A/N: Here's a chapter, finally. Hope you enjoy, and please review.

What happened last:

He continued to glare at her, and she just sat there with her feet up. He was still glaring at her several minutes later but his eyes had lost the harshness.

"Very well Granger. Get your feet off my desk. I could have you expelled for what you just did, but I suppose I won't."

"Only because I would get you fired first," Hermione retorted. Snape paused mid step.

"Whatever you say, Miss Granger."

"I believe you owe me dinner," Hermione said, removing her feet from his desk and flashing him a smile.

"Miss Granger, perhaps it would be best if you left."

"But sir, you owe me dinner. And someone has to help you dye your hair black."

"Fine, Miss Granger. How do you suppose we do that?"

"Well. Since none of the spells work, you'll probably have to use Muggle hair dye."

"Miss Granger, the nearest Muggle settlement is miles away. You can't leave, and I will not."

"So have a house elf take me. Dumbledore won't need to know."

"Miss Granger, it's not safe…"

"I'll just leave then, and you can figure out how to turn your hair back," Hermione said.

"Fine, Miss Granger. I will take you."

Hermione summoned some of her Muggle money and her coat, and Snape dillusioned himself and led the way out of the dungeon. Hermione's coat caught up with her in the Entrance Hall, and she put it on before dillusioning herself and following the professor.

As Snape was allowed to come and go, they had no trouble getting off the grounds. Once out of the anti-apparition wards, Snape reached out and took Hermione's hand, and apparated them to the nearest Muggle town.

Appearing in an ally, Hermione removed her dillusionment charm and stuck her wand up her sleeve. She dragged the still dillusioned Snape out of the ally and onto the street, where she continued to hold onto his hand. So he didn't disappear on her, she assured him.

She found a drug store, and they went inside. Quickly locating black hair dye, Hermione brought it to the front to pay for. The cashier was a teenage guy, who stared at her creepily, and then tried to flirt.

"Surely a pretty girl like you wouldn't want to actually use this?" he said.

"It's not for me," Hermione snapped. "It's for my boyfriend. He's a chemist, and his last experiment turned his hair pink."

The cashier stopped flirting after that, and Hermione could practically feel Snape glaring at her. They left the store and returned to the ally, where Hermione dillusioned herself again, and Snape apparated them back to the castle.

Once they were within the relative safety of the gates, Snape spoke.

"What the hell Granger?"

"Sorry sir. I was about to hex that kid."

They walked back to the dungeons in silence. Snape was wondering how much of her story had been made up. Did she wish he was her boyfriend? Not that Snape wanted to be called anyone's boyfriend. It sounded so undignified and childish. But that was beside the point.

Hermione hoped he wasn't too mad that she referred to him as her boyfriend. But she really had been about to hex the kid, and didn't know what else to do.

Once back in Snape's office they removed the dillusionment charms.

"I'll order something for dinner Miss Granger. Then you can leave."

He sat down at his desk and called a house elf to bring two dinners. They talked about a variety of topics during dinner, mostly potions related.

When they finished dinner, Hermione said,

"Sir, if you want I can help with the dye. I've done it before, and it's a lot harder to do on yourself. My cousin tried it and it didn't end well."

"If you screw it up…" he threatened.

"It won't be worse than it is right now. I promise."

Since magic could be used to remove any dye that got on her hands, Hermione skipped the gloves and any steps that involved towels or putting on something that didn't matter. She mixed up the dye, and applied it to Snape's hair. Unlike all the spells, this finally turned his hair black again. After the required amount of time, Hermione shooed him off to wash the dye out of his hair. When he returned, she had cleaned up, and his hair was black again. He sat down at his desk.

"Granger..."

"Hermione."

"Hermione… Thank you."

"You're welcome sir."

Snape picked up a book, and Hermione stepped around the desk and settled herself onto his lap, resting her head against his chest.

"What are you reading?" Hermione asked.

"Re-reading A History of Death. It's about famous potioneers…"

"Who died discovering fatal poisons. I know. I read it," Hermione interrupted.

"How in hell's name did you get your hands on a copy?"

"If I told you, then I'd have to kill you," Hermione said with a smirk.

"Oh really? You better not tell then."

"Don't worry sir, I won't."

He opened the book to where he left off, and started reading. Hermione followed along, and they made comments, questioned and debated where they saw fit. Before they knew it several hours had gone by.

"Hermione, don't you have studying to do?" Snape asked.

"Ehrm, maybe," Hermione said. Truth was, she did, but she didn't want to move.

"Why don't you bring your bag into my quarters? It would be more comfortable," Snape suggested. Hermione climbed off his lap, retrieved her bag from the table where she left it earlier, and followed Snape into his quarters. He caught her in the doorway, so she was trapped. Hermione was curious, what was he doing? But she wasn't scared. She trusted him. And liked him. And he could actually be nice.

"Hermione, this evening… it's been… nice."

"Yeah. It was, sir."

"Severus."

"Huh?"

"You may call me Severus."

Hermione smiled. She reached up and grabbed his collar, and kissed him. Just like that. He kissed her back for a moment, and then broke away.

"Hermione. We can't. You're underage."

"Actually, I'm not. I used a time turner in third year." Severus nodded, but the moment was ruined. He crossed the room and settled in a chair, and Hermione followed with her book bag. She pulled out her most recently written essay and sat at his feet to work on it. She rested her head against the inside of his knee and got to work.

When she had finished, she turned and looked up at him, and he was asleep. She didn't really want to wake him up, because that would probably end badly for her, but she didn't want to get caught in the hallway, and she didn't really want to just leave him there. She put her work way, took his book and marked the page for him, and cast a charm on him so he wouldn't have an incredibly stiff neck in the morning.

Then she curled up beside him in the chair and rested her head against his chest. She really hoped Dumbledore had no need for him that night; otherwise they would be in a lot of trouble. As Hermione started to fall asleep, Snape put his arm around her, and held her close.

And so it goes, the Angel and the Devil fight. The Angel wins, but the Devil has already seduced the onlookers, and is ultimately right. In this case, the Devil scared the Angel off, and seduced even the strongest, causing them to fall before him, into something that only the Angel would be proud of. Love.

A/N: And so it ends. It's been over a year since I started this, and exactly four months since I've updated, and I apologize for that. Anyone who knows me by now should know that when I promise updates, it's likely to be a lie. BUT, on a brighter note, I hope y'all have enjoyed this journey, and I thank you for all reviews and favorites and alerts.