Story: For Love or Death

Summary: It started simply, a small feeling in the pit of his stomach as he helped her as a request from Dumbledore. But, that simple feeling was uncontrollable, his lust becoming something he could barely control. It doesn't help that she wants him to, that she practically begs for him. But, to turn that lust into love, it gets harder. And, when he is visited by a vision of the future, will he be able to realize what he needs before the worst will happen? Can Severus and Hermione learn that even in the midst of war, death, and destruction, love is everything? Can the two lovers work, or will there be a tragic end to the love affair that shocks Hogwarts forever?

Warnings: There might be a character(s) death later on, although I can't decide yet. There are several sexual scenes, which is why the rating is so high. They might be a little bit too racy for but we shall see.

A/N: Hey kiddies. This is my first attempt at Harry Potter fanfiction, which I hope I did well. I have 15 chapters of this story ready, although they need to be revised a little. I go to school, I just got a new job, and I got out of town this week, so the updates will be slow (even if I have the chapters ready). To my Buffy fans… I know I need to be shot in the face for updating another story in another category, without updating my Buffy ones. However, there was a glitch in my computer and the chapters are all weird, placed in wrong folders and everything. I will try my hardest to get them up and running.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Harry Potter universe. It belongs to J.K. Rowling. I just use them in my sick mind games in which they fuck, fight, and have amazing fluff moments.

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Chapter One- A Lesson to be Learned

The castle was dark at night, an eerie reminder for those kids out after curfew that danger lurked ahead. Hermione was heading toward the dungeon when Filch stopped her in my tracks. She couldn't see him, the night covering the castle with shadows, any of which he could be hidden in. "Where do you think you're goin'?" He said, his voice carrying the same detest for students that it always had.

"To see Professor Snape." She said calmly. "I have to talk to him."

"Carry on then little girl." Filch said, spitting the last words. She waited till she couldn't hear the sound of his feet or his labored breathing, and the she carried on.

-x-

It was well after midnight before she reached his classroom. Somehow, Hermione knew that the Professor would still be awake, sitting in his desk grading papers. The door was cracked slightly and Hermione peered through the crack. There, behind the oak desk, sat the Potion's master. His head was bent over, the tips of his raven black hair touching lightly on the paper he was grading. His quill moved fast, marking the parchment with red ink. His eyes stayed locked on the page, all his attention on the paper. The light in the room was coming from a single candle, placed high on a shelf, casting a light glow around the room. The stone walls of the dungeon seemed to suck the light in, leaving the room much darker then normally. Hermione stood for several minutes, watching the Professor work on the paper. He captivated her, as he did in class, and it made her stomach turn in knots. He was her professor. Not only that, he was an evil and wicked man, a Death Eater, a known murder. She tossed her strange feelings for him to the back of her head and lightly tapped the door.

"Who is there?" He said his tone cold and demanding, his head snapping to the door.

"Hermione Granger." She said her voice strong and determined, despite the scared feeling she had inside.

"Enter." He said with no emotion in his voice.

Hermione entered the room, pushing the door open only enough to allow her entrance. She walked over to the Potions Master carefully and slowly. She saw now, his deep black eyes, as they stared at her intently. There was harshness in them, like a hidden beast lay behind them. But Hermione knew the beast; she knew how to be careful. She sat in front of the desk, crossed her legs, and sat her hands on her knee. "Evening Professor." She said politely.

"What do you want?" His tone was bitter and cruel, his eyes scanning over her.

"My grade in your class, you lowered it." She said, her voice still holding the same strength it had before.

"Ah yes." Snape said. His mouth twitched into an evil smirk that Hermione had seen several times before. It still erupted a feeling in her that she couldn't explain, a knot that tied in her stomach. "I imagined that you would not take a failing grade sitting down."

"Why did you fail me Professor? I didn't deserve it." Hermione said. On the outside she was a weak girl, whose whole purpose at Hogwarts was to make perfect grades. But inside, Hermione was a strong girl, with more in her mind then just grades.

"I did it to teach you a lesson. And you will do well to learn from it." Snape said with a silky voice, staring at her intently with his deep, dark eyes.

"What..." Her throat seemed to close up, her thoughts filled with those deep eyes and that silky voice. "What lesson is that?" She said, regaining her composure.

"You are a talent girl Hermione. Just because I cannot challenge you more, does not mean you should stop challenge yourself." His voice was deep, smooth. His eyes were dark and mysterious.

Hermione looked up at him, staring him in the eyes. "Professor I haven't..."

"When was the last time you challenged me in class?" He interrupted. "Or the last time that you sought the answer to a question that no one else would ask? You have shrunk into the darkness that Potter and Weasley have, the darkness of mindlessness."

"I'm not mindless and neither are they!" She said, raising her voice and standing in her chair.

Snape stood up in his chair and walked around towards her. "There, that is the Hermione I wanted to see. One filled with passion," he smirked, "with rage. One that challenges even the most terrifying man. The girl who stands up to people and does not back down. The girl that seeks and thirst for knowledge."

"You know less about me then you think Professor." Hermione said the close proximity of the Potions Master was obviously affecting her.

"And how do you figure that one?" He said, his eyes daring her to give him a good argument.

"There is more to me then a Know-It-All brat with a "thirst for knowledge" and you'd do kind to remember that." She said, speaking to him on his own level.

"I never said, nor did I intend to say, that you were nothing but that knowledge seeking girl. I was merely teaching you a lesson that it is not as bad of a thing as people talk it up to be." He said. Then in a low voice he whispered, "even that prat Malfoy."

Hermione's eyes widened. He had insulted Malfoy, failed her intently to teach her not to change herself because someone said some smart-ass remark, and complimented her. Was this the same Professor Severus Snape that taught her in class and yelled at her and her friends? "I understand Professor."

"Very well then. You may leave." Snape said returning to his desk. Hermione walked slowly towards the door and pushed in open. "Oh and Hermione?"

She turned to face the Professor; he wasn't looking up at her. "Yes?" She said.

"Your grade will be changed in the morning." Snape said, picking up his red quill again.

"Thank you Professor." She said. Then under her breath, "good night." Then she walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

"Are you happy then Albus?" Snape said, never looking up from his paper.

"Yes, very much so. I know she will head your warning. Nicely done Severus, although I hardly expected anything less." The voice of Albus Dumbledore came from his face in fire behind Snape's desk. "Good night then Severus." Snape merely grunted and the face of Albus Dumbledore disappeared from the fire. Snape sat his quill down, ran his hands through his black hair, and slammed his fists on the desk. "Stupid, bloody kids." He said quietly. Yet he couldn't help but feel a little gripping feeling in his chest at the thought of helping Hermione.

-x-