Just before I go to bed, here's another chapter for you all to read and hopefully enjoy!

----------------------------------

Chapter Fifteen

Tuesday passed in a haze of anger for Harry and Ron, neither of whom had seen their best friend since Friday. It was infuriating to know that she was sick, that she was in the castle, that she was in the care of Snape, and they could not see her. They worried endlessly about her welfare, what she was doing, if Snape was treating her right.

"Oh, why isn't McGonagall here!" Ron snapped after the final lesson of the day. "Maybe then, she'd force Snape into letting us see her." Together the pair strode into the Great Hall, where their eyes instantly scanned the Head Table, looking for any signs of McGonagall or Snape. Once again, they were absent.

Minerva McGonagall was in the school grounds however, she had returned from the Ministry of Magic not a few moments before, after spending the last few days discussing with the Minister what changes should be made to the school's curriculum. Her first port of call upon returning to Hogwarts was the office of Severus Snape, to check on the young Gryffindor student she had left in his care.

Her insistent knocking at his chambers doors were answer a whole two minutes after she arrived, making her wonder if Snape was even there. But he answered the door, looking as tired as Minerva had ever seen him. In one had he held a green cloth, dark circles surrounding his even darker eyes.

"Minerva. What a pleasure to finally see you." He stepped aside to allow her entrance to his chambers.

Choosing not to rise to his bait, Minerva chose to address the issue at hand. "Hello, Severus. How is Miss Granger doing?" Not waiting for an answer, she walked towards the bedroom. She stopped in the doorway when he saw the young witch, almost lost amongst the black blankets that adorned the bed. Her face, oh her face, was covered with boils, every inch. Closing her eyes for a moment, Minerva took a breath. Oh, she knew what the poor child was going through; she herself had been through it too. And it was horrifying, in every way. She could only commend Snape on looking after her.

"When did she go through the storm?" Minerva whispered, feeling the man's presence to her right.

"Saturday." He answered shortly. "It was horrible… I helped her out of it."

Studying Miss Granger's face, all she could say was "you did well." She knew how hard the storm was, knew the only way out of it was for someone to be there to help you. She couldn't help but wonder how hard it had been on Snape, but seeing the withdrawn look upon his face, she did not dare ask.

"I just gave her more potion." Snape said, setting the cloth down on the bedside table, where three potions also sat. "I've also been brewing more, and reading about her… condition."

Minerva considered the man before her. "Now that she has passed through the storm, we could move her to my office, I might be able to take it from here."

"No!" Snape was quick to jump in, shocking her and what seemed to be himself as well. "She's having relapses," he explained quickly. "One this morning and one about half an hour ago." His nostrils flared. "It would be unwise to move her, I believe."

Trying hard to conceal her shock, Minerva turned her attention back to Miss Granger. "She can see everything around her, sometimes. Even when she sleeps." She looked sharply at the Professor. "Did you know that? No one is sure how, but sometimes, you can see it all, more often then not. Sometimes, though her body will rest, her mind will not, and she will see what she wants to see." Minerva watched his nostrils flare again, and wondered just what Miss Granger might have seen while 'sleeping' in this chamber.

"Yes, I read about that." Snape replied. "I have been most careful." He raised an eyebrow to her while smoothing the front of his robes, as though asking her to prove him wrong.

After a quiet moment, Minerva answered. "I do not doubt that."

------------------------------

Snape was pleased when Minerva took her leave from his chambers, he did not need two females in his presence, in his bedroom. He was also pleased, however, that she would arrange for meals to be sent down to the dungeons for both himself and the student. Apparently Minerva thought it best to try and get some food into Miss Granger. Snape was thankful for this, as it meant that he did not have to face the idiotic students of the school then beyond his classroom.

Sitting on his leather couch, he slowly chewed his roast pork that had been sent down, trying to work out why he had been so insistent on having Miss Granger stay here instead of handing over the healing duties to Minerva. His mind tried to tell him that it was simply because he wanted to prove himself the able Professor.

Somewhere else in his mind told him that he did it because he was beginning to care.

Scoffing, Snape swallowed his tea, and with a flick of the wand sent the plate off to the kitchens. Care? He hardly knew the meaning of the word. No one cared for him, he cared for no one. Pausing, he had to admit that perhaps he was wrong in saying that. Minerva cared for him; she'd given him his job back. No, no, she gave that back out of guilt of what had happened to him. Racking his brains for a name, he dismissed everyone who could possibly care for him, there was no one. And it would stay that way, he thought as he moved into his office to begin marking papers.

Although he wasn't entirely sure whether it would be by his own choice or foolish actions.

Sighing, he settled himself into working for awhile, one ear listening out for Miss Granger as she lay, healing, two rooms away. He had told her earlier that day then in the evening, when she woke, he would sit with her again, and help her with her work. His mind rationalised this by telling him that he simply wanted to prove to the young witch that while her bank of knowledge was impressive, his was even more so. Also, it gave him a chance to revisit some of the easier subjects, subjects he had thought beneath him for a long time.

By nine in the evening, Miss Granger still had not stirred, and it was time for Snape to apply the potion. With a sigh, he moved towards the bedroom, and placed himself on the edge of the bed.

Much to his horror, just as his hands slid the cloth up her shirt to cleanse the boils on her chest, the witch woke. Not sure what to do, he froze, his hand almost covering one of her full breasts. Then he remembered what Minerva had told him. She can see everything around her, sometimes. Even when she sleeps. Knowing that even in her sleep, Miss Granger would have known his touch, he managed to thaw his hand.

Her eyes sought his and when he dared to meet them, it was only to watch them close again. Feeling his pale complexion begin to tinge with red, he hurriedly finished cleaning her up. It was utterly amazing how her boils were clearing up. He gave it another 24 hours and she'd almost be completely clean. But for now, he kept playing nurse.

"How are you feeling, Miss Granger?" He asked in a professional tone as his hands and cloth quickly began to move down her legs.

"Sore." She managed to croak out, seeming not at all bothered by waking up to finding her Professor almost pawing her. If he were anyone else other then himself, he could have maybe allowed himself to be impressed by her lack of response to the situation.

Finishing up his cleaning, Snape moved to sit by her again, corking one flask and opening another. "No," she said, turning her head. "I don't want to go back to sleep yet."

"I'm not going to make you," Snape said, attempting to sound cross. "This is one of the healing potions I've been using on you." Unable to stop himself, he launched into telling her about it, about how it was brewed, what ingredients as he fed her the potion. She listening with absolute attention on him as he even told her how it was discovered. Upon finishing, he felt like a moron for babbling. Yet he was greeted by a smile. Oh, how he tried not to let that affect him.

"Would you like to try… walking, again, Miss Granger?" He asked.

Her eyes lowered for a moment, and he wondered what he had done wrong. "Um, Professor… I was wondering…" she appeared to be having a hard time saying whatever she wanted to say. "Could you please call me Hermione?" She flushed. "Just for a little bit. Hearing the words 'Miss Granger' is getting a bit tiring."

"I could always call you Miss Know-It-All." He said, arching an eyebrow.

Much to his surprise, the young witch giggled at this. "Anything is better then 'Miss Granger'." She said, still watching his face as though waiting for his real reaction.

"Well, don't ever become a Professor." Was all he said, managing to squirm his way out of giving her an answer. Again, the Slytherin in him came in handy. "Now, come on, no more sitting on your behind." He slipped back into professor mode, although he was gentle in helping her out of his bed.

Noticing her exasperated expression, he rolled his eyes. As Slytherin as he may be, she was a Gryffindor, and wasn't willing to go down without a fight. Inwardly, he let himself smile. He'd give her a fight to the end, and he still wasn't going to tell her.

After all, she was the know-it-all, shouldn't she know already?

----------------------------------

Bit of a silly ending, but it's leading up to next chapter!

Oh, and Kiki, I'm not really dying… just really, really tired! I just keep writing because it keeps me relaxed during school and things. And you'd really do a fanart for this story? Oh, that'd be wonderful, thank you!

To everyone else, goodnight!