A/N:

Hey guys!

Thanks for all the reviews that I have gotten so far! Its great to see that you are liking it! This chapter was hard to write so please tell me if any of you have suggestions on how to make it better.

Anything you recognize is property of J.K.R.

Again I still need a Beta so please if there are any betas out there please send me a message!

Read/Review Please!

The Fight

Hermione couldn't believe it. She had only had one class so far and already she was worried about not getting the work done in time. How on earth was she going to deal with a full course loads worth of work on top of assisting Snape five times a week! She was now walking towards the DADA classroom. Her previous class had gotten out a little early so she was not surprised when she walked into the classroom to find that she was the first one there besides Professor Snape. She sat down and let out a disgruntled huff.

Snape who up until this moment had not acknowledged her looked up at her from what he was writing. "Something the matter Miss Granger?"

She looked behind her to make sure nobody was behind her luckily it seemed that the rest of the classes hadn't ended yet. "I have just gotten a lot of work from my first class and I know that I will only be getting more. I am not looking forward to having to do all of it. It's nothing more than a student complaining about their workload, nothing that I'm sure you haven't heard before." She said giving him a smile. There was no way that she would admit to the workload being too much for her to handle but there was o harm in admitting that she had a lot. Snape would never let her forget about how she "couldn't handle it".

"Yes that is something I do tend to hear a lot. Especially after a class with Gryffindors in it." He said with a smirk. She was about to retort when she heard the chairs on either side of her moving. She looked up to see Harry and Ron sitting down on either side of her.

"Hey Hermione, how did your first class go?" Ron said enthusiastically.

"It was very interesting but we got LOADS of homework. Watch I bet Snape gives us loads." She said with a smirk knowing that Severus was eavesdropping on their conversation. Harry opened his mouth to say something but before he could Snape started to talk, and Harry knew better than to talk while Snape was.

Hermione laughed to herself, while Severus was teaching a different class in a different location he still seemed to be the retched potions professor, the bat of the dungeons. Neville still messed up in fear that Snape would yell at him, which would of course result in Snape yelling at him. He still gave Slytherin points for nothing and took points away from Gryffindor for nothing. The class was uneventful and after Snape assigned them a three-foot essay on how to ward off dementors which was promptly followed by groans from the Gryffindors they were dismissed.

There was two hours until supper would be served in the Great Hall. Normally Hermione would have gone down to the lab but since they hadn't even started working yet there really wasn't much she could do until then. So she decided to get a head start on her homework. She and the boys slowly made their way back up to Gryffindor Tower. When they walked into the common room they quickly spotted the highly coveted leather chairs by the fire and made their way over. While Harry and Ron were talking about the upcoming Quidditch tryouts Hermione started the book that they had to read for her Ancient Ruins class. She quickly was sucked in and had completely tuned the boys and the rest of her surroundings out.

About an hour later Hermione was brought back to reality when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She had been so surprised that she jumped quite violently resulting in her book tumbling to the floor. She turned her head to see a small second year boy who she only knew by name standing next to her. "Hello Leo. What can I do for you?"

"Sorry Hermione I didn't mean to startle you. Professor Dumbledore told me to give you this." Hermione looked down at the boy's hand to see a letter with her name written on it.

"Thanks Leo." She said as he handed it to her and walked away.

"Hey Hermione, why did Dumbledore send you a letter?" Ron said as he and Harry moved over to where she was sitting.

"I don't know it must have something to do with that project that I am doing right now." Before they had left Grimmauld Place Hermione told the boys that nobody could know about the work she was doing with Professor Snape. So they had come up with the nickname "project" for anytime that they needed to talk about it.

Hermione quickly opened up the letter to see a short missive in the familiar scrawl of Albus Dumbledore.

Dear Miss Granger,

There is a matter that we need to speak about. Please come to my office as soon as possible. The password is Fizzing Whizzbees.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Hermione quickly looked up at the two boys now reading over her shoulder. "I wonder what "matter" he needs to discuss with you." Ron said curiously.

"I told you I'm sure it must have something to do with the project that I am working on right now. What else could it be?"

"I suppose you're right." Ron said skeptically.

"Well you better get going then. You don't want to keep him waiting." Harry said.

"Yes, I will see you both at dinner then, save me a seat!" she said as she gathered her things together and made her way across the common room.

As she made her way to the Headmasters office she started to wonder what he might want to discuss with her. It was most likely him just checking in on her and seeing how working with Severus was going. When she got to the gargoyle she quickly said the password, and started making her way up the circular staircase. When she got to the door she knocked, and upon hearing the usual "Enter" she stepped into Dumbledore's office.

"Ah Miss Granger! Good evening thank you for coming so quickly."

"Hello Headmaster." She said smiling back at him.

"Please, please sit down." He said gesturing to one of the seats in front of his desk.

"Now Miss Granger. I'm sure that you are wondering why I have asked you here this evening."

"Umm well yes I was wondering why sir." She said as she made herself comfortable in the squishy burgundy armchair.

"I wanted to talk to you about your workload. I understand that you are taking nine classes this year. Normally I would not think twice about a student like yourself taking that many classes but you are also assisting Professor Snape."

"Sir please don't make me stop working with Professor Snape! I have learned so much plus he will never be able to find another assistant in time to-"

"Calm down Miss Granger I was not going to suggest anything of the sort. I agree with you, there is no other option than for you to keep assisting Severus. I was only going to tell you that I have talked to all of your teachers today about your workload. I have informed them that you are in the middle of a very special project that you are doing for me. I have told them that you need all the time you can get to work on this project. They have all agreed that as long as your grades stay constant that you will no longer be required to hand in homework assignments."

"Sir thank you but you don't need to worry about me I assure you that I can get all the work done-" At this Dumbledore held up his hand to silence her.

"It has already been decided Miss Granger. Be grateful that I didn't insist that you stop assisting Severus. Now it is almost time for dinner I suggest that you start to make your way down."

"Yes sir. And thank you. I guess it will be nice not to have to worry about getting it all done."

"I'm glad that you are seeing the silver lining in this situation Miss Granger." He said, smiling at her. He was having trouble holding back a laugh only Hermione Granger would be upset about not having to do homework. "See you at dinner Miss Granger."

"Yes goodbye sir."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

After dinner Hermione could hardly stop herself from running all the way up to the secret passageway near Gryffindor Tower. When she was sure that she was alone she touched her wand to the painting and thought the password. Petting the lion's mane as she opened up the portrait hole she quickly made her way down to the dungeons. When she opened the entrance to Severus' lab she peaked her head in to make sure she wasn't interrupting anything. For all she knew he might be having a meeting in there with someone who didn't know they were working together. Luckily the lab was empty, she had rushed down here quite fast in her excitement to start working again it was quite possible that she had beat Severus down here.

Not only had she been anxious to start their research again she also wanted to tell him about her meeting with Dumbledore. Though she was sure that he already knew, she had a theory that it was all Severus' doing in the first place. Only this afternoon she had been talking to Severus about how much work she had and some how Dumbledore had found out and decided to remedy the situation. She was glad to know that now she and Severus would have more time than ever to work on their potion. To pass the time she decided to sit at her desk and read the most recent Herbology Theories Monthly that she hadn't had a chance to read while at Grimmauld Place. She was in the middle of a very interesting theory on frukle roots when she heard the door to Severus' study open. She looked up to see the dark figure of Severus Snape walking into the lab. "Hello Severus!" She said with a smile.

"What are you so happy about?" He said with his usual sneer in place. It was a look that last year would have made Hermione run for her life, but after this summer she was no longer afraid of his bad moods.

"Well I'm not sure if you were aware but the Headmaster called me to his office this evening before dinner."

"I was not aware, what did he want?" He said feigning disinterest.

"He wanted to let me know that I am no longer required to do homework for any of my classes. That is unless my grades start to suffer."

"Really well isn't that lucky." He said as he picked at the non-existent dirt under his fingernails.

"Yes it is quite lucky. It's funny actually because I was just telling you this afternoon how overwhelmed I was with the workload."

"I don't see any connection." He said dryly.

"Really? Because I think that after our conversation you might have gone to Dumbledore and asked him on my behalf to lighten my workload."

"That's preposterous. I think you have been hanging out with Potter and Weasley too much it is starting to effect your mind."

"Severus I just wanted to say thank you."

They were both silent for a moment. Hermione decided to take his silence as an acceptance and an admission to what he had done.

"So I guess we can work Sunday's if you like. Now that I don't have tons of work to get done."

"Yes alright why don't we start later on Sundays I still have a revel every once and awhile on Saturday nights that I have to attend. Lets start after lunch on Sundays"

"Sounds good to me." Hermione said trying hard not to react to what he had just said.

"So I guess we should get started. What are we doing this evening?"

"We are going to start where we left off I have a few new ingredients that I want to try we will only try one this evening since you have to be out of here around twelve."

Hermione nodded her head as she went to gather the supplies that they would need this evening.

Once they had finished cleaning up for the evening Hermione went over to the door that led to his sitting room.

"Where do you think you are going?" Snape said lifting an eyebrow.

"I thought we could retire to the sitting room for our usual chat."

"It's quite late M-" He had been about to say Miss Granger but at the warning look she had given him he had faltered. "Hermione."

"I only said midnight because I thought I was going to have to do schoolwork after this. I have some time before I need to get to bed. Besides I look forward to our chats." She said smiling warmly at him.

"Well I guess I am your only source of stimulating conversation I wouldn't want to cut you off from that." He said fighting a smile after hearing her admit to looking forward to their chats. At that she rolled her eyes, but didn't argue with him. He slowly got up from his seat behind his desk and followed her into his sitting room where they both took their customary seats in front of the hearth.

"So is it as good as you thought it would be?"

"What exactly are you referring to."

"Teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts of course!" She said enthusiastically.

"I like it."

"Come on you have to give me more than that. The question was longer than your answer!"

"That is all I will say on the matter."

Hermione giggled at how ridiculous he was acting. It wasn't exactly the most personal question in the world.

"How are your classes faring?"

"The classes are great it's the people who are becoming tiring." She said letting out a sigh.

"How so?"

"Everyone wants to know what happened at the ministry. From the moment we stepped foot on the train we have been bombarded with questions. I guess I shouldn't complain, at least everyone believes that he's back. That was much more frustrating."

They both took a moment to think about the truth of her last statement.

"So Severus, are you ever going to admit that it was you?"

"What are you harping on about now? What exactly is it that I have supposedly done this time?" he said in a gruff manner.

"That it was you that went to Dumbledore and asked him to relieve me of my schoolwork so that I would not be overworked." She said with a devilish smile. "I know it was you Severus you might as well just admit it."

Severus rolled his eyes at her "Yes okay it was me! But I only did it because I could not afford to give you Sundays off there is too much work to be done. Besides you do not need to do the homework you could have passed all your NEWT's last year!"

"Was that a compliment Severus?" Hermione said teasingly.

"Oh hush woman! You know it's true I am merely stating a fact!"

"Well I'm flattered that you think so." They both settled back in to a comfortable silence, until Hermione decided to start talking about the Herbology Theories Monthly articles that she had just read. Half an hour later Hermione departed for bed smiling and saying that she would see him tomorrow.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

SPOV

He was late. He was never late. Last night he had stayed up until the early hours of the morning after Hermione had left. He had sat in front of the fire thinking about his life and about how Hermione had somehow wormed her way into it. That of course led to what he had been keeping from her. He knew that he would have to tell her soon. He thought back to when she had smiled at him and said goodnight, once she knew she would never look or smile at him like that again. He didn't go to bed until four, so when he woke up at seven he was in a very dour mood indeed. It did not help matters when he crossed paths with Draco that morning and he wouldn't give Severus the time of day. 'How on earth am I supposed to protect him when he won't even talk to me!'

When he walked into the classroom everyone was already sitting in his or her seats. He saw Hermione, kind and wonderful Hermione he already felt a little better just being near her. That instantly changed when he saw her lean over and whisper in Potter's ear. They both laughed at some inside joke but instantly stopped as they noticed that they had the eyes of their Professor on them. Hatred and jealousy for the boy-who-lived doubled, how he wished that he could be open about his friendship to Hermione. He knew that that could never be him, Hermione would never be able to whisper something in his ear in public, they would never be able to share an inside joke outside of the laboratory. He realized after a moment that he had been silent just a moment too long and quickly came back to reality.

Today he was teaching the class about non-verbal spells. Hermione of course was the only one able to answer any of his questions. He put them into pairs where they were supposed to cast non-verbal spells on each other. Potter and Weasley of course were a pair leaving Hermione to pair up with Longbottom. Of course ten minutes later Hermione was performing perfect non-verbal spells. Severus was immediately smug, he knew that Hermione would be the first to perfect it but it was still satisfying seeing all the murderous looks on the Slytherins and some of the Gryffindors faces. He wished that he could have given her points for her accomplishment but he knew that he would never be able to get away with it. He had seen the looks sent to him by Potter and Weasley they were obviously angry that he had not awarded her with points. Honestly what did they expect him to do they were in a room full of children of Death Eaters and a child that already was one. This brought back the anger that he was already feeling towards Potter. He saw Weasley who was now purple in the face from trying so hard to not say the incantation out loud. An idea came to him suddenly and he inwardly grinned.

"Pathetic Weasley. Here, let me show you." He turned as quickly as he could, pointing his wand towards Harry. But before he had a chance he heard Potter yell "PROTEGO!" The charm was so strong that Snape fell backward into the desk behind him. As he righted himself he noticed that every pair of eyes were on them. He was furious. This boy had made him look like a fool, he had made him look weak, in front of everyone, in front of Hermione. "Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells Potter."

"Yes." Harry said.

"Yes sir." He was not going to let this boy embarrass him anymore.

"There's no need to call me sir Professor." Snape could see in the boy's eyes that he had not meant to say this out loud. But now there was no way Snape was going to merely let him off with a detention. He was going to embarrass this boy, he was exactly like his father.

"Detention! Saturday night my office. I do not take cheek from anyone Potter not even from "the chosen one." He had said it. He hadn't meant to but he couldn't resist. He had remembered how Hermione had confided in him. She had told him how Potter's least favorite name to be called was the chosen one, he remembered promising Hermione that he would never call him that. He remembered how he said he would never take advantage of their friendship by using information that she had given him when she was casually chatting with him. But he didn't care he was livid. How could this boy think it all right to talk to him like that! He would deal with the consequences later. Hermione would forgive him, she always did.

"Class dismissed! Everyone OUT!"

Everyone scrambled trying to not be the last one in there alone with the fuming professor. He noticed that Hermione looked very upset, and that she was avoiding all eye contact with him he could even tell by the back of her head that she had her "angry face" on. How the bloody hell did he even know that! Who cares if she doesn't forgive him. In the end it would make things a lot easier. This was a good thing really having no attachments. But as he sat there in the silence he knew that he would give anything to keep her friendship as long as he could.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

HPOV

Hermione couldn't believe it! He had called Harry "the chosen one"! He had promised her that he wouldn't use that name. She had confided in him, and now she felt used. Did his promises mean nothing to him? She was furious at him! Originally she was going to stay after class, but he let them all out early and she wanted to have time to gather her thoughts so she had decided to wait until after dinner. They were supposed to meet in the lab anyways. She was halfway through the secret passageway when she realized that he might not even care that he broke the promise that he didn't care if he lost her friendship. She prayed that wasn't the case. Finally she saw the entrance to his lab as she walked forward she flicked her wand dramatically and the door swung open to let her enter. When she looked around she realized that he was not in there. 'maybe he is still in his office I am a bit early' she thought. She walked through the corridor that led to his office. She stormed in slamming the door not even caring to check and make sure there wasn't anybody else in the room. There was Snape sitting at his desk reading as if he had not even heard the loud crash announcing her entrance

"Miss Granger I wasn't sure you would be coming. How nice to see you." He said not looking up from his book.

"You shouldn't have called him 'the chosen one' Severus! That was told to you in confidence, you have betrayed my trust!"

"I wouldn't have said anything but what could I do after the sir comment!" He said standing up quickly and slamming his book onto his desk.

"You are acting like a child Severus! He is sixteen and you are thirty-six!" she said walking away from him and over to a shelf of pickled ingredients.

"He was rude and needed to be taught a lesson!" he said snappishly.

"Damn you! And damn your lessons!" she said punctuating each statement by hurling jars at his face. Luckily he was able to dodge both but not able to stop them from crashing into the wall behind him where they shattered into a million pieces.

"You are out of control woman! You have no right to throw my own things at me!"

"I have no right? I have no right! NO Severus you have no right! You used something personal that I shared with you to get one up on Harry in some testosterone fueled duel!"

"Hermione calm down you are being irrational." He said trying for a calming voice but instead coming out as more of a commanding one.

"The only reason he started in on you was because of those comments you made about those occlumency lessons!"

"He told you about those?" Severus was fuming he had hoped that nobody would ever see those images and then when Potter had seen them he had at least hoped that he wouldn't go around telling everyone about them. He had obviously been wrong to hope. Even Hermione knew. "He told you about seeing my memories!"

"Severus what are you talking about?"

"Nothing, forget I said anything."

"Wait! Is that why you stopped giving him occlumency lessons? Because he saw a memory of yours that you were embarrassed about!"

Snape started to shrink back as her voice got even louder.

"That is why Sirius died because you were to proud to go on after Harry had seen something that you didn't want him to see! I can't even talk about this anymore that's how mad I am!" She said making her way over towards the corridor to the lab. Severus stayed silent as she walked passed him when she got to the door she turned around and said, "You know it's a good thing that you have a detention scheduled for Saturday, at least now you will have something to do, because I'm sure as hell not coming!" She slammed the door and marched up the secret passage towards Gryffindor Tower.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

SPOV

"You know it's a good thing that you have a detention scheduled for Saturday, at least now you will have something to do, because I'm sure as hell not coming!" SLAM!

He looked at the shelf as it shook from the force of the door being slammed. "ARRGHHH!" He screamed as he slashed his wand through the air. CRASH! He looked around to see that he had completely destroyed the entire contents of the shelf along with everything on his desk. He sighed and started to clean everything up. She was right of course, about everything. He was acting like a child, and he should have continued giving Potter occlumency lessons. After cleaning up he sat down at his desk to write her a letter.