of The Daily Prophet. Hermione eyed it thoughtfully. It had been a while since she had read an issue.
"Ginny, do you mind if I borrow that?" Ginny nodded her head and handed the paper over. Hermione scooted a little further away from the boys talking next to her. Before she could get it open to even read the front cover, Ginny nudged her under the table. Hermione looked back up at her friend across the table. Ginny leaned over the table a bit and softly whispered in Hermione's ear.
"OK, just curious. There is a rumor about you and Snape getting together because you both have changed so drastically over the summer. Is it true?" Ginny sat back slowly. Hermione cracked a smile and shook her head.
"Why would you think that?" She whispered back.
"Well, he is staring at you right now, and I just was curious." Ginny leaned back just in time to be prodded in the arm by her once-again boyfriend, Dean. She turned and abruptly left her conversation with Hermione to start a new one with him.
Hermione thought for a moment and turned slowly just in time to catch her 'new and improved' potions master quickly go back to eating. He had been looking in her direction. She sat and watched him for a moment. He was awfully handsome now. She watched as some of his hair hung lazily over his forehead a bit as he took a bite of the chicken on his plate. Something made her think that there was always something about him that attracted her. He was mysterious, brave, and charming in his own sarcastic way. Her eyes wondered to his arm as he picked up his goblet and slowly took a drink. His muscles intrigued her where his rolled up sleeves showed off his arms. She realized he no longer had the Dark mark. Most likely because of Voldemort's unchangeable death. She watched him out of the corner of her eye until she realized she was staring. She quickly looked back to the paper in front of her. Opening it up, she began to read.
Snape looked at his plate of food for a moment after Hermione had turned his direction. He hoped she didn't notice his staring. He just could not get over how much she had changed. Guys seemed to not be able to take their eyes off of her. He rolled the fork in his fingers before taking a bite of food. He continued to eat until he felt he would surly be able to last the rest of the day, or at least till dinner, with no other food. He sat back in his chair thinking to himself. His eyes gazed out into the Great Hall. He could understand how Hermione had been curious to see what it was like to watch all the students. He enjoyed it because of the power it made him feel.
His eyes slowly moved back to the Gryffindor table. Hermione was sitting calmly reading a paper. Her hair fell loosely across her shoulder and she had her head tilted to the side to avoid it falling in front of her face. He then again thought of her maturity. She was an adult in a sea of children, he thought to himself. Her mind and mannerisms were that of a thirty year old. She was too mature for guys her age. He thought greedily for a moment about how she deserved someone better than any of the guys in her year. He has taught all of them, and no one matched her intellect.
He slowly rose from his seat and pulled on his robe. He glided down the center isle still sending students cowering at a glance, his robes billowing in his wake. He walked past Hermione in her spot at the Gryffindor table and nodded as she glanced up from her paper, obviously sensing someone passing by her. She smiled back and went back to reading. Snape now had to get down to the dungeons to start brewing the various potions needed by Madame Pomfrey.
Hermione walked to the potions classroom in a slow manner. The only thing she had with her besides her robes, was her wand. It stuck carelessly out of her robes pocket and she stood in front of the classroom door. She knocked once and heard a crisped 'Enter' from inside. She opened the door slowly and found it was empty of all desks besides the ones bordering the room. In the center were a few tables with cauldrons perched on the top, some smoldering over a flame. She looked around in search of Professor Snape and found him in the corner searching through a cabinet.
"Good Afternoon Miss Granger." He walked leisurely over to the tables in the center and set down some ingredients on the tables. He looked up at Hermione at her spot by the closed door and smirked. "Would you like to come help me, or just stand there for the rest of the afternoon?"
Hermione caught a glimpse of pure amusement in his eyes. She walked over to the table and just set her wand aside, knowing full well she would not need it here.
"Well, what would you like me to do?" She asked calmly looking at the ingredients.
"I would like you to begin by brewing some blood replenishing potions. Some accidents on the Quiditch pitch have left the infirmary in short supply, mostly because of my house." He added with a snort. He pointed Hermione in the direction of a large cauldron on the center of the table. He watched for a second as she headed over to the cauldron and looked at the ingredients on the side and thought for a moment to make sure she remembered how to brew it. He turned back to the cabinets once he realized she was getting started.
Hermione set to work right off the bat. She started chopping the right ingredients and added them into the boiling water in the cauldron. She followed all the directions until there came a point where she had to let it simmer for fifteen minutes. She relaxed a bit and sat on a stool next to the wall and waited. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment before realizing she was not alone in the room. Her brown eyes focused on the man near her. He was working busily on a potion on the adjacent table. His hair was falling loosely around his head, his sleeves were rolled up, and the top of his shirt was slightly unbuttoned because of the heat in the room. His Roman nose has a small bead of sweat running along the bridge. Hermione thought briefly of how she would like to place a kiss on his nose before realizing who she was thinking about.
Her fifteen minutes was up rather abruptly and she almost fell off her stool in the process of returning to her potion. Snape snorted softly.
"You didn't see that." She muttered, almost to herself.
"Nothing was seen." Snape smiled to himself as he started stirring his potion.
Hermione straightened herself out and was back into her potion in mere seconds. She still had a while to go. It was a large batch, and needed some time to brew.
Snape finished with his potion and corked in the flasks he had on the table. He labeled them and set them on his desk in the front of the classroom. He wiped his brow with his sleeve and walked over to take a brake. He leaned against the wall near the stool Hermione had been sitting on and watched her work
Her hair was pulled back loosely from around her face. She had removed her robes long ago to not spill anything on them and he was glad for that. He knew his thoughts were bordering on wrong, but she was legal and she was mature. Her sleeves were rolled up around her elbows and she had unbuttoned her blouse slightly to get rid of some heat. She blew a stray hair out of her face and went back to chopping some ingredients. He watched her a moment longer and couldn't take his eyes off of the woman she had become. She looked rather untidy but gorgeous.
For a brief second, Hermione looked up and caught his eye. They locked eyes for a moment before she blushed and went back to working. Could that have really happened? She thought to herself. She could have sworn she saw longing in his eyes.
They continued to brew their separate potions into the evening. She had skipped dinner to brew another batch of blood replenishing potion and had finished up in record time. Instead of the silence in the beginning, there was talk and laughter. Hermione had never thought her potions teacher could be so witty, but he was rather clever and sarcastic and it made her laugh. Snape even eyed her with some respect of her knowledge and views. It was surprising, but Hermione had fun, and Snape had to admit, he had fun as well. She sat on the stool, trying to cool off as Snape cleaned up and leaned next to her against the wall. They were in silence for a moment.
"I would like to thank you Miss Granger for your help. It has been greatly appreciated, as was the company and conversation." He turned to her and smiled genuinely.
"It has been my pleasure. Thank you for offering me the chance to brush up on some other potions. I have had fun." She smiled back and heaved a sigh.
"Well, since we both had so much fun, would you mind coming back and helping me some more, same time tomorrow? I would be glad to have you down here." He shrugged.
"Sure, Professor. I would be glad to come." She hopped off the stool and picked up her robe and wand. Her shirt was un-tucked and slightly unbuttoned so she decided to throw on her robes to hide her untidy appearance. She smiled over at Snape standing where he was against the wall. "See you tomorrow Professor Snape, Good night."
She caught a small 'Good night Miss Granger' as she headed out the door and down the hall. She could not wait for tomorrow. That was stimulating and fun for once and she enjoyed every minute of it. Just being in his presence like that made her feel warm and safe and even hungry with desire. His voice filled her ears as she headed up to the Head's Common Room. She smiled to herself at some of the jokes they had made.
As she entered the common room, she barely noticed Draco sitting in the corner of the room eyeing her suspiciously. She was startled by a brisk voice.
"It looks like you have had a fun time with Snape this after noon Granger. It seems I may have been right about his like for girls in tight clothing." He smirked as she halted and turned around. She glared at him from across the room.
"Malfoy, sod off. I don't want to even hear your voice right now. Snape isn't as perverted as you; so, keep your weird fantasies to yourself." Her hair was out of its ponytail and draped her shoulders beautifully. Her robes hung open to give away her very untidy outfit. Draco was amazed by her looks. She had changed and he would have to do something about that.
Before she could get to her door, Hermione was shoved up against the wall with Draco's arms on either side of her head. He was a mere foot away from here.
"You know mudblood? Your appearance isn't the only thing that has changed. You attitude has become like that of a Slytherin. I think I might have to just do something about that little change of yours. It is getting me all worked up." Draco sneered at her.
"Well, maybe another time, because I am a little tired right now." Hermione was tired of this and didn't want to handle it right then. She ducked out of his arms and headed up the stairs to her dorm with Draco's eyes cutting into her back. She would handle that later. She barely heard a small reply as she shut the door to her room and got ready for bed.
"This isn't over Granger." Draco grinned and slid back onto the couch in clear thought of things to come.