And it was not lost on Hermione that Harry's greatest fear, it seemed, was being rejected by her. That whispered delicate things to Hermione's fractured heart, teased it towards a chance to be soothed. That was not something to be overlooked wantonly. She suddenly realised, with a shock of understanding, why Harry was so keen to keep his distance ... he didn't want to frighten her. Even by his absence he was trying to take care of her. It softened Hermione's light frustration towards him, made her sensible of Neville's sage warnings from the night she arrived. But she had never been so anxious to find him, to make him know that seeing him was the very start of her own healing process ... and to indulge that fanciful idea that, as long as Harry was with her, he would be alright.