Monday morning Hermione woke with the sun. Her nose wrinkled at the starchy stiffness of the sheets on her body as she stretched and yawned. Sitting up, she looked at her surroundings. The standard flat screen TV and dresser stood directly across from the bed, desk off to the left with a cushioned desk chair. A small armchair stood to the left of the bed, by the window, and a small mini fridge with a microwave and coffee maker stood to the right, next to the hall which led to the closet, bathroom and door.

She'd been here for the last two nights and wasn't sure how long she would be staying. As she rubbed her face and began making her way to the shower, she relived the events of the past 36 hours.

~8~

"Professor Snape?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I am no longer your professor, am I, Potter?"

"How are you alive? Where have you been? How –" Harry finally looked over at Hermione, eyes widening. "This is Miles?"

Hermione nodded. Ron's huge eyes shifted slowly from Severus to Hermione and back again, his mouth hanging open. Harry lowered his wand hesitantly.

"You knew all this time?" He asked her.

"No. No, I really just found out the day after Ron found his letter."

"You…you greasy…bloody…slimy…GIT!" Ron spat out, stuttering in anger. His face was turning red as he glared murderously at Severus. "You chose MY wife? The mother of my children to sink your oily little hooks into?"

Ron was flat out bellowing now, the hand holding his wand shaking. Harry gently reached over and guided his hand down, away from the man before them. Hermione glanced over at Severus who had, if it was possible, turned a shade paler. He was looking at her, a pained expression on his face.

"You have children?" His voice was barely audible. Unable to speak, she just nodded at him. He looked down for a moment, swallowed hard and then looked Harry in the eye, flipping his wand around to hand it to him.

"I surrender." He said simply.

Late Saturday night Ron had returned from the Ministry, clearly still angry. He slammed the door on his way in and simply stood and glared at Hermione. They had argued for hours. She didn't know what he was trying to get out of her – she had said in as many ways as she could that she hadn't known it was Severus, there was nothing inappropriate between them, she hadn't cheated on him, etc. But he just kept saying the same thing over and over.

"Gods, Hermione. As soon as the tracker went off and I saw where you were I-"

"Tracker?" Hermione interrupted him, anger swirling deep in her belly. Ron's face softened a little, giving him a slightly guilty look. "What tracker?"

"Hermione, look-"

"What tracker, Ronald?" She said in a low, dangerous voice. Ron sighed heavily and ran his hands over his face.

"The tracker I put on you. I did it the day before you went shopping. The moment I saw you had gone to your parents' house I knew something was funny. And then we worked it out from there."

A long, tense silence hung in the air. Ron had been looking at the chair he was leaning on, but he risked a glance up at her. She was utterly speechless. All at once the anger threatening to boil over within her disappeared and she was left with a staggering weariness. When she opened her mouth, nothing came out. She just shook her head and walked past him, out the front door and through the city until she found a suitable hotel where she promptly fell asleep for no less than 14 hours.

~8~

Sunday found her numbly sitting in her hotel room. She couldn't go back to Ron, not yet anyways. Severus had been taken to a holding cell at the Ministry until he could have a hearing early on Monday. She also couldn't go to see him until Monday. She had thought about going to talk with Ginny but she was just too worn out by this whole ordeal.

Now, as she finished buttoning her winter coat, she felt the first bit of vigor she'd felt in days. Today she had off of work as the children would be coming home. It also worked in her favor that it gave her time to go and see Severus before the hearing – maybe even talk to Harry about the details.

By the time she had been granted clearance and made her way down to the holding cell he was in, there was less than an hour before his hearing. A burly looking wizard led her there and slowly took down the spells and wards concealing and enclosing him. Finally he was left with simple iron bars which were unlocked and opened for her to enter.

"Hello." She said softly, sitting on a rickety wooden chair across from the bed he was seated upon. He looked up at her solemnly, dark circles under his eyes.

"Hello."

"How are you? Are they treating you okay?"

"Everything is fine, Hermione. You needn't fret." His voice was scratchier than usual and somewhat robotic.

"Are you nervous?" Severus looked down at his folded hands for a while.

"I've accepted my fate. I knew long ago that if by some small chance I survived Riddle, I'd live out my days in Azkaban. I've certainly done enough to deserve it."

"Severus!" She scolded. "That's no way to think. You must stay positive. You never know how-"

"Hermione." He barked. She looked into his eyes and saw he had given up. "Stop. I'm not worth getting riled up over. Go home."

"No."

"Go. Home." He hissed. Hermione folded her arms and lifted her chin.

"I'm not a child anymore. I haven't been for a long time. I'll do what I please." He shook his head, narrowing his eyes at her. His mouth opened but the guard approached before he could say a word.

"It's time." The guard said. Unlocking the door, he cast a binding spell on Severus's arms and began to lead him away. Hermione followed behind but at the door to the courtroom, another guard blocked her entry.

"Let me through." She demanded.

"No one allowed but the Wizengamot and the Aurors who caught him, I'm afraid, Mrs. Weasley." He said. Hermione looked past him and saw Ron and Harry watching Severus cross to the center and sit. Harry caught her eye and attempted a half smile, but Ron simply sat and glared at the man on trial. As the large, heavy door began to close, Severus cast one last glance behind him, to where she was standing. She managed a small smile before the door blocked her view of him and then closed securely.