Disclaimer: I obviously don't own anything Harry Potter related, and I'm not making any money off the writing of this. As an added disclaimer while I am playing in this particular sandbox, I would like to add that there are many ways to have a D/s relationship, and this is only portraying one of them.

Apologies for the long break in updates; the holiday and my son's birthday left me with no writing time, and some fest fics needed wrapping up. But I'm back on schedule now, so please enjoy the product of feeding my plot bunnies some fresh carrots.

And thank you, as always, to Lorcalon - the awesome beta that I adore!

Her ride on the Hogwarts Express was an uneasy one as Hermione returned to the castle at the end of the holiday. After the dream she'd had two nights before, she had gone to her journal in the morning to write the account her Dominant would have expected. But as she'd held the quill in her hand, poised over the page to begin writing, she had frozen. It wasn't the thought of reliving the dream long enough to write about it that gave her pause, although a faint blush had already settled in her cheeks before she'd even begun. Instead, it was the strange swirl of emotions she felt as she considered the dream again.

There had been a sense of want and need throughout the dream as she had been on her knees in front of her Dominant's chair. But beneath that, there had been a current of true desire. Even awake, as she thought over the course of the dream again, it was present; a faint wave of heat that washed over her body and sent her to squirming slightly in her seat. After that, she'd tried to place another face and another body in Snape's place, hoping that it would elicit the same response, but to no avail.

In the end, she'd been unable to bring herself to write a real account of the dream. Instead, she wrote that she'd had one that she wished to discuss with him in person, when she returned from the holiday. It wasn't a much better option, but at least it would give her a few days to prepare a speech of sorts about it. When Bryna hadn't arrived with any letters demanding a full and detailed report, Hermione had taken that as his agreement to her request.

While Ron and Harry passed the train ride back trying to get her talking about her holiday, Hermione buried her nose in a book in an attempt to buy herself some thinking time. She quickly developed a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as the Hogwarts Express brought them closer to the school and she realized she still hadn't prepared an explanation she was satisfied with. Although she tried to reassure herself that she likely would have nearly another week before she would have to face her Dominant in private, she had a suspicion that he wouldn't be willing to wait so long to hear it.

Stepping off the train at the station, she had half-expected to find him to be the one waiting to escort the students back to the castle; it was both a relief and a disappointment to see Professor McGonagall waiting instead.

"Are you sure everything's alright, Hermione?" Ron asked her as they stepped from the bitter cold wind into the warmth of the castle at last. "You've been really quiet since the train." Harry nodded in agreement beside him as the three of them paused beside a stairwell, letting the other students pass them by.

"I'm fine, you two, really." Both of her friends gave her a disbelieving look, although they at least nodded in acceptance of her answer. "So, should we-"

"Miss Granger," drawled Professor Snape's voice from behind her, cutting off her sentence and sending a quickly suppressed thrill rippling through her as she twisted around to face him. "If you are not otherwise occupied," he said with a brief glance over her head at Harry and Ron, "I require your assistance with a bit of brewing prior to dinner."

Hermione hesitated for a moment and shifted her feet slightly. Before she managed to find her voice, Harry seemed to pick up on her hesitance and piped up from behind her. "What about that essay you have to finish, Hermione?" he asked, and Hermione turned slightly to look at him, her brow furrowed.

"Would you like to attempt that trick again while she drinks a glass of water, Mister Potter, or would you prefer to allow Miss Granger to answer for herself? Fifteen points from Gryffindor," he added for good measure, much to Harry's and Ron's mutual annoyance. With a resigned sigh, Hermione shook her head and looked back up at her Dominant's face with a hint of reluctance in her expression.

"I'm free at the moment, Sir. I'd be happy to help with the brewing."

/-/SSHG/-/

Snape led the way silently towards his quarters, his face and eyes both focused forward and ignoring Hermione's sidelong glances. When he stopped in his private office rather than proceeding through to his rooms, she stood nervously in front of him where he leaned against his desk, forcing herself to look up into his face rather than at her feet shifting nervously on the floor.

"I believe you know why I do not intend to wait nearly another week to speak to you, Miss Granger," Snape said calmly, receiving a nod from his submissive in return. "Since you seem to be on edge enough as it is, perhaps we should begin with the information you have withheld from me about your latest dream?" Swallowing nervously, Hermione nodded a second time, although she didn't begin to speak immediately.

Her eyes dropped to the floor as she struggled to find a place to begin her explanation. A faint blush began to rise in her cheeks as she opened and closed her mouth several times, never uttering more than a syllable or two before stopping herself. The frustration of it brought a wave of childish anger washing over her, and when she stamped her foot in frustration, Snape took a step closer to her and gently grasped her chin in one hand to lift her face upwards again.

"You've told me that you did not wish to write it, but would that be easier for you to do now that you are here?" His voice was soothing, and the tint of pink in Hermione's cheeks deepened slightly as she looked up into his eyes for the first time in nearly two weeks.

"I...I don't think that would help me, Sir," she answered a little more softly than she had meant to, and her tongue darted out to wet her suddenly dry lips. Her Dominant arched one dark eyebrow curiously as he released his hold on her face, although he made no move to step away from her as he spoke again.

"Do you have another suitable solution to your apparent speaking problem then, Hermione?"

The word slipped past her lips before she realized she had even thought it, and even Snape seemed surprised at her suggestion as she answered confidently, "Legilimency."

"You're certain?" he asked, scrutinizing her as though he was looking for any sign of hesitance on her part, but Hermione only nodded after a moment's thought. Apparently satisfied by what he saw, Snape responded by withdrawing his wand from one pocket of his robes and bringing his free hand to cup her jaw again as he met her eyes calmly. "Very well, pet. Legilimens."

She'd replayed the images of the dream in her mind countless times over the past two days, but it was nothing compared to seeing them in the clarity they'd had when she had dreamt them. As she watched herself wrapping her lips so eagerly around her Dominant's cock, Hermione shifted her weight from one foot to the other, hoping to ease the flood of warmth that was spreading through her body and currently pooling between her legs. If she'd expected Snape to withdraw after gaining an idea of the content, she was mistaken; his presence remained in her mind as the scene replayed in its entirety, only withdrawing when the sharp tug on her hair put an end to the dream.

His hand had tightened slightly on her chin without either of them realizing it, and as he released her entirely and stepped away, Hermione found herself missing his nearness more than she'd expected. "Sir?" she asked uncertainly as she watched him step around behind his desk and take a seat without looking at her.

"How does all of this make you feel, Hermione?" he asked, the shift back to her first name not going unnoticed by her as she stepped closer to his desk somewhat hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Snape's dark eyes locked on her own and despite the mask of control he was attempting to slide in place, she could see a hint of something in them that was at once thrilling and terrifying to her. Unconsciously, her tongue darted back across her lips quickly before she brought herself to speak while taking a seat in the lone chair opposite the desk from him. "I enjoy it, Sir, if that's what you're asking me. I have no desire for this to come to an end at the moment, and..." Hermione trailed off and lowered her eyes to her lap and took a steadying breath before she continued, "And if I were to be entirely honest, I believe my interests are beginning to move into more intimate forms of training."

"Look at me," Snape commanded although he didn't need to raise his voice above a murmur. Hermione raised her gaze back to his face and felt her breathing catch as she saw the expression in his eyes. Whatever mask he was attempting to hide behind was proving difficult to maintain for one reason or another and she didn't bother trying to suppress the nervous tremor it brought out in her. "If that is what you want, Hermione, then I would be willing to consider it."