3

Part Three: A Spark.

After getting most of the information out of Poppy about what had happened after his attack, Severus was out of the pyjamas that had been given to him and in black trousers, a white shirt and a dark plum purple vest. It was painful to get dressed, but Poppy had given him the okay to get out of bed and put a sling on his left arm just to hold his shoulder in place and ease the pain. He wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to go around and make the wounds worse.

The healing was going along well. Nagini had bitten him quite viciously, and the puncture wounds had finally started forming scabs. They'd be scars for the rest of his life, but his neck was usually covered anyway. Right now, the bandage was covering it, though. He wasn't to wear any heavy material (such as his robes) as it could put too much pressure on the bruising. Poppy was fussy, but she was damn good at her work.

Sitting on the side of the bed, it was dinner time at Hogwarts. The hospital wing was empty, and had been for a few days. He supposed most people's wounds from the battle were fairly quick to heal. The only reason he'd slept so long was because of the Blood Replenishing potions and the sheer destruction of the wounds that were resilient to most healers.

Considering he was going to return to work as Head of Slytherin and Potions master, he wasn't feeling like he wanted to spend all day long in a hospital bed. No matter what Poppy was telling him, he was determined to get up and get back to work. At least to take his mind off everything that had happened.

He had wondered if he should even try and thank Harry for saving his life. He didn't only save his life, but he'd also ripped him from his lovely dream with Lily. He'd much rather be looking into her eyes than his, but there was still something urging him to listen to what Lily had been saying. That even though the war had been won, Harry still needed someone to look after him.

Why him? He frowned at the thought. Harry Potter and Severus Snape did not get along. Everybody knew this.

So what if he'd protected him numerous amounts of times? He'd done that because he owed Dumbledore, and he owed Lily even more. To come and actually like the boy? Not if he was constantly reminding him of that little prick James. But he did care… and he realised that when Dumbledore had asked him. It even surprised himself. He did care for Harry Potter, but he wasn't about to tell him that.

He let his foot fall as he'd put his boots on, his hands leaning on his knees, back straight. What if he saw Potter in the corridor? Did he really owe him a thanks? He supposed, considering he had saved his life. Not much of a life anymore, though.

Albus was gone… He'd been here to show his loyalties, and Albus had become almost like a father for him. As pathetic as it sounded, he would have followed him anywhere. He owed him his life. It wasn't like Albus made him feel any better about Lily dying, either. He'd used it as leverage to make him continue spying. And like a damn fool, he caved every time. Because it was true.

Shaking the thoughts, he gently pushed himself up. Because of the potions, it took a moment for the blood in his body to get settled, and he stood there for a moment, ready to sit back down if he needed to.

He was hit with a rather strong dizzy spell, and he leant his free arm onto the table, catching his breath for a moment. His eyes closed, his dark hair covering them as he looked at his hand, it going out of focus. But he pushed himself up.

"Severus! I said you could get out of bed, not get dressed and walk about the castle!" Pomfrey hissed as she just came from her office. She looked mortified that he was out of bed. Although he'd gotten a lot of rest due to sleeping for a week, that didn't matter. He was still injured. And though the potions were working faster now, it still didn't matter! He was injured!

Brushing his hair away, the man scowled weakly. "I am just going for dinner…" he urged coldly, looking at the woman as he finally stood up straight. He stood his ground, though, the woman giving him a rather nasty glare.

"If you're not back within two hours, I'll be sending the ghosts and elves to find you, and then I'll be tying you to the bed. Understood?" the witch snapped.

Severus merely groused, but allowed the witch to get back to work as he slowly removed himself from the hospital wing.

He couldn't take the long, hard and purposeful strides as he usually did whilst walking the Hogwarts corridors. Instead, he had to walk rather slowly as his chest and neck was still quite sore.

He brushed his arm sleeves down so that his hands were almost all the way covered as he walked, putting his one free hand in his pants pocket as he walked from the hospital wing. He needed to get back to his own quarters in the dungeons and sort out his own work for the upcoming year at Hogwarts before he'd eat dinner.

He had been told by Minerva that he should have dinner in the Great Hall tonight. Something about it would be best if he joined as announcements were being made official and he should be there to hear them. He was sure that he would be confined to the hospital bed if Minerva hadn't told Poppy this already. She had seemed to give in rather easily in his books.

He was halfway to the Great Hall when he saw the back of Potter's head. Alone? Strange. He would have figured Granger and Weasley were with him at a time like this, but nonetheless, if he was going to approach him, he'd rather it be now whilst he was alone rather than with his little friends.

"Potter," he said, though it coming out much weaker than he was expecting. It still seemed to catch Harry's attention, causing him to turn around. He stopped as he reached him, feeling rather awkward. He'd have no problem usually, saying something snarky and taking off points for him giving him cheek; however, he remembered what Lily had said in his dream. Or his afterlife experience? Harry needed looking after still. From what, he had no clue. But the least he could do was be polite.

Now, Severus wasn't one to particularly like children. He knew first-hand how nasty they could be. Sometimes he questioned why he even became a professor at Hogwarts, but then he had protection here himself (not to mention protecting Harry and serving Dumbledore), and he was very gifted in potions. He had no trouble with sharing his passion with others—as long as they could do it right. Plus, he had no other home. Spinner's End was a deadbeat Muggle town. Hogwarts had always felt more of a home than anywhere else.

Looking up, Harry was surprised to see Professor Snape approaching him. Wasn't he supposed to be resting? He gave him a quick double-over with his eyes, noticing the robes from him were missing. Usually he wore pretty covering clothes, long pants, the whole coat thing. It was… different to see him in a white shirt rather than the very dark purple or navy, excluding the vest.

"Professor…" he said, his eyes looking up. "How are you feeling?" It sounded odd coming from Harry's lips, but the last few days had been very odd for Harry all over. Getting back to what seemed to be a 'normal' life for him, the fear of Voldemort coming back to kill him gone. Of course, he still had nightmares of all the deaths he'd seen since he entered Hogwarts, but they weren't nearly as bad as they had been before.

Snape lifted a brow, motioning to his slung arm. "Getting there," he supposed. Now was the awkward part, trying to say a thank you without it seeming too… pleasant.

Sensing the tension, Harry just nodded. "It's fine, Professor," he said, not having expected anything from Snape. This was Snape after all. The fact that he'd even come out to try and say a thank you was enough for Harry to hear. He didn't want to be continuously put in the spotlight all of the time and thanked for all the good he'd done anyway.

To Harry, it just seemed natural to care. Even for Snape. He couldn't just let him die like that. Plus, he should have been thanking Snape for everything he'd done. Not the other way around.

"I'm glad I did it," Harry continued, which seemed to make the older man only glare at him more curiously. "Hogwarts lost too many already. I wasn't going to have another innocent person die for me. Especially from Voldemort."

The detest in Harry's voice wasn't a surprise to Snape any longer; however, it was surprising to hear Harry lower himself to the people around him. He figured the boy would be all up in the face of glory.

Apparently not.

Severus knew he was not an innocent man, though. His left fingers gripped the sling that his arm was in at the thought of the Dark Mark being scarred on him forever. Everyone would always know he was a Death Eater at one point in time, even if his loyalties had changed in time. He still had once been a servant to the Dark Lord.

"I hardly call myself innocent, Potter," he murmured darkly. Although Harry had never seen the mark on his arm, he knew the boy understood what he was motioning to when he moved his left arm a little.

"You saved us more than you know, Professor," Harry confessed. "I don't care if you did it for you, or Dumbledore, or even my mother. You still put your life in danger for all of us. Time after time. I should be thanking you," he said rather forcefully, as if he'd thought on this for a long time now. And he had.

He was just so tired of all the death that surrounded him. All those people and creatures that had fought for him—to kill Voldemort just so he wouldn't die. He knew it was bigger than that. He knew it was the world as well, but Voldemort wouldn't have destroyed so much if he had just given himself up so much earlier in the fight.

Snape just looked at the boy, not sure in what to say. Maybe Potter was more like his mother than he thought he was. He certainly wasn't being cocky like his father would have been about saving the world. He was giving others gratitude and recognition for their deeds. Then again, he never did see the actual battle. He'd just seen the Dark Lord's destruction the previous night before he was attacked. Everything else was blank.

"Does it hurt?" Harry asked, looking to the man's arm. "I mean the mark. Malfoy said his was gone, just a scar, but that it still felt raw."

Confused to why Potter was even asking, Snape gave a small nod of the head. "It does, as Mister Malfoy put it, feel raw," he told the young man. Though he doubted it would last much longer. He was also sensitive as he'd just woken up from being asleep for a week.

"And the bites? They're healing? Madam Pomfrey kicked me out, so I couldn't ask when you woke up."

"Why is it any of your concern?" Snape finally asked, getting rather snappy. He frowned though, realising Harry was just looking out for his wellbeing. Looking out for? Merlin, that just didn't sound right. Potter and his friends couldn't give two dunces about him, so why was he asking now?

Harry just stared at the man, eyes narrowing a little. "Because you could have died," he said, as if it had been obvious. "Never mind," he muttered, turning around.

Snape grabbed the boy's arm (much to his own pain) and stopped him, though uncertain to his own actions—those green eyes looking angrily into his own. He and Harry clearly had a nasty past, a past that the both of them could probably never overcome, but looking into those eyes made his body somewhat loosen up.

His hand was tight on Harry's arm, and he looked down to the loose clothing before returning his hand back to himself and ignoring the surge of power that he felt shared between them. "Don't think I am not thankful for one second, Mister Potter," he snapped. Although it was a compliment, it didn't quite sound like it, and he knew that, but it was the best the boy was going to get from him.

Shrugging his oversized jacket back over his shoulder, Harry just pursed his lips together, nodding. "Fine. Okay," he said, his body tingling a little from Snape's hand being against him. For a brief moment, the two just looked at one another, clearly both having felt the same pulse of angry magic that had struck the two of them from the contact.

"Anything else?" he asked, watching the man's eyes look him up and down, as if judging him.

"Why do you wear such unfitted clothing?" Snape asked, just glaring at the young wizard. He returned his hand to his pocket, making no attempt to even explain or acknowledge the electrifying pulse that had been shared between them. He figured it was just heated magic between two angry and stubborn wizards.

Harry looked down at himself, shrugging. "Why is it any of your concern?" he retorted, repeating the man's words in a smart-arse tone.

Snape felt himself stiffen in frustration. "It's not," he said as if he didn't care, his face unreadable before turning away. He stopped when Harry spoke again, though, only turning his head slightly, though still unable to see the boy.

"Nice to see you've got some colour… Professor."

As he heard Harry's footsteps turn, Snape turned over his shoulder gently to see the boy walking down the corridor. He smirked a little before deciding the dungeons could wait.

*****

In the Great Hall, Harry sat himself in his usual seat, opposite Ron and Hermione and beside Ginny. As he sat down, he felt the girl's hand lay against his, and his eyes looked down, feeling his lips twist a little.

He didn't know why, but things with Ginny just didn't feel… right anymore. They'd been dating for a while, but even the kissing seemed to be strained. He knew it wasn't Ginny's fault. Actually, it was his. He felt like the whole thing had been rushed, and he didn't really know how to go about relationships. He was rather hopeless at it.

Since he was little, he was picked on and beaten by anyone in school. The first time he'd had real friends was with Ron and Hermione. Hogwarts was his home. And now that the Dursley's had left, he couldn't exactly just squat in the house. He'd need somewhere to live for a while in the holidays.

Ron had welcomed him to The Burrow, and so he'd accepted without hesitation. He loved it there. It was magical, and, of course, he could help rebuild everything back to normal since the Death Eaters had attacked.

Hermione was doing the same thing. In fear of her parents being attacked, she'd completely removed herself from their lives, and they now lived in Australia. She would be living with Ron for as long as possible now. May as well be a permanent thing with them dating, he figured.

But that made him think about what could happen with him and Ginny. Things with Ginny just seemed hasty. He knew that she had had a crush on him since before even meeting him, and he felt that letting her down may not have been the right thing. So they began dating, and he had had feelings for her. Strong ones at one point in time. But now… Harry wasn't certain that he liked her anymore. Of course he liked her, but he didn't feel like he had romantic feelings for her.

Even when they had hugged and kissed, there was still a strain there, and he couldn't really pinpoint it. Except for the fact that he just didn't feel comfortable in a situation like that.

In many ways, Ginny was more like a little sister, and he didn't want to date his 'little sister'. He just sighed, and instead, turned his head to the plate of roast beef in front of him.

Guessing why Harry was later than the rest of them, Hermione smiled a little. "How's Professor Snape?" she asked, Harry's green eyes on her. "I saw you two in the corridor before I came here. I had to take a second look, though. I didn't recognise him without his teaching robes." She laughed a little, Ron looking at her. "Actually, he looked rather… nice. Well, despite being ill…"

"Nice?" Ron asked, a brow arching.

"Well, why don't you look for yourself?" the girl said, nudging her head to the front of the hall. Professor Snape had just made it inside, slowly sitting down in one of the seats next to the headmistress.

Despite the bandages that were clearly around his neck and the sling on his arm, Hermione thought he looked pretty good in just his vest and shirt. Of course, like always, his hands were almost covered up by the white shirt, but even so, seeing him in a lighter colour was something nice.

Turning his head, Ron saw the Potions master at the front. "Bloody hell, I guess this means he'll be teaching again."

"McGonagall offered him a position back in Potions," Harry stated, nodding gently. He looked up the front of the room and gave a light smile, remembering the odd static that had been shared between them.

After seeing Snape's memories, Harry had a bit of a different perspective on him now. Especially the memory where Dumbledore had asked if he'd come to care for Harry. Snape never really answered, but he was positive Snape didn't hate him as much as he led on. He was just stubborn and enjoyed being cruel to any Gryffindor. He was a Slytherin after all.

"It's settled, then," Ron sighed in exasperation, "I'm not coming back for my N.E.W.T's." He yelped as he felt a sharp pain hit his leg as Hermione kicked him. "What? You really want me coming back when he's teaching here again? You're mental!"

"If either of you want to become an Auror, the both of you will be coming back when school starts in September," Hermione insisted. "You can't be an Auror if you haven't passed the exams, and Potions is one of them. So suck it up, Ronald."

Ron groaned, but Harry just snickered, looking back at the professor. When he saw him take a glimpse at him, he looked away almost immediately, feeling rather awkward. He turned back in his seat and leant a hand against his cheek, feeling them warm up a little.

He didn't know what the static between them had been, and it had made him question if maybe it was something to do with Voldemort or something. Or the Dark Mark. What if it was something bad?

Maybe Hermione would know. But he didn't want to bring it up here, not with Ron and Ginny. Plus, Snape was the only one besides Malfoy that knew about the mark. And he wasn't going to talk to Malfoy. He'd grab Hermione by herself after they'd eaten. Who knows, it could have been nothing.

As the headmistress stood from her seat, all the students who were still at Hogwarts hushed and McGonagall informed them of what was happening with the school. Classes wouldn't resume for the end of the school year, and the ones who wanted to start afresh with their final year could do so on September 1st.

Hogwarts was going to be open still for those who lived here during the holidays. Some teachers would stay back, herself included, and others would go back home. A few more, like Hagrid, of course, would be staying back as well. Hogwarts wasn't just a school to many, but a home to them as well.

A few awards were handed out for exceptional bravery by the Minister of Magic himself to some of the students and teachers who helped protect Hogwarts and defeat Voldemort. Of course, Harry Potter and his friends were in the group, as well as Neville for having killed Nagini (a Horcrux). Even Snape—who seemed hesitant to even stand—was given a small medal for his courage in being a spy for Dumbledore, and his now unquestionable loyalty.

Clearly the man wasn't expecting anything, and he hadn't prepared a speech, so McGonagall said it was fine for him to stay seated as he was still injured. He seemed more than happy with that, and Harry couldn't help but feel a smile crease his lips as the professor had seemed so awkward about the whole thing. Snape really wasn't used to the attention. He'd probably skipped over the fact that he'd even been mentioned in the Daily Prophet.

Of course, there were sceptical people still out there, saying that Snape could have done better to protect Hogwarts and stop things, like the torture of student-to-student, but many people realised that he had never wished that upon anymore. In fact, it was the Carrows who had done so freely with their classes. If Snape had given away any kind of sentiment, they would have overthrown him and done a lot worse.

When the feast was ended, Harry let Ron and Ginny go back to the Gryffindor common room. He wanted to stay back a little bit. Not for any particular reason, he just wasn't ready to leave yet. He wasn't ready to go to bed.

"Harry, are you alright? You've been very quiet tonight," Hermione said, a book in front of her. Luna and Neville were still beside them. She'd noticed that he and Ginny hadn't been very close lately, but she figured Harry was still getting over the deaths that had happened. They'd all fallen quiet at some point in time in silent mourning for their friends and family, and Harry had lost a lot, and Ron had lost his brother, too.

Looking up from his plate, Harry brushed a hand against the front of his head, his dark hair flicking back for a moment to show the lightning bolt scar. "Hermione… do you know what it means when… when you touch someone and you feel, like… an electric shock from them? But… it's not just that, it… it's like…"

He didn't know how to explain it, and in no way did he want to tell Hermione that it had happened with Professor Snape when he'd grabbed him. At the same time, he didn't want Hermione thinking he was talking about Ginny either.

Closing the book before her, Hermione gave a bit of a shrug. They were both Muggle-born, so they could understand things that others might not be able to in the wizarding world. Especially a simple thing like an electric shock from metal or fabric. It was spring after all.

"It depends what it was like," she said. "I mean, it's spring here, so electric shocks can happen between anyone who touches. Especially with wearing our school robes," she explained. "But… that's more likely in the Muggle world. If you're talking about the wizarding world, a shock could mean a number of things. It could mean that whoever you touched could have a bond with you in something similar, or it could mean a spark," she said.

What? A bond? Harry tried not to seem surprised, but he clearly didn't do a good job at hiding it as Hermione asked why.

"Did you and Ginny…?"

"No!" Harry blurted out almost too loudly. He settled himself back down after he realised his voice had raised. "No, it… I wasn't asking about me," he lied. "I was just wondering about it." There was no way in Hell that he and Professor Snape had formed some kind of a bond by him saving his life. It was just an electric shock for sure. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Harry… " Hermione sighed, giving her friend a worried look. "I know that everything in the last few weeks has been hard. I know you're missing them… Sirius and Lupin," she said, putting her hands onto the table, "but things will get better. We've still got each other, and Ron and Ginny, Neville and Luna."

Despite just being beside them, Neville and Luna were stuck in their own conversation about some strange plant. Harry was thankful for that. But he scratched at the back of his head. The last few weeks had been very bad on all of them, and it probably wasn't fair on him to put Hermione through this as well. It was nothing.

He smiled. "Yeah… I know," he said.

"I get the feeling it's not really about that, though." She gave a soft sigh. "I've noticed you and Ginny haven't been… well… close the last few days. If you don't get yourself together soon, and let her in… I don't know how much longer she can take this."

Harry looked up once more from his plate. "What? Has she said something…?" he asked, both curious and shocked. Part of him wished that she had said something, though. He honestly didn't know if he really was into Ginny anymore. He didn't want to hurt her, and most of all, he didn't want Ron to hate him because of it.

Ron was his best friend. After all the things they'd been through for them to actually date, and now wanting to end their relationship? The last thing he needed right now was to lose another friend. Maybe Ginny felt the same way? Maybe it could be mutual…?

Hermione frowned, looking rather sad. "Harry… with what's happened, and with Fred's death… I think she really needs you right now, but you haven't exactly been there for her. I'm not sure what she's thinking anymore. She… doesn't really like talking about it, to be honest."

Gently shrugging her shoulders, she didn't really know what else to say. "I think that maybe the both of you should talk and sort things out, because if you don't, then I think you're just going to slowly drift apart. You don't want things to be awkward at The Burrow, do you?"

She had a point. Hermione always had a point, and they were usually good ones. He knew he'd still be welcome there anyway, if they did break up, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be horribly awkward for the both of them—and everyone else.

"Yeah… maybe you're right," he murmured, folding his arms onto the table. It was sad, really, to think of losing someone else. Not that he'd want to lose Ginny as a friend. He still liked her, he just didn't love her. He never had really been in love with her in the first place. Somehow it all just felt like a phase, like with Cho. Like everyone wanted it to happen, and so it did.

But he had had feelings for her, and he knew that. They'd seemed to come out of nowhere, though. Like all of a sudden one day he liked her. It was all so strange. He didn't want to like anyone after Cho and what happened with Cedric, and so much chaos was going on with his life that he didn't think it was possible. And yet, one morning, after he and Ginny had been talking the previous night, he realised he liked her a lot.

Curiously, Hermione perked up a little. "Why did you ask about the shock thing?" she inquired. "You do know that if this happened, if you had a 'spark' with someone, and your magic touched with this other person… it could mean something much deeper than you realise."

"Like what?" Harry asked, green eyes widening a little behind his rounded glasses. He thought she said it just meant a bond between them. Like a friendship, right? And what was she talking about magic touching? That sounded a lot more intimate that he wanted it to.

"Think about it, Harry," she almost shouted, though her voice still soft enough so she didn't grab anyone else's attention. "If your magic sparks with someone else's… what else could that possibly mean?"

When Harry just looked at her dumbfounded, she rolled her eyes and gave a rather exaggerated sigh. "It means your inner magic has found its match!" she pushed. "Even Muggles believe in soul-mates, Harry. Well, in the wizard world, it's more intimate than that. We have certain strands of magic in us, and those strands can be very powerful. Sometimes when people meet, or something pulls them together, their magic can latch onto each other's. They've made a bond. An… intimate bond, if you get my drift."

What!? Okay, now Harry was certain it was just an electric shock that had happened between him and Professor Snape. If it was anything intimate… that was just… NO! No, it wasn't anything like that! Professor Snape was older than him! He was a professor! He was… Just no. That was wrong! Not to mention he was a guy!

Feeling his heart thump into his eardrums, he felt a shiver go down his spine at the thought. Voldemort, he could take on any day rather than this. This… confusion! No, it was nothing. Like he said before, it was just an electric shock. It couldn't possibly be anything else.

"I see…" he murmured as he tried to gather the chaos that was flying around in his head. He leant back, unable to even look at the head table to where he knew Professor Snape was still sitting. Instead, he tried to act rather casual about the whole thing, as if he were generally interested.

"So, has that happened to you and Ron?" he asked, "I mean, the whole magic connection thing." Maybe turning the subject onto Hermione would make her more comfortable about talking freely of it instead of suspecting him of anything else.

A little surprised, the witch sat back a little. "No, but… I wouldn't expect it to," she laughed. "These things usually take a long time to form, Harry. Only on the off chance, just like Muggles, is it love at first sight. Just the same with sparking your magic. Usually it forms later on in the relationship. And sometimes not at all. Just because you don't spark with your partner doesn't mean you don't love them and want to spend the rest of your life with them," she made clear.

Feeling as if he'd almost offended her, Harry apologised softly, but she seemed to shrug it off like it was nothing. Truth be told, while Ron and Hermione were cute and all together, Ron was still a bit of a daft headed boy.

"So it can happen to anyone? Like… two girls? Or two guys?" he asked curiously, his hands going together in front of him. He picked up a piece of dessert and ate it as casually as possible. Though he put it down when Hermione gave him a strange look.

"You really don't know much about the wizarding world, do you?" she laughed. When Harry just looked at her with a confused facial, she went on to explain. "Muggle and Wizard customs are completely different, Harry. I know, I was quite shocked when I read it," she sighed, "but while the Muggle world doesn't come to terms with same-sex couples, the Wizard world has been rid of that since… forever!"

What? So… relationships between same sexes were completely normal in the wizarding world? "Then… why haven't I seen it before?" he asked curiously. "I mean, it's not hard to see some of the relationships around here. People are snogging in the corridors all the time," he laughed.

Hermione gave a knowing laugh. "Harry, it's all around you, you're just choosing to ignore it. It's fine, you didn't know, you probably were just ignorant to it. A lot of Muggle-borns are. But if you look closely, you'll see it. There's some girls in Hufflepuff that are quite fond of each other, and then I know there's two boys in Gryffindor."

"What!? Really?" Harry's eyes seemed to widen even more at that. Had he really been so ignorant to that that he didn't even realise there was a same sex couple in their own house?

"Blimey…" he murmured, shaking his head. He never was good with the whole romantic thing. Even with Ginny. But what could anyone expect from a boy who lived in a cupboard for eleven years of his life and who had only started getting friends when he joined Hogwarts?

"What else have I missed?" he asked, shaking his head lightly. He wasn't completely stupid, he knew how things worked. Although he had no parents to teach him about what this stuff consisted of, he was still a teenage boy. He found out by himself, not to mention overhearing conversations by others. Plus, he slept next to Ron in the common room. Although they'd never spoken directly about it, Ron had older brothers who likes to tease him about Hermione.

Hermione flushed a little. Although she was quite professional when she got on topic, this was a conversation she didn't exactly wish to be the one to tell Harry in.

"Maybe you should talk to Ron about this. He's a boy… it… might be easier," she said.

"Right… yeah… sorry about that," said Harry, feeling his own cheeks burning. He didn't realise he might have been putting her in such an awkward position. "Alright, then… I… Should we get back to the common room?"

When Hermione nodded, they both stood. Half of the students had already left the hall, so he figured it was time to get back to the dormitories anyway.

He rubbed his arm as he remembered the sharp twinge that had come from Snape's hand as they'd touched, and before walking from the room, he looked up to the teacher's table, Professor Snape's dark eyes on his own.

Immediately, Harry turned away as he felt an awkward heat rush through his body. He really needed to get some sleep.