Hermione woke the next morning with a feeling of disorientation. Where was she? She rolled over and promptly fell off the narrow sofa and onto the cold stone floor. Hermione stared at the ceiling for a moment and then slowly sat up, wincing at the stiffness in her neck. She was in Professor Snape's office, still in her robes with a blanket wrapped around her, and the professor was nowhere to be seen.

Lavender and Parvati watched her walk into their room with undisguised interest. Hermione was not in the mood for their silly innuendos.

"Fell asleep in the library," she informed them shortly. Lavender made a little moue of disappointment and returned to her make-up. Parvati, less subtle, sighed openly. Hermione rolled her eyes, and retreated into the bathroom.

.i.

Red-eyed and not a little groggy, Hermione made her way to her usual desk in the front of the Potions classroom with hunched shoulders and downcast eyes. Safely arrived at the lab bench she shared with Neville, Hermione made a conscious effort not to fidget. What had happened last night? It was all muddled in her mind; she wasn't sure what she'd said, and she was almost afraid to think about what she might have done.

The door banged as Professor Snape made his usual dramatic entrance, swooping out of his office towards the front of the class. Not being quite brave enough to meet his eyes, Hermione stared resolutely at the glass jar of… something… sitting on his desk. What was that, anyway? It didn't look like any potions ingredient she'd ever seen or read about. She half suspected the reason he had it, displayed prominently on his desk, was that it looked suitably squicky and gruesome and added to the general aura of menace that surrounded him. That would be just like him. In fact…

"...is that not correct, Miss Granger?"

Hermione jumped, head snapping up to make contact with the dark eyes regarding her, one black eyebrow raised sardonically.

"I--that is..." she stammered, trying to think what he could be asking her.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for inattention, Miss Granger." In a voice practically dripping with sarcasm, he added, "Do try to tear your thoughts away from whatever undoubtedly profound subject occupies them today."

"Yes, sir," Hermione responded, eyes downcast. Perversely, she felt better. At least some things never changed.

.i.

Dear Fairy Godfather,

I'm dreadfully afraid I've made an utter fool of myself. I'm not very clear what happened last night, but I think I might have actually thrown a dead newt at him, and I know I burst into tears. Him, of course, being Professor Snape. We had a lab meeting last night, and he said something—I really don't even remember what—and I lost it. I woke up this morning on the sofa in his office, with a blanket thrown over me, and I'm reasonably certain I sniveled all over his robes. I hope he wasn't completely appalled.

Surprisingly, even red-eyed and stuffy-nosed, I feel a lot better. I think now I might actually be able to remember all the good things about my parents, instead of all the unresolved problems that now we never will work out. If nothing else, I'm all cried out; I just wonder why it was this happened with him, of all people.

But after all, who can I talk to? You don't count, exactly—you don't ever talk back. I certainly can't talk to Ron and Harry; they've already got enough problems of their own to worry about. And Ginny wouldn't understand… Her family's so great. As for Parvati and Lavender, they might be great people for make-up advice, but I don't think I could handle their kind of sympathy. Too much gratuitous teariness.

Really, though, the fact that I burst into tears last night isn't the odd thing. I've probably had it coming for a while. But why, of all things, was Professor Snape so—well, almost...nice...about it? I would've thought his usual response to crying females would be to toss them hastily out into the hallway

It seems, after all, that there is only one thing I can know for certain: no one will ever believe me if I tell them that Professor Snape is actually a decent human being.

Hermione