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P.S i'm sorry if there are any bad grammer or flow issues. its unbeta'd so its just me. Sorry.

So...Onwards and upwards...

Hermione sat in the dank potions classroom, her potions textbook open in front of her as she researched the strengthening solution. They were due to start prepping for the potion in the next lesson but it seemed Professor Snape wanted to ensure everyone knew what they were doing.

She sucked on the end of her quill, looking up to the ceiling as she thought through her ideas. 'Salamander blood is one of the principle ingredients for the first brewing phase of the strengthening solution. It is believed that the heat of the Salamander habitat is transferred in the blood causing its healing properties. The warmth when ingested can induce momentum through the human body-'

Her thoughts were cut off by the Professor who growled, "that is all for this lesson. Pack up your processions. Next lesson we will be starting the first phase of the Strengthening solution so reread chapter 12 of your textbook. Dismissed." He paused momentary before calling out, "Miss Granger, stay behind please."

Hermione paused for a moment before continuing to pack away her books, parchment and quill then sat quietly at her desk, waiting for everyone to leave.

The door closed with a click as the last student left the room and she looked up expectantly towards Russ who was leaning against his desk. They both remained silent, neither willing to break the silence.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably on her stool. The burn of anger in her chest towards this man had not abated since she woke up this morning. The night of restless sleep with tossing and turning had allowed her to stew for most of the night.

Russ looked towards the young girl and he could feel the anger radiating off her.

He had felt retched since he had walked in on her detention but didn't the girl understand that he had to act unfeeling so Umbridge wouldn't become suspicious. If he had defended her and Potter, Umbridge would have reported the incident to the Ministry. It wouldn't take long for Lucius to find out after that. He couldn't get fired, he could defend them better within the school.

He also couldn't be seen liking the girl either. The Dark lord had found out that he was her Godfather, he had told him so it wouldn't seem as suspicious but he had acted as though he was adverse to the idea. He had to maintain he didn't like the girl, that it was a hateful relationship so he couldn't use the girl against him.

He was surprised however that not many within the school had found out. Only Albus, Minerva and Umbridge knew. And Umbridge only knew because of the Guardianship transferral files she had managed to get her mitts on. Her friends had managed to keep it a secret, quite surprising really but the girl managed to get earn a steadfast loyalty from all her friends.

He paused at the fuming girl in front of him. It seemed as though she had no intention of talking first – She definitely had her father's stubbornness he thought with an internal smirk.

Gosh Hermione looked so much like her mother when she was angry.

He mentally shook himself trying to rid of the images of Dawn Granger. Now is not the time or the place.

"Miss Granger you must understand my actions yesterday. I couldn't intervene-"

"Oh I understand Professor Snape." Hermione said coldly, her eyes staring into his. Her usual warmth was lacking as she stared at him, patiently waiting for his next move.

Russ barely suppressed the wince at her address. He knew she was being respectful and he couldn't call her upon it, it was just painful to hear her call him that after the last couple of months. He hadn't realised he would miss her calling him Russ until it was gone. He breathed in deeply, he knew he had to apologise to the girl, she was hurt by his actions but it was still painful to swallow his pride.

"I'm sorry Hermione." He said quietly, looking towards the back wall of the classroom, unable to look at the girl.

"You're Sorry?" She hissed, causing Severus to look at her with mild shock. He supposed this was Dawn's anger coming out in the girl but it was still a shock all the same. He had only ever seen her mild mannered and polite. He gripped the desk's ledge behind him as he waited for the wrath of the teenage girl. Dawn's anger infused with unstable teenage hormones, god help him.

"You're Sorry!" Hermione shouted, throwing her hands in the air as she stepped away from her desk. "I am now scarred, probably permanently according to Madame Pomfrey due to Umbridges Quill. You could have stopped it but you didn't." She stepped forward just a step before quietly continuing, "You're worse than her. Something that's worse than a bully is someone who witnesses it and walks away."

Severus looked at the girl as though he had never seen her before, his knuckles white from gripping the desk too tight to stop him placing his hand on his chest. A pain had settled into his heart, he knew it wouldn't take long to cause estrangement between the two of them but he thought he would have longer with her.

The girl knew how to use her words to wound a man. He swallowed silently and nodded, his black hair covering his face so she wouldn't see the hurt that was currently showing. He needed a few moments to compose himself to his normal expressionless self.

Hermione looked at Russ feeling a momentary pang of remorse before pushing it away. Taking his silence as a dismissal she grabbed her bag and walked out of the classroom.

She soon caught up with Harry and Ron, giving them a small smile in greeting. The two looked over her form briefly; their frowns grew deeper as they saw the tightness of her expression.

Harry and Ron looked each other in the eye, seeming to have a brief conversation through their eyes. Linking arms with Hermione they dragged her away from the Great Hall, out of the doors towards the grounds. Ron grinned broadly towards Hermione as three walked towards Hagrids hut.

"I didn't think Hagrid was back yet?" Hermione asked with a frown, though she was enjoying the warmth of the September sun against her bare arms. She hadn't managed to spend time outside since returning to Hogwarts, the niggling doubt of the forth coming OWLs had pressured her into studying.

As a child she was always annoyed that the weather always seemed to turn warmer when she went back to school. After a summer that had been so dismal, it seemed to be a kick in the teeth but she was glad of this weather tradition at the moment.

"He isn't but we said to Dumbledore we would check on Fang and Hagrid's other…'pets'" Harry said with a laugh at Hermione's panicked expression at the thought of seeing what dangerous creatures Hagrid kept. He didn't have the common sense that many seemed to have when it came to his dangerous creatures. She was still recovering from that 'innocent' egg of her first year.

"Don't worry Hermione, Dumbledore promised there wasn't anything too dangerous in his zoo." Ron said with a grin, ducking out of the way of a swat that was aimed for his head.

All three stopped outside the forbidden forest looking silently in, all of them remembering their trip during their first year where Harry had met You Know Who for the first time. It looked dark and chilling even during the day and Hermione shuddered at she looked into the darkness of the forest.

Harry cleared his throat, looking towards Ron and Hermione, "we should split up and try and find some of the creatures. There's Thestrals that need feeding, I will take them. Ron you can feed his blast ended skrewt's and Hermione, could you feed the unicorns? Dumbledore said to put this…" He said dumping a bag of feed into her arms, "in a clearing 400 yards to the North."

Hermione nodded at her friend, grinning at his ability to give direction. He could become a good teacher.

She slowly started her away through the forest, stepping over the fallen branches and brambles that latched onto her cloak. She looked around between the trees, the darkness oppressing her as she realised only slivers of sunlight could make their way through the thick canopy of the forest.

She stopped walking to see if she could hear any noises around her that could be the herd of Unicorns nearby. There didn't seem to be any life in the area, it was so silent. Forests in the muggle world were so full of life, always full of birds chirping and rustles in the undergrowth.

Unease curled in Hermione's stomach as she quicken her step in a northerly direction hoping to find the unicorns or the clearing. What was Dumbledore thinking sending them out to do this job, it was forbidden for a reason and she couldn't imagine dark creatures not coming out just because it was daytime.

She let out a sigh of relief as she saw the sunlight breaking through the forest in the distance and made her way towards it, trying not to trip over as she carried the bag of feed.

She stepped into the light, blinking at its harsh brightness. Her eyes slowly adjusting to the light and her smile grew. The small clearing was truly beautiful so it was no wonder the unicorns came to feed here.

The clearing was covered in meadow grasses with purple foxgloves, pure white Campion White flowers and a fallen tree trunk across the middle. The sunlight seemed to be brighter within the small clearing, it truly was beautiful. She smiled to herself, she supposed it was the light within the darkness that many seek. The little bit of hope to those who may be lost in the forest.

Her thoughts were interrupted however when she heard behind her a deep booming Birmingham accent, "Alreet my lover! Whats a little girl like you doing so deep in the forest?"

Hermione froze, momentary fear crawling through her veins. She turned around, biting her lip to stop a scream from escaping at the creature she saw.

In front of her stood a massive beast, standing about 7 foot tall covering head to toe in bright white long hair. He had large hands and large feet, standing tall studying her as she studied him. Her eyes wide in fright as she finally looked him in the eyes.

They were dark burnt orange with a pin point of black in the centre. She took a step back as she saw the white fangs poking out of his mouth.

"Didn't you hear me luv? What are you doing in the forest? It's a bit dangerous to be here, even in the daylight." The creature in front of her gave her a broad grin showing rows of pointy teeth to Hermione, causing a startled gasp from the girl as she stared at him waiting for the finishing blow.

"Oh don't you worry girl! I won't bite! Strictly vegetarian unless a time comes where I must taste a little meat!" He stepped forward holding out a hand, "Me names Brian! Pleasure to meet yer girl!"

Hermione took a small unsteady step forward grabbing his outstretched hand and shaking it the once. She was surprised at the softness of his hair and smiled as it tickled the skin on the outside of her hand. "My names Hermione." She said with a smile looking up to meet his gaze once more.

"Now you aren't scared you're going to be eaten by the big bad fureur, why don't you tell Brian what's caused you to be in the forest?" He said with a big grin, his brummie accent broad and strong.

"The groundkeeper is currently away so my friends and I offered to help him out so I'm feeding the Unicorns." She said with an unsure smile, watching him warily. Brian might seem alright now but you can never be too sure. Though if he decided to turn and attack her, his extra height and weight wouldn't give her much chance.

"Ah of course Hagrid would be involved. Never did have much sense when it came to danger." Brian said with a shake of the head. "Go on then, spread the feed and I will walk you back to the edge. The forest isn't safe no more. You're lucky it was me that found you."

Hermione nodded before spreading the feed, never turning her back on Brian as she emptied the bag. She looked towards the beast that was sat on the rotten trunk waiting patiently for her to finish. "Erm…Brian?" She said timidly. He looked towards her with a small smile, seemingly catching on that his teeth unsettled her. "What kind of creature are you?" She hoped she hadn't upset him, it was rather a personal question but she had never seen such a beautiful creature. Scary but never the less lovely.

Hermione jumped when she heard a loud laugh that echoed around the clearing, "Direct and to the point ain't you?" He said with a grin, his fangs sparkling in the sunlight causing Hermione to shudder. "I'm a fureur. Not too many about of us anymore but as you can tell from the accent I'm not from round here. I was from a small forest just outside of Birmingham but after the muggle government left the area, the forest became open to muggles again so Dumbledore offered this place to me."

Hermione sighed as he mentioned that Dumbledore knew he was in the forest, she couldn't imagine the headmaster letting a potentially dangerous creature into the forest so close to the school so she was beginning to trust the beast.

"Come on then little'un! Lets get you back to the castle." Brian said standing up from the log and walking towards the clearing edge. Hermione skipped after Brian, still unsure of him but unwilling to be left alone after his announcement about the forest.

"Brian, please slow down." Hermione puffed out, Brian's large steps causing her to run to keep up.

"Oops sorry luv." Brian said, reducing his step so the young human could keep up. "alright now?" He said with a laugh.

Hermione nodded, gasping for breath as she walked.

"You know you're nothing like your father. He's rather stern and black. But you…" Brian said looking down at her out the corner of his eyes, "You're the light."

Hermione looked up at him, her brow furrowed and her eyebrows pushed downwards over her eyes. "My father…?" she said with confusion, "Oh! My godfather Severus Snape? I suppose he is dark isn't he? All in black…"

"If you say so…" Brian said with a shake of his head, humans pretend to be superior but they couldn't see what was right in front of them. "Often bump into him while he's collecting herbs for his potions. Nice enough chap I suppose. Rather like my species, nasty unless you know them."

Hermione nodded with an unsure smile on her lips. He looked over to her and laughed at her condescending smile, reaching over ruffled up her hair. "I told you little'un, I'm not going to eat you…Yet." He said with a big grin.

Hermione looked at him for a moment, studying him for future reference. "There you are, safe and sound. I can't smell your two boyfriends so they must have left you. Charming to see manners ain't dead." Brian said rolling his eyes as they reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest. "I will see you around but don't go into the forest again." He ruffled her hair once more, laughing at her disgruntled expression and turned back towards the forest.

She looked up to the sky, a bit shocked to see it was a lot darker than she had expected. She must have been in there for a lot longer than she thought.

She smiled as she saw the Professor rushing down the steps towards her; he was always the one who ended up rescuing them she thought wryly. She might be angry at him but the worry etched on his face was enough punishment.

She wondered how often he had come close to heart attack since being her guardian and giggled to herself. For once she was fine and nothing had happened.

She grinned broadly and walked slowly towards him, not taking him long to close the distance between the two of them. "You're alright!" He said with blatant shock as he looked her up and down looking for injuries and not finding any. She didn't even look afraid.

"Don't sound so shocked." Hermione said rolling her eyes, "Not everything I do causes me to be in danger." She said with a broad grin.

The professor looked ready to disagree with her but stopped himself just in time. She looked alright so there was no point in causing an argument.

"Met a lovely creature called Brian." She said as she walked up the steps, assuming he would fall in step with her.

"Potter and Mr Weasley got worried when you didn't emerge. You've been in there for two hours!" he said shaking his head, seeming to ignore what she had said about Brian, peaking her inquisitiveness more. "Though I'm glad Potter got over his hero complex enough to reach me. He would probably be wondering around in there for days until he got eaten by a Fanged Geranium." He smirked slightly, causing Hermione to wonder if he was imagining Harry's demise, causing the satisfied look upon his face.

They quickly fell into silence as they made their way towards the Castle, both happy to be with one another and not cause another argument.

"I am sorry Feathers." He said quietly as they were nearing the door, "I know it must be hard but you have to trust me when I say there was a reason."

Hermione looked at him for a moment, a confusion written clearly over her features as she studied the man in front of her. He seemed to hesitate before putting his hand into his teaching gown and brought out a chocolate frog. She looked up, raising an eyebrow before grinning broadly as he pushed it towards her. "You're mother only gave me a few pieces of advice. One of them being to carry around a small bar of chocolate to gain your forgiveness in times of disagreements."

Hermione looked at him before laughing out loud, "You're learning Russ!" She grinned, "all is not well but this…" She said waving her frog around, "is definitely softening me up."

He simply raised an eyebrow before pushing her towards the great hall, "Get on with you. Its time for dinner, can't have you hungry can we?"

She grinned broadly at him before quickly walking towards the hall, the smells causing hunger pains.

Good or bad?

What do you think of Brian? (nice guy or evil?)