Hermione was sitting in the quiet, dark library, looking at a book called 'Ancient Monsters and Their Powers'; the glow from her wand the only source of light. She had taken the book from the Restricted Section and would have had to have permission to take it out normally, but this wasn't a normal circumstance. Harry, Ron and she had been trying to work out a puzzle, about an ancient creature that could be resurrected; serving only the first person it saw when it awoke. If Harry could control it, it would be of great use to him in the fight against Voldemort. Of course they could tell no one of this plan, as they would be told it was foolhardy and dangerous. They had done a lot of research in the day, but didn't want to have to explain why they wanted this particular book out to any that teacher they asked permission from.

Harry and Ron had gone to get something they would need to use as part of the ressurection ritual, called Phoenix stone and they had discovered that some had been set into the fireplace in the great Hall.

Hermione had been quite happy to be left by her-self in the library, she always felt safe and comfortable in this scholastic environment. So absorbed was she in her reading, that she didn't notice the change in status on The Marauders map that had been left by her side. She was supposed to check it every now and again, to see if anyone was coming.

Suddenly she felt the hairs on the back of her neck standing up and goose-bumps spring up all over her body. The door to the library creaked open and slow, deliberate footsteps were walking in the direction of where she was sitting. She glanced down nervously at the Marauders Map and her stomach clenched in fear as she saw who it was – Professor Snape.

Hermione, although she would never admit it to anyone, was terrified of Professor Snape. He had always made it quite clear how much he despised her and went out of his way to make her life a misery in his classes, despite how well she did.

As he got closer, her heart started to beat faster and thumped against her ribcage, a trickle of sweat ran down her back and her hands began to shake. After slowly closing the book, she slid off the chair and silently stepped into the shadows of the tall bookshelves. She shut her eyes tightly and held her breath as she heard him walk right up to where she was, then let it out with relief when she heard him walk past. She opened her eyes and watched as he went over to the desk she'd been sitting at and opened the book of Monsters, drawing his finger down the pages, trying to guess what the reader had been looking at.

She hardly dared breathe in case he heard her, so she took her breaths in sharp, shallow intakes, making her feel dizzy and shaky.

The Professor then stood up straight, still with his back to her, she could tell he was thinking about something and for a few agonizing seconds, did not move a muscle. What happened next was a blur of black robes and light from a wand as he turned quickly, with his arms outstretched. Suddenly Hermione found herself pushed back against the bookcase she had been hiding against, with a lit wand shining in her face. Moving the wand to one side, he made the light shine upwards, making his face look even more sinister than usual. His mouth curled into a sneer as he saw whom he had captured.

"Well, well, it's the mud-blood know-it-all! What are you doing here in the Restricted Section at this early hour of the morning looking at books about monsters?" His face became serious now as he looked down at her. His body was pressed close to hers, his free hand gripping her arm tightly so as to prevent her escape.

This close proximity was very intimidating and as she tried to speak no words would come, just a squeak. This seemed to irritate Professor Snape and he asked again

"What were you looking for? I demand you tell me now!" He said in a more threatening tone.

"I..I..I couldn't sleep, there was some homework I've been trying to finish, but I needed some extra infor.." Hernione managed, weakly, but was cut off by Snape

"Don't give me that! You are planning some scheme with Potter and Weasley aren't you? What are you brats up to now?"

"Nothing, nothing!.. .it's just me, I wanted to look something up for myself. Harry and Ron have nothing to do with this!" She said bravely

"Humph! You think you are so clever don't you? Think you can fool me, but you don't know as much as you think you do, now tell me what you are planning. Or I'll find out another way!" his sneer had returned and his face was so close to hers she could feel his breath on her cheek. She was really scared now, she knew she had to escape, but how? Her arms and legs felt weak from the fear, so she couldn't fight him and she was too scared to use her wand at the moment, so she had to think of something quickly, something that would shock him into letting her go. She had an idea, the only one she could think of at that moment. Reaching her arms up around his neck to pull his head towards hers, she took a deep breath to ready her self and kissed him on the lips.

He froze in shock for a moment, just as she had hoped. He relaxed his hold on her and she took that lapse in concentration as her chance to escape. Slipping sideways, she went as to make a run for it, as fast as she possibly could, but just as she was about to go, a hand shot out and grabbed her arm again. She let out a small squeal in fright and struggled against his grip.

"What did you think you would achieve by that, did you think you could seduce me little girl?" He said sardonically, sneering again

Hermione felt incensed by him calling her a 'little girl' and her fear momentarily left her, "I am not a little girl!" she said irritably, "I am a woman, I'm 18 as you well know!" she said still struggling against his grasp.

He suddenly moved forward, grabbing both her arms now, pushing her against the desk, trapping her with his body.

"You have no right to hold me like this, let me go!" Hermione said indignantly, still valiantly trying to prise her arms away from his grip. The pressure of his body against hers sent fear coursing through her again. She felt very vulnerable like this and wished dearly that Harry and Ron would hurry up back.

"I have every right, if I feel that what you are doing will endanger not only yourselves, but the rest of the school!" he said harshly, "Now tell me what you are planning!"

Hermione was starting to get hot from nerves and all the struggling; sweat was trickling down her forehead and her hands were slipping, trying to grip the edge of the desk.

"Please, please let me go..you're scaring me. I didn't mean any harm I was just doing some research" Hermione tried again

Professor Snape didn't answer he was looking at her strangely, piercing her with his almost black eyes. Then letting go of her arms at last, he placed his hands either side of her head. She immediately guessed what he was about to do; he was going to try and read her mind. She went as to scrabble backwards across the desk, but it was to no avail as his grip on her was too strong. His gaze was making her feel dizzy and she was starting to weaken, she could not under any circumstances, let him in to see her thoughts. She had to think of something quickly, that would break his concentration.

Then it struck her, "what if I tried kissing him again?" It worked once it could work a second time and this time she would move even faster, before he could react. She grabbed his head pulling it forward and pressed her mouth against his firmly. At first he stiffened up and backed off a little, just as she hoped, but then suddenly he relaxed. Hermione wasn't expecting this, she thought he would jump back in surprise away from her and that would be her chance to make a run for it again.

She found herself being slowly pushed back onto the desk and he was still kissing her! What was she supposed to do now, she couldn't escape, as he had his weight pressing down on her and the advantage of two feet on the floor; hers were dangling uselessly over the edge.

Before, whenever she had imagined what it would be like to kiss Professor Snape, the mere thought of it had made her shiver with disgust. She thought that his lips would be as cold as his heart seemed to be.

To her surprise though, his lips felt warm and soft against hers and he really seemed to know what he was doing, it felt really different to Ron's rather amateurish fumbling's,

"What was wrong with her? Was she enjoying this? No surely not, not with Professor Snape." But he certainly seemed to be enjoying it. The passion with which he was expressing himself was very contagious and not being able to hold herself back any longer, she found herself giving in and returning the kiss properly, opening her mouth wider and moving her lips in rhythm with his.

His tongue ventured against her teeth and even though shocked at this intimate gesture she allowed him to slide it in to her mouth. She couldn't believe how good this made her feel and used her own tongue in the same way then, sliding and caressing it against his. The world seemed to disappear, she was lost in the moment, not even minding the slight rasp of his stubble against the delicate skin of her face.

"What was going on! She shouldn't be doing this!" But somehow it felt so sexy; the scariest teacher in the school, a man who exuded glowering disdain for nearly everybody, was kissing her - passionately. Her tummy began to clench up to nearly solid with nerves and excitement.

Suddenly a noise made them both stop and listen; it was the door creaking open. They looked at each other for a fleeting moment, panting gently then Professor Snape stood up quickly. Leaning over her, he tapped his wand on the side of her head, muttering something. Hermione felt the whole room fade into a blur and then blackness.

"Hermione, Hermione! Wake up! Come on, we've got it! Hermione!" Stirring from her slumber, rubbing her eyes and looking confusedly around, Hermione saw Ron and Harry looking at her.

"Where were you? What took you so long!" Hermione said accusatorily. She felt strange and fuzzy headed for a moment, then the memory of what she had just done, hit her. She groaned inwardly, putting her hand to her head and leaning her elbow on the desk. Vines of guilt started to creep around in the pit of her belly, taking hold and squeezing tight. If they found out about this, if anyone found out about this – her name would be mud.