He was dreaming. He knew he had to be dreaming. He was sleeping with a warm, very female body curled into his side. His hand stroked down, along the side of a breast, the curvature of ribs and the swell of hips before returning again the way it had come. His face was buried into the soft, sweet-smelling hair of said female. But in his entire life, Severus Snape had never slept beside a woman. It was a luxury he'd never allowed himself, even with the whores he'd occasionally paid to spend time with him. He sighed and buried his nose deeper into the soft, springy curls of his dream-woman and smiled. The scent was oddly recognizable, as if it was a scent he was familiar with on a daily basis. He tightened his arms around the body and gasped, instantly awake at the soft and contented sound that was released by his bedmate at his action.
His eyes flew open to find himself curled around a petite woman with curly brown hair and the softest skin he'd ever felt. Oh Holy Hell, was that Granger? "Granger? I demand to know the meaning of this!" he shouted, shoving himself away from her before she (hopefully) could feel the effects her lithe, warm little body had had on his.
Hermione, awake the instant she'd been pushed off of Severus, realized she'd returned to her natural form. Her entirely nude natural form. She shrieked and looked around for something to wrap herself in. Severus seemed to realize what she was doing and quickly tossed his fire-warmed robes to the girl so she could cover herself. Blushing redder than a radish, Hermione was able to squeak out a soft, "thank you!" before wrapping herself up entirely in the robes that smelled of wood smoke, herbs and a scent that was distinctly Severus.
"You're welcome. Now for the love of little green pixies, what are you doing in my quarters, naked!" he said, keeping his gaze (and his tented trousers) very carefully away from her.
"It wasn't intentional! I had no idea my clothes wouldn't return along with my regular form!" she cried, trying to stifle back embarrassed tears.
"WHAT?" he shouted, turning back to the girl. Regular form? What the hell had the little twit done to herself?
She took a deep breath, sniffling a little and explained what had happened. "And you were the only person I could think of to help me, because I didn't want to disappoint Minerva!" she said mournfully.
By this time, Severus was pacing, erection having faded somewhat. He pinched the bridge of his nose and whispered a quiet prayer to whatever gods were listening, wondering how he managed to get into these situations. Suddenly he snorted a laugh.
"And just what do you find so funny, Severus Snape?" Hermione snapped at him. She was in no mood to humor him after being so deeply embarrassed.
"I think I preferred you as a kitten," he said. "You were rather adorable. And quieter."
Gobsmacked, Hermione just stared at him, before letting out a laugh of her own. "You called me mangy!" she recalled, giggling again.
"Well what do you expect? You looked like you'd been dragged backwards through a mud puddle!" he said, grinning. Hermione couldn't help but think how much better he looked when he smiled. True, his teeth needed a lot of work, but it made him seem more approachable, less "stay the hell away from me".
"Honestly woman. How do you manage to get yourself into these predicaments? I'd blame Potter, but this one was entirely your own. What were you thinking, going out to practice becoming an animagus without proper instruction and supervision? Let me guess," he drawled, clearly not amused. "You read about it."
couldn't really lie: she had, obviously, read about it in a book
. It hadn't seemed too hard. After all, Harry's father, godfather and Peter Pettigrew had managed it while in school. True, they'd had more motivation, trying to help dear Remus. But if an absolute lump like Peter Pettigrew could manage to transform himself into an animagus, surely Hermione could, right?
When she couldn't respond in the negative, he threw his hands into the air. "And you wonder how you got stuck as a kitten, for the love of Merlin!" he cried.
"Well, who was I supposed to ask? Minerva has more than enough on her plate with running the school and the Order. I don't know any other animagi, and any other instructors have already taken on their apprentices for the year!"
"Did it ever occur to you, Granger, that I would be more than willing to at least supervise your transformations?" Severus asked.
Hermione blinked in confusion.. "Wait, you're an animagus, Severus?"
"Albus thought it would come in rather handy, 'just in case'." Severus said, nodding.
Hermione tilted her head, an action that reminded Severus of her kitten-form. "What form do you take?" she asked, without realizing she'd said it aloud.
He glared at her for a moment before sighing and suddenly shrinking in on himself. Within the time-frame of a thought, Severus had transformed. Where the tall, gangly Potions Master had stood now perched a large, black crow. His feathers were deep black but were iridescent green where the firelight hit them. He eyed her and let out a great, loud "caw!"
She jumped back and laughed before clapping for him. "That was fantastic. Would you really be willing to teach me? Or at least supervise while I transform?"
Again, it took but a moment for his transformation back to a man, luckily with all his clothes intact. "I have no strong objections to making sure you don't turn yourself into a kitten permanently," he said, folding his arms across his chest.
She grinned and ran up to him, hugging him. "Thank you, Severus! Oh goodness, is that the time? I need to get to bed." She looked down at his robes, clutched around her slim body.
"Oh for the love of Merlin, woman, go to bed. You can return those tomorrow. And be prepared for a thorough lesson in becoming an animagus!" he said, shooing her out the door and slamming it behind her. Grinning, Hermione practically skipped back to her quarters. Meanwhile, Severus was running his hand over his face, wondering what the hell he'd gotten himself into.