A/N – Ok, so this has taken a different turn than I had hoped at first but that is ok! I can work with this and I am definitely not abandoning this no matter what! SO! Off we go!

Two weeks passed in this routine. In the mornings Hermione would get up and head for the Room of Requirement. She would practice for a couple hours before Ro came in and they both went to breakfast. At breakfast, Draco would heal her injuries and she would try and eat a little more every day. Ginny was her constant support and never let her leave the Great Hall without eating something. At lunch she and Draco would go over the school work that he needed help on, with Hermione gently coaching him into the right answers and he figuring them out on his own. After classes Hermione went back to the Room of Requirement to practice with Ro. Sometimes she would dance and other times she would show Ro new maneuvers and techniques. After practice they went to dinner, where again Draco would heal her and Ginny would coach her through her food. When dinner finished she headed to her detentions.

9 times Minerva had fallen asleep at her desk and Hermione had put her to bed, gently. 9 times Hermione had sat and talked to the slumbering headmistress, knowing that nothing she said would be remembered the next day. The cramps in her hand were starting to get worse with every day that passed. She knew, eventually, the cramping would ease as the dexterity in her hand got better but at the moment, it just hurt.

Saturday, Hermione found herself lying on her back on Severus's couch in his sitting room staring at the flames in the fireplace as they slowly died down. Her head was pillowed on Ro's thigh and the older witch's fingers were carefully sifting through her hair. Subconsciously the brunette began to rub her hand, trying to ease the ache. Rolanda reached down and took her friend's hand in her own, digging her thumbs into the palm. She continued this for several minutes until Hermione spoke, just softly enough that she was the only one who could hear her.

"Bellatrix."

"What?" Rolanda was confused. Why would Hermione bring up a dead witch?

"She is the one that caused my nightmares."

"Oh. Are you ready to talk about it?" the white haired woman looked down at her friend and started to caress her cheek.

"No. That's all I wanted to say." The reply was dead sounding and worried the older woman.

"That's ok. When you are ready to talk I will be here to listen." She tapped Hermione on the nose.

"Thanks." Hermione turned and buried her face in her friend's stomach.

"Why does your hand hurt so much?" Hooch asked as she resumed massaging the sore tendons.

"Writing lines for McGonagall. She is pushing herself so hard for the school that she keeps falling asleep at her desk. On those nights I usually write until my hand hurts too much to keep going and then I put my papers on her desk and put her to bed." Hermione's answer was muffled slightly by her friend's shirt.

"Why won't you talk to her instead, like she wanted you to do in the first place?" Hooch frowned. "Listen Hermione," the older witch grabbed the younger by the shoulders and rolled her over so she was looking at her. "I would trust Minerva with my life. No matter what you tell her, I promise you it won't go beyond the door of her rooms. She would never betray you like that. Promise me you will try talking to her. Stop hurting your hand over this and just talk." Ro worded the last bit very carefully so that Hermione wouldn't misconstrue her meaning to think she meant the self-harm that the young woman occasionally practiced.

"Ok. I will try. Speaking of which I need to get ready to go anyway, it's almost dinner time."

The two stood and, per their usual routine, walked towards the great hall. As they walked in, Hermione glanced up at the head table and noticed that her transfiguration professor refused to meet her gaze. She felt Ro pat her on the shoulder and head off for the head table while Hermione joined Ginny and Draco in their normal spot.

Dinner passed by quicker than usual and time soon saw Hermione moving into the office to begin her next detention. She stood at the door for a moment, glancing back and forth between the chair that Minerva always left sitting in front of her desk for her, and the desk where she had spent the last 2 weeks writing nonsense lines. The inner struggle over this decision was a hard one. One that must have taken too long to come to, as she vaguely heard Minerva calling her name. Finally her promise Ro outweighed her need to continue holding onto her anger. Stalking over to the chair in front of the desk she sat.

"I'm tutoring Draco. He asked me a couple weeks ago if I could help him with his school work." Hermione almost laughed at the shocked expression on Minerva's face. The older woman had dropped her quill and was staring at her, open-mouthed. Standing slowly, Minerva made her way around the desk. Tears glistened in her eyes as she yanked Hermione up from her sitting position and hugged her. Hermione held onto her professor. Tears of her own began to form and fall freely down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I'm so sorry for what I said to you. And after all that you still made sure that I was taken care of at night. On the nights I fell asleep you were the one who put me to bed weren't you?" Minerva's words were spoken against Hermione's neck and the young woman felt a thrill race through her body. The heat of the older witch's breath felt hot enough to set her skin aflame.

"Yes," Hermione whispered in response. "I know you wake up with neck pains and headaches when you fall asleep at your desk. I didn't want that. And, Minerva, I forgive you." She leaned back to look Minerva in the eye so that there would be no mistaking this.

"Thank you." Minerva said quietly. "Sit, I will get us some tea."

The two women sat and talked for several hours, carefully not touching on the subject of the war at all. They talked of books and transfiguration magazines and articles until the small hours of the morning when Minerva finally took Hermione, much to Minerva's surprise, to Severus's rooms. Hermione quickly explained her reasoning for staying with the potions master. She couldn't stand to be in the room with the other girls. Most people still made her uncomfortable to be around and the nightmares were worse. The green-eyed woman understood and allowed Hermione to stay.

Reaching out gently Minerva brushed the brunette hair away from the brown-eyed girl's face. "Goodnight, Hermione. Thank you, for finally forgiving me."

"You're welcome. Goodnight, Minerva."

A/N – There you go! Chapter 11. Minerva and Hermione are getting closer! Read and Review, and as always, feel free to shoot me a message.