Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, this is just for fun.

AN: Holy CRAP you guys...almost 400 views and 33 favorites, just from the first chapter! Also, thank you so much for your awesome reviews, they totally made my day! Here is chapter 2, Please let me know what you think! (ps, I have about 7 chapters written so far, so hopefully that will give me some time to catch up on some of my other fics as well ;) Enjoy!

Her thoughts were racing by the time she reached her quarters, trying to make sense of her Professor's behavior towards her. She knew that logically, he was probably just grateful for her help, and that he felt responsible for her well-being, and that it was likely all completely innocent.

But…

No matter how much she tried to ignore it, she couldn't seem to forget how his fingers felt on her skin, and how his deep chuckle seemed to have an entirely different meaning behind it. No matter that he was young, really only ten or so years her senior, he was still her Professor. She rubbed her hands over her eyes and exhaled loudly. It would not do for her to have these kinds of thoughts towards him. No matter how young, handsome, and brilliant he may be, he was off-limits. More than likely, she was misinterpreting his behavior anyway, and he would probably be horrified and think her inappropriate for having such thoughts.

She collapsed on her bed, and pulled out her journal.

September 7, 1997, 11:30pm

Gods, I have a crush on my Professor. It's wildly inappropriate, given the trust he has placed in me, but I can't stop the nerves that make my stomach clench whenever he stands too close to me, or the slight trembling of my hands when I am alone in a room with him. I wish I could say that it was merely a natural physical reaction; however, it goes well beyond that. He's brilliant, and I find myself wanting to be challenged by him. Tonight, after hours of grading essays with barely a few words spoken between us, he massaged the aching muscles in my neck, and I practically melted into a puddle at his feet.

Those hands…with long slender fingers. I find myself staring at his hands in class sometimes, mesmerized by the way they curl just so around his wand.

See? Inappropriate. I suppose by writing my private thoughts in here, I can acknowledge them and move on.

She snapped her journal shut, and placed it in her bedside drawer, and warded it. She pulled off her clothes, and pulled on a nightshirt before slipping into bed, falling into a deep sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

She opened her eyes and blinked, realizing that she was sitting at her desk in the Defense classroom, with a quill in her hand as her eyes moved up towards the front of the room.

"That will be all for today, however I expect 2 feet of parchment on the Inferius curse when you return next week. Miss Granger, may I have a word, please?"

She nodded, watching the rest of the class file out of the room, then stood and began packing her quill and parchment into her satchel. As she made her way to the front of the classroom to his desk, she shifted nervously as he made his way towards her with an unreadable expression on his face. Had she done something to upset him? She flinched when she heard the door slam shut and the crackle of magic that followed as his wards slid into place.

"Professor?" she asked questioningly

He took a step towards her, trapping her against his desk with his arms as he leaned in close enough to whisper in her ear.

"I thought I told you to call me Tom?"

Her stomach gave a nervous jolt at his closeness. She could smell the spicy scent of his aftershave, and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Her eyes fluttered shut when she felt his lips ghost over her neck.

"We shouldn't be doing this…" she managed to whisper as her arms moved of their own accord to wrap around his neck.

"Tell me you don't want this, and I'll stop…" he mumbled against her throat as his hands moved from where they had been resting on the desk to her waist.

She knew she should stop him, that what they were doing was wrong, but she couldn't bring herself to say the words. Instead, she tilted her face towards his and he captured her lips in a demanding kiss. At the sound of his small sigh, she felt a throb of desire low in her belly and clenched her thighs together.

As the kiss grew more intense, she squeaked in surprise when she felt herself being lifted onto his desk, and her legs pushed apart so he could stand between them. She could feel him, all of him, as her hips rocked forward seeking relief from the throbbing need she was consumed with.

"Hermione…" he breathed as he broke the kiss to trail hot open mouthed kisses along the column of her throat.

When she felt his hand slip beneath her school skirt and trail along her inner thigh until his fingertips met the edge of her damp knickers, she stiffened with embarrassment until she heard him groan.

"Gods, you're so wet for me…"

Rational thought fled her brain when she felt the long fingers she had fantasized about so many times brush over her sex, and she arched her back towards him letting out a small moan.

"Tell me what you want, Hermione" she heard him say through the fog of lust she was currently experiencing.

"You. I want you, Tom." She managed in a choked whisper as two of his fingers slid into her in a way she had never experienced before. It was slightly uncomfortable at first, but with the way his breath was heavy against her neck, and his thumb was tracing small circles over her clit, it was causing a new sensation to build up within her. She began to rock her hips in sync with his hand, and within moments, she felt her release crash over her as she shook in his arms, grasping fistfuls of his shirt tightly as he continued to move his hand against her, his name falling from her lips. As she came down from the high, she watched him through hooded eyes as he slipped his fingers into his mouth, his gaze locking on to hers…

She jolted awake, panting heavily, with an insistent throbbing between her legs. She very rarely gave into her own need, but after that dream, she desperately needed some relief. Her hand slipped beneath her sheets and she let out a soft moan as her fingers brushed her swollen clit. In the back of her mind, she was aware of how wrong it was to be touching herself while thinking about her Professor, but at the moment, all she cared about was the blissful feeling of release that it promised. The dream replayed itself in her mind, and she mimicked the movements of his hand with her own, imagining it was him touching her, and before long, she cried out, arching her back off the bed as her orgasm washed over her. She lay in her bed for a while, willing her heartrate to slow down, until she finally managed to pull herself out of bed, and take a cold shower.

oOo0oOo

"How did things go with Tom last night?" Harry asked smirking, and Hermione winced, blushing a deep crimson as thoughts of her early morning activities came back to her.

"Fine. It was rather boring actually." She said dismissively, hoping it would make them lose interest in her liaison with their professor.

"I heard he kept you out awfully late…couldn't have been that boring." Ginny interjected raising an eyebrow at Hermione questioningly.

Hermione sighed, "I was grading first year essays on disarming opponents for him for a little over three hours, hardly stimulating work." Hermione said rolling her eyes for good measure.

The corner of Ginny's lips twitched knowingly when she noticed the flush in Hermione's cheeks, and decided to change course.

"So, has Viktor written lately?" she asked innocently.

Hermione grit her teeth, and put down her fork as calmly as she could manage before her eyes snapped up to Ginny's.

"No, Ginny, he hasn't. I'm sure being an international quidditch star hasn't left him much time to write." Hermione snapped impatiently.

"That's assuming Vicky knows how." Ron muttered darkly under his breath, earning another annoyed glare from Hermione.

"Honestly, Ronald, green is not your color. When are you going to get over the fact that someone other than you noticed that I'm a female?" she spat once again picking up her fork with more force than necessary.

"Indeed you are, Miss Granger. One would have to be quite…obtuse not to notice." A familiar voice came from behind her causing her to drop her fork with a clatter back onto her plate.

She spun in her seat, and as soon as her eyes met his, she felt a guilty blush suffuse her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't see you there." She said quickly, her heart hammering in her chest as he looked down at her in amusement.

"Clearly. I was just stopping by to thank you again for last night; if there is ever anything you need, please don't hesitate to come to me." He said kindly, though Hermione didn't miss the way he accentuated the word 'need', and the way his eyes bore into hers as he said it.

As soon as he walked away, Hermione let out the breath that she had been holding. She pushed her plate away; her appetite having vanished as her stomach was busy doing somersaults.

"Not hungry?" questioned Ginny with a knowing smirk as she popped a grape into her mouth.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Hermione muttered in exasperation and stood, grabbing her bag quickly before striding out of the Great Hall.

"She's been doing that a lot lately." Ron said absently as he shoved another piece of muffin into his mouth.

oOo0oOo

Thankfully, her full course load helped distract her from inappropriate thoughts of her professor for most of the morning and early afternoon until it was time for lunch. Deciding that she just wasn't up to an interrogation like the one she had been subjected to that morning at breakfast, she darted quickly down the lesser used hallway that led to the kitchens. As much as she was loathe to ask the house elves to wait on her, she was famished. She looked about quickly to make sure no one was watching, and reached up to tickle the pear in the portrait of fruit that hung inconspicuously on the wall. Within a moment, a panel slid away, revealing the entrance to the Hogwarts kitchens. She clutched her bag tightly over her shoulder, and strode in, lost in thought as she moved mechanically over to her usual spot near the hearth.

"Hermione."

Her head snapped up in surprise, not having expected anyone else to be in here. Of course, it had to be him.

"Professor." She said in greeting, coming to a stop when she noticed he was sitting in her spot.

The boyish grin he flashed her kick-started her heart into over drive once more, and she sucked in a breath.

"Please, will you join me?" he asked, gesturing for her to take the seat across from him at the small pub style table.

Remembering that she still had the ability to move, she nodded quickly, giving him a small smile as she moved to take the seat opposite him.

"I see I'm not the only one who wasn't up for company this afternoon." He said with a wink as she settled herself in her seat.

She froze, glancing up at him nervously, before stammering, "Oh…If you'd prefer to be alone, I could-"she began before he waved his hand dismissively.

"No, of course not; please sit. While I can admit that I usually prefer to keep my own company, I find I do quite enjoy yours."

"I enjoy yours as well, Professor." She blushed again, and chastised herself for being so obvious.

"Tom."

She raised an eyebrow questioningly, and watched as he picked up the other half of his sandwich from his plate and handed it to her.

"I told you, call me Tom." He said answering her unasked question with a smirk before taking another bite of his sandwich.

She lifted the sandwich to her mouth, hoping it would hide the fact that she was still blushing profusely, and let out a surprised laugh when she realized that it was peanut butter and jelly.

"How muggle of you." She said after she swallowed the first bite, giving him a teasing grin.

His smile faltered, but he quickly recovered himself and popped a grape into his mouth, studying her as she ate.

As she finished her sandwich, her look turned wistful as she seemed to be thinking about something.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, pouring tea into both of the cups the house elves had brought for them.

She took the cup from him carefully avoiding his eyes choosing instead to study the delicate filigree etched into the porcelain teacup.

"I was just thinking about my parents, and how they wouldn't approve." She said sadly.

Tom stiffened across from her, his hand tightening around his teacup when he asked quietly, "Is it because they are Purebloods?"

She surprised him then when she laughed loudly, setting down her tea cup, and said "No, Tom, it's because they're dentists."

His eyes widened fractionally at her revelation that she was a muggle born, though she didn't seem to notice.

"Well, thanks again for the sandwich. I really should be off, Potion's starts in fifteen minutes." She said smiling as she stood, pulling her over-full bag back onto shoulder.

"I'll walk you." He said as he finished his tea and made to stand.

When he reached for her bag, she gave him a wide-eyed look of surprise.

"Oh, I can manage, you don't need to-" she stammered quickly as he reached out and hefted her dreadfully heavy bag from her shoulder and swung it over his own, with a unexpected grunt of pain.

"What do you have in here, bricks?" he teased as he shot her another swoon-worthy grin.

"Books. Just books." She answered sheepishly, "Anyway, you really don't have to do that."

"It's on my way. I should remind you, that as your professor, it is my duty to ensure your safety; judging by the weight of this bag, I'm sure your spine will thank me later." He quipped.

Hermione chuckled, blushing once again, as she stepped through the door in front of him muttering her thanks.

They walked in companionable silence until they reached the Dungeons, where he noticed her posture become tense.

"Don't tell me a Gryffindor is afraid of a few snakes…" he said smirking at her.

Hermione scoffed, "Hardly. More like just one snake." She admitted without thinking before turning to give him an embarrassed look. How could she have forgotten that he had been a Slytherin?

He raised his eyebrow questioningly, "Oh? Do tell…I'd be very interested to know exactly who it is I should be speaking to later."

She stopped just outside of the potions classroom, noting that the door was already shut; she was late. Shit.

"Really Professor, it's not important." She said quickly waving off his concern. When he made no move to relinquish her bag, and continued to stare at her expectantly, she sighed in defeat.

"Malfoy. And no, I'm not afraid of him, he's just always been exceedingly cruel, as long as I've known him."

He nibbled his bottom lip thoughtfully and furrowed his brow as he pulled her bag off of his shoulder and held it out to her.

"Maybe you've piqued his interest." He said quietly, noticing how her breath hitched just slightly as his hand brushed her knuckles.

"I can't imagine why…" she trailed off when she noticed how he was gazing at her mouth, and her heart started pounding a staccato in her chest once more.

He shook himself and took a step back from her, clearing his throat quickly, seeming to remember something and held a small piece of parchment out to her.

"What's this?" she asked in confusion.

"Give that to Professor Slughorn, it will excuse you for being late. Good day, Hermione." He said politely giving her a brief nod before striding away from her down the hallway.

She glanced down at the parchment in her hand, and blew out a frustrated breath. Would she ever not be flustered around that man? Shaking herself, she pushed the heavy door to the Potions classroom open, and studiously avoided the curious stares from her classmates as she strode to the front of the room to hand the note to Professor Slughorn. He took the note from her with a kind smile, and scanned the contents, his eyes twinkling merrily.

"I'm sorry for being late, Professor, I-" she began before he waved her off.

"Not to worry, my dear! I see you were in good hands. Go ahead and take your seat, instructions are on the board." Professor Slughorn replied, giving her a pleased grin.

What was that all about?

"Of course, Professor." Hermione answered dutifully, quickly taking her usual seat and beginning her work.