Crossing the Line

Part 2: Start of the school year

Part 2: Start of the school year

All chapters in Part 2 are from Snape's POv

The new school year was the start of a shift between them.

September 10th

Severus Snape was in a foul mood as he walked down towards the alcove on the third floor. Checking the halls for any students out past curfew. Well, he was in a fouler mood than usual. Normally his disdain would have been drawn from having to return to teaching idiotic students after the long absence during the summer. Which only accounted for half of his anger. But this summer had also left him in an unexplainable conundrum that has left him with the other half.

It all had to do with Hermione Granger. She was to blame for the predicament he found himself in. Bloody Gryffindors.

He planned on spending the summer on his own in his lab unless summoned by the Headmaster or the Dark Lord. He was quite upset when Dumbledore informed him otherwise. That was an understatement. Looking back he was in a rage and ended up ranting to the Headmaster for at least an hour while wearing a hole in the ground as he paced. He didn't need to be babysitting the female member of the golden trio and having to handhold her as he worked through his extended to do list. He was lucky enough that it was her compared to her companions. She at least knew to hold her tongue and follow his instructions unlike the other two. At least for the most part. He would be able to work in silence as he had planned.

He had been annoyed at her at first and grew increasingly frustrated by her presence. He kept her at arm's distance leaving her to complete the menial task of the easier brews. She kept to herself at first. He didn't need to worry about her distracting him or getting in his way. And he assumed that was how the summer would go.

But he was wrong. He didn't take one thing into account

Humans by nature are social individuals. They are not meant to be alone. Despite his attempt for otherwise. Even when in the company of others he preferred to remain silent. Years as a spy taught him to quietly observe rather than to participate. He always kept his guard up regardless of the situation or whose company he was in. To be frank most of the time he didn't even like those that tempted him in conversation. Their apparent loudness and dunderheadness always lacked the stimulation he required to maintain a conversation.

However, human nature had run its course and the two began to willingly converse. It was no wonder with such a private setting. It was to be expected after all if he thought about it. They spent almost every day for two months together in the basement at Headquarters. They would spend countless hours with only each other's company. He is to blame for part of it. He did indulge her and gave her more liberty than what was expected of him. He simply couldn't resist. As a teacher, he never had the opportunity to truly speak with a student one on one. Focusing on individual needs long enough to prevent a cauldron from exploding. Then dismissing them on the hour, he spent as little time necessary in their presence. Often opting out of overseeing the detention he assigned them.

But with this summer's arrangement, he had the opportunity to not only speak one on one but freely as well. Their subject matter extended past the course curriculum onto subjects that very few masters dare to tread. Despite his initial disdain, he couldn't help but admit that she had been of some use and pulled her weight admirably. Though he would never admit it out loud. It was a nice change. To have someone to willingly converse with who was not only as passionate about the subject matter as he was but who also understood it at such a high degree of difficulty.

He knew she was intelligent, marking her excessively long essays over the years proved that. Her brewing was never anything special though. She completed each brew with success. But compared to her classmates who lacked basic retention and the inability to follow simple instructions, she looked like a master. But working outside of the classroom he became more aware of the roundaboutness of her intelligence. She didn't simply memorize the material in the textbook but fully understood the concepts and the mechanics of potioneering. What her hands-on application lacked she made up for by her extensive knowledge. It appears that she had an exceptional memory though she denied being photographic. Her mind worked in ways that fascinated him. Coming to conclusions that he too has found. A rare occurrence. Not even the Headmaster could always follow along with him while in his element of potions. She kept up well and better than he anticipated. Her skill in arithmancy did come in handy. Though skillful in the subject himself he often omitted the tedious task of equations by heading straight to the cauldron. Completing the necessary calculations mentally when needed. It did save time and money trying to track down some of the ingredients only to find with her calculations that they would fail. Brewing the potions anyway became useless when his results always matched up to her answers. Some ingredients had to be used without arithmancy though unknown magical properties can be tricky at the best of times and often unpredictable. None of them ended up working anyway.