A/N: I am so sorry it has been so long since I last updated. I am not going to bore you with the whys and the personal stuff, but now I'm back and plan to update more often. Some angst in this chapter as well, but I promise it will get better from the next chapter on. Please review - pretty please?

Hermione stretched in her bed and yawned. She had slept the night through without waking. She stopped mid-movement. That was odd. She hadn't slept a night through without waking from nightmares since the war. She had slept half a night yesterday, when Snape had been next to her.

She turned over and buried her face in the pillow. Then she abruptly sat up and lay down again sniffing the pillow. It carried his scent. How could that be, when she knew the house-elves had changed the linen? It couldn't possibly still carry his scent from the previous night, because it was not the same bedding. She got out of bed and went to sit in the armchair, pulled her feet up and rested her head on her knees, while she tried to gather her thoughts. This could only mean, he had been in here during the night, but it didn't explain the lack of nightmare. Even if his presence made her sleep better, he would have had to stay with her for some time. She let her eyes wander to the bed again and felt a warmth spreading inside of her. He had. He had sat with her while she was sleeping, she was sure of it! She didn't understand quite why, but it didn't fit with the way he had behaved yesterday.

"Perhaps," she thought, "he also needs time."

With that she went to get ready for breakfast. She decided she would go eat in the Great Hall with her friends. Some time with her friends would do her good.

As she walked into the shared living area she saw Snape exiting his bedroom and smiled at him.

"I thought I'd eat breakfast in the Great Hall with my friends today...Sir," Hermione explained as she walked towards him. Snape didn't show any sign of friendliness and Hermione stopped.

"As I will also be attending breakfast, it will not be possible for you too sit with your little friends," he said. "You will be expected to sit next to me at the teachers table. It is either that or take your food in our private quarters. At occasions where I am not present you can sit with your dunderhead friends," he looked down at her without any emotion but disdain showing on his face.

"Oh, I see..," Hermione let her head fall.

"Believe me Miss Granger, I am not looking forward to this any more than you are, but you must be aware that ministry officials will be questioning the legitimacy of the newly formed weddings of all the former Order members. It is vital that we keep up appearances."

"Of course," Hermione tried to smile "I just hadn't thought about it."

Snape walked to the door, Hermione following him.

"Should we perhaps..,"

Snape turned and looked at her, one eyebrow raised as to ask her, what she was about to say. Hermione gathered her courage.

"Should we perhaps hold hands or something when we walk into the Great Hall?"

"Do I look like a seventeen year old boy to you Miss Granger? We are to keep up appearances of a marriage but that does not mean, I have to behave like someone other than myself." Snape turned to walk. Hermione felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. Of course, how silly of her. She hurried along when she saw Snape hold the door for her and almost had to run to keep up with him, as he walked through the corridors. Just outside of the teachers entrance to the Great Hall he stopped and Hermione almost bumped into him.

"Your suggestion is not without merit though," he drawled "although your idea was that of a child." With that he offered her his arm and she looked up at him in surprise. His eyes clouded over with irritation and she quickly took his arm and let him lead her to the table.

Every sound in the Great Hall stilled as they entered. Hermione looked up at Snape but his face was as emotionless as ever. She tried to keep her head high as they reached the teachers table and Snape held her stool out for her to sit. As soon as they had sat down it seemed everyone started to talk. Sitting at the teachers table the sudden on-burst of children gossiping sounded like a roar and Hermione felt her eyes sting. She looked up at Snape who seemed to notice neither her nor the gossiping as he started eating his breakfast. Hermione looked around and saw the other students looking at her, some with disdain, some with curiosity and some almost hateful. She felt her heart starting to beat erratically fast and felt out of breath. Thoughts swirling around in her head of Snape who had kissed her but obviously disliked her, of the classes she could not participate in, of the classes where she would have to meet all the other students, the newspapers writing about her marriage, Draco's eyes... Just as she thought she was going to burst her eyes locked with Harry's. Harry's gentle, reassuring eyes smiling up at her and she took a deep breath and gave him a small smile.

For the rest of breakfast Hermione pushed her food around on the plate and cast stolen glances at Snape. Every now and then she looked to the part of the Gryffindor table, where her friends sat and exchanged warm smiles with them. When breakfast was nearing an end Snape stood and held out his arm to Hermione. As they walked out of the hall she cast long glances at her friends, who were leaving with the other students.

"I will escort you to your class" Snape suddenly said.

"Thank you, Sir, but you really don't have to," Hermione tried to answer him politely. She couldn't wait to just walk around with her friends as any other student. Snape's expression didn't change as he simply repeated:

"I will escort you to your class."

"But Sir," Hermione started to get annoyed, "it will be easier for me to walk alone. The other students..."

"It is because of the other students that I will escort you to your class, Miss Granger" Snape sounded more than annoyed, "believe it or not, but I have better things to do with my time than babysitting you, and once the reactions to this marriage have died down you can walk by yourself. For now I will escort you." He didn't raise his voice but the tone left no room for argument and he held her arm in an iron-like grip as he briskly walked her towards the classroom. As soon as he saw Harry come towards them he loosened his grip and almost threw her in his direction.

"I trust you will stay close to my wife and shield her" he snared before turning and walking away with his robes billowing around him. Hermione again felt tears sting her eyes, but Harry quickly put an arm around her and she relaxed in the familiarity of her friend.

Classes were horrible. Everybody seemed to have an opinion on her marriage and all through the day she was constantly harassed by other students who sent her notes with varying obscene content, "accidentally" bumping in to her and mumbling words like "whore" or "slut" and the majority just staring at her before putting their heads together and whispering. She tried to ignore it and Harry tried to shield her, but there were just to many. After the last class of the day was over, she stood to walk with Harry to the Gryffindor common-room when they were suddenly surrounded by Slytherins.

"Now we know how you got your high grades Granger" one of them said while the other ones laughed. Harry held Hermione in one arm, cradeling her to him, and tried to push through the crowd with the other. The group of Slytherins got louder and insults flew through the air. Hermione froze when one of them gripped her breast while snickering:

"What will I have to pay you for an hour?" She felt Harry let go of her and saw him lunge towards the offending guy, but in a flash something flew in between them hurling the guy against the wall. Ron was pressing the the tip of his wand against the neck of the Slythering while he was panting with rage and a look of almost madness in his eyes.

"Touch her again and you are dead!" he yelled before drawing his hand back and punching the baffled guy out. Harry had drawn his wand and pointed it in a circle at the group of Slytherins:

"Any of you want to test if I can hex you as good as I hexed Voldermort, then please say one more word to Hermione!"

The group of Slytherins quickly backed away and Hermione threw herself at Ron.

"Ron, I thought... you..." she sobbed while Ron awkwardly stroked her back.

"Well, I hope this means you forgive me," Ron said with his face buried into her neck.

Hermione looked up at him: "Always."

Harry placed an arm around each of his friends and for a brief second the three friends stood in a close embrace before heading to the Gryffindor common-room. They spent the afternoon catching up and although there was some whispering gossip surrounding them it was neither as bad or as hateful and Hermione slowly started to relax.

Before dinner Ron and Harry walked her to her new home in the dungeons where she met Snape who then escorted her to dinner in the Great Hall and sat silently beside her. After dinner he escorted her back to their rooms. He didn't talk to her. Hermione took out one of her books and tried to read but after a while the silence felt so overwhelming that she stood to leave.

"Ahm.. I think, I'll just go to my room then" she said nervously and looked at Snape, who was sitting at the table grading papers. Snape looked at her for a second before turning back to his papers with a curt:"Goodnight Miss Granger."

Hermione went into her room and sat at the desk to do her homework. She had trouble concentrating so it took longer than normally and after finishing the last assignment, she prepared for bed where she lay for an hour while thoughts raced through her head. The teasing and condemning, the joy of having made up with Ron, the whispering behind her back, the way Snape only touched her when he led her to the Great Hall and back. Finally she cried herself to sleep. The next morning her pillow smelled of Snape.

Over the next few days the whispering behind her back seemed to lessen, but she still had people "accidentally" bump in to her and mumbling obscenities under their breath several times a day. She had managed to convince Snape that no one was bothering her, so he would let her walk between classes without him. She had a feeling it would never stop, if he kept escorting her everywhere she went.

Snape wasn't mean to her, but seemed totally indifferent and she hardly ever saw him. He only spoke to her when he absolutely had to, and there was no sign of the thoughtful man she had glimpsed previously. She had had a glimmer of hope, that he sometimes sat with her when she slept, but she had resigned to the thought that the faint smell of him on her pillow in the mornings must be due to the fact, that this was his home. But at least her nightmares seemed to have faded. Still, between feeling lonely most of the day, when she was not with Ron and Harry, the bullying, the overwhelming upheaval of her life and the silent Snape, Hermione had a hard time concentrating. For the first time in her life, her school work suffered and she found herself crying almost every time she was alone.

Snape didn't know what to do with the witch. He had made a promise to himself that he would stay out of her way as much as possible and it seemed to be the right decision. It seemed clear to him that se disliked his presence. She flinched when he took her arm to escort her into the Great Hall, but that part couldn't be helped. They had to keep up appearances. The Order had learned that ministry officials were looking into the validity of the many sudden weddings of The Order and the DA-children.

In their own quarters she always went straight to her room and he tried his best not to infringe on her personal space. He stayed away and only talked to her, when she spoke. Which was almost never. But she still seemed to get a little paler with each day and lately even her work had suffered.

"What do you expect," he thought to himself "she is forced to live down here with you and you have forced yourself on her like a hormonal teenager. You probably scared her senseless and still she has no choice but to come back down here to you every day. She has to sit with you at every meal and you are the first thing she sees every morning". Snape felt a heavy burden tighten around his chest. He didn't know what else to do. He stayed away from her as much as possible to at least give her the illusion, that she was not bound to him, but she still seemed almost depressed. Only at night when she slept did he approach her. Not that he cared for her, he reminded himself, but something drew him to her room every night when he heard her whimpering at the onset of her nightmares. He didn't quite understand why, but his presence seemed to keep the nightmares at bay, and he took a guilty pleasure in sitting next to her and watching her while she slept. He would even hold her. But for the last few nights the nightmares had seemed to worsen. He had no idea what to do. Perhaps he should stay away at night as well. He could only imagine her horror if she found out he sat beside her while she slept.

That night Snape paced back and forth in front of Hermione's door as he heard her crying in her sleep. "You must respect her privacy, she would not like it if she knew you have been holding her while she sleeps" he reminded himself every time he was about to run to her side and soothe her.

In the morning Hermione woke feeling more tired than she had in a long time. The nightmares were back. She buried her face in he pillow and inhaled. Nothing. It didn't even smell like him any more. She felt a sense of loss that she couldn't explain and wept into her pillow.

One Saturday as Snape was getting ready to leave their rooms Hermione gathered her courage and approached him.

"Excuse me, Sir," she looked down on her hands expecting him to sneer at her.

Snape turned around to look at her. In his robe, standing like this, looking down his nose at her he still looked intimidating to her as he raised an eyebrow as to ask her, why she was talking to him.

"It's just...," she fidgeted a little "I know it's none of my business where you are going, but I was wondering if you were going to visit Draco, and... and if I could visit with him as well?" She took a deep breath of air and looked at him as if she was expecting to be chastised.

Snape was taken aback.

"Of course you can visit with Draco, Miss Granger. In fact I think it would do him good." He turned to leave when he felt her hand on his arm, only for a second, then she jerked it away as if she had been burned.

"Sir, I was wondering if I could come with you now to visit him. I don't think it would be wise of me to visit him alone for the first time, given his condition."

Snape looked at her in confusion. She wanted to go somewhere with him?

"Don't be daft old man," he silently berated himself. "She doesn't want to go somewhere with you. It's her bleeding Gryffindor heart that makes her want to visit Draco. And she is right, it probably would be better for her not to visit him alone. He is still not well."

He didn't answer Hermione but walked to the floo and held out his hand to her. She looked relieved and took his hand as she stepped up to him. He curled his arm around her and as he threw down the green powder to floo them to their destination, she let her head fall to his shoulder and instinctively he slid his hand up in her hair, cradling her to him. As soon as they arrived he realized, what he had done and pushed himself away from her. Hermione looked at him with an expression he couldn't read and he noticed the dark circles under her eyes. But then he quickly turned to greet Kingsley while he silently cursed himself for letting his guard down and holding her close. He could see it had upset her.

The visit went well. At first Draco had shied away from Hermione, but then Snape had sat down on the couch placing Draco beside him and had started talking to him, telling him all sort of trivialities and Draco just listened and looked at Snape. Kingsley had moved for Hermione to sit on the big couch as well, and she had sat down on the other side of Snape. In order not to push Draco, she opened her purse and took out a book and started reading. She had no idea what she was reading though, but kept listening in on what Snape was telling Draco: his thoughts on lesson plans, funny mistakes the first years had made, memories from when Draco was a child. She kept stealing glances at him. He looked handsome, she thought. And at ease. He almost smiled. She shifted a little to be able to get a better look at him. His eyes seemed to hold tenderness when he looked at Draco, and she felt a twinge in her heart. If only...

Kingsley came back from the kitchen bringing them all tea and biscuits and Hermione felt confused. She had wanted Snape to look at her with that look of tenderness directed at her. But why? Before she could think more about it Kingsley interrupted her trail of thoughts.

"Severus," Kingsley said quietly "a word?"

Snape stood, patted Draco's hand and left the room with Kingsley. Draco immediately tensed up so Hermione turned to read her book again. She could sense Draco staring at her. She took her purse and pulled out a chocolate bar from Honeydukes. She unwrapped it and broke off a piece and ate it, then she put the rest on the table between them – a little closer to Draco than to herself. After a while she felt the couch shift as Draco reached out and broke off a piece. She waited a little then she broke off a piece. Shortly after Draco broke off a piece. At the end there was only one small piece left and it was Hermione's turn. She picked up the piece and turned to Draco holding it out to him. He looked up at her for the first time and she smiled to him. Then she saw a hint of a smile and he almost looked like himself for a second, before he reached out tentatively and took the chocolate from her. At that moment Snape and Kingsley returned and Snape went to say goodbye to Draco. Hermione stood to leave. She shook hands with Kingsley and turned to smile at Draco who suddenly stood and took her hand.

"Goodbye Hermione," he said "Please come back to visit"

Snape and Kingsley fell quiet and Hermione felt her heart beating with joy and triumph.

"I would love to Draco," she answered "Perhaps sometime next week?"

Draco nodded.

Hermione's head was spinning with joy. She had reached him. There was still hope for Draco. Without thinking she walked to stand in the floo with Snape, who was overwhelmed with joy that his godson had talked to someone. For a moment he forgot that he had promised himself they would floo back separately, and in sheer gratefulness he enveloped Hermione in his arms and flooed them back. As they arrived in their own chambers he still had his arms around her, and she looked up at him with sheer joy. He lifted his hand and stroked a stray curl away from her face, without thinking about it. Hermione's head was spinning out of control as he suddenly tensed up and pushed her away. She felt dizzy with thoughts and emotions. His kiss in the Tower so long ago, his apologies, her being forced to marry, giving up on her dreams, her wedding night where something but nothing had happened, Rons reaction, the bullying, his scent on her pillow, the loneliness, the joy of making up with Ron, Draco's eyes, the feeling of peace when Harry embraced her, Snape sneering at her, the weight of the necklace he had given her on her skin, him pushing her away in disgust, the feel of his hand against her cheek as he pushed away a stray curl... and with that Hermione sank to the floor unconscious.