A/N: Guess what! I'm still alive! Ha ha. Thanks to all of you who sent me messages of concern. I was pleasantly touched and appropriately shamed. It's been a busy, chaotic end of the summer - believe me! Got the family vacation done, the end of summer work wrap-up, and all the prep for back to school. School starting now - so classes and roommate drama and grad school app and research and all the other stuff will make my update time suffer. But I will promise to continue long chapters!

Thanks to all of you! I promise I have read all of your reviews and PMs and emails! I love you all, and am posting this quickly before I jump into bed and get about 5 hours of sleep for my first full day of classes, which will start bright and ungodly early tomorrow morning.

For those of you reading Rumored in Love - I will work on that update next, but it may not be this week. Grad school essays are due.

Bound to Him

Chapter 39

Severus purposely rushed his first year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs through their instructions with the hope that they would finish their brewing ahead of schedule. When the lone pair of students remaining in the room looked as though they would still take the entire time allotted to the class, however, he frowned and quickly decided upon a suitable contingency plan. He sat at his desk, surreptitiously watching them and waiting for an appropriate opportunity to present itself. Eventually one of them dropped a metal lid, distracting his partner long enough for the professor to send a silent stinging hex into the cauldron.

As the girl turned back to the brew a second later, her eyes widened at the sudden, irritated bubbling. She hurriedly slapped at her partner's arm, and pointed desperately at it. The boy gulped nervously, and they both quickly backed away from the cauldron.

"P-prof-fess-sor?"

Donning a dark scowl, he raised his head and let his eyes follow the student's quivering pointer finger. In a flash, he rose from his desk, folding his arms as he descended upon them. With a sneer, he peered into the pulsating orange mess. He quickly vanished the brew before it had a chance to simmer back to its normal quiet state, and then glared at the pair.

"How many times must I tell you to pay attention?" he shouted.

"Sorry, Professor," the girl paled, dropping her gaze to the floor.

Her partner's shoulders slumped. "We only looked away from it for a second, sir, I swear."

"Indeed." He inhaled deeply and fixed them both with a pointed stare. "This will not happen again; do you understand?"

"Y-yessir," they stammered in unison.

"Now get out."

Immediately the two students scrambled to pack up their personal potion kits. Grateful as they were for not losing any House points, they wasted no time in making a beeline for the door. Snape waited approximately twenty seconds before sweeping out of the room himself. He quickly made his way through the castle until he reached the stone gargoyle at the foot of the Headmaster's tower.

"Fizzing Whizbees," he spat with a roll of his eyes. As the gargoyle sprung aside, he took in a deep breath and schooled his features before ascending the stairs.

"Ah, Severus!" Dumbledore called out as the younger professor pushed open the office door. "You are out of class early this morning."

Snape sensed the hidden question in the observation and gave a small nod. "For once, it seems, the students were able to complete their attempts within the actual time predicted within the manual."

"Surprising, isn't it, what the young can do when they put their minds to it?" the Headmaster beamed.

"Indubitably," he scoffed, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the open pensieve cabinet. Taking in a deep breath, he immediately fixed his gaze back to the elder wizard.

"Is there something I can do for you, Severus?"

The Potions Master shifted in contrived discomfort and sighed. "I am here merely on the behalf of Miss Granger."

"Ah," the old man twinkled. "How is Miss Granger?"

"Entirely too grateful," he muttered blandly.

Albus chuckled and sat down in his seat. "And what is it that she would like from me?"

"Nothing from you, per se." Severus waited a few seconds and set his hand on top of one of the armchairs. "She is…concerned about Potter."

"As is to be expected between friends, my boy," the elder smiled, placing his hands in his lap. "What are the natures of her concerns?"

He sighed and looked to the ceiling. "She is concerned that the boy has not been keeping up with his Occlumency practice on his own."

"I think it speaks volumes that the girl was brave enough to come to you regarding this," Dumbledore spoke softly. "And that you were in turn willing to relay it to me."

Snape gave him a characteristic look of annoyance in response as he recognized the stalling tactic.

With a tight smile, the Headmaster leaned back in his chair. "Miss Granger may rest assured that the matter is being seen to."

Raising an eyebrow, the younger man moved to cross his arms. "You are taking on the boy's lessons yourself?"

He gave half a nod and rested his hands on the gilded armrests of his chair. "I recognize now that you were right. I should not have underestimated your history with the boy, Severus, and for that I am sorry. I will not ask it of you again. I should not have asked it of you at all."

The spy let out an uncomfortable sigh and let his eyes drift to the top of the chair. "I will pass along your assurances to the girl."

As he turned to leave, the other wizard cleared his throat. "Severus, regarding the matter of the young Mr. Malfoy…"

Snape shook his head. "I have not yet discovered the premise of his mission."

The Headmaster nodded solemnly. "I trust you will do your best."

Without a further word, the Slytherin Head strode out of the room and all but slid down the circular staircase. As the gargoyle returned to its sentry point, the man let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his hair. Albus bloody Dumbledore had actually apologized to him.

And that could only mean one thing – Hermione's suspicions were almost certainly spot on.

XxXxX

Hermione gave McGonagall a cheerful greeting before tossing in a pinch of floo powder and whirling into Snape's office. She looked up to see him hauling out his pensieve from its cupboard.

"Does this mean we're going ahead with my suggestion?"

He gave a grunt and a nod of his head.

"So you believe me?" she pressed, biting down on her lip as she waited for his response.

Snape cleared his throat as he set the metal bowl on his desk. "It would appear that your suspicions hold some merit."

"They do?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as she stepped towards her armchair. "How do you know that?"

He sighed and ran one hand through his hair. "I had a rather brief conversation with the Headmaster this morning regarding your concerns."

"You told him that I thought he was discouraging Harry's practice?" the girl stammered in a panicked tone.

Severus fixed her with a dark stare. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Then what did you tell him?"

He took in a deep breath and folded his arms to his chest. "I simply mentioned that you thought Potter should be continuing with his lessons."

Hermione widened her eyes in disbelief. "And he straight-out told you –"

"Granger," he interrupted in a cutting tone. "In all of the time that you've known the man, has he ever straight-out told anyone anything?"

A sheepish blush appeared on her cheeks and she scratched her temple. "That was a stupid question, wasn't it?"

"Obviously." He smirked slightly and straightened a stack of essays on his desk. After a few seconds, he exhaled loudly and shook his head. "The only way to get any information out of Albus Dumbledore is to out-manipulate the great manipulator."

She gave a small smile as she crossed around the chair and took her seat. "I didn't know that was even possible."

Snape raised his brow in agreement. "Likely it won't be again. I have undoubtedly just used my one free pass when it comes to wheedling intelligence directly from the Headmaster. I may have fooled him once, but he does tend to catch on to patterns rather effortlessly. In that regard, Granger, you had better hope you're right."

An uncertain grimace washed across her countenance as she leaned back in her chair. "But what happens if there's a bigger crisis down the road? I didn't mean for you to waste your one shot."

"If you are correct in your suspicions, and he's purposely leaving Potter vulnerable to the Dark Lord's intrusions; it was not wasted," he countered before sighing. "The Headmaster is certainly not continuing his lessons, which is something the Dark Lord must never discover if Potter is to have any chance of keeping his mind intact."

"Dumbledore has to know that, right?" Her eyebrows narrowed, and she crossed her arms. "He has to know the consequences, doesn't he?"

"Of course he does."

"Then why?" she scowled bitterly. "What could possibly be gained by risking Harry like that?"

"I have no idea." He exhaled loudly and collapsed into his seat. "The only thing we can do is offer Potter a layer of protection by keeping the Dark Lord informed as to his progress in Occlumency. The Headmaster may be relying solely on the fact that the Dark Lord did not particularly enjoy his last possession of Potter's mind, which is true… at the moment. Were he to find out, however, that Potter was leaving himself open, it would be too great a temptation to not peek in the window. As such, we must make sure to keep that particular morsel of knowledge from ever seeing the light of day."

Hermione let out a long, slow breath and pulled her feet up onto the chair. "Should I keep on Harry about practicing then?"

The wizard shook his head. "Let it be for now. The Headmaster is under the impression that I have delivered to you the same ridiculous message that he gave me – that the matter is 'being seen to.' It would not behoove us to broadcast that we think otherwise. Potter's mental shields were pathetic even when he was practicing."

"Well, we can't all be an innate Occlumens," she muttered defensively.

"Clearly not." He eyed her briefly before resting his elbows on his armrests and steepling his fingers. "Now then, since the Dark Lord functions only on his own time, I feel it would be beneficial to begin practicing your false memory without further delay."

She nodded her head in response, but chewed on her lip nervously as she thought of being summoned again. It had been nearly a month since she had been forced in front of him, and it was likely he could call for her at any time in the near future. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shivered at the memories of the dark clearing. Her next few breaths shook as she recalled the amount of pain she had been in following the past two encounters with the evil wizard, and she swallowed in anxiety as she realized how much worse it would be if her falsities were to be discovered. If he summoned within the matter of a few days, she doubted that her fabricated images would even work.

He'll know that I'm lying, and then –

"Granger."

Her eyes flashed open at his demanding tone, and she immediately noticed the concerned look upon his face.

"Focus on what needs to be done; not on what could occur," he stated pointedly.

"Sorry," the girl mumbled, wrapping her arms about her waist. A second or two later she cleared her throat. "Any suggestions as to where to begin?"

"Build upon reality," Severus responded thoughtfully. "It is much easier to take a true memory and manipulate it than it is to fabricate the entirety of a scenario."

She blew out a soft sigh and closed her eyes as she searched for an adequate memory to utilize. After a few minutes she settled on the actual conversation that had launched all of her recent suspicions.

"Have you located a suitable start yet?" he asked, noticing that she had cocked her head in consideration.

Hermione nodded slowly as she opened her eyes. "I believe so."

The man gave a quick nod and rose from his chair. He stepped around the side of his desk, and held out his wand as he stopped in front of her. She leaned forward as he instructed her to do and pinched her eyes shut as the tip of his wand came to rest gently at her temple.

"Push it forward," he directed quietly.

The now familiar feeling of an extraction soon followed, and the girl hesitantly cracked open one eyelid to see his face frozen in intense concentration as he slowly inched his wand away from her. Finding it suddenly disconcerting to view the shimmery strand being pulled from her head, she immediately reclosed her eye and focused solely on projecting the images. After a few more seconds, she felt the sensation cease and she threw open her eyes just in time for him to release the last of the strand into the rippling pensieve.

"Now what?" she whispered, finding herself unable to remove her eyes from the metal bowl.

Snape rolled his shoulders as he slipped his wand into his sleeve. "Now you are going to edit the image. You need to make note of everything that needs to be removed and figure out how to fill the gaps and stitch together the pieces."

The young witch inhaled sharply and glanced up at him in alarm. "You are going to help me, aren't you?"

He let out an exasperated breath as he raised his eyebrows. "Do you think I would allow you to risk the safety of the wizarding world when I could possibly prevent it? If you think you're going to fool the Dark Lord without my assistance, you are a bigger fool than Mister Crabbe, Mister Goyle, and Miss Brown combined!"

As the corners of her mouth twitched into the hint of a smile, she rose out of her chair and stepped over to the desk. "You don't really think I'm that big of an idiot, do you?"

"There have been moments," he muttered before snapping his fingers toward the bowl.

Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes as she lowered her face towards the surface of the liquid. She felt the smooth coolness a fraction of a second before she was tugged into the swirling strands. With a hard plop, her bottom landed in the wooden bleachers just a row behind her memory self and Ginny. She jumped slightly a second later when the Potions Master dropped gracefully beside her.

He glanced around in disbelief before turning to her in censure. "You're going to conduct your conversation in the midst of a Quidditch match?"

"Well, I did it once already," she mumbled, letting her gaze settle on the group of Gryffindors in front of her.

Severus made a grumbling noise as he looked up in disdain at the incoming Boy-Who-Lived.

"Hey!" Harry panted as he plopped beside her and glanced at Ginny, blushing slightly. He leaned close and whispered, "No Dean?"

"Only for the match. Sorry."

The boy shrugged and then glanced around the stands. "Where's Ron?"

A loud groan emanated from the memory-Hermione.

"I take it that means he's with Lavvy-poo."

A round of giggles erupted from Ginny as she glanced over Hermione's head. "That's absolutely brilliant, Harry! I'm going to use that when I write Fred and George!"

Harry gave her an awkward grin and turned back to the match.

"I hope you redeem yourself soon," Snape sputtered, folding his arms against his chest. "As amusing as I have found this not to be, you will not use anything that has just occurred when you present it to the Dark Lord."

She chanced a look at him. "What do you mean? This is where the conversation started, so it seemed like a natural starting point. It's not like it's terribly dangerous information –"

A dark look immediately crossed his countenance. "Granger! I can't think of anything more dangerous!"

"What?"

He huffed loudly and gestured impatiently between Harry and Ginny. "Anyone with half a brain cell could see that Potter is enamored by Miss Weasley. The Dark Lord is forever looking for targets – it's a bloody pastime for him! You show him any of that, and you'll be presenting her to him on a silver platter."

Hermione winced and then covered her face with her hands as she flushed in shame. "Oh God. I should have thought of that!"

"Yes, you should have," he agreed. "There's a reason why I had you hide certain other memories pertaining to Potter's romantic interests. The Dark Lord has had a taste of what happens when the boy loses someone he cares for, and you can be damn sure that he will do whatever he can to make it occur again."

The wizard sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You need to start thinking more critically on your own, Granger. I cannot possibly go through every object in your head before each time you're required to prove your worth. I have my own head to scour for the same reason."

She blew out an embarrassed breath and nodded. Her impending apology, however, was cut off by the sound of a throat clearing.

"I was wondering about something, Hermione."

The witch watched Snape out of the corner of her eye as they waited for Harry to continue.

"In Defense, you're really good at non-verbals. I was curious how you did it."

"Practice, I guess."

The Slytherin Head snorted suddenly and shifted in his seat.

"Do you think you could help me a bit?"

"Erm, well…"

"You helped out Neville. You saw us in class yesterday – he literally trounced me!"

Hermione frowned slightly at the smirk that had appeared on the man's face.

"If you're going to insult Neville, I'm out."

Harry shook his head. "I'm not. I just think I should brush up a bit considering….well…you know."

The memory-Hermione blew out a deep breath and nodded. "Can I think about it? I only helped Neville in class, and all I did really was work on boosting his confidence. If you want to work outside of lessons, then I have to figure out when I have time in my schedule."

"Oh, yeah," he nodded happily. "Definitely. I'm sure you're just as busy as I am, since I hardly see you outside of meals and class during the week."

"It's certainly not as easy as it used to be."

"It used to be easy? What school did you go to?"

The girl laughed and playfully elbowed him in the side. "Fair point."

"If it helps, you can rule out Mondays and Thursdays for Quidditch, and sometimes I meet with Professor Dumbledore on the weekends."

"Oh?" she asked blandly, her eyes cemented firmly on the match. "What do you do then?"

The boy looked around the stands and then shrugged. "Talk mainly. But I'm not supposed to tell anyone about it. Not even you or Ron."

"I understand."

Hermione noticed that Snape was frowning slightly as the memory played out around him. He did not seem to be particularly angry about anything, but was instead concentrating intensely.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!"

She jumped visibly even though she should have been expecting the outburst from her friend.

"You know it's not actually our team out there, right?"

"What?" Ginny asked, glancing down from where she had suddenly stood. "Oh, yeah. I know. But that should have been an easy block!"

"Use your head, Parsons! Geez!"

As the light dawned in her memory self's head, Hermione peeked at the man beside her. She could see his jaw muscle tighten when she cast the Muffliato.

"Harry, have you been practicing your Occlumency?"

"Hermione, just let it go. Snape said I was fine."

The wizard's face immediately shifted into a deep scowl as he began muttering unintelligibly beneath his breath. She thought she caught the phrase 'inept little shit,' but she could not be quite sure.

"It's Professor Snape, and since when have you ever followed his advice?"

Severus rolled his eyes and snorted bitterly as the boy looked curiously around the stands.

"They can't hear us, can they?"

"No. And you're avoiding my question."

"And I'm going to keep avoiding it, because it doesn't matter anymore."

"What does that mean?"

"Let it go, Hermione."

"But—"

"Hermione, I stopped prying into your life because you asked me to. I'm asking you to let this go."

"Fine."

As the silencing charm was removed, Harry curiously looked about the air around them. "You seriously need to teach me that one."

Snape managed to huff noisily before the pensieve deposited them both in the present time and space.

The girl sighed and hesitantly slunk away from the bowl. She watched cautiously as the wizard began tapping his fingers on the desk. Eventually he sighed and spun to face her.

"It requires a great deal of work."

She bit her lip and slowly perched on the edge of her chair. "But you think it will do?"

The man ignored her question as he leaned against his desk and crossed his arms. "Eliminate the pathetic display of lovesick Potter. I don't care if the scene is set up naturally, because it never is when Legilimency is used. No mentions of your abilities in wordless magic. You've been exceptionally lucky that no Slytherins are enrolled in your Defense section, and that your remarkable improvement has not been noticed more than it has. I will not risk the Dark Lord discovering that I've been teaching you anything outside of regular Potions lessons."

Hermione blinked quickly and nodded as he continued with his assessment.

"You can keep the Muffliato, though," he muttered pensively. "The Dark Lord is aware of the spell's origin, of course, but I will likely be able to explain your knowing it as my giving you an aid in your assignment."

"Okay," she sighed nervously.

Severus poked two fingers into his temple as he mentally replayed the scene. "As for the rest of it, changing the dialogue will likely be sufficient."

"You think so?" Her eyes widened in shock. She had fully expected him to veto the entire recollection.

"If I did not think as such, I would not have said it," he chided, dropping his hand back to the desk. "That being said, there is a lot of work for you to do. I want you to have an attempt ready to be examined by tomorrow afternoon."

"But tomorrow is Tuesday."

He narrowed his gaze. "I am fully aware of what day of the week it is."

"I didn't say you weren't," she mumbled quietly. "It's just we don't normally meet on Tuesdays."

The wizard smirked briefly. "I will examine it during tomorrow's brewing session. Simple Legilimency does not require a pensieve… or privacy, for that matter."

"Oh," she grimaced slightly. "That makes sense."

"Indeed," he muttered, folding his arms again. "Now about you giving Potter lessons…"

"I haven't officially agreed to it yet," she stammered quickly. "I was going to ask you before I said anything to him, I swear. I just want to help him anyway I can."

"You don't think you're doing enough?" he asked.

Hermione sighed and scratched her eyebrow. "I know it's a lot, but I think I can do it. It would only be like an hour or two a week. He needs help. He can't do this on his own, and you know it. I know you do."

The Slytherin Head let out an irritated sigh but finally relented. "If you can ensure that no one untrustworthy finds out about it, then –"

"Thank you!" she cried, jumping towards him.

He held up his hands and shook his head. "I've had more than enough hugs this week, thank you. And these lessons are on a trial basis only. If I determine them to be too much of a risk, you will cancel them. Are we clear?"

She nodded emphatically and let her arms drop to her sides.

"There are also a number of spells that I either have shown or will show you that will not find their way into Potter's repertoire," Snape stated, giving her a pointed look. "Is that understood?"

She nodded again. "I won't teach him anything you don't want him to know."

"And you will keep your eyes open to any possible threat," he continued. "Swear Potter to secrecy if you have to. For Merlin's sake, don't let Weasley know – any of them, for that matter. This stays amongst the three of us. No one else can know."

"Erm, what about Dumbledore?" the girl questioned, shifting on her feet. "I mean, if Harry's really as horrid at Occlumency as you make him out to be, he doesn't really stand a chance at hiding it from him."

He closed his eyes shut momentarily and tilted his head to the side. "That shouldn't be a problem if you can manage to not interrogate him during your lessons. If the Headmaster does have a problem with Potter improving his personal defenses, he cannot actually tell us so without tipping his hand again."

"Okay," she whispered, squeezing her shoulder. "What about Professor McGonagall?"

"If there is a reason for her to know, I will inform her at that time."

"Professor Lupin?"

"Absolutely not," he snarled.

Hermione gave a small nod and met his gaze. "So I can really do this then?"

The wizard eyed her critically for a long moment before slouching his shoulders and sighing. "It appears so."

She bit down on her lower lip and smiled oddly. "Thank you."

"You've never attempted to teach that boy," he sneered. "I seriously doubt whether you will be so grateful after you have."

XxXxX

As a group of Gryffindors made their way to supper the following evening, Hermione tugged on Harry's arm and gestured for him to slow his pace. When they were sufficiently far enough behind the others, she silently cast a Muffliato.

"What's the matter?" he asked curiously.

She cleared her throat softly. "Non-verbal lessons. Were you still interested?"

"Oh yeah," he nodded. "Definitely."

"How do Friday evenings sound? Sometime after supper, but before my rounds at eleven."

"Sounds brilliant," Harry grinned. "Nine o'clock, perhaps. Room of Requirement?"

Hermione gave him a small smile. "Wouldn't consider anywhere else."

He snorted and scratched the back of his neck. "Starting this week?"

"If you would like," she nodded before chewing on her lip. "But you have to promise me something first, Harry."

He raised his eyebrow. "What is it?"

"You won't tell a soul about this," she instructed. "Not even Ron can know. Nor Remus. As far as anyone is concerned, you'll have been practicing it all on your own."

"Alright," the boy said slowly. "Our little secret, then?"

"Exactly."

Harry shook his head and sighed. "I don't think I've ever had to keep this many secrets in my entire life."

The girl snorted and wiped her face. "Tell me about it."

XxXxX

"Tomorrow marks two weeks," Hermione muttered as Snape finished extracting her third attempt at fabricating a memory. He had used Legilimency to view her other two tries during Tuesday's and Wednesday's potions lessons, offering as much feedback as he could mentally. Tonight, however, he had planned a more in-depth critique of the scene in his pensieve.

The man cleared his throat as he deposited the silvery strand into the liquid pool. "I am aware of that, yes."

"Don't you think we should schedule something then?" she pressed, biting her lip. "In case I have to use Professor McGonagall's floo?"

He sighed and put away his wand. "Considering you're dueling with Potter and have rounds tomorrow night; that seems out of the question. And I need the weekend to start the mutt's brew."

"The Wolfsbane?"

Severus nodded.

"Do you think I could watch sometime?" she queried hopefully.

He narrowed his eyes and let out a puff of air. "Do you ever plan on sleeping?"

"You do more than I do," the girl countered with a raise of her eyebrow.

"Hmmph," he muttered, glancing at the pensieve. "Brewing Wolfsbane potion is not as exciting as it's made out to be. What make it difficult are not the techniques used, but the tediousness and the time required. If you think hours of watching me dry and crush herbs and then stare at a simmering base for two half-days is a beneficial way to spend your weekend, then by all means…"

Hermione frowned. "Really? You mean I could technically brew it?"

The professor snorted. "If you learned to handle the Wolfsbane plant without poisoning yourself, and you had the ability to dedicate eight hour stints of time to doing nothing but watching a cauldron bubble, looking for any imperfections that could possibly affect the efficacy or virulence of the potion; it could be possible."

"How many eight hour stints?" she questioned.

"More than you care to imagine," he responded before pointing to the ornate metal bowl. "Shall we perhaps return to what we are meant to accomplish?"

"But we didn't set a time to…meet," she responded quickly.

Snape sighed and rubbed his temple. "Fine. We'll just utilize our Monday meeting time. That way we will not have to bother Minerva any more than we already are."

"Okay. Shall I just floo into your quarters then, instead of here?"

He nodded and tilted his head. "Now, may we move on?"

"Yes," she smiled, stepping beside him. In response to his gesture, she touched her forehead to the smooth liquid.

A few seconds later, the pair of them were seated once again in the Gryffindor bleachers.

"I was wondering about something, Hermione."

"In Charms, you seem to master things so quickly," he stated. "I was curious how you do it."

"Practice, I guess."

"Do you think you could help me a bit?"

"Erm, well…"

"You helped out Neville," he pointed out. "You saw us in class yesterday – his butterflies put mine to shame!"

"If you're going to insult Neville, I'm out."

He shook his head. "I'm not. I just think I should brush up a bit in Charms considering I'm going to flunk Potions."

Snape failed to stifle a snort, and Hermione bit down on her lip to keep from smiling as her memory self took a deep breath and nodded.

"Can I think about it? I only helped Neville in class, and all I did really was work on boosting his confidence. If you want to work outside of lessons, then I have to figure out when I have time in my schedule."

"Oh, yeah," he nodded happily. "Definitely. I know you're just as busy as I am, especially since you have more classes than I do."

She twisted the ring on her finger. "It's certainly not as easy as it used to be."

"It used to be easy? What school did you go to?"

The girl laughed and playfully elbowed him in the side. "Fair point."

"If it helps, you can rule out Mondays and Thursdays for Quidditch, and sometimes I meet with Professor Dumbledore on the weekends."

"Oh? What do you then?"

He looked around the stands and then shrugged. "Professor Dumbledore says I'm not supposed to tell anyone about it. Not even you or Ron."

"I understand." The memory Hermione sighed in disappointment and watched the match with apathy.

Snape cleared his throat, taking advantage of the lull in conversation. "I would lose 'understand', if it were me."

"Erm…what about 'I see'?" she suggested.

He exhaled loudly, but nodded. "That would be better. You also should include a higher feeling of frustration."

Hermione let out a breath and mentally stored the recommendations away for later use.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!"

"You know it's not actually our team out there, right?"

"What? Oh, yeah. I know. But that should have been an easy block!"

The brunette shook her head amusedly and leaned her elbows on her knees.

"Use your head, Parsons!" Ginny shouted. "Geez!"

The memory Hermione's eyes widened and she cast the silencing spell.

"Harry, have you been practicing your Occlumency?"

The boy sagged slightly. "Hermione, just let it go. Snape said I was fine."

"It's Professor Snape, and since when have you ever followed his advice?"

He rolled his eyes and looked curiously at the Gryffindors sitting around them. "They can't hear us, can they?"

"No, and you're avoiding my question."

"And I'm going to keep avoiding it, because I'm not supposed to answer that question."

Her eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

Harry shook his head. "Think about it, Hermione."

"What—"

"Hermione, I'm not supposed to talk about that with anyone. Not even you or Ron, remember?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh! You mean…"

Harry gave a curt nod, and glanced about them as she removed the Muffliato. "You seriously need to teach me that one."

The scene collapsed in on itself and launched the two viewers back into the dungeon office.

"Well?" she asked.

Snape ran his fingers along his lips in thought as he crossed over to his chair. After nearly a minute had passed, he met her eyes and shrugged. "I think that if you smooth everything out until you can convince yourself it could have happened, it may just be believable enough for the Dark Lord. It's just subtle enough to be real intelligence, and it's just obvious enough to have come from a young Gryffindor."

"Yeah?" she intoned, ignoring the slight against her House.

He nodded slowly. "You should continue practicing it whenever possible. It needs to stay firmly cemented in your mind until it is time for it to be viewed."

She let out a slow breath and sat on the edge of her chair. "On that note, how do I know he'll actually see it?"

"There is no need to worry over that," the wizard answered, resting his elbows onto his desk. "When the Dark Lord enters your mind, you will do exactly as you have when I perform the memory extraction. Your focus will keep the image near the front of your memories, and there will be no chance that he will not catch hold of it."

"He won't find it suspicious that he locates the memory so easily?" Hermione questioned.

"I highly doubt it," he sighed. "The Dark Lord set you a task, and he will likely take it as a sign that you are eager to please him in order to avoid further punishment. If you are concerned about it, however, you can always push forth other memories first, and then provide him with this one."

The girl shivered and ran her hands over her arms. "I know you're busy with your own things, but do you think you could perhaps…"

"Go through your head again?" he smirked, leaning back in his chair.

She gave a sheepish smile and nodded. "I just don't want to bollocks anything up."

Severus nodded and glanced at the clock. "Well, we have a bit of time left before your fan club comes down from their brooms."

XxXxX

"Harry, you're not listening to me!" she shouted as she tossed back his wand for the sixteenth time.

"I am listening!" he glared. "But what you're saying doesn't make any bloody sense! You're sending me silent curses; how could I possibly be able to anticipate that? I'm not a Seer!"

Hermione blew out a frustrated puff of air and rubbed her forehead. "You have to read your opponent. Body language, facial expressions, muscle twitches …anything…everything."

The boy narrowed his gaze. "Impossible."

"No, it's not," she hissed rudely. "Neville and I have managed to figure it out, so surely it must be possible."

Harry grunted and sullenly kicked at the stone floor.

"Alright fine," she sighed. "Try to disarm me, and I'll tell you exactly what I see when you do it."

Exhaling loudly, he shrugged and took a dueling stance. After a few seconds, he volleyed a silent disarming spell in her direction.

"Protego!" she shouted as she successfully blocked it.

He frowned and glanced at her expectantly.

"Your whole face tensed in concentration," she stated, twirling her wand within her fingers. "I could almost sense you visualizing the wand motions. When you decided to actually do it, you set your mouth, leaned half an inch towards me, and then your hand twitched just before you cast it."

His jaw dropped slightly as she spoke and he wiped his face. "You noticed all of that?"

She nodded. "Everyone has a tell when dueling. Some are easier to spot than others."

"How do you know all this?" he whispered in disbelief.

Hermione smiled and shrugged. "I did a bit of reading this summer."

"You? Read?" Harry smirked and shook his head.

"A bit of a shock, I know," she giggled before clearing her throat. "This time when I face you, I want you to study what I do. Don't focus on trying to block me; just work on figuring out my tell."

He let out a deep breath, but nodded.

For the first one, the girl decided to make it easier for him. She purposely gripped her wand tighter before casting the silent Expelliarmus. When he pointed it out, she smiled and waited for him to pick up his wand before immediately disarming him again.

"Hey!" he shouted. "I wasn't ready yet! I didn't see you do anything."

"You're not paying close enough attention then," she chided. "You can't let your guard down."

Harry grumbled as he snatched his wand from her and paced back to his spot. "Fine. I'll be ready this time."

"So you say," she grinned.

XxXxX

Hermione had waited an extra ten minutes after Ginny and the boys had boisterously made their way out of the common room, excited to play in the light snowfall. She had then muttered something to Mathina about needing a book from the library, and casually slipped out of Gryffindor Tower. Dressed in a lilac jumper, white tee, and jeans, she anxiously rubbed her hands together as she descended the staircase. Upon turning from the seventh floor landing, she jumped slightly in surprise at the appearance of Draco Malfoy.

The boy gave her a bitter glare as he moved to push past her on the stairs, but said nothing.

She swallowed in concern as she noticed the broken expression on his face, and she could see he held a crumpled piece of parchment in one of his hands.

"Are you alright?" she whispered almost automatically.

His eyes snapped to her and rage flared to life within them. "What the fuck do you care, Mudblood?"

The girl let out a hurt breath and grabbed his arm gently as he attempted to flee. "Draco, I am sorry –"

"Don't touch me, you stupid bitch!" he shouted, yanking his arm away from her and scampering to the top of the flight of stairs. "Don't talk to me; don't look at me; just fucking leave me the hell alone!"

As he angrily stormed down the corridor, somewhat cradling his arm, Hermione realized in horror that it had been his left forearm on which she had pulled. If his brand felt anything like hers had before it healed – which she was quite sure was the case –she knew that she had just caused him an immeasurable amount of pain.

A shamed gasp escaped her mouth as she covered her face with her hands and sank against the stairwell wall. Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes as she realized how hopeless his situation was. She and Draco had never been on good terms, but she had never wanted to see him receive anything worse than a punch to the nose. Bigoted child of a Death Eater or not, he was still a human being and as such deserved to be treated as one. He did not deserve to be tortured into slavery any more than she did.

Hermione wiped her eyes and sniffled. If there was anything she could do to let him know he was not alone, she would do it. He needed help just as much as Harry did, but while the Boy-Who-Lived had people lining up to aid him, Draco really only had two piles of skin, fat, and muscle – without a single brain between them — to turn to.

"Hermione?"

Her head popped up at the sound of Lupin's voice, and she immediately rose to her feet.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she coughed.

Remus narrowed his gaze and glanced up the staircase. "I was doing my after-supper rounds and heard the shouting. What happened? Was that Draco Malfoy you were quarreling with?"

With an exasperated sigh, she nodded.

"Did he hurt you?" the werewolf growled.

"No!" Hermione snapped immediately. "He didn't hurt me at all. He just…well, I just…I tried to apologize, but…"

Lupin raised his eyebrows as she trailed off, and he gave her a concerned look. "You and he are involved?"

She froze for a moment, uncertain of how to respond. She quickly debated whether or not she should encourage his misconception, and ultimately decided that he would assume they were sleeping together either way. Blowing out a long breath, she shifted on her feet and shook her head slightly. "Not now."

"But you were before?"

She shrugged and purposely threw her gaze to the wall to avoid answering the question.

Taking that as an affirmative response, the man sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Did he break it off with you?"

The girl shook her head.

"You broke it off?" he pressed.

Hermione sighed loudly and crossed her arms. "Forgive me, Professor, but what does it matter? Why do you need to know? The point is I wanted to apologize to him, and he doesn't want anything to do with me. End of story.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm late for my appointment with Professor McGonagall," she added as she moved to step around him.

Remus cleared his throat and nodded. "I do apologize, Hermione. I should not have pried, but I wanted to ensure that you were alright."

"I'm fine," she repeated loudly as she made her way down the stairs. When she noticed that he was following her, she stopped and stared at him. "I thought you had rounds."

He gave a small smile and shrugged. "I thought I might escort you to your appointment instead."

Groaning internally, she slowly began stepping down the next flight of stairs. "You really don't need to, sir."

"Well, I need to speak with Professor Snape anyway, so it isn't going out of my way in the least."

"Fine," she mumbled, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "But I don't want to talk about Draco."

"I promise I won't even mention it," he responded cheerfully. True to his word, Remus walked with her the entire way to McGonagall's office without speaking of anything beyond class work. Upon reaching the office door, he gave her a smile and wished her a pleasant rest of the night.

As the door shut behind her, Hermione immediately sprinted to the fireplace, causing Minerva to look up from her marking in surprise.

"Whatever is the matter?" she asked in concern.

"Remus," the girl answered quickly before tossing in the powder and calling out, "Professor Snape's quarters!"

As she spun out of the green flames into the familiar sitting room, the dark-haired wizard glanced at her with a raised brow. "Did you forget the time? It's nearly quarter past."

"Lupin!" she shouted breathily. "He's coming to you!"

Snape narrowed his eyes and let his book close with a snap. "What are you talking about?"

"He escorted me to Professor McGonagall's office and said he was on his way to speak to you," Hermione stammered quickly.

"Piss," he spat grumpily as he stood from his seat. "You can stay here. I'll return as soon as he leaves."

She nodded and collapsed onto the sofa. The man had already entered the bedroom and was shrugging on his teaching robes by the time she remembered why Remus had followed her.

"Oh!" She launched to her feet. "By the way, he thinks I've just broken up with Draco!"

Severus turned slowly and stared at her in surprise. "And why is that?"

"Erm…well…he'll tell you, I'm sure."

He rolled his eyes, but accepted the answer and quickly disappeared through the door that led down to his office.

Hermione sighed and sank back into the couch again. For the first time in two weeks, she was thankful for Snape's paranoia. If she had tried to tell Remus that she was headed to the library instead, there was no way she would have been able to sneak into Snape's quarters in time to warn him.

After her heart stopped pounding in her ears, she exhaled slowly and glanced towards the bookshelf. If she was going to have to wait, she might as well entertain herself somehow.

XxXxX

"I should have known better than to leave a bookworm alone with my personal collection."

Hermione glanced up from the page she was reading and found Snape leaning against the bedroom door frame. She swallowed anxiously and offered a timid smile. "Sorry, I just –"

He waved his hand dismissively as she stood from the chair. "Lupin is rather relieved that you and Mr. Malfoy have gone your separate ways. Though, he does suspect that Draco's anger stems more from having his plot foiled than from being a jilted lover."

"I'll bet," she sighed, stepping towards the shelf to return the book to its original location.

"And what is it you were burrowing in so deeply?" he asked curiously.

The witch bit her lip and held out the book to him. He took it smoothly and glanced at the spine with an appraising eye. With a nod, he handed it back to her. "A suitable choice."

Severus crossed over to the bookshelf and pulled out a small, green book. "While that particular volume goes into greater depth on the different varieties of shielding defenses, this one also includes other useful spells for protection that would be beneficial for you to know.

"I believe I tried giving this to you once already," he smirked as he set it atop the other book in her hands.

A brief flicker of shame crossed her features as she recognized the worn, bumpy cover. It was the tome she had been reading in Dumbledore's office whilst waiting for Snape to return from his summons months ago. "Well, I started reading it."

"Perhaps you might finish it, then," he responded. "I'll expect you to have read each of those at least twice by the time the winter term starts."

Hermione snorted and looked down at the two volumes. "I think I could manage that. They appear more interesting than a telephone directory, at any rate."

"Indeed." The wizard nodded and glanced out of the corner of his eye to the clock. Giving a small sigh, he took a step towards her and gently removed the books from her hands and set them upon the end table.

"Have you taken the potion yet?"

She nodded and took in a deep breath as she glanced up at his face. "I saw that you had set it out on the nightstand."

"Good," he mumbled, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

The young witch blushed, swallowing nervously. "Do you think we could…erm…take it a little slower this time?"

Severus gave a nod and gestured her towards the bedroom. He followed quietly behind her, but stopped in his tracks when he noticed the ginger cat staring at him from the bed.

"Absolutely not," he muttered, striding towards the offending feline and yanking him from the mattress. "I draw the line, cat."

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't bring him, I swear."

He shook his head as he held the yowling creature beneath the armpits and carried him to the sitting room. "The little monster has been finding his own way in for months now."

"Really? So this is where he disappears to?"

Snape dumped the cat in the armchair and hastily stole back to the bedroom, shutting the door securely behind him. "Unfortunately."

She giggled softly as she perched upon the edge of the mattress. "You know it just means he likes you, right? He doesn't take to many people at all."

"I wouldn't go so far as to declare his like for me," he muttered as he unfastened his teaching robes.

"I would," she smiled, kicking off her shoes. "He wouldn't have let you remove him so easily otherwise. In fact, if Ron so much as looks at him for too long, Crooks practically lunges at him. He's not terribly fond of Harry, either. Barely tolerates him."

The wizard snorted and cast a brief look at the door. "Perhaps I've underestimated the intelligence of the demonic furball after all."

Hermione sighed dramatically, but grinned at him all the same. "Perhaps."

As the man sat down on the other side of the bed to remove his boots, she opted to unzip her sweater and remove it along with her socks before sliding back onto the bed. As she waited for him to finish readying himself, she leaned against the headboard and chewed on her bottom lip in anxiety.

A minute or so later, she looked up as Severus placed himself immediately beside her. She offered him a shy smile as he turned to her and gently touched her chin.

"If you feel uncomfortable with anything, I wish for you to tell me immediately," he said softly. "You will not push yourself for my sake. Is that understood?"

The girl nodded her head emphatically and leaned a fraction of an inch closer. He stroked the side of her face before slowly lowering his lips to hers. As they exchanged easy kisses, he could feel her beginning to relax. He slid one hand around her waist, and smiled slightly when she all but melted into his embrace.

After a few minutes Snape slipped one hand beneath her shirt and slowly ran it along her back until he reached the clasp of her bra. When he successfully released the hooks, she moved away from him long enough for him to pull her t-shirt over her head and slip her bra straps from her shoulders. As both articles of clothing hit the floor, he placed a number of small kisses along her neck and cupped one of her breasts in his hand.

Hermione sucked in a sharp breath, closing her eyes momentarily at the sensation. When she finally managed to open them again, she brought both of her hands to his chest and worked on freeing him from his long-sleeved shirt. As opposed to the last time they were together, this time she managed to defeat the row of buttons on her own. She then flattened her palms against his scarred flesh as he pulled his mouth from her throat.

The man guided her down the length of the mattress until she was lying with her head on the pillow. He leaned over her, trailing soft kisses from her forehead, along the length of her face and neck, until reaching her chest. As he took one peaked nipple into his mouth, she gasped and arched against him. Unable to speak, the witch opened and closed her mouth, and her hands roughly gripped the sides of his shirt as he moved his attentions to the other breast.

By no means at all did Severus consider himself to be an accomplished lover. Upon hearing that she had done what she had in order to please him, though, he had ultimately decided that he would do everything he knew to do in order to keep her from trying it again. He had determined from their previous encounters and his limited knowledge of the curse that the binding magic heightened the sensitivity of her nerve fibers, which in effect would make her more responsive to his attentions. While it could make certain things easier for him, it also meant that any pain experienced during intercourse would be that much worse. With that in mind, he knew he had to keep himself somewhat controlled so as not to risk further hurting her – physically or emotionally.

Detaching himself from her nipple, he kissed the underside of each breast and then continued moving down her torso. He stopped suddenly just above the top of her jeans when he felt her begin to tense up in a different manner. Immediately he leaned up and rested his forehead against hers.

"I won't go any farther," he whispered. Truthfully, he had not planned on doing so anyway. Oral sex was something in which he had absolutely no experience, and there was no way in hell he was going to blunder through an attempt with her now.

Her eyelashes tickled him as her eyes flashed open. She swallowed nervously and panted, "I didn't s-say anything."

"I could feel your anxiety," Snape responded softly, trailing a finger along the side of her face.

"Oh," she breathed, meeting his gaze. "I'm sor –"

"Don't." Recognizing the fleeting look that crossed her face as one of panic, the wizard sighed and lightly held her chin. "You are fine."

Upon pressing his lips to hers, he heard her give a slight whimper but he took it as a sign of encouragement when she relaxed against him. Her fingers fisted tighter in his shirt, and she opened her mouth to him. As the kiss deepened, the heat between them increased until Severus realized that he would not be able to restrain himself much longer.

He pulled away from her and quickly began unfastening her jeans. She was panting heavily, but assisted him in the remainder of her undressing by lifting her bottom from the mattress. With fumbling fingers, he worked on his own trousers; shoving them down just far enough before settling into the cradle of her hips.

Hermione moved her hands to grip his shoulders as he positioned himself, and she set her jaw in a groan as he pushed into her. After a few of his slower, shallower thrusts, she closed her eyes and wrapped her legs around his waist. He stumbled slightly at the sudden sensation of being pulled deeper, but quickly managed to return to his original pace.

This time she did not attempt to meet his thrusts, a fact that he was eternally grateful for at the moment. If she had, he seriously doubted whether or not he would make it long enough to get her to where she needed to be. As it was, he was already concentrating immeasurably hard to keep himself going. Each and every soft mewl and moan that slipped out of her only managed to make it even harder.

Thankfully, he soon felt her muscles beginning to seize up and spasm around him. He let out the breath he had been holding and gave one final movement and collapsed onto his elbows as she pulled him over the edge with her. He remained steady for a long moment while they both came down from their high before he groaned slightly and pulled out of her.

Snape rolled onto his back and laid beside her, staring up at the ceiling and listening only to their heavy breathing. Eventually his brain cleared enough to remember his awkward state of undress, and he silently set to righting it.

Hermione shifted and turned her head to look at him. As she watched him re-button the top button of his trousers, she swallowed slightly, feeling somewhat bashful about her own nakedness. Covering her chest with one arm, she felt around blindly for her clothes with the other hand. Upon finding them, she clutched the pile to her form.

"Erm, I guess I'll just shower then," she mumbled quietly as she slipped off of the bed.

He looked up at her, somewhat surprised by her sudden withdrawal. "Are you alright?"

"Hmm?" she hummed. "Oh, erm, yeah. I'm alright."

Severus narrowed his eyes. "Hermione?"

She turned to look at him over his shoulder, and he felt his anxiety suddenly vanish at the huge grin on her face. "Definitely more than alright."

He snorted quietly and returned with a small smile of his own. "Your clothes should be laundered by the house-elves before you leave. You might as well leave them there."

Her face fell slightly. "But –"

"If you're about to launch into a monologue regarding elf-rights, now is not the time."

"But –"

"Unless you prefer to scrub your knickers while showering," he smirked, "because I have no particular desire to do so."

He noticed the corners of her mouth quivering as she fought her smile.

"But –"

"Granger," he sighed, "If your protests are because you feel self-conscious, remember I've more than seen you naked."

Her nose wrinkled lightly and she failed to hold back her own smirk as she huffed and tossed her clothes to the floor. Snape let out a chuckle as the blushing witch scrambled into the bathroom and shut the door behind her as quickly as possible.

XxXxX

Minerva's head snapped up at the sound of her floo activating. She did not quite remember dozing off, but was not actually surprised seeing as she had run out of any coursework to mark nearly an hour before. She worked a crick out of her neck as she watched her student spin out of the fireplace.

"Miss Granger," she stated in a mildly chiding tone. "If, in the future, Professor Snape plans to keep you past the previously discussed time, I do expect to be informed of that ahead of time."

"Mmm-hmm," the girl nodded in a manner that emulated Luna Lovegood.

McGonagall sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Miss Granger, did you even listen to what I just said?"

Hermione glanced at her with a vague look. "Erm, what?"

The elder witch let out an exasperated sigh as she took in the girl's twinkling eyes, flushed cheeks, and timid smile. "Merlin."

"Hmm?"

Minerva rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples. "It would seem to me that showering would prove a moot point if you're going to broadcast it all over your face."

"Oh," she mumbled biting her lip. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize –"

"Should you fail to make it back to your dormitory without grinning like a baboon," the deputy headmistress warned, "I shall assign you to tutor Miss Brown on her Transfiguration assignments for the remainder of the term."

Hermione's eyes widened in horror, and the smile finally evaporated from her face.

"I thought that might prove enough of an incentive," she smirked.