Author's Note: First let me thank everyone who had reviewed, alerted, or put this story on their favorites it means a lot to me. Well I had not intended to post two chapters a day but the writing has been going well and I'm anxious to get them out there for you all.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Do I really need to say that I don't own them? I'm just playing with someone else's toys and do return them in the same shape I have found them (well that may not always be the case).

Hermione was up pacing in a flash before saying,

"That was a private conversation, you had no business listening in. Oh but you made sure you had the right, your house, your way. Right?" Hermione was livid, that was something she never wanted him to know. He didn't deserve to know her feelings, hell he didn't even deserve them. Not after everything he did to her over the course of their marriage, but damn if she didn't find a small part of her that wanted him to be telling her the truth right now. That by hearing her say it that he found he at least cared for her in some small way.

"I know I told you that, but I honestly was not spying on you. Frankly at the time I didn't give a flip about what you and your friends talked about. It was just by chance that I happen to overhear."

"How do I know your telling me the truth now? For all I know your telling me all of this to further your own ends, filing this grievance against Kaseload would look much better if both of us filed. How do I know your just saying anything to get me to help further your ends?"

"I know my past actions give you ever reason to doubt what I am saying now, I can….." What could he do, show her his memory of it? Take Veritaserum so she would believe him? That would come soon enough he knew, when the board called them to voice their accusations they would both have to submit to it.

"You can what?" she stopped turning placing both hands on the table in front of him leaning down so she wasn't far from his face before quietly saying,

"You made my life a living hell for five years all because you thought I wanted to control you, did you ever once think to ask me what I wanted from you?"

"No." he said honestly.

"Did you ever think to ask me why I did it, even if it was a lie you were told?"

"No."

"Did you ever think of my feelings at the time?"

"No."

"Then why in the hell when you over hear one thing did it make you change your view of me?"

He looked down at the table, his hair falling around his face as he quietly said,

"Hermione, it didn't make my view of you change. When I heard you say that you loved me it tore down walls that I had worked hard to build against you." He said so quietly that Hermione wasn't sure she heard him.

"What?" she asked sitting down again.

"I remember when….. the boat house. When I opened my eyes again to see you over me with your hand on my chest I knew if anyone was to figure out how to at least give me a chance it would be you. It was in that moment that I found myself starting to care for you, something that I told myself couldn't happen."

Hermione was stunned into silence, which was a rare occurrence. What could she say after that revelation? Finally she found a question in her mind that once discovered wouldn't let go until she found herself asking,

"Then why be so….. cruel to me?"

"I….. After I woke up in St. Mungo's, I….. I convinced myself that you only helped me so that I would owe you…."

"That's a very Slytherin way to think."

"That is what I am, I built walls against you because the last time….. I misread someone's intention I spent almost twenty years making up for it."

She knew he was talking about Lily, she really wanted to know what happen between them but thought if he wanted her to know he would tell her.

"I never…" Hermione stopped talking, she couldn't do this anymore. It was too much she needed to just go to bed, this was all too much too quickly. "Stay, leave I don't care. We can work on the grievance tomorrow, I just can't….. I'm going to bed, if you stay upstairs to the left is the guest room I'm sure you can find it. If you leave be sure to lock the door on your way out."

Hermione turned running up the stairs, going into her room that use to be her parents she laid across the bed hugging a pillow to her. As an afterthought she used one of the few wand less spells she could warding and silencing the room before she burst into tears.

Severus sat at the table stunned at the turn of events, he had known that some of the things he wanted to say would be hard, for him to say and her to hear. He just never expected her to run away, he stood then cleared their cups from the table and washed them before he started turning off lights in the house.

He took the stairs up to the room she had indicated then turned, he wasn't sure but he thought her room would be the one across from his. He stepped toward the door to be met with wards, he knew they were not very strong and he could go right though them. But that was no way to gain her trust back so he lightened them so he could hear her if need be.

When he heard her crying he stopped at the door thinking what he wouldn't give to go comfort her, though he knew it would be unwelcomed at the moment he laid his hand on the door lowering his head, he had no idea what to do. He knew he had brought out emotions in her that she had thought long buried, hell if he was honest with himself he was not doing well at the moment either. Seeing her again, seeing the pain he had caused her was hard for him. He had known to expect it, and he had swore that he would be honest with her this time. He just didn't realize how hard that was going to be to bare his soul to her, or how long it would take.

He had mistakenly thought that by the end of the weekend they would be on at the very least speaking terms. Now he knew that it was going to take a lot longer than a weekend to undo all the damage he had done to her.

He walked into the room across the hall, he took his jacket off before lying across the bed. His memories were swirling around his mind now, most of which he didn't want to remember. He knew he was going to have to relive most of them if he had a hope in hell to have her, he was going to have to lay his soul bare to her to fix all the damage he caused her.

He just hoped that in the end it would be enough.

Author's Note: Comments really do make me smile and brighten my day.

Also I wanted to let you know that I have a couple of Severus/Hermione videos on youtube, the link is in my profile.