[QUOTE=firenjen;8849718]


"He...He's back?!" gasped Ron from the puffy armchair in the corner of the common room. "But... he cant be!" He instantly turned a violent shade of green at Hermione's news, and sunk lower in his chair untill he was almost completly obscured by cushions. Grimacing, he raised his hands and pressed a finger from each against his temples. "Ugh...and i was doing so well without him in potions." He looked up too see Harry and Hermione's raised eyebrows. "Well..sort of." He added.

"How do you know this anyway?" Asked Harry, narrowing his eyes at Hermione. She had rushed into the common room form her dorm first thing in the morning. They hadn't even had breakfast yet. As far as Harry knew, between going to bed and waking this morning, Hermione had had no time at all to leave the common room.

"I saw him," she said without thinking. She tried to conceal the colour rising in her cheeks, hiding behind the large copy of Hogwarts: A History for the thousandth time.

"You saw him?" Said Harry, his brow furrows. "When?"

"Er..sometime," said Hermione, who for once was unable to think of the perfect cover story. It must be Draco's influence. Harry continued to eye her with suspicion, but Ron, however, seemed satisfied and went back to massaging his temples with a slimey grimace still etched between his freckles.

"But what's he come back for!" Harry burst out. "He was gone! He RESIGNED! Why would he come back?"

"Maybe..." Hermione pondered. "Maybe Dumbledore needs him. Something for the order."

"Yeah," chirped in Ron. "Or maybe You Know Who ordered him back to keep spying,"

"Yeah," agreed harry, taking any chance to believe the worst of Snape. "That'll be it. He needs him to keep spying on things." He spat.

Ron nodded feverently.

"Well, yes i suppose that could be it," said Hermione, frowning. Harry knew this was due to her incomprahendable disability to theink the worst of any teacher. But she had to face facts.

"Well i guess we'll see today," said Hermione. Ron gave another groan form the corner. Double potions.

"Watch out for any funny behaviour," Harry ordered. "If he's back, he'll be back for a reason. Im going to get dressed."

He gave them both a stern look, and Hermione one last suspicious glance, and ascended the stairs to the boys dormitories.

It was with a grim dissatisfaction that the three made there way to double potions that afternoon. Harry and Ron had only one aim in mind – to watch Snape, and unravel the mystery that was his return. Hermione, however, had to feign an interest in this. Because today would be the first time that she was in a lesson with Draco. She was flustered, she was worried. She could not let the other two know anything about what had previously passed between them. She was hoping that enough time had passed to enable the other two to forget that she had told them about her deepest darkest secret: that she was in love with Draco Malfoy. Seeing as no one had brought it up since Ron decided to forgive her, she thought that the only option was to pretend, if ever asked, that she had simply gotten over it.

But what would she do today? She couldn’t do anything in front of Ron and Harry, yet she didn’t think she could bring herself to ignore Draco if he spoke to her. It would be like turning away from a crying baby. Except he wasn’t a baby…he was a toned, chiselled hunk of perfectness…..

Hermione was brought back to her senses when she felt the cool air of the dungeon hit her face. Luckily-or unluckily, depending on how you look at it,- the class had already gone in. That meant that she would not have to pretend Malfoy didn’t exist while in such close proximity.

It also meant that, by Snape’s standards, they were late.

“Ah, finally,” he sneered as they hurried into class. “Lateness for the first lesson of my return? I think we’ll make that 20 points apiece from Potter and Weasley, and thirty from Miss Granger.” He sneered and turned to face the class, ignoring Harry and Ron’s objections.

He knows! Hermione thought, remembering the interruption of the previous night. He knows, and now he’s punishing me.

She blew a strand of frizzy hair out of her face and turned to watch Snape, now addressing the class.

“As you are all aware,” he started. “I have been away for some time. Before the questions start I would like to inform you all that it is of no business to any of you what I do or where I go in my spare time. So don’t waste your breath,” he cast a dark look at where Harry, Ron and Hermione sat while he spoke.

“Now I would like you all to prepare for me a vanishing potion. I trust the substitute was sufficient enough to teach you something as simple as that, but it is, of course, doubtful. Lets see how you get on.”

He waved his wand and a method appeared on the blackboard. Hermione got to work strait away, occasionally muttering instructions to the others.

Forty minutes into the lesson and Hermione was bottling up her potion, which was exactly the right colour and thickness. She was about to set her vial of liquid down on Snape’s desk when a slight burning on her chest made her drop it. It smashed, but she ignored it. Looking around so that no one could see, she reached down the front of her robes and pulled out the necklace. It was glowing in the same way it had done the previous night, but was now hot to the touch. Without knowing what she was doing, she cast a look round the room, searching for the blonde headed, pale pointed face.

Malfoy caught her eye immediately. He did nothing, but stated, his own hand on something around his neck. He continued to stare, until-

“GRANGER! Clear that up now!” Snape’s voice rattled though her mind, and her gaze broke immediately.

“Yes sir,” she said, vanishing it with her wand

“And an extra 10 points from Gryffindor for clumsiness.” He sneered as he swept past her.[/QUOTE]