"Damn!" Hermione's shout echoed through the lab. She stood from her seat, pacing the room back and forth. The headache was throbbing in her skull from the toll of pushing Snape out during their Occlumency lesson. She was completely unprepared for his invasion, but part of it she knew was her own fault; she was too busy thinking about Voldemort. Damn him! She flopped back down on her stool; the note he left two days ago burned into her memory.

Away until Friday.

That's it! Three fucking words after the night we shared! Hermione gently rubbed small circles at her temples, hoping the soothing motion will ease the ache.

"Here, take this," said Snape, presenting her a vial in his outstretched hand. Hermione raised her hand taking the offering and downed the entire contents in one shot.

"I'm disappointed in you Miss Granger." Hermione raised her head, her forehead wrinkled in confusion while the potion did its magic. "Do you think it wise to so easily accept and consume a potion without first identifying what said potion is? What if I handed you a vial of poison or worse...Veritaserum?"

"If it were Veritaserum then it would be colorless and odorless."

"And if it were poison?"

"Then I suppose I'll be dead." Snape closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Insufferable-"

"Yes, yes. Insufferable Know-It-All and all that nonsense," huffed Hermione. "I'm sure you're aware that I know what our pain potion looks, smells, and tastes like. I brewed over a dozen batches of it within the last two days. Hermione raised her hand, still slightly bruised with yellow patches on her skin, and pushed the loose curls away from her face. Snape's scowl deepened at the sight.

"I had to make sure. My intention wasn't to-"

"Drill through my brain like a bloody Jack Hammer? You didn't have to force yourself into my head, I told you what happened." Well, only the window part of it. When Hermione met with him earlier that afternoon he furrowed his brow noticing her hair, before swiftly grabbing her hand to assess the damage. She told him she was fine, but apparently he used this evening's Occlumency lesson to dig deeper.

"Perhaps not, but I wanted to make sure he didn't-"

"And if he did? What could you have done about it? I told you what happened, there isn't any reason to lie to you. I'm already in the pit, Snape." He nodded his head in understanding then moved to pull out a small tin cylinder from the storage cabinet.

"I have a paste that will work to get rid of the bruising completely." He placed her hand on his raised knee, gently smoothing the paste onto her skin. Hermione swallowed from the purely innocent act. Her eyes drifted from his curtain of raven hair that hung over his broad shoulders, to his long elegant fingers, tenderly massaging the paste into her bruised skin. "At least it shows how much you've improved."

"Hum?"

"Your Occlumency, you've gotten better at kicking me out. It's what one might call...impressive." Hermione removed her attention from his hands to meet his dark eyes.

"And what would you call it?" Snape tilted his head as though in deep concentration.

"Not bad," he replied in a deadpan tone, but the corner of his mouth twitched. There it is. Something that she seemed to notice more of during their study sessions. The first time he half smiled made her gasp, which in turn made him stop. Who knew seeing those small reactions from him would change her view of the intimidating wizard.

"I think that is probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Keep it up and you might receive a 'decent'." Hermione laughed at the remark, only laughing louder when she noticed another twitch in the corner of his mouth. "On that note, I believe we're done for today."

"Yes. Dinner should be ready and I think I've had enough of you in my brain for tonight." She stepped out of the lab, through the bedroom and into her own sitting room where a small table with a dinner spread awaited her. Snape followed her out and headed directly to the fireplace, pulling out his small bag of Floo powder from his robes. She wasn't sure if it was their interaction in the lab moments ago or perhaps even her loneliness, but as soon as Snape's fingers reached into the bag, she knew she didn't want him to leave. "W-will you stay and have dinner with me?" Damn, where did that come from? Snape opened, then closed his mouth, then opened it again. "You don't have to. It's just-"

"The Dark Lord isn't here, perhaps?" Hermione watched his familiar scowl appear on his face, his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Perhaps, or maybe just someone to talk to. But...if you'd rather go dwell all alone in your dungeons, then so be it." Hermione turned her back on the Headmaster and sat down at the table, pouring herself a glass of red wine and placing her napkin on her lap. It took only a minute for Snape to join her across the round table and she poured him a glass of wine to match her own. "There you go, that should help you with your fucking attitude," she said with a sugary grin.

"Now, Miss Granger is such a language necessary?" He provided her with another twitch of his mouth.

"Please, call me Hermione and it fucking is." The two of them looked at each other, taking a drink from their glasses.

Dinner was surprisingly pleasant. Hermione enjoyed speaking to Severus (he gave her permission shortly after insisting he call her Hermione) about topics other than war, potions, and even Harry. Of course, even if such things were not mentioned, he was adamant with keeping their talk under a Muffliato. Making sure to cast the charm again when they moved to the couch by the fire.

"It was a horrible experience for a thirteen year old." Severus quietly laughed into his wine glass. "It's not funny, but I suppose I have you to thank you for fixing me."

"It took Pomfrey, McGonagall, and Dumbledore to convince me I needed to. I was too incensed at the fact you stole from my store rooms to even consider."

"You were going to leave me as a giant walking cat?"

"Indeed. Serves you right for stealing." Hermione gasped, her eyes widened with shock. "Calm yourself, M...Hermione, you would have turned back...eventually." They both laughed recalling how Hermione even developed the urge to lick her fur before Severus gave her a potion to lesson the effect of the Polyjuice accident.

"Severus?"

"Yes," he replied. Hermione was upset with herself for disturbing the man. He looked so relaxed with his head resting against the back of the couch as his long hair hung free over the edge. He had removed his outer robes hours ago and now only in his black trousers and white oxford shirt. The view was so different than the snarky professor she had grown up with. Yet, it didn't make her feel uncomfortable in any way. It was almost refreshing. He finally turned his gaze over to her direction, she didn't realize she took so long to answer. "I don't know where he's at. He only informed me to check on you and continue with my tutoring until his return."

"I suppose my question is about his return. Do you know what event is occurring this Friday night?" The question made Severus sit up straight, his stare not leaving hers. "I assume you saw the note when you caught me off guard?"

"Away until Friday," he whispered, closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his large nose. "Why are you asking?"

"Because whatever this event is, is the night he is going to inform his followers of me." Hermione watched the color drain from his face, his heavy breathing becoming noticeable though his white shirt as his chest moved up and down. She was caught off guard again when he reached his hands over grabbing her own.

"Listen to me. I need you to continue practicing with clearing your mind. Do you understand?"

"Of course."

"I know you are capable of this. Keep those walls strong. You have no wand to defend yourself and your only defense will be that head of yours. I don't know the Dark Lord's intentions for this."

"He will not let anything happen to me, Severus."

"Are you sure of that?" Hermione made sure to look into his eyes, wanting to make sure her answer was clear.

"Yes." Severus looked away from her grabbing his robes and heading towards the fireplace.

"I will try to come see you tomorrow morning. Monday is the beginning of the semester and I need to prepare-" Hermione heard him swallow in the silent room. "Before the students return." She wasn't sure how the school was functioning that year since she, Harry, and Ron booked before the start of the school year. Hermione couldn't imagine the fear and stress that the majority of the students and staff would suffer at the hands of the new regime now within Hogwarts' halls. She could see the tension in his shoulders and the stiffness in his back. Hermione moved closer to her former professor, outreaching a hand to place on his shoulder to indicate some form of support, but as he lifted his head to speak, she immediately froze. Her hand in the air slightly above his shoulder, while his black eyes stayed focused on hers. She blushed. She felt the heat rise from her neck and spread across her face. Um, shit. Not knowing what to do and her brain somewhat stuck, her body reacted by sending her arms around his shoulders to embrace him. They stood silent standing there before the fire until he finally spoke.

"This is quite-"

"Awkward, I know." Hermione removed her arms, standing face to face with Severus. She was about to apologize, but the smirk on his lips prevented the "sorry" from forming.

"I was going to say unexpected, but being the Know-It-All that you are, I have to agree your choice of word is more accurate." She smiled at his response. "Hermione...I need you to take this." She watched as he conjured up a glass vial, opened the small bag of Floo powder and dipped the container into the bag. The small container held enough of the gray powder for one Floo trip. "If for any reason you need to leave, use it and for fuck's sake, make sure you go somewhere safe." Hermione took the vial from his hand, placing it inside an antique green vase on top of the mantel. Throwing a pinch of the powder in the fire, the flames turned green but before stepping in Hermione stopped the wizard one more time.

"What is happening on Friday?"

"Nothing important, really." With that, he walked into the flames and was gone.

Thank you to everyone for reading, following, and commenting! I truly appreciate the support for this story. Another shout out to Pamela RR, thanks for all your help!