Hermione walked out of Snape's classroom after their discussion confused and curious. She was anxious to understand what it was that had both Harry and Draco on edge recently. She had noticed that things had been a bit off since the battle…
After she left the hospital wing, Hermione crossed the grounds and headed towards Hogsmeade. Once she arrived in Hogsmeade, she turned on her heel and apparated to the Burrow. She had told Severus that she had responsibilities, but she really just needed some time with her friends to think things through, as they usually didn't ask too many questions. Yes, she was glad he was awake. Maybe even a little too glad, and that's what concerned her. 'Get it together, Hermione,' she thought, 'you can't have feelings for Snape, he's your teacher, and besides, you don't know anything about him. He has been nothing but cruel to you and you hate him! But, he hasn't always been cruel, he was kind to her before she left, just like she had hoped he would be…' What was she thinking!? She couldn't… no, she hated Snape, she just felt sorry for him, that's all.
By the time she had walked from the apparition point to the Burrow, she had managed to calm herself down and get her thoughts in order. She opened the door and let herself into the Burrow, not wanting to disturb anyone, and she was not at all prepared for the scene she walked into. Harry sat at the table with his head in his hands; his hair even more messed up than usual. Hermione walked into the room, expecting Harry to look up. When he did not, Hermione walked over to him and stood behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders. She could hear him breathing deeply, the way he did when he was upset and trying to calm down. Hermione had realized this was his newest coping mechanism when they were hunting horcruxes and sharing a tent. All she and Ron had been able to do when he did this was sit with him and wait until he calmed down. Suddenly, she heard Harry's voice, "Go back to bed, Ginny, I'm staying here tonight, there's no way I'll be able to sleep."
Hermione leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, "Nice guess, but you're wrong this time."
Harry sat up, his eyes wide, "Hermione."
"Hey, Harry," she said softly, "what's going on?"
"Oh Hermione," he sighed, "promise not to say anything?"
"I promise."
"It's Ginny, I'm not really sure what it is, but I feel like we're drifting apart. I don't feel the way I did before the war."
Hermione was shocked, "Harry, the wedding is next week, and you have to figure this out soon."
"I know, that's why I'm worried. It wouldn't be fair for me to marry her when I'm feeling this way, I feel off, like there's something missing, I just don't know what it is. And I can't hurt Ginny, she deserves someone who loves her, and I'm not sure if I do or not."
"Hmm," Hermione thought for a second, "Come here." She led Harry over to the couch and motioned for him to sit down. "I think I know how to help you figure this out." She sat down next to him, her leg against his, her hand resting on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Harry, think about the last time you kissed Ginny. Can you remember how you felt?"
"Yes," he replied.
"Okay." She leaned forward slightly, the hand on his shoulder moving to grab his hair, the other moving to rest on his chest. Her lips parted slightly as she leaned forward, and suddenly she was kissing him. He sat there for a minute in frozen confusion before he responded to her touch, pulling her closer and moving his lips with hers. After a minute, she gently pulled away and leaned back to look at him.
"Hermione, that was…" he said breathlessly.
"What did that make you feel?" she asked.
"It was a good kiss," he said sheepishly, "but it didn't make me feel anything."
"Exactly," she replied, "Now, compare that feeling to the feeling of your last kiss with Ginny. Is it different with her?"
Harry closed his eyes for a moment before responding, "Hermione, it's not different with her at all. For whatever reason, I'm not feeling it anymore. How am I supposed to tell her, Hermione? It'll crush her."
"Don't worry, Harry. The world has a funny way of working things out."
Hermione arrived in her Ancient Runes classroom just before the bell and took her seat in the back of the classroom. Usually, she couldn't wait for Ancient Runes, it was her favorite class. But today she had so much on her mind. She was so busy thinking about what was going on with Harry and also about Snape's uncharacteristic behavior that class passed quickly, and she didn't even manage to catch even one word of the lecture. When the bell rang to dismiss class, she quickly copied down the homework and rushed to the Great Hall for dinner.
She waited outside the Hall for Harry and Ron, and when they arrived she walked with them to their table. They sat at a table off to the side, separate from the house tables with the other eighth years. They sat down across the table from Draco, Goyle, and Pansy, and Ron immediately began piling food onto his plate. Hermione slowly put food onto her plate as she watched Harry and Draco. As she ate, she noticed both Harry and Draco glancing quickly at each other. Once, they both looked at the same time, and when Draco realized that Harry had seen, he looked down, blushing furiously. Of course, he was so caught up in his own embarrassment that he did not notice Harry's red face across the table. Hermione did however, and when the last of the puddings disappeared, she jumped up quickly, yelling "library" at her friends as she sprinted out of the Great Hall. Once she was out of the Hall, she ran through the corridors, headed for the dungeons. When she arrived in the dungeons, she slowed her pace and walked to Snape's office, slightly out of breath from running across the castle. She knocked on the door lightly, and almost immediately heard the familiar, "Enter."
