Severus woke up unsure of his whereabouts, 'What the hell happened last night?' He wondered. As he slowly came to his wits, he realized the presence of another person in the room. He could feel the weight of Hermione's head lying on his chest. In all of his lifetime, he had never had a better morning than this. Here he was lying on his couch with Hermione Granger resting with him…willingly. A woman, twenty years his junior who was an ex-Hogwarts student and resident know-it-all, willingly falling asleep with him. Nothing could be better, at least not to him. He did not know how long he had lain there before she began to stir.

"Hmm." She moaned in her sleepy way, "Pr-Professor?"

"Yes," He answered simply enough. He was unsure of what else to say even though his mind rushed with thoughts. 'What will she think? What will she say?' Severus was no stupid man. Last night he was merely doing a nice thing by calming her down, or at least that's how she would see it no doubt. He knew that there was more behind it though. If it had been anyone else, he probably would have told them to suck it up. But her, when he looked into her eyes he saw the pure despair and loneliness. How could Hermione Granger, 1/3 of the Golden Trio, be so hopeless? As he stared into the depths of her eyes, which were as unshielded as they had ever been, he caught a glimpse of something else. Just as quickly as it had been there, it was gone, but he knew what he had to do. Knew what she needed, and wanted. He let go of his inhibitions that night and he held her. He grabbed her by the elbows and pulled her towards him hastily, yet gently, and wrapped his muscular arms around her small body. Quickly, surprisingly, her tiny arms wrapped up around his neck and she clung to him tightly. He held her till she had drained herself of tears, held her as she sniffled into his shoulder. He knew now why Ron and Harry had been such great friends with her. Any man would have been lucky to be graced with her presence, but to hold her, to be held by her. He wondered about Krum, and all the other men that she had dated. How could any of them have left her, but then the thought of her being with another man sickened him so much he pushed it out of his head. Now that the night was over how would she react? Would she be angry with him? He breathed in deeply and caught that faint smell again. Citrus and ginseng. He looked down only to find her staring up at him with a smile on her face. 'I guess she's not mad.' "Did you sleep well?"

"Fabulous." She answered sitting up. Her mind raced back to that time at Sirius' home when she had slept between her two best friends. Those nights were the last she had spent in peace, up until now. Reluctantly he followed suit and found there was an aching in his lower back, but the pain was quite welcome. He knew that it would merit a massage from Hermione, "You?"

"I'm afraid I can't say so for myself Miss…" He watched the smile fade from her face, and then she turned her head away from him. Why did he have to be such an asshole? He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Hermione, I mean. Nothing personal but I do have a pain in my back." He then moved that same hand to his back, "Otherwise it was quite…enjoyable." Her attention snapped back to him.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he said awkwardly. He diverted his eyes a moment realizing she was still wearing his robe. She noticed as well and moved to cover herself up as much as possible.

"I-I hope I didn't startle you last night w-with my…well…tirade."

"Nonsense. Everyone has a breaking point." He said still looking away. He didn't seem able to make eye contact, "You just have a lot on your mind. It's understandable."

"When's your breaking point?" She asked staring at him. He could feel her eyes boring a hole into his head.

"I thought I used to demonstrate it everyday in class." He said. She giggled at his feeble attempt at a joke. Then there was silence, not the comfortable silence they had shared before. No, something was different now, something between them. It was awkward.

"I guess I'll go throw some clothes on," Hermione said finally breaking the quiet as she stood up and headed for Snape's bedroom, "Then maybe we can go down to breakfast. Do you think you can manage?"

"I suppose." He said not sounding all that interested.

"Do you really hate it that much?" She asked turning to face him. Finally, he looked up and caught her gaze.

"No. I…well I mean, I used to hate seeing the students." He continued determined to give an answer to her questioning glance. "They really are such an annoyance. Always cheerful, and social. It's enough to make me sick." Hermione snorted at his seriousness, and he raised an eyebrow at her reaction.

"Sorry," She replied, raising a hand up to cover her smile. She then used the very same hand to brush a loose curl behind her ear. And there it was. Those damn simple actions. If she carried on this way, she would have him groveling at her feet soon. "I almost agree with you." Again, he raised an eyebrow; she always had a way of shocking him. Because at one point she was one of those annoying students he had described, but no longer. "At least I used to think the same thing when I was a student here. I hated seeing all of my peers so joyous…because I was jealous. I knew that eventually my friends and I would face the worst kind of evil. All in the sake of mankind, which of course those students were part of. They wouldn't ever have to face the things I would. They would just continue with their simple lives." She paused here and Severus took in everything she had said, "But…I realized that I shouldn't be mad at others happiness. I should rejoice in it with them…everyone deserves to be happy."

"Very insightful Hermione."

"I guess it's pretty much the same thing with Harry. I should be happy for him. He is content and so I should be as well. There is really nothing more to it. Quite simple actually." This was a breakthrough for her. How could she have been so selfish? Harry was her friend and he, more than anyone, deserved to be happy.

"You never cease to amaze me."

"Thank You Prof…Do you still want me to call you that?"

"Call me whatever suits you." He answered, "I am no longer your teacher, so, you are no longer inclined to treat me like one."

"But I always will." She said almost in a whisper.

"Why is that?"

"Because I respect you Severus." His name flowed from her lips like honey. She smiled and finally retreated into his bedroom. When she got in there, she saw the sunlight bathing the room. She strolled on over to his window and opened it. The weather was warm, the day bright. It seemed after she had gotten back to the castle, the skies opened up and it had rained, leaving the morning sky clear and new as only the rain can do. She breathed in deeply. Her whole being was…comfortable. When was the last time she felt comfort? What was different? She knew within herself that it was him. He was certainly different. No longer the dungeon bat her friends had thought him to be, of course she could never think such a thing about anyone. She changed into her white knee length bohemian skirt Harry had brought back from Morocco for her. She then pulled on her beaded turquoise tank top. She had decided, without telling her old professor, that they were going out today. She knew he would not agree to it, but she had the perfect defense. One he could not resist. She threw on a pair of flip-flops, and the only jewelry she had on was the necklace Ron had given her on their one month anniversary back in sixth year. It was simple enough, a silver chain with a tiny crystal shaped to look like an elephant. She loved them; she had since her mother had told her about how the Chinese thought them to be good luck. She tossed her hair up into a very sloppy bun, and grabbed her purse. When she came back into the sitting room Severus was still on the couch immersed in a book. One, it seemed to Hermione, that was all in Latin.

"You know Latin then?" His head shot up and she was surprised to see him wearing glasses. "And since when do you wear those?" She asked pointing at his face. He would have answered her…if he could. He was stunned at her simplistic beauty. He merely stared at her perfect face, knowing once and for all that she did not wear make-up. She wore no jewelry except for her necklace. He couldn't remember ever seeing her without it. She needed no adornments. She was snapping in his face now, "Severus."

"Sorry," He said too loudly as he snapped out of it. "Uh…yes I do…know Latin I mean."

"Amor Vincit Omnia." Hermione said passionately. She liked him with glasses.

"How like a woman," He replied sarcastically. "Amantes sunt amentes."

"How like a man." She said just as sarcastically. With that, she grabbed the book out of his hands and tossed it on the floor.

"Hermione Granger, you are the last person on this earth that I would expect to treat a book with such disgrace."

"I'm just full of surprises." She giggled and grabbed his hands, pulling him up to his feet.

"Yes you are." He answered, "Must we really do this breakfast thing. I don't think I could face Minerva and her endless banter."

"But you can stand to listen to mine."

"You are…tolerable."

"Oh thanks!" She said smirking. "And for your information, no, we don't have to do the whole breakfast thing as you call it."

"Really," He smiled widely at the thought.

"I've made other plans for us. So we better get going." She said as she started to pull him along.

"What? Where are we going?" He asked.

"We're going to have breakfast in Hogsmeade."

"Whoa-no we're not." He said tightening his resistance.

"Oh yes we are. Come on I'm sure Madame Rosmerta would love to see you."

"So."

"You are so like a child." She said joking, "And besides, you're going to want to go after you hear what I have to say."

"What's that?" He asked suspiciously. With that, she walked around him and began massaging his lower back. Right where the pain was. Instantly he was relieved, but all too soon did she remove her hands and the pain was back.

"You rub my back, I'll rub yours." She answered his questioned. "I just have a few errands to run, a few people to see, and as soon as you know it we'll be back, okay." She smiled and he couldn't resist. He knew then that as long as she smiled after anything she asked he would just have to comply.

"Fine," He answered.

"Great." She turned to walk out the door, but stopped in her tracks as if forgetting something. She turned back around quickly and looked at him. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek grabbing his right hand as she did, "Thank you." She whispered in his ear. He thought the amount butterflies in his stomach would cause it to burst.

Latin Phrases:

Amor Vincit Omnia- Love conquers all

Amantes sunt amentes- Lovers are lunatics

I don't know if you have realized that I am making this whole story up as I go, and I'm trying to move along as fast as I can. Since I do a lot of drugs, I tend to forget my own stories sometimes (lol…I'm really not joking!) If you happen to find anything wrong with the chapters, such as silly little love triangles between Harry, Eva, and Ginny please let me know. I must say I was embarrassed when it was pointed out to me that there were holes in my story. Nevertheless, I guess that's why they call it constructive criticism. I cannot believe I forgot my own flippin' story. Oh well, that's what I've got you guys for right?