Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Hermione was surprised, and, if she was honest with herself, a little disappointed that Professor Snape hadn't touched upon the topic of their relationship during the odd and awkward meeting the night before. She had hoped, foolishly perhaps, that since she was gaining weight again he would consider thinking of her more in the way she thought of him. She would just have to be patient, she told herself.

Hermione was pleased to discover that Harry and Ron had saved her a seat at breakfast. After how long she'd been pushing them away, she was worried it would take time for them to accept her again, but they were doing their best to be warm and understanding.

It was a little easier now not to steal glances at Professor Snape across the hall, since she was eating and talking with her friends instead of simply stuffing food in her mouth and silently banishing it while pretending to chew. She could still feel him, she thought, every time he looked at her. If this was the case, his eyes were on her a lot. The thought thrilled her, improbable as it seemed.

Ron was still a little awkward around her, but during meals he easily disguised this by shoving food in his mouth whenever he was unsure what he should say. He frequently stared at Luna, looking baffled and sometimes a bit angry. Luna grinned back at him every time, and seemed to slowly be winning him over.

Even though life was starting to get better, Hermione missed Severus. She missed the way he had taken care of her when she fell apart, tenderly helping her pick up the pieces. She still resented that he had turned his back on her so suddenly when she was so far from being well again, but the more she thought about it, the easier it was to understand.

She had never known him to be close to anyone, and a lot of unspoken things had passed between them during the time she spent in his care. Hermione couldn't help but wonder what would be done with her now if something went wrong, if she had some sort of relapse or was caught hurting herself.

After all, she did still, on occasion, start to feel overwhelmed. Sometimes, it was more than she could handle, and she would resort to cutting herself to quell the intensity of her emotions. She took better care of the wounds now, and the episodes were starting to become less frequent, but still, it was an uncomfortable secret she had to keep hidden.

Hermione frequently wondered now about the girl she had walked in on cutting herself in the bathroom months ago. She almost wanted to talk to her, but had no idea how one would go about initiating a conversation on such a delicate subject. Certainly she would never tell the girl that she had inadvertently planted the seed in Hermione's mind that would lead them to have such a thing in common, but if Hermione had cut herself before the day she walked in, or had ever even given the idea much thought, would she have reacted the way she did?

First hour she had Charms with Ron and Harry. Harry talked to her excitedly about an upcoming Quidditch match while Ron lagged behind slightly, trying to scrawl a few concluding sentences on the parchment that was due in ten minutes. She happily allowed her mind to drift while Harry chattered happily beside her, until he asked a question that almost made her stop dead in her tracks.

"So, what are you doing over the holiday break?"

Hermione hadn't really thought about that. She had always gone home to see her parents before, but now, she couldn't bear the thought. They knew, vaguely, about her situation, but never mentioned it in the letters they sent her. Indeed, they seemed to be more uncomfortable discussing that particular subject than she was. Could she bear going home in her current state? She was doing better, but she was still pale and thin, and if they saw those cuts…

"Hermione, are you alright?" Ron had stuffed his assignment in his bag and was now keeping pace with them. She thought she must look fairly distressed for him to have noticed.

"Actually," she said, "I think I'll stay at Hogwarts this year."

Both boys shot her looks suggesting they clearly thought her mad. Hesitantly, she continued. "Well, I with our OWLs coming up I want to do some extra studying. I'd suggest the two of you do the same." She narrowed her eyes accusingly, and they were more than happy to change the subject

She was a bit distracted in class, unsure how she could convince her parents to let her stay at Hogwarts over break, but positive that was what she wanted. Once she had accomplished the charm they were learning and helped Ron execute it passably well a few times, she scrawled a note to her parents,

Dear Mom and Dad,

Things are going pretty well at school. I've been really busy studying for my exams and I was wondering if it would be okay with you if I stay at Hogwarts over break this year. The library has a lot of very helpful books I wouldn't have access to otherwise, and I'm sure as soon as the semester starts I'll be too busy to spend much time going through them.

There is another thing, too. I think Harry's staying over break, and I'm a little worried about leaving him here alone. He hasn't been quite right since what happened with Cedric…

Anyway, I hope you're both well and I miss you a lot! Please let me know if it's alright with you for me to stay.

Love,

Hermione

As far as she knew, Harry wasn't actually staying over the holiday this year, but she thought her parents might be more agreeable if they thought she wouldn't be spending too much time by herself. The bit about studying did make sense, and she hoped they wouldn't be too upset.

Hermione folded the parchment as class drew to a close. She paused when she, Harry, and Ron reached the hall.

"I'm going to owl my parents before lunch. I'll meet you guys there in a few minutes." She said, holding up the parchment.

"Right then, see you at lunch." Ron was staring past her down the hall at Lavender, whose skirt looked several inches shorter than the standard uniform. She was kneeling on the floor, picking up scattered contents of the bag she had dropped.

"Actually," Harry said, "I've been meaning to send out a letter myself. Mind if I join you?"

"Sure. You go ahead, Ron. We'll see you in a bit." Ron was racing to help Lavender with her bag before Hermione had finished her sentence. She could only think of one person Harry would be contacting using a school owl, but she decided to avoid the subject unless he brought it up himself.

As they climbed the winding stairs to the owlery, she was shocked to feel his warm hand envelop hers. She shot him a curious sideways glance, but he kept looking straight ahead, cheeks slightly pink. She wanted to thank him for being so supportive of her lately, but wasn't sure what to say without making things terribly awkward.

As they watched the owls fly away, Harry turned to her.

"Hermione, I understand if you don't want to talk to me about it, but what's going on with your parents?"

"Nothing's going on, Harry. I just want to do some extra studying."

"We both know you could study at home if you wanted to. You've always gone home over break before."

"Things with them have just been a little strained since… well, you know. I think it'd just be easier for them and for me if I don't see them again until summer, when I'll hopefully be doing much better."

"Hermione, almost no one is going to be here. I don't think it'll be good for you to spend that much time alone."

"I'll be fine, Harry. I think Luna might be staying over break, too, and even if she isn't, I could really use some peace and quiet."

He sighed. "If that's really what you want."

He didn't hold her hand as they walked to lunch together, but still he stood close enough that sometimes, his arm brushed lightly against hers. His touch was warm and comforting, like a favorite blanket on a rainy night. It was almost enough to make Hermione feel safe.

It struck her as a little odd when he started walking her to classes that he wasn't taking with her, but she was glad they were friends again. He was easy to talk to, and they talked about everything that didn't hurt, which felt good. Hermione wasn't the only one who noticed the extra effort on his part, and she was shocked by some of the rumors that have started to spread.

Snape picked on Harry even more than usual, and Hermione forced herself to believe she didn't know why, though a tiny knowing voice in her head kept whispering a warning. This was not good.

When it was time for the class to partner up, Hermione instinctively reached for Harry, but her professor's hard dark eyes were on her as he spat,

"For today's assignment, I'll be choosing your partners." There was a chorus of groans as he started listing off names. Most of the pairings had one student from each house, though he paired Harry with Neville (probably, Hermione thought bitterly, hoping something would go terribly wrong with their potion). Ron was paired with Pansy and seemed to be torn between fascination and disdain. She was a Slytherin, but an admittedly attractive one. Hermione was paired off last. She shot Severus an angry glare when she realized she was stuck with Draco. He almost looked remorseful. Honestly, it had been unintentional- they had been the last two left because they had been the two he was trying hardest not to think about. The Malfoy brat had been getting on his nerves lately. He regretted inflicting the boy's company on Hermione, even if a part of him did feel a bit betrayed because of what was going on with Harry.

Hermione did her best to appear unfazed as she took her place beside him at the cauldron.

"I'll prepare the ingredients, you just have to add them at the right time unless you'd prefer something else." She hoped her voice didn't betray the anxiousness she felt when she looked into his cold gray eyes.

"Whatever."

For a while, both were silent as she chopped, diced, and crushed ingredients. Their potion was undergoing all of the appropriate transformations and Hermione was feeling somewhat optimistic about the assignment until she heard his smug, quiet voice in her ear.

"So, is it true, Granger?"

"Shut up and do the work, Malfoy."

"You know," he said, leaning in closer and speaking more softly still, "they say it's a muggle disease."

Hermione looked at him, startled. "What's a muggle disease?"

"Anorexia. I have to say I'm surprised even Potter would go for that sort of thing. A little sick, don't you think?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." The fierceness with which she attacked the erumpant horn she was grinding betrayed her tension.

"Oh, I think you do. I think everyone does. You got awful thin this year, Granger. Or maybe you're bulimic? I see you eating but you never gain much weight. Do you just go puke it all up after?"

Something inside Hermione snapped.

"Fuck you, Malfoy!" She punched him, hard, in the stomach, snatching up her bag and knocking over their cauldron as she stormed out of the room.