A/N: Hello all my lovely readers. I didn't plan on posting today, but since it's Mother's Day, I decided to leave you all a present. So Happy Mother's Day everyone!!

Thank you so much for all of your reviews. They were great and I loved them. Thank you also to everyone who is still adding me to their alerts and/or faves. Its a lovely stroke to my ego to see so many people enjoying my stories. As always, Please Read and Review.

Special Thanks to Kristine Thorne, my brilliant Beta. Who not only quickly fixes all of my errors and grammar, but comes back to add her own reviews on here too.

Disclaimer: Haven't added one in a while, so here we go. I do not own anything pertaining to the Harry Potter universe. Which is too bad really, cause J.K.R made a fortune with her books. I simply play around with the characters for fun and for free. Pervy as my ideas of what could have been may be sometimes. Ha ha.

Chapter 6

The next several weeks passed. Mid October became early November. Hermione had noticed that Snape still wasn't talking to her. Noticed that not only was he not talking to her, he was avoiding her all together now.

If he saw her walking down the hall, he would simply slide farther away and keep his head down. She would see him pass and turn her head to watch him just keep on walking.

She knew why he did this. Knew that not only was he slowly becoming that snarky bastard that she knew in the future, he was also keeping away due to her friendship with the Marauders.

She refused to give up her time as their friends either. She loved Remus like an older brother and now had a chance to get to know him better. Remus in her time would never allow her to see this side of him.

He felt that as her professor, as well as being so much older than her, he needed to keep that slight authoritative figure impression. So he talked to her about almost anything but rarely showed his playful side like he would do now.

She enjoyed seeing Sirius again after so many years. Though the person she knew before the end of her fifth year was only a shadow of what he had been before Azkaban. So she got to see who he really had been prior to his imprisonment.

Of course James and Lily she had never known. So she took this time to learn things about them so she could share those memories with Harry. All he had now was what Remus told him. Which wasn't much if you really thought about it.

She was still leery of Peter, but at least acknowledged him now. She would feel him brush against her while walking or sitting and not jump away anymore. She didn't trust him by any means. But she had seen Remus and Lily notice and look at her oddly over it.

They had asked her about it once and she had tried to shrug it off. Tried to say he just reminded her of someone she didn't like or trust. But Remus had glared slightly at her. Telling her that Peter wasn't that person and to be nice to him. The 'or else' wasn't said, but it was implied.

Lily had pulled her aside one day and explained that the boys were simply protective of Peter. Since Peter didn't have many friends and most of the kids around school were a bit mean or standoffish, the boys tried to protect him more due to it.

Lily had explained that she wasn't comfortable with Peter either, but still tried to act normally around him for James. Hermione had smiled at her and said she'd try. But Hermione knew what Peter would do and couldn't help being angry at the slimy rat.

She went to her classes and sat with her friends. She had spoken with Dumbledore many times and found he was no closer than he had been before to sending her home.

Hermione had asked if she could just spin it forward slowly until she reached her own time, but Dumbledore assured her that it wasn't safe to do it that way. The time turner could glitch and she might find herself stuck somewhere permanently.

Hermione had shrugged and let it go. She would get home eventually. She knew she would, though she didn't know how. She had to get home. Harry would never understand if she just disappeared one day, never to return.

Plus, with her knowledge of the future, she might change something for the worse. She didn't want to do that. Couldn't do that. For the worst, was a nightmare that was utterly unthinkable.

Besides, she missed her friends. Missed seeing her family. Not her parents. They were lost to her now. The memory charm she had given them had made them unreachable. Assuming she could find them at all.

She had made herself forget where she put them with a spell just in case so they would be safe and not used against her. She just couldn't figure out the clues she had left herself either.

She knew that she should be able to figure them out, but she had made them so obscure that she just couldn't decipher them. They could still be in Australia or even be in Antarctica for all she knew. Hell, she could have sent them to the moon since she couldn't understand her own clues.

Now she was sitting in potions again, bored to tears. They were being lectured on another potion she had already learned and mastered. Snape had taught her well and it showed.

The potions professor was saying something but Hermione was lost in her thoughts again. James noticed and tried to nudge her unnoticed, but Hermione was still lost.

"Ms. Brown?" The professor asked again.

James cleared his throat and when that didn't work he kicked her under the table. Hermione sat up quickly, trying not to reach down and rub where he had kicked her. Not wanting to draw attention to it.

"Yes Professor?" She asked as her leg smarted.

"I asked if you could tell us the proper way to cut Sopophorous beans." The professor said again, slightly annoyed at repeating himself.

"Oh, yes sir." She explained how best to go about doing so, telling how best to squeeze the juice from the bean with the flat side of a dagger to get the most juice out of it instead of simply chopping it.

The professor sighed. "Obviously you have not been paying attention Ms. Brown. Otherwise, you would know that is not how I have been instructing you all to handle that particular bean. Ten points from Gryffindor."

Hermione bristled. That pompous windbag didn't know the first thing about potions obviously. She had explained the best and proper method she had been taught. She knew she was right, but couldn't exactly tell the damn professor why she knew she was right. They'd think she was as loony as Luna if she said Snape had taught her and was one of the best potions masters there was, especially when he was only a student himself.

Snape glanced at Hermione, saw her anger and smirked. Obviously the little chit didn't like being told she was wrong. Though her explanation was interesting. It might prove to be a better way of handling the bean than to simply chop it and hope the proper juices simply extracted during the simmering process. He might have to try that some day.

They were then broken into pairs to work. Seeing as the houses always sided together, the professor decided to do something new. "No, you will not pair with your usual partners today. I want one person from each house in a pair. Mr. Potter from Gryffindor, you can work with Mr. Ship from Ravenclaw."

The professor kept on breaking the students up before turning to Snape. "Mr. Snape from Slytherin, you can work with…" he paused as he looked at the remaining students. "…you can work with Ms. Brown from Gryffindor."

The students all glanced at each other before standing up and moving to a table together. Hermione and Snape both stayed silent as the professor kept on pairing students. "Finally, Mr. Black from Gryffindor, that leaves you with…ahh, Ms. Hyde from Hufflepuff. Now get to work. You only have forty minutes with this potion and you'll need every minute to do it."

Snape and Hermione glanced at each other again. She gave him a timid smile, but he ignored her and got to work. They each took an ingredient and started preparing them. He saw her stare hard at the Sopophorous beans and smirk.

Before he could say a word, she had grabbed it and started using the method she had mentioned, which annoyed him since he refused to get a bad mark due to her stubbornness.

"What do you think you are doing?" He hissed at her.

She met his eyes and smiled. "Shaving about ten minutes off of our potion time."

He glared at her. "I swear if you ruin our potion and make me get a bad grade, I will hex the hell out of you."

She met his gaze unflinchingly. She felt a smirk grace her lips. "Fine. If it works and does come out just as good, only faster than it normally does, you have to stop avoiding me."

His eyes held his surprise but he sneered anyway. "Why would I avoid you? I don't even like you. You're nothing but a…a..." He was lost for a moment on what to call her.

Her smirk grew. "Insufferable know-it-all?" She supplied since it's what he had always called her before as his student.

His eyes held his mild confusion at her. "Well…yeah. You're an insufferable know-it-all and I will hex you within an inch of your life if you ruin this."

She held out her hand to shake his. "Fine. Just do as I say and I'll let you hex me all you like if I'm wrong. If I'm right though, you have to be nice and actually talk to me again."

Snape eyed her warily. Why would she offer to let me hex her? Why does she want to talk to me anyway? He didn't know but he took her hand in a quick shake. "Fine. Now get to work. What do you want me to do?"

They spent the next eight minutes preparing everything, him doing like she told him to do. A few times he raised his eyebrow at her since it was clearly not how they had been instructed to do things.

She got everything started and it was simmering soon. She added in each ingredient at the precise time, though earlier than Snape thought was correct, and every so often with her stirring, she gave it a counter clockwise stir.

Again he raised his eyebrow at her. Wondering what in the hell she was doing, but knowing he would indeed hex her a lot if she messed the potion up.

In less than ten minutes she had it at the halfway point, surprising him when the color changed so soon. It should have needed to simmer at least another ten minutes. Then instead of another twenty minutes to finish she had it done in only seven minutes.

He looked at the color and consistency and it was perfect. She had taken a forty minute potion and had it done in only…twenty-five minutes including prep time. How in the hell did she do that? He wondered.

He saw her hand shoot into the air triumphantly and grimaced. Bloody know-it-all. He thought as he watched their professor come over, the man smirking slightly thinking they needed help.

"Yes, Ms. Brown? Is there a problem? I would have thought Mr. Snape could have answered any questions you had." The professor said while smirking condescendingly at her.

Hermione smiled sweetly at the smug bastard. "No, sir. No questions or problems. I simply wanted to show our completed work for your assessment." Stupid jerk. She thought.

The professor looked at her like she was utterly daft. "My dear, its impossible for you to be even remotely finished yet. Mr. Snape, why is this girl bothering me with only half completed work?"

Snape sighed. The dolt didn't even look at the potion yet. Proving the man's ignorance at not even looking before making a fool of himself. "I believe sir that she has indeed finished with our potion. I merely followed what she wished me to do."

The professor glared at them both. "Fine, if you want to call it done, then so be it. Your grades will only suffer for it."

The pompous windbag looked down into the cauldron and seeing that it was the correct color he dipped a spoon into it. Seeing the consistency was correct as well, he brought the spoon up for a sniff.

Finding that the scent too was correct he quickly looked up at their faces. "How on earth did you two manage this?"

Hermione's smile only sweetened, making Snape have to bite his cheek to keep from chuckling. He had seen what she had done to the professor in Ancient Runes and she was again doing it to this moron too.

"Why? Is it wrong sir?" She asked innocently, knowing it wasn't.

The professor glared at her. "No, it isn't wrong as I'm sure you're both aware of. Now how did you do it? Did you cheat?"

Snape wanted to hex the idiot but saw the rage in Hermione's eyes and knew he wouldn't have to do a thing. It looked like this little fireball would verbally do the job for him.

Hermione was seething. How dare he insinuate such a thing? I have never cheated once in my life. Her teeth grinding, she spoke. "No sir. I simply had a brilliant potion's professor in my last school. Unlike this school. A professor who was open to new ways of doing things." Well, only if he found the new way or learned of it on his own. If Hermione had tried to ask about a new way he had glared and snapped at her.

Hermione went on. "He was the one who taught me the proper and easiest methods for this potion. A potion he taught us in our fifth year, not seventh year like you seem to be doing. If you think I cheated, I'll be happy to show you the correct way to brew such a potion so you can actually teach your students the proper way, instead of the long and completely wrong way of brewing it."

Snape's eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead. Did she really just say that? Did she really just insult our professor? He didn't know if she was that brave or simply that stupid.

The professor's face showed his shock and anger at her outburst. "Ms. Brown, you seem to be under the impression that being mocking and discourteous to your superiors is how things work in this school. Twenty points from Gryffindor and you, my dear, can show me what you think is the proper way in detention tonight. Now bottle your potions, both of you, and keep quiet until the other students are finished."

The professor stormed away and Hermione itched to reach for her wand and hex the bumbling idiot. Snape, having seen the intent in her eyes, quickly covered her wand hand with his to stop her.

Hermione met his eyes, startled that he had touched her and stopped her from doing something very stupid. Where had that outburst come from? I've never spoken to a professor that way before.

Snape took in her startled eyes and quickly let go. "Sorry, you just looked like you might do something to get expelled for."

She gave him a tiny smile as she blushed. "I think I might have. Thanks for stopping me." She reached up and rubbed her face. "I can't believe I actually did and said that. I've never insulted a teacher before in my life. I don't know what came over me."

Snape studied her briefly. "I don't know either, but you are an odd one, I'll give you that much. So it looks like I'll be forced to talk to you now since you were right."

Hermione smiled again, her anger leaving her at his reminder of their deal. "Looks like it. Though you seem to have gotten a reprieve since I'll be in detention tonight."

He smirked at her. "Well, we have a few hours for you to still force me to talk to you today before your detention. Besides, there's always tomorrow for you to bug me with your insistent chatter."

She opened her mouth, but at that moment a paper plane, set to zoom via magic, landed in front of her. She opened it while her brows creased, doing her best to make sure the professor wasn't watching.

'What in the hell are you doing Kitten? Arguing with your professors? Tsk. Tsk. I think I may be rubbing off on you. Care to do some rubbing later on after your detention? I'll rub off on you some more if you'd like. Pads.'

Snape saw the note and his lip curled as he started to pull away from her. But her words stopped him.

"Bloody git. Doesn't he ever get the hint?" She muttered to herself. Making Snape have to fight a small smile.

She pulled out a quill and scribbled a reply as Snape watched while doing his best to look like he was focused on something else.

'Sirius, be serious. Ha. Ha. I don't want any part of you rubbing any part of me. I'd go tell you to go rub yourself but you'd undoubtedly take that as an invitation for something else. So instead I hope you'll understand when I say this in the politest and nicest way I can. Piss off. Hermione.'

She sent it flying back, keeping it low to the ground as it zoomed back to him. Sirius grabbed it and waited for the coast to be clear before opening it. She heard a bark of laughter and smiled to herself as they tidied up their workspace.

Snape was still watching her curiously. Wondering why she didn't seem the least bit interested in the handsome Marauder. All the girls fawn over him. Is she interested in someone else? If so, then who is it? It isn't her other friend, Lupin, is it?

Not able to help himself he asked. "So if you don't want his attention, do you want the other moron's attention instead?"

Hermione glanced at Snape surprised. "James? But he's with Lily. Of course I don't want him like that." She said, seeing him slightly wince at her statement. She didn't mean to rub salt into a wound, but it was the truth.

Snape didn't speak for several moments, getting his reaction to hearing about Lily and James back under control. "No, I meant the other one. Lupin."

Hermione smiled and blushed. "Remus?" Snape frowned a bit at seeing her blush. "No. He's a friend and that's all he'll ever be. No matter what he thinks he wants right now. He'd be very upset with me later if I did let him have what he only thinks he wants right now."

Her words didn't make much sense to him, but he found he liked that she didn't want Lupin either. Why would Lupin be upset with her if he got to date her like the lanky blockhead wanted to? That didn't make a lick of sense, but then again Hermione didn't always make sense he was finding. Normally people who didn't make sense annoyed him, but he found it interesting with her.

"Oh. Well, whom are you interested in then?" He found himself asking without meaning to.

Hermione was slightly surprised by his question. The Snape she had known wouldn't have cared about who anyone was interested in. This one…the younger one, she didn't know what to make of him yet.

"I'm not right now. I can't date anyone here." She said not looking at him.

Realizing he was disappointed, he forced it away. "Why can't you? Parents wont let you or is it your so called friends?"

Hermione looked into his face, seeing his normal mask he wore later in life in place. "I don't know how long I'm really going to be here. So there really is no point in starting something when I may leave. Besides, these boys here are all too young. What are they, seventeen and under?"

Snape's mask slipped showing his confusion again. "Why would you leave? And how is them being seventeen too young? How old are you then?"

Hermione realized what she had said and cursed mentally. "I don't know if my parents will call me back home to move again." Hoping he bought all of this and let it go. "Besides, most of the boys here maybe seventeen but they really have the maturity level of a twelve year old."

Snape raised an eyebrow at her. He tried to probe her mind, even though he knew she had warned him not too. Her walls were up and she frowned at him so he knew she felt it. He shrugged. "You still didn't answer how old you were."

Hermione sighed. "Well, how old are you?"

He smirked slightly. "I'm seventeen. I'll turn eighteen in January. Now it's your turn. How old are you?"

Hermione, seeing he was waiting, did a quick calculation in her head. She couldn't very well say she was twenty-two. If she said twenty or even nineteen he would ask questions and she couldn't answer them right now.

"I'm eighteen." She finally said, hating that she was lying but not knowing what else to do.

He looked at her, thinking about what all he had seen with her. If she was only eighteen, she was the smartest eighteen-year-old he had ever seen. But why would she lie about her age? Most teens if they lied made themselves older. Not having an answer he shrugged and went back to helping her clean up.

A/N: Honestly, I think Hermione pulled one hell of a con to get Snape to talk to her, and it was brilliant. Using the knowledge that Snape taught her to get him talking to her. Such Slytherin styled tactics are very entertaining. lol.

Okay, I hope everyone liked that chapter. More coming soon, I promise. Please leave me your thoughts so I can bask in the joy of reading them. lol. Take care everyone.