Hermione glanced across the room at the sudden noise breaking the deafening silence that had permeated the stifling lab up until that point. She watched as Snape practically leapt from his chair and glided across the room towards the cauldron. He was wearing his dragon hide gloves to protect his hands should the boiling potion splash him. Grabbing a glass stirring rod, he gave it a quick stir before lowering the heat of the flame beneath the cauldron and returning to the end of the workbench where she was seated. The wooden surface in front of her was covered in books they were using for research.