"I've found it." Harry had opened a trunk at the foot of one of the cots that we lined up in the small room that was possibly meant to be a study of some sort. The entire house reeked of sweat and decaying food. It almost made him gag just being there.

"I found something too, " Luna had found some of the items that had been removed from her house. A few of her clothes, two sweaters, a skirt and a pair of socks. She was still digging through the pile when a noise from the main room jolted them all.

Ron, who'd been keeping a look out grimaced and held up 3 fingers. Fenrir Greyback was one of them. The other two who were with him looked completely knackered and had started to shuffle towards one of the cots.

"Do you smell that?" The man hadn't taken two steps into the doorway before coming to a stop. He sniffed the air again slowly turning his head so as to locate the smell.

"It always smells in here, you wet dog." One of the Snatchers fell down onto the cot with a deep groan.

"Not that," Greyback snarled coming in a bit further, "I smell a girl...and something else."

The other snatcher grumbled as well picking up some girl's underwear from the floor beside the couch he'd fallen onto and tossed it at Greyback. It was clear that neither of the other two had any desire to go hunting down the smell. The man growled and swatted it away before turning his eyes out over the room. He sniffed the air again but suddenly found the scent gone. His eyes narrowed dangerously before closing the door behind him.

Harry already had Luna through the small window by the time the door shut, he tapped Ron's arm for him to follow. The red-head backed away carefully from the door leaving as it was before turning to follow after.

oOo

Hermione felt heavy, heavier than normal. Her cry had exhausted all the mental and physical energy she had in her system. Snape had held her through it all. It was odd, but she had actually felt comforted by his embrace. He had carried her, she remembered because her head had fallen into the crook of his shoulder. She remembered he smelled like books and lavender. He had sat her gingerly down into a chair that also smelled of parchment and something else her brain hadn't readily identified. He'd disappeared after that and she'd closed her eyes for just a moment.

When she opened them again she could feel a warm hand massaging her throat. She rolled her head a little as a light tingling ran down her nose and into her throat. Her brow furrowed and she pried open her eyes to try and see. The first thing she saw was a crooked nose, the next were eyes focused on whatever task he was performing. She felt the lightest pressures against her nose and leaned her head back to try and see what it was.

"Be still, this won't hurt." Snape was trying to feed a tube through her nose. He had hoped she would've remained asleep but his time in the lab creating a nutrition potion seemed to had taken up all the time. He'd scanned through the medical text and had tried a few new diagnostic charms over her while she had slept.

The first revealed that her mind was still active, more than active, it was hyper-aware even when she rested. A state brought on by her fight or flight response. A subsequent assessment had revealed that her chemical balance was completely off. She was severely deficient in vitamin B12 and her epinephrine levels were through the roof. Her body had been fighting itself possibly since he found, her leaving her suffering the symptoms of severe stress disorder. It hadn't been an encouraging find but the book he'd found had supplied a wealth of information.

"Why...?" Her voice felt tight and the tube in her throat made her feel as though she needed to swallow but the numbing he'd placed over the area made it difficult to do so.

"You need vitamins." He pursed his lips when she turned her head away. It hadn't looked like she'd made it very far with the meal he'd given her before she had decided to redecorate her room with it.

Hermione blinked slowly trying to bring him into focus. Her body felt odd but her mind was even worse. She could feel a pressure inside like someone was holding her head in a vice. Her skin too felt incredibly itchy but her arms were too heavy to properly obey her command.

"Just try and stay still... you'll feel better in a few hours." He pulled her wrist gently from her cheek and back into her lap. His eyes searched her face to try and see who was with him.

"Itchy..." She swallowed through her word, making her voice come out like a whine, her eyes finally catching his for the briefest of moments.

Snape furrowed his brow when he saw the yellowing around the white of her eyes. He took her chin gently into his hand and brought his wand down to bring more light. Her eyes were puffy too, possibly from her crying but he couldn't be sure. "Does your lower back hurt?"

"Mmm..." Her head rolled slowly with affirmation.

Snape frowned even deeper. He shifted on his feet and moved her arms away from her right rib. He pressed his fingers in gently, "Does this hurt?"

"Yes..." She hissed and tried to shift away from his hand. She didn't understand why he was asking all these questions. Surely he'd seen the rashes on her skin?

Snape pushed himself up with a sharp hiss. He may have done more harm than good with all the potions he'd been giving her. His own creations were much stronger than anything she would have had before. He hadn't taken into account her heritage before giving her things that were obviously well overdosed for her small frame. He could have kicked himself. He needed to clear her system.

Hermione felt him push away then. Her eyes tracked him for only a few steps before they closed again. Her last thought before succumbing to the void would be long forgotten by the time she opened her eyes again. This man, her teacher, was truly one to be trusted.

oOOo

"That was close..." Ron sighed heavily dropping down Hermione's bag.

"Too close, but we got what we came for." Harry pulled the map from his back pocket. "We need to form a plan, maybe we can get Hermione out before classes start tomorrow. That way you don't have to put yourself at risk anymore Luna."

Luna just gave him a soft smile and sat down at the table, Ron had let her stow her clothing inside the bag before they'd all made a run for it. They'd disappeared into the high fields before aparating back into the forbidden forest. She was just thankful to have anything of hers again.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry spread the map out over the table and all three of them leaned over to see.

"This is an impressive piece of magic Harry." Luna leaned forward just a bit, the markings that made the map as powerful as it was were glowing softly behind the black ink that had come to the surface. She'd never seen anything like it. It truly was something amazing.

"Thanks...my Dad made it..." Harry cleared his throat a little before shifting the map open just a bit more.

They could make out the teachers all in their various rooms. Their footsteps and names fading in and out from time to time as they moved. Harry unfolded the map a bit more and flipped over the section with the headmaster's office. The headmaster's rooms weren't as explored as the rest of the castle and just like the other private rooms held only a small box to denote their place.

"There!" Ron's finger landed hard under Hermione's name. His heart pounded heavily in his chest as he realized where she was. She wasn't in the office but rather in the headmaster's rooms. They all watched Snape's footprints come closer before stopping right in front of Hermione's name.

Ron pushed himself away from the table and nearly tripped over the bench in his haste to get to the bag. He dug through quickly and pulled out the mirror, "Show me, Hermione Granger. Projektas maxima."

Everyone took a few steps back as the projection faded into place. The table in the center bifurcated the image with Luna and Harry at Snape's back looking at Hermione in the chair. Ron hastily came around bumping into Harry in his haste to see. Snape had something between his fingers, something round and small.

oOo

"Suck, don't swallow." He waited for her to open her mouth before placing the small lozenge on her tongue. His fingers tingling uncomfortably from the contact with her lips. "This will keep your mouth from going dry and help your throat."

Hermione nodded her head, using her tongue to shift the candy into her cheek. She was already feeling better. It was easier to keep her eyes open and move her hands. Her mind still felt a little foggy but it seemed to be starting to clear.

"Do you know what this is?" He held up a vial in front of her heavy eyes. He needed to try and clean some of her blood but he didn't want her to be awake for the process. Unfortunately, the vitamin drip required her to remain alert so he could gauge her mental acuity.

Hermione turned her head just a bit to look at what he held. Her brow ticked as she marked off all the things she could see just from the vial, "Draught of Living Death?"

"Right you are Miss Granger." Snape was actually rather impressed, though he'd never let it show. Most people confused the potion with the harmless Nightdrops that helped one get to sleep faster.

Hermione smiled lazily, just the corner of her lip turning up the slightest bit. "Are you...giving me a...pop quiz, sir?"

Snape snorted slightly before turning away, "I need you alert, Miss Granger."

Hermione sighed softly and shifted just a little in the chair, unfortunately, the action made her back and stomach burn from the friction. She tried to hide her discomfort but he seemed to have sensed it as he glanced away from the paper he was taking notes on.

"My skin itches..."

"Don't scratch it." He lowered his eyes back down, quickly scribbling down something that made his brow deepen.

"What's wrong...?"

Snape shook his head slightly before writing something else. Hermione watched the little vein by his temple pulse when he clenched his teeth. It was odd to watch him, so candidly. Like she was invading on something private. She'd only seen him at the front of the class, perfectly adept at whatever he'd been teaching. It was odd to see him struggle with, anything.

He grumbled low in his throat before tossing the paper he'd been working on into the fire. He summoned a fresh piece and started over. He could feel her eyes watching him and her curiosity was starting to grate on his nerves.

"I need to find a way to get the potions I've given you, out of your system while not killing you in the process." He gave her the sparsest of glances before taking to his task once more. The silence between them dragged on for a long moment before he lifted his head again just as she was about to rub her stomach.

"Before you tell me that standard healing potions don't contain enough of anything to poison you in long-term doses, let me remind you that you haven't been taking standard anything since you've been here." His eyes looked pointedly at her hand.

How did he? Hermione's brow furrowed slightly and she shifted in the chair to keep herself from scratching. The brand on her neck had appeared for only a brief second as she hadn't resisted his command. Her mind turned for a few seconds before latching onto something rather curious. Something even she had wondered about.

"Are you really...a legilimens?" Her voice felt a bit stronger but still sounded a bit tight. Her words were clearer though and that made her feel more confident.

"Yes." Snape's answer was flippant at best, his mind occupied with the calculations he was attempting to get perfectly right.

"Can you...really read minds?"

"I need full eye contact to get a clear picture, mostly I just feel whatever they're feeling and base my actions on predictable patterns." Why was he answering her at all? He snarled slightly to himself, he supposed it was easier to keep her awake if she were talking with him.

"That sounds awful." Hermione's eyes watched him sadly, not with pity but with compassion. She couldn't imagine trying to sort out everyone else's feelings all the time. It was hard enough to sort out her own let alone someone else's.

"It's not something to envied." Snape kept his voice low and his eyes away from hers. He could feel what she was feeling and he didn't want any part of being in her pity parade.

"Are...people...really so predictable?"

"It's not hard to predict what someone will do when they hate you. Aggression is biologically the easiest thing to read." He pushed the paper he was working on aside and came to his feet. "Teenagers are the easiest."

"Can you tell...what I'm feeling now?" Her eyes tracked him, she really was curious. Her mental opinion was slowly changing but her heart was always a few steps ahead of her. She couldn't imagine having to feel someone else's dislike for yourself. It was bad enough with they expressed it verbally but to actually feel just how much they disliked you. It was no wonder he was grumpy all the time.

She'd never hated him, she'd never liked him. She'd respected him as he was, it wasn't something she put a lot of effort into exploring. Until now. What was this man to her? Was he her teacher still? Could she even see him the same way after all that she'd been through? True, she couldn't readily remember everything they had experienced together but the few moments she had, well, they left her at sort of a loss.

"Tired. You feel tired." He paused for a moment glancing down at her stomach, "And itchy."

Hermione's lip quirked a bit, she had a feeling he knew exactly what she had been asking but had chosen not to comment on it. Feeling braver than before and perhaps a little mischievous, she gathered her courage but avoided his eyes.

"Let me...see your hand." Her own rose up slightly holding it out for him to take.

"What for?" He tried to look at her squarely but the little chit was avoiding his gaze.

"Just...give it to me."

oOo

"What's she doing? Why isn't she fighting him or running from him?"

"I don't think she can..." Luna's observation was soft but she pointed to the tube that was just barely visible in the projection, "He's put a potions tube down her throat." She stopped there, pointing to the vial that was just behind and above the top of the chair.

"What's that for?" Ron moved closer finally seeing what Luna had been talking about.

"She might be sick... healers give them to patients who can't eat on their own or refuse to take potions."

"He's trying to heal her?" It was Harry's turn to speak up. His eyes stopped when the lightest of marks appeared on her neck. It was brief but he was sure he'd seen it. It almost looked like a large S.

Luna hummed softly when she saw Hermione smile. It was rather lovely on her face if she did say so herself. She glanced at Ron to see if he noticed hoping that he would appreciate it as she had. Sadness filled her heart when all he showed was suppressed rage.

When Hermione held out her hand they all took a collective breath. What happened next was sure to leave a lasting imprint on all of them.

oOo

Hermione brought his hand up, her movement was slow enough that he could've stopped her at any time. She kept her eyes downcast, now having learned the secret to his power, and brought his large hand to her lips. It was a light touch, truly, barely a whisper. The skin of her lips barely brushed over the fine hairs on the back of his scarred knuckle.

"Thank you..." Hermione rose her eyes then, "For saving my life..." How was that for predictable?

Snape felt his entire body freeze in place. His hand lowered down to his side with the speed of a sloth on a warm summer day. His eyes narrowed but there was no danger inside them. Only confusion. It was easy to predict what others would do, it was something he had taken great skill to master. What he hadn't taken the time to master was learning how to process other's care for him.

He was wired in reverse. Kindness had always sparked a deep-seated anger in him. He didn't understand kindness. Not really. It was something he had at one point in his life longed for but had since given up on ever experiencing. It wasn't something he was so easily able to process. His mind too had sort of ground to a halt leaving him standing there searching her face for any answers.

Surely this was a trick, to what end he hadn't a single clue. He just knew that whatever had just happened, wasn't true. It couldn't be. The girl couldn't have really come to appreciate his efforts, no one ever had. It was like trying to put your pants on backward. You knew you were doing something wrong but you didn't understand what until they were fully on.

Hermione watched him try to process what she'd done. If it would have been anyone else she would have laughed at the look on their face. As it was, she just felt incredibly sad for having reached well outside the walls that had been placed between them. He had already started to talk to her more as an equal, answering her questions, even had a little joke. She knew she'd gone too far.

Her mouth opened but no sound came out when he turned away. His back was so straight it could have been used as a ruler. She watched him retreat to some room she'd not been in, the door closing softly behind him sounded like a cascade of bombs falling around her. Her eyes turned towards the fire then and she couldn't help but curl her knees up to her chest. She was, truly, an idiot.