"Well, I'll see you all at dinner, then." Arthur Weasley smiled widely before heading out the door.

Hermione bit her lip, forcing a smile as Molly came around the corner and greeted her.

She'd been at the Weasley's house for nearly a month. A month trapped, loving the house and the family and the people in it but hating to be so far from Severus. There was little news from Azkaban, and even less news from Kingsley. There had been a letter from the Minister of Magic about a week ago, but it had contained little hope for the present and even less optimism for the future. Kingsley—and the entire Order, for that matter—were hard-pressed to find out who was behind Severus' arrest. They'd gathered enough information to prove the man's innocence, but Kingsley had warned them that for now they couldn't take their proof before the Wizengamot, lest their unseen and unknown enemy have something unexpected to fend them off with.

So Severus was rotting away in a prison while Hermione was sitting in the kitchen at the Burrow with a hot plate of food in front of her. It all felt so wrong, so terrible, that she should have so much when he had nothing. She felt almost as if she was betraying him, because she was in a warm house with good company when he was in a cold cell with only dementors around.

She'd told the story of what had happened after she and Severus had fled. Told it several times over, because everyone wanted to hear it again so they could be sure they knew all of the details. The first few times she told it, she omitted the parts of the story that included her and Severus' romance, but now that she'd told it so many times, she'd begun to slip. Not many of the listeners had noticed the few extra details she added in every so often, but a few of them had.

Harry and Ginny knew. They'd both thought quite a bit about it and eventually come to the same conclusion. Then both of them had asked Hermione about it when they were alone, and she finally felt so pressured from holding it in that she caved and told them everything. Harry didn't like it so much, but he didn't say a single word against it, assuring Hermione that he supported her no matter what, and he trusted her judgment. Ginny had wrinkled her nose and scrunched her face up at several parts of Hermione's detailed story, but when at last it came to an end she was wearing a grin.

"What?" Hermione had asked, looking at her friend warily and wondering if the younger witch was going to berate or tease her.

But Ginny had just kept on grinning. "I think he's better for you than Ron was," she said finally, looking at Hermione thoughtfully.

Hermione had raised her eyebrows, bewildered. She'd expected to be scolded or lectured by at least one of her friends, but Harry had accepted it without comment and here Ginny was, stating that she thought Severus was better for Hermione than Ginny's own brother?

"How so?" Hermione had asked, wondering what in Merlin's name was going through the younger witch's head.

Ginny had been serious and pensive, but the ghost of a smile returned to her lips and she'd said, "Ron's too immature. I mean, I love him and he's great, but you're so intelligent and you have common sense and you're logical and smart, and Ron's just . . . not." She'd giggled, adding, "And Sna—I mean Severus—seems more like you. I think if you can get past the fact that he's a greasy old git, your personalities would suit one another quite well."

At first Hermione had been unable to believe that she had her two best friends' acceptance—Ron had no clue and she wasn't sure it would be a good idea to tell him—but after a while it began to sink in. She now firmly believed that she had the best friends in the whole world, right there in Harry and Ginny.

She'd felt no need to break things off with Ron again, as she'd ended their relationship when she was first taken away after the Wizengamot found her to be guilty. But he had obviously assumed when she returned that they would pick up right where they'd left off, as if nothing had ever happened to her and she hadn't been on the run with Severus for so long. So she'd had to awkwardly explain that she wasn't sure it would be a good idea for them to get together again, much to his disappointment. To make matters worse, she'd tried to get him alone so they could speak in private, but he'd gotten upset and in the end the whole conversation and argument were had in front of the entire Weasley family.

Ron was incredibly hurt, and blamed Hermione for approaching him in front of everyone, even though the audience was not her fault. Now they didn't talk to each other, and though Hermione tried to engage him in conversation at least once a day, he hardly even acknowledged her existence. She wondered how much worse it would be if Ron found out that she didn't love him anymore because she'd fallen for the potions master that both of them used to hate so much.

To make matters worse, when she first told Ron that she no longer had feelings for him, he'd accused her of leaving him for Severus, calling the man "that greasy old bastard of a teacher," and many other unpleasant things. Hermione had listened in silence, unwilling to lie to Ron's face while also not wanting to expose her feelings for Severus. When at last Ron's angry ranting was over, she nodded, apologizing and repeating for the last time that she no longer felt that way for him. Then she'd left the room, and later Harry and Ginny had found her on a hillside a ways from the Burrow, crying over the friendship that she'd lost when she lost Ron.

Now she stared down at her food, sighing because she had no appetite. When she looked up she found herself at the table, and the faces of almost all of the Weasleys who still lived at the Burrow met her eyes. Most of those faces brought a smile to her face and warmed her heart; Molly, Ginny, and George—George made her want to simultaneously smile and cringe, because every time she looked at him she thought of Fred—and then there was Harry, sitting next to her and smiling back. Ron was across the table, ignoring her gaze and staring down at his food with a cold look in his eyes.

Hermione didn't feel hungry, but she ate anyways to appease Molly, who smiled at her throughout the entire meal. When they'd all finished eating Hermione helped to clear the table and washed the dishes, insisting that doing it by hand was better than using magic. She really only did it this way because it reminded her of her childhood and what life had been like when she lived with her parents.

When the meal was over Harry and Ron went out to de-gnome the garden and Ginny and Hermione retreated to their room to talk and play with Arnold the pygmy puff. Hermione sat down on her bed and watched as Ginny opened the window before the younger witch sat down as well. Ginny was just opening her mouth to speak when they were interrupted, and both of them started in surprise when a tawny owl swooped in through the window, dropping a letter in Hermione's lap and alighting gracefully on a bedpost.

"A ministry owl," Ginny said, just as breathless and nervous as Hermione was.

Hermione nodded, her hands shaking as she opened the letter and unfolded it, he fingers clumsy with frightened anticipation. She smoothed the creases in the parchment, setting it on her lap because her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't read the writing. She clenched her hands into fists and set them at her sides, beginning to read. A moment later, though, her hands flew to her mouth and she let out a small cry, feeling both victorious and defeated.

Ginny bounced in her seat, waiting impatiently in silence while Hermione finished reading. When at last Hermione looked up, Ginny was bursting with questions and could no longer contain herself. "What is it?" she asked, desperate. "Is it bad? Is he alright? Has Kingsley figured out who it is?" She was staring at Hermione, wide-eyed and frightened. "Oh, what's happened? Hermione?"

Hermione nodded slowly, swallowing and handing the letter over to Ginny, her hands still shaking terribly. She didn't know if she could trust herself to speak. If she opened her mouth, she felt she might scream. So she bit her lip, clenching and unclenching her fists and ringing her hands as Ginny read. But Ginny's reaction was different. The moment the news reached her eyes, she leapt up from her seat on the edge of her bed and let out a cry. The Ministry owl, startled by the sudden noise, nearly fell backwards off the bedpost.

"What is it?" someone yelled from somewhere else in the house. "Is everything quite alright?"

Hermione wanted both to laugh and to cry when Ginny yelled back.

"It's Snape! He's escaped from Azkaban!"

Hello again! It's been a while since I updated—and I apologize for that. I've just been incredibly busy with school and work—and today I was looking over all of my stories that are still in progress and I feel terrible for leaving you guys hanging like this! I'm going to do my best to update my stories weekly from now on, I promise. Anyways, thank you for reading! I hope this chapter isn't too much of a cliffhanger for you, but don't worry; I'll be updating soon and the next chapter will contain some interesting things. I love you all and hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! ~Taelr