Oh, wow! It's been such a long time since I last updated any of my stories, but I am determined to continue and finish them eventually. I hope you're still following this one and if you enjoy it, make sure to check out the other ones as well! :)

Enjoy!


Severus Snape knew he was going to die. The moment he stepped in front of the Dark Lord that night, he could see it in his eyes, he could already feel the cold shiver of death that ran through his spine. As expected, it didn't take long before Voldemort unleashed his fury upon him and commanded Nagini to kill him. As the snake slowly approached him, lots of things went through Severus' mind, but mostly, he was relieved. He had fought his battles, he managed to keep the boy alive as much as he could, but now he had to fight his own battles as well.

Then, it all happened in a second and before he knew it, he was lying on the floor, blood oozing from his face and throat. The pain was unbearable, but then, a soft warm feeling came over him, and he was sure that it was the sweet release of death for he also had trouble breathing. He closed his eyes and for a second, he felt himself slip away, but then the survival instinct kicked in and tried to fight it.

When he opened his eyes again, a big ball of fur was sprawled all over his face and neck. Startled, Severus pushed Crooks away and landed on the floor.

Severus remembered having these kinds of dreams regularly since Nagini's bite, but usually he would wake up screaming in pain. This time not only the pain went away, but he felt relaxed and warm. He glanced at the cat on the floor confused. Crooks was too busy grooming himself to notice the professor's heavy glare.

Severus didn't get any more sleep that night.

The next morning, Hermione went through the same routine she went through since the potions master appeared in her backyard. She got up from her place on the living room sofa and she climbed the stairs slowly. When she entered her room, he was standing at the window, facing away from the door. He was still wearing the clothes Hermione borrowed from her father's closet the day before, but he didn't seem to mind.

Hermione remained silent with her back against the door; she glanced at the bed for a second and it looked like it wasn't slept in. The only one who seemed to have used it was Crookshanks for he was still curled up in a fur ball in the middle of the bed. It was only then that she realized that he didn't go downstairs with her to sleep on the couch like he usually does.

Five minutes later, Hermione was sitting on the bed next to Crooks, but the professor was still at the window, arms behind his back. At first glance, he was analyzing the droplets of rain that hit the window, but Hermione guessed he was in deep thought. She wanted to know what he was thinking; was he analyzing this whole peculiar situation? Was he maybe thinking about his time in Azkaban, not wishing to ever return there? Or maybe he was thinking about Hogwarts, maybe –

"You're doing it again." Snape finally broke the silence, interrupting Hermione's train of thoughts.

"I'm sorry?" Hermione asked, confused.

"I can hear you thinking." He replied in a low, deep, murmur. He was still looking out the window.

"That's not even possible, sir." The girl replied unconvinced.

Snape let out a small snort while he turned to face her. "I've known you for quite a while, now, Miss Granger. Your thoughts are screaming and running through that big head of yours."

Hermione felt her cheeks go red. For a moment, she felt like a child again, running around the Hogwarts corridors, curious and eager to learn new things, only to stumble over the dark figure of the man sitting in front of her. He usually managed to make her question everything she believed in and to keep her enthusiasm in check.

The Gryffindor straightened her back and faced him bravely. "Since when is thinking forbidden, sir?" she managed to ask.

The man let out a disappointed sigh. "It is not, Miss Granger." He told her while he turned his back on her once more.

Hermione exhaled exasperated. The man was as infuriating as always. She had hoped that during his time in Azkaban he had changed somehow, but she was wrong to believe that. She sighed once more wearily and she let that go. She didn't want to have an argument with him so early in the morning, with the risk of her parents waking up any minute and storming in. Instead, she decided to be nice to him and not to give him a reason to be sour to her. "Did you sleep well, sir?" she asked calmingly.

He seemed not to enjoy her attitude for he turned around sharply. "Well?" he asked abruptly. "With that… thing lurking around?" he pointed to poor Crookshanks who now was sleeping quietly in Hermione's lap.

"Thing… you mean, Crooks? what has he ever done to you?" Hermione asked, trying not to get mad at him for speaking badly of poor old Crooksie.

Snape puffed sarcastic while he crossed his arms over his chest. "That awful thing snores more loudly than a troll. And kept invading my territory."

Hermione tried not to laugh at his complaints. It was true Crooks' wheezing has only gotten more loudly as he got older, but it was not as bad as he described it. And he enjoyed sleeping next to her on most nights, but she liked that.

"Actually, sir, I think you're the one invading his territory." Hermione told him amused.

"Well whose fault is that, Granger?" he asked, his voice no more than a threatening whisper.

Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry, sir. I'm sure we will get to the bottom of this. As for Crooks, he means well, and he's used to sleeping next to me."

"Oh, I will get to the bottom of this, that's for sure, Granger. Does your cat also try to kill you, then?" Snape asked.

"He doesn't try to kill anyone, sir. What do you even mean by that?" Hermione asked confused.

"He almost choked me to death." He told her slowly.

"I highly doubt that. How is that even possible?"

"The fat ball of fur was sleeping on my throat." Snape told her with a grimace as he glanced at the ball of fur that was sleeping now in Hermione's protective arms.

Hermione didn't know what to say. She knew Crooks wouldn't have intended to hurt him, but it was true, his behavior was indeed a bit strange. She was startled from her thoughts by her parent's door opening. She shot a panicked look at the man in front of her as she went under the covers with her back on the door.

Severus rolled his eyes and occupied the usual hiding spot. He hated being in such a ridiculous position yet again.

Half an hour later, Hermione's parents were off to work and they were left alone, in silence. They hadn't moved and they were sitting in complete silence. Only Crookshanks' wheezing interrupted the silence from time to time. She knew that once she got up from the bed, everything would change; they will step out into the unknown, unclear of what awaits them. The girl allowed herself a few more moments of peace and quiet before she had to get up. Hermione closed her eyes for a second.

Snape seemed to understand what she was thinking for he let her linger. He listened how her breathing became more and more regular. It was soon clear that she had fallen asleep. Severus listened how the rain still fell outside the window. This, combined with the girl and cat's slow snoring made his eyelids heavy and he fell asleep there, on the floor.