A/N – No apologies this time around. I know eighteen months is a long time to wait, but it couldn't be helped. Real Life always comes first. Have been teaching, planning a wedding, having said wedding, going on honeymoon, then going back to teaching, then quitting teaching as I was only a contract teacher and wanted something permanent, then buying a house...it goes on, and thus I have had very little time to myself. This chapter was a long time in the making simply because I wrote it, then watched my computer crash and eat my files, forcing me to start all over. I'm relatively proud of how it's turned out though – it's all come to a close, now. Next chapter is the final chapter/epilogue. I just need to write it first…LOL. Can't wait for your opinions! You've all been so wonderful to this point, so many many thanks are in order!

Merry Christmas!!!

Chapter 13 – Ego

Tensions ran high between Severus and Hermione over the next few days, as neither was particularly willing to discuss the events that had led up to that fateful Wednesday. They continued sharing the same bed and ate all meals together cordially, but they were accompanied by tensions that continued to accumulate the more they attempted to avoid them for fear of arguing or upsetting one another.

However, when she woke on Sunday morning, Hermione sighed and rolled over to face her companion; a pointed sign that they were about to have a serious talk. Severus, who had been awake for some time, met her gaze steadily. "Good morning," he offered somewhat casually, in a vague attempt to prolong the inevitable.

"We need to talk." Hermione responded matter-of-factly.

He smirked softly. "I believe we already are."

She sighed yet again. "I'm serious, Severus. We need to actually talk, not exchange stilted conversation like we've been doing for the last three days."

He considered her words for a moment, then nodded. "I agree."

"I meant it when I said I missed all of this, you know. That first day back…I really had missed lying here next to you…" Amongst other things, her mind added, and she fought a blush. This was not an appropriate time to be thinking of anything other than reconciling their friendship for once and for all. And they had a long way to go before sexual intimacy should become an issue again. "And I still do, as silly as that sounds. And this goes beyond Wednesday, too…"

"Indeed," the Slytherin replied, not entirely pleased to be reminded of their rift and the events that followed it, "Though I doubt a 'talk' is going to magically remedy the awkwardness."

"I know, but it's a start, isn't it?"

He smirked; that was such a Gryffindor sentiment. "Perhaps."

"Well, I think it is, anyway." She smiled, knowing that she sounded very much like she had in first year – a snotty little know-it-all. Her smile waned slowly; it was amazing, really, how quickly she had grown up. A mere six years had changed her in so many ways. "And we need to talk about what's happened. Otherwise it's only going to get more awkward. And I don't want that."

"And what, exactly, do you propose we talk about? The fact that you thought you were carrying my child and didn't see fit to tell me, or the fact that I thought you were carrying my child and was too cowardly to confront you about this issue? Or, perhaps, we should discuss the fact that, while the knowledge of your condition was stored in my head, I left you unattended on my property with extraordinarily poor security measures, literally setting you up for an attack." His tone seemed to become graver with each word that passed through his lips. "And while we're at it, why don't we delve further into the issue that I was a complete arse last term? My actions and behaviour towards you were absolutely reprehensible. You'd given me your body and affections and I might as well have spat on you for it; at least that would have been more gentlemanly than the way that I behaved. Why, then, was I so surprised that you ran to the Malfoy boy? If anything I pushed you to him and started this entire debacle myself! Where should we begin? Go on, tell me. Where?"

Hermione's eyes were wide with shock; she couldn't believe the vehemence with which he degraded himself. "Severus," she began gently, reaching out to him with her left hand and brushing a tendril of his hair from his face, "That's precisely why we should talk about everything properly. You can't possibly blame yourself for all of this! It's a complicated situation…so many people are involved, and we've all made mistakes…Merlin, I feel so terrible. If I had just stayed out of your rooms that day we got back…" She shook her head. "Yes, you treated me pretty poorly, but I had plenty of opportunities to suck it up and apologise to you for putting you in a precarious position and I was too stubborn. And," here, her face reddened, "I could have told Malfoy to bugger off when he came over at Valentine's…but I didn't and that only made things worse. Then I was too stubborn to come and ask you for a pregnancy test, and even more stubborn to keep my suspicions to myself once we got here…And that was so wrong of me! You had the same right to know that I did. Sod the fact that it's my body – any potential child would have been a bit of you, as well…"

"I can't imagine I was entirely approachable..."

"That doesn't matter. You still had a right to know."

"I agree, but it doesn't change anything."

"No," she admitted quietly, "I suppose it doesn't."

They fell silent, each mulling over the emotionally draining conversation so far.

"I'm glad I took that potion," Hermione admitted a few minutes later, if only to break the oppressive silence. "The Disillusionment Draught, I mean. I'd hate to think that I'd miscarried…" she shuddered, "I mean now, knowing that it was all fake, I can't help but feeling a little…disappointed. If I'd taken that test and it would have been negative, I think…I think I might have been devastated, you know, not knowing that it was all a set up…" She paused, "Does that make sense?"

"Oddly enough, it does."

Hermione waited for him to extrapolate, but it seemed that he'd said all he was going to. She smiled somewhat sadly, longing to tell him that, one day, she should like to do it all again properly; resume their relationship, bond properly, settle down and one day have a child. Of course, she realised that making such a loaded confession would only force him to withdraw from her even more. He wasn't one for great shows of emotion. Even this conversation must be taxing for him, she mused. "Thank you," she eventually said, conveying her emotions in her gaze. "I know you didn't want to talk about this, but it's made me feel better…I don't like not being able to talk freely around you."

Preventing him from feeling as though he had to respond, she rolled back over and climbed out of bed, leaving him to his convoluted thoughts.

-?-

Severus spent the majority of Sunday lost in introspection; Hermione's candid conversation had left him with plenty to think about. In her eyes he had seen her lingering affections for him, and he wasn't certain how to proceed. It warmed him that she clearly still wanted to pursue a relationship with him, despite the disastrous events of the last term, but he didn't trust himself not to hurt her again. And she didn't deserve to be with someone who treated her as poorly as he might.

After all, what if they were to get themselves into a situation like the one they thought they'd been in only a few weeks earlier? Would she ever trust him enough to confront him with her hopes and fears? Could he, in good conscience, attempt to reconcile their relationship now, not knowing whether she would ever truly trust him? Could he ever bring himself to truly trust her again? He knew that that morning's talk was supposed to have allayed some of those fears, but it had only served to confuse him more.

He knew what she wanted, despite the fact that she hadn't openly told him. He could read her like a book; he hadn't been lying when he'd told her that all Gryffindors wore their hearts on their sleeves. However, the question remained: what did he want? Did he want to resume a relationship with her? Did he want to let her go? Could he let her go? The thoughts whirled about in his head, ever circling one another.

Blast it all, he thought to himself, it should be a very simple decision.

Naturally, it was far from it.

-?-

Hermione began to worry when Severus failed to re-emerge for dinner. She knew that he hadn't dealt well with their early morning talk, and longed to find a way to fix everything once and for all. Of course, she knew that it would never be that simple; Severus' pride held him back from truly opening up to her. The closest he'd come to doing so was that very morning, when he had shown just how affected by the situation he really was. After all, his pride usually prevented him from showing any sign of vulnerability; she should be pleased he had opened up to her at all.

But she wasn't. In fact, she was growing increasingly frustrated that he'd withdrawn from her for the entire day. Certainly, she understood that, being the solitary soul he was, he required a certain degree of independence and isolation, but it was driving her absolutely bonkers to be so alone.

After a few more minutes spent forcing her food around her plate with her fork, she set down her cutlery and pushed her dinner aside, now cold and completely untouched. Face set in sudden resolve, she rose from her seat and headed down towards Severus' study, determined to find some form of closure from this debacle, no matter the argument from her surly lover.

She found him, as expected, seated in his wing backed chair facing the unlit fireplace. Despite the fact that he was aware of her intrusion, he gave no sign of acknowledgement. This only fuelled her ire more. Arms folded across her chest, Hermione approached him angrily.

"Your dinner is waiting for you upstairs," she informed him tersely.

"Indeed." He made a slow, deliberate attempt to guide his eyes over her form. "That is a house elf's duty, Granger, and, unless you have become a house elf, you've no reason to traipse all the way down to inform me as such."

Refusing to take the bait, Hermione shook her head. "But I do have a reason to, Severus. I miss you. I worry about you. I care for you."

"Yet you don't seem to care for my privacy," he arched an eyebrow sardonically. "I do not need to be coddled, Hermione."

"But what if I do?" Her tone softened. "Severus, I can't deal with this alone. I need to talk it through. I need to make things right between us."

Severus pondered the thought. "I find it difficult to believe that there was anything right about it in the first place."

"Then perhaps we need to work through that, as well. Come at it properly, you know?"

The Slytherin feigned ignorance. "Come at what, precisely?"

"Us," she responded, furrowing her brow. "Our relationship."

Averting his gaze, Severus swallowed and braced himself for the words he'd been preparing himself for all day. "I don't think it wise to pursue such a venture."

Hermione reeled back as though stung. "But…it was your idea."

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, having anticipated this argument; after all, she had used it before. "I'm only human, Miss Granger," he eventually replied, slowly, as though he were talking to an insipid first year, "I'm not infallible. Clearly, this particular idea was a mistake."

Throwing her hands into the air, the Head Girl screamed, "That's it! We've had this same argument time and time again, and I'm completely over it! You can't make up your bloody mind! One second you want me, the next you don't. If we do this, Hermione, I'm for life." She mocked his assertion from the Christmas hols spitefully. "Utter bullshit, clearly. I gave you everything I had to give; my heart, my body...and you took it when you wanted it and now you've decided that maybe you've made a great big mistake. Well, you know what? I've had it. You're more indecisive than a second year Hufflepuff girl, and I don't have the energy to pander to your bloody ego and convince you that I love you anymore." At that, she seemed to lose the grasp on her self-righteous anger and her voice broke. "Which I do, by the way. More than I should. And I can't stop." Tears were sliding down her cheeks now, but she ignored them. "But I can walk away. If you ever make up your mind once and for all, you can come find me. But, until then, I'm gone. I can't do this anymore. Not after what we've been through. I told you; I need support through this, and I won't do it on my own." She turned and headed for the door. "I'm going to the Weasleys'. Goodbye, Severus. " She didn't even spare him a backwards glance.

It was better this way, he told himself, allowing her to leave. She'd come to understand that eventually. He just wasn't certain that he would.

-?-

The return to school following the Easter holidays was bitter sweet. Hermione, Harry and Ron, having spent the last few days at The Burrow, felt as close to one another as they had ever felt before, and were each loathe to face the beginning of what was certain to signal the end of their official childhoods. By the end of this summer term, they would have graduated; a sure sign that they were adults, each to face the world independently in their respective own ways. Hermione had her sights on university, though she wasn't certain which one most caught her fancy. Ron looked forward to being able to travel for a bit, before taking a serious job outside the Ministry and hopefully settling down. And Harry? He wasn't entirely certain what lay ahead for him, but was saddened by the prospect of having to leave behind the first real home he'd ever known.

Draco and Gregory had spent the remainder of their holidays gathering the courage to face the consequences for their actions, as they knew Severus wouldn't let them go unpunished, no matter how hard Hermione attempted to calm him. Greg had also been plotting away to get back into his boyfriend's good graces, but wasn't entirely certain how to truly go about it. He was utterly smitten with Harry Potter, and knew that, above all else, he would go to the ends of the earth and back if only to be with the other boy once more.

Severus, meanwhile, had spent the remainder of the break getting his affairs in order; he, too, would be leaving the school at the end of the year, never to return. He found that if he focused on everything else, then it made it far easier to forget about Hermio- Miss Granger and the terms upon which they had parted. It had taken the better part of three days to smother the emotions which she'd drawn out of him, and he could only hope that he had the strength to maintain his calm in her proximity. Not that he'd have to spend much time in her presence; he was still no longer her Potions professor, and he could quite easily pass off her remaining scheduled detentions to Argus. Nevertheless, he was a well practiced spy, and if he'd been able to conceal things from the Dark Lord, even under prolonged exposure to the Cruciatus and Legilimancy, he could manage to school his features into stoicism when his ex-lover was nearby. Besides, it was only until the end of June, and then he would be free of that concern altogether.

Sitting in the Great Hall on their first evening back, the Slytherins and Gryffindors in question were subdued and reluctant to join their peers in the excited chatter normally associated with the return from school holidays. Hermione felt ill during dinner, and played with the food on her plate rather than eating it. From his position at the staff table, Severus pretended not to notice. Harry pointedly ignored the notes Greg was sending him, going so far as to incinerate a few as they flew towards him, and Ron tried his absolute hardest to maintain a cheery conversation, though his efforts seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Dumbledore welcomed the student body back for the final term of the year, and then bid them all a good night, sending everyone to their respective dorms for the night. Hermione's queasy feeling increased with the knowledge that she would have to head up to the Heads' quarters and face Greg again.

She dawdled until the Slytherins left the hall, and then waited another ten minutes or so, giving them a huge head start, hoping that when she finally reached her rooms, she could head straight to her bedroom without actually having to see the other Head.

Her plan was almost executed successfully, until she rounded the last corner to find Gregory leaning casually against the portrait to their rooms.

"Hello, 'Ermione," he said, trying for calm and apologetic.

She swallowed and averted her gaze from his, giving him a jarring nod. "Gregory."

"Look, we really need to talk about this..." he tried again, reaching forward to capture her attention.

The Gryffindor sprang away from him like a startled rabbit. "I really don't think so." She said, her tone curt, before turning to the portrait. "Dungbomb."

"Sorry, Luv," replied the woman that guarded the rooms, "But that's not it."

Hermione wanted to cry; that was all she needed right now. "Please," she begged, "Please, just let me in."

The woman merely shook her head. "No can do. You gotta have the password, Pet."

Her temper escalating, she rounded on her fellow Head. "Alright, then, what is it? You must know."

Greg offered her a sad smile. "Sorry, 'Ermione, I do, but-"

"Tell me!" She shrieked, now angrier than ever. "I don't want to stand here and talk about how you and Draco meant well! I don't want to talk about it at all! It's your fault! It's all your fault!" All the emotions that she had bottled up from the last week or so came crashing down upon her. "He left me and it's all your fucking fault!" She was crying now, tears of rage and emotional pain blurring her vision, beating her fists on his broad chest. "You couldn't have left well enough alone and now he's gone and it's all your fault!"

He allowed her to hit him –it didn't hurt anyway, but that was beside the point- knowing that he deserved her scorn, and also knowing that she needed this release. "I know, 'Ermione, and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

His apology only seemed to rile her up further. She stepped back, her tears subsiding, a sneer crawling across her features. "And why is that, exactly? Is it because of the pain you've put me through? Or because suddenly Harry doesn't want you anymore?"

The barb hurt, as it was well intended to. "I-"

"Save it." She shook her head. "Just give me the bloody password and leave me the fuck alone."

He'd never heard her swear, not with such vehemence, and now she'd done so twice within the last two minutes. Her eyes were wild, her expression one of contempt, and he knew better than to continue to plead with her in this state. Raising his hands in surrender, he took a step back. "Atonement."

She sneered at that, but stepped through the portrait as it swung open, ignoring the meek "Thank you." from the pictured woman, who now looked decidedly uncomfortable.

Greg watched as she mounted the stairs and disappeared into her room, wincing as the door slammed shut behind her.

Then her words hit him and he sank into the couch with a groan. She and Snape had broken things off. That meant that she hadn't had time to calm him any. And, going by her reaction, he and Draco were doomed when they were to face Snape.

"What have I done?" he moaned.

-?-

When she woke the next morning, Hermione's memories of her behaviour the night before hit her with all the subtlety of a bludger and she winced, staring up at the ceiling above her bed. The way she'd acted was completely out of character, and she felt as though she'd had no control over herself until after she was safely ensconced in her bed. She lay still, trying to rationalise it with herself. Yes, part of it could be put down to hormonal imbalance as she was currently menstruating (seeing as Malfoy and Goyle's spell had wreaked havoc with her cycle for months, causing her body to overcompensate and struggle to set things back on course), but she'd never behaved like a banshee whilst PMSing before. But she hadn't expected Goyle to be waiting there, withholding the password, and that had also put her on edge. Then he had backed her into a corner and pushed her into confronting the issue when she'd already been at breaking point...so that hadn't helped her to remain calm, either. She sighed deeply; she still shouldn't have flown off the handle and hit him. She was Head Girl, for Merlin's sake! And he'd been trying to apologise, not make matters worse.

She groaned, knowing that she'd have to apologise. Merlin, how she hated her own morals sometimes.

-?-

"Gregory," she spoke softly, startling him as she pulled him aside after Transfiguration, "Can I talk to you?"

He looked her over wearily, wondering whether it was safe to be alone with the girl who had looked ready to hex him into oblivion the previous night. Though she seemed to be in her right mind this morning, it could prove to be even more dangerous for him. Thank Merlin she hadn't thought to whip out her wand last night!

"I promise I won't fly off the handle at you," she soothed his worries, going so far as to offer him a soft, apologetic smile.

"Alright," he acquiesced, motioning to the stone stairs to their left. Stay in a public place, he decided, his Slytherin cautiousness at the ready. He sat down on the third step from the bottom and patted the space beside him.

She followed his lead. "I just...I wanted to apologise for last night," she told him, "I wasn't expecting you to be standing there, keeping the password from me, and I guess it all just hit me at once. Which isn't an excuse, I know...but...that's really all I can tell you."

"Well," he replied, "It's not as though I'm blameless either. I put you between a rock an' a hard place, knowing that you didn't want to talk to me..." he shrugged. "I'm sorry, too, y'know."

His eyes conveyed genuine sorrow for all that he'd put her through, and she had to look away. "I know you are, Greg, and I truly don't blame you for-" she looked around, "-the break up, but..." she sighed, "You should have known better, you know. And I'm still hurt that you'd manipulate me like that. Draco I sort of expect such stupidity from, but not you." Her eyes glistened, "I don't think I can just forgive and forget it all yet...but...I want to try to." She squeezed his hand, "And I know Harry does, too."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. He's miserable without you...but, you have to understand...what you did? It's hard to trust you again...even moreso for him, I suppose, with how far he was willing to take things..." Hermione rose from her seat and dusted off her skirt, "Give us time, okay? And no more stunts like last night. Is that understood?"

Greg stared up at her, all his wonderful plans to woo Harry back skirting across his consciousness. He nodded glumly, realising that perhaps it was time to give up on his Slytherin impulses and planning, and do as Hermione said. Far less could go wrong that way, as long as he remained patient enough. "Alright," he conceded. "For Harry."

She eyed him wearily, as though worried that he would still scheme away behind her back, but seemed to be satisfied with what she could see in his expression. "Good." She said, before turning back towards the corridor. "Now hurry, I don't want to be late for Charms."

-?-

When the first Seventh Year Potions class began, Severus watched Malfoy and Goyle with interest. He knew from first sight that they were already highly strung about being in his presence, and was waiting for one of them to slip up. It didn't take particularly long.

Knowing that the Professor's eyes hadn't left them since the lesson began, Greg was extraordinarily tense as he prepared the ingredients for the lesson's potion. So tense, that he accidentally sliced one less snow beetle than was required. For the very same reason, so focused on his own tasks was Draco, that he paid no attention to Greg's portion of the brewing process. At the end of the lesson, when their potion failed to turn the correct colour and instead exploded violently, splattering the entire front half of the room with foul-smelling goop because the snow beetles didn't properly counteract the essence of flaxweed, Severus pounced upon the two of them without mercy.

"Three hundred points from Slytherin!" He called viciously, swooping down on them like a hawk. Ignoring the gasps from around the room, he continued on, delivering a punishment that only they knew they deserved. "You are both the most pathetic cretins I have ever encountered! You will remain behind and scrub up this mess manually, with Muggle toothbrushes alone, until the room is spotless! Then you will report to me every single night for the remainder of the school year, before dinner, to receive your detentions. You are both removed from the Quidditch team, and thus your weekends are entirely mine as well. Do I make myself clear?" He didn't wait for their responses. "You will report to me at precisely six o'clock every Saturday and Sunday and will not leave my presence until curfew unless I have otherwise dictated so. And you will each write a twelve foot essay on this particular potion, its properties and ingredients, and why you failed so spectacularly today."

He spun to face the rest of the class. "The remainder of you are dismissed."

-?-

The rest of the school had heard about Snape's punishment within three minutes. The Slytherins were on the war path; even after the fall of the Dark Lord and Snape's 'coming out' as a spy, he had never been so harsh with members of their house, especially not for something so trivial. En masse, they had begged the Headmaster to intervene, but Dumbledore had sadly refused, saying that only the Professor who had dealt the consequence could amend it.

Hermione had felt somewhat vindicated when she heard the news, but, at the same time, remembered pleading with Severus to be fair with the boys. Had he been a bit over zealous in the punishment he'd dealt out? She thought that he had. Taking away their spots on the Quidditch team had been fair, as it was only a game and wouldn't really hurt them, but taking every scrap of their private time for the rest of the school year was going a bit overboard. She wondered if maybe she could get him to reconsider...but then thought against it, considering the terms under which they'd left things. Maybe over time he'd change his mind? Merlin only knew he'd done it enough with her...

"He's absolutely bloody bonkers!" Harry's seething interrupted her melancholy and she turned to face him as he clamoured into the Heads' quarters, Ron hot on his heels.

"I take it you've heard the news, then," she said by way of greeting.

"You've got to get him to reconsider!" The Boy-Who-Lived went on, dropping to his knees by her feet and grabbing at her hand. "Please!"

She yanked her hand away, frustrated with him. "Stop being so melodramatic, Harry. In case you've forgotten, he's not all that pleased with me at the moment, either."

"But...if Malfoy and Greg aren't on the team, there's not really any point in playing against Slytherin in the decider, is there?" Ron attempted to reason. "I mean, it'll be piss easy to win now. There goes the fun of it." He made a flapping motion with his hands, and then waved goodbye in the direction they'd flown.

She scowled at him. "Oh, honestly, Ronald, it's just a game!"

"Yeah, well," Harry started grasping at straws, before stumbling across a different argument, "What about their private studying time, then? There's got to be something in the rules about that! NEWTs are just around the corner! They deserve at least some time to prepare for that!"

He looked so smug with his argument that Hermione felt bad about having to burst his bubble. "The Slytherins already tried arguing that. The most Sev..." she paused, shook her head and sighed, "the most Snape'll budge is by promising that a mandatory number of detentions will serve as supervised study sessions."

"Shit." Ron and Harry chorused, the wind gone from their sails.

"Exactly."

"Well," the redhead eventually tried again, "What about-"

"Oh, honestly!" Hermione threw her hands in the air, "Give it up already! All the arguments have been tried, boys. There's nothing we can do."

"You mean nothing you will do." Harry's tone was sullen and accusatory.

She narrowed her eyes. "What, exactly, is that supposed to mean?"

He glared at her. "You heard me. You won't even try to reason with him, will you? I think you're happy with his choice of punishment. I think that you like that they're not going to get a chance to talk to you for the rest of the year."

"Harry-" she began, her tone one of warning.

"No, shove it, 'Mione. You could try to fix this and you won't. I reckon it's because you're being a great big coward. Their actions hurt me, too, you know."

That did it. "Oh, really? Did they make you believe you were pregnant, Harry? Did they make you mourn for a baby that never lived? Did they make you actually get excited about the idea of raising a child with the man you love, only to have that dream shot down into a thousand bloody pieces? Did they? Because that's exactly what they did to me."

When he didn't respond, she continued on her rant, her tone calm and icy. "They did it to Severus, too, you know. Made him think the same things, fear the same things, get excited about the same things...and then blew his dreams to smitheroons. And it also made him leave me. We fought because of them. Because of the rift they caused, he left me. I love him so desperately, and he left me..." She swallowed, refusing to allow the hysteria to resurface. "So, yes, in a way I do believe they deserve consequences. You're being selfish, Harry, by trying to make me feel guilty for the belief that what I went through means something."

"They gave you the disillusionment draught! They went back in time to fix things! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Hermione sighed. "Yes, it does, but it doesn't make everything better. Despite the potion, I'm still mourning over the idea they put it my head, over the betrayal of them tampering with my body...I'm slowly working through it, Harry, in my own way, but I can't go and beg Severus to change his mind when I'm not entirely sure about my own feelings just yet."

Harry seemed to deflate at that. "I'm sorry, you're right...I just...It seems excessive. You have to agree with that."

Though she disliked being told that she 'had' to do anything, Hermione nodded. "I do, Harry, believe me, but I'm no good to those boys if I go down and stir Severus up by reminding him and rekindling that anger, am I?"

"Well," Harry seemed to consider all the possibilities of her involvement and shook his head, "I guess not."

She pulled him up for a hug. "It'll work out. You'll see."

Merlin, she hoped she was right.

-?-

It took an entire month for Severus to ease up and amend his punishment on his own terms. He eventually gave them back their weekends and every Tuesday through to Thursday night, still making them see him for detention every Monday and Friday evening before dinner. They were still off the Quidditch team (and he wasn't planning on that changing), but they were grateful for the reprieve he offered. Neither boy wanted to repeat the month's experiences, and, eerily, when questioned by their peers, neither would (or was it that neither could) say a word about the detentions or what they detailed.

Tensions had eased somewhat between Hermione and the two boys she'd struggled to forgive, and things were easing back towards friendship between the entire group once more. NEWTs would be held in exactly four weeks, and so they often used the standardised tests as bonding material, setting up a 'study roster' of sorts, that often digressed into other, more youthful exploits.

From his position as a staff member, Severus was disgruntled to see Malfoy and Goyle so readily accepted back into the fold, but a part of him was pleased to see Hermione healing emotionally. It had been a long time since she'd laughed openly in the Great Hall, or eaten a proper meal. He shut off his emotions quickly with a resolute thought. See, he told himself, she's better off this way.

-?-

"Oi," Draco called, approaching Hermione down at the lake after their second last NEWT exam, "That one was rough. How'd you manage to get it done so fast?"

It was their Potions theory exam, and she managed a small, sad smile. "I suppose I've spent more time studying Potions than the others..."

Draco could have kicked himself for bringing up the subject. Snape hadn't ever accepted her back into his class as a student, and so she'd been forced to study the subject externally, through a series of Ministry provided materials. With her usual zeal, now sans-professor, she'd put extra effort into scouring the Potions texts available, not only in Hogwarts, but any she could find in the bookshop at Hogsmeade or via Flourish & Blotts' owl order service.

"Well, I'm certain you'll have done fantastically." He sat down beside her and offered her a dazzling grin. "What's left, then?"

She pondered the question for a moment. "Ancient Runes. Theory's this evening. Practical's tomorrow morning. Then we're done." She cast her gaze back out over the water to where the squid had surfaced for a lazy idyll in the sun. "Two weeks left from tomorrow."

"Scary thought, that." He replied, scooting even closer towards her. "What are your grand plans?"

She shrugged, seemingly not noticing his proximity. "I don't know...I want to see the world, go to Uni...the usual..."

"See the world, eh?" He was now seated so that their shoulders touched. "I've just inherited a few properties abroad, what with Mum dead and Lucius having received The Kiss...want to come check them out with me?" She finally dragged her gaze to meet his and was vaguely surprised by his expression.

"Draco..." she began wearily. The flirting, it seemed, had returned.

"No, wait, hear me out," he said, brushing a tendril of her hair back behind her ear, "I know, you're in love with someone else...but, at the moment, he's unattainable. It mightn't be for forever, and I know that, should he ever come knocking, you'll run back to him in a heartbeat. But...there's still a spark between us. Always has been, even when we were firsties and snarking at one another from across the classroom...maybe it's just wanton attraction, right? But, if I'm not interested in steady commitment, and you're looking to escape for a while, why not just head off together for a bit? See the sights, have some fun...maybe even find a bit of happiness between us?" She moved to speak, but he cut her off. "And, if you desperately want me to, I'll invite the others along as well, yeah? Take the pressure off you a bit, so you don't think that all I want is to get in your pants."

She looked at him, then. Really looked at him, taking in his earnest expression and truly thinking about what he was offering. She cocked her head to the side. "And if I never want to have sex with you?" She asked, briefly remembering their passionate couch encounter.

He laughed. "Then we'll just stay friends...not that I'll stop trying, of course."

She took in his sparkling blue eyes and couldn't help but be affected by their mirth. "Of course," she agreed, swinging her arm around his shoulder. "And I wouldn't expect any less from you, either."

A/N - I know, I know...just remember, there's one chapter/the epilogue left, so...don't kill me. But please leave a review as a Christmas/non-denominational festive present for me. :)