When Hermione reached Snape's room she was surprised to find he wasn't there. It didn't seem strange that he would be out, perhaps he needed to talk to Dumbledore, or just needed a walk. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror atop the mantle piece.

"Oh Lord Hermione," She exclaimed to herself, "You really must clean yourself up." With this she turned to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Once again she stared in the mirror and the look that spread across her face was sheer disgust. 'What a mess,' She thought. She could hardly bear to look at herself. She pulled the tie from her hair unceremoniously, and began to scrub the tear stains off of her face. She didn't hear the door to the room open and continued with her cleansing. When she had finished with washing her face she looked up to see the results. 'Still not good enough,' she criticized, "Never…never good enough," this time she whispered out loud. Unbeknownst to her, her ex-potions professor and patient lingered just outside of where she stood, and had just happened to catch on her words. Slowly, painstakingly she peeled her clothes off her body. Why? Why did she feel so dirty? She reached up to grab a black silk robe off the back of the bathroom door, just barely reaching it as she stood on her tip-toes. Precisely when she decided she would take a bath there was a small tap at the door.

"Miss Granger?" She heard Snape say. The barrier that the door made between them actually made his voice sound…soft. "Miss Granger, are you alright?" She strode over to the door, and when Snape heard the lock unclick he stepped back a bit. He was surprised to find that she was outfitted in his black robe, and probably nothing else. He also found that the robe looked much better on her than on him.

"Professor?" Hermione said noticing his eyes on her, "Oh Professor I'm sorry," She said looking down at the robe, realization hitting her. "I was just planning on taking a quick bath. There was nothing else…"

"It's quite alright Miss Granger," Snape said interrupting her, "But you didn't answer my question."

"What was that?" She asked.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes quite fine," She answered all too quickly. She felt so dumb standing there in front of him. She really must have looked like a child to him. Like a deer in headlights. It seemed that was all she had to say on her behalf. Her mind raced as she thought of things to say, but there was nothing. She knew that she was not alright but something kept her from telling Snape. She wanted to tell him, wanted to scream it at him, but something stopped her. She finally blurted out the only thing that could come to her mind, "What happened earlier with you?" She asked already regretting her words.

"What do you mean," Snape implored knowing just exactly what she meant.

"Well…when you asked me not to leave. It seemed almost as if…as if you were scared." She said. What was going on, only hours ago this had been the very same woman who had stood up to him. Now she seemed extremely naïve, almost like a child again. At this thought Snape wanted nothing more than anything to reach out and hold her, much like he had earlier that day.

"It must have been all the excitement," He was making up excuses, "From our fight I mean." Hermione merely nodded and he continued. "Perhaps it was some of the potion Poppy had given me still lingering about."

"I suppose." She said not entirely convinced.

"How was your date?"

"It was not a date." She said a little bit rashly.

"Whoa, sorry," He said putting his hands up in defense.

"I…I'm sorry Professor. I-I don't know, today has just been…" She just sighed, "It's just been one of those days." She was looking at her feet while wringing her hands together.

"I understand," He answered, "I…uh guess I'll let you get back to your bath,"

"Huh…oh, oh yeah. And Professor…thank you

"For what?"

"For being concerned," She answered, "No one really has been for a while." She was flustered after she had said this. She didn't mean for such a self-pity comment to slip from her lips.

"I find that hard to believe Miss Granger. Extremely hard to believe."

"You'd be surprised." Was all she had to say.

Hermione placed a wet foot down on the bathroom floor. She had just spent the good part of a half hour in the tub. She hadn't done it on purpose, she had just zoned out. When she had noticed the magicked clock hanging on the wall she was shocked to find she had been in there for so long.

"Shit!" She exclaimed to herself as she grabbed a towel off the back of the door. Quickly she dried herself off and pulled the black robe on again. When she exited the bathroom she found it was dark. 'Severus must have gone to bed.' She thought to herself, 'Severus? Since when do you call him that?' She quickly let this thought go from her mind and focused on how she was glad he was asleep. It was probably better for his recovery. He needed his rest. When she thought about sleep she realized how inviting it seemed. She grabbed her folded clothes out of her bag and started walking back to the bathroom, where she planned to change. But all too quickly, lethargy overtook her body and she collapsed on the couch. She sat there for a while staring into the flames of the fire. She was jolted out of this reverie by a loud grumbling sound that was echoing from inside her stomach. The realization came to her that she was still in a bath robe and nothing else. 'Well if Severus came out right now I think he'd have a few questions about this.' She thought, 'There you go calling him Severus again. Get a grip girl.' Almost as she thought this, Snape stepped out of the shadows of his bedroom and into Hermione's line of vision. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she could understand why. She was curled up on the couch in the fetal position staring idly into the fire, and she was clad in a silk robe, his silk robe. Slowly she sat up, her damp hair cascading down her back. She had been averting his eyes, but one look into the dark brown orbs and she couldn't stop it. The tears began to flow freely and she had absolutely no control over her actions. She was still sitting on the edge of the couch and he was staring down at her. She covered her face quickly with her cupped hands. She couldn't bear to look at him, he was probably scrutinizing her very closely. Knowing him he was probably disgusted by the sight before his eyes. That was she was surprised to feel his hands grab hold of her shoulders. He was much stronger than she had believed him to be. Perhaps her therapy sessions were doing more for him than was visible. He used his left hand to try and pry Hermione's hands away from her face, but to no avail.

"Hermione. Hermione, what's wrong." He asked. She could hear the tension and concern in his voice, but still her guard was up. "Pl-please Hermione, please. Tell me what is wrong." Slowly she pulled her hands from her face. She was sniffling uncontrollably and her head felt like it was about to explode.

"H-Harry." She managed to stutter out, "Harry has a girl friend."

"S-so what does that mean?" Severus asked confused, "I thought you two weren't…"

"We're not," She blurted out. She didn't mean to sound so harsh, but at the moment she had so much anger within herself and she couldn't help it. "B-but now I have…no one."

"What do you mean Hermione. Of course you have someone. Harry's your best friend and he would never leave you."

"Don't you understand?" She asked looking up into his eyes. He was now kneeling, but his tall stature gave him an advantage over Hermione who was petite. "Everyone leaves me," Through her crying fit, somehow she had managed to produce a tissue box which now sat next to her on the couch. She held a tissue to her nose as she talked. "Everyone. First Krum, then Ron, my parents, and now Harry."

"Those people didn't leave you Hermione, they all loved you, well with the exception of Krum, but did you really need him?" He implored, "But Ron, your parents. I bet they would have done anything to have stayed with you if they could have. It is not their faults that they died Hermione, and it is especially not yours." She had never been lost for words before, Hermione the resident know-it-all of Hogwarts Academy, dumbfounded by her very own potions professor. She didn't know if it was his speech or his manner that had surprised her the most, but more than anything she wanted to hug him. "And when it comes to Harry, he will never leave you. Take it from me Hermione, I saw the way you three, Ron, Harry, and yourself, acted together while here at school, and even at headquarters." She stared at him still speechless. She had thought he had just ignored them when they were at Sirius' house. Hadn't he considered them an annoyance. Why would he have taken the time to notice anything about their behavior towards one another? "I saw how they treated you, like a little sister. They would have done anything for you if you had asked. Which I know you wouldn't have." She smiled through her tears at his last words.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I know that there isn't anything that you can't do yourself." His words of kindness were what did it for her. If it weren't for the fact that she was sitting down she just might have collapsed again. Slowly he raised his hand up to wipe away her tears. She needed someone to hold her, she needed comfort. And when it came down to it, she didn't mind that Snape was the only person there to do it. Out of the blue her mind grasped at something she hadn't noticed before.

"Professor." She whispered after a moment of silence.

"Yes?"

"You called me Hermione."