A Proposal

His daydreams were obliterated by a soft knock at the classroom door. 'Of all the... who the bloody hell could that be?' he seethed to himself, laying down his quill and steepling his hands under his chin. "Come in!" he bellowed.

The door opened slowly, and one of the last faces he expected to see peered around the edge: Hermione Granger, resident Gryffindor know-it-all and supposed brightest witch of her age.

His mood went from one of extreme annoyance to one of extreme astonishment when she smiled at him. It was a tight, hesitant smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Good evening, Professor. I-I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time?" Her eyes found the papers on his desk. "If you're not too busy, that is."

'A moment of my time?' he thought, narrowing his eyes at her. 'Not too busy? She must want something... oh, this should be rich.'

After exhaling a sigh that bespoke of what a tremendous inconvenience her presence was, he paused, scowling at her before opening his steepled hands out towards her, palms up. "Well? Come in Miss Granger, I haven't got all night."

Realizing her good fortune at finding him in a somewhat tolerable mood, she quickly entered and shut the door quietly behind her. She had her satchel slung over her left shoulder as usual. No doubt she had been off studying for final exams before she had come to see him. As if she needed to still be studying. She could have sat her NEWTs in her fifth year and probably still passed at the head of the class... the seventh-year class.

She slowly approached the dais on which his desk sat. "How are you this evening, sir?" she asked as she laid her bag down on the top of the nearest desk.

Up went his eyebrow. "Seeing as how my few moments of blessed solitude have just been interrupted by a young woman who knows for a fact that she will... no doubt... receive an 'O' in my class, so should have no reason whatsoever to pester me about last minute extra credit or revisions... I would have to say my evening has just gone from bad," he gestured at the essays spread out on his desk, "to worse," he finished, with a gesture in her general direction.

She smiled at him again, confidently this time. "As you said, sir, I know that I'm probably going to receive an Outstanding in Potions, so I have no reason to need extra credit or to do any revising. I... I actually... well, I have a proposal for you." Up went the other eyebrow. "If you would hear me out, that is... sir."

He simply could not help himself. "A proposal, Miss Granger? I daresay, aren't you a little young to be throwing around proposals at dangerous, shady men twice your age?" He sat back in his chair and crossed her arms over his chest, eyebrow still raised as he waited to see how she would respond.

Her confidence faltered for a moment as her brow scrunched together in confusion. "What? No... how... why would you think..." she shook her head in frustration. "What?" she asked again, now extremely flustered.

He sighed and leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his desk. "For a young woman who is supposed to be among one of the brightest students ever to grace these hallowed halls, you really have no concept of the subtle nature of sarcasm, do you Miss Granger."

Her face flushed as she looked at the floor. "Oh. I... I'm sorry, sir. It's just... well, I've... I've never... well, sir..."

"Oh, for God's sake, spit it out, woman!" he said impatiently, gesturing at her with his right hand.

"I've never heard you make a joke before, sir." She lifted her eyes to meet his and he could see that her lips were turned up in another small but genuine smile.

"Well, consider it the first and last time then. What do you want?"

She drew in a deep breath before speaking. Her previous stammering had obviously annoyed him, so she summoned all her courage and got right to the point. "I would like you to consider me for an apprenticeship, sir."

He stared at her for span of two heartbeats before letting out a short, barking laugh. "Ha! Have your wits left you?! What makes you think I would take on an apprentice, yet alone an apprentice with such... affiliations... as yourself? More importantly..." he paused, watching her as she stood placidly, silently taking his chastising, "... more importantly, Miss Granger, why, when every other teacher in this God-forsaken school would... literally... melt into a quivering mass of jovial hysterics should you approach them with the same... proposal, would you come to me?"

"The truth, sir?"

He sneered, leaning back once again and turning his hands palm up as he spread his arms in a gesture of acquiescence. "Do enlighten me."

"You just answered it for yourself, sir." When he looked at her with an expression that said he was not in the mood for subtlety, she quickly continued. "Every other teacher would have gladly accepted me into the position without a second thought. You, on the other hand, I knew you would probably turn me down the second I asked you. You are more demanding than any other teacher at Hogwarts, and you have never once let me slide by because of my 'affiliations' as you so lovingly called them. I want to challenge myself, Professor, and you are the only person who will truly let me. That is, if you accept my proposal." She stood straight, her hands clasped nervously at her waist, her eyes on his while his mind worked over her words.

'Hmph... so the little princess thinks she can flatter me to get what she wants? How very... Slytherin of her,' he thought to himself. He broke her gaze and leaned forward once more, unconsciously picking up his quill and rolling it between his long fingers. He looked back to her, scrutinizing her, measuring her up. He had to admit, despite her near constant hand waving and the bleeding heart she had held for idiots like Neville Longbottom, she was admittedly one of the few pupils that he had actually enjoyed teaching over the last seven years. She wanted to learn – she craved knowledge. She was very much like him in that aspect. Not that he would ever admit it.

"Miss Granger, I have to tell you, I have never before even considered taking on an apprentice." Her eyes were fixed on the black feather spinning in his hands. "Come to think of it, no one has ever been stupid enough to even approach me with the idea."

He saw her shoulders fall slightly – she was disappointed.

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry for wasting your time then, sir. I'll just be going." She turned to leave, but his voice stopped her.

"I did not say that I would not consider it. I simply stated the fact that no one has ever been able to tolerate my presence long enough to consider apprenticing with me, nor have I gone out of my way to find such a person."

"So, you're saying you will consider it then?" Her demeanor had brightened considerably, which threw him off. How could she be happy at the prospect of spending the next four years of her life bound to someone like him? Surely she must know the consequences of the binding? The conditions?

He sighed as he pushed his chair away from his desk. The legs screeched loudly against the cold stone floor. Coming to his feet, he stepped down off the dais slowly, deliberately.

He had taken her by surprise when he had gotten up, so as he walked towards her, she watched him move like a trapped rabbit watches a fox, with only her eyes. Her body remained frozen as he came to a stop mere inches from her.

He could feel the heat radiating from her body as he stood close, looking at her face, trying to ascertain her truthfulness. He could see that she was tense, her brow furrowed in thought, her front teeth frantically working her lower lip.

"Go on, then," she whispered finally.

His brow bunched in confusion.

She turned her face up to his. "If you don't believe me, look into my mind... go on."

She closed the distance between them as she spoke, so that now only a hand's breadth separated them. She continued to hold his gaze with those deep brown eyes of hers. 'So, she thinks she wants to apprentice with me, does she? We shall see...'

He knew he shouldn't – she would not be able to push him out of her mind if he delved too deep. Of its own volition, his right hand rose to clasp her about the throat, his index finger and thumb pressing into the curve of her jawbone on either side of her face. She gasped audibly as he suddenly tilted her head up at a more severe angle. Her pulse was racing – he could feel it against the skin of his hand, fluttering rapidly like some wild thing trapped under the skin of her neck. Skin that was so very soft, so very warm...

For a split second his mind wondered what that pulse point would taste like beneath his lips, his tongue, and what sounds would come from her mouth if he grazed it with his teeth. His lips parted as sensations he hadn't felt in a long time swept over him.

After a long, tense moment, he let his fingers slide from her jaw-line and down her neck, where they barely grazed the hollow at the base before dropping to his side. The movement was just slow enough to be intimate, but swift enough that he knew she would not really take it as such.

So it was with a one-sided smirk that he noticed the gooseflesh that peppered across her skin at his deliberate caress. She still watched him, however. Her breathing had started to come faster, whether from fear... or other things... he could not tell.

As reality came rushing back, he stepped away slightly and finally spoke. "I will not violate the sanctity of your mind." 'However tempting it may be,' he added as a mental afterthought.

"I am not a nice man, Miss Granger, but I am also not one to take things that are not... willingly... and wholeheartedly given." She continued to watch him as he spoke, relief flooding her face.

"Go back to your tower. Think carefully about your request. There is much more to an Apprentice/Master relationship than I believe even you realize. I also believe that you will find me a harsh and difficult Master... one that will test your strengths and rid you of your weaknesses. If I so choose, that is."

She forced a small smile. "So that's a 'yes' then, sir?"

He looked at her, calculating. "Indeed."

"Thank you, sir! More than you will ever know!" Her cheerfulness was almost more than he could stand. When she didn't immediately turn to leave, but instead stood there simply smiling at him, he began to eye her warily.

"What is it, Miss Granger?"

Her smile widened a little. "Well, sir... if you were anyone else," she dipped her head in embarrassment, "I'd be forced to hug you."

"Miss Granger, I..." He held up his hands and backed away, horror etching his face at the prospect of the young girl – no, woman – throwing herself at him so unceremoniously. However, all things considered, it would definitely not be the worst thing that had ever happened to him, and she was rather pretty, after all.

'What!?' his inner voice screamed.

He could see her teeth when she smiled this time, pulling her bag back to her shoulder. "Don't worry... I've never taken you for the hugging type, sir."

To say he was utterly relieved when she headed towards the door was an understatement.

"You will receive my owl sometime within the next week, letting you know my final decision," he said, moving quickly back to his desk, lest she change her mind and decide that he was indeed the hugging type.

She nodded and smiled again before opening the door to leave.

"Oh, and Hermione..."

"Sir?"

"You're welcome."

She literally beamed at him.

He glowered back. "But I swear if you tell anyone what I've just said, I'll hex you into two weeks from last Thursday."

"Don't worry, sir... I'll consider it the first and the last time."

He smirked at her as she left his office. 'Cheeky little swot,' he thought. 'Well, at least there's a slim chance that she won't be cowering away from me at every turn.'

He picked up his quill and returned to his marking.

As the raven's feather scratched quickly across the parchment, marking essay after meaningless essay, his thoughts remained on the young woman who had just vacated his office. He thought of the absurdness of the fact that she had come to him, instead of the likes of Minerva or Filius. He thought of the way she had smiled at him when he had said he would consider her proposal. He thought of the way she had looked him boldly in the eye, freely offering up her mind should he wish to verify the truth of her words.

Over the next several days, Severus Snape thought of many more things that concerned Hermione Granger...