Disclaimer: Harry Potter not mine, never was, never will be . . .

A/N: As usual, please review and thanks for reading . . . we're getting closer and closer to the end, so I appreciate all of you who've stuck with it from the beginning.

It was as if a combination lock was spinning in Hermione's head. Each successive click brought her that much closer to fully understanding what everything was about. And that brought her squarely back to Harry Potter and Severus Snape. The connection between the two may be obscure to the normal onlooker, but now, if she saw one, the other automatically came to mind. In some small way their fates were connected. Hermione felt as if she was only a few small turns of the lock away from getting the treasure: understanding the prophecy.

Tentatively she opened the door. McGonagall did not seem to possess any of Dumbledore's omniscience so she was just as surprised as Snape to see Hermione walk into the office, suitcase in hand.

Snape only caught the tiniest squeaking as the door opened and immediately feared the worst. The soft footsteps, though, were unmistakable. But yet he could do nothing until she asked something of him.

"Good evening, Professors," she greeted them quietly. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

"Not at all, Miss Granger. Please, take a seat, won't you?" McGonagall asked. Snape had yet to do anything but stare. "Can I offer you a spot of tea?"

"Yes, please. Thank you." Hermione sat next to Snape and smiled shyly at him. He eventually blinked, but did not move his gaze. Hermione sipped her tea, fully aware both professors were watching her carefully. She placed the cup on the saucer and said, "I'm sorry it took this long, Severus. Getting my affairs in order took longer than I intended. I hope you can forgive me."

Finally, Snape snapped out of his uncharacteristic staring. "Hermione, there is nothing to forgive."

McGonagall slipped out of the room unnoticed. Truth be told, she felt a bit like a child hiding in a closet witnessing something intimate between her parents. It was more than a bit uncomfortable to witness despite the fact it was entirely innocent. She was not the least bit surprised when neither Snape nor Hermione noticed her sudden absence.

"Severus, I really did try to get back sooner."

"Hermione, don't worry about it. Some things aren't meant to be rushed."

She smiled at him. "Thank you."

He blinked. "For what?"

"Waiting."

He sighed. "I had little choice, but at this juncture in my life, I'm used to waiting for things."

"Well, I'm sorry nonetheless."

They were silent for several moments. "Have you eaten?" he asked. It was not an entirely random question. Snape suddenly desired something to eat himself after spending a month not being very hungry. On cue, his stomach rumbled.

Hermione nodded. "I haven't really eaten since breakfast. I've been so nervous."

He stood and picked up her suitcase then offered his arm. "Shall we?"

"We shall," she responded.

Snape led her to the guest chambers where they deposited her suitcase. They then proceeded down to the kitchen. Supper had long since finished and it was growing ever closer to curfew. Snape glared at various clumps of students they passed on the way. Hermione simply pretended they were not there.

A couple house elves were still loitering in the kitchen when Snape arrived with Hermione on his arm. Dobby just happened to be one of those house elves. He immediately began doting on the pair simply because of Hermione. Snape scowled and told Dobby to go away, but the house elf was undeterred. Only once Hermione and Snape were well fed did he leave them alone.

Little ended up being said between the pair. Neither seemed to know exactly where to start and Snape had to teach in the morning. He escorted her back to her chambers where she invited him in. Snape respectfully declined.

"Good night, Severus," Hermione said sweetly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Snape smiled and took her hand, kissing it gently.

"Good night, Hermione."

He then left her and they both briefly thought of a night over a month past.

That night, they dreamed of each other, once they finally fell asleep that is.

: P

Snape had his students completely baffled. Word got around quickly that he was acting very unlike himself. He was actually encouraging students instead of yelling at them. Although, he never did go so far as to give house points, he did not actually take any away fro stupid mistakes, nor did he assign any detentions. No, Snape just had everyone completely confused at his behavior and that included him.

Hermione went so far as to scold him for said behavior at lunchtime. She met him in his office, a total surprise on her part, and discussed trivial matters with him. They both knew the talk would come later that evening. However, for the time being, it was enough just to be in each others' company.

Many people noticed Snape's absence at both lunch and suppertime, but no one really dared ask about his whereabouts. They all kind of knew anyway, or at least could guess because word spread quickly that Hermione was in the castle. McGonagall hoped that nobody would pester the couple because they needed to come forth in their own time. Besides, it was up to Hermione to go public about her whereabouts.

: P

"So, you see, Severus, it really was just a stupid idea on my part to begin with. I mean, Harry and I both tried to reason with Ronald but he just wouldn't see eye to eye with us." Hermione was in the middle of explaining a recent encounter with her friends.

"You mean to tell me that all it took to get the Troublesome Trio together again was a sad attempt at a dance party in the forest near Potter's house?"

"Yes, exactly!"

Snape groaned. "You know, you have a lot of issues to work out. I'm not entirely sure I want to involve myself with you anymore."

Even though he said it completely seriously, Hermione knew the he was joking on some level.

"All right, tell me why exactly it has taken you a month to get it all sorted."

"Are you sure you really want to know? I'll have to start from the beginning."

"I'd much rather you start from the beginning than the end, Hermione. And yes, I do wish to know because, obviously, we have to talk about it." A ghost of a smile was there somewhere.

Hermione took a deep breath. 'Okay, here goes. When I woke up the morning after you'd left, I suddenly felt as if everything was wrong. My whole life should have been different. I was cut-off and alone and I didn't like it. I called Mum and insisted on visiting. Eventually she agreed and we managed a civilized family dinner that night. They had a lot of questions I couldn't answer. I only knew that you and Harry were important for my future. The next day I went to see Harry on my own. We talked about you and Ron and general life stuff. He also made me realize that muggle college life wasn't for me. So, I started to make arrangements. The lease on my apartment had a month to go and I wasn't ready to return here yet, no matter how much I wanted to.

"Next, I got a hold of Ron. We talked about a lot of stuff, why I'd run away and all. He was reluctant to go see Harry with me, but II talked him into it. Somehow, my believing in Harry and being there brought Ron around. You know the rest of that story. So, Ron and Harry's relationship patched, I had to fix my relationship with my parents. I spent more and more time there and they eventually accepted my apology. Things are still a bit intense with them but we've found some common ground. I haven't told them about you, yet and I know they're going to hate that . . . sorry.

"So, school obviously didn't go so well. I dropped out and have been accepted to the Glasgow University of Wizardry and Witchcraft in Potions for next term. Apparently they were impressed by my entrance exams and the fact a war hero and prestigious member of the Potions community taught me all I know."

Hermione smiled sheepishly at him. Snape chuckled at the comment.

"I'm glad you think so highly of me."

"Well, I didn't mention the whole part about us, well, you know how it is . . ." She was reluctant to say what they were because she still wasn't sure at this point. Snape saw the hesitation in her eyes as she continued. "Anyway, once my future school was taken care of, all I had left to do was come back here. Somewhere in all the relationship building I realized that my feelings for you run quite deep. Not that I was eavesdropping or anything, but when you and Professor McGonagall were speaking last night, everything started to click into place. I'm not completely there yet, Severus, but I'm close. I just need you to be along for the rest of the journey."

End chapter 11