Of Potions and Potion Masters
Chapter Two: Dreams
He walked her back to her room when they had finished with the rounds. "Sleep well, Miss Granger, you have classes to teach in the morning," Snape said turning with a flick of his robes. Those were the first words he had spoken to her since they had started walking together an hour earlier.
"Sleep well as well, Professor, I do believe you have a group of first years first thing tomorrow," Hermione said with a soft laugh, "for the sake of all of you, you should rest." She opened the door and turned back to his retreating form, "Thanks again, Professor!"
He raised his head in acknowledgment and continued off down the hall, turning the corner before Hermione could say anything else. He knew he wouldn't sleep well that night, some after effects of the final battle against Voldemort.
When he returned to his room he changed into his night clothes and laid down in his bed, staring at the sealing didn't seem like an enjoyable pastime, so he closed his eyes to try to get some sleep.
The next morning Snape walked into the Potions classroom crankier than normal, he hadn't slept very well; his dreams making him toss and turn. But it wasn't memories of the final battle that had kept him from resting; it was dreams of the young, fuzzy-haired Muggle Studies teacher. The thought that the dreams weren't anything too bad was what was keeping the Potions teacher going; it was just the fact that the dreams had her in them.
After assigning the potion for the day he sat down at his desk and began to think back on the dream he had the night before, it started out how most of his dreams from his school days went, and then turned to something he thought he would never dream of.
James Potter walked up to him, his usual smirk on his face, "Snivillus, get out of my way." Snape stared at him and then turned to walk away. Just then James pulled out his wand, and yet again said the spell to hang him by the ankles.
"Let him down, James!" a familiar voice called out, but it wasn't the usual voice of his lovely Lilly. Severus looked over and saw the face of Hermione Granger standing next to Lilly.
The dream ended when he had fallen to the ground, and the rest of the night more dreams like that one followed. Each time Hermione was standing with Lilly as they saved him from his tormentors over and over again.
The class ended and Snape told everyone to leave their potion in their cauldrons, he would be coming by to check the end result later. When the children left the room, he walked down the rows, finding that some of them didn't do such a good job at brewing the potions. The supposed lime green mixture had turned bright pink in several of the cauldrons.
He didn't have any other classes until after lunch, so he decided to go to the library and pick up some light reading. However, another teacher had the same idea, and as he was walking into the library, she was just gathering up her things to leave.
"How was your morning, Professor?" She asked with a smile. She ran her hand through her hair to get it out of her face and grabbed the book she had been reading.
"Tolerable," Snape said nodding in her direction, "and you?"
"It was better than yours, it sounds like," Hermione said with another smile, "I've got to go, and I'll see you at lunch I suppose."
She walked out of the library and to her class room where she rewound the video she was showing her class that day, something that would help them learn something about Muggles in America. It was an old TV show called "Welcome Back Kotter".
She wasn't in the mood to actually teach anything today, and the humor of the show would help her laugh all her troubles away. She had asked Dumbledore earlier if it would be alright to show a few Muggle shows, and he gave the ok. Today would be one of those rare occasions.
When class started she put in the tape and then she zoned out until the laughter of her class was a distant sound. That's how the whole class was passed, her thinking about the dreams she had last night.
They were dreams of Severus, a younger Severus, but it was the man just the same. In those dreams she was standing next to Lilly, saving the man over and over from Harry's father.
She wasn't sure how it happened, or when exactly, but she had grown fond of the emotionless man, and wanted to help him overcome his past. She wanted to defrost his icy heart.
AN: In this chapter we see Hermione falling for one Severus Snape, however, he won't be falling this quickly. And what is this? They're sharing dreams!? If you give me suggestions, I'll be forever happy.
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter… or Snape, but I do so wish I did!