A Restless Mind

Disclaimer: I have never owned any of these characters from the Harry Potter series and I never will. They all belong to the brilliant mind of J.K. Rowling, however this story belongs to me, spewing forth from my very own sick and demented mind. I don't plan on receiving any sort of profit for theses stories. I just love the characters so much that I HAVE to write about them.

Also, this is my FIRST story, so please, be nice and helpful. Enjoy! :)

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Chapter 3: A Restless Mind

Hermione ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She was tired and wanted nothing more than to go soak in the tub with some rose oil and loosen the knots in her shoulders and arms. As she turned the corner of the last hall that would lead her to the common room, Hermione hit something quite solid and hard, falling over backwards onto the floor with an "oof!"

"Ow!" she groaned slowly getting up while rubbing her shoulder, "Why don't you watch where you're... HARRY! RON! What are you doing?!"

"Hi, 'Mione," Harry grimaced rubbing the back of his neck, "Nice to see you're all right."

"All right? Why wouldn't I be all right?"

"Because it's almost bloody curfew!" Ron exclaimed rubbing his bum, "Harry and I got worried and decided to take the Invisibility Cloak to see what you were doing. Snape can't keep you captive all night!"

"Maybe not, but he can certainly keep me in detention all year if he wants."

"What do you mean, Hermione?" Harry asked quizzically.

"Professor Snape added four more days to my detention list."

"WHAT?!" Ron hollered rather loudly, "FOUR MORE DAYS?!"

"SHHHHH!" Harry and Hermione hissed, "Keep your voice down!"

"That dirty bastard!" Ron whispered harshly.

"RON!" Hermione snapped, "Hold your tongue!"

"Four more days?! Isn't that a bit much for one detention?" Harry questioned hoping to prevent Ron and Hermione from having a yelling match in the hall.

"Yes, well, I'm sure he felt it was justified," Hermione sighed, "especially after my 'horrible mouth' as he put it. Besides, he's just doing his job."

"Oh sure, Snape is doing his job if it's to be an unfair nasty ol' prat!" Ron spat.

"Stop it, Ron! Watch your mouth, AND as I've told you before, it's PROFESSOR Snape!"

"What's the matter, 'Mione?" Harry smiled mockingly while nudging her in the ribs, "Afraid he's lurking in the corner?"

"That man is a menace!" Ron ranted, "He's intolerable! He should be reported! He should be sacked! He should be... um... hung from the ceiling by his feet and beaten with sticks until candy pops out of him! He..."

"What are you babbling about now, Weasley?" a sharp voice snapped behind him.

The three Gryffindors whipped around and gasped to find none other than Professor Snape standing behind them.

"AH!" they cried in surprise.

"So much for the brave Gryffindor spirit," Snape said with a twisted smile, "I appreciate the resounding 'hello.' What are the three of you doing out here so close to curfew?"

Harry started stammering, "We, er, uh, we were, um, just, uh, going back to, um, well, uh, were talking about, uh, er... stuff."

"My, my, Potter. You have quite an extensive and astonishing vocabulary, especially for a Gryffindor."

"I-I-is there, um, something you need, Professor Snape?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Yes, Miss Granger. I need you to be more responsible and stop leaving your things in my classroom."

"Sir?"

"Seeing as you completely failed to remember your item, I'm not surprised that you'd be clueless as to what I am referring to. You forgot this. You might want to keep it for tomorrow."

Snape handed Hermione a pathetic and mutilated toothbrush with clumps of green and pink chunks in between the black stained bristles. She forgot she left it next to the cauldrons. She could see why he wouldn't want to keep it in his room. It looked almost as bad as some of the things he kept floating in jars around the dungeons.

"Um, thank you, sir," she said with a disgusted look on her face.

"Crikey, Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, "What did you have to... Ugh! Never mind, I don't want to know!"

"Um, sir," Ron started looking at the filthy object that was once a toothbrush, "This, uh, toothbrush seems to be... well... broken."

"Oh my, Mr. Weasley," Snape said unenthusiastically, "I admire your keen sense of the obvious, not to mention your eloquence. You must be taking lessons from Mr. Potter."

"What I meant, sir, was that, since it looks to be useless, why didn't you just throw the toothbrush away?"

"Oh, I see what you mean, Mr. Weasley."

Snape suddenly whipped his head toward Hermione and glared at her menacingly.

"Leaving trash in my classroom! Is that what you were doing, Miss Granger?"

"No, Pro..." Hermione began, but Snape cut her off.

"Five points from Gryffindor for not cleaning your mess and another detention!"

"Now wait just a bloody minute!" Ron protested.

"And another five points for not minding your own business, Mr. Weasley. Although I must thank you for bringing that 'garbage' she left in the classroom to my attention. Now when ever I see or throw away trash, I'll think of you, Mr. Weasley."

"But..."

"I suggest all of you return to your dorms before it's past curfew. You don't want to lose anymore points for Gryffindor, do you, especially when Slytherin is in the lead for the House Cup?"

"Yes, sir," the three friends said quickly as they turned heel and began power walking back to the common room.

"Thanks a lot for another detention, Ron!" Hermione growled next to him.

"Sorry, 'Mione," Ron whispered back, "but I figured someone had to stand up to that no good bloke and it might as well have been me!"

"By the way, Mr. Weasley," Snape called out after them in such an icy voice that the Gryffindors stopped dead in their tracks, "despite popular belief, my parents were married long before I was born, thus not making me a 'bastard.' Also, I'd like to see you TRY to hang me by my feet and beat me with sticks. I guarantee you wouldn't get that far."

"Oh bugger!" Ron gulped as he quickly sprinted toward the Fat Lady portrait. Harry and Hermione followed his lead.

"Oh, my hero!" Hermione huffed before Ron yelled out the password and dove into the common room, "So much for Gryffindor courage indeed!"

Snape watched the trio enter their common room safely before turning heel and making his way back towards the dungeons. He walked quickly down the hall trying to stifle his laughter.

'Oh that Weasley is such a prat,' he thought.

They had no idea he'd been listening since Ron had called him a "dirty bastard." Snape couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered their faces when he walked up behind them. He LOVED striking fear into the hearts of students... and in people in general! He hungered for the look in their eyes as they became wide with fright, the pupil dilating in terror. Oh, he reveled in it! However, there was one student that ALWAYS needed a bit more intimidation than the rest of the student body: Hermione Granger.

Yes, Hermione Granger constantly gave him a run for his money. Sometimes, he often thought she saw right through his threats, especially the one about expelling her from Hogwarts. She was truly the smartest student that anyone had seen for a very long time. There was no way that anyone, not even Voldemort, could kick her out of school. In fact, she received the highest OWL marks in all her classes. She almost beat Snape's OWL score in Potions, but she was just a point short.

Of course, he was not surprised by Hermione's Potion marks. She had a vast knowledge of the subtle and delicate art. She had spent a lot of time with Snape over the summer at Grimmauld place helping him with his research, so he knew her capabilities beforehand. He didn't want her company at first, and was even reluctant to ask for her assistance in brewing some experiments he was conducting, but he needed more than one pair of hands to help him record some of his findings. Besides, he'd be damned if he'd have Potter or Weasley aid him. Those dunderheads didn't know a bloody thing about Potions, nor did they have the appreciation for it!

Snape had to admit he was quite impressed with Hermione's grace and refinement over the soft shimmering fumes of the bubbling cauldron. He was equally struck with her hunger for knowledge. She constantly asked questions, which annoyed him at first, until it became clear that she wasn't do it to bother him, but to learn more about Potions. As the summer continued, he ended up looking forward to working with her as well as answering questions she asked which usually ended in debates and discussions about everything from aconite to zingiber.

He recalled the first day of her first year in Potions class, how she leapt out of her chair to answer the questions, how she sat on the edge of her seat in anticipation of the first lesson. It was then Snape realized that she wasn't an ordinary student. She WANTED to be there. She wasn't another asinine sod forced to sit in his class and try to lackadaisically pass with the bare minimum requirements. She wasn't even an insufferable Know-It-All that just wanted attention for her extensive comprehension of various subjects (although he'd never admit that). Hermione was truly a lover of knowledge, craving for wisdom, yearning to learn... just like Snape.

While she was a pain at times, Snape had an understanding and admiration for Hermione. He never had a favorite student before, but Miss Ganger was the first. Not even little spoiled Draco Malfoy could compare to her. Of course, he'd never let anyone know that. What would people say, especially knowing she's a Gryffindor muggle-born girl?!

Well, she wasn't really a girl anymore, now was she?

He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw her earlier in the dungeon. He noticed for the first time ever she looked, sounded, thought, and acted like a woman... a very beautiful woman.

Snape shook the thoughts from his head as he entered into his private chambers. Where the hell did THAT come from? Well, beautiful or not, she was still an annoying little chit! He sighed and closed the door behind him after igniting a fire inside the fireplace with a flick of his wand. He threw off his school robe and frock before rolling up the sleeves of his white button up dress shirt. He poured himself some brandy in a snifter and swirled it before inhaling its sweet nutty aroma.

Ah, nothing like brandy on a quiet evening!

He slowly lowered himself down onto one of the big velvet chairs by the fire. He kicked off his boots and swirled his brandy thoughtfully with his hand before taking a sip. He felt the hot sweetness touch his lips and tongue, warming his whole mouth. He savored the warmth continuing down his throat and spread to his whole body as he stared into the fire. He always imagined that a kiss, love, being in love, would feel like that, but those feelings were foreign to him.

Snape's thoughts drifted back to Hermione, though he didn't mean to. He was surprised she has defended him in front of Potter and Weasley.

'I wonder how often she does that?' he contemplated to himself.

He couldn't imagine, in all his years of teaching, that a student would ever stand up FOR him... or stand up TO him for that matter. However, Hermione had already done both. She was definitely set apart from the class.

Apparently he wasn't the only one who noticed.

Longbottom, that incompetent sod, obviously had noticed her mature feminine refinement or else he wouldn't have allowed her to –ugh –touch his huge clumsy hand. Luckily, years of spying for the Order had enabled Snape to drown out background noise and focus on one specific conversation. In this case Hermione and Longbottom were his victims during dinner in the Great Hall.

He couldn't believe Longbottom wanted to take Potions to help his mother and father! Unfortunately, the sad truth was there was probably nothing that he or anyone could do for his parents, but he could understand the boy's reasoning. Snape too wished he had "parents." Of course, he had a mother and father, but they were far from being loving parents. They were more like... genetic donors. They never cared for him, never loved him, never treated him like he was a gift from the heavens. Instead, they treated him like an inconvenience, a plague on their house. Although the Longbottoms were somewhat mentally inefficient, at least they showed their boy some sort of affection, even if it came by way of gum wrappers and pats on the head, which was more than Snape ever got from his own parents.

Still, even if Longbottom was feeling like having a pity party, he didn't have to invite Hermione! Really, he needn't touch her! It was completely uncalled for!

"Of course, the same could have been said for you," a little voice responded in his head.

What was that? His conscience? He thought he got rid of that a long time ago. Or perhaps it was his darker side, his Death Eater side, the side he had been trying to completely rid himself of for sometime now.

"You needn't touch her in class either, yet you did," the voice continued, "In fact, you seemed to take some sinful delight in feeling the softness of her shoulders. You know you'd wonder about that every now and then during the summer at Grimmauld Place."

Snape gritted his teeth and took a long sip of his brandy, trying to drown out the voice with alcohol. Unfortunately, the brandy only made the voice louder.

"Oh, and you could smell her too when you were that close. Mmm, wild roses. How enchanting."

"Stop it!" he grumbled to himself out loud.

"You could feel her shuddered breath on your neck too when you were bent low like that, remember? Of course you do."

Snape let out a frustrated growl and flicked his wand at the bookshelf and summoned a book to read. He had to do something to get his mind off of the current subject and quiet the voice in his head. He quickly read the book cover to see what he had randomly selected to read. He rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. A book of riddles.

"Oh how wonderfully appropriate," the voice mused, "It's like throwing gasoline on a flame."

"Hush!" he barked as he cracked open the book in hopes of silencing his conscience or whatever it was nagging at him. It was rather annoying!

He flipped through the pages while the book hovered in midair in front of him thanks to the floating charm he administered. As he read on he couldn't help but think of the riddle Hermione and he had solved earlier that evening. It was odd that they answered it simultaneously. Hmmm, odd indeed. Well, great minds do think alike after all, however he'd be damned first before he admitted to thinking like a Gryffindor, especially one like HER!

Snape took another sip of his brandy and turned another page, in search of the perfect riddle to stump the little chit.

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Sorry, no riddle this time, but I promise there will be in the next chapter. Oh, there's another Alan Rickman quote interwoven in this chapter! 5 points if you can figure it out and 5 more if you can name the movie! Here's a hint: it's near the end of the chapter and it's one of my favorite Alan Rickman movies of all time. Well, it's one of my favorite movies period. Oddly enough, I don't own it. Well, for those of you who want to purchase me a present (and I KNOW you all do) that would be a great movie to buy me. Actually, on second thought, I'll just swing by BestBuy tomorrow and get it. I can't wait till Christmas!

- DADA Mistress