Hogwarts ground. Black Lake. Day. Hermione sits on top of the rock reading A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Without Harry and Ron on her side. The boy at the great hall. She needs a bit of space for a bit.

Dungeons from Snape's window, he saw her down there. Nobody tries to approach her while she is reading.

Snape looked around the place.. still.. no one. The grounds are empty just for Hermione alone. Snape, out of dungeons, decides to talk with her on the ground.

Most students are in class, most aren't not. They stay in the library, play around the castle, sleep in their bed during the day, talking.. eating at the great hall. What so ever...

Snape never cares what students are doing around the castle. All he cares about is Hermione.. Harry of course. Because of Lily.

The creep behind her, not wanting to jolt her like that. This wasn't a prank thing the Weasley twins always do. Snape sees her finger turn the pages.

"Good day Miss Granger may I sit here?"

"You don't need my permission, Professor. Just sit wherever you like".

Smirking a bit. He pushes his robes flow behind him before he takes a seat.

"A Little Princess?" He asked. Hermione turns to him, his finger pointing at her book. "I've read it. Children's literature. Published in September 1905".

"What do you know about it? Professor?"

"I lived in Spinner's End, Miss Granger. My world and your world are the same. Nothing different".

Hermione shrugs. "Though they don't read muggle stuff".

"I do Miss Granger".

Snape smiles a bit. Hermione resumed reading her book.

"Dementor Miss Granger.. what it did is.. so wrong. The ministry shouldn't let Dementor search for Black around the castle. Is that wrong.. I'm afraid it would hurt you".

Hermione's eyes look up from the book, she now faces a beautiful view right in front of her. The water is so calm, calm as her heart while reading. She suddenly smiles for no reason.

"Are you smiling Miss Granger?" Snape asks. Her smile makes him worried. Did she lose her mind?

"Miss Granger..?"

"I think it is funny.." She turns to Snape. "Yours, Professor. You spoke very annoyed while with students, you spoke calmly and soft as you with me".

She stared at his black eyes. "Professor Snape..?" Snape eyes shoot on hers, Hermione spoke back. "Are you losing your mind?"

"Maybe. Because of my age. Don't you know".

"It's weird. Weird for your ages I think you are flirting with me, Professor".

"Why do you think that Miss Granger?"

"My instinct.." Hermione laughs, closes the book, she's up dusting her robes. "I don't think you wouldn't. You never fell in love before, how will you know".

She walked past him. "Good day, Professor Snape". Snape watch her left him behind.

I do Miss Granger..

Beautiful flowers gleam in the dawn light, then slowly begin to wither. The dew freezes, the grass grows brittle.

Seconds later, the Dementors sweep by.

Lupin classroom. A tall wardrobe rattles violently as Harry, Ron and several classmates regard it warily.

"Intriguing, isn't it? Would anyone like to venture a guess... as to what is inside?"

"That's a boggart, that is". In a hushed voice.

"Very good, Mr. Thomas. Now, can anybody tell me what a boggart looks like?"

"No one knows".

Ron jumps, glances at Hermione, then whispers to Harry. "When did she get here?"

"Boggarts are shape-shifters. They take the shape of whatever a person fears the most. That's what makes them so..."

"So terrifying, yes, yes, yes... Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a boggart. Let's practice it now. Without wands, please. After me. Riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus!"

"Very good. A little louder and very clear. Listen .. Riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus!"

"This class is ridiculous". Malfoy mutters softly.

"Very good. So much for the easy part. You see, the incantation alone is not enough. What really finishes a boggart is laughter. You need to force it to assume a shape you find truly amusing. Let me explain. Neville, would you join me, please? Come on, don't be shy. Come on. Come on".

Neville eyes the rattling wardrobe, steps forward queasily. "Hello. Neville, what frightens you most of all?"

"Professor Snape".

"Sorry?"

"Professor Snape".

Everyone laughs good naturedly. Lupin nods thought fully. Hermione turns to Neville then she holds her laugh. Neville fright of Snape. Should she tell Snape?

"Professor Snape. Yes, frightens all. You live with your grandmother".

"I don't want it to turn into her, either".

"No... it won't. I want you to picture her clothes. Only her clothes, very clearly, in your mind".

Neville closed his eyes. "She carries a red handbag..."

"We don't need to hear. As long as you see it, we'll see it. Now, when I open that wardrobe... Here's what I want you to do. Excuse me".

Lupin leans close to Neville, whispers. Imagine Professor Snape in your grandmother's clothes.

Neville's eyes pop open in shock. Consider Lupin uncertainty. "Can you do that?" Neville nods nervously, takes a deep breath.

"Yes. Wand at the ready. One, two, three".

Sparks jet from Lupin's wand, strike the doorknob, and the wardrobe bursts open. Instantly, Snape appears, eyes flashing hideously as he stalks forward. Neville backs away in fright.

"Think, Neville, think".

"Riddikulus!"

CRACK!

Snape stumbles in a flash of light and reappears... in a long, lace trimmed dress, towering moth eaten, and crimson handbag.

Instantly, the class roars, except for Draco and his fellow Slytherins. Neville blinks, amazed, then slowly, grins himself.

"Wonderful, Neville, wonderful! Incredible! Okay... to the back, Neville".

Lupin drops the needle on an old gramaphone. As a scratchy rhumba fills the room.

"Everyone, form a line... Form a line! I want everyone to picture the thing they fear the very most... and turn it into something funny. Next! Ron!"

He points to Ron. "Concentrate. Face your fear. Be brave!"

Snape dissolves into a mad whirling mass, then mutates into a... giant spider. As Ron gasps, Harry and Hermione exchange an uncertain glance.

Lupin puts his hands on Ron's shoulders to steady him. "Wand at the ready, Ron". Ron raises his wand.

"Riddikulus!"

CRACK!

Roller skates materialize on the spider's hairy feet and it begins to shuffle crazily in place. Instantly, Ron relaxes as the class' laughter rings out.

"Yes! You see? Very good, very good! Marvelous! Absolutely, very, very enjoyable! Parvati!"

As Parvati steps up, the spider spins faster and faster, a dizzying blur, then reappears as a giant cobra.

"Keep your nerve. Steady".

"Riddikulus!"

The cobra's hooded head bobs back and forth, transforming into a Jack in the box. Lupin grins and...

"And next! Step up, step up! Wonderful, wonderful! NEXT!"

... Turns, sees Harry step forward expectantly. Concern flickers through Lupin's face. The Jack-In-The-Box pivots on its spring, its face tumbling toward Harry, becoming more sinister, transforming into a... Dementor.

Suddenly the music fades. Harry starts to raise his wand, then... freezes, transfixed. The Dementor looms closer and closer, when... Lupin steps between, snaps his wand.

"Here!"

CRACK!

The Dementor vanishes and a roiling mist appears, which becomes clouds. Something glows within the clouds, white, silvery and round...

"Riddikulus!"

POP!

The orb deflates like a punctured balloon, whizzes crazily about the room, then darts back into the wardrobe. The door slams shut and the class cheers.

"Right. Sorry about that. That's enough for today. Collect your books from the back. That's the end of the lesson. Thank you! Sorry! Sorry, you can have too much of a good thing".

As the students exit, chattering loudly, only Harry, subdued, remains behind. At the doorway, Lupin glances back, exchanging a private glance with him.

As he exits, the wardrobe gives one last rattle.

Clock tower courtyard two weeks later. Morning. A great buzzing queue of students.

Third Years and older, each clutching a permission form, pass by a glowering Filch. Harry didn't get permission from his guardian.

Ron and Hermione, watching Harry expectantly from across the way, see him turn, shake his head.

Their faces fall. "Forget about it, guys. See you later". Harry raises his hand in farewell. Watch them go.

Moving staircase night later. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione climb the stairs, buzzes with tales of Hogsmeade, as students swap stories.

"In time, you'll come to see just how much. Honeydukes Sweetshop is brilliant, but nothing beats Zonko's Joke Shop".

"We never got to go to the Shrieking Shack. You heard it's the most..."

... "Haunted building in Britain. I know".

As the staircase stops they find a crowd gathering on the Seventh Floor landing.

"What's going on? Probably Neville forgot the password again".

"Hey".

The trio turn their backs and see Neville standing right behind them. "Oh, you're there" .

"Let me through, please. Excuse me! I'm Head Boy! Get back, all of you. No one is to enter this dormitory until it's been searched".

Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchange dark glances, when...Ginny emerges from the crowd, her face ashen.

"The Fat Lady! She's gone!"

Hermione gasps. Grabs Harry's arm. He looks, sees The Fat Lady's portrait has been slashed viciously, great strips of canvas hanging from the frame.

"Serves her right. She was a terrible singer".

"It's not funny, Ron".

"Keep calm, everyone. Break into fours. Back to your common room. Be quiet".

Just then, Dumbledore appears. "Make way.. make WAY!"

"The headmaster's here. Come on, move. You heard. Move!"

Dumbledore studies the painting owned by Fat Lady. Decide to do something. Filch's rheumy eyes peer up, searching the upper shadows, then... narrow.

"Mr. Filch? Round up the ghosts. Tell them to search every painting in the castle to find the Fat Lady".

"There's no need for ghosts, professor. The Fat Lady's there".

Filch extends a crooked finger. High up, near the ceiling. The students dash to the landing. Dumbledore made his own way. Percy tries to stop them again.

"Mind where you're going! Slow down! You listen! I'm Head Boy! Come back here!"

Dumbledore breathed. "Dear lady, who did this to you?" The Fat Lady cowers in a portrait not her own, trembling.

"Eyes like the devil, he's got, and a soul as dark as his name. It's him, headmaster. The one they all talk about. He's here, somewhere in the castle! Sirius Black!"

As the students react, Dumbledore's voice cuts through. "Secure the castle, Mr. Filch. The rest of you, to the Great Hall".

Clock tower door. Great groaning tumblers fall. Spindles rotate. Cylinders one after another, fire into place.

Windows. Iron spikes , sharp as razors, rise instantly. One by one, deep in the distance, the lights of the Great Hall go out.

Dementors appear, covering the frame, then separate like a curtain...

Through the silent room, over an ocean of sleeping bags, finds Harry lying awake, staring at the net of stars glimmering beyond the highest window.

"I've searched the Astronomy Tower and the Owlery. There's nothing there".

"Thank you".

"The third floor's clear top, sir".

"Very good".

A gentle creek is heard and Harry's eyes shift, see Snape pass through the great doors, converge with Dumbledore.

"I've done the dungeons. No sign of Black, nor anywhere else in the castle".

"I didn't really expect him to linger".

"Remarkable feat, don't you think? To enter Hogwarts Castle on one's own... completely undetected?"

Dumbledore gazes at the students, refusing to take the bait. "Quite remarkable, yes. Any theories on how he managed it? Many. Each as unlikely as the next".

"You may recall... prior to the start of term I expressed concerns... about your appointment as Professor..."

As Snape's eyes glitter darkly, Dumbledore gazes out over the slumbering students.

"Not a single professor inside this castle would help Sirius Black enter it. I'm quite convinced the castle is safe... and I'm more than willing to send the students to their houses".

"What about Potter? Should he be warned?"

As Dumbledore's gaze finds Harry, he shuts his eyes, feigns sleep.

"Perhaps. But for now, let him sleep. For in dreams, we enter a world that's entirely our own. Let them swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud".

Snape eyes searching for Hermione sleeping bags. She is already slumbering, tired of studying. He walked towards her sleeping bags while no one noticed, except for Harry eyes wide open.

Dumbledore stood beside Snape in nods. Whispers. "Beautiful isn't she?" Snape remained silent. "How does it take?"

"She thought I'm flirting with her".

"Do Miss Granger believe?"

Gently Snape shakes his head. "She doesn't. She doesn't know I was trying to.."

"Give her time my boy". Dumbledore laid his hand on Snape's shoulder. "She needs to learn before involving her personal love matters with you or someone else she loves".

Snape eyes on Dumbledore. "Is she..?"

"Yes my boy. Miss Granger is still young, of course she needs a young boy like her own age".

Dumbledore made his own way out of the great hall. He leaves Snape behind with sleeping Hermione. He cast a spell on hers, a charm that protects her from harm while she sleeps.

Snape stared at her for a while, then turned his foot and left the great hall. Worried.