Uninvited

Tremendous thanks to my beta and second self, s and h forever. I am so thankful to have a beta that knows me so well and has been so instrumental in the writing of this story.

"But this is not allowed. You're uninvited, an unfortunate slight." (Uninvited, by Alanis Morissette)

Harry and Ron were sitting in the Great Hall with Hermione, being made extremely nervous by both her pensive attitude and apparent loss of appetite. This wasn't the Hermione they knew and loved, and although she certainly hadn't been the same since Snape began verbally abusing her at the beginning of the year, she never once looked as utterly depressed as she did now. They wanted to say something, to give her some comforting words of advice, but nothing came to mind. They were still speechless when they considered everything that had taken place that morning and only wished that it wasn't their best friend being thrust into the vengeful path of the most loathed teacher in Hogwarts history.

Unfortunately for Harry, he knew exactly what would await Hermione that evening, having been subjected to private Occulmency lessons with Snape just the previous school year. It had been such a miserable experience for them both that they were barely able to make it through more than three lessons before Snape refused to continue teaching him. Harry had never shared the details of his lessons with anyone; he had seen things he never should have been privy to and knew that Snape would have no reservations in saving Voldemort the trouble of having to kill him, should he reveal the information he now knew. Harry thought that Hermione had forgotten all about those days, until she asked the question he had hoped he wouldn't have to answer.

Hermione solemnly looked up from her untouched plate of food, stared Harry in the eyes, and said calmly, "Harry, I know you had private lessons with Snape last year. I want you to be honest and tell me how they were. I need to know what to expect. You know, 'constant vigilance' and all that."

Up until she left for dinner, Hermione had been feeling confident; she was certain that she could handle anything that Snape could throw at her. He was only human, after all. She didn't fear for her personal safety per se, just for her mental stability. Considering the quickly increasing list of her recent misconceptions, she grew more and more nervous as each passing minute brought her closer to their meeting. She thought she already knew what Harry's answer would be but was more than willing to take a chance and hope for the best.

Harry noticed the pleading look of desperation in her eyes, wishing that he could tell her everything was going to be fine, but he knew that he couldn't lie to Hermione. She'd hex him into next week if he did. "To be honest, Hermione, it was hell. I don't know what else to tell you. I'm sure it will be better for you, though. You're way smarter than I'll ever be... and I'm sure Snape hates me more than he could ever hate you."

"I seriously doubt that, Harry. You've gotten off easy with Snape this year, since all of his attention has been focused on demoralizing me. But thanks for being honest. It's not like I was expecting tonight to be all clouds, butterflies, and warm fuzzies. By the way, what time is it?"

"It's seven fifty-seven," muttered Ron, as he shoved yet another piece of cake in his mouth.

"FUCK," Hermione yelled, attracting the attention of far more students than she had intended. "Snape will kill me if I'm late. I've got to go! I'll fill you both in later!"

She leapt from the table and began sprinting to the dungeons, hoping that she would make it in time for her meeting with Snape. After knocking over several Slytherin first years and practically flinging herself down the stairs on her way, Hermione quickly found herself at the Potion master's door with exactly thirty-four seconds to spare. She hesitated a brief moment to catch her breath, wanting to maintain some semblance of control when she entered the room in order to spare herself a scathing remark from the professor before she even said "good evening" to him. She raised her fist, ready to knock on the large wooden door, but stopped suddenly as a harsh "Enter, Miss Granger," sounded from within. Before Hermione had time to consider the ways that Snape could have known she had been standing outside his door, she walked into the Potions classroom and found herself face to face, yet again, with Severus Snape.

God, I'm never going to get used to this, am I? Where the hell do my reactions come from? He's just another professor... Hermione chastised herself for complaining and becoming flustered this early into their appointment, and she tried to make small talk to calm her nerves.

"Good evening, sir. I hope you had an enjoyable dinner. I myself had a very meager appetite and wasn't inclined to eat much at all, but the roasted chicken did look delightful tonight." Hermione grimaced, noticing that her voice had gone up several octaves in the course of her conversation, and hoped that Snape wouldn't mistake it for genuine enthusiasm. If there was anything she wanted to avoid, it was acting like the eager "insufferable know-it-all" he loathsomely accused her of being.

Severus, of course, immediately noticed her discomfort at being with him alone. He himself was made rather uncomfortable, but for an entirely different reason, one that he wouldn't like to become public knowledge. He soon interrupted her, deciding to make their meeting as painless as possible for the both of them.

"Miss Granger, I am in no mood to humor your futile attempts at small talk. I wish to make this meeting brief and succinct so that we may both enjoy the rest of our evenings. Now, if you will follow me to my desk, there are some matters I would like to discuss with you before we begin your rather rigorous independent study." Snape turned on his heel and glided over to desk, gesturing for Hermione to take the seat across from him.

"Now, Miss Granger, in order for this to be a pleasant experience, I feel it necessary to set some ground rules. First, I expect that you keep all events and details specifically related to our work for the Order completely private. My definition of private includes your two miserable excuses for friends, Potter and Weasley. Should any of this information get to the Dark Lord, we would be in explicit danger of losing our lives and putting others at risk. If this means that I will have to give you private Occulmency lessons, so be it. We will cross that line if and when the time comes. Have I made myself completely clear on this matter?" Snape looked deep into Hermione's eyes, trying to gain some understanding of how she was handling the weight of his words, but found nothing. Severus began to think Hermione was shocked into silence, until she responded, meeting his burning gaze with one of her own. He hadn't expected such a strong reaction from her.

"Yes, sir, I understand the risk I am taking by helping you and the Order. I want nothing more than to protect those I love." Hermione stared down into her lap once more, lost in her thoughts of her family and friends, desperately hoping that she and Snape could find a way to keep them alive in the upcoming war.

Severus' gaze softened as he saw Hermione's pain and anxiety. She carries such great burdens for being so young. She doesn't deserve this. She loves too much for her own good. Before he got carried away by his thoughts, Snape continued describing the terms of Hermione's independent study.

"Second, as I'm sure you will expect, you are to perform all of your work diligently and in a timely manner. You will have free access to the Potions labs as well as my personal stores whenever you wish, so long as I am not teaching. Dumbledore has also requested that you have rooms installed in the dungeon wing of the castle, should you ever be required to work in the labs after curfew. I ask that you do not misuse this privilege nor let your curiosity get the best of you. I am a very private man, Miss Granger, and do not wish to have my personal affairs meddled with."

"I would never think of doing anything of the sort." Hermione wanted to make it clear that their work was a priority. "I assure you that my work will be done to the best of my abilities. I surely hope that in my five years as a student here at Hogwarts I have never given you reason to doubt my academic integrity. And I will gladly respect your demand for privacy. It seems that you've covered everything there is to discuss. Is that all for tonight?" Although their meeting wasn't as dreadful as Hermione had been anticipating, she was looking forward to an evening of reading in the common room and was hoping to leave soon. It was rare that she allowed herself a free night of recreation.

"I have one more provision to ask of you, Miss Granger..."

"Please, call me Hermione, Professor. You're going to have to address me personally much more than in our regularly scheduled classes, and hearing you call me Miss Granger all the time can be quite tedious." Hermione looked up in horror, mouth open, shocked by the words that had just come from her lips.

Did I really just invite Snape to use my first name? Have I gone completely mental? I can't have Snape going around calling me Hermione. It would be far too unprofessional, not to mention exceedingly creepy and bizarre. Hermione was soon put out of her misery when Snape replied to her interruption.

"I will do no such thing," Snape responded, looking slightly stunned. "I shall continue to refer to you as I have done for the past five years, as Miss Granger. I see no need for any greater familiarity between us simply because we will be working together academically. This leads directly to my third and final point of the evening. You are to speak to me as little as possible during our lessons together, unless absolutely necessary. I am very busy and will not tolerate being interrupted for superfluous chatter. You are not to 'stop by to see how I'm doing'. Personal calls will not be accepted. I refuse to be added to the list of people you see fit to run your mouth at unceasingly; save that practice for your common room. You may not bring your personal problems to work with you. As much as I don't care to share my personal life with you, I don't care to hear about yours. I know this may sound callous, but I am truly acting in your best interest."

There, Snape thought. That should prevent her from even entertaining the idea that I could be a pleasant person with whom to seek a friendship. Hopefully, she'll keep her distance, and I'll be able to do this without losing control of this already unpleasant situation. Well... not so unpleasant, he thought as he looked up at Hermione sitting in the chair across from him. God, she looks so...no, I will not let this happen now. Not ever. He needed to get her out of his classroom quickly and asked her once again if she accepted his terms of agreement.

Hermione looked back at him with hesitation. "Um... sure, Professor," she replied, confused by his unusual request. Still, she supposed there were much worse things he could require of her. "I'll try to talk to you as little as possible. May I go now?"

"Yes, Miss Granger," Snape answered softly, "you may leave now." He watched her as she crossed the room to his door, his eyes meeting her own when she turned around to look at him once more before leaving.

"Good night, Professor," Hermione said before closing the door behind her.

"Good night," he called after her, and waiting until after she had left, whispered, "Hermione."