Professor Snape never slept in the total darkness. A single black candle burned low near his bed, sending shadows to dance across his thin frame as he slept. His rooms were located off of a long-disused corridor in the Hogwarts dungeons known only to himself, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and the Bloody Baron, resident ghost of Slytherin House. Severus was a highly private man; this arrangement suited him perfectly.

Suddenly, the door opened. He sat bolt upright and reached for his wand, but he remained silent until he saw who had entered his room.

"Catarina…" he breathed as the figure turned to face him. "How did you get down here?"

The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher smiled slightly but said nothing. She was clad in forest green silk pajamas, short-sleeved with buttons down the front; her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, allowing several strands to fall across her face. Still standing near the door, she undid the drawstring on her pants and let them fall to the ground. In the candle light her black hair shone obsidian, contrasting marvelously with her pale skin. Severus sat motionless in bed, riveted. He had secretly admired Catarina since the Start-of-Term banquet, where he had been captivated not only by her beauty but by her knowledge of potion-making. It was not often he met a woman who could recite all the properties of boomslang skin…

Catarina walked over to Severus's bed and pulled back the covers. She stood and observed him for a moment, taking in the black pajama bottoms and the bare chest, thin yet muscular with a long scar running from beneath his collar bone to right above his heart. Finally she raised her eyes to his face. Dominated by a large nose, his features were not what one would call beautiful but there was grace in the high cheekbones and full lips. Indeed, without his customary scowl, Severus could almost be called handsome. His black eyes, so often shielded by a mask of apathy and disdain, burned now with a light not seen there in many years.

Climbing into bed, Catarina finally spoke. "Lay back," she whispered, positioning herself atop Severus, straddling his hips with her long legs. He complied immediately, slowly running his hands along her calves up to her thighs. Although they bore numerous scars and calluses as a result of potion-making, his hands were soft and his touch was gentle. He reached up to free her hair and for the first time that night, Severus smiled.

"Beautiful," he whispered as his hand traveled through her hair, down her forehead, and across her flushed cheek. She kissed his fingers as they passed across her lips before allowing her tongue to dart out and caress his thumb, taking it into her mouth and sucking for the briefest instant. The Potions Master moaned, and she felt his arousal straining beneath her.

Severus's hands moved down her neck and settled at her pajama top, slowly undoing the buttons. He heard Catarina's sharp intake of breath as he removed her shirt. Pausing, he gazed at the woman on top of him. Black hair framed an exquisite face, where chocolate-brown eyes shone with lust and warmth. Her breasts were of a moderate size, the rosy nipples stood out hard as rocks from excitement. Before he could touch them however, she had pressed her body to his and was running her hands through his hair. The black strands were not greasy as everyone claimed, but shiny and soft to the touch. He moaned again, feeling her nipples pressed hard against his chest. Sitting up slightly, he met her mouth with his own.

It was Catarina's turn to moan as he sucked on her bottom lip before his tongue sought entrance, probing and caressing. The kiss grew steadily more passionate; mouths and tongues colliding, fighting for supremacy. Eventually Severus won, but just as he was about to roll Catarina on her back she pulled away, a knowing smile on her face. She attacked his neck, sucking and biting before kissing her way down to his scar. She suppressed a smirk, seeing the livid purple mark she had made. As soon as her mouth had become violent it suddenly became gentle again; her tongue traced the length of the scar and then continued its downward journey, licking and kissing.

Severus tensed when she reached the waistband of his trousers. Catarina stopped and looked up, meeting his gaze.

"Do you want me to stop?" she asked quietly.

Laughing gently, Severus shook his head. "Oh Merlin, no."

Without breaking eye contact, Catarina removed his trousers completely and took his erection in her hand. Severus's breathing had become rough and ragged but he kept gazing at her, even as she moved her fist along his length. Then, positioning herself in between his legs, she took him entirely in her mouth.

Severus groaned at the sensation, a low, feral sound issuing from the back of his throat. The warmth of her mouth coupled with her satiny tongue was a potent combination; running his fingers through her ebony hair he surrendered himself completely to this feeling that was invading his senses far more than any potion ever could. He allowed her to continue her ministrations for a few minutes then, sitting up, he stopped her.

"Catarina…I want to be inside of you."

Peering up at him, Catarina smiled. She gently pushed him back then moved to take off her underwear. Severus reached out and took her hands.

"Please. Allow me," he said. Removing her underwear, he positioned her just above him. Slowly he slid inside her, feeling her inner muscles clench around him in a most delicious manner. Both sighed as their bodies joined and began to move as one. Severus was still holding her hips; he guided her movements before reaching up to pinch her nipples, eliciting a high-pitched moan from Catarina. She threw her head back, rocking back and forth with a pace that increased with the volume of her moans. Sensing her impending orgasm, Severus delved into the nest of dark curls where her body connected to his, searching for her most sensitive place. A few feather-light strokes was all it took.

A sound caught somewhere between a growl and a scream escaped Catarina as the climax washed over her. Eyes closed, she was oblivious to her surroundings, paying heed to nothing except the pleasure coursing through her veins. As her orgasm subsided a soft chuckle brought her back to the present.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked, slightly embarrassed.

Sitting up, Severus placed Catarina on his lap and wrapped her legs around his waste, careful not to withdraw himself from her body. "The expression on your face…and that sound…were nothing short of magnificent," he said, rocking his hips gently. "I had forgotten how beautiful it was to have a woman climaxing atop me."

He kissed her briefly before reaching down to capture a nipple, causing her to gasp as his mouth teased her with tongue then with teeth.

"I should have warned you, I tend to get a little noisy…ohhhhh…" said Catarina.

Severus smiled. "Perfect," he said quietly, throwing her on her back. "Seeing as I intend to have you screaming my name before long."

For an instant he had exited her body completely, now he thrust deep inside her. As much as he wanted to take her hard and fast, Severus forced himself to move at a very measured pace, allowing her to feel every stroke. Catarina was moaning again; slight, high-pitched noises that reverberated around the dungeon walls as her nails dug hard into his back. Finally her moans formed a single word:

"Please."

That was all the bidding he needed. Raising her arms above her head, Severus quickened his movements and increased their intensity. Catarina's moans turned into sighs, growing louder with each successive thrust.

"Oh Merlin…I'm…I'm about to come…" she groaned.

"That's it, my lovely one. Come for me, as hard as you can," replied Severus, smiling.

She did scream then, calling his name again and again as her blood was set afire with ecstasy. Feeling Catarina writhe beneath him was all Severus needed to reach his peak; he did not call out as he released but instead whispered her name, interlocking their fingers and pulling them to his lips. He remained inside her for a moment longer then withdrew. Severus smiled as Catarina snuggled against his chest.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"Believe me, the pleasure was…all…mine," he answered just before sleep claimed him.

When Severus awoke the next morning Catarina was gone. He shook his head ruefully. Ah, just a dream. An exquisite, erotic, most lifelike dream. Indeed, even her perfume seemed to linger. Then, he looked in the mirror and began to laugh:

On his neck just below the jaw line was a shining purple bruise, proof that the previous night's activities had indeed transpired. Still smiling broadly, he buttoned his robes and found that even the high collar did not fully hide the mark. No matter, he thought. No one would imagine I of all people would bear such a thing.

Later that day Severus swept into his classroom, his trademark scowl firmly in place. Before he could issue the day's instructions, Draco Malfoy did a double-take.

"Professor Snape, is that a hick-" he began before being abruptly cut off.

"Finish that sentence, Mr. Malfoy, and you will have detention for a month," he snapped, turning his back on the class before they could see the tremendous smile creeping across his face.