School seemed to settle into her routine fairly quick and Hermione soon found her days absorbed with school work, studying and her Head Girl duties. About two weeks in she started to feel under the weather, but pushed it off to how much she had on her plate. She only managed to devote one evening a week to active work on her potions project and would be too busy trying to formulate her base potion to really talk to the professor when she was at the lab. Most of her work on the project was done in the common room with Draco after her homework was finished for the evening. Draco spent most of his free time studying. As he had sadly predicted, his house had all but abandoned him as word spread of him defying his father. Hermione refused to leave him to face it alone though, and was often seen in his company whenever her schedule permitted it. She had a row with the boys about it and things were tense now that they viewed her as "fraternizing with the enemy". She had heatedly told them he was not the "enemy" and until they could get their heads out of their arses they could just keep their distance. They would talk to her as long as Draco was not around, but as soon as he would appear they would make themselves scarce.

Draco seemed to grow closer to her, filling the void the boys left, and she welcomed the companionship. She had even happily taken him on as a potions partner when the class started due to no one wanted to be partnered with him. At the moment she was in the Friday session of Double Potions, finding it hard to concentrate. She had been tired more than usual and queasy on top of it all. As she worked on mincing beetle legs for the day's assignment she found herself fighting back a wave of nausea.

Draco looked over at her, concerned. He knew something was not right, but couldn't figure out what. "Is something wrong?" He whispered softly to her as her mashed one of his ingredients with a mortar and pestle.

"I think something I ate didn't agree with me," she whispered back, glancing up front to make sure Professor Snape was not paying attention to them. He frowned at her and she tried to give a half hearted smile as she gathered up the beetle legs and leaned over her cauldron to add them to her brew. The steam rose up from the concoction and hit her square in the face, the smell making her turn green and her stomach flip-flop.

He watched a look of panic pass her face and was about to ask her if she was alright when she clasped a hand over her mouth and bolted from the room, knocking her stool over in the process. The other students looked up from their work at the commotion and Snape's eyes snapped over to their workstation.

*~~~~~*

Snape had been watching her covertly for the last couple of weeks, wondering if she was sleeping alright, if she was coping well. She had appeared to be her normal know-it-all self, still eager to out perform all the others in her class and stay on top of her studies. It was only in the past couple of days he had really noticed the signs of fatigue and the way she would look apprehensive about handling certain potions ingredients. He had even witnessed her sniff at her pumpkin juice that morning and then push it away in what seemed like distaste. Now she had just bolted from his classroom looking as if she was going to lose her lunch and there was no way he could go and check on her. "Mr. Malfoy," He drawled, inflecting irritation into his tone. "Please go check on your partner."

He watched as his godson hurried from the classroom to go find his other errant charge and wondered what was going on.

*~~~~~*

Draco stood in front of the girls' lavatory door for a moment, at a loss as to what to do. Finally, he pressed his ear against the door and listened for sounds of movement. After a moment he heard a commode flush and then the sound of a tap turning on. He knocked timidly on the door. "Granger, is that you?" He called out.

She appeared in the doorway a moment later, her face flushed and slightly damp as if she had just splashed water on it. "Sorry Malfoy," She offered a weak smile. "Didn't want to ruin our workstation."

"Are you okay?" He asked, fighting the impulse to check her for a fever.

She sighed at him. "I'm fine. I've probably just been pushing myself too hard. Come on; let's get back to class before I manage to get you in trouble as well." She straightened her robes and pulled her hair back, twisting it into a messy bun and sticking a spare quill from her pocket through it.

Draco gave her a hard look, but in the end just nodded and escorted her back to class. There was no point in arguing with her, he realized. She would only talk about it if she wanted to. They walked back into the classroom to find their potions boiled down to a tar like paste at the bottom of their cauldrons due to lack of supervision. Repressing a sigh, he bent over and retrieved Granger's stool from the floor. He was still bent over when he heard his godfather issue a detention to Granger in a sneer. He vanished the potion from his cauldron and began again, knowing his godfather had not really needed to assign the detention to her. The assignment had been a two lesson brew and if she had pushed herself, she still could have had it turned in on time. He could only hope that maybe during the detention he could figure out what was wrong with her.

*~~~~~*

Hermione felt like death warmed over. She pushed off studying for a nap and at dinner morosely pushed her food around her plate, not really eating anything. She once or twice caught a glance of concern from Ron and Harry while she sipped a cup of hot tea, but neither spoke to her. As dinner came to a close, Malfoy approached the table, sending her former companions into duplicate scowls and having the effect to make them vacate the table.

"Come on, Granger." He said, holding out a hand to her. "Maybe some fresh air will do you some good."

She accepted his help up and squeezed his hand briefly before letting go. The pair walked out of the great hall, making their way towards the grounds.

From across the hall a pair of onyx colored eyes watched their interaction and tried to convince himself the tightness in his chest was concern and nothing more.

*~~~~~*

They found themselves walking around the lake as the sun set. She found the fresh air did do some to alleviate her nausea and felt herself relax slightly. They found a tree and sat down, watching as the giant squid surfaced and began to lazily splash his tentacles in the fading sunset.

Draco sat Indian style and Hermione stretched out in front of him with her head resting in his lap. She had idly picked a flower and he watched her twirl it as she hummed softly, seeming not to have a care in the world. As he watched her, he was pulled into her little scene; feeling like the rest of the world had melted away. Part of him wondered how he had got so lucky. He knew long before his father had approached him he would refuse the dark mark and had expected to face a difficult life or death from his choice. The result had been the stuff of his wildest dreams. He felt so grateful to have Hogwarts and his Godfather and then to have Hermione as a friend on top of it all… even though he found himself wishing for more. He began to play with a lock of her hair and realized she was talking about her potions project, asking for an opinion on something.

"What do you think?" Hermione asked, then frowned slightly when she got no answer. She looked up from the flower she had been twirling, and found a distant expression on the blonde's face. "Draco?" She said, seeming to break him out of his thoughts.

He smiled at her sheepishly. "Sorry. I was wandering there for a moment."

Hermione pretended to act offended and huffed, drawing his attention to her lips which she puckered in a fake pout. "I still want to know what you think. It's important."

Draco could not tear himself away from her lips. He no longer control of himself as he leaned downward, a part of his mind trying to calculate for the fact that she was facing an opposite direction and it maybe awkward. Awkward and yet unavoidable. He was drawn to her like a niffler was drawn to gold. "You want to know what I think?" He said softly as he leaned closer. "I think sunsets pale in comparison to you." He moved to close the gap between him but found his face buried in the pale blue flower she had been playing with. Hermione scrambled from his lap before he could protest and stood up laughing, her face flushed.

"You're such a kidder Draco. Everyone knows I'm the resident brown mouse of Hogwarts." She smiled at him and he realized with a sinking feeling the moment was over. "Come on," She said. "I have to get back to the castle for detention."

Draco sighed and schooled his face not to show his disappointment. "Yeah. I'll walk you down to the dungeons."

*~~~~~*

The walk to the dungeons seemed to take a small eternity to Hermione as she concentrated on slowing her rapidly beating heart. She told Draco goodbye and slipped into the classroom, leaning heavily against the door once it had closed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind of the jumbled emotions that were plaguing her.

"Miss Granger."

Her head snapped up to find her professor staring at her with a look that almost resembled concern. "I'm sorry sir." She apologized. "I have not been feeling all that well."

"Obviously." Snape replied. He beckoned her forward to a lab table at the front of the class and noticed there was a covered tray sitting on it. "Sit." He instructed. Once she was seated he surprised her by grabbing a stool and pulling it over to the table and sitting opposite her. "Your detention this evening Miss Granger will be to eat a full meal." He lifted the lid on the tray to reveal a bowl of potato soup with a small roll and a pot of fresh tea.

Hermione looked up from the tray, confused. "I don't understand sir."

"I am observant in class and at meals, Miss Granger. You have not been eating and you have been extremely sensitive around potion ingredients."

"I just have a stomach bug." She protested.

"How long?" He snapped, and she was startled by the anger she heard in his tone. "Have you had a fever?"

"No. Just nausea and fatigue for the past week." She answered, genuinely confused. He stalked around to her side of the desk and yanked her up by the arm, sending her stool crashing to the ground. "What are you doing?" She shouted, fear and panic in her voice.

He pointed his wand at her abdomen and muttered an incantation she could not make out. The tip of his wand flared blue. She stood frozen to the spot as a murderous expression filled his face and with a growl he released her and turned, picking the teapot up off her tray and hurtling it at a wall, smashing it. "Dammit!" He cursed, panting as he stared at the mess of broken china and spilt tea.

"Please, Severus… just tell me what is wrong…" She reached out to touch him when he did not answer and he flinched from her contact and whirled around to face her.

"How can they claim you are the brightest witch of your age?" He yelled. "You're pregnant, you daft girl!"

It took a moment for his words to sink in and she sagged against the edge of the table feeling like she might collapse. "What?" She whispered in shock.

"I'm such a moron!" He snarled and turned away from her. "I was supposed to care for you. I treated your injuries and never even thought to give you the potion to guard against conception!" He paced away from her in his anger, his robes whipping around him.

"Wait," Hermione snapped out of her daze at his words. "You aren't at fault Severus. I should have remembered as well."

"What condition were you in to be level-headed?" He thundered at her. "You had just been-"

"Stop!" She screamed at him, fear evident in her tone. "Don't say it!"

Snape wanted to ignore her. He wanted to scream at her, strip away the shelter she had built around herself, make her face what was happening. He opened his mouth, but closed it as the anger rushed out of him at the sight of her. She stood with her hands curled into fists at her sides, shaking. Tears poured down her face locked in a grimace of agony. His heart lurched in his chest. He wanted her to see reason, but he couldn't bring himself to hurt her. He turned back to the wall he had smashed the teapot on. "Repairo." He muttered softly as he pointed his wand at the pot. Once it was back in one piece he retrieved it from the floor and placed it back on the tray. With a flick of his wand he set the tray to levitate and walked over to her, wrapping an arm around her. His hand swept outward and after she had looked at him for a moment she allowed him to herd her through his classroom to his private study, the tray floating behind them. The tray was deposited on the coffee table and he directed them over to the sofa where he sat down with his arm still around her. A minute ticked away on the mantle clock and they sat silent, Snape unsure of what to say. A hiccough stirred him from his thoughts and he turned towards her. Her face crumbled as she lost what little hold she had on her emotions and she started to sob outright, burying her face into the front of his shirt. Snape pulled her closer and held her silently as she cried for the cruel twist that fate had delivered her.

Eventually she calmed and excused herself to the bathroom to clean up. While she was gone, he summoned an elf and had the tea replaced in the pot. With the soup reheated by a wave of his wand, he retrieved a vial from his lab and sat it down next to her soup. She came back out and joined him on the couch, looking more composed. He motioned towards the tray and wordlessly she began to eat the soup. After she finished half the soup she nibbled on the roll and stared at the vial. "What is it?" She asked.

"A nutritional potion similar to muggle prenatal vitamins. You need extra nutrition considering your lack of appetite and… your condition."

Her lips quirked slightly at "condition". She thought to herself how only Snape could consider pregnancy to be a condition. She uncorked the vial and downed it quickly, noting the taste of honey. "It's sweet."

"It's supposed to not irritate your stomach." Another silence fell between them where Snape stared at his hands. "I'm sorry for my behavior earlier." He said quietly, still not looking up at her. "I felt I failed you." He was startled when she reached out and grasped one of his hands. He looked up and found her smiling at him with tears in her eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You took care of me and held me while I cried. You did everything to comfort me and kept my confidences. Most of all, you still respect me."

His heart twisted at her words. "You foolish girl," He found himself whispering as he reached up and wiped away a tear that was trailing down her cheek. "You could never lose my respect." They stared at each other for a moment than he cleared his throat. She took it as a signal to release his hand. "What will you do?" He asked, trying to clear the conversation that felt too intimate for his liking.

"I'm not sure, but I have about eight months to figure that out."

"You're going to carry it?"

"I don't believe in abortion." Her hand lifted as if she would place it on her stomach but she hesitated, her hand hovering above it. He watched as she dropped the hand back to her side. "I don't know if adoption is an option considering who the father is."

"Don't tell me you are going to tell him."

Hermione scoffed at him. "Of course not. How do you tell someone that was obliviated that they are going to be a parent?"

The comment hung in the air and Snape lost control of his mouth once again. "Do you love him?" He cursed himself silently for not having better control.

"In a way." She replied vaguely.

Snape was getting ready to argue for his name again when she yawned, making him aware again of how fatigued she looked. "You need sleep."

"I am rather tired. Must be the emotional rollercoaster I've been on this evening."

He stood up and walked off into his bedroom. He found the pajamas she had worn the first time she slept in his chambers and as he pulled them from the drawer she entered the room. He handed them to her and she smiled. With a roll of his eyes he gave a mock scowl and pushed her towards the direction of the bathroom. She paused before she walked in. "What will we tell Draco? He'll worry I didn't come back."

"We'll think of some excuse in the morning."

She gave another small smile and left him to change. He took his turn after her and then went over to the bed, folding down the emerald comforter and climbing into his side of the bed. Hermione took the opposite and he accio'd his wand from his clothes and dimmed the lights so he could read without disturbing her. He picked up his book and there was a few moments of silence until she rolled over to face him. "Do you think I can lie next to you?" She asked quietly, her heart speeding up at the fear he would object.

He regarded her for a moment then reached behind him and pulled his pillow over slightly to give her some room. She scooted over quickly and curled up next to him, her face disappearing under her hair as she rested her head next to his arm. He returned to his reading, trying not to focus on the feeling of her breath on his skin. He found himself acutely aware of everywhere they touched. Snape felt her yawn and heard her mutter goodnight. Her breathing was almost tapering off when he suddenly remembered something. "You wouldn't happen to know where my favorite sleep shirt ran off to, would you?"

His pulse sped up as he felt her lips quirk against his skin. "I didn't know it was your favorite." She said in a sleepy voice. Her breathing deepened and he knew she had slipped away from him. He stared at his book for a long time, but didn't read. His thoughts were somewhere else.

*~~~~~*

An elf popped into Dumbledore's private study, pulling the aging headmaster from his reading. He had just about been ready to retire for the evening, already dressed in a midnight blue gown with a matching cap. "Can I help you Winky?" He asked the elf in a friendly tone.

"I is here to report that the potions professor has a visitor in his room. I is remembering you asked us to tell you if we knew about it. He calls me earlier and asked for tea. I could feels someone else, but I is not knowing who."

"Thank you, Winky." The little elf nodded and popped out of the room.

Dumbledore was still not certain what was going on, but he had noticed the slight changes in his professor's demeanor since he had taken to "mentoring" the two students that had sought refuge over the summer hols. He thought of how much the man had sacrificed over the years and how much he may still have to. He decided to leave it be for now. Putting his book aside, he rose from his chair to go to bed.

***Ending A/N- yea! Another chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it. Remember, muses feed on reviews ;)