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The next morning, Severus awoke slowly, not wanting to leave his deep slumber. Peeling his eyes opened, he found that during the night, they had somehow maneuvered themselves so he was snuggly holding her against him, his arm wrapped around her waist, pressing her back against his chest. He could feel every curve of her body against his, and couldn't help the sigh that fell from his lips. Severus would be lying through his teeth if he said he didn't enjoy the current situation. She was so incredibly warm, and Severus pressed his face into her hair, enjoying the moment. He couldn't remember the last time he had allowed himself a moment, just for himself.

Hermione shifted subtly, pressing herself further into his arms. She was certainly in for a rough day. Severus wished he could do something for her, anything. Her muscles would be incredibly sore today, trying to repair the damage that was inflicted upon them. Her best bet was to stay in bed all day, but then he realized who he was looking down at. The moment he would suggest she stay in bed, she would be up and carrying on as if she wasn't in excruciating pain. Perhaps her body would just keep her asleep for a while longer, allowing her muscles some extra rest.

The Cruciatus Curse was something that took years to get even semi-used to. Severus had twenty years of practice under his belt, and still, his muscles ached for a few hours afterwards. No one could get used to the pain that was inflicted on them, but they could begin to master the side effects of the pain.

The best he could do for her was Firewhiskey. That was the remedy he used. Numb yourself until the pain was gone.

She suddenly groaned, a sure sign of soreness, and turned her face into the pillow, taking deep breaths. Severus realized that he still had his face buried in her hair, and gently pulled away while loosening his arm from around her.

"No," came her muffled voice as her hand suddenly locked on his arm, pulling him back to her.

Without a word he slid his arm back around her and immediately tightened it, pulling her even tighter against him. Yes, she was in for a very rough day. Severus felt her relax against him with a sigh, and he took this moment to remove himself from the bed. He could clearly see the protest on her face.

"I'll be right back," he said before slipping from the room.

Quickly he located the bottle of Firewhisky in his study and brought it back upstairs, grabbing a cup on his way.

Her eyes instantly locked on his form when he entered the room, and then slid down to his hands.

"Isn't it a little early to be drinking?" she asked sounding as if she were mocking him.

"It's not for me, you fool, it's for you,"

"Well I don't want it," she instantly snapped.

"Fine, then you can just sit there and suffer," he retorted, angrily placing the bottle and cup on the nightstand beside her and sweeping from the room.

And like he always did when he was upset, Severus spent the day in his cellar, brewing all day, tweaking some potions, and working on his own concoction.

Mainly, his mind remained on the woman currently in his bed. Why was it so hard for her to accept when someone was trying to help her? And this business with Potter. She was going to get herself killed. Briefly, Severus thought about how Weasley must be fairing with just Potter to look after him. He'd be dead in a week. And what were those two doing in the middle of nowhere, in a tent?

Better yet, what was the Golden Trio up to? Hermione was keeping secrets from him, and if there were secrets between them, they could hardly count on succeeding in what they were trying to do. He couldn't exactly probe her mind; her shields had become extremely strong since they had begun practicing again. Not saying that he hadn't tried before, every time they practiced, he tried to grasp at a small shred of her secret, but she buried it far away from him, under the water in her mind.

When they practiced, it really wasn't practice. He was putting forth his best effort to break her down, and he knew that she treated their practices like a life and death situation. Never did she leave her guard down around him, not anymore. Hermione blatantly viewed her secret as one of the most important things in her life, because she clung to it like a newborn clings to their mother.

The more he thought about it, the more it tortured him. What was she hiding? What if he could help her in some way? What if something happens to her, and if he had known what she was hiding, could he have saved her?

He gave up trying to find out, when in the middle of one of their practices, she had yelled at him, telling him to stop looking for what he was looking for. They had shouted quite a good deal, and did not speak for nearly a week. But he decided it would be better for him in the long run to stop looking. If he pushed her too far, she was liable to leave, even if she did make a promise. The thought of her leaving did not sit well with Severus. He didn't want her to leave, he had gotten so used to her being around, and Severus didn't want to go back to the old way. Alone, in a dusty, empty house. Just her presence alone had done so much to the house. Plus it scared him to think about her out there, and alone, most likely petrified. The image of her face the night the Death Eater had tried to take her flitted into his mind, and he swallowed deeply.

The urge to see her suddenly came over him, just to know that she was still there, with him. Quietly, he climbed from the cellar, smelling of various potions, and climbed the staircase to his room. Barley making a sound, he pushed the door opened, silently in case she was still awake.

What he saw made him smirk. Hermione was clutching his pillow tightly to her chest, with the cup filled a quarter of the way, wrapped in her relaxed grip, her fingers barely holding glass which was resting on the bed. Her hair was spread out around her, and would doubtlessly need extra care for the knots that were sure to be there when she awoke. Her skin was still a sickly pale, but at least she was sleeping. His eyes moved to the bottle on her nightstand, and his smirk grew as he saw the level of the bottle lower than it was before he left. In fact, it was considerably lower.

A sudden mumble drew his eyes back to her. It was at moments like these that he realized how innocent she was, and what the world had forced upon her.

Quietly, he walked to his side of the bed, and gently lifted the glass from her fingers so she didn't spill anything on the bed. She simply sighed and pulled his pillow closer. She would certainly be feeling the negative effects of the alcohol tomorrow, but that he could deal with. Seeing her in pain and not being able to do anything, that, he could not deal with.

Severus sighed and took his place in a chair that was deserted in darkest corner of the room. The school year would be beginning shortly, and Severus would be required to stay at Hogwarts. That would mean that Hermione would have to come with him. Of course she could stay at Spinner's End, carefully concealed from the world, but Death Eater's had broken through his wards before, no doubt they would do it again.

His mind drifted to that night. Severus had come to the conclusion that a rather talented witch or wizard had to disarm his home, and he had a pretty good idea who it was. Bellatrix. Through the years she had shown a particular liking when it came to him, a rather sick and twisted thought. One would never think that she was married, the way she throws herself at the men who attend the meetings. Severus would always remember her face when she found out that he had been married. Not even rabid dogs have that look in their eyes. She was insanely jealous that he would pick someone like Hermione over her, a pureblood.

No doubt she had disarmed his home, and sent one of her lovers in to do her dirty work, most likely granting him some prize if he succeeded. Severus had no solid evidence to support his claims, so the only thing that he could do was protect Hermione more than she realized, which he did. Always, nearly every hour, he would check the wards, check to see if the house had any unwelcome visitors, and make sure that her room had the highest protection he could manage. Severus would also make a point of seeking her throughout the day, just to make sure that someone hadn't slipped in and taken her without him knowing about it. If she ever found out he was watching her so closely, she'd never forgive him for being an overbearing and overprotective man.

Severus left the room a while later, finding himself something to eat in the house. The rest of the day he spent in the cellar, furiously scribbling in the journal that Hermione had gotten him for Christmas. Eventually, his eyes were burning with exhaustion, so he set down his quill and made his way to bed. When he swung the door open, he wordlessly lit a single candle and stopped dead in his tracks. The rumpled sheets were empty.

In a flash he darted from the room and into her room, finding it cold and empty. Darting down the stairs, Severus could feel his heart pounding in his throat. He tore through room after room, on the verge of screaming her name out. Finally, he reached his study, and flung the door open, breathing heavily.

There, seated at his desk, was Hermione. Instantly he slumped against the door frame, forcing calming breaths into his body. She had a single candle on the desk, with a large book spread out before her. Severus would have shouted, if she wasn't sleeping so peacefully on his desk. Her cheek was pressed to the paper, with her lips slightly parted.

Quietly, Severus made his way over to her. Without thinking, he brushed a stray piece of hair from her face, causing her to stir slightly.

"Hermione," he murmured softly, knowing that she was probably suffering both from pain and alcohol.

Her face suddenly contorted as a small whimper fell from her lips.

"No…no," she murmured as her hand balled up into a fist.

Instinctively, he reached out and touched her.

"No!" she gasped, shooting upright clutching the arms of the chair and breathing heavily.

"Hermione,"

Her eyes strayed to his face, and he saw them widened.

"You…you're here,"

"Yes," he answered slowly. "I'm here,"

"You're not there," she muttered.

"Where?"

"Malfoy Manor," she murmured, with a small shake in her voice.

Before he could respond to her, he felt her fingers gently brush across his hand and gently touch the cuff of his robes. He could tell by her eyes that she was still far away, lost in her own thoughts. Severus took hold of her elbow and gently pulled her from the chair, and Hermione stood, still slightly trembling.

"What did you dream about?"

"You," she replied quietly while piling some books up that she had been reading. "I couldn't see much, it was so dark. But I could hear…hear the screaming. I…knew,"

"Knew what?"

"Who was screaming,"

Severus didn't need to ask who it was, he could tell just by her face.

"I couldn't do anything,"

It was then that Severus caught a small piece from the large book that remained opened. He sighed, as the pieces began to fall into place.

"There's not a single thing that can help the Cruciatus Curse, you should know that,"

"I know, but I want to find something that can," she said defiantly.

"How long have you been having these dreams? And don't lie to me,"

"A while," she muttered shutting the book softly.

"If you told me I could give you something to stop the dreams,"

"No. I'm not going to be reliant on some potion that helps me sleep," she said blowing out the candle and heading to the door. "Plus, these dreams help me realize how lucky I really am,"

Severus sunk into his chair, in the darkness, and listened to her soft footsteps padding across the wood floor and into his room. If she didn't stop with her damn hero missions, she would kill herself, and Severus was not ready to see that.

Two weeks flew by, and the two barely spoke. Severus awoke on the day before school began, knowing that he would have to spend the day at Hogwarts to oversee some last minute details. He climbed from the cold bed, seeing as Hermione made sure to sleep on the other side, far away from him, and began to get ready.

As Severus dressed in front of the mirror, he allowed his mind to wander. Severus had yet to pick a new teacher for both Muggle Studies and Defense Against the Dark Arts. No one wanted to work at the school anymore, not after what had happened. Sighing, and fastening the last button on his coat, Severus stepped out of the bathroom to find Hermione pulling on her shoes.

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly.

"I want to come with you," she replied just as quietly while standing and straightening out her sweater.

Severus was silent as he left the room and immediately headed to the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of Firewhiskey. He poured himself a generous amount and quickly swallowed the contents. His eyes drifted to her form standing in the doorway and he sighed deeply before refilling the glass and holding it out to her. The two stared at one another for a moment, not moving.

"You're going to need it," he finally said quietly.

Without another word Hermione stepped into the room and gently took the glass from his hand and immediately swallowed the contents as her face contorted for a moment. Severus headed towards the door, hearing her following him. They slipped into the foggy morning, the door creaking closed behind them. Severus walked forward for a moment before coming to a stop in the middle of the street. Shifting his eyes to his right, he saw a head of bushy hair, staring down the street.

Severus extended his hand slightly, and without looking at him, her fingers entwined with his. The next moment, they were being pulled through space. When they landed, immediately their eyes swept across the grand castle, but Severus felt Hermione's fingers tighten around his, and he understood why.

The building had lost its former grandeur. The whole castle felt cold like the magic had been sucked from the very stones. No longer was Hogwarts a safe haven for him or her for that matter.

Severus could feel the coldness seeping through his robes, and forced himself to take a deep breath before pulling her forward.

"You cannot be seen today, or any day for that matter. Do you understand?"

"Why?" she asked quietly, almost timidly.

"No one knows of this arrangement, and we cannot have people asking questions. People assume you to be with Potter, and if it was found that you were not, especially if it was known that you were with me, problems would arise,"

Her only response was to pull herself closer to him.

The two walked up to the school together, silent the entire way. Without his wand, Severus opened the door before them, and they slipped inside. The doors closed behind them with a bang which echoed through the hall. Hermione dropped his hand, and walked forward to peer into the Great Hall, whose door were wide open.

The windows had not been repaired, the glass still scattered around the floor along with plates and goblets. Severus wished that someone would have cleaned the room up so he wouldn't have to relive his shame.

His eyes locked on her form, standing still in the middle of the main aisle taking in her surroundings. Severus was sure that she wasn't even breathing. But before he could comment, she quickly turned around, with her eyes locked on the ground, and stormed from the room. His large strides made it easy for him to keep up with her.

"Where do you think you're going?" he finally asked.

"Dumbledore's office," she snapped quickly.

Without a word they reached the office, and Severus quickly mumbled the password, watching as the stairs began rising upward. When they reached the door, Severus froze just long enough to catch her attention. Hermione's eyes strayed to his face, and he saw the pity written there, and the sadness.

He wanted to snap at her, but she suddenly took his hand in hers and gave a reassuring squeeze before pushing on the door. They each took one step into the room, simply looking around at the room which seemed so cold and deserted.

Hermione took a step forward and noticed that Severus didn't move with her. She turned towards him but Severus couldn't look her in the eye. He simply stared at the chair which he had stood in front of so many times, speaking to the one person he could count on in his life.

"Severus?"