Disclaimer: Nothing relating to the Harry Potter universe belongs to me. Not even you, Sevvie, sorry. *Severus cries* So don't sue.

A/N: No one can say I am lazy this time! I am writing like crazy here. I have updated most of my stories, and am rewriting one. *pat self on the back*

nesscafe: Happy birthday to your husband! I turned 18 yesterday and had a great day. Did you?

Ezmerelda: Are your muses back yet? Mine seem ready to work again. You're right, Sevvie was still suspicious of Hermione and did something really stupid in this chapter. I hope you like it!

Real-fan05: I have updated again and it has hardly been a month! Aren't you proud of me? No?

kurtfan5678: Thanks, hope you like this chapter as well.

ShinHee Tae: Oh, don't cry. *hand you a tissue* There's still one last heartache in this chapter, and they would get together next chapter, I promise.

Kathryn: Severus was back in his sardonic batman form in this chapter. Well, sorta back anyway. Hope you like it!

AddisonRae: Thanks! Sevvie and Hermione couldn't be together until next chapter. Be patient!

Joshua Glass: Severus/Hermione forever! Yeah! *ahem* Glad you like the story!

Kryptonite: I did have a happy birthday, thanks! Here is the next chappy, hope you like it!

Bullwinkle435: If you cried last chapter, you'll probably cry reading this too. *hand over tissue* Lol. Hope you like it!

Noriko M. Chijinu: I loved that line too! I just kept reading it and rewriting it! Lol. Let's talk in MsN sometime!

Suus: Here's the next chappy, and yeah, of course this goes before school! *grin*

Sallymander: Severus and Hermione are born to be together, yay! Hope you like this chapter too!

Sev's love: Thanks, I did have a happy birthday. Keep on reading!

Thanks for all the 'happy birthday's, you guys are the best! *wipe a tear* I turned 18 yesterday and am already feeling old! Lol.

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As soon as Severus stepped out of the dungeons, his happiness began to dwindle away like snow in a March afternoon. It was replaced by a familiar headache as he approached the Great Hall and the buzzing noises of the students reached his ear. He was a morning person- as long as he was allowed to stay in his dungeon and have a nice cup of coffee.

He entered the Hall in his usual cloak-billowing manner, the patented sneer in place. He strode to the High Table straightaway, not gracing the other tables a quick glance- not even the Griffindor table. He could see it clearly in the back of his head, the way Hermione put down her goblet and beamed at him, the way her eyes turned dull in disappointment when he did not even look at her. His insides twisted at the expression on her face, and he suppressed a sigh as he sat down beside Dumbledore.

"Good morning, Severus," the Headmaster greeted cheerfully. Severus grunted in response.

Pouring himself a steaming cup of black coffee, Severus turned his attention to the students, or rather, to the student. She was laughing with Potter and Longbottom at something. Weasley was sitting next to Potter, sulking. Severus clenched his fists remembering how he kissed her the other night, and a string of curses ran through his mind. How dare he!

"Toast, Severus?" Dumbledore offered. Severus nodded absent-mindedly. He did not even notice when the older wizard loaded half a dozen toasts onto his plate.

She was still laughing with her friends and did not cast him a glance. Severus glared at her intently, hoping that she would look up and smile at him- just once would be enough...

"Merlin, Severus," a voice jerked him out of his thoughts. He turned to face McGonagall whom he had just realized was sitting next to him, and eyed the witch questioningly.

She rolled her eyes and pointed. "Did you mean to do that, Severus?"

He looked back down and sure enough, he had dipped a toast into his mug. He lifted the piece of soggy bread.

"Honestly," McGonagall said, half amused. "And you're the Order's most trusted spy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Severus demanded.

"Well, for one thing, you are completely oblivious to your surroundings," the witch replied with a smirk. "Second, you are staring. I mean, can you be more obvious?"

"I am not ob-"

"Tell me, where was Miss Granger last night?" She stopped his retort with a hand, and smiled triumphantly at his expression. "Ahh, imagine my confusion when I went to the Griffindor Tower last night hoping to get some help from a young prefect, only to find that she was not in bed. According to her friends, she went to retrieve her bag and never returned-"

"Okay, okay!" He hissed. "You win. I am not worthy of being a spy."

"That's not what I meant," she patted his hand in consolingly. "I am merely trying to say that... well, just be good to her."

Severus mumbled something incoherent about nosy Griffindor witches, but McGonagall had already turned her attention to a joke the Headmaster was telling. The Potions Master did not join in the laughter, but focused his eyes on a certain student again.

Am I really that obvious? He thought to himself. Last night, instead of feeling hazy like a dream, became clearer and clearer by the moment. His every word, every action. And he had to admit that he was obvious. He had exposed himself, and that was the first on the 'Top Ten Don'ts of Spies'.

*He pulled her onto his lap and put the steaming mug into her hand.*

*"How did it get this far?"*

*"I am sorry," he said formally, hiding the overwhelming guilt from his voice.*

*"What will become of us?" He asked serenely into her hair.*

*"Why did you evade me in my lessons?"*

He swallowed a groan bitterly. Must he appear so weak? The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to smack himself on the head. He had repeated his mistakes, he had allowed the sentimental side of himself to gain an upper hand. He looked at Hermione. She was still laughing, unaware of his doubts and confusions. Of course, after last night, she would think everything was resolved. But he knew better.

Or maybe they were laughing at- me?

He shoved the thought ruthlessly away, but it lingered, like the ghost of his past.

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"You seem awfully happy today," complained Harry, who had shadows under his eyes. He was having strange dreams again.

"I'll brew you some Dreamless Sleep Potion later, Merlin knows I am an expert of that now," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes thinking of the many batches of the said potion she had brewed in her detentions.

It was a stormy winter afternoon. As the Griffindors moved down the stairs for Potions, they heard the wind howling above them. For apparent reasons, the dungeons seemed danker than usual.

"I hate it when it rains, this place smells funny," Lavender grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Like the Slytherins," Harry said, and gained a few appreciative sniggers from his friends.

"Hermione, last night-" It was Neville.

"What about last night?" Hermione asked sharply. Lavender and Harry stopped joking and pulled their ears up. The others walked past, including Ron, though he did not move on before throwing them a suspicious glare. Soon the four of them were left alone.

"Last night McGonagall came into the Common Room to find you- said something about a first year dueling with a second year Ravenclaw," Neville said. The four began to walk slowly.

"Merlin's beard, what did you say?" Hermione paled, but in the dim light none of her friends noticed.

"Well, I told her that you left your bag in detention and was not in the Common Room."

"And what did she say?"

"Strangely, she didn't say anything. She just left smiling," Neville recalled in a puzzled voice.

"Where have you been last night, Hermy?" Lavender demanded.

"I-" Hermione blushed profoundly, and this time, Harry caught the pink patches on her cheeks.

"This has something to do with Snape," He said matter-of-factly, and Hermione's deepening blush confirmed his idea.

"Tell us what happened!" Lavender exclaimed impatiently. Hermione's silence had aroused her curiosity- she needed to know.

Hermione looked at the three pairs of expectant eyes, then lowered her gaze. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your view point), the Potions classroom came into view.

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"Hermione," Harry whispered.

"Shhh," Hermione whispered back from the corner of her mouth. "He's coming to an important part, Harry!"

Harry leant back in defeat, and started kicking the chair in front of him impatiently. Parvati turned and threw him a warning glower. He sighed and focused on Snape's lecture. Or he tried to focus.

"-versatile. Not only is it useful as a cleaning agent, but when mixed with dragon bone marrow, it can effectively cure blindness-"

Snape was pacing up and down the aisles, occasionally pausing to read what the students were putting down. Harry looked at Hermione's long, word-packed parchment and back at his own empty one. He had no idea what Snape was teaching.

"Psst, Hermione," he tried again.

"For Merlin's sake Harry-"

Before she could finish the sentence, a parchment crumbled into a ball landed into her lap. Hermione picked it up and unfolded it. It was from Lavender and it read,

'Tell us what happened!'

"You guys are-" Hermione started angrily, but for the second time she was being interrupted. This time, by the Potions Master himself.

"Mr. Potter, ten points for talking and disrupting my class; Miss Brown, ten points for passing notes, and another five points from each of you for disturbing another student."

Hermione snapped up and shot him a glare, torn between gratitude and annoyance. Sure, Harry and Lavender had stopped pestering her, but was it necessary for him to take away thirty points? The professor showed no emotion in his eyes though, and went back to his teaching.

After the lesson, the students filed out of the freezing classroom. Hermione stalled, putting her stuff into her bag ultra-slowly. She was the last to leave the room, but when she looked back by the door, he was hunching over his enormous desk, busy scribbling on the essays they just handed in. She stood there for a whole minute, but he did not look up. Hermione strongly suspected that he knew her presence. Then why didn't he acknowledge her? Sighing, she turned and left, thinking to herself that she would never understand this man.

And just as she had feared, Lavender, Harry and Neville were standing outside the classroom, waiting for her. She closed the wooden door behind her, and looked back at them defiantly.

"What took you so long?" Lavender could hardly hide her glee. There was definitely something going on between her friend and her professor, and she was so happy for them. Neville and Harry did not speak, but Hermione saw in their eyes the same longing for answers. She knew there was no escape.

"Fine," she said finally. "Fine, fine, fine." Taking the first step, she began to tell them what happened.

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When they finally emerged from the underground, Hermione had finished her story. She made it a brief one, cutting out most that she found embarrassing. Still, Harry and Neville grimaced when she stopped.

"If that weren't Snape, I would have said 'cute'," Harry commented. Neville nodded in assent.

"But it is cute," Lavender said, clapping Hermione's shoulder. "See? Aren't you glad that you listened to my advice? You got him!"

"I am not so sure," Hermione replied, staring out at the rumbling heavens. The clouds were pressing closer to the earth, and it seemed that it would be a rough night for Hogwarts.

"Hermy," Lavender soothed.

"Are you happy, Hermione?" Neville asked softly. She thought for a moment and nodded.

"Then that's what counts," Harry said, taking her hand and promising his support.

Hermione lowered her head and blinked away a falling tear. She had such nice friends, what more could a girl ask for? Shaking her head, she started to walk, changing the subject.

"What is this I heard about Ginny and Michael Corner, Neville?"

"Rumors," Neville waved a dismissive hand. "Ginny was helping him with his Arithmancy, and I guess that's why others think they're close. It's alright, we don't want too much attention."

Hermione tried to find any trace of resentment in his voice but to no avail. Neville had always been a quiet person, and it was understandable that he sounded almost relieved at the rumors that took others' minds off the couple for a while.

"Keep your eyes open, pal," Harry warned half-jokingly, "I heard that Michael Corner was telling his housemates that they were going out together."

"I trust Ginny," Neville replied curtly and firmly. Hermione looked at the boy whom she knew from first year and smiled.

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Hermione stared at herself in the mirror. She looked like she did last night- her robes red, her face pink from cold, and her hair frizzy as ever. She was not prettier, but she was not uglier either. Why didn't he smile at her during supper then? She took a deep breath.

"I am Hermione Granger," she said to the mirror. Then louder, "I am Hermione Granger."

"Yeah, we all know that," Parvati injected dryly from her bed.

"I am Hermione Granger." And if he showed affection to the Hermione last night, he would to her tonight. Taking another deep breath, she swung the bag over her shoulder and walked out of the dormitory.

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Another sand grain dropped through the narrow neck, another minute passed. Severus glared hard at the hourglass, as if threatening time to slow down. He thumbed his slender fingers on the desk. Five minutes. Four minutes.

He wanted to see her. He wanted to see her so badly. However the more silver grains dropped into the lower glass, the stronger his urge to hide in his room. He hadn't looked at her properly since breakfast. He was afraid that others may find out how he felt. As a spy, he could not risk exposing himself. He was afraid to find her laughing with her friends, undoubtedly at him. As a spy, he had learnt not to trust anyone.

I am not a spy. I am a coward.

He wanted to dismiss the thought, but he couldn't. Last minute...

Right on cue, someone knocked on the door.

"Good evening, professor," she poked her head in and greeted with a smile.

"Come in," he stood up, determined not to show his inner turmoil. She obeyed and closed the door behind her.

"What's my task tonight, professor?"

"You-" an idea struck the man. In a fleeting second several things ran through his head- doubts, queries, reassurances, curses- it was a wicked plan, but it would answer his doubts and calm his mind.

Yes, it was worth it, he decided. "Do you know what potions cure headaches?"

"There are several potions that can cure headaches, dizziness and nauseas. For example, the calming potion. That's a mild one. For stronger effects, the numbing potion is a good choice. There is also the Resco Tonic-" Hermione, being Hermione, answered correctly.

"The Resco Tonic would do," Severus said.

"Are you having a headache, sir?" Hermione tilted her head worriedly, then walked over to the man and covered his forehead with a palm. "You don't seem too warm to me."

Severus flinched at her nearness. Her hair was tickling his nose, and he had to restrain with all his willpower not to pull her closer.

"Well, if you're not feeling well, you should go see Madam Pomfrey," she stepped back, the worried look still on her face.

He looked away guiltily. "I'm fine, it's merely a minor headache, nothing fatal."

"Are you sure-"

"Just brew the potion!" He said, more sharply than he had intended to, then added in a mellower tone, "please."

"The Resco Tonic. Can I really... I mean, it is really difficult," her eyes brightened at the notion of brewing a challenging potion, and she was thrilled that he trusted her to manage it. Severus could not help but smile a little seeing her excited look. He nodded and she rushed to the supply cabinet for the ingredients.

Severus sat down wearily behind his desk, and watched her from behind the stacks of parchments. She filled a large cauldron with water, and stirred in the newt eyes expertly. Looking at her bustling around the dungeon, the nagging voice of doubt at the back of his head grew more and more piercing.

Was it the right thing to do? Was it truly the best thing to do?

He wanted to answer confidently, "Yes, it was." But now what seemed to be a perfect idea turned into a cunning trap. How could he do this to her, to one of the few that he cared about? How could he look at her though a spy's eyes? How could he use his deadly calculations on her? He looked at her russet hair, her shorter than average figure, the look of utmost concentration on her face- how could he compare her to... to her? They had nothing in common. Hermione, a self-righteous Griffindor, would never hurt him like she did.

However, a Griffindor would never like him either.

"I am just learning to like you..."

It had to be a lie. A white lie, maybe, but a lie nonetheless. He closed his eyes painfully. The plan would show her true intentions, and after that, he could retreat back into his lair and lick his wounds. Tonight, everything would be revealed.

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"The potion is ready, sir," her voice stirred him gently out of his thoughts. He studied the bottle of azure drink. It was in the right shade of blue. At least she did not try to poison me, he noted to himself sardonically.

"Thank you," he replied and prepared himself. This is going to hurt... Grabbing the phial, he downed its content in one gulp.

And fell promptly onto the desk.

He slackened his fingers and allowed the glass phial to shatter on the floor. Hermione gasped.

"Sir? Are you okay?" She ran to his side.

Come on, get it over with. Severus held his breath and waited. Just laugh and walk away...

"You are starting to scare me," she said in a strangely calm voice and began to shake him. He did not wake up.

"The potion should be faultless," she continued to shake him. "There is nothing wrong I put in it."

Go on, laugh and say this is exactly what you hoped for when you started this...

"Newt eyes, spider legs, belladonna essence, moon leaves..." Severus realized that she was ranting. She was still shaking him weakly, but she no longer sounded calm. In fact, her voice was rickety, like she was near tears.

Potter would love to see me like this. Go get him. Go get him and you can laugh at me...

She reached for his nose to check for his breath. He strengthened himself against her shaky touch.

I am dead! You are free to laugh now!

"This can't be true," she was sobbing now. "This can't be true. This can't be true. This can't be true."

Severus listened to her sobs, and his bowels seemed to be squeezed by the Giant Squid's tentacles. He winced imperceptibly. He had expected laughter. Well, maybe not laughter- that would be too Slytherin for her- but definitely pity, panic, guilt. Eventually she'd ran away, afraid to be found with a dead body.

"This- this can't be," she panted, "This is a-a-"

He noted in dismay that she was crying. Crying over him. She kept crying and crying and seemed to be out of breath...

Asthma!

The word stabbed into his mind suddenly. He sat up and grabbed her shoulder. The girl was absolutely pallid, and she was heaving dangerously.

"Miss Granger!"

"He- he-"

"Miss Granger!" He watched in horror as the girl sobbed hysterically. He shook her like she did a minute ago.

"You, you are d- dead."

"I most certainly am not," he reassured her, rubbing her back.

"Y-you a- a- are a-a-alive?"

"I am alive."

"You are a- alive!" She exclaimed, cupping his face into her hands. "You- you-"

He let her examined his face as though she had never seen him before. "I am alive," he echoed her relief.

"You- I didn't kill you!"

"You didn't kill me."

"You are alive!"

"I am alive."

"I didn't kill you with a faulty potion, you are not dead!"

"I-"

"Why did you do that?" She stood up abruptly and staggered.

"Look out!"

She steadied herself by grabbing a nearby chair. Severus stood up.

"Back away from me," she said weakly, clutching her heart. The command was faint, but for some reason it pinned Severus to where he was. Her sobs had subsided, but she was still hiccupping. She inhaled deeply before speaking again, "Why did you do that?"

"Miss Granger-"

"Don't 'Miss Granger' me!" She bellowed, the initial joy of knowing that he was unharmed gone, replaced by an alien anger. Her voice was feeble and her lungs hurt more with every word she spoke, but she did not stop. "Is this some kind of joke? Is this what I meant to you? Is this all what our relationship meant to you? A joke?" He opened his mouth but Hermione did not offer him any chance to talk.

"Last night- last night," she closed her eyes agonizingly, "you- we-"

"Last night is a mistake," he lied.

"Yes, and so is everything," she whispered. "Every time I began to think maybe there actually is a wee chance for you to- to like me back, you smashed my hope. It is only a joke to you, a mistake..."

"You don't want me to like you back," Severus said silently, more like he was convincing himself than conversing. "You don't like me. It is a lie."

"No," Hermione shook her head sadly. "What you just did is a lie. I hadn't lied."

"That is not-"

"It is true. Why can't you accept the fact that I like you?"

"You... like me?" He repeated incredulously.

"I liked you," she said, and with that she snatched her bag and left the room with a sickening slam. Severus stared at the tightly closed door.

It is not a lie. Merlin, what have I done?

As her words sunk in, a film of sweat formed on his forehead. He slumped into his chair.

Was it irreversible? Was what he did unforgivable? She said she liked him. As in like- a type of affection, a kind of trust, a form of bliss. He had betrayed her feelings.

And he had betrayed his own.

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Severus rushed into the Great Hall. It was deserted, but he was not alone.

"Why, how surprisingly early, Severus," greeted the Headmaster, who was apparently in some deep discussion with McGonagall before Severus intruded. Even from the entrance, which was almost thirty feet from the High Table, Severus could feel the heat of the witch's glare. He shrugged it off and glided over to them.

"Good morning, Albus, Minerva," Severus was a bit unnerved by McGonagall's unrelenting glower. But surely, she couldn't have known what happened last night? Not so quickly?

"It's barely eight, I suppose you had a good night's sleep?"

"I- I did," he fibbed.

If possible, McGonagall's glare turned even harder at his lie. Severus lowered his head and found a sudden interest in the woodchips on the table. He had never been more grateful for the students who were slowly filing in. As food appeared on their plates, McGonagall's mind seemed to be taken off Severus' skull for a while.

Meanwhile, as more students poured into the Hall, Severus became increasingly restless. He picked up the coffee jar for the third time of the morning, only to put it down again realizing that his cup was already filled to the brim. But his mind was not on the coffee, or the breakfast, for that matter. He was searching for a particular shade of brown among the mass of squirming students. Up and down the Griffindor Table he looked, and received quite a few death glares that resembled McGonagall's.

She was not there.

He returned to his office and prepared for his lessons. A new day was about to begin.

All he had to do was wait...

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Wait he did indeed. For a whole week.

For an entire week he didn't see her. For an entire week she did not show up for detentions, or his lessons, or any meals. He gritted his teeth thinking of the girl's stupidity. She'd better remember to have her meals properly! Not only once when he saw the empty seat at the Griffindor Table had he the urge to pull her out from the dormitory and shove food into her. He never did that of course. In fact, he had not attempted to find her at all. He lurked, observed, and waited with a patience that surprised even himself.

But as the days ticked away, he became more and more agitated. His tolerance dwindled, his despair grew. What if I could never see her again? Thoughts like this were ridiculous, farcical, but they kept haunting him at night. He couldn't sleep much, and even when he could, she would be in his dreams with accusing tears. Whenever he woke up in his sweat-soaked sheets, he would remember the night when they cuddled in front of the fire- merely days ago, but it seemed to him like eternities- and his conscience couldn't help but remind him: it's all your fault.

He hadn't realized how important she had become to him- until now. The feeling grew especially powerful this afternoon.

It was the last lesson of the day. When the fifth-year Griffindors and Slytherins came into the classroom he searched for her in anticipation, but like yesterday, and the day before that, she was not among them. He sighed inwardly but made sure that none of his emotions were shown.

"Twenty points, Miss Parkinson. Get rid of the gum," he snapped, and ignored the goggles his own students were sending him. He was being childish, he knew, taking out his frustration on students like that. But at the moment, he honestly did not care.

He finished his lecture in relative peace. He did have a few slips- like nearly saying 'Hermione' when he was supposed to say 'herbal cures', and describing burned Crosky vines as 'chocolate frizzles' when a plain 'brown' would do- but nothing that could cost him his reputation. After ordering the students to start making the potion, he sat down. He had mountains upon mountains of paper to grade, for he wasn't exactly in the mood to do so in the past few days. But work remained work, and had to be done. He picked up a quill and failed the first paper without reading it.

She should be there, next to Longbottom's cauldron, stirring in her own and whispering instructions to the boy. But she was not. It was solely his fault. Without her, the dungeon seemed even duller than usual. His life was even duller than usual. Failing the fifth paper, he threw away the quill and rubbed his eyes. This could not continue.

Finally the lesson ended. Students lined their potions on his desk and left. He watched as the Griffindors moved towards the exit and struggled- now was his last chance to stop himself and enjoy a good night of sulking in his room.

"Potter," too late, he called out. The boy, being one of the last to leave, hesitated by the door. Longbottom stopped as well, but left when Potter signaled him to do so. He walked out from his desk.

"Professor?" The boy requested in feign courtesy.

"Where is she?" He asked calmly, walking over to him until they were barely inches apart.

"Who is 'she'?" If Severus intended to intimidate the boy into telling him the answer, he was failing miserably. Potter looked straight into his eyes, clearly not afraid of his professor's looming form.

"Miss Granger. Where is she?" Swallowing a sarcastic remark, he asked again. He had not stopped the boy for a fight, he stopped him for an answer.

"Funny you should ask," Potter replied coldly, "I thought you don't care."

"Ten points," he said with the same coldness. "She's been absent for a week. I have the right to know her whereabouts."

"Go on, take more points off me," challenged the-boy-who-lived. "As far as I am concerned, you can take as many-"

"Bloody hell!" Severus cursed and grabbed the boy's collar. "Tell. Me. Where. She. IS!"

"I. Am. Not. Telling. You. Anything!" Potter imitated his tone, despite in the very real risk of being strangled. Severus released him with a rough shove. The boy staggered and began to cough.

"S-see, this is w-why I won't tell you where Her-Hermione is," Potter said between gasps. "Y- you will only make her worse."

Severus halted in his pacing track, and shot his student a stabbing glare. "What do you mean by worse?"

The boy only pursed his lips tighter.

"Bloody, stubborn Griffindors-" Severus balled his fists and flexed his fingers repeatedly, suppressing with all his might the desire to punch the other wizard. Dashing to Potter's front, he took a deep breath before speaking. His vocal cords contracted painfully from his effort to stay calm.

"What happened to her? What happened?"

Maybe it was the desperate plea in his last word, or maybe it was some unknown pity for the man in Potter's heart, Severus noticed a softening in the boy's eyes, and a flicker of hope rose in him.

"Ginny found Hermione crumpled on their dorm's floor a week ago," Potter explained reluctantly. "She had fainted. Apparently it was an asthma attack. Madam Pomfrey reckoned she cried on her bed until she fainted and fell onto the ground."

Severus felt his stomach scrunched up at the news. "How- how is she?"

"She is not going to die," the boy replied wryly. "But she's too weak to be let out of the infirmary, according to Madam Pomfrey."

"Does she eat much?"

"No," he seemed a little surprised at the question. "No she doesn't. And she insists on doing the day's homework and studies."

"Why, that harebrained, imbecile-" the Potions Master looked like he was ready to run out of the dungeons to the Hospital Wing at this instant. His least-favorite student raised an eyebrow.

"Professor," he began in his most reasonable voice, hoping to knock some sense into his obviously mad teacher. "Don't show up just yet, please. You may upset Hermione."

"Upset her?" Severus ceased his tirade and scrutinized the boy in alarm. "What, did she say anything about her fainting?"

"She wouldn't tell us anything. She just smiled and talked about her missing lessons and stared into blank space a lot."

"She didn't say-"

"No, but the afternoon before her blackout she told us something about you two, so we know the fainting has to do with you," he glared at the his teacher. "Hermione is my best friend, and I have given her my full support. Whatever you have done, undo it."

"Don't teach me what to do, Potter," Severus replied distractedly and waved a shooing hand, and when he was alone in the chamber once more, he fell into deep contemplation of what his next step should be.

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A/N: Males are so stupid. I want to smack Sevvie writing this. Hopefully by the next chapter he would have figured out something and they'd get together. Please REVIEW this and my other stories. Anonymous reviewers please leave your emails to get onto the mailing list. Feel free to send me emails and add me to your MsN. Toodles!