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The Senior Project	By : Lizski Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 37490 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 1

As Head Girl, Hermione was seated at the head table with the faculty. She found her place between Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. A sharp spike of fear had shot through her when she thought that she might have to sit near Professor Snape. As it was, he was on the opposite end of the table, sitting next to Draco, this year's Head Boy. It was no great surprise that Draco had been named Head Boy. His father had gained more influence over the school's Board of Governors in the past year, and it would have been very easy for him to convince them of the necessity of giving his son the honored position. Both Slytherins were looking across the Great Hall at the first year students nervously filing in, commenting, no doubt on which ones would be best suited to their House.

The spike of fear caused by the thought that she might have to sit near Snape had quickly been replaced by disappointment. While she was afraid that if she sat next to him she might inadvertently embarrass herself, she had been secretly hoping that she might get to know him a little better if she did sit next to him. She sighed. Damn. Of all the people to have a crush on. She didn't think she could have picked anyone less appropriate. At least, she reminded herself, sitting at the head table she'd have a better opportunity to observe him surreptitiously.

Hermione glanced out at the House tables, picking out Ron ' the red hair was easy to spot ' and Harry before looking at the new students. The first years had the terrified look she remembered so well, and she smiled encouragingly, even though she knew that they wouldn't be able to see her at that distance.

She remembered her own first year quite clearly. She had fallen hard for Snape when he first uttered his words about the 'subtle science and exact art' of Potions. Over the years, her crush had turned into a silent devotion. Snape had never been anything more than completely appropriate with her, and certainly, he'd never given her any encouragement. A part of her realized that he was a perfectly 'safe' person to have a crush on, and she'd been comfortable with that realization, although she continued to hope.

She turned to Professor McGonagall who had just asked her something. 'I'm sorry, professor. I didn't hear you. My mind was elsewhere.'

The older woman smiled indulgently. 'Yes, it is easy to get nostalgic at a time like this. Have you chosen an advisor for your Senior Project yet?'

Hermione nodded. 'I haven't talked to him yet ' I mean, I haven't asked him, but I was hoping that I could convince Professor Snape to be my advisor. I'd like to pursue Potions, and he seemed like the natural choice.'

Professor McGonagall nodded thoughtfully. 'I think that is a wise decision. If you'd like, I'll talk to him first, so that the initial approach will be taken care of.'

Hermione smiled enthusiastically. 'I'd really appreciate that. Thank you.' Her Head of House smiled and turned her attention back to the Great Hall.

Hermione watched as the Sorting Ceremony began. She glanced down the table at Snape, who was frowning at something. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized that she could spend the rest of the year gazing at him during meals.

****

Advanced Potions had been dismissed with the admonition warning the students that, 'I will no longer spoon-feed you knowledge. You must be prepared for every class, and you will be expected to keep current with the research journals in the field.' Even Draco had blanched at that statement.

'I'll catch up with you guys. I need to talk to, er, Professor Snape. About my Senior Project.'

'Why you want to work with that hook-nosed git is beyond me. Hasn't he scared you off with this class? How you and Harry convinced me to take this is beyond me,' Ron muttered.

'Because you wanted to be an Auror and go off and fight for truth and justice. Remember? And you thought it'd impress the girls?' Hermione's voice was a sharp whisper.

'Oh yeah,' came the embarrassed reply from the doorway.

Hermione approached Snape.

'The answer, Miss Granger, is a hesitant yes.' Hermione glared at the dark haired man. Insufferable prat. He wouldn't even give her the chance to formally ask him. 'This is contingent upon your abilities to successfully complete your coursework while maintaining a rigorous work schedule for your Senior Project. If I find you are becoming lax in any area, I will terminate my responsibilities. Is that understood, Ms. Granger?'

She sighed inwardly. If she didn't admire him so much, she would have found herself irritated with him. 'Yes Professor. I appreciate it. When would be a convenient time for me to meet with you?'

'Saturday at 8pm. I trust that will be acceptable to you? I am a busy man, and you will have to accommodate my schedule.'

Saturday evening? That was just cruel. But it wasn't like she had a social life that would be ruined. And, truth be told, if she had to spend her Saturday nights with someone, Snape was probably her first choice. 'Yes, Professor. I'll be here. And thank you.'

He gave her a curt nod and turned away, the discussion over.

****

'Saturday evening? You're kidding me! What a bastard.' Harry shook his head when Hermione told him the news. They were sitting in the common room trying to decipher the first potion they would be making in class.

'I bet he wants you all to himself on Saturday nights.' Ron giggled at his own cleverness.

Secretly, Hermione glowed at Ron's observation. She was hoping so, too. She had to force the frostiness into her voice when she replied. 'Grow up, Ron. He's busy, and that's the only time he had available. I had to take what I could get.'

Ron giggled and turned back to his textbook.

****

As busy as she was with school work and Head Girl duties, Saturday evening came quickly. Standing in front of her wardrobe, Hermione tried to decide what to wear. On the one hand, it was Saturday night, and so she might be justified in wearing something informal ' jeans and nice blouse, for example. On the other hand, it was Snape, and he was likely to frown on anything other than her formal student robes.

Sighing, she threw on a skirt and a blouse before pulling on her robes. She grabbed the notebook she had been using to sketch out the plan for her Senior Project and headed down to the dungeons.

Hermione knocked on the door to the Potions classroom and waited for the gruff 'Enter,' before coming in. Even now, she noticed, Snape was dressed formally, in those clothes of his that had the ridiculously excessive number of buttons down the front. The student robes were definitely the right choice.

Snape stood up from his desk. 'You're on time. Please join me in my office so that we can talk.' Hermione nodded, trying to control her excitement. She couldn't remember anyone ever having been invited into his office.

She followed him out of the classroom and down the hall to his office. He opened the door, and Hermione entered trying not to look too obvious as she checked out the furnishings of the office. It was larger than she first thought, as the dark walls of the dungeons tended to make the rooms in this part of the castle seem smaller on first glance. Not surprisingly, his desk was neat, with orderly stacks of papers arranged on one side of the desk. The bookshelves behind his chair were also expectedly immaculate, with the books systematically arranged by subject and author. The only incongruous element in the office was a battered sofa that was placed against one wall. She stared at it briefly until she decided that it looked too comfortable to fit in with the rest of the furnishings.

Professor Snape sat down behind his desk and indicated to Hermione that she should take the hard wooden chair on the other side of the desk. Her heart fluttered as she glanced over at him. To be able to spend all year working with him ' this was a dream come true!

She smiled in what she hoped was an attractive way. 'Did you have a good summer, Professor?'

The dark-clad man looked back at her with a surprise glance that swiftly transformed itself into a glare. 'We are here to talk about your Senior Project, Miss Granger, not my blessedly student-free holidays. Tell me about your intended project, as you have no doubt have already carefully outlined it.'

Trying to disguise her chagrin, Hermione opened her notebook and began to describe her anticipated project. Quickly, her enthusiasm for the project took over, and she forgot her momentary embarrassment.

Snape listened to her plan, including her proposed timeline, necessary materials and anticipated results. He made a few observations about her approach, and suggested some refinements to her research design. Hermione took careful notes, her eyes flicking between her notebook and her professor.

'Write up your proposal and have it to me by next Wednesday. Include your modified timeline and your adjusted ingredients list. I will look over it, and discuss it with you next Saturday. In the meantime, please start on your literature review, focusing specifically on related articles that have been published in the last five years. Bring a draft of that to our meeting next Saturday.'

Hermione nodded slowly. She had hoped that the work that she had presented would be sufficient, as she had looked at research conducted in the last year or so, but clearly it wasn't. A full literature review would mean a great deal more research time in the library, but she was determined to impress her professor.

'I will work on that for next time, Sir. Thank you for your time. I am really looking forward to work with you on this.'

Snape's eyes narrowed, his voice almost menacing. 'You may find yourself thinking differently over time, Miss Granger. Good evening.'

Hermione took one final glance at Snape before standing up and leaving the office. Walking out of the dungeons, Hermione forgot the abrupt dismissal and was instead filled with a burning ambition to show Snape how well she could conduct this research. Instead of searching out Harry and Ron, she impulsively decided to head to the library to begin her work.

****

'Every Saturday? You're nuts, Herm.' Ron shook his head despairingly. 'I mean, when are you ever going to do anything fun?' Hermione started to speak, and Ron held up his hand. 'And don't try to tell me that spending your Saturday nights in the dungeons is your idea of a good time. Because that makes you one really twisted individual.'

'Ron's right, you know. I mean, I know you want to do really well on this, but I don't think that anywhere in the Senior manual is there anything that says that you must give up the rest of your life to complete your project,' Harry looked up from the chessboard where he was rapidly losing ground (and chessmen!) to Ron.

'Does it occur to either of you that I like studying Potions? That it is enjoyable? I realize that you two would rather spend time with Filch than with Snape, but I think Professor Snape is an interesting person, and I think I'll learn a lot from this project.' Hermione glared at her two friends.

Ron grinned at Harry. 'I think someone's got a crush on old Snape-y. What do you think, Harry?'

Harry smiled.

'People will talk, too,' Ron commented as he moved his knight and sat back to watch Harry contemplate his next move. 'I mean, it is a little odd to spend that much time with him, and I'm sure Draco could have a field day with this.'

Hermione fidgeted nervously; there was some truth to that. If Draco decided to harass her, he could start rumors about her and Snape. The real problem with any rumors, she knew instinctively, would be that Snape's position as a spy for the Order would be put in jeopardy. Voldemort would likely question the loyalty of any follower who was reportedly having an affair with a muggle-born witch. It was definitely too dangerous for Snape to have any such rumors circulating.

Contritely, Hermione nodded. 'You're right. I'll make sure people know that it is specifically for my project.'

Harry looked up from the board, where he had yet to make a move. 'Besides, Herm, if people thought you were with Snape, your reputation would be shot.' He grinned wickedly at Hermione.

Ron pantomimed gagging to express his agreement.

'Oooh.,' she hissed. 'I don't know why I even talk to you two sometimes. Honestly!' Grabbing her book bag, she stalked out of the common room and up to her own room.

****

Hermione stood in her room looking out the window at the starry night. Professor Snape really was a hopeless cause. Aside from all the complications brought about by his position as a spy, there was the simple fact that he just didn't seem to be interested in her. She sighed. Not that she'd had much experience with guys ' Viktor had been short-lived. She'd broken it off with him when he'd tried to paw her breasts as though she were on display in a cantaloupe stand in the High Street.

But Snape was so sexy. Those dark, brooding eyes, those long, dexterous fingers, that silky hair. And yet he paid her little more attention that he did the house elves. Still, Hermione decided, she wanted him. He filled her dreams and he starred in her fantasies. She'd have to at least try. Carefully, yes, but she was going to pursue him all the same. Images of her Potions master flashed through her head, pictures that she had burned into her brain so that she could conjure them up at any time. She grinned to herself, feeling a dense heat building between her legs. Her hand snaked down to stoke the fire.

~~~~

A/N: Yes. This really is a Hermione-Lucius story. I promise. I realize that it starts off like a classic Hermione-Severus story, but it will rapidly become a Hermione-Lucius story. Really. In the next chapter you'll see what I mean.

Also, for those of you who have been reading 'Lucius' Bookshelves', I haven't quit on that. It's just that this story has been screaming at me to get started on it ' the idea sort of struck me all of a sudden, and it wouldn't give me any peace until I got something down on paper.
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The Senior Project