Something to Do With a Bet

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. J.K. Rowling is a genius.

Also, still AU, and I apologize in advance to the HG/SS fans out there. It's not going to happen.

"Professor!" said Draco in a panic-stricken voice, staring at the man with horror. "I- we were just-– it wasn't-–"

"I heard noises. Inappropriate noises," Snape added in a low, deadly voice that sent a chill up Hermione's spine. A chill that she wasn't entirely sure was out of fear...

"Detention. Both of you. My office, after lunch. And Miss Granger, I suggest you try to keep your clothing on."

Chapter Seven: Lab Rats

"You got caught? By Snape?" Even though they were shielded by a silencing charm, Ginny couldn't help but wonder if they had been speaking too loudly in the over-crowded Hall.

Hermione blushed and stared down at her half-empty plate. "What if he tells Dumbledore? Or my parents? What if he gets me expelled and I have to go back to muggle life pretending these past six years never happened? I couldn't bear not being able to use my magic!"

"Don't overthink it and you'll be fine. He wouldn't tell Dumbledore about it, Malfoy's reputation is at stake here too." Ginny paused as a thought came into her head. "Hmm… He might have a few wet dreams about it, but that's it. Probably."

"Oh, right, because it's perfectly fine for a professor to whack off to the image of a half-naked student. He could imagine me naked in class if he wanted to. How is that a good thing?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "I never said it was a good thing, it's just better than the alternative. Besides, as long as he doesn't act on his lust, you should take it as a compliment."

"Exactly. 'As long as he doesn't act on it.' But, Ginny, it's well within his powers to blackmail me at any time. I just hope he's as good a person as Dumbledore thinks he is." She sighed, knowing full well that, in the state she'd been in that morning, she would have let the professor join in without hesitation. A shudder ran through her and she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Well, I should go now. I can't eat another bite, and I don't want to be late for detention when my academic life is on the line."

Hermione sat with bated breath as Snape finished correcting the twelfth paper since she had come in. Draco had come in shortly after her, and the professor hadn't yet acknowledged either of them. She stole a glance at Malfoy, and was quite surprised to see how rigid the boy was in his seat. It was comforting to know that he was as scared as she was.

"Miss Granger."

Hermione almost jumped at the sound of her name, and turned to face him. "Yes, Professor?" she asked, after a long pause.

"Why, exactly, are you here?" he asked her, not taking his eyes off the papers he was correcting.

Hermione frowned, confused. "Sir? I'm here because you to—"

"Miss Granger, I know why you are here. What I want is for you to tell me how it happened, and why." With that, Snape laid down his quill and folded his hands on top of the desk. The effect left Hermione unable to speak for several moments. "Well?" he prompted.

Taking a deep breath, she looked the man straight in the eyes. "To put it simply, sir, I am here because I found myself insanely attracted to Draco this morning, and could not keep my hands off him."

Snape quirked an eyebrow at Hermione, then turned his gaze upon Malfoy. "What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Well, I am stunningly handsome," Draco conceded, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Yes, well, as much as I'd love to sit and chat, you two are here as a punishment. Normally, I would have you clean the classroom or the cauldrons, but as I just had almost a whole third year class in detention last night, I'm afraid I have nothing for you to clean. However," he added, before either of them could breathe a sigh of relief, "I am working on a potion that would be nearly impossible for me to test on myself. At the moment, it is entirely reversible, and I will give you a low dosage in case there are any unpleasant side-effects."

As Hermione and Draco stared in shock, the professor brought two tiny bottles and set them on their desks. "But- Professor-" began Hermione, looking down at the potion in front of her.

"Miss Granger, this experiment is entirely optional, I assure you," Snape interrupted with a smirk. "If you would rather have detention with Professor McGonagall, I'm sure she'd love to hear the story of why I gave you detention in the first place."

Hermione shook her head, "I was just going to say that I'm allergic to tree nuts, and I haven't taken my Epi-Potion yet for this week." She had to admit, testing out a new potion sounded exciting, even though it was meant as punishment. She just had to hope that Snape would have extra potions in his office.

The professor waved a hand and a tiny vial of Epi-Potion appeared next to Hermione's test potion, and she quickly downed the medication before uncorking the bottle. She looked up into Snape's stormy eyes before picking the bottle up and carefully smelling the concoction. "I suppose you're not going to tell us what the potion does."

The professor smiled, an odd look in his eyes. "You suppose correctly."

Hermione frowned as she made her way to the Library. She had sat in Snape's office for well over an hour, whereas Draco had left within ten minutes of taking the potion. Of course, he could have had a more averse reaction to the potion than she had, and he could have gone to the nurse, but it seemed a lot more likely that he had just feigned illness to get out of detention.

She still had no clue what the potion was supposed to do, and she could only assume it wasn't meant to cause nausea and blackouts; however, Professor Snape had looked fairly pleased with himself when he sent her away.

"Granger!" a familiar voice shouted from a few feet behind her. She stopped and turned around. "Merlin's beard, Granger, do you not listen when people are talking to you?"

"Sorry, I must have been tuning out annoying voices," Hermione replied with an innocent smile, before turning back around to walk to the Library.

"That explains why you didn't stop and chat with your Weasel friend, then," Draco smirked, walking along beside her. His arm rubbed up against hers as they walked, and although Hermione knew it was deliberate, she still found it hard to think up a retort. She hadn't stopped to talk to Ginny, but they had shared a conspiratorial wink; next stage would be coming up soon, after all.

A/N: Okay, so, I owe you all a very big apology for not posting in a long time… I'm only working one job right now, which means tons of free time and hardly any money, which is why I'm able to write again. I need another job, so I'll write as much as I can before I get the second job.