Hey guys! I want to thank you all for your reviews. I am glad the first chapter was enjoyable. Remember, the more reviews and critiques, the more enjoyable the story should become.

Don't forget JK Rowling owns all of Harry Potter.

Chapter 2: Bleeding thumbs and wounded eyes

Hermione followed the Potions Master as quickly as she could. She tried to look at his face to see some sort of emotion, but he was walking too quickly for her.

"Sir!" Hermione was basically running to keep up at this point. Snape stopped so abruptly that she ran into his back. "I am sorry sir but could you please slow down." Snape turned around to see the young witch clutching her chest, trying to breathe.

"Seems like you are out of shape Granger." He smirked. Hermione snapped her head up at once and glared at him. How could I have been so stupid? He still doesn't respect me. Of course. She rolled her eyes and started walking, her robes flying out after her. Snape sighed and easily caught up. He looked at the girl, actually looked at her for the first time since the war. She had grown without him noticing. She stood only a little over a head shorter than him, and her hair wasn't nearly as frizzy. She was also a bit curvier, he noticed. Hermione looked back at her Professor impatiently. He glanced up and noticed they stopped walking and now stood in front of his door. Snape opened the door without saying anything and breathed in the comforting smell of his familiar room.

"Please sit Miss Granger." He motioned towards the several desks.

"You will stop addressing me like I am still your student." She lifted her nose in defiance. "I am now your equal and you will address me as so."

"Ah. Haven't changed a bit, have you?"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Snape sighed and shook his head, repeating the motion to the student desks. Hermione crossed her arms for a moment, and then finally decided to take a seat. Snape conjured a chair with his wand and sat across from Hermione. They sat in quiet for well over a minute, just looking at each other. Snape finally sighed and closed his eyes.

"I am sure that you have questions Professor." He didn't show any emotion, but his voice was dripping with sarcasm that Hermione took note of.

"Why are we here? Why did I see you die again? Why are you alive? The headmaster would hardly tell me a thing! Why can't I get over the war when Harry and Ron have so easily moved on?" Hermione quickly raised her thumb to her mouth, biting on it until it bled.

"I will answer, but first tell me what you are doing with your thumb?" Hermione turned red and put her thumb down.

She whispered as she spoke, looking down, "it is all I can do to keep quiet and not be such a bother to everyone around me. Instead of doing anything drastic, I simply took to my thumb." Snape frowned at this.

"Granger, you have suffered some terrible things over the past few years. Asking for help does not mean you are an annoyance. It simply means you need help." Hermione looked up in shock. Did this man think she was sane? "Are you sure you are able to keep your position as Defense against the Dark Arts position?" Hermione started to say something but Snape held his hand up. "I know, you want the position badly, especially after the war I can see why you would want to teach young ones to learn how to protect themselves. But you need to think about your safety. Can you handle this when dealing with the stress and healing? Miss Granger, all I am saying is, healing takes time and you need to be careful." He looked at her with a blank expression. She was staring in shock. Was it something I said?

Hermione noticed a concerned look flash upon his face and she instantly composed herself. Still, she couldn't stop but wonder, "Why are you so concerned?" Snape tilted his head to think.

"I suppose I know where you are coming from. I was in this war too, as you well know. Now, to answer your questions…" Snape stood up and started to pace the room. "I believe the first thing you asked was why we are here in this room? Simple, if you are in need of any potions, which I think you might need, this is the place to go is it not?" Hermione nodded her head and he continued, "The second, why did you see me die again. I will answer that in a moment but I want to answer your third question before I go on anymore." He paused to make sure the young witch was paying attention. She was. "I thought I was done for. I felt myself slip away and for a moment I even thought I saw Dumbledore and-" He cut himself off abruptly, not wanting to tell her about Lily. "Well, I thought I had died. Then I felt a drop of what I thought was rain. I kept feeling these drops but only around the place I had been bitten. And then…" Snape paused.

"And then Fawkes helped you." Hermione whispered.

"Yes Granger. Those were not raindrops but instead were Phoenix tears." He looked down to see the girl crying. "What did I do?" He snapped.

"You meant a lot to Dumbledore if his Phoenix saved you." Snape stood there for a moment and then sighed.

"I need you to tell me what you saw."

"NO!" Hermione stood up quickly and backed away. "I apologize sir but I refuse to repeat it! I-I…" She started shaking and could no longer talk. Her eyes glassed over. Then she looked into the dark orbs that looked at her with quite a bit of concern. Snape realized how much emotion he left uncovered and quickly resumed his stone cold expression. Hermione spoke quickly and in a whisper. "Legilimens."

"I am afraid I didn't catch that." Snape said in annoyance.

"Er… sorry Professor. I mean to say that you may use Legilimency on me. You can see it for yourself."

"Can you handle that Miss Granger? Im afraid you would have to see it too." Hermione nodded and grabbed a chair so she wouldn't fall. Snape took out his wand and looked at her. She nodded her head again and with that, he was back in the hallway near the door. He crossed his arms and watched.

"Professor." Hermione had said. Snape turned around with an annoyed look on his face.

"What?" He snapped.

Hermione paused before asking "could you…?" But before she started to say anything, a huge snake appeared behind the young witch. She heard a hiss and turned around. "Na-nagini?" Her brown eyes grew wide with terror. The snake hissed again and slithered past her, making contact with her ankles. She shrieked and jumped away. The snake ignored her and glared straight at Severus. Before his very eyes, Snape saw himself get attacked over and over again by Nagini's poisonous fangs.

When Snape was still, the snake turned around and faced Hermione and hissed. It was laughing. Snape thought coldly. Hermione curled up in a ball, tears streaming down her face. Then, Nagini just vanished. Snape let go of her mind as fast as he could. He sat down and looked at the witch before him. She had fallen out of her chair and backed up against the wall. She huddled and cried, "I couldn't stop it! I didn't save you!" She repeated this over and over again until the Potions Master stood up and walked to his closet. He took out a vial and swiftly walked back to the huddled figure.

"Take this, it should calm you." She gave the vial a sideways glance before taking it and drinking all of it in one sip. They stayed like that for some time. Snape stood awkwardly while Hermione sat no longer crying.

"Should I continue Miss Granger?" He waited for her to nod and then slowly started to speak. "Going back to question number two. Why you saw me die. To be honest, I have no idea. Nagini is dead and so it could not be a glimpse into the future, although I don't believe any of that fortune telling business anyways." Hermione looked up shocked. He doesn't know what is wrong with me? "I am not entirely sure, and there is no proof, but it could just be what the Muggles call 'Post Traumatic Stress Disorder'. Although I must say, that is quite a vivid imagination you have there."

Hermione looked down as she blushed. "I am sorry." Snape froze. "I didn't save you. I just sat there both times."

"I didn't die two times."

"You did to me."

Again Snape stood as still as he could. He wasn't breathing. Her voice was so soft, and soft towards him! He only knew two people who would speak towards him without anger, frustration, or even hate. Dumbledore and the love of his life, Lily. He slowly turned to look at Hermione and discovered she had stood and was now walking towards him. He couldn't move. Suddenly, the young Professor hand wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. Something snapped inside of Severus and he pushed her away from him.

"I think it is time you leave Miss Granger." The pale, dark man said coldly.

"I have another question left unanswered Professor Snape." Hermione blushed.

"Why are you the only one suffering out of your group of intolerable friends? Potter gained fame, fortune, and a family. Ron, gained fortune, and as he didn't marry you, I assume that is all he gained. But he gained something. What have you gained Miss Granger? You lost your parents as you couldn't get their memory back, and you lost friends." Snape raised an eyebrow.

"First of all, Ron did gain a family. He cheated on me. I discovered after he proposed. He ran off to marry Parvarti Patil. And second, I gained knowledge." Hermione crossed her arms.

"Knowledge," Snape hissed, "is nothing compared to love. You've hardly gained a thing." He instantly regretted saying that when he saw in her eyes how wounded Hermione was. She gained nothing and she was slowly starting to realize this. She bowed and mumbled a "thank you sir" and walked out of the dark room as fast as possible. Snape thought about going after her, but changed his mind quickly. She needs to be alone for a bit. I will check on her tomorrow.

"AHHHHH!" Hermione yelled at nobody as she slammed the door to her room open, and then closed. She was pacing the room fuming. How dare he treat me like that? How dare he tell me what I have and what I don't? And how dare he make me feel less than my two best friends? Or, now one best friend and one ex-fiancé who refuses to talk to me. Who does he think he is? How dare he talk to me about how I feel! He isn't my fucking therapist for heaven's sake! And then Hermione paused. So why am I wanting to go back and give him another hug? Why do I want to see him again?