It just...happened...

“What are you doing you silly little girl?” said a familiar voice, and Hermione’s eyes fluttered open. She came face to face with Snape who was staring down at her with a look of utter confusion…wait, he was looking down on her?

She obviously had fainted from fear, and…she was lying on the ground! The git hadn’t even bothered to catch her! How typical. He was still standing over her, his arms crossed as she did the same on the icy ground.

“I am taking a rest.” Hermione said stubbornly looking up to him with her dark eyeashiashing. “You see, having the wits scared out of oneself is a little fatiguing.”

Snape didn’t crack a smile on those miserable lips of his and Hermione finally with a loud sigh stood up. He was still giving her a look of irritation and Hermione in a sudden burst of her own irritation threw discretion to the wind and openly glart hit him.

“May I ask what brought you out here, Professor?”

Snape raised an eyebrow, “Surely Miss Granger, you didn’t expect that I would send you out here all on your own? Dumbledore would have my head.” at this Hermione smiled herself, and Snape continued unfettered. “I was merely teaching you a lesson.”

“A lesson? And what was that?” Hermione said throwing up her hands in exasperation. Snape gave a furious glare that made her actually flinch at the sight of it.

“One that you still obviously haven’t grasped.” Snape hissed, “Respect for one’s teachers.”

Hermione looked to him in utter disbelief. Snape actually wanted her respect? Had she really…actually…hurt his feelings? No. Couldn’t have. The man didn’t have feelings. His pride was just hurt.

She didn’t say anything…what could she say? Snape seemed impressed by her silence and motioned for her to follow him, thrusting her the black basket he had been grasping and almost knocking her backwards…he didn’t know his own strength.

Snape gave her a disgusted look before taking the bucket from her himself and looking at its meager contents. He saw a drop of discoloring on the icy petal and frowned.

Hermione hid her bloodied finger humiliated…surely he would mock her for not using gloves. Then when he found she didn’t have her wand to get some he’d only deepen the humiliation…surely by calling her a silly little girl and so forth.

“Let me see your hands.” Snape commanded, looking at her with dark eyes.

Hermione shook her head, “Why? They’re fine. Let’s move on shall we?”

Snape grasped her hand suddenly, his hands surprisingly warm as he cupped her small hand in between his slender fingers. For some strange reason, her whole body flushed as she was drawn closer to him.

He did smell good…too good. Something rich and inviting. His sculptured fingers ran along the inside of her palm, sending sharp bolts of electricity all through her, running to her most sensitive of areas.

He squinted at her hand, looking at it a moment as Hermione took a long look at his sullen face. He wasn’t handsome, that was for certain…but he did have a certain quality about him. Sort of a loner appeal…almost like herself before Harry and Ron.

Would she have ended up like Snape if she had never acquired those two as comrades?

He waved his wand over her hands and in a matter of seconds she was healed. There were no scars or anything of the sort, he was talented in other things besides Potions.

“Thank you.” Hermione said gently taking her hand back from his own slowly, almost trembling. He noticed faintly, and brushed it off as the cold.

“Why didn’t you just do it yourself?” he grumbled irritably, “Would have saved me the trouble.”

Hermione answered with a muttered, “I forgot my wand,” as Snape scoffed at her and she was now just following the dark figure wordlessly as the bucket was again thrust into her hands…not so hard this time she noticed.

“Professor?” Hermione asked darkly, as the two of them made their way in the shadowed forest. Snape didn’t answer… probably on purpose…damn overgrown bat that he was. All prior pitying emotions were gone from Hermione, she was just plain irritated now. “Professor?”

Snape whirled around, even in the faint lamplight she could see he was irritated. “WHAT?” he bellowed enough for nearby birds to fly off their perches and into the cold night air.

Hermione shook now, more nervous than she had ever been. It was one thing to mouth off to Snape in a room full of witness’, it was another to do the same while alone in the forbidden forest with him.

He stood in front of her, mere inches away and she suddenly noticed the man in front of her was not as thin as she had imagined before. He was quite broad in the shoulders, a good few inches over her and at the moment glaring at her quite unabashedly.

“Sorry sir.” Hermione gulped, “It’s just that…why has Dumbledore gone?”

There was a moment of silence as Snape sneered at her in the moonlight, obviously enjoying the power. So, the little know it all Gryffindor didn’t know so much, did she?

“It is none of your affair, Miss Granger.” He said with a sharp turn and continued walking, Hermione trailing behind him tentatively.

“But, sir…” Hermione went on, careful not to trip on any overgrown logs or any such sort, envying the swift way he moved about through the forest. “If it’s because of Voldemort, don’t you suppose I should know about it?”

Snape whirled around, his dark eyes flashing, as Hermione suddenly wanted to retract her last statement. “You will not call him that, he is he-who-must-not-be-named.” He hissed through clenched teeth.

Hermione nodded, “Sorry sir. But, don’t you agree?”

“Agree that a know it all like yourself should be trusted with such secrets?”

“I am not a big mouth.” Hermione leered, seeing that he was slowing down as they went deeper into the forest. “I just want to be prepared against an attack from Volde-“

“YOU WILL NOT ADDRESS HIM AS THAT!” Snape yelled now, making poor Hermione flinch and nod.

“Sorry sir.”

She didn’t speak after that, and Snape suddenly swooped down onto the cold floor of the forest and brought out a pair of black gloves. Hermione watched as he snapped them on, and for some reason Hermione winced at this.

“We are looking for a small blue bulb, commonly known as Introgenius fermonium.”

Hermione nodded, understanding exactly what it was for. She had learned about it while sneaking into the restricted section of the Library…like hell she was going to let Snape know that. So she nodded and answered with a placid, “I see.”

Snape looked up to her then, seeing she was just standing there above him, holding the bucket in her hands. He scowled and motioned for her to be seated next to him.

“Dig.”

Hermione dropped to her knees and placed the bucket in between them, the only distance between them at the moment.

That was the only word spoken for quite a while as an impressive silence descended upon them. Snape motioned for where Hermione should dig, with small grunts and hand movements before digging directly beside her, not speaking and barely breathing.

Hermione felt her hands bite into the fr ear earth and she bit back a scream. Snape looked over to her a moment and without a word tossed her some identical gloves from his cloak pocket.

Hermione took them with muttered thanks and shoved them on, digging until she saw a small blue bulb. Nope…just a rock. She threw it carelessly over her shoulder, not really paying attention to the suddenly not so scary sounds from the forest.

Strange, she’d think that in the middle of a hallowed forest with no one but Snape at her side, she’d feel frightened…but she didn’t. She felt the comforting heat from his body next to hers as his arm brushed hers on occasion, and she felt completely at peace.

Snape reached into the bucket to drop a small bulb, and in the process managed to brush his hand across Hermione’s as she did the same. They both flinched as Snape pulled away hastily as if Hermione had leprosy…posh prick.

She looked up from the soil she was unearthing and snuck a glance at his face. He looked as if he were anticipating something, an excited little look in his eyes gave him away as he continued moving the moist soil around.

His lips pursed and resumed normal positioning, doing this ever so often as if he were reading something. In the moonlight it gave his dark hair an almost blue highlight, and offsetting his pale face to seem almost…innocent? He did look innocent…not a DeathEater, just a man doing what he loved.

He looked up suddenly catching her gaze and looking at her with a sudden wide-eyed look, “What?” he asked breathlessly. Hermione gave him a glare and looked back to the ground, thankful that the darkness hid her flushed cheeks.

“Silly little girl.” Snape muttered with a frown and went back to his soil, his hands moving so quickly that it was almost mesmerizing.

Hermione let her eyes drag to his face once more, almost entranced by the way his lips soundlessly moved, and the way his eyes barely ked.ked. She let him catch her gaze this time, with an irritated, “What is it Granger?”

“Why won’t you tell me why Dumbledore left?” Hermione said slightly digging aimlessly, “Please tell me. I deserve to know.”

Snape rolled his dark eyeshis his usual bored fashion, and still digging said in dark tones, “Do you honestly think you could ever be of assistance if the Dark Lord did attack?”

Hermione shrugged, suddenly very afraid. Snape didn’t usually say things like this. If they were too far fetched he would shrug them off…which at the moment he most certainly was not.

“I suppose you’ll find out eventually.” He said evenly, brushing the excess dirt off his forearm as he continued digging and searching for the elusive bulbs. Hermione leaned closer and saw Snape pull back…suddenly embarassed at her eagerness she went back to digging for bulbs, not meeting his eyes. He didn’t speak for several moments until…

“Voldemort is amongst us Miss Granger.” Snape breathed softly, letting his warm breath brush against her cheek. “Of that you can be certain.”

Hermione looked up to him suddenly, not seeing that she was ever so close to his lips. She leaned back confused, what was that all about? Why was he leaning so close? And looking at her with that strange look in his normally vicious eyes?

‘So the whole forest doesn’t hear you!’ her reason said, and she was obliged to agree with it.

“It’s someone you’re quite close to, Miss Granger.” Snape said standing now, looking to her severely. Hermione gulped involuntarily, trying to imagwho who it could be. Ginny? She had after all been involved with the Chamber of secrets…

Snape didn’t make any effort to answer her questioning eyes and she was in shock as he stalked off, not looking behind him to see that she was following.

Hermione looked up quizzically to her brooding Potions professor who was walking quickly, and she could only utter one word that hung in the air.


“Who?”