AN: Sorry it's been so long! I've been inter railing in Europe – hard to write and update when you don't even know were you're going to be the next day. =) But here goes!

Chapter Nine

The Dangers of Potions Class

It was three weeks to day of Hermione's coming to Hogwarts when she sat down for breakfast a little later than usual – Snape had already eaten and cleared off – and saw that she had three letters waiting for her on the chair she usually sat on while dining in the Great Hall. She frowned slightly before scooping them up so that she could sit down. Without looking at them, she grabbed a piece of buttered toast which she wolfed down quickly, realizing by the scarce amount of students in the Hall just how late she was actually running. When she had eaten and had had a cup of tea she finally looked at the letters. Deep down she already knew who they were from, but she had hoped to be wrong. She saw Ginny's cursive handwriting and took a deep breath as she opened the envelope. The letter was short and straight to the point.

Hermione, I don't think I've ever been so angry with you! That you don't even possess the courtesy to answer my letter goes beyond my understanding. Keep this up and you won't be allowed at my wedding!

Hermione let out an uncharacteristic snort at the last sentence. Harry hadn't even proposed yet and here Ginny was saying that she, Harry's best friend and closest thing he had to a sister, wouldn't be invited. Like Harry ever would allow that. She set Ginny's letter aside and reached for the next one. Molly's loopy handwriting. Hermione sighed, already dreading the hurt and confusion she would find in this letter.

Why haven't you answered my letter or come by to explain the situation, Hermione? I am most shocked and hurt by your behavior, I always expected more of you than this. I have seen you as a child of my very own and for the first time since I've known you I am sad to say that I am disappointed in you. I never thought there would come a day when I'd disappointed, hurt and confused when it came to you. But that day is now here. – Molly

Hermione inhaled sharply as she blinked away the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Oh, how she hated to be doing this to Molly! But there was nothing she could do to avoid it. Snape said it was for the better, for the time being. She had to regain her magical ability before she could go to Weasley's. She couldn't leave Hogwarts unprepared. The last letter was from – Hermione gulped – Ron.

My dearest Hermione, please come home. I can't cope without you. The days have no meaning, while the nights are darker than ever. As you are the light of my life, I can't expect anything but the nights to be dreary and pitch black without you. I need you with me. Everything is falling apart. I understand now how important Potions are to you, and I promise I won't try to stop you from getting your degree – but I want you to continue with the class you've already been taking. As I said, I need you home. And if you don't come home soon, I'll come to Hogwarts and get you. Rest assured that I will. All my love, Ron

Hermione knew that she didn't have anything to fear – as long as she was inside the castle, Ronald Weasley wouldn't be able to touch her. But after reading his manipulative letter, she was not thinking rationally. She remembered thinking that he must have gotten help from Ginny in an attempt to sound poetic (the days have no meaning, while the nights are darker than ever. As you are the light of my life, I can't expect anything but the nights to dreary and pitch black without you – as if Ron would have come up with that on his own) when she had been in the process of reading the letter, but now the same old fear of Ron hurting her took over her mind. She grabbed the letters and took of down corridor towards the Dungeons. Snape would be starting his seventh year N.E.W.T class, but she didn't care at the moment. Not one bit. She just needed to be with someone that she felt safe with. She wouldn't be surprised if Ron came sooner rather than later, fully understanding that she wouldn't come home willingly.

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Snape looked up when he heard the door to his classroom open, ready to give an earful to whoever it was disrupting his class. When he saw Hermione, he frowned, knowing that she would never bother him like this unless there was some kind of emergency. She looked frightened and he stopped mid sentence, being at her side in less than five strides. He didn't have to wait long for her to tell him what was wrong. She handed him a letter which he immediately read, his frown deepening as he did. When he was done, he met her gaze and he knew before she said anything what she would ask him.

"Can I stay here?" she wondered quietly, just loud enough for him to hear her. "I won't be in your way."

Snape hesitated for a second. Then he noticed her lower lip tremble, the shaking of her hands and shallowness of her breath. She was more frightened than he had seen her since their first lesson. How could he send her away when her fear was evident all over her face and body? He nearly sighed deeply in frustration – what was it about this girl that made him... care so much? Finally, he gave her a curt nod and saw her tensed shoulders drop in relief. He turned back to the class.

"My apprentice will observe this lesson and assist you with the dangerous items needed for this potion," he said in a no-nonsense type of voice. "Begin."

Snape turned back towards the young woman to fill her in on the lesson she had interrupted.

"They are brewing Exploding Fluid," he said with a small wince. "For some reason, it has never been taken off the standard syllabus for seventh year N.E.W.T classes – I have been on the board to get rid of it for years. There is nearly always an accident."

"How long has it been on the syllabus?" Hermione wondered in curiosity. "And why is it on there to start with?"

Snape swept a watchful eye over the room before he answered her, making sure that everyone was doing what they were supposed to and wasn't watching them.

"It was placed on the syllabus during Grindewald's reign – it was brewed by seventh years and then distributed to families where only one spouse could use magic. This was done until a five year old boy found a vial and blew the whole house up."

Hermione let out a small gasp and he just looked at her for a moment before he continued.

"The ingredients in this potion are all dangerous and highly unstable – it contains fluid from Erumpent horn for Merlin's sake! Yet the school board does not see it fitting to take the time to deal with the syllabus for any of the Potions classes taught at this school," Snape finished, glowering slightly at the board members stupidity and laziness.

Hermione was about to leave it that when she realized that she had no brewed this potion in her seventh year and thus she voiced the "why not?" question out loud. Snape winced slightly, almost dreading her reaction to his answer.

"You were not the only Gryffindor in my seventh year class that year," he told her carefully. "Somehow Longbottom managed to get an O in his Potions O.W.L and therefor he was permitted into my class. I took a spur of the moment decision and let you brew Murtlap Essence instead."

Hermione's eyes had narrowed more and more during his answer. By the time he was finished they were narrowed into tiny slits.

"Are you telling me," Hermione hissed quietly, "that you left out this potion in fear of the possibility that Neville Longbottom might have blown up the classroom?"

Snape sighed and gave her a tired look.

"Did I not just say that the ingredients of this potions are highly unstable? The Erumpent horn alone could kill the entire seventh year class in the explosion alone! It also contains a high dosage of concentrated amatoxin, a poison from what we commonly know as the death cap mushroom – ingest even one drop of the liquid and you are in danger of dying. It's only after it has simmered for three hours that the toxin is neutralized."

He paused for a slight second, giving her some time to process what he was telling her.

"I did not want to take the risk of brewing this potion with Longbottom, solely for the fact that once or twice each lesson he dropped something on the floor, things jumped out of his hands – imagine what would have happened if that one thing he dropped that lesson would have been Erumpent fluid."

Hermione silently considered what he was saying. She knew she couldn't argue with the reasons for why he had not let them brew this potion – she vividly remembered Neville's clumsy and aloof manner in general. She sighed in defeat.

"I understand your reasoning, Professor."

"Good," Snape said with a curt nod. "Now may I ask you to go read the instructions for this potion and then see if anyone requires your assistance?"

Hermione merely nodded and then grabbed one of the seventh year potion books on the shelf behind his desk. The potion was not difficult to brew, she noticed, but just as Snape had said, it contained several unstable ingredients. What was the idiotic board members thinking, keeping this potion on the syllabus? She read the entire recipe three times so that she knew it by heart and then she sprung to her feet, ready to be of assistance if someone needed it. Most of the students had gotten to the point where they were adding the amatoxin, and they were all wearing protective glasses and gloves. As Hermione got to the end of the working bench, she saw that the boy's potion was still light blue instead of bright green as he lifted his hand to add the amatoxin. She hurried forward and firmly gripped his wrist before he dipped the small vial the whole way.

"Hey!" he yelled as he tried to shake her off, the amatoxin bouncing around dangerously inside the vial.

"Stop it, you idiot, before you ruin your potion!" Hermione exclaimed, feeling so annoyed that she didn't hear herself call the boy an idiot.

Snape was at their side in an instant. He gave the potion a glance and then noticed what Hermione had prevented the dimwitted Ackerley from Ravenclaw add to his potion.

"Professor, tell her to let my hand go!" Ackerley demanded indignantly.

"I will only allow her to let your hand go when tilt the vial you are holding in the opposite direction and when you come to realize that you would have ruined your potion had she not interfered."

Ackerley's eyes narrowed, but tilted the vial the other way. Hermione immediately let go of his wrist and gave him such a glowering look that Snape almost felt a bit of pride.

"Read the fourth line on the board out loud for me, if you please, Mr Ackerley," Snape said coldly.

Ackerley sighed and turned his eyes to the board.

"'... the potion should now be light blue. Stir clockwise three times and the potion will turn to green. Add the amatoxin.'"

The boy finished reading the line and winced as he looked back to his potion. It was light blue. How could he have missed that?

"I believe an apology and a 'thank you' to Miss Granger is required before you return to your potion," Snape sneered at him and then strode off to the other side of the room to watch over the other students.

Stewart Ackerley shot Hermione a sheepish look.

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding sincere enough for Hermione to rethink that he wasn't so arrogant as she first had thought. "And thank you. Thank you very much for spotting my mistake."

Hermione just looked at him for a moment before she nodded her head, giving him a small smile. He then turned back to his potion and Hermione continued pacing around the room.

"Isn't it sad how some N.E.W.T students aren't fit to be in this class?" a fair-haired, handsome boy said softly as she stopped a moment by his desk, watching him stir his by now deep green potion – he had a very easy and fluid movement.

Her eyes snapped up to meet his at his comment and she found herself looking into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. They were light blue, almost icy. She couldn't decide if she liked them or not. She found it hard to believe that they could ever contain any warmth.

"Everyone makes mistakes," Hermione countered. "It is what the process of learning is all about."

The boy huffed.

"You make a mistake in this classroom and someone might get hurt," he said as he unstoppered the tiny vial she knew contained the Erumpent fluid.

She turned around, too tired to bothered with him anymore.

"Lucky that we have you to look after us today," she heard him say before he patted her gently, but very decidedly on her bum, earning a few snickers from his friends.

Hermione started in shock and then twirled around on the spot, anger blazing in her eyes.

"How dare you...!"

She didn't get any further. When she had whirled around, she hadn't been fully aware of that her hands had been flying around. The moment she faced him was the same moment she knocked the vial of Erumpent fluid out of the boy's hand. It flew up in the air and twisted around to the point that the fluid started prickle out. The boy quickly saw what was going to happen and threw himself in the opposite direction as he yelled "GET DOWN!". Hermione, who did not quite have all her wits, being so angry and humiliated as she was, was not as quick. Some of the fluid landed on the bench, on the floor, on her skin and every time drops of the fluid made impact, there was a tiny explosion that left a black mark, or in Hermione case, a nasty flesh wound that stung incredibly.

Snape had by now realized that something was very wrong in the other corner of the room. He strode over towards the commotion, but was still too far away when the vial, still containing three-fourths of what it had from the start, landed in the potion. Erumpent fluid, along with blowing up on impact, did not react well with heat. For this potion, only three drops were needed, and they had to be added one at a time, five minutes apart. So when the potion got the equivalent of forty drops all in one go, it did the only thing it could do – it exploded with a loud POOOF. Snape reacted quicker than what could be considered faster than humanly possible by freezing the potion and containing it in a bubble-like sphere before it splattered over the entire room. Most students had heard the warning from the boy and had quickly ducked down behind or under their working stations. Hermione, however...

She was completely dazed by the ear-shattering explosion and was breathing heavily. After a moment she licked her lips, as she had felt that they were sticky and moist at the same time. A bitter taste filled her whole mouth and she swallowed in an attempt to get rid of it. She felt her throat burn painfully. What the...? And then she suddenly realized what the moistness on her lips had been – the potion. She gasped in terror. Snape's eyes locked with hers for a full second before she quite suddenly started swaying. He rushed forward and by the time he reached her, she fainted in his arms – the last thing she saw before she fell unconscious was the terrified look in the Potion Master's eyes.

"Anyone who has gotten parts of the potion on themselves needs to be escorted to the infirmary immediately!" Snape bellowed. "Everyone out of here NOW and do not touch ANYTHING!"

The students scampered out and as soon as everyone had left the room, he scooped Hermione up in his arms and sealed the classroom with a complicated locking spell so that no one could get in beside him. He sent his doe Patronus ahead of him to inform Poppy that Hermione had ingested unfinished Explosion Fluid and then he rushed off as quickly as he could to the infirmary.

Poppy had already managed get out various potions which were neatly set up on a table with wheels on it. As soon as Snape entered, she levitated the young witch out of his arms and put her carefully on the bed. She waved her wand, running diagnostic spells, checking her pulse and blood levels and finally concluded:

"We have about three minutes before her heart stops," she said, trying to sound calm and professional even though a voice inside of her was screaming at to not start panicking as Hermione started twitching violently. "There's no time to administer the healing potions – together they work much too slowly."

Snape immediately reached inside his robes and pulled out the bezoar he always carried around with him. He gave it a weary look before he caught Poppy's eye.

"I was afraid you would say that," he murmured before he lifted Hermione up into a sitting position, pried her mouth open and shoved the stone as far down her throat as he could.

He gently messaged her throat until he felt her swallow the stone and then he put her back down on the pillow. Poppy kept a close watch on the new data the diagnostic spells were creating.

"The bezoar will work for the time being, but Severus... We have a long day before us if we are to save her life. How much of the potion entered her system?"

Snape closed his eyes to better recall the scene that had caused Hermione Granger to end up in infirmary. She had licked her lips – after that she had gotten that terrified look in her eyes and afterwards she fainted. But there was more to it. As she had been the closest to the potion, some of it had splattered on her skin. And not to forget, an almost full vial of Erumpent Fluid had landed in the potion. Who knew how much of the concentrated liquid had ended up in her system?

"I don't think the amatoxin is the main problem. This potion should have three drops of Erumpent Fluid... I can estimate that around forty drops landed in that potion. It's burning her, even though she only ingested a few drops. It splashed on her skin as well."

Poppy's eyes widened.

"Severus, I need you to floo Minerva – inform her of what has happened and have her floo the burn unit at St Mungo's. We are going to need a special device they have and we are going to need Minerva's permission. While you are gone, I'm going to bathe her thoroughly."

With one last look at the unconscious witch, Snape swirled out of the infirmary, clock billowing after him in true Snapish fashion.

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Later that evening, Snape was helplessly watching a machine of some sort control Hermione's breathing. Every second breath, it puffed out an almost clear smoke that the she greedily inhaled.

"It's a a mix of Murtlap Essence and ice particles," said the healer that had brought the machine over. "The Essence heals the cuts and wounds the Erumpent Fluid is creating from the inside, while the ice particles obviously deals with the intense burning. We can only administer Murtlap Essence for burns on the inside of the body if it is vaporized."

Snape had understood all of this without much trouble. The machine, however, was a mystery to him. It looked liked a muggle contraption, but it obviously didn't run on electricity since it worked without a problem even though they were inside Hogwarts.

"Oh, it is loosely based on a muggle invention that helps patients breath," the healer explained. "The tube you saw me put down her throat is something muggle doctors call intubation. We take no credit for that - however, the contraption that the tube is connected to, is purely magical."

Snape was about to ask what he meant by that, but at the same moment, Hermione started convulsing. The healer frowned in confusion, but Snape immediately understood.

"Poppy!" he shouted and a second later the matron from her office. "We need to administer the antidotes for the amatoxin now – this machine must have made the bezoar dissolve quicker than normally."

The Potion Master snapped his eyes to the healer.

"Take the tube out of her throat, now."

The healer shook his head.

"I can't do that – it hasn't filtered out the all fluid yet. If I take it out now, she might die."

"If we don't get those potions into her system as soon as possible, the amatoxin will kill her anyway!" Snape snarled furiously. "Get that tube out of her now!"

The healer hesitated and glanced at Poppy. When she nodded, he sighed in defeat and quickly got the tube out of Hermione's throat. As soon as it was out, Snape shoved the healer out of his way and held out his hand towards Poppy for the first potion. They worked quickly to get the potions down Hermione's throat and by the time they had given her the last one, she wasn't convulsing quite so violently anymore. However, after a few minutes she started gasping, as if she was in pain.

"I need to get that tube back in," the healer said matter-of-factly, shooting the Potion Master a look. "If I may, Professor Snape?"

Snape narrowed his eyes at the impudence of the younger man, but immediately backed away to let the healer do his job. He hovered closely by the bed to be able to see what the man was doing and if he was about to do anything that could harm her. His promise to Potter meant that he could trust no one he wasn't on familiar terms with when it came to this witch and thus he hadn't left her side – not even once. He told himself that it was that promise, and that promise alone, that had kept him there all day. The stab of fear he had felt in his heart when Poppy had said they had three minutes before her heart stopped, had been a reaction to Potter's wrath if she died under his watch – not because he actually cared for the chit.

Snape's eyes traveled up to Hermione's face. The wrinkled lines she had gotten on her face when she had been in pain were gone. She looked quite relaxed now. He wondered if what had happened today would set her back in her rehabilitation – he hoped not, she had already accomplished so much. He reminded himself once again that this was not because he cared about her. It was just a waste to the whole wizarding society that a witch like Hermione Granger was unable to control her magic. He did not care about her as a person, he was sure of that. He hadn't been in the infirmary all day because he cared, he was just there to make sure the amatoxin didn't progress any further into her system. He clenched his jaw for a moment and then sighed quietly in defeat. Who was he trying to kid? He knew that somewhere deep down he did care... But very deep down. And just a little.

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Hermione woke up coughing forcefully the next morning and sprung up into a sitting position. She heard someone call out "POPPY!" while she desperately tried to smoother the attack on her lungs.

"Take deep breaths, Hermione, and let the attack take its course," Poppy told her gently. "It's a side effect of the vaporized Murtlap Essence you've been inhaling most of yesterday and the night."

So Hermione continued coughing and let her eyes wander about the room. When she saw Snape standing on the other side of her bed, she got so startled that she stopped coughing straight away. Snape almost looked amused.

"I'm glad I could be of some assistance to you, Miss Granger," he said with a smirk. "However, I would have preferred not having you so startled to see me that it killed such a vicious attack."

Hermione gave him a small smile.

"Sorry, Professor," she rasped out. "Just wasn't expecting to see you."

Snape watched as Poppy checked her over, running her wand up and down along the young woman's entire body.

"There is nothing of the potion left inside of you, dear child," Poppy said with gentle smile. "Are you in any discomfort?"

"My throat kind of hurts," she said, sounding so hoarse that neither adult would have needed that information. "And my whole body kind of... aches."

Poppy nodded in understanding.

"That's to be expected, I'm afraid. I can give you a potion for the pain or a sleeping potion so that your body can recover without you experiencing it."

Hermione shook her head.

"No potions. And I want to be awake," was all she said and then she tried to swallow, which was easier said than done.

She was handed a glass of water from Snape and she took it and drank from it greedily.

"Careful, Miss Granger. Take small sips."

She didn't hesitate to do as he instructed and when she had finished the whole glass, he took it from her and put it aside.

"Miss Granger, I need to know what happened."

"Surely that can wait, Severus!" Poppy admonished him and gave the Potion Master a glare. "She needs rest and to refrain from speaking."

Snape rolled his eyes.

"I was merely going to ask her to think of the incident so that I could collect the memory and watch in my Pensieve. That way, she does not need to speak and she will get more rest as she will not need to go through with the tedious task of telling me the story."

Poppy only sighed and waved her hand, meaning "do whatever you must and then be out of my sight".

"I'm ready," Hermione said to Snape and he nodded, producing a vial out of thin air.

When he was done, he simply looked at Hermione for a moment. She looked back, somewhat confused at his intense stare.

"I am... glad that you are out of danger," he said quietly.

Hermione's jaw dropped in surprise. He started turning away when she stopped him by grabbing his sleeve.

"I'm sure you helped save my life, Professor," she whispered, wanting to spare her throat the burning that talking caused. "Thank you."

Snape inclined his head, but said nothing more. Their eyes locked for a moment and then Snape left in a hurry, leaving Hermione in the capable hands of Madame Pomfrey.

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AN: Hope you liked it. Like most chapters with this story, it was quite hard to get through some of the passages. I'll try to update more often. =)