Just a little Christmas fic I wrote instead of revising for my exams in January! This is a HG/SS story so if you don't like that sort of thing, then stop reading now!
Anyone who thought they had even the vaguest grasp of the psyche of Severus Snape would say that he hated Christmas. They wouldn't be entirely wrong, but it wasn't as much as the holiday itself he despised, but more the idiotic dunderheads he was forced to share it with. If the illustrious headmaster had allowed him back to Spinner's End, rather than twinkling wildly as he said how it would do him good if he spent the time at the madhouse commonly known as The Burrow, then Snape would be having a relatively good time.
He would allow himself to relax, indulge in a couple of new potions journals, brew for the rest of the holiday using ingredients that accidentally made it home with him from the Potion's Store in the dungeon. Hopefully, by the end of the season, whilst not putting up a single garland of tinsel, he'd have filed for a new patent of a potion he'd created (last years was an improved headache draught), remembered all of the happier Christmases that he had enjoyed (which mostly consisted of when Lily's parents had invited him over) and just be more relaxed in general than he ever managed at either Headquarters or at the castle.
That luxury wasn't afforded to him this year. Albus liked to pretend it was because he cared for his pet Death Eater, but really it was because the Headmaster was a sadist who enjoyed watching him suffer in situations that he cared rather little for, surrounded by children he spent the entire year trying to get away from.
The Burrow was nauseatingly done up. There was tinsel lying on ever horizontal surface, and some not even on that. Paperchains adorned the ceiling, charmed angels flying and singing Christmas carols, the sickening smell of spices coming from the kitchen and cookies that Mrs Weasley was determined to make him eat, regardless of his hate for anything sugar related. There was holly hung at various intervals making a definite hazard for anyone as tall as him (for he was definitely the largest of the congregation), and the worst of all – the one thing Severus had always feared at Christmas time – the mistletoe.
Now, mistletoe in the wizarding world was not the same as it was in the muggle one. It was a magical plant, and as such, often reacted with the power inside a witch or wizard to tie them to the garland until someone else came along with the charm to free them. That was why the majority of mistletoe related potion ingredients were harvested at large farms, for not many wanted to risk their magic sparking the defence mechanism whilst away from home.
It seemed logical to Severus, that if a plant displayed such properties, people would want to avoid it unless it was needed to make a potion of some description, shape or form. However, completely proving his point that the majority of the wizarding world were complete idiots, they sought the plant out, and cast charms to make its 'catching' effect stronger. So the more 'festive' versions of the plant, now had the ability to hold every person that walked under it and keep them there until someone else got caught, and the two trapped partners kissed. The only ones that were excluded from this principle, were those in mortal danger (a sensible failsafe in Severus' opinion), those who were yet to receive their first kiss, or those to whom which another person was not at a relatively close distance.
'None of those were going to be a problem here' Severus thought morosely, finally allowing himself to look up at the innocuous looking plant above him. He'd been doing a brilliant job of avoiding the stuff since his arrival at The Burrow, and due to his success, the Weasley twins had taken it upon themselves to try and get him caught. Therefore, at one point in the holiday, people could barely put one foot in front of the other without having to kiss someone. It was then that Mrs Weasley had put her foot down and ordered her son's to remove all bar two pieces of mistletoe, whilst Severus looked on, smirking. He had managed to avoid all of that, yet on the last day, he had managed to be caught by a singular piece of the stuff, placed in the basement of all places. What could be more humiliating?
He heard a voice behind him, and he only just managed not to groan. Why had he even asked that question?
"Oh – I wondered why I was being drawn here" She said, so matter of factly, he wondered whether she had gone mad. She was supposed to be a Gryffindor, and a lion's response was surely to fall on the floor laughing, not to just acknowledge the situation.
"Miss Granger, I suggest you take what enjoyment you can out of this predicament, for I can guarantee that you and the rest of this household will be severely punished for it"
She frowned "I'm not getting any enjoyment out of it, I assure you. I've actually been against the stuff since my first Christmas here. I'm getting very good at avoiding it – did you know that if you cast a shield charm around yourself, the catching radius of the mistletoe is reduced?"
"Yes Miss Granger, surprisingly enough that is something I have noticed in my years of teaching dunderheaded students, years I would like to add, that highly outnumber yours"
She went pink "I'm sorry Professor. I just know how awful it is to get caught under this stuff – I mean, some of the charms make you have to do some horrible acts with the other person. It's like rape"
"As is the way of the wizarding world, Miss Granger" he nodded. He'd seen some of that stuff too, though they were usually sold in stalls in Knockturn Alley, so how this chit of a girl knew about it was highly interesting. Perhaps she wasn't just the little innocent Granger after all.
"Anyway Professor, I don't approve at all of the way they are targeting you" she said, nodding her head as though that were the end of the matter. He sneered at her
"Thank you Miss Granger – your lack of approval makes all of the difference" he said sarcastically. Once more she went pink. "By any chance, do you know to what degree this mistletoe is for?"
"Well…" she began, shuffling from foot to foot "They were talking about setting up a 'make-out' one specifically for you"
"Where is the logic in that?" he asked her, feeling rather annoyed "There are fail safes to stop people under majority and married people from being caught under them. That would only leave me and the twins" He shuddered at the thought, a sentiment that the girl seemed to reciprocate. She suddenly seemed even more embarrassed.
"I'm over the age of majority" she said to him, biting her lower lip anxiously "In fact, I'm a couple of years over it"
He looked at her a second as though she were raving mad. In fact, considering what she just offered, he should probably do the diagnostic spells now. "Miss Granger – I am your Professor. Any actions of that nature undertaken would be completely inappropriate"
"Actually, there are no rules preventing Student-Teacher relationships as long as the student is physically of age" she said, and Severus drooped slightly. She was right – he knew she was. And considering the rest of the household, she was really the best choice for it. But he couldn't just give in to her – despite of how much he despised the Headmaster, there was no way he would disappoint him so.
"Regardless Miss Granger, it is inappropriate and therefore, you shall leave this room and go seek out another member of the Order, preferably someone I can tolerate" he said in his most imposing teacher voice. Instead of cowering away, and scampering off to do as he asked, like he expected her to, she instead got an impish grin, the likes of which he had never seen on her face before. She went down another step, directly into the radius of the spell. He stared at her in astonishment, even as she walked over to him. He was completely out of his depth here, trying to continue seeing her as his student even as the spell morphed her into something a lot more seductive.
The vision changing part of the spell was a convenient addition as he thought as he unwillingly took in Herm… Miss Granger's new, surprisingly curvy shape. Her hair was thick but curled gracefully down her back and her lips were plump, and the more he thought about it, the more he realised that they were totally kissable. She bit her lip again, something that brought him back to reality "Miss Granger – do you have any idea what you have done?" he shouted at her, turning around so that she couldn't see how she had affected him.
"Of course sir – I am now under the effect of the curse as well" she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinched away
"I would ask you not to place a hand on my person Miss Granger – it is most inappropriate" he said, turning around. He was surprised to see her looking rather hurt at his blatant rejection. Did the girl have feelings for him of some sort? He shook away that thought the moment it came. No-one could have feelings for a cold, unfeeling bastard like him – especially not a pretty young student like her.
"We'll have to touch at some point" she said reasonably, hiding her pain within seconds "I know for a fact that Fred and George were charming the mistletoe to alert them when someone is caught underneath it. They don't want to miss the moment that they catch you"
He felt the gravity of his situation and asked "How far do the couple have to go before they are released?" he asked, and he felt her relief rather than see it on the face that managed to remain as expressionless as his.
"I don't know – I'm assuming that the charm will let itself be known when it falls" she said, stepping closer to him. He tensed as she entered his personal space, and was motionless as she placed a hand on his cheek and another on his shoulder, drawing him down until his lips touched hers. They were drier than he had expected, moving softly against his but seeming unwilling to go much further. He felt her hesitancy and found himself wondering whether she had done much more than this in the past. He remembered her being with Victor Krum back in fourth year, but since then couldn't recall her being with any specific boy. He felt the guilt begin to set in – he was robbing her of this experience, tainting it as he felt himself becoming vaguely aroused at the innocent movement of her mouth against his.
It was obvious that continuing like this was not going to break the spell, regardless of how pleasant it felt, so he gently flicked out his tongue to trace the line of her lips. Her mouth opened obligingly and he began to explore, her willingly allowing him to take control as he placed one hand on her waist, and the other tangling into her thick hair to direct her head where he wanted it. She groaned into his mouth and he could feel himself harden. He pulled away, shame mixed with masculine pride washing over him when he saw her glazed eyes and bruised lips.
She reached for him again, but he avoided her lips, instead pressing soft kisses down her jaw, to her neck, suckling on her pulse point when she tilted her head to give him more access. She gasped her disappointment when he left the now red spot to kiss her again. If he was going to go to hell, he might as well do it properly, as it was there only way of freeing himself of this godforsaken trap.
The Granger girl seemed to be enjoying this a lot, if he took her swallowed moans to be anything to go by. Her hands were now tangling in his hair, and she was grinding herself against his leg. He felt another surge of guilty pleasure. He should not be enjoying this as much as he was – but he was only human. He wasn't made of stone.
His hands traced down her sides and under her thighs, hoisting her up and encouraging her to wrap her legs around his waist as he pressed her up against the stone wall of the basement. She obliged quite happily, especially once she realised that she could now press against a wonderfully hard protrusion in his trousers that caused him to involuntarily hiss and bite down on her shoulder.
He couldn't quite remember when her shirt had become undone, or when he had bent to suckle on the dusty pink nipples, hard and aching as he brushed them with his tongue. He couldn't remember when his long, dexterous fingers had found their way into her knickers, slipping into her core and flicking her clit until she became moaning wreck around him. He couldn't remember when her hands somehow managed to wrap around him, stroking him until his knees were weak with a talent he couldn't believe of her.
What he could remember was the sound of the spell breaking, both of them pulling away to look the other in the eye, breathing heavily and pupils dilated. What he would remember was both of them ignoring their higher brain functions and leaning back in to continue what they started. What he could remember was them both coming simultaneously to quaking peaks, collapsing onto the stair, sweat covered and shaking. What he could remember was her removing her hand and licking the white liquid off with a relish that made him moan despite himself as she righted her trousers and hair with a quick charm before kissing him one last time as she made her way to the door, only turning around to say "Happy New Year Professor"
He sat their, not bothering to clean himself up for almost an hour, rerunning what had happened in his head. When had his defences dropped so low that he allowed such insanity to continue? He felt guilt and shame churn around in his stomach until bile stained the wood. The acrid smell of his own vomit brought him to his senses as he took his want to scourgify the mess the best he could. Then he cleaned himself up, telling himself quite firmly that it was the chits fault and that they both enjoyed it so there was no harm done.
As he reappeared at the top of the stair, he saw the second piece of the odious plant and when he thought no-one was looking, he fired a spell at it, causing it to go up in flames. He put the fire out a moment later when it became a risk to the rest of the house, only to find that, as usual, it was still unharmed.
He groaned slightly to himself, the sound only reminding him of what he had done barely an hour ago. He avoided the radius of the plant's hold only to find a young Gryffindor stuck in a second garland of the stuff only the floor above. She seemed rather miffed to have been caught, and went bright red when she saw him. "P-p-professor" she stuttered, looking up at the plant above
He was vaguely confused when he saw it. That made three pieces in the house, and he knew for a fact that the twins were far too scared of their mother to disobey a direct order by her. Thinking about it, he also knew that Mrs Weasley would never stand for a charm much stronger than kissing. That meant the mistletoe, so perfectly placed to catch him in his makeshift lab in the basement, was probably not laid by the Weasley twins at all.
He looked at the girl's bright red face and smirked, walking over to her so he was caught in the spell as well. He explored her mouth with his tongue as he bent down to release her. It took a moment for her to get over the shock and respond as she reached up her arms to pull him closer. He stood up straight before she could get a firm hold, relishing the glazed look her eyes. He walked down the corridor towards his room, only turning around to say "Happy New Year Hermione"
Hope you enjoyed! Have a Merry Christmas and give an author an amazing gift this year and Review!
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