Chapter Seven: Never forget to bathe pt Two

Hermione's hair was a complete frizzy mess. She had managed to get her bases for the three drinkable potions completed and had started to get them prepped. She had a good stopping point planned that she could in fact leave them on stasis until the next night. The steam rolling from the different cauldrons were making her warm. But she was determined to get the bulk done tonight. Then she could focus on the last two potions for the following week.

She was conflicted, while she would be glad to done with these awful potions, she was sad to lose this time with Professor Snape, she chuckled at the thought that she would miss spending her evenings with the surly professor. "Maybe I'll keep my prefect route." she thought to herself. Then her focus was stolen away by the sound of boots and a deep chuckle.

"What do you find amusing?" she asked haughtily. She wasn't really the kind of person that like brevity will she was focusing. She did take the interruption for a moment to sniff her bracelet with the soothing scent, she had yet to determine what the floral, musky scent was. But she did enjoy it.

"That monstrosity that is your hair. I do believe that it is three times larger than it is normally." He said with a smirk on his face.

Hermione blushed slightly at his teasing. "I wanted get them to a good stopping point." She said with a hint of a pout.

"You are pushing yourself too hard." he replied earnestly. "I couldn't help but notice that you didn't come to lunch today."

"I decided I needed to catch up on some sleep." She answered while she counted stirs. "My sleep has been compromised, due to the reactions I'm having from potion exposure." She definitely couldn't go into detail, over the dreams with him, and she was glad the steam was a good explanation for the red staining to her cheeks.

Snape stood there as if considering the information. "I may suggest a short course of dreamless sleep, at most until you have completed the potions for this detention."

"That's quite alright, Sir. I know how addictive that potion can be. I'd rather be a bit drowsy for a few days then become dependent."

"Indeed." He paused. "Do you still have more of the scent I gave you?" Hermione unconsciously lifted her bracelet to her nose and took a small whiff.

"Yes, I've been very sparing with it."

"Then I recommend adding a few drops to your pillow. It may help." He walked over to her cauldrons, determining the state of them. "I believe they are safe for stasis now. Return to your dorm and rest before you collapse." Hermione nodded and gathered her things and went to the tower.

Upon her return, she knew she should change and bathe as her potion master suggested, but she could feel her body grow weaker by the second. He was right, about her working too hard, even the nap she had earlier in the day, didn't seem to help. She kicked off her shoes and climbed into bed.

#9

Hermione awoke with a start, she could see the sun beaming through the open window and she reached for and checked her watch, that she had beside her bed. "Bloody hell!" She exclaimed loudly as she noticed that she was late waking. That she would have to forgo breaking her fast and rush to class. She was slightly grateful for sleeping in her clothes since she could focus on tying her up in a messy thick bun and grabbed her robes, bag and shoes and ran for her first class.

As she made her way down the staircases and the halls, Hermione couldn't help but feel like she was being watched. At first she noticed nothing too out of the ordinary. Just other students heading off the their destinations. But the back of her neck was itching and she just knew it was someone watching, following her. She made her way to her classes and felt like she was receiving too much attention from her classmates. It was completely unnerving. But couldn't understand why. They weren't whispering or directly insulting her, as she would expect from previous experience. Just unexplained stares. It made her self conscious, especially since she hadn't changed her clothes this morning in her haste. Could they tell that I slept in my clothes last night? She wondered to herself. She then considered that she they may consider her scent offending, since she hadn't showered since Sunday night. But she wrote it off to being off kilter due to the slept deprivation, as she had been doing a lot lately.

The trend continued through all her morning classes. The itching feeling on the nape of her neck as she made her way down the halls to class. There was a fifth year Ravenclaw that gave her a full head to toe stare as he walked by her and winked. She couldn't help but blush at the suggestive interaction. Since these kinds of things never truly happened to her. Even if she was actually offended by the act and that she was completely smitten with her potions professor.

On her way to lunch, she was completely anxious. When a Slytherin seventh year came up to her and made a rather lewd remark, that made her feel very uneasy. Instead of taking lunch, even though she was hungry, she ran to the one place she would be safe from the unabashed stares. Down to the dungeon, she busted into Professor Snape's office. Slamming the door behind her and leaning against it for support as she caught her breath.

"Miss Granger! What is the meaning of this?!" Snape asked loudly as he stood from behind his desk and glared dangerously at the intruder.

"Please, Sir. I don't know what is going on but I have had so much unwanted and seemingly uneasy attention. And some of the students have been making very inappropriate comments to me." There was a nervous tremble in her voice along with the panicked look in her eyes.

"I'm sure you are over exaggerating." While curt, wasn't completely insulting. But she still turned swiftly in his direction to throw him a scathing look. When she noticed that in that second he somehow made the connection. "Miss Granger! What did I tell you about taking extra hygienic precautions while we're brewing these potentially dangerous potions?!"

It only took a moment for her to realize exactly what was occurring. By not bathing nor changing the night before, she was reeking of love potion fumes. She was mortified and began gesturing frantically as she berated herself, almost to the point of hysterics. In her tizzy, she hadn't heard the professor trying to get her to calm down. What finally ended her triad of self deprecation was when she felt the strong hands of the wizard on her shoulders.

"Miss Granger, you must calm do…w…n." In that instant, too many things occurred at once and all seemed to happen in slow motion, even if she was unable to stop them. One, there was a quick realization that she was being touched personally by the man that plagued her thoughts, turning her insides in to a mess of knots. She almost swooned, at the thought of being held by him at all. which made her feel somewhere deep in her subconscious absolutely ridiculous. Two, she saw his face and in it she saw that he made a mistake in approaching her. Despite her inexperience with males in more intimate situations, she could absolutely see the shift from one of concern to one of instant regret. And it made Hermione sad, because it felt like a rejection. And for all the knowledge that the wizard in question, she knew that her attentions would be rebuffed, but it was wholly another thing to actual have the rejection shoved into your face. And thirdly, she watched as Professor Snape's usually composed expression, turned to one of wild predatory, to the point that she suddenly felt afraid for no logical reason. But wasn't able to dwell on that for long because in the time it took for Hermione to gasp, it happened.

Snape's hands moved from her shoulders to gently grasping the sides of her face and suddenly his lips crashed upon her lips. It was an urgent, bruising kiss. At first Hermione didn't know what to do, she stood rail straight for a moment, then her mind played out the many many scenarios in which the pair would engage in this particular activity. It was at that, that her body succumbed to the embrace and began to join in act. She couldn't resist the urge to comb her fingers through his hair. Hoping to prolong the kiss, by drawing him in. She found that despite it's large appearance his nose didn't impede on the careful choreography of their kiss. She tried to employee the methods she had overheard her dorm mates talk about kissing and how to breathe whilst. If he noticed her ineptitude, it didn't flounder him. The kiss itself probably only lasted a few seconds, but felt like ages. She knew the act was highly inappropriate, but she was also fairly positive that she would never have the opportunity again and she wanted to bask in the intimacy being bestowed on her. Hermione took leave of her senses and moaned when Snape sucked on her bottom lip,it was a sensation she had never experienced before and she enjoyed it immensely. And with that, it broke the spell and she found herself alone and the only things she heard was the sound of him slamming the door to his office as he stormed off.