A/N: Wow, thank you for the reviews. I'm really surprised at how many I've got for this one. I'm sorry if you thought the last was OOC for Dumbledore- the point was, it was his attempt at trying to tap into her- an OOC type of behaviour shown by him- he was trying to show her how serious it was. I hope you like this one- quite a quick turn on events here. Please review if you do.

4. Letting Go

Sitting cross-legged on her bed, dressed in baggy, scarlet pyjamas, her long brown hair hanging free down her back, Hermione hugged a pillow to herself. She pulled it tighter, hoping to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. She truly hated herself for letting her safety net slip for a moment. How could she have done that to the boy? No matter what she had said, they were all right- she had no right to do that. She considered pulling the suitcase out from under her bed and throwing all her belongings back inside and running away from the castle that very night.

No, Hermione told herself. Not now. She'd promised herself not to break, not to escape when she felt the familiar fears come upon her again. She could take it. Stay strong until she could close it all out permanently. Somehow, sadly, she'd convinced herself that is was truly the best answer.

Hermione was startled when a gentle tapping came on her bedroom door. Hastily blinking away evidence of tears, she forgot her appearance completely.

Severus felt a strange rush inside as the door was pulled open and she appeared. There was silence for a few seconds as he regarded her in her true form.

A beautiful face, framed with shining locks of chestnut hair was turned towards his. There was no barrier between them for a single sweet moment. He knew it was truly Hermione Granger looking back at him.

Suddenly, breaking the bond forged temporarily between them, she pulled the pyjamas tighter around her.

"How did you get in without my permission?"

"Genevieve allowed me the honour," he replied. "She recognised me."

"That is still no reason for her to let you in! I must instruct her not to do so in future."

"You don't need to raise your voice. I thought perhaps I might have interrupted your sleep if I asked her to come in and check. If you didn't open your door to me, I would have left."

Hermione glared at him in fury. Severus stifled a smile, remembering how the Gryffindor once had been too timid to dare talk to him. "You should know better than to call on anybody like this! And knocking on my bedroom door!"

"I apologise," he said slowly. "But I'm not entirely sure whether that's what you are yelling at me for."

"I'm not yelling!" Hermione suddenly realised that she was actually shouting at him. She strode past angrily him.

"Please go," she said in a lower tone, gesturing to the portrait hole."

"No."

Hermione paused and looked at him, perhaps wondering whether she had misheard him.

"Excuse me?"

"I've had enough of your refusal to open up to anyone and you obviously aren't going to do it willingly."

"How dare you!" Hermione was incensed. "I have nothing to say to you!"

In comparison to her steadily growing red face, his was calm. As a further irritation, he sank into one of the chairs in the living room rather casually and studied her.

"Funny," he remarked. "I gave you a little push and you're already cracking."

It was Hermione's turn to look back at him. She laughed. "You think that you, of all people, can push me?"

"Yes," he replied. He stood up and crossed over to where she was standing. "I do."

Tilting her head, Hermione said. "I've guessed by now that you've been informed of a little incident in one of my classes. Tell me…Severus…do you truly want to find out what happens when you push me?"

"It does intrigue me."

Her eyes flashed. "Don't be ridiculous. You don't know the extent of my power."

"I know you can't control it."

Hermione hesitated, if only for a fraction of a second. She could feel her emotions rising and fought to keep a hold on them. "I have control. Only you are testing it."

"Prove it."

"Don't force me too."

Dark eyes stared into each other. "I want to."

Severus's hands were on her shoulders and he leaned closer towards her.

Restraining herself no longer, she let go of the emotions stirring within her.

Severus went flying across the room, smashing into one of the bookshelves with a heavy thud.

Hermione gasped in shock, one hand covering her mouth, as he slowly got to his feet, his face serious.

"You're powerful, Hermione. But you shouldn't be in that way."

"You made me angry…I told you, you shouldn't push me…"

He made his way back to her, rubbing his elbow where he could feel a bruise beginning to develop. "Don't lie to me, Hermione. That wasn't anger. It was sadness."

"You can't keep this locked up, Hermione. It'll kill you from the inside and you know it."

No argument in her brown eyes, Hermione slowly slumped to the ground. When she finally looked up at him, a lone tear slid down her cheek. He knelt down beside her, and reached out a hand. She flinched at first but allowed him to gently wipe it away.

Severus watched as more followed, reddening her eyes and cheeks, making her look more like the girl he'd remembered, as she left the scene of the final war, her loved ones strewn amongst the other bodies.

"Tell me?" he asked softly.

Resigning herself, she answered," What do you want to know?"

"Anything you want to tell me."

She swallowed, and after wiping her face with one of her hands, she began to speak in a sad tone.

"I couldn't go back. Not after Ro…not after they were killed," she shook her head.

"I thought I still had Harry. Voldemort was dead; the prophecy told us that he would live. He was weak, but he was going to live. I knew it. He…was leaning on me…we were going back to Hogwarts. I was crying about Ron, but he kept saying that he would have wanted us to make it back. We thought we were safe…then she appeared."

"Who?" he interrupted gently.

"LeStrange," she looked bitter. "We should have known. She hadn't appeared all night." She looked to Severus. "Harry just looked at me for a second. He knew. His wand was gone and it would have been too late for me to use mine." In a harsher voice, she added. "At least I killed her for what she took away from me."

A sob choked her. "I thought I could stand it here, be able to protect myself. I've barely been here a few weeks and already you've broken me."

"It hurts so much," she whispered. "Harry and Ron are gone, my parents, the Weasleys…"

"Everybody's gone from me."

She stared at him with glistening eyes. "Would you leave me?"

No expecting an answer to the question, she drooped her head down again, only to have it gently pulled up to face his once more.

She shivered as he leant towards her and kissed her forehead softly, her wet eyelids and her tear-stained cheeks.

"I'm here now," he said before kissing her gently on the lips and slowly standing up. "That's what counts."

Not looking back at her, he exited the room through the portrait hole and left her sitting on the floor, her tears stilled by pure amazement.