Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The characters in this fan fiction are copyright by J K Rowling, but this specific story is entirely mine. It has been written for fun only, and I do not make any money out of it. Nevertheless, the story should not be reproduced without seeking my permission first.

Many thanks to my beta, cherrypop, for catching my mistakes and introducing me to the finer details of the English language.

Hermione studied her surroundings. It was the first time that she had been allowed access to Professor Snape's private workroom.

The late afternoon sun was shining into the room through a large window. The sparse furniture was made out of dark wood, but the sunlight lent it a warm shimmer of dark red. One wall was completely covered by shelves, containing a myriad of herbs and other potion ingredients, small and large vials waiting to be filled, and a variety of cauldrons. In the middle of the room stood a cleanly scrubbed worktable. Pushed up against another wall were a smaller table and a chair, both overflowing with parchments and open Potions books.

The warm air was filled with the fragrances of the many herbs.

Snape glanced at her.

"Now, which ingredients are needed to brew a strengthening potion?" he asked in a tone she had not heard since her last Potions lesson, and she had to stop herself from raising her hand.

"Nasturtium, angelica archangelica, and echinacea purpurea can all be used to strengthen a patient's resistance. We would have to choose one of them, depending on how it will react with other possible ingredients."

"And what else would you add, Miss Granger?"

"Arnica because it supports the blood circulation, and rosemary because it works as a cure if you have lost weight due to an illness."

"Very good, anything else?"

"I would also add some St John's wort. It might be able to stimulate Harry's subconscious and help create a positive mood."

Snape nodded. "Is there anything we will have to take into account?"

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Yes, nasturtium and arnica don't go well together, and the same goes for echinacea purpurea and St John's wort. This leaves us with angelica archangelica."

"You must have had a good Potions master at school to know all this, Miss Granger," he said with a smirk.

She gaped at him.

His eyes gleamed at her, but then he whirled around and pointed with a long finger at the shelves. "Now. You can see for yourself where the ingredients are."

She hesitated.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing, sir," she said and approached the shelves.

She fetched the ingredients while Snape put some knives, chopping boards, and a cauldron on the worktable.

"I don't need to tell you how important it is to chop the herbs correctly, do I?"

"No, sir."

"Very well, then go ahead."

Hermione took the arnica and began to cut it as neatly as possible. She saw him watching her closely, and her hands began to tremble. She took a deep breath.

After a moment, Snape started to chop the angelica archangelica. While his left hand steadied the board, his right hand, which held the knife, flew over the chopping board, leaving behind small green pieces.

Hermione paused. Now, it was her turn to watch him. During her seven years at Hogwarts, he had never prepared a potion in front of the class.

He looked up. "What is it, Miss Granger?"

"Oh, nothing." She bit her lower lip and returned to her own chopping.

Silently, they continued working, until all the ingredients were shredded.

Snape started to heat the cauldron. He added the arnica, then the angelica archangelica.

She was watching his hands, which stirred the herbs with a wooden spoon, when she took the chopping board with the rosemary. She was just about to add it when his hand shot forward and gripped hers.

"Miss Granger, what do you think you are doing?" he bellowed, letting her hand go again.

"I... I... thought..."

"Yes?"

Hermione swallowed.

"I don't believe you thought at all. The rosemary is the last ingredient to add."

She felt heat creeping up her cheeks and turned away.

"Miss Granger," she heard him say silkily after a few seconds, "would you be so kind to add the St John's wort instead?"

Inhaling deeply, she faced him again, took the board and let the herbs slide into the cauldron. He stirred them, and when he gave her a nod, she finally added the rosemary.

Snape eyed the boiling mixture in the cauldron. "Have a look at the colour, Miss Granger," he said and stood beside her. "Exactly as it should be - a light green with a tinge of brown."

Hermione lifted her head and gave him a tentative smile.

His eyes bored into hers. "We have both done well," he said softly. "The potion now has to simmer for two more hours, and tomorrow we will be able to give it to Potter."

Her heart jumped for joy although she couldn't have said whether she was happier about the fact that she was finally able to help Harry somewhat or that Professor Snape had acknowledged her work.

***

Hermione paced up and down and wrung her hands. A deep frown had appeared on her forehead. She stopped at Harry's bed. "Where is he?" she mumbled. "Why hasn't he come?"

She took up pacing once more, only to stop again after a few steps. "Well, if he doesn't come soon, I'll have to fetch him."

She had just turned towards the door when it opened to reveal Professor Snape, who carried a single vial.

"A bit impatient, aren't we, Miss Granger?" he sneered as if he knew that she had been about to fetch him.

She growled at him, but then a smile crept upon her face. "Is that it? The strengthening potion?" she asked and grabbed for the vial.

"Not only impatient but also very eager." Snape held the vial behind his back.

She stepped closer towards him. "Please, I've waited for so long to do something that might help Harry."

He cocked an eyebrow, but held the potion out to her.

Her hands became sweaty when she took it, and she wiped them on her robes.

"I'll fetch Madam Pomfrey," Snape said and went to the nurse's office.

Hermione stared at the vial in her hand. The other hand she balled into a tight fist until her fingers began to ache.

Then, Snape and Madam Pomfrey were back and standing at the other side of Harry's bed. The nurse smiled at Hermione. "Now, Miss Granger, I think you can give Mr Potter the potion."

Hermione nodded. "Good luck, Harry," she said, hearing her voice breaking. She held the vial to Harry's lips and let the potion run into his mouth. She saw his Adam's apple move when he swallowed the liquid.

When the vial was empty, she looked up at Snape and Madam Pomfrey. "How long will it be until it has an effect?"

"We will have to give him a second dose tomorrow, and then we should see an improvement," the nurse said.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

"And, in the future, I think it would be best to give Potter two doses per week," Madam Pomfrey added.

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. "Have we prepared that much?"

"No, we haven't," the Potions master said sourly. "I'm afraid we'll need some more."

Madam Pomfrey suppressed a giggle, and he shot her a glance.

"Would..." Hermione swallowed. "Would you allow me to help you again, sir?"

He turned his stare towards Hermione, and his dark eyes bored into hers. "I might."

Hermione's face split into a huge smile. "Oh, thank you, Professor Snape. Thank you so much," she cried. "That's so nice of you."

His glittering eyes widened for a moment before they bore into Hermione's.

The nurse burst out laughing and hastily retreated to her office.

Snape's scowl deepened.

"No, I mean it," Hermione said, looking at him steadily. "It's very kind of you, sir."

His expression relaxed a bit. "You're welcome," he muttered.

She looked at him closely until he seemed to realise that she was staring at him and turned away. She couldn't imagine that many people had ever seen the Potions master like this, but she most certainly wasn't mistaken. Professor Snape's face was slightly flushed.

In return, she felt her own cheeks become hot, and she began to fidget with the empty vial in her hands. Almost dropping it, she put it on the nightstand and smoothed Harry's bedclothes instead. Eventually, she sat down on the chair beside the bed.

"Well," she whispered, breaking the silence that had crept up between them. "I think I'll stay with Harry a bit longer."

Snape turned back to her, his eyes unusually soft. "Yes, of course."

He visibly composed himself and set off towards the door when it opened, and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall came in.

"Miss Granger, Severus," the headmaster greeted them and stepped beside Harry's bed, as Professor McGonagall followed him in. "I assume you gave Mr Potter the potion?"

Snape nodded, his dark eyes fixed on Harry.

"Jolly good," Dumbledore said and smiled at the Potions master. "This is brilliant news, indeed, don't you think, Severus?"

Again, Snape nodded while Professor McGonagall went over to Hermione.

"I am confident this is the first step in the right direction. We're not going to lose the man who saved the British wizarding world," the headmaster went on with a cheerful voice.

A scowl settled on Snape's features as he still stared at Harry.

"What? Don't you agree with me?"

"Of course, I agree with you, Headmaster," Snape hissed through barely opened lips. He looked up, and his gleaming eyes met Hermione's before he shot a glance at Dumbledore. "I have to go. There's another potion I have to brew today." He turned and stalked from the room.

Hermione stared after his black figure until Professor Dumbledore's voice startled her. "I've heard that you helped Professor Snape with brewing the potion for Mr Potter, Miss Granger?"

"Yes, he was kind enough to let me assist him." She smiled at Professor Dumbledore, whose eyes twinkled at her.

"You look quite pale, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall, who still stood beside Hermione, suddenly said. "When was the last time that you went outside and enjoyed the summer sun?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "I visit Harry each afternoon, and in the morning, I do some research in the library," she answered in a tight voice. "That is more important than catching some sun."

Professor McGonagall shook her head. "You have to look after yourself, Miss Granger," she said with a stern expression on her face.

"Yes, indeed, you should go for a walk," added the headmaster brightly and patted Hermione's arm before he and the Transfiguration professor left the hospital wing.

Hermione groaned inwardly.

***

It had been two days since Hermione and Professor Snape had given Harry the second dose of the strengthening potion. Since then, he had slightly recovered. His face was no longer as deathly pale as it had been, and he also seemed to have gained a couple of pounds. Still he would not wake up.

The summer sun mercilessly shone into the room. Tiny dust particles flew around.

Hermione was frustrated. It had been a welcome diversion to help Professor Snape prepare the potion, but now she was condemned to staring at Harry again without being able to help him. She and the Potions master would brew another batch of the potion tomorrow, but this seemed to be far away in the future. With each day that she spent, first in the library and later beside Harry's bed, time seemed to drag along even slower than it had on the day before.

She thought back to the first time they had worked together. It had been a revelation to realise how precisely and skilfully he chopped the ingredients, and to see him preparing the potion with all the self-confidence of someone who had been practising this craft for many years.

Hermione's gaze fell on the wall behind Harry's bed. The late afternoon sun created patterns on the white paint that shimmered in front of her eyes. Her head felt dizzy, and when she inhaled, she was almost suffocated by the stiflingly hot air.

She rose from her chair and gave Harry a peck on the cheek. "I have to get out, Harry. See you again tomorrow."

***

Once outside the castle, Hermione ran across the lawn down to the lake. Holding her face upwards to feel the warmth of the sun, she spread her arms and began to dance and twirl around until she lost her balance and stumbled.

Laughing, she sank on a bench and caught her breath. She removed her cloak and pulled up the sleeves of her blouse. Leaning back, she closed her eyes. With a smile on her face she enjoyed the sun, which she could see dancing in red and yellow behind her eyelids.

Probably Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had not been totally wrong, she mused. Indeed, it felt good to be outside and just relax.

Nevertheless, she couldn't help thinking of Harry again and consequently the following evening. During her school days, the thought of spending time alone with Professor Snape in the dungeons would have been dreadful, but now she was looking forward to it. For Harry's sake. If she was honest, Snape still made her a little bit nervous, but it had not escaped her notice that he had been acting quite kindly towards her lately.

Suddenly, the bright colours of the sun were gone.

Hermione opened her eyes and saw Professor Snape standing in front of her. She squinted in order to see his face, and he stepped aside.

"May I, Miss Granger?" he asked, indicating the seat beside her.

"Oh... yes, of course," she answered, and he sat down. They didn't touch, but it seemed to Hermione as if she no longer felt the sun's warmth only but also his warmth.

In silence, they both gazed across the quiet surface of the lake until she heard Snape sigh gently, and her heartbeat accelerated, skipping once in a while. His clothes rustled, and something light touched her arm, causing her stomach to tingle, but she kept staring ahead, trying to steady her breathing.

After a long time, the sun began to go down, and a hue of red appeared at the horizon.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" a soft voice suddenly asked.

"Very beautiful," she said but failed to suppress the astonishment in her voice when she turned around to look at Snape. He had taken off his cloak and held it neatly folded in his lap.

His eyes glittered for a second. "Yes, Miss Granger, I am able to enjoy a sunset."

She blushed slightly and gazed at the lake again.

Silence fell onto them once more until Hermione murmured, "Do you think that Harry will wake up again, Professor?"

When he didn't answer, she turned her head towards him and found that he was observing her.

"I don't know, Miss Granger," he finally said, his voice lacking the usual sneer. "Mr Potter is a strong wizard, which originally made me believe that he'd wake up much sooner."

Now, she openly stared at him and didn't even try to hide the doubtful expression on her face.

"What, Miss Granger?" His eyes flared up.

"Nothing," she mumbled and shook her head.

"Miss Granger, although I don't like Mr Potter, I'm well aware that he is a very powerful wizard."

She nodded and averted her eyes. This time, she managed to conceal her incredulity at the fact that he had called Harry 'Mr Potter' again.

Looking back at him, she said, "I've always wanted to properly thank you for lending me the book about the coma patients who woke up again." She gave him a small smile. "You were right. It didn't offer any solution to Harry's situation, but it was very enlightening nonetheless."

"You're welcome," he said, glancing at her.

"I wondered..." Hermione hesitated. When he raised a questioning eyebrow, she went on. "I wondered about the fact that you actually own it because it's a Muggle book. When I read 'The Remains of the Day' to Harry, I got the impression that you don't read Muggle books." She looked at his expressionless face and added in a small voice, "Or was I mistaken?"

He gazed levelly at her. "No, normally I don't read Muggle books. I bought it after the incident I told you about."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," she whispered, avoiding his gaze and fiddling with the hem of her cloak, which lay beside her on the bench.

"Miss Granger, I don't usually bite people's heads off when they ask me something." His voice sounded irritated.

"No, of course not," she hastened to say. "So, is it the only Muggle book you've ever read then?"

A small smile twitched at his lips. "No, I've read a few books – some novels to be precise – but never really got into them."

"Why? There are some really good ones."

"While I am sure about that, Miss Granger, they nevertheless seemed alien to me. The ones I read always dealt with things that had nothing to do with me and my life."

Hermione couldn't hide her amazement. "But that's what a lot of literature is about in the first place. To give you insight into something that you don't know; be it a past or future period, an unknown country or emotions you haven't experienced yourself."

"Is that what you appreciate about literature?"

"Oh, yes. When I still was a student, I mostly read specialised books on the school subjects, but I loved reading novels when I was at home during the summer. I especially like books that take me back in time like the ones by Jane Austen or E M Forster. Austen's books were written about 190 years ago and concentrate on the life of young women who enter the world and have to come to terms with it. Forster, on the other hand, wrote most of his novels about 80 years ago. In his books, he lets characters collide who come from different social, political or cultural spheres."

She stopped, realising she had started to lecture. Embarrassed, she looked at Snape, and her eyes met his. Expecting to see him scowl at her for showing off, she was quite taken aback when she discovered that his eyes seemed to hold a friendly interest instead. Feeling self-conscious all of a sudden, she began to roll down her sleeves to avoid his glance.

"I see what you mean," he said softly, "and I admit that it might be quite intriguing to explore the world this way. But we don't have that kind of fictional literature, and I'm not used to it."

She nodded at him in understanding, and their eyes locked. Again, she had the impression that his glance held something close to kindness. She swallowed the lump that had built in her throat before she replied, "Yes, I realised that when I first learnt about the wizarding world." She frowned. "Strangely enough though, I read Muggle books on wizards and witches when I was a child. But, of course, they were very inaccurate."

This time Snape did scowl. "'The Wizard of Oz,'" he hissed, and Hermione had to laugh.

"Yes, that's one of them."

"I take it you know it?"

She nodded.

"Then why do you wonder about the fact that I normally don't read any Muggle books? This abysmal example of Muggle literature surely is explanation enough." His eyes glittered.

She couldn't help laughing again. His glare would have terrified any first-year student, but although she couldn't deny that he often still came across as dark and forbidding, as he had done when she went to school, he no longer frightened her. She had actually begun to feel quite comfortable in his presence most of the time.

She watched him. The last rays of the sun made his face appear less pale than usual, and the twilight lent his normally cold black eyes a slightly brighter tinge.

"Why are you watching me?" he snarled, interrupting her musing.

"I'm sorry, sir," she said, instantaneously angry with herself for relapsing into old habits and feeling rather timid again in his presence.

He shook his head. "Miss Granger, do I have to repeat myself? Didn't I just tell you that I don't normally bite people's heads off?"

"Yes, you did," she said and, quickly recovering, added, "And how come you know 'The Wizard of Oz?'"

His voice was dripping with contempt when he answered, "We read it in Muggle Studies."

"Muggle Studies?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you surprised about the fact that we had Muggle Studies in the first place when I went to school, or that I actually attended the classes?" he asked, clearly challenging her.

"Both," she offered and hid a grin. With Professor Snape, one always had to be on one's toes, she thought. Within seconds, he could change from being venomous via sarcastic to ironic.

"We were taught by Professor Micklewhite," he spat. "He wanted us to read the book so that we would know how Muggles perceived the wizarding world." He sighed exasperatedly. "Professor Micklewhite loved everything Muggle. He was worse than Arthur Weasley."

No longer hiding her amusement, Hermione looked at her former professor and detected that his lips also were faintly quirked, which momentarily lent him a less hostile expression. Again, she began to feel tingly, and her fingers spasmodically clutched her skirt. She inhaled deeply while he stared back at her, his eyes glowing in the upcoming darkness.

The moment was broken when, to Hermione's chagrin, a growl resounded from her stomach.

Snape's tiny smile widened a bit. "It's long past dinner time," he said. "Perhaps we should return to the castle."

An embarrassed laugh escaped her lips. "Yes, I think we should." She got up, took her cloak, and when he offered to help her, said, "No, thank you. I'm not cold."

He nodded, took his own cloak instead, and put it on.

As usual, he began to stride off, but after taking two steps measured his pace so that she did not need to fall into a run in order to keep up with him.

She gave him a little smile, and a corner of his mouth twitched in response, causing her to feel a rush of warmth towards him.

In companionable silence, they walked across the lawn towards the school.

***

Entering the castle, Hermione and Professor Snape met the headmaster in the entrance hall.

"Good evening, Miss Granger, I see you followed Professor McGonagall's advice to go out and get some fresh air," Dumbledore said and smiled at her.

"Yes, sir."

"Did you spend some nice time with Professor Snape?" His voice sounded cheery.

Hermione blushed. "Er... yes," she said and hoped that a Hippogriff would appear out of nowhere and take her with it.

Not noticing her discomfort, Professor Dumbledore turned towards Professor Snape, who had eyed the dialogue with a sour expression. "I assume that you've been an entertaining conversational partner for Miss Granger, Severus, haven't you?"

"Certainly, Headmaster," the Potions master grumbled. And with that, he rushed off towards the dungeons without another glance at Hermione.

She couldn't help feeling a pang of disappointment as she looked after his retreating figure.

***

Annotations:

According to my research, the ingredients of the strengthening potion are, indeed, supposed to help if you suffer from any of the symptoms Hermione mentions. However, I didn't check how you normally would ingest them – whether you might brew a tea or if they might be ingredients of some homeopathic pills. I also didn't check whether there might be any positive or negative interaction if you combine any of the herbs.