A/N: Chapter 2 up! I'm not entirely happy with it but after a third rewrite I'm happy enough with it to post, so happy reading. It was difficult to keep up the atmosphere of the first chapter, so this one is slightly different, a bit more dialogue based and I've tried my hardest to keep them in character. Still SS/HG though (obviously!) Please let me know what you think in the usual way!

A massive THANK YOU to all of my reviewers so far! You've inspired me to write more! *big hugs to you all *

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She was standing at the edge of the lake, staring out over the water as the fierce autumn wind angered it into small, white capped waves that flung themselves against the shore. Her hair blew back from her face, chocolate coloured curls that seemed to wave to him, even though he knew she hadn't yet seen him. Her face was pensive as it stared off into the middle distance, but could see that it bore no visible scars of the night she had nearly died. He was surprised to feel relief, surprised in fact to feel any emotion at all. It had been a long time since he had last seen her, lying in a hospital bed, treading the fine line between life and death. Only when they had been sure that she would live had he left with the honest intention of returning to wish her well, but for reasons unknown to him he had not done so, instead choosing to shut himself away from the world again. He had read about her recovery, and had almost gone to see her on the day she was released from hospital but something had held him back, and he had recognised the emotion as fear. It was enough that she had lived, he had decided. It was not necessary to bother her further.

And now, almost six months later, it seemed that she did not exactly share his sentiments. Severus had been caught off guard by her arrival at the castle, his first instinct being to hide away in his rooms, not even wanting to see her face. The very thought of her was unsettling, he could not cope with seeing her or speaking to her. In the time that had passed since that eventful night he had come to the conclusion that all that had happened that night should remain there. He was in no way ashamed of his behaviour, but conversely he did not wish for it to be acknowledged. Severus had no wish to be the centre of attention, wanted no reward for his actions. Such activities were best left to Potter and Weasley, he decided sourly, wondering why she was here, and why she had demanded to see him. Dumbledore had been most insistent, summoning him from the depths of his dungeon and sending him out into the grounds to where she waited for him. Severus resented having to do so and was having difficulty keeping his formidable temper in check, but then he had rounded a corner and seen her standing by the lake and everything had changed. His breathing slowed from a rapid staccato, he felt himself relax. He watched her face in profile, at turns both serene and brooding and thought for a moment that he might understand a little of how she was feeling.

Hesitation suddenly gone he found himself striding across the short space that separated them, watching as her head turned, and meeting her eyes unflinchingly with his own. She inclined her head a little, smiled slightly. He found that he could return neither gesture. As soon as he was standing by her side she turned her attention back to the lake and Severus became aware for the first time of the misty rain that was falling around them.

"Miss Granger," his voice was deliberately clipped. "Please explain why you have summoned me out here in such appalling weather!" He watched as her face fell, not able to feel the perverse glee he might have felt under other, more straightforward circumstances. There was a long pause, during which she used her wand to cast a simple shielding charm around them. The rain continued to fall everywhere but the invisible bubble in which she had sealed them. The silence was becoming oppressive when she finally spoke.

"I felt that I should see you, that we should talk." Her words were carefully chosen, and disarmingly simple. She did not, however, meet his eyes even though he was staring at her openly.

"Talk?" He questioned her sharply. "Talk about what?"

She turned to him then, and it took him only seconds to realise why she had refused to do so before. Her eyes were brimming with tears and she was gnawing miserably at her bottom lip in a vain effort to stop them falling. The vulnerability in her face reminded him of the ordeal she had only recently suffered; it would not do to treat her so harshly. He allowed his face and demeanour to soften a little, in order to show her that he was not as angry as he might be. His reward was a stifled sob as she buried her face in her hands.

"Now really, Miss Granger, this is not necessary," he told her in a softer tone of voice. Her sobbing seemed to intensify as he realised that he had again said the wrong thing, so he took the only path left open to him. "Please don't cry," he whispered, taking two short steps in order to close the gap that separated them. He hesitated, unsure how she would react, then took a deep breath and pulled her into a gentle embrace, wrapping his arms around her slim form. He felt her stiffen slightly, then relax against him as she continued to cry. Her hair tickled his nose and he tried to shift away from it but was surprised to find her clinging to him, her face hidden in his robes. He sighed gently and stayed where he was, prepared to wait patiently until her sudden outpouring of emotion had ceased. He supposed that she had been struggling with the events of the summer for some time and he realised that it had been wrong for him to avoid speaking to her about them for so long. He had been so preoccupied with rebuilding his own life he had paid no attention to how she might rebuild hers. Wisdom and hindsight had seen to it that he could carry on in much the same way he had done before, but for Hermione it was always going to be different. She was young and gifted but not yet wise in the ways of the world. Severus realised now with her sudden reappearance that he should have stayed with her long enough so that she might have understood what it was that had happened to her, instead of walking away to let her face the enormity of the situation alone. He himself had always been alone, but the selfishness of his decision struck him now. He should have helped her then, and he was thoroughly ashamed of himself for not doing so. Lost in his thoughts, he lowered his head to rest it on top of hers, waiting.

It was several long moments later before she had calmed herself sufficiently to speak, her voice still muffled in his robes.

"You saved my life," she said. Severus had been expecting this. He had spent enough time wondering how he would respond to the question, should it ever arise.

"I simply helped you to stay awake until the Mediwitches arrived," he told her softly. She lifted her tear stained face out of his robes then, and he let his arms drop soundlessly back to his sides, feeling a sudden chill sweep through him that was almost a loss. He tried to dismiss these sudden and surprising feelings of tenderness towards her but could not deny the link that they had forged that night. Somehow Hermione Granger had become special to him. At the same point when it had mattered to him whether she lived or died she had become important. The idea was as shocking as it was appealing.

"You did much more than that," Hermione said. She was close enough to him that he could see his reflection in her eyes. Severus mentally shook himself, tried to regain his composure.

"You were very ill Miss Granger, you cannot possibly remember what did or did not take place that night," he lifted his head a little to look down the line of his nose at her, an arrogant gesture of old.

"I remember everything." She assured him. "Everything you said and everything you did. You can deny the fact all you want but I would have died without you," she drew a shuddering breath. "I came here today because I could wait no longer to thank you for what you did. I should have known that you would try to throw it back at me." Her face was taut with anger.

"I am not trying to throw anything back at you," he clenched his teeth and frowned at her, feeling a small surge of anger that liberated him from his sudden feelings of tenderness. "But I do not wish for you to feel obliged to me for something so insignificant!"

"Insignificant?" Hermione's eyes blazed. "I nearly died and you think that it was insignificant?"

"You are twisting my words." His voice was deadly soft, warning her against saying anything further.

"I did not come here to argue with you," she sighed and a weary defeated look spread across her face. "I wanted to thank you. Why can't you accept that?"

Severus stared at her, feeling a headache start to throb at his temple. He had not anticipated her being like this. Her struggle with the acceptance of her near death was evident, and yet she seemed defiant in the face of it. He simply could not find the words to say to her.

"Goodbye, Miss Granger." He had dispelled the shielding charm and turned away from her before she had the chance to react. Her hand on his arm surprised him into stopping and he reluctantly turned back to her as the rain fell on them both.

"Wait." Her voice was low as she stepped in towards him, and as he stubbornly refused to give ground she was soon pressed right up against him. Far from finding the experience unpleasant, Severus was concerned to find that the warmth of her body pressing against his was unnervingly enjoyable. He forced himself to look down at her, not understanding what it was that was shining in her eyes.

"I owe you my life, Severus Snape," she whispered to him, the ghost of a smile playing on her lips. "That is not a debt easily forgotten, however you might wish it."