Though Harry was gone, and her dreams crushed, Hermione still returned to Hogwarts. This time she returned as an assistant. The new headmaster had suggested she take up potions. There were few students with a gift for Potions, and though it wasn’t her best subject, he insisted she could excel there, as the demand for Professors in the field was limited. Hermione didn’t argue, and as a matter of fact she was enthralled by the suggestion. Potions was a subject she could put everything into and try to forget the pain of her crushed heart. So Hermione became the assistant to Potions Master of the school, Severus Snape.
Having Hermione Granger as an assistant intrigued Severus Snape. He always wondered what she would be like by herself, without the hindrance of “The Boy Who Lived” and that foolish Weasley boy. She exhibited great knowledge and passion for learning. He could teach her so much. Few students did as well in his class as Miss Granger did. She had the patience of a saint-- having to put up with Potter and Weasley must have helped. One day she was going to be a brilliant potions mistress; he could mold her gift into something marvelous. He found himself toying with ideas for her. Many times she caught him staring at her while she worked. He insisted that he liked the way she worked, but was it more than that? She wasn’t extraordinarily beautiful but had grown quite a bit through the years, developing curves, a more womanly body. Even her hair didn’t look like she had stuck her finger in a light socket anymore. It was far more tame, straighter even, though the same gorgeous chocolate brown.
Weasley had noticed this change, but his simple mind couldn’t penetrate the vast knowledge and wisdom of her brain. He was too foolish for her, just a child, hardly the intellectual she needed. Potter, on the other hand, as much as Snape hated to admit it, was much closer to her as an intellectual; by luck most likely, but nonetheless someone to confide in. He had noticed her attraction towards the “Boy Who Lived” during their last year at Hogwarts. This idea sickened Severus, someone as bright as herself falling for James Potter’s offspring. It was part of his idea at the Order meeting that he be sent away to search for the Death Eaters. It was widely accepted and he joined the team to save the world once again. It was better that he was away filling his egotistical mind, leaving Hermione Granger to more important things. Snape had no idea whether Potter would get himself killed but that was the chance he took, Snape didn’t lose any sleep over it.
That year was one of his best as a professor, it was easier as she taught many of the classes, and graded. She worked very hard, all the meaningless tasks he gave her and usually others that she came up with. He gave her everything she needed, access to his small but unique library and vast potions storage room. She never took advantage of these unless she absolutely needed to, and she always asked. He usually let her work, and watched from a distance, though sometimes he would watch her more closely on a more difficult potion, brushing her hand. His careful eyes would see her shudder. He was almost certain it wasn’t in fear or in loathing. She was different, better than that. She didn’t look at him, talk to him like the students or the staff. She respected him; that was something he felt was a long time in coming. Whether or not people recognized it, he was one of the best potions masters in the known wizarding world. Perhaps she recognized it, even if everyone else chose to ignore the fact.
Even so, he couldn’t let her affections go to his head, for he knew he wasn’t the only thing on her mind. That damned ruby hung around her neck, painfully keeping him in his place. She wore it every day without fail, and this one token still had Potter in its every gleam and sparkle. He found a token to match it or even surpass it in beauty, bestowing it upon her for Christmas. To no avail though, she still kept the ruby sphere at her throat. Long after she had started tucking it under her robes, he could still feel its presence. It was peering out at him, mocking him, and Severus Snape could barely stand it.
As the end of the year had drawn to a close, Snape realized he would have to let go of his beloved assistant. Her talent was far beyond that of an assistant, and both she and he knew it. The problem was, he was the Potions master, and they both couldn’t have is job. He also couldn’t afford to have her sent to another school. So he formulated a plan to keep her close. He had purposely asked the headmaster to split the Potions classes because of the increasing number of N.E.W.T students. The headmaster agreed to open a new teaching position for the General Potion classes. This meant that he, Severus, would teach the O.W.L preparation and the N.E.W.T level classes. The other classes would fall under “General Potions”.
He had carefully made sure she applied for the job without suspicion. That wasn’t hard; she liked Hogwarts, and he knew she wanted to stay. The hard part was that there would be other applicants. He knew what he did was best for her, and she should have gotten the job in the first place; just with little experience the headmaster might have faltered. The two men Snape had poisoned should have been okay, just not well enough to interview; although he hadn’t taken the time to study their conditions. He was a bit surprised one of them had died, but there was nothing he could do about that now.
The point was that Hermione had gotten the job, and she was still close to him, though he wouldn’t see her as often as he would have liked. So he instituted their meetings to go over lesson plans, suggestions on how she should teach. He knew she didn’t need his help, but she never said anything. Sometimes they would stay long overtime and talk. This made him love her all the more, that she would talk to him, and she was comfortable with him. He wasn’t the wretched bat the world saw, living alone in the dungeons. He was someone desirable, a rogue companion if not more. Something different. Change didn’t usually suit Severus Snape, but it did this time.
He was already making her see him in a new light. She cared about him; there was no doubting that. Could he make her love him? That was the question that usually danced about his mind in their long meetings. Surely she could see past her old potions teacher and find something to adore. First she would have to get past Harry Potter.