Summary: Life goes on, and Severus sleeps on.

A/N: Thanks for reading and commenting!

Chapter 3

Granger came in and sat down quietly next to his bed. She was silent, which was unusual, as she'd normally come in spouting salutations and being horridly cheery. Today, she just sat quietly. He thought he heard a sniffle.

"I did what I had to do…"

He wondered what she was talking about. Oh, how he wished he could say something right then.

She sniffed a few more times. "I'm sorry, Professor. I'm sure the last thing you need right now is a sniveling student sitting here bawling."

Actually, I'm more concerned that you're upset about something.

"You must be wondering what's going on. You see, before we went on the run I… I cast a memory charm on my parents."

She was quiet for what seemed like an eternity before she sniffed and began to explain.

"I knew they would be targets. I knew the Death Eaters would search them out while looking for me. I knew they'd kill them. So, I did the only thing I could think of that would keep them safe. I Obliviated them, making them forget everything about me. I instilled in them a desire to move to Australia and had them refer to themselves as Wendell and Monica Wilkins." There was a long silence. "I wasn't sure if I would ever see them again."

She sniffled and blew her nose. Severus was amazed that she could perform such involved magic. She was right, too. If they had been found they would have been tortured and killed to find out information on her.

Hermione continued."Thankfully, I survived. I was able to find them in Australia and restored their memories. They were livid at what I'd done. I tried to explain, but they didn't want to hear it. I left them there in Australia per their request. They said they had to digest everything that had happened and would reach out to me."

He heard some paper crinkling.

"They sent me a letter which I just received today."

There was more crinkling.

"Dear Hermione," she read aloud.

"We have decided to stay here in Australia. Picking up and moving again is just too much for us. We'll need some more time before we can agree to meet with you again. What you did is just too raw. We'll be in touch.

Mum and Dad"

She sniffed again and blew her nose.

"I just hoped they had forgiven me, you know?"

She began to breathe heavily.

"I don't know what to do to make them forgive me!"

She began to sob. Oh, how he wished he could comfort her right then. He wasn't the best at comfort, but he knew that holding her would help. He wished he could at least say something to her.

She composed herself after a long time.

"I'm sorry, Professor. Please forgive me for my blubbering. Maybe we should change the subject?"

She was silent for a while before she began reading from a Potions journal. Evidently, there was a move to replace shrivelfig with elderflower, but it was causing fatal results with cauldrons exploding because of the issue with the Elderflower reacting badly with other ingredients in potions that usually used shrivelfig.

"The only thing Elderflower should be used for is the creation of wine," Hermione read and chuckled. "Can you believe that, Professor? Honestly, you need to wake up so you can set some of these Potioneers straight."

Damn right, Miss Granger.

"I can just see you rolling your eyes and saying something caustic right now," Granger mused. "Thank you. I know you didn't do anything, but despite your silence, you helped me to calm down. I appreciate that."

oooOOOooo

Several days had passed, and Granger was reading to him again. She had been there for a while, reading a Transfiguration text to him.

She paused. "You know, I've been thinking," she said as she moved on to a different topic. "With the war over, I've been debating what to do. It's odd, you know… before we went on the run, I thought I had it all figured out. I'd work my arse off, graduate from Hogwarts, and probably work at the Ministry, where I'd make a difference. Now…" She was silent for a bit. "I really don't know what I want to do. I'm not sure that going back to Hogwarts is the right thing. I could probably sit my N.E.W.T.s now and do fine."

She chuckled to herself. "Can you believe I'm saying that? I about killed myself preparing for the O.W.L.s and I was sure I would do horridly. They were all I thought about. Now, I don't care as much. Of course, I want to do well, but if I'm not perfect, it doesn't matter to me. Life is so much more than good grades, you know?"

This can't be Hermione Granger. All she did was study and obsess about her grades.

"You probably think I've gone nutters, yeah?" She paused for an answer that he was in no state to give, but he thought it.

You bet I do. Who are you?

She laughed as if she'd heard him. "It's just that… I feel like my time to be in school has passed. Being on the run… it would be hard to go back to a regimented school schedule and lifestyle. It's… it feels like I graduated at the end of sixth-year and it's almost like going backward."

She was quiet for a while. Severus mulled over what she was saying. It made a lot of sense; he was just surprised that she'd come to that conclusion given her past. She had obviously matured a lot while on the run. He found that warmed him.

"And I'm really not even sure about working at the Ministry," she continued. "Kingsley has told all three of us that we can be Aurors. I don't want to be an Auror. I'm so done chasing and fighting bad guys. Then I think about other positions at the Ministry… What could I do that would make a difference? I don't even know. I feel like at my age, I'd just be behind a desk, probably fetching some old geezer his coffee."

Severus wished he could laugh, but sadly, that and every other movement was still beyond him.

"What should I do, Professor?"

She was quiet for a while.

"You know what would be fun? Opening a bookstore. That would be calming, and I'd be surrounded by something I love. Maybe that's the answer."

She sighed. "I wish you were awake so you could tell me what you think… Well, maybe not. I can hear you right now." Her voice deepened. "Miss Granger, I don't care what you do or how you do it. Please stop chattering. All you do is talk, talk, talk. Get out of my sight!"

She laughed. "Sorry, sir, if I'm annoying you to no end. I hope that's not the case. I think if I were in your position I would want some background noise, even if it was someone I couldn't really stand."

He was actually very grateful for her presence. He knew he'd probably go insane if she wasn't visiting him… he supposed daily.

"Well, Professor, I should be going. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Definitely daily.

He listened to her leave the room as he thought about what she had said. She was right, that sounded just like something he would have said to her in the past… possibly something even worse. But now he felt he would react differently. Her visits had given him a look into who she really was, and he found that–shudder to think this–he liked her. She was smart and thoughtful, and she had a sense of humor.

He hoped that he would awaken from this purgatory soon because he wasn't sure how long she'd hold hope that he'd awaken. What if she just didn't come back one day? What would he do then?