The death of a git, the rise of a hero...

I don\'t own H.P. or anything affiliated with it, I just have a writing addiction. As for the story, been nagging at me for a while, and felt compelled to write it. It\'ll be a long one though. cheers. holden.
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\"Would you just give me a moment, please?\"

Hermione exasperatedly brushed her fringe back a moment, giving her forehead some reprieve. She was looking intently to her parchment, puffing her cheeks with air and letting it out slowly. Her neck was beginning to ache from craning her neck over her paper so long, and she cursed herself for not utilizing the Library like she usually did.

The warm May air was starting to grow heavy with warm air that was slowly becoming suffocg, ag, and the Library surprisingly enough was getting the brunt of it. One could barely breathe in the stacks, and she felt a pang of pity for Madame Pince. Only a small twinge, as the woman was a harpy just waiting to tell someone to shut up under her jurisdiction in the Library.

Harry and Ron stood outside her room shifting impatiently from foot to foot as they knew they were prohibited from entering the girl\'s dormitory, they had learned that the hard way. Hermione up until this point had been enjoying the solitude of being the only one in her dormitory, everyone else was sunning himself or herself outside. She was sure Lavender would return brown as a berry, as she had laughingly promised.

\"Mione c\'mon...\" Ron whined as Hermione finally took a deep, calming breath and looked up to them with a tired glare. \"Hagrid said three. He\'ll be dead and gone by the time we get there...\"

Hermione took a small glance at the clock at her wall rolling her eyes. Such exagerration. It wasn\'t even three yet, and by her calculations they could leave in a minute and still get there on time...not that Hagrid really ever cared. He was always just so happy to see them, always had some story to tell.

\"Just one more moment.\" she said her voice dripping with honeyed promise. \"I\'ve just got one more paragraph.\"

Hermione knew Harry and Ron were excited because Hagrid had promised them a surprise. Not the Norbert, Buck kik kind, (he swore.) He had promised them a little treat from Hogsmeade a few days ago, telling them to come by this Saturday. Secretly Hermione loved keeping them in suspense...she could practically hear them whimpering by the door.

\"It\'s only Saturday...you still have practically all weekend.\"

\"Honestly you two.\" She shook her bushy head emphatically as she usually did when beginning on a tirade. \"You are two of the most irresponsible people I\'ve ever come across. How do you possibly expect to pass your O.W.L.S.? They\'re coming up soon.\"

Harry gave a disparaging look at the bookworm and rolled his eyes at Ron, \"That\'s like a month away Hermione.\"

Hermione looked to them incredulously, didn\'t they realize that a month was barely enough? Heaven knew she\'s been reviewing and retaking notes all year, making sure she was at the top of her game. She surely wouldn\'t become Head Girl next year if she didn\'t make sure her grades were exemplary.

Hermione knew that she was more mature than them, that was just common knowledge, but perhaps being seventeen factored into it...that time turner. She gave a shrug to get her blouse to shift it about on her body, trying to air herself out. She heard another sigh from Harry and Ron outside her door, and she knew in a moment they\'d threaten to leave her behind, and that wouldn\'t do.

\"Alright I\'m coming.\"

She often wondered how they survived school, all she ever saw them doing was playing and talking about Quidditch. She rose wobbly, for she had been sitting cross-legged for a good two hours now. She decided against her cloak and smoothed down her skirt and blouse, stretching and coming to the door with a look of disdain.

\"About bloody time.\" Ron muttered giving Hermione a meaningful look. \"Bloody Queen of Sheba that one.\"

Hermione nudged him playfully as the Golden Trio made their way down the stairs, out of the common room and into the hall. Ron looked longingly at the Great Hall as they passed muttering something like, \"Do you think they\'re still serving lunch?\"

Hermione and Harry dragged him past the doors and nearing the front doors they realized just how hot it was going to be, facing the glare of the sun. Was seeing Hagrid worth it? Hermione slowed her pace, closing her eyes and just listening to the gentle murmur of the school. Only two more years and she\'d be gone...but where?

\"C\'mon Hermione.\" She felt Harry tug at her wrist, \"We\'re going to miss him.\"

Hermione swatted his hand away, eyes still closed as she appreciated the warm air around her, trying to block out the glaring sun from the windows around them. She knew they were nearing the front door, and she wasn\'t looking forward to facing the heat wave that awaited them.

Her position after Hogwarts was one of the few things that scared Hermione Granger. She\'d always been level headed that was for sure, always top of her class and always prepared. But the one thing one can never be prepared for is the future. Try as hard as you might, you can never stop it\'s twists and turns.

One twist just happened to be stalking right towards her.

\"Watch where you\'re going you silly little girl.\"

Hermione\'s heart stopped as she recognized the cruel voice, her eyes snapping open as she nearly squealed with fright. Any steps further would have bashed her into the none other the prince of darkness himself; Professor Snape, arms crossed in traditional fashion with a recycled sneer upon his face.

True, she always stuck up for him with Harry and Ron, but honest truth she was petrified of Snape sometimes. No matter how hard she tried she could never erase the memories. Him calling her stupid in front of everyone...yelling at her in the Shrieking Shack...his eyes crazed...telling her that he saw no difference when her teeth grew down to the ground. Git.

She hadn\'t garnered detention with him so far, and that was a saving grace. Especially since she\'d stolen from his storage, and slapped his favorite student, and spoken back to him...One. By accident.

She disliked Professor Snape immensely, not only for the names and insults he had thrown subtly (and on occasion not to subtly) at her during her course at the school, and she still had a year and a bit left...What a nightmare. But at the fact that he believed insults and aggression and fear instilling to be a productive means of teaching. Which it most certainly wasn\'t, just ask Neville Longbottom.

The main incentive of almost every student in Hogwarts was to pass his bloody potions class and get the hell out, not looking back. It was a shame, as Potions greatly intrigued Hermione, but his lack of tact and temper drove her from pursuing it. Who wanted to ask Snape for a reference letter to a magical University? Not her.

She saw he was clad in his usual black robes, and it was almost sweltering outside. He didn\'t look overheated though, his face was still pasty and pale. How isn\'t he suffocating in those robes of his?

She may have disliked him, but still...he was her superior and therefore, automatically garnered her respect. She wasn\'t a brownnoser, she was merely respectful to those who deserved it. Snape had done a lot for the order, although that didn\'t give him the right to be a prat all the time. Hermione\'s parents had brought her up with the mindset of being respectful to elders, and Snape was her elder...

She looked up his lithe figure to the pale face with a spindle of shadows sweeping across it. He was tall, that was glaringly obvious...taller than most of the Professors at Hogwarts, had a sweeping manner of irritated urgency in whatever he did. He often had the impression of being taller than usual when he was glowering at someone...most often Harry and Ron, but lately she\'d been getting her bulk of it.

Comes with being friends with the boy-who-lived... she thought grimly, her face remaining placid as she looked to Snape with her nose in the air, trying to gather a bit of confidence about her, which never worked with Severus Snape staring down his long nose at you.

She glanced around him a moment and saw Harry and Ron\'s eyes, wide with anxious trepidation. Snape seemed to favor taking points for no reason, and they had been trying extra hard this year for winning the House Cup. No reason to break a winning streak.

\"I apologize Professor...My mind was elsewhere.\" she said crisply, she prepared to move around him, to follow Harry and Ron who were still staring at Snape\'s back. She concealed a smirk and was about to walk to them when he stiffly began speaking again.

\"It often is isn\'t it?\"

Hermione paused in the middle of walking, her cheeks prickling as he spoke these rude words. They may have been nearly alone in the hall, but still the crush of her pride and ego were aflame. She heard Snape\'s robe\'s billowing, almost hearing his smirk as he prepared to walk off, she whirled around, looking to his diminishing figure and barked out a reply without thinking.

\"It is not.\"

Snape stopped mid stride as he slowly turned around as well, his face moderately screwed up in confusion, he surely didn\'t believe that a student, let alone Hermione Granger would speak back to him.

\"What?\" his voice was a hiss, his dark eyes swallowing her as she felt her throat closing. She was a bit shaky inside now, seeing as he was walking back to her now. She was backing up slowly, her eyes transfixed upon his own.

\"Nothing sir.\" she squeaked, wishing she hadn\'t said anything in the first place as he drew nearer and nearer, his dark eyes glittering malevolently. He was closer now, his eyes greedily taking in her panic and now flustered stance. Unusual for Hermione as she was normally so well kept together. Snape did that to people.

\"Nothing? Indeed?\" he repeated silkily, coming closer than needed to infer distress. His breath was coming out in soft huffs on her face, and she tried not to bite her lip nervously. Hermione was near crying out for help when he spoke again.

\"Do remember who is the student, and who is the Professor Miss Granger.\" his eyes darted to Harry and Ron and then back to her, \"You\'ll find your duration here all the more pleasant if you do.\"

With that he turned around, the bottom of his robes snapping her in her bare leg, just as she had let out a whoosh of relief he turned around again and she felt her heart jumping. She saw him scan her robe-less frame and give a sneer.

\"And cover up from now on.\"

With that he was gone, almost vanishing from sight as his black robes trailed behind him. She looked down at her shirt and saw much to her surprise her nipples had become erect and were quite pointedly sticking out in her blouse. When had that happened? Why? She immediately blushed and crossed her arms, making her way over to Ron and Harry who looked to her with pity.

\"He\'s such a git.\" Ron said darkly, sneering after Snape\'s already gone figure and shaking his head with disdain. \"I honestly don\'t know why Dumbledore\'s still got him around.\"

\"Ron,\" Hermione chided, \"You know he\'s invaluable to the order, if it weren\'t for him, Harry\'d be dead.\"

Harry gave a shrug of indifference, \"You know, you\'re really starting to sound like Trelawny.\"

Ron contained a chuckle, looking to Hermione\'s sullen face as Harry and he swapped smirks. Hermione frowned as they continued walked, Ron and Harry began in on Quidditch and Hermione was left with a feeling of irritation, both for Harry and Ron and for Snape the overgrown bat.

\"Only one year after this.\" she huffed under her breath, following Ron and Harry out the door to Hagrid\'s.

\"Only one year left...\"