Chapter 1
Hermione Granger was not completely her self, as she rushed down Gryffindor tower only to have to rush back up to retrieve her wand. She had somehow overslept and was irritated that not a single soul thought it a brilliant idea to wake the Head Girl up. Her skirt hiked above her waist as her mane and school robes flapped with the wind around her from the speed of her charging form. She sprinted through the Western courtyard that was coverd in icy February snow as her messenger bag banged against her calves, the path connecting to the famous rose gardens. Tucked behind a rosebush, she found the wet corridor that led into the western courtyard that led inside to the main staircase leading down to the dungeons.
Thus far Hermione had succeeded without slipping since her worn-out boots had lost all traction on them and was relieved to hear the one-minute warning bell. She reached the bottom of the stairs and took a minute to compose herself and to place her wand back in her robes pocket. The door to the potions room was opened, Hermione expected that everyone would be sitting and patiently waiting for their Professor, Severus Tobias Snape: potions maters extraordinaire, to enter with his dramatic robes as he almost always did. Except, upon entering, she noticed that everyone had taken their seats, quietly staring at their Professor at the head of the room behind his desk. Her seat at the front of the room stood empty waiting for her next to a nervous Neville who was silently praying for his potions partner to come soon.
She strutted into the classroom, shuffling her feet against the stone floor to her seat, and she almost made it too when her left foot slid forward causing her to completely lose her balance in the utmost ungraceful manner ever. Hermione fell hard onto her bumm before her back contacted with the floor and was sliding the rest of the distance to the front. Her face turned beat red from embarrassment, as she lay sprawled out on the dungeon floor. She was paralyzed with the knowledge of what just happened as her heart hammered with a sudden adrenaline rush. 'This is not happening!' she thought to herself franticly.
Hermione Granger was NOT clumsy, 'That is a Ronald Weasely trait! Damn brute is rubbing off on me!' She was dazed as she moved her head to the side not fully understanding what she was seeing, to the left of her was her messenger bag, all of its contents spilled out. Her inkwell had shattered into pieces and ink began to seep and stain her bag and with her luck, staining the previous night's homework. 'Today is not a good day at all.' She groaned, her mind finally comprehending what she was seeing.
Severus stared down his nose at the girl, which Hermione instantly took notice of causing her to believe it an understatement. 'It's going to be horrid day.' Her body struggled to sit up as pain shot up from her tailbone, which only made her shift to the left side of her bum in order to shuffle things back into her bag, she silently murmured a quick spell to vanish the pool of black ink. It was pointless though, the ink had done it's damage and had discolored her grey bag and ruined all her papers, 'I will be getting a zero in all my classes it would seem.' In truth it really was the start of a bad day for the resident know-it-all. Her classmates watched but didn't dare get up for fear of Snape barking at them, and the Gryffindor's did not want to lose more house points if he decided to take some from the clumsy girl. Try as they might though, many could not stop the muffled laughs and snickers from the scene which only caused Hermione to bow her head so her hair would curtain the deep red blush painted on her face.
Another bell rang that singled the start of class and everyone grew completely still waiting for what would happen next. Severus tried very hard not to laugh, but he couldn't seem to shake the smirk of satisfaction from his lips as he made his way to tower over her. He surveyed her person still sitting on the ground with a pained expression, his dark eyes wandering down her form stopping at the sight of her emerald green lace knickers peeking from under the hem of her hiked up skirt. He even took note that they were the see-through kind that he always favored on women.
Severus' grin widened even more as a glint of mischief glittered in his eyes with the realization that he would be adding another tally to his personal competition with the Granger girl. A running game since she first set foot in his classroom seven years ago. She was still straightening her bag up and failed to notice her professor staring openly at her only then did she realize he was there when his silky voice boomed above her.
"It would appear to me that Miss Granger is a closet Slytherin based on the color of her undergarments. Fortunately for us she was sorted elsewhere." He sneered at her, making a pointed look at the lower half of her body before continuing. "Due get up Miss Granger, only a Gryffindor subtlety would openly throw themselves at a professor to guarantee passing grades." Hermione's eyes followed his gaze only to widen in horror in realization as she gathered her school robes around her quickly.
"Potter, Help your friend instantly. The task is on the broad, begin." His voice was deadly as he swept away into the adjoining empty classroom.
Harry and Neville both hopped up to help Hermione who was a deathly pale from the humiliation she had been victimized to. She was completely flabbergasted from the insults and wished to the Gods above that the world would just open up around her and swallow her whole, but alas no such thing occurred and the boys helped her steady herself before setting up her things on her desk. It only took a few more moments before color returned to her face and when it did, it turned a scarlet red from the sheer anger and pain she was trying hard not to burst out with.
'How dare he!' She thought. 'How dare he treat me so rudely in such an ugly fashion! You'd think with the war over and a whole summer to recover the man would at least loosen up or forget his Basterd of a personality, but no! He is still the most disagreeable infuriating self-proclaimed ass in the entirety of the Wizarding world! With Voldemort, he actually was only insane and though it was a great offense to kill all those who opposed him, it was nothing compared to the verbal abuse from the great almighty Seveus Tobias Snape!' Hermione had half a mind to stalk in the next room and give him a full-blown Granger Danger spiel on manners and his personality. 'How dare he think he can spurt such nonsense and be so rude! To even have the balls to announce the color of my knickers to the whole class as well!' Hermione continued to fret mentally while finally convincing herself to take a deep breath and rise above her Professor's childish behavior.
Severus on the other hand stood in the empty room with his back facing the doorway. He was trying very hard to school his blazing grin into a scowl but it was proving to be more difficult then the last time something funny like this happened. The memory of the time he had turned all of Albus' pink and purple robes into the darkest shades of black and spelled his hat to spurt lewd comments at female student's he passed by in the corridors began to replay. Though try as he might it was simply proving more difficult then ever and when he finally believed to have gained control; he took notice of the slight stiffness in his pants at the memory of her knickers. As his thoughts went back to the girl, the mask of indifference fell again and was simply replaced with a wide smirk as the memory of her falling replayed in his mind.
Taking a few more moments, he bit down on his tongue and did the best he could to plaster his famous scowl on his face as he reentered the classroom. He ignored the eyes that looked up at him, his eyes trained on the wall behind his desk but without meaning to they landed on Granger and he began to stifle a laugh that was ready to burst from him. Her head was bent over the cauldron brewing away the days task and the back of her robes had dust and grim from the stone floors. He couldn't hold it in and it was out before he could stop it.
All the sudden the most foreign booming sound of laughter erupted in the classroom echoing off the walls.
The students all gasped and stood still not believing their ears let alone their eyes as they watched the second most feared man in the world, hold onto the edge of Hermione's desk as he was bent forward, body shaking with each laugh that seemed to erupt from deep within his chest. After a moment the scene only caused all the others to openly laugh either from the thought of what had only happened moments ago or from the nervous pit that was growing in their stomach from not truly understanding what was happening.
Hermione was neither of the two categories, in fact she was standing completely still, ladle in hand as Neville choked back his nervous laugh when he saw the girls knuckles turn white from the death grip she held on the silver ladle. 'How dare he!' She screamed.
In between breaks of laughter, Severus managed to rasp out a single coherent sentence. "15 points to Gryffindor, for the wonderful entertainment Miss Granger has bestowed upon us today!" This in fact caused something to snap inside of Hermione and actually broke off the handle of the ladle causing the head of it to fall in her bubbling cauldron.
"15 points for my sheer humiliation!" Her voice was seething with anger now as her face proclaimed how livid she was and then suddenly her voice took the dreadful Granger Danger tone, "How dare you!"
All of the Gryffindor's shut their mouths instantly, for they knew their Princess of Gryffindor very well and knew that most feared and dreadful tone of voice. It was the only thing their Gryffindor bravery was powerless against. Not even Voldemort invoked this type of fear that Hermione Granger's tone held. That was why it had earned the title of 'Granger Danger Tone'; it emitted the wraths of everyone's mothers, fathers and Severus Snape's tone into one. What made it even more fearful was the look that accompanied it, the sheer look of power, rage; mix with Snape's mastered sneer. The other houses had only ever heard of talk about this but today they were stunned, as fear began to grip at them as they witnessed for the first time Hermione's rumored 'Granger Danger Tone'.
Severus didn't seem to realize the change of the atmosphere as electric shocks of magic began to whip around the room. He only seemed to wheeze out an additional "35 points to Gryffindor" before he could hear the crackle of electricity ringing out louder above his laughter. Everyone around her took a step away as they could see some form of their mother or father projecting from the petite Burnett, it was something Harry sometimes thought rivaled Snape's cruelest moments to a T.
"Professor Severus Snape!" Severus instantly choked back his laughter; His body going rigged still standing at attention. "How DARE you laugh at my misfortunes or anyone else's for that matter! I am appalled at your behavior and do not appreciate being laughed at or mocked! How dare you insinuate that I purposely threw myself at you in means to better achieve a passing grade! As if I needed to sleep with a professor to receive my hard earned grades that I accomplished by myself through intensive studying!"
Ron and Draco could not help but envision their own mothers, Molly Weasley and Narcissa Malfoy, scolding and berating them in the same fashion. Both moaned aloud and agreed in union as they looked at their Professor, "Poor chap!" This only earned them a death glare from Hermione who then turned her anger towards them.
"Ronald Weasley and Draco Malfoy, You Will shut your mouths this instant!" She practically screamed. Hermione stalked out of the room, her robes billowing out from behind her as Severus, Ron and Draco said in union, "Sorry Mother." Before proceeding to look shamefully down at their shoes.
The momentary silence was broken when a couple of sniffles were heard and everyone saw Neville and Pansy hugging each other for dear life with eyes brimmed red and noses slightly running.
"That was terrifying, she looked and sounded just like Mum!' Pansy squealed in an uncharacteristic way.
"It was like G-Gran and P-P-Professor S-Snape rolled into one!" Neville added as the two finally released their tight grips upon each other. The Class and Severus fell into a silent daze only to be broken again this time by Harry Potter.
"Professor, was me Mum ever like that?" He asked still staring at the door, half expecting Hermione to walk back in.
"Not quite Potter, Not quite." He replied softly. A loud bang scared them out of their daze when they noticed Hermione's cauldron burst into flames and melted away into nothing more but ash.
