Chapter 1 Pride

-Slytherin Dungeons-

Potions Classroom

"Pride and dignity would belong to women

if only men would leave them alone."

It had been exactly two weeks and six meetings since Dumbledore and Severus had entrusted Hermione with the instructions on how she was to aid the Order.

'Seduce the enemy,' they had briefed her. And not just one, but many, harsh, evil, fault-finding men.
The request had seemed odd at first, infuriating, degrading, not to mention- highly inappropriate as she was still considered a student of theirs, but in the end she forced a bit of logic into her new found ordeal.

The situation was 'delicate' she tried telling herself. Issues too complex and sensitive, under certain terms she wasn't entirely sure she understood were forced upon her because their was no one else for the job. The order couldn't be used in this matter. It was just too risky. It had to be done carefully, considerately, and with as much caution as possible. After all, why not use a Mudblood in the most unlikely of circumstances? No one would expect a Mudblood for an infiltrator.

The goal, her job so to speak, was to gain information- to find out how much or how little the opposition knew. The prime topic of her investigation- her best friend; Harry Potter.

After the start of her 7th year, Harry had been whisked away into hiding. No one, not even she was made aware of his location. Hermione missed him terribly, but she understood that it was for the better. It made perfect sense. The majority of parents feared sending their children to school for anticipation of an attack. Harry wasn't safe. Anyone within a mile radius of the-boy-who-lived was put at risk. The situation had to be rectified by any and all proper means necessary, and so it was. Harry was put into hiding, and so the attacks lessened. Problem solved. For now…

Just about everyone's sole comfort came from knowing that Dumbledore was still headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and that the ministry, no matter how ignorant or useless, was still intact and reluctantly involved in the hunt for Voldemort.

What frightened Hermione most, however, was that, the more time that passed, the stronger Voldemort and his band of death eaters became.

"Miss Granger." Professor Snape hissed from behind his desk, long slender flingers threading together in wait.

"…Sorry Professor." Hermione murmured, concentration turning back to him, and less on her unfortunate situation.

"Your attention span tonight has been lax- once again." He uttered, dark eyes looking her over in obvious irritation. "And don't slouch."

Hermione scooted up in her chair until her back was planted firmly against the back of the seat. She didn't normally slouch, but it was already approaching midnight, and it was well past her bedtime. Even on a bad night, homework rarely kept her up this late.

"Listen carefully, I know you don't take our lessons together any more serious then I would take a Muggle with a wand, however, your concentration while we are together is essential. I cant have you underestimating either you or myself in this matter, otherwise the pretense is useless."

"One could hardly consider this a study." Hermione murmured under her breath.

"Oh really," Snape mused. "Pray tell, Miss Granger, why is it that your failing so miserably at it? Surely the brightest witch of her age is aware, that anything worth perfecting requires a certain amount of study."

"Not enough to dedicate an entire lesson to. You seem to forget that there will be no section for this on the NEWTS, Professor." Hermione spit back.

"What is your point, Miss Granger?" He asked her, cocking a dark brow.

"That this whole situation is absurd. You do nothing but critique and criticize me for hours on end. This isn't teaching. I'm not learning anything. Its pure and simple ridicule!"

Snape merely chuckled at her incredulous outburst. "It wouldn't be ridicule if you'd listen. Oh how I wished a remedial course for someone with your lack of knowledge on the subject existed."

"Well, they certainly picked the wizard for the job. If anyone can teach me how to successfully interact with another human being, its you, Professor Snape."

Her reward for her snide remark- a black stare followed by a less amused exhale of breath.

"In this institution Miss Granger- I am exactly the type of wizard I want to be known as." He assured her, however, she was too busy coming up with musings of her own. Repugnant. Detached. Emotionally vacant. So many words came to mind before his next assertion.

"You see, I am a professor, you are my pupil. This is a school, you are a student. If I wanted to make friends and be liked, I would have picked something less occupational and more engaging. However, the fact of the matter still stands. This is a classroom, and every other night you enter this chamber after hours, expect a new lesson. Whether or not you chose to take it seriously is up to you, just know that the more difficult you make these late nights, the more stressful you make it on us both."

"Is that all, professor?" Hermione managed to ask through gritted teeth.

"Yes, and please, in the future try to refrain from shaking your leg whilst listing to someone speak about something you dislike. Its childish and unbecoming of a young lady." He told her. Hermione bit her tongue. "Now, class dismissed."

Hermione's knuckles were white as she gripped the arms of the chair to push herself up from her seat.

"Oh, and one more thing Miss Granger." Snape stated as she turned to leave. "Pride, envy, avarice - these are the sparks have set on fire the hearts of all men. The wise insights of Dante Alighieri. With subtle practice, you'd do well to remember it."

After what felt like the final jab, Hermione made sure to open and shut the classroom door with as much force as she could, hoping to at least cause him to cringe over the unnecessary amount of noise that she made.

Storming down the hall, Hermione didn't care that her footsteps were heavy and clicking against the ground as she walked, causing portraits to waken, no, this neither concerned nor affected her one bit. The fact of the matter was, her insufferable, displeasing, arrogant excuse for a tutor was right.

Hermione Jean Granger had no idea how to seduce a member of the opposite sex- how to charm, please, or manipulate another human being. These were not her gifts. These so called 'talents' didn't come naturally to her as they did others. The simple truth was, she was more likely to have a vision in one of Trelawney's lectures then she was of becoming a believable seductress.

However, a promise was a promise. Hermione agreed to find out as much as she could about what the enemy knew about her best friend. The least she could do was make an attempt to weasel or charm a few answers out of them.

"Pride makes us artificial and

humility makes us real"

A/N: Thank you all for reading, Please R&R! :)