Disclaimer: I dreamt that I owned Harry Potter, but then I woke up.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I have been plotting….

"Hermione, to finish this potion, we're going to need our wands. There doesn't seem to be any other way, you know how much I despise wand waving in my dungeons."

"I can't do that," she remembered that she never found her wand.

"Why not? It's not a complicated charm to cast but we have to have our wands do it."

"Can't you do it by yourself?"

"We both made the potion so we both have to charm it or it won't work."

"I don't have a wand."

"Why not? You mean you've broken it or lost it? Every witch and wizard always keeps his wand with him at all times. Surely you haven't been wandering around without it."

"I lost it, in a manner of speaking."

"Merlin Hermione, how did you manage that?"

"I seemed to have put it down somewhere and I don't know where it is."

"Well, it has to be in your rooms then… or perhaps the library."

"No, I know it's not in my rooms or the library."

"Where did you have it last?" She bit her lip and looked at him. She didn't want to say it but knew there would be no way out of it.

"I… um, I can't be sure…"

"Well, what was the last spell you remember casting with it, maybe we can figure out where you left it," he was having a hard time understanding how she could have misplaced something as important as her wand.

"I don't know," she hastily replied.

"Well think, I'm sure you can remember where you had it last."

"I don't want to."

He was completely confused. He had no idea what was going on with her. He didn't like not being able to at least partially read what was happening as she thought.

"Hermione, I do believe that we need to finish this potion, and unless we cast the charms in one week, three weeks of work will be a total wash. Please try to remember where it was you lost your wand."

She knew he was right, she couldn't let her foolishness destroy what they had worked so hard on for weeks. The Ministry would be very upset if they found out that she had thrown away this much of their time because she didn't want to admit to Severus where she had last seen her wand.

"Diagon Alley," she finally muttered.

"Where at? Maybe someone found it."

"I don't think so," she was trying to be elusive while giving him only the basic facts.

He was starting to get annoyed, "How do you know someone hasn't found it?"

"Because, I just know."

"Hermione, we don't have time for this, where did you last have your wand?" his annoyance with her was coupled with a genuine concern as to why she didn't want to tell him where she had left her wand.

"I… it's that… I mean… what I'm trying to say is…"

"Spit it out girl, we haven't got a millenium to figure this out."

She trembled slightly and became slightly angry with him. "Well, if you really must know, Viktor took my wand when we were in the Leaky Cauldron!" He was totally taken aback, he now understood why she had been so reluctant to tell him what happened to her wand. He felt like a total fool.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I guess I'm just tired. Why don't you just go tomorrow and get another one at Ollivanders?" He tried to calm her down with his smooth words. It appeared to be working.

"I don't want to go by myself," she sheepishly admitted.

"I'll accompany you. I need to get some things from the potions stores anyway. We appear to be out of gypsy follicle."

She nodded to him and she sat down in a chair.

"I'm sorry, I know you're probably tired of this whole mess. I wish I could just get it over with. I wish I could sleep or think or anything. I hate this! And I've dragged you right along with me. Gods!"

He wasn't exactly sure what she was talking about but had a faint notion that she was being plagued by memories of Viktor.

"You haven't dragged me along with anything. There's been no harm done. Don't worry. Now, why don't you go get some rest. It's nearly 2300. We can go to Ollivander's in the morning. I'll clean up here."

She got out of her chair without saying a word and walked out the door. He cleaned up the work area and went into his own study to do a bit of reading. As he looked out the window, he saw her sitting by the lake. She had her knees drawn up to her chest and was rocking back and forth. He could feel her, she was in pain, she was crying. He watched her under the moonlight until she finally got up and walked back to the castle in only her nightshirt. He saw the wind blow it against her thin body. He could see every inch of her through it, he hoped she couldn't see him watching her. His body responded to the image in front of her and he tried desperately to ignore the growing urge inside him. He opted for a bath and a long, dreamless sleep.