A/N- Thank you all for the reviews from the previous chapter! The next chapter holds some interesting tidbits, just to give you all a tease! Enjoy :-)

Hermione was sprawled out on the comfy rug in front of the fireplace in the sitting room, reading a book. She had no idea where Severus had gone off, but she didn't mind the absence of his company too much. The black cat was there with her, keeping up a constant, rumbling purr as she stroked it absentmindedly. Hermione was, for the first time in weeks, reading for her own enjoyment. They had decided to give themselves a day-long break, as it was only three more days until term resumed, and they had to be there the day before the students came back. Hermione had spent most of her day reading quietly in Severus's company. It was her favorite pastime and it was a definite relief to be able to read one of her favorite novels in the slow, savoring way she loved to do. When she wasn't researching, or using a book to glean some new information, Hermione loved to savor the books she enjoyed.

Hermione sneezed, as the black cat had just flicked its rather poofy tail under her nose. It hopped up, and begun batting her hair playfully, and Hermione bit back a laugh, holding her hair to make sure the cat didn't yank any strands out, although she was sure she could lose half her hair and still look the same; she had so much of it. Hermione reached a hand out to pet the cat, and rubbed a hand under its chin. Severus hopped back and hissed as Hermione's hand touched his neck. It was still a sensitive area, and he cringed at the touch.

Hermione looked at the cat, and slowly withdrew her hand, hoping she hadn't scared it off. The cat relaxed, and laid back down next to Hermione, returning its attention to her hair. Hermione looked at the cat for a minute, and went back to reading.

Severus watched the curl spring back from his paw, and reached forward to claw at it again. He didn't bother trying to decipher why playing with Hermione's hair was so entertaining, but it was. Severus had, to his chagrin, grown into the habit of laying with Hermione in his animagus form whenever he suspected she wouldn't miss his human company. Severus had gotten over his original worries of being discovered, as it was a large mansion and Hermione knew better than to impede on his privacy. If Severus disappeared, Hermione just entertained herself until he decided to come back. He did the same for her, as neither were too inclined to be in each other's company constantly. They had developed a comfortable, if yet unspoken, friendship, and neither felt the need to impress themselves upon the other.

Of course, Hermione didn't know exactly how much time she spent with Severus, and Severus wasn't sure when he would make her aware of his animagus form. He found himself feeling slightly apprehensive of Hermione's reaction once she found out that the black cat, whose company she sought out often, was in fact, the potions master and her colleague. If it were him in that situation, Severus would have been rather upset, so he didn't pretend to assume Granger would just be perfectly fine with it. Severus pushed the thought from his mind for the moment, too content with the way Hermione was crooking her finger under his left ear.

Oh, what would Minerva think of this? Severus snickered as the thought suddenly popped in his head. Being in his cat form, the snicker came out more of a hiccuping snarl, and Hermione withdrew her hand slightly, wondering if the cat had have enough. Severus stilled, waiting for Hermione to continue her ministrations. When she did, he settled back down, and resumed his purring.

Severus knew Minerva would have some inkling of what had transpired between him and Hermione the second she caught sight of him. As much as he hated to admit it, she had grown to recognize certain cues of his well hidden emotions. It was the sort of thing that came from hundreds of chess dates, and more than a little nagging on her part over the course of several years. Dumbledore had been able to read him like an open book, which was partly due to him being a very accomplished Legilimens; although the old wizard have never made any indication that he knew what Severus was thinking. Minerva, however, was a different case, and she never failed to point out when she knew Severus was hiding something. He found it a bit irritating, and consequently was not looking forward to returning to the school and seeing the headmistress. She would know immediately that he had softened, and accepted Hermione.

Severus kneaded the ground with his paws in annoyance. While he admitted he had grown to accept, and even like Hermione's company, he was not quite yet ready to admit to himself that he wasn't what he once was. His normally cold demeanor was more and more lax around Hermione, and he found himself slightly unsettled by it. The idea that someone could have wormed their way into his good graces was always hard to accept. He smirked though, if it had to be anyone, it would have been Hermione. Her overly pleasant attitude and inability to be affected by what people said had repetitiously worked its charm on him.

Companionship, he could have with her. The vaguely inappropriate thoughts he occasionally found himself thinking about her, he could not. While Hermione had learned to accept who he was, Severus knew that she would never think of him as any more than just friends, and he blatantly ignored the little voice in the back of his mind telling him that he would very much enjoy being more than friends with the petite witch. Raising himself to his feet, Severus stretched, luxuriating in the feel of his feline body arching. Sometimes, it felt really great to be a cat. He flicked his tail in Hermione's direction, and quickly ran out of the sitting room. He went to the top of the stairs, and returned to his human form.

Making sure his attire was in order, he walked downstairs, and took his customary chair in the sitting room. "Hermione, why do you insist on insulting my perfectly good furniture by using the damned rug to lay on?" He asked dryly as he picked up his book.

"Oh, hush. It's no insult to your centuries old furniture, sometimes I enjoy being able to stretch out, which is something I'm sure you couldn't appreciate," Hermione retorted, her tone friendly. "Funnily enough, I was just laying her with that black cat. It always seems to disappear before you walk in," she mused. "I think it doesn't like you."

Severus snorted derisively. "The feelings of a cat are of no concern of mine, if, indeed, it even has any."

Hermione shot him a withering glance. "I'm positive they do, how else do familiars pick their counter parts? I know Cosette likes me, even though she spends most of her time away from me."

"Cosette being your ridiculous looking Fwooper?"

Hermione nodded, smiling because Severus knew perfectly well who Cossete was, as he had given her many a kind pet or an owl treat whilst delivering their notes back and forth. "She doesn't look ridiculous, I think her plumage is quite comely, actually."

"I would rather not own a bird whose color blares out its position at every time of the day."

"I take it you don't have a bird, then?"

Severus lowered his book, and glared at the smirking witch. "I do, in fact, have a bird. I have mentioned him before, if you would pay any attention; Sarthor is his name, and he spends much of his time away from me as well, as I hardly have any real use for him."

Hermione arched an eyebrow. "Really? What sort of bird is he?"

"A raven, like I mentioned before."

"Of course," Hermione said as she bit back a giggle. A raven was the only bird she could envision Severus holding, and it was an unsurprising choice for the dour man. "Of course you own a bird with feathers nearly as dark as your clothes."

"Appearance is everything" Severus replied dryly as he turned back to his book.

Hermione snorted, and did the same, wondering how exactly her and Severus had got to this comfortable point in their relationship, but liking it all the same. She read half-heartedly, running the past few weeks over in her head. The turning point in their... friendship had most definitely been when she had brashly hugged him after visiting the hospital. After that, his attitude towards her had changed ever so subtly, and he had slowly began to accept her company. It was odd, to say the least. Being what could be considered as friends with her once-feared potions professor, but she drew a strange comfort from the odd relationship. They had spent most of the holidays reading, each in their own little worlds, but it had been a comfortable silence. Their conversations had grown light, and although Severus's words were still biting, his tone often failed to back them up, and Hermione let his comments slide, as she had fully realized it was just a part of who he was.

Hermione thought about Christmas day, when Ron had accused her so violently of sleeping with Severus. While she wasn't by any means shagging him, she giggled at the image of Ron's face if he saw where she was now. Thinking back suddenly, she didn't think any of her friends knew where she was. No one had bothered to contact her after she had rushed from the Burrow, and whilst she knew Severus was still friends with the Malfoy's, she didn't think Draco knew where she was, or else she would have received a note from the blonde boy, thoroughly laying into Ron for what he had said. Hermione vowed she would send all of her friends a letter once term resumed, and plan a few excursions in January to meet and catch up. She couldn't be bothered at the moment, though.