A/N: This is for all those people who asked me to stop with the angst. LOL I'm just kidding, this bit has been written for ages, but still. Buckle up, my lovelies!

A/N/A (Author's Note Again): So. This wasn't yesterday and I apologise for that. If you read author's notes, you'll know I have had a doozy of a week - added to the above fire in my building the following morning one of the office staff rang us to tell us that the fire had reignited and that we'd lost everything. As you can imagine that was incredibly traumatic - even more so because when we got there to "pick through what's left" the building hadn't really changed and our stuff was still there and when questioned the guy laughed and was like "oh yeah, lol, I haven't been back here" So.

Now Em is a bit like Min. Very very angry. Very very grateful in moments but incredibly angry with that man for being so blase with someone's entire life. Having said that, we are fine. We already have a new apartment and we have somewhere to stay thanks to the greatest friends ever so we're fine. Angry and traumatised but fine. Thank you for all the love 3

-0-

It was almost stiflingly hot when Minerva woke and it took her a few moments to figure out why. They'd slept all night and though she did not know the time, it was well past her usual rising time if the sun through the windows was any indication. She stretched out her toes a little and rolled her neck and relaxed into the mattress as she took stock of her surroundings.

Hermione was practically laying on her back, wrapped around her as tightly as she possibly could. For a moment, Minerva tensed ready to push her off but in the split second, she paused and explored exactly what she was feeling. It was hot, but she realised she wasn't actually uncomfortable. She could feel the temperature, she could understand that it was hot but if anything, despite the way her mind was reeling, it was like laying in a hot bath after a long day and as soon as she made that comparison, Minerva felt her body relax.

The feelings that ran through her were so confusing. She was so comfortable, surrounded by Hermione's arms and her warmth but even in that same feeling, she was so uncomfortable that she wasn't sure where to start with them. On the one hand, the comfort that Hermione's presence brought her was undoubtable. Palpable. The peace she felt as soon as they were together was something she had coveted ever since they started getting to know one another properly at the end of the holidays. The feeling of peace as those arms wrapped around her was absolute. But, the mental anguish of having something or someone else controlling her thoughts and feelings; to have something force her to be with someone made her rail against it, even in her own head.

Hermione's arm tightened around her stomach and Minerva held her breath but she didn't stir much more. A puff of warm air on her neck sent goosebumps down her body but otherwise, Hermione slept on. Minerva was thankful for it because it gave her time to think.

As she traced Hermione's fingers absently between her own, Minerva examined her thoughts surrounding Hermione prior to her change. She considered how she felt and how she craved Hermione's company some days. Most days, if she was honest. Of the long conversations with Poppy about how their friendship was different and how Hermione allowed her to be silly and frivolous and unbuttoned, as it were. She recalled the quiet dinner with Will and Poppy, where she spoke on and on about Hermione until William had asked if Hermione was a member of staff. She'd been saved from answering when she suddenly needed to leave and shuddered as she recalled why that had been.

That made more sense now too. Hermione taking Katie Bell's hand had made Minerva leave Poppy and Will's company for no reason other than that she had needed to. It had been so bizarre at the time but now she knew what she knew, it made perfect sense.

Except it still didn't and she huffed in frustration.

She closed her eyes and felt whatever came up as she let her mind wander - a trick that someone had taught her after her parents had died. That some feelings were meant to be felt and not hidden and that sometimes, it was okay just to bombard yourself with them in order to take a bit of the edge off so one can better distinguish them.

Hermione mumbled against her ear and tightened her hold, but Minerva didn't feel as uncomfortable as she might've. She allowed the panic and the sadness and the horror and the confusion to bubble up until her eyes shed tears and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from sobbing audibly.

"Min," Hermione mumbled, though her tone implied she was still asleep. "S'ok. Got you. Love you."

It was mumbled so gently and so freely that Minerva didn't know what to do. She had tears rolling down her face so quickly she couldn't catch them all but she didn't even care that they were rolling into her ear. She had never felt such an overwhelming feeling of something she had no words to describe.

"'S'ok," Hermione mumbled again, her body moulding impossibly to Minerva's. "'S'ok."

It hurt even more, somehow, and she didn't really know how to stop it now that it had started. Her breath came in shorter bursts and her heart rate sped up. She clutched at her chest as she struggled to find the air she needed.

"Min?" Hermione asked, sounding more awake. "Minerva?"

She couldn't quite draw breath enough to tell Hermione that she wasn't okay and as she didn't answer a second time, she was yanked onto her back.

"Min, breathe," Hermione ordered. "It's alright. Just breathe. I'm here."

She struggled for a long time. Hermione took one of her hands and kissed the palm of it before she placed it on her cheek. Minerva's fingers tingled as they twitched gently against Hermione's temple but it was not enough. She needed more.

Hermione, for whatever reason, seemed to understand. She held that hand tightly and placed her own hand on Minerva's face. It was almost instant. The heaviness in her chest eased and her thoughts lost their potency. They stared into each other's eyes and Minerva couldn't bring herself to look away. She needed those sunburst eyes as she needed oxygen to breathe. She tightened her hold on Hermione's hand and the younger woman smiled.

"Breathe, my -," Hermione paused and then nodded. "Just breathe. It is alright."

Minerva reached up and tangled her free hand in the back of Hermione's hair and pulled her face forward. Their foreheads rested against each other for barely a moment but Minerva wanted more. She wanted to feel Hermione wrapped around her again, to take away this pain that was so overwhelming that she could no longer feel the edge of it.

"I've got you," Hermione whispered in her ear as she adjusted her position. "I'm right here."

Hermione's weight settled on her and it helped as much as the words. The tight hold around her body and the scent that was just so Hermione doing strides in making the panic calm. As she held on, Minerva realised that she no longer needed it. She just wanted it.

"It's alright," Hermione repeated. "I've got you."

Minerva's breathing evened out but she couldn't bring herself to move. They just lay there, with Minerva pinned down under Hermione's body. Minerva's hands gripped Hermione's shirt as she breathed against her shoulder and aside from Hermione settling comfortably on the pillow beside Minerva's head, they did not stir.

Until Hermione's stomach rumbled.

"Bloody hell," she muttered next to Minerva's ear.

Despite everything, it seemed so normal that Minerva laughed and squeezed Hermione quickly before letting go.

"You alright?" Hermione asked. Minerva swallowed and nodded but didn't elaborate, even though she could see that Hermione didn't really believe her. Instead, Hermione rolled off Minerva and stood, holding out her hand.

"Let's have something to eat. It will help both of us, I think." Minerva looked up at her hand and finally took it, letting Hermione help her up before she stepped back and left her to it. Perhaps some normality would help put some perspective on this so they could move forward.

-0-

They ate a late breakfast quietly, neither willing to break the silence beyond asking for the salt and pouring more tea. Neither moved once the plates were cleared and then for a long time after, they sat quietly at the small table staring at their cups.

"This is silly," Hermione whispered. "We could at least be reading."

Minerva chuckled sadly.

"I don't even want to do that."

"Golly," Hermione said sadly. "That is bad."

Minerva laughed unhappily and got up.

"Want me to -"

"Stay," Minerva whispered. "I don't understand any of this and I like it less than I understand. But," she sighed. "Stay."

"'Kay," Hermione smiled. "I'll just be out here. I wondered if there might be something in your library?"

"I highly doubt it, I have looked. But you are also welcome to, of course. You know more than I."

"Thanks," Hermione nodded. "I'm not -" Minerva looked at her sharply. "I don't need you to babysit me or anything, I'm not a child." She met Minerva's eyes. "I'm not a child, Min. So please don't feel like you have to. We've done this bit before, don't make it something it's not."

Minerva nodded and left her to it, retreating back into her bedroom without another word. Hermione did as she said and went over to Minerva's bookcase and perused the titles. It took her most of the morning but after a while, she had a decent selection of tomes to pour over while the hours ticked back.

Michael returned at one point and cleared his throat. She blinked and looked up from her struggle with a particular convoluted passage about Werewolves.

"What is it?"

Instead of answering, he pointed to his wrist. She'd heard the bells come and go but paid very little attention to it, but she'd not seen Minerva at all. She glanced at the clock and realised it was lunchtime and though they hadn't had breakfast too long ago, she really was a bit peckish again. She bit her lip as she considered a plan. She needed to eat but she likewise did not want to pressure Minerva into anything, least of all, seeing her if she wasn't ready. The concept of laying down one's life for those you love had always seemed quite foreign to Hermione, even as a child, but now? Now that she understood what she felt, she could quite easily have done so if Minerva needed it from her.

"Are you back?" she asked quietly.

"I have not yet decided."

"It would probably be a comfort if I didn't have to worry about her?"

"Are you requesting my presence, Hermione?"

"I very well may be."

"Then," Michael smiled. "It is granted."

Hermione snorted and put her piece of parchment between her chapter and sat back.

"Does Dumbledore's guardian have a name?"

"Not that I know of," he shrugged. "Why?"

"I may as well tell you now. It told me that if I needed help, the Castle would answer."

He made a face.

"I remember you saying, now." He paused. "And I agree with the statement. What of it?"

"Do you all tell the Professors that? Or just me?"

Michael paused for a long while and nodded.

"Point taken. I have never had the cause to tell any of the staff but it was not incorrect. The Castle stands with you Hermione Granger, though I know not why."

"I asked the Castle for help," she muttered. "I asked it to heal a tunnel I was in."

"And?" he smiled.

"She answered."

They both looked at each other for a long time before he laughed.

"Ah bet she did. You have always been special, Miss Hermione Granger, I wasnae aware of just how much special you were."

"Not a total answer," she chuckled. "But one. Do you know much about dragons?"

"Not your kind, no," he smiled. She raised an eyebrow and he bowed. "I may or may not have been checking up on her. I have no notion of what you say you are, though if I hear anything, I will tell you. But you should eat. It is past lunchtime."

"I'll sort it," she nodded to Michael. "Thank you."

She called Dobby into the room and asked him for a plate of sandwiches for the two of them. He seemed pleased to be wanted again and sent back a glorious spread on Minerva's little dining room table in no time at all. She stared at it for a little while before she knocked on Minerva's door and waited. There was no reply and she knocked a little louder and called her name.

"Sorry," Minerva muttered. "I was -"

"It's fine," Hermione said, almost talking over her. "I mean, I just-"

They both paused and looked at each other until Hermione took a step back when she realised just how close they were.

"Sorry," she whispered. "Um. I called down for some lunch. If you're hungry. You don't have to eat it in there, I mean, with me." She suddenly realised that she was telling the woman where she could and could not eat in her own home. "I mean," she shook herself. "I don't have to -"

"I will join you, give me a moment."

Hermione nodded and left without turning back. Minerva closed the door behind her and Hermione sat down at the table and stared at her hands.

The door opened again but Hermione purposefully didn't look up.

"Goodness. Are we expecting guests?"

The 'we' made Hermione's heart thump and she chuckled carefully.

"Um, so since," she didn't elaborate. "Well, one of the side effects is that my appetite has increased dramatically and Dobby has been helping me stave off the hunger. It seems as though I am always hungry these days and to be honest, he's struggling to keep up."

Minerva hummed and chose a few sandwiches which she ate in silence while Hermione was trying not to shovel her own in too fast. She took a big bite of one and just managed not to drop the rest in her lap as Minerva looked up right at that moment. They both froze as Hermione chewed as best she could and swallowed and before long Minerva's eyes started twinkling a little and Hermione laughed into her napkin.

"I'm sorry," she giggled. "That was rude of me."

"I wish we had some crisps," Minerva sighed as she chewed.

"Salt and vinegar?" Hermione smiled.

"Hmm," Minerva considered it. "Cheese and onion, I think."

Hermione laughed and nodded.

"Maybe -" She paused. She was going to say that maybe they could go to lunch one day at that little pub they had visited. She swallowed thickly and mumbled that it didn't matter.

"Hermione," Minerva whispered. "I don't know how to do this."

"Me neither," she admitted.

"I feel like it should be on me, as I'm the -"

"Don't you dare," Hermione huffed, just about keeping a growl at bay as it had bubbled in her throat. "Don't you even think about saying you're the adult. That's bullshit and you know it."

"Hermione," Minerva sighed.

"Don't." She ordered. "I am not a child." All of the tension they had been easing was back and Hermione could have screamed in frustration. "I just -" She got up and paced in front of the sofas. "We have been friends for a while now, Minerva and we've had this argument. We know how the other thinks, and how we work together and we can't just -" She stopped and took a few deep breaths. "Minerva?" She said carefully. "I am the same person you were friends with before all this. I feel the same way, perhaps with less patience but my thoughts are the same."

"And yet," Minerva snapped back. "You are not the same!"

"Well, what do you want me to do?!" Hermione almost screamed. "How am I supposed to prove to you that I haven't changed? You have this idea of me that suddenly I don't live up to. This isn't my fault!"

"But it is truth," Minerva yelled, getting up and pointing venomously at her. "This has changed. We have been eternally altered by something that is beyond our control."

"You are different?"

"No!" Minerva argued.

"Well, neither am I!" There was just a hint of a roar in it and Hermione was breathing heavily as she stared at the woman across the room. "You are being horrendously unfair to me, Minerva, and I need you to figure out how to stop it. Right now."

"I am not beholden to you."

"Beyond anything, before this I was, I am your friend!"

"You were nothing but -" Minerva snapped her jaw shut and looked horrified as the bottom dropped out of Hermione's world.

She didn't stay.

She fled the room and slammed the portrait behind her and sprinted off to the second-floor bathroom, pacing endlessly in front of the stalls until she could barely see for the tears running down her face. She dropped to her knees, curling around the pain in her stomach as she screamed in agony.

She didn't hear the noise reverberate in the stones and she didn't see every member of the Castle pause as it echoed around the grounds. All she could do was rock back and forth while she tried not to die of a broken heart.