I would just like to say thanks for all the great reviews I've had, and a big thanks to all my regular readers! Also I should really apologise for any delays in my updating….

But anyway, on with the story…

……………………………..

How long was it since he had slept? Since he had eaten? Since he had left that room?

Severus couldn't quite remember. He had lost track of any measure of time. The only way he knew that time was passing at all was due to Hermione's laboured breathing.

A breath in. A breath out. He watched her unconscious body on the bed move up and down slowly, rhythmically. Her breathing was now constant and had been sounding better every day, but admittedly that was mainly due to Remus.

'Insufferable Werewolf…'

Severus looked up from his favoured armchair as he watched his bedroom door swing ajar and watched silently as the rather worn out werewolf in question trailed into the room and flung himself into the nearest chair.

"Make yourself at home then." Severus commented dryly.

Remus ignored him. "How is she?" he enquired apprehensively.

"Still unconscious. But her breathing seems to have improved"

"So she's not any worse. That's good." Remus nodded, speaking mostly to himself.

It had only been yesterday when Remus had come running into the room, claiming to have found a cure for Hermione. Severus hadn't believed it at first. Remus had suggested that they drained all of the blood from Hermione's body till she was close to the point of death. They would then transfer someone else's blood into the body, causing the poison inside her to be diluted. They would do this again over several days, until the poison was diluted to the point of non existence. It had seemed so simple. So muggle-like. So old fashioned and barbaric. But perhaps that was the key to its success.

He said he'd found it after reading through a section on vampires, because although the creature clearly wasn't a typical vampire there were certain parallels between the two creatures. As for the blood-draining plan, Remus had got the idea from some muggle book that had also been recommended in the vampire section. 'What was it called again? "Dracula" I think it was…'

At that moment he heard a stirring from the corner of the room and looked up in shock to find Hermione's eyes attempting to flutter open. Severus couldn't believe it.

'This was it….

Finally…

After all this time…

She's actually waking up…'

Severus watched tensely as she moved her head from side to side, looking around the room confusedly.

He was silent as her eyes first caught Remus's, who in turn smiled back at her warmly, the first genuine smile he had seen from Remus in days. Her eyes took in the darkened room slowly, with a look of puzzlement appearing on her face as she tried to figure out where she was. It was only when she finally noticed him sitting like a cold statue in the corner, that her face turned to one of complete amazement and wonder. Her soft brown eyes stared into his, full of pain and sorrow. They were locked in a silent conversation, an unspoken agreement; he couldn't seem to look away.

……………………….

Hermione couldn't believe it. Her saviour, the voice that had kept her sane during all the dark nightmares she had been enduring, with the maniacal laughter that had driven her to near insanity…it, it was him?

'Impossible…' was her first rational thought, but after everything that had happened to her, Hermione wasn't in the mood to put too much stock in anything that was very logical.

There he was, sitting in the corner, his dark and unfathomable eyes boring into her with such intensity that it almost scared her. He was sitting as still as stone, his head resting on one hand as though he was trying to understand something just beyond his reach, his lank, black hair hanging partly over his face and shoulders. But there was something about Severus that had changed since the last time she had seen him. Gone was the maliciousness and contempt from his eyes, and in its place was a pure, simple sadness that Hermione had never before seen in him. 'He looks like some kind of…dark angel, I guess,'

Finally, his eyes moved away from her and she followed his gaze over to the other side of the room, only to see Remus stand up quickly and move quietly out of the room. Hermione reckoned that Remus had just said something to her only moments ago, but she couldn't for the world recall what it was.

"How are you feeling, Miss Granger?" the statue in the corner commented softly once the door had closed.

Hermione tried to make a rather poor attempt at speech. "I…I'm-" she began before starting to cough harshly. She tried again. "I…Oh God!" Hermione exclaimed suddenly in complete agony and reaching up to grasp her neck she could feel two small marks in the flesh that burned with searing pain.

"Here, this should help-". An alarmed voice came from beside her.

Hermione felt something ice cold being pressed to her neck and the relief washed over her. She looked up to find Severus kneeling inches away from her body, pressing a damp cloth to her neck. 'What the hell is he doing?'

"I don't think you should try speaking quite yet," he told her quietly, looking up at her. He was so close she could feel his breath on her neck as he spoke.

Hermione finally nodded slightly in assent. She wasn't really sure what was happening and she felt far too tired to argue. Hermione felt a wave of sleep starting to come over her and closed her eyes wearily. 'Perhaps I am still dreaming…' was her last hazy attempt at logic, before succumbing completely to the darkness once more.

It was a few hours later when she woke up. The first thing she noticed was that Severus wasn't in the room anymore. Instead, Remus was sitting beside a small wooden table that hadn't been there last time. On the table there was an array of various foods that Remus was currently helping himself to, and therefore he never noticed when she turned slightly to see his face better. She noticed there was dark circles underneath his eyes, and that his face looked rather sickly.

'Poor man, he looks exhausted.' Hermione noted anxiously, 'God, I hope that isn't because of me.'

At that moment he happened to look over to her and smiled in surprise when he realised she was awake.

"Hermione! I'm glad you're awake again, are you hungry at all?"

Hermione shook her head. She still felt rather sick.

"No? Well Severus should be back soon, and you know he'll have other plans," Remus smiled wryly.

Hermione laughed at this, and then winced as she felt a shooting pain down her side. She wondered if it was safe to talk yet. 'Only one way to find out'.

"Remus…what, what happened to me?" she enquired slowly. She watched the smile fade from his face.

"Don't you remember?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not… not much."

"I see," Remus paused thoughtfully, "Well, in that case let me fill you in…"

...

Severus had arrived in his bedroom to find Remus chatting animatedly to Hermione. How glad he was to see her awake again.

"Good evening, Miss Granger"

She looked up at him and smiled warmly. Smiled…at him? He couldn't believe it. He nodded in reply, before walking over to the wooden table, rather bemused.

"Hermione had just been asking about how she had managed to end up here in the first place." Remus started to explain.

"Indeed." Severus started to pour himself a glass of wine, deliberately trying to avoid Hermione's eyes. It hadn't gone unnoticed that Hermione hadn't asked about her husband yet. He wasn't looking forward to that conversation in the slightest., but it was bound to come up soon. Severus turned around and half listened to the mindless conversation that Remus and Hermione were now having while sipping his wine slowly.

It was half an hour later when Remus stood up, excusing himself with the explanation of having to update Tonks on Hermione's good progress. Once he had left the room Hermione looked up at Severus, all traces of good humour gone from her face.

"Severus, I need to ask you something." She started, before pausing awkwardly.

"Well girl, what is it?" Severus muttered, placing his glass on the wooden table.

"It's just…well, has Ron been in touch with you at all? Why hasn't he been here to see me at all?" She blurted out.

This had been the conversation he had been dreading.

"Hermione…I think you should see this," from inside his pockets he pulled out a crumpled up letter, and unfolding it he walked over and handed out to her. Hermione looked at the letter before slowly reaching out and accepting it.

"What-"

"It's a letter from Mr Weasley" Severus explained quietly.

Hermione began to read the letter. Severus watched as the look on her face turned first to contempt, then to anger and finally to painful sorrow. She looked up at him, eyes full of tears.

"I, I don't believe it." She whispered to him, "Impossible!"