I think you know you've lost the love of you life.

Several nights later found Severus Snape trying to relax in his sitting room. Seated in a wing backed chair by the fire he was trying to read the latest issue of Potions Master Weekly. No matter how hard he tried, though, his mind would not remain on the periodical in front of him. Staring into the fire, he was still trying to work out the meaning of her words "I will make sure, should the situation ever arise again, I am prepared for whatever the next man, wizard or muggle, throws at me."

Suddenly Headmaster Dumbledore's head appeared in the fire. "Severus, could you please come to my office. We have a situation that needs your attention." Severus could not help but hear the note of panic in the old wizard's voice.

Leaping to his feet, he grabbed a bit of floo powder from the crystal bowl on the mantle, called "Headmaster's Office", and stepped quickly through the flames.

Albus Dumbledore sat quietly behind the desk, a grave look upon his face. "Ah, Severus, thank you for coming so quickly. Please, have a seat."

As he moved to a chair in front of the Headmaster's desk, he noticed they were not alone in the room. Minerva McGonnegal stood quietly near the doorway. Harry Potter was frantically pacing the perimeter of the room, mumbling something that sounded like, "I just don't know what she was thinking. If I could have figured that out, maybe I'd know where she went."

"Mr. Potter, please take a seat." From the tone of Albus Dumbledore's voice, Severus could tell the graveness of the situation. Albus was not one to get so easily annoyed with the Boy Wonder. "Minerva," he gestured to a third seat near the fireplace. "Quickly now, Harry, tell us exactly what Hermione told you."

"She filled me in on what happened in the dungeons last week. But instead of being really upset about it, she was kind of treating it as a lesson. She's been going on and on about how she needed to do some work, to prepare for something like this. Said she couldn't learn what she needed to here at the castle. Said with what Professor Snape did to Sirius, no male here would ever come within 10 feet of her. Said she needed to get out of here, that she was going crazy," Harry paused, realized that he was rambling, and took a deep breath before continuing. "She's been pouring over all these magazines, Witches Weekly, muggle Cosmopolitan, you know, estrogen magazines. Tonight, after dinner, she said she was ready to move on to some more 'hands on' studies. I never thought for a minute that she would actually leave the grounds." He looked pleadingly to Severus, " If I had known, I would have stopped her. You have to know that."

Severus gave him an incredulous look, but said nothing. "She's left the castle, and this little fool didn't see it coming. If this is our savior against Voldemort, is it any wonder the Dark Lord still lives? Gods where has she gone?"

Albus ran a hand slowly down his beard, deep in thought. He sighed deeply, "Since I am sorely lacking in estrogen of my own, I shall defer to you, Minerva. Any clue what is going on in our Hermione's head, any idea where she could be?"

Minerva McGonnegal looked down at her hands folded primly in her lap and thought for a moment. She raised her head and spoke with careful words. "Never having experienced, thankfully, what Sirius Black has put that dear girl through, it is difficult for me to know exactly the frame of mind she is in. I've thought long and hard about the situation, trying to put myself in her shoes, trying to find a way to help her. Mind you, this is only speculation, Albus." The headmaster inclined his head in a gesture for her to continue.

Minerva cleared her throat and fixed pain-filled eyes onto a distant point in the room. "In the 7 years I have known Hermione Granger I have seen her fail at something only a handful of times. The polyjuice episode comes to mind. If I recall correctly, she spent the summer following her second year analyzing hair structures and developing a spell to quickly project an image of the owner from just a single hair. A spell the ministry uses quite often now when performing certain investigations. She views the unfortunate episode of Sirius Black as a failing on her part. I'm not saying she holds herself responsible for his reprehensible actions, more that she views her inability to see it coming and to control the situation as a failure on her part. As such, she is in search of the knowledge that she feels she is desperately lacking in. She is now aware that her first encounter was not what it should have been. I believe she feels that she needs to learn from that mistake, correct it, and in turn learn to be the one in control of her feelings and reactions."

Minerva stopped, clearly becoming uncomfortable with the turn her explanation was taking. She forced herself to continue, her voice wavering a bit, "In essence, how to be the one in control of a sexual encounter. She has also slammed the door on any emotional reactions and is not even considering them into her equation. We are all adults here, and as such, we do understand how important emotions are in a the relations between witch and wizard, man and woman. It's been obvious for the past couple of weeks that she is not thinking clearly. She is setting herself up to fail again. As to where she has gone, I can't be sure of her exact destination, but wherever it is, she has gone looking for a man."

Albus nodded slowly, his mind wrapping around the words that had been offered. "Severus, leave immediately. There are still a few bands of those loyal to the Dark Lord. If she is recognized they will stop at nothing to snatch her away. Go first to Hogsmeade. Traveling by broom would be quickest. The residents will not allow me to drop the apparation wards they have erected surrounding the town. Their last experience with the Deatheaters has left them with an understandably bad taste in their mouth. If she left the area, she would have had to hire a carriage in town. There are no trains traveling at this time of night. I don't have to tell you to be careful. I know of more than a few of Voldemort's followers who would be most pleased to get their hands on you as well."

You said I was the best you ever had.

"Yes Headmaster." The Potions Master rose quickly, crossed to the fireplace and tossed a bit of floo powder in. He spoke clearly into the green flames. "Accio cloak, Accio broom," which brought the called items flying into his hands. Wrapping the cloak securely around his sholders and double checking that his wand was secure, he crossed to the window. He threw the stained glass double window wide, stepped up on the sill, and sat firmly on his broom. He looked back at each person in the room. "I'll bring her back." He spoke determinedly, leaving those watching no doubt that he would.

Harry approached the window and watched until Professor Snape was just a speck of black. After pulling the windows closed, he turned to the Headmaster and asked, "If Severus is in danger as well, what difference would it have made if I went after her?"

Albus Dumbledore removed his glasses and rubbed his temples. "Minerva, would you please alert the staff to keep their eyes out for Severus and Hermione's return?"

"Of course, Albus. At once." She was out the door quickly. She had an inkling about the discussion that would follow. "Wizards have such fragile egos."

"Harry sit down."

Harry returned once again to sit opposite the Headmaster. Chin held high and spine straight, he listened to the older wizard.

"Harry, this is a very delicate situation. Hermione is confused right now. She has experienced very conflicting feelings at the hands of Sirius. What should be ideally for any woman a very tender experience was painful. Instinctually she is looking to correct that. Besides the fact that Severus is better equipped to deal with the dangers of this situation, he is also better equipped to deal with her instincts."

Because I'm in demand

"Are you saying you want him to sleep with her?" Harry cried, face contorted with anger.

"I am saying that this is now a very adult situation, needing to be dealt with as adults. If I am correct in my observations, while the two of you are very close friends, you and Hermione have never had any kind of a romantic interest in each other. Is that accurate?"

Grudgingly, Harry nodded in agreement.

"I have also observed that lately Severus is having a much harder time controlling his emotions. He feels horribly guilty about what happened to Hermione and cannot help but show it. This tells me that he cares a great deal about her, and his need to protect her is quite obvious. He is prepared to do whatever he has to, to make this up to her." Albus was treading very shaky ground now, but there was no turning back. "I think in this situation he may be better prepared to meet her needs."

As expected, Harry took Albus' words as a direct attack on his manhood. "I think I'm just as prepared to meet her needs as he is."

Inwardly Albus grinned at how ruffled Harry's feathers had become. "Typical, young, hormonal wizard." "But you are not in love with her. And after everything that she has been through, love may be the only way to lead her back."

Clearly horrified by the last statement, Harry jumped to his feet, placed both hands on the desk in front of him, and roared, "Are you saying that overgrown bat is in love with her?"

Dumbledore was pushed too far. Rising to his feet, he took a similar stance and roared back at him. "Mr. Potter, that overgrown bat, as you so eloquently put it, has risked his life time and time again for you, for me, for all of us. He has suffered through physical torture, unforgivable curses, and mental anguish to try to end Voldemort's reign. He has proved himself as a man and has denied himself the physical comforts we all need to protect the people he loves. He has distanced himself from joys of life for so long, he doesn't even remember how it feels to love someone, at least not consciously."

Regaining a modicum of his former control, Dumbledore took his seat and continued evenly, "Similarly your friend has also put a barrier up and decided that emotions will play no part in her analysis of the more intimate of life's little joys. I believe that, together, they may be able to heal the wounds that the evils of this world has inflicted so cruelly on each of them and be able to, at least, be a comfort to each other. "

Shocked, Harry dropped back into his seat. His mind whirled and twisted and tried to make sense of what he had just heard.

"I expect that no matter what happens, you will be supportive of Hermione and will not interfere. It is quite possible that the impressions I have been getting are wrong, that Severus will simply return her to the castle, and nothing further will come of this. Either way, it is not your decision to make. I believe you had best return to your room. I will let you know when they return."

Harry only nodded and quietly left the room, shocked at what he had just heard. He was sure of one thing, "I've never known Albus' instincts to be wrong about anything," he thought. And although it sickened him a bit, he also knew that if the Headmaster trusted Hemione's heart to Snape, he had to as well.