I apologize is this chapter stops making sense or gets weird towards the end. I am falling asleep and I tend to stop being able to write good things when I am sleepy.

Watching the sun spilling it's first golden pink rays across the horizon was a sight I would never get used to. If there was only one good thing that came from fighting a war, overthrowing a dark lord and nearly being killed dozens of times before you reached the tender age of 18, it was an apreciation for small things in life. Like the sun rising over the lush green Scottish hills every morning.

I woke up before dawn nearly every day simply so I could enjoy the sunrise on our back porch with a cup of tea. If I had lived a different life, I don't think I would have enjoyed this as much, and that would be a shame. This was something that temporarily filled the cavernous hole in my soul.

Prying myself out of Severus's warm grasp in the morning was not something I enjoyed, but the warmth of my house coat and slippers set next to the fire overnight, and a steaming cup of tea nearly made up for it. Sipping my over sweetened tea, I was thinking about that loving embrace and how no one, not even myself, could have anticipated it could belong to one Severus Snape.

"I still don't completely understand how this makes you happy," Hermione stated between mouthfuls of the quick supper I whipped together for her.

"Severus?" I asked.

"Yes, I don't think I'd like being frightened of Ron when he gets angry," she clarified.

"I'm not afraid of him," I said, shocked by the accusation. Did I look afraid? "He just needs to be alone when he's worked up. But he doesn't scare me."

"So you always just walk away when he gets annoyed?" she asked.

"He was more than annoyed. If he's annoyed I generally like to annoy him further, because he's hilarious when he's annoyed," I explained, "No, just then he was angry. I just didn't fancy the idea of having to reconcile him to you after he tore you to shreds."

She was staring at me now, she didn't understand, and when Hermione didn't understand something she usually just looked at it until it explained itself to her. So much for her knowing me so well. I couldn't blame her though, my relationship with Severus was hard for everyone to accept, myself included sometimes.

I decided to again, "He hates himself for what he had to do for, well, nearly all of his life. He did a lot of things he won't even hint at to me. Bringing it up, generally tends to cause him to boil over, especially when you are trying to tell him it was 'okay'. In his mind, the things he did, regardless of the reason, will never be 'okay'. And giving him cause to think about it is never a good idea."

She nodded her understanding then, and continued eating.

"He just doesn't seem... romantic. Or even remotely loving. I can't imagine what it would even be like for him to touch somebody. He hardly seems capable of emotion," she said.

"He's different when it's just us," was all I could say. "Warm."

"Warm," she repeated, giving it some thought, chewing her food like she was chewing the thought.

I smiled to remember our conversation the previous night. I couldn't even be offended by what she had said. I used to think the same things about him.

I'd offered Hermione a room for the night, but she had wanted to go home, promising to stop by today to check on her patient. I said it was unnecessary but she was welcome all the same.

"Harry?" a soft voice startled me from my thoughts.

"Ella," I jumped and whirled around to make sure she was okay. I met her grey eyes then gave her a quick once over, she didn't seem in any danger of falling over. "All right?"

"Fine, thank you," her voice was wispy and melodic when it was this soft, she looked at the ground, "Better now."

She was leaning against the doorway, her hands absentmindedly rubbing her arms against the cold. I offered her my house coat, which she politely declined until it was clear I wouldn't take no for an answer. She hesitantly wrapped herself in it and then visibly relaxed in it's warmth. A long moment passed.

I looked away, suddenly not knowing what to say. "I like the sunrise," she said.

"Me too," I said lamely. C'mon, Harry! Say something intelligent. "Would you like some tea?" That'll have to do.

"I would love some," she smiled very slightly.

I urged her to have a seat on the cushions I kept on the porch for my morning ritual. She was curled up comfortably in my house coat on my cushions when I came back with her tea. A part of me I could not identify liked this idea.

I sat on the bare wood next to her, ignoring my previous thought. As she stared across the landscape, I took a long moment to really study her for the first time. It suddenly occurred to me that she was breathtaking. Her clean, brushed hair was thick, waist length and an unusually radiant platinum ash blonde. Her large round eyes were a crisp icy grey framed with a near black ring. Her skin, though marred with bruises was otherwise flawless and glowing alabaster Her brow was delicate and feminine but somehow strong as well, and her lips were plump and pinched, the corners turned down slightly. She looked so familiar and yet so alien all at the same time. Studying her caused unidentifiable feelings to bubble somewhere inside the crevasse that I struggled to ignore.

Her gaze shifted from the sunrise to me, and I still could not look away. After a moment she smiled very slightly again and looked away to sip her tea. I wondered what a full smile looked like on her.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Harry," she said, taking another sip. "I can't imagine many people would take in a delusional stranger they meet in a dungeon.

"You're welcome here as long as you would like," I offered, "Severus and I... well, we have the space and we both understand what it's like to be, well... a survivor. Chewed up and spit out again by the war."

She nodded in agreement.

"You seem well," I said, opening the conversation for her to talk if she choose to.

Surprisingly she did, looking everywhere but at me, "I can't believe it's over. I thought I would die there. I never thought I would see another sunrise. I woke up this morning and I just about had a panic attack because I was so warm. I haven't been warm in months and I thought he was playing a trick on me.

"I didn't know what he wanted me to do so I just lay there and waited... but nothing happened. So I got up and wandered down here. It wasn't until I felt the sun on my skin and the tea on my lips that I knew this is real. You can't conjure a cup of tea this delicious or a sun this warm."

I remained silent for a bit, then "I can't imagine how hard this must be for you to get used to."

She nodded again, using a hand to brush her hair around the back of her neck and over her left shoulder. She winced in surprise and I saw the lobe of her ear had been torn, as if an earring had been ripped out. Hermione must have missed it. "May I?" I gestured to her ear.

She nodded her consent, but cried out and flinched away from me when I pulled my wand out. Her tea cup fell from her hand and spilled it's contents across the porch. I put my hands down and pushed a step back from her to let her know I meant no harm.

Her eyes looked around wildly for a moment or two before they finally found focus again. She curled in on herself with her head in her hands and whispered, "I'm sorry."

I reached out and tentatively put my hand between her shoulders blades. She leaned into my hand so I scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her. Her head came to rest on my shoulder.

"I don't think I'll ever be normal again," she said mournfully.

"I thought that too," I said, "Do, think that. Still."

"You probably won't ever be the person you were," Severus's deep liquid voice said from behind me. He set a tray with 3 warm cups of tea in front of us. He caught her gaze with a finger and her chin and said, "The best you can do is put back together the pieces that are left and live your life as honestly as you can."

I know he meant that as much for me as for her.

Two chapters in one day. I'm on a roll!

xoxo