Disclaimer: I only own the story here. JK Rowling owns everything else.I cannot believe she thought of it first!

Author's Note: Chapter 5 is finally up. Thanks to all my reviewers who asked me to continue. I love reviews so please leave more!

And here is your long-awaited Chapter 5

Staying in bed seemed like an excellent idea to Hermione the next morning. She had never played hooky in her life, and yet the thought of facing Severus Snape again made her feel physically ill. They had been so close to a friendship, and she'd ruined it. Giving into her temptation, Hermione pulled the covers back over her head. It was useless to try and befriend Snape. Completely useless. Several minutes later she managed to send a note to Dumbledore saying that she had a migraine and had brewed herself a healing potion, but would need to stay in bed for the remainder of the day. Reading it over, she knew Dumbledore wouldn't buy it, but right then she didn't care. All she wanted to do was go back to her old life, and leave all thoughts of the Potions professor behind.

The next morning, Hermione again woke up and didn't want to leave her bedroom. Although most of her mind was engaged upon feeling sorry for herself, a small part in the back of it knew that Snape would only think less of her if she didn't show up today. And that would be truly hard to bear. Sighing, she pulled back the sheets and looked dismally around the room, her day looking to be as bleak as the stormy outdoors.

After a busy day in the hospital wing, Hermione slowly headed down to the dungeons. Upon walking in, she found Snape bent over the potion, stirring quickly. She walked quietly so as not to disturb him, knowing that if she caused him to make a mistake, his wrath would expand beyond known proportions. For what seemed to her like eternity, he stirred the potion without acknowledging her presence. Finally, he looked up, his eyes piercing into hers. "Good evening, Miss Granger."

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Severus looked into the young woman's face for the first time since she had come into the room several minutes ago. The expression on it surprised him. Although he could tell she was trying her best to look in control and stay grounded, her eyes and face showed fear. 'How ironic,' he thought to himself. He had been trying to scare her for so long, and none of his intimidation methods had worked. Now, after so much of his precious time had been spent working on it, the fear was finally in her mind, and, for some reason, It was not comforting to him. True, he had not wanted a partner when Dumbledore had first suggested it to him. But now.things were different now. Yesterday the potions lab was filled with a silence that stood in the air as stone. He had received an owl from Dumbledore, who's intuitive nature was again almost too much to bear. In his scrawly writing, Dumbledore had stated that Hermione would not be assisting him today because of her severe migraine, and that Severus was advised to watch what he said to her from then on. Nothing could get past that man, nothing. The relief that Severus had expected from his return to solidarity did not come as he thought it would that day, instead another well-known emotion consumed him fully. Loneliness was something Snape had never dealt well with, and probably never would. Although he would never admit it out loud, Severus missed Hermione. More than anybody could ever imagine.

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"Good evening, Professor," Hermione answered softly, attempting to keep her gazes away from his face. "What do we need to do today?"

"I have just stirred the potion for five minutes, and it will not require another stirring for half an hour. Yesterday was the most complicated day the potion required, and your absence did not improve the matter here," he answered coldly.

"I thought you did not need my help here, Professor. You told me so yourself when we first started working here," she answered, slightly more confidently than she felt.

Realizing the conflict he had just caused, Severus turned away, pretending to be interested in the ingredients on the counter to his right.

"Don't turn away from me!" Hermione cried, suddenly angered. "Why do you try so hard to make me feel unwanted and un-needed, and then try to make me feel guilty for not showing up? Why do you try to intimidate me, scare me away? Is it so hard to simply be courteous? Do you not see how god-damn hard this is for me too? I'm away from the people I care about, stuck here in a dungeon working with a man who wants nothing but to be rid of me! And I'm fucking sick of it! So either let me in, or let me go, but do not mix the signals up, as you seem to have already done. Let me help you or I'm through."

Shocked by her words, all Severus could do was stare at her for a moment. His mind seemed to be having a battle of sorts. She was so angry now, only an apology could make her stay. And apologizing was what Snape was worst at; he never could find the words to say. A selfish prideful voice inside his head told him to just let her walk out the door and to continue the potions by himself. However, from the constant work the day before, and the plaguing loneliness, every other part of his body knew what had to be done. He had to express regret. "I.I am sorry, Miss Granger. Your work here has been useful, and your company has been.for the most part.pleasant. Please accept this as an apology for my behavior both today and for everyday that we have been working together. I do wish you to remain my partner, because Albus was right, I cannot do this alone. As for me letting you in.you do not want to know about me, and my life. Please do not attempt to get involved in it, as knowledge would only cause pain to you and others."

Hermione nodded, surprised by his kind apology. "Yes, sir, I will not ask questions. And I would like to stay here and do potions, if you are entirely sure my presence does not offend you."

"It doesn't."

"Alright, then." The rest of the night went by smoothly, as Hermione read again and Severus checked papers. Eventually Hermione got ready to take her leave, as the hour was nearing midnight. "Goodnight, Professor."

"There is no need for you to address me as Professor; I no longer hold that role in regards to you. I would feel more comfortable if you would call me Severus."

"Yes.Severus. You may also call me Hermione, Miss Granger seems horribly formal. Goodnight, then," answered a pleasantly surprised Hermione.

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From that evening on, Hermione and Severus formed an unsaid truce. Over the next few weeks, their time together was spent in an almost pleasant manner, civil to say the least. Although the ever-growing friendship was never acknowledged and did not interfere with the progress of their work, both parties somehow felt its presence. Conversations spawned between them, sometimes for hours until both were feeling the effects of fatigue ending the temporary bond.

At nearly 10:00 at night on a Thursday evening in mid-November, Hermione and Severus were deep in the midst of one such conversation. Having finished the Memondorian the day before, the partners could allow distractions such as speaking, not having anything to ruin. Usually their conversation only covered topics deemed "safe", such as books, music, the weather, and other somewhat noncontroversial subjects. This night was not the case, however, as Hermione and Severus' conversation led to the more personal subject of family.

Hermione was curled up in an armchair by the fire in Severus' office, warmth flooding her body as she talked with him. Their conversation had begun on the topic of next potion they would be making, Pupilibulum. Again, the process and ingredients of this undertaking were complicated, but restoring eyesight to those who were blind seemed worth the effort of several weeks work. During their conversation, Hermione mentioned that she had told her mother of the next potion they were making, and expressed her mom's pride that they had successfully completed the Memondorian.

"Do you communicate with your mother often?" Snape asked, truly curious as to Hermione's family life.

"I write to them every week and visit them by floo on weekends about once a month. They like to hear how I'm doing every now and then, seeing as I'm their only child. They have always had high expectations for me, and are pleased to see me accomplishing them. What about you? Do you have a family?" she asked, rather apprehensively.

"Yes, I write to my parents about once a month and visit a couple times a year, probably not as often as I should. I am also an only child, and my parents had similar expectations from me as yours did for you. As much as I've tried to please them though, mistakes I've made in my past will always disappoint them, and that is something I cannot erase from my mind or theirs."

"You mean becoming a Death Eater?" Hermione asked, hardly daring she had the nerve to say it. Severus shot her a look, though it was hard for her to read it. It seemed to be a combination of surprise and regret, though there seemed to be a hint of anger there that made Hermione shrink slightly.

"Yes. That was the worst decision of my life. But I do not want to talk about this now, could we please change the subject?" he asked, carefully avoiding the touchy question.

"Of course," answered Hermione, pleased that he hadn't yelled at her. Though the subject had ended abruptly and had been rather short-lived, she felt closer to him than she had ever been before. All that she could think about was the man sitting next to her, and his dark and secretive past.