DISCLAIMER: The only thing I have to my name at the moment is five dollars and a new vaccum...oh, and a sack of flour with a picture of George Bush's face on it...Translation: I don't own it.

Dark Heart

Beta: the wonderful moonyNZ

Chapter 5

She sat at the desk in the corner as the rain beat steadily on the glass of the window. Her brown eyes stared blankly out of it as if searching…

Time slowed around her.

She shook her head once to shake herself out of her trance as the thunder clapped loudly outside as the storm grew worse. It was supposed to rain all night but lately all it seemed to do was rain.

Rain, the cleanser of all.

And yet, it could also destroy.

She stacked the parchment in front of her in a neat stack. The red marks she had made across them made them look as if they were bleeding. True, she hadn't expected much; the first years were still getting used to what she looked for in a paper.

She smiled as she recalled one paper in particular. It exceeded all of her expectations and then some. The writer- a first year Ravenclaw boy- had included every detail possible, bringing the paper to a total of three and a half feet in length.

Just like her.

She tucked the neat stack into her briefcase carefully and rose from the library chair. It was hard to believe that she had already been here two months.

She grimaced slightly as she recalled some of the more 'unpleasant' events that took place during her time here, mainly her dealings with Severus Snape.

The two had entered a war of sorts. A war of words, intelligence, and in the dealings of house points. Yes, Harry was Gryffindor Head of House but she felt a strong loyalty towards her old house

And so it really came as no surprise when she got a little mad when she heard that the Slytherin Head of House was taking more points than necessary from Gryffindor.

And so she had confronted him.

Needless to say, a bitter argument ensued. Harry told her later that he could hear them yelling clear up on the fourth floor. They were in the dungeons.

The students had all smiled at her encouragingly the next day, telling her in their own silent way that they hoped she beat the foreboding Potions Master.

She smiled slightly as she exited the library, thinking of one of the primary ways she irritated him- calling him by his given name.

That had lasted two days and then he had started calling her Hermione, but of course that hadn't bothered her like it did him. And so he had thought of new ways to irritate her…few of which actually worked.

However, one thing that worked incredibly well was when he insulted her intelligence. Of course he never came right out and said it. Instead he hinted at it in passing.

The presence of students managed to stop her rebuttal every time, but she got him back in her own little ways. Often he found himself sporting dyed hair or colourful robes, ones that had to wear off and couldn't be removed by a counter jinx.

Thank you Fred and George.

"Hermione!" she turned to find Harry running towards her, a large grin on his face. As he reached her, he picked her up and spun her around until they were both dizzy.

"Harry!" she cried while laughing as he finally set her down on her own two feet. "What's with you today? I'm glad that you're happy but you're just…too happy."

"I know," he said with a goofy grin. He was bouncing around like a two year old who just got a double helping of his favourite ice cream. "Guess what!"

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a small smile. "You just proposed to Ginny and she said yes."

He opened his mouth before promptly shutting it again, a bemused look on his face. "How did you know?"

She patted his cheek. "Harry, dear, I can tell the future."

He laughed at her cheap jab at Professor Trelawney and the practice of Divination. "Ginny already got to you, did she?"

"Received an owl just twenty minutes ago," she confirmed. She gave him a stern look as she said, "She interrupted my grading I'll have you know."

Harry scoffed and teased, "Like you're not already weeks ahead in that," as he playfully poked her stomach. "Anyway, Ron and I are going out to celebrate. Want to come?"

She chewed on her lower lip as she thought about it and the stack of work she had left to do. She really shouldn't. She should stay and finish her work and…

Ah, what the hell?

"I'd love to."

The call of alcohol was just too strong to deny.

o-o-o-o-o

The next morning, Hermione clutched her head as she sat at the Head table in the Great Hall. She was nursing a mighty hangover and the only thing stopping her from brewing a hangover potion was the fact that she was out of one of the ingredients and she refused to ask that stuck up, arrogant…

"Problems?" came the slick voice of the very man she was mentally cursing. She heard him slide into his normal seat beside of her.

She didn't raise her head from the cradle of her arms as she snapped, "No." She immediately regretted the tone of her voice as her head gave a violent throb.

"I gather from your abnormally foul mood this morning that you'll lay off the alcohol from now on," he drawled as he ladled food onto his plate.

She raised her head long enough to glare at him before putting it back down. "How do you even know I have a hangover? I could just have a very bad headache."

She heard him shifting in his seat and then the sound of him setting something down on the table beside of her…something that sounded like glass. "Then I guess you wouldn't want this little vial of hangover potion, now would you?"

Her hand shot out quickly and grabbed the vial, quickly gulping down the contents. An instant relief swept through her as the potion did its job. She moaned in relief.

"Headache, eh?"

She glared at him before realizing that she should really be thanking him. Then she remembered something. "Wait a minute, how did you even know that I would even need a hangover potion, and don't even try to tell me that you always carry one on you."

"I heard a little rumour that Potter got engaged and I figured that you- one of you- would need a little pick me up this morning," he answered.

To her utter dismay, she found herself smiling at him in a playful manner. "So, you would have offered it to them if they were in my position?"

"No," he responded curtly and honestly, "I would have dangled it in front of their faces like bait and yet I would not give it to them."

"Evil," she said with a small grin.

He merely shrugged though she could make out a small smile threatening to break out across his face. For that, she felt a small victory.

The rest of breakfast passed by without incident. Hermione felt much better after taking the hangover potion and laughed more freely with the other professors around her- even Severus. She figured that she should at least be civil to him since he had provided her with the relief she needed.

Harry, she noticed, looked a little worse for wear, though he still had that large goofy smile on his face. Really, he was like a little boy after receiving a present.

Ron, on the other hand, didn't even bother showing up for breakfast. Harry informed her that the big baby was whining his pretty little redhead off in his bed, moaning and groaning about the after effects of alcohol. Apparently, he was never going to drink again.

Like either of them believed that.

Severus made a few remarks towards Harry though he didn't measure up to his usual nastiness. He seemed much more mellowed out than usual.

However, he still tried to irritate her with his little flippant remarks. She refused to rise to his bait, though, and remained all smiles, being exceedingly nice to him.

Really, she found his reaction to her attitude very amusing. He seemed shocked at first and then he slowly adapted to her attitude. He made less bad remarks towards her and instead actually attempted to hold a decent intelligent conversation with her.

Odd behaviour indeed.

o-o-o-o-o

Hermione stood in the very back corner of the darkened section of the Restricted section with a large tome held firmly in her hands. Her eyes scanned over the title, making out the letters even in the dark.

Her brown eyes took in the words without really seeing what was written. She was lost in thought, her mind kilometers away from Hogwarts at the moment.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that it was bad to read in the dark?"

She jumped, managing to stifle her scream as her hand flew to her chest. "Merlin's beard, Severus, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

He surveyed her through his ink black eyes as he leaned languidly against a nearby bookshelf, a small smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. "If you weren't so engrossed in an intense study of the cover then you would have heard me clearing my throat for the past five minutes."

She blushed despite herself and quickly turned, shoving the book back into its rightful place. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something and…"

She stopped, another blush creeping up her cheeks as she kept her back to him, slowly manoeuvring through the shelves to leave the library. She heard his easy footfall following her, though.

"What are you doing in here this late at night anyway?" he asked as they neared the front.

She turned to him, causing him to pull up swiftly so that he wouldn't crash into her. She hadn't realized he was that close. "I am a professor now and I don't have to answer that."

He smirked. "You don't have to," pause, "but you will."

She shook her head as she turned away, rummaging around in the dark as she tried to find her bag she had laid down earlier when there was still light to see. "Bugger," she muttered.

Behind her she heard him mutter something about "impossible witches" before a soft glow emitted from the tip of his wand. "Thanks," she mumbled.

She quickly discovered her bag beneath one of the tables. Apparently someone had knocked it off and didn't feel that they should have to pick it back up. Rude people.

"So," he drawled, "what are you doing here?"

She sighed and faced him, her eyes showing just how tired she really was. "Honestly? I came her to do some research and I just lost track of time. It was still light outside when I found that book earlier."

"You've been standing back there that long?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Believe me when I say that I'm just as shocked as you," she huffed as she shouldered the bag. "My mind has just been so preoccupied lately that I just lose track of time."

He frowned. "What were you thinking about?"

She was surprised by the sincerity in his voice. Normally there was only coldness, but just then she could almost swear that he sounded as if he actually cared. Impossible…

She shrugged. "Nothing much." She looked up into his eyes and smiled. "Everything."

He pulled out a seat for her at the table and, surprised, she took it, watching as he took a seat in the one right next to her. He placed his elbow on the table, turning slightly to get a better look at her. "Alright, what's wrong?"

The corner of her mouth turned up in a half smile. "Ah, Severus, I didn't know you cared."

"Don't test my patience," he advised.

"Very well," she said with a weary sigh. "Well, I've been sort of seeing Draco for four months now without realizing it. I just thought we were friends hanging out but earlier today he stopped by and…"

When she hesitated, he pressed her. "And?"

"Well, for Christmas he gave me that lovely bracelet with the matching necklace. I thought it was rather odd for him to get me- a friend- something like that but I went a long with it," she told him. "Obviously I shouldn't have."

"Hermione, you're getting off subject. What did Draco say to you?"

She looked at him, her brown eyes large and weary, tears starting to brim the edges of them. "He told me that he was in love with me."

Severus simply stared at her. Slowly, he cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair. "And…er….did you say it back to him…I mean, do you feel the same?"

She looked away, her hands fisting themselves together on the table top. "I don't know," she said softly, "I just don't know."

"I see."

She looked at him. "No, you don't!" she cried desperately. "All these months I simply viewed him as a friend, nothing more. I thought he knew that. Then, out of the blue he tells me that he's in love with me and all I could do was stare at him."

"So you didn't say it back?"

"No," she whispered, shaking her head slowly. "I couldn't." She looked up at him, her brown eyes locking with his. "I…well, quite frankly I'm confused by my emotions at the moment."

He frowned, leaning forward towards her slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I know I feel something, something strange and yet wonderful, something I have never felt before," she confided, "just not towards Draco. I don't know, he's more like one of my friends."

"So these feelings," he pressed, "what do you think they are? Or better yet, who are you feeling them for?"

She nibbled at her lower lip as she thought over her response. "I…er…"

A crash outside of the library door saved her from answering as he was instantly on his feet and heading towards the source. She stared after his dark figure, a small frown on her face as she thought over her answer.

"You."

A/N: You guys know you're awesome, right?

MiZZ AmAyA