"What in Merlin's name are you doing lurking outside of my door in the middle of the night?" His voice was laced with concern, but there was some bite there, too. A sharpness that cut her. He hung his coat on a hook and began rolling up his sleeves as he closed the space between them.

Hermione stood with her back against one of his pair of wingback chairs that faced the fireplace. She was confused by his anger.

"I received an owl," she began, "from Ronald Weasley."

Professor Snape furrowed his brow in confusion before rounding the sitting area to light the fireplace with a flick of his wand. "That begs the question, Professor Granger. You still haven't indicated why you were loitering outside my door in the middle of the night."

She sighed before rounding the chair and sitting down. "It's been a long time since he last contacted me. His owl came very late and said that he was sorry for everything and that he misses me and that he wants me to meet him for dinner," she said exasperatedly.

Severus looked at her, confusion still heavy on his face, as he tried to piece together why she thought he cared. "Alright," he said slowly as he sat in the chair beside hers, "if that's it then, I'd like to get some rest."

"Severus!" He jumped at the harsh tone of her voice.

"What?" He tossed his hands up in indignation. "Hermione it is very late and I am not the slightest bit sure why you think I need to know about your trouble with Mr. Weasley."

Hermione stared at him with shock for a long time and Severus was uncomfortable in the silence. There was tension growing between them and he wasn't sure why. Hermione looked frustrated and Severus was certain it wasn't directed at him. He sighed and decided he ought to try and be supportive.

"I am not aware of the nature of your falling out with Mr. Weasley, but I assure you that you needn't waste your time on him. You could have anyone you'd like and it's silly to waste one's time dwelling on silly childhood romances," he said.

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "You of all people should not be lecturing me about wasting time with childhood romance," she said and Severus felt his anger begin to seethe. "But thank you for saying that."

He nodded his acknowledgment and then a deafening silence filled the room. It hung heavy in the air as Severus sat thinking about how much he'd like to get to bed. He glanced at Hermione from the corner of his eye. She was staring into the fireplace and didn't blink for several long moments.

"Do you really think I could have anyone I'd like?" The question was sweet and dripped from her lips like honey.

Severus nodded. "Any man would be fortunate to have you," he said.

"So I shouldn't see him then?"

Severus was surprised by the question. "I'm not telling you what to do in your private life. Do whatever you would like," he said.

"I wish you cared a bit more," she mumbled under her breath.

"I beg your pardon?" He hadn't heard her.

Hermione shook her head to indicate that it wasn't important. She sighed and kicked off her shoes to pull her feet up onto the chair and Severus looked at her sock clad feet with confusion. Was she staying?

"Hermione, I have been up all night and I really need some sleep," he began and she could hear the exhaustion in his voice.

"Oh! Right, yes. It is late," she slipped her shoes back on. "I can be going."

"At this hour there is no reason for you to be walking around the castle all alone. I have been brewing all night and need to bathe, but your book is still on the bedside table if you can't fall asleep right away," he said and Hermione nodded.

Severus stood and began walking towards the bedroom, then stopped. He went back to Hermione and placed his hand on her thigh. "I'm sorry this owl has caused you distress and interrupted your sleep. To send an owl so late for any reason but an emergency is asinine." He rubbed her thigh and elicited a small smile from her before turning to go through to the bathroom.

Hermione towed her shoes back off and chewed her lip as she sat by the fire. Her and Ronald Weasley were a thing of the past. They'd always been better off friends and truthfully if she could go back in time she would have never let a relationship develop there in the first place. He was a good friend, but a selfish partner. Frankly, with him she was a selfish partner, too. She would never forget the subsequent months they'd spent together after graduating from Hogwarts and the memories were not positive.

It had felt like they were on very different paths that they were forcing to converge at certain times and places. Being with him felt natural in the sense that everyone expected it, but she had always felt stifled. They both knew they weren't happy but they stayed in it anyway.

Hermione was suddenly mad at herself for allowing the letter to knock her off kilter in the first place. She knew she didn't want to be with him; she'd tried and it was terrible, but she had to admit to herself that when she saw the letter signed "I love you. Sincerely yours, Ron" her heart tingled a bit. It had been a long, long time since anyone had said they loved her.

Logically, however, she knew his words were not a declaration. They were merely desperation. She rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration before deciding to make her way to Severus' bed.

She crawled beneath the duvet and took her book from the bedside table. As promised, it was exactly where she'd left it and the page she'd left off on was dogeared. She resumed reading to take her mind off of the letter. She had difficulty focusing however, when her mind wandered to the naked man behind the nearby door to the bathroom. He had seen quite a lot of her, but she had never seen him naked. Besides the exposed forearms, she'd seen him in his undershirt before he got into bed, but that was it. It had taken him very long to be comfortable enough to show her that much so she never would have imagined pressing for more.

He held her whenever she spent the night, and she enjoyed it immensely. Sometimes she would curl up against his chest and other times he would wrap his arm around her and cradle her from behind. She liked feeling the warmth from his body and she always slept better with him than she did without. Truthfully, she could imagine sleeping with him every night…but she refused to let her mind wander there.

She was grateful that no one knew about the two of them because she'd never know how to explain whatever this was. It was odd, but it felt so good she didn't care.

Hermione had fallen asleep by the time Severus emerged from the bathroom. Her book was still open on her lap and he closed it before placing it back on the table. Severus slipped between the sheets and wrapped his arm around Hermione's body. When he did, he was suddenly grateful to have her in his bed tonight. The times she had stayed with him midweek were few and far between, and he thought that might be worth changing.

As the rhythmic sound of her breathing began to lull him to sleep, he couldn't help but think about the letter that had upset her so much. It's not like the Weasley boy was a bad person or anything, but she deserved so much better. He wasn't surprised that their relationship failed; how on earth would they ever have an intellectual conversation? She deserved a man who could meet her toe-to-toe in a battle of wits, a man who challenged her, a man who respected her. He didn't know who could possibly do all that, but it was certainly not Ron Weasley.