"Thank you all for your attention, and a reminder to those of you who have not yet submitted them; I expect your budgets for the coming term completed before it begins on Monday" Severus Snape cast his gaze towards Sybill Trelawney who seemed suddenly fascinated with the bottom of her tea cup.

"If that is all headmaster? I have patrol rotas and timetables to distribute to the staff"

"Of course Minerva, please carry on. I have correspondence with the school governors to complete before dinner so I shall leave you to it" Bowing his head to his deputy Severus eyes around the staff room filled with professors until he found the one he was looking for "Professor Granger, if you would spare me a few moments of your time in my office once this meeting is concluded... Thank you" he finished to the room at large, nodding to McGonagall to continue as he took his leave from the staff room.

Once Minerva had wrapped up the meeting Hermione shuffled through the parchments she had been given as most of the faculty milled around chatting about their time off.

"Tut tut Granger, summoned to the headmasters office already? We've barely been back five minutes..." Hermione smiled ruefully over the timetable she had been reading, looking up to her colleagues amused expression;

"Afternoon Erick, how was your Easter?"

"Not as fun as I hoped it would be, you didn't come to the end of term staff party, I confess I had to drink an indecent amount of Pamona's home brew to chase away my disappointment. Hagrid was most put out, you were missed by everybody."

Hermione chuckled indulgently, Erick was the only professor who was anywhere near her age and consequently they had fallen into an easy friendship immediately. He had been teaching Arithmancy for the past two years while Hermione had been Charms professor for three. "Sounds like quite the party, I'm sorry to have missed it; I was unexpectedly detained"

Erick raised an eyebrow "Sounds ominous"

"Not entirely, I was helping a friend... I'll catch up with you at dinner, I best not keep the headmaster waiting"

"No indeed, I shall see you in the Great Hall"

Severus Snape signed his last letter of the day with a flourish, rolling up the parchment and setting it on his desk as a knock sounded at the door.

"Enter"

Hermione strode into the office with a smile and inclined her head in greeting; "You wanted to see me Headmaster?"

"Professor Granger, yes. Just some final matters to attend to before term begins, please come through into my study and I shall order some tea" He moved towards a portrait at the back of the office and waved her through, shutting the door smartly behind them.

As soon as they were beyond the prying eyes of the office portraits the pair stood too close to be entirely appropriate, the hems of their cloaks almost touching.

"Did you have a good Easter Headmaster?"

"I did, and you Professor Granger?"

"It started wonderfully but it all went a bit downhill from there I'm afraid"

"Ah yes I heard from Minerva that you were not at the staff party."

"Nor were you... what a coincidence" she took the final step, closing the gap between them: "Better things to do with your time I suppose?"

Leaning down Severus whispered across her lips "Better things indeed..." before he bent down to claim them.

Hermione's hands skimmed up his chest and grasped his cloak, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss, after a few moments they broke apart. Her voice was the first to fill the peaceful silence: "I missed you"

Severus replied with a low hum "And I you Hermione, but the pleasant memories of Friday night carried me through the rest of the week"

"Yes, very pleasant memories" reaching up she pressed a fleeting kiss to his lips before settling herself on one of his comfortable chairs. "And since you mentioned it, Minerva's not the only one that noticed my absence at the party."

"Your friend Professor Pickford?" he drawled from his armchair, arching a sceptical eyebrow.

"Oh don't look at me like that" Hermione laughed, launching a velvet cushion in his direction "Erick is a lovely man, and happily married I might add!"

"So you tell me" Came Severus' dark chuckle, he stood with the intent of heading down to dinner, rising with him Hermione once more closed the gap between them.

"And Erick has his uses..." She teased

"His uses?" and despite his best efforts the words came out a little strangled.

"Yes, you see with the majority of the faculty being middle aged women I find myself having my love life constantly prodded, they are convinced that I've got myself a man and are determined to get it out of me. So a bit of flirting with Erick in the staff room, keeps their attentions distracted from other romantic possibilities."

He advanced towards her slowly, her satisfied smile mirroring her own "hmm cloak and dagger, I like it... Very Slytherin of you"

"They believe me so enamoured with poor Professor Pickford that they would never dream that I might be carrying on with the Headmaster"

"Carrying on are we?" His hands settled around her waist bringing their bodies flush together.

"Oh I do hope so..." laughed Hermione as they drew together for another protracted kiss. Before there was much time to progress however Severus pulled away.

"I'm afraid we will be late for dinner if we continue" He paused to admire her flushed face and swollen lips "Perhaps you ought to floo to your chambers and leave from there. It wouldn't do if you were to be seen emerging from my office in a state of advanced Dishevelment"

She gave him a mock bow and said in an amused tone "Of course not my dear Headmaster" and with a final kiss pressed to his cheek she walked to the fireplace and was spirited away from him with a flash of green.

Thanks for reading, this will be quite a long story but I will be posting short chapters so I can update frequently – let me know your thoughts!