A/N: Penultimate chapter :'( Tell me what you think, how you want it to end, what you like, what you don't like, anything, cheer me up? : ) Sorry, there are probably so many typos in this chapter but I just couldn't proof read it, I can't deal with happy endings right now, so this won't be that good. But hey, I wrote it, dedication, eh? Thanks for sticking with me. I love you.

In the end, it doesn't even matter

A solitary tear fell down her cheek. Compared to the last few days of sobbing, it meant nothing, but to her it meant everything. It was her giving up. At least when he was with Ron she could kid herself that he felt something for her, but now she knew that he didn't, he hadn't all along, and as well as making her feel stupid for ever believing he did, it hurt more than anything she had ever felt in her life because she had truly trusted him with her heart after it had been broken so many times already, this had been her last chance to be happy and now it was gone as quickly as it had come.

She swung her legs over the side of her bed at Grimmauld Place and put her head in her hands. She couldn't be here any longer, Lucius told her that Severus was coming back today and she couldn't be here when he did. She forced herself to stand up and began to shove everything that mattered to her into a small rucksack. She saw the picture of him on her bedside table out of the corner of her eye, his smile seeming more and more like a smirk. She picked it up and threw it at the mirror, which shattered along with the glass of the picture frame, but the picture stayed intact, floating to her feet unharmed. She looked down at it with disdain, then looked up at the door as she heard footsteps running up the stairs.

Snape heard a crash coming from the direction of her room and looked up towards it. Lucius saw the fear in his eyes and tried to grab his arm but he was already running. He had only just arrived back from St Mungos and they had told him to rest for a few weeks, but all that was forgotten when he thought of her in danger. His limbs screamed out in objection but he ignored them. When he finally reached her door he threw it open and took in what greeted him.

She saw him take in the mess of glass surrounding her and the photo at her feet, but she couldn't look at him any longer, not after what had happened. She turned away and reached for the last thing she wanted to put in her bag then zipped it up. She sighed and took a step forward but his low voice vibrated through the air towards her, stopping her in her path.

"Don't move."

She then heard a slight whisper and the glass that was surrounding her lifted and pieced back together on the mirror at the same time as the picture frame returned to her bedside table, picture and all. They stood there for a moment, neither saying anything but so many words being spoken through the silence. She took a deep breath, finally finding the courage to turn around and face him but changing her mind as she saw the look on his face. He was falling apart, torn between doing the right thing and doing what he wanted to. She pushed past him on her way out of the door but he grabbed her arm before she could escape.

"Hermione..."

She refused to turn around.

"Hermione, please."

She looked down at the floor, speaking through gritted teeth.

"You wanted me to leave, so I'm leaving."

He took a deep breath.

"Not like this. I... I was scared."

She finally turned around, so quickly that he dropped her arm.

"I'm scared too, after all that happened with Ron, I was terrified of how I felt. But then I told myself that it was alright, you would never hurt me. I guess I was wrong."

She tried to walk away again, but he caught her hand. She shook him off and turned her head slightly, giving him a sad smile.

"I can't do this right now. It hurts too damn much."

She took a few steps before he brought up the courage to speak.

"Hermione, wait."

She stopped for a moment, not knowing why she was doing it.

"I'm sorry. Something Lucius said scared me, and I know I shouldn't have let it but..."

"What did he say?"

Severus took a deep breath but knew he had to do this, whatever happened he needed her to know the truth.

"He told me he could see how much I meant to you, and that... I couldn't mess this up. I guess I didn't take his advice?"

She shook her head slightly.

"Why would that scare you?"

He deliberated about whether to tell her even though he knew deep inside that it was necessary.

"I'm not good at people relying on me. Like what happened with Lily, I mess things up, I always have done and it's hard to break a habit. I'm sorry, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you."

She turned again, forgiving him but not wanting to show that.

"Well, you did."

He took a step towards her and took her face into his hands, forcing her eyes to meet his.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I know you've been through a lot and this was... important to you. It's just hard for me to admit that. We can't just ignore the massive age gap..."

She interrupted him.

"You're the only person who's bothered by that. Look, if you're willing to try again, I'm willing to stop you messing it up."

He brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes and then stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. She shivered slightly at the electricity.

"I don't want to hurt you."

She shook her head.

"That's not a reason to give up. And hey, I'm a bit girl, I can handle it, so, one more try, yeah?"

He took a deep breath, then with a slight jerk of his head, agreed.

Lucius looked on from the shadows and smiled slightly. He had know he was right all along, he just needed to give it time. Draco stepped out from the doorway and stood next to his father. Lucius turned to him and sighed.

"What do you want?"

Draco took a deep breath before finally standing up to his father.

"I'm just here to tell you that I'm moving away. I want to train to be a healer and nothing you say is going to stop me. So, this is goodbye."

Lucius held back a smile, this was the day he had been waiting for, the day that his son would finally find his own path. He retained his aristocratic look though, he had brought Draco up in a world where his father was evil, and he wasn't willing to change that. It was what had toughened him up and Lucius wouldn't regret that. He held out a hand and his son shook it before walking back through the door to his room to pack and towards his new life.

Meanwhile, Snape and Hermione embraced by her doorway. He kissed her forehead as she ran her fingers through his hair and they both knew that despite all that was to come, they would be alright.