A/N: Once again, thank you so much! Hope you enjoy this new chapter! :)
A/N: Chapter Warnings – Mentions of sexual assault, bad language and some sexual scenes
Chapter 33: Morning Fun, Christmas and a New Development
"What are you planning on doing for Christmas?" Severus asked Hermione.
They were relaxing on Severus' bed the weekend before the Christmas holidays began. It had been a week since Minerva had called them out on their close 'friendship' and now that the holidays were near; they found themselves wanting to spend more time together.
The Death Eater meetings had stopped now until the holidays so Severus had a bit of free time again. Hermione was thankful for that.
It seemed that now Harry and Ron had left for the holidays, she had no one to talk to. Neville had become apparently infatuated with Luna, and it was difficult to catch Draco alone without his cronies or other Slytherin's surrounding him. This meant it was difficult for them to see each other like they had done before.
This weekend was the Hogsmeade weekend, and everyone had practically fled the castle to go and buy last minute Christmas presents. This meant that Hermione could spend the weekend with Severus as it would be less suspicious if she was unaccounted for.
"I don't know what to do for Christmas" she admitted to Severus.
"The Weasley's and Harry are at Grimmauld Place, I really can't be there Severus. But I don't want to be alone on Christmas, it's normally my favourite time of year but without my parents this year, I feel quite alone" she whispered.
"What about you Severus? What are your plans?" She asked him.
"I normally stay at the castle; I don't really have any family anymore. However, this Christmas Lucius Malfoy has invited me to his home, purely because the Dark Lord is there over Christmas, and it is easier to be closer to him when we are summoned. The quicker we get to his meetings, the less likely we are to be crucioed. Also, Lucius has asked me to keep an eye on Draco, the Dark Lord wishes to speak with Draco over the holidays" Severus informed her.
She gasped.
"Poor Draco, what does the Dark Lord want with him?" She looked hurt for her friend, and immediately the frown lines appeared on her forehead as she became concerned for Draco.
"We don't know, we think the dark lord is going to get Draco to take the dark mark but we are not certain, but at least I can keep an eye on my godson" Severus stated as if it were his personal mission.
"That means you're not going to be here then?" Hermione asked him, slightly sad but knew that he was better off at the Malfoy's for Draco's protection.
Severus sighed and held her close.
"Unfortunately not, I'm sorry Hermione. Are you staying here then?" He asked her.
Hermione nodded.
"I don't think I have a choice, I refuse to go to Grimmauld if you're not going to be there. I have nowhere else to go, I guess a Christmas at the castle for me it is then" she told him.
Severus was still staring at her.
"There is an order meeting on December 27th, I'm sure if you ask you can come to Grimmauld Place just for the duration of the meeting. That way you wouldn't be in the house that long, you would get to see your friends, I would be there, and Black would be with the order as part of the meeting so you won't be alone with him at any point. I'm sure Remus and Minerva wouldn't allow it anyway. I know I certainly wouldn't" Severus told her.
Hermione brightened a little.
"That's a good idea Severus!" She exclaimed giggling. That meant she would get to see Severus at Christmas too. That was better than nothing.
"Do you know who else is staying here for Christmas this year?" She asked him, she knew there were never normally that many and with Umbridge around she expected that the number would be very limited indeed.
"Well I know there are barely any Slytherin's and, looking at the sheet of parchment the other day, it looks as if there are only five students from my whole house staying here. I think a lot of the Slytherin parents want their children home because of the Dark Lord being around" Severus told her.
Hermione nodded thoughtfully. There are really going to be barely any students here.
"What about teachers?" She asked.
"Normally all teachers who have families go home, others go away for a few days to visit friends and then come back, some may be gone longer, but they tend to travel back and forth between the school and their relatives homes. Why do you ask?" Severus asked her.
"I'm looking forward to the break, I'm also looking forward to a quiet castle I guess" she told him.
"It is rather peaceful, and beautiful, here at Christmastime" Severus agreed with her.
"Well I guess that's Christmas sorted then, I don't know why I was so worried about being here for Christmas" she smiled.
"Are you sure you're going to be alright here? I can always cancel the Malfoy's invitation and stay here with you instead" he asked.
Hermione shook her head at him.
"Don't you dare, you said yourself that you are going there for Draco, if Draco is going to need you then don't you dare stay here. He is much more important and is going to need you more than I do this holiday. Please! Be with him" she begged him.
The thought of him being here with her warmed her heart but the thought that Draco could be all alone and frightened to death upset her even more.
No, Draco needed Severus and that was how it would stay.
"Alright, alright. Yes, he is probably going to need someone this holiday, and I think I'm the only person who will be able to be there for him without causing further trouble" Severus replied. He was so happy that Draco and Hermione had become loyal friends.
Severus knew that if anyone was going to be able to protect Draco more than he could, it would be Hermione. She was brutal when it came to protecting her friends, and he knew that she would throw herself into danger for her friends. Severus also knew that all Draco would have to do, would be to say the words and Hermione would be by his side.
Severus felt an overwhelming amount of joy at the thought, and absentmindedly leaned in to kiss Hermione on the cheek.
"Thank you" he said.
They gazed into each other's eyes and without warning, Hermione pulled Severus to her, and she began to kiss him deeply.
They kissed like that for some time before Hermione began to push Severus back on his bed so that she was on top of him. She could feel every muscle and every inch of his body pressed against hers and she felt like she was home.
Hermione straddled Severus' hips so that she was positioned directly against his cock. Both Severus and Hermione groaned at the feeling, and at the friction.
"Merlin!" Severus growled.
Hermione chuckled.
"Not quite, call me Hermione" she whispered seductively in his ear.
"Minx" he yelled as she hit a particularly sensitive spot on his groin, his hips naturally bucked up to meet hers, and it was like someone had set fire to the room. The heat increased and both of them wanted something more.
"Oh God" Hermione groaned.
"Call me Severus" Severus smirked, even in the heat of the moment he was able to level up, and that satisfied smirk turned Hermione on even more.
Severus' erection looked painfully strained against his trousers, and Hermione took off his belt and unzipped his trousers in hopes that he could have a little relief.
Severus sighed as the pressure eased a little and went from painful, to a comfortable pleasure. He got so caught up in the sensations that he barely registered that Hermione had begun to ride against him.
Severus opened his eyes and saw, and felt, what Hermione was doing to him. He placed his hands on her hips and began to rub against her, meeting her thrusts.
This was the most sexually active that Hermione had been since her assault, and she was enjoying it, she was actually wanting to put the effort into this activity. She felt comfortable doing this with clothes on, but she wasn't sure she was ready for no clothing.
She could handle this though, and she was enjoying every second of this.
"Uh, uh Severus" Hermione moaned as she felt her knickers become saturated with her own juices, and she felt her clit begin to pulsate slightly.
Severus was just as close, and held onto her hips even tighter, if that were possible, and could feel the tip of his dick begin to weep.
They were both close, Severus could tell, he wasn't sure if Hermione realised but he knew what was going to happen soon, and he would be a damned man if he had his final pleasure first.
He rocked against her, changing the motion of his hips and hitting new spots and different angles.
This did it for Hermione, she felt her inner muscles tighten and throb, and then there was a blinding release, where she couldn't feel anything but intense pleasure. She was so far gone that her mind was clear, she had no thoughts at all.
She also didn't see the way that Severus was also thrown over the edge as he felt the heat emitting from her nether regions. Both of them rode out their orgasms before collapsing and snuggling up on the bed.
Both of them were drenched, in both their own sweat and secretions, the both of them were in complete bliss.
After they were able to grasp reality again, Severus turned to Hermione.
"Was that alright? I never even asked. Are you alright?" He asked her.
She grinned and reached a hand out to stroke his cheek.
"I'm wonderful" she told him.
He looked at her for a moment.
"Honestly, if I wasn't alright, I would've said something. But that was amazing, it felt like my whole body was on fire" she grinned at him.
"That's how it should always feel" he said to her.
He accepted that she was truly alright and they held each other closely, not saying anything at all.
This was to be the last time they would see each other before the Christmas holidays came.
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After everyone left for the Christmas holidays, Hermione found out that there were only about seventeen students staying at Hogwarts and only five teachers, even then the teachers would rotate on who would watch the students.
There were only three Gryffindor's staying; herself, and some twins from first year. At least the twins had each other.
Hermione didn't see anyone in the days that led up to Christmas, nor did she receive any letters from Ron or Harry, to fill her in on what had been happening.
She had written to Molly in hopes of seeing how Arthur was, but she had no reply.
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.
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On Christmas morning, Hermione had woken up to an empty dormitory, it was silent. She had no reason to get up, so she turned over and went back to sleep for a couple of hours.
It was late morning when she finally got up and she went and sat in the common room with a book, she sat by the fire and read there for hours.
She had been invited by Minerva for a small Christmas supper in the great hall. Hermione felt that it would be selfish and impolite for her not to attend so, she made herself presentable and made her way to the great hall.
When she arrived, there were only six places set. It seemed that the other students were meeting friends and family for the day and so, there was no one left but herself and the five Slytherin's Severus had mentioned.
The entire meal, the Slytherin's just glared at her when Minerva wasn't looking, and they made vulgar gestures in her direction. It was rather miserable.
Once the meal was over, the Slytherin's excused themselves and headed back towards the dungeons.
Hermione made her move to leave.
"Just a moment Miss Granger" Minerva said.
Hermione looked up at her head of house and waited patiently.
"Yes Professor?" She asked.
"Professor Snape informed me that you were interested in seeing your friends the day after tomorrow?" Minerva asked her.
Hermione nodded, yes she had agreed that it was a favourable idea.
"Excellent, you will come to my office at 11am on the morning of the 27th and we shall proceed to join your friends by floo. Is that acceptable dear?" Minerva asked her.
"Yes Professor" Hermione said enthusiastically, she really was looking forward to seeing her friends, Severus, and Arthur.
Minerva grinned at the girl.
"Excellent, I will see you then" Minerva uttered, and Hermione once again made her move to leave but she was called back once more.
"One more thing dear, Merry Christmas" Minerva smiled as she took a package out of the pocket of her robes and handed it to Hermione.
"Thank you" Hermione said gratefully, this was the first gift she had received, and she was excited about it.
Hermione practically ran to her dormitory to open her gift. Inside, were about thirty, or more, coins. They were blank, and clearly had no value. Hermione wondered what on earth they were and why she had been given them, and then she found the small card that had been attached to the package.
"The greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places"
- Roald Dahl, 1964 (Muggle Author)
Hermione frowned at the card and thought about what it meant. There was no way McGonagall would give her this and it mean nothing. Hermione took all the coins out of the parcel, and she found a small piece of paper folded up with two words written on it:
'Protean Charm'
Hermione was now more confused than ever. She had read about the Protean Charm and she knew that it was a NEWT level charm and that it linked objects together.
Why had McGonagall given this to her?
Hermione sat for a while and tried to riddle it out.
"Right Hermione, what do you know about the charm?" She questioned herself.
"It links objects together, that's fine, but what has that got to do with the coins? Why would she want me to link all the coins together? Why so many?" Hermione's head was beginning to hurt, she was tired, and she decided to call it a night. She would have all day tomorrow to riddle it out after all.
She lay down on her bed and went to sleep.
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Hermione awoke the following morning to an owl tapping wildly at the window. She immediately got up and let the owl in; it dropped a letter and another parcel onto her bed and then looked at her expectantly.
Hermione looked around and found some crackers that she had been munching on Christmas Eve, they were slightly stale now, but would satisfy the owl. She fed the owl and it quickly left through the window.
She immediately went to the package and opened the note.
My dearest lady,
Forgive me for this belated gift, I felt as though it would be safer to send you this today. I hope you like it, I saw it and thought of you. Hope your holiday has been peaceful and enjoyable and I will see you soon.
Yours,
S.S
Hermione's heart skipped a beat; he had got her a present! She was happy and dancing around through the dormitory.
She wondered if Severus had found the gift that she had slipped in with his belongings whilst he had been preparing for his stay at the Malfoy's.
She giggled as she imagined him with a shocked and perplexed look on his face. She opened her gift and she gasped.
She was looking at two beautiful pieces of jewellery. One was a pendant and one was a ring. The pendant had an animal figurine holding her birthstone, the sapphire, and the ring was just as beautiful and it fit perfectly on her index finger.
She sighed, she wanted to thank Severus for his gift but knew it would be too risky sending him a note if he was near the Dark Lord. If the note was intercepted, he could be in trouble as could Draco and it would be all her fault.
She shook her head.
'If only there was a way I could send him a secret message, like those two wizards had done with their diaries' Hermione thought to herself.
She had always been fascinated by that story, she had been taught it in her history of magic class. It was a story where two wizards had fallen in love and both men had been forbidden from having any communication with each other, so they linked their two diaries together and could send each other secret messages. Hermione had always loved the story, two people kept apart by circumstance but willing to fight back anyway.
It's like McGonagall had said in her note. Secrets are hidden in unlikely places.
Hermione froze. Her mind started spinning at a hundred miles an hour and she shot to her bedside table and picked up Minerva's gift. Thirty coins, there were about that many in the DA, the protean charm links them.
What if she could somehow link all the coins together with that charm and send out messages to the rest of the group. That way no one takes risks, they can use the coin to directly and secretly send a message and no one would question it because it looks like a galleon.
Hermione was buzzing with excitement. She finally felt like she was doing something practical for the first time this holiday. For the rest of the day, she worked on perfecting and charming the coins.
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The following day, Hermione went to Minerva's office just before 11am, Hermione was excited and she double checked that she had all her gifts for her friends.
Minerva let her enter and together the two of them flooed to Grimmauld Place.
Once she arrived, and was practically spat out of the fireplace, she immediately went cold. She hadn't even thought about it but she was back here; she hadn't been here since she had been assaulted. This place seemed unfamiliar somehow, like death was trying to shake hands with her. She shivered, and Minerva placed her hand on the girls shoulder for support. Minerva had guessed what she was thinking.
"Hermione dear! How wonderful to see you!" Molly exclaimed, bustling over the give Hermione the biggest hug.
"Molly!" Hermione exclaimed, thrilled to see the Weasley matriarch.
"How are you? How is Arthur? I wanted to see him but I wasn't allowed. Please tell me he is alright?" Hermione asked.
Molly smiled at the girl; she always had her priorities right. Molly knew that Hermione would one day make a good match for Ron.
"Arthur is fine dear. You may see him, come and follow me" Molly insisted.
She led Hermione to the kitchen and there was Arthur, he was beaten and bruised, and currently in a wheelchair, but he was smiling and his eyes were shining. Hermione felt tears well up in her own eyes; she was so happy that Arthur was alright.
"Arthur!" She exclaimed, rushing towards him, and ignoring the presence of everyone else on the room.
"Hello Hermione!" He said to her, grinning impishly.
Hermione delicately hugged Arthur and told him that she was glad that he was alright. Arthur laughed and reached up to wipe the tears that had begun making their way down her cheeks.
Hermione then addressed the rest of the room. Most of the order was already there including Severus and Remus. She smiled at them both, Remus responded with an awkward wave whilst Severus just gave her a nod of acknowledgement, and a sly smile, when he noticed that she was wearing his gifts.
"Wotcha Hermione! The meeting is about to begin, if you go into the main room at the front of the house, you will find your friends" Tonks informed her.
"Thank you Tonks" Hermione said cheerfully, and she made her way towards the front room.
Upon entering the room, she was immediately attacked with hugs from Harry and Ron, who were apologising for not writing, or wishing her a 'Merry Christmas'. Hermione chuckled, the boys would never change.
They exchanged gifts and caught up on what had been happening. About an hour later they were still talking when suddenly there was some shouting coming from the kitchen and some loud noises.
"What the hell was that?" Ron asked.
"I wonder what is going on" Harry muttered.
Hermione was thinking the same thing.
A few minutes passed in silence before the sound of the kitchen door being opened could be heard, and footsteps sounded down the hallway.
Seconds later Severus Snape appeared in the lounge doorway.
"Miss Granger, I am to escort you back to Hogwarts, immediately" he told her.
Hermione nodded, she knew something had happened and she wanted to know what was going on.
"She's not going anywhere with you" the voice of Ron boldly stated across the room.
Severus paused mid-stride and turned to face Ron.
"Believe me Mr Weasley, I am the best thing for her right now" Severus told them.
Hermione gulped, now she was really nervous.
Hermione bid her friends goodbye, and reached the fireplace with Severus, they flooed back to Hogwarts and into Severus' chambers.
"Severus? What's happened?" She asked him worriedly as soon as they both gained their footing.
He stared at her for a moment before he went over to her, and sat her down on the sofa whilst holding her close.
"I'm sorry Hermione, I'm so, so sorry" he whispered to her.
