Severus Snape was having a right, proper sleep when he was awoken by sound of reciting.

The infuriating Know-It-All, reproducing Potions Moste Potente word for word in that edifying tone of hers.

"Grrranger," he rumbled, "What in Merlin's name are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she asked, gazing at his from underneath her long, brown lashes, "I'm studying for tomorrow's Potions Examination with you."

Snape looked at her. He looked at himself. None of them were wearing a wink of clothing. And if Granger wasn't making a big deal out of it, he certainly wouldn't be the first wuss.

"I find it deeply concerning our states of undress don't bother you," he remarked, pulled his own side of the duvet over his privates.

"And you should not," she said with a clever wink. "I do it all the time."

"Pardon me-"

"Imagine you naked. It helps me feel less nervous about being tested."

Well it must work, Severus concluded. Granger was his best Year Eight student and she always recieved top marks.

"Could you imagine me in a less provocative state in future dreamings?"

"I could not," she informed him. "Besides this is my dream. I can imagine whatever I want."

"You are forgetting that this is also my dream," Severus snapped. "And I normally try not to imagine any of my students nude like Botticelli's Venus."

"Perhaps you should. It might make you look less like you have a stick up your arse, Snapey."

"I do not have a-" Severus cried. "How dare you speak to me in that tone!"

"I am trying to study," Granger said. With a flick of her hand, Severus' lips had somehow glued shut and she once again began reciting her textbook. Severus had no other choice but to close his eyes and fall into an uneasy trance. Why was it always when you want to fall asleep, quite the opposite happens?

He would show the infuriating witch a thing or two when he was back in his ruling realm.

-x-x-x-

"Good morning professor Snape," the chit whispered when the looming, black figure graced the door of his dungeon classroom.

"Good morning, Miss Granger," Severus said. "Have you prepared well for this examination?"

"Yes, sir."

"Go on. Take your seat." He let her in and watched as she meekly hobbled towards her usual desk and sat down.

Snapey, his arse. He wasn't going to let her sugar her way out of insulting him somnambully.

Let the games begin.

Today, Severus was assigning every student a NEWTS level potion to brew, and to prevent students from copying from one anouther, each would have their own unique assignment. For Miss Granger, he had prepared something special.

He watched everyone get to work, gathering their ingredients for Veritaserum and Amorentia, while Granger stared stupidly at her parchment and went white as a sheet in the process.

Slowly her hand went up and Severus took an extra long amount of time gliding over to her side.

"Yes, Miss Granger," he drawled.

"P-p-p Professor-"

"Speak up," he said wickedly, "I don't like stuttering."

"It's just that...the Drink of Despair is not i-in our textbooks." She swallowed. "I have read it five times from core to core and memorized it entirely, but I did not recall seeing it."

"That would be correct. The recipe is not there."

"But you had assigned the book in preperation."

"At the NEWTS level it is not enough to simply memorize and reproduce," Severus said. "One should know how to use their critical thinking skills and deduce the recipe from prior knowledge."

"But sir, with all due respect, the potion is incredibly rare and the only known sighting of it was in the Horcrux Cave-"

"Quieeet." Severus banged his hand on the table, discouraging the other students from whispering around them. "If you had prepared as well as you said you did, then you would find this an adequate challenge."

"But-"

"Your time is ticking," he said cruelly. "Tic-toc Granger."

-x-x-x-

That night, Granger's voice did not grace his dream. And he was dressed in very tasteful black pyjamas.

The girl was sitting up in bed wearing and oversized shirt and a disheveled look of despair.

"You win Professor," she croaked.

He grinned quickly. "Very well Granger."

"If you want to gloat, gloat." She sniffled miserably. "I am pathetic and unworthy of passing potions."

And then, she burst into a full fledged pity sob. It was rather ugly and off-putting and Severus wondered what he had done to deserve such tribulations two nights in a row.

"There, there," he said. "There will be other examinations. Perhaps you will find your future in less creative subjects. History of Magic, perhaps."

Here she howled and blew her nose into the sheets.

"Fine," he said. "I had specifically chosen a rather difficult potion for you to brew. I wanted to see if you had the courage to attempt such a challenge. And you had."

"Nooo."

"There is no known recipe for the drink of despair. But your potion today showed some remarkable advancements in its discovery."

"Really?"

"Minor advancements."

"Oh," she said with a sniffle. "Thank you, thank you sir." And she pulled him into a big, soft hug.

"Granger, let me go," he hissed, clawing at her.

"You gave me a compliment."

"Get off!"

"This is my dream too," she said with a wink. "I think I should have a good one."

A/N: Thanks for reading!