Hermione's feet touched the ground outside of Gringotts but she didn't slow her stride as she walked into the bank. She waited by one of the counters until the goblin working there looked up and gave her a startled look upon seeing her.

"May I help you miss?" His croaky voice called.

"I need to withdraw the entire funds from my account please," She replied firmly leaving no room for argument.

"Identification?"

Hermione smiled as she handed over her wand to the goblin whom nodded, then got down from his seat and led her through the archway into the lower parts of the building.

"You broke into this bank not too long ago didn't you?" The little goblin asked as they climbed into one of the carts. She frowned as it gave a lurch forward and for a minute she was transported back to when Harry, Ron, and Griphook had broken into the bank to retrieve the Goblet in Bellatrix's vault. "Miss?" The goblin's voice broke through her reverie.

"Huh? Oh, yes, I did break in. I am terribly sorry about that but it was necessary to kill Voldemort." She responded in a slightly defensive tone that made the goblin give a small chuckle.

"Even Goblin's know the part you played in the war," He said simply as the cart came to a halt and they climbed out.

Hermione gathered all of the items in her vault which she then transferred to a magical money pouch in her beaded bag. She had placed enchantments on it so that no one but herself would be able to extract the money. Further enchantments were placed on her beaded bag so that if anyone but her reached into the bag they would find it was a normal purse full of things like gum wrappers, lip balm, and the like. She bid the goblin good day as they re-entered the bank and she walked out of the doors. The sun was shining dimly as she stepped back into Diagon Alley and she started to walk towards the Leaky Cauldron to enter muggle London when someone grabbed her arm.

"Where are you going?" Snape's silky voice said in her ear.

"None of your business," She hissed back as she yanked her arm from his grip and continued walking.

"Stop," He said in the same commanding voice he used in his classroom and Hermione stopped.

"I told you once before Professor, I don't take orders from anyone," She said as she turned to face him in time to see his smirk fading off of his face. She focused on watching him as she silently started putting wards up around herself, something she had never tried to do before. She smirked at him as he started to walk towards her but she turned quickly and disapparated away.

She had barely pulled in a breath of air before she smacked into another person, startled she raised her wand, prepared to throw a hex but her wand was snatched away before the hex could leave her mouth.

"Well, well, who do we have here?" A familiar voice said to her and she stiffened. Her eyes looked up to meet those of the snatcher she, Harry, and Ron had run into. Scabbior leaned forward and sniffed her hair, breathing deeply to pull in her scent. "'Ello beautiful."

She tripped over her feet in her haste to get away from him while keeping a firm hold on her beaded bag. She thought about doing wandless magic but every time she did it, it left her tired; not exactly something she wanted if she was forced to fight off a snatcher.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Scabbior asked her as he stalked toward her, keeping only two or three feet between them at all times.

"Picking wildflowers," She replied sarcastically as her eyes flicked around for an escape, only then realizing they were not alone. Another man walked behind Scabbior and following him three more men, movement behind them told her that there were more. Her heart was hammering in her chest as one of the men picked up his pace, stalking towards her until he was a foot away.

"What do you want with me?" She asked trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," The man in front of her said. He had a cold voice that made the hair on Hermione's arms and neck stand up. She felt ropes suddenly flying around her and bind her tightly.

"You said I could have her," Scabbier said to the man standing in front of her, who turned and smirked at him.

"All in good time my friend, she has information I want."

Hermione started fighting against her bindings as the two men's words reached her ears; she started whispering the counter charm to the tying hex holding her but the cold voiced man struck her across the face.

"It's useless mudblood, you can't get away, don't even try," He growled as he grabbed her arm and shoved her to the ground. Lights danced in front of her eyes, as the contact with the ground made her head throb.
She got unsteadily to her knees but didn't try to say the countercharm again. She lifted her head and took stock of how many people were before her; she counted 18 before the man that hit her stepped in front of her blocking her view.

"Where is your mate?" He asked.

"Hell if I know," She answered hoping to buy some time to come up with a plan. A blow struck her face again and she felt blood fill her mouth; she spat out a mouthful noticing a tooth that had been knocked out.

"I'll ask you again, where is your mate?"

"Hell, probably, he's pretty—" She replied rudely but her sentence was cut off as she received another blow to the face, this time making stars dance in front of her eyes.

"You will answer me girl, or I will make your life hell." He accompanied his words by drawing out his wand.

"Ever hear of Voldemort? You look like a bubble bath compared to him," She hissed of before she was struck again, this time when she fell to the ground she did not get back up. A boot connected with her ribs and she winced as she heard them crack. She rolled onto her side, gasping when an involuntary moan of pain escaping her mouth as she curled onto her side in a reflexive move to protect her vital organs.

"Where is your mate?" The cold voice asked over and over; Hermione bit through her lip, much like in Malfoy Manor, to keep quiet under the pain. A familiar blackness was licking at her brain and she felt mildly relieved when suddenly the blows stopped. She raised her head but felt her blood run cold as she saw Scabbier walking back towards her. He roughly shoved her onto her back making her gasp in breaths of air as her ribs her jolted painfully.

"You're mine now, let's see if you're good for anything," He said as he leaned down to sniff her hair. "I love the way you smell, your perfume is so… intoxicating." He ripped her shirt open and licked his lips as her heaving chest was revealed to his leering gaze. Next he moved to the waistband of her muggle jeans and ripped them, along with her underwear, away from her body. Her legs were shoved roughly apart then grabbed by two men and she screamed out as she felt finger tear into her. The man above her sniggered in amusement, "You're going to prove to be very fun."

The man that had interrogated her before came to kneel by her head. "Ready to tell us where your mate is now bitch?"

Hermione looked up at him through eyes swimming with tears of pain. "Go to hell," she half growled and half gasped.

She felt Scabbior kneel in between her legs and felt him nudge against her entrance when something in the sky caught her eye. She blinked her eyes quickly ridding them of the tears that had gathered there and she saw that several things were flying through the air towards the group. As they got closer she recognized them as bats and her face broke into a bloody smile.

"What is so funny?" The man standing above her asked and she felt Scabbier freeze his movement.

"I changed my mind," She remarked as dizzying relief coursed through her body.

"About what?"

"I do have one thing to say," She taunted as the bats flew closer and closer.

"What's that filthy?" Scabbier asked this time but her eyes stayed on the man above her.

"You're fucked now," She said with a smile, finally at the end of her pain tolerance, she saw a flash of bright light before she welcomed the blackness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus watched the place where she disappeared surprised at her determination to stay away from him. Though if he thought about it he really wasn't surprised, she was nothing if not determined. He had started walking towards the Apothecary when the screeching of a bat caught his attention. He looked around and saw Nott flying towards him which caused him to frown.

"Severus, they found her," Nott said simply as soon as he had transformed, landing with practiced grace.

Severus felt his blood run cold at his friend's words and they immediately took off again, bolting down the alleyway before gliding away in their bat forms. The first place they stopped was the rebel bat's safe house. Whatever happened next, they would surely need backup. They came to a stop in front of a cave and they entered as humans, and quickly found themselves surrounded by others.

"Severus, what is it?" A tall man said from the back of the group.

"The others, they have my mate," He replied in an urgent voice. There was a flurry of noise and they were suddenly faced with over 15 bats, all waiting for their instructions. Severus focused on Hermione, getting her location and turning into his own bat form taking off into the setting sun, with a flurry of bats behind him. The group had flown for almost an hour before they finally saw the people they were looking for. There was a circle standing around a center point and Severus felt his blood boil as he flew closer to see Hermione lying on the ground. Rage coursed through him as the details of the scene came into sharper focus. Unlike muggle bats, he could see during the day, but his vision was best at night. He flew towards ground, and transformed so that when he landed he was already moving at a run.

"Nott!" He called but saw the man in question already headed towards the girl; Severus drew his wand and started firing at the people standing before him. He managed to fell 5 of them before the others began to fight back.

"Severus! You are a traitor!" A voice called to him and he turned to see Velinus walking towards him.

"I was never loyal to Voldemort, Velinus, or you." He called loudly striding towards the man. Flashes of light were flying around the two men but their focus was solely on each other. Velinus raised his wand and fired at Severus, who blocked the curse and shot off his own. They were quickly engaged in a duel, with Severus looking for a hole in the other man's shield but Velinus has been one of the better trained Death Eaters.
Finally, Velinus looked like he was tiring and a well-aimed killing curse by Severus connected with the man's chest. He fell to the ground his eyes staring lifelessly up into the now dark sky.

"Stop!" He roared out calling the dueling and fighting around him to a halt. The entire clearing turned to face him; they stared for a few minutes before a deafening flutter filled the clearing as the people transformed and flew off. He took a few calming breaths before he turned and ran towards Nott, who was holding Hermione in his arms protecting her from the fighting.

"How is she?" He asked Nott urgently and his heart stopped when the man looked up at him with tear filled eyes.

"I—I don't think she made it Severus, she's not breathing and I am unable to find a pulse." Nott said in a small voice.

"No, no, that's—that's impossible." Severus said as he fell to his knees next to him and took the lifeless girl in his arms.

"Why do you care Severus, she was a mate of circumstance," Nott said gently but backed away when Severus turned and growled at him.

Severus looked down at the bruised and bloody girl in his arms and felt as though it were Godric's Hollow all over again. He didn't love this girl like he loved Lily, but he had tried to save her, only to end up being the one responsible for her death. Tears began to slip down his cheeks as he buried his head in her neck smelling, not the familiar scent of Lily, but the smell of Hermione Granger. It was dampened slightly by the scent of blood, urine, and sweat but it was still there. He laid his head on her chest aware that Nott was standing aside staring at him but he didn't care. He had been about to lay the girl back on the ground when a thump caught his attention. He jerked his head up to look around the clearing but he saw nothing. He looked down at the girl in his arms and lowered his head quickly to her chest.

Thump. Thump thump. Thump thump thump thump.

His head jerked up to stare at the girls face looking for any signs of life and his heart pounded hard in his chest when he saw her eyelid flicker.

"She's alive!" He said to Nott. "We have to get her to Spinner's End."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Severus kicked open the door to his family estate and hurried up the stairs as he heard Nott shut the door behind him. He felt the wards ripple as they resealed themselves around the house; but he had already entered the first door on the right and gently set Hermione on the bed before dashing back out to retrieve potions, and hurrying back with an armful of them. He poured potion after potion down her throat pausing only to massage her neck to trigger the swallowing reflex. When he had gotten as many potions into her body as he felt safe with he began the external healing. He dipped his hands in some healing salve and applied it to her body; he had to keep his anger in check as he came across her various wounds. At least Scabbior and Velinus had been killed, he had made sure of that himself; he would still have to deal with the rest of the colony since he was now technically their leader. When he had done as much as he could for the girl he cleaned her gently with a scrap of flannel, instead of risking magic and putting her body in more distress. He covered her up once she was clean and flicked his wand towards the fireplace. A fire burst into life and the room warmed quickly as Severus moved towards the door; looking back only once to see that the girl was resting peacefully before shutting it behind him.

"Thank you Lily, for a second chance," He whispered into the silence before he made his way down the stairs.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Nott was sitting at his table when he entered the kitchen and he felt his anger return at the man's earlier words.

"Severus, I didn't mean the words to be as callous as they sounded," His only response was to growl low in his throat but he sat down at the table nonetheless. "The last thing I heard from you was that she was an insufferable know-it-all that you didn't want in your life. Your exact words were 'I would prefer the giant squid'."

Severus knew he was right but it still nettled him that the man was right. "She is an insufferable know-it-all but that doesn't mean I wish for her death."

"It reminded you of her, didn't it?" Nott questioned him bluntly.

Severus growled again and shot up from the table, he stomped over to the counter to pour himself a healthy splash of whiskey. Nott was his oldest friend, he'd been there longer than most of the other people in his life, and he'd been there since Severus was eleven.

"She's not Lily pup," Nott said firmly. He was the only person that ever called him 'pup'; Severus had asked him back in second year why the boy called him pup and Nott said it was because he looked like a lost puppy, watching for a master. If only they had known that the "master" he was seeking wouldn't be the one he was loyal to.

"I am aware of the differences Nott," Severus growled out.

"Lily left, she broke off a friendship simply because of your slip of tongue." Nott continued on ignoring the other man's aggressive behavior. "You need to give this one a chance, and not a chance that you think you owe to Lily to make life worth living. Let the chit change you, you've been paying penance to Lily Potter for far too damn long."

Severus slammed his tumbler down on the counter sloshing the amber liquid inside it onto the surface. "I'm going to bed," He snarled even though they both knew that he slept around 4 hours a night when the sun first rose.

XxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

The next two weeks saw Severus pouring countless potions down Hermione's throat and spending restless days by her bedside. Nott had tried several times to dissuade him but he merely growled at him. After the first 4 days however, Nott came in and disarmed him while he was distracted then bound him before he shoved him roughly into the shower; needless to say by the time he was out Nott was gone. He didn't return for a few days giving Severus time to cool down as well as lose his plots of murder. His efforts were duly noted though because Severus started showering and eating regularly; sleeping only when he passed out cold from exhaustion when he would sleep for 8 plus hours.

When the third week went by, Severus started going stir crazy, so he did what he always did in times of stress: brew and read. He read all the books he could get his hands on about comas, magical comas, near death comas; and kind of coma there was, he had read about it. He brewed every potion he could think of that Hermione could ever possible need even if the only thing ailing her was a paper cut.

After the fourth week went by with no change Severus began to get frustrated; lashing out at anyone who came to call or stopped by. Harry and Ron had long since found out that she was at his house but he had changed his wards to reject their entry. No way was he giving up his privacy and peace of mind to Potter and Weasley.

Before he knew it three months had passed while Hermione was recovering; he continued to give her the potions she needed to heal and made sure she didn't develop bed sores but it was halfheartedly. He would go in in the morning then again at night but no longer stayed all day and all night. Nott had stopped into her room once or twice but mostly kept away from it. He could see the wear on Severus' body the condition of his mate was having but there wasn't anything either of them could do. Most bats marked someone as their mate and then consummated the bond but Severus had not. So his body was growing weak and wearing down, he was more tired and shorter tempered with his condition.

It wasn't until a week into November that anything changed with Hermione; Severus had been cleaning the sheets while she was levitated above the bed when he heard a deep sigh. He looked back at the door expecting to see Nott standing there prepared to persuade him to let it go; to move on. There was no Nott in the door however, and the sigh happened again, it sounded almost as though it was a person learning how to breathe for the first time. As he lowered Hermione back onto the bed he froze when he saw her eyelids flickering. It wasn't like the rapid eye movements he had seen her make before because she was sleeping; it was almost like she was trying to blink but couldn't remember how. As he watched the movements became less rapid and steadier and he sighed in disappointment only to gasp and lean forward when her eyes suddenly opened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione felt herself waking up but had the strange sensation that she was floating, not unpleasant but a bit unnerving. She wondered if perhaps she was dead due to the musty smell she was breathing in but as she felt something rise under her back she dispelled that notion. She tried to open her eyes but her eyelids felt like they had sandpaper on them. She moved her eyes on the inside several times until the dry scratchy receded slightly then she opened her eyes and saw herself looking up at the same ceiling she had seen before. A movement to her right made her jump and try to get away but her body stayed immobile.

"Miss Granger?" A familiar smooth voice asked her gently and she instantly relaxed. "Can you speak?"

She opened her mouth to respond but no noise came out, struggled to remember how to talk but again her body wouldn't respond to her brain's command.

"I'm going to preform Legilimency on you," Snape said and she tried to nod. "Legilimens."

She saw him standing in front of her in a bare white room that he had obviously created. "Can you speak?"

She opened her mouth to answer and was relieved when her voice said "yes" but cringed at the dry, horrible sound.

"What do you remember?" Snape asked her.

"I remember the attack and seeing you and Nott flying towards be but after that it's all a blur."

She saw Snape frown and she wondered why, forgetting that they were in her mind so he could hear it too. "You've been in a sort of coma for 4 months Miss Granger," He said and her mind was instantly flooded of memories and thoughts; he tried to control it some but her mind was in too much shock to handle it. As suddenly as it had started it stopped and he found himself standing in complete darkness once again.

Severus pulled himself from Hermione's mind and looked down at the unconscious girl lying in bed. He wondered what she would do once she woke up again.

~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus walked down the hallway and descended the stairs; he stepped through a swinging door to see Nott raiding his cold box. He felt his face start to scowl as he remembered the man's careless words but Nott held his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay. I'm an arse; shouldn't have said that your mate wasn't important. Sorry again, quit scowling at me though, you'll wrinkle."

Severus shook his head slightly and felt his anger seep away in spite of himself. "She woke up, but she's not awake anymore." He sat down heavily at his small kitchen table and put his head in his hands. The small interaction with Miss Granger had helped his deteriorating health but he was already feeling the effects of not being able to touch his mate. He felt bile rise in his throat at the thought of what needed to be done between his student and himself, and he once again considered letting himself waste away.

"Don't even think about it," Nott said as he sat down across from Severus. "You're the leader now." Severus knew he was right but it didn't make it any better. "You should go."

Nott watched Severus transform and fly through the open window then headed up to the girls room.

~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione felt like someone was sitting on her chest and she opened her eyes only to shriek and close them again. She blinked a few times to clear her vision and she looked around the room she was in. There was a fire blazing in the fireplace and a chair sitting in front of it that held a man.

"AHHHHH," She screamed as Nott suddenly stood up and walked towards but at her scream he pulled up short.

"Woah, woah. I'm not going to hurt you." Nott shouted over her scream and Hermione quieted instantly.

"Sor—Sorry," Hermione rasped out feeling her throat strain at trying to talk after her scream. She opened her mouth to ask for some water but Nott was already floating a glass towards her. After drinking one, two, three cups of water she began to feel slightly better. "Where's Professor Snape?"

Nott stared at her for a moment with his head cocked to the side in a pensive way, before he started to walk towards her again. She noticed that his steps were deliberate, showing her that he meant no harm. She watched him closely as he summoned the chair over to the side of her bed and set it down; then sat down himself.

"He had to leave." He answered her simply.

"Leave? To go where?" She said in a squeaky voice that made her head throb.

"He had to go deal with some business." Hermione glared at his pointed vagueness but decided to let it go.

"What happened?" She asked and her eyes narrowed when the man immediately shifted uncomfortably. "Tell me."

"I am not certain I am the person to inform you; Severus really should." Nott answered and she was surprised to see a former death eater looking so uncomfortable.

"Okay. What does being a bat's mate mean for me?" Hermione asked.

"You know the answers to that already Miss Granger." Nott said seriously, no longer looking uncertain.

"Do I have to follow everything that he says? Is my life no longer my own because of what he did?" Hermione said feeling herself grow angry despite the throbbing in her temple.

"I am not sure what this means in that regard, I have yet to mark a mate as I don't want one." Nott answered simply.

"Why not?" She inquired.

Nott stared at her in a way that made Hermione want to cry. Of course he didn't want a mate, someone to tie him down and change his life. If professor Snape didn't hate her before he probably did now; she hung her head when she remembered how childish she had behaved before leaving Hogwarts.

"What happened to me?" She urged again.

"I cannot answer that, Sever—"

"Was I raped?" she said bluntly and the trapped look on Nott's face confirmed her fears. Tears welled in her eyes and she turned away from Nott, determined not to behave childishly again.

"Miss Granger, I do not believe you were raped. Nearly, but they did not succeed before we showed up." Nott said quietly and she turned to look at him, she searched his face for any sign of a lie but could find none.

"I'm tired." Hermione said feeling blackness lick at her brain again and Nott nodded.

"I'll watch over you, Severus would want—" but his words were cut off as she let herself fall into the waiting oblivion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus returned back to his house feeling more tired and worn out than he had when he left. He looked in his sitting room expecting to see Nott there but the room was empty so he decided to check the girls' room. He saw his friend sitting in a chair next to the bed passed out and snoring.

"Wake up." He shook Nott's shoulder roughly and waited for the man to wake up.

"She woke again." Nott said sleepily as he stretched his neck.

"For how long?" Severus asked.

"About 30 minutes." Nott replied as they left the room and shut the door. Severus replaced the wards over the room to alert him if she awoke. "She started asking questions Severus, most I didn't answer."

"Most?" Severus asked suspiciously.

"She asked one, if she had been raped, and I answered."

"I told you to tell her nothing Nott," Severus growled out.

"I couldn't—couldn't not answer her. She was so upset; you know how I am with crying females. They're so fragile and terrifying." Nott shuddered.

Severus glared at him but it didn't hold any heat, if he was entirely honesty, he didn't like emotional women either. "She needs to wake up soon; it needs to be completed soon." He felt his head spin and he sat down heavily as a fresh wave of nausea. Why did life have to be so difficult?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Hermione next opened her eyes it was to a darkened room with only the flickering of the fire as light. Her head throbbed painfully as she sat up slowly in the bed she was in and glanced around the room; it was the same one she had been in before but without the chair. Ignoring the pounding in her temples she put her legs over the side of the bed and stood shakily; but once she was standing, she decided this was a very bad idea. A light to her left and running water made her lurch towards what she hoped was the bathroom. Upon reaching the toilet she promptly retched up everything in her stomach then proceeded to dry heave for a few more minutes. As her stomach settled to a queasy mess she leaned back on her legs then sat against the bathing tub behind her.

A noise to her left alerted her to another's presence and she turned her head to see her professor standing in front of a vanity with a sink shaving, the muggle way. Hermione studied the swift confident way he stroked the razor down his face. He hadn't seemed to notice her sitting there and she looked around the room she was in, studying it for the first time. It was then that she realized why he couldn't hear her, there was, what looked like a solid glass wall separating them. She watched in fascination as he continued to shave and found herself surveying the way his forearms moved.

"Like the view?" Came Nott's voice from behind her causing her to jump and shriek in surprise. The man chuckled slightly as he held his hand down for Hermione to grab, once he had a good hold on her hands he hoisted her up.

"I wasn't—" Hermione said, but her words were cut off by the returning nausea and she pushed past Nott just in time to dry heave painfully again. Nott held her hair away from her face; she winced when the man behind her gave a sharp whistle and looked around when she heard footsteps.

"What are you doing out of bed you foolish girl?" Snapped Professor Snape from where he was standing by the door. She saw him shoot Nott a look which had the other man retreating from behind her.

"I was loo—" She said in a hoarse voice, her throat still stinging from the trauma of vomiting.

"I don't care; you shouldn't have gotten out of bed! What happened to you being the brightest—"

"Severus," Nott said in a warning voice from her right and she turned to look at his face. He was wearing an expression very much like the one Albus Dumbledore used to wear. A calm speculating one that also held a warning, one that Snape was obviously going to listen to, though not happily.

"Back to bed." Snape ordered her and the look on his face gave her the good sense not to argue. She hung her head down and walked back to the bed she awoke in, not realizing how exhausted she was until she laid down on the feathered mattress. Snape entered a few seconds later looking, if it were possible, ashamed of himself. He walked over to the bed and conjured a chair before sitting down. "You should not have gotten out of bed."

Hermione scowled slightly but kept silent as he continued. "Your health will not…improve until—until the bond can be sealed. As your health is affected, so too is mine. You know this, as you read every single book about bats you could get your hands on." His voice was firm, sharp as it always was, but it didn't hold the heat, the loathing she was used to.

She swallowed thickly trying to get the lump in her throat to go away. "The book said we—we have to mate, in order for the bond to be sealed and completed."

"Indeed." Came his only reply.

"What happens if we don't sir? Will it just go away?" Hermione asked, hoping for an answer she didn't already know.

"No," Severus said abruptly as he stood to his feet and walked to the window to stare out of it. "No, it will not go away, Miss Granger. You know this already, you're wasting time by asking questions you are already aware of the answer to."

Hermione put her head down and stared at her hands through watery eyes. "When?"

"As soon as possible," Severus responded not turning around. He surveyed the landscape around his home and tried to think of a way out of this.

"Now?" Hermione asked trying to keep her voice steady, to be braver than she felt. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see that he had turned around but his face was in shadow so she couldn't make out his features.

"It would—be most wise." His voice said and she had to swallow back a sob as well as blink rapidly to clear the tears threatening to spill over her eyelids.

"Whenever you're ready sir," She said, her voice betraying the fact that her emotions were not as in her control as she would've liked. She hated the quiver in her voice when she said 'sir'. His footsteps walked closer to the bed and he sat on the edge, handing her a vial of something. "What is—"

"It will make it easier, for us both." He answered her unspoken question with no emotion and she swallowed the contents, wincing slightly as the bitter liquid hit her tongue. The potion settled in her stomach and made her feel hot, like having a very bad fever. A sudden gush of liquid onto her legs made her jump slightly. "Lie back," Snape commanded his voice just as emotionless as it had been before.

Hermione laid back and closed her eyes when she heard him rustle his clothing. She tensed when she felt the mattress near her legs dip down, and even more when she felt his body press against her.

"Relax," Snape said, his breath whispering over her face and she opened her eyes. The room was too dark for her to see his face clearly, but she could see his outline well enough to know he was poised above her looking down. She felt his knee nudge between her legs and she opened them slightly, then more when he placed both his knees between them. A shiver ran up her spine when his hand suddenly grabbed her underside of her knee and placed it up on his waist. She got the point and wrapped her leg around his waist, tensing again when she felt something nudge against her thigh.

She screamed out suddenly as she felt him thrust into her, she felt like her body had been thrown under the cruciotus curse again. She attempted to get away from him, get away from the pain but his body was too heavy.

"Dammit girl, hold still." He barked at her making her freeze. "Why didn't you tell me you were a virgin?" She felt fresh tears well in her eyes at his angry tone but she managed to say "I'm sorry", in a small voice.

"I have to finish this," He said his voice going back to the dead tone it had before. She just nodded her head then let it fall to the side.

She started reciting the ingredients needed in a polyjuice potion to ignore the pain shooting through her. He suddenly shuddered above her and she bit her lip against the agony shooting up her spine, over to her shoulder. The taste of blood made her ease on her lip and a throbbing there told her she had bit clean through her lip.

"It's done," he said stiffly as he pulled out slowly and retreated from the bed. She heard him say something but she merely curled into a ball and let the numb security of sleep take over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus stared at the girl lying on his bed and felt himself shaking. A virgin, she was a virgin and he just went tearing into her like some young bull. He felt sick, dirty, this was worse than anything he had ever done for the Dark Lord. He shook his head, noticing immediately that the throbbing in his temples was no longer present, neither was the overall fatigue he had been feeling. He deserved it of course, but she was suffering as well. She didn't deserve it. He exited the room quietly and walked down the hallway to his study. Once inside he walked over to the mantle and grabbed a bottle of Odgen's finest, neglecting the tumbler sitting beside it completely, instead he brought the bottle to his lips and drank deeply; taking comfort in the burning as the alcohol went down his throat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione opened her eyes the next morning and noticed immediately that she felt better; only to remember what happened the night before. Tears immediately filled her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks as she lay there. She didn't know how long she laid there but she suddenly had no wish to remain in this bed, or in the house for that matter. Getting out of bed she was thankful when no urge to vomit swept over her, she looked around the room but saw nothing for her to wear. Her wand was laying on the bedside table to she grabbed it up and transfigured the dressing gown she had on into a shirt. She saw a nail lying on the floor and with a quick incantation later, she had pants. The pillow case and pillows became socks and shoes. Satisfied with her handy work she walked over to the fireplace in her room and was pleased to see a small jar containing Floo power there.

"The Burrow!" She called clearly as she threw the floo powder into the fire. The last thing she heard was some sort of alarm sounding before she spun out of sight.

She stepped out onto the hard floors of the Burrow's kitchen making the redhaired woman sitting there jump slightly. "Oh Hermione, I have no idea you'd be here today. What did you do to your lip dear? " Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as she hurried towards Hermione. She felt herself being enveloped into a motherly hug and the reassuring smell that she always associated with Molly, made her dissolve into tears and sink to the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What the bloody hell did you do to her?!"

Severus jolted awake as Nott kicked the chair he was sleeping in, a cracking of wood told him that the other man had broken the chair. "What?" Severus asked trying to shake the hung over haze away.

He felt something get thrown onto his lap and he looked down to see blood on the sheets from Miss Granger's bed. "You knew it had to be done!" Severus said defensively.

Nott cuffed him in the head making his headache worse and he growled. "I told you it had to be done, you had to finish it, not bloody tear her apart Severus!"

"She was a virgin," Severus said as he stood up angrily and walked over to his potions cabinet; he threw back a sober up potion, then a headache relief potion. With his brain thinking more clearly now, he frowned and turned to face an annoyed Nott again. "How'd you get those off her bed with her in her bed?" He asked suspiciously.

"Easy, she wasn't in her bed." Nott replied easily. He looked up when nothing but silence echoed around the room.

"I'm going to kill her," Severus said angrily as he walked out of the room, leaving a very confused Nott behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The one thing she liked about Molly Weasley, was that she didn't ask questions. She merely took Hermione in her arms and let her cry, simply stroking her hair. Once she had cried all her tears, Molly got her up, set her at the table then placed a large plate of food on the table in front of her. The aroma of the food hit her nose and she instantly started eating.

"Goodness dear, you act like you haven't eaten in months." The elderly woman observed as she cut vegetables.

Hermione gave a strangled laugh at how very true that was, but she checked herself and slowed down. The mark on her shoulder tingled suddenly causing her to shiver, but she smiled reassuringly at Molly when the woman looked at her questioningly. "Sorry, draft, just got the chills." She received a nod of understanding before she was left to her food. She guessed the plate must have been enchanted to refill automatically because once she ate all of something, the space was filled with something else. Two plates and three goblets of pumpkin juice later she finally felt satisfied and sat back feeling better than she had in months.

"Are any of the others here?" She asked conversationally.

"Oh no dear, they're at Hogwarts most likely." When she received a confused look she continued, "Helping with the repairs to the castle you know."

"Oh right, I think I might head on over there. Can I use your floo?" She asked as she stood, she rubbed her mark absent mindedly as it gave a slightly more painful tingle but smiled at Molly.

"Of course dear, here take this to Harry and Ron; they probably won't stop to eat silly boys." Hermione smiled, thanked Molly for the food then stepped into the fireplace appearing a moment later in the familiar pub, The Three Broomsticks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It didn't take her long to locate Harry and Ron, along with a few other of her classmates that were there working. The castle looked a lot better than when she had left it the last time but it still had a ways to go before it was fit for re-opening the following September.

"Oi Hermione!" Ron yelled at her, she smiled widely when he and Harry ran towards her and enveloped her in a large hug.

"Where ya been we missed you?" Harry said happily hugging her tightly.

"Yeah, you just disappeared," Ron said uncertainly. "Did—did you leave because of me? Because I know I was bang out of order Hermione, I love you, you know I do, but I'm hot headed. All action and no thinking—"

"Ron, I didn't come back to get back together. I meant—I meant what I said before I left." She said firmly and Ron's smile dimmed a little.

"Oh, right. Yeah, that's, well there you are then." He said with sadness tinged in his voice. "We better get back to work, Harry. Hermione, good to—uh, good to see you."

"Yeah Ron, you too," She said sadly as she watched him walk away.

"So you're really not going to marry him?" Harry asked once he was out of earshot. He led the way over to a crumbled wall and sat down. He grabbed the sandwich she handed him and she sat down as well.

"It's not what I want Harry, he's not what I want. I think…I think in the midst of the war, being second from death kind of made us rush into things. Things that—didn't fit both of us," Hermione said firmly looking out over the people working.

"You've changed," Harry said and she looked around to see that he was staring at her.

"Yeah, yeah I guess I have, but haven't we all Harry? I mean, the war, the aftermath, it was bound to change us right? Things couldn't stay the same."

"No, I suppose you're right." He replied still looking at her oddly. "Where've you been?" He asked her bluntly.

"Trying to find my parents," Hermione said, lying easily but feeling fresh tears well in her eyes.

"Ah Hermione, don't cry. You know I hate girls crying, especially you. You didn't find them?" He said in a gentle voice. When she just shook her head and choked on her tears, she felt him pull her into his arms and she buried her face in his neck.

"Hermione?" A familiar female voice asked and she looked around quickly wiping tears away.

"Gin!" Hermione said and she launched herself into the red-heads arms hugging her tightly. The younger woman returned her hug briefly before pulling back and studying her.

"How come this is the first seeing or hearing from you in a long time?" Ginny asked her seriously.

"I'm sorry Gin, that's what I was just saying to Harry, I've been looking for my parents. No luck yet," Hermione said, but this time she had to avoid Ginny's eyes, not being as practiced in lying to the girl as she was with Harry.

"Oh, okay," Ginny said but her voice made it clear that she was unconvinced.

"Yeah, I'm back now though, decided to give it a rest for a bit," Hermione said hoping to shift the focus to something. The look Ginny gave her made it clear she definitely didn't believe her, but she let the subject drop. "So, anything I can help with?" She asked brightly, her mark burned slightly as she walked with Ginny and Harry but after a quick rubbing it stopped.

~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus was furious. He had been trying to get a read on where Hermione was all day long but was unsuccessful. He slammed the door to his potions lab hoping that doing some brewing would help him calm down. As he walked over to his supply cupboard though he noticed that he was out of Jasmine, which meant he had to go to Hogwarts to get into his old stores.

"I'm such an idiot," Severus thought out loud wanting to slap himself. There was only one place she could go that would keep him from picking up where she was. He stormed over to the fireplace and threw some floo powder into the flames bellowing "My quarters!" then he was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione took a break from the rebuilding to sit under a tree and cool off. She opened a bottle of butterbeer and drank the iced drink deeply sighing in relief.

"Can I sit?" A voice said and she looked up into the silver-blue eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"Uhm, sure," Hermione said scooting over.

"No need to sound so uncomfortable, I was an arse during school, but I've had to change since mum and dad went to Azkaban." He said in a slightly bitter voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Hermione said somewhat sincerely.

"Potter tried to put in a good word, but not even 'the boy who lived' could keep them out. I only got away because there was no proof that I killed anyone."

"And did you?" Hermione asked seriously.

"Did I what?" He replied confused.

"Kill anyone?"

"No." Hermione could hear the sincerity in his voice and she decided to let the subject go. "Why'd you come back to rebuild?"

"I don't know repentance I suppose. Why did you?"

"Took a break from finding my parents," Hermione said trying the lie out again.

"The great Hermione Granger lying?" Malfoy smirked.

"I'm not—How did you know?" She inquired at his skeptical look.

"You don't give up, or take a break, ever."

"How is it you know that but Harry and Ron, well maybe not Harry, but Ron bought it?" Hermione mused on a half laugh.

Malfoy leaned closer to her, not touching her, but close nonetheless, and whispered conspiratorially, "Because I'm not a dim-witted idiot."

Hermione threw her head back and laughed good naturedly.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything," a smooth baritone said from in front of them.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

I'm going to place this note here so I don't get the same annoying reviews and emails I got before. The kind of bat that Severus, Hermione, and Nott, as well as others, are is a mix between two different species. One a bird, and one a bat. So my bats have feathers and some characteristics of birds. Please for the love of, THESE ARE MAGICAL FAKE BATS, that have feathers.