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Hermione Granger's working life would be much easier, if Severus Snape weren't a colleague. He has an incredible ability to get under her skin. It wasn’t as easy as one might assume, to avoid someone at Hogwarts. Staff meetings were filled with tension as the two of them had contrasting opinions on nearly every matter that would be discussed. Hermione was reaching her limit.She had spent the better part of six years dealing with Ronald every waking moment of her life, apart from the only reprieve she ever gets, the summer holiday. She had thought she had mastered patience while she and Ronald were together the few months they were after the war. She didn’t.Ronald had decided, as if she wasn’t even a part of their mutual agreement, that they weren’t meant to be together. There was too much on her plate to allow her to stop and really consider whether their break up truly hurt. Soon after, shebecame the new Transfiguration Professor.Now, instead of Ronald, it was Snape who vexed her.He refused to take any of her advice on how to properly deal with his students and instead chose to insult her by blatantly calling out her inferiority to him. Since, it has been a battle of wits and sarcasm. Both were stubborn, neither would back down.“You wanted to see me, Headmistress?” Hermione stepped into her office with a small concern. The Headmistress rarely called private meetings with her.Mcgonagall looked up from the parchments in front of her through her spectacles, placing her quill into the ink pot as Hermione approached her desk.“I apologize for interrupting your leisure time but this completely slipped my mind.” The Headmistress said, removing her spectacles, “I need you to accompany Professor Snape on this weekend's Hogsmeade trip. Professor Longbottom has important business in Edinburgh to take care of.”Hermione frowned, “Couldn’t I just supervise alone, or he alone?”“I’m afraid not, this is a ministry rule that we have not and haven’t had the need to abolish.” She explained, “Is there some sort of an issue, dear?”Hermione tried to think of a good excuse outside what they both knew was bothering her, but drew a blank. She did not want to cause the Headmistress any sort of unwarranted stress simply because she didn’t want to have to be in the presence of Snape.“Not at all.” Hermione said, trying her best to feign passiveness. “Will I have to inform Sn- Professor Snape?”“He has been made aware this afternoon.” She said, “You are dismissed.”Mcgonagall went back to her work, returning her spectacles to her nose as Hermione exited her office.She has gone the entire year avoiding having to supervise Hogsmeade trips with him and just as she thought she’d get out of it completely in her first year teaching, it happens.She sighed once she finally returned to her rooms, pressing her head in her hands.•••The walk to the carriages was a silent one as both of them were completely engrossed in their task of watching after the students as they shuffled together in a hurry to huddle together in the carriages against the cutting wind. Hermione entered the professor's carriage ahead of him and cuddled into her thick gryffindor colored scarf, relishing the warmth it provided.The snow had just begun to stick last week so naturally the entire grounds of Hogwarts covered in several inches of it.She refused to look at him, so she kept her eyes on the passing foliage. She was trying to name or make out what plants were covered in the snow, what they could be and if they would survive the winter. This was more of Neville's strong suit.She could feel his eyes on her, a part of her wanted to snap and ask him why, but another part entirely wanted this to be an easy trip without any arguments.“We’re here.” Snape drawled, catching her eyes as she shook herself from her daydream. He hunched over so as not to hit his head and exited the carriage ahead of her. She hadn’t even realized the carriage had stopped.He did not turn to wait for her, but kept his pace and followed the students into the small village. She rolled her eyes, typical. It wasn’t that hard to be courteous and wait for her. She followed behind him and the group of students and entered the Three Broomsticks.As soon as she entered the doors the welcomed heat washed over her, thawing her fingers and nose. The fresh smell of apple pie and stew enveloped her and she felt her stomach rumble. There were barely any seats or tables available. It seemed the civilians in Hogsmeade wanted an early lunch as well. And who couldn’t be tempted by Madam Rosmerta's cooking.There was one seat available and it was across from Snape. She sighed and considered waiting to eat in the Great hall but her stomach protested. Removing her cloak she placed it over her arm and approached his table.She cleared her throat, and he looked up from the Daily Prophet with an arched brow.“Yes?” He said, choosing to glance back down to whatever he was reading.“Do you mind if I sit?” She said through her teeth, her eyes scanning the room for at least one vacant seat with a calm table. There wasn’t any.He looked up to her, he seemed surprised for a moment before it disappeared under his ever present mask of indifference, and he gave a shrug, “I could care less.”She tossed her cloak to the back of the chair across from him and sat down gracefully, signaling Madam Rosmerta to come.“I’ll have a bowl of your stew with a scone and a slice of your apple pie please.” Hermione said, glancing at Snape for a moment before continuing, “And a cup of tea, black, two sugars.”Madam Rosmerta scribbled her order down and turned to Snape, “And you?”“The same.”She scribed something else down before stuffing her notepad and pen into her apron. “Be ten minutes, maybe 20 we’re a little backed up today.”“That’s alright.” Hermione said, forcing a smile before the witch walked away. Her exit pulled the ease out of the atmosphere, leaving the two colleagues with their usual tension. She cleared her throat once more. “It’s very cold.”He looked up to her, almost scowling, “Indeed.”She didn’t say another word as their silence drug out into the next half hour and they both finished their food.As much as she couldn’t stand him, she knew their dislike for one another was causing problems with their work environment. There had to be something she could do so that they may come to an agreement of sorts.For the rest of the hour they spent in Hogsmeade, Hermione perusing the books in Times and Scrolls.As she exited the book store, she moved to the side of the building in order to shrink and stash her stack of tomes into her beaded bag. She could barely see over the large pile in her arms and her arms were slowly turning to jelly.“Of all the-“ She heard before her times were taken from her arms and set onto the window of the book store. “Granger, have you no sense. You should’ve shrunk them in the book store.”Hermione looked up at Snape with a fierce glare, waving her wand over the books to shrink them before shoving them gentling into her beaded bag. “I didn’t need your help.”“Really? Because it seemed like you did.” He drawled, scowling down at her as if she were a mischievous first year.“Well I didn’t, I had it completely under control.” She said matter-of-factly, “Are you ready to return to Hogwarts, I fear my toes will fall off any second.”“Yes.” He said, his annoyance gone and replaced once again with his indifferent mask. He turned and placed his fingers on his lips, whistling in order to signal to the students that it was time to go.“You could be a bit more agreeable, you know?” Hermione blurted, quickly covering her mouth with her hand when she realized what she had said.Snape turned away from the groups of students that filed into the carriages and glared at her once more. “Pardon me?”She walked past him and towards their carriage, “I just meant you don’t always have to be so rude.”She couldn’t believe that this was how she was finally confronting him after all this time of just giving him whatever he gave her, and in ear shot of their students no less.“I’m the rude one?” He snorted without humor as he entered the carriage behind her, “Have you not met yourself, Miss Granger?”Hermione huffed a breath and rolled her eyes, before deciding that she didn’t want to have this conversation right now. “Never mind.”In a matter of seconds she was out of the carriage and making her way towards the trail leading to Hogwarts.“Wait!” He said, exiting behind her and grabbing her wrist before she had time to make it too far. He stood there with tormented eyes, shivering in the biting cold. Close enough to her that the wind could not snatch away his whisper. “Stay.”“Why should I?” She asked, her brows knitted, “You have been very rude to me.”“I know, just stay, you don’t need to be walking in this cold, you’ll lose limbs.” He said softly, and it almost looked like he blushed before he released her wrist but that was probably just from the cold.“Alright.” She said, following him back to the carriage before they set off towards Hogwarts.