Chapter Three.

Sorry chapter two was short. Shortness is occasionally necessary. And sorry this took so long, school madness going on, but that'll be over soon.

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Her hair was pulled into a tight bun, sure to give her a hairpin headache if she didn't hurry. Her face was altered beyond recognition and she donned a heavy fur coat, her wand stowed away inside it.

No one would know who she was.

Her uncomfortable heels (she much preferred sneakers) clicked along the street as she cautiously proceeded. She felt that it was a bit stupid to be taking care of a known Death Eater at his house. While the house had been charmed to allow no one but Hermione either in or out, that didn't prevent other Dark wizards from knowing the location of it. For all she knew, they could be out on the street, watching and waiting. She would have to owl Remus about that later.

Her eyes fell upon the building she was looking for. No one had warned her that it was an abandoned store. Remus had made it seem like it was still in business.

The boards nailed over the door proved to be of little difficulty. The locked door nearly fell off its hinges when she applied a bit more force. She stumbled forward, her heels catching on the uneven wood floor.

"Wotcher. Hey, tripping is my thing!" Tonks teased as she helped Hermione straighten. "Blimey, is that really you, 'Mione? Can't hardly recognise you!"

"That was sort of the point. It's nice to see you again. But, just for good measure…" She held out her wand, eyeing the pink-haired woman uneasily.

Tonks held up her hands as if surrendering. "My name is Nymphadora Tonks, daughter of Andromeda Black and Ted Tonks. I'm a metamorphagus, engaged to Remus Lupin. While my preferred hair colour is bubblegum-pink, naturally it's the same as yours." She grinned and waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "I can even tell you exactly where and how Remus and I had sex yesterday."

Hermione couldn't help a laugh. "No, that's alright. I don't need all of the gory details, thanks."

"Gory? Oh please, that's only on the full moon."

Hermione looked slightly horrified for a moment, but she knew Tonks was only joking and smiled.

The peppy woman handed her a few bags of food. "I brought you birdfood. Owls and magpies both need it, you know," she said with a wink, but then made a face of disgust. "Remus made me get a bunch of healthy stuff, but I snuck some pie and Turkish delight and whatnot in there."

The heavily disguised Gryffindor could have kissed the woman who had just given her these groceries; Turkish delight was one of her favourites, next to fruit-filled crepes and chocolate pudding. "Thank you so much, Tonks."

"No problem, hun," she replied, giving the younger girl a quick hug. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a delicious werewolf waiting at home for me."

Hermione would never be able to understand the large age-gap there, but nodded. "Tell Remus I said hello."

"What's hello in birdspeak?" Tonks asked. Her mouth turned into a beak and she let out a squawk, tilting her head as if to say, "Was that it?"

An amused laugh passed Hermione's lips and she nodded. "There you go. See you, Tonks."

And both of them left.

Returning the door to its former condition, Hermione strolled down the street, the bags of groceries looped over her left arm. That left her right hand free to grab her wand if necessary. It wasn't.

She unlocked the front door, alarmed as a Caterwauling charm was activated. With a wave of her wand, she silenced it, dropping the groceries and hurrying up the stairs. She abandoned the heels and fur coat as she went, pulling the hair band and bobby pins out and causing her hair to cascade down her back. "Professor? Professor Snape?"

She was relieved to find him still in bed, fuming over some book he had his nose in. "Did you cast a Caterwauling charm on the house?"

Severus gave a slight inclination of his head which she presumed to be a nod. "Seeing as I can only see and hear so much from this room, I'd like to know if someone managed to get past the protections on the house. So I can prepare."

There was a strange quality to the way he spoke, almost as if he was having trouble getting the words out.

"What are you reading?" she asked, pointing to his book.

"I'm revising a Potions book," he grunted.

She yanked the book from his hands without warning. She stared down at it in confusion. He had written the same word several times, and yet every time it was spelled incorrectly and scribbled out.

"Migraine," he explained, laying back and letting his eyes fall shut.

Hermione understood for the most part. Migraines were frustrating when one was trying to think. "You should sleep. That usually helps."

That familiar scowl darkened his features. "How am I meant to sleep when all I can think about is the excruciating pain in my damned leg?"

Heaving a sigh, she sat on the edge of the bed. She pushed the blankets away to check his wound.

It was still fairly clean and no longer reeked of dying flesh and mottled blood. However, as she pushed away the blankets, the overwhelming smell of sweat from his fever nearly made her gag. "Maybe a shower would help, or at least it'd help with the stink. No offense, Professor."

"And how do you expect me to go about doing that, Miss Granger?" he snapped, opening his eyes.

This she had been dreading. "I'll just have to help you, I suppose." She ignored the groan of dismay Severus gave. "Sit up," she commanded.

The former Hogwarts faculty member was reluctant to do so, but eventually he sat up, closing his eyes as the simple actiong caused another wave of pain to crash on his leg. He opened them in surprise as the girl hooked his arm over her shoulder. "We'll stand up on three. One… two… three."

They both stood, and Severus bit into his cheek hard to prevent a yelp of pain. He ground his teeth together, closing his eyes again. "Let go of me," he grunted. "I can manage on my own."

"Right, that's what you said yestderday." Hermione did not release him, though she was regretting the decision, wanting as little contact with the sweaty, greasy-haired man as possible.

It took probably ten minutes, but she managed to get him into the bathroom down the hall and into the shower. It was impossible for him to support himself long enough for him to get clean. Reluctantly, she helped him out of his robe and shirt and then rolled up the legs of his pants. She then stepped into the shower with him, still fully clothed, and grudgingly turned the water to freezing cold.

"Bugger, that's frigid, much like your heart. Turn it off, child!" Severus demanded as the icy drops pounded against his chest and face.

"It will help bring the fever down," she explained, casting Impervio and then a warming charm on herself. "Hurry up and wash up, it's impossible for me to hold you up for much longer."

He did as he was told (Hermione noticed his shampoo was cheap and obviously ineffective) and was mostly clean a few minutes later. "I must use the toilet," he informed her as they stepped out.

"You're on your own on that one," she replied crisply, letting him lean against the counter by the loo rather than her before she hurried out so he could do his business.

After he finished, she helped him back to the bedroom. She went to the kitchen and prepared them both dinner and dessert. He did not thank her, and they ate in silence.