Hermione's mouth fell open in horror by his words. He knew just by looking at it that I cheated? How? What do I do now? What if he throws me out and doesn't allow me to brew anymore? She bit her lip in worry, forgetting about the dour man in front of her.
Snape spat, "Tick tock Ms. Granger. Don't make me have to ask you again. Where did you find this recipe? I know it's not yours. It's not in your textbook, so where did you read this?"
Hermione was startled by the venom in his voice and the irate look on his face. "I-In a book," she stuttered. She was nervous now and her hands started to shake. Her palms filled with sweat.
His black eyes rolled at her response. "Can you be more specific?" He knew exactly where it came from, but he wanted her to have the balls to tell it to his face. "I'm losing my patience with you unless you want to end this apprenticeship at once and you return to your home, I expect a complete answer out of you in the next five seconds." His tone was unyielding. His eyes, if possible, turned darker and he glared at her in contempt.
Hermione swallowed hard and tears filled her eyes. She started blubbering out how she came by that dreaded recipe. "In sixth year, I stole Harry's book and read it while he was sleeping. I memorized every recipe in that damn book. I was jealous of Harry and how suddenly he was doing so well in potions, and I wanted that." Her cheeks turned pink by her admittance. The tears that filled her eyes spilled down her cheeks. With a last sense of desperation, she started pleading to him. "Please don't turn me away. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't risk the thought of not completing it again. I followed the new instructions every step of the way. I smashed the beans and I stirred it clockwise like it said, and I made the perfect potion."
His glare was not diminishing by her words. "Who do you think that book belonged to, Ms. Granger?" His voice was so low and so deep. There was no warmth whatsoever and it made her feel very unsettled.
Hermione remembered after Dumbledore faked his death, Harry came running to them after trying to attack Professor Snape. He told her that the book belonged to Professor Snape and that he was the half-blood prince. Her eyes lowered and she stared at her trainers. "You sir," she whispered.
"Correct, Ms. Granger. Can you tell me why you should crush the bean instead of cutting it?" His lips curled into a snarl.
Hermione's brain started working into overdrive to find the right answer. After thirty seconds ticked by, she uttered, "Crushing the bean helps release the juices more efficiently. It makes the potion react quicker and reduces the brewing time."
"Exactly, Ms. Granger. I put you up to this task because I will in time teach you how to brew potions more efficiently. I will show you new potions that I have created, and you will one day become one of the greatest Potion's Mistress alive," he answered. His tone lightened and his scowl slowly started to disappear from his lips.
Hermione's nervous jitters lessened by his words. "So, you aren't mad that I ch-cheated?" she stuttered.
Professor Snape let out a loud and deep chuckle. "Really Ms. Granger? Cheating? You like to get ahead. If you weren't a muggle-born maybe you would have been a good Slytherin."
She blanched at his words. "No way would I ever be a Slytherin."
"Moving on, Ms. Granger, I am not upset. In fact, I am proud that you did what it took to secure your place. Let's return to the sitting room so we can talk and set up some guidelines," he said.
A small smile spread across Hermione's lips, and she followed him out of the lab. I did it! I impressed him with my work and now he's going to accept me as an apprentice. She was so excited and proud of herself. They each took a seat on the couch and Snape was the first to speak.
He took a good look at her and began speaking in his deep, dark drawl that he was known to do. "Before we begin, I do need to warn you now. I will not be easy on you. Every teacher in this damn school has been so easy on you Ms. Granger but I will not be as lenient. I expect greatness. Anything less just will not do. I will be mean at times. I might even shout at you. I am rude and callous, and I am not known for having a kind heart or for being patient. I do not want a friendship, Ms. Granger. I am your professor and that is what we will stay until you complete your apprenticeship. Do you understand my terms?"
She looked at him sadly and nodded her head. She wanted to ask him why he is the way he is. She blurted out suddenly, "Why are you always so mean?" She put a hand to her mouth and regretted the way it sounded. "Sorry, that was rude of me what I mean is you are always by yourself and keep people at arm's length. Don't you deserve happiness?"
He snorted at her words. "Deserve? Ms. Granger, do you forget who I am?" He stood up off the couch aggressively and pulled his sleeve up to reveal the dark mark still tattooed on his skin. "I did a lot of bad things in my life. I don't deserve anything."
Hermione's eyes traveled down from his face to his arm that was the color of alabaster. She stared at the dark mark and took a deep breath. She found her courage and said, "One mistake does not mean you deserve to suffer alone."
"No Ms. Granger, I do deserve to suffer," he spat. He couldn't let it go. His anger was mounting at a rapid pace by the young chit's forgiving nature. "I killed, raped, tortured, and did so many questionable things. I don't want your pity, Ms. Granger. I do not want your sympathy. I am a grown man who made his own decisions. When you are my age, you will realize that when you open your heart to people, and you let them in they end up hurting you. They break your trust and leave you to suffer alone. I learned to accept the fact that being alone is what I need to be. I am better off alone." He pulled down his arm sleeve. "I don't know why you bothered saving me, Ms. Granger." The last words came out in a shuddering whisper. He sat back down on the couch and started to take deep breathes to calm down his anger.
"I saved you because I think you're worth saving. You did so much for us," she stated.
He met her eyes and for a second Hermione swore she saw a sense of gratitude deep within them but once she saw it, it quickly disappeared. "How touching," he snarled. "How did you come up with the antidote?"
"I started working on it ever since fourth year. Harry told me about his dreams, and I wanted to protect us in case that snake ever attacked. It took many attempts. I went through many cauldrons. Time and time again it would explode or eat through the bottom of the cauldron, but I finally got it right. I did a lot of research in the library and once I finished it, I bottled it all up. When Harry, Ron, and I were out searching for horcruxes I made sure I had the antidote on me in case we needed it. I couldn't leave you behind in that shack to rot." She swallowed thickly and felt tears sting her eyes. "There was so much blood, and I couldn't bring myself to just stand there and watch you die."
"How, Ms. Granger? I seemingly killed Dumbledore, I took over the whole school, I declared my allegiance to the evilest man in the world yet instead of cheering for my death you brought me back to life. I wasn't nice to you in school or anyone for that matter yet your brilliant brain of yours thought hey maybe the world still needs me. I wanted to die, Ms. Granger. I was ready to die," he growled in anger. "I accepted the fact that I wasn't going to make it out of the war alive. I made my peace with it, but you couldn't let it happen. You had to put your nose into things that doesn't concern you."
She gaped at his words. "You wanted to die?" she whispered. She was startled by his admittance.
He stood back up from the couch and turned away from her. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. Since we are now forced to work together, thanks to Dumbledore, and you have accepted my terms, we need to now discuss room arrangements."
She bit back her response. She wanted to tell him she cared for him. She saved him because she saw the good in him, but she knew it would fall on deaf ears. He didn't want to hear it. "Alright, sir. What would the room arrangements be?"
"You will not be returning to Grimmauld Place anytime soon after all your belongings are brought here. As an apprentice, you are required to live with your professor. Easier access to the classroom, hallways, and the school. As an apprentice, you will be required to have the same duties as I do. You will be on a schedule for hallway duties. You will be allowed to dole out detentions and take away points as you see fit, and lastly you will be sitting at the Head Table next to me. You will not be seen as a student, Ms. Granger." His lips curled into a sneer. "I am aware that Ms. Weasley and Ms. Lovegood will be returning next year. I am warning you now that you are no longer a student. You will not be able to lounge around and hang with them and I better not see you bring anyone back to my quarters. You may have a room here, Ms. Granger, but I do not allow others back here. Understood?" His voice left no room for argument.
She nodded slowly and said, "I understand but I won't be able to see my friends anymore." She looked away sadly.
"They can write you an owl," he replied. "I will allow you to begin teaching the first and second years. I believe you are capable of that. We will see as we move forward if you can handle the older students. I think that is all that we needed to discuss." He walked over to one of the many bookcases in the room. He took out three heavy tomes and set them down in Hermione's arms. "I want you to read these three before school begins. I will be coming back to your home in three days. I expect you to have all of your belongs packed up and ready to be moved. Are there any other questions that you have?"
"What does my room look like?" she whispered. She was starting to feel very overwhelmed by everything.
He pointed his hand to the three doors. "The first door as you already know leads to the lab. The one in the middle is my room. The last one is yours. You do not have permission to ever enter my personal room." He led her to the last room and swung the door open.
She took a hesitant step inside her new bedroom. She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't see Slytherin colors dawning the whole room like the sitting room was. Instead, the room was painted a light blue color and was very spacious. Inside the room was a huge king size bed with navy blue bed sheets, a wooden nightstand, a dresser made of mahogany, a walk-in closet, and an adjoining door that led to her own personal bathroom. She opened the bathroom door and gasped at the beautiful layout of it. There was a beautiful glass door shower, a white bathtub that can easily fit two people, and a sink made of granite. "Sir, this room is amazing." She couldn't believe how much work was put into her arrival.
"Yes, well McGonagall and Dumbledore wouldn't have it any other way. They came down here immediately and started working on it. They want you to be comfortable," he murmured. He didn't dare tell her that it was in fact him that wanted the room to be perfect for her. "It is almost time for lunch Ms. Granger. You should be returning to your home now. I will contact you in three days. Please don't forget to begin reading those books. It is very important."
She nodded in understanding and decided to take her leave. She carried the heavy tomes back through the floo and returned to her home. She set the books down on the table in front of her and plopped down into the armchair in the room and began reading the first book on top of the pile.
Once Hermione was gone from his rooms Severus called for his house elf, Willy. "Willy, firewhiskey, now!" He barked out his order. He didn't need to wait for more than a minute before Willy returned with his drink. He grabbed the bottle from the elf harshly and took a greedy sip from it. "Working with that young witch will surely be the death of me," he murmured as he collapsed into the armchair.