Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Severus didn't know what the smug little brat had said to Hermione, but he was pretty sure Draco had earned his bloody nose. He was more than a little miffed when Potter dashed out behind her, ignoring his warnings and hefty house point deductions.

Hermione had seen the look on Harry's face as she stormed out, and wasn't particularly surprised when she heard his sneakers hitting the stone floor as he ran to catch up with her. She sighed. He'd been playing Quidditch religiously since first year. There was no way she could outrun him if she tried, so she slowed her pace and waited for him to catch up, brushing away the tears that streamed down her face and composing herself as well as she could before she heard his voice, only a few feet behind her.

"What did he say?" Harry demanded.

"It doesn't matter, Harry. Can we just drop it?"

"I'm going to slaughter him."

"No, please. I shouldn't have punched him. it'll only make things worse if you draw more attention to what happened."

"You want me to just let that go?" He sounded shocked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I want. He was only trying to get a rise out of me, or to get more fodder for those awful rumors that have been going around since I…" It was still hard to talk about having tried to take her own life. Harry, seeming to understand, didn't force Hermione to continue.

"Fine." She found the dull resignation in his voice reassuring. He put his arm around her. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Will you walk me to my room and tell Snape I'm taking the rest of the day off? I think I'd like to be alone for a while."

"Sure." He hugged her closer and they walked on in silence until they got to the portrait. He stood there, a little awkwardly.

"Erm, Harry?" His vivid eyes were slightly unfocused, making tiny quick movements, as though watching an intense silent debate in his head. Hermione's sense of unease was growing. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, just worried about you."

"I'll be fine." She assured him. He kept standing there. After a short pause, she asked, "Do you want to come in for a minute?"

He nodded and followed her into the room.

"It's nice." He commented, taking a seat beside her on the bed.

She agreed, still watching him a bit warily.

"You really are very pretty, even when you've been crying."

Her sense of dread increased as he leaned toward her, brushing a stray chestnut strand out of her face. When their lips met she was too stunned to stop him, and sat stock still while his tongue pushed into her mouth. It was a tender kiss, and not entirely unpleasant, but it made her insides squirm with discomfort. When her body didn't respond to his advances, Harry pulled away.

"Sorry," he muttered, staring intently at the floor, "I should go."

"Can we talk about what just happened?"

He sighed. "I guess we probably have to."

"I didn't think you felt that way about me."

"It was stupid. Can we please forget it ever happened?"

"Don't be upset. I love you a lot, Harry, but not in that way."

"I feel the same way about you."

"Then why did you just kiss me?"

"I don't know. We've both been through a lot and I thought being together like that made sense. I feel a lot closer to you than I do to Ron, and I wondered what kissing you would be like."

"What was it like?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Honestly?"

"Was it bad?"

"I imagine it's about how Ron would feel if he stuck his tongue in Ginny's mouth."

"That's disgusting!"

"It felt really weird, Hermione."

She had to agree with his assessment. From an objective standpoint, Harry was bright, attractive, and charismatic, but when she looked at him, even now, she still saw echoes of the boy she had grown close to first year. Thinking of him in a sexual manner, if she was honest with herself, grossed her out.

"Um, I guess I should get back to class."

She nodded, glad he was finally leaving. "Thanks for walking me to my room and everything."

"No problem. If you need anything later, you know where to find me." He smiled at her warmly before leaving the room, and she fell back into her pillows, suddenly feeling utterly exhausted.

A few hours later Ginny was in to check on her.

"Harry told me what happened."

"It wasn't a big deal."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I will be. I just don't want to deal with Malfoy again today." Ginny gave her a concerned look. "I'll be fine, I promise. I just need some time alone."

"If you say so." Hermione's dinner appeared on the desk.

"Luna's probably already in the Great Hall. You shouldn't keep her waiting."

The younger girl grinned at her friend. "Fine, I'll get out of your hair. I did have one more thing I wanted to bring up, though."

"What?" Hermione suddenly wondered just how much Harry had told Ginny.

"Malfoy had to go to the Hospital wing. You broke his nose in front of the entire class." She grinned. "About bloody time someone took him down a peg. I'm proud of you."

With that, she left. Hermione pushed her food around for awhile while it grew tepid and gross, finally just banishing it. She was surprised when, a few hours later, she heard a sharp knocking coming from the entrance that didn't lead to the common room.

She sighed. "Come in." The portrait swung open in response to her words, though she doubted the person on the other side could hear her. She was more than a bit shocked to see Professor Snape stepping into her room.

"How are you?" he asked seriously, without preamble. The depth and intensity of his stare made her a bit uncomfortable. She closed her book and patted the bed next to her, where Harry had sat only hours before.

"I'm fine. I wish everyone would stop asking." The soft mattress sunk beside her as he sat down.

"Everyone knows how poisonous the nasty prat can be."

"I thought you liked Malfoy."

He sighed, trying to think of the best way to explain the issue without putting Hermione in unnecessary danger. "Due to certain… dealings I have with Lucius, I am forced to show Draco more courtesy than is necessarily due to him. Do you understand?"

She nodded, knowing better than to press the subject.

"I know it may be hard, but you should try to ignore him. He's a disturbed young man whose powerful family protects him from the consequences of most of his actions."

"Ignore him? You're the one who made me partner with him!" Hermione shot back hotly.

"For that, I apologize. I must say my mind was elsewhere when I assigned the pairings today."

"Why didn't you just let us work in our normal groups if you were feeling distracted?"

"I'd prefer if we didn't discuss that just now."

She sighed. "Fine. Is there anything else?"

"I'm afraid so. I know he was in the wrong, but I have to give you detention."

"What?"

"You have to understand," he pleaded, "you broke his nose in front of a room full of witnesses. Leaving your actions unpunished would be highly suspect, and I definitely couldn't discipline him without appearing to do the same to you."

Her eyes widened. "I have to serve detentions with him?"

"Hermione, it's only for a week, and I didn't have any other choi-"

"A week?" She couldn't have been more horrified. Even Severus's smooth composure suffered slightly beneath her withering stare.

"It won't be so terrible."

"You told me yourself you have to deal with his father! He'll spread all sorts of rumors if you're not horrid to me."

"I never said the detentions would be with me."

She looked murderous. "Filch?" She spat the name like an obscenity.

"No, Hagrid. I claimed to have other matters that needed to be addressed this week. He's not as daft as people think. He appreciates the position I'm in enough to know that Malfoy needs to pay for what happened but I can't show you any favoritism."

Hermione sighed. "Maybe that won't be so bad."

"Potter will be there too, tonight."

"What did Harry do?"

"He went running after you in the middle of class. I can't start being civil toward him out of the blue now, can I?"

She shook her head, still looking rather pissed off.

"And," he continued, eyes narrowing slightly, "he only got one night, despite the fact that it took Potter quite a long time to simply escort you back to your room."

Her cheeks reddened. She felt a wave of guilt over what had happened when Harry sat with her on the bed. Hermione realized Snape didn't have many other options, but she was still angry.

"You should probably get going." he said, looking slightly nervous.

"Wait, tonight?"

"I'm sorry." Seeing the look on his face, Hermione believed him. "It won't be so terrible. Draco claims he is still recovering from his injuries and will not be starting his week until tomorrow evening, so it will just be you and Potter."

"Fine."

"I should go. I'm supposed to be otherwise engaged tonight, and it would look bad if someone went to my office and found I wasn't there. Besides, Potter will be here to collect you shortly. Don't tell him I came."

Severus looked at her, and his stomach twisted with sadness and guilt. If he hadn't been so petty, none of this would be happening. She looked so tiny, so fragile. His stony façade was starting to crumble. He leaned toward her as he stood, and his lips brushed her forehead for a fraction of a second before he quickly left the room.

Hermione was braiding her hair like she normally did before bed, knowing a detention with Hagrid could involve any number of activities. She didn't get dressed because she would have no plausible explanation for knowing about detention before Harry's arrival. She sounded as surprised as she could when she heard his knock.

"Come in."

He clambered through the portrait, looking furious.

"What's wrong, Harry?"

"Greasy git gave us detention!"

"What did you do?"

"Left in the middle of class. He only gave me one night, though. He gave you a week!"

"Well, I did punch his little pet." Hermione said reasonably.

"Everyone there knew Malfoy was bothering the hell out of you." Harry fumed, starting to pace. "At least he gave Malfoy detention too. It won't be that bad, though. The nasty bat didn't fancy giving up his own time so he stuck Hagrid with us. I heard Malfoy isn't even coming tonight. You broke his nose, you know!" He grinned at her.

"Yes, Ginny told me."

"Oh. Well, you should probably get dressed."

She nodded and grabbed a thick sweater and some jeans before heading to the bathroom to change.

They walked to the hut in relative silence. Hermione was feeling a bit nervous about seeing Hagrid; she hadn't really been alone with him since her suicide attempt, and she imagined he would have some questions for her.

Hagrid waited at his door, beaming under his bushy beard. "I heard yeh broke Malfoy's nose."

Hermione nodded. She was already getting sick of this topic of conversation. She dreaded the next day. He led them inside.

"So," he said, trying to sound stern, "I didn't have enough notice to come up with somethin' fer you to do. I expect you to sit right here," he said, gesturing at his table, "and think about what you've done."

They sat down, unsure how to respond. After a moment of silence, Hagrid grinned. "Want some tea while yer being punished?"

They spent the rest of the night in animated conversation. Hagrid shot Hermione a few appraising looks, but seemed to notice her discomfort when they approached the subject of her illness, and steered the conversation in other directions. All in all, it was a rather enjoyable detention.