A/N- Once again I will thank my beta excessivelyperky. I would also like to thank all of you wonderful reviewers out there, you do inspire.

Disclaimer- gets out a huge package of post-its and writes 'Not mine, though I wish it' on every single one, and plasters them over the entire story. Author looks at the now yellowed story and quirks her brow at it. Hmm. I hope I was not too excessive with the post-its…

……………………………………………………………………………………………… Chapter 12- Quandary

She fumed for the next half hour- git, insufferable miserable git. How dare he! He talked to her as if she were nothing more than the equivalent of a plastic cup. Bastard. To release her frustrations she picked up a few of the trinkets that were lying decoratively on the shelves and threw them across the library. It was odd, how throwing things could alleviate one's mood.

She sighed; it was no use, really, to put off her work any longer. She had to have it done by the next day and procrastination was never the best way to get things done. Her anger dissipated- somewhat-, she went to her desk, looked at the assignment and growled in frustration. It would have been easy, look up a potion and read its effects.

She could do that. BUT it was not so easy. Of course not; after all, it WAS Snape that she was dealing with, the bastard. Not realizing it, she mimicked Snape's sneer as she read over the note again.

Miss Granger,

Your assignment is to research the Restore Spine Salve, it should be found in the index. Take notes on how it is made, and study the effects of the ingredients, etc. I wish you to be done no later than dinner tomorrow.

Happy Studies,

S.S

She crumpled up the letter and opened the larger of the two books in front of her. Of course, the index was not in alphabetical order (Of course it wouldn't be, it would be far too easy if it were…), and it covered nearly fifteen pages. Still, that wasn't the impossible part of the entire thing. She sighed again as she started to flip through the thick, but smaller dictionary that he had also left on the desk. Romanian, the entire bloody book was in Romanian.

It took her nearly a half hour to find it. Reintegra şira Spinării Unguent- at least she had found it. Now… Just to translate the rest of the bloody thing… It was going to be a very long night. And as she turned to the page in question, or pages rather, she groaned.

It would be a very long night indeed.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Snape sat at his desk within his personal quarters, his face buried within his hands. Bloody hell. The stupid girl didn't know… She didn't know that he had saved her, nor did she know how; not that she wouldn't learn about what had happened, bearing in mind the side effects that would surface soon enough. He swore underneath his breath and clenched his fists within his own hair. It wasn't really fair, to be honest. It would truly be a pain in the ass once those bloody effects decided to kick in. He would have to tread more carefully-- block himself off more so than he normally did around the girl.

His insults wouldn't be enough to lead her astray then, it would take more. He would have to steer clear of her, to block her out completely- for her own safety of course. He breathed deeply in through his nose. He knew what could happen; he had watched his mother do it before. Though she hadn't done it to save a life, in fact, she had done it for the exact opposite reasons. As much as he didn't like the girl, he did not desire her to suffer his more… darker moods. Inwardly he hoped that the effects on her were not as severe as what he had once witnessed in his childhood. It shouldn't be really, considering he was devoid of the more… disquieting effects of his predecessors.

He had lied to her, not that he cared how she felt about him. No, he would rather that she hated him; at least she wouldn't bother him then. He actually had been a bit relieved when she had walked in the library, and he wasn't about to say that he had spent the past two days waiting next to the door waiting for the little chit to arrive. He had saved her, and he was worried that maybe… MAYBE it hadn't worked. It was the dream. That bloody, awful dream that plagued him ever since he was a child, first by his father, and then by them; the people that had plagued him for most of his life, even after death. The Potters.

As the years went by the dream changed little by little, adding people that he had killed, or was responsible for. He hated it, feeling guilty like that. It was why he usually drank a dreamless sleep potion before bed. He had no happy dreams- not that he would know what happy was, really; taking to mind the fact that he himself could never successfully conjure a Patronus of any sort. No, he had no happy memories; in fact the best of his memories had been of revenge, or of his only friend, Albus.

Those were definitely not strong enough to conjure such a terrible thing. No, his own miserable existence staved off the Dementors. They usually steered clear of him, for some reason. He always figured it was because he already was so plagued with his own dreadful memories, so much so that there was nothing left for them to feed off of.

Attempting to leave his reverie, he decided to go to bed. He undressed until he was entirely nude, and slipped underneath the four or five heavy covers that lie atop his bed. He quickly drank down a single portion of his usual dreamless sleep potion and then rested back onto the mass of pillows beneath him. Oh yes he, one Severus Snape, slept in complete luxury. Not to mention it was wonderful for his back.

This thought drove him to think about the assignment he had just given the girl. It was the ideal one, really. Once she had it finished, which should take around a dozen tries, with a little help of course- seeing as the girl was far too perfect for her own good, he would have her make it once a month. Then he would teach her other potions that were required to be brewed upon a regular basis, and thus securing himself a more leisurely lifestyle for the next four years. Yes, it would be perfect. It would have been easier had the assignment been in English; had it been, he would have expected it done by breakfast. But as it were, the only copy of that particular potion was in Romanian, so being slightly kind to her, he gave her a small extension. Though for some reason, within the back of his mind, he believed she just might be done by breakfast anyway. Probably strolling in with laughter in her face, and a deviant smile that would say 'See, you insufferable bastard, I can do things on time. You see, I very well deserve to be here…'

With this image dancing on the edges of his brain, he closed his eyes, and fell into the most blissful, dreamless, sleep.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

The next morning Snape arrived late for breakfast, half expecting Granger to be there. She wasn't. Oh well, so much for intuition. He sneered at his own thoughts and swiftly took his seat next to Minerva, who, intrusively according to him, decided to make a conversation with him. Bloody woman.

"So when is it that we will see your lovely apprentice, dear Severus? You have not locked her permanently away have you?" Though her tone was merry, her eyes squinted in accusation.

He snorted at her, not bothering to turn his head away from the plate that was in front of him. "Lovely, Minerva? I would hardly call her such a thing. Lovely would be someone who would be conservative enough not to flaunt his or her knowledge in front of everyone. In my opinion, she is no better than Malfoy had been. He shows off his bloodline, she shows off her mind. Is there truly a dissimilarity?" To this he turned his eyes to her, long enough to notice that her mouth was hanging open in a manner that made him believe she was searching for words. He continued. "And if you are attempting to accuse me of having the girl chained to the wall within 'the deep, dark, horrible dungeon', then you are quite mistaken. She has been given another assignment, and should be arriving to at least one of the meals today. Whether or not she appears for any others will be her own decision."

The woman responded with a small 'Hm' and continued to eat. After another five minutes or so, she turned to him again, speaking softly. "How is Miss Granger's hand, by the way?"

He stabbed his fork sharply onto the plate in front of him, gripping it so tightly within his hand that he could feel his skin start to rip. He pressed his lips together for a moment. She knew. She fucking knew, and she had the nerve to ask him of it. Deciding that he would answer only to be somewhat courteous, he forced his breath out. "Fine." He answered tightly, hoping that she would get the hint, and leave it be.

She smiled briefly to his answer and turned back to her own plate. "Thank you, Severus, for saving her for the second time."

He threw down his fork, making a rather loud 'tink'. As he began to march out of the hall, a mischievous glint entered Minerva's eyes and she gave herself a toothy smile. In order to make it clear that he was irritated, he slammed the doors open on his way out, thoroughly disturbed. That conniving old woman was up to something, but what?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

When lunch finally arrived, he had decided to take Hermione's designated seat. After what had happened at breakfast, there was no chance in hell that he would sit next to McGonagall again. At least not for that particular day, and he didn't give a rat's ass whether or not Hermione actually would come for lunch. SHE could sit next to Minerva for all he cared. He wasn't going to move, and that was simply final.

Shortly after the meal began, he noticed a certain someone enter the room. It had been the wrong meal, but he had been correct on how she was walking towards the head table. She practically skipped, a wild grin upon her face as she hummed. She hesitated momentarily before she took her seat next to him. Before she could make a comment, he spoke instead.

"Congratulations, Miss Granger, you have finished your assignment astonishingly ahead of time. Do try and keep up this pace, it is rather preferable to the habit that you seem to have gotten yourself into."

Her eyes widened. "I am rarely ever late, and you know it!"

He raised his brow to her. "Do I, Miss Granger? How much did you actually think that I paid attention to you whilst you were in school? I noticed you long enough to realize that I did not particularly like you, so do not tell me what I must have noticed about you. You silly little girl, would you think that even had I paid more attention to you, that I would base your current attendance record on how you were in school? I do not know why, but it would seem that your 'tardiness' during your apprenticeship with me is entirely substantial. It would seem to me that you do not feel this apprenticeship is your top priority. Is it, Miss Granger? Do you actually wish to gain your Mastery? Because from what I have seen within this last month, I doubt it."

Her expression passed from shocked, to angry, to horrified within a few seconds. "I do want it, sir! Otherwise I would not have asked you for it." She was silent a moment before she continued on. "Besides, it would do me no good to slack off now, I do have nearly a full four years to go yet."

"Do you, Miss Granger? Four years seems an awfully long time to keep an apprentice who refuses to do as they are told." He regarded her a moment, and for the second time since he had taken her on, he made the decided to call her bluff. "I could end it, you know. You could go home, perhaps to university and gain your certificate of academic achievement like you had planned before this silly notion of becoming my apprentice. It is in the contract, Miss Granger, I may end this for you now; it may not be offered to you again."

She scrunched her nose at his words. "I read the contract at least three times, and I never saw anything about that. As to what I read, the only way out is death."

He looked back down at his food, allowing his hair to fall into his face before he allowed his amused smirk to show itself. "Perhaps, Miss Granger, you did not read it as well as you had thought, for it is the first clause of the contract. There are a total of four clauses that are, in fact, printed on that parchment."

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

"WHAT clauses?" She was so confused that she was starting to panic. She had read it! She knew she had, there was no such clause on that paper… Was there?

"Tut, tut, Miss Granger, you obviously did not look in the correct areas of the contract. But nonetheless, the offer shall stand. Choose wisely, Miss Granger, this may be the only opportunity that you will have to leave this apprenticeship. Yet if you leave, you will not have the ability to learn under any Master of the field. So what shall it be? Will you show more interest in your studies than what you have displayed to me thus far?"

She bit her lip as she stared at him. He seemed so… uninterested at how she would decide. He hated her, and she had an honest chance of dying if she stayed, that she had learned just a few short days ago, and he didn't even show the slightest hint at caring. So why should she stay? After all, very few actually attained their Mastery anyway… She looked up to him, and proceeded to tell him his answer.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

A/N- Once again to be nice I will give you the language translation. Reintegra şira Spinării Unguent - Restore Spine Salve

Once again I would like to thank you for doing this for me, you did a great job on the last chapter. :)