The next morning, Hermione Granger woke up in the arms of Severus Snape. It was so natural, the way they fit together, like puzzle pieces. Her head was nestled under his chin and their arms were wrapped around each other, their chests pressed tight together. She had not realized until now that he had been naked, and she could feel his morning stiffness in the crook between her thighs. She sighed against his neck, still half asleep, absorbing the wonderful sensation of being held by him, even if he wasn't exactly aware.

Hermione squeezed the Potions Master tighter to her and he responded by growling low in his throat and stretching out a little, running his hand across her back. In turn, Hermione rubbed her nose against his Adam's apple in a gesture of affection, then planted a kiss on it. He pulled back just enough to look down at her, and when she looked up at him, their noses brushed against each other. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Hermione leaned in to the contact, pressing her cheek against his, allowing her lips to touch the corner of his mouth.

At this, he moved a hand to her hair and turned her face to his, kissing her full on the mouth. She reveled in the sensation as he brushed his lips against hers, opening them just enough to pull one of hers between them. She moaned, opening her mouth to him, and he reacted by opening his mouth over hers and darting his tongue inside. She timidly rubbed her own tongue against his and he groaned in pleasure. Taking that as encouragement, Hermione slipped her own tongue into his mouth. He gripped her hair tighter and the kiss became harder, deeper, and more urgent. She pushed him back into the pillows, kissing him passionately and moving against him to express her need. She could feel his arousal.

His hands found her arse and pulled her tight against his hardness. Then, he was on top of her, pressing her into the mattress with growing urgency. His hand roughly groped her breast and he pressed against her with a need that made her want to explode. She could hear herself moaning into his mouth as his hand slipped under her shirt to pinch a nipple. Then his hand was on her thigh, running across the bare skin.

Suddenly, he pulled away. As he crouched over her, she could see, for the first time, his naked length. Oh Merlin!

"No." he said. She met his eyes and it took a moment for the word to sink in. "I can't do this," he continued, and suddenly he was gone. She heard the shower in the bathroom and leaned back against the pillows. What just happened?

Snape was gone the entire day and Hermione had to reign in her temper to keep from ruining the Wolfsbane. That git! When the brewing was finished, she couldn't force herself to concentrate on reading. She had already thoroughly dissected all of the Occlumency books he had left her anyway. Beyond frustrated and looking for something to distract her tortured mind, Hermione grabbed for the notebook that was her sole form of communication with Harry and Ron. To her utter surprise, there was a new entry:

Got a lead on another horcrux. Breaking into Gringotts. Thought you ought to know.

"Oh shit!" Hermione exclaimed. This was big and possibly very very bad. But there was absolutely nothing she could do except wait. Idly she wondered when they had sent the message out. Too bad she hadn't thought to include a time stamp in the wandwork. Hermione sighed in frustration and wrote back: Send me an update ASAP! She did decide to charm the notebook to whistle like a tea pot when it got a new message.

The door flung open. Snape was back. Great timing, she thought drily. He looked to be in no mood to talk to her, but she wasn't having any of that. "Professor," she tried. He only walked past her as if he had more important things to think about and didn't want any distractions.

"Not now, Granger," was all he managed before slipping into his bedroom. She followed stubbornly.

"Professor, I only wanted to ask if you could unward the bookshelf…" Snape turned on her then, his black robes sweeping around him menacingly.

"Is that what you want, Granger? Is that what this is all about?" …What? She only gaped at him. "Well you know something, Granger? My books are worth a lot more than one pathetic kiss." It was as if he had slapped her. What the hell is he talking about?! "Don't give me that look! You have no power here, Granger! I am not the kind of man who gives in to the pleas of a woman merely because she makes herself available to me!" How dare he! "So if you want to make an arrangement, you should say so, but I'll tell you right now it'll take a lot more than that." She could happily murder him.

"You bastard!" She honestly would have slapped him if she didn't believe he would dodge it and then punish her for trying.

"I've been called worse."

"Fine! How much for the fucking bookshelf then?" she cried out, calling his bluff. She was not a fool and she did not believe that he had been unaffected by that kiss. And she knew that he didn't actually want to trade favors. She watched him hesitate.

"The entire bookshelf, Granger? You would owe me for the rest of your life." She stepped boldly over to him.

"Fine. It's not likely to be very much longer anyway, if you don't give me access to your books." That seemed to shake him from his stubborn self-deception.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione lifted her chin defiantly.

"Forget about it. You don't care, remember? Just tell me what I have to do."

"Granger, don't push me." He warned in a low growl.

"Done. Anything else?" She was furious with him and was using the opportunity to let out all of her stress about her current predicament onto him.

"Granger! Why do you need my books?!"

"I can't tell you that, Professor."

Suddenly he was on her, her back biting into the doorframe, his hands on her shoulders. She met his eyes in hurt confusion and immediately understood his objective. He ripped through her mind and she could feel images flying to the surface, but she was prepared. Instead of allowing him to see her intentions, she bombarded him with images of the two of them brewing together, reading together, coexisting. She brought up the memory of the kiss they had shared that morning, complete with her own intense emotions. He latched onto that one and then she could feel his probing mind change directions. Before she could stop him he was diving deeper, following that thread, starting at the beginning.

Viktor Krum. There was the day that he asked her to the Yule ball. Then, the ball itself and a lingering kiss goodnight; clumsy but exciting. Next came a memory of them snogging on the Durmstrang ship (the only place on the castle grounds where his fan club couldn't follow). Viktor was groping her through her blouse and she felt nothing but anxiety and discomfort. She could sense Snape's displeasure. But he was looking for something specific.

So she did have a little experience with Krum. But he didn't seem to have inspired the passion he had sensed in that other memory. Severus concentrated hard. The girl was apparently too confused to Occlude him anymore, though she had put up a valiant effort at the start. He decided to switch tactics, focusing on the emotion rather than the idea.

There! He caught a glimpse of the crusty jars on a shelf he had seen in the old memory before running into a brick wall. Suddenly he was catapulted from her mind and opened his eyes to see a furious Hermione Granger standing over him with her wand drawn.

"How dare you!" She cried. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and he felt a twinge of remorse.

"I was only…"

"Don't!" Her broken expression was eloquent of her rage and it was all directed at him. Suddenly it hit him. The jars. The shop. Knockturn Alley. He was certain of it. But in the memory, he had been kissing her neck. Oh bloody fucking hell! It hadn't been a memory at all! It had been a dream!

Just then there was a whistle like a tea kettle and Severus jumped to his feet, his wand drawn, pushing Hermione behind his back. But she pushed past him, running over to a small notebook on the table beside the couch. Flipping it open, she sank to the couch as she read. A hand flew to her mouth and she gasped in apparent horror as he watched the color drain from her face.

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