The Boy Who Lived awoke in The Burrow. The sky outside was foggy and damp, rain thundering down on the window pane. Ron was still slumbering on the four-poster beside him.

Harry continued to stare out the window for half an hour before his stomach began to protest. "Ron," he said loudly, interrupting the redhead's snores for a split second.

"Ron. RON."

"Huhwhat?!" He fell off the bed with a loud thump.

"Wake up already. I'm starving."

"Well go in the kitchen then. I'm not your mum." Ron snapped his mouth shut.

"Low blow, Ron. Anyway, come on."

Relieved that Harry had not taken offense to his poorly thought out comeback, Ron set off down the stairs behind his best friend. The two were greeted by the rest of the Weasley family sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hello, dears! Did you get some much needed rest?" Molly asked as they loaded their plates up with eggs and toast.

"Yes. Thank you for letting me stay, Mrs. Weasley." Harry was grateful that he had had somewhere to go after the war was over. It had taken such a mental toll on him that he vowed to sleep for fifteen hours straight. He kept this promise.

"Oh, don't mention it, honey. Do you have any plans for today?"

"Actually, Ron and I were going to go back to Hogwarts to fetch Hermione." She refused to come back with them two nights ago, insisting on staying at Hogwarts alone. Both Harry and Ron were worried for her wellbeing. Even though Voldemort was dead, there were still dangers lurking about the wizarding world at the moment.

Molly looked as if she wanted to scream what a bad idea this was at them, but she shook her head as if thinking, "they wouldn't listen to me anyway."

"Alright. You need to be very, very careful. Find Hermione and leave at once. Do you understand?"

"But mum, Hogwarts is perfectly safe now. Abandoned maybe, but safe."

"Don't argue with me, Ronald. Off you go."

...

It was already ten in the morning. Hermione rolled out of bed groggily, not wanting to miss breakfast at the High Table. She threw on her robes and left the room.

Upon arriving in the Great Hall, Hermione found all five professors already seated and eating. "Sorry I'm a bit late," she remarked as she took her seat next to Professor McGonagall and Severus.

"No need to apologize, dear!"

"'Ello, Hermione! Sleep well?"

"Yes, Hagrid. You?" She asked with a smile.

"Better than I 'ave in ages."

Hermione was thankful that everything was finally going back to normal. She stole a sideways glance at Snape, who appeared to be deep in thought. I wonder if he regrets anything from before the war. There would never be any way to find out. Severus Snape was a private person; Hermione knew that. Besides, she didn't want to go about asking questions that weren't her place to ask. Still, there was so much she was curious about: Did he still love Lily? How did he feel about Harry? More importantly, how did he feel about her? She was feeling slightly self-conscious about calling him "amazing" yesterday. What if he wanted nothing to do with her?

After a few minutes of silence, Professor McGonagall interrupted Hermione's racing thoughts. "Hermione, have you thought of a career path after all this mess is over?"

The young witch thought it was an odd question to pose at the moment. "No ma'am, why?"

"Well, I thought you might make a wonderful professor!"

"Really?!" Hermione exclaimed, nearly spitting out her tea in the process.

"Yes! Oh, you would be magnificent."

"As brilliant as you are!"

"Such talent!"

All the professors seemed to shout their approval at once, leaving Hermione quite flustered. All except for one, of course.

She turned to look at Professor Snape expectantly. He gave the slightest nod of his head, and the corners of his mouth turned upward. Hermione beamed at him.

"If you are interested, we could expedite your education this summer and you could graduate at the end of August if you so wished. The professors and I would need to discuss it first, of course," Professor McGonagall said.

"Yes, oh yes, that would be simply wonderful!" For the first time since the battle, Hermione felt excited for the future. Things were already looking up. She dug into her omelet with a renewed sense of hope.

The doors on the other end of the Great Hall flung open. In came Harry Potter and Ron, who nearly fainted at the sight of Snape.

"S-Snape?!"

Harry caught Ron's shoulder before he could fall down. "Professor Snape?" he murmured in awe.

Here we go again, thought the Potions Professor.

The two of them approached the table. Snape could see a thousand questions beginning to form themselves on their lips. He sighed.

"I know what you are about to ask. Save it. I will explain everything to the best of my abilities. Meanwhile, you are welcome to sit and eat with us."

Harry simply nodded his head and continued to stare at Severus. Ron, however, caught sight of Hermione and rushed over to her.

"'Mione! You look great!"

"Thanks, Ron. It's only been a couple of days, you know."

"I know, but still! I've missed you!"

Snape scoffed. Hermione and Ron looked his way.

Oops, he thought nonchalantly. They heard my disapproval.

"Anyway, mum told us to come and fetch you as fast as possible. So whenever you're ready to go…"

Hermione pulled her hands away from his. "Ready to go? I'm not going anywhere, Ronald."

Snape found it difficult to conceal the smile forming on his face.

"What? Blimey, you can't stay here."

"And why not? I'm going to finish my education and become a teacher."

Ron's eyes grew. "A teacher? Like, a professor? That's great, 'Mione!"

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" She leaned in closer. "I get to stay here with the other professors all summer! It's like a dream come true!"

Severus heard her declaration and inwardly smiled again.

"Are you finished?" he drawled out. Everyone at the table turned to look at him. Harry was still standing beside his chair, looking at him as if he had three heads.

"Sit, please, Mr. Potter."

Snape began recounting the story of his survival as he knew it. He watched Harry's face go from shocked to ashamed to confused. When he was done, Harry said, "I'm sorry I didn't go back for you, Professor. I just left you there…to die."

Severus closed his eyes. "It isn't your fault, Potter. After all, you three were quite…preoccupied at the moment."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "And another thing, sir. You can't figure out who saved you?"

"No. Although, I have a few theories."

Everyone waited.

"I will not discuss said theories until I have some sort of evidence to back them up. For now, simply know that I am not a ghost, I am not evil, and I am nearly the same person that I was before." This last part wasn't exactly true. Severus had changed drastically in the past couple of days. Now, everyone knew his secret, including Potter. He wondered what the boy thought of his love for Lily.

He would need to get him alone.

"Potter, will you come take a walk with me?"

Harry looked astounded that Severus Snape just asked him, with no sarcasm whatsoever, to go somewhere with him. He flew out of his seat and the two were outside the Hogwarts grounds in minutes.

"Sir, I can't even begin to thank you…"

"No need," Severus said with a wave of his hand.

"My mother…"

"What about your mother?"

"You loved her. Do you still love her?"

"I always will. However, I have learned to live with the unfortunate reality that she is never coming back."

Harry remained silent as they made their way to the lake. It was strange to hear Snape talk about love, but it made sense in an offbeat sort of way. Harry felt great respect and pity for the man.

"I trust that you will keep my secrets from now on. Please tell no one else, other than the professors at Hogwarts, about my 'tragic past.' Will you do this for me?"

"Of course, sir. I will do anything for you." A tear trickled down Harry's face. Snape couldn't help but feel moved.

They walked back to the castle. Harry hugged – yes, hugged – Snape before apparating away with Ron.

Well, that was interesting. Snape sat back down beside Hermione, who smiled at him in return.

...

Severus made his way back to the dungeon corridor. At first, he was less than pleased at McGonagall's insistence that he go out of his way to teach Granger this summer. After all, he had been quite looking forward to resting up before September. But a small part of him wanted to teach, as if it would make everything go back to normal. As if he could somehow redeem himself for treating Granger, Potter and Weasley so poorly throughout the years. Then again, he didn't feel too terrible about Weasley.

The red-headed boy chose to abandon his friends in a great time of need. He was also abandoning Granger, his "one true love," this summer. Snape scoffed at the thought. He has no idea what true love is.

Snape had always had a soft spot for Hermione. She was an insufferable know-it-all when she was younger, but eventually, she had grown into her intelligence. And body. Severus shook his head at the thought.

The footsteps down the hall told him that Hermione was also retiring for the night. Without looking back, he muttered, "Goodnight, Miss Granger."

"Goodnight, Professor Snape," he heard the sweet voice call back.

A/N: Harry and Ron don't really come into the story much from now on. I just had to tie up some loose ends before the story *really* begins. Again, thanks for the reviews and follows!