Severus sat in his room the next day drinking a strong cup of coffee. He'd consumed a large amount of alcohol the previous night, and now he was sitting in a chair with a massive headache feeling sorry for himself.

He was angry with himself for feeling like this, he had never allowed himself to get like this over anybody and he didn't really want to break that habit. Yet he found that his thoughts consisted of nothing other than Hermione, however much he hated it. He wished he had never gone to that engagement party, then he'd never have met up with Hermione again and he would be saved this pain. He had endured quite a lot of pain during the war years but he would rather endure that than the agony he was feeling now, that was making his chest feel tight and heavy.

There came a whoosh from the fireplace and Albus Dumbledore landed on the rug in front of the fire with a graceful thud.

"Morning Severus," he said far too cheerfully for Severus' liking. "Oh dear, not a good morning I take it." He saw the pile of broken drinking glasses by the wall.

"No, it's not a bloody good morning," he growled feeling a shooting pain go through his head. He winced and Albus laughed going across the room to pour his friend some more coffee.

"Do you feel like telling me what the problem is?" He asked handing him the cup.

"You're not going to go away even if I say no are you?" Severus asked and Albus shook his head.

"What could possibly be so bad that you feel the need to drink Hagrid's weight in alcohol?" The old man asked looking at the empty liquor bottles.

"How does being in love with a married woman sound?" Severus said icily.

"Familiar," Albus said simply and Severus looked at him in surprise. "Yes, I myself have been in your situation. May I ask the woman's name?"

"Hermione Layton," Severus said downing the black coffee feeling it burning his mouth but not caring, he was just glad to have some feeling back in it.

"That I was not expecting," Albus said raising an eyebrow at him. "I wouldn't have thought she was your type."


"What intelligent and beautiful? No whose type would she be," he said sarcastically in reply.

"All right no need to get sarcastic on me. How does she feel about you?" Severus shrugged his shoulders.


"Well she doesn't hate me anymore. It's academic anyway; she won't leave her husband. She loves him," Severus said bitterly, scowling before taking another sip of coffee.

"I never did like him," the headmaster said wistfully.

"He's a dick head," the younger man spat out going to get himself some more coffee. "He doesn't deserve her," he said staring into space, "nobody does."

Dumbledore felt sorry for his young friend. He had avoided finding love all these years, knowing that he couldn't commit to someone while the war was going on, and now he has found love it has to be denied because the timing was not right. He was not an emotional person and now he's shown he has emotions he gets hurt, how ironic.

"Severus, I know it's hard but you have to get on with it. I have been where you are now and I can only say that you will get over it." The headmaster then left his friend hoping that he had heard his words and that he would try to get over this.

Hermione was sitting at home reading a magazine when she heard the front door open. She smiled at her husband as he walked into the living room and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hello love," she said and he sat down in the chair.

"Hello," he replied rubbing his eyes. Hermione looked at his tired eyes and stood up. She walked behind him and started to massage his shoulders.

"Hard day at work?" She asked kneading his shoulder muscles with her fingers.

"Yes, lots of paperwork," he said leaning forward as she worked lower.

"Did you see the doctor?" He stiffened and then stood up.

"Why do you keep going on about that?" He asked coldly looking out of the window, away from her.

"I'm sorry I just thought it was what you wanted. I didn't mean to upset you, I was only asking," she said, cursing herself for saying the wrong thing to him. It wasn't what he wanted to be reminded of after a hard day at work.

"Look, just get dinner on and we'll forget about this," Greg said. Hermione felt upset about his order to go and make dinner but she did it anyway, knowing she needed to make up for her insensitivity.

"Really?" Harry said to Dumbledore as he poured him a mug of tea. "He really said he loved her." The old man nodded. "Bloody hell."

"Yes, I'm telling you I've never seen him like this." Dumbledore sat down with his drink and Harry sat opposite not believing his ears. "I mean, you thought he was hard work when he showed no emotion, it's nothing compared to how difficult he is now," Harry smiled at the headmaster's friendly jibe at his Potions Master. "It just goes to show what repressing emotions does to you. Eventually the flood gates open and you can't stop the emotions pouring out of you."

"Yes, I'll remember that the next time I stop myself from crying at E.T," Harry said sipping his hot tea.

"E.T?"

"It's a Muggle film, very sad," Harry said. "So Hermione's staying with Greg then?"

"Yes it appears so. What do you think of Mr Layton?" Dumbledore asked.


"Well, I never liked him much, Hermione hardly sees us these days and if she does Greg tells her off. And she goes back and apologises for seeing her friends, what's that all about?"

"I see, well maybe someone needs to bring to her attention how wrong this whole situation is," Dumbledore suggested.

"You're right," Harry agreed. "I will talk to her as soon as possible."

There was about a minute's silence before Harry spoke.

"So how is everything at Hogwarts?" He asked.

"Well, Filch is threatening to resign after someone made Mrs Norris' fur pink with blue spots. I have a pretty good idea of who it was that did that." Harry snickered at the thought of a multi-coloured Mrs Norris. " And Hagrid has the flu, which isn't pretty I advise you stay as far away as possible."

"So things are pretty hectic then?" Harry asked with a cheeky smile.

"Well, I have a disgruntled caretaker, an unwell gamekeeper, and a love sick Potions Master. Things are pretty hectic yes." The old man did look pretty tired.

The two men laughed at this and soon moved on to another subject, but Hermione and Severus were always in the back of their minds.

A few days later Severus trudged into Dumbldore's office at the headmaster's request. He had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say, and if he was honest he really didn't want to hear it. But he would humour his old friend, go along pretend to listen like he use to do in History of Magic when he was a student.

"Ah, Severus please sit down." The headmaster beamed at the younger man and gestured towards the chair on the opposite side of the desk. When Severus had taken his seat the old man looked over his glasses at him. "I have to say," he said after a while, "that I am beginning to worry about you."

"I'm fine headmaster," Severus said folding his arms over his chest. This and his formal words suggested otherwise.

"Except when you're around the students you only call me headmaster when you're lying to me," Dumbledore said to him. Severus sniffed indignantly.

"I'm not lying, I've told you I'm fine," he said sternly wanting the man to leave him alone.

"Then why did you hex Mrs Norris?" Severus looked up at Dumbledore in surprise.

"How did you know that was me?" He asked narrowing his black eyes suspiciously.

"I know many things, so why did you do it?"

"She was in my lab, looking for students probably, and she spilt some very valuable substances." He sat back in the chair, sulking.

"You wouldn't have usually done that, you'd have been angry but hexing an innocent cat?" Dumbledore tutted playfully at him but Severus was not in the mood for playful.

"Innocent cat?" He exclaimed. "Pull the other one Albus. You're lucky I hexed her actually." Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Yes, I was going to hex Filch." Dumbledore laughed. "The man's a pervert, you do know that, don't you?"

"Now Severus, that is un-called for,"

"He told one of the girls in my house that he was going to chain her up, that's not right!" Severus protested but Dumbledore just shook his head, knowing that Filch was only trying to scare the young girl.

"You are avoiding the issue," he said. "I know you're feeling a lot of new emotions at the moment but you'll learn to deal with it."

"Don't tell me I'll learn to deal with it, I don't want to deal with it." He paused and sat there for a moment. "I want it to go away," he said in a quieter voice.

"I know my boy, but that's not how life is. I'm sorry." Dumbledore suddenly had a flashback of Severus as a child snivelling over some trick that James Potter and his friends had played on him. How Albus wished he'd listened to the young boy, it might have saved him a great deal of pain.

"I'm sorry about Mrs Norris," Severus said looking up at the headmaster not sounding very sorry. It sounded like a childish, empty apology but Dumbledore didn't care, he just wanted the old Severus back.

"Don't worry." He then began to laugh. "You know the students are going around saying that the person who hexed Mrs Norris is their hero." He stopped and laughed even more. "If only they knew it was you." Both men started laughing, and this pleased Dumbledore. He couldn't help Hermione with her problem that was up to Harry but he could help Severus.

"Harry!" Hermione said as she opened the door and found her best friend standing on the doorstep.

"Hi Hermione, can I come in?" He asked.

"Sure, um Greg will be back soon but we have a few minutes." Harry rolled his eyes and followed her into the house getting the feeling that her husband would not approve of his presence. "So you like the house?" She asked.

Harry looked around in horror. It was almost the spitting image of the Dursely's house, the same neat and tidy rooms and polished wood. Harry never imagined Hermione living somewhere this mundane.

"It's, er, great." He lied feeling that telling the truth would not be the best way to start this particular conversation.

"Do you want some tea?" She asked over her shoulder, walking into the kitchen.

"No I just came to talk to you," Harry replied following her further into the house.

"Oh, okay then." Harry took a deep breath working up the courage to do this to Hermione.

"Hermione, what I'm going to say might upset you but I'm saying it because I love you."

"I don't like the sound of this," Hermione said narrowing her eyes, getting defensive.

"Hermione," he started again, "Hermione I don't think Greg is right for you." There he'd said it, and she was looking angry. He braced himself for the fall out.

"What?" She exclaimed. "This is what you came to tell me, where did that come from?"

"I'm sorry but it's what I think, it's what a lot of us think. Including Dumbledore." Harry knew as soon as he had said it that it was the wrong thing to say.

"You've been discussing me, with Dumbledore? Anybody else, Sirius, Remus, the Chudley Cannons team?"

"Don't be childish Hermione, we're just worried about you. We don't see you anymore."

"Look this is none of your business, just get out and leave me alone!" She gestured towards the door but Harry stayed put.

"No Hermione you will hear me out," he said defiantly and she crossed her arms and looked away making it look as if she wasn't listening, but she was, he knew she was. "Hermione," he started again, "we hardly ever see you, and you said yourself that Greg goes mad if you see us."

"So he wants to spend time with me, why is that a bad thing?"

"It's not, of course it's not, but he doesn't spend time with you does he? Ask yourself this, when was the last time you went out?" Harry said his voice raising. "What do you two do?"

"I really don't want to hear this Harry, please." He was immune to her pleas and tears this time; he wasn't going to let her ruin her life just because he was afraid she might get mad.

"I know you don't but you're going to hear it this time. Everybody thinks he's an asshole but because you plead with them and turn on the water works they don't talk about it. But I will, because I don't want to see you like this anymore. He's not right for you. We used to have such fun, you remember? We used to go out and have a laughs, he's boring and all he cares about is work."

"That's not true!"

"Yes it is! Look at this house Hermione!" He pointed around. "It looks like the Dursley's house, except it's tidier. I can't believe you live here, someone who said that Ron's house was the coolest house ever."

"I don't see what business that is of yours," Hermione said coldly turning her back on him.

"It's my business because you're my friend and I'm watching a man turn you into somebody else! You don't owl us, you don't see us! That's good turning your back on me like that, it really hurts, is that what Greg does to you?"

"You bastard!" She shouted turning around to slap him. It stung, but he had been expecting it. He instinctively touched his face where her hand had been.

"See, he's turned you into someone else already!"

"I'm still me!" She shouted not wanting Harry to be right, she wanted to believe that her husband loved her for who she was.

"No you're not, he represses you through emotional blackmail, he makes you feel guilty for seeing your friends and having a good time, and you just take it. What he's doing to you isn't right!"

"I know!" Hermione shouted finally admitting it to herself, feeling a weight being lifted off her shoulders.

Harry couldn't believe what he'd heard. She'd known all the time what Greg was doing and she'd just let him get on with it. He moved to Hermione and put his arms around her. She threw herself into his arms and sobbed into his chest/

"Then why are you still with him?" Harry asked his heart breaking for his poor confused friend.

"B…because I l…love him, that's why!" She said through sobs that were making her small body shake uncontrollably.

"No you don't, not really. You love the familiarity, and you're too scared to give that up." The truth hit Hermione hard, her sobs became louder and more violent, making her throat and head ache almost as much as her heart was.

"B…but he l…loves me, I c…can't l…leave him, I c…can't d…do that to h…him," she choked out through the tirade of tears.


"I don't think he does love you Hermione, not in the way a husband should love," Harry said putting his hand on her shoulder as a comforting gesture. "He doesn't love you as a person, like the wonderful person that you are. He loves the woman that outs up with his crap, and looks pretty on his arm at parties. Tell me the truth Hermione, do you two make love?" She shook her head.

"He…he said he was going to see the doctor about it." She had calmed down a bit now but the tears were still running down her face like miniature streams.

"I don't think he has a problem, I just don't think he's attracted to you like that," Harry said stroking her hair, comforting her.

"What should I do?" She asked as he began to rock her gently.

"Leave, get out while before you become so messed up that you'll never get out." Hermione shook her head. "Somebody confessed his love for you the other day." Hermione froze, knowing whom it was.

"Who?" She asked trying to pretend she didn't know but failing miserably. Harry saw through it.

"I think you know who," he stated simply and Hermione nodded. "Have you been having an affair with him?" Hermione shook her head.

"No, not really, we erm, we slept together once, at the party, but never again. I've seen him again but I told him that I loved Greg and he left… and…and… I haven't seen him since." She burst into tears all over again and Harry's hold on her tightened.

"Do you love him? Severus I mean." Hermione pushed herself out of Harry's embrace. She was rubbing her upper arms comforting herself. She walked to the window and looked out, not really seeing anything.

"I don't know, I never felt this way about Greg," she admitted to herself as well as Harry.

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked her. She turned around, her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were stained from the salty tears.

"I need to see Greg, now I'm going to his work," Hermione said after a few moments.

"I'll go with you," Harry said and Hermione agreed, feeling that she would need his support.

"Thanks, Harry."

They called for a taxi knowing that they would not be able to apparate to the Ministry of Defence. They were asked for identification before they could enter the building and luckily Harry and Hermione still had theirs from their old Auror days.

They took the lift up to Greg's office. Getting off at the fifth floor Hermione walked up to the large pine desk, where a woman with dark brown hair, in her early twenties was sat talking on the telephone while writing something down. She saw Hermione coming and held up her hand to indicate she would be done in just a second.

"Right, that's great David, thanks, bye." The woman put down the receiver and smiled up at Hermione. "How can I help you?" She asked cheerfully.

"I'm here to see Mr Layton," Hermione said to the receptionist.

"May I ask who you are?" She asked picking up a pen.

"I'm his wife, can I see him please?"

"I'm sorry he's in a meeting at the moment, can I take a message?" The woman asked her voice far too cheerful; it was winding Hermione up.

"No, I need to see him now!" She gave up trying to talk to this woman and left in search for Greg's office. She found it and pushed the door open.

Greg was sitting a chair behind his desk and on his lap was a blonde woman, slightly older than Hermione. Greg was smiling but his face dropped when he saw Hermione standing in the doorway, with tears threatening to fall again.

"Hermione?" He said standing up so the woman slid off his lap.

"A meeting, is that what you're calling it these days?" Hermione asked telling herself that she wouldn't cry.

"Who is this?" The blonde woman asked looking at Hermione in disgust.

"I'm his wife!" Hermione shouted. A horrified look crossed the woman's face and she turned to Greg.

"You're married?" She asked and he looked at her pleadingly, she wasn't having any of it though. "You bastard Greg!" She shouted and slapped him hard across the face, her long false nails scratching him at the same time, leaving bloody lines along his cheekbone. She picked up her jacket and walked off.

"Candice don't be like that," he called after her. She turned around and looked at him.

"Why should I stay. You're boring and the sex was terrible," with that said Candice walked of and slammed the door behind her.

When she was gone Greg sat on his chair, put his elbows on the desk and rested his head on his hands.

"So you said that you couldn't have sex with me and all the time you were screwing another woman," Hermione said staying calm, despite her anger.

"Yes," Greg said, not caring what Hermione thought about him.

"She's right, you are a bastard. I put up with all that shit because I thought you loved me." Greg laughed and looked up at her.

"Did you?" He asked. "How could I love you. I mean you're a witch. You have strange friends that play sports on broomsticks and look after Dragons. You're weird, and I don't even think you're very pretty." His comments stung, she knew that maybe he didn't love her, but she had no idea that he felt like this.

"Well, would you find me attractive if I bleached my hair, and had my brains surgically taken out and implanted in my breast to make them bigger?" Hermione said acidly. She had learned her vicious comments from the master and Greg was no match for him, in many ways. Before her eyes Greg had gone from being this mild mannered, boring man to being a hateful, horrible man. Not the man she married.

"I'd never find you attractive, you freak!"