3. Breaking up.
The next months were the best ones in his life. Hermione would come to his office almost every evening, she'd help him prepare the lessons for the next day, and then they'd retire to his quarters. He'd had a few crushes when he'd been a student himself, but he couldn't remember ever truly loving anyone before.
At first he had looked forward to the end of the school year. She would graduate, and once she was no longer his student, they no longer had to worry about being discovered. However, lately his opinion about that had changed. The news about the Dark Lord was worse, far worse. There were attacks on Muggles and opponents of Voldemort almost every day, and it scared him.
He'd always been able to be really calm about the war. Even when he had spied on the Dark Lord. Of course, he'd been afraid. Only a fool would not be. But he had been able to control it. Now, he realised he was vulnerable. After she graduated, Hermione would go to University, and she would no longer have the protection of Hogwarts. Bad enough all by itself, but he had come to realise that if Voldemort found out how much he cared about her, she would be in great danger. And all because of him.
For almost two weeks, he lay awake at night and fretted. Finally, he took a decision. It was the last day of finals, he would tell her tonight.
"When you're not at Hogwarts anymore we can't keep our relationship hidden. He'll find out and he'll use you to get to me."
"I've been Harry's friend for years, would it really make that much of a difference?"
"Yes it will. You don't know how much he hates me. It's better this way."
After a long moment of silence, Hermione nodded. She blinked furiously and turned, then ran off down the hall without looking back.
He went back into his office and closed the door.
Neither of them noticed the pale-haired boy, hidden in the shadows of a side corridor.
