A rather dramatic turn of events indeed! H.x

Severus sipped is his breakfast coffee, two hours earlier than he would usually divulge, just for something to do. The sun hadn't risen yet, the only light in his crowded living room-come-library came from the dying embers in the hearth.

Hermione and Severus had gone to bed the night prior with innocent intentions of getting an early night. The hubub of the trial had been exhausting for both of them. Yet Severus lay there, listening to Hermione drift off to sleep, waiting for his own peace to come. It never did. After 2 hours of enduring the sandman's teasing, Severus decided to get up, for fear of disturbing Hermione with his tossing and turning. 

Lucius's trial had been a kick in the balls for both himself and Hermione, but it was a blow that he suspected they had both expected. Severus had known that the chance of Malfoy's charges being dropped was slim to none, but it was still a shot to the chest when The Minister had announced his sentence. Narcissa's cries would haunt Severus's dreams for nights to come (provided he did actually get to sleep). 

What haunted Severus more, was the thought of what would happen to Hermione after he was inevitably sentenced to a life in prison. He would tell her to move on. Severus knew better than most what it was like to spend a lifetime in love with someone who was unattainable. He couldn't imagine Hermione suffering for him as he had done with Lily. However, Severus hypothesized that the impossible witch was unlikely to give up on him - she had a soft spot for sorry-cases. She was his little bleeding-heart Gryffindor and he wouldn't change her for the world. 

He wanted to leave her everything he had. It was an immensely sad truth that there was no one else Severus could give it to. Perhaps Draco, but Lucius had ensured his son's financial security. No, Hermione would benefit from the gift of his assets more. He didn't particularly care what she did with his house and money, he wouldn't be around to see it. 

Severus knew he was thinking himself into a migraine, but was unable to stop. 

____

Hermione greeted Severus sleepily, when she finally rose just after 9. There was still sleep in her eyes and the imprint of the pillow on her face. She shot him an accusatory glare. "Good Morning. You haven't slept have you?"

Severus was still sat in his arm chair by the fire, drowning in his ponderings when she had emerged through the living room door. He avoided her eye, the same way he used to avoid Minerva's gaze when he was in trouble at school. "No." 

"Severus-" Hermione began with a warning tone in her voice.

"I don't want to talk about it." Severus dismissed her, rising from his chair and taking his empty coffee mug into the kitchen. Hermione followed.

"Is this about yesterday?" She insisted, clearly having ignored Severus's previous comment. 

"Hermione, I said I don't want to talk about it." He groaned, beginning to get irritated. 

The witch huffed. "Fine." 

Severus hadn't made breakfast for Hermione, like he had become so accustomed to doing since she had been taken into his care. Instead, she stretched on her tip-toes to reach the lonely box of cereal that he kept on the top shelf of the cupboard. He didn't attempt to help her, instead he watched as her T-shirt rose to reveal her lower-back. 

"I'm going to Diagon alley." Severus announced. 

Hermione whipped her head round with a smile, her hand digging deep into the box of cereal she had retrieved. "Brilliant, we can go to Flourish and Blotts. I wanted to get-"

"You miss understand me." Severus growled. "I am going to Diagon alley. You are staying here." 

Her jaw snapped shut and the grin faded off of her face. Hermione stared at Severus. He met her eye for a moment, before spinning on his heel and heading back into the living area. 

"Severus wait!" Hermione stuttered, completely thrown by his behavior. She chased after him, hugging the cereal box to her chest. He ignored her, throwing his cloak over his shoulder and exiting the house in a rather dramatic fashion. 

As the door slammed shut, Hermione fell onto the sofa completely clueless about what had just happened. She rubbed her eyes, begging her sleep-laden brain to made sense of the last 10 minutes. Promising herself that she would interrogate and berate Severus later, Hermione dug her hand once again into the crumpled cereal box that she was still holding. 

____

Hermione was feeling utterly helpless. She was sprawled on the sofa, having a one-person pity party.

It was the first time that she and Severus argued (although it wasn't a real argument) since they had gotten together. Despite him not telling her, Hermione had a good idea of what had upset Severus. It was understandable that he would be concerned about his upcoming trial, especially after the events of yesterday, but she wished that he would talk to her. She was blaming herself for his attitude.

Her own emotions were churning like waves on the side of a cliff. All she could see was dark skies and thunder ahead and it was terrifying. She was a young woman, barely out of Hogwarts, trying to clear one of the most renowned Death Eaters of his charges! She felt stupid for even trying!

But Hermione considered... no one else had even made her feel the way that Severus did. When they had spent the night together, it was like the world was all sunshine and roses. She had floated on a cloud of serenity as she fell asleep in his arms, afterwards. She didn't want to lose any of that.

Merlin, it was hard to believe that he was the same person who had insulted her teeth in her fourth year. 

It was even harder to believe that Draco was the same person who had bullied her for the last 7 years. She wondered if she would ever get an apology off of him, or if he even felt bad about it.

No sooner had the thought of the youngest Malfoy crossed her mind, had the fire flashed green and his face popped out.

Speak of the devil...

"Is uncle Severus about?" Draco asked. 

Hermione sat up. "No, he's gone out." She said unable to hide the deflation in her voice. 

The face in the fireplace raised an eyebrow. "I'm coming through anyway" 

Hermione groaned, she wasn't exactly in the mood for company, but she knew that Draco could probably use some. He looked disheveled when he emerged from the flames. His shirt was stained and the pungent whiff of alcohol seemed to be following him. Draco collapsed carelessly into Severus's arm chair. The bags under his eyes hollowed out his face and made him look even paler. 

"You look like shit, Draco." Hermione stated bluntly. 

"Thanks Granger." He said, rubbing his forehead. "So where is the old bat?" 

Hermione shrugged, trying to give off the vibe that she didn't care. "He's gone to Diagon Alley. He didn't want me to go, wanted to be alone." 

To her surprise, Draco grinned slyly. "He hasn't stopped being a bastard then?" 

"I'll let you figure out the answer, yourself." Hermione lay back down across the sofa and fiddled with her hair. "How's your mother?" 

"Dreadful. She's locked herself away in her bedroom." Draco said. 

The atmosphere was a somber one. Severus's front room was dull at the best of times, but there was a slight warmth to their mutual suffering that was begging to be kindled. There was nothing better than having a good trauma dump, in Hermione's opinion. Although, she wasn't exactly sure whether she and Draco were "that" kind of friends. 

"Did you sleep last night?" Hermione asked, eyeing Draco suspiciously. She suspected he had stayed up all night, drinking his father's expensive whiskey in a desperate attempt to sooth his pain. She wasn't far from the truth. 

"No."

"Neither did Severus." Hermione admitted.

There was an uncomfortable silence in which neither of really knew what to say. Hermione swallowed by the thought of Draco spending his days alone on his father's estate, with his mother shut up in her bedroom. Draco would need time to grieve his father, but he also needed friends - something he seemed to be lacking. the fact that he had tried to seek Severus was a good sign. Severus ought to be there for his godson. 

The fact that there was a possibility that Severus could meet the same end as Lucius even more complicated. Hermione didn't think she could save both Draco and Severus from oblivion. 

Draco sighed. "Look Granger. I know my father wasn't a very nice man. He was lousy, manipulative traitor, but he was still my dad." 

"I never said anything!" Hermione defended. The truth was she was itching to start an argument with someone, just to ease her Severus shaped frustrations.

"You didn't have to!" Draco sounded exasperated. "There are people out there who think my father got off lightly. The truth is, we all knew it was a miracle that they gave him a reduced sentence." 

Hermione nodded. "I know."

"I don't feel as sad as I probably should do." Draco hung his head.

"Don't feel guilty for not feeling more upset, Draco. Like you said, we all saw it coming a mile off." Hermione comforted. 

"Except my mother." Draco added. 

Hermione rubbed her face. "Severus has taken it hard, too. I think he hoped that if they were lenient with your dad, they would be kind to him." It felt odd to be admitting her suspicions out loud. Particularly to Draco Malfoy of all people. But there was no one else that Hermione could confide in - not when Harry, Ron and Ginny still had 7 year old reservations about Severus. 

"Uncle Severus has more people on his side than my father had." Draco pointed out. "He's got Dumbledore's memories. Dumbledore was the Joan of Arc of the light side - the Ministry have to believe him. He's got war-hero Potter making a character statement. You know Potter could ask to be the next Minister for Magic and Shacklebolt would probably hand him the position? And he's got you, you're basically the Princess of Gryffindor"

Hermione laughed. "Shut up Malfoy!". 

Draco and Hermione talked for at least an hour, unloading burdens they couldn't unload on Narcissa or Severus respectively. God forbid any of her school friends saw the scene, they might have thought they had stepped into alternate reality in which Granger and Malfoy were actually being kind to each other. Hermione had brought out tea and biscuits, which Draco had devoured long before Severus stepped through the front door. He eyed the scene suspiciously. 

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" He asked. 

There was no evidence of what Severus had been up to. He had returned exactly as he had left. After removing his cloak, Severus made to sit on the sofa, shoving Hermione's legs aside without a word. She huffed at him. 

Draco smirked. "Your witch and I were talking about you."

Severus looked between Malfoy and Hermione with a raised eyebrow. Hermione rolled her eyes. 

"Draco came to see you. But you had gone out." She said with particular emphasis on the last half of her sentence, just show him that she was still mad at him.

"What can I do for you?" Severus asked. If he noticed her meaning he didn't acknowledge it. 

Draco shrugged "I wanted to see if you were okay? I know my father was your best friend."

Severus paused for a second, obviously not expecting his Godson to actually be concerned about him. They had never exactly been familial with each other. Hermione would have given anything to use legillimency to see into Severus's mind.  

"I'm fine." He said

"You don't look fine. Granger said you stormed out on her this morning." Draco accused, clearly not backing down.

Severus gave him a stern glare. "That's none of your business."

Draco snorted. "What are you trying to hide, Uncle Severus?" He had a knowing look on his face, like they had been in a similar situation before. "If you're lying to Granger, if you hurt her! I swear it'll be the end of you." 

"Cease your prattling!" Severus growled, becoming irate. "There are things I would like to discuss with Hermione. Alone." 

Hermione had only been spectating their conversation. The proverbial lights were on, but indeed nobody was at home. Her mind was a whirlwind of unanswered questions. Severus had never been evasive or given her any reason to be suspicious. His old life had be shrouded with mystery. Perhaps old habits truly did die hard. She seemed unable to help herself as she spiraled into insecurity, a fire fueled by unanswered questions. 

Tuning in at the sound of her name, she interrupted the growing tensions. "Maybe you should leave, Draco."

The blonde rose from his chair and straightened his clothing, but it made no real difference to his crumpled state. "It's been a pleasure, Granger." He nodded at Severus. "Until next time."

Draco stepped into the fireplace and disappeared with a flash of green. 

Hermione turned to Severus, crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. He gave her an equally challenging look that lasted less than a second. Instead, Severus slapped his hands on his thighs and stood. "Well. If were going to talk, I think we're going to need tea."

____

Severus returned with a fresh tray of tea, his stomach felt like and torrential storm. He hadn't been this nervous around a girl since Lily. Aside from a few brief moments of anxiety that Severus supposed came with being in a new relationship, he had never been afraid of doing anything with Hermione. Just the thought of approaching Lily  would often cause a chain reaction of vomiting and heavy sweating that was uncontrollable - particularly in their final years at Hogwarts. Severus theorized that part of his problem was that Lily had been unable to detach herself from Potter at the time, and trying to flirt with one's enemies girlfriend was an entirely illogical thing to do. 

No, Hermione was filled to the brim with beauty and kindness, so much so that if Lily Evans were alive she could not hold a candle to Hermione. But she was also a woman who knew her own mind, and rarely did something she did not desire to do. Severus feared that she would soon decide that he was no longer worth her time, in fact, he suspected that she might even walk away from him one day. 

The thought made what he was about to suggest increasingly unjustifiable. 

Severus took his usual seat in his arm chair, and looked at the witch lounged on his sofa. "I suppose you want to know why I ran off this morning."

"No actually, I thought we were here to discuss the weather." Hermione said sarcastically. 

Severus rubbed his forehead. "Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be." He began to pour out the tea. Black for him. One sugar and a drop of milk for her. He handed her the mug before continuing. 

"I went to Diagon Alley, because of something Lucius mentioned yesterday. Do you recall that he told Draco that he was leaving him all of his assets?"

Hermione stared at her tea. "It seems stupid. Lucius will be released in 15 years. Its not like he's facing a death sentence."

Severus shrugged. "It isn't that stupid, when you consider the reasoning behind it. Ordinarily, Draco wouldn't be able to access his estate until Lucius died. A lot can happen over the next 15 years. Draco might marry and bear children-"  

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I simply have to tell you. Draco is gay." Hermione smiled. 

Severus gave her a tired look. "I know that Draco's gay. That doesn't mean that that he can't settle down. I digress, I went to Gringotts to discuss my assets." 

Hermione sipped her tea, but didn't comment. "I may live meagerly, but I do have a decent sized collection of gold in Gringotts from my years of teaching. I see no point in money rotting away in some underground cave, while I rot away on a rock in the middle of the North sea."

"Severus-"

"Don't argue with me about this Hermione! It's my money, I have the right to do what I want with it." Severus countered her interjection. 

Hermione scoffed. "I see that you have already made a decision. Anything I have to say on the matter would be moot. 

"Moot indeed." Severus sat deeper into his chair. "I did, however, run into a little snare. 

It didn't take long for his meaning to dawn on Hermione. His tenseness and his avoidance made so much more sense now. The goblins at Gringotts had denied Severus's request. She was not related to him by blood, nor were they betrothed. They would see no legitimate reason for the transfer to take place.  It was a sticky situation indeed. 

Hermione knew exactly what he was going to do. Bloody stubborn git! He was going to suggest they marry, so that their accounts be combined. It was ridiculous. She didn't want to get married just so that she would be entitled to money. Hermione wanted Severus to propose when the time was right. He wanted him to ask for her hand in marriage because he loved her. 

"No!" She preempted. 

Severus growled. "Don't be so obstinate. It makes perfect sense." The tea tray shivered as he carelessly set his mug down.

Hermione furrowed her brows. "It makes no sense at all. You plan on marrying me on the off chance that you get sentenced to a life in Azkaban! Then what? I'm to remain married to a prisoner and rinse his bank account?"

"You could re-marry! Take my money and my house and be happy!" Severus insisted.

Hermione turned her face to hide her tears. "I want to be happy with you! Do you think I'm trying so hard to keep you out of Azkaban for the good of my own health?" 

Severus felt a deep sadness. He knew the situation was impossible. Didn't his little witch understand that he wanted to ensure her comfort and safety? He couldn't bloody-well do that from inside a prison cell. 

"I haven't given up, Hermione! Of course I will continue to put every ounce of my energy into proving my innocence! I want to be a free man, but they were unkind to Lucius. I simply want to ensure that the woman I love is well cared for.

Hermione was stunned. 

"What?"