Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to the great J.K.R. though, as always, I would like to be able to take Severus and Lucius home whenever I wanted to._**

Hey ya'll, remember in the Bohemian Vanity notes one chapter, I mentioned that I would post a possible first chapter to another story? Well, here it is!

This is a one shot for now, but I have two other chapters already written, if you think it is good enough to continue. FYI if I do continue, I will probobly have a beta.

Well, please Read and Review, it would be greatly appreaciated!

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The Graveyard looked as it always did; dark and slightly depressing, just how he enjoyed it. Gravestones were scattered around all over the place, all bearing the same surname, Riddle. Some were blasted away and charred, evidence of the frequent meetings and numerous wizard duels. The air was cold as ice, as if death itself was preset at this meeting, but no one said a word. The Inner Circle was currently standing around the head stone of the Dark Lord's late father, watching as a new recruit was initiated.

The Dark Lord was standing over her, searching her mind, checking her loyalties as he did to everyone. Though he could not see her face behind her hood, he could tell she was nervous, and rightfully so. People like her were not brought into the Death Eaters often, and never had they been brought into the Inner Circle so readily, but she was unlike them. She was brilliant, she was calculating, she was connected, and most of all, she was a traitor. Those qualities far exceeded her unfortunate parentage, and so her blood was overlooked.

Severus' heart overflowed with pride as he saw the Dark Lord turn a pleasing eye onto her; she had passed his test. He could practically feel the relief flowing out of her. _'But, remember little one, it is not over yet.'_ He felt her tense up slightly as the Dark Lord gestured for her to pull up her left sleeve; she knew what was coming next.

Oh, how he wished he could look into her eyes right now, what she must be feeling! He knew she was expecting pain, he had warned her of it, of course, but knowing what will come is hardly comforting.

No one around the circle moved or made a sound as the smell of burning flesh filled the air, but surprisingly, no scream accompanied it. He looked once again at the Dark Lord and found him to be smiling, something that sent ice down Severus' back. It seems as though the Dark Lord was pleased with his new recruit's tolerance for pain.

Once the mark was clearly burned onto her forearm, she kissed the hem of the Dark Lord's robes once again and stood up, never lifting her head to his face. He watched as the Dark Lord tipped her chin up and offered her the mask, which he placed on her. Once the mask was secure, he pointed to an empty space between Severus and Lucius, which she quickly filled.

The Dark Lord once again returned to the head of the circle and clasped his hands together, successfully startling many of those gathered around. A cold laugh pierced the quiet night, and made everyone's blood run cold. "My Loyal Death Eaters; tonight is a night for celebration! We have a new recruit among us, one which will claim victory over Dumbledore and his mudblood loving order. While her parentage is less than pure, that will be overlooked, for her qualities far exceed her blood in this rare case. Now, we not only have another spy for the light, not only do we have another member of the infernal Order, but we now have the brain's behind the golden trio, we now have Harry Potter's confidant, we now have his Best Friend, the one he believes would never betray him, we now have Miss Hermione Granger."

The once silent group now began to mumble amongst themselves, apparently only a select few had been aware of who exactly had just been initiated. One brave soul, Avery, stepped out of the circle and bowed his head to the Dark Lord, and in a moment of apparent idiocy, called out, "But My Lord, she is a Mudblood!"

In a flash, a green light had shot through the dark night and hit the man square in the chest. He now lay on the ground, eyes wide open in what Severus supposed to be terror, but there were no emotions behind those eyes anymore. It seemed that Death actually had been lurking about that meeting. All eyes were once again focused on the Dark Lord, who was glaring at the corpse, a fire burning in his snake like eyes. He moved his gaze onto the other Death Eaters and with one look silenced whatever protests and objections they might have had towards the girl.

"Do any more of you have a problem with the girl's appointment?" The circle was silent as the other Death Eaters shook their heads. "Good. Now, as for her blood, I consider her as pure as the Malfoy's, for there is no Mudblood alive who would willingly turn from the Light, who would take so much enjoyment from torturing muggles, who would live for the excitement that killing brings. Now, as I said earlier, this is a night for celebration! I have received word that there is a large gathering of Muggles in London, celebrating one of their inane holidays, why don't we join them?"

The other Death Eaters smiled and began to apparate away towards London, but Severus and Hermione stayed behind upon the Dark Lord's request. Severus bowed his head as his Master approached looking quite pleased with the two of them. "Ah, Severus, you have done well by bringing her into our circle. Those who have doubted your loyalty will be punished."

Severus nodded, "Thank you My Lord."

"And you Girl, you will ensure a win for the Dark Side, for while Severus has little trust from the Light, they trust you fully, something which will prove to be a great asset to me."

Hermione nodded once more, "Thank you My Lord, you are to gracious, but there is something that I believe you should know."

The skin where his eyebrow would have been; raised in question, "What might that be?"

Hermione kept her head down and her voice wavered slightly as she spoke, "My Lord, I am aware that three years ago, you tried to gain the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, so that you could be aware of what all it entailed. Dumbledore was the one who first heard the prophecy, and after it was destroyed, he told Harry. In turn, Harry told me, only me, the other members of the Order no nothing of what was said, which is why Severus knows nothing of it. My Lord, the part that you have not yet become aware of, is that there is only one person alive who would be able to rise against you, Harry Potter."

The Dark Lord did not speak for a few moments, and Severus was growing a bit worried, but finally, the silence was broken. "It would seem this boy is more of a thorn in my side than I originally thought. I am beginning to see, Girl, that I will not regret bringing you into the Circle. You two may return to Hogwarts, I wouldn't suggest joining in the fun, as I believe the Aurors have already been alerted and it would not do for my new recruit to be found out so quickly, now would it?"

With another cold smile and a pop, the Dark Lord was gone. Severus took off the silver mask covering his face and lowered his hood, turning to face the newest Death Eater. "Welcome to the Death Eaters, little one."

Hermione took off her mask and dropped her hood, letting out her waist length mass of chestnut curls, "Thank you Severus."

"Should we go back to school now?" Hermione nodded and he put his mask inside of his cloak, instructing her to do the same, and with a pop, they were outside the gates. Severus pulled out the invisibility cloak that Dumbledore had given him so that no wandering students would become aware of his nightly activities, and wrapped it around Himself and Hermione. They quietly walked through the castle until they had made it to the Dungeons, where Severus' rooms were hidden. They arrived at the picture of Salazar Slytherin and Severus slipped out of the invisibility cloak and quickly undid the numerous wards surrounding his room. The portrait swung open and they slipped inside before a wandering student spotted them. Severus quickly closed the portrait and put his wards back up. He turned back and walked over to his couch, passing by the girl, and sat down.

Hermione by that time and taken off the Invisibility Cloak and was now standing in the middle of the room, staring at Severus. He couldn't help but stare back at her; she looked incredible in the Death Eater robes. He knew that look that she was giving him; he had seen it many times before. He simply sat there as she walked slowly towards him; all the while undoing her robes so painfully slow. By the time she had gotten the bothersome robes off, she was standing in front of him. He smirked as she placed a leg on each side of his and sat on top of him. He could see the fresh mark still burning black, and he took up her left arm in his hands, slowly bringing it to his face. He slowly kissed the raw flesh, earning a hiss from Hermione.

He kissed it once more, "Does it still hurt?"

Her legs began to clench around his, an obvious sign of her enjoyment, as she spoke through clenched teeth, "Yes, very much."

He smirked once more as he ran his hand over the mark, now earning a slight moan from the girl, she was loving this. "You didn't scream when He applied the mark, I was quite impressed, as was the Dark Lord. Stronger men have passed out from the pain."

She pulled the arm out of his grasp and laid herself along the length of the couch, pulling him down with her. "Yes, Severus, but I am not a man, now am I?"

Severus let out a slight laugh, "No, my little one, you are not."

Hermione smiled and Severus took that as a cue. He lowered his head and began to bite his way down her neck, causing the girl underneath him to arch her back in pleasure. He felt her hands snake their way into his hair as she pulled his head down lower, directing him where she wanted to go. Severus smirked against her chest, "You know, Little One, this will be the only time I will allow you to do this." Hermione nodded quickly and pushed his head further down. Taking his cue, Severus continued his trek downwards.


	2. Chapter 2

Severus was now lying in his bed, alone once more. His little one had left to go to her room not to long ago, and now he was staring at his ceiling, thinking back one year ago when everything had begun.

………….

After feeling the burn of the Dark Mark, Severus grabbed his things and donned his robes and snuck out of the castle. He immediately apparated away to where the Dark Lord was calling him. Once there, he quickly bent down and kissed the Dark Lord's robes and walked to his place in the circle next to Lucius and Goyle.

The Dark Lord looked around the circle until his eyes landed on Severus, and his blood went cold. It was never a good thing for the Dark Lord to look you in the eye; he felt another presence in his mind and knew He was checking to make sure that Severus was still loyal, which was to be expected. Severus didn't try to hide anything or use occulmency, after all, He would have been able to tell, besides, he had nothing to hide.

Soon, he felt the Dark Lord leave his mind and nod his head. Severus let out a breath of relief, he would be alright tonight, but the Dark Lord still kept his gaze on him. He wondered for a moment if perhaps he had done something that displeased Him, but he was quickly reassured that all was well when the Dark Lord's gaze moved on and He began to speak.

"My Loyal Death Eaters, I have figured out the way to destroy that idiot Potter once and for all. Every attempt I have made to destroy him has failed. Part of the reason is due to the failures of some of my Death Eaters, while the other part is due to Potter's friends. They are his lifeline, his reason for living, they are his strength. Without them, he is nothing. It would not do to simply kill the two; that would be too easy and would strengthen his resolve and determination. No, they will not die. Instead, we will sway one to our cause, yes, just one, for that is all we will need. The boy, Weasley I think is his name, will not be our target. He is much to hard headed and would not benefit our cause in the least if he were to join, despite his pureblood, he has neither power nor intelligence. That leaves the girl, the mudblood. Yes, we will sway her to our cause. While her blood is regrettable, it will be looked over for she possesses what we need. She has intelligence far surpassing some in this circle, she has cunning, she has immense power, she is the essential brains behind everything that Potter does, and she is his voice of reason. She is the only one they would never expect, she would be able to find out things that even our dear Severus can not."

"She will now be entering her 7th year at Hogwarts and will soon be looking for a place of work. As you have mentioned, Severus, she seems to be leaning towards potions. Soon she will need to find a Potions Master for her to learn under. When the time comes, you will take her as an Apprentice. It will be your job to bring her here, use any means you deem necessary, except for the Imperius Charm; that will do no good. Now, I believe that is all, you are free to go."

Severus bowed once more and apparated away with the rest of the Death Eaters. Once back on Hogwarts grounds, he pulled out his invisibility cloak and wrapped it around himself. It was not quite curfew yet, so there were students milling about. He quickly swept down to the dungeons and to the portrait of Salazar Slytherin. He quickly took down the words and muttered the password, slipping in before being seen. As soon as he was safely in his rooms, he let out a long sigh and slipped off the cloak. He quickly took off his mask and robes and put them into the cabinet in his bedroom, where they always were.

He stripped down to his undergarments and slipped into his bed, under the black satin sheets. He had essays to grade, but they would wait, for now his mind was buzzing with his new assignment. He knew that the Dark Lord would go after one of Potter's friends one day, but Severus had always thought that he would try to kill one of them, not convince them to join the Death Eaters, especially Granger of all people.

Contrary to popular belief, Severus did not hate the girl, he just hated the fact that she felt it necessary to show off her vast knowledge every chance she had, though it seems that six years of potions had quelled that desire in her slightly. He now was beginning to respect her intelligence, she always had the best essays out of anyone in her class, and she had managed to tutor that dunderhead Longbottom into getting into the 6th year potions class. The boy hadn't lasted too long though, after about three more months of class, he dropped out, opting to take another Herbology class.

It wasn't as if Severus had a choice in the matter, he would have to complete his task, or he would be punished, and he did not want to be punished. He wouldn't mind as much as his fellow Death Eaters would have, for he did not share all of the Pure Blooded idea's as they did. While he did believe that most purebloods were better than most muggleborns, there were always exceptions to that rule. After all, Crabbe and Goyle were purebloods but most of the time it seemed as though rocks were more intelligent, while Granger was a muggleborn and yet she was more powerful and more intelligent than half of the current Death Eaters.

But how would he go about getting her to join them? Ever since her induction into the wizarding world, she has been on the side of the light. She has never questioned where she stood, and she has faced Death Eaters countless times. She knows of the things that the Death Eaters do, she knows how they believe that muggleborns are scum between their toes and how purebloods should be bowed to like royalty. She has never known the power of the Dark, she has never felt the incredible sensations that course through your veins when you have successfully preformed the killing curse, she doesn't understand the incredible knowledge to be gained by studying the Dark Arts. How was he supposed to convince her that was the path to take?

Then it hit him, she doesn't know the power of the dark, she doesn't know the incredible sensations that course through your veins when you perform the killing curse, she doesn't know of the vast knowledge to be gained by studying the Dark Arts, she doesn't know!

That was it! He could show her the wonders of the Dark Arts! How simple it would be, with her thirst for knowledge, he would doubt that the urge to learn about it has never crossed her mind.

The only problem he would face would be Dumbledore, for Severus was sure that he knew he had seen the Dark Lord that night. In fact, he was surprised he hadn't had a visit from the old fool yet. Severus would have to see him in the morning and he needed to figure out something to tell him. He couldn't very well say that he now had a mission to turn the Granger girl into a Death Eater now could he?

Suddenly, he heard someone in the Floo and grumpily he stripped off the heavenly blankets and donned his robe. He opened the door to his living room and slammed his bedroom doors behind him. He looked at the fireplace and saw the annoyingly cheerful old face of Dumbledore staring back at him. "Yes Headmaster?"

"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment."

Severus nodded his head and sat down on his couch, Albus following a moment later. "What is it that you wanted Headmaster?"

The twinkle left the old man's eyes as he looked back down at Severus, "Did he call tonight?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore nodded his head, "Did anything of importance happen?"

"Yes Headmaster. The Dark Lord has now set his sights on one of Potters Friends, the Weasley boy. He intends on killing him at the soonest possible time, in order to get to Potter. From what I understand, he plans on using a Hogsmead weekend to lure Potter and Weasley out of the castle, so that he can kidnap and eventually kill Weasley, and so Potter will chase after him and lure him into a trap. Though I do not doubt that if given the chance, he will kill Potter the moment he gets the chance."

The older Wizard nodded his head, "I will discuss this with the order at our next meeting then."

Severus quickly stood up, along with Dumbledore, "Headmaster, I do not think that is the wisest decision."

"And why is that my boy?"

Severus tried his best not to cringe at the term of endearment, "No doubt Molly and Arthur will want to pull the boy out of school when they hear he is in danger. Here he is safe. I believe the only measures that should be taken would be to not allow Potter and Weasley out castle grounds, away from the protection that Hogwarts brings. This is the only place the Dark Lord will not be able to find them."

Albus nodded once more, "Yes, Severus, that does seem to be the best course of action. But what about Miss Granger, surely Voldemort would use her in Mister Weasley's stead if it were more convenient."

"No, Headmaster. The Dark Lord wants nothing to do with the girl. She is muggleborn, therefore he does not want his Death Eaters to go anywhere near her. He would rather risk loosing Potter than having any of his loyal subjects become contaminated by her. Just goes to show how deep the Pureblood Supremacy runs in his veins."

Severus felt the presence of Albus in his mind immediately. He quickly put up his mental barriers and fed him the faked memories of tonight's revel. He allowed Albus to see other various memories help convince the old man, memories of him reducing a first year to hysterical tears, of taking points from Gryffindor, of him chastising Potter who, by the efforts of Granger, made it into his class. When it seemed as though Albus was satisfied, he left his mind, and Severus quickly apologized.

"Again, I am sorry Headmaster for keeping up some of my walls. There are just some memories, as you know, that are too painful to relive on a regular basis."

Albus looked down at Severus, a warm compassion emanating from his eyes as he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Again, if you ever need to relieve yourself of such memories, you are more than welcome to use my pensive."

Severus nodded as he tried not to throw up, "I know Headmaster, but it is those memories that remind me that I made the right choice in switching sides; and I dare not take them out."

"Well then, dear boy, I will leave you to it. Goodnight Severus."

Severus nodded as he watched the old fool enter the floo, "Goodnight Headmaster."

As soon as he was gone, Severus once again returned to his bedroom. He quickly stripped off his robe and sunk under the sheets once more. Sleep came quickly, and he was gone before his head hit the pillow.

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_Ok, so I have decided to make this into an entire story. It will be somewhat of a slow starter, sorry for that. Thank ya'll so much for the reviews on the first chapter, they are part of what made me decide to continue on. Well, the updates will be MUCH more frequent then one every month, trust me. For those of ya'll who read BV, then you should know how fast I update. Um, well, I do still have antoher story going on, but that will be ending soon. I already have the last chatper written, I'm just delaying posting it. Don't ask me why, I just am. Um, well, I hope all of ya'll enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW, I'M BEGGING YOU!_


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione trudged her way into her room and immediately collapsed on her bed. She thanked Merlin that she had been made Head Girl that year, and consequently, received her own dorm. No longer would she be forced to stay up half the night while the other girls giggled endlessly about absolutely nothing. No longer would she have to wait ages for the chance at using the bathroom. No longer would she be bothered day in and day out about her appearance and her lack of makeup. 

She let out a long and weary sigh as she looked up at her ceiling. She had no idea that her 7th year would be this loaded. Granted, she had known that it would be hard and tiring and it would probably take every once of strength inside of her to not blow up at Harry and Ron before the year was over, but she hadn't anticipated all of this.

It was only one month into term and she already felt as though she needed a break. Harry and Ron were as lazy as ever, and even though Hermione told them how important their N.E.W.T. year was, every chance she got, it just didn't seem to sink in with them. _'Well, if they think they can just use me and my notes again to get through this year, they are wrong!'_

True, she had said that every year, but for once she intended to keep this promise once and for all. They had to learn sometime, it wasn't as though she would follow them to their jobs and help them along then. Those two wanted to become Aurors, but Hermione had no interest in that. She already had her fill of chasing Dark Wizards to last a lifetime, and the war still wasn't over.

The war; that was something she hadn't thought about in a while. She hadn't seen Harry or Ron all summer; she had been away at a summer internship at a local potions distributor, though the boy's had thought she was in Greece vacationing with her parents.

Voldemort was still alive and his Death Eaters had become as active as ever. In the time span of one month, twenty muggles had been killed, and four wizard families had been attacked. Hermione was worried, she was the best friend of the Boy-Who-Lived, and she was a muggle born, so she figured she would be a main target for a Death Eater attack.

She had come of age almost one year ago, so before she had left home for the school year, she had placed wards around her house, to protect her parents. They had very little idea of what was going on in the wizarding world, but that was because Hermione had never told them. Yes, she had mentioned Voldemort a few times, but she never spoke of the constant danger that she was faced with; they would pull her from school in a second. Hermione couldn't let that happen, she _had_ to stay in school, she _had_ to stay with Harry, he needed her for support and even though she loathed admitting it, he needed her brain.

But then again, perhaps she wasn't a target for the Death Eaters. Last night Dumbledore had called Harry and Ron up to his office and told them that they were not allowed to attend any Hogsmead weekends or leave campus during the holidays. Apparently Dumbledore did not think it was wise for them to leave the safety of the castle. Harry said that he had even had to beg Dumbledore to allow him to play Quidditch. It seems that Dumbledore's source had warned him that Harry and Ron were prime targets for an attack. _'But if they are targets, then why am I not?'_ Hermione had half a mind to march down to Snape's office and demand to know why Voldemort did not consider her a threat, but she quickly dismissed the idea, after all, she doubted he would tell her anything.

Groaning, she sat up against the headboard of her bed, she had a potions essay due tomorrow and she had barley written over the required amount. She was determined to make a good impression on Professor Snape this term, for after working at the potions distribution office this summer, she realized that she wanted nothing more than to become a Potions Mistress, but to do that she would need to apprentice under a Master. The only one she knew was Professor Snape, and after doing research, she found that he was, in fact, one of the top five ranking Potions Masters of the century. She simply had to be his apprentice, he was the best, and she would study under no less than the best. The only problem was, getting him to take her in, as far as she knew, he hadn't taken one on, ever.

Hermione shook her head, she had to stop that train of though, she had an essay to finish and she wouldn't get it done by dwelling on idle things. _'Besides, Harry and Ron will be banging on my door any moment once they figure out the essay is due.'_

She slowly got up off of her bed and walked over to her desk where her essay was currently staring at her. She wasn't in the mood, truth be told, she just wanted to get to sleep. _'Hermione, pull yourself together! Just write a bit more and then you can go to sleep.'_

Hermione had barley touched the quill to the paper when she heard a furious knocking at her door, apparently Harry and Ron had figured it out quicker than she had expected. She suppressed the urge to yell at them for bring lazy little boys without a shred of consideration in them, but yelled at them, instead, to come in.

The two boys ran inside, looking utterly panic stricken. Hermione calmly sat at her desk and stared at them, waiting for someone to speak. Ron spoke up first, "Hermione, we need your help! Did you know the potions essay is due tomorrow? Eighteen inches!"

Hermione looked at them, her face showing the true depths of her annoyance, "Yes Ron, I know how long the essay is _and _when it is due, because unlike you two, I actually have mine pretty much done."

It seemed as though Harry was catching on to the annoyance, as he looked a bit apprehensive about being there, but Ron was looking hopeful. Perhaps he thought that since she had finished hers that she would work on theirs. "So, Mione, does that mean you're going to help us?"

Hermione plastered the sweetest smile she could muster and walked over to where Ron was currently standing. She placed her hands on his shoulders and began to turn him around ever so slightly. Then without warning she shouted the word no in his ear and pushed him out the door. She sent a cold glare Harry's way and watched as he muttered a slight sorry, then once he was out of the room; she slammed the door shut and put up a couple wards.

She walked back to her desk and sat down once more, but after staring at her essay for ten minutes or so, she decided that it was good enough the way it was. She wouldn't risk writing more for fear her frustration would leak into her essay, which would not bode well with the Professor.

She quickly took off her robes and changed into her night clothes. Then after brushing her teeth, _'It didn't take twenty minutes to get into the bathroom!'_, and marveling over the wonders of having a private bathroom, she slipped under the covers and fell asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Breakfast the next morning was an interesting experience. She took her normal seat across from Harry and Ron, and was not at all oblivious to the glare she was receiving from the latter boy that morning. Deciding that she would pretend she didn't noticed, she grabbed a few pieces of sausage and asked politely, "So, did you two finish your essay?"

If possibly, Ron's glare became even more intense, and Hermione could feel the heat rising on the back of her neck. Harry, however, didn't seem to hold anything against her, "Yeah we did, eventually."

She heard Ron mutter something under his breath to Harry, and she was delighted to see Harry shoot him a warning glare. "Ron, you are going to have to learn _eventually_ that I am not your 24 hour homework helper, I did have to make revisions on my essay too. Besides you can't just expect me to stay up to the wee hours of the morning helping you finish an essay you were to lazy to start earlier, can you?"

Hermione kept in a self satisfied smile as she watched Ron go so red in the face, she thought he might burst. He slammed his cutlery down onto the plate and stormed out of the hall. She knew people were probably looking over at her, wondering what happened, but after a few moments, they all turned back around and went back to their own business. However, she felt one gaze linger on her. She turned her head and looked up to the staff table, discretely trying to find the one looking at her. She fought hard to keep a bewildered look off of her face when she saw that Professor Snape seemed to be the one who had been, and still was, looking at her.

She quickly turned back around and poked around at the food on her plate. She wasn't particularly hungry, but she knew she had to at least eat a bit of something, or else her brain wouldn't function properly. _'And we all know what a disaster that would be. I have potions first thing this morning.'_

Grudgingly she ate a few bites of food and gave the rest to Harry. It seemed that after almost seven years, he was finally picking up on Ron's insane eating habits. She sat for a moment, staring at nothing, when she remembered that class should be starting soon. She asked Harry for the time and got up and walked down to the dungeons. She still had a while before class officially started, but she wanted to be their early, hoping it would make a good impression.

Severus watched the entire quarrel between Granger and Weasley from his seat with a smile on his face. It seems that Granger has finally had enough of his antics. _'That makes my job much easier if she is already becoming irritated by the two.'_ Slowly, he stood up and walked out of the Great Hall. Class would be starting soon and did not like to leave his classroom open and unattended for too long.

When he walked in he was slightly surprised to see Hermione sitting there in her usual seat. He walked to his desk and began to gather his papers that would be needed for the day. He then moved to the board where he had always put the directions to the day's potions and began to write. He could feel her eyes on the back of his neck and he had to hold in a smirk. When he was done with the first classes potion directions, he grabbed his wand and muttered an incantation. The board glowed blue for a moment before returning to its normal color, completely blank. He heard her gasp behind him. Apparently she had never seen this particular charm before.

He repeated the process twice more, each time earning a gasp from the girl. He was about to ask what was wrong, when she finally raised her voice, "Sir, what charm is that?"

Without turning back to look at her, he continued to write directions onto the board, "That, Miss Granger, is a charm used by most every teacher in Hogwarts. It allows us to write all that we will need for the day, once, and the information may be brought back upon command."

Apparently satisfied, she reverted back to silence. Severus looked at the clock that he kept on his desk; class would begin in three minutes. He looked up and a few students were already walking in. Without looking at her, Severus gained the girls attention once more, "Oh, and Miss Granger, please stay after class."

He smirked once more as he felt the fear radiating off of her. Perhaps she was afraid he would give her detention or take off points for asking a question. It seemed odd that she was never entirely bothered when he took off points when she spoke out of turn, but the moment he mentioned staying after class, for a reason he knew to be useful to her, would scare her out of her wits.

He waited as the rest of the class began piling inside, not one student making a sound; just how he enjoyed it. The bell rang and two Hufflepuff students walked in, looking incredibly frightened. Severus glared at them, "That will be ten points from Hufflepuff for the both of you, now get to your seats."

Severus stalked to the front of the classroom, his usual face of annoyance and disdain pasted on, "Your instructions are on the board, begin."

He watched in silent glee as some weaker students jumped and raced to the ingredients cabinet. He walked around his desk and sat at his chair and began the ever tedious task of marking essays. He gave three T's and one A when he decided that it was time to stalk the classroom and check on how the potions were coming along.

He walked towards the table where the two Hufflepuff girls were working, and he could feel them tense as he looked into their cauldrons. They were doing well so far, though the color was slightly off, and as he looked over their workstation, he saw why. She wasn't grinding the fangs into a find powder, but leaving them as big as granules of sugar. Deciding he would wait until she truly screwed up her potion to come down on her, he continued walking around the classroom.

He came to the table where Draco was working, next to Blaise Zabini. Draco was doing fine, as he normally did, but Blaise was on the verge of ruining his potion and blowing up the classroom. It just so happened, that at that particular moment, Draco looked up at him, as if asking if he were doing it correctly. Severus nodded in assent and then nodded towards Zabini's cauldron. Draco gave him an odd look before looking over himself. He immediately saw the problem and helped Blaise correct it.

Severus walked away from that pair smirking, _'Whoever said Slytherens do not look after each other was vastly mistaken.'_ He continued walking around the classroom, making snide comments here, taking off points there, and by the time he had reached the table harboring the Golden Trio, he had taken 10 points from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor for unnecessary giggling, handed out three detentions, and reduced one student to hysterical tears.

Granger's potion was perfect, as usual, and he expected nothing less. Weasley's was hissing terribly and had turned a shade of violent blue when it was supposed to be beige. Severus saw no danger in allowing him to continue, so he didn't clear out his cauldron. Potters was surprisingly coming along well, though his color was slightly off. He made his usual comments before walking off again.

The bell finally rang; signaling the end of class, and the students hurriedly turned in their potion and bolted out of the classroom Everyone, that is, except Granger, as it seems she had remembered to stay behind. Severus sat there for a moment, marking papers on his desk and watching her clear discomfort. She wasn't exactly squirming in her chair, but she was wringing out her hands and her eyes were darting about the room, trying to find any place to look at that didn't include him in her line of vision.

She visibly jumped when he spoke, and he smirked, "Miss Granger, your head of house has informed me of your work this summer with the Potions distribution company, along with the fact that during your work counseling sessions, you had stated that you desire to become a Potions Mistress, is that correct?"

At an apparent loss for words, she merely nodded her head. "Well then Miss Granger, if that is still your ambition, then I will consider taking you on as my apprentice. I will make my final decision at the end of the year, based on the quality of work and your N.E.W.T. score."

For the first time, Severus looked up at his papers. Her eyes were wide in shock and her jaw was open, causing her to look like a puffed up blow fish. He glared at her, and curled his lip, "Miss Granger, do you, or do you not have a class to attend?"

It took her a moment for it to sink in what he had apparently just said, and she quickly gathered up her things and bolted out of the room. He had a group of first years coming in for class and he cringed. It was the Gryffindor and Slytherin group and he silently cursed Albus for putting the group together yet again. When would he learn that the two just do not get along? Slowly, Severus got up and stood in front of the class, hoping to god that no one would blow up a cauldron, he was already running low on spare's and he wasn't sure if the student who caused the explosion would make it out of the class alive.

Hermione sat in Transfiguration, not really paying attention. She already knew how to transfigure hair color and texture, as she was now currently sporting straight blonde hair. She was floored, she just couldn't believe it; she _simply_ could not believe it! Snape, offer her an apprenticeship? It was pure madness! She tried to figure out what on earth would have driven him to such a decision, but her mind was coming up blank.

She had always believed that he held nothing but hatred and malice toward her. After all, she was the insufferable Gryffindor know it all, one third of the golden trio, the bane of his existence, not to mention the fact that she had attacked him in her third year. But then again, her grades had been slowly improving in that class and she hadn't been raising her hand as much as she used to, so perhaps he thought she actually deserved it. _'Or perhaps Dumbledore forced him into it.'_

She could care less if Dumbledore _had_ forced him into it; she _was_ going to be his apprentice. The only thing left to do was get through this year with the best marks she could possibly receive. She knew she had to figure out some way to impress him with her work. Perhaps she could do more research? No, that wouldn't work; she had already exhausted all of the potions books in there. Then it hit her, yes, she _had_ exhausted all of the recourses in Hogwarts, so she would simply buy her own potions books, the more advanced potions books, when she visited Hogsmead this Saturday. After all, it wasn't as though she would have to drag along Harry and Ron, as they were going to be stuck in the castle.

The bell rang and she quickly transfigured her hair back to normal before running out of the class and up to her dorms. She had the next period free, as she had dropped Care of Magical Creatures two years ago. After she had talked to Professor McGonagall during her career meeting, she had been eager to drop the class. It wasn't required for anything that she wanted to pursue, and to be honest, she wasn't to keen on Hagrid's method of teaching. Harry and Ron hadn't been to excited when she told them she wasn't going to attend that class anymore, in fact, they had almost seemed livid. Ron had muttered something about being a 'self centered git', while Harry and stuck to giving her his 'disappointed' look. She had figured that they were just angry about not being able to copy off of her essays for that class anymore.

No matter, for now she had more important things on her mind. If she was going to go to Hogsmead for books, she better know what books to get. It just wouldn't do for her to go and not know what she was looking for. She gathered her notebook from home and one of her ball point pens she always kept with her, and walked to the library. She was going to check the references of every potion's book in the library if she had to.

­

Hogsmead weekend came faster than he had expected. He desperately needed a trip to the village, not only were some of his ingredients running dangerously low, but he was in dire need of cauldrons. The first years were better at blowing things up than Longbottom ever was. There was not a promising student in the lot of them, not even with the Ravenclaws who were supposed to be the brains of the school.

His workload had also doubled this year. It seems that more and more students were in need of medical attention, so it fell on Severus to make sure that the Health Potions in the infirmary were always well stocked. Not to mention he had the task of wooing Granger to the Dark Lords side without anyone noticing. Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, he really needed a break.

Groaning, he got up and grabbed the book that had been lying on his desk and placed it inside his robes. He walked out of his rooms and stopped by his classroom and grabbed the list of things he would need to purchase at the apothecary. He exited his classroom and put up the wards. Perhaps he would stop by the bookstore too, after all, he needed to drop off a few things and he was quite interested to look at the new potions books that should have just arrived.

He quickly walked out of Hogwarts grounds and apparated the rest of the way to the village. Sure he could have easily walked to the village, but he didn't feel like being herded among the students at the moment. He made a quick dash to the apothecary and was out within fifteen minutes. He never enjoyed going into this one, it always seemed a bit dirty and unkempt, and their ingredients were highly questionable, which is why he only ordered his ingredients through the store, everything actually came from the Apothecary in Diagon Alley.

Now that he had ordered his ingredients and a barrel of extra cauldrons, he made his way to the bookstore. He walked through the streets as students and people hurried to get out of his way before he walked over them. It seems that he not only intimated students but strangers as well, a fact that he would gladly boast about. After entirely too much walking, Severus arrived at the bookshop he frequented. He opened the door and cursed whatever bell was jingling off in the distance. That was always the one thing he hated about this store, one could never walk in unnoticed.

He received a cheery hello from the older couple that managed the store, and as usual, his only reply was a brief nod in their direction. He figured he should get what he needed to accomplish first out of the way, so he stalked over to the potions section, where she was sure to be.

Just as he had thought, there she was, sitting on the dusty floor between the two bookshelves, right in his way. He pretended not to notice her as he walked down the isle. Within moments, his foot collided with her body, causing him to trip and fall painfully on his side. Just as planned, she immediately turned to face him, a mixed expression of shock and remorse on her face. He glared at her, and while she was busy flapping her mouth, trying her best to say her sorry, he discreetly pulled the book from his coat and, while attempting to get up, placed it quickly in her bag before she was any the wiser.

He glared at her as he stood, charming the dirt off of his immaculate black robes. Her face was so red it would rival any of the Weasley's on their best day. "Miss Granger, I suggest you do not sit in the middle of the isle in the future," he sneered at her before walking away. When he was out of view, he allowed himself to smirk, he had done it. Better yet, he had done it without her knowledge. He quickly found his way to the familiar staircase and made his way upwards to the part of the bookstore dedicated to his second passion, the Dark Arts.

Hermione was mortified to say the least; she had just tripped Professor Snape! She silently cursed herself as she watched him walk down the isle and out of site. She was trying to make a good impression this year so she would be considered for apprenticeship and here she was tripping him of all things! She gingerly stood up, her legs and knees stiff from sitting down for to long, and grabbed the pile of books on the floor. It hadn't taken her that long to find the books that she was looking for, not that she had expected it to take too long. This bookshop was incredibly organized, something that Hermione loved about it, and it took hardly anytime at all for her to find things.

She now carried seven potions books in her arms, each one heavier than the last and walked towards the register. She had decided that morning not to go looking for any other sorts of books, as she was sure the ones she would pick up would be enough, but it was still hard for her to at least not look around for a while. But of course, that morning, she had also been cornered by Harry and Ron. Seeing as how they were not allowed to leave campus, they had compiled a list of items they deemed it necessary to have, and of course, had left for her to get. Granted they had given her ample money, it would still prove a slight hassle. She had wanted to spend as much time as possible looking for potions books, but now she had to leave early.

She quickly paid for her things and rushed out of the store. She quickly walked towards Honeydukes and pushed her way through the crowd and up to the counter. A kindly looking witch stood behind the counter, obviously frazzled by the amount of children currently reeking havoc in her store. She looked at Hermione, a warm smile that didn't quite reach her eyes was pasted onto her face, "Hello, how may I help you?"

Hermione gave the witch, who looked no more than two years older than herself, what she hoped was a compassionate smile, "Well, I can tell that you are worn out and incredibly busy, so I will make this as quick and easy as I can." Hermione reached in her pocket and grabbed the list the boys had written out earlier and handed it to the girl, "This is a list of all I need and the amounts and I believe I already have the correct amount of money counted out."

The witch took the list and measured out all the candy with incredible ease and handed the bag over to Hermione in no more than five minutes. The witch then quickly counted up the amount, "Twenty Galleons, five Sickles and two Knuts."

Hermione smiled and took out the pouch that the boys had given her and removed Three Galleons and handed the rest over to the witch, who was now eyeing two seventh year Slytherins with a hint of distrust. "That should be Twenty-three Galleons in there, I don't need the change, besides those two over there are probably going to take a couple things just to prove something, so hopefully a couple extra Galleons can cover it."

She grabbed the huge bag of candy and walked out of the store more than ready to go back to Hogwarts. Her feet were killing her, as was her side that Professor Snape had hit before he tripped on her. She walked halfway to the castle, the bags feeling as though they weighed a hundred pounds each when she remembered that she was a witch. Rolling her eyes she grabbed the wand from her pocket and waved it at the two bags, causing them to shrink to the size of her fingernail. She replaced her wand and added her bags to her pocket and continued walking to the castle.

She finally arrived in the common room and Harry and Ron rushed up to greet her and get their sweets. Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled the shrunken bag out of her pocket and restored it to its original size. Without so much as a thank you, Ron grabbed the bag and ran off to a table to begin sorting his from Harry's. Harry thanked her and she rolled her eyes again at Ron before making her way to her room.

She took her bag out of her pocket and restored it to its original size and took out the books, ready to organize them into her bookshelf, but after taking out a very unfamiliar book from her bag she stopped. She counted up all the books, she had eight, but she swore she had only picked out and bought seven. The front had no title but was bound in what looked to be dragon hide. It was obviously a very expensive book and Hermione knew she hadn't paid for this; she wouldn't have been able to afford it.

She carefully pushed the other books to the side as she sat on her bed, her eyes transfixed on the book in front of her. She carefully opened the cover and flipped past the first few pages, looking for a name, and then she found it; _Severus Snape._ It was Professor Snape's book! But how had she gotten it? She felt the dull throb in her side and remembered. Perhaps it had fallen in her bag when he tripped over her; after all, that was the only logical explanation.

She knew she had to return it; after all, it was the right thing to do. But a little voice in the back of her head stopped her. When had she ever received a book, even if it was purely by accident, and not read it? After all, she could read it today and then return it to him later. He probably didn't know that it was even missing, so a few hours wouldn't hurt, would they?

A few more minutes of debating and her rational side gave in and she put it aside. She quickly arranged her new books into her bookshelf and quickly sat up against her bed, her fingers itching to flip through the pages of Professor Snape's private journal.

She flipped past the first page and her jaw dropped. The ingredients list was full of Dark Objects and one's banned by the ministry. It must be an illegal potion, and from the looks of it, quite difficult and dangerous to create. Had he created it on his own?

She shut the book and put it under her mattress. She shouldn't be reading Professor Snape's private journal. Not only would he slaughter her if he ever found out, but it was his personal things. Besides, what if she saw something that she didn't want to see?

But what could Professor Snape _possibly_ have in his journal that she wouldn't want to see? Surely it was filled with nothing but the best potions instructions and notes. But then again, his first entry _was_ filled with dark artifacts, what if it only got worse from there?

She couldn't quell her natural curiosity and she quickly grabbed the book from under her mattress and opened it. Just as she had suspected, it was full of potions the ministry surely wasn't aware of and ones that they had banned. There were also more advanced and less illegal, potions. Her eyes grew wide as they skimmed over the notes he had made. They were absolutely brilliant!

She couldn't give this back to him, not when it was the key to becoming his apprentice. Surely there was a spell for this sort of thing, right? She ran to her bookshelf and grabbed her biggest charms book. She skimmed the index until she found what she was looking for. She hoped and prayed he didn't have any protective spells on his book and she raised her wand and muttered, "Effingo."

The spell shot out of her wand, and the journal was encased with an eerie black light. Within a few moments, however, the light had faded and two exact journals sat on her bed. She grabbed the one she knew to be Professor Snape's and put it back in her bag. She would have to return it immediately if she wanted to avoid the wrath of her Professor.

……

She stood in front of his office door and tired to catch her breath. She hadn't walked from Gryffindor Tower, no, she had _run_. She raised her hand to knock, but found herself hesitating. What if, even though she hadn't actually done _anything_ wrong, he was still furious? She couldn't afford a detention right now, not when there was so much studying to be done.

But then again, if she waited a few days, there was no telling how livid he would be. At least if she gave it back to him now, he wouldn't suspect her of snooping through it that much. So steeling her nerves, she quietly knocked on the door.

"Enter," came his cold, chilling voice from the other side of the door.

She cringed at the loud creek that pounded through her ears like a jackhammer as she opened the door and stepped inside. She kept her head down almost to scared to look into his eyes. It was odd, really, she had never been quite this timid in front of him before. She supposed it was because she was currently holding his private journal and she had no idea how she was supposed to explain how it got there, or even what he would do when she told him.

He didn't even look up from the papers that he was grading as he addressed her, "What do you want, Miss Granger?"

Her voice caught in her throat and her words stopped on the tip of her tongue. For the first time in her life, she couldn't find her voice. So, instead, she lifted the journal to him, praying that he would look up.

And after what felt like an eternity, he did. "What is that?"

She took a deep breath and walked up to his desk. She placed in on top of the essays he was grading and took a step back, still staring at the floor. She didn't dare look at him, or even run, after all she wouldn't get far.

To say she was surprised at the calmness in his voice would have been an understatement, "Fifty points from Gryffindor Miss Granger for being in possession of my private journal."

She nodded her head, she was expecting that. But what she wasn't expecting was the silence that followed. Wasn't he going to yell or give her detention or something? She lifted her head and saw that he had gone back to marking essays.

She decided not to take alert him to the fact that he had let her off, for the most part, without punishment and she ran from the room.

……

Severus heard her run out of his office and once he was sure that she was gone, he closed his office door. He took his journal, placed it in front of him, and drew out his wand. He mumbled something under his breath and for a moment his journal glowed grey then turned a vibrant blue.

He smirked.

She was right where he wanted him.

* * *

_jordisonfreak808- Yeah, the first chapter was 'present' and everything else is a flashback. Severus is sitting on his bed, suffering from insomnia, and bascialy he is just looking back at how Hermione became a Death Eater and that whole process. Sorry if it was confusing_

_enchantedlight- :) thank's_

_TiverLilly1889- Thanks :) hahaha, hope your poem writing went well._

_LaRoseDeSoleil- lol, thank you very much :) I hope you enjoy._

_kkadeeeey- lol, thank you, I was going for diffrent :) I hope you enjoy._

_DRUNKEN LANDLORD- thanks :) I hope you enjoy._

_agent715- praise indeed :) (kudos if you can tell me what movie that's from :) )_

_Silent Cobra- Thank you. Finish soon? haha, I don't think those words are even in my vocabulary. This will more than likely be a lloonngg ddrraawwnnn oouutt story. I like them that way._

_hedi ho! I'm back again...MUAHAHAHAHA! Well, this chatper was a little over 11 pages long and most of them will be about this length. But, of course, that means that it will take a bit longer for me to write them. So, you can either have short chapters that might come out quicker, or nice long chapters that take a bit longer to write. It's nice to see some of ya'll from BV review on here :) I was afraid I would loose all of ya'll. Like I said in someones review responce, Basically this whole story, save for the first chapter, will be a flashback, unless of course I decided to make it otherwise somewhere down the line. Um, school is insane so I don't have too much time to write, but I won't wait longer than a week/week and a half to post unless something major comes along, whcih it just might. Ya'll know about the hurricane rita that's coming for texas? Well, I happen to live in texas and it should it right about saturday morning and by the time it gets up to where I live, it oculd be between a tropical storm and a category 2 which this part of texas has _never_ seen before. Bad bad bad! So yeah, the power might go out, but if it does I will more than likely be writing this story in my notebook :) See how dedicated I am? OH, and also, if you haven't noticed, I like to ramble in my A/N's. Ummmmmm, please pray for everyone down here, we really need it! Well, that seems to be about it...I hope you enjoy and as always PLEASE REVIEW!_


	4. Chapter 4

The Dark Lord was not pleased, not pleased at all. Term was almost over and he had made very little progress when it came to Granger. He was sure that she had been looking over his notes, her essays said as much. He had hoped that she would have a falling out with Potter and Weasley, but the fates had been working against them.

The Dark Lord had lured them out of the castle once or twice and they had always come out of the skirmishes unscathed. It was quite irritating and it seems the more trouble they caused, the closer they became. His attempts to sway her to Dark Magic hadn't worked to well either. There was never a time where he could do so without causing suspicion. Albus was constantly on his back, watching his every move as though he was waiting for Severus to slip up.

But she would be graduating soon and she would become his apprentice. This is truly when his task began. Surely the mere thought of the girl spending copious amounts of time with _him_ in _his_ lab would cause quite a number of fights between the Golden Trio. Then he would make his move, he would do his best to put doubts in her mind concerning the two. He would slowly rip them apart, inch by inch, until there would be no friendship left to reconcile.

It was so simple, so brilliantly planned out.

All she had to do was accept his offer and she would seal her fate.

Today, he had the always unpleasant task of watching over the Potions N.E.W.T.'s. There were only about seven students total in the room so the task of walking between the desks quickly became quite tedious.

Occasionally, he would read the paper of the students and judge their answers and more than once he was tempted to throw them out of the hall for putting such an inane answer. They had thirty more minutes until their time would be up and he could tell by the way many of them were progressing, only three would finish.

He felt something akin to pity as he looked at the students scrambling to finish their sentences as the last few seconds whittled away. Their success hinged on this test. It would decided where they were going to end up in life and how history would remember them. For some, their lives would be like any other ordinary witch or wizard's. They would be mundane, boring. But for others, their lives would go down in history. They would be remembered for generations to come either for their contributions or their destruction.

And one witch would be remembered for both.

The last bit of sand fell through and Severus called time. Seven papers zoomed his way and he caught them effortlessly in his hand. The students were dismissed and he skimmed over the paper at the top and recognized the name. Blaise Zabini had done horrendously on his test, there was no way he was going to receive a N.E.W.T. The Dark Lord would not be pleased. He wanted a spy in the Auror department of the ministry, and Zabini had been his pick, now he would be punished.

Severus handed the papers over to the ministry official with a sneer.

He had wanted to see the girl's paper more than anyone else's. Her grade was important, _very_ important. He was sure she would receive the top grades as she always did, but there was always that lingering doubt. Perhaps she would work herself into frenzy and fail the practical portion of the exam. How would he execute his plan if he didn't have access to her on a daily basis?

His plan hinged on subtle manipulation. He would plant ideas in her head, radical ideas, one's her friends wouldn't understand. He would tempt her with knowledge only the brilliant had access to. He would even try and seduce her if it was necessary. Actually, seducing her would be a good course of action. If Potter and Weasley found out that she was not only his apprentice but that they were involved, their friendship would certainly fall apart.

Severus smirked to himself as he walked down the dungeon pathway to his private chambers. The Dark Lord would be pleased and Severus would be rewarded. The best part was, Granger, the annoying Gryffindor know it all, would have no idea what hit her.

…..

She was pacing back and forth, wearing a whole in the floor of the burrow. N.E.W.T. scores were due to arrive any moment and she was going out of her mind with worry. She had been so nervous during the practical portion of her Potions N.E.W.T. that she hadn't chopped the hellebore fine enough, and her potion had been slightly off color.

She was worried that Professor Snape would revoke his offer of apprenticeship once he found out that she hadn't gotten top scores. Harry and Ron had been trying to calm her down all morning, but it hadn't worked so they were now playing Quidditch out back. She didn't know how they could even think of Quidditch at a time like this!

They had been playing every day for two weeks straight, ever since they had gotten out of Hogwarts. It was terribly frustrating. At one point she had tried to join their game, hoping to distract herself from worrying but they wouldn't let her join, she was simply to horrible. So, she was now stuck inside with Ginny and Mrs. Weasley and while they made for pleasant company most of the time, most of their conversation was quite dull.

She paced outside of the Burrow, scanning the horizon for any owls heading their way. Suddenly, an unearthly shriek erupted from her mouth as she saw three little dots heading towards them. She tried to run towards them, but two strong arms held her back.

"Ron, Harry, please! I want to get my scores!"

"Hermione," Harry yelled from behind her as he struggled to keep a grip on her arm, "they will be here soon. You don't have to run after them!"

All protests died in her throat as the owls grew closer. Her heart pounded in her chest and chased away all rational thought as the owl landed on the sill and she struggled to get the letter off.

"Bloody thing, come off!"

The owl, tired of being jerked around, began pecking violently at her fingers trying to get her off. She yelled at the bird and finally Harry had to come over and push her away so that he could gently remove her scores from the disgruntled bird. She ripped open her letter and quickly began scanning it's contents.

**_N.E.W.T. Scores: Miss Hermione Granger_**

_**Ancient Runes-O**_

**_Arithmancy-O_**

_**Astronomy-O**_

_**Charms-O**_

_**Defense Against The Dark Arts-O**_

_**Herbology-O**_

_**Potions-O**_

_**Transfiguration-O**_

She did it. She did it! She had made the Potions grade! She let out a high pitched squeal and began jumping around the yard like a maniac. She was sure the Weasley family and Harry were staring and whispering about her and her strange behavior, but she didn't care.

She had done it!

She was going to be an apprentice to one of the most brilliant Potions Masters, she was going to be able to learn under him and after a few years, become a Potions Mistress herself!

Now she just had to tell everyone.

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks.

They were going to kill her.

She stopped jumping around and her face quickly grew solemn. Quietly, she walked into the Burrow and marched up to the room that she shared with Ginny. She could already hear the hurried steps coming up the stairs and she launched herself under the bed, hoping that she could pull off pretending to be asleep.

She heard the door burst open and felt the bed dip where someone had sat down.

"What was that about?"

From the sound of it, Ron was the one who had seated himself on her bed.

When she didn't respond, she felt another dip on her bed. Harry had sat himself down on the bed too.

"Hermione, we know you aren't asleep."

Drat! Groaning she sat up and avoided the eyes of her two friends. "Good Afternoon."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Are you going to tell us or not?"

She gave him a quick glare and handed them her N.E.W.T.'s paper. They both smiled over at her. "Don't tell me you're upset."

She shook her head. "I'm not upset Harry, there's just something that I have forgotten to tell you. I guess I wanted to wait until I got my scores."

"Don't tell me," Ron interrupted, "someone offered you a job far away from here if you got decent scores on your N.E.W.T.'s."

She shook her head. "Not exactly wrong, but eairler in the year, I was offered an apprenticeship by Professor Snape."

"What?" Ron asked, his face turning slightly red, "You turned it down right Hermione?"

She tried to hide the blush creeping up on her face and looked at her comforter instead. "It's an amazing opportunity and I truly want to be a Potions Mistress. He is one of the best in the country and it would be stupid of me to pass this up."

Ron was red faced and pacing the length of the room. She looked to Harry who seemed as though he was torn between feeling happy for her and wanting to scream.

"I knew that you wouldn't take this too well, Ron, which is why I put off telling you for so long. This is what I want more than anything. This is what I am going to do with my life and I will not let stupid, childish, grudges get in the way of my dream, I was hoping that I would have a little support from my two best friends, but I guess it was stupid to even think that you would support me. After all, that's my job isn't it?"

With one last glare she apparated outside by the garden. She didn't like the feeling but she wanted to make a quick exit. She had known that it wouldn't go well, but she had still hoped that her friends would surprise her for once and go along with what she wanted.

Sighing she laid back in the grass and drifted off to sleep. All of the pacing had worn her out.

* * *

_Blackness Angel- the first chapter is the present, and everything after that is just one big flashback._

_enchnatedlight- thanks :)_

_the female apophis- hey :) I'm glad you like it, sorry it took so long to get this one out._

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_Hina-Kmi- Thank you :) Yeah, I tried to make the chatpers longer but this one is pretty short, so sorry. I hope you enjoy._

_snapes-numba1-fan-Haleigh- thank you :) I have no idea how long it is going to be, honestly, but it just might go as long as BV. I hope you enjoy :)_

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_Narcissus77- Howdy :) Well, I guess your just gonna have to wait and find out eh> I hope you enjoy_

_Miss Elvira Dark- Ah, praise indeed :) I hope you enjoy_

_Shella LaRoche- yeah, sorry about that. I'll fix it in the re-edit i'l do after I'm done. Well, I hope you enjoy._

_mischievalmind- haha thanks, I kinda like it too. :) Sorry it took me os long to get out._

_stargazer starluver- thank you, sorry it took so long to get out_

_Danae-Aspaisa- Thank you so much! While I do belive he is fighting for the good side, it's still nice to write him asa rebel :) I hope you enjoy_

Well, as you might not have known, I am horrible at keeping deadlines I put for myself. Almost everytime I say I will have out another chapter, I'm always _wwwwaaaayyyyy_ late, so I won't be doing that this time :) Sorry it's so short. School has been absoltuley insane and then I'm having family, boy, & homecoming issues, not to mention the fact that I have two other WIP's posted and another one that I havent' quite posted yet and then an orinigal that I'm trying to finish before the end of the year. I know I know, I'm a terrible person who deserves to burn in hell and have their ashes peed on, but please, bear with me. I do acutaly have a life outside of FF (shocking, I know). Also, I know this chapter is short but I really wanted to get it out and I didn't want to put in the next segment I have in mind quite yet. So, anyway, as always, PLEASE REVIEW!


	5. Chapter 5

She felt something trying to nudge her in the side, but she rolled over. She was having a wonderful dream about becoming the first female muggle born Minister of Magic and she didn't want to wake up just yet. She felt the thing nudge her again and she unconsciously began swatting at it. Finally, her hand made contact with something and she was woken up by a scream coming from near her hand. She quickly sat up and was horrified to find that she had just tripped Mrs. Weasley.

She shot up and began apologizing while attempting to help the older witch up.

"Mrs. Weasley, I am so sorry. I thought you were someone else!"

"And who," Mrs. Weasley asked looking quite agitated, "did you think I was?"

Looking at the ground and fidgeting slightly Hermione replied, "Ron. We, well, we had a fight this afternoon about my decision to become Professor Snape's new apprentice. It seems he still isn't able to look past old grudges and, well, I sort of apparated out before the argument was really resolved."

She heard Mrs. Weasley sigh and give her a light pat on the back. "Ronald will come around eventually. He doesn't like change, just give him time. But an owl came for you Dear, I think it's from Severus."

Hermione quickly looked up and grabbed the letter roughly out of Mrs. Weasley's hands. Without stopping to apologize for her less than courteous manner, she ripped open the letter and quickly scanned it.

_Miss Granger,_

_If you sill wish to take on the role of my apprentice, I suggest you meet me at six o'clock near Hogs Head in. If you are not there by six o'clock on the dot, I will leave and you will forfeit your position. Bring all of your things as you will not be returning to the Burrow, but going back to my home. Be prepared to discuss the particulars of your apprenticeship._

_-S.S._

Horrified, Hermione tore her sleeve up her arm and looked at her watch.

She had fifteen minutes.

She said a hurried goodbye to Mrs. Weasley and quickly apparated back to her room in the Burrow.

It didn't take her long at all to pack up all of her stuff. It was times like these, she mused, that she truly appreciated magic. She looked at the clock as she grabbed all of her things. She had five minutes until six. With one last look around to make sure she had gotten everything, she apparated.

She hated apparating. It left so disoriented afterwards that she almost always found herself needing at least a minute to pull herself together. Thankfully, she had awarded herself enough time to do so, and soon she found herself standing in front of the in with thirty seconds to spare.

Professor Snape was already standing there, waiting for her. He looked the very picture of impatience with his eyes fixed intently on the watch and his foot tapping rapidly against the ground. Hermione cleared her throat to get his attention and he looked up from his watch.

"You are early."

Hermione stared at him wide eyed. "Surely you aren't going to penalize me for being early, and by a mere fifteen seconds?"

Her Professor, well Master now, raised an elegant eyebrow in her direction as a cold sneer graced his lips. "I was merely commenting on the time, Granger. However, if you wish to be penalized for your earliness then I would be glad to appease you."

Hermione blanched and avoided his eyes, barley squeaking out a pathetic, "No, Sir."

"Good, now follow me."

She sighed, grabbed her things and followed the Professor into the inn. Hermione didn't think it was possible, but this place seemed even dirtier than the last time she had been in here. The dust was so thick it was almost chocking her. The patrons gave the pair strange looks as she followed the Professor up the stairs and into a private room. Thankfully it was much cleaner in this room than the rest of the inn and she let out the breath she hadn't known she had been holding. She set down her luggage and stood awkwardly by the door as she watched her Professor sit down at a table in the center and pour himself some tea.

"Sit down, Miss Granger. Do not expect me to tell you what to do _all_ of the time." He said, not even looking up at her.

Hesitantly, she walked over to the table and took a seat opposite Snape. She took the cup that he offered her and waited for him to begin.

"Miss Granger, you are aware of the amount of time and work it takes to become a Potions Master, or in your case Potions Mistress, are you not?"

She nodded her head and took a sip of her tea. "Yes sir, I am quite aware."

"Good," he replied, "I would have been quite disappointed if you hadn't been. Now, from here we will be going to my home in Spinners End. It will be your home for the next year and a half. You will not be returning to Hogwarts when term begins with me. I will give you things in which to occupy your time until I return on the weekends. If I believe your work to be adequate then after a year and a half, you will be returning with me to Hogwarts where you will take over first through third year classes. You do understand that you will be spending more hours than you would ever desire with me and that you will be always under my watch? You understand that I _will_ criticize your skills until you want to cry and run away screaming curses at me? You understand that I will degrade you, make you believe that you are a failure and treat you like trash? You understand that the next two years of your life will more than likely be the hardest years you will ever have to face? You understand that I will not tolerate slacking off? You understand that under no circumstances will I ever allow any of your friends, relatives, or acquaintances into my home? Do you understand, Miss Granger, that the sole person you will be seeing for the next year and a half will be me?"

Stunned into silence, Hermione nodded her head. Yes, she had always known that it would be this difficult, but never had she thought that she wouldn't be able to see Harry and Ron or her family. She thought that he would be at least a little lenient. But then again, this was Professor Snape she was dealing with.

"I will be able to owl them though, Professor?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes you will be able to owl them, but you must get one of your own. The use of my owl for your own personal use is not permitted. Oh, and one more thing before we leave Miss Granger. Owing to the fact that I am no longer your Professor you are to address me as Sir, do you understand?"

Smiling, Hermione nodded. She didn't care what she had to call him as long as he didn't ask to be called Master. Now _that_ she would never agree to. She followed suit as he stood and walked over towards her. With a lazy flick of his wand, her bags were at her side. She thanked him quietly and picked them up, ready to walk out the door. He grabbed her arm, however, and without another word he apparated them away.

When they arrived in front of his house, Hermione was _quite_ disoriented. It was one thing to apparate when you're expecting but to be surprised like that made everything that much worse, and in her disoriented state, she lashed out at the man beside her. "You could have at least warned me!"

"I could have but that wouldn't have been near as amusing," he replied with a smirk that made her want to hex him to the ends of the earth.

Once her vision had stopped swimming, she took the proper time to take in her surroundings as she followed Snape into his home. It wasn't a safe looking place by any stretch of the imagination and it was just the sort of neighborhood she expected rapists and murderers and thieves to live.

"You do have protective wards on your house don't you?" she asked, her voice conveying her worry.

"Of course," he spat back, "I am a wizard after all."

He led her inside and she had to stifle a gasp. While it was covered with filth and aging furniture, the walls were lined with books of all shapes and sizes. She longed to run her fingers over the spines, to inhale their glorious sent, to squeeze every bit of information out of them that she could. But this was Snape's house, she had to remind herself, not the library. She didn't think he would take too kindly to her going through his personal bookshelf.

She heard the door slam closed behind her and she was reminded that she was now stuck here for the next year and a half.

"Welcome home Miss Granger," her professor sneered from behind her.

Welcome home indeed.

* * *

_I tried, heaven help me I tried to do a story with long chapters but it's just not working out. Sorry for the long wait for an update, I'm doing NaNoWriMo this month so that's taking up most of my writing time. Well, my days of individual reviews are now over. It is officially banned :( so if you want me to reply to your review in any way, shape, or form then you'll have to either be signed in when you review, or leave an e-mail. Thank you all for reviewing and hopefully I will update much sooner next time. _


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione lay on her bed that night, completely exhausted, and she still had loads of work to do. She had only been at the place five hours and she already wanted to leave. She had received a tour of the house from none other than Peter Pettigrew. Apparently, he was there on the Dark Lord's orders but Snape had assured her that he would spend the bulk of his time in the basement and that she should not be seeing much of him which she was quite thankful for. He had shown her the private Potions Laboratory which was quite possibly the cleanest and most well kept area of the house. The kitchen was as barren as possible, no indulgences anywhere and, Hermione noted, there was no dinner table in sight. 

It seemed he had simply gone to the second hand store to purchase everything he owned. Nothing he had in his house looked new or nice, with the exception of his library. It was a small room next to hers on the upstairs. The bookcases were of the finest cherry wood and the books didn't have one spec of dust on them. He probably had them all under enchantments. She never got the chance to find out though. He had whisked her out of there so fast she swore she had whiplash.

That had been the end of the tour. He had shown her the room which she would be staying in, gave her some books to read before bed, told her that if she was hungry then she could get something from the kitchen, and left. She glanced over at the sparse table she had been given to do her work on and spied her pile of books. For once in her life she found that she had no desire to read. Her head was spinning with the days events and she couldn't seem to keep it still.

She sighed as she sat up, deciding that perhaps she should visit the kitchen. After all, it had been hours since she had last ate. Hesitantly, she poked her head out of the doorway and after deciding that no one was around, she stepped out and began tip toeing towards the kitchen.

The reason for her strange sneaking behavior was unknown, even to her. She suspected it was due to the fact that she wasn't to keen on accidentally bumping into her grump of a Professor in the middle of _his_ hallway in _his_ house.

She made it to the end of the hallway easily enough and she had sworn that she head something moving behind the library door, so she suspected he was probably hauled up in there. Nevertheless, she walked down the stairs as quietly as she could.

It wasn't surprising that though she had been here only a few short hours, she knew her way around well enough. It wasn't as though his house was complicated. There was a sitting room, a kitchen, a couple of bedrooms, a lab, a library, and a basement, each of the rooms as small as can be.

After walking past the sitting room, she ended up in the kitchen and stared at the cabinets, trying to decide which one to look through first.

"If you are looking for food, those cabinets are on the other side."

She jumped, literally, when she heard the slow silky drawl from right behind her. She silently cursed herself for not being more alert and fought hard to keep the embarrassed blush off of her cheeks as she turned back to face her once professor.

"I'm sorry sir," she began, "I didn't know you were behind me."

He gave her a cruel smirk before sweeping silently out of the kitchen. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and hesitantly began opening the doors on the other side of the kitchen where he had said the food was kept. She rolled her eyes. If she had been certain that he wouldn't come creeping up behind her again, she would have made a snide comment or two. There wasn't much up there, just some questionable bread, some peanut butter and a jar of honey along with some sort of thing that must have been a fruit at one point in its existence. If her stomach hadn't been growling so loudly, she would have taken the time to find the humor in his food choices. She would have never figured him to be a peanut butter and honey man.

Sighing, she searched through the other doors only to find a few scraps of food here and there.

'_Does this man ever eat?'_ she mused to herself.

She grabbed the sandwich things and put them onto the counter, looking around for where the utensils would be. After a few minutes of searching she finally located the items and lazily began putting together her sandwich.

'_Well, that wasn't a _complete_ disaster.'_ She thought as she walked back up to her room after eating. She had taken a few bites of her sandwich before realizing she didn't know where anything to drink was kept and her mouth was soon screaming for anything liquid. After a search that came up empty, she had resigned herself to drinking out of the faucet, unable to locate any cups in her hurry to get the paste out of her mouth.

Snape had decided to arrive at that precise moment. She heard him mutter something to himself but she didn't catch much. All she could discern were the words 'incompetent', 'horrible mistake', and 'long year.' He had, however, been courteous enough to get her a glass from the top shelf of one of the cabinets. She had muttered a small thank you to which he merely sneered and nodded.

She stared at the books sitting on her new desk from the doorway. She knew she should begin reading, but it simply wasn't in her tonight. She debated with herself until she gave into the surprising softness of the bed and drifted off to sleep.

………

Hermione groaned as she rolled out of bed. Her eyes were still closed as she felt around the unfamiliar room in an effort to locate some clean clothes. After smashing her toes five different times, she resigned herself and opened her eyes.

It was only then that her now somewhat functional brain processed the fact that she was, indeed, staying in Snape's house. She groaned once more as she took in her bleak surroundings. It must have been early morning but there were no birds singing as there was at the Weasley's or Hogwarts, and the sun was not shining through the windows and after parting the curtains she realized that dirt was not only blocking what little sun that was shining, but there seemed to be a cloud of doom that hung around this area.

She walked back over to her trunk and dressed quickly. Her stomach growled in hunger as she placed her hair up into a quick bun. It looked horrible but she didn't care. After all, was there anyone around here to impress? She walked down the stairs quietly, just in case anyone was still sleeping. She did not want to be the one to wake up her grumpy Potions Master, but as she got closer to the bottom, she could hear voices.

Two men were talking to each other, almost arguing, in the living room. One she knew to be Snape's and the other sounded familiar but she couldn't seem to place it. She knew she should go back up to her room and not eves drop, but her natural curiosity wouldn't allow it. She went down two more steps even more cautiously than before, and strained her ears to listen.

"This is foolishness, Severus, and you know it!" the mysterious voice said. Hermione had to hold back a laugh; she had never heard the Potions Master being reprimanded before.

"Well then, if I am already aware then I don't need you to tell me do I?" She could hear the annoyance in his voice and knew that if this mystery person didn't back off soon, he would be on the wrong side of a bad hex.

"You will never learn will you? You cannot do this without help. Have you looked in the mirror lately? There is no chance that your plan will work."

"I have indeed, _Lucius_, but what do you suggest I do? This is _my_ task. The Dark Lord gave it to me, and I refuse to resort to something as fallible as potions or spells to complete it!"

Hermione's eyes went wide. Snape was talking to Lucius Malfoy! She strained forward even more so that she could hear what they were going to say next. Though she did trust Snape and his loyalties to the Order, she didn't trust Malfoy any farther than she could throw him.

"I never thought I would see the day when you didn't have complete faith in your potions. You truly are losing your touch Severus. But, I believe you should use me in your plans, Merlin knows I am better suited to sed-"

Hermione wondered for a split second why Lucius had stopped mid word, when she heard the sound of boots clicking on the wood floor and felt a shadow descended around her. She didn't want to look up, didn't want to see the glare that was certainly fixed upon her.

She heard a loud pop and deduced that Lucius had left and she was glad to say the least. She hated the bastard and wasn't about to look at him again.

"Miss Granger, stand up now."

His voice was dead calm as she righted herself, and that scared her more than any yelling he could have done. She didn't dare meet his eyes, she was too afraid.

"Are you serious about becoming a Potions Mistress?"

She nodded her head meekly.

"Then you better begin to show it!" He hissed at her. She flinched.

"Not only did you sleep in until noon, something that I find horribly unprofessional, but you were eavesdropping on a personal conversation. I would have thought you would be capable acting better than Wormtail, but I suspect I was wrong. Now, if you are going to continue to conduct yourself in this manner, you will leave. I will not tolerate slacking, sleeping in, or eavesdropping. What is said, _especially_ between fellow Death Eaters and I, is for mine and Albus' ears only. Do you understand?"

She nodded again and offered no protest. She was sure that one word from her mouth in her defense and he would send her packing and that was something she certainly didn't want.

"Good, now I suggest you go upstairs and finish reading those texts you slacked off last night."

Her eyes went wide as she looked up at him. How had he known that she hadn't read? However, her question died on her lips when she made eye contact. His glare was pure evil and without another word she raced upstairs to her room. She would ask another day.

* * *

**A/N'S:  
**Sorry this took so long to get out. I'm not going to make excuses, just say sorry. It seems as though individual review responses aren't allowed anymore so if you leave me a review, be sure to put your e-mail somehwere so that I can respond. Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoy.


	7. Chapter 7

It had been two months, two long, wearisome months since she had last seen anyone besides Death Eaters and Professor Snape.

Harry and Ron refused to answer her owl's, Ginny's letters hadn't been too helpful, containing only gossip, inane remarks about Harry and Ron, and the occasional colorful tirade against their former Potions Master for keeping her locked up like some prisoner. Subsequently, Hermione had thrown herself into her studies, working twice as hard for no more than a grunt of half approval from her Professor or an occasional, "Adequate." At first, she had thought herself prepared for his snide remarks and biting commentary, after all, she had suffered through them for seven years, what was a couple more? However, she had not taken into consideration that those remarks and insults were paired with praise from each and every one of her other Professors which, in the end, made the things that Snape said insignificant.

But here, however, she received no praise, no exaltation for her brilliance. Instead, she was chided for following the text instead of using her prior knowledge to improve upon the potion and its preparation and insulted for not thinking, as Snape called it, outside of the box.

Hermione was slowly losing her mind, of that she was sure. She didn't know how much of this she could take. She had still over a year left on what she was now referring to as her sentence, something which amused Ginny greatly. It angered her that she would even consider quitting, especially when this was what she wanted, what she had worked seven years for, surely she could tough it out another year and three months.

After all, she continued to remind herself, one more month left until he would be back at Hogwarts and she would no longer be forced to see him every day. It was that one small bit of information that kept her going, it was the only reason she continued when he bellowed at her for not cutting the ingredients just right, when he came so close to slapping her for angering him that she could almost feel his hand making contact with her face.

Hermione shook her head, trying to stop such thoughts as she attempted to concentrate on the potion. Snape was standing directly behind her and she could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck, causing the little hairs there to stand on end. She hated it when he stood like that, something he was all too aware of. Ever since that day she had politely asked him to step back a bit, he had taken great pleasure in standing as close as he could. Perhaps he liked the idea that if he yelled at her then he stood a chance of blowing out her eardrums.

A tiny little bead of sweat made its way down her forehead as she prepared the boomslang skin. It seemed harder than usual today, perhaps because she had no idea what she was making. She had never heard of this combination of ingredients before and could only try to guess at its use.

She had tried asking Snape about it, but he refused to say a word, ignoring her questions and giving her instructions instead of explanations. She had considered the fact that she could be making a dark potion, one banned by the ministry and she couldn't deny that the idea excited her to no end. However, her rational mind told her that there was no way Snape would allow her to make such a thing so soon, especially when as far as he knew she would go and tell Harry and Ron the second she found out.

"Granger!"

The boom of his voice behind her caused her to squeal and jump, knocking her professor backwards and causing the knife in her hand to fly. Hands grabbed her waist as Snape tried to keep from falling on his back. The clang of the knife hitting stone echoed through the now cold silence and she felt the hands on her begin to squeeze.

She had screwed up again.

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she turned her head down and stared at the knot in the wood of the table. The voice that sounded behind her was cold and calm, a sure sign of his furiousness.

"If you do not learn to react better then you will leave."

"Maybe if you didn't stand so close behind me I wouldn't have reacted the way I did." She spat back. She had never quite learned the art of keeping her mouth shut when necessary.

She squeaked as the hands behind her tightened further and spun her around. He grabbed the sides of her face and forced her to look into his eyes. If this had been any other man, Hermione would have considered this gesture to be sweet and intimate, but with this man a gesture like this was meant only to show his dominance.

"Maybe if you learned to concentrate more on the task at hand you would not screw up so horribly. Miss Granger, I have purposefully kept the identity of this potion from you in order to allow you to work on your weaknesses."

"And what might that be?" she asked a bit weaker. Being this close to him frightened her and caused her stomach to tie up in odd knots. It was times like these she had to remind herself that though he was a Death Eater, he was still working for the Order. He would not murder her, no matter how much he might want, he couldn't harm her too harshly.

"You are currently unable to perform a task without knowing all of the details. You can hardly prepare boomslang skin, something even my first years could master, without screwing up. That is not only childish but also dangerous. What if I had allowed you to put that into the potion? The subsequent reaction could have killed you or done nothing but you would have never known. As a Potions Master, you might not always know what you are making or why and you must learn to concentrate without all of the facts." He hissed and finally let go of her face, too tempted to dig his nails into her pale skin to accentuate his point.

Hermione was relived when he finally let go and took a step back. Her face was red from embarrassment and the marks from his hands. Being yelled at by him always made her feel like a failure and she wished she had somewhere to run.

"Grab a new knife and finish the potion and know that if you screw anything up, the potion will cause a dangerous and potentially deadly explosion. I should know, it is my own creation."

Her head shot up and she gaped at him. "You're letting me create something of yours?" she asked surprised. She had always wanted to make one of his potions and had asked numerous times if she would ever be allowed to, but he had always said no. That also meant that she had a whole new list of potions to check off. She hadn't thought to recall her limited list of Snape's potions that she had memorized from his journal but now, her mind worked furiously, tying to come up with a solution and she hardly heard his response to her question.

"Yes." He replied sharply, "This potion is something I have created in the past few weeks and I needed to do a second test to make sure it was safe for others to make. You, Miss Granger, are my guinea pig, which is why I am leaving. I wouldn't want to get hurt now, would I?"

She barley noticed him leaving as her mind flew back to the nights that she had spent immersed in his journal. She wracked her brain, attempting to remember anything that might help her identify some small part of this potion but she couldn't think of a thing. Nothing that she could recall resembled this potion so with a great sigh, she retrieved the knife from the floor, set it down in the 'to be cleaned pile', picked up a new knife and returned to her potion.

She treaded lightly now, reading the instructions six times over before she made a cut or slice, praying that she got the measurements exactly. After all, blowing up the potion wound not only add one more thing to the list of reasons for Snape to drop her apprenticeship, and she also suspected it would hurt very much.

So once the potion was properly completed, Hermione bottled it up, leaving the labels blank and began to clean up her workstation. She could hear Snape stomping around in the other room and she couldn't help but smirk. In the first couple weeks here, she had learned to take his bad moods with a grain of salt and had found his bigger 'hissy fits' as she liked to call them to be quite amusing.

She didn't flinch when the door to the lab burst open and he stormed inside, mumbling something about this being a 'retched time for it to go missing.' For a moment, she considered asking what he was looking for but decided against such a thing. To disturb him while he was in such a frantic state would be madness and would probably end up being the last thing she ever did.

She was, however, startled when he began speaking to her as he rummaged through his many trunks.

"Are you finished?" he asked with more than a hint of annoyance in his voice. Whether it was directed at her or the thing he was looking for was unclear.

"Yes sir." She said quickly.

"Good," he said with a note of triumph as he stood up, a mask that used to send shivers down her spine. "Now I will be away for a couple days and in that time, I expect you to read and memorize the different potions and ingredients in those two books." He continued, pointing to the books sitting near the cauldron that she hadn't noticed before.

"Yes sir." She replied as she grabbed the books. She flipped through the one at the top and her eyes went wide. "Sir," she began but was cut off quickly.

"Yes Miss Granger, those are the right books." He spat quickly as he donned his robe and mast in front of her as though it was no big deal. "You need to be well rounded in your potion making. Knowing about Dark Potions will not get you put into Azkaban, however, what we will do when I return could. I suggest you keep from telling your friends about this, however. Dumbledore would have my head and I'm sure they wouldn't think the better of you."

Hermione snorted and said, "Like any of them would take my owls anyway," before she had any idea the words were out of her mouth.

"That sounds like a personal problem to me," Snape bit back as he straightened out his Death Eater outfit. He gave her one last nod before apparating away.

Hermione sighed, no longer phased by what she liked to call his 'second job.' So, instead of freaking out like she did in the first few weeks, she grabbed the books and ran up to her room, determined to learn everything these books had to offer before he got back.

* * *

_WOW this one took WAY to long to get out! Hopefully it won't take so long next time. Anyway, thank you all for the lovley reviews :) Also, before I forget again, I wanted tell ya'll that I now have a forum up for my stories, you can find the link in my Author Profile (links down work here) and there you can ask questions, look for updates, everything. Just stop by and check it out. Well, I do hope you enjoyed the latest chapter and please please PLEASE review, even though I might not deserve it._


	8. Chapter 8

"I can't believe that big bat actually let you free from your cell," Ginny said, laughing, as she set down a plate full of sandwiches.

"He _didn't_ let me out Ginny," Hermione corrected from behind her, setting down two big glasses of cold milk before taking a seat opposite the other girl. "He's just going to be gone for a day or two and so I thought it would be safe to sneak out. He doesn't know I'm here and I think it would be best to keep it that way." She finished with a small glare toward Ginny.

"Don't give me that look," Ginny scolded, "I'm not going to tell anyone that you were here so if that great bat finds out you were here, don't come looking for me."

"Sorry Gin, I'm just paranoid. I can't seem to do anything right anymore and every time he starts screaming at me for something that I did, I'm worried that he's going to kick me out and end my apprenticeship."

Ginny rolled her eyes and took a bite out of the ham sandwich in front of her. "Don't beat yourself up about it," she spit out as she chewed, "Snape took you on for a reason. You're brilliant, even he must see that. Why else would he have taken you on?"

"I guess your right. Its just, well, I've been thinking lately that maybe accepting his offer wasn't the best thing for me."

"You better not be referring to those two dunderheads, Hermione. This argument was a long time coming if you ask me. Those two, Ron especially, expected you to follow them around for the rest of their lives and eventually you would have stood up for yourself."

"But I still could have handled it better. I could have eased them into the idea, I could have _not_ run away to avoid the fight, I could have"

"Shut up!" Ginny screamed, her face red. "Hermione, you did what you did and there is nothing you can do about it now. Don't worry yourself sick over those annoying pricks, it's not worth it! I thought you came here to get away from Snape and to relax, so can we please stop talking about the terrible two and move on to a topic that doesn't involve so much argument?"

"Alright," Hermione squeaked, obviously surprised by her friends outburst. It wasn't often that Ginny yelled, but when she did it was always slightly frightening. It was times like these that she realized that Ginny truly did take after her mother.

Conversation continued, though strained, and if asked Hermione didn't think that she would be able to repeat one thing that was said. Her mind was elsewhere, still dwelling on the two dunderheads that she was always thinking of. It wasn't even until a great thud was heard above them, that she realized that she had been drifting off.

"Damn," Ginny said quietly, grabbing Hermione's arm. "I forgot to tell you, Harry and Ron are here. I thought they were going to stay upstairs the entire time, but I guess I was wrong."

The thought of apparating away flashed through her mind, but before she could act, the Golden Trio was reunited.

Harry and Ron stood at the foot of the stairs, stopped dead in their tracks, staring at Hermione. She felt her face flush and she quickly averted her eyes, focusing instead on Ginny who still had Hermione's arm, and was turning to face the boys.

"Good of you to come down, I thought you had died up there," she began as though she didn't notice anything amiss, "There are plenty of sandwiches if you would like some, but you're going to have to pour your own drinks, I'm not your mother after all."

"Ginny, I think I should go," Hermione whispered quietly as she squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.

"You will stay right where you are," Ginny whispered back, finally letting go of her arm. "Go on you two, stop looking like you've just seen Snape in a skirt and sit down." She continued in her normal tone of voice.

Reluctantly, Harry began inching towards the table, drawn unmistakably by the lure of the food but held back by the thought that he would have to share a table with Hermione. Ron followed close by, the scowl on his face deepening with every step.

Silence fell over the table as the two newcomers grabbed for their sandwiches and began tearing into them as though they had never had a decent meal in their lives.

"Good to see your eating habits haven't changed," Hermione commented almost automatically.

Ginny laughed, Harry offered up a lopsided smile, and Ron acted as though she hadn't spoken.

"Every day I wake up and expect them to be two hundred pounds heaiver."

"If I did wake up heavier it would only be because either you or the twins did something to me," Ron countered crossly through a mouthful of sandwich. "But then again, I'm not so sure if that would be the case with Harry, he _is_ getting a little soft around the edges."

Harry mock glared at Ron when his best friend began poking his sides for good measure. "I'm not getting soft, Ron, my bones just aren't sticking out anymore."

Hermione smiled and laughed along with everyone, but offered nothing in the conversation, fearing that a word from her would put an end to the good mood, for now it seemed as though nothing had changed, that they were all fresh out of Hogwarts enjoying a nice day at the Burrow.

But she had learned early on that all good things must come to an end sometime.

And this good time came to a screeching halt when Ron finally decided to acknowledge Hermione's existence.

"So did Snape finally throw you out?" he asked, meeting her eyes for the first time since the argument.

"No," she replied, holding his gaze, "he's gone on business so I thought I would sneak out for a bit."

"Finally coming to your senses then?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you know," Ron began with a smirk, "you obviously came here to apologize to Harry and I for running off with Snape. Why else would you come? It's not like you came to see Ginny or anything."

"How dare you," Hermione hissed through clinched teeth, "your sister has been a better friend to me these past few months than you and Harry ever were. And no, I did _not_ come to apologize to you or Harry. Why would I? _You_ refused _my_ owls, _you_ were angry with _me_ for following my passions, and _you_ didn't follow _me_ when I apparated away, you didn't try to find me at all! What on earth would I have to apologize for, except for the fact that I refused to follow the two of you around for the rest of your lives?"

"Hermione, Ron, could we please"

"Oh shut up Harry," shouted Ron as his face started to turn red, "_she_ is the one who betrayed us and went to go live with the Death Eater. _She's_ the one that left _us_ without a word and _she_ is the one that is to stubborn to see that she is in the wrong for once. All we ever did wrong was decide that this mudblood was ever good enough to be our friend."

"RON!"

This time the scream came from both Ginny and Harry, but the damage was already done. Tears began to well up in Hermione's eyes and she fought to keep them down, at least until she was away from them. Slowly, she stood up from the table, her legs shaky.

"Well, Ginny, it was nice seeing you. I'll owl you soon, alright?"

Ginny nodded and Hermione quickly apparated away before a single tear could find its way down her cheeks. Her vision blurred as she ran into Spinners End, and she found herself once more glad that both Wormtail and Snape were gone. She collapsed on the floor next to the threadbare couch and allowed the burning tears to fall freely.

Once she had effectively cried out all the fluids in her body, and cursed the day she med Ronald Weasley more times than she could count, Hermione lifted her shaky body off of the floor and headed to the kitchen.

It looked no better than the day she came, but at least now it was properly stocked. Once Snape had asked her to make up a list of all the things she needed so that he could give it to a store owner to fill. She had deduced that this was simply his way of avoiding the subject of her feminine needs, and she had taken advantage of said fact and so along with her necessities, she had added a number of groceries items to the list, hoping that Snape wouldn't check it before he left for the market.

He hadn't, and soon Hermione was rewarded with a nicely stocked kitchen, and a very angry Potions Master. He had reprimanded her horribly and given her the task of cleaning every cauldron he had ever used, but it had been worth it.

Now, she grabbed a bar of chocolate which had been on the top of the list of her necessities and a cold glass of milk. Though she would never admit to it, Hermione loved chocolate and found that it really did solve all of your problems, or at least it melted them away for an hour or two.

And so, with bar and glass in hand, Hermione headed up to her room. After all, Snape had given her lots to read and no doubt he expected her to be finished by the time he returned from his meeting. The pile of books was daunting, even to her, but it seemed her argument with Ron had given her a new found determination to prove to everyone that she was indeed capable of reaching her goal. Now, more than ever, Hermione Granger was convinced that she would defy everyone and become the greatest Potions' Mistress to ever come out of Hogwarts.

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Feel free to hit me and throw rotten food at me for taking so long to update. I've been terrifingly busy these past few months what with graduation and finals and getting ready for college and such. I promise, it will not take me this long to update next time. Well, I hope you enjoy, check out my forum (link on my authors profile) and as always, PLEASE REVIEW! 


	9. Chapter 9

Oh goodness! I'm so so so so so SO sorry that it took me so long to get this out. I know I don't have a decent excuse but my first year at college has been harder than I thought. Anyway I hope you enjoy. OH! And just as a warning, there is a character death in this chapter.

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It took her longer than expected to get through memorizing the four books that Snape had given her. They weren't exceptionally long books, but she found that it was necessary to put them down every few chapters. Everything that she was reading could earn her a one way ticket to Azkaban and compared to the books that she had been given, Snape's journal looked like a cookbook from the Burrow. She was equally intrigued and repulsed with what she was being forced to learn. These potions were meant for dark deeds. They were meant to kill, distort, torture, and mutilate.

But then again they were fascinating. There were ingredients in the potions that Hermione had never heard of before and she couldn't wait to see them and work with them. After all Snape _had_ alluded to their eventual making of some of them once he was back from whatever mission the Dark Lord had sent him on.

She looked at the clock in the sitting area. He should be back any moment. It had been strange living in his house for a few days while he was gone. She hated to admit it, but she had become accustomed to being around him. While she liked the fact that now that he had left, the house had seemed a bit brighter, it didn't seem normal.

Besides, without having Snape around to pester her and keep her on edge she had too much time to dwell on what had happened at the Burrow. She should never have left, especially now that she realized that Snape probably had wards around his house that alerted him whenever someone came in or stepped out.

Twelve times she had started a letter to Ron but hadn't been able to finish one. She was so furious with him she didn't know what to say. How could he have said such a thing to her, how could he have called her such a foul name, knowing how much it hurt her? Hot tears began to form in her eyes and she wiped them on her sleeve. She shouldn't be crying, not again. Hadn't she done that enough in the past two days? How on earth could there even be tears left to cry? But like all the other times they just wouldn't stop.

She pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her head on her knees as she wept once more. Normally she would never have been so emotional but her visit the previous day from mother nature had changed things considerably.

What a sight she must have been to her Potions Master when he came through the door only minutes later. She could hardly hear his footsteps through the sobs and was scared out of her skin when he addressed her.

"Granger! What in Merlin's name do you think you are doing?" He screamed at her when she lifted her head.

Her nose was running and she knew that she looked a mess but there was nothing she could do. There was nothing that she could say to excuse herself so she just looked at him, half frozen in horror and half still taken by sorrow.

"Go to your room before you ruin my couch." He sneered as he stalked up to her and took her by the collar.

He heaved her up to her feet and pushed her none to lightly in the direction of the stairs. She was a bit weak on her feet but managed to make it up to her room without falling all over herself. The books downstairs were forgotten as she curled up into the bed, which thankfully was beginning to smell less like a coffin and more like a bed that a girl slept in, and finished her crying.

Fifteen minutes and three looks in the mirror later, Hermione walked back downstairs. It was about lunch time and she was getting hungry, but apparently Snape had other things in mind. He was sitting on the couch flipping through one of the books that he gave her, when he stopped on one page and asked her without even looking up, "What potion requires three drops of vampire blood and the skin of a werewolf taken on the first full moon?"

"I believe it's called the organ grinding potion, Sir." She replied almost automatically.

Only the small nod of his head and the soft sound of the book closing told her that she had been right. "So you did study while you were gone," He said as he stood up and began to walk towards the lab.

She followed him as she always did, mentally kicking herself for being so stupid. Of course he had wards that alerted him whenever someone came or went, he would be stupid not to! Especially now that she was living in his house.

"I'm sorry Sir, I-"

He held up his hand, signaling her to shut up. "I do not want excuses Miss Granger, only explanations. Where did you go?"

"The Burrow."

She wasn't sure but it almost seemed as though the moment the words left her mouth, the temperature of the room dropped twenty degrees. "I thought I told you that you were not to leave this house under any circumstances." He hissed as he began to set the lab up.

He pointed to her own work station and barked out a list of ingredients that she was to get out, along with the tools that she would need. Apparently he was going to make her create the potion he had just questioned her about and she prayed that he wouldn't make her test it as well.

"I should kick you out, you know, for breaking the rules." He continued as he gathered his own set of ingredients and tools. "However you seemed to have picked the opportune time to do so. As it is, I cannot let you leave this house after what I had you learn. You could too easily run to the Ministry and turn me in, which is why I am going to make you as guilty as I am. I sure hope you studied Miss Granger for you are going to create the potion without the aide of a book."

Her eyes went wide and she almost dropped the bottle of blood that she was carrying. Surely he wasn't serious. "But Sir, if I make one mistake then I could blow this entire neighborhood up!"

"Which is why I hope you studied. Especially since you will be testing out your final product on Wormtail." He relished in the horrified look on her face and sneered. "Consider this punishment for sneaking out with Potter and Weasley."

"I didn't leave to see them," she answered before she knew the words were out of her mouth.

Snape didn't respond and for some reason she took that as a sign to keep going. "I went to see Ginny. I had no idea that they would be there. Of course they showed up and asked if I had been sacked and then Ron and I got into an argument and he called me a mudblood so I left and came back here and that's why you found me on your couch sobbing, which I _am_ sorry for by the way."

There was a long pause in which Hermione briefly considered speaking again but decided that there was nothing more that she could, or for that matter should, say. But Snape soon filled the silence. "Miss Granger I had hoped that these months had quelled your incessant need to chatter. I suggest that instead of filling me in on your less than interesting social life, you focus on gathering your ingredients and beginning your potion."

She was sent back to the situation at hand and tried her best to recall the specifics of the potion while he continued to bark out directions at her. "Keep in mind that, if you fail you will have killed my housekeeper. I will be making the proper antidote which will be rendered useless if your's turns out to be any less than perfect, and I expect you to finish before I do."

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Severus watched as she stared down hard at the wooden table as though she was searching for the answers. He was still furious that she had left his house and disobeyed his orders but could not have been happier at the turn of events. Now that Potter and Wesley were out of the way he could truly begin his task. So much depended on her, including his well being but he was still at a loss as to how he was going to accomplish this. He had an idea but it was completely out of character for him and, if handled wrong, would kill any chances he would have down the line.

But whatever he was going to do, he had to do it soon. Term was coming up and there would be little time to be spent around her. And then she would be joining him there eventually and she would be back in the world of the living, surrounded by positive influences once more, by people who could sway her in the other direction and he couldn't have that.

Perhaps he should have taken up Lucius' offer.

He would have to start speaking to her soon. After she finished the potion would be the ideal time. Disturbing her now would only screw her up and he needed her to be perfect. He couldn't kick her out now, she would go running back to those two dunderheads and all would be forgiven once she uttered a foul word or five about him and all would be lost. He needed her to despise them, even possibly hate them, so deeply that her thoughts were consumed with doing anything possible to destroy them.

He watched her carefully over the next few hours as his hands went through the familiar motions. The antidote in his cauldron was a potion he had made hundreds of times so there was little reason for him to pay attention to what he was doing if his attention was needed elsewhere. She was being extremely careful with her measurements and preparation which pleased him. Pausing for only a brief moment to double check the next step, he watched as she continued on with surprising speed. So far there was nothing for him to berate her on.

She was improving, he was extremely pleased.

Two more hours and she was putting her potion into vials. She had made few errors and they were of little consequence. With the antidote Wormtail should live, emphasis on should. Even if he did die it wouldn't be important. Hermione may feel guilt but he was sure she would also feel relieved to finally be rid of the man that destroyed the life of her best friend. Perhaps she would even feel a bit proud.

A new plan formed in his mind as he began to pour his own potion into already labeled jars. Killing Wormtail would not only rid him of a very annoying house guest, but would also help his mission with Hermione. Yes the Dark Lord wouldn't be pleased but his death would be easy to explain.

He allowed her to sit in an uncomfortable silence while he placed his jars into his storage cabinet and searched for a docile potion that would do nothing to save his life and had the same color and consistency as the antidote he just made. No doubt her meticulous eye would catch any sort of difference in the potions.

"Make sure to leave one of those bottles out for Wormtail." He called out as he walked back into the room.

The look on her face told him that she had thought he was kidding about his earlier threat. "Don't tell me you thought I was joking."

"I-I didn't think you were serious." She answered with a stutter.

"I never joke, Miss Granger, surely you should know that."

He enjoyed seeing the fear in her eyes as her hands began to shake. "Go get Wormtail," he ordered and watched as her face went pale and her legs gave out slightly as she walked up the stairs and began calling out to the little rat. Grabbing a vial of her potion, he walked back into the cabinet and grabbed the potion posing as the antidote. He was going to enjoy this very much. Rarely was he ever able to see the effects of such a potion, the Dark Lord had seen to that, and so today was going to be an extra special treat.

By the time she walked back down with a quivering Wormtail in tow he had poured each potion into a different glass and had them sitting on the table.

"W-w-what are you g-g-going to d-do to me S-s-snape?" Whined the little rat behind Granger.

He was wringing his hands as he always did when called out to test a new potion. He was stammering like a fool and it was a miracle anyone could understood the words coming out of his mouth.

"It seems I have a need to test Miss Granger's skill, now drink that." He responded, pointing to the cup with Granger's potion.

"Sir-"

He lifted a finger to silence her as she took her place standing next to him. "Go on Wormtail," he said in the silkiest voice possible for him. It was hard to contain the excitement boiling in his stomach. So many days he had wished for a valid reason to rid his house of that vermin and here it was staring him right in the face.

It took a few more minutes of prodding, and a few more silencing Granger, for the rat to finally drink his potion, and drink the cup of useless sludge right next to it. In five minutes the potion would take effect and Wormtail would begin the long, slow, dying process.

The potion would begin first with the stomach, tearing through the walls and turning the organ into goo. It would then move to his intestines, liver, kidneys, and all other lower organs. After that, the potion attacks the brain, putting it through a veritable cheese grader. What little was left would begin to come out through his ears while the last remaining organ, his heart, went through the same process. He would already be on the floor, twitching wildly, screaming in pain while blood seemed through every orifice.

Severus was especially excited to see the blood pouring from the eyes.

Three minutes later, both Hermione and Wormtail were looking relieved and Severus was trying not to look smug. "So does this mean that I was perfect?" She asked in a much too cheerful tone.

"It takes five minutes to take full effect." He answered as he continued to stare at the rodent. "If in two minutes he begins to scream, then it means that you failed and he is going to die."

Wormtail looked as though he was about to faint as he clutched the side of the table for dear life. His body began to shake and Severus began to notice signs of the potion working. Another minute passed before Wormtail fell to the floor. Hermione shrieked and covered her horrified mouth with her hands.

"Perhaps you should have studied harder, Miss Granger," Severus remarked dryly right before a shrill cry began to echo in the small room. The potion had begun to work.

Granger had begun to move to help the writhing rat but Severus grabbed her by the arm and held her back. "There's nothing we can do."

"We can't let him die!" She screamed over the dying man.

"There is nothing else we can do!" He answered sharply, raising his voice and tightening his grip. He was looking her straight in the eye and she was looking back at him with equal fury. Was she going to blame him for this? Try to pass the guilt onto him for making her try it out? Well she could try, but he certainly wasn't going to allow it.

"I suggest you take this as a learning opportunity and see, firsthand, what your potion does to its victim." He hissed before looking away and watching with morbid fascination the man on the floor. The blood was pouring from his eyes and ears and making a huge mess on the floor. As punishment for her mucked potion he should make her clean it up without the aide of magic.

The screams were like music to his ears as he watched with delight. He would need to ask the Dark Lord for more test subjects at the next revel, so as to further Miss Granger's education of course.

It took ten minutes for Wormtail to die, by which time Granger had started to sob. A good number of tears and fallen on his hand and once he was sure she wouldn't run to the body, he wiped his hand on the sleeve of her robes and started to leave the room. It was difficult to walk over Wormtail without getting a bit of blood or organ mush on his shoes or robes and before he went up the stairs, issued one final instruction.

"Clean him up."

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Ok so in all fairness I never expected to kill Wormtail. Ever. But when Snape thought about it, I knew I had to do it. The chapter would have taken so much longer to get out if I hadn't. Hopefully now that things are starting to calm down again I'll be able to post more often. I mean I just started knitting some HP stuff so I'm getting more in the HP mood so that's good. I promise I won't take eight months to update next time. Anyway I hope you enjoy and please review and tell me what you think! 


	10. Chapter 10

**OH! Look at me go :) Two chapters in one month, I'm quite impressed. Well I know this one is a bit short but didn't want to keep going on the last bit because then it would have taken me even longer to get the chapter out. So I'm stopping here for now. Hopefully the next chapter will be a bit lighter than previous ones and who knows? Maybe it'll come out even sooner than this one did. After all I am looking forward to writing it. Anyway enough talking. All I have left to ask is that you please read and review! Your opinions mean the world to me!**

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It was vile what he was making her do. She had moved the body to the other side of the room so that she could clean up the blood and filth without having to look at him. It still hadn't sunk in, what had just happened. He didn't seem dead. Now away from the pool of blood and whatever else had seeped out of his body, he looked peaceful.

But as she scrubbed his fluids off of the floor the reality of the situation was impossible to forget. He _was_ dead and she had killed him. Snape's potion had been perfect as always but hers hadn't. She had done something wrong alone the way and it had killed him. The screams still rang in her ear and she fought the urge to spill her lunch on the floor.

She was now a murderer. A killer. She felt no pity for the man lying a few feet away from her, but instead felt worried for herself. Even though she had rid the world of one more Death Eater, she was now eligible for a cell in Azkaban. What if she angered Snape and he told the ministry? What would happen then?

The thought was too much to bear so she banished it from her mind. No one would know, she did have stuff on Snape after all. She knew of his illegal activities that not even Dumbledore knew about. If he tried to send her away then she could do the same to him.

It took the rest of the night to finish cleaning up. By the time she was done there was no trace of Peter Pettigrew on the floor, save for his body. She went upstairs and found Snape sitting on his threadbare couch reading.

"I finished cleaning but I didn't know what to do with the body so I just left it there."

"Put him in the third cellar. I'll deal with him later." He said not even looking up from his book.

"But sir," she began, "that's where you keep ingredients. Wouldn't he contaminate them?"

This time he put down his book and looked her dead in the eye. He seemed irritated and rightly so. She had just killed his servant. "No. He's human, just like the rest of the things in that room."

Hermione's eyes went wide and her hands quickly went up to cover her mouth. Horror crossed her face and she prayed that he was joking.

"Go on," he demanded, "I won't be able to use him if he rots."

On shaky legs she turned and walked down the stairs. She grabbed Pettigrew's limp arms and dragged him across the room towards the cellar Snape had designated. She opened the door and the candle inside lit itself. This time she was going to take a closer look at what was really in the jars and barrels.

The vomit was harder to stop this time. He hadn't been joking. Five barrels lined one wall, each full to the brim with fingers, one barrel for each different finger. Jars of intestines and vials of blood were everywhere. There were eyes, necks, and shreds of skin staring at her. It was horrifying, revolting, and she fought the urge to bolt out of there.

So she dragged Pettigrew in as quick as she could and almost slammed the door shut. Afterwards she ran up the stairs, past Snape, and up to the bathroom. Once there she lifted the toilet and vomited.

She spilled her guts for five minutes before she was reduced to dry heaving. Tears were flowing from her eyes as she clutched her stomach and hovered over the toilet. She had flushed many times so there was nothing left but water in the bowl, yet it still smelled foul.

She could hear the clicking of Snape's shoes as he walked up the stairs. Hermione prayed that he was just on his way to his room but she realized that nothing could go right today when he stopped just inside the bathroom.

Her head was still lulled against the toilet when she came in and though her pride hated the fact that he saw her like this, there was nothing to be done. Her body was weak from the constant convulsing and so all she could do was turn her head to look at him.

He was sneering at her and his nose was bunched up, probably because of the horrible smell. "Welcome to the darker side of potions making, Miss Granger." He said mockingly.

"You, you murdered people so that you could have potions ingredients." She whispered. It was hard to believe the words coming out of her mouth. She always knew that Snape was a retched and vile man but never did she think him capable of this.

"I've never murdered anyone for ingredients. Everything you saw down there was a gift from the Dark Lord, victims of raids and battles."

"But Pettigrew, you're going to use him."

"Yes I am," He explained, "but I did not kill him. That was all you."

Another wave of vomit spewed out of her mouth and into the toilet bowl. There was nothing left in her stomach except for bile and that was exactly what came out. It burned her raw throat and caused fresh tears to fall down her face. "I didn't mean to kill him." She responded weakly.

"And here I thought you'd be glad. Not only did you rid the world of one more Death Eater but you've finally punished the man who orphaned your best friend."

It was true, she was glad that the rat was finally gone and out of their lives but she still hated the fact that she had killed him. She was a murderer! Someone is dead because of her. All because she botched the potion. "I didn't mean to." She continued to say, "You're not going to tell Dumbledore are you? She asked.

"No," Snape answered curtly, "telling him would raise too many questions."

For the first time since he came home she relaxed. He wasn't going to tell anyone, she was safe. She wanted to push herself up from the toilet but she still didn't have the strength. Snape must have noticed this and he tossed her a vial that she almost missed. She didn't feel like looking at it to see what exactly she was drinking and instead pulled out the cork and downed the liquid in one gulp. It had a surprisingly pleasant taste and it wasn't near as thick as she expected it to be. A few seconds later she was feeling better and a minute later she was able to stand up and step away from the toilet.

Snape stood in the doorway while Hermione washed off her face in the sink. It was amazing how much better she was feeling and she wondered what exactly he had given her. Most health potions tasted awful and were thicker than molasses but not this one. "What exactly did you give me?" She asked as she began to dry her face with a towel.

"One of my own creations. It helps with nausea."

She nodded her head and set the towel down. She stared at the sink and took a deep breath. "Are you going to kick me out?"

She didn't dare look up to see his face, it would give her the answer quicker than his mouth. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the disappointing answer, but it never came.

"No," was the all he said.

She looked up at him clearly surprised and asked, "What?"

"The proper question right now is, do you want to continue? You've already killed one wizard and I can tell you that it won't be the last time. When the Dark Lord learns of Wormtail's death he will send me a new helper, another low ranking Death Eater, and in time a potion you create will kill him as well. You will be using the ingredients in cellar three and harvesting them as well. So will you be able to handle that? Can you live with the fact that you're going to be murdering Death Eaters for the sake of your education?"

"Yes."

The answer was out of her mouth before she even had proper time to think about it. Surely she couldn't have meant that, but before she could change her mind Snape was gone. Hermione turned back and took a good look at herself in the mirror.

She didn't recognize herself. Dark circles were now permanently attached to her face. Lines had begun to form on her forehead and her skin looked pasty and pale. Her hair had grown even more unruly and it had dulled considerably. She was thinning too, though most girls her age would consider that a perk. It bothered her though. She wasn't the same girl that had first walked in the doors. Even her character was beginning to change. She had only been living with him for a little over two months and she was already beginning to pick up on some of his mannerisms. She had begun sneer at everything, especially Pettigrew. Insults were quick out of her mouth whenever the opportunity presented itself. Her mood was considerably darker and had turned almost murderous in the days following her visit to the Burrow.

This house and that man were poison. They were slowly destroying her piece by piece. And yet she had no desire to leave. Her desire for knowledge was too strong, she wouldn't let anything get in her way. Thoughts of switching to a different Potions Master had crossed her mind but she knew they would never teach her the things that Snape would.

But how far was she willing to go for the sake of knowledge. Snape had promised that this wouldn't be the last man she would kill. Could she really live with herself if she willingly murdered a man?

The Order does it every day, she thought. In battles and skirmishes with the Death Eaters they have been known to kill. So what she would be doing was no different, except she would be killing them in the name of science.

That line of thought didn't really satisfy her conscience just yet, but it was a start. For now she justified the murder by telling herself that he was better off dead. Pettigrew had brought back the Dark Lord. He had betrayed and been responsible for the murder of Harry's parents. He had hidden and tricked the Weasley family for thirteen years. That man was vile and he deserved to die a horrible, painful death.

An image of him writhing and screaming on the floor entered her mind but she felt no need to throw up. Cold hatred filled her heart and she remembered his pain with satisfaction. Like Malfoy in her third year, Pettigrew deserved to be hurt.

She took one last look in the mirror before she left the bathroom and walked downstairs to the kitchen. The grumbling of her stomach echoed in the stairway and she hurried towards the kitchen. Snape was in there, staring at one of the cabinents while sipping whatever was in his glass. He looked deep in thought and so Hermione tried to stay quiet so that she didn't disturb him. She opened the door to the fridge and grabbed some fresh turkey slices and some lettuce and tomato and started to make a sandwich for herself. It wasn't going to be near enough but she didn't feel like trying to cook tonight.

After her sandwich was made she poured herself a glass of milk and brought her food into the sitting room. Half of the sandwich was gone in two bites as well as the entire glass of milk. It was alright but it wasn't what she wanted. She was craving fish and chips. Her mouth watered as she remembered the taste and her stomach growled even louder.

And then she remembered something. She _hated_ fish and chips. The only time she ever craved them was during that time of the month. But it couldn't be, could it? She ran upstairs to look at the calendar she had by her bed and her heart sunk.

She walked once again to the bathroom and checked under the sink for her female products but all she found was empty boxes. This wasn't good. It was bad enough that she was going to start soon but to be so unprepared? That was it, she needed to go out.

Once more she walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. Snape was right where he had been before, still staring at the cabinet and nursing his glass of whatever. She hated to disturb him but she had to. She cleared her throat but he didn't move, he didn't even blink. So she cleared her throat a bit louder and again he refused to move.

Physical contact wasn't an option. It like what they say about sleepwalkers, touching was always a bad idea. So she started to talk and hoped that he listened to her.

"Sir, I need to go out for a bit, if that's ok with you."

"You will go nowhere." He finally said, continuing to stare at the same spot. He finished the drink in his hand and put it in the sink before turning to look at her. "I'm afraid you've lost the privilege of leaving this house until term."

Now this was going to get awkward. "But sir, you don't understand," she started to explain before he cut her off.

"My decision is final Granger, you will not be leaving."

He was about to brush past her to leave when she blurted out, "But I need tampons."

That stopped him dead in his tracks. She looked up at him and swore she saw the tiniest bit of rogue grace his cheeks. If this were any other time she would have found it funny but she was a bit to mortified currently to find any humor in the situation.

"Get your money." He said stiffly before quickly leaving the kitchen.

Hermione let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and ran up to her room once more. This time her legs started to complain half way up and she realized how much she had put her poor body through today. Her limbs were in the right to be complaining. First she spent hours on the couch reading, then she was standing for an even longer stretch of time making the potion, then that horrible experience in the bathroom.

She was surprised that she was even up and about. Not an hour earlier she was hanging onto the toilet for dear life mourning the death of the man she had just murdered and now she was running up the stairs to go to the store.

Perhaps like most things the death would take a day or two to sink in. Or perhaps his death really didn't bother her. Either way she wasn't going to complain. It's not as though she would rather lay in bed and cry and dry heave for the rest of the day. No she was happy with the mood she was currently in.

Once in her room she grabbed her bag of coins and walked down the stairs. Snape was waiting for her by the door, dressed in his muggle clothes. If there was one thing she would never get used to, it was the sight of her potions master in a pair of muggle pants and t-shirt. Now that was something she would have to get on film, no one else would believe her if she said that Snape actually wore colors other than black. Granted his preferred colors were green and gray but they were colors none the less.

They looked at each other and Snape opened the door for her. She walked outside and took in the bleak surroundings, grateful that she would be spending the rest of the evening in a much nicer part of town. She never told Snape but she had always been afraid of his neighborhood at night. Once they made it to the apparation point, Hermione confirmed their destination with her Professor and with a pop they were gone.


End file.
