Severus was reading in his bedroom, the light from the small lamp illuminating softly through the space. The words he had been reading kept escaping his focus, for his thoughts were restless and his mind was wandering elsewhere. He was sitting in his favourite chair, his eyes staring at the ceiling, his mind in a daze while the familiar sounds of the wind and November shower brought him back to reality. It was just as if nothing had happened. A simple Friday evening. But it wasn't.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on his front door and he frowned slightly, wondering who could be visiting him at such a late hour. He got up from his chair and walked towards the door, opening it to reveal a tired-looking Hermione Granger. She shifted from foot to foot, tightening the hold on her battered travel bag, and lowered her gaze. Her short hair which she obviously had not had the time to take care of had been wet from the current rain.

Her face looked even paler and worn, there were dark eyes under her eyes. He saw that she was shivering slightly as if from the cold.

"Granger?" Severus asked quietly, surprised to see the woman standing there, dressed as if she'd come straight from work rather than from the hospital. "Have they released you already?"

Hermione shook her head slowly and mumbled something that he couldn't hear.

He furrowed his brow. "What did you say?" He asked, leaning closer to her and trying to make out her voice from the heavy rainfall that surrounded them.

Hermione repeated herself, looking up to meet his searching gaze, "I escaped... There was a remarkable fight between me and Lavender Brown. Who would have thought, that she would turn out to be the Head of the Dark Curses Ward," she chuckled, lowering her bag onto the ground. "She promised me all punishments of earth and heaven if I refuse or forget to take my healing potions, but she gave up reasoning with me in the end and let me go." She kept her nervous blabbering while Severus just stared in disbelief, too shocked to react properly.

"And where are you going now?" he finally asked after a while, clearing his throat.

"I… I don't know…" said Hermione, biting her lip.

"Have you been home already?"

She nodded hesitantly. "I just couldn't stay there any longer..." she muttered, averting her eyes again and wringing her hands nervously. "It doesn't feel like home anymore, I desperately needed to be somewhere else. So, I packed my bag and left my flat."

Severus nodded slowly, thinking over her answer. The fact that she neglected her health and the healing they could have provided her with was something he wouldn't question for a moment, especially since he knew that at this state of mind she was capable of anything at this point, both mentally and physically. Still, what she had done was beyond stupid. But he understood why she acted as such.

He cleared his throat and stated: "If you want, you can come in." He said in a low voice. "You're soaking wet, it's cold outside, and I'm sure you won't want to catch your death standing on my threshold."

"I thought only old grandmothers are still using that saying, but thanks." She muttered, nodding quickly, before closing the distance and entering the house.

Severus followed her and took the bag from her numb fingers. "Come, let's get you warmed up."

As soon as the pair stepped inside the lightened hallway, Hermione's body relaxed visibly and she allowed her body to drop, slumping against a wooden door. When Severus turned to help her out of her soaked coat, she just sat down on the floor and closed her eyes. He stepped closer and called to her softly: "Granger? You need to change into dry clothes and probably have a nice hot shower while I prepare us something to eat."

Hermione opened her eyes again and stood up slowly, swaying on her feet for a few seconds, until her vision came to normal. She glanced briefly around the room and then lifted her gaze at Severus, still patiently waiting for her reaction.

"Thank you," she whispered, a little unsure about what she meant to thank him for.

Severus shrugged and smiled slightly, watching as she shrugged off her coat and handed it to him. He put it onto the rack and offered his arm to Hermione. "Come on, I'm going to show you where the shower is and give you all the necessary items, and then I am going to leave you there for let's say twenty minutes, will it be okay?"

Hermione looked at his hand, still stretched out toward her, an uncertain expression on her face.

She was grateful for the fact that he restrained himself from commenting that she probably looked worse for wear and might drop from exhaustion at any given moment. Instead, he gestured with his head towards the staircase and waited as she slowly made her way towards the stairs leading to the guest bathroom and leaning heavily on him for support. At least his house was warm and illuminated with lamps, and he didn't throw her out under the rain. And why would he, anyway? Hermione ordered her thoughts to shut up and focused on her footing instead.

When she entered the bathroom, she closed the door and began undressing. While she was doing that, she wondered if it was even possible for someone living on a daily basis to remain so skinny. Her ribs and hipbones seemed more prominent, her skin was pale and her cheeks hollow. She felt sick to her stomach, and she knew that she would have to eat something soon, otherwise she would end up throwing up. She carefully removed her sock, shivering as her toes touched the cold tiles, and stepped into the shower stall. She remembered that Severus had a proper bath in the main bathroom, perhaps one day she could use it to soak her weary bones there.

As soon as the temperature of the water hit her chilled skin, she let out a long moan of relief, the rush of tangled emotions overwhelming her. She felt like a million tiny needles were piercing through her skin. Hermione sighed in contentment, her eyelids fluttering as the warmth gradually engulfed her whole body. The hot water poured over her shoulders and head; a refreshing sensation ran through every nerve ending, loosening muscles, relaxing tension, and warming up her stiff, sore limbs. She blindly reached for a shampoo and gently rinsed it into her scalp. The sensation was almost painful, but also incredibly soothing. She washed her hair twice before she finally turned off the water. When she did so, something switched in her mind. Perhaps it was the fact that the door of the shower was closed, or that she could not see anything because of the steam or the effect of the high temperature of the water, but suddenly she found it difficult to breathe, difficult to move, as she reached around her, feeling the panic rising in her chest. The pressure behind her eyes grew larger and her body failed to obey. She tried her best to take deep breaths in order to calm down, yet it was no use.

She was aware that her limbs started trembling as she vainly sought her way out. She tried to open the door and find an escape route, but it was locked, the handle turning in her hand uselessly as she tugged hard on it. She tried screaming but everything sounded like muffled cries coming out of a cave. The walls were closing in on her and her lungs began to burn. Hermione felt trapped again, caught off guard. Soon they would be here, mocking, torturing and cursing her... She searched blindly around the stall, her palm slipping on the wet walls.

The world around her turned black and red. Her heart was beating rapidly against her ribcage and she could feel it pounding through her entire body. She let her body slide down one side of the shower and curled up, pulling her legs close to her chest and wrapping her arms around her knees. The tears came uncontrollably pouring down her face. Everything was spinning around, colours blurred by the steaming air, and she tried her best to control her breathing, but it was impossible. Suddenly the world seemed to explode as the walls exploded behind her. Her uncontrollable burst of magic did the trick of letting her out. On wobbly legs, Hermione stepped out of the shower and wiped away her tears in irritation as her hand moved up to touch her face. She could barely recognize herself anymore. So, she stood there, amidst the debris, unable to reach for a towel and finish her cleaning, and she heard Severus' frantic steps as he rushed into the bathroom. His eyes widened as he observed the room, taking in the state Hermione had found herself in. Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks, arms wrapped tightly around her body, and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, trying her hardest to block everything out.

"Shhhh..." he crooned, carefully stepping closer, taking the towel off the hook and offering it to Hermione. "It's okay, Granger, you are safe, you are here, no one is going to harm you. Just breathe with me. In and out. In and out. Feel your breath move through your body, feel the air on your skin, and feel the floor under your feet. Can you do that for me? That's it, just keep going."

Hermione nodded silently and continued breathing in and out deeply, listening attentively to his instructions, following them completely. Slowly, the pain receded bit by bit, until nothing remained except for a slight headache.

"Better now?" Severus asked cautiously. "What are you feeling?"

"I'm cold," Hermione admitted quietly, her voice cracking when she spoke. She felt extremely ashamed of herself, frustration overtook her.

Severus nodded."I'm going to perform a cleaning spell on you and then we shall take you out from here and down to the kitchen. Tomorrow you can take a proper bath in the main bathroom. I'll make your favourite lavender salt. Now, would you close your eyes for a second? I'm not going to harm you. See? Everything is alright again. Nothing terrible has happened." He stated calmly but firmly.

Hermione obeyed and closed her eyes. She felt his magic wash over her as if she stood under summer rain on an especially hot day, and she shuddered at the sensation. Oh, how she missed him... After a brief period of silence, the sound of rustling fabric could be heard, and a soft towel being gently wiped over her skin and hair. Then, after a momentary pause, it was repeated again. She opened her eyes and grimaced, observing the ruined bathroom.

"I am sorry... I ruined everything," she whispered, her throat still aching. Severus took the flannel shirt he had brought for her off the hook and wrapped it around her trembling shoulders.

"It's nothing, Granger, nothing that a simple Reparo couldn't fix. See?" And with this he made a few swishes of his wand, his other hand still resting on Hermione's shoulder, a slight pulsing coming from it grounding her to the present moment.

Hermione stared at his hands which were so familiar and comforting, and slowly raised her eyes to look up into his dark eyes. She felt the knot of anxiety start to loosen in her abdomen and she breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Now, let's go have some dinner and a cup of hot chocolate for you," Severus stated as he slowly walked her out of the room.

"Snape?" Hermione called softly as she stepped into the warm hall, her shivering subsiding gradually.

"Yes?"

"No more closed doors, please?"

"Indeed, Granger, no more closed doors," he agreed and helped her down the stairs.