A soft white blanket lay over her, and she was in an infirmary gown. Her eyes opened by degrees, not wanting to admit to themselves that they looked upon the living world; they had hoped for the merciful blackness that descended when their owner shuttered them for the night.

Her ears, equally resentful of their living status, perceived a soft chiming noise.

"She's awake, Severus."

The dark man scowled. "I know that, Poppy. I am able discern the sound of a monitoring charm."

"Oh shove off, boy. Make yourself moderately useful and hand me that stack of towels on the left. No, MY left…those are the sheets, I need the towels…I said a stack, not just one...Good heavens, Severus, how do you find your rooms at night?"

"Piss off, Poppy. You're lucky I'm here at all."

The older woman chuckled ruefully as she arranged the towels around a basin of cool water. "That's how I always knew you were fully recovered from a bad night, Severus. 'Piss off, Poppy,'" she imitated with amazing accuracy.

Her smile faded, and she shook her head sadly. "I'm so sorry you had to endure that, Severus." She wiped her eyes and tried to collect herself. "My tirades burned Albus's ears off more than once for treating you so poorly."

His dark eyes softened. "I know, Poppy. I know."

She took a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh, blowing wisps of gray hair away from her eyes. "Well, that's enough of that; time to tend to our patient here."

"Please don't."

Poppy patted her arm softly. "There, there, Miss Granger. We'll have you right as rain in no time."

"No you won't," Hermione whispered, her eyes desolate and sad. "No one will."

"Rubbish," Snape snorted, falling back on what had worked so often to bring her out of her apathy. "You're nearly the most intelligent witch who ever lived but apparently not the smartest to die." He leaned forward and glared her in the eye. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Severus!" Poppy gasped.

Never losing eye contact with Hermione, he held up a hand and stopped the older woman. "I know what I'm doing."

Hermione's face pulled back in a sneer that was eerily similar to his own. "Did you say those words before or after you stupidly let Voldemort burn your arm?" She sat up and leaned sideways, her nose nearly touching her Potions professor's. "Or was it after you stood helpless in your classroom, at a loss for what on Earth you were doing there instead of in a grave with Lily?" Hermione threw herself violently back onto the bed, clutching the left side of her chest. She curled herself in a ball facing away from the other two in the room and sobbed, chanting, "Please make it stop, please make it stop, it hurts…"

Poppy clucked at her young charge and spelled her back to sleep. Hermione relaxed onto her back, her breathing deep and peaceful. After Poppy was satisfied that she wouldn't wake up anytime soon, she turned back to the Potions Master and scowled. "Why are you so cruel to that child?"

He sat back and sighed, scratching the back of his neck in thought. "It's the only thing she responds to. You should have seen it, Poppy. She was fine until the night Potter, Albus, and the Dark Lord fell; after that it was like I was looking at a mirror whenever I saw her." His hands dropped to his lap. "Apathetic, hopeless, withdrawn, and cruel." Peering up through his hair, he nearly whispered, "Who does that remind you of?"

A basin full of cool water appeared, summoned by the Mediwitch. She sat on the opposite side of the bed and gently began wiping Hermione's tear-stained face with a soft cloth. "If I overheard anyone using those particular words, I would assume they were speaking of you."

The dark wizard made a face. "Exactly. When I saw Miss Granger going down the same road, I had to stop her."

Poppy dipped her cloth into the basin and wrung it out, shaking off the excess water. "I didn't realize you cared so much for her," she spoke quietly.

He waited a moment, gathering his thoughts. "That's the strange thing, Poppy. I never cared for her before; I never cared for anyone but Lily, really." He took a deep breath and swallowed.

"Go on, boy, I'm listening."

Hermione's eyes snapped open. She took a deep breath and swallowed. "There's not much more to tell, Poppy," she said, her voice deepened with a masculine tone. "Albus said the ritual would have a few side effects but that it would be fine after it was reversed." She made a face, looking for all the world like Severus Snape was manipulating her features. "Fucking bastard. He never told me himself how to reverse it, so the Know-It-All and I are both well and truly buggered." Hermione cried out, her head flying back as her features went completely blank.

After a moment Hermione took a deep breath and locked eyes with her Potions professor. "Kill me, sir. Please. I'm begging you." Her normal voice once again passed through quivering lips. "Make it stop."

Severus folded his arms and leaned forward. "Now, see here, Miss Granger. Where is that brave Gryffindor heart for which your ilk is so famous?"

Hermione shakily reached out and gently touched his chest. "You have it." She was trying to say more when a vicious grand mal seizure overtook her.

Reacting quickly, Poppy pulled out her want and uttered, "Petrificus Epilepticus."* She watched as the unconscious girl's breathing evened out.

"A seizure of that magnitude only occurs amongst magical folk when the victim has pushed the edges of a Vow." Poppy maneuvered Hermione to a more comfortable position and covered her with the white blanket. "What did she mean about you having her heart, Severus? Is she in love with you?"

Severus looked thoughtful. "Perhaps; perhaps not." He looked down between his feet where Crookshanks slept. "I suspect something far more nefarious than love is at work here, or at least was in the recent past."

The Mediwitch stood up and stretched, twisting to crack her back and neck. "Alright, I'll bite. What's more nefarious than love?"

Severus reached down and rubbed a furry ear. "Albus Dumbledore."

*Petrificus Totalis stops or freezes the whole body, so it made sense to me that there would be more specific versions of the Petrificus spell. The first word is the type of spell, and the second word is the object of the spell's effects, so Petrificus Epilepticus would stop or freeze a seizure.