A/N- If you can't be bothered with rambling then know that I'm sad, I'm sorry and I love you all. Then skip the rest of the Authors Note lol.

Okay, I don't quite know where to begin. I am sorry for disappearing, I am sorry for not replying to all the wonderful reviews; I will get round to it I promise. I wrote this chapter waaay back in Feb and it suddenly didn't fit with the story...so I had to fiddle about with it and change it. Which I did on my phone, my phone died before I could save I lost it all grrrr. So I had to start over and then I lost my mojo lol. I have just finished my 3rd year of Uni and May is a stressful time. Life has been hectic and not that much fun recently so I got a bit fed up and my muse went on holiday lol. You will be pleased to know that my muse is loving Chapter 9 yaaaay! Anyway big hugs and apologies to you all.

I don't own anything. This is not for any financial gain etc.

I adore my lovely ladies who help me so much with this story, we've all been ill and stressed lately.

Warnings- Ron/Hermione Smut...noooooo! Smut in general, swearing the usual.

Chapter 8

As Hermione entered the shop, she heard the familiar bell and inhaled the smell of old leather and parchment. "Finally," she sighed happily. She had been looking forward to visiting the bookshop all week. She had awoken today feeling perfectly normal after her bump on the head the night before and had spent the morning pondering over the fuzzy memories she had of Professor Snape. He surprised her more each day, and she was excited that he seemed to be letting her in. He needed a friend and she certainly needed a friend like him. Someone she could argue with about everything from novelty socks to errors in common arithmancy practices. She couldn't believe how much she enjoyed his company but more than anything, she couldn't quite wrap her head around the fact that he seemed to enjoy her company. Sure, there were times when he billowed past her and ignored her entirely, but more often than not, he seemed comfortable with her, relaxed even.

She headed up the stairs and made her way towards the potions section. She realised she had never been this far back in the potions aisles, but she knew the journals were kept in a room behind the books. When she finally came across the journal store room she began looking for the British Potion Association Issues; try saying that five times fast she giggled to herself. She finally found the corner of the room which held the BPA Issues, but she had also found something else. Professor Snape was sitting on the floor reading. He was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black trousers and was just sitting there; relaxing. He had numerous different issues spread out on the floor in front of him and was flicking between them all. His robes were discarded and lay on the floor beside him. As he read, he tucked his hair behind his ears and drummed his fingers on his legs. Hermione thought he had never looked younger, happier or more human than he did right now; she was glad for him. She had surprised herself by becoming quite fond of her professor; he was a complicated man, there was no doubt about that, but he was also a good man; honourable and considerate despite his less than stellar social skills. As Hermione studied him, he suddenly reached for the issue closest to her feet. She flinched as she noticed him spot her boot clad feet and watched as he slowly stood, bringing himself up to his usual stance of towering above her.

"What do you want Miss Granger?" he asked, sounding much more exasperated than he actually felt.

She had the good manners to blush as he looked into her eyes.

"N-nothing Sir; well actually I do require a couple of issues of the BPA journal, but I do not require anything from you," she offered with a tentative smile. "I promise, I will not get in your way or disturb you any further, sir." she added sincerely.

"That will be debatable, I am sure." he mumbled with a snort.

She looked at him with what could almost be described as fondness while she rolled her eyes and chuckled. To say that this bothered Severus was an understatement. He was well aware they had been growing closer, and he himself was beginning to consider her as a colleague or friend even rather than a student, but he was Professor Snape; nobody rolled their eyes at Professor Snape and lived to tell the tale.

I can't let that pass without comment, even if I do have some ridiculous, disastrous attraction towards her, he thought.

He glared at her and was about to launch into a speech about respecting staff of Hogwarts in a professional manner when she began to talk again.

"Now, now Professor; we've been getting along so well this week," she unwound her scarf from her neck and placed it on the floor next to his robes, "let's not spoil it. Hmm?" she asked as she unbuttoned her coat and removed it. She rolled up the sleeves of her elegant sage green blouse, which she was wearing over a chocolate-coloured, camisole-style top and began to rake through journals.

He knew he should berate her for speaking with him in such a familiar way, but she did seem much happier than a couple of weeks ago, and he was loathed to cause a crying female scene. As much as it pained him to admit it, even to himself, there was a small part of him that loved the thought that he had contributed to her current contentedness; that his company and new friendship with her was more than something she merely tolerated. He watched her reach for a crate of issues at head level and was painfully aware that from this angle it was far too easy to forget she was Hermione Granger, his student. From the back she passed for a random attractive woman with golden brown curls hanging down her back, a shapely figure with a small yet curvaceous waist and...what an arse she has, Snape thought in mortification. It was not the first time he had noticed some qualities in a seventh year, he was a man after all, but it was certainly the first time he had felt an actual attraction. She really should have graduated months ago, she is older than any Hogwarts student has ever been in their 7th year, he thought trying to make himself feel better.

'Uhh, it's too hot up here," she moaned breathlessly how can you stand it, sir?"

Fuck! That sounded distinctly sexual, he thought. Imagine her pinned under you screaming your name in that voice...no don't! Don't fucking imagine that.

"Yes the heat is stifling up here, hence why you found me in this state of undress." He gulped as he finished speaking; she was peeling off her shirt and her skin seemed to glow and glisten with heat.

"What? Robes off and sleeves rolled up? Tsk, tsk, sir, practically naked in a book shop," she laughed.

"Yes, well excuse me if I don't follow your lead and take my shirt off, but I seem to have left my strappy top at home," he said sounding thoroughly bored as he flicked through a journal, not taking in a word of it.

"Ha! Professor Snape you are positively excellent company today," she said whilst smiling at him over her shoulder in appreciation of his dry sense of humour.

She reached the shelf above her head and started to slide a crate out above her. Snape was torn between watching her stretch from a safe distance or helping her to not kill herself. He strode over to her and reached up to help, thinking that this juvenile crush had to stop.

Oh good, Professor Snape is coming to help, Hermione thought as she heard approaching footsteps. Suddenly he was behind her, and she was hyper-aware of everything; the heat radiating off his body, the smell of him, how he towered over her, she even felt has gentle breathing against her hair. Already quite breathless with exertion, Hermione noticed a further hitch in her breath as he leant forward to relieve her of the crate. She felt the hardness of his broad chest behind her and registered the awkwardness of this encounter. Before he brought the chest down from the shelf, he ducked his head and spoke softly in her ear;

"I believe you have broken your promise Miss Granger. Did you or did you not promise me that you would neither disturb my peace nor get in my way?"

With his arms still on either side of her reaching for the crate, she felt completely boxed in, like there was no escape from the awkwardness. When he spoke to her, she felt his breath on her infuriatingly sensitive ears. She felt sick and hot but not uncomfortably so; more like excitement.

Stop flirting with your student! Snape mentally groaned. Why am I doing this; she's not that attractive, she annoys me and I do not like people. I like to be alone. Except, she has been kind and attentive company this week and I do not find myself as annoyed by her as before. I do not mind her company occasionally for who wants to be alone all day every day?

This is silly, I am going to turn around and face him and point out that he chose to come over and assist me. Hermione mentally prepared and then turned slowly to face him.

Why is she turning around? Oh shit, it was bad enough when I could feel the heat from her back against my chest, but now I can now feel her front against my front; this is seriously inappropriate. Fuck, he thought looking into wide, warm eyes; she isn't merely attractive she's beautiful.

Ahhh I did not think this through! Good one Hermione; pressing your breasts against your professor. Oh shit; he's looking at me, and he seems very serious.

Just because I acknowledge her beauty does not mean it has any effect on me. The poor girl looks terrified. He decided it was time to move the crate and go back to his work and just as he gripped the sides of the crate, he heard noisy footsteps coming towards them.

"Mione? You up here?"

I would know that oaf's voice anywhere, Snape thought as he forcefully grabbed the crate, threw it on the floor and moved as far away from her as quickly as was physically possible.

Shit! Ronald, what is he doing here? Why do I feel guilty? Because he's disrupting the Professor's peace that's why, Hermione thought to herself.

"Here you are, thank Merlin. How big is this bloody place? Oh...er...hello Professor Snape. " Ron walked into the room, reddening slightly as he noticed one of his professors was observing him. Ron was still wary of his former potions professor which amused Hermione greatly; what could he do give Ron a detention, deduct house points?

"Good afternoon Weasley," Snape murmured with cold civility.

"Eh...yeah, anyway come on Hermione; I've got a surprise for you," he grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the exit.

"Ron...Ron wait...Ronald! Let me go." Hermione was mortified at Ron's behaviour.

"What?" he asked sounding like a huffy child.

"How about, 'Oh, hi Hermione, how are you, it's great to see you sorry I am," she looked at her wristwatch dramatically "...four hours early but I really need to show you something; would you mind coming with me?'" she suggested coldly.

"I did something nice for you and you're having a go at me? I mean for fuck sa-" he began.

Hermione tried to chastise him but Professor Snape beat her to it.

"Now, now Weasley, try not to swear abusively at your sweetheart." he mocked without looking up from the journal he was pretending to read as he leant against the wall.

"I'm sorry, but what's this actually got to do with you Snape?" Ron spat out in the heat of the moment.

"Miss Granger is a student of Hogwarts; I happen to be a chaperone for the students of Hogwarts. Therefore, if one of my charges feels threatened I will defend them." Severus pushed himself away from the wall, tossing the journal to the floor as he spoke with deliberate malice.

"Threatened? By me?" Ron scoffed

"Yes, I cannot see how somebody as pathetic as yourself could be threatening but-" he began to walk towards Ron when Hermione stepped in front of him.

"Stop," she pleaded gently whilst looking up at him with watery eyes.

"See Snape, I knew-" Ron began smugly.

Hermione turned her head towards Ron but kept her body angled towards her professor. "I meant both of you, you especially," she glared at him. She turned back to Snape and smiled. He looked a little tense, embarrassed even, and she noticed a muscle in his jaw twitching. "Thank you" she mouthed silently at him; he nodded ever so slightly in acknowledgment and then returned to his journals.

She forced herself to turn back to Ron who looked rather sheepish. "Hermione, I shouldn't have sworn at you, I'm just excited to surprise you," he finished with a lovable smile.

She squared her shoulders and offered him a small smile. "Here's the deal, I can come with you now and come back here after lunch or I can meet you at 1.30 as planned and stay till the carriages arrive."

"Mione," he whined "we really need the whole day."

"Well, I have other things to do," she whispered aware that Professor Snape was observing the entire encounter."

"Well that sucks," Ron huffed as he crossed his arms.

"That's life, Ronald. It's about balancing your responsibilities with your leisure time," she was beginning to lose her temper.

"It's hard to think about balance when I miss you so much," he smiled and took her hand. "It's hard being away from you for months at a time."

"Life is hard..." she began.

"It's harder when you're stupid," Snape added, not quite sure where the need to interfere had come from. The two teenagers stopped and stared at him incredulously.

"Just quoting John Wayne, it doesn't apply to anybody here of course," he said innocently.

"Who?" Ron spat with disgust.

Severus did not register his question as he could not tear his eyes away from Hermione; she was laughing and her smile was breathtakingly beautiful. Her eyes sparkled and the way her mouth curved upwards was fascinating, her mouth fascinated him; biting her lip, pursing her lips, how distracting they were when she spoke and sound of her laughter was so peaceful, not like other women's cackles and giggles.

"My Mum used to say that when I was teased for loving school," she said warmly.

"It proves somewhat true, I have found," he murmured still staring.

Ron looked at his loathed ex-professor thinking that he seemed different somehow; calmer, relaxed and he looked 10 years younger. He was staring at Hermione and he did not seem annoyed by her. He was looking at her, almost fondly. Better warn Mione to avoid him. He directed his gaze towards Hermione who, to Ron's frustration, was looking at Snape and laughing just as she would at one of his or Harry's jokes.

"Eh...I'll take you now till after lunch," Ron grumbled, "if that's ok?" he added as an afterthought.

"Yes of course," she answered Ron but was still staring at Professor Snape. "Just give me 10 minutes to tidy up this mess." Ron sighed and turned the corner as Hermione knelt on the ground. She began gathering the journals she had been sorting through when she saw Professor Snape's feet walk over to her and stop in front of her.

"I will put these back; I need to look through this crate anyway. You can leave now, Miss Granger." He seemed to have regained some of his infamous composure and was studiously avoiding eye contact as she looked up at him.

She stood up too quickly and felt a little dizzy. When Professor Snape reached out to support her by grasping her wrist, she very nearly fainted. His hands were warm but where he touched her wrist burned and tingled. She felt his eyes watching her as she stared at his hand. I must look like a complete muppet, stop staring at his hand; look somewhere else, anywhere else.

"Thank you, sir." she practically whispered her face still downcast, eyes flickering anywhere but his hand burning where it still gripped her wrist.

"You are most welcome, Miss Granger but I feel I should make you aware of my ulterior motives," he began with a crooked smile "had you injured yourself you would have got in my way even more than you already have. It was a purely selfish motivation that lead to my assisting you," he finished in a bored drawl.

With that he removed his hand and swept away from her. She was resolutely ignoring the feeling of loss that this inspired in her.

She bent over to pick her blouse up and was about to slip it back on when suddenly the act of dressing herself in front of him felt more intimate and inappropriate than her earlier undressing had. She quickly walked over to her coat leant forward and picked it up.

"Goodbye, sir," she said politely.

"Yes run along Miss Granger," he muttered as he dismissed her with a wave of his hand. She had to force herself not to flee the room and as soon as she rounded the corner, she leant against the bookshelves and gasped, what is going on with me?

"What's going on with you Mione?" Ron asked as he appeared from the aisle to her left.

"Hmmm...what?" she asked nonchalantly despite the fact her heart felt like it was trying to leap from her chest.

"You look like you might pass out, are you ok?" he asked sweetly but with some degree of suspicion present.

"Yes, I think I want...I think I need...some air; that room is stifling," she spluttered.

"You still better wrap up before we head outside, it's bloody freezing today. Not that I want you to cover up," he finished with a roguish wink.

"Behave Ronald," she chastised as she pulled her coat on over her reapplied blouse.

"Oh, I've left my scarf. I'll be right back." She dashed off round the corner. As she entered the back room, she walked right into Professor Snape who was holding her scarf. "Oh..." she exclaimed before offering him a wide smile. She couldn't help it, and she certainly couldn't explain it, but being around him these days made her feel happy.

He looked down at her almost anxiously. No sneer marred his features, and he returned her smile, although his own was so slight it was almost undetectable.

"I noticed you had left this behind and thought I might catch you. Try not to be so careless with your belongings." The smile on his face stopped his chastisement from being taken too seriously. He reached out his hand, offering her the scarf, which she gratefully accepted.

"Will do, sir," she stated as she wound her scarf round her neck before offering him her trademark mock salute.

He chuckled and without thinking reached up to untuck her curls from her scarf. She gasped at the familiar gesture, and he quickly snatched his hand away as if burnt. His cheeks were become flushed and he looked at his feet as he spoke. "My apologies, Miss Granger…I…Your-"

"No, sir, its fine. My hair provokes a reaction from most people. I don't blame you for trying to fix it. Actually it is a bit tangled, could you possibly pull it out from under my scarf?" Stop talking, stop talking, stop talking, Hermione mentally screamed at herself.

Hermione had spoken with the intention of putting him at ease, but had now only succeeded in making the atmosphere even more uncomfortable. She watched as his head shot up in reaction to her speech before he returned his gaze to his feet once more.

Sorry, sir, I'll get it myself just now. See you later Professor Snape." With that she turned to leave but was halted by a warm hand grasping her own. She turned to look at him and noticed his eyes had now left their focus of his feet and had moved to intensely studying some unknown location just above her head. He let go of her hand and raised his own to her hair, he gently pulled her curls out from her scarf blindly, as he determinedly avoided looking at her, his hand brushing along her neck as he did so. She shivered and he lowered his gaze and locked eyes with her. Her mouth went dry and she felt herself shift closer to him. She noticed both of them were breathing heavily, and she felt a change in the atmosphere. Just as she was about to move closer, closer than could ever be explained or deemed appropriate, a crate of journals fell from their pile in the corner and the noise penetrated the heady atmosphere causing them both to jump. Hermione let out an undignified yelp. Shit, what the hell am I doing, she thought. "Th-thank you, sir." This was all she said before she turned and fled from the room only pausing when she turned the corner to collect her thoughts. Oh gods…did I just put the moves on Snape? Did he let me? Was he putting the moves on me? Are we attracted to each other? These questions along with many others were running through her mind as she fled the bookshop and found her boyfriend waiting outside.

X~X

These days Severus Snape was rarely flummoxed. He always had a snide response, he never averted his gaze and he was certainly never affected or embarrassed when talking with a female student. Hermione Granger had just shattered his self-control, his beliefs and his personal conduct. His fingers tingled where they had swept over the soft expanse of skin on the back of her neck and his mind raced as he attempted to discern what exactly had just happened. Did I act inappropriately? Yes. Did she let me? Yes. Did she act inappropriately? Yes. Does she return my affections? Not possible, Severus thought with a snort; and yet he couldn't quite shake the feeling that the one-sided attraction he had been harbouring had suddenly shifted, and it seemed that now he had someone to share the burden with.

X~X

"The Three Broomsticks?" Hermione asked incredulously. Ron was standing outside the decrepit building looking extremely pleased with himself.

"Yeah, they do more than Butterbeer here Mione! The food's actually pretty good," Ron offered as he pushed the door open and strode on in. Hermione looked longingly down the street towards freedom before grabbing the door with a sigh and heading into what was Ron's idea of a romantic setting. As she entered the pub she noticed that there didn't appear to be any tables free; well, this is going excellently, Hermione thought petulantly. Truth be told she didn't want to be here; she wanted to be back in the warm, comforting bookshop with its abundance of knowledge at her fingertips and her...well her Professor Snape. Before she had time to consider the events of the morning Ron called her over to him.

"Come on Mione."

"Come where?"

"To our private room; it wouldn't be particularly romantic if I brought you out for pub grub with half of Hogwarts." He laughed and shook his head before taking her hand and leading her up the stairs.

Hermione was torn between being impressed with the effort or suspicious of the motives behind such a thoughtful gesture. As she entered the shabby room, she tried to be positive about the situation; she was alone with her boyfriend who happened to be her first love, he was making a genuine effort to be sweet and romantic, and they had all day to spend together. As Hermione's eyes swept over her surroundings, her mind kept tossing little realisations at her that she had been desperately ignoring.

She wasn't in love with Ron, and she certainly didn't want to spend the rest of her life in a relationship with him.

She wasn't even particularly attracted to him anymore.

There was only one man she currently felt any kind of attraction towards, and she couldn't believe she hadn't seen the truth until now.

She was attracted to Professor Snape; it was him she enjoyed being alone with, his company she craved, his presence which made her heart thump wildly in her chest and her breathing quicken.

She smiled anxiously at Ron as he wandered around the room, poking and prodding everything as if he had never seen furniture in his life as she considered her options. As far as she was concerned, there were two options available to her; she could push her feelings so far down that even she could not access them and attempt to get back on track with her nice, age appropriate boyfriend whilst denying how she felt (even to herself), or she could face the situation head on with typical Gryffindor bravery, break up with Ron, analyse her attraction towards her professor and sensibly decide how best to proceed.

Hermione Granger liked to think she was a sensible young woman, and so she chose the sensible option. Denial and repression, because really, was there anything less sensible than falling for Severus Snape?

X~X

Severus paced the floor of the bookshop so frantically that it seemed he would wear a hole in the carpet. This cannot be happening, why am I completely incapable of forming attachments to anybody remotely appropriate, he thought in embarrassment as he strode furiously back and forth. First Lily; who was my best friend, a Gryffindor and undoubtedly too good for me, and now Hermione Granger, who is my teenaged student, the consummate Gryffindor and entirely too good for me.

Although Severus had been aware of his inappropriate feelings for Hermione before today, this encounter had shaken him to his core. Not only was he now one hundred percent sure that he was attracted to her, he had acted on that attraction. He was ashamed of his unprofessionalism and was seriously concerned about how difficult he was finding it to fight his feelings.

As he nervously worked his way across the room and back again, he ran his fingers through his hair and attempted to figure out a way out of the 'Granger Situation'. I must distance myself from her, he thought sadly. I can't stop her weekend potions sessions so soon, she will know something is wrong and pester me with insightful questions and searching eyes. I will put a stop to all this silly banter… and she'll only try harder to make me laugh. I will go back to being rude and snarky towards her… and she'll only try harder to find out what is wrong with me. Dammit, why is she so stubborn! There is no way I am getting out of this situation without bumping her off, running away or willingly becoming a Death Eater once more. Since none of those options are feasible I'll just have to settle for being unbelievably anti-social and inhumanely horrid. If I begin this change in behaviour subtly enough she may buy it. After all, she's experienced me being sociable towards her for two weeks, whereas I have been rude and cruel to her for almost 8 years. It shouldn't be too difficult to make her believe that this side of me is a passing phase.

X~X

This is merely a passing phase, Hermione thought desperately as she tried to push all thought of Professor Snape from her mind. Focus Hermione, focus, she thought as Ron began kissing down her neck. A dramatic sigh left her which prompted Ron to stop what he was doing and grin up at her.

"Was that good?" He asked with a smirk looking utterly delighted with himself.

No Ronald, it's one of the most common erogenous zones in the world and is featured in pretty much every passionate clinch throughout literature, media and reality, but that was totally not enjoyable, Hermione thought with an eye roll as Ron returned to her neck which he was now attacking with great fervour. Hermione wrestled with her thoughts, trying to keep them on her boyfriend and the moment they were sharing, but she couldn't help but ruminate on her recent discovery. She was so distracted she barely even noticed Ron unbuttoning her blouse and was only alerted to his presence when he hauled her upright and pushed her blouse off her shoulders before pulling her camisole over her head. As she flopped back down onto the bed and ignored Ron and the path his mouth was taking down her body, a memory of Professor Snape claiming he had left his strappy top at home popped into Hermione's head and she had to stifle a giggle behind her hand. She noticed that Ron found it an encouraging sound because he began unbuttoning her jeans. As Hermione remembered the joke her favourite professor had made earlier, other flashes of memories popped into her head; the way he had looked sitting on the floor reading with his hair tucked behind his ears, his long fingers gently tapping a rhythm, the way he towered over her when he stood to greet her but most of all, the way she had felt as he had stood behind her. She felt like she could sense a kind of electric energy coming off his body, she had been so aware of every aspect of him and the effect he had on her. The heat radiating from him, the divine and manly smell of him, she had no idea what it as but she knew that it certainly smelt good. No Hermione, you don't want the middle-aged and loathed potions professor you want your young, war-hero boyfriend, for gods sakes! She did try to put all thoughts of Severus Snape from her mind but it was impossible. Fuck, I'm thinking about Professor Snape whilst in bed with my boyfriend…again! Oh gods have I always had a thing for him? I remember imagining how critical he would be in bed…oh imagine how perfect he would be, Hermione thought as Ron began attempting to give her an orgasm with his fingers. This doesn't feel as uncomfortable as the last time, Hermione thought in confusion before realising she was extremely turned on. Shit, I'm turned on because I'm fantasising about my bloody professor. I am the worst girlfriend ever, Hermione thought guiltily as Ron brought himself up to kiss her gently on the lips.

"I don't deserve you Mione. You're so perfect and pretty and…I just… I love you so much," Ron spoke sweetly staring into Hermione's eyes.

That was the moment when Hermione Granger knew there was no use denying her feelings for Severus Snape; if her best friend, who she'd desperately wanted to kiss for 7 years, could whisper the sweetest declarations of love whilst she lay half naked underneath him and leave her completely unmoved, then she was obviously not in love with him. When she was with Ron, she didn't even feel the faintest trace of the multitude of emotions her professor had evoked in her that very morning just by standing behind her. So Hermione had lost denial, she could no longer deny her feelings but she was intent on fighting them.

"Hermione…would you, I mean…do you think you'll be ready any time soon to…take things…I mean to-"

"Have sex?" Hermione blurted out interrupting Ron's stammered and nervous attempts at asking her about sex.

"Well…eh yeah," Ron muttered before letting out an embarrassed chuckle.

"Absolutely." No, no, no!

"Really?" Ron asked completely taken aback and slightly terrified by her response.

"Why not?" Erm…how about because you don't love him, you don't even want him, you want your middle-aged professor. Then there's the whole what if you get pregnant, what if it hurts, what if we break up and I wish I was still a virgin… Hermione's brain began throwing reason upon reason at her but she kept ignoring the little voice attempting to dissuade her from acting rashly.

"Well…I didn't mean right now…but erm…great!" Ron mumbled before smiling at the end as if his brain finally processed that he was going to have sex if he didn't screw the next five minutes up.

"Right…well then, that's that." Hermione looked up into Ron's eyes and smiled; the only sign of her fear was her heaving chest and trembling hands.

"Yeah…that's that." Ron smiled as he spoke quietly as if frightened he might scare her away.

After pausing momentarily to seek out her inner strength Hermione took a deep breath before pulling Ron down towards her and kissing him hard.

X~X

Severus was gathering his things and preparing to give the village a quick patrol for any troublemakers when he heard the sound of frantic footsteps making their way towards him. As he looked up Hermione Granger entered the room looking flustered and upset, with tears falling freely as she attempted to tame her unruly hair, nervously running her fingertips through her curls. He had presumed his presence would provide her with the necessary shock to the system to make her pull herself together, but when she noticed him standing warily in the corner of the room she crumbled. She sank to the floor, pulled her knees up in front of herself protectively and began sobbing openly as she pressed her head to her knees.

"Miss Granger?" Snape asked politely as he made his way across the room to her. She did not respond, even when he was standing directly beside her. As her cries intensified Severus found himself kneeling in front of her, concern radiating from him, now was not the time for him to build walls between them. She clearly needed him and if the ache in his chest and anger fuelled blood pressure was anything to go by, he desperately needed to be there for her.

"H-Hermione?" Severus practically whispered. Despite how uncomfortable he was by this encounter, he couldn't quite bring himself to be distant and cold towards her.

At the sound of her professor speaking her first name, Hermione's head shot up and she stared into his eyes before bursting into another flood of tears. He gave her a moment to compose herself and was about to speak when she let out a dramatic sigh.

"Oh gods, what have I done?" Hermione groaned into her knees as she tapped her feet nervously on the floor.

"I will undoubtedly regret becoming an accomplice in your crimes but what exactly have you done?" Severus asked wryly, feeling slightly better now that she had stopped crying and started talking.

Hermione raised her head once more and stared pensively into his eyes before taking a stuttering breath and wiping her eyes.

"I've made a mistake; I acted without thinking and now I have done something I didn't want to do and can never, ever take back," Hermione forced out before bursting into a fresh round of tears.

Just as Severus decided to stand and try and regain some professional composure he felt a small hand grip the sleeve of his robe firmly before Hermione pulled him down so that he was sitting beside her and leant her head against his shoulder; and then, she cried.

A/N- Reviews make me happy, being happy makes me write, writing makes me post, posting makes you review, reviews make me happy...do you see where I'm going with this lol. Can I just say again how grateful I am for all you peeps, you always make me smile with your kind words. xxx