Hermione sipped her tea with renewed vigour as the Order members started to file into the kitchen at Grimmauld Place. Each one gave her a different look of varying degrees of disgust, fear and from Andromeda Tonks; pride.

The old woman walked over to Hermione and clasped her hand in her own. Hermione's face was a picture of shock as Andromeda exclaimed, "well done, Hermione."

"Don't encourage this!" Molly Weasley shouted from the stove.

"Why not? As far as I'm concerned any woman who distracts Severus Snape long enough for him to not notice a reporter is long overdue a handshake. We should all be taking tips from Hermione here, in my opinion." She left Hermione to sit at the other end of the table with Neville's Gran, leaving Molly staring at Hermione with a new expression of wariness and just a little bit of interest.

Hermione sat back down and started to sip her tea across from Ron who was still not talking to her. Her red headed friend couldn't get over the fact that she had slept with their old teacher and ex-Death Eater.

He wasn't here yet. She was counting down the minutes until Minerva and Severus would walk through the door and sit down in the last two remaining seats; the ones next to her. It seemed the rest of the Order was avoiding her like the plague, even Harry looked at her strangely when he thought she couldn't see him looking.

Finally the front door opened. People were talking; one male and one female voice and Hermione could hear footsteps walking towards the kitchen. They had arrived. Hermione took another gulp of too hot tea in order to look even some way normal.

"Andromeda! It's so nice to see you coming to these gatherings. How's little Teddy?" Minerva's voice rang throughout the little room and Hermione chanced a look up when she took the seat furthest away... leaving Severus to sit next to her.

"He said 'Nana' today when I was feeding him. He's such a sweet little boy."

The two women's conversation continued while the rest of the room was deathly quiet. It was obvious that everyone was thinking about the awful articles Rita Skeeter had written for the prophet that revolved around Severus and Hermione. Every day it was something different since the article came out six days ago; insinuations, suggestions, insults, people all over wizarding Britain giving their opinion on something they knew nothing about. Hermione's house was so surrounded by reporters that she had moved into number 12 on Wednesday, much to Ron's disappointment. He wanted nothing to do with her.

Snape was sitting tensely in his seat next to her and no-one around them was making conversation, apart from Minerva and Andromeda who seemed blissfully unaware of the mounting tension. Ron's ears were turning red and Hermione feared an outburst was swiftly coming along.

"Miss Granger, will you pass the tea?"

His voice penetrated her thoughts and made her jump. She noticed that everyone had now turned to them with calculating eyes.

"O-of course. Here you go, Severus." His name slipped from her lips without her thinking of it, but then again, why shouldn't she use his first name? A little voice reminded her that he had called her Miss Granger, but she pushed it from her mind. That was his choice.

"Thank you," he said stiffly and set about making his tea; black with two sugars.

"You're welcome," she said with a small smile.

The silence reigned again and the only sounds were that of Snape's teaspoon clinking against the edge of his cup as he stirred in his sugar.

"What's wrong with everyone?" Minerva's voice speared the silence with military precision, making everyone immediately, visibly uncomfortable.

"I believe most of the people in this room are speculating about Severus and Hermione's relationship," Andromeda replied helpfully.

Hermione died with embarrassment as the man next to her flinched.

"What relationship? You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!" Minerva turned to her colleague with glee shining in her eyes.

"I don't have one," Snape grinded out through gritted teeth.

"Well then, why is everyone silent? It's not any of their business in the first place." The Headmistress' tone suddenly turned sharp and severe as she glared at the people throughout. They immediately set about making conversation with themselves and soon the room was filled with noise.

Hermione chuckled despite the situation and quickly regretted it.

"You think this is funny?" he hissed at her from behind his teacup.

"What? No, I don't this is funny. Being ostracized from my entire social group is not funny at all. However, Minerva putting them all in their place is."

Severus leaned back and looked down at her. "You're friends aren't talking to you?"

If she didn't know better she would have said he was concerned. "Not all of them, just Ron. I don't think he's over… well I just don't think he's happy about what happened between us. The others are okay about it; I think."

"The two of you were… romantically involved?"

"Yes," she laughed. "That's one way of putting it."

"What happened?" He seemed genuinely interested and Hermione didn't have a problem with telling him but after a week of silence this whole exchange was odd to say the least. All she could think about was his long skilled fingers and his thin blue sheets.

"I didn't exactly enjoy being with him," she said vaguely.

"He wasn't a good boyfriend?" His lip had curled when he said the word boyfriend and she felt a flare of affection for the man in front of her. It was just so typical of Snape to sneer while being covertly interested in someone's love life that she thought it was rather cute.

If that made any sense at all.

"No, he was an excellent boyfriend; that wasn't the problem," she blushed.

"Then what was?"

"Well, when it came to when we were together I never enjoyed it." She looked at his face and saw that he still wasn't getting it. "I never enjoyed it, like I enjoyed it with you."

Severus caught on instantly and visibly flinched. She was not prepared for how he reacted next. She was expecting him to smile in superiority at her admission that he was a better lover than Ron. She expected him to blush or smirk before saying a cutting comment about Ron's many lacking attributes.

However, she did not expect him to clench his jaw in anger and stand up, pushing out his chair from the table with an audible noise and looking down his nose at her.

Once again, all noise stopped as everyone in the room turned to look at them, but he didn't notice. He only had eyes for her and they were full of fury. The Professor breathed in deeply through his nose before sweeping away from the table in a cloud of black robes.

Hermione sat still in her seat in shock and felt every gaze settle on her like a tangible weight. It didn't take long for her to decide to go after him.

"Professor, wait!" she called after the quickly retreating black shadow down the hall.

He didn't listen and slammed the front door in her face as she rushed after him. She knew that if she didn't catch him now, then he would apparate and she would never find him.

Hermione yanked the door open with more force than necessary and let it swing shut by itself as she bounded down the steps so fast that she crashed into the man in front of her.

"Watch where you're going, stupid woman!" He stepped away from her body and made to walk out of the gate but Hermione grabbed him by the arm.

"Wait, what's wrong?"

He spun around to face her and their noses touched with the closeness between them. He was breathing heavily with barely controlled anger and she could feel each one of his furious breaths cloud in her face. "You forget yourself, Miss Granger," he snarled, "unhand me at once."

"No, Not until you grow up and stop throwing a tantrum for no reason!" The insolent words couldn't be stopped from pouring out of her mouth and the colour drained from her face as he adopted a look of pure cruelty. The Professor grabbed her by the arms, squeezing her biceps as he pushed her against a nearby wall.

"A tantrum?" he whispered menacingly.

She couldn't speak. Her mouth was so dry with terror and she simply nodded in reply. It was beyond her how he could go from being petulant or funny to being shit inducing scary. This was the Professor Snape from her childhood and he was back with a vengeance.

"Right, I'm the childish one when you use people for purely selfish gain."

His grip on her arms was becoming painful and Hermione winced in protest, but he didn't notice. His eyes were black and stormy with fury and his robes flowed around them in the November wind, along with his hair, making him seem even more intimidating.

"I don't understand why you're so upset! It was a compliment!"

"A compliment! What kind of compliment is that!?" He didn't wait for an answer, before he mimicked her in a high voice, "oh, Professor, you should be so proud of yourself that you can make me come and Ronald can't." He glared down at her and reverted back to his normal voice to say, "a true compliment, Miss Granger, thank you. I'll treasure it always."

"Must you be such a pig!?" she shouted.

"Must you be so infuriating!?" he retorted with just as much volume.

"I don't see what is bothering you! Please, Severus talk to me," she said in a quieter tone but he wasn't having any of it and placed his hands on the wall next to her head.

"Why would I talk to you about anything? You are nothing to me," he growled, but to his surprise and aggravation she smiled slyly.

"I know that's not true," she said with a confidence that she did not feel.

"And how could you possibly know that?"

"Because if I were truly nothing to you, then I wouldn't be pissing you off so much."

Severus snarled and pressed closer to her. She was right, but he was damned if he was going to tell her that. Her eyes were filled with false bravado and underneath that, fear and… anticipation, almost. His body longed to touch her again, but he couldn't allow himself to let his guard down like that again. It was bad enough the first time, Severus didn't think he could taste the sweet nectar that was Hermione Granger if it only meant watching her apparate away again in the morning; he wasn't looking for casual, he was never someone to do anything without full and utmost commitment.

He was brought back to the present when she pushed against his hips with her own. Somehow her hands had ended up twined around his neck and she was tugging him close.

He thought about backing away and stopping whatever this was before it started again. It was a short lived thought.

Their lips met with a crash that was all teeth and tongues. He was still angry and she seemed to be too, which only angered Severus further. She had no right to be angry; she was the one who left.

She moaned into his mouth as he bit down on her bottom lip and he decided that they weren't close enough.

He moved his hands from the wall to grab her ass and lift her up against his tightly buttoned robes. She wrapped her legs around his waist but one leg got caught in his teaching robes and that too became entangled with her legs on his hips. Neither of them noticed.

Her hands were in his hair now and she groaned again, grinding against him. How did they always end up against a dirty wall? He abandoned her lower lip in favour of attacking her warm mouth with his tongue and it was his turn to moan as she replied with equal fervour. Her mouth moved over his in time as they now knew what the other would do. They had spent a morning rediscovering every kiss, before she had left him.

She tasted of strong tea and apple pie and although he never particularly liked the bitter aftertaste of black tea, he had no complaints from tasting it from her.

"Alright, you lovebirds, time to break it up!" Minerva shouted from the front door of Grimmauld place as she put on her coat.

Severus tore his mouth away from Hermione's and looked in shock at Andromeda Tonks, Minerva and Molly Weasley who were standing on the front steps watching the couple.

"Hermione!" the Weasley matriarch admonished, "get back inside this instant!"

Severus felt Hermione tense round him and he didn't blame her. She was being treated like a child as she had her legs wrapped around her ex-teacher's waist and her heat pressing into his erection. Oh shit…

"Don't you dare let go of me," he hissed at her under his breath.

"What? Why?" she asked with no subtlety.

He winced as he looked at the three women now staring at them and he moved slowly, to let her feel the problem, rather than say it out loud. Her brown eyes widened and then latched onto his own for confirmation. He nodded and she blushed, which only served to frustrate him further as he was reminded of her flushed face when she reached her climax, while tangled in his sheets.

"Now, Hermione!" Mrs Weasley shouted.

"Yes, Severus, I'm afraid I must agree. You know that I would let you stay and rut as long as you like, but alas we have a staff meeting to make at 10:30, which is in five minutes."

Severus cursed under his breath and slowly put Hermione down but did not let her turn away from him. "Just a minute, Minerva," he called out.

"By all means, take your time," she replied sarcastically.

"Play along," he whispered against Hermione's ear and then took her lips once more in a long, gentle kiss. She ran her hands over his chest and silently fixed his robes to fall around him as usual. Molly's gasp of indignation and outrage was overlooked by the couple on the front lawn, who had gradually deepened the kiss again.

His hands had been at her waist but as the kiss went on, he forgot where they were and he wrapped his arms around her back, gathering her close and crushing her to his chest as their mouths glided and danced.

Molly reached her limit when Hermione groaned and marched down the steps to grab her arm and pull her away from the man she was entwined with.

"No! I forbid it! Come inside, Hermione!"

The young woman sighed and stepped away from the man who had just made her feel a multitude of emotions so strong that they ranged from extreme lust to wanting to murder him with frustration.

"Goodbye, Severus," she said slightly awkwardly with Molly's hand still clenched around her arm.

"Good night, Hermione."

She turned around to smile at him for using her first name again, but he had already turned to walk out the gate with the Headmistress and Mrs Tonks. Hermione sighed once more and turned back to the enraged Mrs Weasley. She really wasn't ready to have this talk; not when she wasn't still confused as to why he was angry with her.

She wondered if he still was and recalled the way he said her name. His mouth had formed every letter like chocolate melting on fruit and she thought that perhaps he wasn't angry anymore; perhaps their kiss had calmed him down. The young woman snorted at that thought and imagined people kissing the austere Professor every time he got into a snit.

Mrs Weasley looked back at her with a stern look at the sound of her laugh and Hermione kept her head down for the rest of the walk towards the library.

Hermione sat on the couch and waited for what she was sure would be a scolding, but was surprised when the older woman simply took her hand and spoke softly.

"Hermione dear, you must understand that the Wizarding World is not like the one you're used to. We're a lot more old-fashioned and set in our ways. It's not normal for people who are of a high standing in our society to dabble in casual relationships with people who aren't, shall I say, committed to them."

"What?" Hermione's brows furrowed and her mind jumped to several different conclusions.

"One night stands are not the 'done' thing in our world, Hermione. You should stay away from Professor Snape; I don't think you understand the scandal. The both of your reputations are already after taking a hit."

"I don't understand. Is this because of those articles in the Prophet?"

Mrs Weasley sighed and took a deep breath before continuing, "Professor Snape is a master of his craft and very well recognised in our community as a man with high intelligence. Now that he has been seen and reported with a young woman, half his age who used to be his student, in not a relationship, but one night of casual scandal, his reputation has taken quite the hit. I know you like to avoid that gossip rag but the things being said about him are awful, and I hate to say it, but some of them are true. His past is filled with secrets and some of those are shameful."

"He's a big man and an ex-spy, Mrs Weasley. I think he's well-able to handle rumours."

"That's a very superficial way of looking at it. Hermione, I have to say, I was shocked when I found out about the two of you. He always seemed like a man who took great pride in his reputation with the intellectuals in our world, but now he is simply known as a lecherous old man. In situations where he usedd to be looked upon wih respect, he is now looked at with distrust and loathing once more. You saw how the Order reacted to his entrance yourself. Severus knows the workings of this world and it has to make one wonder; why would he voluntarily throw himself back onto the sword of disgust and hate again? I would have thought that he had enough of other people's hate in his life before."

Hermione bit her lip and thought back to when she had left him lying in the bed with what she assumed was a dazed look of a sated sexual appetite. But what if he wasn't gazing at her with a dazed look and a slack jaw because he was sated? What if he had wanted her to stay?

A distant memory floated to the front of her mind. It was blurred by the effects of wizarding alcohol and Hermione could not swear to its authenticity. For all she knew, it was the memory of a dream, but deep down she knew that wasn't the case. It was an image of the Professor cradling her face in both of his large calloused palms. He called her beautiful and kissed her with a gentleness that disguised his inebriation. Hermione thought back to the scene and blinked in confusion. The Professor would never have wanted her to stay. Would he?

Maybe, just maybe, she should have stayed and talked with him about what their presumed casual tryst had actually meant. The thought of a serious relationship turned her off, but maybe that was what he wanted. According to Mrs Weasley, he wasn't a one night stand sort of man.

Hermione scoffed and pushed her ludicrous thoughts away. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't imagine the man being in a committed relationship with any woman. Never mind Hermione herself, the insufferable know-it-all.

"Thank you for your advice, Molly, but I don't think the Professor is after anything more from me."

Mrs Weasley got up and smiled gently, "remember what I said about him, Hermione. I don't remember that man doing anything casually at all."

The young woman remained on the couch and smiled with a pained face as Mrs Weasley made her way towards the door.

"Oh, and Hermione?" she asked, turning around suddenly.

"Yes?"

"If you really did want to make a go if it with Severus, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised."

Hermione didn't have time to correct the Weasley matriarch and tell her that, no she wasn't interested in seeing Severus, before the older woman had waltzed out of the door leaving Hermione with a startled expression and a lot to think about.

"Are you going to tell me what that was all about?" McGonagall asked with a smirk as they walked up the main path towards the school.

"No," Severus answered briskly.

"I could guess or ask Hermione."

Severus stopped walking to open the Main Door for the older woman and tried to ignore her prattling. His erection wasn't as prominent as it was before when Hermione was in his arms, but it was definitely still there and causing his thoughts to stray. The feeling of her legs wrapped around his waist and the smell of her shampoo permeated his mind, blocking out Minerva's crude comments on the scene she had walked in on.

He had gone months, even years, without sex for so long, and now here he was, craving Hermione Granger's body like a fourteen year old boy.

"I must say; I have absolute intolerance for that newspaper's reporters but their photographers are certainly dedicated to risk being seen by the great Severus Snape!" Minerva laughed as they approached the staffroom.

Severus groaned and mentally kicked himself. Again. If there was anything that was quick to get rid of an erection, it was self-hatred. How did he not see that reporter? How could he have missed the flash?! It was a disgrace that two of the most famous war heroes in the wizarding world had been snuck up upon by the most detestable newspaper known to wizard.

It was even more shameful that the whole world now knew of his shame. Severus couldn't remember the last time there had been a one night stand between two high profile people. Casual sex just wasn't the done thing anymore and now everyone knew how she had left him. Of course, they all assumed he had left her and after the Ronald Weasley fiasco the entire community was spouting support for the 'abandoned' Hermione Granger, who apparently just can't catch a break when it comes to love. Idiots.

"Come on, Severus, I promise to keep it short."

Snape blinked and followed Minerva into the staffroom, making his way to his usual chair in the back of the room. It was an armchair that was wedged between the corner widow and the fireplace; it was so far away from all the other chairs that Severus believed the staff sometimes forgot he was even there. Which suited him perfectly.

He kept his head down and avoided eye contact with every teacher in the room. The year before had never left their minds and he doubted it ever would. Minerva, Filius and Pomona were the only ones who had welcomed him back; the others had resolutely ignored him. He didn't blame them; it wasn't their fault he was forced to be an asshole to little kids and a tyrant to the teachers themselves.

As Severus approached his well-loved chair, he noticed that there was someone sitting in it. A very beautiful, long legged someone who was currently delicately sipping on a small glass of white wine. It was the new Muggle Studies Professor, but Severus had never been a position of conversation with her before. She had noticed him walking towards her and looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes?" she asked in a way that instantly reminded him of the pure-blooded tarts in Slytherin, who had looked down upon his second hand clothes and greasy hair with derision and mockery.

He was momentarily taken aback and no doubt gawking at this red headed beauty who was sitting in his chair. It wasn't the fact that she was beautiful; it was the fact that she was sitting in his chair, drinking wine and looking at him like he was dog shit.

She laughed and looked to her left where a tall handsome man stood in front of the fire. The Defence Professor. He was also looking at Severus like he was dog shit and joined her in laughter.

Snape turned back to the woman and gave her a small smile which resulted in her evident confusion and he took a step forward. She maintained eye contact with the austere Professor, apparently forgetting her male companion next to her as Snape advanced on her until his legs were touching hers against the seat and her neck was craned upwards to see him. He briefly noted that her eyes were blue.

"Yes?" she asked again; quieter this time.

He said nothing and continued to give her a small smile before slowly reaching out and taking the wine glass from her hands and passing it to the man next to him. It was almost too easy. Maintained eye contact leading to a suggestive thought of lust through legilimency, continued contact through increasing their physical proximity and a heavy helping of mental sexual arousal all lead to the same thing; dulling her senses.

The Professor bent at the waist and heard her gasp as her bright blue eyes flew to his lips which were now a mere 15cm away from her own. Another mental caress made her pupils dilate and Severus nearly laughed. Sometimes, legilimency saved one's life and sometimes, it was just handy to have.

He opened his mouth slowly and softly spoke in his deep, chocolate covered voice; "get out of my fucking chair."

The spell that he had weaved upon her broke immediately and he smiled at her cruelly as she blushed a violent red and gaped at him like a fish. The man next to them took a step forward but Snape paid him no mind.

"Now," he said in a cold and calculating voice that made the woman in front of him jump in fright.

He lurched back away from her as she stood from his armchair and walked over to the DADA Professor. Snape ignored her and made a show of casting a cleansing charm before sitting down and realising that the whole staffroom was watching him.

If he had embarrassed two new Professors like that before the war, his fellow teachers would have smiled in shared amusement. However, it was after the war and his colleagues were looking at him like he was worth far less than dog shit and suddenly, for the first time, he couldn't take it.

Yes, he killed Albus. Yes, he watched Charity die. Yes, he consented to the torture of eleven year old children and yes, he had a one night stand with a former pupil a week ago, but he was so fucking sorry and filled with enough self-hatred that this felt like too much. He had bled for them, while they actively tried to get him killed. He had distracted the Carrows, saving more than one student's life. He had given anonymus tips and fed the Dark Lord false leads. He had done Albus' will, without question and without fail, making sure that Charity's death would mean something; in the end.

Suddenly their accusing stares and their inability to forgive and forget plagued him. He might have been able to deal with it on any other night, but not when he was just wrapped up in Miss Granger as she was sighing his name. Not when he was being readily accepted by someone twenty minutes ago. He couldn't do it.

With a defeated face and an apologetic glance at Minerva, he got up from his chair and walked out of the staffroom.

He never noticed the new DADA Professor follow him with hate in his eyes.

Hermione sighed and turned on the kettle at four o'clock in the morning. She was supposed to be meeting with a charms lecturer in four hours, but she couldn't sleep. It wasn't nightmares; strangely enough those didn't plague her as much as they probably should, considering all that she had been through. No, surprisingly she couldn't stop thinking about Severus Snape and her abrupt departure from his house, and the way he said her name, and the fact that he might have wanted her to stay. She also briefly thought of Ron's persistence in ignoring her; but the thought was very brief.

The kettle clicked and she went about making her tea as she continued to think about tall, dark and greasy. She cringed at the childish name and recalled the way her hands had run through his hair; it really was very fine and straight and surprisingly soft.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang against the front door and she sacrificed her cup to fall against the kitchen floor in order to take out her wand. Another bang sounded and Hermione made her way into the hall, hugging close to the wall and advancing with her wand out. A quick homonium revelio told her that there was only one presence on the other side of the door.

The door handle turned slowly and Hermione was prepared for the intruder to step in, but instead a large black bundle fell into the doorway with a thud and Hermione screamed.

"Professor!?"