The Flaw In Perfection: A Snamione Romance Fanfic

Chapter 3. Detention with the Bat

Hermione was standing in front of the door to the potions classroom. She was wondering whether she would enter or pretend to be sick to avoid her very first detention.
She closed her eyes for a split second and knocked on the rickety door.
The voice from the inside made her ears tingle. "Come in."

"Good evening Sir." She was trying her best to be calm and collected yet she felt her arms softening like jelly. She looked around the room and she shivered in the cold air of the dungeons. The nictation of the light gave creepy giant shadows of glass jars placed on the shelves.

The Professor approached her and she urgently bowed her head down as a form of respectful greeting. It wasn't like he was afraid of him. But then, he is still a teacher. A teacher who in a wave of his wand, in the swish of his robes, in the flick of his will, can fail her for being a student who's full of disrespect.

He didn't actually bother to greet her, for an inclement and snobbish teacher would never be caught dead greeting a student like his friend. And Hermione wasn't surprised though. She seemed to know every bit of him from head to toe.

"What shall I do for my detention, Sir?" she said almost in a whisper and her mouth a tight line.
"You will be brewing a Confusing Concoction for tonight. And I hope you will accomplish your task the way your wicked tongue well performs." He scoffed at the final words of his statement, making Hermione bow her head even more.

She moved to the desk where the ingredients were placed and began to brew. Her eyes were leaking nasty tears but she stood her ground not to let them fall.
Professor Snape sat in his favourite chair and watched the fussy girl brewing in pure silence. Even though her back was facing him, he could sense the misery and irritation inside her. This made him snigger a little, for it was very amusing to see this know-it-all lose her patience.

After a while, the cauldron in front of Hermione was making a gurgling noise. This change in the potion didn't alarm her for she had anticipated this event to prevail. After a minute had passed, she finally ceased her continuous stirring and placed the yellowish liquid in the vial very carefully.

She wiped her wet eyes and came over to her Professor's desk. She forced herself a smile and gave the potion to him.

Dangerous bitterness filled Professor Snape's face which darkened his appearance. He reached the bottle from her small hands and tested the potion by means of dropping the potion to a certain leaf. The leaf shook a bit as the golden drop of liquid hit it. Soon enough, it slowly changed its colour and all he did was grunt at her.

Deep inside her, she felt a flicker of pride. She made the exact perfect potion he allotted her to do. He was annoyed, and that was enough proof that she was successful. His mouth twitched a little but he concealed it with his greasy hair. After all, he has no right to stay furious with her, so he quickly dismissed her.

"Your work here is done. You may leave."

And Hermione needn't be told twice. It felt like heaven again to finally leave the hateful place where potions were brewed and where the solitary Potions Master lives.

Two good-looking boys were waiting for Hermione Granger as she headed to the Gryffindor Common Room. The one with the emerald eyes and the one with flaming red hair. They were pleased to see her and enveloped her with a small hug.

"We were so worried about you. How was the detention?" Harry asked her examining her arms and face, checking for injuries.
"Merlin, you look exhausted, Hermione. What did he do? He didn't hurt he you, did he?" Ron gave her a questioning look. She tried hard to make her face look appealing but she couldn't just hide her personal embarrassment.

It was definitely her first detention after all. Harry and Ron were famous for receiving countless detentions with the dreadful bat, but as for her, the perfect and prudent student among the three of them, she couldn't believe she'll get detention in her whole life. She even questioned her own existence.

She bade goodbye to both of them and went inside the girls' dorm. She couldn't answer their questions right now. The pain still stung her and she just wanted to be alone for a while.

This shocked Harry and Ron for whenever Hermione had problems or if any of them were experiencing hardships, they all faced it together.

"What's wrong with Hermione? Did she leave us just like that? Am I seeing things or this had just happened?" Harry Potter knew Ron's attitude very well and his inquisitiveness can be annoying sometimes.

But all Harry did was comfort his worrywart friend and not lash out at him. "Come on. She must have a rough day and let's just give her some space. Time to think. She'll open up to us soon, I'm sure. And we better get going. We can't be late to the practice".

Meanwhile, the door to the dorm gave a clicking sound which announced the arrival of the tired and resentful Hermione Granger.

Hermione collapsed in her bed and tried to swallow the events that occurred that day.

How could I be so foolish? I should've shut my mouth and not spoken to him like that. Besides, he would always win.

She gently removed her school robes when a slip of paper fell in front of her. It was the paper that held the beautiful poem that she fell in love with.

The H-BP's letter gave a sweet noise as it reached solid ground. She took the paper and clutched it in her hands with care. She wondered why she had kept it, especially now that her Professor only proved his undying anger towards Gryffindors. But maybe not just Gryffindors, maybe it was his direct anger toward her.

He hated her Professor but then, she just couldn't believe that her emotionless teacher had felt love over someone before. He was still human after all. No matter how he despised love and happiness, he seemed to be a fan of it once in his life.
She didn't know if she pitied him or she was just being curious. But she wants to find out what had happened to him. There must be a plausible reason why he had turned grey when he was as yellow as the sunshine during his youth.

She wanted to know the source of his pain, the things he had kept in the pit of his stomach for years. The memories he tries to hide from everyone. He must be so bright and cheery before, not until something switched his light off.

She continued to think about Severus Snape, the mysterious Professor of hers that turns out to be a gorgeous ecrivainé.