The eroticism of their story was sending waves of delight through Hermione and she was glad for their recent encounter. He was so beautiful to her. She watched him turn around for the next vial and he looked into her eyes when he released its contents into the bowl. They eagerly jumped into the next chapter.

The Professor's classroom appeared and students were busy packing up to leave. Severus sauntered over to Hermione's desk and requested that she see him at his desk. She put away her books more slowly and urged Ron and Harry to carry on to their next class. Harry was the last student to exit and he shot a worried glance in her direction. She warmly smiled at him and waved goodbye hoping to reassure her friend that she didn't require any worry.

He sat at his desk and waited patiently for her to arrive in front of him. He kept his focus rigid in the possible company of others and hoped she could do the same. As she walked slowly up to his desk he silently gave her credit for her poise. He appreciated having his desk to shield her body from him as her pupils dilated when they fell on his eyes.

She smiled at him and he nodded but kept his features set, "I am in the middle of experimenting with several potions that could provide social relief for our dear friend, Remus." His voice was dipped in sarcasm but his intentions seemed pure.

"Social relief?" she questioned.

"I believe I am close to finishing a potion that would stop Mr. Lupin from turning at all."

Her excitement got the best of her and her voice registered at a higher octave, "That's incredible!" a huge smile was plastered on her face and before she could throw out any questions he held up one hand to stop her in mid-thought.

"I will be leaving the campus to find particular algae." As the words left his mouth a saddening demeanor fell over Hermione's body. "And I have been cleared to bring you with me." Her face lit up and her eyes gave him a look that was laced with desire and heat. "If you so desire to accompany me…"

She answered, "Yes!" very quickly. "When do we leave?" The thought of being alone with Severus again started to drive a tingling sensation through her body. She couldn't believe an opportunity, this welcoming, would ever occur.

"1300 Sunday and we should be back by the time dinner is served. We will be arriving at our destination in the middle of the night, local time, but it should be warm. Be prepared to get wet as I will be requiring your assistance with the retrieval."

"I will see you on Sunday then." She nodded her head and lingered on his gaze for a moment. She turned to leave but paused a moment and turned back to look at him, "What can I research to prepare for the trip?"

"Lunar Algae" His voice was soft but stern.

She smiled at him once more and finally started on her way out.

She left his classroom and headed to the library and she walked like she was on air. She checked out a book on rare algae and met her friends in the great hall for dinner. She moved through the entire meal with her head in the book while taking bites of food between paragraphs. Ron and Harry were wrapped up in conversation about the current quidditch games and barely took noticed of Hermione's, all too common, position with her book.

She casually announced that she would not available on Sunday because she was working on a project for Professor Snape. It was getting difficult to refer to him so formally but she was vigilant about such details.

She woke up Sunday morning and was immediately aware of her anxiousness. She didn't know what to expect from Severus she just knew that she could not stop thinking about him since their last encounter. She remained focus on her academics; however, the presence of their relationship lingered in her peripheral at all times. It plagued her ever thought. She absorbed every detail that she possibly could about Lunar Algae and felt prepared to assist in whatever means necessary on their trip. She promised herself she would prove to be a supportive partner and not an inconvenient tag-a-long.

She arrived at his classroom a few minutes early and found the door open. She cautiously walked in and found him at his desk. When he lifted his head up to look at her it stopped her in her tracks. His eyes swept up and down her body and it gave her chills. "Are you ready?" He said to her.

"Yes." She barely got the word out as her breathing quickened.

"We will floo into my house and apparate from there."

She nodded at him and stepped towards his fireplace. He moved around her with purpose and did his best to put some distance between them. He disliked the lack of self-control he had when he shared her space but at the same time he hungered for it. He gave her a pinch of floo powder and they both traveled into the green flames to land in his sitting room. He made a quit check of his house to confirm everything still held its place. He took Hermione's arm and he apparated them to Purakaunui Falls, New Zealand.

They landed on a flattened rock and the first thing she realized was the sound of the falling water she adjusted her gaze and gasped when the scene became clearer. The moonlight darted off the surface of the rippling water and sparkled as the liquid flowed off of the rocks into a multitude of pools. The waterfalls were spread out and they were sourced from several levels. It was beautiful and Hermione leaned into Severus's chest as she held on to his forearms.

Before he could begin to appreciate the view he vicariously absorbed the scene through her eyes. He softly smiled watching her eyes light up against the moonlight reflected off the water. He took off his robes and moved away from her while she stood still to just look. His voice interrupted her trance and she was happy it did, "Do you know how to locate Lunar Algae?"

"The algae grows under the falling water of several waterfalls and glows a soft blue in the light of a full moon until it turns purple at midnight, when it should be harvested for intended purposes."

"Correct." He laid his robes down carefully on a nearby rock and began to plan his path into the water. The air was warm compared to the bitter winter in England and he was eager to lose the outer layer of his heavy robes.

Hermione finally turned around and stepped a few feet towards Severus. She too unhinged her robes and laid them near Severus's. She followed him to the edge of the water. She knew she would have to get underneath the waterfall to locate the algae. The strength of the water falling proved not to be a concern for either party because it was clearly in the middle of the dry season. There were trickling threads of water in places that one might observe a strong gush of water during the wet seasons.

She took it upon herself to make the first move into the cool pools of water. She stepped right in and sucked in a breath at the feeling of the chilled water. She took a deep breath in and slowly blew out while her body fought to acclimate to the temperature. She hugged the edge of the water as she scooted slowly in the water around to the falling water.

He watched her move carefully in the water and he pressed his lips together and doubted if she knew she was a few feet from the deeper water. He knew the falls well as he frequently plucked ingredients for various potions from the surrounding area. He often detoured from his missions to swim in the clean water of the falls. "Hermione, it would be in your best interest to not go any further."

She turned back to look at him and looked around her to make sure she wasn't being hunted by something more wild than the Professor. She stood still and watched Severus as he took off his clothes. He stood bathing in the moonlight wearing only a black pair of speedos. She remained in awe over the physical state of his body. Before she ever saw him naked she could have never imagined how sculpted his body was or how the scarring added a depth of mystique across his chest. His movements were purposeful and it made her feel inexperienced; and not only in a sexual way but in a way that suggested he had gained knowledge through the amount of life he had lived through. He stood still and basked in the glory of the warm summer night's moonlight. He was aware that her eyes were memorizing the details of his body and he gave her time to do so.

All of a sudden she became aware that she was still fully dressed and the water, now up to her knees, had created a squishy uncomfortable cushion in her shoes. When she stepped in she didn't quite expect to be in deep water but the professor seemed to be prepared to go swimming. She broke her gaze from his body and looked down. Her hands came up to her chest and she thought if she should follow suit and minimize down to her bathing suit. She was wearing a bikini underneath her clothing, from Snape's warning about getting wet, but she felt embarrassed over her choice of suit. They bore the bold colors of Gryffindor and at the time of purchase she was thrilled to find something so suitable for her in a muggle clothing shop. Now, seeing she had feelings for the head of the Slytherin house, she had wished she had brought something more neutral or even black.

Severus stepped down into the water and stepped easily towards Hermione. His body seemed to be resistant to the cool waters as he made no physical gestures to suggest that the water was rather chilly. He took one finger and raised her chin so she could look into his face. "I suspect that you will have two problems if you continue on your current path. 1. In about two feet, the water will no longer be licking at your knees as you will suddenly drop into 10 feet of water. 2. To properly collect this specimen you will have fewer frustrations if you are not managing soaked clothing."

She pulled her long-sleeved shirt slowly over her head and then followed suit with a tank top she had underneath it. The bikini top was a bright crimson colored that sparkled ever so slightly. The halter and back ties were golden and knotted into bows. She removed her eyes off of his and sat down on the edging rocks to remove her shoes and socks and stood on top of the dry stone to remove her pants. His eye level met her abdomen when she stepped out of the water and he saw the goosebumps spread across her skin. Several drops of water clung to the few bumps before gliding down to her hips to the top of her bikini bottoms. He reached out his hand and she took it when she reentered the water. It was easier to get into the water the second time as she felt a sense of warmth that hadn't been released the first time she plunged in the wetness.

He turned his back to her and in two steps he made the motion to dive into the water and very quickly his entire body was sucked up by the black water. She waited until his head surfaced as he bobbed just feet from where she stood. His wet hair was slicked back against his head while a few strands hugged his face interrupting the full view of his eyes. He backed up in the water creating a space big enough for Hermione to join him. She inched very slowly until her toes curled around the edges of smoothed rocks. She looked at him and stepped down into the deeper water. She held his gaze until the moment that the water took her underneath. She easily kicked upward and took a breath in when she got to the surface. She brought her hand up and pushed back the strands of hair that covered his face.

She started to move her body closer to his hoping to urge him to kiss her when very suddenly she felt something touch her foot and wrap itself around her ankle. She screamed and brought her knees up to her chest and kick back down trying to kick, whatever it was, off and away from her but it held on tight as it slithered further up her calf.

He reached over and grasped her thigh and moved his hand quickly down her leg until he felt the head of a snake. With anger he gripped its head and pulled the snake free from Hermione's leg. He held the black snake above the water and looked into its eyes before killing it. He flung snake into the darkness when sparks flew out of the tip of his wand turning the body into dust.

Hermione was taking in deep breaths trying to calm herself down from the incident but she immediately felt terrible for the poor creature's death. Still treading water she frowned at Severus and tried use a scolding tone, "You didn't have to kill him!"

He turned his head slowly and pushed his face within inches of hers and spoke with a deadly edge, "I will not have another snake competing for your attention."

Ego, she thought. If she lacked any sense she would have laughed at his absurd confession but she remained poised and kept herself in control. His closeness and voice was driving stakes into her judgment while the heat swirled through her body. She wanted his mission to be her instead of the retrieval of the algae.

"Accio wand." Snape reached up and took a hold of Hermione's wand gliding through the air. He held out her wand to her, "I assume that you can swim while holding your wand?"

She nodded at him and secured her wand.

He found the other edge of the deeper pool and pulled himself easily out and into the three feet of water near the falling water. He turned around to assist Hermione but she was half-way out of the deep water herself. He placed the tip of his wand underneath the water and the spell that was cast made balls of blue light litter under the water. The effect was beautiful. Hermione's eyes looked across the aqua glow of the water and it cleared the view of the bottom of the pools. She could see every rock and wildlife that made its home in the falling waters. She turned to Severus and smiled at him. With a curt nod he turned to the walls of the waterfall in search of the blue algae. She followed suit.

His eyes shifted to his side where she was feeling the rock's wall for the algae. The water that trickled down the falls fell on her shoulders and back. Her hair was swept back by another flow of water above her head and the view was immensely arousing. With his hand hovering over a patch of Algae he turned his head finally to watch her completely while she searched.

Her wand was trained on the smoothed rock underneath the flow of water and she concentrated on finding the proper shade of blue that she researched about. She was about to comment out-loud on finding a good amount but she felt his eyes bore into her body. He was watching her and it made a tingle sting her nerves. She placed her wand to her side and leaned her back against the lightest fall of water and tilted her head back feeling the little flow of water trickle down her face and continue down to her chest. She closed her eyes and prayed he didn't turn away. She pressed her chest out slightly and waited for his hands to find her skin. She smiled when she heard him move in the water.

He stepped slowly up to her and wrapped his fingers around his wand so he could press the palm of his hand into her wand hand. His masculine hand held her hand with both of their wands pressed against each other in the security of their conjoined hands. The energy from their wands meeting like that sent a surge through the both of them and she gasped. Her eyes flew open and stared into his darkness.

She took her free hand and reached out for his chest. Her finger tips touched his skin and she traced the lines of muscles from his neck and down across his chest. He let out a sigh and wrapped his free hand around her wrist while her hand was still in motion. He dropped his head and closed his eyes feeling the contact on his body. He breathed in her scent and knew that her arousal was growing stronger for him.

He stepped closer against her body at the very last point before he could feel her chest on his and he looked up at her lips. His gaze darted to her eyes and he watched the brown become invaded by the black of her pupil when they dilated. He tilted his head down and kissed her neck. She let out a soft moan and tilted her head giving him as much of her neck and he would take. His lips softly kissed her flesh and he moved the kisses up to the line of her jaw pressing his way to her lips.

Her mouth got impatient and she shifted her head to catch his lips on hers. It was when their tongues were intertwined that he growled lowly from his chest. She could feel his ache deeply in her mouth. She finally pressed her head back separating their mouths and sucked in the oxygen. Her chest was heaving up and down when the air filled her lungs again. Their wand hands still held tightly together and as the passions rose between their souls the wands reacted with surging energy. His other hand slipped to the back of her neck and his fingers worked out the knot that held her bikini top on. As the bow fell apart the top fell down exposing her breast in the light of the moon and sparkling water. His hand gently pressed her body onto his chest and he let out a breath of air. He kissed her again tasting her mouth and tongue. He pressed his hips against her body so she could feel the extent of his erection and she answered back by grinding into him.

His mouth left hers and began to work their way down her body. He kissed each breast and continued with the trail of kisses down her torso. His mouth met the top of her bikini bottom and he kneeled lower in the water. He had to adjust his wand hand and the second their wands left each other they both felt the wands sigh in their hands. He slipped his fingers inside the waistband of the bottoms and started to pull them down into the low level water. He worked them off of her feet until she was free of them. His hand glided behind her knee and he brought up her leg over his shoulders exposing the full view of her pussy to him. With two fingers he spread open her lips so he could see her clit throbbing before him. He smiled knowing, all too well, the pain of need. The tip of his tongue flicked at the warm nub of flesh and then he covered it with his mouth sucking hard at the need.

The squeal that left her body was guttural and she couldn't fight it. Her hands flew up looking for something to hang on to and they grasped the edge of one of the wet rocks. Her knuckles took on a shade of white when she squeezed at the stones. She moved her head to the side to clear her mouth of the trails of water streaming over their bodies. The only thing her brain knew at that moment was that her body needed to breath in oxygen. The entire lower half of her body was now being supported by Severus and he welcomed the responsibility of that task. She moaned out his name, "Severus…"

Despite her hips bucking and her body shifting between him and the wall of rocks he kept his mouth and tongue tightly around her clit sucking at its will. With his mouth and tongue applying different intensities of pressure against her clit it started to swell in his mouth. Her throat gasped in more air and he looked up hearing his name begging out of her lips, "Severus.." After several minutes he felt the muscles in her ass and thigh tighten up around his shoulder. Her hips jerked and her back pressed into the rocks when the orgasm started to take over her body.

She screamed out his name once more, "Severus!" he lowered the intensity of sucking and gently milked her clit. He felt the inside of her pussy constrict wildly and in a sudden moment her body became limp as she crumpled down into the water against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he held her against him. Her fingers were still aware of the presence of her wand and she silently gave herself points for not breaking the wand in half on the wall of rocks.

Snape moved their bodies closer to the edge of the drop off and smoothly guided their bodies down into the deeper water. Hermione tried to assist him swimming but she was still in recovery mode. She held onto him tighter. She breathed softly in his ear and without thinking, she subtly whispered out the words, "I love you."

His body tensed and he stopped in the middle of the deepest water. Pure instinct kept his feet treading the water which kept them both afloat. Her head lifted off of his shoulder when she realized what she disclosed to him and her eyes looked into his with fear. Did she love him? The thought rolled around in her brain. She surely didn't mean to say it but she couldn't deny her intention behind the words.

His eyes found sadness and he spoke calmly back to her, "You shouldn't."

"I…I'm sorry Severus. It's just, well." She sighed, "I have nothing else to call it. If not love, what is it that I have for you?"

He moved again in the water and brought them to the shallow floor of the pool. The glowing lights in the water gave off a calm glow. She wrapped her legs around his hips worried he would try to put space between them. He picked her up out of the water and stepped to where his robes lay on the ground. He leaned over and placed Hermione's body across the black fabric spread on the large rock and removed the rest of her bikini top as she lay down.

She spoke to him again, "is it lust, because I desire to feel your cock inside of me? Is it need, because I require hearing your voice? Is it like, because I want your company?"

He held up his hand to stop her from speaking anymore, "Hermione, our wands already stated the magnitude of our feelings. They knew before your mouth spoke it." He took the tip of his wand and dragged it down the middle of her chest and down her body. Her skin felt the warmth etch into her cells from the contact of his wand. Her hand lifted from the side of her body and pressed against his erection still tucked away safely in his speedos.

"Severus?"

He leaned over her body and pressed his lips on his. He dragged his tongue in and out of her mouth before he acknowledged her question. "Hm?"

"I want more of you. Right now."

"Did I not satisfy your needs, Hermione?" his voice purred her name pronouncing every syllable with purpose.

"Do you need me to say no for you to continue?"

"I need you to be honest." He answered back.

"my complete satisfaction involves feeling you satisfied."

"I could never lay another hand on you and be satisfied for the rest of my life."

She gave him a displeasing look. She wanted him to need her.

"Talk to me Hermione."

"I want to be the reason you lack self-control. I want to feel your cock pulsate inside of me losing control. I want to be taken…"

His eyes pressed into her gaze. She felt the heat from his eyes alone. "Hermione, you want me to fuck you."

"Yes."She pleaded.

He reached over her and balled up her robes and placed it under her head. Her hands started to push down his Speedos and his cock emerged with ease. Her hands abandoned the Speedos on his thighs and they wrapped around his hardness. The power she felt when she held him like this was nothing she could explain. He removed the Speedos off of his legs and he positioned his hips over hers. He raised her wrists above her head and said, "Open your hands." He placed her wand into her open palms so that each hand held each tip. He took his wand and laid it against Hermione's and then sealed both wands together with their hands. His fingers locked around Hermione's fingers above her head and when he entered her the surge of energy that shot from their wands made them both cry out in pleasure.

Her body reacted to the carnal sounds of Severus's pleasure, even through the pitch of her own scream. She never considered how his vocal release could fulfill her soul. She pushed her hips up towards him and felt the inside of her core compress around his girth. There was a moment of a slight sting but before she could register the feeling the pleasure pounded into her nerve endings. Her entire body was alive and reverberated against Severus's thrusts.

The beads of water that clung to their bodies started to heat up as their thrusts were match by each other's convictions. In an instant he stopped thrusting and his chest heaved from the deep breaths. His voice stilled to communicate to her, "our connection is too strong…I won't be able to suspend my release." Her hips jerked down against the robe-covered rock and shot up, pushing him into her deeply. A hiss left his throat.

"Don't. Stop." It came out as a threat to him and his eyes widened to calculate the risks.

"Hermione, you will come with me. I demand your body…" He paused when he plunged deep into her "to respond to my release." His voice was steady and haunted her emotions. His statement was answered with a shiver from her body and he continued to drive into her.

Her back arched sharply upwards and her toes curled tightly into her feet. Her body was prepping to let go. She moaned out his name, "Severus."

It was the Professor who greeted his orgasm first and a growl poured out of his mouth. She closed her eyes and concentrated on trying to feel stream of moisture that shot into her and when she picked up on the wet sensation she squeezed her fingers tightly in his hand and let go. Her muscles rippled against his cock inside of her and he lost his breath from feeling the compressions.

The wands vibrated violently in their hands and ribbons of green and crimson light shot out of their hands and coiled around their bodies. The heightened moment of their simultaneous orgasm was held hostage in a tantric standstill. Their eyes were locked on one another's and they shared their emotions: excitement, fear, love, happiness, loneliness, and thrill. Very slowly the strands of light dissipated back into the wands. They could feel the light sliding on their naked bodies and very gradually they felt control return to their abilities.

He let go of her hands and both wands rolled out. He shifted out of her and onto his side before laying his back against the cool smooth rock. She brought her hands down and let one travel over to his fingers maintaining a physical touch to him. They held hands and breathed silently with the moonlight spilling over on their overwhelmed bodies.

Breaking the silence, she was the first one to speak, "What happened?"

His eyes where fixed on the stars in the sky and he shook his head gently, "I don't know. I don't recall hearing about such reactions from wands." He sat up and let go of her hand to pick up his wand. He studied his wand closely and it felt like an odd thing to do as this wand had been a part of his being for most of his life. He took it for granted and never considered that it might hold secrets of its own.

She sat up on his robes and inched closer to his back. She laid her head against his back and rested her hands on his shoulders. She pressed herself tightly against his body and felt her nipples tingle with the contact. "Severus, my body is so hot…I am going to make demands of the water to cool it off." And she used his strong back to pull herself up. The act of standing was nearly too much but the draw of the water was becoming stronger. She stepped carefully down into the cool waters and let out an audible "Ahhhh…"

Severus turned his back and watched her find peace in the, still glowing, waters. He too, was awfully warm and he would soon join her. He disliked not understanding how magic occurred and he marked it a priority to find out what their wands had done. He was scared for her safety and he sighed watching her dip into the deeper part of the pools. Love was something he didn't intend to find and he loathed the emotional presence of it in his life. He had to will himself up off the rock and as he entered the fluid he took note that it was just about time to gather the algae. He took several long stride in the water and dove into the deep pool. The coolness that enclosed around his body was welcomed.

His head bobbed on the surface of the water and her smile warmed his worries. "It is just about time to collect the algae, correct?" She said.

"Yes." He said to her. He pulled himself out of the deep water inching closer to the water falls. He was aware of his naked body but he liked the way Hermione's eyes fed off him. She pulled herself up and then located her bikini bottoms against a rock ledge. She walked over and stepped into them. His eyes watched her complete the task. She grinned at him.

"Severus Snape, you must know that you have an incredible body. I do believe that there is not a single professional Quidditch player that has anything on you." The words left her mouth with a chuckle.

"One of life's lessons taught me that when a body is in the best physical form it can heal and overcome injury more efficiently. I don't maintain my body to impress anyone, Miss Granger." He walked through the few feet of water to where she stood, "It does; however, increase my stamina." He leaned down and kissed her mouth. "Miss Granger, how long can we utilize the lunar algae before its properties expire?"

She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, "3 hours, Professor." He narrowed his eyes at her and turned around to start the collection. They both worked on gathering the Algae and within 15 minutes they collected what they needed to and then some.

They started to pick up their articles of clothing from the rocky edges of the falls. He flicked his wand over the both of them and their bodies dried instantly. He dried her clothing and managed them back onto her body. He turned towards the water and made the balls of glowing light disappear. They were shrouded in a darkened state again. "We must hurry, Hermione." She stepped quickly to and she grabbed his arm to apparate into his home.

He turned on her and requested that she take the extra lunar Algae to Professor Slughorn. "I do believe he will appreciate the ingredients." He said. "Floo back into my office and go straight to his quarters. You may lay down and sleep Hermione, but please promise me you will attend dinner in the normal fashion. I gave Dumbledore my word that you would be back in the castle by dinner."

She nodded her head and tried to hide her disappointment from having to leave him so soon. "I understand Severus."

He whispered, "Thank you." His hand reached out and touched her cheek. His lips softly touched hers and he kissed her goodbye.