Chapter Four: Relief
Hermione was grateful for the fact that she didn't have another Defense Against the Dark Arts class until Friday, but by the time Friday morning had dawned, it was more than noticeable that the fantasies plaguing her sleep had taken their toll.
She slowly trudged into the common room from the girls dormitory. She hadn't bothered drying her hair from the shower, so it hung damply around her shoulders. Beneath her eyes were deep shadows, evidence of the nights spent tossing, turning, sweating, futilely attempting to force the image of her favourite professor from her mind's eye.
When she reached the Great Hall, she sat down next to Ginny. Ron and Harry were still asleep. Ginny glanced up from her bowl of oatmeal and did a double take.
"Christ, Hermione. What's wrong?" she demanded, looking very concerned. She helped her friend onto the bench at the table. "You look like you've entered the seventh circle of Hell."
"Not far off, there," Hermione mumbled darkly. "I'm okay. I don't want to talk about it."
"Okay ." Ginny agreed reluctantly. "If you're sure." Then the pretty redhead smiled cheerfully. "Here, let me help you out a bit, eh?" Before Hermione could respond, Ginny had whipped out her wand, dried Hermione's hair, and cast a cover-up charm to conceal the bags under Hermione's tired brown eyes. "There. Good as new," she announced proudly.
"Oh . uh . Thanks." She carefully let her gaze travel over teacher's table. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Professor Lupin wasn't there.
***
Remus crawled out of bed, groaning at the throbbing pain in his temples. The lack of sleep was giving him migraines. Perfect. Just what he needed. Thank Merlin the full moon wasn't for another week. Wouldn't that just top all? he thought sarcastically.
He was wound tighter than Severus. This wasn't good.
His thoughts of Hermione hadn't stopped since Monday night. It was now Friday and the fantasies showed no sign of letting up.
What had he done to deserve this?
He sluggishly moved to the mirror ("You look like a hobo," it announced) and proceeded to magically make himself presentable.
He almost snapped his wand in half when his exhausted green eyes moved to the schedule tacked to the wall next to the mirror.
Last period of the day. Gryffindor and Slytherin.
***
As the day wore on, Hermione tried her hardest to concentrate on taking notes in class. Unfortunately, she found the exhaustion ebbing away to make room for throbbing desire. It seemed to build all day. Personally, she preferred being dead tired to wanting her professor so much she thought she'd explode.
This put her on edge.
She was frantically scribbling uncharacteristically untidy notes on Healing Charms when Harry tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She jumped so much, she almost fell out of her chair. This caused Harry to recoil in surprise.
"Jeez, 'Mione. Were you getting into the coffee again before class, or what?" he asked, looking concerned. "We've talked about this. Coffee and Hermione are unmixy things," he explained slowly.
"Is there a problem?" Professor Flitwick interrupted, looking vaguely irritated.
"N-no, P-professor," Hermione stuttered.
She was unbelievably grateful when the bell chose that moment to ring.
But so unimaginably terrified when she realized that that bell meant it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts.
***
Remus sat behind his desk as his last class of the day filed in for their lesson. He almost frowned when he caught Draco Malfoy smirking at him, but didn't want anyone to think anything was wrong.
When Harry, Ron and Hermione entered, Hermione glanced briefly at him, before quickly shifting her gaze to her fingernails, which evidently had something stuck under them. He nodded in greeting and Harry and Ron smiled warmly.
Why was Hermione acting weird? Did she know? No, she couldn't. Maybe she was just having some kind of girl problem. Yes, that was much more probable.
Fortunately, Remus managed to spend most of the class sitting behind his desk so that he'd remain the only one aware of his increasingly prominent erection.
Unfortunately, by the time the students were leaving the classroom in a noisy Oi-it's-Friday manner, his brain seemed to have detached itself from his vocal chords.
"Miss Granger," he said, before she could exit the room, "if you'd be so kind as to wait a moment."
He mentally kicked himself repeatedly as he watched Harry and Ron shrug and tell Hermione they'd see her in the common room. She hesitantly stepped toward his desk, looking . timid? She'd never been timid with him. She looked around, noticing that they were the only two in the room.
"Yes, Professor?" Hermione prompted softly. He stepped around his desk to stand in front of her and she had to fight to keep herself from stepping back. Being this close to him was causing her hands to shake.
"Is anything bothering you?" he asked slowly, surveying her face. She licked her lips unconsciously and he bit back a groan. She was aroused. He could smell it. Plain as the day.
"No. No, sir. Nothing at all. Why do you ask?"
"You just seem a little . out of sorts, that's all. Are you certain there's nothing you'd like to tell me?" She nibbled her lower lip slightly. Was she actually considering telling him about the dreams? No, she couldn't. And no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't -
"Yes, Professor. Something is wrong," she announced vehemently. Remus looked a bit taken aback.
"There is?" She nodded slowly. "W - what?" His voice seemed to have raised a few octaves.
"Oh, I believe you have the same problem. Yours is just a bit more . pressing." She nodded at his erection, now obvious beneath his robes. He inhaled sharply.
"Ah," was all he could manage. He swallowed hard.
What was she doing? The thought zig zagged in the back of her brain, but she had been too overcome with lust for far too long to pay it any heed.
She stepped closer to him, closing the distance between their bodies, letting the heat consume her. Before he could object, she'd snaked her arm around his neck and brought his lips down to roughly meet hers, the passion of the last few days exploding in a fierce detonation of fervor. Not that he would've objected.
His fingers dug into her hips, holding her to him, making sure she felt the hard length of him pressing into the soft skin of her stomach. She moaned as his tongue expertly maneuvered her lips apart, sweeping the inside of her mouth hungrily. She wound one hand in his sandy brown hair, using the other to move one of his palms to her breast.
"Want you . so much . so bad ." he murmured almost incoherently as he roughly kneaded her breast through the fabric of her robes.
"Never stop touching me ." was the reply he got.
He pushed her back against his desk, locking her there with his hips. Her fingers fumbled with his robes, finally managing to shove them off his shoulders to the floor. Hers soon joined them.
Remus didn't even bother with the school blouse she'd worn beneath the robes. He tore it open, buttons pinging off the walls of the classroom. She yanked his sweater over his head, revealing the pale, firm chest that she'd dreamed about for the past four nights. It was better than she'd imagined. She ran her hands over the taught skin as he slipped his calloused fingers under the lacy burgundy fabric of her bra. She shuddered when he lightly pinched one of her raised nipples, whimpering softly.
Her fingers found the clasp of his jeans, frantically attempting to slip the button through its hole. She almost swore in frustration, but it slid through just in time.
As she shoved the denim over his narrow hips, he replaced his fingers with his heated mouth, licking, sucking and nipping at her breasts. Hermione's small fist closed over him and he cursed softly against her skin. She slid her fingers along his hard shaft and his eyes started to roll back with pleasure.
Without warning, he hoisted her onto the desk and pushed her shoulders back until she was lying flat on the wooden counter. Remus shoved her skirt over her hips and tore the scrap of fabric she called panties right from her body.
He then lifted her smooth, pale legs to his chest, leaving her ankles raised somewhere near his head. He used his hands to pin her hips to the desk so that she didn't slid anywhere and with one swift stroke, he entered her. She cried out in pure, undiluted pleasure. The position he had her in allowed him to hit that evasive little spot inside of her that caused her hips to buck against his hands.
He pumped in and out of her at a frantic pace, but she wasn't complaining. Before long, their bodies were slicked with sweat and both her panting madly. Her hands scrunched into fists, crumpling random papers on the desk. He moaned her name as he felt his climax near, thrusting faster and faster into her hot, tight body. On a last minute decision, he released her hip with one hand and moved his fingers between their bodies to lightly pinch the tiny bundle of nerves hidden beneath layers of slick skin, shoving Hermione over the edge.
Her inner muscles clamped around him, bringing him with her. They trembled with the force of the orgasm. As the shudders faded, her legs slid down his body, coming to rest on his hips and he collapsed on top of her, breathing raggedly.
After a moment, he pushed her sweat-dampened hair away from her flushed face and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Well, well," said a greasy voice from the doorway. "What have we here?"
Hermione was grateful for the fact that she didn't have another Defense Against the Dark Arts class until Friday, but by the time Friday morning had dawned, it was more than noticeable that the fantasies plaguing her sleep had taken their toll.
She slowly trudged into the common room from the girls dormitory. She hadn't bothered drying her hair from the shower, so it hung damply around her shoulders. Beneath her eyes were deep shadows, evidence of the nights spent tossing, turning, sweating, futilely attempting to force the image of her favourite professor from her mind's eye.
When she reached the Great Hall, she sat down next to Ginny. Ron and Harry were still asleep. Ginny glanced up from her bowl of oatmeal and did a double take.
"Christ, Hermione. What's wrong?" she demanded, looking very concerned. She helped her friend onto the bench at the table. "You look like you've entered the seventh circle of Hell."
"Not far off, there," Hermione mumbled darkly. "I'm okay. I don't want to talk about it."
"Okay ." Ginny agreed reluctantly. "If you're sure." Then the pretty redhead smiled cheerfully. "Here, let me help you out a bit, eh?" Before Hermione could respond, Ginny had whipped out her wand, dried Hermione's hair, and cast a cover-up charm to conceal the bags under Hermione's tired brown eyes. "There. Good as new," she announced proudly.
"Oh . uh . Thanks." She carefully let her gaze travel over teacher's table. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Professor Lupin wasn't there.
***
Remus crawled out of bed, groaning at the throbbing pain in his temples. The lack of sleep was giving him migraines. Perfect. Just what he needed. Thank Merlin the full moon wasn't for another week. Wouldn't that just top all? he thought sarcastically.
He was wound tighter than Severus. This wasn't good.
His thoughts of Hermione hadn't stopped since Monday night. It was now Friday and the fantasies showed no sign of letting up.
What had he done to deserve this?
He sluggishly moved to the mirror ("You look like a hobo," it announced) and proceeded to magically make himself presentable.
He almost snapped his wand in half when his exhausted green eyes moved to the schedule tacked to the wall next to the mirror.
Last period of the day. Gryffindor and Slytherin.
***
As the day wore on, Hermione tried her hardest to concentrate on taking notes in class. Unfortunately, she found the exhaustion ebbing away to make room for throbbing desire. It seemed to build all day. Personally, she preferred being dead tired to wanting her professor so much she thought she'd explode.
This put her on edge.
She was frantically scribbling uncharacteristically untidy notes on Healing Charms when Harry tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She jumped so much, she almost fell out of her chair. This caused Harry to recoil in surprise.
"Jeez, 'Mione. Were you getting into the coffee again before class, or what?" he asked, looking concerned. "We've talked about this. Coffee and Hermione are unmixy things," he explained slowly.
"Is there a problem?" Professor Flitwick interrupted, looking vaguely irritated.
"N-no, P-professor," Hermione stuttered.
She was unbelievably grateful when the bell chose that moment to ring.
But so unimaginably terrified when she realized that that bell meant it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts.
***
Remus sat behind his desk as his last class of the day filed in for their lesson. He almost frowned when he caught Draco Malfoy smirking at him, but didn't want anyone to think anything was wrong.
When Harry, Ron and Hermione entered, Hermione glanced briefly at him, before quickly shifting her gaze to her fingernails, which evidently had something stuck under them. He nodded in greeting and Harry and Ron smiled warmly.
Why was Hermione acting weird? Did she know? No, she couldn't. Maybe she was just having some kind of girl problem. Yes, that was much more probable.
Fortunately, Remus managed to spend most of the class sitting behind his desk so that he'd remain the only one aware of his increasingly prominent erection.
Unfortunately, by the time the students were leaving the classroom in a noisy Oi-it's-Friday manner, his brain seemed to have detached itself from his vocal chords.
"Miss Granger," he said, before she could exit the room, "if you'd be so kind as to wait a moment."
He mentally kicked himself repeatedly as he watched Harry and Ron shrug and tell Hermione they'd see her in the common room. She hesitantly stepped toward his desk, looking . timid? She'd never been timid with him. She looked around, noticing that they were the only two in the room.
"Yes, Professor?" Hermione prompted softly. He stepped around his desk to stand in front of her and she had to fight to keep herself from stepping back. Being this close to him was causing her hands to shake.
"Is anything bothering you?" he asked slowly, surveying her face. She licked her lips unconsciously and he bit back a groan. She was aroused. He could smell it. Plain as the day.
"No. No, sir. Nothing at all. Why do you ask?"
"You just seem a little . out of sorts, that's all. Are you certain there's nothing you'd like to tell me?" She nibbled her lower lip slightly. Was she actually considering telling him about the dreams? No, she couldn't. And no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't -
"Yes, Professor. Something is wrong," she announced vehemently. Remus looked a bit taken aback.
"There is?" She nodded slowly. "W - what?" His voice seemed to have raised a few octaves.
"Oh, I believe you have the same problem. Yours is just a bit more . pressing." She nodded at his erection, now obvious beneath his robes. He inhaled sharply.
"Ah," was all he could manage. He swallowed hard.
What was she doing? The thought zig zagged in the back of her brain, but she had been too overcome with lust for far too long to pay it any heed.
She stepped closer to him, closing the distance between their bodies, letting the heat consume her. Before he could object, she'd snaked her arm around his neck and brought his lips down to roughly meet hers, the passion of the last few days exploding in a fierce detonation of fervor. Not that he would've objected.
His fingers dug into her hips, holding her to him, making sure she felt the hard length of him pressing into the soft skin of her stomach. She moaned as his tongue expertly maneuvered her lips apart, sweeping the inside of her mouth hungrily. She wound one hand in his sandy brown hair, using the other to move one of his palms to her breast.
"Want you . so much . so bad ." he murmured almost incoherently as he roughly kneaded her breast through the fabric of her robes.
"Never stop touching me ." was the reply he got.
He pushed her back against his desk, locking her there with his hips. Her fingers fumbled with his robes, finally managing to shove them off his shoulders to the floor. Hers soon joined them.
Remus didn't even bother with the school blouse she'd worn beneath the robes. He tore it open, buttons pinging off the walls of the classroom. She yanked his sweater over his head, revealing the pale, firm chest that she'd dreamed about for the past four nights. It was better than she'd imagined. She ran her hands over the taught skin as he slipped his calloused fingers under the lacy burgundy fabric of her bra. She shuddered when he lightly pinched one of her raised nipples, whimpering softly.
Her fingers found the clasp of his jeans, frantically attempting to slip the button through its hole. She almost swore in frustration, but it slid through just in time.
As she shoved the denim over his narrow hips, he replaced his fingers with his heated mouth, licking, sucking and nipping at her breasts. Hermione's small fist closed over him and he cursed softly against her skin. She slid her fingers along his hard shaft and his eyes started to roll back with pleasure.
Without warning, he hoisted her onto the desk and pushed her shoulders back until she was lying flat on the wooden counter. Remus shoved her skirt over her hips and tore the scrap of fabric she called panties right from her body.
He then lifted her smooth, pale legs to his chest, leaving her ankles raised somewhere near his head. He used his hands to pin her hips to the desk so that she didn't slid anywhere and with one swift stroke, he entered her. She cried out in pure, undiluted pleasure. The position he had her in allowed him to hit that evasive little spot inside of her that caused her hips to buck against his hands.
He pumped in and out of her at a frantic pace, but she wasn't complaining. Before long, their bodies were slicked with sweat and both her panting madly. Her hands scrunched into fists, crumpling random papers on the desk. He moaned her name as he felt his climax near, thrusting faster and faster into her hot, tight body. On a last minute decision, he released her hip with one hand and moved his fingers between their bodies to lightly pinch the tiny bundle of nerves hidden beneath layers of slick skin, shoving Hermione over the edge.
Her inner muscles clamped around him, bringing him with her. They trembled with the force of the orgasm. As the shudders faded, her legs slid down his body, coming to rest on his hips and he collapsed on top of her, breathing raggedly.
After a moment, he pushed her sweat-dampened hair away from her flushed face and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Well, well," said a greasy voice from the doorway. "What have we here?"