AN: Hey, it's me as always.
Hope you're pleased with how this is going. I've had good luck with writing this month and have been able to produce longer chapters each update. Hopefully this continues.
Also I created another story series on here basically following the same student/teacher thing, except with little plot and mostly smut. I'm not sure what it's going to be yet but it might just be a collection of drabbles. It's not really important to this story but I just thought I'd explain a bit.
Thanks for the favorites, follows, and the reviews. I cannot explain how much I love receiving feedback.
Hermione loosened the collar around her neck, her hands shaking slightly as she undid the first button on her blouse. It was much too hot in the hallways, and that combined with her nervousness made the discomfort almost unbearable. Snape was walking her way, heading to his classroom. As his eyes caught hers the suspicious expression on his face from the day before returned. His eyes studied her, dipping at the undone button then shooting away.
Getting rid of the book would prove to be a challenge. She hadn't fully figured out what she was going to do with it yet. She supposed anything was better than keeping it. Her main plan was to leave it somewhere in the library where the Slytherin boy could possibly find it again, but she wasn't ruling out the idea of ditching it in a toilet stall.
Upon arriving in the classroom she sat a few seats down from where she would normally be. She was too obvious yesterday, practically fanning it's existence in her Professor's face. After placing all the stuff she would need for this period on her desk she slid her nearly empty bookbag under her thigh. With all the people around she didn't trust leaving it anywhere anyone but she could get to it. Unforchantly sitting so near the back put her closer to where Malfoy usually lurked. She didn't think he would try anything but it was something she noted.
"Granger," called an unpleasant voice. Speak of the devil, she thought, trying to look busy.
"What do you want Malfoy?" Hermione flipped through the pages of her textbook, skimming the passage.
"Why was I marked off for 'coffee stains' on my paper'? What kind of bullshit reason is that?" He shot back.
"And why do you think it was me? That sounds disgusting. Think about the poor Professors who have to handle your food-encrusted papers."
"Very funny, mudblood. I know it was you. Who else hangs around the Potions Professor like an eager-to-please lapdog."
She stood up to give him a piece of her mind. "You listen here, you over-privileged pureblood twat-"
"That will be enough Ms, Granger." Snape intervened, putting himself in between the two. He took the paper from Draco and held it to his chest. "I will fix this for you. Sit down." He shot Hermione an annoyed look.
"Thank you, Professor Snape. Oh, and you should really see what she's hiding in her bookbag. I think she might have stolen something for her idiot friends." He returned to his seat, loudly pulling out his chair before he plopped himself down.
Hermione stayed quiet, glaring into the pages of her textbook. Her face was hot. She wondered how Snape could stand up for someone like him. He was most likely trying to make things easier for the both of them by giving into Draco's unrealistic demands, but still. He called her that word. Wasn't that also worth a scolding? Or did it not mean anything to him.
The class settled down and Snape began his lesson. Still upset over everything, Hermione couldn't pay attention to what was being taught. She would have to go back over everything in her textbook tonight when she was more level-headed. She couldn't stand that she could hear Draco snickering behind her. She tried to tune everything out, focusing on the wall to her side. Her finger fiddled with the zipper to her bookbag.
The bell went off quicker than she had hoped, and Hermione again stayed behind. She hadn't said a word since the beginning of class, refusing to show even the slightest bit of attention till her feelings were recognized. She say Snape approaching her out of the corner of her eyes.
"Granger, your bag please."
Hermione instinctually hid it behind her and shook her head rapidly, "You don't believe him do you?"
"Children get punished for playing games Granger." All the blood drained from her face and she was dumbfounded. Looking outside the window, as far away from him as possible, she weakly handed him the bag. She heard him rustling with her belonging until he came across something and suddenly stopped. She refused to look at him but she had a good feeling she knew what he found. He flipped through through the pages, taking an excruciatingly long time to get through it.
When he was finally finished he looked up, his eyes like daggers. He started slowly, "Do you want to talk about this?"
She didn't know how she was going to get out of this one. "No, I would really rather not."
"Sorry, I phrased that as a question when in fact it was a statement. As your Professor we are going to talk about this right now. Do you understand how much trouble you would be in if anyone else found this, Ms. Granger?" She was not going to get out of this one.
Still refusing to return his eye contact she looked down at her hands, fiddling nervously with them in her lap.
"Ms. Granger," He dropped the book loudly on the table to get her attention, and as he thought her eyes darted up. "Pay attention."
She bit her lip and refocused her eyes, nervously meeting his own. They were dark, intense. She could tell he was serious, and she couldn't believe what was happen. How could he take his word over hers, after all this time they've spent together?
"Okay," she started, spouting out the first thing that came to mind, "It isn't mine-I, I just picked it up because I was interested but please, I wasn't the one who brought this into the castle; it was another Slytherin boy."
He pursed his lips. "Ah."
Realizing the implication of what she said she quickly picked up where she left off. "No, it's not like that. I mean it was just a random Slytherin boy I met in the library-" She stopped again, embarrassed she wasn't able to find the right words to explain herself. She studied Snape's expression. The more she went on the more annoyed he seemed to get.
"I am not particularly in the mood to hear about your apparent wild affairs."
Determined to clear her name she continued, even daring to interrupt Snape to do so. "I'm not having any wild affairs! I was just curious and I took the book when they accidentally left it at the table!"
"So, there was more than one of them now?" She went silent, not sure how to reply to that. For a second she could have sworn her heart stopped beating.
He sighed, folding his arms over each other. "Sarcasm, Granger."
Relief hit her like a wave, momentarily calming her ever-racing heart. She took the shortvery few silent moment she had before Snape continued his lecture to recollect herself. How was this happening? Her face was burning and she held back tears.
"Now what should I do about this?" He stood up, pacing around her threateningly. "I tried giving you detention time and time again but it never does get the message through your skull."
"I'm sorry." She blurted out. "I was curious, I wanted to learn. There was no other way. Would you rather have me find another student to teach me?"
He didn't answer. He looked away, which Hermione found odd. It almost looked as if he was bothered by the suggestion.
"Until I can think of a suitable punishment for you you may return to your room." She nodded quickly, removed herself from the room. Her stomach was turning. She felt like she was going to vomit. She stopped at the nearest bathroom and stumbled into the nearest stall. Her head hovered above the toilet seat, waiting for something to happen. Eventually her stomach calmed down and she sat down on the seat.
Her face was on fire, and more than anything she wanted to cry but she wouldn't let herself. She felt angry that he was so insistent, but she wasn't at all surprised. She wasn't thinking when she brought the book with her a second time. Of course Snape would automatically assume she was up to no good. She stood up, carelessly slamming the stall door shut behind her. She stared at herself in the mirror and just as she thought her face was flushed and eyes swollen. She turned on the sink and rinsed her face in the cold water. She really didn't want to know what Snape thought of her now.
Hermione got no sleep that night. She couldn't get that day's confrontation out of her head. By all means she was a practical girl, but if she could rather die of some unknown cause instead of having to see him tomorrow she would pick that option.
She was lucky and Snape's presence was called upon elsewhere halfway through her class period, delaying her awkward encounter for a while longer.
Class was over and Hermione finally had to return back to his classroom to face him. The entire day she had been doing her best to avoid him as much as she could. If she had to go get something she would take the long way around the other side of the room rather than pass by him. She didn't want to see how he looked at her now. A few times, she thought he might have noticed and lingered by her desk, but she was sure she was just imagining things. The only way she could picture that truly having been the case was if it was out of some kind of pity. Draco's dumb outburst the other day must have planted something in his head.
She wasn't a dumb school girl with a crush on her Potions teacher. She refused to believe so, but the fact that she had to convince herself made her wonder if it was really true or not. He was always on her mind as of late. She would be crazy to deny that hadn't meant anything. Even if it was, there was no way he shared the same feelings. With her being a student and him being her teacher; it was literally a disaster waiting to happen.
She gulped, waiting for her classmates to clear the room. As they filed out, one by one, the atmosphere became heavy and again Hermione found it difficult to breathe. The last student left, letting the door close loudly behind him and she took it as her cue to enter.
"Ms. Granger." He said, noticing her immediately.
She couldn't bring herself to look up. She clenched her fists. Hermione had prepared herself for his worst.
"Yesterday…" he began, "Yesterday, I was going to ask if you would care to help me collect mushrooms from the Forbidden Forest. They're a special kind that we are lucky enough to have growing right in our backyard. I will need them for class next week."
But it wasn't. His voice was gentle. She nodded, still looking down at her nails.
"You may leave for now if you wish. Come back here to meet me before supper ends."
She calmed enough to return his gaze. There was a kindness in his expression she had only seen a few times before, when they were working together on grading papers or when he laughed at something witty she said. Though the hurricane inside her gut was still raging on, things hadn't turned out nearly as bad as she thought.
"No, I'll stay. I haven't felt very hungry as of late." She forced a small smile.
"Nonsense. I insist that you go eat. You look peaked."
"I'm really fine."
He didn't look convinced. "Please, go eat and come back when you're done. I'll be waiting."
Finally giving in she took her stuff and headed off to the Great Hall. She didn't have much time left to eat anyway, she would have been better off staying in the classroom. There was no way she could force anything down in her current state. A large portion of students were heading back to their common rooms or lingering in the hallways. The Gryffindor table was just as lively as always. She was happy to see Harry and Ron were still sitting at the usual tables eating.
"Where have you been?" Ginny asked, greeting Hermione to the table with a smile. Hermione was surprised she hadn't already heard.
"Detention." Ron interjected.
"I still can't believe this all started from something so small." Harry remarked.
"I can believe it." Ron added, "You know how she is. Always running her mouth. "
"Shut it," Hermione said. "I was just trying to tell him I found some of the information out of the textbooks he was teaching us with were outdated. I wasn't trying to upset anyone."
"He gave you this much detention for that?" Ginny asked in disbelief.
"No, er, not exactly," she said, glaring daggers at Harry and Ron. "The first two were for that. The rest of them were because these two somehow convinced me into sneaking out with them to see a stupid fireworks show. You two should be grateful he let us off so easily."
Harry leaned forward, "I wonder why he felt the need to personally oversee your punishment? The rest of us have to deal with Professor McGonagall and 5am volunteer work around the castle." The suspicion in his tone was evident. "It can't be coincidence. I think he's planning something."
"He's not planning anything against us, Harry! Please, he is our teacher and he is only doing what is right." Hermione was quick to jump in. She had no idea where Harry was getting this from. She wondered how they could be so quick to judge him.
"You're very quick to defend him Hermione," Ron butted in. "You know, I heard Malfoy saying something about Snape having a soft spot for you... If you keep it up everyone's gonna start saying you two are in love."
"Ron!" Ginny scolded, pushing him aside. "Don't listen to him. He's just being an arse." Hermione smiled, satisfied with at least Ginny having her back. She tried to listen to Ginny's advice but she couldn't help but think over Ron's words. Was that really what people thought about her and Snape?
Ron rolled his eyes, got up and pulled Harry along with him. "Well, me and Harry have some business to attend to somewhere else. I hope you two have fun kissing Professor Snape's arse." Harry stood up and followed behind, meekly waving goodbye before he left.
Ginny sighed, putting a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Don't worry about them. Really, the two of them never have any idea what they're talking about."
Ron's words echoed in her head again, worry written all over her face. That wasn't a rumor she really wanted to encourage. It would only cause trouble for the both of them, especially Professor Snape. For his sake, she would try to keep her distance from this point forward, or at least when people were looking.
Soon she said goodbye to Ginny and ran off, leaving five minutes before they all were to return to the common rooms. She sprinted down the hallways, stopping when she saw Snape's dark figure standing in the distance. She wondered how long he had waited there for her. She felt guilty about how badly her friends had talked about him before. If only they had got to know him the way she did, they would have known he could actually be rather agreeable. "Sorry, I hope I didn't keep you long."
His eyes lit up as he turned to her. "No, no. It's fine. I'm assuming you took so long because you ate like I suggested."
She nodded, suddenly noticing the hunger pains in her stomach. Maybe she should have listened to him. It wasn't often he was wrong.
He sighed and turned away, leading her down the hallway. "Considering all the times you've been out past curfew hours before I assume you know what I'm about to say. You must stay by my side and in my sights at all times. Wandering off, even for a second, will not be permitted." She followed him out the nearest exit, noting the incoming storm clouds in the distance. She hoped they made it back in time before the weather took a turn for the worse. Hermione couldn't imagine anything worse than being caught in a storm in the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night.. From his expression he was probably thinking the same as she.
She followed him a decent length into the forest before they came across a small clearing filled with strange looking mushrooms. They all were colored slightly differently but had the cone shaped heads. Snape stopped and pulled out a gardening tool to hand to her. "Strange little things aren't they? I don't recommend touching the boils on them. They carry a puss-like substance inside of them that leave an unpleasant tingling sensation on the skin. They are good for brewing potions, but not much else."
Hermione mentally noted everything he said, hoping this would come in handy in their next test. "What kind of brews are they used for? And their alternative uses, if any?"
"The brews I will go over in class, but the alternative uses are not so child-friendly Granger." He shoved his trowel into the dirt, beginning to collect the mushrooms.
"I am not a child-," she corrected, in an irritated tone, "you can tell me what they're used for."
"Yes, of course." The corner of his mouth lifted, in a small crooked smile. "They can also be used in potions or mixtures of the sexual sort, but I do not teach those kinds of things to students."
Hermione blushed, embarrassed she had said anything in the first place.
After collecting a good amount of the mushrooms she handed a small pile to him, confused with what to do with them. Without much of a thought he shoved them into the pockets thick overcoat. It was kind of strange, her noticing little things about him like that. For the incredibly intelligent man he was, he often had a simple answer for the problems placed in front of him. She found it oddly charming.
From above she heard thunder rumbling. She bit her lip, wondering if the forest could get any creepier.
From the corner of her eye she noticed something dark shoot by. She wondered if she was just imagining things, but Snape had noticed too. She starting to ask a question, only to be shushed by her narrow-eyed Professor. She backed up closer to him, his presence behind her comforting. They readied themselves, pulling out their wands and holding it in defensive position. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her behind him. The dark flash whipped by again and she was pushed against the tree by her Professor, shielding her with himself.
His body pressed against hers, one palm over her mouth and the other other firmly holding her against the tree. She stopped breathing, afraid even that was too loud. Snape checked around the corner. After he decided the coast was clear he abruptly let her go, taking a few steps away. He mumbled an apology and turned away, picking right back up where he left off. She held her place against the tree, her nails still digging into the bark. She hoped that from where she was standing he could not see the warmth grow on her face.
"I apologize if I frightened you."
She shook her head and stumbled forward, returning back her position kneeling beside him. Her shaky hands searched for the trowel. Her hand came across something warm and fleshy - Snape's hand. He intertwined his fingers with hers.
"Let's head back."
"No, please, let's finish up." she forced out an awkward laugh, "I understand it was just a precaution. There could be anything out here…"
He didn't look convinced with her answer, but he stayed none the less. His hand lingered over hers for a few seconds longer before they both pulled away and went back to harvesting mushrooms in silence. After they collected a decent amount of them, filling up all the pockets on their coats, they decided to head back to the castle. Just in time, she thought as tiny droplets of water started to fall from the sky.
Snape lifted up his cloak, sheltering both of them from the rain that began to engulf them. "Is that all for today?" She asked, holding tightly onto the edge of his cloak.
"Yes," he replied, hurrying her to the nearest entrance. "Thank you for your help, Granger."
Hermione was mostly unacquainted with the part of the castle they were in. All she knew was that one hallway lead to the Potions classroom and the other one lead to the Slytherin common room. He made a sharp turn right into a unknown door and she did her best to follow him, jogging quickly behind him into the room.
The room was lined with shelves of potions and other miscellaneous jars that gave off a strong bitter-sweet odor. She had heard about this place before from students unlucky enough to end up here after class. It was Professor Snape's office. Aside from the jars there wasn't much else in the room, only the bare essentials, a desk and a chair to make it somewhat liveable. To the far left there was a table hidden behind one of the shelves, and she followed him into there.
"I assume you want to refresh yourself here instead of heading back to the Gryffindor dorms and waking everyone up." He disappeared behind a large cloth that was draped over another opening, leaving her to her own devices. The room was about the size of her parent's master bedroom back at home and had a similar set up. There was a large bed in the furthest corner of the room, a fireplace, and a decently-sized bath to the right.
She cast a spell on herself, removing all trace of water and dirt of her clothing. It was good enough for now but nothing replaced a good hot bath.
Snape returned to the room again with a tray holding enough tea for two. "You may use the bathe if you want but I understand if it's something you're not comfortable with. You may also leave whenever you are ready." He handed her a mug and took a seat in front of the fireplace.
She took a sip out of respect, but quickly put it down aside her because the heat burnt her hands. She watch Snape sit quietly at the fireplace, holding his mug firmly with both hands. The skin on his hands must have became thick from working with potions for so long. Their rough texture was also something she noticed when his hand were crossed with hers. Thinking back to that, she could feel her face begin to flush.
Before running off to the restroom she muttered a small thank you. Like the rumors she had heard about the teacher's private quarters, the restroom has a luxurious feel to it. The walls and tiles were pure black, and everything matched the simple monotone color scheme. The bathroom was very cold unlike the rest of his room and she hurried to turn on the water once she stripped her clothes off.
There was only one bottle of unknown soap sitting at the corner of the tub. Hermione smiled, assuming it was the one he used for everything. It was a very male-minded trait he shared with her friends. She stopped the water flow when the tub filled halfway and impatiently stepped in. The water not being too cold or too hot, she quickly made herself comfortable in the tub. Despite the unwelcoming colors of the room she thought she could spend hours like this, relaxing in Snape's tub. She didn't keep track of how long she spent in there in between washing her bushy hair, she forgot she was to be heading back to her dorm soon. When she finally got out she rushed to get all her clothes back on, afraid she had long stayed her welcome.
Steam escaped into the mainroom as she meekly opened the door. Snape, who was still on his chair, had fallen asleep. She took her spot back on the floor and said nothing, staring off into the fire. Her tea had gone cold.
She continued to remind herself that she had to leave, that under no circumstances was she to stay there. She thought back on Snape's words, lazily laying her head down. He didn't sound like he was too rushed to get her out of her room. If he was he would have made sure to stay away long enough to kick her out. She considered waking him up to ask him what he wanted, but right now asleep, he looked the most at ease than she's ever seen before. After some convincing she let her eyes close and drifted off to sleep.
She woke up on the mattress, tucked into emerald sheets.