A/N: Hi all ,this is my second ficlet featuring Severus Snape and Hermione Granger, my third in the Harry Potter universe [though I've written dozens in the X-men universe under penname CajunBelle. It's kind-of a companion piece to 'Masochist', but not necessarily a continuation [they were both originally meant to be one-shot]. It gets a bit introspective, like the last one, but there's more action and HGSS goodness at the end. Reviews appreciated!
Disclaimer: Obviously, I am not J.K Rowling, I don't own any of the characters as much as I wish otherwise, and I don't make anything from the production of this- I write just for the hell of it.
Sadistic
When you hear the word sadistic, the last thing most people would think of was Hermione Granger. She was a Gryffindor, a hero many times over, a tutor, role model and caretaker of sorts. So therefore the Head Girl was the exact opposite of sadistic, beyond questioning in fact. Unless you happened to get the inside story on her 7th year Potions class, which most didn't. That year changed everything. That year her two closest friends would even say she was quite… Slytherin-esque in nature. Anyone who knew her knew she was a fierce combatant and never forgot a thing with the compendium of knowledge called her brain- even [or especially] small slights against her. Most of Gryffindor, and select others, were also aware of her fiery temper. Anyone who knew Professor Severus Snape knew what a snarky, shady and vindictive individual he was, loving to humiliate and 'torture' his students. The rest almost writes itself, right? What goes around comes around. And, after seven years of grudgingly taking the worst he could throw out short of the Unforgivables and give him the respect deserving of a teacher and hero, he definitely had it coming around.
Tired of trying to prove herself to him and become a person of worth in his eyes, topping the ranks as a student and fighter, she did a very 'un-Hermione-like' thing and gave up. And took up studying ways to torment the Great Tormentor- which she had a lot more time to do after opting out of several of the extraneous classes she otherwise would've continued. Hermione decided all those years of observing [and trying to analyze] Snape, trying to earn his respect or even acknowledgement, wouldn't go to waste. They'd just be used for a different purpose. A sharp gleam to her eye, the 'brightest witch of her age' tapped a sugar quill to her lush crimson lips [curved with a wicked smirk], remembering almost fondly. She'd started with small things, of course- not exactly the childish pranks the Weasley Twins were known to still play, but stuff she knew would annoy him more… like rigged cauldrons and potions strategically exploded, and re-arranged shelves of ingredients and pre-made potions. Or finding a way to secretly enchant his personal quill to make his mind buzz erratically, [driving him crazy as it made him unfocused and skewed his writing], as well as fixing his books so he got paper-cuts or slight contact burns whenever he touched them. She knew how much he loved his books. She had Neville [without his knowledge, of course] distract Snape one night so she could sneak in and accomplish that one.
It delighted the young witch to watch the confusion, anger, and annoyance light his face. Never enough to fully satisfy the emptiness or seething fury in her heart, but enough. For how do you come up with a way to make-up for years of anguish, short of Unforgivables? Plus, she didn't truly want to hurt him; she just wanted him to suffer a bit. Sighing thoughtfully [and drawing some attention to her full chest that strained against the tighter shirts she'd taken to wearing], Hermione absentmindedly sucked on the tip of the confection, eyeing up her target. Yes, she remembered all his fine points very well- it was hard not to, given her long fascination with the former Death Eater. She still had dreams of him that weren't just visions of vengeance, still watched him desirously. And she knew he watched her the same way when he thought she wouldn't notice … though she always did, gleefully. It was like a game between them, one-upmanship, catching the other off-guard. Being friends with Harry and Ron all those years, it was a game she knew well- and she was good at it. 'Beware the bookworm,' she snickered internally. She also found another game to play in-between the petty slights. A very adult game. But subtle.
The tighter shirts and shorter skirts were part of it, the incidental touches and fantasies she dangled in her mind like ripe fruit, practically broadcasted on her face. The hot bits of gossip floating around about her and the compromising situations she'd almost 'allowed' him to catch her in certainly played a part too. Snapes' stubbornness and masks well-honed by years as a spy made it more of a challenge, but also more of a thrill when it slipped. Occasions where she leaned or bent in a certain way that permitted a teasing glimpse of her cleavage or knickers garnered more than a few lustful admirers, but it did nothing for her. I guess one could say once her mind was really focused on something it was hard to break. How he'd mocked her for her awkwardness and gauche looks over the years! For her hunger [for knowledge] that would eat her up at times and proved insatiable, for her helplessness to do anything when he'd dole out his 'punishments'. Now it was her turn. And [oddly bitter and touching on disappointed] she knew she was safe from such penalties.
Deduction of house points and detentions didn't phase her anymore, their… good deeds and Mcgonnall's penchant for finding any miniscule reason to dole out points as rewards cleared that up. Detentions just left her more time to think or carry through revenge plots. And Severus Snape would never touch a student. His tattered ideas of nobility, respectability and other nonsense didn't allow for it. A rule of thumb she sorely abused. Harry would probably quote her something on 'courting temptation' or 'backing a beast into a corner', but though she knew she likely had more to learn on those adages, she ignored them. She shouldn't have. Taking advantage of the smaller class sizes in the N.E.W.T.S level Potions course, Hermione had claimed an entire back table for herself and spread out her materials accordingly. A lust potion. She laughed quietly. A very… well, not exactly ironic [it was pretty fitting], but…coincidental, maybe? Telling? Though they hadn't ever brewed it in one of his classes before, they'd reviewed it fifth year, so a good portion of their current lesson was familiarity in recognizing effects and possible remedies. Was she getting to him more than she'd thought?
'Useful potion either way,' she mused, tossing in the last ingredient for the Fervia Volupta. The name broke down into 'fevered/grand passion' it had most of the properties [and all the elements, sans one] for Amortentia, except it was more associated with lust than "love." And she was getting unsettling wafts of sandalwood, firewhiskey, and bayberry- which she refused to include in her notes. Too obvious and too scary to think about. Yet as she leaned her face onto her hands and slowly stirred the draught again, a slight dreamy smile overtook her and her mind started to drift… Until her senses registered a familiar presence [hyper awareness of him] and she straightened from where she was half bent over the desk her potion was set upon- in doing so her body sliding deliciously against his of course and inciting a shiver. "Something…wrong, Miss Granger?" she heard the deep, silky voice purr in her ear. Hermione swallowed, heart racing traitorously. Shit. Giving herself a mental shake and strengthening her wards with occlumency, she turned around… and found she had much less space than she'd thought. Barely enough to breathe, in fact, and none to avoid his enticingly spicy scent.
"Looks to me like you were dangerously close to… over-stimulating the components and causing the mixture to boil with no thought to a simple cooling charm." The Potion Masters' gaze was searing and something about his words made her imagine other meanings. "Not very wise to forget what you're dealing with, girl. Especially if you can't always be on top of things to handle the outcome." Now she knew he had to be messing with her. The young witch licked her lips, a fire in her eyes. "Well, it was so very… hard, Professor," she said breathily, "to concentrate in this heat. Maybe you could give me some more… hands-on instruction?" Severus [as she'd taken to calling him in her mind] moved startlingly close, brushing past her to wave a pale, long-fingered hand over the brew to chill it wandlessly and wordlessly. "Ten points for spacing out and almost ruining a hazardous potion, Miss Granger. And you can see me after classes to… duplicate the experiment properly."
Battle lines drawn, she bided her time patiently with a glare promising retribution before the bell tolled and everyone filed out. Having a free period afterwards that coincided with Snapes', she stayed in her seat, fingers drumming out a beat on the marbled surface. "Using your down time to absolve your mistake and get a jump on detention, girl?" he half-sneered, knowing the word girl vexed her [she'd always been mature for her age, but overuse of the time-turner made her at least a full year older than her already of-age classmates as well]. "Can't wait until the end of the day?" "Not really," she murmured, sauntering up to his desk in as sexy a manner as she knew. "You're arrogantly assuming I'd volunteer mine for the same cause. That could prove to be a big mistake, Granger." Hermione smiled confidently, "I have a feeling it won't." Flourishing her own hand, she magically [as was not-allowed] set up a new cauldron and cleverly sprinkled in the pre-prepared ingredients in proper order. Another twist of her hand had a stirring stick mix the brew for her. "That out of the way…" she trailed off, frightfully close now, perched on the edge of the mahogany construction and advancing. Her eyes laid out the dare but her smile and pose sealed her fate.
A/N: That was part/chapter one. The other one loading shortly .Liking it so far? Review!
