Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable. This is another disclaimer. I make no money. This is for fun.

AN: Please, keep in mind, time has passed. Over time, people DO grow up, change and mature. There are bound to be a few things that are different about some of our main characters. Also, this is slight AU, so please don't start heckling me about that character's history or this one's abilities. To me, sometimes canon is not as important as telling a great tale.

Chapter 1, And So It Begins:

"I'm the kind to sit up in his room, / Heart sick and eyes filled up with blue. / I don't know what you've done to me, / But I know this much is true; / I wanna do bad things with you ..." – Bad Things By Jace Everett.

Over the next two weeks, Severus was a thunderstorm all his own. Minerva did her best to calm him, but it was no use. Whoever he had accepted, his new apprentice, had started moving in the day after the letter was sent. And had yet to introduce themselves. Severus was doing his best to not simply storm through the chambers and demand to know who they were. He had often thought about checking the submission papers, now that they would be clear, but every time he would go to pull them out, something stopped him.

'The child should introduce themselves. It's the respectful thing to do. Have they no sense of propriety?' Severus continued to let himself fume rather than taking the more logical step and just peeking. And yet every time Minerva questioned him as to why this upset him so, he could not formulate a suitable response. The only idea he could give to even himself was tradition. After years of forced manners and traditions, first as a Slytherin student, then under the his Mistress' tutelage, then finally as an associate of Lucius', the great traditions and etiquette of the magical elite were ingrained deeply in his psyche.

'Obviously I will need to teach the impertinent twit etiquette too! I have so many better uses for my time! I should not be responsible for such lapses.' Not for the first time since becoming a professor, he thought about insisting that Minerva add a wizarding etiquette and traditions class to the mandatory classes at Hogwarts.

After the fifth day of the small, slow, gentle sounds of the student moving in, he gave up his fury and moved onto a more "fine by me" attitude. He told himself the less time they spent together, the less he had to put up with any of their fallacies. With the Apprentice chambers being directly next to his, with a shared study between, they would be spending ample time together after term began. Severus scowled at the thought.

He didn't like his privacy being invaded, and now he was practically living with an utter stranger. The study was in the middle, with bookshelves, desks and lab tables. There were five doors leading out of the study; one into the public hallway of Hogwarts, one leading to a shared "private" library, and one leading to Severus' potions lab. The other two were the doors leading to Severus' private rooms, and his new apprentice's private rooms. Severus' bedchamber was directly off the study. It contained simple furnishings of a bed, a wardrobe, and several bookshelves. There were also two night stands on either side of the bed. Leading out of his bedchamber were four doors. One into the hallway, the one back into the shared study, one into his private bathroom (consisting of a shower and claw-foot bathtub, sink, toilet, and cabinet,) and one leading into his private office.

His office had three doors; the one back into his bedchambers, the one to his classroom, and a secret one he had put in, leading into his potions lab. His office was more lavishly furnished, as he spent much of his time there or in his beloved lab. His desk was on a raised platform, with bookshelves covering the walls behind it. There was a table in the center of the room, a fireplace with small seating area on the opposite wall of the desk, and several cabinets and shelves storing more books and potions ingredients.

As for his apprentice's rooms. He had only been in there once. To setup the basics once he realized he would have no choice and would soon play host to another person in his dungeons. The room directly off the shared study was his apprentice's office. Sort of. It had a small kitchenette in it, a fireplace with seating area, a table in the center, and plenty of shelving for books or whatever they wished it for.

The next room over was the bedroom for his new apprentice. It had a private bathroom in it as well; a large queen sized bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a bedside table, and another set of shelving units for books or such filled the generous space.

He vaguely wondered what they were unpacking that was taking the full two weeks.

Finally, the day before the start of term, as Severus was going over his lesson plans for the next few days, he heard a high-pitched, feminine shriek. The sound was followed by a groan of pure frustration and then enough swearing to make the Dark Lord blush. He quickly hurried through the connecting doors, into the shared study, to investigate the source of the sounds.

What met his sights as he entered the work space had him amused and baffled.

A small, sprightly pixie of a female was dancing around in a short, dark blue, dress-skirt thing; in impossibly high coral heels, trying to catch a very angry flying tome.

"Oh! Hello Severus, I'm sorry for all the ruckus. I told Mouse not to shrink this one, but it appears she forgot. It doesn't take to re-sizing very well; finds it to be insulting you see. So now the bloody thing's peeved at me and – OH Bloody Hell!" She took out her wand and petrified the damn thing; letting it fall onto the worktable it had been hovering over. Then the witch finally turned to face him and he got a good look at her.

Short, pixie-like brown hair, hazely-green eyes, small pink lips, small petite frame with decent muscle. Everything about this chit was petite. She seemed familiar, but he could not place her. She was smiling at him with a very Albus-like twinkle in her eyes. 'Who is she!?' Seeming to read his mind, she quietly whispered,

"I go by Mila, these days. My Arithmancy Master, Tohku, used to call me that and I guess it sort of stuck." Ah yes – it had said in her paperwork she had apprenticed under Magnus Tohku. That still did not explain who exactly she was though. Tohku was, by far, the best, most stringent, hard to please Arithmancer known to the world – and a current resident of Egypt if Severus remembered correctly. The fact that this beautiful, tiny little chit had somehow gotten Magnus to accept her apprenticeship, let alone ascend her to full Mastery in only 4 short years, was another baffling mystery to Severus.

He shook himself out of whatever trance she had him under and looked at her sternly. "We have a lot to go over regarding the terms of this apprenticeship before term starts. Do you wish to begin now? I will have dinner brought to us in the lab," He vaguely gestured to the door leading to the potions laboratory. She nodded happily.

"Of course, Professor. I will just let Mouse know she can finish unpacking the rest of my clothes."

"Who is Mouse?" Severus raised an eyebrow at her, following her slight form across the room to the doors leading to her chambers. She stuck her head in and gently called out instructions to someone beyond his sight.

"Oh, Mouse is my house elf." Severus nodded at her explanation. Teachers and their apprentices, because they essentially lived at the castle most the year, were allowed their personal elves. His was a smart, quiet, respectable young thing; Felix. Severus despised the idea of owning another living soul – at least in the way it worked with the house elves. When, after his release from St. Mungo's following the War, he was told he should invest in a house elf to help him with his recovery, he balked. It was only after dropping several things and (embarrassingly) falling down his own stairs several times that he grudgingly admitted he needed help. It took forever to find an elf he could tolerate. In fact, the only way he even could stand Felix at first was by ordering the elf to take a day off each week; that was the only thing that helped him feel less guilty about it. When his recovery period had been over, the elf had begged Severus to let him stay. So they had performed the bonding rite and Severus had asked what he wished to be called. The elf had told him how lucky he thought himself, to be bonded to such a brave and smart master. This prompted Severus to name him Felix; named for the lucky potion.

They made their way to the lab and sat down at a table. Summoning all the necessary paperwork to them, they began going over their agreements and plans for the apprenticeship. The more they discussed terms and conditions, the more Severus could not shake the feeling he knew this tiny little woman. It was driving him to distraction; he couldn't place her but he just knew he knew her.

She was well spoken, and despite his earlier convictions that she had no manners or etiquette, she actually was as well-mannered as any Pureblood Slytherin Princess. He almost wondered if maybe that is exactly what she was. Even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew it was incorrect. First of all, no pureblood would be caught in such Muggle attire. Secondly, she was young enough that, had she been in Slytherin house, he would have taught her and would remember her more clearly. He never forgot one of his own. He continued to search her face for the link; whatever it was about her that reminded him of someone he once knew.

They were discussing her previous Mastery and how she would like to apply it to this one, when a Hogwarts Kitchen elf popped in with their dinner. They had been very much in to their discussion and the appearance of the elf surprised the young woman. She jumped back from where she had been leaning in, discussing theorems with him, and sat back blushing.

As she pushed her short cropped bangs around, the slight tinge of pink coloring her tan cheeks, Severus had to look away. As he forced himself to swallow the lump of tension in his throat, he came to the horrifying revelation he had been avoiding since walking into her rooms; he was attracted to the young girl. He blanched. This was not good. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head, chastising himself silently, and instructed the elf on where to set the trays in the study.

He stood and exited the lab, sitting at the center work table in the shared study, assuming she would follow. They sat and ate in silence for a while. Mila seemed to be deep in thought, and Severus was busy examining Mila. She had been animated, excited, while talking about her work and her hopes for future research and learning. She had a passion for knowledge, that much was obvious. He watched her run her hands through her short cropped hair in a distracted manner in-between bites of her dinner.

Though he had no explanation as to why it mattered, Severus suddenly found himself needing to know what was on her pretty mind. "So, Mila, your studies with Master Tohku – how did you manage to get in touch with him? Word has it he is something of a loner, a recluse."

She looked up at him, a look of quiet contemplation on her face. What Severus did not realize was her mind, and heart, were racing. She wasn't sure how much to say, or even where to begin. Luckily she was saved from answering when Mouse popped in, their dinner nearly gone, with her customary after dinner tray of tea and dessert. Mila always had a cup of Tazo Passion Tea and a few dessert bars every evening after supper; a private indulgence. Her biggest vice was her love of sweets.

She noticed the tray had an extra kettle and cup on it and smiled at the thoughtful elf. As she turned to Severus, she noticed he was already eyeing up the giant pile of perfect looking Blueberry Fudge Squares.

"Mistress, I is bringing your favorite. And elf named Felix is saying he is offs today, but his Master Snape would be loving his Earl Grey about nows."

Mila looked up from her tea in surprise. "Your elf gets days off?" She added a quick thank you to her elf as Mouse popped away.

Irritated, Severus snapped, "Of course! I don't enslave the poor thing!" Mila seemed awestruck, only making his ire greater. "Why are you looking at me with that irritating look on your face?!"

"I make Mouse take a day off each week too. And she is not allowed to punish herself without explicit, direct instructions from me." She watched him soften a little and gaze at her evenly. "What made you decide to do things that way? With your elf, I mean. It is uncommon, even in this enlightened and progressive era," her nose wrinkled as she pronounced the words with obvious sarcasm, "for wizards to treat their inferiors with respect and high regard." This question made him sigh and close his eyes. He appeared to be steeling himself against some sort of internal pain. When he opened his eyes and she was still waiting, with baited breath, her lips barely brushing the edge of her teacup to take a sip, he sighed again.

'And so it begins – the shattering of my privacy and isolation,' The not-so-small voice in his head snidely remarked.

"Well as I can see you are not going to let this go, I may as well tell you," He muttered acerbically. He closed his eyes once more and, letting out one more deep sigh, murmured, "I once had a student try and rally support for a self-made Elf Welfare Committee. In theory, her ideas had merit. So I have been slowly getting them enacted on her behalf. She was a brilliant witch." He shrugged grumpily. Suddenly looking a great deal more uncomfortable, he murmured, "After the Battle of Hogwarts, I lost track of her, she disappeared. Left the country, I suppose. She deserves the peace and quiet, to be honest. I only regret not getting to thank her." He nearly missed her response, so caught was he in his internal distressing thoughts.

"For what?" Came Mila's soft, sweet question. He checked to make sure his occlumency shields were still firmly in place and let out a growl of frustration as he took a sip of his tea to prolong answering. After a moment of silence in which his young apprentice simply waited and looked at him with curiosity and some unnamed emotion, he finally ground out a response.

"Her faith in me and the way she always stood up for me – trying to force others to respect me," Severus shook his head in fond remembrance of his most irritating student. 'She saved my life...' He thought to himself, his impassive mask slipping for a mere second. It was enough though, as his too-curious apprentice had seen and gave him a look that clearly indicated she was waiting for more of an answer and was not going to let the subject die. He groaned internally and struggled for the least damaging answer.

"Her stubbourn tenacity and faith in me may have..." He trailed off as he glanced at the woman's face. She was far too invested in his answer. It was wholly disconcerting. No way in Hades' was he telling her that the student he had bullied the most was the one that came up with the base formulae for the antidote that saved his life. Not even Minerva knew that. Growling again, he quickly muttered, "I began carrying the antidote for Nagini's bite..." He trailed off again, thinking too deeply about things best left in the past and giving a far too unsatisfactory answer, in Mila's opinion. Eventually, despite his best intentions, he let the thought slip out in a dark murmur; "Though I would prefer you never confirm this to anyone, she played a relatively decisive role in my survival during the Battle of Hogwarts." When he finally looked up at his new apprentice, he realized she was crying and shaking slightly. He scowled, "Why are you..."

"Oh Severus..." She suddenly leaped at him, arms outstretched, wrapping them around him, and burying her face in his neck. Severus was utterly bewildered and a tad bit terrified of the crazy witch; until she uttered her next statement. "You remembered S.P.E.W!"

Shocked to his very core, Severus jumped back, forcing the young girl away and holding her at arms length.

"Ms. Granger?!"

She sat back down and gave him a watery, teary smile. "All those years, even now – I thought you hated me. I was so shocked to get your acceptance letter for this apprenticeship. Then I remembered you didn't know who you were accepting – No names." She smiled wistfully at him, looking... he couldn't name the look on her face. Self-doubt, he would normally have said; but there was no way the Princess of Gryffindor and Golden Girl of the Golden Trio could possibly be lacking in confidence – could she? He nearly missed what she was saying, so deep in his own head was he.

"...I've been so worried that once you realized it is me, that you'd toss me on my ear and select someone else. That's why I've been avoiding you while I moved in." For a moment, he just stared in shock, his mind racing. How could he have not recognized her? As he gazed at her, desperately willing his brain to engage and say something smart, he began to see the Hermione Granger he had once known.

Yes, there she was – it truly was the bookworm herself. With her wild bushy mane cropped short and in something other than the unflattering school robes, Hermione Granger no longer looked like the frivolous tom-boy schoolgirl he remembered. Add in the light amount of make-up and the Dumbledorean Twinkle in her eyes and she didn't even look like the battle weary warrior he had seen in her the very last time they had spoken – at his trial. No – Hermione Granger had definitely grown up. A calculating look entered his eye for a brief moment before he looked away, picked up his tea, cleared his throat and took a sip.

When he could sense her begin to fidget, he cast his eyes up towards hers and smiled ever so slightly. "You changed your hair." When he said nothing further for another moment, she raised an eyebrow at him. (Wonder where she got that look from?) He inwardly chuckled at her discomfiture. "I like it." His murmur, with a slight softening of his features, did the trick. She finally seemed to ease slightly and relaxed into her seat.

She let out an audible sigh. "Thank you, Professor. I had to change it while studying with Master Tohku. The weather where we were was...humid. And very very hot! Long hair just wasn't conducive to any level of comfort." She smiled sweetly at him and for a moment there was a strange swooping sensation in his stomach. Ignoring it he smirked and reached for a chunk of blueberry fudge.

"I find it incredibly ironic," his silky voice caressed every word, "that we are both fond of blueberry fudge squares. A decidedly Muggle dessert item, no?" She let out a whoosh of breath in surprise - she was not expecting such a conversational comment from the bat of the dungeons. Especially after... Her eyes went wide. "Wait a moment! Did you actually just compliment me?" Her tone was colored with delighted shock as her face heated once more.

"I beg your pardon?" Severus looked a little startled at the notion.

Her grin widened. "You did! You complimented my hair! You said you liked it. Wow. Times certainly change people." She grinned at him as she teased him. "Severus Snape handing out compliments about day to day things such as hair changes. I am impressed!" She chuckled at his appalled look. Then he grimaced at her and she wondered briefly what retribution for the teasing was coming.

"Of course I have changed in the last few years. How utterly boring would this world be if none of us ever changed?" A very sardonic looking eyebrow rose as he awaited a reply. She nodded in concession. After a brief contemplative silence, they both gave the other a small smile. Mila's smile turned shy and she offered to refill his teacup for him. He nodded and she topped them both off before they resumed their set up and discussion.

Several hours later, the lab and their "shared, private" library were completely set up and stocked for the year ahead. The study was centrally located directly between Severus' and Mila's rooms. Opposite the door leading to the public hallway, were two doors – one leading to the potions lab and one leading to their library. The doors to their private rooms were directly across from each other midway through the room.

They sat down at a work table in the study around 1AM and gazed around happily. They chatted away until about 2AM – discussing various unimportants. Mila let out a yawn and Severus chuckled.

"Time to turn in I believe. Get your rest, Ms. Granger, tomorrow we begin." He stood and walked to his door, turning at the last second.

"And for the record, Hermione," The use of her first name made her pause, door ajar, one hand on the knob that would grant her entrance to her private room. "I've never hated you. In fact, I've always rather admired your intellect, strength, and beauty." With that he shut the door and was gone.

'Hermione – he called me by my name...' She pondered this as she slipped into her dressing gown that Mouse had laid out for her. As she lay back onto her new bed, in her new home, she let out a happy, contented sigh. "He thinks I'm beautiful"

Mila awoke early the next morning – 5 AM. 'For only having gotten 3 hours of sleep, I feel ridiculouslyrefreshed and awake,' She sighed to herself, 'Well no use trying to go back to sleep now.' She rose, had tea, and read the post before showering and donning a pair of black jeans with a bottle green blouse under her apprentice robes. She liked her new apprentice robes – They were a beautiful gold velvet with a deep, rich, nearly black, blue silk lining. Her favorite part was that the blue looked green in some lights and then blue in others. The "magic" of shimmering fairy silk. She also had a set of dark green silk Master's robes with deep purple silk linings that she loved just as much. A set in the proper colors for each of her apprenticeships.

Very few half-bloods and muggle-borns realized each area of study had it's own signifying color scheme. The lack of knowledge was, in part, thanks to the fact Masters were not required to wear their robes except in official capacities. That didn't mean they couldn't, just that they didn't have to. However, every apprentice swiftly learned that, to go with the pins, an apprentice wore the colors of their Mastery. The primary color on the inside and the secondary color on the out was the difference between Apprentice robes and Master's robes. The Master's robes were, of course, reversed. Green and Purple for Arithmancy, green being the primary; blue and gold for potions, blue being primary. Getting to switch the colors around as they added their pin was an honor for each apprentice as they were granted their Mastery.

Today, laughingly, to 'even it out', she had worn her red silk undergarments. 'Red for Gryffindor, green blouse for Slytherin, black pants with the gold robe for Hufflepuff, and of course the dark blue silk lining in the robes for Ravenclaw. I will fully embrace all houses this time around.' She readied her supplies and headed for the study. As she sat studying some of her old school notes, munching on a strawberry scone, she fondly remembered her first morning apprenticing for Magnus Tohku. The bastard had sent a house elf to wake her up at 3AM to watch a Lunar Event. She'd just finished unpacking and had finally fallen asleep an hour before. The strict old man held no sympathy for her. "Up and at 'em." He had barked at her. "How am I to teach you when you are asleep?"

Her years with the tough Arithmancer had been a lot of hard work. They had been a lot of fun too though. The morning of her Masters Pin being awarded, he had awoken her at the crack of dawn again – before the sun had risen. "Come, Mila, the full summer moon awaits." As she blearily trumbled after him, she barely noticed where they were going; nor did she register the continuous chanting and mumbling of her teacher. It wasn't until they stopped in a glade, bright with the full moon and grey with the rising sun, and she felt the tingling sensation on her skin - the feeling of a spell being cast on her - that she realized.

"Congratulations, my dear – you've surpassed every expectation. Welcome Arithmancy Mistress Hermione Granger." The beaming smile on Magnus' face as he handed her the Arithmancy Master pin was blinding. Only a proper Master can perform the Master's Rights and Rituals. Each discipline had a ritual, with its own individual wording, but they all used the same base enchantment.

The Master's Rights and Rituals, known as The Dominus Creo, is what created a new Master or Mistress - Magic itself recognizing and accepting them. It must be performed under the light of a full moon, in the witness of the four great elements, and can only be performed by another Master. Real Masters always have their pins - the runes of their disciplines carved out of Mithral gold or Goblin Silver and fastened to the collar of their Master's robes. A Master who has two or more runes is known as a GrandMaster. Four or more is often considered a 'king of masters', of sorts, and given the unofficial title of Manariki, which meant greatest authority in the old language. The only other way to bear the title of GrandMaster without a second or third discipline, was to be a Master for more than 100 years. GrandMaster Tohku, to the knowledge of the rest of the world, had just achieved that two years ago - on the eve of his 142nd birthday. Only a few knew he'd been a GrandMaster for nearly 100 years already. He earned his second Mastery 7 years after his first.

Mila smiled and sipped her morning tea. She was looking forward to adding the Potions Rune to her dark green and purple Mistress robes; right alongside the Arithmancy one. Of a sudden, she heard a clattering and muttering from next door. She smiled bemusedly, 'It seems Master Snape is not much of a morning person.'

"Blast it! Ares get down here! You proud vain thing..." Beyond curious after this outburst, Mila peered around the door frame and immediately regretted it.

Severus Snape was standing in the middle of the room, in Slytherin Green boxers and an open black silk bathrobe – waving his finger at a large eagle owl in the rafters. Hermione Granger was watching Severus Snape dance around – after a bird– in his underwear. She bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Blasted bird! If I don't respond and he gets upset, it's on your head then!"

"Oh, Master Snape, that is no way to speak to such a wonderfully handsome bird!" Mila chuckled softly, stepping into the room and making her presence known. Severus quickly tied his robe closed – tightly.

"Ms.Granger – do not presume to enter my chambers uninvited, least of all unannounced." The pink tinge upon his cheeks only served to make Mila laugh all the more.

"Oh hush now. I am here to help," She smiled at him before turning her attention back to the bird. For his part, Ares was now watching them curiously from his spot in the rafters. "Hello handsome," Mila murmured, addressing the eagle owl gently, "Did that snarky ol' bat offend you? Poor bird – don't listen to mean professors." Severus huffed in indignation, but Mila paid him no mind. "I know you are a wonderful, beautiful owl, Ares..." The eagle owl cocked his head to one side then flew lower, landing atop a book shelf. "It's okay Ares, I know you have a very important job. You need to deliver that very important letter to that mean mean Professor Snape." The bird hooted lowly and appeared to be offended. "Oh, I know – we don't like him do we Ares? He doesn't appreciate your beauty. But I do Ares. How about this: you give me your very important letter, and I will make sure the intended recipient gets it." She waved her hand and accio'ed a small chunk of warm biscuit from her breakfast. "Look, I even have a nice warm treat for all your hard work, Ares."

As Snape watched in utter astonishment, the vain eagle owl flew to Mila and landed on her shoulder. He gently beaked the biscuit piece while Mila untied the small scroll from Ares' leg. As soon as the letter was free the bird took off, nipping at Severus' hair as it flew past, squawking. Mila smiled as she turned to Severus, "Master Snape, your letter sir." Without another word she handed him the scroll and left.

Reading the polite, short invitation to lunch with Lucius for the weekend, Severus carefully considered what had just happened. Not only had his young Apprentice just displayed a familiarity with that damn, bloody proud, vain owl of Lucius Malfoy's; she had also shown an aptitude for wandless magic. Severus was shocked to say the least. Then he remembered his attire and the shock turned to embarrassment. It really was his fault for leaving his door open and unwarded through the night. In his defense, there had never been anyone in the next rooms over for it to matter.

An hour later, precisely at 9AM, Potions Master Severus Snape came billowing into the study, full teaching robes flowing out behind him. Freshly showered and having changed, he was ready to start awakening the hopeful little Gryffindor to the harsh realities of being a potions Master. He found her pouring over several research tomes and journals.

"Ms.–," He paused to correct himself, "Apprentice Granger, we have yet to begin. What could you possibly be researching already?"

"Nothing, Sir! I am reviewing notes and scores from my years at Hogwarts and a few pertinent journal entries from my years abroad." He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing right away, letting her squrm. Though it did not shock him; he was amused she had come so thoroughly prepared.

"I see. Well, Apprentice, today is meant for review..." He paused, a smirk crossing his strict features, "However, I believe a more practical approach would be best when dealing with insufferable know-it-alls with a penchant for reciting books." His words had the desired effect. Her face fell, her expression becoming stormy, then stony and cold. To be honest he had been furiously embarrassed that she could get Lucius's taciturn, vain, uppity owl to come to her. He was one of Lucius' oldest friends. She was someone Lucius, though wrongly, would look down upon and scoff at.

He considered the witch in front of him to be spoiled and mollycoddled. She had always been a favorite in their world. No one truly tried to test her limits – simply because she started so far past everyone else. He knew she could still recite books from memory – but he often, throughout her schooling, wondered if she was capable of her own, individual, creative thoughts. It was time to find out and this apprenticeship gave him the perfect chance.

"Today I want you to brew these potions," He handed her a sheet of parchment in Poppy's neat script, "for the infirmary. I want you to do so without the aid of a continuously open text book. This is to see how you do producing mass quantities of a potion – even the simple ones."

To her credit, she did not argue or even seem bothered by the task. Nor did she react to his mandate about not being allowed to check every step in the books while she was brewing. He vaguely wondered if she even noticed the specific wording of his instructions.

"Yessir." She nodded and gathered her things, the list, and her last cup of tea. She hurried to her room and came back with what appeared to be an old fashioned black doctor's bag. Without a word she went into the lab and presumably began her work.

"Felix," Severus called quietly as he let out a sigh and situated himself in one of the comfier chairs in the study. His elf appeared with a near silent pop and bowed low.

"What can I's be doing for you, Master?"

"Breakfast, please. My usual." The elf soon brought back blueberry cream cheese and onion bagels with his typical Earl Grey tea. "Thank you Felix." The elf nodded and quietly disappeared again, leaving Severus to his thoughts. A pity and a shame really – as his thoughts were currently revolving around his apprentice. He didn't know what to make of the situation.

All through her years at Hogwarts he had been nothing but cruel to the chit. And yet here she was – willingly subjecting herself to his teachings and authority again. If he was being completely honest with himself, he was thoroughly pleased with who the applicant had turned out to be. Hermione 'Mila' Granger was – is – an intelligent, beautiful, young, good person. The most important part being – she could never be called a dunderhead. With all probability she would easily grasp and understand the topics, concepts, and tools he'd be teaching her. She was also highly unlikely to ever blow up his lab do to an idiotic mistake.

He got up, finally having finished his breakfast, and made his way to his office – on the other side of his rooms. He positioned himself so that he could work on what he needed to and still be aware of anything that might go awry in his lab. The Skele-Gro could be quite volatile in its early stages. He really did not have a whole lot to do – just finishing readying things for the start of term. Though he'd never admit it to anyone, he really did like teaching. He enjoyed the relative predictability and stability. He also enjoyed making the students squirm.

He must have gotten lost in his work and his thoughts – when he looked up again it was gone 4 in the evening. The students would be arriving soon. He blinked back some of the sleepiness in his eyes from staring at parchment by candlelight for too long. As he stood and stretched he vaguely wondered if Mila, he scoffed at the pet name, had realized the time yet. He sighed, figuring he should check on her. After all, it would reflect poorly on him as a Master if his Apprentice did not make an appearance at a formal dinner – at which he was expected to introduce her.

Shite. He had forgotten that part.

As he strode into his lab, he was taken aback at what he saw. On one table, boxed and labeled, was everything on the list he had given to his young charge. And yet she seemed to still be bending over a gurgling cauldron, working on something. As he silently slid up behind her, he realized in astonishment he didn't recognize the potion. It didn't look like any stage of any potion that he had ever worked with. He couldn't think of any known potion he hadn't tried.

As he stared, the cauldron began to bubble more violently. She quickly added two porculis pins then stirred 3 times clockwise, a 4th turn counter clockwise. The potion turned from muddy clay to bright fuchsia. Mila then paused for exactly 30 seconds before stirring once more counter clockwise. The concoction lightened until it was pearlescent, shiny, smooth and with a pink-tinged silver sheen. It stilled, no more bubbling, and a faint smell of rosewood and vanilla wafted from the steamy cauldron.

Mila reached for a small box of vials and began bottling the potion into swallow-sized doses. Once completed, she scourgified the cauldron, picked up the box, and spun so quickly Severus did not have time to react. She ran straight into him hard enough to send the box flying up through the air between them.

"Arresto momentum!!!"She shrieked, a look of sheer panic on her face. She neatly caught the box then turned and glared at him. "NEVER sneak up on me again, Severus Tobias Snape. It may very well be the last thing you do!" With an indignant stamp of her foot and a huff, she and her box of mystery potion exited his lab and headed for her chambers. He winced as he heard the door slam.

Irritated he went to check the boxes of supplies for Poppy, determined to find one flaw, any flaw, that he could criticize her for. Most regrettably for Snape everything was perfect – as per her usual. Which, of course, only irritated him more. He strode swiftly back to his rooms, fuming.'What in Merlin's name could she have been brewing?!'

Back in her rooms, Hermione was washing her hair and getting ready for the sorting. As she floated in the giant claw-footed tub, she considered what had just happened. While it was entirely true that sneaking upon her was a terrible idea – she did have a touch of post-traumatic stress and was prone to jumpy, quick reactions – that was not what had really upset her.

No, what had her spitting mad was that Snape almost found out. As her Master, if he had decided to ask what she had been brewing, if he really decided to push, she was magically bound to answer any direct questions he asked. Just as she was magically bound to follow any orders he gave her in his capacity as her Master.

He must never find out about this. He would dismiss her as his apprentice on the spot – of this she was sure. She needed to learn everything she could about potions. Tohku, fatherly and sweet Mag, had told her it might be the only way to save her life.

Okay, I apologize for any stuttering in the story – Sev and Mila were whining about not typing their story fast enough and the ideas were coming swift and jolting :). If you guys have any questions regarding some of the finer points of the story, as long as it doesn't interfere with the way the plot will fall, I will answer to the best of my abilities.

This chapter was much more about setting the stage for the years ahead for our favorite duo. The next chapter will be very nostalgic – maybe have some tissues ready? We return to Hogwarts main soon. And some of our new friends will be making guest appearances to visit our apparently ailing Gryffindor Princess.

Whatever could be the next big disaster for our little bookworm? Check back for Chapter 2 and read on.

~Genevieve.