I think that this must be the quickest update I've made in a very long time. Thanks every for reviewing. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Shiegurl, thanks for being my marvellous beta.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing you can recognise.

Questions…

Hermione once said that not everyone had the emotional range equivalent of a teaspoon. How true. Some people have more; they are able to experience a whole teapot of emotions without exploding. Others have even less, able to deal with only one or two feelings at a time before they break under the stress of it all. It was an acute observation on Hermione's part that she was able to identify such a concept. It suggested that she was aware of her own feelings and, equipped with that knowledge, was at least proficient when it came to dealing with conflicting emotions.

However, not everyone is attuned to their own character as Miss Granger. A myriad of emotions, swirling around so rapidly in one's head, can be a source of dizziness. Severus swayed on his feet as emotions, both familiar and unfamiliar, assaulted his recovering body. He bent over and grasped the side of the bed to steady himself, trying to overcome his shock, and effectively brought his own face closer to the one that he had not seen in many years. Heart clenching painfully with emotions he thought were long lost, Severus reached out carefully and caressed Mel's face with his hand.

It seemed strange. Over the years, when he had had one too many shots of Firewhisky, Severus would indulge himself with the fantasy of their reunion. He had envisaged forgiveness on past mistakes and pure happiness on both their parts. But now, after the initial disbelief at finally seeing her had dissipated, he could not help but feel regret and guilt mingling with the careful joy. He had had many lonely nights to reflect on the consequences of his actions. How might everything turn out if he hadn't pushed her away that fateful night? How might everything be different if he hadn't been so consumed by jealousy over Malfoy's attraction to her? Would she have said yes if he had asked her properly for her hand in marriage instead of clumsily throwing out a thoughtless question?

Severus halted his mental ramblings; regrets were useless and guilt was unhelpful. Mel was here now, and that was all that mattered. She looked pale, and there were heavy bags under her eyes. It seemed to Severus that she was in some sort of pain despite the numbing effects of unconsciousness. Severus frowned. Did she hurt herself trying to save him? Foolish woman! And why was she there in the first place? Severus' brows furrowed in thought, the lovesick lover gone and replaced by the calculative spy. Mel had been missing for so long, why would she turn up now? Severus' eyes roved and settled on the bedside table, registering what he had not noticed before. The necklace that he had given her all those years ago lay on the table on top of what he recognised was the dress that she had worn to Malfoy's party. Suspicion welled up inside him. The whole situation stank of a badly-devised plot to undermine his intelligence. Was she a spy sent to Hogwarts to scout out information for the Dark Lord? The struggle against Voldemort was escalating and the Order could not afford any disadvantage. Mel had always been more than she appeared to be. Was she a risk to them all?

A hand grasped lightly on his shoulder. Reluctantly, he tore his eyes away from Mel and turned to look at the Headmaster. "Let's not wake her up with your unnerving stare, Severus," Dumbledore said softly. "Come to my office and I'll see if the house-elves have any pumpkin juice to spare. And if we're quick, Poppy will not know you're gone until you're gone."

Severus snarled in disgust; the Headmaster of Hogwarts had the tendency to act like the first years in his school. But, yes, he wanted answers and he wanted them now. He strode towards his own hospital bed to retrieve his black robes folded neatly on his bedside table. Just as he pulled the familiar fabric over his head, thundering steps echoed loudly along the corridor outside the hospital wing and the door suddenly flew open and banged deafeningly. Severus glanced, uninterested, at the young men panting furiously, and made to leave the ward.

"Hermione," Harry finally spoke, lowly, warningly. Severus whirled around sharply, but was pleased that he had managed to disguise his reluctant surprise that Potter would mention her in his presence. She was a conversation topic that Potter avoided when he was around, preferring to voice his concerns about her when he was alone with the Headmaster. Severus was a creature of routine, disapproving of broken habits, especially when the disruptions involved him. And something in the tone of Potter's voice vexed him; it almost sounded like he was expecting answers. Severus sneered. Arrogant brat. He would kick Potter where it hurt most, just to assert his authority over the boy and quash his presumptuous behaviour. "Fifty points from Gryffindor, Potter," he drawled, "for wasting my time with your ineloquent speech."

Harry's fingers flexed perilously close to the pocket in his robes. His eyes flashed dangerously at his Potions professor and he probably would have attacked Snape if Ron hadn't nudged him out of his red haze of anger. Harry turned away deliberately to face Dumbledore. "We know Hermione's here, professor," he insisted. Severus snorted in disbelieving amusement. The boy's cracking. Finally! Must be the scar.

Dumbledore looked at Harry gravely. "Our patient is not in any condition to have visitors, Harry."

Severus glanced sharply at Dumbledore. Odd choice of words, even for the Headmaster. Why didn't he just deny that Miss Granger was in the hospital wing? Was the impertinent girl here now, hidden behind another bed-curtain? Severus hated the feeling that he was missing some vital information and he despised not knowing. It was high time he had the little chat the Headmaster promised him. Severus cleared his throat in mock impatience. "Potter," he drawled, "the Headmaster and I have more important things to do than to stand here and exchange pleasantries with you, no matter how self-important you feel. Run along to your dormitory and let the grown-upstake care of the problems."

Harry stiffened in anger. The moody, temperamental teenager from fifth year had never quite disappeared as he entered the final stages of puberty. Instead, it had curled up like a snake in the darkest recess inside Harry, rearing its ugly head once in a while when he suffered from doubt and insecurities. The tangled webs of lies and half-truths had trapped him once before, and the price for that was paid with Sirius' life. Not again. Never again. Dumbledore had promised him after that night that he would 'tell him everything'. But it looked as if Snape, the greasy bastard, disagreed with that sentiment. Still, he would fight for the right to be included in anything and everything that concerned him. He spoke in a voice coated in ice, "The last time the grown-ups took care of a problem, six students ended up in the Department of Mysteries." Beside him, Ron flinched. The redhead reached out and squeezed his best friend's shoulder lightly. "Come on, Harry. Hermione needs her rest. We can come back later."

Severus narrowed his eyes in disapproval of Potter's attitude as the boy shrugged off Weasley's restraining hand and strode purposefully towards the heavily curtained bed. A protective impulsivity took over Severus and he leaped forward to intercept Potter, grabbing his arm forcefully and shoving him away from Mel's bed.

"Out!" he snarled through clenched teeth, "A hundred points from Gryffindor and detention for a week!"

There was no mistaking the loathing that the two held for each other as they stood eye-to-eye, glaring fiercely, daring the other to make the first move. A line had been crossed today, for better or for worse. Harry was no longer the boy that gritted his teeth and endured whatever injustice the Potions master doled out to him. He ceased to be the boy-who-lived, the boy who cheated death numerous times because he was destined to survive. Instead, he became the young man who was determined to wrestle with fate and turn it to his advantage.

A soft groan broke the tension between them and something stirred from behind the curtain. Both men whipped around to look at the bed. Dumbledore, who had remained a passive observer throughout the whole confrontation, now stepped forward.

"Enough!" he said firmly. "I am disappointed to see such behaviour in the hospital wing. Severus, I will see you in my office in an hour, and you after him, Harry." He looked sternly from one to the other. Severus reluctantly let go of Potter's arm and they both took a step back.

Madam Pomfrey came in at that exact moment, puffing angrily. "Out!" she all but yelled. Harry turned on his heels and exited through the door with Ron. Severus stayed where he was. He was a teacher at Hogwarts; he was entitled to stay if he wanted to. Besides, last he remembered, he was admitted to the hospital wing. The Hogwarts matron was not about to let him out of her loving sight unless she saw him fit to be discharged. Madam Pomfrey turned and focused all her attention on him. "If you're well enough to pick a fight in my infirmary, Severus," she hissed venomously, "you're well enough to walk out of here by yourself. Now leave, I have a patient to see to." With that, she ignored him and hurried towards the hospital bed where Dumbledore was talking softly to the girl.

Dismissed by both the Headmaster and the mistress of the hospital wing, Severus had but one choice. He left.

Back in the dungeons, Severus slashed viciously at a first year's essay about the properties of dragon scales, taking satisfaction in failing the dunderhead. He was halfway into the first paragraph of another essay when the distraction finally forced him to abandon the task. Slamming his quill on his desk, he relaxed into his chair and stared at a brick on the wall. Why had he behaved like an uncontrollable teenager and picked a fight with Potter? He must be more shaken by Mel's reappearance than he thought. There could be no other reason for his unprofessional behaviour.

There was a sudden "whoosh!" and Severus jumped when he heard the unexpected sound. Severus spun around; his fireplace had lit up with a luminous green glow. "What are you doing here?" he shot at the man standing in front of his fireplace.

"Nice to see you too," Remus Lupin replied pleasantly as he brushed off the green-tinged soot from his shabby robes.

"Get out!" Severus gritted out the words between his teeth. Lupin's pleasant demeanour changed instantly, his tired eyes darkened and his mouth pressed into a thin line. Severus was not surprised; he had always known that the werewolf's manners were a mask for the ferocious beast that was the very nature of the man.

"I came here first because I wanted to hear your side of the story, Severus," he said tightly. "Harry sent me an owl and I came to Hogwarts straight away. He said that Hermione had returned." He paused and sent the other man an assessing glance. "Harry also said that he almost had a fight with you."

Severus sneered at the mention of Potter. "That's because Potter's an idiot. His little friend was not in the hospital wing."

"So?"

"So nothing."

Lupin ran a hand through his thinning hair in exasperation. "Damn you, Severus! If it wasn't Hermione then who was it? Why were Harry and Ron so convinced that their friend had returned? And 'nothing' does not explain why you are sulking in here."

Severus leaned back into his chair and crossed his legs comfortably. "Interesting that you should ask whom it was, Lupin," he said, sneering in amusement. "You have never failed to involve yourself in matters concerning her."

"Her?" Remus frowned at Severus' emphasise on the word. Every time for the past thirteen years when Severus had mentioned her in that tone of his, it only referred to one woman. Realisation sunk in as slowly as a small stone in a swamp, he could not believe what the other man was insinuating. "Mel is here? She is back? How?"

Whoosh!

The sudden sound tore the thick silence in the dungeons apart, announcing the arrival of yet another intruder in his dungeons. Severus glanced at the Headmaster as he stepped out from the fireplace and answered Lupin coolly, "Guess we'll find out."