The event that changed everything happened the very next day. Hermione knew nothing of it until her attention was drawn from the book she was reading to the shouts in the hallway. The unmistakable voice of Molly Weasley destroyed the peace with a loud demand of, "What in the name of Merlin do you think you were doing?" Hermione tried to tune out the words, knowing that one of the boys had likely done something stupid involving a broom, however when Percy's voice filtered through the door, she began to pay a bit more attention.

"It was harmless," came the voice of Percy. It seemed as though he was more hurt than anything else.

"That is not what everyone else is saying!" Hermione could picture Molly with her hands on her hips and tapping her toe, "That poor girl has suffered enough, now here you are making everything worse, did you not think about what everyone else would think?" she demanded.

"No," Percy said, sullen now.

"Of course you didn't, there never is any consideration for the girls when it comes to you men!" she snapped.

"Granger does it all the time!" Percy huffed, "Why should Fleur be any different?"

"You know damned well the difference between those two," Molly snapped, "Hermione's reputation is already bad enough that no one really cares what she does, there's no shock to it. Fleur on the other hand is untarnished, and should remain that way." On hearing those words, Hermione flushed. A painful red stinging her cheeks when she realised that the woman whom she thought had been looking out for her saw her as more trouble than anything else. She listened further, wondering what else they might say about her.

"Have you heard yourself mother? Such double standards!" Percy snapped back. Hermione knew of his temper and also knew what was coming next.

"Maybe I have been a bit lenient," Molly said, "Would it make you better if I stopped Hermione's visits?" she asked.

"No!" Percy snapped, "I would rather you let me do as I wished, Fleur and I had a nice cup of tea and a long conversation, nothing more." Hermione knew that the people who were not there would be saying a lot more than that, which had been the point of it all she supposed. Draco had managed to create a situation out of something innocent and if he knew him well enough, he would he adding fuel to that particular fire.

"I suppose I have set a precedence already," Molly said. "I will speak to Hermione about it in a moment. As for you…"

Hermione was no longer listening, she was on her feet and in the hallway moments later, "I will save you the bother," she snapped. Both of them looked around in surprise. "I had no idea that my presence here was such a burden on your house," she said. She tried to keep her tone even when she spoke but knew that she was having a hard time of it. Looking from one to the other, she saw that they had the decency to look guilty about it.

"Hermione, that's not what-"

"Yes it is, I know exactly what you meant Molly," she said cutting the older woman off. "You do not approve of what I do, you never have but I didn't know it made you think less of me," she snorted. "If it's too much for you, perhaps I should leave," she said. She had no idea where she would go if she did, but staying here didn't seem to be an option right then. When neither of them offered an alternative to her views, she turned around and stormed up the stairs.

She had no real idea what she was going to do, however she grabbed a few bits, flung them into a bag and pulled it closed. Grabbing her purse from her desk, she slipped that into her bag too and threw her cloak around her shoulders. Before she knew it, she was out the door, leaving the Weasley's to their words and their opinions.

The cool breeze tugged at her thick cloak and she wondered where she might go. Never before had she felt unwelcome in the house she had been living in. How long Molly had thought that of her, she didn't know, she didn't want to know. Maybe all she needed was some distance and some clarity. She was not at all surprised when she found herself stood in front of Severus' door. Maybe this was the last place she should be but she could think of nowhere else to go. She wondered whether the whole town knew of her visits here and for the first time found that she cared about what they thought. She shook her head, it must be that she was getting used to how this time period thought and was adapting her own thinking to it.

The door opened and a confused Sebastian answered the door, "Miss Granger?" he asked. She did her best to smile at him.

"I had no idea where else to go," she confessed, swallowing the lump in her throat, "Is your brother here?" she asked.

Sebastian nodded and stepped aside to let her through, "He is," he said as she crossed the threshold, "But I don't know what sort of mood he is in," he added.

"Oh?"

"You've heard Fleur was caught in the arms of Percy Weasley no doubt?" he said. Hermione shook her head.

"I knew they'd met for tea," she said, not wanting to lie completely. Sebastian led her into the sitting room, which was empty, and ushered her into one of the seats.

"It seems it was a little more than that, they were seen kissing. Fleur denies this ever happened and they've been arguing all afternoon," Sebastian said. Hermione's eyes widened and she folded her hands into her lap.

"I had no idea…" she said, not entirely sure whether this was gossip or not. If that had been the case, Percy would never have admitted it to his mother! Molly would have screamed the house down.

"Can I get you tea?" the young lad asked. He was nothing if not well mannered. Hermione nodded and he summoned the elf, ordering both tea and some snacks for them both. "There has been a lot of arguing in this house lately," Sebastian said the moment the little creature disappeared.

Hermione frowned, "How so?"" she asked.

Sebastian shook his head, "I shouldn't say, not really." Hermione nodded, understanding the loyalties the young man had for his older brother.

"It's alright," she said. The elf reappeared in that moment, a tray of tea in its hand. It placed it on the table and disappeared again. Silence fell between them when she picked up a cup of tea and took a sip from it. Sebastian followed suit but made no effort to talk further. Time seemed to tick by at a slower pace than ever, making her doubt whether she should have come here. She ran a hand over her face and sighed, trying to keep the thoughts at bay, they were not helpful to anyone and worry was just going to make her feel worse.

The door opened then and the man she had come to see entered the sitting room. He looked at Hermione and blinked in surprise before his usual mask fell back onto his face. "Miss Granger," he said formally. She offered him a smile, wary at his tone. It must have been a tough day if he was being cool with her too. He turned to his brother and nodded, "Leave us please," he said.

Sebastian offered her a small smile before he took his cup of tea and left the room. The silence that followed it was thicker than before. The ticking of the carriage clock on the mantelpiece drove her to distraction and she fussed with a loose thread on her blue dress. She did not break the silence. "Why did you come here today?" he asked finally. His tone was softer than she had expected and she finally looked up.

"I couldn't stand being in that house any longer," she snorted, "It seems I am too much of a harlot for Molly to stand," Hermione said. Severus' eyes narrowed a little at hearing this and he shook his head.

"You heard this?" he asked.

Hermione let out a sigh and shook her head, "She was having a conversation with Percy about unchaperoned visits," she said. At the name of Percy, his face darkened a little but he continued listening carefully. "He compared Fleur's behaviour to mine, to which Molly insulted me. I overheard and stormed out," she said. She realised then that this was very similar to what she had done to him previously and she flushed.

Severus shook his head and he took her hand in his lightly. She looked up into his black eyes then and tried to smile, "I've not been overly sensible about it have I?" she asked sheepishly.

"Not really, but that doesn't give Molly the right to run her mouth either," he said. Hermione smiled. He let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, "It's been a trying day."

"Sorry, I should have been more thoughtful," she said. "I should have known your house would have been in as much of an uproar as mine," she added.

"They're going to be much angrier when they find you've come here," he said, looking at her once more. She nodded. "You should go back," he said after a moment. "Let no one know you came here and make it up with Molly."

"Really?" she frowned.

"Yes. I can deal with Fleur, get the engagement annulled and then I will come and call for you," he said. Her thoughts followed his and she smiled then. If she was going to reside in a house that did not want her there, she could abide it knowing there was a time limit to it. She nodded.

"Alright," she said softly. She knew she had over reacted and slowly got to her feet. It meant that she had to drop his hand and she did so reluctantly. "When will I see you again?" she asked, unafraid to show her feelings while they were alone.

"Very soon," he said. The smile he gave her then was one of his special ones and she loved the way it lit up his face. "Do you want a carriage?" he asked.

"No, I'll make out that I wondered around for a while thinking before I go back." Severus nodded and got to his feet too. HE showed her to the door and she left the place feeling full of confidence once more.