DISCLAIMER: None of this belongs to me.


Hermione woke up to pounding on her door. Sitting up, she smoothed hair out of her face.

"Come in!" She called hoarsely, laying back down.

The door swung open, and in stormed Professor Snape.

"W-What are you doing in my rooms!" She shrieked, flinging the covers over her body.

"We need to talk Granger." He growled.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Get up and get dressed. We'll talk in the living room."

Hermione exited her room, looking around for Professor Snape.

Maybe she could sneak out.

She started to tiptoe for the door, but his voice stopped her.

"I told you we needed to talk." He told her crossly.

Sighing, she plopped herself down on the couch, waiting on him to start the conversation.

"You disrespected me yesterday."

Hermione didn't say anything, just continued to listen.

"Did you hear me?" He questioned, glaring at her.

She nodded, finally looking at him.

"I don't respect those who don't respect me." She said to him, watching his expression change to aggravation.

"Stop acting like a child." He snapped.

It was her turn to glare at him, "I'm not acting like a child. I'm merely giving up on trying to be cordial with you. You are just so...cold to me."

He stared at her, not denying that fact.

"I don't know what you want me to say." She said, tiredly.

"I want you to know that I will not be made a fool of Miss Granger." The threat distinct in his deep voice.

She rolled her eyes.

"Do you understand me?"

She did not want to hear anymore about this. She was tired of the constant arguing with him.

"Yes, fine." She snapped, standing up.

His dark eyes watched her, humored by her annoyance with him.

"Can I go now?" She asked.

"Mmm." Was his only answer.

OOOOOOOOO

It was Thursday, and Hermione was tired. Very very tired. Not only physically, but emotionally as well.

She hadn't written her parents in awhile either, they would want to know how she was doing. There was no way she would tell them about her 'marriage' to her Professor. They would be outraged, and come to the school.

Or, at least try.

Hermione shut her eyes, feeling another headache hit her.

This felt like a nightmare.

A nightmare that would never end.

After classes, she trudged to her rooms, looking at the door with apprehension.

Her stomach turned suddenly, she did not want to go in there.

What if he was in there?

Would they get into another altercation?

Probably.

Sighing, she opened the door, feeling her headache start to pound at her temples.

She started to feel dizzy, the room suddenly feeling extremely cold.

Shivering, she made it to the couch and collapsed, wrapping her arms around her knees and pressing them against her chest.

Hermione shut her eyes, she just wanted to rest.

Only for a moment.

"Miss Granger?" A voice cut through her slumber.

"Mmmmm." She said groggily, opening her eyes.

It was Professor Snape.

Again.

Sigh.

"What?" She mumbled.

"You are sleeping on my couch." He told her, raising an eyebrow.

She put her hand up to her head, whimpering.

"Are you ill?" He asked.

She took deep breaths, feeling a rolling in her stomach.

"N-No."

Then, it felt like a brick was dropped in her belly and rose.

"Merlin!" She yelled, and ran in the direction of her bedroom, bounding for the bathroom door.

She made it just in time to vomit violently into the porcelain toilet, her retching making awful noises.

Hermione was dry heaving, sensing a presence at the door, she side-eyed Professor Snape.

"W-What?" She asked, trying to hold her hair back.

"You are ill." He said.

After her sickness had passed, for the time being, she sat back and looked at him.

"I-I don't know what made me sick."

He cleared his throat, surveying her.

"Do you want a potion for the nausea?" He asked her.

Hermione looked at him, miserably nodding her head.

"Yes, please. My head is killing me." She pouted, putting her palm up to her forehead.

She wasn't expecting it, that's why she jumped back slightly. But he was suddenly leaning over her, his palm on her forehead.

"You have a fever. I want you to get in bed. Do you need any assistance?"

She shook her head, pulling herself up, just barely.

She stumbled a little bit, catching herself before she fell completely.

He sighed, marching forward. He gently grabbed her upper arm and steered her out of the bathroom.

Hermione shimmied herself out of his grip and plopped herself down on her bed.

She flung the covers up over her shivering body, her teeth chattering.

"I'll bring you a potion for the nausea and for your fever." He said to her, flicking his wand and extinguishing the lights in her room.

Hermione chugged down the potions that he gave her, laying herself back down.

"I'll bring another round in a couple of hours." He said to her, tucking the empty vials into his pocket.

She mumbled but didn't say anything coherent to him.

As he was leaving, she cracked her eyes open.

"T-Thank you." She mumbled, falling back to sleep afterwards.

He nodded his head, and shut her door.

Severus sat at his desk, grading the 5th year essays. Dear God, did the students read up on the Patronus Charm at all? He rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache of his own coming on.

What a week.

What a terrible week.

His chest started to itch a little bit, and he opened up his collar, unbuttoning his shirt.

The fresh hair felt good on his skin, and he sighed in relief.

A few minutes later, he heard scurrying to his right, and then the sound of retching.

It had been at-least two hours since he had given her the first round of potions.

He couldn't give her another set until at-least four hours.

He sat and graded papers, occasionally hearing Miss Granger getting sick in the bathroom.

What did she have?

He wasn't sure.

Severus walked carefully through her door, not wanting to wake her.

"Lumos." He said, whispering.

He held his wand over her head, and suddenly jumped back.

Turning, he darted out the door. Shutting it rather roughly.

The little chit didn't have any shorts, or pants, or anything on. She lay in only a shirt and her underwear.

His face was red.

Shutting his eyes, he laid the potions down on his desk.

She could take them in the morning, if she needed them.

OOOOOOOO

Hermione woke up, her stomach churning. She whimpered and sat up, her headache making her ears ring.

She slid out of bed, hurriedly darting to the bathroom.

She must have come down with some kind of flu.

Great.

Just what she did not need.

Sighing, she sat back and closed her eyes.

She needed another round of Potions, they helped her immensely with her headache, and her stomach churning nausea.

Steadying herself, she put on a fresh set of robes and left her room. His office area/living room was empty. There was one light left on, and on his desk lay two potions with a note.

Miss Granger:

Take these two potions. I tried to give them to you last night, but you were improperly dressed.

-Severus Snape.

Hermione set the note down, slightly horrified that he had seen her in her underwear.

Well, he was her husband.

She couldn't find it in herself to care right now, thanks to the queasiness that was churning in her belly.

She grabbed both of the potions, chugging them both down.

Sighing, she set the vials back on the table, feeling her eyes droop. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, her constant vomiting could be blamed for that.

Maybe she should ask for a sleeping potion when he got back.

Severus sighed as he opened his office.

Dumbledore and Minerva had asked why Miss Granger hadn't been in class. Probably just to be sure he hadn't assassinated her.

Not likely.

Too messy.

He smirked at that thought.

Miss Granger was sitting in the living room, a book open on her lap, the fire going in the corner.

He raised an eyebrow at her, seeing the empty vials on his desk.

Her brown eyes looked up at him.

"How do you feel?" He asked her.

She nodded her head, closing her book. "I'm feeling a little better. I haven't thrown up in a while."

Nodding, he took off his cloak and hung it up.

"If you are hungry I can call an elf. If you don't want to go to the Great Hall." He offered, staring at her.

Hermione looked at him, wondering why he was being so...nice-ish to her.

Well, if he could be.

She could be.

"Sir." She said, standing up.

His shoulders tensed, but she could tell that he was listening.

"I just wanted to thank you for the potions. They have really helped me."

He nodded, then continued to grade his papers.

"You don't have to call for an elf. I'll go down to the Great Hall. I want to speak to Ron and Harry. Tell them not to worry, and that I'm still alive."

Silence.

"T-That was a joke. I wasn't serious." She mumbled.

He didn't say anything, just continued to check essays, or so it seemed.

"Miss Granger." He said, after a bit, turning his icey eyes to her.

She looked up, marking her page.

"Sir?"

"When you're here, please try to wear clothing." He then turned his cold eyes back to the desk.

Hermione swallowed, feeling the embarrassment flare in her cheeks.

"Well, you did come in my rooms sir. I-I..."

He turned again, raising an eyebrow at her nervous rambling.

She stopped talking, looking at the ground.

He didn't say anything to her, but his dark eyes observed her nonetheless.

She was embarrassed.

"I apologize sir."

He continued to stare.

"Um, not just about the clothing, but also about the way I've been treating you. We both do not want to be in this situation. And I've been acting like a prat since the very beginning."

Silence.

"I uh, I just wanted to say that." She finished.

Severus watched her walk into her room, quietly shutting the door.

He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

It felt very strange having a woman in his quarters, that had never happened before. Most of the time when he sought out women, he would always leave the school.

It made him feel strange.

And not in a good way either.

He looked down at the paper he was grading, he had been on the same one for more than twenty minutes now.

Standing up, he went over to his cabinet, plucking up some firewhiskey. Pouring himself some, he took a long sip, relishing in the warmth that fell over him.

OOOOOOOO

Hermione had her school uniform on, smoothing out her curls in the mirror. After taking the two potions, she felt immensely better.

Thank Merlin.

She wasn't sure if she could take anymore retching.

Her stomach was protesting though, growling loudly.

She opened her door, peering out the door, Professor Snape, her husband, was still at his desk.

He didn't seem to be moving at all though. Grimacing, she shut her door quietly and walked over to him.

His hand was cupping his cheek, his eyes closed.

Was he sleeping?

Hermione wasn't sure if she should touch him, or if she should say anything to him.

She didn't want to be hexed, or cursed.

Instead, she opened the office door as softly as she could, and walked out into the dungeons.

Harry and Ron were eating when she came in. Their faces lit up when they saw her, both of them smiling widely.

She sat down, letting the smells of the food drift into her nostrils.

"Where were you today Hermione? We were worried that Snape had killed you or something."

She chuckled, scooping some Shepherds Pie onto her plate.

"No. I got sick last night after classes. Professor Snape actually helped me out. He gave me potions for my nausea and fever."

They both looked at her, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

"What?" She asked them.

Ron just shrugged, shoving his face with more food. Harry however, continued to stare at her.

"It's just that. You've changed your tone pretty fast about Snape, Hermione."

She put her fork down, narrowing her eyes at her friend.

"I don't quite know what you mean Harry? All I said is that he helped me feel better. That's it."

The two men shrugged, but continued eating.

When they reached dessert, talk had turned to their first game tomorrow.

"Are you excited Ron?" Hermione asked, smiling at him.

"Nervous. Very nervous." He said, spooning his pudding.

Harry put his hand on his shoulder, "You're a great defender Ron, you'll be brilliant."

Hermione smiled and touched his hand, "I agree, and you know I'll be cheering in the stands."

Ron smiled as well.

"Thanks."

OOOOOOOOO

After dinner, Hermione walked back to her rooms. Well, Professor Snape's rooms. It felt strange to even think of it as 'her' rooms.

She felt very unwanted there, even after they had their 'coming to grace' talk.

Still, she was glad she said it. He didn't have to help her when she was sick, even though, as a teacher, it was his responsibility.

Sighing, she tapped on the doorknob with her wand and it swung open.

He wasn't there.

His office was completely dark. And suddenly, the scenario with Peter Pettigrew came back to her mind.

What if he was in there again?

No.

Professor Snape probably took many precautions to make sure that would not happen again.

"Lumos." She said, and the room was lit up from her wand.

What if he had been called by Voldemort? Or, maybe he was in another detention?

She wasn't sure.

OOOOOOOOO

She was so engrossed with her book, that she hadn't noticed the time.

It was approaching midnight, and Professor Snape still was not back from wherever he was. What if something had happened to him?

What if he was injured somewhere?

What if he had been called to one of his 'meetings' and he was dead somewhere?

Hermione snapped her book shut, dismissing those thoughts. Thinking like that would not help any situation.

A little bit later, closer to 1:00 the office door finally opened.

Hermione looked up at the man, he didn't look injured, he didn't seem like he had just returned from torturing innocent people.

"You're still up." He said gruffly, striding past her.

She just stared at him, not exactly sure if she should ask him where he had been.

Unfortunately, curiosity was never something Hermione could just dismiss.

"It's late sir, is everything alright?"

He side eyed her, but nodded.

Strange.

"Go to bed Miss Granger. You seem well enough to go to classes later, I expect to see you there."

And at that statement, he went into his own rooms, shutting the door behind him.

Hermione stared at the door for awhile, a weird feeling hitting the pit of her stomach.

She wasn't quite sure what it was.

Sighing, she took his advice and went to bed.


Where was Snape?

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-Heather