Thanks to a very insightful reviewer I have fixed a few problems with the Harry, Ginny, Eva thing. For those of you who don't understand, don't worry about it. Thanks so much for the reviews. They are very much welcome, even the ones that point out a mistake. They help the creative process (or whatever you want to call it). Ireally must get a beta...er!

It had been four years since last he saw her. Not long enough if you had asked him.

'Twenty-two years I've been doing this, twenty-two. Why does he think she will do me any good now?' Severus Snape thought to himself. These thoughts swirled about in his mind. Finally the war was over, and two months had passed since the Dark Lord had been vanquished. So why was it that Dumbledore still pestered him? Now that he had fulfilled his purpose all he wanted to do was be left alone, for all of eternity if it was possible. He had resigned from his position at Hogwarts but still remained there. Hogwarts, the epitome of all he loved and loathed had, to his great misfortune, come to be his home, and as much as he tried he couldn't bring himself to leave. But now he wanted nothing more than to depart. Unfortunately the final battle had left Severus' body in quite a state, it ached all over, and at times he would pass out from the sheer pain. Dumbledore had seen to it to have a healer come and assist him, quite against Severus' wishes of course. He now wished he had gone when he had the chance, or in his words 'escaped'. He now found himself awaiting the arrival of his new charge, only to tell her to have off. There would be no new 'healer' at Hogwarts, especially not for him. He only hoped that his tone would scare her off, being that his body was not in the fittest of states. He was facing the wall as he tapped his fingers on the desk, and began to grow impatient. He heard the door open, it was time.

"You're late," He said in a honeyed voice.

"Only by a minute Professor," Said a voice that he somehow, vaguely remembered. Still he faced the wall.

"I'm sorry to say that your trip here has been in vain. There is no need for a healer here, nor will there ever be a need for one." He said as he smirked, "That'll be all."

"I'm sorry Sir, as much as I would like to leave I can not." She answered in a voice that…how did he know it?

"What do you mean you can not? Of course you can, just-just leave."

"I'm employed by Dumbledore Sir. Only he can send me away. If you want me to leave you're going to have to take it up with him." His tactics were failing and it was pissing him off. Had he lost his touch, he used to be able to make kids cry just by staring at them, but-but now…

"I guess I'll just have to do that, and while I'm there I'll be sure to let him know how insolent you are."

"Fine." What did she mean fine, fine. Here she was about to lose her job, and she was fine. She had…well balls, he liked it, but he would never admit that, "I'll just wait here until you get back." He heard her slip into the leather chair on the other side of the desk. How dare she, without permission. Quickly he spun around to face her, ready to scream.

"What do you…" But the words were stuck somewhere around his Adam's apple. How could this be, the young woman sitting in front of him was none other than Hermione Granger, "Wh…"

"Professor, are you alright?" She asked after a moment. Snape was gaping so widely, she could practically see all of his teeth.

"Uh…yes," She had changed, subtly, but she was definitely different. At one point the most obvious thing about her was her bushy hair, now the most obvious thing was the fact that it wasn't there. Her hair was smooth and wavy, curling beautifully down to her mid-section, "Miss-Miss Granger."

"Yes sir." She answered politely, "Didn't they...um inform you about my coming."

"Well yes of course they did, but not that it would be…well you."

"Oh." She said a bit embarrassed, "I'm sorry Sir." What was she sorry about, he wondered? Then he realized that he might have offended her.

"Don't worry about it," He said trying to make his voice sound harsh. He didn't want her thinking him, kind. He was staring again. He couldn't believe that this girl, woman, was the same Hermione Granger.

"Listen, Sir, I know you don't want me around, but…why don't you let me try and help you. If you don't like it I'll leave." She said not noticing his gaze. Honestly she was averting his eyes, secretly she was shaking with fear and she had, somehow, kept her composure up until this point, "Kind of like a-a trial." Her voice had knocked him out of his stupor, a trial huh, that seemed…reasonable.

"Fine, Miss Granger, you can have your trial." He answered after some thought on the matter. He didn't like the idea of one of his ex-students seeing him in such a weak state but there was something appealing about the proposition, "One day, no more, no less."

"Deal."

He now sat on the lounge chair in his sitting room. She had instructed him to stay there until she got back. He had struggled greatly to move from his office to here, but he was determined to not let her see his pain.

'She would think me weak.' He thought. She had however tried to help him, even after he barked at her to get back. This older Hermione definitely had more backbone then the girl he had known before. She gently wrapped her fingers around his wrist giving him just enough support and balance. He couldn't help but feel she was trying to save his dignity by not fully sustaining his body. She finally entered the room again with an armful of oils and potions, as well as her wand. He took the time to observe her attire. She was dressed in a plain black boat neck sweater, with a knee length black skirt; he liked the color on her. She had had her healer's cloak on but even he had to admit, it was quite warm in his rooms.

"I'm going to start with your arms Sir, if you don't mind." He shook his head to let her know it was okay. She walked over in front of him and bent down onto her knees. She took both of his hands and placed them face down on his thighs. While she was looking down examining his scars he took the time to scan her face. It was perfect, not a single blemish, he noticed how a few freckles ran along her nose. He took in her scent, citrus and ginseng, and let it fill his nostrils. He watched the firelight dance along her form, and noticed how it illuminated her shiny hair.

'What am I doing?' He tried to redirect his attention off of Hermione by looking down to see how the work was progressing, but to no avail. Her hands were so soft as they ran along his arms and massaged them. She pulled out her wand and emitted a few spells from it. Severus watched astonished, as he saw his scars disappear in front of him. She was still rubbing the oil up and down his arms and it was amazing. They had been hurting him horribly, and now he could feel the blood begin to circulate. He knew his arms would not be hurting him again for a while.

"I'm going to show you how to do this yourself, so if your arms ever begin to hurt you and I'm not around…" Her voice trailed off and Severus, who had been looking at her face again, followed her eyes downward to the one scar that she could not remove. She noticed his eyes on it too and quickly apologized, "Sorry Professor."

"Don't worry about it." He said in his soft but callous.

"When?" She asked cautiously still massaging. A piece of hair fell into her face, and he had to restrain himself from reaching out to brush it back. He felt a shiver run through him when she lightly tucked it back behind her ear. There was something extremely…sexy about it.

"When I was eighteen." He answered. Why was he being so open with her? "That's when he figured I was a man."

"I…oh never mind," She said quickly.

"What? He asked puzzled.

"Well it's just, I have a strange feeling you were a man long before that." As she said this she looked up and the corners of her mouth curled into a small, quick smile. For a moment he looked into her dark brown eyes and was amazed. She seemed so deep. He couldn't ever of imagined her being like this when she was a student. Maybe he should've taken the time to get to know her. But she had been so annoying, always chirping away about something. Always with her head in a book, it was her intelligence that irritated him. But now she was a healer, she made it her job to help other people.

"How long have you been a healer?" He asked still keeping up a harsh tone.

"About a year and a half now." She answered back, "That's why I wasn't at the final battle. I was in France at the time, working at a hospital. I learned a lot but I still wish I could have been there, fighting." He watched as her eyes dulled a little. She had lost her best friend in that battle, Ron Weasley had taken an unforgivable to the chest and died on impact. Snape still couldn't help but feel sorry. As much as he had hated those three, he envied their friendship. They had been through it all. Now that Harry was an auror and doing his own thing, he understood how Hermione might feel alone. And she did, gods did she ever. Severus had remembered how there had been something between both Ron and Hermione at school, and he felt…was it jealousy.

"I'm sorry about…" But her hand had stopped him.

"Let's just not talk about it, okay," She said sweetly, but he could see the tears welling in her eyes. He didn't know what he would do if she began to cry. Lucky for him she held back. A few minutes later, to his dismay, she finished. He watched her as she gathered her things and saw how her body moved. She was certainly a woman, and her tight sweater showed her figure. She was petite and extremely skinny. She turned to face the wall where the shelves were and began placing her oils and potions there. He took the opportunity to check out her profile. He wanted to take in as much of her as he could, almost like he was never going to see her again.

She turned to face him and realized he was looking at her, it surprised her and all she could do was stand there. Finally she sensed that he had noticed her staring back, when he…did she really just see him blush. She grinned warily at him and continued to gather up her things. Finally she was ready to leave and she went over to say goodbye.

"Well Professor it has been a pleasure." She said extending her hand.

"Has it really?" He didn't enjoy the gloomy look that came upon her face, and couldn't stop himself from wanting to mend it, "You know you're quite good at what you do Hermione."

She looked up at him with surprise and smiled, "What?"

"You called me Hermione."

The Long Day Is Over
Feeling tired,
By the fire,
The long day is over.
The wind is gone,
Asleep at dawn,
The embers burn on.
With no reprise,
The sun will rise,
The long day is over…