Author's Note:

This is my first Multi-Chapter fanfiction on this account.

Disclaimer:

If you recognize, I don't own it.

"Wonderful answer once again, Miss Granger. Five points to Ravenclaw!" Professor Slughorn announced to the class.

Severus nearly growled. That had been the third time Slughorn had praised Granger's "wonderful" answer during the class. Those answers usually being memorized quotations from their textbooks. How wonderful it was indeed to not be able to concise information into your own thoughts.

The Ravenclaws all tittered with joy about the addition of points. Granger had earned them twenty five points in the Potions class alone. Severus highly suspected that some Hogwart's record must have been broken at this point, or the time was drawing very near the it would. Unlike himself, Granger's housemates didn't seem to care that she spoke with the robotic tone of someone who had never questioned authority in her life. If anything they were probably even more pleased by her complete dedication to mimicking the lifeless textbook they were all forced to buy.

That was the folly of the supposed house of intellectuals. They were competitive and praise-oriented, so they so often forgot one of the leading characteristics of their house. Creativity. Creativity was not something that one could learn from a textbook he thought rather snidely so it was no wonder that Granger seemed to be incapable of using it.

While Granger clearly was skilled at memorization and comprehension, but he found himself wondering if she was quick-thinking and would be able to answer questions that she hadn't already memorized from assigned readings. Could she use context and the basics of what she knew as a foundation to jump off the mental safety that was memorization into the unchartered territory of Merlin forbid her own opinions. Let alone could she fling herself from the perch she was so happy to stay in seemingly and experiment? He was highly doubting it after having sat through a lesson with her.

Thankfully the class came to an end a few minutes later, and Severus hurried to shove his notes in his bag. He did not want to stick around for when the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs would be coming in for their lesson before lunch. Despite the fact that the class after them was full of much younger third years, they could be quite as cumbersome to deal with as his older tormentor's. Severus highly suspected that the Gryffindor house in particular taught their new housemates specifically to torture him in the most inconvenient ways they could find. Unlike with their older counterparts, Severus couldn't exactly go around throwing hexes at the younger menaces.

"Oh Hermione, you were absolutely brilliant. Twenty five points during a lecture class! That's hardly ever been done," The shrill voice of Anna Torri made Severus roll his eyes. The woman was nearly as terrible as Winona. For all the iciness Lily may have been showing him, he would give her the immense credit of never sounding like a shrew.

"It's a good thing we managed to get you in our house," Torri's boyfriend, Randall Patil added.

Severus turned from his desk to leave, only to realize that the chattering group were right behind him. He was all but ready ready to push past the group of three Ravenclaw's blocking the door. A bloody safety hazard, he thought to himself. What was it about the imbeciles here at Hogwarts that they all managed to act as if they owned the place? Was this a place of tomfoolery or "sacred" learning as they had all been sold.

Granger was shaking her head at her two friends and when he got closer to the door her eyes turned toward him automatically. For a second he thought he was going to stumble. Severus felt unnerved by how intently she stared at him. It was not quite the piercing hatred that so many looked at him with, but the intensity of someone that would probably ask too many bloody questions if she was ever given the chance. He felt himself almost blanch at the thought of ever being in a line of questioning as he was imagining.

"Feeling ill?" She asked him, moving away from the door to give him space to exit the classroom. There was a furrow beginning to form between her eyebrows, as if she was actually genuinely concerned. Though he knew better. No matter how genuine her facial expression and tone might have been, she was probably mocking him and his rather signature gaunt appearance. Bitterness swelled up inside of him. Who was this new rather unremarkable looking girl to mock him?

"Indeed. Having to be in the presence of such an insufferable know-it-all has had it's toll on me," Severus said, his voice dripping with the antagonistic tone he had often heard complaints about. He could do mockery just as well as the next person.

He pushed past the two indignated Ravenclaws, exiting the classroom before they could fully argue with him about his insult. All of this had been a bloody waste of his time, and he wasn't going to make a habit of conversing with people who were so unworthy of even second glances. The sound of voices coming down the corridor meant the younger students were already on their way here. He would have to walk rather briskly to avoid any scuffles with them as well. As he made his escape though, a noise stopped him in his tracks.

The Granger girl was laughing. The sound bounced off the stone walls of the dungeon, surrounding Severus. The girl was laughing at his insult towards her. He felt his own lips turn downward not in a scowl but in confusion.

Despite his better instincts, he turned towards the Potions classroom's doorway again. It seemed that he wasn't the only one left in a state of confusion at Granger's reaction. Patil and Torri were staring at her in complete shock as well. The two stared mouth agape at her with no shame. The girl in question had her head thrown back with pure mirth, the hand over her mouth not even muffling the sound. There was now a rosy hue to her cheeks, that the tiniest voice in Severus' head told him would have been another annoyed jealousy for Winona.

"Hermione!" Torri gasped.

Granger had begun to lean against the door of the classroom, sliding down it until she sat on the cold stone floor. Her stocking covered legs curling up underneath her skirt and no doubt getting dirtied by Merlin knew what kind of filth covered the floor. The world knew that Filch and house elves would never care enough to clean them properly. Severus continued to stare, not knowing what to do about the situation. Was the girl mad? Had some attack come over her?

"Are you mad?" He voiced his thoughts out loud.

The curly haired girl looked up at him, her bursts of laughters having faded to hiccups. She nodded. Tiny tears of laughter slowly made their way down the apples of her cheeks and she brushed them away with a soft laugh that was more a simple exhale of air in comparison to the noises that had come out of her moments before. The corner of her mouth was still upturned in a smile, but Severus couldn't help but observe that the gleam in her eyes from earlier had died away. There was almost something sad about them now that unnerved him even more than her outburst had.

"Not at all. Thank you for the concern Pr-Snape, right?" Granger stumbled over her words.

Severus nodded, not knowing what else to say to a girl who was clearly some sort of unstable.

"I'm sorry about that...outburst. It's just you reminded me so much of a person I knew back in America when you spoke to me. Almost identical really," she stood back up with a sly smile, brushing her dusty hands against her already dirty skirt.

He was taken aback at the idea of someone being similar to himself and at the idea that such a memory would bring her joy. How similar could he have been to this person if the memory of him brought her to enough laughter to reduce her to tears? All he had done was insult her and not even with the decency of doing so to her face. What about that could have evoked such strong joyous memories?

"Well pleasure to meet you. Oh-we will be late for Transfiguration you know! We should hurry," Granger directed the first part of her sentence towards him, though her now widened eyes were on her fellow housemates.

He knew she was right about the time. The bright yellow colors of Hufflepuff ties were coming down the dungeon corridor, the unnecessarily loud yells of the Gryffindors right behind them.

That would be a pleasure to walk through, he thought dryly. For the second time in a week he had found himself getting caught up in unnecessary situations with people he surely disliked. Perhaps it was time he used a selective hearing charm, so he could ignore and not find himself getting reeled in by annoying Gyffindors and odd Ravenclaws.

Not wanting to seem part of the group of Ravenclaws when they arrived for class, he walked speedily ahead of them. He tried to not meet the stares of the students heading to potions. Though he could hear a bit of their usual snickering as so many of them skipped beside him towards the classroom.

"Hey Snivellus, did you finally find some friends?" One student called out to him. He could see out of his peripheral vision that the child was pointing to the Ravenclaws hurrying behind him.

Severus ignored the comment. He would need to hurry to make it to class on time. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs started laughing at the boy's jokes, he could even hear the soft chuckles of Patil and Torri a little ways behind him. He once again felt the icy burn of bitterness work it's way through him. He now had the self-control to not let his mouth open to insult the pair, but he noted it.

They could have this laughter now. But in the coming months when all they knew changed and the Dark Lord began his reign, they would be begging for Severus' mercy. He would be the one to hold the power in his hands, and the hatred he so often felt burning his heart at thier laughs would finally disappear when he would laugh at them and their plight instead.

He would have his time to laugh, for now he would attempt to ignore the immaturity that was his school tormentors. There were less than eighty days now until it would all be over and even fewer days until he would be meeting the Dark Lord himself.

"Why are they so cruel to him?" he heard Granger mumble.

Heat rose to his cheeks. How he hated the sound of pity. The cruel laughter of his classmates were pleasant in comparison to the pitiful tones that women like Granger...and Lily used when talking about him. Even McGonagall would sometimes turn the same tone and the same eyes that Granger probably had in that moment on him. It didn't do make him feel any better than the looks of disgust he got. Severus was not someone to be pitied.

"He asks for it, Hermione. He's a cruel bastard. Just look at what he called you," Patil whispered back.

"Just jealous he is, you know. You're giving him a run for his money," Torri agreed.

While he could have made some sort of snarky comment about how he wasn't jealous of the lack of critical thinking Granger's so called intelligence showed, he didn't. Severus hurried into their next class, his head kept low. He didn't want to hear whatever Granger would tell them. She would either agree and join in on the cruelty or worse yet, come to his defense in pity of the friendless life she was beginning to see that he had now that Lucius was out of school. He would hate her more no matter which end she decided to be on.

Taking his seat he realized there was no need for his hurry, the Professor hadn't even arrived yet. The rest of the students were standing around in their little groups gossiping about the latest going ons in the corridors of Hogwarts. From the sound of it the biggest piece of news of the day was that apparently Alice Warner and Frank Longbottom were on another break.

Oh how could I have ever survived without knowing, Severus thought to himself.

Not that it was event noteworthy information at this point. There were only so many times they all could watch the petite woman tear into the more quiet man about his witch of a mother. Secretly, having seen the Longbottom matriarch many times, he agreed with Warner. Hawkish was the only word that could even begin to describe the older woman. He doubted anyone would be eager to spend the holiday's around her never-ending criticisms. Which considering his own running commentary of genuine dislike for every environment he was put in, said much about her character.

The sound of someone pulling out the chair next to him, forced him to pick up his head. No one sat next to him. He was the only student without a partner, usually working with the professor instead when they were forced to do partner work. It was mutually beneficial situation since most of his fellow students would never trust him to do spell work on their person and possessions, and he knew that he would complete the task much faster if he didn't have to have any sort of human interaction at all let alone with those he knew to be incompetent.

When he turned, strands of curly hair smothered his face. Granger's large head of hair nearly engulfed him, as she pulled her supplies out of her bag to place on the desk. Sputtering to free the rebellious strands that had been caught in his mouth, he caught her attention with a rather undignified he would admit choking sound.

"Oh! I'm sorry! It has a minds of it own," Granger mumbled, quickly freeing him of his imprisonment by her hair by gathering it together at the back of her head.

He nearly sighed in relief when she twisted it into a bun, even if it looked ready to burst at any moment. He could only hope that if it did, he would not be a part of the collateral damage.

"Please keep from attempted murder from now on if you must sit with me," Severus drawled with an internal sigh.

Granger merely lifted an eyebrow at him, face alight with sly amusement. A unladylike smirk by most pureblood standards twisted her face into one he rather regrettably recognized as one he made when in situations where he knew how utterly idiotic every around him was. He would have preferred the odd sorrow from her first night and even the slight sadness in her eyes from earlier than this startlingly similar expression on her face right now.

"I'm surprised. I would have thought you would run me off by now," Granger told him, a smile tugging at her lips. She sat with chin in her hand, elbow rested on the desk. Quite comfortable she had made herself.

"I am no dunce, Granger, I know that there is only one seat available in the class. Unless you want to sit on the floor, this is the only option available to you. There is no point in running you off," Severus told her.

"How very logical of you. Are you sure you're a Slytherin?" Granger asked, the teasing in her voice something foreign to him. It was not the acidic tones of mocking, but instead a light-hearted dare he say playful sound.

Though the tone didn't matter in the face of what she had said. Severus reeled at the assumption that he was not a Slytherin. He was a fine example of all the characteristics his house was known for. This girl knew nothing of him. A look of disbelief and disgust must have been on his face because the light in her eye turned intense in almost anger.

"I am just kidding. It would do you go to learn how to take a joke now and then," Granger scoffed, the corners of her mouth finally turning downward into a semblance of a frown.

"I am not the joking type," Severus shook his head, turning back to face his desk. The mood was now much more dower and resembled a more natural environment for him. One where both he and the person next to him were both displeased.

The sound of footsteps outside the classroom sent the rest of the students to their desks. Surely enough, McGonagall walked through the doors with her stern expression in place. Severus winced at the reminder of the detention he had had to serve under her yesterday evening, cleaning all the desks in the classroom by hand. She had been merciful though, sending Potter, Black, and Pettigrew off to serve their detention in another part of the castle.

Small mercies was all he could ask for when it came to his discipline at Hogwarts.

The class went off with little excitement. As with most of the classes at the beginning of the week, it was lecture. Severus dutifully took condensed notes on the theory they would be discussing that week, noticing that his desk partner had already filled up a two foot parchment front and back in comparison to his few bullet points. Just as in Potions, he found himself annoyed with her lack of intellectual freedom. She wouldn't even write her notes in her own fashion.

There was surely some type of impressiveness in being able to catch every single word in a lecture in a perfect transcription, but it wasn't the type of impressiveness that held merit to him. None of the great thinkers and creators in the history of their world had ever been the type to transcribe things. Those people were the much tinier name dictated at the bottom of a page.

By the time class was being dismissed for lunch, he had decided that Granger was smart, smart enough to be put in the house of intellect. She answered questions with an ease that he nearly respected. He was genuinely looking forward to observing how quickly she caught on to spells when it came to practical demonstrations. However, she lacked the individuality that would have made her a true scholar. A shame, he thought. Wasted potential was always such a tragedy.

It was his hatred for wasted potential that caused him to dislike so many members of his own house. To have resources, intellect, and connections available to you and not to use them was criminal in his eyes.

"Miss Granger, if you would please stay behind, so I could have a few words with you," McGonagall told the girl beside him, as the rest of the class got up to leave.

Severus' interest was piqued. McGonagall wasn't one to take to the personal life of her students and Granger had clearly been competent and well behaved during class, so she wasn't in need of disciplinary action or tutoring. What could their Professor possibly want with what seemingly was a above average student?

Pretending to not have heard or care about the order his desk partner had been given, he

headed out with the rest of the students. He made sure not to look back at the exchange student or the professor. He did not want them to know he was interested in their conversation. If they suspected he was they might move it elsewhere or not speak with the candid honesty he was hoping they would.

While a majority of the students headed to the Great Hall to have their lunch, Severus stayed behind. Far too distracted by their hungry stomachs, they thankfully ignored him as they left. Once he was sure that he was the only person left in the corridor, he pressed himself against the wall beside the door. He needed to be able to hear but not be seen.

"This is a very important conversation Miss Granger, Dumbledore has been taken away from the school of business, so it must be I who tells you this," McGonagall said.

Severus inched closer towards the door. So Dumbledore had left the school? This information could be of use to Lucius and the Dark Lord. Perhaps he was meeting with someone of importance or working on some sort of weapon to combat the man who was becoming more powerful every single day. This kind of information could tip the scales in favor of the Dark Lord and make him stand out as an incoming candidate to the ranks. He would send a letter immediately after he heard the rest of the conversation.

"What happened, Professor?" Granger asked.

"One moment," McGonagall said.

Severus heard her mumble and then realized that unnatural silence had fallen in the room. She had cast a silencing spell, so he wouldn't be able to hear the rest of the conversation at all.

Little did she know that she was too late. Severus had heard not only possible vital information for his leader, but he had heard enough to make him suspicious about Granger and her place at the school.

When she spoke to McGonagall, she had spoken not with an American accent, but a pure English one.

Hermione Granger was not from America.

Author's Note:

Thank you for being patient about this next chapter. We finally got our two characters to have a conversation, and I am having so much fun playing around with their interactions with each other. I think the Hermione/Snape dynamic can be such a fun one. I know that the story seems to be slow moving but have patience, this is what comes from a time travel story from Snape's POV.

For my question this chapter I ask you dear readers this:

What HP character do you think is unappreciated?

My answer is the sometimes forgotten about Fleur. Quick-witted, brave, and competent, she is a badass female character that just doesn't get her due credit.

I can't wait to share the next chapter with you, talk to you then!