Hello everyone! Here is a little story that I was going to submit for the SSHG Promptfest that I never actually submitted. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances didn't allow me to be able to finish it by the deadline. But that won't stop me from posting it here and allowing you all to enjoy it.

It's rated M for a reason, people. Do not read it unless you're mature enough to deal with what's being said. If you're not a fan of SS/HG, don't read it. I will not respond to flames and will probably just delete them unless there's actually something constructive being said.

Now that all that's out of the way (I really hate having to say stuff like that at the beginning of my stories...) enjoy the story!

Hermione sat in her flat, book in hand trying to think of reasons why Severus would forget to meet her. Maybe he was caught up at work. He does often forget to eat and sleep when he's working on a potion or spell that's particularly interesting or difficult. On more than one occasion when she first started visiting his office for meals, Hermione had forced her way into his office and get him to eat despite his secretary telling her that he must not be disturbed.

If it were any normal time, she would have happily accepted that as the answer. With Lily in the picture, she couldn't help but feel like she had something to do with it. The frantic knocking at her door drew her out of her thoughts as Severus' muffled voice could be heard through the door.

"Hermione? Hermione, are you here?" Rising quickly, she went to let him in.

"Severus, are you alright?" His arms came around her, pulling her close.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-" Hermione pulled away from him, hand pressing against his chest with a frown on her face.

"What?" His brow furrowed as she leaned in again, sniffing the robes he'd haphazardly put on just moments before.

"You smell like...flowers. Is that perfume?" Her eyes flicked up to his face, watching him blanch slightly and stutter for words. Inside her chest, she felt a hole. A huge pit sucking all manner of life giving necessities from her. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Her heart felt like it had just been ripped out or worse, shattered from the inside.

"You bastard," she whispered as she pulled her arms from his grasp. He watched her stare at him, eyes wide and wounded and felt his own heart breaking.

"No, Hermione, please. Listen to me. Lily just came to talk. That's all we did. We talked." Hermione's hands came up to her head, fingers pulling at the hair at her temples as she started shaking.

"You unimaginable bastard. This is why you missed dinner? This is why you left me sitting there, humiliated and alone for two hours? So you could be with her instead?" Her anger bubbled up within her, filling up the gaping void that had developed.

"Hermione, you're wrong. Just stop for a moment and listen to me." She sneered at him, slapping away the hand that extended towards her as she stumbled over the table that was behind her.

"Why should I?"

"You could at least give me the chance to explain!"

"Explain what, Severus? I know what you did! I know you fucked her! And all this time I thought- Well, clearly I'm not as bright as everyone says."

"No, you're wrong," Severus said again, watching her rage grow with each word he spoke. He didn't know what he was refuting, the fact that he had slept with Lily or that Hermione was any less bright than what she was credited for.

"So you deny it? Please, Severus. Tell me that I've got it all wrong, that you didn't fuck her." His silence had her straightening her spine, glaring at him with all the contempt she possessed. "Your silence says enough." Hermione felt her heart pounding as he stepped closer once more, a plea in his eyes. Her hand collided with the side of his face as she pulled her wand from her pocket.

"Get out of my house."

"I want you to listen to me first. Let me explain." The air around them crackled with the magic that she was putting off, her wounded pride and broken heart feeding her powers and electrifying the air around them.

"Explain what? Explain yourself when you got here and told me that you were sorry? Explain why you lied to me when you told me that all you and that slag did was talk? Explain why you stood me up because you wanted to get your fuck in somewhere else?" She laughed bitterly. "I think your words have done enough for one night, Severus. Get out." When he made no move to leave, she forced him. With a sweep of her arm, she pushed him out of her flat and slammed the door behind him. Another quick wave and the shades on all the windows were drawn, the frames locked and the wards strengthened.

Her breath coming in short pants, she clutched her chest. With Severus gone, her rage melted away leaving broken hearted agony in its place. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes welled up with tears. She felt her knees hit the floor as a sob ripped its way out of her chest. She felt sick and frozen, dizzy and out of breath. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed into the silence of her flat.

"Hermione! Please let me in! It wasn't like that! I didn't mean-" His words ended abruptly as a silencing charm was cast over her flat, blocking out the plea that was so unlike him. That, in and of itself should have told her something of his intentions. Her pride wouldn't allow it of her.

She was falling for him, she knew it now. And she thought all this time that he felt the same way towards her. But then Lily showed up and buggered it all up. Hermione should have known, she supposed, that she could never fight a ghost come back from the dead.

She needed to get away, go somewhere that didn't make her think of Severus and Lily every second of the day and she knew that it certainly wasn't here. Within twenty minutes, her bags were packed, Crookshanks was in his basket and there was a note left for Harry and Ginny when they started looking for her.

With a loud crack, she was gone.