Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took so long to get up. I had planned on putting it up earlier until a friend of mine mentioned that she thought my chapters should be a bit longer. So this one is longer. Then my new nephew was born. And then I realized I had a test and presentation due, so writing had to be put on the back burner until recently. Thanks to everyone who reviewed or alerted my story! You kept a smile on my face this month!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any related characters; they are the property of J. K. Rowling.

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Despite dragging by a bit, the three days Hermione spent grounded could have been much worse. Snape had had her alphabetize past volumes of his potions journals, and she had snuck the chance to read some of the more interesting articles. Unfortunately, she couldn't become engrossed in them since she had to keep looking over her shoulder for Snape. He had a habit of creeping up on her silently to check her progress. She swore that he had caught her reading an article at one point, although he didn't say anything.

As they were finishing dinner the third night, a letter with Hermione's name fell through the mail slot in Snape's quarters.

"For you, Miss Granger," Snape said, handing it to her.

Hermione broke the seal and read the note. She smiled after reading it.

"What does it say?"

"Professor McGonagall invited me to tea tomorrow. May I go?"

"You may." He paused a moment. "Are you finished eating?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then reply to Professor McGonagall and help me clean up the kitchen." Snape took the plates over to the sink as Hermione scribbled an affirmative answer to Professor McGonagall. She put the letter back in the mail slot, where it would be transported to the Owlrey. Grabbing a rag, she wiped the crumbs off the table while Snape washed and dried the dishes.

Snape took a blank piece of parchment out of a cupboard and sat back down at the table with a quill. He gestured to Hermione to do the same.

"We need some house rules," Snape said to her.

Hermione felt her stomach turn. This can't be good for me, she thought.

"As much as I need my journals organized," Snape continued, "I would prefer that we not repeat this…unpleasantness." Hermione nodded. Snape pushed the parchment and quill toward her. "You may write." Hermione picked up the quill. "Rule number one," he began, pausing. "What is your opinion, Miss Granger?"

"Leave a note before I go somewhere?" she suggested, already beginning to write it down.

"That will do. Or tell me before you leave. Rule number…"

"I have a question," she interrupted. Snape raised an eyebrow, but gestured for her to go on. "If I have to leave you a note, are you going to leave me one? It seems only fair."

Snape sighed; he hated when she made perfectly reasonable requests. "I will do my best to remember," he acquiesced.

Hermione smiled. At least she had won one battle. She held the quill over the page, preparing to write the next rule.

"Rule number two," Snape repeated, "no going in my private potions lab." He paused. "Three, keep your room clean and help with cleaning up. Also, clean up any mess you make. Hermione nodded, writing quickly. "Four, be respectful."

"As long as it's mutual," she muttered under her breath, then cringed. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"What was that, Miss Granger?" Snape raised an eyebrow, looking at her pointedly.

"Nothing, sir."

"Very well." He paused. "And yes, I will be respectful to you as well, if I expect it from you."

Hermione nodded, her blushing slightly. "Thank you." She was pleasantly surprised; the rules were reasonable. She had half-expected him to make a rule that she had to scrub his cauldrons.

"Rule number five," he continued. "No lying. It should go under 'be respectful,' but I believe I should make everything perfectly clear." He sneered the last part of his sentence.

"But I've never lied to you!"

"I am to believe that you actually went after a mountain troll yourself?" Hermioned blushed bright red as he smirked. "I thought so. Six, keep your grades up." Hermioned nodded. "And lastly, rule seven is bedtime at ten."

"Ten!" she exclaimed angrily. "But that's too early!"

"Would you prefer nine-thirty?" he asked, his tone deadly calm.

"No, sir."

"Then ten it is." He paused. "Can you think of anything else?"

"No, sir."

"All right then." He held out his hand for the parchment. Hermione handed it to him, and he posted it on the refridgerator. "Just so there is no confusion," he said to Hermione's raised eyebrows.

Hermione went into her bedroom and settled down with a book. She quickly got lost in the story and was startled by a knock at the door. "Come in!" she called.

Snape opened the door and poked his head in. "It's bedtime, Miss Granger."

She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. "But you said ten. It's only nine o'clock!"

"If I remember correctly," he sneered, "you're being punished." Hermione remained silent, a mutinous look creeping over her face. "It's bedtime, Miss Granger. I'll expect the light out in ten minutes. Good night."

"Good night, Professor," she spat. It's only for another week and a half, she reminded herself. You can last till then.

Snape raised an eyebrow at her tone, but shut her door, letting it go. Minerva had reminded him earlier that the girl had just lost her parents, and therefore a little leeway was necessary. But honestly, he thought, didn't the girl realize that punishment wasn't supposed to be pleasant? And didn't I leave her alone when I caught her reading some of the articles from the journals? He snickered softly at the memory. The girl had colored red, and shuffled the journals around to hide that she had been reading. Did she really think that I didn't know what she was doing?

The next afternoon, Snape heard a knock at the door while in his potions lab. "Come in, Miss Granger," he called to her.

Hermione opened the door and stepped into the small room. She was immediately hit by a peppery odor and looked wide-eyed around the room. A black marble table ran the entire length of the left wall, save for a small bookshelf by the door. Small silver burners dotted the table; a few had at with smoking cauldrons on top. The right wall was lined with shelves holding supplies and ingredients. Hermione could see cups with stirring sticks and jars upon jars of labelled potions ingredients. On the back wall, there was a black wooden cabinet with glass doors on top and drawers on the bottom.

"What is it, Miss Granger?" Snape asked her, annoyed at the interruption.

"Oh," she said, seemingly startled. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving for tea with Professor McGonagall."

"Very well," he replied. "I'll expect to see you at dinner." He dismissed her with his hand.

Hermione turned to leave, but then turned back around. "Um, Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Granger?" He didn't look up.

"How do you light the burners?"

Snape signed. "You touch them with your wand and say 'Apagüese'." He demonstrated for her.

"May I try?" she asked hopefully.

Snape grit his teeth, forcing himself to be patient. He didn't want the girl to go crying to Minerva that he had refused to let her do as simple task as lighting a burner. "Do you have your wand?"

"Yes, sir." She took her wand out of a purse she was carrying.

"All right. Touch your wand to the base of the burner and say 'Apagüese'."

Hermione tapped the base of the burner. "Apagüese." The burner produced a small, but usable, flame. She looked at Snape again; his face was unreadable. "How do you put it out?"

Snape touched his wand to the burner he had used before. "Pongáse." The flame went out.

Hermione copied him; her flame flickered out slowly. "Thank you, sir!" She smiled. Snape nodded, dismissing her with his hand again. "I'll be back after tea," she said.

Snape nodded, turning back to the door, and moving toward the cabinet in the back. "Orpheus," he said, tapping his wand on one of the glass doors, as he heard the door shut behind the girl.

Hermione knocked politely on Professor McGonagall's door. The door opened. "Hello, Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall said warmly. She gestured for Hermione to walk into her office.

"Hello, Professor," Hermione replied, smiling. "Thank you for decorating the room for me."

"You're welcome. It was my pleasure. I'm so sorry to hear about your parents."

"Thank you." Hermione's smile faltered for a moment as her thoughts turned to her parents. She had been trying to avoid thinking about them.

"Well come in," Professor McGonagall said again. "We'll be having tea in my personal quarters." She turned to a door at the back of her office. "Snow leopard."

Hermione followed her into a cozy-looking living room. The room was painted a warm yellow and two red plaid armchairs and a matching sofa surrounded a wooden coffee table. There were a couple of bookshelves on the walls, but there were also paintings of the Scottish highland. A permanent chess board with two chairs sat in the far corner.

"Have a seat," Professor McGonagall said, gesturing to the couch and chairs. Hermione sat down on one of the chairs. "I'll be right back. I need to set the water to boil." Professor McGonagall left the room for a moment and Hermione looked at the titles of the books. To her surprise, she recognized a few of the novels as muggle novels. She smiled to herself.

Professor McGonagall came back in and sat down on the couch opposite Hermione. "How is living with Professor Snape?" she asked her.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "It's all right, I guess," she replied. She sighed. "It's just…" she began softly, but stopped.

"It's just what, Miss Granger?" Hermione shrugged, but didn't say anything. Professor McGonagall tried again. "It's just what, Hermione?"

Hermione took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's just, why was Professor Snape picked? Why not someone who actually likes me? Or at least doesn't hate me?"

The kettle whistled at that moment. Professor McGonagall stood up. "I'll be right back." Hermione heard the whistle stop and then some changing noises from the kitchen. A few moments later, Professor McGonagall walked back into the room carrying a tea tray. She set it down on the coffee table and poured two cups of tea. "Milk and sugar?" she asked Hermione.

"Yes, please," she replied. She accepted the yellow teacup from Professor McGonagall. They both took a sip of their tea. "Professor?" Hermione said a bit timidly. "My question?"

"Of course," Professor McGonagall said, setting her teacup on the coffee table. She pushed a plate of cookies toward Hermione. "Have a biscuit." Hermione took one, looking at her professor expectantly.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "Unfortunately, situations like yours happened many times," she began. "Much more so in the past than today. The school had to come up with ways to care for muggleborn students without the Muggle World finding out that the Wizarding World existed. Many in the Muggle World believed that witches and wizards were agents of the devil."

"You mean, they burned students at the stake?" Hermione's eyes were wide with horror.

"There were a few instances recorded," Professor McGonagall replied grimly. "But I digress. The school and the Ministry at the time wanted to prevent any more chances of that happening, so they drafted a law that allows for underage students to become the wards of Hogwarts professors. It's the 1504 Act for the Protection of Orphaned Muggleborns."

"But why Snape? Why not you or…" Hermione trailed off. What if Snape was the only one willing to take me?, she thought frightenedly. Did Professor McGonagall refuse? Am I really that much of a burden? Her thoughts haunted her.

"Professor Snape, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall replied crisply. "I would've loved to become your guardian, but there are other parts to the law. I think I have a book about it around here somewhere." Professor McGonagall stood up and went over to one of her bookshelves. She selected a book and handed it to Hermione. "The information should be in here. You may borrow the book."

"Thank you, Professor!"

Hermione and Professor McGonagall spent the next few hours chatting about books, both muggle and wizard. Around six o'clock, Professor McGonagall looked at the clock above Hermione's head. "Oh, goodness! Look at the time! Professor Snape is going to be wondering where you are!"

Hermione twisted around to look at the clock. "I should probably go," she said, setting her teacup on the tea tray. "Thank you for the tea and biscuits and book, Professor. And thank you again for decorating my room for me."

"My pleasure, Miss Granger." Hermione picked up the book and Professor McGonagall walked her out.

As Hermione headed to the dungeons, the law Professor McGonagall told her about swirled in her mind. There are always loopholes in laws, she thought. Now I just have to find it.