AN:/ Hello! Sorry for the one day delay! Updates will be every Thursday from now on as my Wednesdays will be much more busier than before. Thank you to everyone who favourited, followed and reviewed. I'm glad to hear you are enjoying it so far! Enjoy this chapter!

~ Chapter 3 ~

The rest of the week passed painfully slow.

Hermione found some form of peace in the Sunday morning air, but it came with the awareness of Professor Snape's eyes on her. They weren't invading her or making her feel uncomfortable; she just knew he wanted answers that she was too scared to give him.

She had asked him yesterday if he would come with her for a walk, and he told her to come anytime before eight in the morning. I thought about turning up at two o'clock in the morning to see if he would shout at me.

For some reason, she had a feeling he would go with her.

Things hadn't changed much: she still couldn't stop shaking, her mind wouldn't slow down, and Malfoy still walked the halls dragging around the memory of that night. The only improvement that came out of the past week was that she no longer felt dirty.

I bathe twice a day and scrub every inch of my body. Professor Snape scolded me when I turned up with obvious scratch marks on my arms, then he gave me some salve to heal them.

Every time she visited him, he left the door to his quarters open so Penny could come out. Hermione happily sat in her chair and snuggled the black cat; she talked in hush whispers and listened to Snape's quill scratch against his notebook.

The moment I step into the potions room, I feel at ease for once. She couldn't place what it was, but she definitely felt like a weight left her shoulders when she sat down to talk to him.

They were standing by the lake watching the sky start to brighten up, but Hermione was very aware that he was yet to speak. He usually offers a 'hello' — is something wrong?

Hermione glanced down at her feet and spotted a few stones, so she picked some up and started to skim them across the water. They all landed with a dull thud, and she muttered under her breath in frustration.

"You have to get the right angle," He said. "Loosen your wrist."

She offered him a small smile, then followed his instructions. A few of them bounced across the water while others continued their quick descent to the bottom.

"Can I ask you something?" Hermione nodded her head in response. "Why haven't you contacted Potter and Weasley? I assumed you would still be joined at the hip."

"Not anymore," She mumbled. "They stopped responding to my letters and invites."

"They haven't bothered to come and see you?"

"Nope," She popped the 'p' and grunted as she skimmed another stone along the water. "Apparently, all those years of friendship and fighting the Dark Lord meant bugger all to them!" Hermione grabbed a handful of stones and tossed them into the lake.

"Perhaps they are busy with training."

Hermione knew he was trying to get her to see the positive in things, but her mind seemed to believe only the negative in everything. I miss them.

"Maybe so."

"What about your parents-" he stopped, and she saw the moment he remembered what had become of her mother and father.

It was common knowledge that she'd obliviated them before she went gallivanting about with Harry and Ron. There's no way to get them to remember, so I now have no one left.

"I apologise."

"You don't have to apologise. I've accepted that I'll never get them back," She sighed. "I guess it gives me more of a push to really make something of myself in the wizarding world."

His eyes moved over her face, then he nodded. "We should head back inside, Miss Granger."

Hermione followed behind him, and she found herself fascinated with the way his robes billowed in the morning wind. They made their way inside, and as they walked down the corridor which contained the purple tapestry, Hermione realised it was no longer there.

The passageway has disappeared. A smile grew on her face, then she gnawed on her bottom lip and stared at the back of Snape's head.

...

"I've just spoken to the Headmistress, and she wants us to ask around for any event ideas," Richard explained as he headed towards the door. "Do you want to ask around tomorrow after dinner?"

"Yes," Hermione smiled at him from the sofa.

"I'll see you later," He nodded goodbye then shut the door behind him.

She wasn't keen on the idea. I'll have to talk to so many people...what if they notice that something's wrong? What do I do then? Hermione's chest started to feel tight, and she buried her fingers in her hair.

I have to go and see Professor Snape again this evening. Hermione didn't know what to make of her new dependence. What good could come out of needing to be in his presence? Perhaps it's his soothing voice and delicate words?

Whatever it is, I need him to carry on doing it.

"Hermione?" The door opened and in walked Ginny. "Hello!"

"Hi."

She walked over to the sofa and sat down with a smile. She hasn't spoken to her much this past week; it was partly little effort on Hermione's part, but she didn't seem to bother either.

"How have you been? I feel like we haven't talked in forever," Ginny lightly tapped her arm, leaving Hermione's skin to contort away in agony.

That's not good.

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"Harry's stopped responding to my letters," she said. "I'm convinced he's met someone else."

"I'm sure that's not true," Hermione offered, but her tone couldn't have sounded more bored.

Am I supposed to hate having her around? She felt like Ginny was invading her personal space, even though the pair had once been familiar with sharing a bed together. Everything's different now.

"Has he spoken to you?"

"I'm afraid not," Hermione tried to smile at her, but the voice in her head kept returning to slating Ginny.

I shouldn't be like this.

"I have permission to go home next weekend, so I'm going to ask Ron what's going on. You two left things on uncertain terms—I want you to become my sister-in-law," She tapped her arm again, and Hermione stared at her burning skin.

Hermione had started to lose her confidence around the time she returned to Hogwarts. I had this idea in my head that Ron and I would be together when the war came to an end...that's not what I want anymore. He stopped responding to her letters, and it led her to believe that she wasn't good enough for him or anyone else.

Would he think of me differently if I told him what happened? Am I damaged goods to him now? Hermione felt tears sting her eyes, so she glanced down at the pillow in her lap.

"Me too," Hermione lied.

I'm a bad person.

"What's the deal with you and Professor Snape?" she asked. "People have seen you walking around with him, and he's always looking at you in the Great Hall."

The grateful feeling returned. She found comfort in the idea that he was watching her closely to see when she panicked. Am I being too much of an inconvenience? Hermione flinched away from the thought and focused on the fire.

"He's teaching me master level potions. I've learnt everything on the syllabus, so he suggested that I try some out in case I want to carry it on when I leave school."

"I feel sorry for you, having to spend all that time with the greasy git is enough to drive anyone insane," She laughed at her own joke, but Hermione stared back at her blankly.

"He's good company."

"Oh please!" Ginny laughed some more.

"I'm being serious. Professor Snape is a kind man—stop laughing!" Hermione screeched and jumped to her feet to glare down at her. "Get out!"

"What? Hermione-"

"Are you deaf? Get out!"

Ginny stared at her in confusion then slowly walked over to the door. When it shut with a thud, Hermione sat back down and sighed.

Well, that happened.

She did her best to gain control of her breathing while focusing her mind on something more calming. I need to see Professor Snape.

Hermione got to her feet and hurried from the common room. She wasn't sure why she did it, perhaps her panicked mind needed her to run, so she did.

She didn't pass many people, but she still managed to collide with someone on her race down to the dungeons. The startled Slytherin cried out as they crashed to the floor, and Hermione scrambled to her feet and stared at him with frightened eyes.

"S-Sorry," Her throat was dry as she spoke, and the young boy got to his feet. She took notice of his bright blond hair and her eyes widened, and she ran off towards the potions room.

It wasn't him. I thought it was him.

The door had never seemed so far away, but she eventually flung it open in her blind panic—it wasn't much of a surprise that she didn't startle Professor Snape.

Hermione slammed the door shut and took a few seconds to catch her breath.

"What happened?" The sound of his footsteps got closer to her, and she felt his towering presence behind her.

"I...don't know," She panted. "I panicked."

"Come and sit down."

Hermione followed his order and sat at one of the desks. A glass of water appeared before her, and she thanked him with a nod.

"Did anything happen before you started to panic?"

"Richard told me that the Headmistress wants us to talk to the other students about event ideas," She explained, and Snape scratched the side of his face.

"Does the idea of talking to others make you feel unsettled or is it the thought of having a lot of people around you?" He sat down next to her, and she pushed some of her hair from her face so she could look at him.

Once upon a time, holding eye contact with him had been a difficult task. However, now she didn't have a problem with it. I feel more relaxed when I know I have his attention…?

"Am I supposed to be scared of people?" She asked.

"Miss Granger, there isn't a set way that one should react after such an attack," He said. "Do you fear being here?"

She shook her head. "I know that I'm safe here with you," Hermione's eyes widened slightly, and she averted her eyes to her shaking hands.

An uncomfortable silence settled around them, and Hermione's chest started to feel tight again.

"I bumped into someone on my way down here...I thought it might have b-been him."

"Him?" Snape drawled.

Hermione stood up straight and turned to look at him. His eyes pierced into hers as she slowly gained control of her breathing again.

She shook her head at him. "N-No."

"No?"

"No."

"Miss Granger, I apologise for what I'm about to say," He said. "But what if he does it again? To someone else? You're the only person who holds the answer right now, and I need you to tell me, so I can help you."

Tears formed in her eyes, and she slowly backed into the door. I need to get out of here. She flung open the door and took off running towards her bedroom. She wasn't angry because of what he said, she was angry because he was right.

Hermione made it back to her quarters aware that Professor Snape had followed her to see if she returned safely. She slammed the door shut and ran the short distance to her bedroom. Crookshanks waited on her bed for her shaking hands to pet him, and she bundled him against her chest with a whimper.

I have to tell him.

But, I'm terrified of what might happen next.