Hermione watched in amazement as the wizard beside her effortlessly dominated the band of neo-Death Eaters. Without a moment to think, Snape moved gracefully throughout the room casting and deflecting spells with remarkable poise. The younger witch broke a sweat in an effort to keep up, maintaining an eye on the wizard's blind spot as he dueled with each enemy. Astoundingly, she found her aid to be almost unnecessary, for throughout the battle she only deflected two or three spells. Severus Snape was truly a force to be reckoned with.

"Impedimenta," Snape uttered calmly, slowing the oncoming opponent with a turquoise beam of light. Without a second's hesitation, he followed the jinx with a condemning stunning spell, causing the neo-Death Eater to collapse to the ground with a loud thud.

"Avada Kedavra," the only remaining enemy cried, hurling a green bolt in Snape's direction. The elder professor dodged the curse with ease, answering the attacker with a perfectly-aimed disarming spell. The final neo-Death Eater watched in horror as his wand flew from his hand to the opposite end of the shop.

"Surrender," Snape hissed, his wand pointed at the only opponent to remain conscious and standing. The neo-Death Eater looked around the room frantically, only then realizing that each of his allies had fallen at the hand of the professor. Recognizing the hopelessness of the situation, he dropped to his knees, hands in the air as an admission of defeat.

Hermione sighed in relief, grateful that the fight was over and that they had achieved an overwhelming victory. She watched as Snape walked about the room casting Incarcerous spells on each of the offenders, thoroughly binding them in magically conjured ropes.

"Professor Granger, if you wouldn't mind informing the Ministry," Snape asked wearily, his exhaustion from the duel evident in his voice. Hermione nodded obediently, energetically casting a Patronus charm to send word of the indicicent to the Ministry of Magic.

"There has been a neo-Death Eater attack at Tomes and Scrolls in Hogsmeade Village. Send Aurors. Three people have been killed," Hermione spoke clearly to the silvery-white otter, sending it on its way to the Ministry headquarters in London. As soon as the furry apparition scurried through the door, she moved her attention to the lifeless forms of the shopkeeper and customers who'd fallen victim to the attackers. Several witches and wizards surrounded them, among them an older witch sobbing over the body of her prospective husband.

Within ten minutes, a band of Aurors entered the bookshop, scanning the room for enemies with wands at the ready.

"They've been handled," Snape assured the officials, gesturing to the tightly bound neo-Death Eaters scattered about the room. "I trust you'll take over from here."

"Of course," the lead Auror confirmed, signaling his associates to retrieve the immobilized attackers. "Thank you, Severus."

Snape nodded, his expression unreadable as he swiftly turned to exit the building. Hermione followed quickly behind, wanting to express her gratitude to the man who'd almost single-handedly defeated the six neo-Death Eaters.

"Professor Snape," Hermione called, entering a light jog to catch up with the man. Snape continued forward at the same pace, appearing to not have heard her. She shouted his name once more. "Professor Snape!"

Snape aggressively spun around to face his pursuer. "What?" he spat viciously, eyes ablaze with hostility. "What do you want?"

Hermione froze, astonished by the sudden outburst of fury from her colleague. She hadn't expected him to be so upset.

"I wanted to thank you," Hermione explained, hurt wavering in her voice. "For saving everyone."

Snape's jaw clenched as the young witch expressed her gratitude. She remained silent as he stared at her, his dark gaze searching for an ulterior motive behind the kindness. Suddenly, she recognized that the man felt undeserving of thanks.

"More people would've been killed if you hadn't come," Hermione continued encouragingly, fighting her instinct to run away from the intimidating man. "The neo-Death Eaters were just getting started. I didn't stand a chance against them alone."

The anger in Snape's face dissipated, only to be replaced by an expression of controlled indifference. In the blink of an eye, the wizard had completely masked his emotions, leaving no trace of frustration behind. He was a true master of concealment, but Hermione refused to fall for the facade.

"This is quite unnecessary–"

"If they had seen me before you got there, I would be dead," the witch deadpanned. Tears brimmed the edges of her gaze as she struggled to convince the man of his good deed. "I'm Harry Potter's Muggle-born best friend. There is no hiding that."

Hermione waited for his response, hoping that the coldness in his eyes would lighten as he accepted her words as truth. Snape, however, remained unmoved. Once his walls were put up, he was unreachable.

Without a word of notice, Snape turned away from the woman, leaving her behind to continue his ascent to the castle alone. Hermione watched him with disappointment, lost for any words powerful enough to stop him. The man was tremendously stubborn and impossible to convince of anything, including his own benevolence. Part of Hermione had expected the duel to bring them closer, but now it appeared that they were on poorer terms than ever before. She sighed, irritated by the man's inability to simply tolerate her.

With a deep, calming breath, Hermione began her return to Hogwarts without a single item she'd originally gone shopping for. She hadn't the energy or motivation to continue the errands and desired nothing more than to cuddle up by the fireplace in her quarters. The trip to Hogsmeade had been a bust, but maybe she would at least get to that stack of ungraded essays.

Severus slammed the door of his office, the frustration he'd bottled up finally boiling over. He paced the small room agitatedly, taking deep, cooling breaths as his mind played through the events that had just transpired. That afternoon, when he'd been cornered by six neo-Death Eaters, he'd fully embraced the likelihood of dying at their hands. But then, as though by a miracle, he'd been given the upper hand he needed when the aid of a well-timed disarming spell freed him from checkmate.

Severus cursed at the air as he recalled the saving act of the courageous witch. Once again, Hermione Granger had swooped in to save him, well aware that if seen, her blood status alone would be reason enough for the attackers to kill her. Nonetheless, she'd taken the risk, sacrificing her concealment to provide him a chance at taking on the enemy. While he was thankful to be alive, knowing that he now owed his life to the woman two times over was enough to drive him mad.

Physically and emotionally drained, Severus fell into an armchair, staring tiredly at the ceiling in search of an answer. He hadn't a clue of how he would deal with Hermione in the coming days. Surely she would want to talk about the attack again, perhaps after having realized that he was the one who owed her thanks. The man winced at the prospect of such a conversation, nonetheless understanding that she truly was deserving of his gratitude.

Severus sighed defeatedly. The simple answer to the problem was becoming painstakingly clear. Eventually, he would have to rip the plaster and thank the witch who saved him. Twice.

Thank you for reading! I can't believe we've made it this far... 10 chapters, people!

To all of you who have left reviews or favorited my story: YOU are the ones who keep me chugging away at writing this fic! Thank you, thank you, and THANK YOU!

Sending everyone prayers and positive vibes as we all continue to go through this crazy time together. Much love, friends!