AN – I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with Harry Potter. If I did I would be relaxing at home with my millions, not writing this while I should be working.

You Can't Go Home Again

Chapter 2

After the war people said Severus Snape was a different man. Everyone thought the same thing. In his opinion though, it was not him that had changed. It was everyone else. His deepest secrets regarding Lily, Dumbledore and nameless other things were now common knowledge, and thus everyone's attitude towards him had changed. He was seen as some kind of a hero by everyone. His outwardly cold demeanour no longer fooled people. Even Potter had gone out of his way to make sure everyone knew what a brave and selfless man he was. Suddenly he was a 'romantic' figure in the wizarding world's eyes and he was unbelievably sick of it.

After months of dealing with praise and admiration Severus had been sorely tempted to leave, just as Hermione had done. However the arrival late one night of an owl tapping urgently at his study window everything had changed.

For the few weeks leading up to the confrontation with Hermione on the beach Severus had watched and followed her around the village. She had looked gaunt, pale and thin compared to the last time he had seen her. True she had been battle scarred but she had had fire in her eyes in those last days, a desperation to stay alive and fight. Now that lively, fierce, determined girl seemed to have gone. The scars seemed healed. Some battle scars run deeper than that, he thought, you of all people know how that feels. It made him sad to think of it.

He kept his distance for a while, all the time secretly enjoying the time away from Hogwarts. The longer he stayed the more he realised why Hermione would choose to hide away in a place like this. It was so tranquil. There were no busy roads, the beach was deserted almost every day and every time he stopped still he could hear nothing but silence.

His meeting with Hermione was certainly not what he had hoped and expected. He had been told by Ron and Harry that she would take persuading. And they had been correct obviously. She had not even asked why he was there, she had instinctively known he was there to bring her back. Up close she looked dreadful. Her cheeks were hollow and her hair matted and tangled as it flew around her thin face. Her clothes hung off her. She was clearly not looking after herself at all. He wondered briefly what Ron and Harry would think if they knew the state she was in and considered how to explain that she hadn't come back with him. After all he had promised. Time for another plan, he thought as he walked back from the beach, and this one better be good.

Over the next few days Hermione thought hard about her brief conversation with Snape on the beach. She hadn't seen or heard from him since but that didn't stop her feeling uneasy about the meeting. Over and over she played the conversation in her head. What could be so urgent that he came to get her here? She felt guilty. Surely for him to visit her directly it must be something important, after all he was almost as much as a war hero as 'The Golden Trio'. She debated sending him an owl asking for an explanation. Every time she put pen to paper she hesitated and stared blankly at the empty sheet in front of her. Surely with Voldemort gone it couldn't be anything serious, and if it was why would they need her? Wouldn't Ron and Harry contact her if they needed her that badly? At one point in her life she would have known the answer without thinking. But things were different now. You left them, she reminded herself again and again, you didn't even say goodbye. Did Ron and Harry think her a coward for running away? She didn't want to think about the answer.

Rain and wind battered the tiny house for days and Hermione didn't venture outside. The grey skies reminded her of the despair and darkness brought by the Dementors and the warmth of her home was incentive enough not to leave. The fear of running into Snape also kept her from leaving. Although she was sure he was no longer in the village, she still felt like she was being watched. Perhaps she was. So she tried distracting herself in any way possible. Reading was a pastime she usually loved but it didn't work. Having spent so long in virtual seclusion, there were few unread books in her collection. Cooking had occupied her for a while, until the realisation that she had too much food and no-one to it with made her feel empty and lonely. So she sat, sad and quiet at her bay windows and stared at the driving rain. She was too disconcerted to relax, too scared to motivate herself into some kind of action.

Her thoughts drifted to the man who had come to bring her back. His part in the war was crucial. After the revelation that the murder of Albus Dumbledore had actually been planned between them, he had joined in the fight against Voldemort. He had risked his life, not only for her but for Harry, Ron and countless others. He was the definition of a hero. He had avoided the limelight however and returned to Hogwarts to resume the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Where he was once feared and hated by his pupils, his stony and cold demeanour no longer seemed to frighten them. He was liked and admired. "You're needed" he had said when they met, and there was a true desperation in his voice that she had not been expecting. Could there really be something going on that only she could help with? Her one connection to the wizarding world, The Daily Prophet, had not mentioned any serious events. No Deatheater returns or mysterious murders had been reported. Surely if it was anything else the wizarding community could do without her help. Ah, said a little voice inside her head, but that's not exactly true is it? She thought about the last week of the war, the endless duelling. And then the sudden realisation of an intense and overwhelming power she never knew she had. She thought of the darkness that had consumed her and burst uncontrollably from every pore of her body on that last night. She shivered. No, said the voice, you can't go back after what you did. Tears began to stream down her face and she thought inexplicably of her parents. Dead and gone. As she wiped her eyes on the corner of her cardigan a sudden knock at the door made her start.

AN: I know the first two chapters have been a bit short but I promise they get longer as more is revealed about what happened to Hermione. Please R&R, even if it's criticism.