LLL- I'm happy. The first chapter did well.

Snape- *walks into room*

LLL-What's up Severus?

Snape-*glares*

Hermione- Just ignore him

LLL- Ok

Snape- She doesn't own Harry Potter *leaves room*

The sun wakes me up and I look around my vacant room. I yawn, stretching my arms and legs. It must be at least 9 o' clock. If I get ready fast enough I can make it to breakfast. I do my best to hurry and throw on my clothes, getting out of the common room in less than five minutes.

There's more activity around the castle than there was yesterday afternoon. The morning air is thin and cold, but strangely comfortable. As I walk down the stairs, the small bag on my shoulder rustles inside and is getting uncomfortably heavy. I decide to take a shortcut outside to get to the Great Hall. When I enter, I see the usual. All four houses are sitting at separate tables and that is when I see Ron and Harry sitting next to Neville. When I approach, Harry stands and gives me a hug. Ron nods.

"Hey Hermione, I decided not to wake you up. I thought I'd let you sleep."

"Well I wish you would've wakened me up. Then I wouldn't have to rush to get a bagel in the morning." That being said, I grab a bagel from the middle of the table and bite it. He simply shrugs his shoulders and turns to Harry.

"What time are we going to Hagrid's today?"

"I'm not sure," he answers.

"You guys are going to Hagrid's?" Neville asks. "Can I come with? I have nothing else to do you know."

"I don't know about that Neville." Ron ponders.

"Please," he begs. Both Harry and Ron look at me and I sigh brashly.

"Fine. I don't see why not."

"Thanks Hermione."

"Maybe we can go at around 5:30 or 6:00." Harry suggests.

"Sounds good to me," Ron agrees, "and Harry, I understand Snape doesn't like you, but does he always have to stare at you like that?" A bell rings in my head and suddenly, I'm afraid to look up at the high table where the professors sit. It takes all the guts I have and sure enough, there's Snape, glaring down at our group. For some reason I have a strange feeling he isn't looking at Harry. Something about him always makes me feel like he knows what I'm thinking.

"We can't go at six," I blurt. I'm not sure how I forgot I had detention, but I can't tell them that.

"Why not? It'll raise less suspicion sense nobody is out at that time," Harry points out.

"Yes, but it is starting to get dark earlier and I'm going to the library to do a report that Professor McGonagall requested from me and I'm going to need all of the time I can get."

"So what time do you suggest we go?"

"2 o'clock."

"I guess that's OK. It's not like we have anything planned for the rest of the day." I glance back up at the high table to see if Snape is still looking, but he's gone.

*2 o'clock*

At this point, the sun is supposed to be at its highest in the sky, but clouds are preventing us from seeing. The snow is still of the ground and there are other students walking around. Harry and Ron are laughing about something behind me and Neville as we walk. That's when I see Draco. He's alone, walking out of the forbidden forest. I pull Harry and Ron forcefully behind a vacant rock.

"Bloody hell Hermione, you nearly ripped my arm off. What are we..."

"SHHHH!" I quiet. They look in the same direction as me and see him. "What's Malfoy up too?" Coming out of the forest, I expect him to go in the direction of the school, but he doesn't. He walks into the direction of the school gates. Harry stands and I pull him down. "What do you think you're doing," I say looking at him. He looks at me.

"I was going to follow him."

Ron separates us. "I know where this will lead and now does not seem like a very good time to argue."

Neville unnecessarily butts in. "Do they always argue at moments like this?"

"It's more like debating over who's right at the moment and time."

"And most of the time," I say, "being the smartest, I'm right."

"My plans work every time," Harry informs.

"What plans? You never have a plan and you didn't have one when you were about to run. You always wing it and that involves us eventually being chased by a group of people in a near death experience."

"You guys," Neville calls.

"My plans do to..."

"You guys."

"Oh yeah, name a..."

"You guys."

"How about the time we..."

"YOU GUYS!"

"What!" We yell in unison. He points into the direction of Draco, but there's one problem. No Draco. "Great. Where did he go?"

"I didn't see. I was looking at the two of you." We look at Ron for any reassurances. He shrugs his shoulders and I stand.

"Let's just get going. We will figure out what he was up to later." The four of us continue our walk to Hagrid's. We enter and Fang runs up to us. The ugliest and most loyal dog ever. The baby Gryphons are in a black blanket on the table. I pick up the feather lying beside them and tickle them. The eyes open and they begin to squawk. I dig around in my bag for the Bezoar. After reaching around multiple books and quills, I find them and give each Gryphon half of one.

"Where'd you get those?" Ron asks.

"Oh. Uhm," I hesitate. "I brought some extra before we came to school for potions class when we were at Diagon Alley." He does the usual shrug and follows Neville, who is refilling Fang's food. When business is finished, we walk back up to the castle and go our separate ways. I decide to go up to the clock tower. You can see the entrance to Hogsmeade from here. It looks very beautiful in the winter.

The chill wind blows my hair and once again, that uneasy silence fills the air around me.

"You're such a bad little mudblood," someone whispers in my ear. I can tell now that they are close to me and turning my head would be a bad idea. Common sense tells me it's Draco. Who else calls me mudblood?

"Why are you here?"

"Am I not allowed in the clock tower? I believe I am." He switches to my other ear. "The smartest mudblood in school has detention. Wait until people hear about that."

"Stop calling me a mudblood and how did you know that?"

"I have my ways of finding things out and I think it's only necessary that I call you by what you are."

"If I kill you how long do you think I'd be in detention then?"

"Wow. That's a nasty little threat. You would be great in Slytherin if you weren't poisoned with muggle blood."

"And you will be great in hell if you keep talking." He moves my hair away from my right eat and leans in closer.

"Is that a promise?" I stiffen and my hair falls back over my ear when he lets go. I hear what sounds like wind behind me. I swivel around and Draco is gone. He couldn't have apparated. It can't be done on school grounds, but I didn't even hear him leave. I only felt that breeze. What's going on with you Malfoy?

*6 o'clock*

I stand at the potions room door and knock. Snape opens. "Come in." Of course I enter the room that will lead to my death. "First you will do what you claimed you were doing last night and take inventory for me. I want everything counted and counted right."

I sigh and get to the materials cabinet.

*7 o'clock*

350 Bezoars

*9 o'clock*

473 maciliber worms

*10 o'clock*

200 bottles of clazerlum acid

*11 o'clock*

"OK Snape, I'm tired, can I leave now?"

"You call me professor Snape and no. You can stop counting. You leave at the same time you broke in last night. 12:30.

"So you just want me to sit here?"

"Or continue working. You choose one." I lay my head down on a desk. "Ms. Granger. For someone as smart as yourself, that was a stupid move you pulled last night."

"I know. Something has been wrong with my brain lately. I haven't been thinking straight. I didn't mean to do it. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Stealing from a teacher." I sigh deeply.

*Snape's POV*

I watch her lay on the desk.

"I was so stupid," she says. I think she's about to cry. "You know, I've never gotten detention in my entire life, but it's not as bad I figured. I'm the only one here. Professor Snape, Potions has always been one of my most difficult classes. I commend you for being so skilled at it even though it's not a class you want. You're good at it." She stops talking and her eyes close.

*12:45*

She still lays there. Silently sleeping. There is a knock at my door. 'This better not be Draco..'

I open and in comes Sybill Trelawney, the Divination Professor. "Oh it's great to see you Severus." She says in a very jolly tone. "I'm just here to pick up that solution you were supposed to pre pair for me to enhance my powers."

"Yes. I have that right here," I say, getting the potion off of my desk. 'I just wish she'd quiet down before she wakes Granger.'

"Well thank you. I appreciate this. You know the last..." She stops in the middle of her sentence and looks at me curiously through her thick glasses. Then she notices Hermione sleeping. Slowly, she walks over to her and looks around her, then back at me. "Severus, I was reading a very interesting book," she says a lot more quietly. "A little boy was a pureblood and he knew a woman that was muggle born. Now these two hated each other for the time being, but as time went by, they started to fall in love. This was forbidden for the two of them, but the worst thing is that the female was two times the age of the boy. They didn't let others interfere with it because they had the right to love who they pleased and each other was who they choose."

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask.

"I don't know. I guess I figure you'd be interested."

'The first I think of when she says this is Lilly. She was muggle born.'

"And I have a feeling that you will also be reading a book similar to this very soon." She walks to the door and smiles as she takes one more look at Hermione. Then she's gone. That is one strange lady.

I take a look at her. She needs to sleep, but I don't want to wake her and make her walk all the way up the stairs. That's when I have the most dumb idea ever.

LLL- What was Trelawney talking about. What is Snape's dumb idea. Will the world ever know?

Hermione- We will if you review.

LLL- Yes. Please review.