Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot

A/N: To my dearest fans: The fact that I've gained more reviews, more favorites, more alerts to myself as an author and to my stories has helped me cope a lot with way my life is going. My father got very sick about 6 months back. He had to quit his job and I was running around trying to find one for myself( I got one two months ago) just so week could make ends-meat and survive… It's been rough for me and I've been so emotionally spent that I didn't have any built up emotions to vent, nothing that sparked any sort of creativity for me. It's been hard and I honestly feel as if I failed all of you, making you wait so long for an update. You'll be pleased to know that while my dad is still sick my job is slowing down and I have more and more time coming to me as the days go on. In fact just Friday I wrote two chapters for my stories and worked on 4 others(some of which aren't posted and won't be until they're finished… this way I can avoid months like these.) I can't promise the updates will be more frequent but I can promise to work on my stories at least once a day as I have been these last few days. Other things happened as well but that's all a bit more personal and not something I care to share so openly in this public forum.

With a lot of love,

Embirsiphonelilathia

Now ON WITH THE SHOW!

Severus Snape awoke into what could only be considered a potion induced haze. He could feel the stiffness of his body, the seemingly unending strain that constricted his muscles from moving. Thankful for whatever potion was preventing his descent into pain induce hysteria he began to shift upwards before his head and neck were elevated above the pillow. His surroundings were unfamiliar but he did note the clean space and neatly organized work surfaces. He also took note of Lupin lying in the bed near him, looking far better than he had when he stumbled across the man. He had been caught healing the pesky little wolf by Bellatrix, the witch went into a rage and attacked him. He awoke later before the dark lord and had copius amount of veritaserum poured down his throat until he spilled all about his duplicity. Voldemort trussed him up after he was cursed and battered to incoherency. His survival only being guaranteed because Lupin had portkeyed them both away, only a second before the green light had almost called his chest home. He owed the filthy wolf now, something that he didn't relish at all, a nemesis from his childhood, another life debt to endure.

He groaned and shifted as his head began to ache. The door to the room swung open and a soft voice gasped, 'Professor!' before he found himself being coaxed into swallowing down vial after vial of medicine.

"It's been a week since you were out, I'm sure you'll be happy to know you've been able to take a full regimen of potions for about four days now. Madame Pomfrey and I were concerned about the amount of Veritaserum in your system, we had to wait days for it to dissolve before we could even consider a muscle relaxer."

Severus nodded his head sharply at her words, the girl who sat in front of him barely resembled the Granger he had seen only months before. She was a girl who would be a woman soon, she was already so mature and it shocked him that he cared about how she turned out. What she'd make of herself. Then again Granger had been the only person that had ever reminded him of lily even potter with his mothers eyes only ever made him think of unpleasant things. At first he had hated the girl for it, so much like her and yet so different, it wasn't fair that she ended up being more like him in the end though. An outcast and loner, someone who was teased. He could still remember his fury at the girl lying for weasley, the boy who put her in the loo to begin with.

The girl had been talking though and he really ought to have listened, because she was looking at him now, waiting for a response. He nodded his head stiffly and the girl grinned.

"Oh I'm so relieved!" she deftly removed the bandages from around his left arm, a large strip of his skin was missing, the place that once held his dark mark was now a long patch of pinkish muscle, revealed to the air. Granger grabbed another vial off the table and poured it over the wound before he could stop her, the cursed flesh would only react badly to any sort of treatment. But he watched in amazement as the flesh began to grow again, though a large scar would remain his flesh had returned and that in itself was a miracle of the magical kind.

"Remarkable." He rasped and Granger beamed at him, tears welling in her eyes.

"I used your potions book, the only from your sixth year, I expanded on your notes and Lee, Fred and George helped me create the formula using Arithmancy and Runes. This was the 12th batch I made today and it was the only one to turn out remotely passable.

He had never taken Arithmancy in school, not liking the stringent lines the subject had, leaving little room for true experimentation. But the girl and her friends had found a way to make it work even if it was only a rudimentary solution.

"How?" he croaked and she launched into her explanation, describing how they used arithmancy to calculate different volumes of ingredients and how they would interact in the cauldron. She went on to explain his only true mistake in the recipe were the slight errors in measurement.

He nodded his head, satisfied he had thought of everything but was only wrong in his math, something he had grown accustom to given his failure to grasp the subject as a child.

The girl stood soon after and left the room, coming back with a tray of food. Vegetable soup and what looked to slightly stale bread. He nodded his head again, the girl was remarkably well informed about what to feed the victims of cruciatus and even yet a patient who had been unconscious for a week.

The broth was warm and he could tell Molly had cooked it. The woman, no matter how unbearable he found her, made food taste like mana every time she laid ladle to cauldron. It was a gift that Poppy shared with her, even the gritty gruel of the hospital wing had a rich flavor that made the texture more palatable and easier to stand. He murmured his accolades of the food, knowing his voice was too soft and slurred for anyone to understand. When he finished his meal Granger handed him a book, telling him he could read for one hour before he had to take a sleep draught that would help him sleep through the jittery energy that would come after he took the pepper up that would react oddly with the muscle relaxant in his system.

Shortly after he began to read, his face scowling at the fact that he was taking orders from a seventeen year old girl, Lupin awoke, Granger was by his side in a flash, calling upstairs for someone named Lee. Soon after she began to coax potions down the lycan's throat and dark skinned boy darted into the room, Ah Lee Jordan was who she meant. The lad set to work, heating a basin of water as Granger removed the wolves gauzy bandages, the man's legs, chest, arms and well everywhere were covered in a multitude of bites and scratches, inflicted on him by what Severus could only guess to be inflicted by Greyback's partially turned pack. He turned his eyes away and focused back onto his old Potions journal, reaching for a stub of pencil someone had left on his sidetable. He began to make notes on the edited recipe for his potion, it pained him to admit that he would have to give a great deal of credit to children under half his age.

Soon though they had Lupin sitting up slightly as he was fed a watery broth and small chunks of what looked to be raw meat. Neither Jordan nor Granger showed any outward sign that they were feeding a friend hunks of raw meat, watching as he chewed savagely on the flesh.

"Remus, would you like me to read to you before we give you the sleeping draught?" Grangers voice was soft and coaxing, her hand skimmed across the older man's forehead in a tender gesture that mad Severus' heart clench in want. No one had ever touched him that way, not his mother, not his father not even Lily. Poppy did but there was always the air of professionalism around that that stopped him from truly relishing in the soft touch of someone who cared.

Remus nodded though and Granger pulled a book from the bead pouch that hung from her belt. She settled back and cleared throat as she began to read them the tale of a girl named Alice and a Land called Underland. He soon put down his pencil and notebook, easily drinking the draught that Jordan held before him to sip before the lad moved on to Lupin.

He was soon greeted by darkness again as he closed his eyes and drifted off, only this time there was a sense of peace as he was lulled to sleep by the soft voice of Hermione Granger.

LJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJ

Lee leaned against the wall, having just given the professors their final vial of potion until morning, well hopefully until then, but who knew what could go wrong really? He felt himself entranced by his best friend as she sat there, reading softly to man she respected and a man she didn't even know if she could trust. She treated both equally well, never giving more attention to one of the patients under her care than another. She was tolerance personified, well at least if you weren't a moron, then you were most likely on your own. His snort of humor drew her attention away from her sleeping patients and onto him.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he murmured and held a hand out to her in invitation. Soon she was in his arms, shaking with silent sobs, this was something he never got used to. The sudden switch from calm stoicism to the mess that would fall into the arms of either himself or the twins. She never cried in front of any of the others if she could help it, hating the way they looked at her like she was some weak little girl. He knew so much about her and she was the only person he had trusted with all of his secrets, not even Fred and George knew as much about him as she did.

Not long after she pressed herself against him she removed herself just as quickly, smiling brilliantly at him and linking her arm through his, using her wand to ease the puffiness that covered her face.

"I'm alright now Lee, thank you." Her fingers laced with his and he held her hand in the crook of his arm.

He grinned widely back, squeezing her hand and pressing his lips over hers in a chaste familial kiss, the sort of kiss a small boy would give his mother and he loved how it made her nose wrinkle everytime. Though he'd never forget the time Fred realized that he had done just that, kissed Hermione, the other boy had nearly pummeled him to death until Hermione explained that it hadn't meant anything that Fred had been thinking. Lee joined in, nodding his head and explaining that he kissed his mother on the lips all the time, the gesture not feeling at all incestuous to him and was more a thing of comfort and home to him. Fred forgave him after a month of his diligent apologies."Any time sweetheart."

"Don't kiss me like I'm your Mum Lee, it's gross." Hermione wrinkled her nose and Lee chuckled, leading them both to the small study off the library, a room the four of them had claimed as their own in their research to fix the missing skin on Snape's arm.

Hermione swung the door open and immediately broke free of him and clamored into the lap of Fred Weasley, he watched as a smug leer ignited in Fred's eyes as they traveled the length of Hermione's body clad in muggle clothes. He could never get over the way Fred would look at Hermione like she was magic itself and the next leer at her like she was candy he could devour with his eyes.

Lee rolled his eyes and sat himself down at George's feet, leaning back against the gingers knees and grinning up at him.

FWFWFWFWFWFWFWFW

He loved seeing Hermione in those damned muggle jeans, even if they made his own trousers feel tighter than he liked. He was just happy they had moved on from just kissing and started to explore more intimate things, he had thought he would burst if something didn't happen soon, granted Hermione had technically made the first move, something George never let him forget.

His girl climbed into his lap and he couldn't help but leer down at her small muggle top and tight pants, he was only human after all but soon enough he corrected his behavior and asked about the smudged lines around her eyes, something he knew she always forgot about lately when she cried, not being used to the way make-up would smear with tears or any sort of moisture really. The make-up had been a new thing, a concession she had made to her mother, something the woman had insisted Hermione should start doing. Though she had been adamant about the difference in wearing make up and blending makeup. Hermione never looked made up, only ever using a lip conditioner and mascara, pinching her cheeks pink the old fashioned way. And yes he had watched her get ready one morning, not being able to help himself as her mouth pouted into a tiny 'o' as she applied her mascara and then spreading to a larger 'o' as she applied the balm, then a brilliant smile as her cheeks were pinched.

Hermione explained though that Snape and Lupin had woken up, had a semi-solid meal before being given draughts to sleep again. He stared at the girl as she became quiet after her story, letting Lee and George talk about their latest idea for a Wheeze.

"I love you Hermione." He murmured against her hair and smile as she sighed softly, melting back against him.

"Love you too Fred," She whispered against his neck and pressed her mouth to his pulse, making him groan and bite his cheek. He pulled her mouth away and pressed a kiss to the pout.

"Not when we have company Birdie." He winked and grinned against her cheek as she blushed.

A/N: What some of you may not know is this story is actually a sequel… though I don't think I list it as such in the summary… There is also a sort of prequel to this story about the time between, small moments that may be mentioned here further elaborated or even just story prompts that you yourself have given me for the HB universe I've created. It's called the Missing Moments of Hermione's Boggart and if you liked to see just how Hermione made that first move go there and give it a look see.