AN: Told you I'd get chapters out quickly! Only one thing to say here, and that's that I often put all of the characters' thoughts within italics. This helps reduce confusion for me, perhaps it will for others as well. Another way to tell is that all thoughts have a single ' while speaking have ". With that said, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters involved within the series.

She sat at her desk, quill poised motionlessly over a blank sheet of parchment. She was thoroughly frustrated with herself.

'It shouldn't matter how I feel,' she reminded herself.

'Work doesn't stop just because it feels like my heart is about to.' She sighed and leaned back in her chair, placing the quill down. Reaching up, she gathered her hair and tied it in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. A sharp pang in her side as she reached reminded her of last night once more.

'As if I'd forgotten already,' she thought bitterly. Her hand resting tentatively on her side, she sat staring at the wall in front of her. How had things gotten this way? She felt awful. She barely ate anymore, her weight loss was evidence enough of that. Most days, however, she didn't know whether to blame the dizziness on her empty stomach or on her injuries.

'Probably a combination of the two,' she mused. Suddenly, a hand touched her shoulder. Fear overwhelmed her as she spun her chair around, unsure of how he had come to be here.

'He never comes to my work! What've I done now?!' She was on the verge on panic when her eyes rested on a friendly, familiar, very worried face. Clutching a hand to her heart, she giggled nervously.

"Remus! I wasn't expecting you! Goodness, you frightened me…" He remained silent for a few moments, studying her with his eyes. Finally, he managed to speak.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, I didn't mean to. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" She was nervous now. Did he know? Remus scratched his head nervously, not wanting to sound strange.

"Well, er, your scent just smells a bit different today."

'He knows. He has to. Damn it all.'

"What's different?" She cocked her head to the side, attempting to look innocent and questioning. However, instead, a small gasp escaped her mouth as a look of pain registered within her eyes. She'd forgotten about the injury where her neck met her shoulder, and had successfully strained it.

Remus watched the emotions play across her face, trying to decide whether or not to speak on what exactly he had smelled on her. Then, as the pain flickered through her eyes, his mind was made. Something was wrong, and it was time to figure out what it was.

"You smell weak, Hermione. You haven't been eating, have you? And when I startled you, your scent was overwhelmingly afraid. You know that if something's wrong, you can always talk to me, right?" Her heart reached out to the concerned man before her, adoring the fatherly protectiveness and worry he was showing.

She wanted to tell him so badly. Find safety within those arms and never look back. Be taken away from here, given a new life, and never worry about being hurt like this again.

However, she reminded herself, this was her problem to deal with. She'd gotten herself caught up in it, and she refused to make it anyone's job to get her out of it. She couldn't risk them being hurt. No one deserved this.

'At least, no one besides me.'

"Thank you, but it is simply none of your business, Remus. I'm fine." With this, she stood, gathered her things, and walked towards the door. Pausing at the exit, she turned to face him once more. He simply stood there, watching her, his face concerned. Smiling as best as she could, she waved and said,

"Please, Remus, try not to worry so much. I'm fine." There it was again, that word. Fine. She was far from it, but this was the way things had to say. And as much as any girl would've known that 'fine' didn't mean anything good, she knew her old professor and her boys well enough to know that 'fine' really meant 'fine' to them.

She turned, and she was gone. Remus stood there for a few moments, contemplating his next course of action. Then, with his mind made, he returned to his office.