I feel that I should apologize for the short chapter. I am tired and cannot
write anymore tonight. Also, I want to thank everyone who is reading and
reviewing my story. Your reviews motivate me and make the writing of this
fic relaxing and fun for me. I hope you continue to enjoy it as much as I
enjoy reading your work.
I do not own one single solitary character or setting portrayed in this fic. I have no claim upon any part of the wonderful works of fiction created and owned solely by J.K. Rowling.
Severus stared at the sleeping teenaged siren cozily ensconced on his bed. He wearily lifted his head to see if the ceiling could offer a solution to his problem. He felt vexed and claustrophobic, and for the first time in his life, a little unsure of himself. He tried unsuccessfully to summon up his professorial alter ego. However, he realized that they had already shared too much in the one day they'd spent together. To expect the resurrection of their student/teacher relationship to resolve the macro problem would be unrealistic at best.
Furthermore, he had been isolated at Hogwarts for so long that he couldn't remember his own personality. This was a key factor in his dilemma, because attempting to deny an escalating attraction to the only woman he'd found interesting in years seemed insurmountable to him. Their bizarre circumstances further confounded the matter. Also, it didn't help that he was just now realizing that while she was still a controlling know it all, she was an extremely attractive one.
"And I gave her cognac. What the hell was I thinking!"
"Dumbledore should have sent Harry or Sirius with Hermione," he thought angrily to himself. "For that matter, he could have come with her himself. I may be a nasty bastard, but hell, I'm still a man. This......This....... situation is a prescription for disaster."
Hermione sighed and rolled onto her stomach. She raised her right leg slightly so that its bent knee almost rested perpendicular to her body. The effect of the tableaux she made was dangerous. The new sleeping position pulled the thin fabric of her pajamas tautly across her bottom. The effect mesmerized Severus. He decided that muggle wear was definitely more appealing than witch wear. He immediately felt ashamed of the thought only to become unreasonably angry with her for the guilt he was still heaping upon his own head.
"Where did all this sudden moralizing come from?" He asked the room at large. "I'm not a nice man! I'm an utter cad!"
The vocalization of these facts made him feel better. He looked longingly at the woman on the bed and made a decision. "I don't want to ruin her," he thought. "To be the despoiler of Hermione Granger would be Voldemortian in its lowness, but what harm could there be in spending one night sleeping next to her?"
He suddenly realized that his need to slip into bed beside Hermione was not motivated by sexual attraction alone, although that was there in abundance. Rather, it would be the first time that he would experience the joy of chaste passion. After all, Hermione, for all her annoying, anal-retentive ways was everything that his once pure heart would have desired for himself.
Before he could change his mind, Severus removed his pajama top and pulled back the covers on the bed. He gently eased them from beneath Hermione who was sleeping deeply. As he gingerly settled himself into the bed, he panicked as he felt himself fall into the mattress. He hadn't realized that there was a space between the bed frame and the mattress. Hermione stirred in her sleep as if his naughty, nervous behavior had somehow affected her dreams. Severus remained frozen in a half sitting, half lying down position until he was sure that she had completely settled again. He then eased his legs over the frame and stretched full out into the warmth of the waterbed.
"Muggle life definitely has some advantages!" he thought to himself.
He carefully moved around to settle himself into a comfortable position. He was ready to fall asleep when Hermione suddenly rolled over somewhat violently. Severus stiffened in paralyzed horror until he could ascertain that she was still sleeping. He was just about to settle himself again when she burrowed closer to him. She slid one leg across his mid-section and slowly moved it down until it settled between his legs. She then stretched an arm across his chest and curled her hand around his hip all the while snuggling into him as if he were a life-sized teddy bear. Once settled she let out a very feline sounding purr of contentment.
Severus realized he wasn't breathing. With superhuman effort, he let out a long breath and then concentrated on suppressing his body's physical reaction to the woman beside him. It dawned on him that it was not so hard to do because the joy he felt was not about sensual pleasure. It was about the very thing he had most desired. It was the comfort and closeness that a man could find in just holding a good woman. And that is what he did. He reached out and pulled Hermione closer to him.
"After all," he rationalized, "We both need this after the incredible events of today. Perhaps this holiday season will turn out to be better I expected." This was his last errant thought before he too fell into a deep sleep.
I do not own one single solitary character or setting portrayed in this fic. I have no claim upon any part of the wonderful works of fiction created and owned solely by J.K. Rowling.
Severus stared at the sleeping teenaged siren cozily ensconced on his bed. He wearily lifted his head to see if the ceiling could offer a solution to his problem. He felt vexed and claustrophobic, and for the first time in his life, a little unsure of himself. He tried unsuccessfully to summon up his professorial alter ego. However, he realized that they had already shared too much in the one day they'd spent together. To expect the resurrection of their student/teacher relationship to resolve the macro problem would be unrealistic at best.
Furthermore, he had been isolated at Hogwarts for so long that he couldn't remember his own personality. This was a key factor in his dilemma, because attempting to deny an escalating attraction to the only woman he'd found interesting in years seemed insurmountable to him. Their bizarre circumstances further confounded the matter. Also, it didn't help that he was just now realizing that while she was still a controlling know it all, she was an extremely attractive one.
"And I gave her cognac. What the hell was I thinking!"
"Dumbledore should have sent Harry or Sirius with Hermione," he thought angrily to himself. "For that matter, he could have come with her himself. I may be a nasty bastard, but hell, I'm still a man. This......This....... situation is a prescription for disaster."
Hermione sighed and rolled onto her stomach. She raised her right leg slightly so that its bent knee almost rested perpendicular to her body. The effect of the tableaux she made was dangerous. The new sleeping position pulled the thin fabric of her pajamas tautly across her bottom. The effect mesmerized Severus. He decided that muggle wear was definitely more appealing than witch wear. He immediately felt ashamed of the thought only to become unreasonably angry with her for the guilt he was still heaping upon his own head.
"Where did all this sudden moralizing come from?" He asked the room at large. "I'm not a nice man! I'm an utter cad!"
The vocalization of these facts made him feel better. He looked longingly at the woman on the bed and made a decision. "I don't want to ruin her," he thought. "To be the despoiler of Hermione Granger would be Voldemortian in its lowness, but what harm could there be in spending one night sleeping next to her?"
He suddenly realized that his need to slip into bed beside Hermione was not motivated by sexual attraction alone, although that was there in abundance. Rather, it would be the first time that he would experience the joy of chaste passion. After all, Hermione, for all her annoying, anal-retentive ways was everything that his once pure heart would have desired for himself.
Before he could change his mind, Severus removed his pajama top and pulled back the covers on the bed. He gently eased them from beneath Hermione who was sleeping deeply. As he gingerly settled himself into the bed, he panicked as he felt himself fall into the mattress. He hadn't realized that there was a space between the bed frame and the mattress. Hermione stirred in her sleep as if his naughty, nervous behavior had somehow affected her dreams. Severus remained frozen in a half sitting, half lying down position until he was sure that she had completely settled again. He then eased his legs over the frame and stretched full out into the warmth of the waterbed.
"Muggle life definitely has some advantages!" he thought to himself.
He carefully moved around to settle himself into a comfortable position. He was ready to fall asleep when Hermione suddenly rolled over somewhat violently. Severus stiffened in paralyzed horror until he could ascertain that she was still sleeping. He was just about to settle himself again when she burrowed closer to him. She slid one leg across his mid-section and slowly moved it down until it settled between his legs. She then stretched an arm across his chest and curled her hand around his hip all the while snuggling into him as if he were a life-sized teddy bear. Once settled she let out a very feline sounding purr of contentment.
Severus realized he wasn't breathing. With superhuman effort, he let out a long breath and then concentrated on suppressing his body's physical reaction to the woman beside him. It dawned on him that it was not so hard to do because the joy he felt was not about sensual pleasure. It was about the very thing he had most desired. It was the comfort and closeness that a man could find in just holding a good woman. And that is what he did. He reached out and pulled Hermione closer to him.
"After all," he rationalized, "We both need this after the incredible events of today. Perhaps this holiday season will turn out to be better I expected." This was his last errant thought before he too fell into a deep sleep.
