Hermione and Snape

Chapter One

Hermione Granger was on the Hogwarts Express for the seventh and final time. Only this time was the first she time she'd had a whole compartment to herself. The reason for this was she was the only student aboard. She was going back to school a month early to have an apprenticeship. In the muggle world, they call this an internship. She was going to be working the whole year as an assistant to Professor Snape. This was not an idea that particularly appealed to her considering their history. Unfortunately, for the position she wanted at the Ministry of Magic next year, it was a requirement. Usually if a student wanted an apprenticeship, he or she had to come back after their seventh year to achieve this, but since Hermione had perfect marks in all her classes and the fact that she had been made Head Girl, allowed Dumbledore to be lenient. She had to be at Hogwarts a month earlier than the students so that she and Snape could work out a routine.

So Hermione sat in her compartment all alone and thought of the coming year. She honestly did not know how it was going to work out--not that she doubted Snape's ability as a potions master. She knew he was the best and she had seen it proven countless times over the last seven years. She was worried about their working relationship. Snape had never been exactly nice to her or for that matter, even pleasant. No love was lost between him and her two best friends either. She knew that they both thought she was crazy for doing this. When they had found out, they had been less than pleased.

"Geez, Hermione, what are you thinking spending a whole year as Snape's assistant, are you crazy? He is going to make your life a living hell!" she remembered Ron saying.

"Yeah," Harry was quick to put in. "I can't imagine why you would want to do this."

Her friends never seemed to understand why she was such an overachiever. She did not quite know herself. She just liked to be the best, and she really wanted that job. She also knew that Ron's reaction partly came from jealously; they had decided to start dating at the end of last term. Ron had been looking forward to the last few weeks of summer that Harry and she usually spent at the Burrow. But she thought that one had to make sacrifices to achieve what they wanted.

She had been so lost in her thoughts, she had not noticed the train was slowing down. She quickly gathered her things, and got ready to get off. When the train finally stopped at the station, she got off and found there was a single horseless carriage waiting for her. After her ride up to the front doors, she entered the Great Hall to find Albus Dumbledore waiting for her.

"Hermione, welcome back! I am personally so glad to see you here. I think that this is a great idea, and was pleased to put your application through early. I just hope Professor Snape and you can put aside any...um...differences you might have. Now you will be staying Gryffindor tower by yourself I'm afraid, until the other students arrive. I have already had your trunks sent up to your room. Also, I fear it might be a tad lonely around here for awhile. The other teachers will not arrive for a few weeks and I myself will be leaving also after I have seen you settled...business for the Ministry you know. But I will be staying for dinner tonight, so please go get settled in your rooms and come back down for dinner," he finished, "by the way, the password is Flobberworm."

Dumbledore walked back up the main staircase and out of sight. Hermione looked around at the Great Hall. It looked very odd with out a single other person in it. Professor Snape was no where to be seen.

"Nice that he came down to greet me," she grumbled sarcastically to herself.

Not that she really expected it of him. She figured he was probably down in his dungeon office brooding or probably thinking up loads of demeaning jobs he was going to give her. She wandered up the main staircase towards the seventh floor where Gryffindor tower was located. When she approached the portrait of the Fat Lady, she found that she was snoozing. Hermione cleared her throat loudly, hoping to wake her.

"What? Oh Miss Granger, back early aren't we?" asked the Fat Lady.

"Yes," she answered and proceeded to explain the situation.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked.

"Flobberworm," she replied and the portrait swung open allowing her to enter the Gryffindor common room.

Even though she was the only one present, a cheery fire still crackled in the huge fireplace. She headed to the right up the stairs, and to the girl dormitories. She entered her old room with its five familiar poster beds to find that her things had not been brought there. Confused, she left the room and continued up the stairs to the last landing. She entered the room at the top and saw that it was a single room with the customary four poster bed with red curtains; a writing desk and a wardrobe were also present. There was a large window to the left that overlooked the fields surrounding the school and in the distance, the Forbidden Forest. She saw that her trunk had been brought to this room and was placed at the foot of the bed.

"Well," she thought, "it seems that I get my own room." The thought pleased her. She had never been very close to the other Gryffindor girls in her year, and it would be nice not to have to listen to their gossip-filled conversations without being included. This would also give her a nice place to study in quiet, because although she was assisting Professor Snape this year, she still had to attend some classes, and take her N.E.W.T.S. at the end of the year.

Hermione changed into her school robes and checked her appearance in the mirror. Although she might not have realized herself, she had changed a lot over the summer. Her hair had lost the frizziness of her youth and now hung in long thick waves past her shoulders. Her body had also changed into that of a stunning young woman with all the curves in the right places. Her breasts where not overly large but filled out her sweater beneath her robes nicely, and her waist was trim and rounded into nice full hips. She never really bothered with muggle make-up for her face, figuring that it was a waste of time. Not that she needed it really; her complexion was a nice creamy white that went well with the green of her eyes. Her cheekbones were high and her nose straight and thin and her lips full.

Satisfied with her appearance, she left her room and went back down to the Great Hall. She found that Dumbledore and Snape were already seated at the teacher's table, waiting for her. Dumbledore motioned for her to join them and sit down.

"I'm sure that you found your room easily enough and to your liking?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, thank you for the private room," she answered. "Hello Professor," she addressed to Snape.

He nodded his head and said, "Miss Granger. I will expect you in my office an hour after we have finished dinner."

Well, she thought, he is not wasting any time. She lowered her eyes to her plate and began to eat. She glanced up at Snape through her eyelashes. He looked the same, she thought. He has not changed since she began to come to Hogwarts. She roughly estimated that he must be in his middle thirties. His black hair was a little long, so that it brushed the collar of his robes. His face was not unpleasant but had a hard, unyielding look to it. His body was long and lean, with broad shoulders that made him look the imposing figure indeed.

The rest of the meal Dumbledore and Hermione made pleasant conversation and Snape sat in silence.

To be continued..........