A tragic night four years prior is a night that still haunts the dreams of one Severus Snape. The night resulted in the feigned death of the brightest mind in Potter's generation, a secret Snape held closely to him as a ditch-effort to appease at least one of the girl's wishes. The time has come, however, for her to rejoin the Wizarding World; the war demands her assistance.

Hermione and Severus have battled through unimaginable tragedy-capture, rape war. Through it all, they've managed to find a love neither of them ever foresaw for themselves. Now, eighteen years after the war was won, their everyday lives consist of a family they both cherish. But what happens when a presence long thought vanquished threatens that family?

A detention gone wrong. Snape unknowingly drags Hermione into a situation she has little hope in surviving, and must deal with his guilt about the torment of such a promising mind.

Hermione won't tell anyone about last summer. It's too painful for even her to cope with, how could she dump it onto someone else? A detention with Snape changes that. He discovers her summer secrets, along with a secret she's kept her whole life...

Confused as he is, torn apart by agony, Severus tries to remember...

The death of a loved one can affect so many things... Oneshot.