A/N- Thank you for your reviews, and I hope that you keep reading, and are as equally intrigued by this chapter as the last.

Disclaimer- IT IS NOT MINE. So stop asking. LoL.

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Chapter 2- Ron's Little Surprise

Ron stared at Hermione, his jaw dropping practically to his chest as he did so. "You're mad, Hermione, simply and completely, stark raving mad."

"I'm not! He is brilliant, and I want the best education available. Honestly Ron, you should know that much about me by now."

"But 'Mione, you don't know what is included in a potions apprenticeship. My uncle, he-"

She interrupted, "Stop Ron, I don't want to hear the misfortune of your uncle. I have read about apprenticeships, and it merely means that I will practically belong to him. Besides, I believe that underneath it all, Snape isn't really all that bad, just… Just misunderstood is all." She spoke it, trying to convince herself of the same words that she was trying to convince him of. He wasn't bad… He wasn't bad… Was he? No, Hermione, focus; this is your education at stake here.

"He went to Azkaban! His apprenticeship drove him mad, and Snape is far worse than the man he studied under!"

She set her jaw. "RON, I will be fine."

Ron went to open his mouth again, but Harry interrupted him. "Will you guys stop already? We just graduated, enjoy it for a few minutes." Just as he seen them open their mouth with 'but-' trying to roll of their tongues, he quickly continued. "And I agree with both of you- Snape is misunderstood, but I also agree with Ron. It is Snape, and you have to be careful. While he probably won't kill you, he would probably mess with you a bit. Remember- I actually had to work with him for a year before we were able to defeat Voldem-" Harry's face suddenly went pale and his lips became thin; as if he had just seen a ghost. He spoke in a whisper, strained as his throat closed on him, "Before you know when…" He turned to the window as Hermione and Ron exchanged a look of worry, and they continued the ride in silence.

Snape paced his room. What in the world would he wear to this so-called 'meeting'? Not that he cared, but for appearances sake… For how would an apprentice amuse him, if he scared them away before the contract was ever signed? It would be such a pity really. It wasn't as if people were trying to break down his door for his 'special' tutelage. In fact, this was the first time ever, in the twenty some odd-years since he had started teaching, that anyone at all had ever come to him about furthering their education in Potions. And as far as he knew, only one other student had pursued Potions after they had graduated whilst he was teaching; and that had been a son of one of the Deatheaters, who was sort of… forced into that situation at the university by his father.

He scoffed at himself, and finally just marched up to his closet, grabbed a pair of black casual robes (which, truth be told, was more or less all he really owned anyways- outside of the regular teaching robes that is…), threw them on the bed, and transfigured them into a nice dress robe set. "That will have to do," he spoke to no one. He then changed into them, and then went to the bathroom to look into the mirror. He attempted a small smile, which turned out to be more like a grimace. "Bloody hell." He opted for the 'bored' look instead.

He went to the desk inside of his private rooms, and sat down heavily. He leaned back and crossed his legs, crossing his finger over his upraised knee. He could feel his lip twitch up into a sneer as he pondered the odd situation. Sure, the Granger girl would be a pain, but if he could stump her at least once, then it would all be worth it; and if the insolent girl thought that she was going to be getting it easy, she was dead wrong.

At this thought he took out his wand and pointed it behind his head at the painting hanging there. "Finite incantatum." As he said the words, he turned around, facing what had once been the painting. In its stead was a framed document. This time he genuinely smiled, with a soft chuckle, emanating from the back of his throat like harsh velvet. He regarded it for a moment before he made his decision. Yes… It was perfect…

He pointed his wand at it and muttered, "Strictum scribere." A piece of paper started to form at the end of his wand, slowly sculpting itself in the almost exact image of the paper that he was copying. Finally, it was done, and he caught it in mid-air as it started to fall to the ground. He looked at it, noticing that the spell had gone correctly as he remembered it should. The only thing left to do, was inscribe the names…

As soon as the trio had got off the train, Mrs. Weasley greeted them, and invited them all to stay at the Burrow- seeing as Harry was already family, and Hermione didn't… really… have a home left to go home to. Of course she didn't bring that fact up to Hermione, though, but it went into her reasoning.

They were soon there, and the boys unpacked, but Ron noticed that there was something that Hermione wasn't doing. "'Mione, aren't you going to unpack? Mum said you were welcome to stay in with Ginny."

She wrapped her arms around herself in a small self-hug. "No Ron, I don't think I will. I mean… Well…" She bit at her lip a moment. "You see, it isn't as if I will be staying here a full day anyway. So-"

Ron let out an exaggerated sigh, and then took hold of Hermione's arm, and led her into Ginny's room, where they were alone. "I can't believe that your going to be going through with that 'Mione."

She pulled her arm away. "Did you think I was joking?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Well… Maybe…"

"Ron…"

"Will you just listen a moment 'Mione? It will ruin everything if you go."

She furrowed her brow in confusion. "Ruin everything… Ruin what, Ron? I haven't planned anything but this apprenticeship."

"Oh… Well… I…" He gave her his trademark half-smile, and ran his hand through his hair again. "I…"

"You what?"

He took a deep breath. "Well, I wasn't really planning on this until later, but…" He suddenly reached into his pocket and brought out a rather suspicious looking box.

She took a small step back. "Ron…"

He moved forward, grabbed her hand, got down on one knee and opened the box to reveal an elaborate-for-a-Weasley diamond ring. "Hermione, will you marry me?"

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A/N- Once again, I hope you liked the chapter, and please review. :)