On Christmas morning Snape woke her up with a number of kisses. They'd spent most of the day yesterday having sex throughout the cabin – in the bed, in the shower, on the couch, even once on the deck after it had gotten dark out again. They'd only gone into town once to have lunch at a nice restaurant. For dinner he had cooked steaks which they'd eaten in front of the fireplace before fooling around some more on the couch.

She was sore from all their activities together in the last two days and she didn't immediately wake up when he started kissing her. At first she was only dimly aware of him kissing her lips, her cheeks, her eyelids. His lips brushed kisses all over her face before moving down her chin to her neck. That woke her up. The bruises from the Devil's Snare had finally faded yesterday and when Snape kissed her throat she was instantly alert – and excited. She moaned softly as his mouth traveled along the tendons in her neck, stopping to suck lightly over a spot he knew would drive her crazy. She could feel the heat of his naked body above her, his bare skin touching hers in several places.

He continued trailing kisses down her neck to her chest, pausing again to suck at a sweet spot just above her clavicle. She knew where his mouth would go next and her breasts ached in anticipation...as did other parts of her. She groaned and shifted, trying to press her throbbing center against the knee he had wedged between her thighs.

"Ah, you're awake," he said, raising his head from between her breasts to smile at her.

"Uh-huh," she said breathlessly. She wondered if he'd let her guide his face back to her breasts, to either of her pebbled nipples that were desperate to feel the heat of his mouth.

"Happy Christmas," he said and kissed her lips lightly. "I have a gift for you."

"Is it this?" she asked boldly, snaking her hand between them to wrap her fingers around his hard cock. She felt it throb in her hand as he smirked down at her.

"Is that what you want?" he asked silkily. "You want my cock for Christmas?"

"That was the point of waking me up the way you did, was it not?" She gave him a light squeeze and his eyes darkened hungrily.

"That may have been one of my motivations, though I expected you to be sore after the last two days," he said, his slight smirk turning into more of a feral grin.

"I'm not sore."

"You are a bad liar, little girl," he said, then let out a soft hiss as she stroked the length of his member with her fingers, giving him another light squeeze as she did. "But if it is what you really want... I am more than happy to oblige."

"Yes! I do. I really do," she said urgently. When he didn't move she gave him a tug and looked up at him desperately. "I want it, Severus, please. I need it."

"If you weren't sore before you will be now," he said with a throaty growl. His cock slipped from her grasp as he moved off of her. "On your hands and knees, little girl. Now."

She hastened to obey, scrambling up on the bed on all fours. She was dripping with anticipation, expecting him to grab her hips and bury himself inside her. She was surprised when, instead of his cock, she received a hard slap on her ass that made her yelp. She started to move away automatically, but he grabbed her thigh and pulled her back.

"No. Stay," he said firmly, then smacked her ass again.

"Why?" she whined. "I need your c-cock not-"

"Because," he said and gave her another smack. "You lied to me. You claimed you weren't sore."

"But you knew," she said and gasped sharply as she received a fourth blow that almost brought tears to her eyes. "You know I am, you knew I was lying."

"That is not the point," he said and she braced herself for the next strike, but it didn't come. Instead his hand came to rest lightly over the stinging skin. "Never lie to me."

"I won't. I'm sorry. I promise," she whimpered, parting her legs as she felt wetness drip down her inner thigh. As much as the impact of the blows had hurt, they had been just as arousing as his kisses and she felt more desperate than ever.

"You have made this promise before," he said disdainfully.

She whimpered again when he pulled his hand away. She tensed, assuming from his tone that the spanking would continue. Then she felt his lips graze the soft heated flesh.

"You would do well to remember it," he said softly, then he kissed the spot. She wondered if there were bruises there. It certainly wasn't her first spanking in the last few days, but it had definitely been the hardest.

"Did that hurt?" he asked, brushing kisses from the hurt he had inflicted to the dimples of her lower back. She could hear the smugness in his voice in contrast to the gentle kisses. He took pleasure in the act of spanking her as much as she did, maybe more.

"Y-yes," she said, knowing he was expecting a truthful answer. He was making a point. "Yes, it hurt."

"Good," he said, sounding satisfied. "You will not lie to me again."

"I won't," she promised.

His hot, wet tongue traced the base of her spine, making her squirm and spread her legs father apart. A needy whimper escaped her and his hand gripped her thigh tighter.

"Tell me," he said.

"P-p-please," she stammered.

"Tell me what you want," he said firmly.

"I want...you."

"You want me to what? Do you want me to spank you again?" he asked. She knew he was teasing her, that he enjoyed this form of torture too.

"N-no. I want you. I want you inside me, your cock, want you to fill me up," she pleaded rapidly. "Please, Severus, please put it in me, fuck me. Fuck me til you fill me up with your cum. Make me-"

He moved quickly, grabbing both thighs and pushing her legs apart. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her back, impaling her on his cock with a grunt.

"Naughty little witch," he growled as he thrust into her. "You have a filthy mouth."

She whimpered and moaned, far too aroused to be embarrassed by the words he'd basically forced out of her mouth. All she could think of was the climax that was rapidly building as he fucked her.

"More. Tell me," he said without stopping, his words punctuated with grunts. "Tell me...more. Tell me what...you want."

"I want you," she said, panting heavily. "I want you, Severus. Want you to fuck me. Make me cum. Oh please make me cum!" She felt her body start to tremble as her orgasm came rushing down on her. She cried out loudly as she came and as soon as she could speak again she kept egging him on. "Yes, that's it! Fuck me, fuck me harder! I want to feel it, I want to feel you cum inside me. I want it, need it, I want you, Severus, I love you. I want you to c-"

He let out an unintelligible cry not unlike her own as she felt him stiffen, then felt the flood of his cum inside of her. His cry turned to a groan and he held her tight, his cock twitching inside her. When he was spent they both collapsed on the bed, breathing hard.

As soon as he could move Snape pulled her into an embrace and kissed her tenderly. She rested her head on his chest and could feel his muscles trembling from exertion. She smiled, wondering if he might be as sore as she was.

"I'll make you tea," he said, still panting slightly. "To help...your soreness... In just a few minutes."

She chuckled softly and kissed his chest.

"I could do it," she offered. "But I know you don't like the way I make tea."

"I should teach you," he groaned and she chuckled again.

"Are you hungry? Or have you been up already and eaten? I could cook something."

"I haven't eaten yet. I only woke up a few minutes before I decided to wake you."

"I'll make breakfast then," she said decisively. "While you...recover."

"Hmm," he said but allowed her to slip from his embrace. She was sore all over and more than a little stiff, but she was too happy to care. She found her silk robe on the floor and put it on, feeling his cum leak down her leg as she did. She went into the bathroom first and got cleaned up before heading into the kitchen.

She was standing at the stove making scrambled eggs and sausage when he joined her a few minutes later. He was fully dressed and carrying his tea set on a tray. He put it on the counter next to the stove and stood there making a pot of tea while she finished cooking. When everything was done they sat at the dining table to have breakfast together. Ziggy leapt onto the table, meowing, and Freddie gave him half a piece of sausage. She and Ziggy both started eating while Snape drained a cup of tea and refilled it before he started to eat. Freddie finished her sausage and tried the tea.

"Brew #23," she said, smiling across the table at him. "Pain-relieving properties with a splash of Invigoration Draught, right?"

"That is correct."

"Did you need the extra energy from the Invigoration Draught?" she teased. "Did I wear you out already this morning?"

"Cheeky little witch. I just thought we should make the most of our last day here."

"Oh," she said, unable to help but feel a little disappointed. "We have to leave tomorrow?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It will still take us a day and a half of flying to reach Hogwarts."

"Dumbledore would have expected us back by now, wouldn't he? What are we going to tell him?"

"I sent the headmaster an owl from Sorseille, informing him that we would be traveling most of the distance by Muggle train to avoid having to fly as much in the cold."

"Really?"

"Yes. Can you stick to that story?"

"Of course."

They finished eating in comfortable silence. Freddie got a surge of energy from the tea as she finished her cup and it left her feeling frisky. She took her dishes to the sink, but Snape was still finishing his eggs.

"So," she said in a seductive tone, untying her robe as she walked over to him. "How is it you plan on making the most of our last day here?"

He put his fork down on the plate, with eggs still on it, and turned in his chair to face her. His dark eyes were full of a hunger and desire that made her knees feel weak.

"Well," he said, looking her over slowly. "I plan on having my way with you." She flushed but he didn't stop there. "I plan on fucking you, over and over, until you beg me to stop."

"Then I guess we'll be here a while," she said, letting her robe slip off her shoulders and fall to the floor. "Because I don't ever plan on asking you to stop."

"We will see about that," he said with a smirk, undoing his pants. "Get over here and suck me."

"Yes sir," she said smugly and happily dropped to her knees in front of him.

Hours later they still had not made it back to the bedroom. They were naked on a blanket in front of the fireplace and Freddie had had more orgasms than she could count until she was forced to beg him for a break.

"I told you that you would beg me to stop eventually," he said matter-of-factly as he moved off of her.

"No, just a break," she insisted. "Twenty minutes and I'll be good to go again."

"I'm sure," he said, smirking, and he stood up.

"Where are you going? I just need twenty minutes – thirty minutes, tops."

"I'll be right back," he assured her, heading for the bedroom. "I have something for you."

"I hope it's more of that tea!" she called after him.

He returned a few minutes later wearing his terrycloth bathrobe and he wasn't carrying tea. Freddie watched curiously as he walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Come here," he said, patting the cushion next to him.

She got up, wrapping the blanket around herself as she did. She didn't like being the only one completely naked.

"What are you doing?" she asked uncertainly as she sat beside him. He reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a small black box.

"Your Christmas present," he explained. "I was going to give it to you this morning, but you had other plans."

"Oh! I have something for you, too, it's in my bag." She rose quickly to go get his gift but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down on the couch.

"Open it," he insisted.

"But your gift-"

"Just open the damn box, Winifred," he said, looking both exasperated and amused.

"Okay, jeez," she chuckled, taking the gift from him. She took the lid off the box to reveal a silver bracelet in the shape of a snake with emerald eyes. She gasped softly as the snake blinked its jeweled eyes and slithered out of the box. It slid down her hand, moving just like a real snake, until it wrapped itself around her wrist and became inanimate once again.

"This is amazing, Severus!" she said in awe. "It must have cost a fortune. Where on Earth did you find it?"

"I've had it for months," he said, looking pleased. "You really like it?"

"I love it!"

"I suspected you would."

"I'll never take it off," she said, holding her wrist up to admire it. "...Can I go get your gift now?"

"You have already given me plenty," he said. His eyes were focused on the part of her breasts that weren't covered by the blanket. "...But if you insist."

She jumped up eagerly to go get his gift, but he grabbed the blanket and pulled it off of her, leaving her wearing nothing but the bracelet.

"Hey!" she protested, feeling herself blush as he ogled her.

"What?" he asked innocently. "It is not that cold in here."

"Give it back, Severus," she whined half-heartedly, but he tossed the blanket over his shoulder with a grin.

"Now you can go."

She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him, but of course she liked the fact that he liked looking at her. Even though he had seen her naked countless times, particularly in the last three days, he still stared at her ass as she walked away.

She dug through her bag until she found the jeans she'd been wearing a few days ago. The rock she had stolen from the shop in Sorseille was still in the pocket. She dug around some more, looking for something to wrap it in or a box to put it in. Eventually she found a box of beazors in her potions kit, dumped them out, and put the enchanted rock inside. Satisfied, she returned to the living room where Snape was lounging on the couch where she'd left him.

"Here," she said happily, handing him the box as she sat back down.

"Bezoars?" he inquired, shaking the box slightly.

"No, not bezoars. Just open it. 'Open the damn box', Severus," she said, mocking his exasperating tone from a few minutes ago.

"Hmm," he said, glancing sideways at her, then he took the lid off the box. "...It's a rock."

"Hold it in your hand," she instructed.

He took it out of the box and as the rock transformed so did his face. He stared at the crystalline lily in his palm, his face contorted, and she recognized a glimmer of sadness in his eyes. She felt guilty almost immediately – she hadn't meant to cause him pain.

"I'm sorry, Severus," she said remorsefully. "I thought that you would like it, I wasn't thinking- I didn't mean to make you think-"

"No, it's okay," he said quickly. He closed his hand over the lily, opened it to see the rock, and watched it transform before closing his hand again. He looked awestruck. "I do like it..." he murmured softly, clutching the rock in his fist. "Thank you, Winifred."

"I found it in Sorseille – I stole it in Sorseille, because you were always around. I would have gotten you something else, something more appropriate maybe, but I'd forgotten about Christmas with all the studying-"

"It's okay," he assured her gently as he delicately placed the rock back into the box. "This is very...special to me. It's extraordinary. Thank you."

"Are you sure?" she asked, troubled.

"Yes," he said and he put the box on the coffee table. "Hey... Come here."

He opened his arms to her and she crawled into his lap where he embraced her. She closed her eyes as he kissed her tenderly.

"I really do love it," he murmured as he held her close. "And...I love you..."

He hadn't been able to say it again since the night at the festival. She knew it was hard for him still and she knew it was significant for him to do so now.

"I love you too."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: One more chapter left then an epilogue!