Touchstone

Disclaimer:

Snape: "I love you."

Hermione: "I know."

Snape: *rolls eyes*

JK: *smokes a fag*

~Touchstone~

Chapter Twelve

By Gin

A soft purr was heard in Snape's ear, and he rolled over; his arm automatically rising to drape over the body he knew to be there. However, it kept going lower and lower; until it hit the bed. No warm body under it. He laid, eyes closed, while his foggy mind tried to process why it was feeling so upset about this. His arm softly felt around, trying to feel the sleeping form, but again found nothing. Finally, this realisation hit him, and he calmly opened his eyes. There was a definite indentation in his neighbouring pillow, but the place where she lay was also quite cool.

He blinked the sleep from his eyes, and sat up, momentarily disoriented and looked around. There was her cat. But she was nowhere to be found. So he gently folded back the covers, and slid out of bed looking for something to put on. There were his clothes; strewn haphazardly over the floor...hers were gone, except for her travelling cloak which was partially hidden behind a chair. He reached over to the small chair in front of the cold hearth, and slipped on the pair of rumpled sleeping bottoms, (leaving the cloak where it lay) and padded over plush, white carpet and cool stone into his living room. The sunlight made his eyes squint as he looked around...and still no Hermione.

He walked over to the hall table near the door leading out of his quarters. 'Perhaps she left a note.' He thought. Once there, he looked down to find no such letter. He looked up at the door, confused.

"Well..." His brows furrowed a moment, and he slowly turned around to walk back into his bedroom. He wondered why she didn't even leave a note. "Talk about ungrateful..." he murmured, slipping out of pyjama bottoms, and stepping into his bathroom.

~*~*~*

Later at breakfast that morning, Severus beat Hermione to the Great Hall. He was already seated between Cerelia and an empty chair to Dumbledore's left, when she came in last. Snape remained completely impassive as she settled into her chair, directly not looking at him. Hermione grabbed a slice of toast and started adding strawberry jam to it and then just...sat there holding it. Snape calmly took a sip of his coffee, and then reached over for the sugar jar, purposefully brushing against her arm.

"Oh, forgive me, Miss Granger," he said in a harsh undertone. The hairs on the back of her neck stood out on end, and she nodded jerkily. He glared at her for half a second before sprinkling a bit of not-really-wanted sugar in his coffee.

Sprout was primly sitting next to Snape, buttering a croissant, and watching them with one eye, pretending to look at the Daily Prophet with the other. This was turning out to be an interesting morning so far....

"Hermione? How are you my dear? Molly wrote me a letter telling me about yesterday evening. I know...it must have been very hard for you. However, you do look wonderful this morning, so I assume you had a pleasant night's rest?" Dumbledore began opening a lemon drop and smiled kindly at her. Hermione about dropped her knife and Snape sat still, with a slight smirk on his face.

"Oh, I'm sure she did, Headmaster. I saw to that..." he added quietly. Albus nodded, thankfully, and patted Hermione's hand before continuing his conversation with Minerva. Hermione continued to sit, rigid as stone, and she half turned to glare back at Snape, throwing him a "watch it..." look in his direction. He narrowed his eyes slightly and went back to his breakfast.

Later that afternoon, Hermione sat down and wrote a letter to Molly and Ginny, thanking them for the wonderful stay and how sorry she was to have left the way she did. They had already sent her things back to the castle including Crookshanks, and Molly had packed a picnic basket full of meat pies and chocolates. She promised she would return and she'd get started immediately on Harry's cure, and not to give up. She sighed as Crookshanks purred and began pawing at the door. Hermione stood and walked over to the entryway to let him out and he immediately bounded away down the corridor, and flipped around to bat at a pebble on the ground before resuming his trip down the hall. She smiled at his energy, she felt as if she had none. And she was a little sore- but best not to think about that for the moment.

She decided she should occupy her mind with something else, so she turned back into her rooms to grab her notes and more parchment and went off to the library for more research.

Five hours later, she sat mentally exhausted, amid precarious towers of books, crumples of parchment, ink-stained fingers and hair a frizz. However, she might have stumbled onto something. Despite her aching back from leaning over reading, she perked up and continued with these last bits of note. It was a type of aquatic weed, and its uses fit perfectly for her latest theory. Hermione now thought she had enough information for a trial run, but the article stated that the Bogbean weed must be freshly picked, and almost immediately soaked.

A small surge of energy re-asserted itself inside her, and she grabbed up the description of the plant and immediately headed for Professor Sprout's greenhouses.

*~*~*~*

"Oh, I'm sorry dear, we just ran out this last term," Cerelia set down a pot beside some quivering plants and looked apologetically at Hermione. Her shoulders slumped.

"Well, do you know where I can at least find some? Or if it's sold nearby?" she asked hopefully.

The older witch was grabbing for some pruning sheers and looked up thoughtfully, thinking. "You know, I used to grow the Moonflower, that's another name for it dear, in a little pond I used to have out back. But the children kept getting into it, and some of my plants would grab them, well, needless to say I don't have the pond anymore." Hermione's face fell, but the Herbology witch went on. "But, there is a trail that leads near the Forbidden Forest, and winds back into a much nicer wooded area. It's just on the outskirts of Hogwarts' grounds, near a Muggle village actually. And there is a rather large lake there. I know Severus goes out there from time to time, and finds the most wondrous plants for me. I believe he harvests Bogbean, and if my memory serves correct it might still be available to pick. Though, I have no idea of exactly where it is, but I can give you a rough idea. Severus has said you take that trail and it will wind about, but lead you to the lake. And somewhere near there, there is a clearing that leads to some shallows and I think he picks it there. I remember this because he got lost once, and came back with all these scratches and gashes," the little witch giggled. "It's so funny to watch Poppy clean him up, he complains worse than a child." Both women laughed.

Hermione thanked her, and borrowed a basket to collect the Moonflower with and set off before it got too late. Ceri watched her leave for a moment before going back to work.

Hermione set off in a brisk walk. The fresh would do her some good, and a walk might be just the thing she needed. Sure enough she found the trail, though she hadn't really noticed it when she was actually in school. Odd, she thought. If she, Harry and Ron had known about it when they were students, she wondered if they would have taken it to see where it had led to. It was also strange that there should be a Muggle village near so much magic. But she remembered someone once telling her if any Muggle was to see Hogwarts it would just appear as some rubble from a once majestic castle.

"Makes sense," she thought aloud and continued on through the scenic trail.

Not twenty minutes after Hermione had left; Severus came trailing down to Sprout's little area of Hogwarts. She was fussing with a particularly irritable Mandrake seedling when he knocked on her doorway.

"Hello! Yes, come on in then, Severus," the dirty little witch again looked up from her work and smiled at Severus. He bowed his head in greeting and smirked.

"Cerelia," he eyed the wiggling plant beside her. "I was just on my way to Diagon Alley to pick up more supplies and thought I would offer to pick something up for you?" He kicked away a slithering vine near his foot and calmly waited for her reply.

She screwed up her eyes in thought. "Yes actually. I need more murtlap seeds. I've completely exhausted my supply, and that's all I need as of now. I'll be working with some Venomous Tentacula next month, and I like to have the murtlap fully gown by then if you know what I mean."

"Yes. Well then, if you're sure there is nothing else," he nodded politely and made to leave when she spoke up suddenly.

"OH! Hermione was just asking about some Bogbean, which reminds me, I need some as well. I'm not sure how much she plans to harvest, or how much will be left, so if you could just grab a few bundles for me that would be excellent."

Snape had half turned to look at her after she said this and his curiosity got the better of him.

"...Why was Miss Granger asking about that?"

Cerelia went back to her Mandrake potting, "She needed some for some experiment. I do believe she's intending to use it to try to find a cure for Mr. Potter. Rather a different approach really, I would have never thought of using it. So I told her where you usually gather some, and that I hadn't asked you in awhile and didn't know how good the plants would be for sure."

The fussy Mandrake threw some dirt out of his pot and Professor Sprout rolled her eyes at it and covered it up with more mulch.

Snape watched her for a moment. "Oh," and he started to leave again, but then calmly turned back around.

"But, she hasn't gone to get some now has she?"

Cerelia looked up and dusted off her hands and replied, "I think that was her intention." Severus sighed and shook his head.

"That's not good. This is Clabber breeding season and they're particularly violent at their heightened state. There's a large pack that lives near that area...." Sprout's face became worried.

"Oh dear...I hadn't realised. I saw her heading that direction when she left...should I send for Hagrid?"

"No, he's not in his hut." At her questioning look he explained. "He asked me to check on something about badgers at the Magical Menagerie while I was in Diagon Alley today, but I've forgotten what it was and when I stopped by he wasn't at home."

"Badgers?!" Sprout looked positively gleeful and Snape shook his head and turned towards the door.

"I suppose I will go and check on her," he called. Cerelia just smiled and went back to her pruning.

As he strode down the lawn towards the familiar path, he pocketed his orders and hurried along. It really was a beautiful day. The forest was calm, the wind was just so, it wasn't brutally hot...it smelled nice...Hermione smells nice....

~*~*~*

It really is a beautiful day, thought Hermione, as she wound her way along the little dirt path. She had stopped to admire some really beautiful flowers and even picked some before continuing. At last she reached what appeared to be a clearing on the right side of the path and turned off it and picked her way through the brush towards the muddy shore and sat her basket down. It was breathtaking. The mountains surrounding Hogwarts loomed overhead and were reflected in the calm surface of the lake. She inhaled and closed her eyes. The distant sounds of birds chirping mixed with the gently sounds of the water lapping against the shore calmed her even more. She would have to remember this place most definitely.

She walked over to the edge of the water to peer out, and could definitely see the bottom for quite a ways out, so surely these were the shallow's Cerelia had mentioned. She turned around and lay her basket down and took off the outer layer of her robes and laid them carefully in the grass. She half turned and looked back at the water wondering how deep she would have to wade in, and supposed she could just Transfigure her clothes into a swimsuit. The birds continued to chirp merrily and a fish shattered the glass-like surface of the calm lake.

Or...she could just go nude. Hermione looked down and grinned devilishly. She was in the middle of nowhere after all...people really weren't around. And she had never gone swimming nude, though she had always wanted to. And the sun was shining, the scent of the woods and trees and the water made her giddy and she just didn't care. How could she get caught!? Why not? So, she timidly shrugged out of her clothes and laid them in a pile next to her robes and straightened up. She cautiously looked around, still fighting her sense of paranoia, but shrugged and determinedly made her way to the water's edge; delighting in the feel of rich mud squishing between her toes. She laughed to herself and continued on in. She felt around cautiously for sharp rocks and debris and luckily found none. The water felt so pleasant around her, and was just the right temperature too, and when she got to waist high water she stretched languidly- the tips of her hair grazing the water. Again she smiled and laughed aloud at the tingling feeling of the hot sun kissing her bared breasts. This was absolutely divine!! Why hadn't she done this before, she wondered.

Despite the fact that he completely felt like a voyeur, he licked his lips- 'Yes, those were particularly nice...' he remembered. Snape had happened upon Hermione as she was laying her robes on the grass. And then she was taking off her clothes...and of course it was only the gentlemanly thing to do to not interrupt someone in a...private moment...also it would cause them discomfort.... No, he would patiently wait until the naked vixen before him put her clothes back on. The scratching of the rough bark of the tree he was hiding behind on his cheek brought him back to his senses. And unfortunately that all too familiar tingling in his groin proved annoying, but he ignored it- she was wetting her hair. And at the moment he found that quite fascinating.

After stretching again she swam out a little further; Severus thought she swam rather gracefully...especially nude. When she stopped about twenty feet out, she took a massive gulp of air and quickly disappeared under the rippling waves. Severus unconsciously groaned and leaned his side against the tree, folding his arms, watching, and waiting.

'God, she's great to look at,' He thought. 'The damn wench,' he growled at no one in particular. As he watched the occasional ripple from her under the water he remembered his reasoning for coming out here in the first place. And sure enough when he poked his head out of his hiding place he spied a few of the curious Clabbers sniffing around Hermione's discarded clothes. They really were repulsive creatures, he thought. They had mottled green skin and resembled both a frog and a monkey. Did they honestly have a purpose in this world? It was at this time that one of the Clabber's noticed Severus' presence and the bright red pustule in the middle of its forehead flashed alerting its fellows. Severus casually zapped a few sparks in their direction, grinning as they hissed and scampered off. His duty fulfilled, he turned back to the lake.

He had honestly thought she'd gone out a bit further than she should have. Then he wondered if she'd remembered to use some sort of breathing charm. Surely she would have if she'd been under this long. He shifted around; it didn't take this long to gather a few reeds and she should be coming up for air by now.

He hissed and stepped out from the shelter of the trees and walked over to the water's edge. He tapped his foot annoyed, and craned his neck to attempt to look out further and saw a few bubbles break the surface. He carefully set himself in his imposing stance and crossed arms, ready to give her a disapproving glare. He was so evil and barely suppressed a conceited smirk.

Her head broke through the surface and she gasped for air. She appeared to be struggling to keep her head above the water and kept bobbing up and down without the use of her arms. Severus cleared his throat and tried to look as menacing as he could.

"Are you in need of assistance?" he asked superciliously. She gasped in surprise and simultaneously swallowed some lake water. She choked and clumsily poked her head back above the surface. He grinned maliciously.

"What are you doing here?!" she croaked, still coughing.

"Cerelia told me you had foolishly gone out here alone to gather Moonflower. Apparently you had no idea of the dangerous animals in this area or you'd have taken a companion with you." Hermione blinked; what dangerous animals?

"She said this area was much friendlier than the Forbidden Forest. Exactly what kind of animal are you talking about?" She sank slightly further into the water, uncomfortably aware of just how naked she was below the surface. Perfect.

He paused for just a moment, "Never mind that, just hurry and gather those reeds up and get out of there, I'm sure you have enough, and I have more important things to be doing with my time." She blinked again.

"Excuse me," she spit out more lake water, "but I do not remember asking you to protect me from the terrible creatures of the forest, Snape. I am a grown woman and can take care of myself, thank you." She barely suppressed a giggle as a fish swam by and tickled the bottom of her foot and Severus rolled his eyes. She held her head up...or as high as she could while staying buoyant.

"Of course, how could I forget; although it is quite easy to do so around you." She glared at him and he glared right back.

"I'm fine thank you. You can leave. I'll just be a moment more," she insisted. He wasn't going to get a peep show.

"Miss Granger, I did not come out here to waste my time. I fully intend to see you safely back to the castle, now hurry up. I would like to be in Diagon Alley before the sun sets." He smirked at her.

Hermione thought quickly. "Well," she began. "Maybe I'd like to swim a bit longer." She mentally smacked her forehead. Honestly, Hermione...

"Indeed..." He sighed. "Miss Granger, I grow tired of these childish games," he warned, though secretly delighted. She was outright fidgeting. "And I hope if you were planning on swimming you would do it at a later time, as those leaves need to be soaked in a Guar solution as quickly as possible once they are harvested."

She swallowed; there was no winning today. Just submit and get the hell out of here Hermione, she thought dejectedly.

"Oh fine!" She got a firmer hold on her bundle of Bogbean weed and looked back up to him.

"Well?" he said impatiently.

"Oh...turn around!" she yelled. He cocked an eyebrow.

"Really Miss Granger...we are adults, and it's not as if-"

"I said turn around!" her cheeks were flushed.

"Miss Granger, I don't see the problem if you are adequately attired-"

"Well maybe I'm not, just bloody turn around!" she yelled again. Pride simply would not allow her to plainly say she was swimming mother-naked, in a lake in the middle of nowhere.

He raised his eyebrows in mock-astonishment and revelled in her embarrassed expression, but stood firm.

Hermione glared at him when he didn't turn around. He gave her a last, short questioning glance, then smirked while shaking his head, and calmly turned around so she could get out of the lake "unseen". He heard the sounds of the water splashing and gurgling as she tried to get out and dressed as quickly as possible. His lips twitched at the frustrated little grunts she made as she tried to pull her clothes on over her wet skin hurriedly.

"I'm sure those would slip on better if you were dry...." he added monotonously. The rustling sound stopped, followed by a very quiet incantation, and quickly followed again by the sounds of clothes returning back to their place on her body. When he turned back around, her cheeks were pink and her hair still dripping.

"Forget something," he added noticing the water droplets glinting in her hair. She stiffened, glaring at him yet again.

"Maybe I want it wet." At this she grabbed up her basket now filled with sopping weeds, and stomped off away from the lake, and the thicket of trees; but most of all from him. He sighed, and with glittering eyes followed after her; dodging the violently flipping branches she purposefully flicked in his direction.

~*~*~*~

Much later that evening, Hermione found herself preparing the Guam tincture in the Hospital wing, drinking tea with Poppy and Minerva. Her former Head of House had been inquiring after the Weasley's, whom she was still all very fond of. Hermione noticed she hadn't asked about Harry, but said nothing. Which was just as well. She wasn't exactly keen on revisiting that particular memory just yet.

So there she was, re-soaking, cracking, and stripping the long, fleshy stems. She deposited the white and pink fuzzy flower parts to the side, wondering if she could use them later. A tiny surge of energy sparked within her. Small step though it might be, she was physically headed in the direction of finding a cure for Harry. Her latest theory proved to be very promising, and she had shared it with the two women present. Using the Bogbean, she could possibly stimulate Harry's internal system, then combine an energizing excitant, possibly a Guarana extract, hopefully she could get Harry to respond. If he had just enough energy to produce a normal response they could use other medicinal means through St. Mungo's to keep him stable. Minerva, not really having much knowledge about Potions, or antidotes, stood there listening intently and offered to help, while Poppy had bustled about finding whatever ingredients Hermione might need for the future.

"I don't have everything, dear, but I'm sure Severus can supply you with what I'm lacking," the little witch replied, brushing off her hands on her once pristine, white apron.

Hermione nodded without looking up, and continued stripping the last stalk, careful not to waste any of the juices near the roots. Poppy quickly glanced at Minerva, before re-adjusting a jar on her counter needlessly.

"Speaking of...where is our Potions master today? I haven't seen him about."

Neither of the older women spoke. Cerelia had told them about Severus' curiosity of Hermione's whereabouts earlier, and they waited for Hermione to answer; ready to trap and pester her when she told them. Hermione carefully dropped the last, peeled stalk into the Guar solution Poppy had made and feigned cleaning up. She knew exactly where they were heading with this topic, and wasn't about to give in. Besides, it wasn't like she had made it a point to know where he was anyways. He told her. After he saw her naked in the water earlier...she blushed and looked away. She just knew he had seen her naked in the water.

"I haven't the slightest." Hermione quickly cast a temporary heating Charm on the mixture of plants and alcohol solution. "I think I'll leave these to soak for a few hours before I attempt to purify the infusion. Afternoon ladies," and she curtly nodded before hastily exiting the ward. Minerva snapped her fingers, and Poppy stomped her foot.

"Tsk. You wait, Poppy. I'll catch them. Whether they like it or not." Poppy chuckled. "It really just isn't fair that they keep all this from us." Minerva picked at imaginary lint, grinning. Poppy just shook her head and set the bowl of soaking Bogbean leaves further back on the counter.

~*~*~*~

Nightfall found Hermione hard at work, poring over parchments and books, potions and pestles. She had finally tied her messy hair back, after blowing it out of her face at least a dozen times, and stuck a quill in to secure it, and was now chewing the side of her thumb, brows creased in concentration. There was something she was missing, she was sure. She hissed in frustration, and threw down her notes. Her eyes stung. She'd been in this room for at least five hours now, working non-stop. Luckily Poppy had let her use the small laboratory in her office so Hermione wouldn't have to enlarge her rooms to make her own lab. She could of course always go down into the dungeons and borrow one of Severus', but that would mean speaking to him. She wasn't quite ready to do that just yet.

When she'd woken up that morning beside him, she's almost panicked. She still couldn't believe what had happened. Pity sex. She sighed. That's all it was. It was great, yes.... actually, really great. But he hadn't meant what he'd said. Who would in the face of a raving lunatic? Come on, she had thought. She had been so angry at herself, even at him. So when she'd woken up, lulled into a false sense of contentment, she remembered how they had gotten there in the first place. She had smiled in the beginning, thinking he had been trying to help. Free her. But the more she began thinking...the more it just didn't add up. He'd been with her while she had been crying; he knew she had been weak. Hell, she had been talking about her own death! Who wouldn't take pity on someone that pathetic...even if it was sex?

Her eyes now stung with something other than fatigue, and she growled and went back to her writings.

Her cauldron was still simmering, when Snape emerged from the hallway and into Madam Pomfrey's office, still in his travelling cloak. He was going to drop off Poppy's monthly supplies, but found her working in there instead. He watched her as she had looked up and stared into space, before determinedly going back to work. He glanced around her. Her work area was a disaster; how on earth could someone work like that? He shook his head and proceeded to Pomfrey's little storeroom.

"You do realise it's dangerous to work with Potions in a cluttered area. I hope you're not making any kind of medicinal mixtures." He enlarged the medi-witch's packages and closed the door behind him. She stood with her hands on her hips...the famous glare in place.

"I'm accustomed to my workspaces, thank you, and as previously stated, I believe I can handle myself. Did you have a purpose? Or are you here to bother me," she snapped, and turned back to her work.

"Temper, temper," he said smoothly. Curiosity again winning over, he approached her desk and peered at her notes, and in the cauldron.

He inhaled slightly, and looked up, as if thinking. "Is that a variation of a Infensus Draught?" She nodded stiffly and continued to pretend to otherwise ignore him.

He gave her an appraising look. "You're missing Ginseng," and he turned to leave. Hermione stopped dead. That's what she had been missing...but-

"Isn't that...more of a Muggle drug?"

Snape slowed, and half turned towards her. "Technically. But they haven't quite figured out its proper usage, which is why it never works," he smirked. "Simpletons. They do that to a lot of helpful medicines. Laziness, really." Hermione mentally slapped her forehead for the second time that day. She now remembered him once lecturing them on common Muggle remedies, and why they didn't work, back in her seventh year.

"I remember now...thanks." He shrugged, and continued to watch her. She turned back to her cutting board and looked around for some Ginseng extract.

"She doesn't have any, and she didn't request it, so I didn't buy her some. However, I do," he paused, waiting for her reaction, and delighted in her torn expression.

She broke. "May I use some." It was really more of a statement.

He folded his arms, and cocked his head. "That wasn't exactly courteous. And I'm almost out anyways, now that I think of it-"

She sighed, "Please?" He twitched his lips.

"Just a moment," and he swept away, returning about ten minutes later.

"It took you long enough," she murmured when he returned, and then bit her lip when he produced bottles with more than just Ginseng extracts.

He frowned, "I was searching for other ingredients you might need if you are attempting the particular Potion I was thinking," he bit out. "Some people are truly ungrateful."

She didn't reply. It had been rude of her...he was doing her a favour. Or was he also using that last statement as a double meaning....

She reached for the bottle wondering how much she should add, and then scanned the page of the book she had been looking at.

"Try four millilitres," he suggested and studied his long fingers. She closed her eyes in frustration, but obediently measured out four millilitres. She then examined each of the extra bottles he'd brought.

"I wouldn't trust her grated heartstring...it might be a touch too old," he explained when she picked up his last jar.

"Thank you," she said quietly again. All right, the man was fairly genius if he knew this ingredients list by heart, she thought. Or very lucky, as this was still a debatable concoction. She chewed her lip thoughtfully, and went back to her own list. Next she was to stir seven times clockwise, then add Essence of Wormwood, wait seven seconds, and then added in the Guarana extract to reverse the sleeping effect in the drinker. Snape watched her carefully, silently approving the exactness of her movements. She always had done well in Potions.

When the liquid turned a livid green, she removed the flame, and set the cauldron aside, sealing it. Tomorrow she would add in the last steps required, and hopefully be able to test it on Harry. She reached up and rubbed her neck.

"How are you able to hold that...bending position over the cauldrons for so long?"

"Practice, I suppose." He watched her silently for a few moments. "I have an excellent muscle relaxing ointment back in my office. If you're interested, I could let you borrow some." He really didn't know why he was being nice to her. Her very presence was agitating. And yet....

She nodded, and then began to quickly clean up. A few flicks of her wand and she was done. She turned towards him, not exactly expectant, but not foreboding either. He stood up and exited the workroom, followed by Hermione. They turned to walk down the corridor in silence and down the staircases that led to his dark offices.

"Wait here," he spoke quietly and exited through a door on his right, once in his office. She again looked around at the curious objects floating in jars, half of which still didn't look real. He returned in a few minutes with a small jar in hand and presented it to her.

"It doesn't have to be washed off, you can just work it into the skin near the affected muscles and it should start to work next to instantly."

Hermione unscrewed the top and raised the jar to her nose. "Roses?" she looked up surprised.

"Yes. Well, Minerva was tired of my customary Sandalwood and even Peppermint gets old." Hermione grinned slightly and looked around again. She could feel the tension in the air around them and spoke the first thing she could think of.

"I've always wondered; you don't actually use any of the specimens in these jars do you?" Snape looked around appreciatively at his gruesome collection.

"Of course. You have no idea how rare these objects are in my field of work." He said no more for a moment, then looked sideways at her.

She caught it and shook her head. "You should just throw them out and get more convincing samples if you just want to scare them. These look like something out of a bad Muggle science fiction film."

"You've seen those too?" he said mock-surprised.

"Two jokes in the space of one minute; impressive."

"Always," he sighed. She shook her head again and turned to leave.

"You're welcome, by the way," he said dryly.

She stopped at the doorway and slowly turned around to face him.

"For?" she said quietly.

He watched her for a moment before answering. "Whatever you want."

She stood silently for a moment before nodding and slowly making her way back to Gryffindor Tower. He walked out of his office a few minutes later and locked it, turning around to see if she had gone before purposefully banging his head against the solid oak door, and trudging back to his empty, quiet rooms. As she ascended the main staircase she fingered the little jar of ointment and whispered a sad thank you.

~*~*~*~*

A/N: *is now dead from many readers' spearing me from lack of ATTENTION!!!! * I know. Anyways, it's not as long, but I worked on the next chapter to come...so we'll see what happens. And to those who were wondering, no, it's only about halfway finished. ><

To sum up: Hate me, because I do. And I'm sorry.

p.s. a little over a year ago I started this little project!! omgiknow!