Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I just moved to Italy so things have been slightly crazy. Anyway, one reviewer commented on a few inconsistencies in the story – I apologize profusely! I should've been more careful, but it's been a long time since I began the story so I apologize if a few things don't seem to line up. About the confusion when our friends Severus and Hermione were transfiguring the plates – the point was that they had to order plates instead of transfiguring the plates that Hogwarts already owned, the ones they regularly use are impervious to magic. However, the new plates the order aren't. Anyway, I hope that clears things up. Another reviewer asked where I get my quotes, they are entirely from Shakespeare's plays and sonnets. Enjoy!

………………………

"I want ice cream."

"Excuse me?"

"Ice cream. I would like some."

Professor Snape sighed. "Miss Granger, can you not concentrate on the task at hand?"

This was their second day back at Hogwarts. It was odd that the castle was so empty. They had run into Dumbledore and McGonagall a few times. Dumbledore had Snape pulled away from their work on the ball once or twice to help with a few of the more sensitive contracts. So far, all had been well. Initially, they were only supposed to spend three days in the castle, but since finding the artifacts at Snape Manor had taken so little time, they had five days to kill without any distractions from students.

"Sir, we've been counting teacups for the past two hours."

"Are we done counting them yet?"

"No."

"Then why are you speaking?"

Hermione paused. "Sir?"

"Yes?" Snape asked tersely.

"May I ask you a question?"

"Is it about ice cream?"

"No."

"Then what is it Miss Granger?"

Hermione scribbled something on her parchment and then looked up at her professor. "It's about ice cream."

Snape threw his quill down and sighed heavily, "you said it wasn't about ice cream."

"I lied."

"Must you have ice cream, now?"

"It's a rather strong craving, sir."

"Well then, by all means, leave your work and go eat ice cream."

Hermione grinned and left the room for the kitchens, noting the sarcasm but choosing to ignore it.

She reappeared ten minutes later with ten trays of ice cream floating in front of her.

"Miss Granger! You cannot eat all of that ice cream, I refuse to roll you out of the room after you have done so."

"They're not for me. I didn't ask you what flavor you wanted, so I brought options for you," she flicked her wand so that the soaring ice creams landed gently on desk in front of her professor.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't want ice cream?"

"No, it really hadn't. Who would choose to miss out on the wonder that is ice cream? So which kind will it be?"

"Do I have a choice or will you pester me until I eat one?"

"Oh, I think you know the answer to that."

Professor Snape sighed and picked a bowl.

"Duly noted, your favorite ice cream is pumpkin-snickle." Hermione smiled and grabbed a bowl herself.

They finished their ice cream in relative silence.

"Since this was your inspired idea, what do you propose we do with the rest of the ice cream?"

"Oh I'll take them back now, I suppose." Hermione reached for her wand to float the ice cream in front of her on the way back to the kitchens, but when she looked up again, the ice cream was already afloat. She looked quizzically at her professor.

"Well, there's no sense in you going alone," Hermione looked slightly taken aback by his thoughtfulness. "Dumbledore wouldn't approve of me not accompanying you when we're still unsure of our footing with some of the creatures," he added as a safe afterthought.

As they rounded a corner on their way to the kitchen, the Professor stopped suddenly, making Hermione run into him. She let out a little harrumph while straightening her clothes. Her heart quickened when Snape grabbed her arm and held his finger to her lips while peering around the corner.

He lowered is head towards hers. "I can hear centaurs just around the corner," he whispered in her ear. "They sound angered. You, go back to my study. If I don't return in thirty minutes, find Dumbledore." Without a backwards glance or a nod of ascension from Hermione, he stealthily made his way towards the ruckus.

Not listening to his warning, Hermione snuck around the corner with her wand poised and ready.

"What seems to be the problem?" She heard Snape's silky voice as the centaurs quieted.

"Are your people ready for war?" shouted an angry centaur from the middle of the pack.

"We have no wish to go to war with you. Dumbledore only wishes to renew the contracts with your people. We do not want to change anything. We have been peaceable with each other for a long time. You still will have reign of the forest, we only wish to renew the old contract."

Hermione had been intently listening to Snape's speech, so intently that she gasped slightly as Dumbledore tapped her arm.

"Miss Granger, I assume Severus wanted you to leave the premises?" Hermione nodded at the headmaster. "Well, I suppose you can't blame a girl for being curious. But really Miss Granger, everything will be fine, I'm here to help Severus now. You must go back to the Potions study, I suspect Severus would be disinclined to be friendly towards you if he found out you disobeyed him." With a wink and a slight shove, Dumbledore sent Hermione back to the study while he made his way towards the centaurs.

&&&&&

Severus came back into the study several hours later. He found Hermione asleep on the floor surrounded by spoons. Evidently she had finished inventorying the teacups and had now moved on to the silverware. On his desk was a glass of whisky she had seemingly poured for his return. He gratefully swung the alcohol down and gracelessly plopped into his chair.

He looked at the sleeping girl; her unruly hair had mostly escaped the clip that had been holding it back and she was using her bookbag as a make-shift pillow. What an odd image: a sleeping girl with cascades of hair surrounded by spoons and parchment.

"Wingardium leviosa," Severus spoke quietly, pointing his wand at Hermione. He levitated the girl out of his study and began the trek to Gryffindor tower.

"Password?" the fat lady asked, eyeing the professor and the girl.

"Just let me in," Snape whispered irritably. "You know us and Dumbledore are the only people here."

"Sorry, sir. Can't do that. Orders are orders. I've guarded this door for more than fifty years," she laughed coyly, "you just can't expect me to let anyone willy nilly walk in, can you?" she played with her hair.

"And what, am I supposed to guess the password?" Severus seethed. "This is utterly mad! I feel like I've gone down the rabbit hole!"

"Rabbit-hole! You've got it!" And with that the portrait swung open.

Severus, still grumbling made his way through the portrait hole and not knowing which staircase led to which dormitory chose one at random.

&&&&&&&&

"Professor," Hermione roused Severus Snape's sleeping form from the armchair in the common room of Gryffindor Tower.

He tilted his head and looked at her. "I thought I heard you," he said groggily.

Hermione laughed lightly, "and I suppose when you heard me you were ready to shout, 'By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.'"

"It was on the tip of my tongue."

"Sir," Hermione trailed off as she sat down in a chair close to his.

"What is it, girl?"

"May I ask why you are in my common room? And why I awoke in the boy's dormitory?"

"No, you may not. Now hurry along and get ready. I expect you in my study in an hour." And with that the Professor swept through the portrait hole and into the hall.

Hermione grumbled about evasive men and odd occurrences on her way to her dormitory.

&&&&&&&

It was foolish of him to have slept in Gryffindor Tower. Even though his only intention was to stay in the common room to keep an eye on things; the centaurs had been fairly angry and even though Dumbledore had managed to renew the contract, the centaurs were still unhappy. But really, they were rarely happy anyway.

"Pray tell," Hermione began once she had opened the study door, "why you are in a foul mood."

"Foul mood?"

"Yes. You seem to be in a mood."

"In a mood," Snape sneered at her. "In a mood. Please, maybe you should venture a guess as to why I'm, as you put it, 'in a mood.'"

"Because a team of centaurs stormed the castle last night."

"Oh no, it's not that at all. I find that completely normal and entirely not worrisome."

"I see your point," Hermione said, attempting to deflect the sarcasm. Professor Snape chose to do no such thing.

"I'm glad your shot-in-the dark guess was so incredibly off base. Why would that ever upset me? A team of angered centaurs?"

"Pish-posh," Hermione said with a grin, deciding to join in on the bit Snape was playing. "Angry centaurs," she waved her hand in a devil-may-care fashion, "who's frightened by them? Not us, I can tell you that."

Professor Snape turned around to hide his slight grin, but Hermione could still see it in his eyes when he turned back around to face her.

"Now, professor, I made a list of the things we still need to get done before the ball," she paused noting how fast these past weeks had gone. A few weeks of detention, a few weeks planning the ball, a week of vacation, and now a little over week until the ball.

While Hermione blathered on about all the things that needed to be done in preparation, Severus noted the sunlight in the window behind the girl. Most people assumed that his study was in the dungeon, since that's where the potions classroom and the Slytherin common room were, but in fact, his study was slightly above the dungeon, affording Severus a beautiful view of the grounds. The sunlight bounced through the window in a lovely stream and rested on Miss Granger's hair; big and bushy, yes, not conventionally beautiful, but it reflected her personality: big and somewhat frazzled, but oddly gorgeous in its flaws. The man turned abruptly.

Hermione looked up from her parchment, startled at Snape's sudden movement. "Is everything all right, sir?"

"Yes, let's just get on with it."

&&&&&&&&&

"Will you open the door?" Hermione heaved from inside the storage close. She was carrying an assortment of books, parchment, and a few odd decorations.

"Don't get persnickety with me, Miss Granger."

"I wasn't getting persnickety, sir," Hermione countered while almost popping the vein in her temple as Snape stood at the door.

"Just drop whatever it is that you're holding; the door is jammed."

With a harrumph Hermione dropped what she was holding onto the stone floor with a loud clang. "I am not persnickety."

"You were a little persnickety," Professor Snape muttered as he tried the door handle again. "Alohamora," he pointed his wand at the door. Nothing happened.

Hermione harrumphed again.

"Now who's in a mood," Snape raised one eyebrow at the girl behind him.

"Maybe if we weren't trapped in this god-forsaken closet then I wouldn't be so difficult."

"Are you ever not difficult?"

"Are you going to open the door?"

"Weren't you the girl who stated that she doesn't appreciate it when her questions are answered with a question?"

"Weren't you the man who bragged about his magical dexterity on oh so many occasions, and are you now stumped by a mere doorjamb?" she replied bitingly.

"Why do you insist on vexing me?"

"Why do you insist on asking to be vexed?"

"This circularity is getting a little too Lewis Carroll for me."

Hermione grinned smugly at her triumph. She had made him break the question pattern. She knew it wasn't much, but the fact that he had let her win meant something. Maybe not much, but it meant something.

"Why won't this damned door open?" Snape muttered as he turned back towards the door and shook the knob.

"I read, in Hogwarts: a History, that sometimes the doors get tired of opening and closing for every person that comes through and so every now and again the doors refuse to open."

"Did the book manage to explain how to fix the problem?"

"Honestly, you don't need to get persnickety, professor." The man merely glared at her. Hermione grinned and said, "it said that it usually it passes in a few minutes."

"Well, I'm not prepared to wait that long," the professor muttered something under his breath and all of a sudden the door to the storage room blew violently away from its hinges and a loud grunt was heard.

"Professor! I think you hit someone!" Hermione ran out of the closet to find Dumbledore, glasses askew, trapped on the floor by the door.

"Severus, old boy! Still got that old can-do spirit, I see," Dumbledore grinned and adjusted his glasses with his free hand.

"Albus," Severus said rather too loudly as he ran over to where Dumbledore was trapped.

Hermione bit back a giggle and looked at both of her professors questioningly.

"Why are you staring, Miss Granger?" Snape asked acidly.

"Well, aren't you going to get the door off of him, sir?"

"Oh," Snape muttered "well, yes…" the professor turned away from Hermione and muttered the spell, freeing Dumbledore. It was one of the only times in her life Hermione had seen her Potions master at a loss. "I am so sorry Albus, I had no idea you were there," Snape apologized as he helped Dumbledore to his feet.

"It's quite all right," Dumbledore dusted himself off, "I seem to be all right, everything's in the right place and all. Well, you two seem to be getting along rather nicely!"

Severus and Hermione looked oddly at the man standing in front of them before giving each other a slow glance.

"I suppose so," Severus trailed off, not knowing quite what to say.

"Now, Miss Granger, tell me, who is taking you to the ball?"

Hermione looked down and blushed. She was sure everyone else had dates by now. She might be someone's last minute, desperate, nothing-on-the-line, I-must-get-a-date, date. But that didn't sound appealing. "Oh Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said as nonchalantly as she could, "I don't have a date," she waved her hand in the air as if to say 'it really doesn't matter.'

"You don't have a date?" Snape asked her incredulously.

"Well excuse me! Maybe if I hadn't been planning this damned thing with you this whole time, someone would've asked me!" she gasped as she saw Snape's face harden at her words. "I'm sorry," she stammered a moment later. "I didn't mean…"

"I just thought one of those lemmings you call friends wouldn't want you to be alone. But apparently they don't even care that much about you."

Dumbledore, apparently choosing to ignore the fight that was commencing, grabbed Hermione and Severus convivially by the arm, "Of course! This is perfect. You two will go together. The organizers of the ball, it'll be quite something. You both may have the first dance as a reward for all your hard work."

"No, Professor"

"Really, Albus, I most protest."

"Oh no sense in arguing, it's the perfect solution!"

"Albus, I don't know if it would be entirely appropriate…"

"To what, dance? I'll dance with Miss Granger right now!" with that he took her hand and gave her a little spin. Hermione laughed softly at the oddity of it all, dancing with her headmaster. As Dumbledore gave her a little dip, she caught Severus's eye. She saw coldness, harshness, the things she had learned to look past. But also there was something she hadn't seen before – apprehension.

"See Severus, nothing to worry about. It's a perfect reward for all your hard work." And with that decided, Dumbledore waved his wand and set the storage door back on its hinges and walked away, leaving Hermione and Severus alone again.