It was after midnight. Severus had done all he could for the headmaster's injury. The cold abandon with which Dumbledore was treating the news of his impending death had infuriated him but to ask him to be the assassinator had taken him off guard. Intellectually he knew that this was not killing rather assisted suicide but his heart was in turmoil. Whatever hope of redemption he had would be over after this. Knowing that arguing was fruitless he left the school and returned to spinner's end. He had a lot of planning to do as one way or the other he himself did not plan to outlive the war. He had been prepared for his death when he had made the unbreakable vow with Narcissa and would have gladly died while fulfilling his duty but it seemed he was to be denied redemption in death too. He would be a traitor to both sides. An opportunist who changed sides as it suited.

He needed to put his will in order. All his possession would go to Samantha but with that he would leave her the details of her parentage and truth of his guilt. He never planned on telling her the truth while he lived and witness the hatred in her eyes. She had been furious with him after his outburst last term and had refused to speak to him unless he decided to explain the cause of her parent's death and their identity but he could not afford to do that now. If anyone found out that she was the sister of the 'boy who lived', she would be dead within minutes.

Pouring himself a generous amount of firewhisky he sat down and started writing the doomed letter. Unlike his normal lucid self he was stumped. He had no clue on how to go about putting all this in one letter. By the time he finished it was already morning. He needed to clear his head, wormtail would be down any minute and he could not afford to show any emotion in the rat's presence. Deciding that working on few of the potion that the dark lord had requested would be sufficient distraction from his present mental turmoil he went down to his personal lab.

The next few weeks passed without much incidence. The dark lord had called upon Severus and had been furious with Narcissa about the unbreakable vow but had agreed that in the long run it would not affect his plans. It was the mark of how furious he was after the department of mysteries fiasco that it was Bellatrix who received a bout of cruciatus for being insubordinate instead of Severus.

It had become a kind of custom for Dumbledore to visit him in the last week of summer and inform him about his choice for DADA professor. So when Severus was summoned by the headmaster he was unfazed.

'So who is it this time?' Severus said as soon as he entered the headmaster's office.

'Have a seat, Severus. Lemon drop?' He asked.

'The day I have that infernal sweet will be the day the dark lord dresses in pink and goes dancing in a muggle disco.' He scoffed.

'Now wouldn't that be a sight.' Dumbledore said laughing.

'Anyways getting back to the topic I wanted to inform you that I have accepted your application for the DADA post. Horace will be taking the potion's post.' Dumbledore said with a slight smile.

'What? What are you playing at? I don't know whether to be more surprised by my appointment or Slughorn's return.' Severus replied.

'Oh there is nothing to be surprised about. I wanted to give you the position you craved while I still could. The curse on the post won't matter as I do not expect you to stay here once you have carried out my request. I do expect that Lord Voldermort would grant you the headmastership if you so desire once he is in power. I am not going to insult you by asking you to take care of the school. I know that you would do that no matter what.' Dumbledore finished.

'Of course you won't make that request. All you want is just the small favor of casting the killing curse on you.' Severus scoffed.

'I know the gravity of my request and I would not have done it had I any other option.'

'I think we have had enough discussion. I would like to return now, seeing that I have quite a lot of lesson planning to do.' Severus said as he got up and left in a flurry of robes.

Severus had craved the defense post from the day he started teaching. It was not that he did not like potion rather the opposite. Potions has always been his passion but teaching that subject held no joy for him. Potion according to him was not something that could be taught. You either had an aptitude for it or you did not and hardly a handful of students he had taught till date possessed any level of skill. Defense on the other hand was something that needed to be taught especially with the looming danger and he with his skills would enjoy doing that.

It was the day before the term start that he finally gathered the courage to visit his gran and Samantha. The moment he stepped into the house he was engulfed in a tight hug.

'Where the hell have you been?' Samantha cried once she had released him.

'No letter, no visit, do you have any idea how worried we were.' She shouted as she moved to allow him to sit.

It took Severus a few minutes to get his bearings. He had been prepared for a cold shoulder or even shouting from Samantha but this was something he had never imagined.

'You were worried!' He said surprised.

'Of course I was worried. What did you expect?' She huffed.

'After what I told you at the end of term I thought I would not be welcome near you.' He admitted.

'Oh! Come on Severus, you say a lot of things when you are worked up. Assuming blame for anything and everything is just what you do. I admit that I was taken aback then and more than a little shocked but seriously how can I be upset with you for people I have never known. You say that you are the reason that I am an orphan but it's not true, you are the reason that I have family. You and gran are the only family that I have ever known.' Samantha finished as she hugged him again.

'I… I am sorry. I thought..I..' Severus stammered not sure what to say. Samantha's little outburst had made him feel even more guilty. He knew he in no way deserved her love or care. He just was too selfish to tell her the truth.

The next day Severus apparated to Hogwarts and Samantha went to London to take the train with the rest of the students.

It was the first weekend after the start of term. With some trepidation Hermione knocked at the potion master's door. He had not summoned her yet for her assistant duties but she wanted to thank him in person for his help in her recovery after the department of mysteries fiasco. Gathering all her courage she entered his office.

'Hello Professor.' She said.

'Miss Granger, I assume you are here to discuss your schedule for assistant duties this year. I was hoping that you could be a little more useful seeing that I will be busy with the DADA curriculum.' He said without looking up.

'I actually came to say thank you. Madam Pomphrey informed me about your role in my recovery.' Hermione said

'Think nothing of it.' Severus replied as he finally looked up.

'I have to admit I was a little surprised when I did not receive your customary thank you note this year.' He said with a smirk.

'Oh! I just thought that it was time I started thanking you in person.' Hermione replied surprised that he had noticed the absence of her letter.

'You wouldn't need to thank me if you used that brain you are so famous for.' Severus said in his usual sarcastic manner.

'I also wanted to congratulate you sir, for the DADA position.' Hermione said hoping to change the subject.

'Thank you, Miss Granger. I just hope that your harebrained friends would keep their inflated ego aside to learn something from my classes. I at least expect you to pay full attention.'

'When have you known me to get distracted?' Hermione replied getting tired of his attitude.

'Whenever you are with those two dunderheads.' Severus replied with a smirk.

Hermione refrained from replying knowing full well that wining an argument with the potion master was an impossible feat.

After discussing her brewing schedule, Hermione immediately started to work on the potion for the hospital wing.

It was late by the time she finished and dinner was already over. Sighing she proceeded to leave when the Professor Snape called her.

'Miss Granger, It would seem that both of us were too distracted to go to dinner. I will ask the elves to get something if you would come with me.' He said.

Surprised Hermione followed him to what looked like a siting area.

'Have a seat. I will be back.' He said as he told her as he went into the adjoining room.

Hermione sat on the nearest chair trying to fathom the unusual kindness from the otherwise dour man.

'Food will be here shortly.' Snape said as he re-entered the room and took a seat opposite from her.

They were half way through dinner when the Professor spoke again.

'Miss Granger, I wanted to ask you for a favor.' He said.

'Of course.' Hermione immediately replied.

'You are one of the few people aware of Samantha's relationship to me. No one knows the identity of her parents except for me. Disclosing it would be detrimental for her safety especially with the dark lord back. But I do not want this information to go to the grave with me. As such I have written everything in a letter. 'He said as he produced an envelope from his robes.

'I want you to keep this safe with you. No one except Samantha will be able to open it. Please had it over to her in case of my death or incapacitation.' He finished.

'I .. of course, but I don't understand. Are you planning on dying anytime soon?' She said trying to fathom the unusual request.

'Double agents normally have a tendency to end up dead on short notice, Miss Granger.' Snape replied sarcastically.

'Then why not ask Dumbledore. He would surely be a better choice than me.'

'You unlike Dumbledore are friends with Samantha and that is what she will need when she reads this letter.'

'That and probably he would be dead before me.' Severus thought.

Hermione pocketed the letter thanked the potion master for the dinner and left.

The next few days passed in a flurry of activities. With the overwhelming amount of homework and potion assignment Hermione hardly got any time to ponder on the potion master's unusual request. She was a little worried about Harry's new potion book but decided to let it be for the time being.

Severus had been on good terms with Slughorn during his student days. With his extra ordinary skill in potion he had been part of the slug club from the very beginning. He had actually enjoyed it as it was the only thing that he and Lily shared. Slughorn had encouraged their friendship and had even spoken to Lily on Severus's behalf after she had stopped talking to him. He had been the one to help Severus gain the position as the Ministry contractual potion brewer. Things had been good till Severus had declared his allegiance to Voldermort. After that Slughorn had severed all contacts with him. Even after he had changed sides the older Professor had maintained his distance. Slughorn had always taken any of his protégés joining the dark side as a personal insult. As such Severus was more than a little surprised when he found the current Potion's Professor knocking at his office door.

'Horace, how may I help you?' Severus said as he signaled the older man to join him in his study.

'Nothing much my boy, just wanted an overview on the students. You seem to know them well and I am too old do all the work from scratch.' Horace said with a jovial laugh.

Knowing that for whatever reason it was Slughorn's method of mending terms with him, Severus went ahead and gave him an idea of the students.

'You seem to be avoiding a charming child.' Slughorn said.

'It is a matter of opinion; I do not find Potter in any way special enough to be discussed.' Severus replied irritably.

'Well he is special if the rumors are to be believed, and he seems to have a flair for potion, just like his mother. He was brilliant with his draught of living death; no one even came closer to him.'

'You are telling me that Potter's Potion was the best in the class. A class that also has the estimable Miss Granger.' Severus asked incredulously.

'Oh Miss Granger is brilliant I completely agree but Harry is just born with an aptitude for Potion. I would say he reminded me of you.'

'Don't insult me Horace.' Severus scathingly replied as he got up to pour them both a drink

'Be that as it may I was not referring to Harry when I mentioned a particular charming child but Miss Sadler. It was quite a surprise to find that you are raising a young child.' Slughorn said as he took a sip of the drink that Severus had poured them both.

'She is my gran's responsibility and any and all aspect of raising Samantha is taken care of by her. I am merely her godfather.' Severus replied trying to sound nonchalant.

'Severus all I wanted to say is that she is an exceptional child and you seem to have done well with her. I am sorry that I did not trust you even when Dumbledore stood by you but meeting the young lady made me realize that you were never completely lost to the dark side. I know you have earned a reputation for yourself but if you ever need anything from me just let me know.' Slughorn said as he finished his drink and got up to leave.

It was strange how much Slughorn regard mattered to Severus. He had always considered the man pompous and vain but when he had complemented him about Samantha, Severus had felt proud. Maybe it was because no one not even Dumbledore had paid much heed to his relation with Samantha. He had always been content thinking that it was safer this way but today he felt elated maybe that was what felt like being a parent.

In all that was going on Severus had all but forgotten Slughorn's comment about Potter's new found potion skill that he had been blabbering about until the Professor cornered him one evening to postpone Potter's detention so that the boy could attend one of his parties. Irritated with all the Potter Severus caught hold of the new Gryffindor chaser and sent Potter a stern instructions to be present for detention. Deciding that he was behind in his own brewing, he also sent a note to Miss Granger.

Hermione was excited to finally begin brewing this year. She had been thinking that with regular brewing session maybe she could ask Professor Snape about the half-blood Prince. If he was such a potion genius then for sure the Professor would know about him. She just needed a way which would not land Harry in trouble.

Professor Snape seemed to be giving her more challenging tasks this year which pleased her no end. He had even let her assist in brewing wolfsbane. Though this surprised her but she let it pass as her unbelievably good fortune. It was only when she mentioned this to Samantha she realized how unusual it was.

''He let you assist with wolfsbane.' The younger girl had shrieked.

'He forbids me to even enter the lab when he is working on such potions. 'She spoke enviously.

'I am sure that it was because he really is over worked.' Hermione said but she knew something was amiss and resolved to talk to the professor.

She did not have to wait long for the opportunity. The very same evening she received a note from a very irritated Severus Snape.

'Miss Granger, I had assumed you had more brain cells than the rest of the foolhardy Gryffindor's. But it seemed that I have mistaken. Who gave you permission to brag about your brewing outside of the lab?' He spoke the moment she entered his office.

'I was not bragging Sir.' She spoke quietly.

'Then why did I have a very angry Samantha in office just minutes before.' He raised his hand to forestall her reply and continued.

'Miss Granger though it's none of your business but my relationship with Samantha has been a little rocky after the return of the dark lord as I am sure you are already aware. She is my responsibility and hence I am doing all in my power to protect her. You with your association with Potter have already doomed your future, you are already on the frontline in this war hence any knowledge I could impart you would be beneficial. But where Samantha is concerned I will make sure she is never part of this war. 'He finished.

'Sir, may I ask something.' Hermione said timidly.

'As if I could stop you, go ahead.' He said.

'Why would I need to have potion skills with you on our side? I am not complaining Sir and I am very grateful for all the effort you are taking but in the current scenario how would that help. 'She said

'You are correct that your service will not be required with me around but spies Miss Granger have this misfortune of not being around for much long.'

Hermione was taken aback by this comment but before she could formulate a reply the Professor already handed her a list of potions to be brewed and busied himself with marking.

That night Hermione could not sleep. She kept pondering on Snape's comment. Combined with the letter that he had given her at the beginning of the year she was sure it was not ideal worry. Something was brewing, she was certain and it was dangerous enough that Professor Snape thought his chances of surviving were thin. The thought of the Professor's death chilled Hermione to the bone. She resolved that she would find out what was going on and help in any manner that she could. In all this Hermione completely forgot to ask the professor about the 'half-blood prince'.

Hermione was fed up with Harry and his obsession with Malfoy being a death eater. It was infuriating that Harry thought that something like this could be possible without Snape or Dumbledore being aware. Things took a turn for the worse when Katie got cursed. Harry voiced his concerns to McGonagall who in turn appraised Snape and Hermione was once again on the receiving end of his wrath.

'Miss Granger, have I or have I not asked you to keep me appraised with Potter's stupidity. 'He seethed when he next saw her for their brewing sessions.

Knowing that anything she said now would only infuriate him further she kept quiet.

'Do you have any idea as to the problems he could land himself into by opening his mouth at the wrong place?' Snape shouted.

'I am sorry sir. I never realized that Harry would take his obsession so far. I will not let you down in the future.' Hermione spoke timidly as she started her brewing.

It was nearly midnight when she finished with the brewing. Thinking of asking the Professor for a note she went back to his office.

'Professor Snape.' She said drawing his attention for his markings.

'Yes, Miss Granger'

'May I please have a note? It is past curfew.'

Without looking up the professor snatched a parchment and wrote the needful and passed it to her.

She was nearly out of the door that the professor spoke again.

'Miss Granger I presume that Potter is no longer continuing with Dumbledore's Army this year.'

'We have a very good defense Professor this year.' Hermione replied with a slight smile.

'You don't have a merely good teacher but the best.' Snape said with a smirk.

'But no matter how much I know or teach Potter will not learn just because it is me. And I won't get enough time during lessons to teach all that is required. As such I was planning to teach Samantha and you some advanced defense and other useful skills after class.'

Hermione was taken aback. Private defense lessons with Professor Snape would be like a dream come true. She muttered a thank you and rushed out before she shrieked with happiness and embarrassed herself.

The next couple of weeks passed smoothly for Hermione. She was totally occupied with all the extra lessons and brewing sessions. It was not until Samantha mentioned that Hermione realized that Slughorn's Christmas party was nearly there.

Initially she had planned to go with Ron but that had ceased to be an option after he had so pathetically flaunted Lavender in her face. She wished she could get back at him the same way. She knew it was petty and juvenile but she was past caring. It was with these thoughts she entered the common room and was about to retire to her dormitory that someone called her. Turning around she was surprised to see it was Mclaggen.

'Yes Cormac.'

'I was wondering about the Christmas party. Do you have a date?'

Realizing where the conversation seemed to be going Hermione was about to make an excuse when suddenly an idea struck her.

'Oh! Would you like to accompany me Cormac?' She said in an extra sugary voice.

'I was certainly hoping for that. I am sure we would be perfect together.' Mclaggen replied in his usual boisterous manner.

'Well I completely agree.' Hermione replied fluttering her eyebrows as she turned and climbed the stairs to the dormitory.

It was only after she was safely in her bed that she let out a breath. Mclaggen was unbearable and even that short interaction had tested her patience but this was the perfect opportunity for Hermione to give Ron a taste of his own medicine. It was with a rare vindictive feeling that she fell asleep.

The idea of revenge lost all its taste for Hermione very quickly. Mclaggen was a self obessed prat and had all the manners of a troll. Hermione spent the entire Christmas party ducking him. Even Harry refused to help her. Surprisingly it was Professor Snape who came to her rescue when she was cornered by Mclaggen under the Mistletoe.

'Five points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger.' He drawled

'Professor, I ..'

'And you are coming with me.' He said and turned to leave.

'I am sorry Professor. 'She said the moment they stepped outside.

'Revenge Miss granger losses its taste if you are the one paying the price. Next time do try to curb that Gryffindor urge to rush and do thing without fully comprehending the outcome of your actions. '

Hermione was left gaping. It was not how he knew about her little revenge but that he decided to save her that flummoxed her. Muttering her apologies she rushed to the common room before she could embarrass herself any further.

It was later in the night and Snape was sitting in his quarters nursing a drink. All he wanted was to help Draco but the boy was being a bigger headache than Potter. He had assumed that Draco would be grateful for his assistance but it seemed that Bellatrix has finally convinced her nephew of Severus's duplicity. Another thing that was worrying him was Potter's new found Potion skills. It was the second time that Slughorn had bragged about Potter's skill and Severus had a feeling that he needed a chat with Miss Granger.

It was not until later the next day that Severus realized that he would not be able to speak to Miss Granger until after Christmas. Samantha had invited Hermione to stay with her for the holidays. It seemed that Miss Granger and Mr Weasely had some altercations and going to the burrow was not an option for her and Samantha being the ever faithful friend had taken it upon her that Hermione did not remain in the castle during the holidays. Seeing that Severus was trying to keep Samantha out of limelight it seemed a better option to stay at the castle instead of joining her. Any contact with him was bound to be noticed and scrutinized and that also with Harry Potter's muggleborn best friend in tow could only be bad news.