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The Dark Encounter by Justice180482

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FOUR

A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review.

Hermione sat on her four-poster, turning over in her hand the Secrecy Sensor she had bought that day in Hogsmeade. Why did I buy this? she wondered. No answer came to her; she guessed it was one of those so-called impulse buys, but whatever her reasoning had been at the time, she now didn't know what to do. Hermione shoved the Secrecy Sensor in her book bag and decided to deal with it tomorrow.

The next day at breakfast, Hermione made up her mind. She was giving it to Snape. She didn't know why, but she knew she had to give it to him in order to divert her mind. Hermione quickly ate her breakfast and headed down to the dungeons before double Potions.

She quietly walked through the dungeon passage, peering around corners to make sure she was not seen. Thankfully, the hall was deserted and silent. The morning light shone through the great lake and into the tiny dungeon windows, but Hermione didn't stop to enjoy the beauty of the green glow. She quickly glanced through the doorway to the Potions classroom. When she saw it was vacant, she slipped in, placed the Secrecy Sensor on Snape’s desk, and returned to the Great Hall to join the masses of students headed off to their first class of the day.

Minutes later, Hermione was walking back to Potions with Harry and Ron. She expected Snape to be in a good mood, but instead he was in the foulest state of mind Hermione had ever seen. Snape stormed around the room, docking house points and giving detentions for the slightest infractions. Everyone was relieved when class finally ended.

"Miss Granger, a word please," snarled Snape, not caring who heard him. Hermione gave Harry and Ron a look as they left the classroom and hesitantly approached Snape's desk. "What is this, Miss Granger?" Snape barked, holding up the Secrecy Sensor.

"It looks like a Secrecy Sensor," Hermione stammered.

"Obviously, Miss Granger. My question is… why is it here?"

"Sir?"

"Why did you leave it on my desk?"

"I…I… didn't," stammered Hermione.

"Then why, might I ask, did I find this on the floor?" Snape growled through gritted teeth. He held up a Transfiguration paper with an O on it, bearing the name Hermione Granger.

Hermione was speechless. Her earlier haste to remain unseen must have caused her to not notice the paper falling out of her bag as she pulled the Secrecy Sensor out. Crap, she thought, now what? How do I get out of this? She stood dumbfounded for what seemed like hours before babbling, "Sir, I don't know what you’re… I don't know how that paper… It's not…" Hermione was relieved when Snape interrupted her.

"This is what I think, Miss Granger. You witnessed my trip to Hogsmeade, you followed me into Dervish and Banges, and after our encounter in the dungeons, you were curious. Naturally. It’s a Gryffindor fault," Snape began. "But what I cannot conceive is why you pity me!" His voice rose at the end of the sentence as he slammed the Secrecy Sensor down on his desk with considerable force. There was a loud crack. Both Hermione and Snape looked down. The golden metal of the delicate little sensor was cracked almost in half. The instrument vibrated for a second before lying limp and broken on Snape’s desk.

Hermione and Snape both looked up, their eyes meeting. "I'm…" is all Hermione could get out before she turned and fled the room, tears welling up in her eyes.

Snape didn't know how to react. He knew the girl was just trying to be nice to him. He also hadn't meant to break the Secrecy Sensor, which he had indeed really wanted. He was just angry because her actions were done out of pity. But, what it actually came down to, he begrudgingly admitted to himself while standing alone in his classroom, was that he was embarrassed she had seen him so vulnerable. First, that night in the dungeons, then second, in Dervish and Banges, being ridiculed; a student was not supposed to see him in those positions.

He had been furious when he found her paper on the floor before class, he didn’t even think about what he was going to do. His survival instincts took over, and all he had wanted to do was bring the full force of his fury down on Hermione Granger. He should have considered the ramifications of his actions before acting on them, but he had been so angry.

He was supposed to be an authority figure and level-headed, and she was supposed to respect him. How could he command her respect when she saw him as weak? But then again, she was the first person outside the faculty to show him anything other then hatred since Dumbledore’s death.

Snape looked down at the broken Secrecy Sensor, and he felt his heart wrenching. He didn’t know whether he felt horrible because of Granger, or because he was disappointed he wouldn’t get a working sensor. Whatever prompted his guilt, the one thought at the forefront of his mind was that maybe he could make Granger leave him alone from now on. He gently scooped the little device into his hands, tucked it safely into the pocket of his robes, and headed into the dungeon corridor.

As Snape was standing in the Potions classroom trying to decide how to respond, Hermione fled to her room, barely having time to slam the door behind her before the tears started rolling down her cheeks. Once in her room, Hermione leaned her back against the closed door and was happier than she had ever been to have the private Head Girl’s room. Although her room was attached to the Gryffindor common room, it was private enough that she could cry in peace. Better yet, she had her own entrance separate from the Fat Lady.

How could he be so completely cruel? she thought. She was just being nice and trying to help him, but he was being his horrible self. That’s it! thought Hermione. I am not going to let him bother me any more. For all I care, he can suffer alone. I don't care what happens to him, even if he is a member of the Order.

Hermione made it back to her room just as Snape had decided he should probably talk to the girl; after all, she was a member of the Order. He headed toward the dungeon exit. Although he had never been sensitive to the feelings of other Order members, none of them were as delicate or histrionic as the insufferable-know-it-all. And besides, he thought, she could jeopardize everything. He couldn't have her becoming irrational; she could end up compromising his cover as a spy, and that would be dangerous for both of them.

Snape reluctantly headed toward Hermione's room. He emerged from the dungeons into the main Entrance Hall, squinting against the sun that streamed in from the large front entrance. The sound of his quick step on the stone floor echoed off the high ceiling as he ascended the stairs toward the Gryffindor dormitory. He passed the painting of the Fat Lady and continued to the entrance of Hermione's private room. As a professor, he knew the locations of every house’s entrance. Snape took a deep breath and knocked on the painting frame covering her doorway.

Inside her room, Hermione jumped when she heard the knock. Great, thought Hermione, who could that be? Surely no one she wanted to talk to right now. She wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

When Hermione saw Snape standing outside her door, her heart dropped into her stomach. She stood there wide-eyed and staring, not knowing whether to be happy or angry. Snape stared back.

Wonderful, he thought, she was crying. He did not want to deal with an emotional girl. Luckily for Snape, Hermione kept her composure. Finally he spoke. “Miss Granger, I apologize for my outburst. I did not mean offence, but as well intentioned as you may believe your actions to have been, your energies would be better focused on your schoolwork. Any charity you feel the need to bestow upon me would be better directed toward other endeavours. I will agree to overlook your wrongdoing in this matter if you will overlook mine.” Snape paused. “Therefore, I expect my position in the Order to remain secret and my cover not be compromised.”

With that, he turned and withdrew from her doorway. A stunned Hermione was left standing alone on the threshold.

Perfect, Snape thought. Mission accomplished, I apologized while getting my point across. That should take care of the annoying Gryffindor.

Hermione was furious. I try to be nice and make peace with the man my friends and I have loathed for years, but he can’t even accept a friend! I try to be the bigger person, and he treats me like a child. He is as horrible as I have always thought. He is incapable of being a nice person. He is nothing more then a pompous arse! Well, I’m done trying, if he wants to suffer alone, I am going to let him. He can die alone at the hands of Voldemort, and I don’t care.

His cold, callous manner toward her and his flat-out rejection had done the trick; she no longer had thoughts for the man. She went from feeling friendly helpfulness, to just feeling hatred, and then to pity for how pathetic he was. She had no intention of sharing their encounters or ruining his cover. As much as she hated him, his work was too important, and he must remain protected. But one thing was for sure. She was done bothering with Severus Snape.