AN: Hey! So I somehow failed to mention this was going to be a chapter fic so I really hope you guys stick around for the rest. Also sorry if this is riddled with mistakes. I'm horrible at editing things. I'm currently looking for a beta reader so if you're up for it please shoot me a pm! Thanks!
Reviews are always really sweet to read and appreciated!
AN2: So Chapter 1-3 have finally been revised! Thank my beta for going back with me and making this possible. She's amazeee.
Back in the comfort of her dormitory, Hermione rubbed her temples, trying to compose herself enough to think over what just happened. Her head was racing and not even in her mind could she form complete sentences, all that came out where loud bits and pieces. Snape. Detention. Professor. WEIRD SEXUAL DEVIANT. The sentence fragments rolled off her tongue accidentally, in small hushed coos. She rolled onto her side, burying her face into her plush mattress and cradling her legs to her chest.
She didn't know what disturbed her more, the fact that she had touched such a personal thing or that despite how much it pained her to admit, she didn't actually find it all that surprising. Not in the sense that she wasn't shocked, which she obviously was, but in the respect that, once she thought about it, it did fit his personality. The revelation was sickening, or at least it should have been. She felt hollow and shocked but not at all disgusted in the way she thought she should be feeling. She was, oddly enough, more curious than anything. "In the subject itself," she said aloud, as if to reassure herself.
How the hell was she going to face him tomorrow? A distorted image of Snape kept reappearing in her mind, dressed in his usual dark fashion, but i was threateningly smacking a whip against his palm and staring back at her blurry-eyed, desire burning in his dark pupils.
The day flew by, and before she knew it, it was time for Potions.. She shuffled her supplies for class nervously as she made her way to Snape's classroom. In a way, she was almost excited to see what was going to happen. Snapping herself out of her thoughts, she saw Snape standing stiffly near the doorway of the classroom, collecting the previous day's assignment from students with abrupt strokes of his wand.
She pulled out her homework from between the pages in her textbook, steeling herself for an awkward encounter. Luckily she had finished her work the day before in detention, because after what had happened there was no way she would have been able to finish it. As she waited patiently behind her classmates, Malfoy shot past her, roughly bumping into her shoulder as he went. Parchment went flying out her hand and scattered the floor around her.
A crisp voice spoke up. "Mr. Malfoy... Watch your step." Hermione's eyes went wide, as did the rest of the students' around her. Malfoy looked equally stunned. She felt Professor Snape's eyes on her but she refused to return his gaze. Scowling at the two, Snape waved his wand to collect the paper that had fallen out of Hermione's grasp and ushered the class inside. "The rest of you... I expect you all to have your work at the front by the end of class. There will be no exceptions."
Hermione sat herself at her normal seat in the front and stared blankly at the chalkboard. What had just happened? Malfoy sat directly behind her, loudly pulling his chair out as if to announce his presence. Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
Class proceeded normally, with Snape lecturing while they all struggled to keep up. Hermione noticed he seemed on edge, or at least more motivated than usual to give the class a harder time. Every now and then he would glance in her direction but never for more than a few seconds, much to her relief. Though she was unsure if those darting eyes were meant for her.
She wondered what would possess Snape to start treating her like an actual human being. After the events of the day before, she couldn't imagine any reason Snape would have for - unless ... She gripped her pencil tighter. He couldn't possibly think that -! Hermione stole a glance at him then quickly looked back down at her textbook. No, no, it couldn't be anything that dirty. She bit her lip, upset she would think something so strange in the first place. There was no way her Professor could be interested in her in that sense. He must think if he wasn't on his best behavior she might tell someone what she saw, she corrected quickly. And if that was it, then it would prove what she found yesterday was much less wholesome than he tried to pretend.
Surprisingly, Malfoy hadn't said anything obnoxious all period. She wondered if his proximity was just an idle threat. Malfoy was not dumb enough to defy Snape openly. Regardless of his reasons, Hermione was grateful to Snape for coming to her aid. She was surprised with how normal everything had been so far. A few times she almost entirely forgot about the day before - and about her detention later on. She checked the enchanted clock hovering above the chalkboard, ticking quietly as it bobbed in place. Only a few more minutes before class ends, she reminded herself, her stomach doing summersaults. She looked away, accidentally meeting Snape's eyes. His expression was impossible to read but she could have sworn that for a second he looked just as reluctant as she was.
The bell finally rang and everyone hurried back to the common rooms, while Hermione remained behind to serve out the remainder of her detention. The last person out the door was Malfoy, who graced her with the most mischievous smile before taking his leave. She wondered what evil scheme that blonde devil had on his mind.
Soon she was the only student left in the room with Professor Snape. She gulped, folding her hands neatly on her desk. He hadn't directly addressed her yet, just as the day before. She hoped she would luck out and he would ignore her for the next hour or so. But it was too early to say.
"Ms. Granger... Yesterday, what exactly did you do to my supply room? I hope you weren't searching through it for those two troublesome friends of yours..."
His voice made her jump. "Oh! Um, I'm really sorry about the Professor! It was really nothing like that. I uh..." He voice trailed off for a second, trying to think of how to explain herself. "Tripped. I'm truly very sorry. I tried to fix things as best I could."
He sighed. "Obviously not good enough ... If you had simply told me then, I would have given you more time to clean"
Again, Hermione found herself at a loss of words. Why was he being so - so different? She wanted to mention something about not wanting to lose house points or not wanting to risk having another few detentions slapped on but held her tongue. "I can finish up cleaning it now if you'd like." Immediately after she'd spoken she wished she hadn't.
Snape pursed his lips. "Er, that won't be necessary."
The air went tense again and Snape turned back to his work, fiddling with the stack of papers in his hand. She expected things to go back to how they were earlier but he spoke up again. "If you really want to make yourself useful you can grade these papers. I'm sure you know how to do that correctly."
Hermione nodded and stood up, strangely very eager to please him. Yesterday she was too engrossed with herself to imagine how he must have felt having someone, especially a student, finding something so personal. A wave of guilt overcame her for being so quick to judge him before. She sat a few seats away from Snape and began working her way through the stack. When she came across Malfoy's paper she was tempted to grade him down an extra few marks but resisted the urge. She smirked. She supposed it wouldn't make much of a difference anyway. His work was average at best.
"I assume you're on Malfoy's paper from that impish expression on your face."
"Er, yes. His work is no surprise."
Snape smiled, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "That's something we can both agree on."
Hermione didn't understand why, but for some reason the cold Professor Snape was radiating genuine emotional warmth. If she hadn't been there to witness it herself she wouldn't have believed it. Could she have been misinterpreting him this whole time? She felt like in the last thirty minutes, she had gotten to know more about him than she did in the last six years sitting in his class. It always felt like he was singling out her, Harry, and Ron before but in hindsight it wasn't all that surprising, considering all the trouble they often got into. It also wasn't like he treated anyone differently than he treated them.
"Professor, I'm done." She handed the pages back to him.
"Very good."
Hermione sucked in a breath. An actual compliment escaping his mouth? Her heart quickened. She would never get used to this. "Thank you," Hermione murmured a little late, looking at him curiously.
He stood up and went to log the grades. "That will be all for today. Thank you Ms. Granger. I'll see you in class tomorrow."
She nodded and left in a daze. Her mind was blank, still working to process what just happened. Snape - Professor Severus Snape - had been civil with her, had engaged in small talk with her, and complimented her for her help. She rubbed her forehead, feeling her face flush. All the animosity she had harbored for him before had vanished in only a few minutes, and what replaced it was still too confusing to understand. She wanting nothing more than to clear her head. There were still a good twenty minutes left of lunch, so she hurried to the Great Hall. She felt anything but hungry, but she desperately craved the company of her friends.
They always sat at the same spot at the Gryffindor table, and if that wasn't enough, Ron's hair always stood out She loudly dumped her books on the table and sat beside them. Ron, who was still stuffing his face, was the first to say something. "I heard Snape's being hard on you. Been keeping you in detention for the last couple of days."
Harry joined in. "It must be painful having to sit in a room alone with that guy for an extra half an hour." They both continued to share their distaste for the man very openly saying things that she definitely would have agreed with the day before. She kept her mouth shut, unsure of how to respond to it all.
A brown haired blue-eyed boy sporting her house colors rushed in their direction, a wide grin plastered to his chiseled face. Hermione held her breath, shifting nervously in her seat. He leaned over between the two, resting a hand on Ron's shoulder. She hadn't recognized his face, which she couldn't comprehend how considering how perfectly his chin curved into his high cheekbones. "Hey, my stepbrother is putting on a show in Hogsmeade, you in?"
Before she was able to think it through Hermione answered, "I'd love to," before the boys were able to respond.