When he woke it took him awhile to figure out where he was. It didn't quite believe he was in the hospital wing until he saw Madame Pomfrey scurry out from her tiny office and over to some unfortunate student.
"Glad to see you up," Hermione said as she poured a glass of water from a pitcher and pushed it towards him. Speech seemed to be lost to him and he merely shook his head, "You should drink. You're probably dehydrated." He took the glass with hesitation. He hated giving in to other people's wishes. He didn't want anyone to feel content if he, himself, was not.
"W-why…" He managed as he began to push himself upwards, into a sitting position.
"Shh. Don't strain yourself." She said softly as she began to push him back down onto the pillow gently, "Take your time." Her hands' warmth traveled through the thick black sweater he had on, and penetrated his skin. He abided with her soft commands and lay back down. When she removed her hands from his shoulders he could still feel the tingling sensation that they had imprinted on his skin. She smiled at him, pleased that he had adhered to her advice. He had not the strength to smile back, for if he had he would've.
"That was quite a nasty fall you took there." She said finally, "Although I did try to help the blow, my efforts were unsuccessful. You hit the ground hard, you dislocated your shoulder but luckily Poppy was able to mend it. You can probably be out of here tonight." She stopped but seemed as if there was more that she wanted to say. She opened her mouth and the words were there, but they would not come out. Was she scared? The question was answered moments later, "I-I oh. I might as well make use of the time while you can't speak. Professor I don't think you should push yourself as you do. I know you don't wish for anyone to see your pain, but-but how can anyone help you if they don't know anything is wrong. I-I think you should let me stay with you until you are recovered. Not just from this fall, but also from your…your other wounds." Did she really mean what she just said? Stay with him! Surely he had misunderstood her.
"I-I…"
"Ah" She said softly, "What did I say? Besides I'm not taking no for an answer." And that was it. There's was to be no fighting about it. He knew she was stubborn and found that he was too weak, or that he just didn't care, to fight it. Or maybe it was that he wanted her to stay there. Soon he fell back into a restless sleep. One full of dreams, Ron being hit with the Advara Kedavra in the chest, Lucius Malfoy laughing with glee, Harry then going after him. Forgetting about Voldemort altogether. He remembered wondering how one person could be more important to Harry than saving all of humanity. He had never had a best friend, or anyone to love so how could he understand. He remembered throwing all his force into the spell he sent in Voldemort's direction. The Dark Lord definitely felt the full brute of it and turned on his traitor. He would then wake up, and Hermione would be there to ease him back to sleep. He wondered why Madame Pomfrey wasn't doing her job of taking after him. Of course he didn't mind her absence, he felt strange about having his ex-student take care of him in bed like a child. But still it was comforting nonetheless. Hermione was right, after a quick check up Madame Pomfrey had found him fit to leave the ward. Hermione graciously offered her arm for support, and with great effort he took hold of it. She walked silently beside him as he limped to his rooms. As they walked his mind was at war with itself. How could he let her drag him on to his rooms. Part of him wanted to push her away and yell, 'No I can do it myself.' But another part wanted her to stay close so he could smell that scent, the citrus and ginseng. His nostrils flared as he took the smell into every corner of his being. 'Wonderful.' Finally, after what seemed like hours, the grueling walk was over and they had reached his door.
When they entered the sitting room Hermione helped Snape into his armchair, and then she herself collapsed on the couch, arms falling to her sides. She allowed her eyes to close. It was a tiring job, but she knew the task ahead of her was going to be much worse. She could handle it, she thought, she had dealt with worse before.
He watched her as she rested, he could see her strength. It radiated off of her like a bright light. He wondered how he had not noticed before. Finally her eyes fluttered open.
"Oh, it's five-thirty. You must really be hungry," She said not looking at him but at the magicked alarm clock on the ledge above the fireplace, "You haven't eaten for almost a day and a half." She finally turned her head towards him, and seemed to realize what she was saying, "Hm, well you're in no fit state to be walking down to the Great Hall. Besides it would probably take us until tomorrow to get you down there. Maybe I should have the house elves bring something up for you."
"Aren't you hungry?" He managed to ask.
"Oh no. I had a big lunch this afternoon." He looked at her slim figure and wondered how she could manage to fit a big lunch, "So what would you like me to send for?" After Severus had been successfully filled to the zenith with food she began to clear away the remnants he had left behind.
"You don't have to do that you know." He said with his slight edge, "That is why they have house elves."
"Good to see you're getting your speech back, although I would much rather see that attitude go," She said smiling. He was abashed, she had never spoken to him like that before, "Besides I feel bad leaving it here. Why should those poor elves have to do everything just because some people are too lazy to do it themselves?" What was she talking about? She actually cared about the house elves. He had never heard anyone speak of them in such a way before. "They're helping me, so the least I could do is clean up a little."
"But they get offended don't they?" He asked.
"Well some yes. But that is only because they were brought up that way." She answered, "Made to think that their only existence is to serve humans. A life of servitude is not a life at all if you ask me." She made a good point.
"You seem to have thought this over. When did you start feeling so…passionately for house elves?"
"Oh, ha, well I-I started this group when I was still a student here."
"Oh, and what was that?"
"S-P-E-W"
"What? Spew?"
"Yes, it supported freedom for house elves."
"Did you actually free any house elves?" He asked interested.
"Well yes. One. Dobby, he was the Malfoy's elf. He had tried to protect Harry third year. Oh anyway, Harry freed him. Although I'm not quite sure that counts." She answered. They went on like this for a few more hours. Dumbledore stopped in at one point to say hello. Snape was quite annoyed, but once Hermione had accepted her third lemon drop, Dumbledore found it was time to leave. They continued to talk again after he had departed. Severus found that he truly was interested in what she was saying. She showed so much passion, especially when it came to things he wouldn't have expected. She was a lot deeper than he thought she was. It was quite unexpected. He had thought her only a bookworm, never truly reading the words she read. Never really learning the things she learned, so naturally he was surprised to find how profound she was.
"Oh my." Hermione exclaimed, "It's eleven o'clock. We've been talking for almost five and a half hours." Snape hid his surprise well. He couldn't remember a time when he had talked with a person for so long. "I guess its time we turned in, huh?"
"Huh, oh yeah…yeah." He answered.
"Uh, where…where do you want me to sleep?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, I guess I can make you up a cot…just uh, stay here I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm just going to run in my bedroom for a moment."
"A-are you sure you can make it."
"Yes, I think I'll manage."
"Okay. Just take your time." Did she really care? Why? He stood up, slowly, and limped his way to his bedroom. He could feel her eyes on him so he did as he was asked and took his time. He grabbed his wand from his bedside table and began the journey back to the sitting room. His frustration built up with every step he took. It was just taking too long. Finally he turned back into the sitting room, and the image there relieved his frustration in a moment. Hermione, it seemed, couldn't wait for him to draw up the cot. Instead she had laid her head on the arm of the couch and drifted into a peaceful sleep. He decided that since she was already sleeping that he might as well go to bed. But something stopped him. He crept over to where she was laying and grabbed the blanket that was draped over his armchair, then he magicked up a pillow. Softly, he lifted her head and placed it upon the pillow. Her hair was so soft. Certainly not the nest it had been before, she had somehow learned to tame it since then. 'Nox' he said quietly, and soon the lights in the room were all out except for the fire that was still burning on. Then he once again retreated back into his bedroom. He was quite shocked at his calmness. A former Hogwarts student was resting peacefully on his couch. A young, beautiful Hogwarts student. Not only that but a Gryffindor, and he had absolutely no problem with it. He lowered himself onto his bed and fell into a dreamless, yet tranquil sleep.
Hermione shot up quickly into a sitting position. She looked around and tried to get her bearings. She finally realized she was in Snape's sitting room. She fell back down onto the couch. She must have fallen asleep when he went to his bedroom to get his wand. She rolled onto her side and stared at the glowing embers in the fireplace. Slowly she began drifting back into sleep, but a small moan brought her back to consciousness. Was that what woke me up? She wondered. She stood up and tiptoed her way to Snape's room. She pushed the door open and it creaked loudly. Hermione thought about how old the school must have really been. She scanned the room and found Snape sleeping on his bed. It was quite a hard feat, trying to see. The room was a sea of black, and the night belonged to a new moon. There was no light shining through his windows. Hermione tripped over a number of things before finally reaching his bedside. She squinted her eyes to see clearly. He had his left arm up over his head, and the right arm was wrapped his body. He looked almost child-like. He wasn't awake, but she worried that he might have pain throughout the rest of the night, finally, after much debate with herself she decided she would have to spend the rest of the night in his room. She reached inside her pocket and pulled out her wand. She drew up a small cot in a corner of the room, quietly, as to not wake her professor. She knew if he were to stir, he would not be happy to have been seen in such a vulnerable position. She slipped her small body under the covers, and took one last look at the professor. How could such a severe man sleep so peacefully? He seemed kind of…nice in his sleep. She laughed silently to herself, 'If only Harry and Ron could see him like this.' Slowly the smiled drained from her face. She missed her friends greatly, especially Ron. She had seen Harry shortly after the last battle. She could remember it still. She had greeted him with such glee, running over to hug him, but he flinched away from her touch. She had stepped back to look into her friends eyes and knew, there would be no need for him to tell her, 'W-where's Ron Harry? Wh-where is he?' Harry looked her in the eyes which were now welling with tears, 'Harry wh…no,' she had said shaking her head, hands coming up to cover her face. Harry took a step forward and tried to embrace her, but this time it was her who stepped away from the gesture. 'D-did he…did he fight?' she asked, and Harry understanding the question nodded, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Yeah, he did good. He fought till the end. He…he never gave up.' Harry tried, weakly, to smile at her. 'Good.' Was all she could say, 'Good.'
Hermione found that she had tears running down her face. She brought her hand up and, unceremoniously, wiped them away. She was angry with herself. It had been months now since Ron had died, and besides she now had a task ahead of her that would take all of her attention and energy. There was no time for this childishness she was stronger than this. She laid her head down on the pillow and instantly dropped off to sleep. Unfortunately she had not fully thought the whole idea through, for she did not know how Snape would take her being in his room.