Severus' Inferno
"Midway upon the journey of my life, I found myself within a forest dark, for the straight forward pathway had been lost."-Dante Alighieri
"Tell us the whole story and don't leave anything out" said the Auror Hermione didn't even bother learning his name.
"Where do I start?" she asked monotonously looking at the plain looking man sitting across from her.
"At the beginning of course"
She could remember that day as clear as crystal; it was a hot summer day on a Tuesday to be exact, roughly a year ago.
Hermione packed up her ingredients putting everything away in meticulous order. The air was humid and almost suffocating down in the dungeons, the last student had just left when she made her way to the professor's desk, she felt oddly lightheaded.
She placed the oval vial containing this lessons potion softly upon his desk; she knew it was foolish but she waited for a response.
He lifted his head from a script and looked up at her.
His eyes so intense unconsciously she leaned forward towards him, his eyes flicked down to the vial containing a paragon example of how the potion should look.
"Can I help you?" enquired Professor Snape softly his voice laddered with a dangerous undertone eliciting delicious shivers to slither down her shoulder blades.
He saw her shiver and the way her eyes looked at him and in that precise moment he discovered a crashing realization that had built up over the course of the last few months that would change his life forever.
Placing his hands on the desk he slowly rose until he was also leaning forward, his shadow engulfing her slight frame.
"I will only ask you once more Miss Granger, can I help you?"
She craned her neck up to look at him not wanting to move away from him, his face was cast in shadows' his eyes an onyx abyss staring down at her.
Her eyelashes cast spiked shadows down her tanned cheeks as she looked down at her vial between them.
"I don't think you can professor."
She slowly retracted from him but he caught her fragile wrist before she pulled away another inch.
"I know what you want." Was all he said but all she had to do was look into his eyes and it would tell her everything, and so she did-his eye's expressed what she had been feeling for the last few months, pure unadulterated lust.
Not a second had passed before she pulled him down until her lips met his in a smouldering kiss grabbing her waist he pulled her onto the table until she was on her knees in front of him on his desk sending vials of student's potions crashing to the floor in a monotone array of colours.
Curling his fingers in her hair he pulled her head back exposing her neck to him, her position so vulnerable but her eyes looked back at him filled with trust. Slowly he brought his mouth to her rapid pulse before sucking; pulling away he admired his work.
"I am a selfish man miss Granger, I take what I want" he said softly trailing his fingers down her cheek "do not elude yourself, this is nothing but lust" he continued "I trust you know, that no one can find out about us"
She nodded mutely still spell bound by the kiss.
"Good, now leave."
And just like that he dismissed her.
And that was where it all began.
If only they had known what was to come.