Don't own 'em. :/

Hope you like it!

The Letter

Severus was pacing, as usual. The girl wanted to speak to him. He ran his hand through his hair and stared at the opened letter that lay on his coffee table. Just a few minutes earlier, Hagrid had come knocking on his door with a confused look on his face, saying that this letter had come addressed to him and that he had been asked to deliver it. Severus had politely thanked the half-giant, then excused himself so that he could attend to the matter. He almost wished he hadn't.

Professor Snape,

I am very sorry to bother you, but there is a matter that I absolutely must discuss with you as soon as possible. I am sure that Minerva has already told you that I might be wishing to talk to you, so now I would like to set a time and place. Please respond to this however you see fit.

Sincerely,

Ms. Granger

Severus didn't know what to do. There was such a formality to the letter that he felt it might as well have come from Minerva, telling him he did something wrong and that his presence was required in the Headmistress' Office. He sighed. He knew he should respond to her, but he was scared. He was absolutely sure that it had something to do with the talk Minerva was supposed to have had with her; why else would she have mentioned her?

He glared at the letter, wishing it would burst into flames. It might as well have been a Howler. Deciding he might as well reply and get it over with before classes started, he sat down and scribbled out a reply. Once he was finished, he sealed the letter and put it on top of the seventh years' Potions work. She was in his second class of the day. On the bottom right of the sealed parchment, he wrote "Please do not open until you are alone."

Hermione trudged to Potions. She wasn't sure if Hagrid had had a chance to deliver her message yet, so she didn't know if she really wanted to face Snape. She knew he would be even more intolerable if he didn't want to talk to her. Harry and Ron had left after her, having been caught up with some of the sixth years who went into Charms after them, something about Quidditch. Not wanting to listen, she walked away. Now she wished she had stayed so that she wouldn't be subjected to Snape's surly self any more than necessary.

The door was open when she got to the room. She poked her head in, realized no one was there yet, and then walked quickly to her seat and pulled out her Potions book. Before she even got close to the right chapter, the seat next to her became occupied.

"Hello, Granger." Draco had a smirk.

"What, Draco?"

"Geez, woman. All I did was sit next to you and you're gonna bite my head off?"

Hermione shut her book and looked over at him. "I'm sorry, Draco. I'm just a little on edge today."

His smirked widened. "You're not the only one." He glanced around. "Professor Snape's been storming around the place like there's more than just a stick up his ass."

"I do hope you are speaking of a certain snake, Mr. Malfoy, or I might be tempted to deduct points from Slytherin," Snape's cool voice flowed straight from his mouth to Hermione's core, causing her to blush. Snape noticed and felt his pants tighten. Trying to ignore the sensation, he hurried back to his desk and pulled out the stack of tests that needed to be returned. Once the entirety of the class arrived, he handed them out, being careful to not allow anyone else to see that Hermione's packet was a little thicker.

Ms. Granger,

If you are still willing to have our discussion, please come to the Potions classroom this evening whenever you are available. I will be there until 9.

Professor Snape

Hermione read, then reread the letter. She hadn't expected him to reply so soon. When she first saw the parchment attached to her last test, she had fully expected it to say something along the lines of "the next meeting will be tomorrow at 7," and that it would have been meant for Draco, not her. She shrugged and tucked the letter back into her school bag, wanting to have it with her always. She wasn't sure what to make of his reply. It seemed so… direct. She wondered if maybe he knew somehow what she wanted to speak to him about. Maybe he did ask Minerva.

Hermione stretched and checked the clock, then settled back into her study chair. It was only 5 o' clock, so she figured she had at least another hour to sit and ponder her situation, and pulled out her books.

Severus Snape, greasy bat of the dungeons, Potions Master, and ex-Death Eater, was nervous. His last class had just let out and he didn't have any paperwork this evening. All that was left for him to do was to wait until Hermione decided to come. She had done as he asked and waited until she was at least out of Potions before reading the note he had left her, and she hadn't responded. He kept going over and over in his mind what she wanted to talk to him about. He just knew it had something to do with how she could never like him. And that he should just stay in his rooms alone. He glanced at the clock. 5:30. He knew she wouldn't come any earlier than 6 because he always made sure his meetings were at 7. To bide time, he got out a cauldron. 'Might as well start on the next batch of Dreamless Sleep…'

Hermione finished her essay for History of Magic, all 18 inches of it, and leaned back, massaging her neck. She hadn't realized she'd been so hunched over the last hour. That thought made her stop. 'Shit. It's already 6:30!' She jumped out of her seat and began scurrying around, trying to clean up. She knew the state of her rooms didn't matter, but it helped to ease her tension. When everything was spotless, and she couldn't procrastinate anymore, she headed to the dungeons, full of anxiety.

Sorry it's so short, you guys. But I really wanted to post! *puppy dog eyes* Am I forgiven? *bats eyelashes*

The next chapter will be their little "discussion". Hopefully it'll be done soon...