Chapter Five – Excuses or Explanations?

Disclaimer: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. All other characters are mine. This story is purely for fun, and I don't make any money off it. Unfortunately, the story isn't mine ether: this is in response to Wormey's 'Heir Challenge'. Go to her page if you want to read the requirements! Thank you for reading! Constructive criticism is welcome, as always.

We Are The Walrus: Haha, yeah. Crazy Severus. I'm glad you enjoyed it, though.

Gwennivierre: Thank you … I think? lol. Not quite sure how to take that. xD

Airlady: He certainly did, didn't he? I'm having a lot of fun with this story, so I can only hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. (lol. It sounds cheesy, but it's true.)



The next morning at breakfast, Hermione noted, Professor Snape was nowhere to be found. She waited all through breakfast and ten minutes after to speak with him, but he never came. Disappointed, she gathered her books and headed down to the potions lab.

I wonder if it has anything to do with yesterday.

Still puzzling over that thought when she reached her room, Hermione tucked the student evaluations from the previous day into her organized cabinet. She stood there aimlessly for a moment, completely still, like a deer caught in the headlights. What had happened yesterday? She wasn't quite sure, but she was sure she'd caught the smell of firewhiskey before he ran off.

After gathering her work essentials, Hermione headed over to the adjacent potions lab, her usual pile of books in tow. Professor Snape had left a detailed list of potions for her to begin preparing: a healing elixir, a health draught and an unnamed potion that she assumed was his own recipe. She began to work on the healing elixir first, rationalizing that most of the students would be needing some on hand by the time Quidditch season began. As brutal as the actual game was, being in a stand surrounded by witches and wizards of the opposite team was that much worse.

By the time lunch rolled around, Hermione was so immersed in her work that she had forgotten to eat. Hair surrounded her face like a frizzled halo, giving her every bit the appearance of a traditional mad scientist. Several house elves walked in, eager to serve her, and had walked right back out in disappointment upon seeing the look of concentration she wore on her face. She worked in this frenzied state for the rest of the day, refusing to stop until all three potions had been successfully started.

"Ah, Miss Granger."

Startled, Hermione jumped a little, but sighed when she saw Professor Snape leaning against the doorframe, holding a plate of food and smirking in that singularly devious way. Hermione stared suspiciously. He was too smug. Something was up.

"I hope that assignment isn't giving you too much trouble."

She glared at him wickedly, knowing that he had loaded on the work purposely for one reason only: to break her spirit. It couldn't have been more obvious that Severus Snape didn't want her around. She had only been employed for three days, and already he had done his best to avoid her at all costs, even to the point of leaving her in the middle of a conversation. But she wasn't going to give in to him. Hermione was the consummate Gryffindor … strong-willed, stubborn and courageous.

"I've got a good start on the healing elixir, and the health draught, too …" she picked up the potion list and stared at it, frowning. "But this last one is complicated. Do we even have all of these ingredients in the school?"

Severus stared at her intensely, watching her lips match the words coming out of her mouth. The words themselves were meaningless, their context completely lost on him, and it suddenly occurred to him that sobering hadn't taken away any of her allure. She was just as beautiful as the day before, when he had watched her working.

Working

Ah, so that was it. He wasn't really attracted to her. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, trying to relieve the pressure on his quickly ballooning cock. He was just attracted to her intelligence, her incredible work ethic. It was so hard to find in a woman these days. The women Severus chose were whores, women who he could pile-drive across a bed or carpet. Women who were good for sex – but nothing else. They weren't intelligent enough to have a conversation with and not pure enough to pursue a relationship with. He was a possessive man, and any woman who was good enough to be his would not have the option of being shared by anyone else.

"Professor?" Hermione stared at him, curiosity etched in her face. There was an odd look about him, a language written in his eyes that she couldn't decipher. She was sure she had seen it before, in the eyes of the young wizards who hit on her shamelessly, but she couldn't be sure. After all, this was Severus Snape, a man who had berated and abused her for seven years of her life. If there was any tenderness or sensitivity in him, Hermione had certainly never witnessed it.

"Since you didn't attend lunch today," he began, with the subtlest of sneers evident in his voice, "I thought it would be only decent of me to bring you some … food." He handed her the plate, stacked high with peas, mashed potatoes, and a cold chicken sandwich. On the counter behind him stood a glass and a pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"How, er … considerate of you," she said slowly, accepting the food. Perhaps it was a peace offering. A little late, though … about seven years too late.

"I believe it is my duty to inform you that the first Hogsmeade trip will begin on Friday, October the sixth. And, let's see … oh, yes." He pulled a piece of parchment from his robe pocket, examining it briefly. "Several of the staff members will be going. Including yourself," he added mockingly.

"But Hogsmeade trips don't usually start until late October," Hermione said. "And the healing elixir should be done on Sunday evening."

"Yes, I believe several of the parents were petitioning for the students to gain more 'out-of-school' experiences," he responded coolly. "It would seem to me that they believe not all knowledge could be gained from books."

Hermione realized this to be a personal blow, but she let it slide. She wasn't about to let him get to her. Not after dealing with him for all these years. Not now that it mattered.

"Then I guess I'll see you then," she said tersely, gathering her food and lab notes. Without another word, she returned to her room and warded the door.

Hmm. He was losing his edge. Severus ran his fingers through his hair. Tsk tsk, Severus. Losing your concentration over a set of breasts?

Ah, well, he thought as he glanced at the potions, simmering away in their cauldrons. Nothing a good fuck can't fix. He paused, grinning inwardly. Something I'm pretty sure Miss Granger will be needing in due time.

.x.

Hermione's workload lightened after her encounter with the Professor, and she even managed to make it to dinner once or twice. But as Hermione's tasks thinner, so did Professor Snape's visits, which made her feel lonely and isolated down in the dungeons. She longed to be able to join the frantic bustle that the rest of the school was in, and even considered petitioning for another position.

I'd rather be a Professor Snape's personal slave than not working here at all.

And so she continued to work tirelessly, counting down the days until October the sixth and their first Hogsmeade trip.

Hermione lay in her bed the day before the break, staring at the hands of the clock. They inched along at a gruelingly slow pace, as if taunting her about the fact that there was still an entire night before the trip. But there was something else bothering her, another reason why the slow passage of time was gnawing away at her patience.

Hermione Granger had never been so horny in her life.

She'd been extremely horny for several weeks now, though she wasn't quite sure why. Of course, she had been horny before, but nothing like this. She pressed her legs together urgently, hoping the dull fire between her legs would ebb. She could feel her own fluids moistening her inner thighs every time she moved, and the heavy, musky scent of her arousal filled the room. Hermione groaned softly and turned to the opposite wall, wincing as the electricity in her body awakened with her movements.

"Dammit!" she hissed, squeezing her eyes shut. Well, there was no way around it …

Hermione rolled onto her back and reluctantly began to touch herself. She slid her fingers lazily over her throat, between her breasts and down her belly, shivering lightly at her own feather-light touch. God, how badly she needed a man to be doing this …

Her fingers quivered in anticipation as they reached that sensitive plane where her pelvis jutted out gently, carving the soft vee that pointed down to her current subject of frustration. With some urgency, she pushed past the elastic waistband and traced her juicy slit with a shudder. For a moment she imagined Severus, biting and licking and kissing her neck as he bent her over a table. She imagined his cock, swollen and thick, tearing into her brutally as he took her from behind.

"Oh, God …" Hermione released a trembling groan as she plunged her fingers into herself. They slid in with ease, ardent fingertips searching for that blissful place within. Lifting her hips impatiently, she finally found it and with a soft moan, began to rub it feverishly. Waves of pleasure coursed through her body and Hermione cried out impatiently, wanting her heated torture to end.

"Severus!" she squealed as release took her into its merciful embrace. The orgasm gripped her like vice, squeezing the air from her lungs and coated her bed and inner thighs in the fluids of her liberation. The blazing witch cried out once more, back arching and hips thrust into the air.

Hermione gasped in air desperately as the orgasm began to subside, and lowered herself back onto the bed. Damn, she must have been horny… normally, touching herself didn't accomplish anything but to make her more worse off than she started.

Wait.

Severus? Where the hell did that come from?

Hermione shivered. Best not to go there again.

.x.

Severus gasped, his forehead planted firmly against the cool stone wall of his private chambers. Oh, God. Hermione's fleeting fantasy and amorous screams of arousal had almost sent him over the edge more than once in the past few minutes. He gripped the base of his cock tightly, willing himself not to spill over, forcing himself not to think of the incredibly sexy woman just two rooms away, waiting and ready to receive him with open legs.

Sweat dripped down his body as he fought against his animalistic urges. There weren't words accurate enough to describe how badly he wanted to run to her rooms, pin the positively arousing witch against the wall and slam her until she passed out from pleasure. He had slipped a slow-acting lust potion into her pumpkin juice with every intention of tuning into her most private thoughts about sex. Truthfully, he had done it simply because he wanted to know how she felt about him, whether or not she still loved him – or at least lusted for him. He craved the self-approval that came from knowing that a much younger and very desirable witch needed his body as much as he lusted for hers. And he had waited with baited breath for three weeks. Frankly, he was surprised she had lasted that long. But damn … he definitely was not expecting a show like that.

He hadn't even needed to use Legilimens to hear her lustful cries. He saw her erotic illusions, saw himself pummeling her from behind as she cried out beneath him, unable to do anything but scream. Each thrust was punctuated by a cry from the other room and a grunt from Severus, who barely managed to live out Hermione's shameless orgasm-fest.

Panting, Severus stumbled to his bed and lay down, his cock throbbing uncomfortably. No more voyeurism for him.


Well, there it is. Next chapter: HOGSMEADE! Be prepared for some twists and turns. Bumpy road ahead!