Momma-dar: I can't answer your question but I promise that everything will be revealed soon. This is going to be a SS/HG relationship because I think they make a really cool, dysfunctional couple, good to write about as well.
A/N: Thank you again to my reviewers. This chapter contains more graphic sexual material, but not overly graphic I hope. If you don't like the sound of that, then skip this chapter but don't flame me because I warned you, and I am trying to make it tasteful. Thanks for reading this far.
Chapter Six: Salazar's Room.
Hermione woke up the next morning, wrapped up in the soft black material, that had began to take on her smell now along with the masculine scent it carried the night before.
She groaned as she looked up from the dark cloak and the sunlight hit her eyes. She squinted and looked around as she was trying to remember what had happened last night, and why she was still in her clothes and where had this cloak come from?
Slowly her memory came back to her and she remembered what had happened out in the snow. Then she started to remember the dreams that she'd had. Wonderful, amazing dreams where they had done more than kiss, out in the snow, in the classroom, in this very room, on this very bed. His kiss had sent her heart beat racing and the dreams did nothing for her blood pressure. This was bad, she had gone from admiring and feeling sorry for him to developing a strong undeniable attraction to him, and all without realising it. He was her teacher, there could never be anything between them but her heart ached to admit it.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw something move, and her eyes darted to see what it was. It was only Crookshanks, waking and stretching, his claws digging into the bed-sheets.
"When did things get so complicated?" She asked the cat, who just sat there looking at her with a bemused expression.
There was a knock at the door. Hermione lifted herself off the bed and the cloak fell of her shoulders into a heap on the floor. She opened the door. It was Harry.
"So you're still here, we've been looking for you," he said.
"Come in," Hermione said standing back so he could enter the room.
"This is a nice room," Harry said looking around. It was the first time he'd seen it.
"Thanks, it has en suite and everything," she said smiling and Harry smiled back.
Harry then noticed a bundle of black material on the floor.
"What's this?" He said lifting it up. Hermione panicked and snatched it out of his hand.
"Nothing!" Harry flinched and watched in amusement as she flung it into the wardrobe.
"If I didn't know any better," Harry said narrowing his eyes suspiciously, "I'd say you were up to something."
Hermione laughed nervously and tried to change the subject.
"Do you have a date for the ball yet?" She asked and Harry grimaced.
"Don't talk to me about that," he said bitterly.
"Why don't you ask that girl in Ravenclaw, Jo?" Hermione suggested.
"There are only so many times a man can take rejection," he said sitting down on the bed.
"Once," Hermione said putting her hands on her hips, "she turned you down once, and only because she'd already yes to someone else, and you've been afraid to ask her again since." Harry blushed. "So come on thrice defeater of Lord Voldemort, stop being a pussy and ask her."
She held grabbed his hands to pull him off the bed. She felt that electricity again, not as strong as with Neville, more like last night with….
She trailed off with that line of thought.
"Are you all right, Hermione?" Harry asked concern evident in his voice. Hermione shook herself mentally.
"Yes, yes I'm fine." She smiled at him. "Come on lets find Jo so you can ask her out." She looked at her watch. "And I should still have time to grab some breakfast."
The two of them left for the Ravenclaw tower to find Jo. Hermione really did need to see Dumbledore, surely Neville, Harry and Snape can't all be heirs, can they?
As Snape had walked back to his rooms after the incident with Hermione his mind was racing. How could he have done something that stupid? He had seen her out there in the snow, and thought how beautiful she looked. He had never thought that a student was beautiful, ever. His attraction to her was something he'd been battling with for weeks now, and every time he thought he'd beaten it, it came back stronger than before.
He had told her things about himself that he couldn't tell anyone else. He'd told her because he didn't care if she judged him harshly, but now she was the only person he could confide in. And now he was in a much more precarious situation, he was becoming more and more attracted to her everyday.
The kiss had been wonderful, if a bit short lived and he found himself desperately wanting more. His dreams that night, instead of being filled with feelings of guilt and self-hatred where filled with feelings of desire and arousal. Although the thought of her as a student unnerved him slightly he could no longer deny that he wanted her. But he could never have her. She wouldn't really want him, no one could.
"So she said yes?" Ron asked Harry when he told him about asking Jo to the ball.
"Yes, I can't believe this, all these years I thought she didn't like me. I mean last year she went with Dean, I thought she liked him, but she didn't." Harry was the most excited anyone had seen him since he played his first Quidditch match. He kept babbling on about how pretty she was and how much they had in common.
"Hermione are you okay? You've been very quiet," Ron asked.
"I'm fine, it's hard to get a word in when Harry keeps chattering on about his new girlfriend," she said hating to lie to her friends, but she could hardly tell them the truth. Her friends were open-minded, but not that open-minded she thought.
"Sorry, Hermione." Harry said sheepishly, blushing. Hermione smiled at him and told him it was all right.
They went off to Herbology. Hermione was not paying attention in the lesson, all she could think about was the kiss.
As they were walking back to the common room to collect their things for Transfiguration they were met in the corridor by Snape. Ron and Harry rolled their eyes thinking that they were in trouble for something. He sneered at them but said nothing.
"Miss Granger, may I have a word with you?" He asked and Hermione's stomach did a mini somersault. She nodded and they walked out of the boys' earshot. He turned back to her. "Could I have my cloak back," he asked his voice as dark and cold as it had always been. Just as if nothing had happened.
"Of course, I'll bring it down after my last class," Hermione said tears threatening to fall, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
He nodded and then walked off. Hermione felt her heart sink. As she suddenly realised just how much she did care about him. And he was just going to forget about it and run off, pretending that he felt nothing. But he had acted first, he started it and it looked like it was up to her to finish it.
It had been hard for Snape too, seeing her in that corridor. However much he tried to forget the kiss and the dreams that followed, he couldn't, they kept coming back to him like memory flashbacks. Seeing her with her two friends sent a wave of jealousy through him as well. They got to be with her all the time. If she wanted to take up with Potter or his ginger sidekick she could, no problems or complications. As hard as it was for him to show his emotions, it was even harder for him to ignore them once he had aroused them.
Later that day, after lessons were over Hermione walked down the stairs to the dungeons feeling colder and colder as she went further underground, into the depths of the schools foundations. When she arrived at the door to Snape's office she knocked and went in when she heard his answer.
"I brought your cloak back," she said and placed the black material on the desk. He ran his hand over it lightly then looked up at her.
"Thank you, Miss Granger, you can go now." Hermione stayed put. She took a deep breath and started.
"Sir, about last night," she started but was cut off.
"I really don't know what you're talking about," he said not looking at her as he spoke. But Hermione was not deterred.
"You know what I'm talking about, why did you do that?" She asked. He looked up at her, his expression blank, just as she had suspected.
"Why did I do what? I assure you I don't know what you're talking about," he said a slight warning in his voice but Hermione ignored it and carried on, he couldn't do anything not after what he did.
"Why did you kiss me?" She asked in a loud voice. Snape's eyes went wide and his expression turned from neutral to very angry. He got up and slammed the door shut.
"You stupid girl, what are you trying to do to me?" He asked in a savage whisper. He wanted her to get out. It was too difficult to resist her when they were alone together.
"I'm trying to get you to talk about what happened. I think I at least need an explanation."
He sat back down at his desk and dragged his fingers through his hair. She was right, she did deserve an explanation.
"I apologise for what I did last night. I should have exercised more control, am I forgiven?" He asked his face becoming passive once again. He didn't want forgiveness. He wanted her. Hermione shook her head and Snape gave her a puzzled look.
"I don't think you have anything to apologise for," Hermione said and started to walk closer to Snape. "I didn't mind. In fact I liked it."
It was Snape's turn to shake his head this time. He would never understand this woman. She was the Gryffindor Head Girl and should hate him in every way, for everything he stood for.
"You need to go Hermione," he said deciding not to patronise her by calling her 'Mss Granger'. Unfortunately this made Hermione even more determined and she walked towards him again. "You need to go and we both need to forget about this."
"I can't forget. I've spent the whole day thinking about last night," she said all the time moving towards Snape. "Are you telling me that you felt nothing last night?"
"You have no idea how I felt last night. I'm not an overly affectionate man, and I've never felt anything or one of my students," he said feeling nervous at how close she was getting, but her presence was exciting as well.
"But?" She asked standing very close to him, looking down at him as he was still sitting.
"But after everything, and outside you looked so," he wasn't expressing himself very well and he put it down to her proximity to him. His breathing was shallower now and coming faster. "I just had to," he said in almost a whisper, standing up.
"Had to what?" She said looking up into his eyes, her own glazed over and dreamy looking.
Suddenly he swept her up and was kissing her, not relaxed and slow like he had done the night before but roughly and passionately, claiming her mouth with his own, holding her tightly around her waist, acting out the dreams they had both had that night.
Hermione was thrilled by this kiss. It was different to their last but it was just as exciting, more so even. She kissed him back with an equal passion, and allowed his tongue access into her mouth. She inhaled his scent, which made her feel dizzy and light-headed, so she wrapped her arms around his neck, needing support as her knees buckled.
One of his hands left her waist and reached behind her sweeping everything of his desk. He then pushed her down so she was lying on it, his hands now running over her body, cupping her breasts and teasing the hardening nipples.
She moaned as she felt a spark go through her, but she felt something more intense on top of that.
A sound from outside startled them both, breaking the spell that seemed to be over them. He pulled away from her, and she shivered as the warmth from his body left her. She made a frustrated noise, and Snape looked down at her, a horrified expression on his face.
He stood up and pulled her up with him, so she was standing on her feet. She could have cried when she saw that neutral expression take over his face. She was losing him again.
"Go," he said turning his back to her, his voice devoid of emotion. Hermione's heart sank and her chest felt heavy.
"Please, Severus," she began but was cut off.
"That's Professor Snape to you. You are a student, don't forget that." He pointed at her with his long bony finger then turned back away.
"How can I forget when you keep reminding me?" She said then walked off, tears coming to her eyes once again.
Snape sank into his chair with his head in his hands. It had hurt him to see her like that, she didn't deserve it, all she had done was care for him and he'd complicated things by developing feelings for her.
Hermione managed to pull herself together before she headed off to dinner, not wanting her friends to see her like that. She entered the Great Hall, greeted by the noise of general chatter and laughter, most of which was coming form the Gryffindor table. They were usually the noisiest table, they used to blame it on the Weasley twins but since they left there had been no excuse.
She sat by her two friends and smiled, putting on a brave face despite how hurt she was. Her best friends always cheered her up though, she would laugh at some of the stories that Harry told about scaring his horrible cousin and Ron would keep them briefed on the latest Weasley twin antics.
Harry and Ron were contemplating having their fifth helping of dinner, but Hermione, who had had quite enough, told them that she was going to get some work done, so she could get it over with. She left the Great Hall that was still packed even though dinner was nearly over.
Outside she saw a familiar handsome face. Bill Weasley. He was standing by the stairs talking to none other than Professor Snape. They seemed to be having a reasonable conversation; not one you'd expect a Weasley to be having with Snape.
Bill laughed and Snape tapped him on the arm lightly and walked off saying goodbye. Bill then turned and noticed Hermione.
"Hi," he said waving his hand and walking over to her.
"Bill, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked as he stood in front of her.
"Oh, I'm here to collect somebody," he said clearly meaning Sirius, "but I thought I'd come and say hi to everyone before I left."
"Even Snape, wow," Hermione said, the hateful words coming quite easily because she was still angry with him.
"Well..erm." He looked around for anybody and then turned to Hermione again. "Don't tell Ron but me and Severus are quite good friends." Hermione was in shock and it must have shown because Bill laughed. "I did some work for the Ministry and I had to be in contact with him, we became quite good friends. Don't laugh."
Hermione couldn't help laughing. She was trying to imagine Ron's face if he found out.
"So why don't you want Ron to know, are you ashamed?" She asked and Bill shook his head.
"Oh no nothing like that it's just, Ron would never believe me if I said he was an all right bloke so I just keep quiet."
"An all right bloke?" Hermione asked not really following his thinking on that one.
"Yeah, he's all right. He's funny, not as nasty as he seems here. I know an old friend of his from school and he tells me stories about him, funny most of them he wasn't as bad as Sirius would have you believe. He's a bit messed up perhaps but you would be too if you'd seen the things he has." Bill shivered at the memory of the things Snape had told him.
"Yeah, I understand," Hermione said feeling relieved that she wasn't the only one who had seen past his cold exterior.
"I thought you would, an intelligent girl like yourself. I tell you that guy's a genius, but like a lot of intellectuals he doesn't understand stuff that doesn't have a rational explanation, so he's not very good at being sociable, you just have to keep on at him."
Hermione thought about this. She had almost given up on Snape, but after what Bill had said she just couldn't.
"Listen Bill I got to go. Good to see you again." She walked away.
"Yeah see ya!" Bill shouted after her as she ran away. He watched her run away confused about her hasty departure but forgot about it when Harry and Ron came out of the Great Hall.
Hermione ran down the steps to the dungeons completely ignoring the Bloody Baron as he glared at her.
She saw Snape walking down the corridor that led to his office.
"Sir!" She shouted after him and ran to catch him up. He turned and his shoulders slumped when he realised who it was. He really didn't have the energy to resist her anymore.
"What do you want?" He asked in a harsh voice wanting her to leave him alone.
"I wanted to speak to you, I, ah," she squealed as the corridor started moving. "What's going on?" She asked clinging to Snape's robes.
"The corridor's moving. It hasn't done this since I was at school," he said looking around.
"I thought only the stairs move," she said still clinging to him.
"As I said this corridor hasn't done it for years," he replied.
When the corridor stopped moving they looked to the end and saw a door, a large oak door with a massive silver snake attached to it.
"What's that?" She asked pointing to the door.
"Well, no one knows really, but most people believe it's Salazar Slytherin's personal room," Snape said as they walked towards it for a better look.
"What's inside?" She asked again intrigued by this new find of hers.
"No one knows that either. A few of us tried to get in once but we never managed it. Probably need parseltongue like with the Chamber of Secrets."
Hermione walked up to the door and ran her finger lightly over the snake. She concentrated, imaging it to be real, almost seeing it move.
"Open up," she said but it must have come out in parseltongue as the door swung open with a loud creak.
She stood there in shock, she didn't think it would work, she'd never been able to use parseltongue before. She'd only tried as a joke and now Snape was looking at her as if she'd just grown another head.
"I didn't know you could do that," he said his mouth open in shock staring at her, a bit suspicious at her.
"Neither did I," she admitted. "Mind you I've never had to." She faced the door and pushed it further open.
The two of them walked through the door into a room painted in green and silver. They looked around. It was huge but warm, not cold like the rest of the dungeons were. There was a large bed with green and silver hangings surrounding it, the bed sheets were the same colours, and made of a very expensive fine material. There were lots of pillows scattered at the head of the bed and they were also the same Slytherin colours.
"You were right, this is Slytherin's room," Hermione said looking around in wonder. The room seemed alive with some how, she could feel the presence of others as if the room was packed full of people.
The furniture was also expensive and ancient, everything must be centuries old, why was it all still here?
"Why is this furniture still here, you'd think it would have started to rot or something," Hermione asked.
"There must be a spell preserving everything. Maybe he wanted his heir to have it," Snape said running his hands over the furniture.
"Do you want to invite him, or shall I?" Hermione asked smiling. Snape chuckled a bit, but then turned rather serious.
"I'd like to think that Salazar Slytherin would not be proud of Voldemort," he said "maybe that's just me being the proud Slytherin."
Hermione didn't know how to answer this one. She had forgotten about Voldemort being the Heir of Slytherin, did that mean that she was bound to protect him? She put it on her list of 'things she needed to ask Dumbledore.' She looked at Snape and lightly touched his arm. He was startled at first but smiled at her a bit.
"This place isn't as bad as I thought it would be," Hermione said.
"Oh?" Snape asked.
"Yeah, I pictured more torture implements," she said with a cheeky smile and he hit her on the arm lightly.
She walked over to the wardrobe and opened it. There were no clothes; Salazar Slytherin must have emptied the wardrobe when he left the founders. She did however find a green and silver scarf, like the ones that the Slytherin's wore only this one didn't bear the Slytherin snake.
"Check this out," she said and picked up the scarf and wrapped it around her neck, liking the soft feel of the material.
"Do you think you should be wearing that?" Snape asked with an amused tone.
"What, don't you think I look good in your house colours Professor?" She asked in a slightly seductive tone.
He had to admit that she did look good in that scarf. He found himself unwillingly aroused by the image in front of him and her tone of voice.
She walked closer to him, not forgetting why she came to look for him in the first place.
"What are you doing to me?" He asked looking down at her, no longer trying to deny his feelings right now.
"I think I should be asking you the same question," Hermione said standing directly in front of him feeling the heat radiating from his body, she was so close. "For a while now I've been seeing you in a completely different light. Last night I had so many dreams about you, so many wonderful dreams, where you did more than kiss me." She felt very brave at that moment.
'Gods,' Snape thought feeling his trousers getting tight.
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into, you know my past, it's not pretty."
"I don't bloody well care," Hermione said not caring about anything that happened years ago, only caring about what was happening at that precise moment.
"Well you should. I'm not friendly, or romantic. I can carry grudges for years, I'm shallow and have tendencies to be selfish." He stopped speaking and pulled up his sleeve, showing her the mark that was imbedded in the soft white flesh. "Do you want someone who bears that?"
She looked at it and then looked back at him, her face clearly said that she didn't care about the mark.
"Yes," Hermione whispered, curling her arms around his neck.
"Then Merlin help you," he whispered back before pulling her into a kiss that made them both dizzy.
He pulled the scarf from around her neck and dropped it to the floor. Her hands sank into his hair, the roots her not as greasy as the rest of it but she didn't care about his hair anyway. She ran her fingernails over his scalp lightly and he moaned into their kiss, and pulled her tightly to him.
Moving her hands down his neck and around to his chest she began to fumble with the buttons of his robes. When she finally managed to get the buttons undone she pushed the robes off his shoulders, only to see another row of buttons that held a black shirt together.
She moaned in frustration. Many Wizards didn't wear clothes under their robes and she had assumed that he would be one of those Wizards.
"It's cold in that classroom," he said as if he'd read her mind.
She stepped back and removed her robe revealing a simple blue tee shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Being a Muggleborn she'd never got used to wearing nothing under the robes, it felt uncomfortable. She then removed her shirt in one movement, her hair flicking up as she pulled it over her head. She was wearing a dark blue, lacy bra underneath, her nipples straining against the material as they peaked due to arousal.
Snape strode over to her and lifted her into another passionate kiss as he stumbled towards the huge bed. They landed on the soft material never breaking the kiss, their hands running over each other exploring, memorising.
A pile of their clothes had collected on the floor next to the bed and soon they were both naked, entwined on the cool sheets.
Hermione felt his lips everywhere making her whole body tingle. He was a lot gentler than she had expected. She had always imagined him liking a bit rough but although it was passionate it was gentle almost loving.
He reached down to check how ready she was for him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to control himself much longer. He swore softly when he found that she was very ready and he decided not to hold back any more.
"Please tell me you're not a virgin," he pleaded before swirling his tongue around her nipple making her cry out.
"No I'm not, but I've never felt like this," she said breathlessly as she reached down to grasp his erection. She was pleased with what she found and she raised an eyebrow at him. He then gave her a devastatingly handsome smile, which made her groan and pull his face down for another kiss.
He didn't waste any more time, and as he entered her and revelled in the way she cried out in pleasure against his lips.
Hermione thought she would pass out with the intense pleasure that was doubled by the buzz of electricity that always ran through them when they touched. She felt herself raising higher and higher, higher than she'd ever reached, even with her encounters with Viktor. This was amazing.
Snape was also finding the sensations overwhelming. After the months of pain that he'd endured to feel such fierce pleasure was amazing and refreshing. He fought the urge to cry out, wanting to appear in control, still feeling insecure despite of everything.
She was vaguely aware that she was making a lot of noise, crying out, repeating his name over and over again and telling him how good it all felt. He was silent save for a few gasps, but for some reason she'd suspected he would be, it seemed to suit him
Then she felt that familiar explosion inside but it was more intense than anything she'd felt before. She cried out and then felt him stiffen as he reached his own peak. He climaxed silently and then collapsed on top of her hugging her tightly.
She felt him shaking and she started to stroke his hair. He moved off her and lay on his side looking at her. She smiled at him.
"I'm cold now," she said. He snapped his fingers and the covers folded over, enveloping the both of them.
"We shouldn't have done that," Snape stated running a finger down the side of her neck.
"I'm passed caring," she replied. "The whole of the Wizarding world is on the brink of war, against one of the most powerful Wizards, who has made almost everyone unhappy. We all need some happiness in life."
Snape pulled her closer and they snuggled into the sheets, both needing to forget about the world outside this room.