The Light

Chapter 53- The Beauty

"No," Snape said. They stood in Potions the following day, trying to immerse themselves in the task. "You need to crush the bean, not cut it."

He shot her a withering glare, and moved to snatch the knife away from her but Hermione simply stepped out of his reach.

"I am crushing the bean, Half-Blood Prince," she replied sarcastically.

He paused. She paused. Why had she called him that? What on God's Earth did she call him that for?

He was a very ugly shade of pink when he spluttered, "Did Potter tell you that-?"

"No!" Hermione said. Her eyes glimpsed his small black book on the opposite side of the table and she added, "I saw it in your book."

Snape's face slowly returned to normal colour.

"Why do you hate him so much?" She asked quietly, as they returned to work. It was only half to change the subject; part of her was curious as to what James must have done for Snape to become the person he had. There had always been something about Professor Snape that had had her feeling simultaneously furious and sorry for him. He deflated.

"Lily Evans used to be my best friend," Snape said, looking at her then away just as quickly. She followed his gaze to see Lily sat on her stool as James stirred their potion. She kept glancing at him, and when James caught her, he smiled and held his hand out. She took it. "But then Potter began to harbour a crush on her. We fought about it a lot and it became clear we had different loyalties. I called her something I shouldn't have... And I lost everything," he murmured. Hermione felt her heart break for him. She swallowed.

"Yes," she said, and he looked at her through pain-riddled eyes. "But that doesn't mean you should lose yourself."

Snape continued to stare at her, as though he couldn't quite grasp it that someone really cared. She realised that, just like Regulus, he simply needed to hear it. Hermione almost sighed; she knew that if this carried on, she would end up saving all the Slytherins. Not that that was a necessarily a bad thing, she just wasn't sure whether she'd have the time to do that and save the world. One monolith, self-sacrificial task at a time.

Speaking of saving the world, she felt someone's eyes on her and frowned.

Avery was staring at her, although his face looked vacant. Hermione jumped at the opportunity. She nodded her head in the direction of the cupboard, and got to her feet. Avery raised an eyebrow but bowed his head anyway.

"What?" He said as soon as the door closed behind him. He had his arms folded across his chest and looked about as uninterested as one could possibly look.

Hermione licked her lips and said, "We need to talk."

"Is that not what we're doing now?" Avery asked, eyebrows raised. She sighed in frustration.

"You know what I mean! In private!"

He narrowed his eyes slightly. Even though she knew it was just him, he still unnerved her greatly; she could never read him.

Avery stared at her, seemingly mulling it over. He said, "When?"

Hermione tried not to let her relief show. "Erm, tonight. Same place."

"Should I bring Black?"

She hesitated. Thinking about why she needed him, she supposed Regulus would prove to be a priceless addition. The Black's and Malfoy's were tightly interconnected... But he had another part to play. She couldn't risk using him just yet.