Hi! Sorry it has taken me so long to upload another chapter. I got married last month and after the honeymoon, my job in a cinema during the summer holidays meant i didn't have much time to look over this chapter. Sorry people!

This chapter was edited by me so i apologise if there are any grammar problems. My Beta unfortunately has been swamped under by school.

Hermione lay quietly on her bed in the infirmary. Her back ached from lying in the same position for so long, her muscles were seized and she desperately wanted to roll to her side, just to get comfortable once more. She'd forgotten she had been injured and that she was in the infirmary in a drugged up state, she just believed she was in bed after a long sleep. She started to roll over to her side when pain surged through her body, causing her to gasp in shock before a small whimper escaped her lips.

"Shh, its alright Feathers, the pain will soon go. Go back to sleep and dream of pleasant things, when you wake it will better." A soft lulling voice whispered; the voice seeming to float around her, pulling her deeper into sleep. She felt she should recognise the lovely silky voice but the hand stroking her hair seemed too pleasant and the softly spoken words of comfort surrounded her in a cocoon of security and love, she was back to sleep almost immediately.

"Why hasn't she woken up Professor?" A voice pierced through her darkness, causing her to stir before relaxing once more back to sleep. She was too tired to wake up and talk to those by her bed, she just wanted to go back to the darkness that had cocooned and protected her from the pain. She lay with her eyes closed, in a limbo of sorts, her eyes too heavy to open and she was unable to go back to sleep. She just felt unfocused.

"She has been in and out of consciousness Potter but her injury took a lot of strength out of her, she needs to regain it before she wakes. We're allowing her to wake up of her own accord, her body will know when to she is ready to." A sneering voice replied, sounding more tired than it should.

"How was she injured anyway?"

"Watch your tongue Potter. I'm still your professor and you should respect me as such"

Hermione lay quietly on her bed, listening to the two men fighting by her bed. She didn't feel like she could wake up yet, she was still so tired, the bed was so soft and heavenly so she listened quietly. She felt she should feel guilty for listening to a private conversation but she couldn't find any emotions at the moment, especially guilt. She continued to listen to the conversation and realised she had missed Harry's reply.

"It was a stray spell that injured her Potter. I don't know what you're accusing me of but even I can't injury someone when I'm not even in the same country as them." Severus replied. She could hear in his voice that he was holding himself in, resisting his urge to shout at Harry. She was shocked he had resisted to be honest, Harry was being very rude.

She heard a soft sigh and small scuffs on the floor from someone shuffling side to side. She hadn't realised how quiet it was until the two men had stopped talking. She wondered where she was staying, it was far too quiet to be the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey always tried to make the infirmary quiet but there were always noises, conversations of passing students or moaning from the other patients in pain.

"I'm sorry Professor, I'm just worried about her."

"You could have fooled me Potter. She had been in here for four days and this is the first time you have been in. Mr Longbottom has been in here almost every moment he can, even the two Weasleys have been in to check on her despite being injured." He paused and his voice lowered, "I will not mention this to her but you, Potter, can be very selfish. In your own grief, you forgot your friend who was injured following a rescue mission on your command. I hope you learn from this experience."

She heard Harry stutter and try to defend himself against Severus's harsh words.

She wondered who Harry was grieving over, she hadn't heard about anyone dying. Severus had mentioned Ginny, Ron and Neville, she couldn't think of anyone else who could have been killed apart from…She paused in her musing and gasped out loud, causing an absentminded Severus to stroke her hair in comfort. No one had mentioned Luna. Oh please don't let it be the sweet innocent Luna who was killed during the battle, she was too young to die.

She began to become agitated, her head moving side to side, moaning quietly and moving her arms and legs. She was trying hard to wake up, desperate to ask who had died in the battle at the Ministry.

Severus stood up, desperately shushing her and stroking her hair, trying hard to calm her down so sh`e wouldn't cause the injury on her chest to open up once more. "Just leave Potter, I don't know what you did but Hermione is upset. On your way out, get Poppy." He paused briefly to shush Hermione one more before turning to the frozen Harry, "NOW!" Severus watched as Harry ran off to find Madam Pomfrey before turning back to Hermione. "Hush now Hermione, everything is okay. There is no need to be upset, you are safe. I'm here to watch over you. Please calm down."

She wouldn't calm down however and had to watch with a heavy heart as Madam Pomfrey slowly fed her a small vial of calming potion. Soon her movements reduced and she fell back to sleep.

Hermione blinked slowly against the dim light of the infirmary, It was quiet and peaceful unlike the previous times she had nearly reached consciousness. She felt lighter, the pain had lessened from her chest and she could breathe more easily.

She slowly turned her head to the side, to look around the infirmary and came to a stop as she saw Neville watching her. "Welcome back." He whispered softly, disturbing the silence of the room.

"Hi." She replied with a croak, prompting Neville to pass her a glass of water to remove the dryness from her throat. She looked at him with confusion, unsure how she was going to ask the many questions that were whirling around at the forefront of her mind. How long was she unconscious? Was anyone else hurt? In the end, the first question that she asked was, "Where is Russ?"

Neville smiled softly and just lifted his head ever so slightly and looked over her shoulder. She shifted slightly and turned her head, carefully moving so she would not disturb her newly healed wound and was shocked by the sight before her.

Russ was sat in the seat beside her bed, his head leaning against the back of the chair, his hair falling to the side. His legs were stretched out in front of him and his arms hung down the side of the chair, his hands almost touching the floor. It was shocking to see him so unsophisticated, normally he was so strict and buttoned up.

"He hasn't left your side unless he was forced by madam Pomfrey. He snarled and insulted her but she maintained that you wouldn't want to wake up with him hungry and with poor hygiene. He would always be back within an hour." Neville said with a small smile, "He seems to really care for you."

"I think he does." Hermione paused before turning back to Neville, allowing Russ to sleep in peace. "Can I tell you a secret Neville?"

Neville nodded, "Course you can Hermione."

"Russ is my biological father." Hermione said with a soft smile, speaking in only a whisper. She believed the saying 'the walls have ears' when it came to Hogwarts, you never knew who was listening to private conversations.

Hermione was surprised that it took Neville only a few minutes to get over his shock at her announcement. She watched his expressions change as he thought through the repercussions' of her announcement. She read them easily, first came surprise, then shock, horror and then finally he became thoughtful. His eyes narrowed in thought, looking between Hermione and the sleeping Severus.

"At first glance, you two don't look similar. People often say how similar Harry and I look like our dads but when you first look between you and the Professor, there is no similarity. But if you look closer though; you are as pale as him, your hands are kind of the same and your brow is the same shape. Your magic as well, I'm surprised it hasn't been noticed before but they are both the same." Neville said in awe. He looked up to see Hermione looking at him blankly, unsure about what he was talking about.

"Well as a…" He looked uncomfortable before continuing, "As part of Pureblood education, I was taught by my Uncle to differentiate between people's magic. Our magic always seeps out, surrounding a person in an aura of sorts. It's normally a weak disturbance so it doesn't distract you but it's a good talent to have as you grow older as you can tell a person by their magic. If they are dark, light or like you and the professor, if they are related."

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes, "could you try and teach me?"

Neville smiled broadly, his eyes brightening and nodded, "yeah! I would be happy to pass on the skill. Its not too difficult if you know what to look for."

Both Neville and Hermione became quiet, comfortable to be side by side and not to talk. Both had been friends from the very beginning, meeting on the train as little first years. She often felt guilty how she had just dropped Neville in their first year after becoming friends with Harry and Ron. He had always been there, always there for a chat and a smile. Always in the background, always supporting and helpful.

Life could have been so different if she had remained good friends with Neville. She didn't regret her friendship with Harry and Ron but sometimes, she felt like a third wheel. Harry and Ron were best friends and she was just the big sister, nagging them to do homework and eat healthily.

She looked up to Neville and simply smiled. She didn't miss how he seemed to light up when she looked at him with a smile and she wondered how long she had missed that spark in his eyes. "Nev…Over the summer, do you fancy meeting up?"

She needed a life outside Harry and Ron, all three of them were growing up and it seemed too unhealthy to have such an insular friendship. She was unsure of her feelings at the moment but the future at the moment seemed a little brighter when she thought about meeting Neville.

Neville grinned broadly, "Your welcome to come over to my Gran's, I can teach you some of the magic I was taught by my uncle."

"Sounds interesting, I can't wait to learn but I wonder why it isn't taught in Hogwarts." Hermione said.

"Are you going to at least ask me if you can go off gallivanting?" a gravelly voice came from the other side of the bed.

"Russ! How long have you been awake?" Hermione said with a gasp, placing her hand upon her heart. She couldn't help the smile that bloomed as she saw his rise eyebrow in question.

"Long enough. I suppose you can go to the Longbottoms', I have heard enough about your Grandmother to know she will cause so much fear that you two will not misbehave." Severus said with a small laugh.

Neville and Hermione both looked uncomfortable before Neville stood up, "thank you for letting me sit here Sir. I best go get some dinner, I will see you soon Hermione." He said with a soft smile before leaving the infirmary.

Hermione turned back to Severus and was shocked by his expression. It seemed like he had been waiting until they were alone to show his true feelings. He stared at her with an intense expression, his eyes showing the fear of what he had almost lost.

"You promised I would never have to get you due to a burning bracelet feathers. I almost lost you. I saw you almost die Hermione. I only just got you back and then you almost died. For goodness sake Hermione why did you go on such a fools errand. Why didn't you come and get me? I could have helped or at least gone and found out if Black was in residence!" He was shouting towards the end of his speech but he didn't miss Hermione flinch at the mention of Blacks name.

He sighed softly, swallowing the lump in his throat and opened his arms, "Come on Hermione, I will keep you safe." He heard her softly sob and she slowly moved into his arms, curling up on his lap and her head lodged itself under his chin. He slowly rubbed her back, trying to calm her down.

"He tried to killed me Russ. I knew he hated me but I didn't think he would ever hurt me that badly. He didn't even care when he shot that spell at me, he thought I deserved it." She started to sob once more, her tears wetting his shirt. "How could he hate me that much that he would try and murder me? What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing Hermione. You did nothing wrong, he was just a mentally ill man who talked himself into a vendetta against you. You didn't deserve this, you did nothing wrong." Severus said softly, stroking her back and hair, trying desperately to calm her down.

Slowly she calmed down, the sobs stopped but when he looked down, he saw her breathing softly and thankfully asleep. Severus leaned back against the back of his chair, thankful that his daughter was safe and sound in his arms.

However, he was unsure she would ever recover the trust and unwavering loyalty she had always carried. Someone from 'her' side had tried to murder her in cold blood.

Was this the event that caused her to take the pathway down into darkness?

So what do you think? Could you please leave me a review telling me what you think?

Also i have two stories in the works and i was wondering if i could have your opinion? One story is spell gone wrong so Hermione's life is now in the 70's and the other story is when Hermione is her twenties and its a murder mystery. which would you prefer to read?

Bye for now my lovelies!