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The Halloween Ball	By : rush22 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 8204 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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
- 2
- 3
- 4
** Disclaimer applies from Chapter 1. Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

�A
Halloween ball?�

�Why
yes Severus, a Halloween Ball,� stated Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the
calmest manor possible as to further annoy the irate man in front of him. It was
the first staff meeting of the new school year and Dumbledore had just made the
announcement about the premiere event of the term during the Feast. Glancing
about the staff room the Headmaster noticed that most of the staff quickly
became excited with the prospect of the upcoming event, well all except for one
and he looked like he was about to explode.

�You honestly can�t be
serious about this ball,� ranted the irritable Potions Master. �I mean do we
really need to give these miscreants more of a reason to act irresponsible and
cause trouble Albus?�

Several
of the room�s participants snickered at the Potions Masters� statement. It was
widely know amongst the other teachers and staff that he absolutely detested
anything that involved merriment, especially when it came to the students.

�Severus,�
began Minerva McGonagall, �the students deserve this ball I mean most of them
have practically had little or no joy in their lives for the past seven years
with Voldemort and all.�

Before
Severus could reply Dumbledore cut him off.

�My boy, it�s not only the
students that need this ball it is all of us as well, we all have put a lot of
our time and energy into the War and this would be a fantastically fun way to
�blow off� some pent up steam so to say in the aftermath of all that has
happened in the recent months. I would think that you of all people would
understand best the need for such a thing, frivolous as you may think it.�

Knowing that the Headmaster�s tone meant that
the discussion was settled Severus settled back in his chair grunting in
acknowledgement of his small defeat in the matter but couldn�t help dismiss the
annoying twinkling that the Headmaster was looking at him with.

�Now,
as for the details of the ball,� began Dumbledore with a distinct twinkle in
his eyes that belayed an air of mischief, �I have decided with much delight
that we shall have a masquerade ball!

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

�God damned
ball,� thought Severus Snape while looking broodingly into the fire ahead
of him. Hadn�t he suffered enough over the past 18 years? He had done
everything the Headmaster had asked of him. He returned to Lord Voldemort to
resume his spying on the megalomaniac and his group of sycophants, and was made
to suffer round after round of debilitating curses and bodily harm only to find
paltry scraps of information. Through all the years of spying Severus had also
done the Headmaster something that he considered the worse punishment ever: he
continually taught the precise and demanding science that is potion making to
countless dunderheads.

�Dunderheads�
really isn�t the right term to describe the students he thought. �Complete and utter pea-brained deviant
cretins� would be more approximate. He swore that the students tried harder
each year to not only thoroughly infuriate him as much as possible but to try
as hard as they can to fail miserably at the subject. �Thank God that Longbottom isn�t in my class this year.� He had
enough headaches without having to worry if the boy was going to take out half
of the classroom with the addition of an extra leaf of belladonna into his
cauldron. Other than the regular incompetence of Longbottom, his other students
were in fact decent at potions they just showed no propensity towards the
subject beyond the classroom. Severus scowled to himself at his last thought.
There most certainly was at least one student that showed an interest in the
subject, the �know-it-all�, Hermione Granger. Just thinking about her made him
scowl inwardly again. Severus allowed himself to reflect back on the girl over
the past year or so.

It all started with Dumbledore, it always had.

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

�Lemon Drop Severus?� asked Dumbledore.

�In
all the years that you�ve asked me into your office and offered me those brain
addling confections have I ever accepted?� the acerbic man replied.

Severus had always equated a visit to the Headmaster�s
office akin to waiting for the proverbial shit to hit the fan. You knew that it
was coming and could hear it fall but you never knew when it was going to
explode but when it exploded oh man did the shit fly everywhere.

�Fair
enough my boy, shall we get on with it then?� started Dumbledore once more.
�I�ve asked you here today because I think that we may have found a solution to
dealing with Voldemort.�

What
ever Severus had been expecting, that hadn�t been it.

�Wha�I mean how?� a shocked Potions Master replied, his
mouth hanging slightly.

�Funny
you should ask Severus, you see Hermione Granger��

�Wait!
Are you telling me that Granger has something to do with this? I highly doubt
Albus that a sixteen year old girl can manage to find a way to bring down the
most ruthless mass murdering fiend our world has ever known where countless
others with more experience and knowledge have failed!� Severus had finished
his rant practically yelling at the Headmaster who just sat in silence smiling
at him.

�Eighteen, actually.� The Headmaster stated as if it was a
common bit of knowledge.

�What
are you talking about? Eighteen?� said a bewildered Severus.

�Miss
Granger is actually eighteen.�

�And
just how exactly is Granger eighteen? Or do I not want to know?� Severus asked.

�Quite
simple, she used a time turner the past few years to take extra classes thus
adding time to her age. The girl certainly has enthusiasm for learning,�
chuckled the Headmaster.

�Pft!�
exclaimed Severus, �Obsession is more like it.�

�Be that as is may Severus, I
believe that she has found or at least stumbled on to something that can be
worked into a way to defeat Voldemort once and for all.� The excitement on
Dumbledore�s face was barely containable.

�And
what in the name of Merlin is this information that she found?� Severus said
through clenched teeth, the vain in his temple visibly throbbing from
irritation.

�Miss
Granger, Hermione, found in one of her readings a story about a man that had
his magic literally stripped from himself causing his destruction, there was
mention of something that he ingested possibly a potion being involved but
nothing more is known or if it is indeed true or not.�

Severus�
head began to spin at the implications brought on by the newest revelation from
the Headmaster. Sure he thought in theory it could be possible for that to
occur. The magic in people was something that was anchored to the core of a
person, it was a life force. It was something tangible that affected a person�s
health extending the lives of witches and wizards far beyond that of Muggles.
Should the magic be damaged in some way beyond a curse or a spell but something
more detrimental or even lethal, the afflicted person in all likeliness
wouldn�t be able to survive.

Severus
looked up in to the eyes of the Headmaster with a dawning realization that this
might just be the avenue that would lead to the destruction of Voldemort.

�Now
Severus, about Miss Granger�s involvement��

�There
goes the shit,� thought Severus.

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

�That
was how it all started I guess,� admitted Severus to no one in particular. �Meddling old fool.�

Severus took a sip of his brandy and glancing
nervously at the costume that was hanging from the doorframe into his bedroom
before settling back into his thoughts.

During his meeting with the Headmaster about the plan
to eradicate Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore outlined just how Granger, no Hermione,
after all that was how he thought of her as of late, would play apart in these
plans.

�You want me to
WHAT?� Severus practically yelled at Dumbledore.

�I
believe that the key to defeating Voldemort this way is to rely on not only a
potion but a spell that will act as a catalyst. It wouldn�t do for Voldemort to
ingest this potion and have it start right away since we aren�t going to be
entirely sure how it is going to react with his reptilian hybrid self, hence
the spell would activate the potion at the opportune moment. Obviously a potion
of this magnitude is going to be taking a lot of your time and energies so I am
assigning Miss Granger to be your apprentice this summer, where she will aid
you in research and brewing the potion and also she�ll be developing the spell
to be used in conjunction with the potion.� The Headmaster fished his speech
with only a slight look of trepidation on his face at how his Potions Master
was going to react to the news.

�Why
can�t Flitwick help with the spell? I don�t think that Granger is knowledgeable
enough for this kind of work, not to mention the fact that this project is
going to require the highest level of secrecy and we all know that she tells
everything to the Boy Wonder and his faithful Lap Dog.�

�Now
there Severus, I think that you aren�t giving her nearly enough credit. I dare
say that Miss Granger while lacking slightly in real world usage of her
knowledge isn�t called the �brightest witch of the age� for nothing. She has
proved herself several times over by creating her own spells and charms that
are far beyond what we teach here. Not only that but she has also been taking
correspondence courses from several wizarding universities the past two summers
and has shown an unbelievable aptitude in both Potions and Spell work.�

Severus
Snape sat there slack jawed staring at the Headmaster before gathering his wits
enough to reply.

�That
still doesn�t mean that any work that we accomplish isn�t going to be hampered
by Potter and Weasley you do realize that don�t you.�

�Severus,
since your collaboration is going to take place over the summer I don�t think
its going to be as big of a disturbance that you�re making it out to be. First
Harry still has to stay at the Dursley�s for a few weeks this summer which also
rules out Ronald being there as well, secondly I think the boys will let you be
if they are informed that your project may indeed be what we need to end the
War, and thirdly I feel that you are highly underestimating Miss Granger�s
maturity. She has a maturity and wisdom far beyond her young years; in fact she
reminds me a lot of you when you were that age.� The Headmaster finished with a
chuckle.

�I
hardly think so Albus,� said an indignant Severus Snape.

�Well
that is neither her nor there Severus, Miss Granger is going to be working with
you regardless. I know that you don�t like this one bit but you are going to
need the help. So please, for the sake of the project try to work with Miss
Granger without belittling her or causing her distress. I think you�re going to
find that you�ll be surprised at how well the two of you will work together.�

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

Dumbledore was right in some aspects, Hermione
Granger was like him in his younger days; the constant questing for knowledge,
a driving work ethic and the way that it alienated her from the majority of her
peers. He remembered when he had the unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and the
path that sort of aspiration lead him down. In hindsight it was just one of
many vehicles that led him to seek out Lord Voldemort and his followers but
that was neither here nor there at this point in his life. The temptation of
conquering knowledge and harnessing that power to make people bend to your will
was too much for Severus to pass up at such a young age. He was sure that
Hermione never harbored those sentiments.

�Hermione,�
that was how he was referring to her as of lately. Not Miss Granger, Granger,
or even the �know-it-all� but Hermione. She certainly hadn�t been a
�know-it-all� for some time now. Sure he was more than incensed when Dumbledore
practically all but forced her help on him during the creation of the potion,
but his ire with the Headmaster quickly faded when he realized that it may not
be that bad to work with her at all.

He had noticed, not that he was paying any sort of
specific attention to her, that Hermione had begun to mature in her knowledge.
Gone was the wild hand waving that could direct traffic and in its place was a
more subdued version. She no longer shouted out answers before her classmates
could even begin to process the question but instead she sat quietly with an
expression of knowing on her face giving her classmates the chance to answer
and further their own knowledge.

Taking a long sip of his brandy, Severus reflected on
working with her over the summer at Grimmauld Place.

�Miss Granger!
Is it that hard for you follow my instructions? I said to crush the Marsh
flies, not mash them! And to think the Headmaster said you and exceptional
skills.�

�Miss
Granger tie back that mop you call hair back, if one frizzy strand gets in that
cauldron you�ll ruin the entire batch! Blasted Gryffindor!�

�Ha!�
he thought to himself. She looked like she was on the verge of tears at his
last statement. He had been extremely irritable as of late. �Well anyone would
be too if they had been hit with round after round of Cruciatus like he had
been the previous night� Severus thought inwardly, he had arrived back at
headquarters last night almost dead. Several rounds of the debilitating curse
tossed in with some physical violence left him in such a weakened state it took
Poppy nearly twice as long to heal him. He remembered being laid out on the
table while Albus and Poppy discussed the extent of his injuries just wishing
that he would die thus putting him out of his misery. It was just Granger�s bad
luck that she had been chosen to work with him seeing how he regularly took his
frustrations out on her especially after a night like the previous one. Her
work was actually not bad when he stopped to consider it and was actually up to
an apprentice level, not that he�d ever let her know.

After
the first few weeks working together he had to admit that they actually were
working rather well together. Granger�s intellect made for good discussions
about how to proceed with the potion and he was impressed greatly with her
dedication and progress with the spell. Not once did she mention Potter or
Weasley which he was ever grateful for and it seemed that she had figured out
that the days after he was summoned he would always be more harsh with her so
she would work on the spell as to stay out of his way. All and all Severus
found that he was actually beginning to enjoy working with the young witch. He
found that her theories and ideas on potion making to be refreshing and that
she was able to maintain lengthy debates on various techniques and ingredients
that were both current in topic and mindful to the past.

The
beginning of August rolled around and Severus found that they only had a few
steps until the completion of the potion. Granger had finished the Exuo Somes spell the previous
week, so the pair could now devote all their time to finishing of the potion.
Since the potion was almost complete Dumbledore began recalling the Order of
the Phoenix. The time to
end the war was almost upon them.

Another
week went by and Severus found himself being called more frequently to the Dark
Lord�s side. Voldemort it seemed was as anxious as the Order to bring about the
end of the War and thus had been planning on attacking Hogwarts before the
start of the term. Severus figured that the maniac wanted to take control of
the school before the start of term and enslave the students using the school
as his new headquarters.

Working
in Grimmauld�s potions lab one night with Granger, Severus� mark began to burn
calling him to the Dark Lord.

�Misssss
Granger,� he hissed through his teeth, �I am being summoned for what I feel for
the last time. I trust you to finish the potion and take it to the Headmaster
immediately. I won�t see you again until battle I�m afraid so be careful,
you�ll know when to use the spell. Do. Not. Hesitate.� Clutching his left
forearm he donned his black robes and silver mask.

�Miss
Granger,� he said as he noted the look of shock on her face and it occurred to
him that she never had seen him in his Death Eater attire before.

�Hermione,�
he called to her using her given name. Apparently it was enough to break the
spell that had befallen her because her eyes snapped to attention and focused
on his. Golden eyes met for an instant with his own
dark eyes and for the briefest of moments he thought he saw worry reflected
back to him. He made to say something to her if only to ease the look in her
eyes but thought better about it; instead he nodded at her and made for the
door. The next time he would see her would be in battle.

Severus
apparated to a clearing outside of the Riddle House and went straight to the
Dark Lord�s side hoping that he wasn�t the last one to arrive and clearing his
mind before presenting himself to the circle.

�Ah
Severussss,� spoke Voldemort, �what news do you have
for me?�

�Well
my Lord, it seems that the Order is finalizing their plans, they sense that you
are planning to attack soon but are lost as to when.� Almost immediately after
speaking, Severus braced himself for Voldemort to enter his thoughts. Since he
cleared his mind before joining the circle, he let selected thoughts filter
through to where they would be accessible for Voldemort to read them. He could
feel a slight prick at his subconscious and he began to project images to
Voldemort. Him working on potions, doing research for
the Dark Lord and him in a staff meeting mentally wanting to throttle the
Headmaster, none of the images and thoughts were actually fabricated.

�Very
well Severus, perhaps you can throttle the man before we kill him,� chuckled
the Dark Lord before turning serious again.

�In two days time my
faithful followers we will descend on Hogwarts and kill that fool Dumbledore
and finally rid ourselves of the �Boy-who-lived�. Hogwarts shall be our
victory!� Cheers went up amongst the gathered and Severus couldn�t help but
fight the feeling of revulsion that was creeping back up his esophagus. The
circle broke and people began to form attack strategies and plans for the
upcoming battle.

The day of the
battle was like every other day. The dawn broke with bright sunlight and clear
blue skies. The summers in the Scottish highlands were slightly cool but there
was unmistakable warmth hanging in the summer air.

Severus was responsible for disabling the wards
surrounding the school, and as soon as he did the air around him was filled
with the resounding �crack� as legions of Death Eaters apparated to the school.
Knowing that Dumbledore had been watching the on goings from inside the school,
he knew it would only be a time before the members of the Order filed out of
the castle and into the fray. Sure enough minutes after the wards were dropped
Severus looked towards the front steps of the castle and saw that Potter,
Weasley and Granger, give each other a hug before drawing their wands and begin
firing off hexes.

Much
of the battle was a blur to Severus. While still wearing his Death Eater robes
he began stalking the parameter of the battle, firing protection spells at
members of the Order while simultaneously hexing other Death Eaters. About a
half of and hour into battle Severus caught sight of a familiar head of curly
brown hair. �Hermione,� he thought. The Death Eater she was going at it with
was a particularly nasty one. �It�s probably Dolohov�
he mused, as the man had it out for her since the Department of Mysteries
incident. He recognized the curse that was being thrown at her, �Entrail
Expulsion, most certainly Dolohov.� Hermione looked
like she was holding her own jumping and dodging hex after hex but Dolohov was still managing to get the best of her. He had
to do something.

Just
as Dolohov raised his wand to send a hex towards
Hermione he raised his wand and shouted �Expelliarmus� and Dolohov�s wand came
speeding into his outstretched palm. Quickly he snapped the wood in two and
tossed the pieces on the ground. Running past where Hermione stood to make sure
she was alright, he quickly saw her prepare her wand to fire at him until he
locked eyes at her and she realized that it was him. He continued on past her
and back into the battle.

He kept running for what seemed
like hours and hours, dodging curses, and fighting with the occasional Death
Eater who recognized him as a traitor. As Severus was making his way to the
Headmaster he saw Pansy Parkinson cast a fatal curse at Professor Vector who
was busy fighting another Death Eater. While he was never particularly friendly
with the man, he respected him and the way he taught his students. Rage boiled
deep in Severus� veins when he knew another one of his house was lost to the
wrong side. Silently he cast the killing curse at Parkinson; watching her fall
he felt slightly better about what he just did. At least she wouldn�t be
labeled as a sympathizer if she was dead. Suddenly his arm began to tingle and
burn. �Shit,� he thought, the Dark Lord found Potter.

Racing to where the great fight
was between Potter and the Dark Lord he found that Weasley had begun to duel
with Pettigrew. The young wizard putting all his energy into defeating his once
pet turned traitor turned murder when he killed Percy Weasley earlier that
year. Severus was quite surprised to see that the slovenly rat-faced man was
still standing by the Dark Lord, surely he thought he would�ve traded sides by
now or transformed and slinked away from the skirmish at this point.

From where he was standing, he
could tell that Lucius was taunting Hermione knowing that the girl was a sore
spot for Malfoy seeing how she bested his son in just about everything and was
the poster child for everything he stood against.

The arrogant wizard and the
witch squared off, each sending a rapid succession of spells in the direction
of the other. Hermione seemed to be holding her own for
now against the man. That was all Severus got to see before he was identified
by Hutchinson, a lesser Death Eater, but one with all the vigor of a seasoned
fighter. Figuring that there was no point left in keeping his mask on he tore
it off and began to attack a surprised Hutchinson who was not expecting the
move. The pair battled with their wands until Hutchinson managed to knock Severus� wand out of his
hand. Not wanting to leave room for the other man to curse him, Severus leapt
at the man knocking him over and started to pummel the man. There was something
oddly satisfying to hear the crunch of his fists coming in contact with the
other mans face knowing that the man was knocked out unconscious.

Reaching for his wand which lay
on the ground he looked up in time to see Malfoy getting ready to curse
Hermione. He could see that she had gotten hit with something bad because she
was holding her arm trying to stop the blood flowing from a nasty wound. He was
laying a yard or so away from Malfoy and could tell by the look in Hermione�s
eyes that he was getting ready curse her. He could see her tense up and face
Malfoy fully preparing herself for was most likely going to be her death.
Severus could almost read her emotions; she wasn�t afraid of Malfoy and she
wasn�t afraid of dying. Something snapped inside of Severus and he reacted with
the first thing he could think of doing.

�Diffindo.�
Pointing his wand at the foot of Lucius Malfoy he released the spell. Pulling
himself off the ground he looked down at the writhing form of his oldest friend
and into the eyes of Hermione. He didn�t know why he did it but he felt that he
needed reassurance from her. Their eyes met and for a brief moment he let his
mask down; she was going to be alright. Briefly he showed his relief to her and
for a moment he thought that she showed her relief back. It was time for her to
use the spell. He nodded at her and then left to find Dumbledore. As he turned
to walk away, he heard her speak.

�Avada Kedavra.� She had
finished off Lucius Malfoy and apart of him felt angry that she had to
sacrifice apart of her soul to do so.

Severus knew that it was time to
end it he heard Hermione say the spell and he ran toward the Headmaster.
Dumbledore linked arms with Potter to finish off the Dark Lord. Two words and
it was over, he was free.

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

What followed the
Final Battle Severus could only describe as a hurricane. There were countless
celebrations and parties held for the heroes of the War; he had finally been
his Order of Merlin first class no less. Journalists wanted photographs and
interviews from him. Suddenly his life was on public display. Everything that
he had been doing for the past eighteen years came spilling out into the open.
It was very overwhelming for him since he was a notoriously private man. He
even had groupies chasing after him in public.

To think that there were women now
coming out of the woodwork trying to score a chance meeting or date with him
was ludicrous in his book. Nothing about him had changed. He was still
unpleasant, though his demeanor had vastly improved to those who know him best
since he was no longer being tortured at a constant rate. His looks had not
changed. Sure he had medi-wizards lining up trying to �fix� him; to correct
things like his nose or teeth, but he wanted none of it he was proud of his
roman ancestry. Those women who before the War wouldn�t give him a second look
and now he couldn�t get away from them.

It wasn�t an issue that Severus hadn�t
found any of the women attractive, they were plentiful in that category it was
something else entirely. He had entertained a few of the women but found none
to his liking. There was always something about them. They were too dull, too
dumb, and too shallow. None were to his liking. They just weren�t her. Her being Hermione Granger.

Severus tried not to think about her;
after all she was a student and about twenty years younger than he was. After
the battle he saw her embrace Weasley and the Boy-who- remained- living, a stab
of jealousness came over him though he couldn�t figure out why.

During her apprenticeship with him this
summer he would have been a fool to not notice how she had changed over the
years. Gone was her insanely bushy hair and in its place was a silky mane that
fell in a cascade of ringlets down between her shoulder blades. She had lost
most of her baby fat and had transformed into a stunning woman. He could tell
that she was physically fit and kept herself healthy. That however wasn�t the
part that Severus found attractive. It was her intellect and those golden eyes.

He enjoyed their conversations over the
summer even though he conducted the lab in a strict manor and they had
developed a professional working manor. It was easy to see that she was going
to have a fulfilling life beyond Hogwarts, promising to do great things. He
could easily see spending a quite night debating techniques with her over a
nice bottle of wine and fire. �Did I just think that?� He sighed
inwardly.

He heard that after the War she
collapsed and didn�t wake up for a couple of days. When the Headmaster informed
him inwardly he was beside himself with worry hoping that the concern didn�t
show to Albus. Severus knew that she had a penchant for over exerting herself;
lord knows how many nights over the summer he had to kick her out of the lab
because she refused to stop working. Then there was the incident at the
bookstore in Diagon Alley.

He had just stepped into the store to place a small order for the
school year when he noticed Hermione walking about the aisles intently looking
at the various titles. After giving one of his patented stares to onlookers who
were encroaching on his space, he began to track her around the store looking
vaguely pleased that she was perusing the potions section. He noticed that she
had quite a few patrons looking at her and whispering to one another obviously
realizing who she was. He noted with a distinct look of disappointment that she
wasn�t paying attention to her surroundings. �Constant vigilance,� as Mad- Eyed
Moody would say.

He continued his surveillance of her when he noticed that one of
the males who were looking at her was moving closer to where she was browsing.
The man had a distinctly lecherous quality about him and he didn�t like it one
bit. His musings were interrupted when said man in question lunged at Hermione
effectively pinning her to the shelf of book. A protective need kicked in
almost immediately. Severus walked to where the man was appallingly manhandling
Hermione and pulled him off the struggling woman. With an effective punch to
the nose the man was sent sprawling to the ground where he was laid clutching
his sure to be broken nose.

Severus grabbed Hermione�s trembling hand an pulled out of the
bookstore, bewildered patrons looking on at the pair as they made their hasty
exit. Severus pulled her into the nearest alleyway. He looked down at the
startled woman currently nestled in his arms.

�Miss Granger?� he asked checking if she was alright. When she looked
into his eyes, he had the slightest inclination to kiss her. Instead he nodded
and then disapparated back to Hogwarts before he did something that he would
regret for sure.

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

That was the last he saw her until she
came back to school. Since then he had been prone to staring at her from time
to time. In class while she would be working on a potion or at meal times. He�d
watch her from the high perch of the head table, listening to what was being
said around him but ultimately tuning out to sneak a glance at the Head Girl.
On occasions he caught the Headmaster staring at him, an ominous twinkle in his
eyes but as usual Severus dismissed it preferring to continue his observations
from behind a curtain of black hair. One meal he was so engrossed in his
observance that he missed the Headmaster�s announcement about the Halloween
Ball.

It wasn�t until the staff meeting that
he heard about the ball where he maintained an exterior of disgust at the suggestion,
but the more he thought about it the more he began to formulate a plan in his
head. He could use the Halloween Ball as an excuse to get closer to Hermione.
Sure he knew that this was dangerous ground he was stepping on to, after all he
was a teacher and she was his student but she was of age and there weren�t any
regulations about fraternization between them as long as she was legally an
adult. He would maintain an air of dislike for the ball after all it was widely
know of his feelings about fun where the students were concerned all the while
planning the perfect costume to get close to Hermione. There were a number of
spells and glamours that would be able to mask his true identity and voice if
need be so she�d never have to know it was him. He glanced back at his
costume�this was going to be interesting evening indeed.

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

Author�s Note:

Thanks to all who have reviewed and showed
me support so far, I really appreciate it and thank you all for making me feel
welcome! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had a bit of a hard time writing it
and trying to tell apart of the tale from Severus� point of view seeing how I�m
neither a man nor ill tempered and angry at the world. Anyway I�m off to work
on the next chapter which will hopefully be up in the next few days or so. Also
I just want to point out that just because I�m an English major doesn�t mean
I�m perfect or that I�m turning this in for a grade J (no hurt
feelings here).

J.
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The Halloween Ball