Ok guys, just one update tonight. Sorry! haha. This one is a lot more setup for what is to come in the next chapter. Let me know what you think!

Severus's first class of the morning was, unfortunately, with the sixth year Gryffindors. He was still fuming by the time he opened the heavy door to let them in. But he was no longer angry at Hermione. No, he was mad with himself. This had been going on for far too long. He had allowed her to get too close to him and now she seemed to think that she could come and go from his bedroom whenever she pleased. I have to stop it.

He knew that this was just the way Granger was. So why did he take it to heart? Her care had made him feel so wonderful. Just because no one else feels that way about you. But Granger felt that way about everyone in her life. Not long ago she had spent the night crying into Weasley's bed sheets and he had been perfectly alright by then. So why did he keep trying to tell himself that she wanted him?

It had happened at Slughorn's party, and then again in the hallway the first time she had waited for him to return. For some reason, he had gotten it into his head that she desired him. But that was utterly absurd! There was no way in bloody Hell that Hermione Granger was interested in him. After all, he had seen a glimpse of a very sexy memory in her mind. The details had been clear enough that he was sure the memory had either been recent or frequently revisited. The thought made a shiver of jealousy run down his spine. Ridiculous.

But he had not seen who the person with her had been. Krum? McLaggen? He certainly hoped it hadn't been either of her numbskull, athlete stalkers. And yet, it also made his stomach churn to imagine her with Weasley. Just the way she stayed with him, crying all night. She hadn't fallen asleep with Weasley. Severus slammed a fist to his desk and went to let the dunderheads in.

It was a difficult class. He opted to give them a written assignment and use the time to grade papers to keep his mind distracted, but he couldn't help but think back to that morning, with Granger in his room. He would carry the image of her lying in his bed with sleep-mussed hair to his grave. He glanced over at her and caught her eye before she ripped her own gaze back to her parchment and blushed furiously. Had she been thinking about this morning, as well? For a moment, he really wished he had simply allowed her to sleep against his side a little longer. What would she have done when she awakened had I not thrown her across the bed? He wondered. Also, what would she have done if she had seen how hard he was?

He could just imagine her soft, little body pressed against his the way it had been. She would eventually wake up, groaning a little, the way she had the other night outside his office. She would stretch, arching her back and pressing those succulent breasts even further into his shoulder. Then, she would drape her arm sleepily across his chest and pull her knee up, rubbing his hardness with her thigh.

Severus almost groaned aloud, realizing that he was now fully aroused. Luckily, he was well hidden behind his desk. He ripped his thoughts back to grading essays. That didn't last long, however, as he began to think about how she must have taken care of him. She had been so worried about him that she had cried herself to sleep, holding him in her arms.

And he had yelled at her for it.

Perhaps I should apologize.

Hermione may have been putting up a front of cold indifference, but inside she felt broken and burned. It was very clear that her professor considered her nothing more than a nuisance and wanted nothing to do with her. Apparently, their shared time had meant nothing to him. After all, he spent every day teaching, so why would it be any different one on one? Hermione suppressed a groan. How could she be so completely in love with someone who hated her so very much?

Waking up that morning, Hermione had been startled to see that she was still in Professor Snape's bedroom. She had never meant to fall asleep. But holding him the night before had just felt so perfectly natural and right that she couldn't help but relax and enjoy the sensation. She never would have expected that he would react the way he had. He truly is a bastard.

And yet, she wanted nothing more than his acceptance. Well, ok, she wanted his wellbeing first; his health and happiness and a long life following the war. But after all of that, she wanted him to want her; to hold her and protect her like she was a treasure to be cherished.

At the end of the period, Hermione had every intention of bolting from the room, but Snape stopped her with a curt "Granger, a word." So, nodding to Harry and Ron that they should leave, she watched the other students file out of the classroom before cautiously approaching the professor's desk. She watched him lazily flick his hand and the door to the classroom swung shut. He was going to lecture her, she knew. But she would not apologize. She did not regret what she had done, and she would not lie to him. Raising her chin just so, she cleared her throat.

"Yes, Professor?" She met his gaze evenly and, she hoped, indifferently. He held it for a moment before dropping his eyes to the desktop.

"Miss Granger…" he began hesitantly. Hermione felt her body tense in anticipation. "This morning, I may have been a tad rough with you. I was caught off guard by the unprecedented situation and I reacted violently." Hermione was stunned. "However," Oh, here it comes. "I want to be assured that nothing akin to this… episode ever happens again. Do I have your word?" Snape was waiting patiently for a response and she could see that he looked appeased, as if this settled things.

"No." she said simply. She would not agree to that. He was momentarily taken aback.

"No?" he repeated icily. "Miss Granger, I understand that it is in your Gryffindor nature to make yourself at home in other people's living quarters, but it is unacceptable for you to enter into mine under any circumstances. And especially for the ridiculous reason that you are concerned about me." Hermione gaped at him.

"Professor, you wouldn't have even made it to your room if it hadn't been for me." She waited a moment for that to sink in. "I retrieved you from the grass beyond the castle gate and brought you here." Then she added, with sarcasm to spare, "Please forgive me for transferring you to the safety and comfort of your rooms when I was unable to wake you." She could feel her temper rising, and if his glare was any indication, his was too.

"And you didn't think to take me to the Hospital Wing?!" Hermione was caught off guard.

"Oh sure! And tell her what? That I was out of bed after curfew to watch for your return from the dark lord's side and you needed treatment for Cruciatus?! As far as I know Madame Pomfrey is not in the Order!"

"Well you shouldn't have been out of bed in the first place! I told you last time that I don't need you looking after me! That baby Weasley may appreciate a woman sobbing over him all night, but I assure you I DON'T!" Hermione was stunned. He knew about that? "So if you feel the need to coddle someone, then stick to the idiot ginger!" Hermione gaped at him in utter shock. She squared her jaw. She was not going to back down.

"I will not apologize to you for helping you last night, but I will say that I regret falling asleep in your bed." It was all she would concede, for now. Already, it felt like it might have been a lie. His expression was unreadable.

"Fine." He said simply, but she knew that it wasn't. "Get out." It was as if he had slapped her. She quickly turned and headed toward the door. Before she could open it, however, he spoke again. "And Granger…" she froze, but did not turn to look at him. There was a sigh in his voice when he continued, "Don't ever take me to the Hospital Wing." She glanced around at him, but his expression gave nothing away. So she nodded and left.

As she headed to her next class—very late—her mind was buzzing with his last words to her. He wasn't forbidding her from helping him in the future, just from taking him to the infirmary. It was as good as permission, in her eyes. She couldn't stop a grin from spreading across her face as she headed to Potions.

Severus banged open the door to the Boys Bathroom near the Great Hall. There had been a great commotion and then the ghost, Moaning Myrtle, had come out screaming about murder. For a moment, looking down at the scene before him, Severus thought that was exactly what he saw. Potter was standing in shock with his wand drawn and there, on the floor, in a puddle of water and blood, was Draco.

Severus hurried to his side. There was a great gash in the boy's neck that had obviously been made with the Sectumsempra curse that he, himself, had invented. Fury boiled under his calm control as he worked to heal the horrible wound. "Vulnera Sanentur," he whispered. "Vulnera Sanentur. Vulnera Sanentur." It was terribly lucky that he had been nearby.

The wound healed and Severus advised Draco to use essence of dittany to prevent scarring before allowing the boy to run off. Then, he turned to full force of his rage on Potter. He knew where the boy had found that spell. There was only one place. My book.

Hermione and Ron were headed down to supper when Harry ran into them. He was in such a frenzied state that Hermione was immediately on her guard. She tried to ask him what the matter was, but he only cut her off saying that there was no time to explain and as much as demanded that Ron give him his copy of Advanced Potion Making. Hermione found this very suspicious because Harry was clutching his own copy tight in his other hand as Ron gave it to him.

When Harry took off a second later, Hermione slipped away from Ron to follow. She had a bad feeling about the emotional state of her friend and his death grip on her coveted prize.

When Harry stopped in front of the entrance to the Room of Requirement, Hermione felt a pang of alarm ripple through her. If he put the book in there, she would never be able to find the specific room it was in. So, when the door opened for Harry, she darted in behind him. She had planned to confront him when she entered the giant room, but one look around the room told her it might be better just to hide. Everywhere she looked there were objects piled high like mountains of junk. She was in awe.

But she couldn't afford to be distracted. Coming back to herself, she slipped around a pile of chairs to spy on Harry and watched him hide the book away in a cabinet, rearranging some things on top as if to mark the place. When he left, she ran to the cabinet, pulling out the Prince's copy of Advanced Potion Making and permitting herself a little victory dance of pure excitement. She had it!

Back in the Common Room that night, after brewing with Snape and perusing the book in secret (to her immense satisfaction), Hermione's ears perked up at Harry's mention of another detention with Snape. "You have detention again?" she gasped. "What did you do this time?" He was hesitant, but responded slowly.

"Well, I was looking at the Map on my way to dinner and I saw Malfoy and Moaning Myrtle together in a bathroom…"

"What?!" Ron interjected. "Weird!"

"That's what I thought!" Harry agreed. "So I followed him."

"Naturally." Said Ron.

"And it turned out… he was in there crying!" Hermione felt a pang of sinking dread in the pit of her stomach. That was definitely a bad sign! She was so caught up in the implications that she didn't realize her friend had continued. Apparently a fight had broken out between Malfoy and Harry.

"And… well…" Harry was saying, "I was reading the Prince's book the other day and there's this one spell he wrote that said "For enemies…" Hermione's heart leapt at the mention of the Prince. "I had been curious about it and thought… well… you know… when am I going to get another chance like this? So I used it on Malfoy." Hermione gasped.

"Oh Harry! You didn't!" She was horrified that her friend would be so careless. He didn't know who the Half Blood Prince was, so he couldn't possibly know that the spell would be harmless.

"It was horrible." Harry's eyes were wide, as if he could see Malfoy right there on the Common Room floor. "It sliced through his skin and he just started to bleed everywhere!" No. That can't be! Hermione was shocked that the curse would be so horrible. Snape had invented it himself as a student! "But then Snape came in and he started mumbling something over Malfoy and the wound mended. But he was furious! He used Legilimens when I wouldn't tell him where I saw that curse and told me to get my books. That's why I asked you for your copy, Ron. I knew he'd be raging mad if he saw the Prince's book." Hermione self-consciously squeezed her bag against her. I really hope not.

The next night, Hermione entered Snape's private lab a little early. She had been anxious to see him all day, to see if he was mad at her about what had happened with Harry. She hadn't slept well. All night, all she could think about was how awful that curse had been. He's a Death Eater. Of course he's done horrible things! She shook herself. In the safe confines of the lab it was easy to forget her professor's dark side. Is it horrible that I still care about him, even knowing that?

When she entered the lab, it was vacant and the door to his bedroom was wide open. She immediately felt like she had intruded, especially after all his talk about her 'making herself at home.' Come to think of it, his wards were on the door leading to his office and the one leading to the supply closet, not the one between the lab and his bedroom. She had never thought of his lab as being part of his private quarters, but now she realized that it was. The thought made her feel like she was trespassing.

"Granger?" his voice came through the door. She hesitated, then called back.

"Yes, sir?"

"Come here." His voice was stern and she obeyed reluctantly. He was not in the bedroom, but she found him in the living room, sitting in one of the chairs—a big, comfortable, well-used, reading chair—with a book in his lap and a cup of tea in his hand. She hesitantly walked over to stand in front of him. "Sit." He commanded. She complied. "Tea?" She was about to decline when he conjured another teacup and lifted the pot to pour her some.

"Yes, thank you," she muttered shyly. He didn't seem surprised when she admitted that she took her tea black. As she raised the steaming brew to her lips it occurred to her that one should never drink anything offered by a Potions Master. But she took a sip anyway. I still trust him, she realized. They sipped their tea in companionable silence as he flipped through the pages of the book. There was a deep tension in the air and Hermione began to worry that he would interrogate her. Did he spike the tea with Veritaserum? No. He wouldn't waste the brew on someone whose mind was so easy to read.

"Professor, I thought Harry had a detention with you," she said, finally breaking the silence. Her professor answered her without looking up from his text.

"He does," was all he said.

Over the rim of her teacup, Hermione studied her professor. This was the man who invented that wicked curse. But, he was also the mastermind behind a book full of corrections to age-old potion recipes. And that was something he had done as a student! Hermione was practically salivating at the prospect of reading something he'd written recently. As if he'd ever let you!

But her professor seemed very agitated tonight. He was studying the page in front of him with deep concentration that she found almost frightening.

At last, her professor closed the book and sat back in the chair, sipping on his tea and brooding. She knew better than to interrupt his thinking. Finally, he turned to her. "Wait here, Granger. I need to check on Potter." He said the name with such hatred that Hermione recoiled from him. Rising, Snape left her sitting there to slip through his office door. He returned a moment later, a sneer on his face, and came to stand directly in front of her. She set her empty teacup down and folded her hands in her lap, awaiting instruction.

"Miss Granger," he began, "This Saturday is the full moon. The Wolfsbane for next month's brew must be collected at midnight. I wanted to show you where it grows. Would you mind accompanying me when I go to collect?" Hermione shook her head enthusiastically.

"I would love to, Professor!"

And so, they set to work on the last night of brewing for this batch of Wolfsbane. After tonight, Hermione hoped to be able to brew it without his help. The plan was for her to brew it next month and he would simply oversee her work to make sure she didn't commit any grievous errors.

At least… that was the plan.

Grrrr! I know! Another cliffhanger! I'm sorry! But just wait 'til you see what I have in store for the next chapter! Don't forget to Review!