Disclaimer : I own none of the characters

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Bloody hell, can this day not get any bloody worse?

Severus Snape, the current potions master at Hogwarts, was having one of his regular bad moods. He was commonly known for being a ‘Greasy Git’, as he knew all the students enjoyed calling him. He sat at his desk in the dark dungeons, and took out the work that needed to be marked for the following lessons.

Ah. First year pop quizzes. Let’s see how smart they are this year.

He almost let out a smirk at his own sarcasm. The first years had never been smart, and probably never will be. There was one exception though. Only a few years ago, the golden trio came to Hogwarts. A celebrity, a redheaded moron, and a know-it all.

The know-it-all, Hermione Granger, was a bright one, and he wished he could have commended her for it, but she got herself put into Gryffindor. Over the years, he had come to know her not as a know-it-all, but as ‘the brightest witch of her age’, as did the rest of the wizarding world, and had to restrain himself from actually praising her every now and then. He glanced over the papers.

Dunderheads. Bloody dunderheads. Don’t they know what happens when you add boomslang skin to a healing potion? …I need a firewhiskey. Damn it! It’s lunch!

He sighed, and stamped the top of the test before him with a T, just as he did with all the others. They would never be as smart as Hermione Granger. No one would be. …And with that, Professor Snape stormed out of the dungeons and down the idle corridors towards the great hall.

Hermione Granger was now in her seventh year, and had been chosen as this year’s head girl. Everyone knew it, and no one really cared. They all just saw her as some naïve know-it-all. No one really understood her. No one cared.

That’s not true

What? Did she really just hear a voice? She looked around. Everyone was busily eating their lunch, especially Ron, who had a chicken leg in one hand, and a mug spilling over with pumpkin juice in the other. She could have sworn that she heard a voice.

Snape had sat down at the end of the staff table, and began eating, without greeting any of his colleagues. He glanced around the enchanted hall, searching for anything to take his mind off his hunger. Amongst other things, he noticed that Hermione was not as chatty and as obnoxious as she usually was.

He had decided to see what could be keeping her from her lunch (apart from that Weasly, who seemed to be eating at least 3 peoples portions of food). Using his skills in legilimency, he carefully entered her mind. He found that she was criticizing herself, and was being extremely harsh whilst doing so, almost half as bad as he normally criticized her. He wished he could tell her she wasn’t naïve, and people did care about her, it’s just that she didn’t know…

Why should you care? It’s not like she’s a Slytherin.

I know that, but she’s just so…

What! Sounds like you love her or something!

He shuddered involuntarily, to the notice of some of the staff, including Dumbledore. He pondered about what his mind had just said. “Sounds like you love her…” He quickly blamed it on his stomach, which was now growling very loudly. He shook his head, as if to remove his thoughts, and resumed eating.

“That’s not true”

Hermione couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened at lunch. She sat alone in the library, searching through it for anything that could help solve this mystery. She knew that voice, she was certain of it. The sneer voice, that harsh tone, she recognized it, but she just couldn’t put her finger on it. Giving up, she put her book back, and returned to the Gryffindor common rooms.

A/N: Heehee, my first fanfic! I know it’s kind of short… But still… Review? Please?