Diclaimer: Harry Potter is not my property and I make no profit off of this story.

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Severus Snape laid in his bedchamber one night in late January. He had just finished iving Dumbledore his usual report. Voldemort was becoming suspicious of his loyalities. Every report was even more important then before. He got fed up of thinking about tonight's envents and leapt up from his bed. He stalked out of his chambers and headed towards the one place that, even when he was a student, brought him comfort, the astronomy tower. He was careful to keep his mask up in case a student or one of the other proffessors ran into him.

Thankfully, he didn't run in to anyone at all. Once he opened the doors to the tower, he allowed his mask to drop. Walking over to the edge he sat down and swung his feet down, thinking about how complicated and intricate his life had become. The intense swell of emotion made him sob to himself. He was only thankful that no one could see him, the 'greasy git' in this state. Oh, how wrong he was. He didn't know how long he sat there, when he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. Turning around he saw the last person he expected to see, with tearstreaks on their face as well...

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Hermione sat on her favorite spot in the astronomy tower. She always came here when she needed to destress, relax, think, or just be alone. She could sit and look to the stars for some kind of guidence. She sat thinking about what had occured today. Harry and Ron had decided that she wasn't good enough for them anymore. Ginny, of course, had stood by her boyfriend on the issue. All of the members of the DA had abandoned her as well. It wouldn't have hurt her as much, if she had not just become an orphan recently. Her parents had just died in a car accident a few days ago. She only wanted to die at the moment. She, the perfect know-it-all, wanted to curl in a dark corner and die. She didn't know how long she sat there, but she really didn't care at this point. She heard the door open and hudled further into a darker area of her corner. She heard the heavy footsteps cross the floor, followed by heartwrenching sobs. She stood up and walked quietly, so the person wouldn't hear her, to give them privacy. She couldn't help but stop in her tracks as she saw who the figure sitting over the edge of the tower. To say that she was surprised to see her proffessor in such a state, would be an understatement. She couldn't help but feel for him. She walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder hoping to convey comfort.

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Severus couldn't help but wonder,why she was comforting him with tears on her own face. He could not help thinking that tears were not suited for her face. He lifted his shaking hand and placed it on top of hers; he resumed looking out the tower, at the evening sky.

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Hermione didn't know what possessed her to place her hand on his shoulder. All she knew was, she did and he had accepted her comfort. For some reason, it meant a great deal to her that he would accept her comfort. Maybe it was because, now all she needed was someone's acceptence and companionship, that was denied to her by the people she thought cared about her.