Okay, so here's chapter three. Sorry it took so long. I had AP college work to do. So I was swamped! I hope you like it. And remember to review! If anyone is still out there!

The weird one.. aka the Author!

Chapter 3

Training with Severus was ever an easy task. Each day it became more rigorous and stressful. They had moved on to offensive Dark arts during the past week, and it was difficult because Hermione couldn't speak parseltongue, and most of the spells were spoken that way. She was advancing though, because of her extensive reading on the subject. And she was in no way tentative towards the more gruesome curses.

The physical training he put her through was extensive. She had already, in a few short days mastered the blade. Though her skills were not perfected, it would be something that Death Eaters would never expect from a mere 'child.' Who had not even finished her education yet.

The efforts put in by both teacher and student, were more than the Headmaster could hope for. They were working together well, with only a few quarrels to interrupt the so called 'peace.' If anyone could call preparing for battle through deception, peace. The extra study she threw herself into was barely keeping her up to task. She hadn't slept for more than three hours a night. And when she did sleep, it was restless. Dreams of events soon to pass covered the older, more comfortable dreams of her past.

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The floor was currently cleared of all weight machines and weaponry. Instead of a chaotic set, she had transfigured the floor to be a soft pale-stripped wood on which she danced. The feel of the shoes beneath her feet hinted at a long divest. She danced with no music that could be heard in the open. The only sound was an occasional pat of her Pointe shoes on the floor. Arms splayed with fluid direction and feet with quiet defiance. She was so into the emotion of the dance that she never noticed Severus sidle the room. He stayed in shadow and watched in silent amazement as the young woman turned a pirouette and continued on with tears streaming down her face. Now Severus knew why she had been so agile, and had learned the fluidity that was required with the blade. Dancers always made amazing fighters. And was she a dancer? He stepped out only when she fell to the ground and banged the floor with her fists and cried out. "Why does it have to be this way? It's not fair!"

Severus crossed the room and bent down beside her. "Hermione, this is no way to fix things, come, I know it seems easier to succumb to our sorrows but we must continue to prepare. I have set a meeting with Lucius for later this week. Also, the Dark Lord is anxious to meet you, so you must be prepared." He looked at her with a confused glance as her tears continued to fall. She whispered, "There's no going back now is there?" He left her with a sympathetic glance and a whispered, 'no.'

Hermione was now in a rage, nothing could stop her now. The thought of coming face to face with Lucius Malfoy after everything that had happened in the Department of Mysteries made her want to tear him limb from limb. So she was now working intensely. Already having gone through her kick boxing routine mixed with stretches, she had moved on to the endurance part of her training. The gym now contained many muggle weight machines and also the treadmill on which Hermione was currently running. This was always her favorite part of training because when she ran the stress was gone. Even though it was physically strenuous, her body had to use all of its concentration to keep the pace steady and her breathing slow and deep, so she didn't really think about anything but her heartbeat and the patter of her tennis shoes on the rubber.

Hermione was pulled from her reverie as Severus re-entered the 'gym' after his break.

"Hermione, are you well? Have you gotten any rest at all this past week? You seem over-exhausted. You can't continue working this way, its killing you." Hermione looked up to see him close the door quietly. She then stepped off of the machine and threw a towel around her sweaty back and sat down at a weight bench to cool off. "I've probably been up since four or so, I couldn't sleep so I thought, 'why waste time?' And I went to bed at around eleven so I got a few hours, not too many but I don't like to sleep a lot. It's like I said, wasting time, precious time that I could be using to get stronger, and build up my defenses. Besides, you know that once I'm up I don't take a break. My dancing," she blushed at this, "is only a habit I can't break. I've been doing that since I was old enough to walk."

"I understand, but if you do not rest, your defenses can't be strong because your body will start concentrating on gaining rest no matter what your head is doing. Now, I thought that for the remainder of today we would take a break from physical work and you can get to study some theory. After that comes the difficult part." He grimaced at his next words. "We have to have some lessons for you on pureblood etiquette. I've found someone in one of the pureblood villages to shape you up in that area. So I think after you've had a proper lunch and gotten some study time in I will take you there and leave you with her for a few hours. Shower up, and please, Miss Granger, do attempt to look decent."

Severus hastily left the room and retreated to his quarters. As he dropped onto the sofa he wondered to himself, 'what have I gotten myself into?'