Hey,

Sorry for the lack of updates, was abroad twice in the last couple of weeks and had an exam in between. Began this chapter two weeks ago before I had even started thinking about Easter and it was only as I finished it today I realised the coincidence in timing, really wasn't intentional. Same when Hermione went to Berlin – I was there end of January. Anyway, enough rambling, here is the next chapter, let me know what you think.

Andrea xx

Hermione's POV

Two weeks had passed since their encounter by the lake and Hermione had been pleased to find Snape attending almost every single meal in the Great Hall since then. Whilst he still had dark circles under his eyes and still looked as tense as ever, he looked somewhat healthier.

Easter had arrived and the school had a week of holidays. Hermione was the only student to remain at school. Over the last couple of days she had come to realise that she wasn't willing to give up on the friendship she had shared with Snape as easily as she had done at first. In fact, the more time she spent thinking about it, the more annoyed she was at herself. She decided that it was about time that she told Snape how she saw things. Whilst she was well aware of the fact that she might worsen the situation, she felt very strongly that she owed it to herself. There were so few things in her life that she was happy about and her friendship with Snape had been one of them. The Easter holiday had therefore come at a very good time.

And so it came to be that Hermione found herself on her way down to Snape's quarters on the evening of Easter Sunday. There had been a lavish dinner in the Great Hall but Hermione had found she couldn't eat very much due to how nervous she was about seeing Snape later on. She hesitated outside his office, not knowing whether or not she should knock or just walk straight in. After a moment's contemplation she decided that she would knock.

"Enter," his deep voice called.

Hermione opened the door to his office and walked in only to find it empty. She walked straight through the room and entered Snape's private quarters.

Snape was standing in the middle of the room as she entered, looking at her curiously.

"Good evening," he greeted her civilly and gestured towards the sofa.

It was the first time Hermione was back in his quarters after they had ceased their work and she felt quite uncomfortable, unsure as to whether she was welcome or not.

"Hello," she replied softly and took a seat on the sofa.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her quietly, skilfully masking his reaction to her being there.

Hermione took a moment to gather her thoughts and then opened her mouth to begin the little speech she had prepared.

"I never got around to telling you how I feel. I know it's my fault for leaving immediately after you expressed your opinion, but there are some things I feel I need to get off my chest if you're willing to listen," she began and looked at him for his approval.

He beckoned for her to continue.

"There are very few things in my life that I am happy about and even fewer that I treasure. Our friendship was, is, one of those things." She paused and waited for the words to sink in. "I never expected to develop feelings for you. Having feelings for a teacher is definitely not something I desire. When I realised how I felt I decided I would do my best at hiding those feelings from you because I was afraid of ruining our friendship, a friendship that had come to mean a lot to me. Then you found out by accident and I was mortified, thinking you would look at me as some silly little schoolgirl with a silly crush on a teacher. Yes, you are my teacher and I am your student but that wasn't what attracted me," she said, feeling uncertain as how to continue. "I know that you don't feel the same about me and I respect that, but I was wondering if we could still be friends. I promise not to act on my feelings and I don't expect anything other than friendship. I really miss having you as a friend, Severus," she continued softly and looked into his eyes, uncertainly.

Snape replied to her words by giving her one of his rare smiles.

"Hermione, you were the one who left, I didn't send you away. As you know, I have very few friends and I consider myself lucky to be able to consider you one of them," he said, his dark eyes glittering.

Hermione beamed at him and gave him a sparkling smile. She looked as if the weight of the world had just been lifted off her shoulders. It took all her willpower not to embrace him in a hug.

"May I ask why you haven't come down here before?" he inquired.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. At first I was ashamed of having ruined our friendship. And I was worried about you thinking that I was acting on my feelings if I continued to spend time with you. Now, I… I've realised that I trust myself not to act on my feelings and I hope that you can trust me on that," she paused nervously and searched his eyes for approval. When she received a small nod, she continued: "Afterwards, I didn't really know how to salvage things. And then, about a week ago, I realised that I missed your friendship too much. I haven't been feeling great these past two months, Severus," she said quietly and looked down.

Snape remained quiet, knowing she would tell him about it if she wanted to.

"As I'm sure you still are, there are things I'm still going through. And since we haven't been speaking I haven't been able to talk to anyone. At least no one who understands me." She looked at him kindly, if slightly shy. Since she had just told him that she wouldn't ask for more than friendship, she wasn't sure how private their conversations could be. She rubbed her neck absentmindedly, trying to ease some of the tension.

Snape frowned at the way she held herself and touched her neck. Then he seemed to make up his mind and stood up and walked until he was standing right behind her. He placed his hands gently on her neck.

"May I?" he asked, keeping his hands still.

"Please," Hermione replied curiously and felt him move her hair so that her neck and back were free. She realised that this was his way of showing her that they could go back to their old friendship without her having to worry about him thinking that she was flirting with him if she touched him. It was very rare that Snape initiated physical contact between them and the fact that he did so now, when he knew that she had feelings for him, hence showing her that he trusted her enough to be able to remain on friendly terms, meant the world to Hermione.

His touch was soft and gentle as he tried to find the sore places. When he did, he would apply a bit more strength, sometimes causing her pain as he loosened the knots in her back. On these occasions, she had to bite her lip to keep from moaning.

"What on earth have you done to your back?" he asked in a voice free from judgement.

"I have been studying more than usual and I… I suppose I've been a bit uncomfortable lately, what with everyone seeing the scars and all," she replied and closed her eyes, determined to enjoy the massage as much as possible.

"How have the reactions been?" Snape asked, sounding uncharacteristically tentative.

"Not as strong as I'd expected to be honest, most people don't care. Some of the other students pity me but I suppose that's to be expected," she replied with a small sigh.

"It will get better with time," he said.

"I hope so. Is there any chance you would be willing to continue our research?" she asked hopefully.

"Hermione, whilst I am glad that we are on friendly terms again I'm not sure it would be wise for us to spend as much time together as we used to," he replied. After a moment he realised what it sounded like and was quick to explain what he meant. "It's not that I don't trust you, you know that, it's more to do with what it looks like to people on the outside, and Minerva in particular. She knows that we stopped working on it and believes the reason is that we need a certain ingredient that can only be collected during the summer months, hence putting our project on hiatus. If we suddenly began spending as much time together again I am sure that she would think something was up," he said in a regretful voice.

"You're right," she mused loudly. "This feels so good, you know, my back has been awful lately. I've taken the maximum dose of pain relief potions on more than just a few days," she admitted.

Snape remained silent and rubbed a particularly sore spot on her right shoulder blade.

"Are you all right? I can tell that you're not sleeping, though you seem to be eating more," she asked thoughtfully.

"I am. I have been working late and then sometimes I find it hard to go to sleep. But it is nothing that you ought to be concerned about, the holidays are approaching, after all," he said with a shrug that Hermione was unable to see due to him standing behind her.

"If you say so."

"I do," he persisted and rested his hands on her shoulders for a moment. One of his thumbs grazed the side of her neck briefly, sending shivers down her spine, before he removed his hands.

"Wine?" he asked.

"Thanks but no thanks. I have been drinking a bit too much lately," she said and avoided his eyes.

Snape helped himself to a glass of wine and sat down on his chair, before he turned to look at her with a frown on his face.

"How often is 'too much'?" he asked curiously and took a sip of his wine.

"Not that often really, a glass here and there," Hermione replied evasively and focused her eyes on a spot on the wall next to Snape's face.

"Hermione, I'm not questioning your drinking habits. You are of age and I trust you to be able to drink responsively. However, you mentioned that you have been taking the maximum dose of pain relief potions on more than one occasion. When you have had to take more than one potion due to the pain not disappearing, has the pain been relieved by additional doses?" he asked and fixed her eyes with his stare.

Hermione was quiet for a moment and thought about what he had just said. She couldn't believe that she had been so stupid and forgotten that alcohol nullifies the effects of basic pain relief potions.

"I can't believe I forgot about that. The nights when I've taken numerous doses of the potion are the same nights as when I've had alcohol to drink. No wonder the potion didn't work, I'm such an idiot," she berated herself.

"Though, I think you should know if you do not already, basic pain relief potions are only rendered worthless by large amounts of alcohol, usually about three to four glasses of wine at least," he said seriously and waited for the words to sink in. "May I ask how often you drink by yourself?" he asked softly, making an effort not to pose the question in an interrogatory way.

Hermione was unsure how to answer his question. She wanted to be honest with him but she also knew that there was a risk of him misinterpreting her situation. After a few moments of deliberation, she decided to tell him the truth.
"About five times a week since we stopped working together. I used to have a glass by myself maybe once a week before that. And don't you dare blame yourself for it," she warned when she took in his dissatisfied expression.

"Why the increase?" he asked seriously.

Hermione had been ignoring that question for the last seven weeks but as she found herself looking at it for the first time she realised that the answer wasn't what she had expected.

"I've been feeling a bit lonely and bored, alcohol makes me feel… well, happier I suppose," she replied quietly, not liking the way the words came out.

Snape remained silent for a few moments and finished his wine.

"Hermione, whenever you feel the urge to drink because of those reasons or because you are not feeling well, would you mind coming to me first?"

"I'm not your burden to bear," she protested but he cut her off.

"Please?" he asked in a voice so quiet she wasn't sure he had actually said anything.

"Okay, I will come to you first," she agreed, somewhat reluctantly. Whilst she knew that she was drinking too much she wasn't quite ready to see it as a problem that needed to be dealt with.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to keep a diary of your drinking habits as well," Snape suggested. "Only for yourself, you don't need to show it to me or anyone else," he added when he noticed her brow furrow.

"Fine."

"Thank you," Snape replied ironically and raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you," she repeated in the same tone and smirked slightly. "It's good to be back here," she said quietly and pulled up her legs underneath her.

Snape gave her a small smile before he asked her opinion on an article in the latest issue of Mortar and Pestle International.

A/N: Before you point it out, I haven't forgotten that Snape is working on the project alone. However, [I believe that] he doesn't want to get Hermione's hopes up by telling her about the breakthrough, in case it doesn't work out, and so he keeps quiet about it. Oh, and I'm sorry about the lack of Easter eggs, I simply could not be bothered to write about Hermione receiving some as it doesn't have an impact on the plot in this case. Oh, and reviews make me very, very happy!