A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters
This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Word count: 455
"I don't know how to be alone," Hermione whispered. Severus touched his head to hers.
"Legilimens," he said, knowing Hermione would let him in, that she wouldn't push him away. There was some resistance there, a relic from her having to hide her thoughts, to hide her everything while pretending to be strong. He could feel her thoughts, her anxieties beneath the surface.
"Let me see," he directed. Hermione didn't move, but the shields she'd built up started to crumble, lessen, become more transparent. Severus could see her parents, sound asleep in their bed. Hermione's hand holding a wand. Her voice, soft and trembling with fear as she took their memories. The next scene flashed and Hermione was dancing with Viktor Krum, laughing as he twirled her. The the scene turned black, a glowing lynx appearing and words coming from its mouth. Severus knew that was the day the ministry had fallen.
"That was when you ran, wasn't it?" he asked, already knowing the answer. He knew they'd gone into the muggle world at that point, that someone had said Lord Voldemort. He could see the memory of them being attacked by Death Eaters, them running, apparating. Suddenly, he was inside Grimmauld Place. They were in a room, exploring, RAB. Severus blinked, pulling back to look at the witch sitting before him.
"Regulus Arcturus Black," Hermione said with a shrug. "He was the one who stole the locket from the cave. Mung stole it, sold it. Later we found out Umbridge had it. That was a fiasco. We go it though, in the end, but then...we messed up. Took a Death Eater home with us, inside the protections. We had to leave."
"The Forest of Dean."
"One of the places, yes. That's where you found us, gave us the sword to destroy that bloody thing. Has looking into my mind helped at all?"
"I'm not helping myself, Hermione. I'm helping you, reliving the days that brought upon the losses, that turned your world upside down, facing the fact you felt you failed."
"Why does it matter?"
"It matters because right now, you think you're a failure, that everything you do is going to fail, break, fall apart somehow. You don't believe you can be happy, that something good can last. It can and I need you to believe that, Hermione. I need you to believe you deserve to be happy and that even if you fail, that I will be there, to help you put the pieces back together again. Do you do believe you can try that, try to believe that?"
"I can," Hermione whispered, reaching up and touching Severus' face. "I can try to believe that, for you, I can try," she promised.