Chapter 2

Hermione had awoken to find her bag and books on the chair along with her assignments from the day. She quietly read through some notes that Snape had left her and started on her homework.

When she returned to the Gryffindor common room, she was ambushed by her new friends.

"Mione, I'm so sorry; I didn't mean it. I was just trying to get at him. Snivellus is such a bastard," Sirius said the minute she walked through the portrait hole.

"Actually, I think that word is a little harsh, Sirius. Yes, he is cruel and mean, but not a bastard. He actually helped me and apologized for hurting me."

"No way--"

"Not Snivellus!"

"Yes, and his name is Severus."

"Don't tell me you have a sweet spot for the greasy git," James said.

"No. I'm new here, and I don't want to go making enemies just yet. But, thank you for your opinions; I'll keep them in mind."

"Come on, Mione. The boys are going to hang out by the Quidditch Stadium. We can take our books and study while they screw around," Lily said.

"Okay, at least one of you has their head on straight," Hermione joked.

A week had passed, and Hermione was already going mad. She didn't know how much longer she could stand being back in time. James and Harry were so much alike that each time she saw him, she wanted to cry. Lily had reminded her of Ginny, which made her think of Ron. She adored Remus and wished she could tell him who she was, being that he was going to be the only person who would be alive when she returned... if she ever returned. She ignored Peter, trying very hard to not hex him each time she saw him. Sirius was a flirt, and she enjoyed his attention and didn't want to deny him that pleasure, seeing as he was only three years away from being locked away in hell.

Then there was Snape. He hadn't talked to her since that first day. He had even changed his seat in Potions to the opposite side of the room. She couldn't take her eyes off of him--she wanted to be near him, to smell him and get to know him. Several times, she had been staring at him, and he had looked up like he knew she was watching him.

She had passed him on the way to her Muggle Studies class that afternoon; it was as if they were in slow motion as they walked directly next to each other, locking eyes for a split second, then turning away quickly. She yearned for him desperately, but didn't know how to approach him.

It was Friday night, which meant it was game night. Hufflepuff against Gryffindor. Hermione knew she needed to go and support James, but something in the back of her mind told her to stay at the school. She had explained to Lily that she was very tired and would meet up with her later.

Hermione was on the way back from the bathroom after having had a nice, refreshing shower, humming to herself along the empty corridor, when a hand shot across her face, and her body was wrapped into black robes and pulled inside an empty classroom.

"AHHHHHH...mpffff--mpffff!!!" She had started to scream, but her sounds were muffled by the cold hand. The classroom was very dark, and only a small sliver of moonlight was shining in toward the back of the room, leaving her in almost complete darkness.

"Calm down! I won't hurt you."

Severus! She stopped squirming, anticipating his next words.

"If I let you go, promise you won't scream?"

She nodded her head.

"Good girl." He removed his hand from her face and let his other one release her waist. "I've been watching you all week."

"You scared me to death! If you wanted to talk to me, you should have done it a different way!"

"Element of surprise. Keeps things interesting," he whispered.

"What do you want?"

"Potter and Black haven't done anything to me this week. What have you told them? And don't lie!"

"I don't know... They called you a bastard the day after I left the hospital wing, and I told them that you weren't one. Although, you can be cruel. And that you actually helped me. That's it; I swear."

"I don't need your fucking pity."

Hermione's heart sank at his use of words. "Pity? I do not pity you!"

"Then what do you call it?"

"Sticking up for someone I lo... like!"

He had grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer. She could feel his breath as he spoke to her, and she wished he would kiss her.

"I told you not to lie to me."

"It's not a lie... I like you."

"Why?" he snapped.

"I just do!"

Snape released her and fled from the dark classroom, leaving Hermione bewildered.

Stupid girl. Doesn't she know who she's messing with? Potter and Black probably put her up to screwing with my mind. I'll get to the bottom of her nonsense, though. Watch out, Mione! Nobody pulls the wool over the Half-Blood Prince's eyes and gets away with it!

Hermione slowly left the empty classroom, walked back to her dorm and lay down on the bed.

Way to go, Granger. You just scared him off. You are here for a purpose, so do your job and stop dreaming of Severus... SNAPE! Think of him as Snape!

She pulled the blankets over her shivering body and drifted off to sleep.

It was early the next morning when she awoke and snuck down to the common room. Remus was sitting on the chair in front of the fire, looking very pale.

Without turning his head, he spoke to her. "Good morning, Mione. You're up awfully early."

She knew that he smelled her, but she had to play it off like she didn't know anything.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Sixth sense."

"Well, it seems you are the one who is up early."

"I never went to bed," he said.

She walked over to the other large chair across from him and sat down. "Why not?"

"I'm not feeling well. I get sick easily, and when I do, I usually can't sleep."

Hermione felt so bad for him; she wanted to show her support but couldn't. "I'm sorry to hear that. Did you go to the game?"

"Yes, we won. Did you not hear the party that was going on here last night?"

"I was fast asleep. It's been a long and strange week."

"Understandable. But you weren't alone, were you?" he said with a suspicious tone.

"I don't think I understand." Her heart started pumping harder.

"Hmm." He stood up and leaned over her and took a deep whiff of her body.

"Excuse me!" she said, shocked.

"I told you that I have a sixth sense about these things. What did he want?" He sat back down in the chair, waiting to hear her story.

"What did who want?"

"You know who. And you know that I know."

Before she could answer, the door to the common room flew open and someone came through the portrait hole.

"We'll continue this later," he whispered. "Ah, Sirius... sleep elsewhere last night?"

Sirius came strolling over to where they were sitting and plopped down next to Hermione, sighing with relief. He had pink lip prints on his cheek, his hair was untidy, his shirt was buttoned wrong, and his shoelaces were untied.

"Yep. Those twins in Ravenclaw have more energy than a crazy Cornish Pixie."

"Eww," Hermione said with disgust.

Remus started laughing. "Yes, well, don't complain. You brought that on yourself!"

"I know. I'm going to go bathe, then take a long nap." He looked over at Hermione. "Perhaps I could persuade you to give me a hand in the tub?" He smirked.

"Get out of here!" She chuckled. "Speaking of bathing, I'm going to go get a shower, head down to breakfast, and then do some homework, so I'll be back much later."

"Mmm... maybe I should lend you a hand in the tub?" Sirius said.

Hermione snorted at Sirius as she walked back up to the dorm to retrieve her bathroom items.

"I had to ask!" Sirius shouted from behind her.

Damn Remus Lupin and that nose! He knows about Severus... SNAPE! And you know he won't stop pestering you about it either.

"Hi, Lily. Did I wake you?" Hermione asked when she walked through the door.

"No, my stomach did. Too much butterbeer last night--we won, though!"

"Yes, Remus told me."

"You missed a great game... ugh! What type of perfume are you wearing?" Lily said, scrunching her nose. Hermione smelled her arm, the one that Sirius had been closest to.

"Essence of Ravenclaw twins. Courtesy of Sirius Black," Hermione said.

"Enough said." Lily giggled. "I warned you that he was a ladies' man."

"Yes, and a major flirt."

"Of course. The trick, though, is to get a boyfriend. Ever since James and I started dating, he has left me alone."

"I'm working on that," Hermione said quietly.

It had now officially been a month since she arrived in 1976. Halloween was a few days away, and Hermione had not yet started figuring out how to go about warning people about the coming years. She actually put it to the back of her mind; she was more interested in getting to know these people, especially the mysterious boy who would become the man she loved.

After Snape cornered her in the classroom a few weeks ago, he had only talked to her once, when they were paired in D.A.D.A.

"Come on! Give me all you've got," he taunted her.

"You don't want me to hex you. I'll make your eyes cross!" she shot back.

The class was outside by the Black Lake, practicing, and Snape took her to an area that was the furthest from the rest of the class. They had been paired and were told to cast defensive spells against each other. Snape had only done a small spell on her; he didn't want to hear her cry. But, when she stood back up, he realized that he had underestimated the new girl.

"Rictusempra!" she shouted.

Snape fell to the floor laughing; it was like a thousand hands were tickling him to death. Hermione walked over to him and released the jinx. He was lying on the ground looking up into her eyes, thinking she was going to hex him again. He tried to reach for his wand without moving too much, but it wasn't near him.

"You should laugh more often, Severus. You look very handsome when you do." Hermione left him there on the ground and walked back toward the class.

That was all Snape needed to decide that this witch had lost her mind. Handsome? He had never heard that word directed toward him. Black, maybe, but not him. He was still lying on the ground when another person leaned over him, blocking the sun and creating a silhouette.

"What did you do to her, Snivellus? I saw her storm off after she attacked you."

"Sod off, Black."

Snape rolled onto his side, away from Sirius, gathered his wand and jumped to his feet.

"You're pathetic. Letting a girl out-duel you."

"You're pathetic, thinking that your usual tactics of seduction will work on a girl like her! I've seen the way you flirt with her!" Snape snapped back.

"On a girl like her? Tell me, Snivellus, do you like Mione?"

Snape had started to walk away when Sirius tripped him. "You do, don't you? Severus Snape, the greasy git of the dungeons, actually likes a girl! And a Gryffindor girl, for that matter! I guess that means those rumors that you're gay aren't true--"

"I said, sod off! Incarcerous!" Thick ropes jumped out of Snape's wand and bound Sirius' arms to his body, causing him to topple over. Snape turned and left him there. Sirius was trying to wiggle himself free.

Great. Now the whole school will think that I like that annoying girl. I better get her alone before he has a chance to rot her mind.

Hermione was talking with Lily when Severus approached her. "We are supposed to be working together for the remainder of the class; you still owe me fifteen minutes of your time." Hermione grinned and then followed Snape toward the edge of the Lake.

"Okay, you have my attention. What would you like to practice now?"

"Nothing, I just needed to warn you about something."

"What?" she said, sounding serious.

"Black. He saw you jinx me, and we got into another argument. Basically, now he thinks I like you and will be telling the whole school as much. By the end of the day, no doubt."

"And?" she huffed.

"AND? I DON'T LIKE YOU--I mean... err... I was just warning you!"

"Fine, you warned me," she said sadly and tried to walk past him.

"Mione," he grabbed her arm, "I'm sorry; that didn't come out correctly. I figured you would be disgusted by the thought that I would like you."

"Disgusted? I meant what I said earlier. You should laugh more often." She pulled out of his grip and walked away. He ran after her.

"Mione, wait. Look, I'm not a nice person. Don't try to be friends with me."

"I'll do what I want." She kept walking.

"Err, woman! You are driving me insane. Stay away from me--I'm no good!"

She stopped and turned to him. "No good? Why do you say that about yourself?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

She took a step closer to him, looking up at him with caring eyes. "Severus, there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up. Would you like to join me?"

"I... I don't go there. No."

"How about I stay behind?"

"Is this some sort of joke that you and your friends are trying to pull?"

"No, you jerk! I'm trying to ask you out, and you are making this very difficult! Forget it!"

Hermione ran off in tears. Severus stood there, angry. He blamed Potter and Black--he was always suspicious of things, and now, when something genuine came along, he ruined it.

"She really does like you, Severus," said a soft voice from behind some bushes.

Snape turned, pulling his wand out, and faced Remus.

"Lupin. Get out of here."

"No, Severus. I heard every word. You are acting like a fool, thinking she has some sort of plot to trick you. She really does fancy you; believe me, I can sense it."

"What do you care?"

"I care about her because she's my friend, and I don't want to see her unhappy--and trust me, she has been very unhappy this past month. She's scared, and she thinks she's alone. She may put on a good front, but I know when she's been crying, and I know when she's angry, just like I know that you don't really hate her. So, please give her a chance. I think she would be good for you," Lupin stated.

"Damn you and your extra senses. Fine! There's no use in lying to you, but so help me, Lupin, if word of this gets to Black or Potter, I will--"

"I know, I know. You'll tell the entire school I'm a werewolf."

"Damn straight. Now move. I have to go ask someone out on a bloody date."

Severus pushed passed a smiling Lupin and hiked over to where Hermione was standing. He walked up behind her and leaned down to her ear, whispering quietly, "I'm sorry."

Hermione stiffened, but didn't turn her head, just continued to listen to the boy behind her.

"I would like it very much if you stayed behind this weekend. I want to take you somewhere special here on the grounds; is that okay?"

She shrugged her shoulders, playing hard to get.

"I promise I won't be an arse. I do like you--a lot. I'm just scared."

Finally, Hermione turned around and faced him.

"Me too," she said looking up into his dark eyes. "Meet me in the Great Hall Saturday, then."

"She must be hiding somewhere, Harry. You know when she wants to be alone, we can't find her."

"No, Ron. Something isn't right. Hermione has been missing for a full day! We can't even find her on the map! I think we need to tell Professor McGonagall."

"Fine, let's go."

Harry and Ron walked down to her office and knocked, but there was no answer. "It's getting late. Maybe she's doing rounds before bed? Why don't we go get your map to find her more easily?"

"Good idea."

They started jogging up the stairs, but stopped because the stairs had started to move. They clutched the rails and waited for them to stop, but at the top of the landing waited the one person they were not looking for.

"Out wandering the halls again? You're lucky you have fifteen minutes to curfew. However, by the way you two were running--you weren't headed off to bed. Twenty points from Gryffindor."

"Professor Snape, please! It's Hermione," Ron pleaded.

"She's missing!" Harry shouted.

Snape raised his eyebrow. "Missing?"

"She's been gone for over twenty-four hours, and nobody has seen her! We have searched everywhere!"

"Over twenty-four hours?" he said slowly.

"Yes!" Harry bellowed.

"Shite." Snape pushed passed them and started running down the stairs, with Harry and Ron at his heels.

"Sir! What is going on?" Ron said

"Is it... Vold--"

Snape stopped suddenly, making Ron almost run into the back of him.

"How many times have I told you NOT to say his name in front of me!" he said to Harry.

"Sorry, but what's going on? Does he have anything to do with her disappearance?" Harry asked.

"Not directly. Fetch the Headmaster; I have to get something. I will meet you three in his office." He turned and started back down the stairs. Despite being nearly twenty years their senior, he was able to outrun Harry and Ron.

The boys went up to Dumbledore's office and started shouting all sorts of passwords to the gargoyle.

"He won't open up because I'm not in my office," said a tender voice from behind them.

"Professor Dumbledore! Hermione's been missing for over twenty-four hours, and Professor Snape told us to tell you and that he would meet us here in your office!" shouted Harry.

"She's missing? Oh, dear. Go inside, quickly." The stone gargoyle opened up, and Harry and Ron ran up the spiral stairs and into the office, hoping that Snape would be in there waiting on them. Instead, a raven patronus was floating around the office.

"Personal," the raven Patronus said in Snape's voice as Dumbledore walked into the room and spotted it. Then it disappeared.

"What was that?" Ron asked.

"I thought you said Severus went to get something?" Dumbledore said to Harry, ignoring Ron.

"He did--what's going on?" Harry said.

"He's been summoned. I don't think he will be making it to our meeting."

"Summoned! Couldn't he have waited until he told us where Hermione is?"

"No, you heard his Patronus. It said personal, meaning Voldemort specifically wanted to see him at that moment in time, and he had to go or would be severly hurt. What was he going to go get?"

"He didn't say. We told him she's been missing for over twenty-four hours, and he cursed and started running down the stairs. We followed him and asked what was going on, and that's when he told us to meet him here."

Dumbledore walked over to the fireplace and Floo-called Remus Lupin. "Please come here, Remus; it's urgent." In a flash, the D.A.D.A. teacher emerged from the fire. Since Kingsley Shacklebolt had taken over the Ministry, Remus was able to come back to Hogwarts and continue teaching.

"Remus, Hermione is missing. Severus was summoned, but he was supposed to meet me here with Harry and Ron. Have you seen her?"

"No," he said with a worried look on his face.

"I think we will have to wait until Severus gets back. He must know something that I don't." He turned to Harry and Ron. "I will alert you as soon as he returns. Until then, keep searching for her. But first, we will let the Order know she's missing, and we can search the grounds more thoroughly."

"She's not on the grounds, sir," Harry said.

"How do you know?" asked Dumbledore.

Harry turned his fixed glare on Remus. "She's not on the map."

Lupin's eyes widened.

"Map?" asked Dumbledore.

"Never mind about that right now, Albus. Hermione's in danger," Lupin said.

Thanks Lariope for betaing this chapter--again.