Remus drank his tea patiently in his small drawing room, flipping through his 5th year's essay papers. Every few moments, he glanced at the clock and noted the passing time. Eight o'clock. Eight fifteen. Half past. At a quarter to nine, he cleared away the papers and other clutter, putting up his tea things.
At eight fifty-five, he took the old, armless chair from the corner and set it in the middle of the room, facing the door. Setting his wand within easy reach, he sat down and waited.
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Severus Snape felt the burn in his stomach long before he was willing to register the pounding of his heart against his ribs. He stalked on, making a freshly-selected prefect run down the corridor in fear. Peeves floated alongside him, cackling a rude limerick and blowing raspberries in his ear. Pressed with a sudden urgency for time, Snape didn't even bother with a threat of the Bloody Baron, his scowl deepening as his dark mood turned black.
Somewhere in the distance, the clocks chimed nine o'clock. Snape swore hotly under his breath. Tonight of all nights! It was Friday- the night in which he brewed potions for Poppy's cabinets. Tonight- the first Friday after the new term and all the little 1st years weeping and sniffling for their mummies, expecting some comfort from their head of house that never came. Tonight- when Dumbledore had insisted on an after-supper tea. Tonight- now that he had an appointment, fate had decided to mock him with distraction. No sooner had he set himself in with a glass of brandy did he notice the piece of parchment that had been slipped under his door. But by then, the only way to have made it on time would have been to Apparate, if only it were possible.
The last stroke of the clock had long since faded into the distance has he arrived to his destination. Had he been a reflective, patient man, he would have stopped and searched for a proper excuse. But as it was, he did not expect and simply scorned the idea of mercy- had said as much upon the first night.
Not even allowing himself to draw in a nervous breath, he entered.
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From his chair, the loud bang of the door startled Remus, but he didn't dare show it. Snape burst into his room without bothering to knock, not even glimpsing at Remus as he began to quickly disrobe.
"I would have appreciated more warning," Snape spat, hands jerking with unnecessary harshness at the suddenly stubborn fastenings at his neck. "A note under the door hardly suffices. Too easily over-looked."
Remus nodded, not saying anything as Snape began unlacing his shoes.
"And a Friday of all nights as well! Even you should know better." Feet now bared, Snape took to work at his cufflinks.
Remus nodded again, flicking his wand towards the fire casually. The flames leapt higher, warming up the room. He crossed his arms over his chest, studying Snape as he finally removed the outer garments and set to work on the under-dressings. "If I were the more suspicious type, I'd say that all of that elaborate dress was meant to stall our arrangement."
Snape fixed him with a scowl. "As I said before, I was hardly ready." He took off his undershirt, folding it hastily yet neatly before setting it aside. "If I had more warning-"
Remus nodded once more. "I will remember." Lifting his chin, he gave a curious look as Snape worked the lacings on his trousers. "Shall I send it with the regular post then? A nice invitation that would be. 'Dear Severus. I cordially invite you to my quarters this evening at precisely nine o'clock for a proper birching. Underclothes will not be tolerated. Sincerely, Moony'. I think that would be clear enough, don't you think?"
Snape's face turned to a dull shade of puce.
"Or maybe a howler-right in the middle of the great hall, so you won't miss it. Then you'll be sure to arrive on time and ready to receive straight away."
Snape said nothing, yet his hands slowed on the removal of his trousers.
Remus grinned, flicking his wand yet again. The trousers fell with a soft hiss to the floor. Snape's eyes met his in plain fear. "You seemed to be having a bit of trouble," he said calmly.
"Have you no respect for my modesty?" Snape asked, his breath short as he approached Remus's side in nothing more than his underpants.
"Funny," Remus replied, leaning over to grab hold of Snape's hip. "I was under the impression that this display had nothing to do with your modesty, as a general rule."
Snape looked as if he were about to apply a rather scathing retort, but snapped his mouth shut. Remus flashed a hint of a smile. Even nearly starkers, the hardened professor exuded authority and control. Snape's eyes fluttered down, glancing at the expectant hand on the waistband of his underpants, sallow cheeks flushing. The gesture instantly de-aged him; reminding Remus of a sinful, willful child.
"Severus," Remus said, voice still calm. Snape met his eyes, breath shallow. "You don't have to do this," Remus offered, thumb gently caressing the skin just above the elastic. "I will understand if you don't want to go on."
Snape knocked Remus's hand away in a surge of impatience. "We agreed that you will apply discipline and I shall take it, no matter what trepidations or protests I make." Snape whisked down his underpants with an air of finality before draping himself over Remus's lap. Remus spread his legs, letting Snape wriggle into a comfortable position. "As I told you earlier this week, I have certain- needs."
"Yes. That you do," Remus said, lowering his hand tentatively onto Snape's lower back, noting the remarkable heat and flush of the exposed skin. Cocking his leg, he drew Snape's hips to a better angle. "I never would have expected it, though." His hand came up, landing a light smack to one cheek. Then to the next. "You- giving yourself up for a spanking." Remus landed a series of six barely-stinging blows, bringing up some color to Snape's skin. "It's madness."
"No more insane than being employed by Professor Dumbledore of all wizards." From above, he could hear Remus snort in amusement. Snape snorted back impatiently. "What are you doing back there?" he snapped, twisting his torso inquisitively.
"Warm-up," Remus replied, keeping the pace measured and slow; light. "This isn't actually a real punishment, you know. OUCH! PROFESSOR!"
Snape gave Remus another nasty pinch through his trouser leg. "I'm not here over your knees because I wish to have a massage," Snape spat. Grabbing as much skin as he could, he gave it a particularly nasty twist. Remus kicked his leg out involuntarily as he gave out another startled cry of pain. "Are you going to beat me properly or not?"
The question was quickly answered as he heard Remus croak out "Accio!" as Severus's hand supporting him from the floor was accidentally trampled by Remus's foot. The dull sound of a Summoned object meeting the palm of someone's hand coupled with Remus cocking his hips higher made Severus almost relieved enough to sigh in satisfaction. A gasp left his lips as the ruler cracked down over his exposed skin. He gave a shudder, allowing his head to droop.
"Is that more like it?" Remus asked, the calmness in his voice fading quickly.
"Yes," Snape hissed, almost against his own will. The surrounding winds whistled through the air a split second before another stripe of pain etched itself into Snape's buttocks. He gave a small jerk of his hips. It had been far too long.
Remus delivered a dozen hard smacks on proffered bottom, watching as Snape slowly melted away and left a boneless, sated man over his lap. He paused, hearing the low keening protest from deep inside Severus's throat. Trailing the ruler's edge over his skin, Remus inspected his handiwork. Lines and marks were rising beautifully. He landed one hand with a slight smack on one cheek, soothing the redness. "How long has it been since someone has last spanked you, Severus?" He gave the cheek a squeeze, a tad harder than he would have normally. "A few months? A year? More?"
Even though Remus was up high and Severus was in such a vulnerable position, the authority edged itself back in. "Never mind that!" Snape said, short of breath, voice starting to fly away from him in frustration. He gave a restless squirm. "More! Now!"
Remus chuckled under his breath. Long enough then. Adjusting the ruler in his palm, he started a new assault on Severus's up-ended rear, raining blows without mercy for several minutes before stopping. Severus had grown quiet, letting out a pent-up breath when he realized the spanking came to a halt. Panting, he shivered through the fine sheen of sweat that began to glaze over his limp body.
Rubbing a hand over the abused flesh, Remus took great attention to how much Severus's breathing eased at the caress.
"Why did you stop breathing, Professor?" Remus said, lightly scraping his blunt nails over the welts and ridges. He waited for an answer but received none. With an amused smile, he gave Severus a terrible wallop, grinning in satisfaction as he was rewarded with a low moan. "No matter." And he began spanking again.
Severus bucked up his hips, loosing himself in the rhythm of the spanking. Breathing only seemed to be getting in the way as Remus threw himself into the blows. He had forgotten how much a spanking cleared his head, the way his body seemed attuned to the pain that only fueled and soothed a deeper ache. All semblance of control left him as he alternatively arched into and away from Remus's falling hand. Sweat dripped down his face, burning his eyes. But he craved the release of it, the powerless feeling that left him drenched in sweat and doubt.
He closed his eyes, feeling a nasty twinge as Remus went after a particularly sensitive spot that always had Severus seeing stars in his younger, more adventurous days. Remus struck the spot again, causing Severus to grab a hold of Remus's leg.
Remus stopped immediately, leaving Severus's rear exposed. "Are you alright, Severus?" he asked, feeling the grip on his ankle lessen slightly. His hand slipped under Severus's torso, urging him to rise. "I think it's time we st-"
"Don't you dare!" Snape snapped. He moved his hips, relishing the dull pain that it created. "Please," he added, gasping as air invaded his deprived lungs.
Remus's hand slipped away tentatively, rubbing at Severus's skin. "I think-" Remus said, after a moment "that we should set some boundaries." He waited for Snape to protest, but Severus kept quiet. "If you say 'cinnamon', I will stop. If I think you have stopped breathing again, I will stop."
Severus made a small noise of protest.
"And if I think that you are under distress, I will stop. I know what you've said you've wanted, but it's been a long time and you're not as young as you used to be. Your limits are probably different." He kneaded one buttock thoughtfully, hearing a small whimper emit from Severus's throat, but no other response. He paused, waiting for some sort of reaction. When none came, he removed his hand completely, leaning back as Severus twisted around as much as Remus's lap would allow. He arched an eyebrow in curiosity, licking his dried, bitten lips.
"I seem to remember," Remus continued "a certain professor indulging in too much wine at the welcoming feast, pulling me aside and begging me to whip him silly. He practically pleaded to make him give up control and spank him until he was sore for days afterwards. He told me all sorts of practices he used to indulge in, and that he needed it badly- needed me to do it. Said I had the right hands for it and everything. Said he needed me to take control." He paused, amusement returning to his voice. "Now was that you or Flitwick? My memory is a little hazy."
Snape growled in the back of his throat. "Fine. The safe word is cinnamon. Now will you please finish?"
"Right," Remus said, taking on his most professional tone. "Remember to breath. I will know. Accio!" A flat-back hairbrush came whizzing through the air, sailing into Remus's waiting palm. "Here goes!"
Severus cringed as the hairbrush crashed against his sensitive backside. His breath hitched. He had forgotten how much a hair brush could bite into one's skin, how sore it could make already abused flesh. His grip on Remus's leg tightened as Remus began an unrelenting rhythm.
"Remember what I said about breathing!" Remus said over the blows. Across his knees, he felt Severus's diaphragm contact and fill as he began to take in great, heaving breathes. "Better!"
Severus did not hear him, however. His resolve seemed to be melting away. Severus's spine began to curl, his legs beginning to stiffen, scramble for solid ground. His grip on Remus's ankle became unsteady as the tension mounted. Severus didn't even recognize that his feet began to drum on the floor randomly, jerking his arm backwards to cover himself.
"When I say 'now', you will count the final dozen as I given them," Remus instructed, taking Severus's arm and pulled it up against the small of his back. Not bothering to pause, he cocked Severus's hips to an almost obscene angle. "NOW!"
"One!" Severus gasped. Remus stopped moving. Severus squirmed. "One, sir!"
Remus laughed, bringing down the hairbrush again. "Two, sir!"
Hitting Severus under the tuck of his bum, Remus grinned in satisfaction as the austere attitude dissolved completely. The resulting 'three, sir' was satisfying enough to repeat the same technique until number nine. By this time, Severus was trembling.
Dropping the brush and resting his palm on the blazing bottom, Remus flared his fingers for maximum coverage. "Three more," he warned, then delivered a slap that would have seemed mild several minutes ago. At this point, it was pure agony.
And Severus loved it.
"Ten, sir! Eleven, sir! Twelve, sir!"
And then Remus stopped.
Severus's body trembled from the aftershocks of the spanking, every breath burning through him like wildfire. He gave an experimental squirm, his rear feeling as if it were on fire.
Remus let Severus rest over his lap for a moment, gripping the man's chest and hauling him to his feet. Severus's eyes met his only briefly- they were misty but dry. A blush crept across his cheeks and he darted his eyes away, walking gingerly over to his clothes in the corner.
Remus watched as Severus began to redress, tugging on the black robes and shoes, buckling his belt and fastening the strict lacings with none of the urgency that began this little arrangement.
He watched as Snape clothed himself, noting the stiff movement of his hind quarters.
Remus couldn't quantify his next action, no matter what reason told him. Bridging the distance, Remus grabbed a hold of Snape's arm and pulled him into a hug. "You did well, Severus."
Snape's acceptance of the hug was only marked by the fact that he did not push or hex Remus away. He simply stood there and endured it, letting Remus run a soothing hand down his back.
When Remus felt Snape began to get impatient, he released him, allowing him to finish dressing, the fine sheen of remaining sweat and the flush of cheeks were the only remaining indicator that something was amiss.
When the last lace of tightened and the last buckle was fastened, Snape headed for the door.
"Wait!" Remus said, crossing over to face Snape. "Would you like to stay for tea, or talk?"
Snape stiffened his back. "I think I have taken enough of your time, Professor," Snape replied, authority edged back in his voice. "Next time, be sure to provide me with sufficient notice, so as I might be better prepared." Gripping the handle, he was about to leave when Remus gave him his reply.
"I believe next time I will use a birch. Or maybe something in a nice, supple willow."
Snape turned back and saw one eyebrow lift sardonically as Remus leaned against the door frame.
Feeling fire spread over his face, Severus replied "yes sir."