I need a beta for this story. If anyone wants to volunteer their services, message me.
Hermione stood outside the potions classroom fidgeting. She replayed in her head again what she needed to say to the Potions Master.
"I can hear you out there. If you need to see me, Miss Granger, just come in." Truthfully, he was expecting her. The mediwitch had told him an eighth year student was requesting a certain potion and had been directed to seek it from him.
Professor Snape was sitting at his desk grading papers as she made her way towards him. She was an 8th year student, she shouldn't be so nervous, Hermione told herself.
"Sir, there's a potion I am in need of. Madame Pomfrey doesn't keep it in the infirmary, she said I had to get it directly from you."
The professor put his quill down and looked at her. "Would this be the potion that remedies not having used the contraceptive potion I keep the infirmary and the common rooms supplied with?"
She looked at the floor. "Yes, sir". It was true that each house's common room had a special cabinet containing several vials of a contraceptive potion. It was charmed to only be accessible to any student 17 or older.
But when this had happened, she wasn't at Hogwarts. "This didn't happen here at school, sir."
"It's only effective for three months, Miss Granger. How long has it been?"
She counted back by doing an equation in the air. "11 weeks."
"You should be alright to take it, then. Although you are cutting it close. Is Ron aware of any of this?"
Hermione took a deep breath, feeling like she could talk to her professor and needing to get this secret off her chest. She turned and warded the classroom door before continuing, which surprised him.
"It isn't Ron's. It's Harry's."
Professor Snape watched her quietly, waiting for her to continue. In the last month since school had restarted, several eighth year students had begun confiding in him, including Harry. He supposed that having been a spy made him good at keeping secrets, which he was. He was more aware of what had led up to this conversation than Miss Granger realized.
"It was while we were on the run. Ron had gotten angry at both of us and took off, and one night it just happened. Ron and Ginny don't know about it, and Harry doesn't know I'm pregnant. I don't think I'm going to tell him, I just want this all to go away." Despite her strong fight for control of her emotions, an errant tear slipped down her cheek. Ever since she was tortured, reining in her emotions was difficult.
The professor nodded quietly, then walked to his storeroom and retrieved the requested abortifacient potion he always kept in stock, maternus interruptus. He quickly wrote the instructions on a piece of parchment and handed them both to Hermione.
"Three drops at night, three drops in the morning. When it starts working, just do one drop in the morning and at night until it's empty."
He tapped his wand on the parchment. "Secrets managed." The instructions disappeared. "To bring them back, tap it and say 'reveal'." He leaned against his desk. "Miss Granger, if you start bleeding heavily, promise me you'll go to Madame Pomfrey right away. She has potions there to stop it."
Hermione nodded, barely paying attention in her impatience to get started.
"Miss Granger! Did you hear me? If the bleeding starts getting heavy, go to the infirmary. This isn't a process to take lightly."
This got her attention. "Yes, sir."
Professor Snape watched her leave, then floo called the infirmary. "Poppy?"
"Yes, Professor? Did you give it to her?"
"Yes, I did. She's probably already taken the first dose, I suspect. Do you have a supply of maternus rescue on hand?"
"Yes, I have three vials."
"I'll make more."
As the potions master set to work, his mind wandered back to 15 years ago, the first time a student had died on his watch. She'd been a seventh year with no plans to stop her education in magic for a baby. She'd thrown herself down the stairs to induce a miscarriage. Unfortunately, she had started bleeding heavily, but told no one. He had quickly brewed a large batch of maternus rescue after she was brought to the infirmary unconscious, but it was too late and the student died.
Since then, he'd perfected the rescue brew as well as the contraceptive potion. Her death still haunted him. If the maternus interruptus potion had been available to her, she'd still be alive. If the contraceptive potion was available, she definitely would be.
He flooed to the infirmary with several vials of rescue brew, as well as strengthening and bloodbuilding potions.
"It wasn't your fault, Severus. I know her death still haunts you."
He froze where he stood in the infirmary stockroom. He turned and looked at the mediwitch as she continued.
"She didn't tell anyone she was pregnant when she threw herself down the stairs. She didn't tell anyone when her bleeding got heavy. No one knew when she passed out in the Room of Requirement. By the time we found her, she'd lost too much blood."
The professor took a deep breath and finished stocking. "I know you're right, but I swore when she died that I would never let it happen again." It was the reason he kept the common rooms and the infirmary stocked with contraceptive potions. He'd rather brew one hundred contraceptive potions a week than to have another student bleed to death.
"And it won't. We'll watch her."
...
True to Professor Snape's suspicions, Hermione had taken the first dose immediately after leaving his classroom. She felt nothing the rest of the evening, but went to bed early, blaming a headache. She didn't feel like being around Ginny, Ron and Harry.
Ginny, who had no idea that her best friend was pregnant with *her* boyfriend's baby. Ron, who didn't have any idea Hermione and Harry had been together, even though it was before they were officially dating. And Harry, who she avoided eye contact with when possible, fearing he would know just by looking at her.
Hermione stared at the scar on her arm, and tried not to think about what else had happened that day. Bellatrix, the torture, the snatchers leering at her….
When she woke up, nothing was still happening. She reread Professor Snape's instructions that said to take three drops in the morning if there was no bleeding yet.
She went to all her classes and did her best to concentrate and perform at the level her professors had come to expect from her.
On the way to advanced potions class, her gut began to cramp badly. Just one more class, she told herself through gritted teeth. Then she would get a pain reliever from him and go to bed.
Halfway through brewing a cauldron of Living Death, Hermione grabbed on to the table as a wave of pain shot through her. She looked up to see if anyone had noticed. Professor Snape was watching her. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and continued with her work. He walked over towards her, a look of concern on his face, but stayed a few feet away, watching. A few minutes later, another wave hit her, then another, making her feel faint. The last thing she remembered was Professor Snape catching her as she went down.
When Professor Snape had flooed to the infirmary carrying Hermione, Madame Pomfrey had immediately accioed the rescue and went to her side. The girl's friends had arrived moments later having ran all the way, but she booted them out. They were outside the infirmary waiting. She quickly checked her patient's bleeding and found it to be quite heavy. She spelled more rescue and bloodbuilder into her and ran vitals.
"Poppy, her friends don't know what's happening and she doesn't want them to."
She nodded as she listened to the potions master. Whatever the girl's reasons for keeping her abortion a secret, she'd respect them, unless the situation became life threatening.
When Hermione woke up in the infirmary, Ron was next to her. Madame Pomfrey was checking her vitals and Professor Snape was nearby, watching. She caught his eye, and moved her eyes towards Ron and then back to the professor. He gave a slight shake of his head.
"Ron, could you go into the hallway and give me a minute to examine Hermione, please?" Ron nodded and left as the medic pulled the curtain back around her.
Madame Pomfrey pressed on her abdomen, then checked her bleeding, finding it still heavy. She accioed more rescue and bloodbuilder, as well as pain reliever. Hermione quickly drank all three.
"Is it gone?"
"Yes, my girl, you're not pregnant anymore."
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.
"I believe your instructions were to come to me if your bleeding became heavy. Why didn't you do that?"
"It just started on the way to advanced potions class. Luckily, I was prepared. That's when really bad cramps started, too. I just wanted to get through the class and then I was going to get a pain reliever from Professor Snape and go lay down. I've got my potions NEWT next month."
"Well your potions studies are going to have to wait. You are confined to this bed for the next two days because I don't trust you to stay in bed and not go to class or study."
Madame Pomfrey accioed a calming potion and handed it to Hermione. "I want you to drink this, and then go to sleep. I'll be here all night, and will examine you again in the morning."
"Yes, Madame."
Hermione realized she was exhausted and drank the calming potion before closing her eyes.
Harry watched as Professor Snape left the infirmary and followed him to his classroom.
"You have something on your mind, Mr. Potter?"
"Yes, it's uhm… it's about Hermione."
Professor Snape leaned against his desk, raising his eyebrows and saying nothing.
Harry looked at the floor and then at his professor. His cheeks burned as he remembered that night in the tent, but he pushed it out of his mind using his Occulomens lessons.
"Is she… Was she…"
"Mr. Potter, do you think I operated as a successful spy for nearly twenty years by spilling secrets I shouldn't?"
"No, sir."
"Now, unless you have anything else you would like to discuss with me, I have a lot of work to do and you have studying to do, I'm sure."
"Yes, sir."
Harry left and went to his room and laid down. After a while, Ron joined him.
"What's on your mind, Potter?"
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about the war."
"Me, too."
"How's George?"
"He opened the magic shop again. He says Fred would have wanted him to. I'm going to visit this weekend. Do you want to come, too?"
"Yes. If Hermione is feeling better, we can all go."
"What did Madame Pomfrey say was wrong with her?"
"She didn't. Must have just been girl stuff."
"Yeah, must have been. The mediwitch and Snape sure looked concerned about her, though." Harry thought back and realized that they indeed had. He had also noticed Professor Snape watching Hermione during class.
"I noticed that. I'm sure she'll tell us when she is done being sick."
"I hope so. I wanted to stay by her, but Madame Pomfrey kicked me out."
Thoughts were racing through Harry's mind, but he once again used Occulomens to stop them. If Hermione had gotten pregnant, she would have told him. Wouldn't she?
Hermione slept most of the next day, except when Madame Pomfrey awakened her to examine her. Her bleeding had slowed and her vital signs were good.
Harry snuck in during History of Magic class.
"Hi."
"Hi, Harry."
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. I'll be out of the infirmary tomorrow."
"Good. Uhm… what's… what's wrong?"
"Nothing. Girl stuff. It's nothing."
"Nothing got you two days in the infirmary?"
"Yeah, it's nothing."
"It didn't have anything to do with… uhm…what we did...did it?"
"No, Harry, it didn't."
"Okay. We're going to visit George's magic shop this weekend. Do you want to go?"
Hermione glanced at Madame Pomfrey, who was nearby. She looked at her and nodded. "You may go if you take it easy." The mediwitch looked at Harry. "You all have to make sure she takes it easy, Mr. Potter."
"Yes, ma'am." He looked back at Hermione. "I better get to potions class. Would you like a copy of my notes? I know your potions NEWT is coming up."
Hermione smiled. "Yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you, Harry!"
"You're welcome!"
When Harry got to potions class, a few of the students were asking about Hermione, but Professor Snape was as tight lipped with them as he'd been with him. He noticed Luna looking curiously at Hermione's empty spot.
After class, Luna paid a visit to her friend.
"Hi, Hermione."
"Hi, Luna."
Luna cast a silencing spell. "So did you lose it or did you take a potion?"
"What?"
"You're not pregnant anymore, are you?"
Hermione was mystified. "How did you know?"
"You turn your head away from your cauldrons like you can't stand the smell. You don't drink your pumpkin juice. You always steal Ron's chips. You developed a weird craving for chocolate biscuits dipped in Butterbeer. You never eat breakfast anymore, except tea. It was obvious."
Hermione shook her head. Luna's skills of observation were uncanny.
"Luna, you can't tell anyone. Anyone. At all. Please."
"I won't. I promise."
"Only Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape know."
"Did he give you the potion for it?"
"Yes, that's why he knows."
"It wasn't Ron's, was it?"
"Luna, how do you know so much?"
"Watching you and Harry. How you both try not to look at each other, but I'll catch one of you looking at the other anyway, then you'll look away and your cheeks will turn red."
"It was only once. That's all. No one else knows. Do you think Ron ever suspects?"
"Ron never notices anything, unless it's to do with food or Quidditch."
Hermione sighed. "You got that right."
"Does Harry know? He doesn't, does he?"
"No. I never told him."
"I won't, either."
"Thank you, Luna."
"You're welcome. I'm going to go so you can sleep. You're getting tired and you don't really feel like talking anymore."
Hermione smiled, and bid her friend goodbye.
She was released from the infirmary the next afternoon, with strict instructions for taking care of herself. Madame Pomfrey had strongly stressed that she was not to be intimate with anyone for at least 6 weeks. Somehow, Hermione didn't think that was going to be an issue.
She immediately dressed and headed to potions class, but was met at the door by an unhappy potions master. He blocked her entrance and regarded her with a raised eyebrow.
"This is taking it easy, Miss Granger?"
"It's just one class, sir."
"No. Go to your dorm and go to sleep."
"Please, Professor?"
"No! Go. To. Your. Dorm."
Hermione sighed angrily at her professor and turned to go to her room. She didn't want to admit it, but she was still exhausted and a nap would feel good.
Ginny woke her up for supper, so she ate in the dining room with her friends. She could tell they all wanted to ask her what was wrong, but no one did.
After supper, she went back to sleep. She hoped Professor Snape would allow her into potions class the next day.
He raised an eyebrow at her as she entered his classroom but said nothing.
As she made the day's assigned potion, she frequently felt the professor's eyes on her. She concentrated on her task, and successfully created the Draught of Peace.
The next day, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Neville, and Luna flooed to Diagon Alley. Because they were all of age, they were allowed to go without an adult chaperoning.
They walked to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, George's magic shop he'd opened with Fred before his death. They all looked around, and bought various prank and joke items.
After leaving, Ron steered Hermione away from the rest of the group and into an abandoned alley. Then he tried to kiss her and pushed her against the cold brick wall when she resisted.
"Ron, no! Stop!"
"Why not?" He tried to kiss her again, but she pushed him away.
"I said no! I don't want to and I don't have to give you a reason."
"You did with Harry! Why not me?"
"What?"
"Don't deny it, Hermione! Harry talks in his sleep. I know enough."
"Ron, it was before we started exclusively dating. We both thought we were going to die."
"Do you love him? Do you love Harry?" Ron had stepped away from her.
"No. I don't. He doesn't love me, either."
"Is that why you were sick? You had an abortion, didn't you?"
Hermione looked into Ron's eyes. He was more observant than anyone gave him credit for.
"I know you've been acting weird for a while. Then you ended up in the infirmary. Now it all makes sense."
"Yes, I did get pregnant, and I did get an abortion. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want you to know, I didn't want to hurt you."
"I don't think I love you anymore, Hermione. I want to break up."
"Okay. Me, too."
"Okay."
She felt a combined sense of relief and sadness. If she was honest with herself, she didn't love Ron, either.
The group flooed back to school and Hermione took a very roundabout way to her room past the potions classroom. Seeing Professor Snape at his desk, she walked in. Before the war, she never would have imagined the bat of the dungeons would become the professor she went to with her problems, but here she was.
"Hello, Miss Granger."
"Hi, Professor."
"Are you feeling alright?"
"Yes, sir. Well, sort of. No, not really. I'm exhausted. Ron and I just broke up."
He put his quill down, resigned to not getting any more essays corrected. It seemed every day, students were coming to him with problems. This was a new experience for him.
"Oh?"
"He somehow figured out what happened with Harry. I guess he talks in his sleep. Then he figured out I'd had an abortion because of it, when I passed out and landed in the infirmary for two days."
"Do you love him?"
"No. I don't."
"Do you love Harry?"
"No."
"Then being single isn't so bad. It's better than being tied to someone you don't love."
"I guess you're right."
"Or missing out on someone who loves you."
Hermione looked up at him, confused, but he had picked up his quill and was focused on the parchment in front of him.
"Good day, Miss Granger."
"Good day, Professor."
After she left his desk, he looked up and watched her go. As she turned towards the door, she looked back at him and their eyes met for a quick moment. Hermione was sure she'd imagined it, but she thought she saw a brief smile.
He didn't think he'd ever open his heart to someone again, but one Hermione Granger was getting under his skin.
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Hermione avoided Harry for the next few days, feeling sure he and Ron had talked. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep it up forever. He confronted her on her way to the great hall for dinner.
"Hermione, why didn't you tell me? You lied to me in the infirmary."
"I just wanted it all to go away. Everything. I'm sorry I lied, Harry, but I just wanted to forget any of it ever happened."
Harry took a deep breath. "I wish you had told me. I deserved to know. Ginny knows. Ron told her. I don't know what she did, but she stomped off to her room mumbling about destroying your side of the room."
Hermione gasped, thinking of all her precious books. She ran to her dorm, only to find it locked.
"Alohamora!" It burst open.
Her side of the room was shredded. Decimated. Every book, every piece of clothing. Completely destroyed.
She stood in the middle of the mess, staring and breathing. Ron had broken up with her. Ginny was clearly beyond furious with her. Harry was angry that she hadn't told him she was pregnant.
She heard Belkatrix's voice in her head. "You filthy mudblood. You're disgusting! You're a whore!"
Looking out the window, she saw the astronomy tower. The very high astronomy tower. It would just take one jump. She ran over to the tower and climbed the stairs, numb. She stood on the edge, looking down at the ground.
Taking a deep breath, she started to step off the edge.
"Miss Granger, I never took you for a coward."
She turned around. Professor Snape walked over to her and held out his hand and she let him lead her away from the edge and to a bench.
"How did you know, sir?"
"I heard you talking to Harry and then I saw you run out here a bit later. Never mind that you are supposed to be taking it easy. Talk to me."
"Everything is such a mess. I never meant for any of this to happen. Ron hates me. Ginny hates me. She destroyed every single one of my belongings. Harry is angry that I didn't tell him."
Professor Snape sat quietly, listening, but he was watching her closely. She was pale and trembling, and had just nearly tried to kill herself. He wasn't about to let his guard down.
"I never loved him… I never loved Harry. We… It was just once, that we were together. While we were on the run, in the forest. We both thought for sure we would die. The forest was filled with snatchers, we were being hunted by Death Eaters. Now I've ruined everything."
Cold tears slid down her cheeks and she shivered in the cool air. Professor Snape put his cloak around her.
"Mistakes happen, Hermione. Sometimes we give in when we get caught up in the heat of the moment. You're not the first, nor will you be the last." A brief memory of red hair flirted with his consciousness, but he shook his head to dismiss it. Now was not the time to think about Lily.
"Ginny destroyed my room, all my things. My books. My clothes. I've nowhere to go."
"I believe Miss Lovegood is in need of a roommate. Perhaps you could move in with her. I will help you restore your belongings."
He walked her to her room, and with a few uttered words and waves of his wand, her books and clothes were all restored.
After the mess was completely restored, he turned to her. "How do I know you won't wander out to the astronomy tower again?"
"I won't."
"I want you to come to the infirmary with me. You're pale and you're still shaking. Madame Pomfrey needs to assess you and then we can watch you. Come."
Hermione followed him to the infirmary. The mediwitch took one look at her and accioed bloodbuilder, then examined her and gave her rescue and a calming potion.
"You need to stay here tonight. Your body isn't recovered yet, Miss Granger."
Professor Snape turned to the healer. "I'm going to stay with her here tonight." He spoke quietly. "I found her ready to jump off the astronomy tower. Her friends all turned on her, except one. Consider it a suicide watch."
The mediwitch glanced sadly at the girl curled up on the bed. She could feel the grief and despair.
"Take care of her, Severus."
He nodded. "I will."
The professor turned and warded the infirmary so Hermione didn't have any unwanted visitors. Then he grabbed a potions book off the infirmary shelf, lit a candle and sat down to start his vigil next to the now sleeping patient. He looked at the dried tears on her cheek and sadly brushed her hair from her face.
In the morning, he summoned Luna Lovegood, who happily agreed to Hermione being her new roommate. Their room was in the Ravenclaw tower, far away from the Gryffindor drama. He had castle elves move her belongings.
In potions class, Professor Snape switched Hermione's partner to a Slytherin on the other side of the room and paired Harry with Draco. The two got along better ever since Harry had saved the Slytherin from fiendfyre at risk to his own life.
When Ginny started screaming at Hermione at dinner that night, she found herself under a silencing spell.
"That's minus 50 points for Gryffindor, Miss Weasley. Clearly, you cannot control your emotions, so you're receiving detention for two days for this outburst and four days for destruction of another student's property. Hopefully, scrubbing burnt first year cauldrons for me will teach you to control yourself."
Ginny reported to the potions classroom after dinner and was pointed to a stack of stinky cauldrons. As she scrubbed, her anger towards Hermione and Harry grew, rather than diminished, so she focused it all on her task.
She cleaned the stack in record time, and then tackled the next stacks.
When she was done, she could tell her professor was impressed with her speed but was trying to hide it.
"Would you care to explain that little outburst in the great hall to me, Miss Weasley?"
"I can't believe them. I can't believe they slept together. How could they do this to me? I'm glad she had an abortion, I don't want her carrying Harry's baby."
"Did you and Harry break up?"
"Yes. I still love him, though."
"Did he tell you he was sorry?"
Ginny sighed. "At least one hundred times."
"Well, only four hundred more to go, then you'll forgive him, right?"
She laughed, surprised at the dungeon bat's sense of humor.
"What about Hermione, can you forgive her?"
"She cheated on my brother, with my boyfriend."
"And he cheated on you, with your best friend. Why can you forgive him, but not her?"
"You've got a good point."
"Of course, I do. I'm old and wise and I've been teaching teenagers for a long time. Now go, I'll see you after dinner tomorrow night."
"Ok. Thanks, Professor."
Professor Snape shook his head. It wasn't that long ago that he would have pushed all this adolescent drama and angst onto the Headmistress. Now he found himself somewhat in the middle of it. Because of Hermione. He cared about her, about the predicament she found herself in. It took two to make a baby, but she was the one left holding the bag. She was the one everyone was piling their anger onto, while Harry seemed to have little consequences.
Thinking about Hermione made him wonder if she was still suicidal. He decided to check in on her after breakfast.
That night, he dreamed he was too late climbing the astronomy tower and she had jumped just as he was reaching for her. He'd stared down at her broken body laying on the ground and woke up in a cold sweat.
As Hermione left the great hall after breakfast, she heard her name being called. Professor Snape.
She walked over to him and he led her down a side hallway.
"How are you doing, Miss Granger? Are you feeling alright?"
"I still get tired out easily. Madame Pomfrey gave me a calming potion to take last night, so that helped me get to sleep. She also gave me a bloodbuilder, so I took that this morning."
The professor nodded. "How are you doing emotionally? Are you still suicidal?"
"No, I'm not. I'm starting to look forward to my NEWTS."
"Good. Has anyone harassed you at all?"
"No, they haven't talked to me at all. Only Luna and Neville will still speak to me. Maybe it's better that way, though."
"If you feel any urge to harm yourself, no matter what time of day or night it is, I want you to come to me. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"I mean it. Day or night. You know where to find the old dungeon bat."
Hermione laughed. "Thank you, sir."
A few nights later, Hermione had a nightmare that Ginny pushed her off the astronomy tower ledge. When she landed, everyone started screaming at her, calling her a murderer, a mudblood, a whore, a filthy slut, every nasty name imaginable. She woke up shaking and crying.
Luna was sleeping soundly and Hermione didn't want to wake her up. But she knew who she could go to. She threw on a tee shirt, a jumper and a pair of jeans, then headed to the dungeon.
She knocked on the door close to the potions classroom that she knew to be Professor Snape's quarters. He answered quickly. His hair was tied back and he wore a black tee shirt and black sweatpants. He looked totally different from his usual appearance.
Seeing her, he opened his door wider and let her in, then shut and locked it.
"Hermione? Are you alright?"
She shook her head. "I had a bad nightmare."
"Do you want to talk about it over some tea?"
"Yes, please."
The professor pointed her to a chair by the fireplace, then went to the kitchen to make tea. After a few minutes, he appeared and handed her a steaming cup. He sat down in the chair opposite her and raised his eyebrows.
"I dreamed Ginny pushed me off the astronomy tower. Then everybody- Harry, Bellatrix, Ron, Draco, Lucius- they all started screaming at me, calling me all kinds of horrible names."
"Such as?"
"Mudblood, whore, murderer, slut. I hate being called a mudblood."
Before she could second guess herself, she had pulled up her left sleeve and showed the professor her arm. The scar was still visible where Bellatrix had magically carved the horrid word into her skin.
He ran his fingers over it. "I'm so sorry, Hermione." He stood up. "I have something for scars, I'll be back."
She watched as her professor walked into his adjacent personal lab and then returned with a jar. He opened it and spread some ointment on the scar, and it visibly lightened. After two more applications, it disappeared.
"Thank you so much sir! I never thought that would go away!" Without thinking, she jumped up and hugged him. He hesitated a moment, then hugged her back and pressed his lips to her hair for a moment. Hermione looked up at him, and he was looking at her with an unreadable expression.
"You're welcome, Hermione."
She sat down in the same chair again and quietly finished her tea as silence filled the apartment. She snuck a look at Professor Snape, but he was staring at the fire with that same expression.
She looked down at her left arm again, still amazed the scar was gone. "I can't believe it's gone. I'm so happy."
When her tea was gone, she stood up and brought the tea cup into the kitchen. He followed her. "I better go, Luna will wonder where I am in the morning."
"Good night, Hermione." She hugged him again, and again he pressed his lips into her hair.
"Good night, professor."
The professor watched her as she walked down the hallway. There was no denying his feelings for her, he knew. But she needed time. Time to heal physically, yes. But more importantly, time to heal emotionally. She was fresh out of a bad relationship and she was vulnerable. There would be emotional effects from her torture at Malfoy Manor as well. Bellatrix had bragged about it. No, he had to wait to let his feelings be known. If she even returned them.
Meanwhile, Hermione was replaying in her mind the two hugs she'd given Professor Snape and the way he had pressed his lips to her hair both times. She couldn't stop thinking about it. About him. He'd felt so strong, she'd felt so safe and comforted with his arms around her. She wanted to spend a whole night in those arms.