Severus did not knock on the door, but burst through it, Hermione directly behind him. Albus was sitting at his desk, casually observing his withered hand and stroking Fawkes, who was perched on his knee. At Severus's abrupt entrance, Fawkes startled and flew off, and Albus rose, his eyes narrowing.

"Has something happened?" He asked, moving around his desk towards Severus.

"Yes." Severus said.

"What?" Albus's eyes flickered from Hermione back to Severus.

Severus did not reply until he was inches from Albus, his hands in fists at his sides, steam practically shooting from his ears.

"You right bastard!" Severus snarled, "It was you who did this!" One of his hands motioned towards Hermione.

Albus did not move from his spot, nor did he seem intimidated by Severus's closeness, or obvious fury.

"Do what, Severus? I've no idea what you're referring to." Albus's face was one of complete innocence and confusion. Hermione felt a sting of doubt and guilt for a few seconds, wondering if they were wrong after all.

"Oh really, Albus? You didn't manipulate Harry's memories when you were teaching him Occlumency to see if the Dark Lord was aware of the connection?"

Albus raised an eyebrow.

"Why in the world would I do that, Severus? The purpose of teaching Harry Occlumency was to prevent Voldemort from accessing his mind!"

"But you wanted to know, you wanted to be right, as you always do. So you came up with the brilliant idea to change his memories of his Animagus lessons, putting Hermione in danger..."

"I would never endanger a student if it were not necessary." Albus replied, his pure white brows furrowed, his forehead wrinkling. His blue eyes were icy and sharp, and his lips were pressed tightly together. Severus lunged forward suddenly, grabbing Albus's cloak within his hands, pushing Albus backwards into the desk behind him roughly. He lowered his face above Albus's wide eyes,

"You! How could you?!"

"Severus!" He heard Hermione yell in alarm, and he felt her tugging on his arm, trying to pull him off of the Headmaster.

"Enough!" Albus roared, casting a burst of wandless magic, sending Severus flying backwards into the far wall of the room. He hit the wall with a groan, and fell to the floor in a graceless heap, but he was on his feet in an instant, his wand raised. His face was positively thunderous, and he felt the blind rage overwhelm him, breaking down his mental defences as if they were made of paper.

He cast magic blindly towards the older wizard, who defected them all easily. He had forgotten Hermione was in the room. He had tunnel vision, sights only for the man in front of him who had ruined his life again and again.

"You!" He bellowed again, casting spell after spell silently, unaware of his body screaming in protest as he abused his already depleted magical ability.

"You promised to keep her safe, you promise! And she died!"

"Is that what this is all about?" Albus asked, sweat beginning to drip down his face. "He's talking about Harry's mother, Hermione. He's in love with her, in case you didn't know."

"It's not! It was then, but not now. Oh, no. Not now." Severus had stopped yelling, his voice now so low and deep that it shook the glass of the windows in the room.

"So what, then?" Albus asked.

"You know what." Severus tried to cast another spell, but found he was unable. He felt a wave of exhaustion crash down over him, and his knees wobbled beneath him. He felt someone grab him, trying to hold him steady. He didn't have the strength to shake them off.

"Say it. Who do you care about now, Severus? Admit it... You do care about someone."

"Why did you do it?"

It seemed that Albus had reached his limit, because he sighed, and turned his gaze away from Severus. "Hermione, take Severus back to his quarters. I've had enough. He's obviously not in a state of control or sanity."

"How -" Hermione started to ask, before Severus abruptly called out,

"No!" Severus's mind was suddenly clear, one single thought gave him the ability to stand, and block the spell that Albus had directed his way.

"No. You will not knock me unconscious, and you will not obliviate Hermione."

"What?" Hermione gasped in realization, shakily raising her wand towards Albus to defend herself, though she knew her efforts would be futile against the powerful wizard.

"We're going to talk about this." Severus snarled.

"You don't seem to be doing much talking, Severus. It seems you're only capable of acting like you belong in St. Mungo's."

"Accio wands!"

Both men turned to Hermione in shock as their wands flew from their hands and landed in Hermione's outstretched fingers. She closed them tightly around the wands and she kept her's raised, alternating between pointing it at Albus, and pointing it at Severus. Neither of the men had thought for even a second that Hermione might actually be brave enough to do anything with it. Now they were not so sure.

"Hermione, lower your wand." Albus instructed.

"I'd rather not, Headmaster." She replied, taking a step backwards.

Severus's hand felt cold and useless without his wand in it, but he did not dwell on the feeling for long. He turned his flaming eyes from Hermione back towards Albus, who was moving to approach the young witch.

"Let's talk then, Albus." He growled. "Explain to me why you did this."

"It was necessary, Severus. You wouldn't understand."

"Bull shit."

Albus sighed again, and ran his hand down his long white beard, then waved it absently.

"It had to be Hermione, Severus. She and Harry may be good friends, but Ronald and Harry are practically brothers. Harry can function without Hermione, but it would not be wise to separate him and Ron. In addition, Hermione is the only one who had a hope of keeping control of her Animagus form for an extended period of time. It had to be her, and it had to be done, for the greater good. We had to know if Voldemort was actually aware of the mental connection he shares with Harry."

"The greater good?!" Severus exclaimed, "What about the Ministry incident? You almost lost your precious Potter, and one of your dear Gryffindor's was killed!"

"I did not know that would happen." Albus said firmly.

"You knew there would be consequences. You knew Hermione would be in danger, and that she might not be able to keep control in her Animagus form. What about Potter? What's he going to think when he finds out? Did you honestly believe that no one would put two and two together? You are not so clever as you used to be, Albus. You are not as sane, either."

"No one will "find out", Severus, because this information does not leave this room."

"You'll try to obliviate us, will you? Have you forgotten that I am one of the strongest -"

Albus looked towards Hermione, and Severus paused, then moved swiftly to stand in front of her, blocking her from Albus's view.

"I can summon my wand any time I wish, Severus. And I have no qualms about obliviating her in order to protect all that I've worked for, all that the Order has worked for."

"The Order? They don't know half the shit you've done! I bet if they did, they'd be wondering if there's even a difference between you and the Dark Lord, and I guarantee the Order would cease to exist."

"I do what is necessary. It is a job that not many can do, or understand. I must carry out plans that others cannot."

"Is that what you tell yourself? That everything you do is 'necessary'? For the 'greater good'? What the hell is the 'greater good' to you? How can it justify this? You did not need to know the Dark Lord was aware of the connection. It would have sufficed to merely teach Potter Occlumency."

"Harry was not passionate about learning Occlumency, nor did he realize the importance of it, no matter what I said. He needed to see how important the safety of his mind is to our cause."

"So now you teach the boy that he's not actually invincible? A bit late, yes?"

"Severus, enough. I do not owe explanations to you."

"Actually, you do. Have you forgotten all you've put me through? All that I've done for you? I've tortured, Albus! I've seen... I'm a servant to that monster! I risk my life and my sanity... I had nothing to live for, nothing except the promise I made. I take this very seriously, Albus, but you do not. You do whatever you want, no matter the consequences inflicted on others. On me."

"You had nothing to live for? What about now?"

"Fucking Merlin! You're a fucking teenager! There are more important things than my personal relationships, Albus!"

"Fine... I did what was necessary. I cannot prevent casualties in this war, I cannot always spare those who deserve sparing. I'm sorry, Severus, if you can't accept this. You shouldn't be prying into how I operate if you can't come to terms with what you discover."

"It's not about me! It's about -"

"You could have told me, Professor." Hermione said, peeking out from behind Severus. "I would have helped you. I would have helped Harry. I could have prevented him from going after Sirius. Ron and I could have convinced him to take Occlumency seriously." Severus looked down at her. She had tears streaming down her cheeks, and he fought the urge to wipe them off with his thumb.

"What's done is done, Hermione."

"No shit!" Severus snarled. "Come, Hermione. We're leaving. It's obvious he has no regrets of his actions, nor a real reason for doing them."

"Not a word of this, Severus. And you better practice controlling yourself. I have never seen such despicable, childish behavior. If you raise your wand towards me again I will not hesitate to -"

"Of course, Headmaster." Severus sneered, cutting Albus off mid sentence. He motioned for Hermione to precede him out the door, focusing on Albus, should he show any movement to try and obliviate her. As Hermione passed through the door, Severus said quietly, "And don't worry about your fate, Albus. I'll make sure if Malfoy doesn't succeed, that I do."

Severus turned on his heel and strode from the room, slamming the door behind him. He did not see the small triumphant smile that grew on Albus's face as soon as he was gone.

Hermione walked silently beside Severus as they made their way back down to the dungeons. She did not dare take hold of his hand, nor even look at him. She could not imagine how he was feeling. That had not gone well at all.

What was Dumbledore talking about when he said Severus was in love with Harry's mother? She had known that Harry's father and Severus were at Hogwarts together, but it had never occurred to her that his mother and Severus knew one another, or that they were friends. Did they have a relationship? What was Severus's promise?

She was incredibly curious, and unsure how to feel about it.

But, she reminded herself, Harry's mother was dead. And it was Severus's personal business. It was not Dumbledore's place to tell her, it was Severus's. She would respect his privacy, and she would force herself to refrain from prying.

They had still not spoken a word when they reached his quarters. Severus disappeared into the kitchen, and Hermione sat on the couch, wringing her hands in her lap and biting her lip nervously.

Severus returned a few minutes later, sitting on the far cushion of the couch, turning his body to face her. He handed Hermione a cup of tea, and took a sip from his own cup, closing his eyes as he did. Hermione averted her eyes, giving him time to gather himself. After a moment, she saw him move out of the corner of her eye, and she looked back up at him, turning her body as well, crossing her legs under her.

"I'm sorry, Severus." She said softly, her eyes resting gently on his face. He frowned.

"What are you sorry for?" He asked her, genuinely puzzled.

"For... The things he said, the things he did..." She wasn't sure what to say. She just felt sorry. Not pity. But sorrow for all the things Severus had gone through, and continued to suffer through.

"I'm not concerned with me. I'm concerned about you. I'm sorry, Hermione. If I had known, I would -"

"But you didn't know, Severus, and when you found out, you risked yourself in order to defend me. You didn't have to do that." She gave him a soft smile, and glanced down shyly at her cup of tea, running her thumb across the brim.

"I..." Severus paused. "It didn't occur to me to react in any other way."

"Well, I appreciate it." She said. "Thank you. I hope you won't be in too much trouble?"

Severus chuckled in twisted amusement.

"Oh, I surely will be."

At the horrified look on Hermione's face, he quickly elaborated,

"He can't do anything too severe. My role in the war is too important."

"What about Vold- the Dark Lord? He knows you had a familiar, and now...?"

Severus remained silent, his face stony, for a moment, before speaking softly,

"I'm not sure what will happen, or what he will piece together. I honestly have no idea what Albus was thinking. Something is going on with him. He is not making sound decisions."

"No, he isn't." Hermione agreed instantly, shaking her head. "Is it safe for Harry to be spending so much time with him?"

"He won't be much - I'm sure he's fine. He'll be better once you're back with him, though."

"Should I tell him? Would Dumbledore really obliviate me? Or try to obliviate you?"

Severus thought back to Albus threatening him after Sirius had tricked him into entering the Whomping Willow, and how he had threatened Severus with obliviation should he tell anyone Lupin's secret. He'd had no doubt in his mind that Albus would do it, just as he didn't doubt it now.

"Yes." He said firmly. "He would."

"My God," Hermione said quietly, horrified.

"He is convinced that being a leader of a war means he is entitled to such drastic measures. It is obvious he does not know what being a true leader means."

"No... Oh, Severus! This is... None of this is any good!"

"Unfortunately not."

They both fell silent, slowly sipping their cups of tea, processing all that had happened, and all the information they had obtained.

"Hermione?" Severus asked out of nowhere. His voice was surprisingly soft, gentle, almost unsure.

"Yes?" She asked, giving him a reassuring smile.

"About... Lily..." He ran a hand through his hair, his brow furrowed deeply.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Severus." Hermione told him. He looked at her, his eyes widening in surprise, his mouth parting slightly before he closed it.

"I want to." He said finally. "I used to feel strongly for her, it's true. But I did not love her. I thought I did, but I see now... How I felt towards her, it was obsession." He paused, and swallowed, and continued, "She was..." He sighed, "She was my only friend, really. She was a bright light in my dark world, to be cliche. I tried to protect her, but... I was a Death Eater when she died, and I realized then that I did not want to be. I never wanted to be, really. I don't share any of the Dark Lord's beliefs, but it was a place to belong..." He shook his head, dropping his eyes to his lap. "I changed allegiances after that, promised Albus that I would do everything I could for the Light to avenge her death. I caused it, I overheard part of the prophecy and relayed it to the Dark Lord before I realized what it meant. I would do anything to undo what I'd done, but I can't, so I decided to spend the rest of my life doing everything I could to end the Dark Lord."

"But I just... I wanted you to know."

He rose from the couch, obviously uncomfortable with all of the information he'd just shared with her, and Hermione found herself standing as well.

"Severus?"

He did not look at her, but stopped in his movement, and waited for her to continue.

"Thank you." She said softly, moving slowly towards him. She watched his body stiffen as she neared, and her heart broke in her chest at the thought of all he'd been through, and how closed off he was. But he'd opened up to her. What was he thinking now? That she'd take advantage of his trust? That'd she'd push him away? She didn't want him to regret confiding in her, for trusting her. She would never manipulate him like Dumbledore, or betray him, or leave him because of what'd he'd done so long ago.

It was now or never, she thought. She'd try to comfort him in a moment when they were both aware of what was going on. When they weren't half asleep, and when she wasn't a big pet lioness. However he took her gesture, she would deal with. If he rejected her, she would have to accept it. All she knew was that she wanted to -

"What are you doing?" He asked, eyes narrowed.

Hermione did not reply, but took his hand in hers. It was cold and stiff and his fingers were calloused from cutting ingredients and tending to potions. She stood in front of him, looking up at him. He did not move. He hardly seemed to be breathing.

"Hug me." She said softly.

"Wha-?" He started, then he closed his mouth slowly. He stood looking at her for a long moment, and Hermione was just about to move away when the hand she was holding slipped from her grasp and trailed up her arm, hardly touching her, until it met her shoulder, where he spread his hand flat and put the slightest bit of pressure on her, giving her permission to take a step forward into his arms.

His hand slid across her back, his other arm rising up and cradling her hair and her head. She wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her nose into the thin white shirt covering his chest. He was tense beneath her, but she sighed contently. He'd done it.

She closed her eyes, breathing in the comforting scent of potions and the slightest bit of masculine musk. She did not know how long they held one another, but she smiled to herself when she finally felt the stiff muscles against her cheek and underneath her hands relax, and she felt Severus lower and press his chin to the top of her head, inhaling deeply and sighing.

They pulled away from each other at the same time, and Hermione looked up into his eyes, giving him a warm smile. Severus's right hand moved from behind her head, and he rested his fingers delicately against her neck, rubbing his thumb up and down her cheek. He did not smile. His brows were furrowed, but his eyes were soft.

He dropped his hand and cleared his throat.

"I have papers to grade." He told her, moving past her and out to his office.

Hermione smiled to herself, summoned a book, and settled down onto the couch. Her stomach was fluttering with butterflies, her cheeks warm at the thought of the fact that she'd just hugged Severus Snape, the surly Potions Master, of all people...

She was so happy. She scanned the words on the page, but she did not read them. She was too busy replaying the moment over and over again in her mind.

A/N - Oh my god, you guys are amazing. This fic has over 100,000 views?! I'm so lucky, you are all incredible and I am so grateful for your continued support. On another positive note, I got my first college acceptance letter for a major in Psychology! Eek :D

Thanks again for being the best readers ever :) I seriously love you all.