Hermione woke some three hours later curled up on a sofa comfortable and covered in a warm blanket. For a moment she was not sure where she was until she looked down and found Severus laying on the floor on his back asleep. He had an arm under his head while the other lay across his stomach. She didn't move but watched him. The last she remembered he was carrying her. And then the thought hit her. Severus had held her as she cried, carried her into the castle and made sure she was comfortable on his sofa while he fell asleep on the floor. It was an act not expected from the surly potions master but it made her feel at ease.
Severus must have heard her slight movements and woke. He sat up and stared at Hermione.
"Do you need anything?" he asked gently. There was no snark in the question what so ever. His question was answered upon hearing her stomach growl. Severus stood and called to a house elf. He was on the other side of his quarters and was speaking so gently to the house elf that appeared that Hermione didn't hear him. When the house elf winked out of existence Severus looked up towards her and motioned for her to come to the small kitchen table to sit.
As she walked over Severus used his magic to instantly boil a kettle of water as he pulled out two mugs and his choice of tea. He prepared two mugs and set Hermione's in her hand. She blew on the brew then took a sip. The tea surprisingly reflected Severus. It was dark and spicy and light at the same time. They never said anything as they waited for the food to appear but Hermione noted that Severus was being remarkably gentle and kind to her. Than again he'd been like this since she started teaching.
His disposition towards her had changed. No longer was he mean and condescending to her. He now listened to her when she spoke and answered her in kind and was rarely rude to her. In turn Severus had noted the immediate change in Hermione after the final battle. Hermione was much quieter and more patient then she used to be. She really thought things out and, though she still could, didn't regurgitate information from books word for word and always went beyond what was written in books. They got on well in the few times their paths crossed.
Finally their dinner appeared on the table and they ate in silence, Severus not entirely sure how to broach the subject of Hermione completely breaking down and Hermione contemplating the fact that Severus was being kind. When they were done the tableware disappeared and they sat in awkward silence before Hermione finally stood to leave.
"If you need anything, let me know." Said Severus as he stood and watched her leave. Hermione turns and nodded in the affirmative before slipping out his door and soundlessly shutting his door.
Hermione made it to her rooms quickly as the halls of Hogwarts were feeling cold that night. She stripped off her clothes and took a long hot shower before settling in her bed. It took a while for her to fall asleep as she could only think of Severus and the fact that as of late he was her only true human contact. But she rather enjoyed his presence, he wasn't overwhelming anymore or intimidating.
Severus on the other hand sat at the fire for a bit nursing a glass of Ogden's finest before deciding to down the liquid and getting up to take a shower and go to bed. It was an evening he was not expecting at all but for some reason he felt satisfied with it. He had been seeing that Hermione was in fact depressed and to finally see her let some of her emotions go and release all that pent up frustration as a relief for him. He, more than anyone else, understood what it felt like to hold everything in only to feel that release.