Knowing that the wolf had been keeping a closer eye on him than he realized, Severus decided not to press his luck and try to stay the night. In summer, it did happen occasionally, but everyone knew he wasn't one to give into the festivities of this time of year. As much as he had been looking forward to curling up between the sheets with his witch, it was likely she was going to turn in early after her emotions being twisted around as they had in the library. He doubted she had allowed herself to cry before then, partially because their meeting had been such a pleasant distraction.
Never mind Dumbledore, he wanted to watch the light escape that mongrel's eyes for what he had done to Hermione. Whether he supposedly meant to or not, there had been no excuse to push her to that line of questioning. As he left he held his head high and shot the other man a dark look, more full of fury than he even saved for Black. Let him think what he wanted to, it wouldn't change that his arms would be the one she fell into at the end of the holidays.
Warding his chambers against any unexpected company, he sunk down onto the sofa and stared at the flames halfway across the room. So not only was he to be a possible traitor, they would think him a monster as well. No matter how close Lupin had technically been to the truth, everything else he was insinuating was… painful. It was another reminder they would never understand what had grown between him and the woman. Another reminder they would always see her as a child to protect, and him a monster that needed to be exterminated. It was surprisingly disappointing, but he supposed.. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised.
Hermione was glad when the rest of the week went somewhat better. For some reason she couldn't understand Ginny was avoiding her like the plague. She had tried to ask Harry about it but he said he didn't know what was going on either, and she didn't want to talk about it when either of them approached her. Remus continued his watching but at the very least didn't approach her again - probably sensing that she was still very upset with him. Upset didn't even begin to cover it really, but maybe it was better just to visibly let it go and move on.
She didn't risk sending Severus letters, though she wanted to as the days seemed to stretch on. The one day he came had been a reprieve before it took a turn for the worst, and already she missed him terribly. It wasn't that she wanted to be clingy, but knowing how sweet life could be when they were together it was hard to go without that. At least she could thank her lucky stars that he had reneged on his decision not ot have anything to do with her at Hogwarts.
It made class awkward, in the beginning, but knowing they had their roles to play made sure that everything went on pretty much as normal. The first night after he had to cut her down to size he had been so regretful, but that was even more of a guarantee it wasn't real. After realizing they could find other ways to 'make up' for the indiscretions of the day, they never really had another problem with it. Which led her to nights now where she was simply grateful to have her own room instead of having to share.
Close to the New Year it had been a bit tricky to avoid Ron without making it obvious she was avoiding him, a couple of mistletoe sprigs still hanging around thanks to the twins. When she asked about Lavender she thought that would steer him off her a bit, but after a moment of surprise he just shrugged and said they were off again. As if that made her feel any better about being second choice? It didn't help that Molly was insistent on her talk about weddings and making them true parts of the family - not that they weren't already, she promised, but both her and Harry were the targets of more than one comment.
Eventually they made it through and said their goodbyes at the end of the week, promising to write before following Lupin back to the station. Hermione was eager to get back to the castle but tried to dial it back a bit, the boys looking at her like she had two heads when she explained she was excited to see the new curriculum for Advanced Runes. But that was an easy enough story to buy, Ginny sitting with them for a short time before going to find her other friends.
They were going to have to have some kind of talk upon getting back to the castle, but it didn't seem fair to hunt her down on the train. Letting her thoughts drift away from what the boys were talking about, she watched out the window and thought about finally getting to see Severus again. It really was like coming home in more ways than one, though she hoped in the future holidays could have sort of a mix of both worlds. Arthur was accepting enough of him as a person, but there was going to be a lot of work to do with everyone else.
She was just getting settled in the common room with the boys when McGonogall stepped in, Poppy Pomfrey following her with a perplexed look on her face. "Miss Granger, ah… a word, please?" Hermione could feel her stomach drop and slowly came over, glancing between the two women as the mediwitch started to speak. "I can't say I understand it or if there's anything you can do, but he keeps calling and - well honestly I've never seen anything like it so we just thought.." She didn't give the woman a further chance to explain, grabbing up her bag and pushing past both of them to fly to the infirmary in a dead run.
Gods, let him be alright.