6

Chapter Six: Rubato

Morning came and with it a slow spreading reality. Severus groaned and tried to turn over. For some reason he found himself unable to. Puzzled, he then tried to ascertain what had awoken him. He was warmer then usual, but not so much as to be uncomfortable. He appeared to be naked, which was odd, but not unheard of. Then it hit him, he was warm and naked next to another warm naked...he looked down...student. Bloody hell.

The events of the previous day came back and whacked him on the head. His little voice that had been stupefied the night before was awake now too and it was currently screaming at him. It sounded like it was, strangely enough, screaming pedophile in every language known to man. He once again tried to move, this time he managed to free an arm. The child next to him mumbled something about transfiguring pianos and squirmed closer. Snape sighed and looked at the clock. Classes had already started. Good god he missed a class. Albus was going to...the large note taped to his clock informed him the Headmaster had canceled all potions classes for the day. Great, the brats where probably holding a party in honor of his imminent death. Nothing short of a life threatening illness or mission had ever stopped him from teaching before. Severus tried not to think about how the note found its way to his clock.

Suddenly the noise that must have awakened him returned. It was coming from his sitting room. He grabbed his wand and pretended to still be asleep. If someone or something had gotten past the wards he wanted the element of surprise on his side.

"Where did you get that thing? It showed us how to get around all those...really nasty things." A voice, male, young. Damn.

"Wards. They're called wards. And stop talking. We have to keep looking." Another voice, female, young, double damn.

"Calm down. We'll find her. Did you make it? Do you realize what we could do with that? The possibilities..."

"Are endless, I know. And no, I didn't make it. it. And it's going right back when we finish this."

"You stole the thing! Brilliant, I didn't know you had it in you girl!"

"Shut up! Idiot. Well that's this room. The map showed her in Snape's chambers. We only have one room left...you don't think?"

"Jesus, you don't think she' him...like..that? Do you?"

"Merlin, I hope not."

The voices were obviously those of students and moving towards his bedroom door. Snape made a mental note to take a HUGE amount of housepoints for this. Really, stealing whatever it was, breaking into his rooms, then making enough noise to alert him. It couldn't be one of his Slytherins. They would have at least TRIED to be quiet. Besides they were looking for Hermione, which made them Gryffindor. He was tempted to leave the house with negative points.

His bedroom door creaked open and two heads poked through one with violently red hair. Snape hid his open eyes behind his hair and waited. He was certain Hermione would not appreciate being woken like this, but there was little he could do about that now.

"Colin, he's in bed. Asleep."

"Well you said the map showed him WITH her. Did you expect him to be gone?"

"Look at where I'm pointing. He's in bed WITH her. Poor thing, what did he slip her?"

"Ginny you're overreacting. Maybe she just, you know, wanted a better grade."

Snape held in a snort. Hermione Granger...erh Penwrath...ahh Snape.. The Child would never need to do such a thing. Besides, the only student to ever try such a tactic with him had been Draco Malfoy. That had ended with one very amused professor and one thoroughly hexed student. Lucius had been equally amused after he had gotten over being appalled at his son's lack of creativity. Blackmail works so much better.

The two Gryffindors hesitated. "What should we do? We can't leave her here!"

"I don't know, Ginny. She seems to be rather content. They're snuggling. I think I'm going to be sick." Creevy was going to pay for that comment, Snape vowed as he gripped his wand tighter.

"They're naked Colin! She's his student. We...it's wrong."

"I don't care if it's wrong, we shouldn't be here. Why are we here?" Creevy whined quietly.

'You should have thought of that before breaking and entering damn brat.' Snape thought in response.

Weasley rolled her eyes and in an exasperated tone began to explain, again, why they were where they were. "She didn't come back last night and Harry isn't talking to Ron. Whenever the trio splits like this something huge is happening, something bad."

"Yeah, the something bad is the image of Snape naked burned into my corneas. Can we go now? She's not getting tortured by Deatheaters, there aren't even any chains on the walls. Where are the chains? I mean, this is Snape's room. I would have expected human heads in jars and water dripping...this is, well, rather Queen Anne in style." Creevy slowly turned around and admired the large credenza behind him.

"Colin Creevy she's being coerced somehow! We have to help her, and I don't want to know how you identified the furniture era. That's just scary."

"Think about it Gin, if Harry didn't come after her last night, and he didn't seem worried this morning, than maybe he knows what's going on. And maybe that's why Ron isn't talking to either one of them. He knows too and he doesn't like it. There's no plot to overrun the school with giant mutant worms or something. Gryffindors' resident bookworm is just getting tired of sleeping alone. It happens to the best of them." Creevy tried to cajole the girl into going, tugging on her arm.

'Wish he would apply those brains to his potions work, he'd get higher marks.' Snape was really rapidly getting beyond pissed off.

Their voices had dropped any pretense of whispering. If Snape hadn't already been awake he surly would have been now. Suddenly, he felt the warmth next to him moving. "Stupefy." Two thuds met his ears. The warmth returned as Hermione lay back against the pillows. "Good morning husband. I do hope you don't wake up like this everyday."

Severus blinked. "Good morning. Why did you..."

"They woke me up." She seemed to think that was enough of an explanation. She stretched and turned to look at the clock. "Oh my god, I'm MISSING classes!"

Thump.

Snape peered over the edge of the bed to find an undignified heap of sheets and limbs squirming on his floor.

"Ouch."

He didn't bother to comment. He simply raised an eyebrow and yanked the sheet away from her and went in search of a mild healing potion. The child was guaranteed to be uncomfortable after last night's experimentations. Upon returning he found Hermione standing next to the bed clutching a bed curtain and glaring.

"You took the sheet."

"I like you better without it." Severus kept his face impassive as Hermione blushed and stammered for a moment.

When she smiled, Snape began to worry. It was the same smile his mother used right before she handed out a particularly nasty punishment. "In that case… Accio sheet." The sheet disappeared instantly leaving Snape shivering and diving for the other curtain. "I like you better without it too."

"You child are..."

"Brilliant but scary, I know. Ron told me a long time ago." Hermione smirked.

"I am starting to pity your friends if this is the behavior they deal with daily." he said raising a sardonic eyebrow in return, the effect somewhat diminished considering he was clutching a bed curtain.

"Don't feel too bad for them. Neville was on the receiving end when I earned that comment. They know not to provoke the person who taught them most of their hexes." She was smirking at him even harder.

"I will ask later. What are we going to do with them?" Snape had started to struggle into a set of robes as Hermione gathered her scattered clothing from both rooms.

Hermione glared at the prone forms of her two housemates. "I suggest we prop them up in the hallway. Eventually someone will Enervate them. I also recommend you take an enormous amount of house points."

"You have a cruel streak, Hermione, and the points will come from your house." Snape smirked, just maybe they could survive this ordeal.

Hermione huffed. "They woke me up."

"You said that already."

Hermione glared. "I'm sore, tired, hungry, and confused. I'm sure I'll feel bad about this later. I'll apologize then." Snape shook his head and stifled his grin. He handed her the potion. She studied it for a moment to figure out its contents than drank it. "Thanks." He ignored her and went to finish dressing.

Now completely clothed the couple levitated the intruders into the hallway. Snape took pity on them and put a delayed Enervate on the two. They'd wake up in around 15 minutes. He deducted a round 100 points from EACH. He considered Obliviating them but figured it was pointless. The school would know soon anyway, with Hermione moving in. He might as well spare himself the effort of informing people and let the two idiots spread the word through the rumor mill. Snape thanked the gods the Creevy boy had left his camera in the tower.

Severus watched Hermione begin to riffle though Weasley's robes. She pulled out a parchment and quickly tucked it away before he could see it clearly. He thought it looked remarkably similar to the parchment the Potter boy had plagued him with in his third year. Whatever it was Snape had a sneaking suspicion it allowed the user to bypass wards and passwords. He made a mental note to get his hands on it as soon as possible.

Leaving the two interlopers slumped against the wall, they headed by unspoken agreement towards Gryffindor tower. Hermione needed a fresh set of robes. Snape wondered why they hadn't thought of it sooner, like last night.

Not only had they missed breakfast, but lunch was almost in session. The tower was empty except for the 5th years who should have been in potions class. They scrambled out of the way when they saw Snape enter the Common Room. The whispering started when Hermione motioned for him to follow her to the 6th year girls' dorms. Severus was starting to wonder what he was doing going with her. Surely the child could dress herself. They reached the room just as Winky blinked into it.

"Oh Mistress Snape, Winky is moving your things to new room now." The elf stared nervously between the couple.

"That's all right Winky. I can do it myself later. Thank you though. I just need to grab a fresh set of clothes before I go to lunch." The house- elf started to cry and clutched the bed clothes.

"Winky is sorry. Winky no mean to upset Mistress. Headmaster say Winky is to move your things..Winky sorry. Winky is bad elf. Winky never find a family.." The small creature started to sink to the floor sobbing violently. Snape cringed. The thing was pathetic.

Hermione looked at Snape desperate for a way to pacify the small thing. Snape ignored her silent pleas for help and crossed his arms. He really just wanted out of the tower. Especially out of the GIRLS DORM.

Hermione looked trapped. "Oh Winky, I didn't realize the Headmaster sent you. I thought I ...taking you away from the helping someone else. If you really want to you can move my things. I'll just grab a robe and..."

Winky almost tripped herself trying to help Hermione find the right set of clothes. She was bowing and thanking the 6th year throughout it all. Hermione was flushed with embarrassment and kept trying to get Winky to call her by her first name. She ended up with a compromise, Miss Hermione. It was the best she could do.

Hermione finally managed to change without taking either of her companions with her into the bathroom. Snape could tell she hated to leave the house- elf to move her things alone, but Winky was appallingly happy to be of service and Hermione was obviously hungry. They left the tower as speculation spread about what was going on.

The Great Hall was just starting to fill as they entered. Ginny and Colin were there, sitting quietly at the Gryffindor table ignoring everyone. They both jumped and paled as they saw Snape and Hermione enter at the same time.

Severus was startled when no one gapped at them. By the dynamic duo's reaction the two idiots hadn't had time to spread the gossip yet. Or they wanted to talk to Hermione first. Snape was starting to think the voices in his head were more trouble then they worth, they kept supplying alternative reasons for Gryffindors behaviors, at this rate they would start to defend Potter. The one sounded like Lucius, which Snape could deal with. The other one bore a remarkable resemblance to James Potter, Severus shivered.

Hermione separated from Snape and went to sit next to the two trespassers and Snape headed to the high table. He watched as his wife pulled out the parchment she had taken earlier and handed it to Weasley. The girl visibly relaxed and started questioning Hermione. Creevy choked on his pumpkin juice when Hermione rubbed her left wrist. Snape felt his right answer. The invisible bonding bracelets transmitted the sensation .

Weasley's reaction, to what Snape could only imagine as Hermione's outing of their marriage, was less pronounced. She squeaked. By the look of things his wife had given the two a full recounting of how she had ended up in the current predicament. Being pureblood Weasley had a larger frame of reference than the muggleborn Creevy. When Hermione met his eye she gave a small negative nod. She hadn't told them all of it then, just enough to explain how she ended up married and most likely her true name since it could no longer be kept a secret. The three Gryffindors broke off their talk as more of their house piled in.

Snape was the first of the Professors to arrive, but others were quickly making their way to the table. Albus came in and winked at Snape. Severus felt his stomach drop, again. This couldn't be good, whatever was going to happen he knew it would be embarrassing and at his expense. And Albus was going to love every second of it. The man really was sadistic.

Lunch at Hogwarts was always informal with people coming and going at random intervals. Classes would get out early or run long and students would use the time to study or write home. Severus watched as the majority of his 6th year Slytherins filed in after Draco Malfoy. Draco looked him in the eyes and smiled. Now Snape knew he had to worry. He wondered what on earth Lucius had told his son.

The young blond sauntered up to the Gryffindor table, which was now about half full. The 6th year Gryffindors where only now entering, their DADA class had run over. Draco calmly approached Hermione. The whole room stopped what they were doing and turned to watch. They could smell a fight. Books and cups crashed when Malfoy smiled politely to Hermione and offered his hand. Loud enough for the whole hall to hear, he spoke. "Welcome to the fold cousin."

Dead silence reigned as Hermione coldly extended her own hand and shook his. "Thank you, cousin. I hope this will mean a truce between us."

Draco smirked and glanced towards the high table. Again Draco pitched his voice so it was clearly audible for everyone present. "Shouldn't you be sitting next to your husband?" That was it, he would get the little Dragon for staging this. Pain was in order, serious pain.

McGonagall had walked in just as the confrontation began. She looked at Dumbledore in confusion. The old man stood. "Yes Lady Penwrath. Please join us. I'm sure you would much rather spend your first meal as a married woman with your husband." A chair suddenly appeared between Snape and Lupin. The werewolf was having difficulty processing the information. He kept looking back and forth between Hermione and Snape. "Penwrath, husband?" He asked Minerva in a quite tone. She shook her head. She was just as confused as he was.

Snape relished the mixture of shocked and astonished looks on the staff and students' faces as Hermione reluctantly stood and made her way to him. The last of the missing Gryffindors watched from the door as she moved to sit down. Potter made a show of glaring at her and the Weasley boy looked ill. As Hermione sat the food appeared. Snape watched her pale as the voices in the hall rose to a deafening volume as rumors flew. Malfoy and Potter were both mobbed for explanations. Snape watched both of them try to explain, Potter keeping as much of Hermione's life private as possible. Draco was calmly charting her lineage on a napkin for his housemates. Snape could only fear what spin both boys would put on things. Potter was obviously gathering sympathy for the poor abused girl while Malfoy was expounding the virtues of a good solid political marriage, the reuniting of two old Slytherin families. It made Severus lose his appetite. He was having trouble figuring out who he wanted to hex more...

"Severus?" Minerva questioned in a warning tone. Snape inwardly cringed while leaving his face impassive. The woman could be a real harpy when she wished. And Hermione was her prize student. Severus turned to Dumbledore and silently begged him to extradite his favorite Slytherin spy from certain hearing damage.

Albus took pity. "Minerva, would you call a staff meeting for this evening please? I believe I need to explain a few things." Confused she agreed.

The rest of the day passed with Snape taking up his classes against the headmaster's wishes. Hermione had also insisted on going back to her normal schedule. Snape hoped she could avoid the questioning stares and manage to concentrate. 'Uncle' Soren had been deemed healthy enough to leave sometime that morning. He hadn't even tried to talk to his niece.

During supper it finally happened. The event Snape had been half dreading and half anticipating.

"Why did you do it Hermione? Couldn't you trust us? We were your friends."

"Were Harry? And don't you think I wanted to tell you? Do you think I liked lying to you?" The golden trio were standing in the entryway to the Great Hall. Hermione's eyes were flashing amber again as she fought with Potter.

"Yes, I do think you liked it! That's all you've been doing lately, lying. You sent that article to the Prophet didn't you." Harry accused.

"I would never..." Hermione huffed loudly in indignation.

"You're no better then Wormtail." Harry bit out and Snape almost hexed the boy. He knew the fight was staged, but that was low.

Hermione was starting to cry. "I would never, Harry! You're my friend...I once thought...I'm sorry Harry. I never meant to hurt you. I didn't have any options." Snape silently applauded her acting skills. She made is sound like she had loved the boy and left him. She also gave the impression that she just MIGHT have leaked the article. Her sobs were dead on too.

Potter sneered at her. "There are always options. Get away from me MRS. SNAPE. Or is it Lady Penwrath? What should we call you, your majesty?"

Snape was impressed with the scathing tones from the boy. He never knew Potter could get that nasty to anybody but him, and perhaps Draco. Hermione was openly bawling now. She turned to the Weasley boy. "Ron, you don't think I'd do something like that do you?"

"I don't know what to believe about you anymore. And here we defended you and you never told us." Weasley seemed to be less angry then he had been during lunch. He seemed more disappointed than anything.

Hermione turned to the other Gryffindors left watching. "Ginny…Colin?"

Ginny glared at her brother. "Oh Hermione, we don't hate you. Right, Colin. Colin?"

Creevy snapped too. "Uhm. Right. We understand...well not really. But we'll try." He gave a small nervous smile.

Hermione sobbed even harder and launched herself at the girl. The smaller Gryffindor caught her and gave her a quick hug. Potter and Weasley turned and left. Severus started for his seat but at Minerva's look sighed.

Dumbledore came up behind him. "Severus, go to her. You don't need to be at the meeting tonight. I believe you know what will be discussed. I'll have dinner sent to your rooms. I think Hermione needs to be elsewhere at the moment."

Severus, at Albus' not so subtle request collected his wife from the Weasley and let her lean on him during the trip to his chambers. As the door closed he felt her relax. He quickly moved away from her before he asked his question. "Are you alright?"

Hermione cringed. "No, that was the hardest thing I've ever done." Snape looked skeptical. "Believe me or not Prof...Severus it's up to you. Faking a fight with your best friend in public and letting him accuse you of being a trader is hard. Then having your other best friend shun you for real..."

Snape blinked in surprise. "Weasley wasn't in on this?"

Hermione shook her head no. "He has been so mad at me since I explained about Great-grandfather and the bonding I couldn't trust him with the truth right now. Ron is a bit hot headed. He could let it slip and we can't afford that. As a matter of fact there is a lot Ron doesn't know. He was not in the infirmary fourth year when you showed Fudge the Dark Mark. Harry didn't know I saw it till I talked to him about it later. Neither of us told Ron. Harry and I figured you were a spy, but Ron would not have reached that conclusion. He would have done something stupid and gotten you killed."

Snape nodded and smiled a bit in gratitude. "Thank you for not sharing that information with him then. Did you..."

Hermione shook her head. "No, we never told anybody else about your role either. Harry was in Dumbledore's pensive once and he saw him defend you at the trail for Karkaroff. That's how we knew for certain you were spying."

Snape eyed her critically. "I find it strange I never questioned how you knew I was a Deatheater and working for the light."

Hermione let out a nervous laugh. "This weekend has been so rushed I think it is understandable you took such a thing for granted. After all, I ended up at wand point outside the Headmaster's office. If I didn't know before I would have figured it out after you reported to him."

Snape nodded once more. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently. Suddenly, two plates of food appeared on his side table. They stared at them. Out of nowhere a large orange ball of fur leapt up and ran off with Snape's chicken.

"Crookshanks! Oh, you bad cat you. I haven't even introduced you yet and you're snatching his dinner. Really, how do I manage with you?" Hermione scolded the animal.

Snape waited as Hermione chased the animal down and got clawed on the arm for her efforts.

"Severus this is Crookshanks. Crookshanks meet my...husband." The cat looked Snape up and down than jumped out of Hermione's arms to sniff him. Severus had the sudden impression that whatever the cat decided would be of vast importance from the way Hermione was watching it. The animal at last appeared satisfied and began to rub against his leg. He resisted the urge to kick it.

Hermione let out a breath she had been holding. Snape gave her a questioning look.

"He trust you. He's a very good judge of character. He spent all of third year trying to eat Scabbers, errrr Wormtail."

That mental image made Snape pet the creature. It purred.

The evening went by in relative ease. Severus left Hermione to her own devises and went to his office to mark essays. When he returned he found his wife sprawled on the floor by the stove with a mountain of books and parchment surrounding her. She was lying on her stomach and her legs were bent up into the air and crossed at the ankles. She was swinging them back and forth as she hummed a tone. Snape peered over her shoulder and watched complex arithmancy equations unfold on the parchment.

When she felt his presence she jumped, startling Crookshanks. "Oh, prof...Severus. Did I make to much noise?"

He shook his head. "No child. I finished marking and I came to see how you were doing. I hope you can get use to the quiet of the dungeons after the common room." he said in a mild tone.

Hermione smiled warmly. "Actually, I am rather enjoying not having to help everyone with their homework. Neville is always pestering me for answers. And I have to constantly nag Ron to get him to do anything. Harry needs pushed too." She paused, a guilty look crossing her face. "I should go make them do something..." Her eyes opened wide in realization and her mouth hung open for a moment. "I can't can I? I have to keep pretending to hate them."

Snape touched her shoulder. "Only in public, child. I will make sure Potter can spend some time with you soon. And if Weasley regains his senses we will work something out for him as well. Perhaps I should just give you all detention together. I have a few cauldrons that need attention."

Hermione's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare!"

Snape smirked. "You may be my wife, but you are still my student. Give me cause and you will find yourself spending your free hours scrubbing burnt liver out of cauldrons." Hermione shivered and started to glare but decided it wasn't worth the effort. He was right anyway.

Snape picked up the parchment he had been looking at earlier. "Isn't this a bit beyond 6th year?"

"Professor Victor gave me an advanced project this term. I finished the 6th year book in the middle of last year and have gotten half way though the 7th year curriculum already. I really find Arithmancy to be fascinating. The way the numbers play off one another, the flow. Its, well, its magical. I can get lost in the equations. And you know it's not that hard. You just have to be patient and let the numerals work..."

Hermione went on for a quite a while. Severus stopped listening after the first few minutes. He never had enjoyed the subject. He was good at it, but he never cared for it. Much like Hermione appeared to be in potions. She was capable of brewing anything given the correct instructions, but her passion lay elsewhere. As Snape watched her, her eyes glazed over and her cheeks flushed. She was excitingly pointing out things on the parchment and referring to numerous books she had borrowed from Prof. Victor's private collection. The child lost him entirely when she began to furiously scribble a new thought down. It seemed like the extra project was theoretical work and quite advanced. Far beyond 7th year Snape thought. He realized that the girl had found her life's passion in the numbers on an Arithmancy scale. He smiled.

"What are you smiling about?" Hermione asked, her head cocked to the side studying him. "You know you should do that more often, smile without smirking or taking house points, it makes you look younger."

Severus shook off his temporary stupor. "I was smiling at you. You seem to be very content with your numbers like I am with my potions."

She nodded this time. "I feel free when I'm working like this. Thank you for listening to me. Harry and Ron can't stand to sit there as I work though problems out loud. Sometimes I just need a living sounding board. Crookshanks helps, but I like having a human."

Snape smiled softly. "I am more than willing to be your sounding board. Provided you do the same for me when I find an impasse in my research."

Hermione grinned and gabbed her husband's hand. "Agreed, a partnership of open ears. Even if we lose one another on the actual technicalities. I noticed you spaced out somewhere around when I started compensating for the quantum flux of the subatomic particles in relation to the gravimetric fields surrounding the..." Snape's eyes glazed over and Hermione let out a sigh. "Never mind."

Snape shook his head in bewilderment. "What does all that have to do with Arithmancy anyway, Hermione?"

Hermione pulled herself up into lecture mode and Snape cringed realizing he was likely to see it all to often. "Arithmancy, as you know, is using numbers to predict the future. The simplest form uses a person's name and a corresponding numerical chart for the letters. But that only gives a basic flawed outline. To really get an accurate reading you have to take everything into consideration, the changes in season, the effects of childhood trauma, what foods they eat regularly. Every event changes the future. Not to mention time is effected by physics just like matter. That is how wizards can time travel. We have discovered the link between the movement of electrons and the flow of time. But it is not exact, there are still forces we do not understand at play. By using muggle quantum theory I hope to prove that gravity is effecting that movement. Basically speaking, one subatomic particle is pulling on another like planets and moons in the galaxy. That pull is warping the path of the particles, thus shifting the flow of time making all our readings slightly off mark. Normally that shift and subsequent reduction in accuracy is so small the error isn't noticeable. Especially on small things like predicting what is for lunch tomorrow or next Sunday. But when trying to figure out what will be Voldemort's next target there are more variables. The more variables the more room for a shift and the greater the probability of error."

Snape stared at her in shook. "You are working on predicting the Dark Lord's actions?"

Hermione beamed. "Yes."

Snape snorted. "I wish you luck, I've been trying to do that for decades."

Hermione sighed. "I will need it. By the time I figure out what I'm doing I'm afraid the war will be over, one way or another."

Snape scowled. "The war never ends, only the players change."

Hermione sadly agreed. Snape looked at the clock and realized how late it was. "We should retire for the evening."

Hermione agreed and they both uneasily changed and went to stare at the bed. Snape was the first to break the silence. "I could transfigure the couch to be larger if you'd be more comfortable."

Hermione shook her head and sighed. "No, I think we can do this. Your bed is huge; I'll just stay on my side and you on yours."

Severus was slightly relieved. He had liked the warmth of her presence that morning and selfishly wanted it to be there when he awoke the again. The Lucius voice in his head said he also hoped that he'd get to repeat last night again sometime soon. The voice of James Potter started up the pedophile chant again. Snape just ignored them both and after a brief fight as to who got which side, the couple was settled in bed.

Severus made sure the clock would wake them up in time the next morning, neither one relished the thought of missing more classes. He shifted the orange fur ball that had taken up residence between him and Hermione. He gazed at his wife as she said some muggle form of prayer and closed her eyes. He didn't understand the child. She would go from being self-confident, like with the Arithmancy, to being an utter wreak like after her fight with Potter. Snape wasn't sure how much of her reaction to the argument had been acting for the crowd and how much was real. He suspected the latter had been more the case. She had so few friends he realized. She never talked to anyone other than Potter or Weasley and occasionally the younger red head.

Snape stopped trying to analyze the child as sleep started to claim him. His last thought was how nice it felt when Hermione rolled up against him and the cat moved to the foot of the bed. He really never cared for fur.