Mad World
Chapter 2
By: Mistress-Steerpike
Rating: R
Authors note: I just got back from theatre camp a few days ago, and so this chapter is dedicated to my fellow Snape/Hermione fan that converted me into a Harry/Draco fan. Oh Such Malice, you rock! This chapter is for you! Yahtzee like a mutha fuckah!
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
Because your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
--Evanescence "My Immortal"
Grey is much too bright a color, Hermione thought as her eyes finally opened, painfully taking in her new surroundings. The sensitivity in her eyes made her wish for complete darkness, but since she was not fatigued in the least bit, escaping through sleep was impossible. Propping herself upon her elbows, Hermione attempted to put some effort into sitting up. A sharp pain shot up and down her torso, forcing her to recline unto her back once again.
It took her a few seconds to realize where she actually was. Cliff's Edge, a nice little cage for the nuts and bolts of the wizarding world, apparently Hermione was one of those nuts and bolts that needed to be safely locked away. Safely? That was yet to be seen. The state of her new room didn't scream security, it might've, if it weren't for the overpowering stench of dankness and death, the military style cot she was laying on, the frigid temperature, or the appearance of the room being one of a perfect square of concrete. The whole room was suspiciously bright, illuminated by the hanging ceiling lantern, which appeared as if it would pull itself right out of the ceiling and on top of Hermione's head.
Somehow, Hermione found her voice.
"Nurse! Nurse Pratt, get in here," Hermione cried at the very tip-top of her lungs. She winced once again, regretting her decision to make use of her vocal cords. The only satisfaction coming from her decision to do so was the tip-tap-tapping of Pratt's heels as she hurried down the hall.
"What is it, Miss Bateman?" Nurse Pratt tried hard to conceal the annoyance in her voice as she entered Hermione's room.
"I take it the surgery was successful? If so, I hope you rot in hell, you fucking whore!" Hermione screamed, slipping into the personality of the unbalanced and foul-mouthed Musette.
"Lower your voice, Miss Bateman. I would hate to send you straight from surgery to shocks on your first day," Pratt threatened. Hermione started a bit.
"Shocks?"
"Yes, it's a muggle practice, but it has its uses. You see, Miss Bateman, shocks are-"
"I bloody well know what shocks are!"
"Then I assume you don't want them, do you? Especially not while recovering from surgery."
"No," Hermione replied, her voice small, and frightened.
"Good. Now, in an hour or so Lottie Wilkins will be bringing you your supper, after today there will be no more meals in bed, you will attend them in the hall with the rest of the patients of this ward, is that clear?"
"Yes."
"Another thing, it's considered a sign of respect to refer to me as ma'am, please do so."
"I don't respect you though."
"Then fear me."
Pratt turned on her heel, and exited, closing and locking the door with a punctuated "click".
Hermione was left all alone once again. Her eyes drifted sadly to the small window high up on the north wall of her room. It was a small rectangular stripe of a link to the outside world, and far out of her reach. The receding sun had been allowed access through that tiny window, leaving a bar of rays to imprint itself on the concrete floor. The image inexplicably drove Hermione to tears. She buried her face into her pillow, to avert her eyes from the heartbreaking sight, her sobs coming liberally.
"Severus," she whispered. The word disturbed her. Why on earth would he be so unwaveringly prominent in her mind? He, who had tossed her aside with casual cruelness, paying no mind to the intensely frightening feelings she harbored for him, he who had ignored her tears as she collapsed in the corridor outside of his office. The bastard didn't deserve his name on her lips.
Many, many miles away, Severus Snape was slumbering away, but not very peacefully. He was dreaming about her again.
There it was. The Great Hall, as it had always been, except...the walls, floors, furniture, and tapestries had been dyed black, black like his eyes. Snape stood at the entrance, staring down the aisle at the main table. Seated comfortably in Dumbledore's usual area, was Sirius Black. James and Lily Potter had seats at his left and right, respectably. They all seemed to be acknowledging Snape's presence, Lily even waved shyly at him. He was too terrified to return the gesture.
A hand touched his shoulder, and he spun around, only to be facing the figure of Cedric Diggory. He was smiling slightly, and was clad in his Hogwarts robes, as were the three other ghostly hosts.
"You'll want to be seated for when she arrives, Professor," Cedric explained, leading him to the head table, where he settled down at Lily's side, giving her a wary look.
"Hello, Severus," she greeted, taking his hand in hers.
"What is going on here?"
Lily raised a finger to her lips, "Shhh, she's going to arrive soon."
There was no need to ask who "she" was.
Cloaked in black like a Dementor, Hermione Granger made her way slowly, and deliberately to the head table. It was impossible for Severus to see her face, as it was facing the ground below her, but the errant curls that cascaded from her hood were unmistakable. Dumbledore followed behind her, a hand resting gently on her left shoulder. He stopped her from going any further once they reached the table, and pulled the hood from her face, as she lifted her eyes to the hosts of the table. When her eyes reached Severus, they lit up and her lips curved into a smile.
"Severus..." she whispered in the softest of voices. He was undone.
It took a matter of seconds for him to climb over the table, and pull her into his arms. He didn't care that the force in which he was gripping her was very nearly rib crushing, but then again, neither did she.
"Please be real," he pleaded, his voice quaking as he lost control of his emotions.
"I'm not, though." He released his grip on her, and cupped her face in his hands, tilting it upwards facing his own.
"Pretend you are," he replied, kissing her fervently. She returned his kiss eagerly, allowing him to pull her close against the length of his body once again.
"Do you love me?" She asked between a series of savage kisses.
"Don't you know the answer?"
"Yes, but do you?"
He stepped away from her, shakily.
"I do."
"And?"
His reply was interrupted as Sirius and James appeared behind Hermione, and began to drag her away from Severus. Beyond their shoulders was a slender white casket, wide open and empty. Hermione attempted to fight them off once she saw where they were taking her. Severus was glued to where he was standing, utterly speechless.
"Don't let them take me, Severus," she cried, trying to reach out for him. She was hoisted into the casket, screaming at the top of her lungs, and then muffled as the lid came down on her. Severus finally reacted.
"Come back, Hermione!" He started running for the casket, which Sirius and James were starting to carry out of the hall, one at each end.
"You've got to say it," Hermione's voice called back.
"Shut her up, James," Sirius mumbled. The two of them paused, and set the casket down. James opened the lid, and Hermione attempted once again to escape. She was thwarted, as James placed one hand under her chin, the other behind her head, and hastily broke her neck. She collapsed back into her casket, head tilted, and wide eyes staring into Severus's horrified ones.
"Let's go," James suggested. With that, the room was cleared, save for Severus, and Hermione's lifeless form.
"I love you," he uttered, before waking up.
Severus scanned his sleeping quarters with dull eyes. They widened when he realized that he was in the old Head Girl suite for the third time in a row since her death. Clutched in his hand was her wool scarf with the abhorred Gryffindor colors stitched in. He released it, and pulled himself to his feet.
In the darkness he could see her desk. Oftentimes he would stroll into her bedroom late at night for a rendezvous, and find her working diligently on one project or the other at that very desk. He summoned the image, unconsciously, imagining how the sparse light of her lantern, and the moon, would outline her curves through that seemingly prudish white nightgown she favored. He favored it as well, for the previously stated reason. She would look up from her work, smile, and say something very witty about him being out past curfew, long bout of shagging would ensue.
"How perfectly indecent," Severus said aloud, before returning to his own quarters.
How vividly he remembered Hermione's first attempt at seduction...
The school had been in an uproar that first week, reeling from the news that Ron Weasley had quit school, and was now very much on the side of Voldemort. Nobody had a real sufficient answer as to how it had happened, and when for that matter, but most reckoned it had to do with the fact Percy Weasley had joined ranks not four months before this all occurred.
Harry had taken the news as well as any teenage boy discovering his best friend had betrayed him for the man who killed his parents would...he destroyed all of Ron's pictures and past gifts from birthdays and Christmases that had been left behind, starting an impressive bonfire outside of Hagrid's hut. Hermione witnessed it tearfully, and declined the offer to roast marshmallows with Harry and Hagrid.
Not long before the Weasley incident, Severus had been painfully cut out of the Death Eaters, having been subjected to a number of unforgivables; he was miraculously, and suspiciously left to die. The shock of his survival must've been great, but the increase in security around Hogwarts once school started proved even greater. No one from the outside world was allowed access to the grounds, and no one from the inside was allowed out. Death seemed to only means of escape, and no one was stupid enough to go that route.
Everyone in Advanced Potions II took note of Severus's radically declining health, especially Miss Hermione Granger, who seemed to observe it a bit more thoughtfully than the others. He had been rapidly losing weight, and the acid sting to his voice had been softened to a slight burn. Hermione Granger came to the conclusion that if they were to win this war against Voldemort, the morale of one the Dumbledore's top allies had to be brought up drastically. Being Gryffindor, and a generally brave person, Hermione thought herself aptly qualified to be the person to do the "bringing up".
She had prepped herself for hours that night. Brushing her hair countless times, only to realize the repetitive habit was adding volume to her already voluminous hair, going through her limited wardrobe, searching desperately for something even quasi-suggestive, and deciding on not putting any makeup on her face after much debate.
She settled on a light cotton nightgown. High-necked, and long sleeved as it was, it also had the benefit of being a bit transparent when the light hit it. Her hair, she left unbound, flowing down to the middle of her back. With a slender red candle in one hand, she headed down to the dungeons, under the protection of Harry's invisibility cloak that she had pilfered cleverly.
She felt the tremors in her body grow more violent the closer she neared Severus's office, fearing imminent rejection, detention, and humiliation. It never occurred to her until then that he might vehemently decline her indecent offer. She felt like turning around, it wasn't as if she really wanted to sleep with Snape...it was purely for the cause!
When she found herself in front of his office door, she raised a trembling hand, and hastily knocked. When she heard footsteps, she discarded the cloak.
Severus Snape's face was impossible to read the moment he discovered the Head Girl standing outside of his office at the most indecent time of night. Hermione's was a bit easier to decipher; extreme fear that gave way to unconsciousness, as she fainted into his awkward arms.
She regained consciousness on what appeared to be his desk. He was towering over her, not with the usual menacing look, but with a look that told her that he was very...amused.
"Miss Granger, what brings you to my office so late at night?"
Hermione decided to come clean. She pulled herself unto her knees, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him full on the mouth. The awkwardness of the moment was magnified by the fact that he wasn't returning the embrace. She broke away, and smiled weakly.
"I've come to seduce you."
He laughed at her then. The volume of it startled her, and she slid off of his desk, onto the floor, and stared at him.
"Whatever for," he asked, once his laughter calmed down. She was glaring up at him.
"For the cause. You're losing your health, and I thought you would need something to get you through the final battle once it arrives," she explained in her best know-it-all voice. This only caused him to start laughing again.
"And you thought that bedding a stupid little girl would boost my morale, is that it? My, you are conceited."
"It's not like you could do any better," Hermione spat back, without thinking. Anger and humiliation were both clouding her mind. Her little barb had worked, however. He was now returning her glare.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for insulting a teacher, Miss Granger."
"Can I get a detention as well," she asked, lowering her voice to a seductress's purr. This infuriated him.
"No you may not! Now, Miss Granger, I'm not above being someone's pity fuck, but not yours, or any of my pupils', is that clear?"
"I wouldn't mind it, Professor." He was startled by the raw desperation in her voice, and then he realized, Ron Weasley had been her lover. She was still coping with his betrayal, and in some twisted way, this whole seduction was a coping mechanism. He immediately pitied the girl.
"Yes you would. You'd mind it plenty, waking up next to your despised potion's master. It would traumatize you, my dear."
"How would you know?"
Something in the air crackled, and Severus found himself hoisting the girl onto his desk, kissing her violently, with surprising possessiveness. His hands rested on the curve of her neck as he continued to ravage her mouth with his tongue. She quickly unbuttoned the front of her nightgown, allowing one of his hands to slip inside, cupping a voluptuous breast, teasing the nipple to a hardened point.
He was suckling greedily on the splendor of the side of her neck, when realization hit him.
"Miss Granger?"
"Yes, Professor," she asked in a breathless voice that nearly sent him over the edge.
"Is this what you want?"
"Oh, yes!"
He sneered against her neck, and then cruelly pushed her away from him.
"Isn't that too bad. Get out of my office, Miss Granger. I don't want to ever see your irritating presence in this room ever again."
She left the office quickly, leaving Severus with a pounding headache and a throbbing erection...
The Severus Snape of the present filed that memory away to a corner of his brain along with other things he was struggling to forget. The memories of him ever treating her cruelly was something he never wanted to ponder on ever again, as was the memory of his gradual dependency on her. He wanted her to be completely blocked from his mind.
That, of course, was proving to be very difficult.
End of Chapter
Quick note: There IS a plot, and like a good lawn chair, it needs to be unfolded slowly.
You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
But now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me
--Evanescence "My Immortal" (again)
Chapter 2
By: Mistress-Steerpike
Rating: R
Authors note: I just got back from theatre camp a few days ago, and so this chapter is dedicated to my fellow Snape/Hermione fan that converted me into a Harry/Draco fan. Oh Such Malice, you rock! This chapter is for you! Yahtzee like a mutha fuckah!
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
Because your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
--Evanescence "My Immortal"
Grey is much too bright a color, Hermione thought as her eyes finally opened, painfully taking in her new surroundings. The sensitivity in her eyes made her wish for complete darkness, but since she was not fatigued in the least bit, escaping through sleep was impossible. Propping herself upon her elbows, Hermione attempted to put some effort into sitting up. A sharp pain shot up and down her torso, forcing her to recline unto her back once again.
It took her a few seconds to realize where she actually was. Cliff's Edge, a nice little cage for the nuts and bolts of the wizarding world, apparently Hermione was one of those nuts and bolts that needed to be safely locked away. Safely? That was yet to be seen. The state of her new room didn't scream security, it might've, if it weren't for the overpowering stench of dankness and death, the military style cot she was laying on, the frigid temperature, or the appearance of the room being one of a perfect square of concrete. The whole room was suspiciously bright, illuminated by the hanging ceiling lantern, which appeared as if it would pull itself right out of the ceiling and on top of Hermione's head.
Somehow, Hermione found her voice.
"Nurse! Nurse Pratt, get in here," Hermione cried at the very tip-top of her lungs. She winced once again, regretting her decision to make use of her vocal cords. The only satisfaction coming from her decision to do so was the tip-tap-tapping of Pratt's heels as she hurried down the hall.
"What is it, Miss Bateman?" Nurse Pratt tried hard to conceal the annoyance in her voice as she entered Hermione's room.
"I take it the surgery was successful? If so, I hope you rot in hell, you fucking whore!" Hermione screamed, slipping into the personality of the unbalanced and foul-mouthed Musette.
"Lower your voice, Miss Bateman. I would hate to send you straight from surgery to shocks on your first day," Pratt threatened. Hermione started a bit.
"Shocks?"
"Yes, it's a muggle practice, but it has its uses. You see, Miss Bateman, shocks are-"
"I bloody well know what shocks are!"
"Then I assume you don't want them, do you? Especially not while recovering from surgery."
"No," Hermione replied, her voice small, and frightened.
"Good. Now, in an hour or so Lottie Wilkins will be bringing you your supper, after today there will be no more meals in bed, you will attend them in the hall with the rest of the patients of this ward, is that clear?"
"Yes."
"Another thing, it's considered a sign of respect to refer to me as ma'am, please do so."
"I don't respect you though."
"Then fear me."
Pratt turned on her heel, and exited, closing and locking the door with a punctuated "click".
Hermione was left all alone once again. Her eyes drifted sadly to the small window high up on the north wall of her room. It was a small rectangular stripe of a link to the outside world, and far out of her reach. The receding sun had been allowed access through that tiny window, leaving a bar of rays to imprint itself on the concrete floor. The image inexplicably drove Hermione to tears. She buried her face into her pillow, to avert her eyes from the heartbreaking sight, her sobs coming liberally.
"Severus," she whispered. The word disturbed her. Why on earth would he be so unwaveringly prominent in her mind? He, who had tossed her aside with casual cruelness, paying no mind to the intensely frightening feelings she harbored for him, he who had ignored her tears as she collapsed in the corridor outside of his office. The bastard didn't deserve his name on her lips.
Many, many miles away, Severus Snape was slumbering away, but not very peacefully. He was dreaming about her again.
There it was. The Great Hall, as it had always been, except...the walls, floors, furniture, and tapestries had been dyed black, black like his eyes. Snape stood at the entrance, staring down the aisle at the main table. Seated comfortably in Dumbledore's usual area, was Sirius Black. James and Lily Potter had seats at his left and right, respectably. They all seemed to be acknowledging Snape's presence, Lily even waved shyly at him. He was too terrified to return the gesture.
A hand touched his shoulder, and he spun around, only to be facing the figure of Cedric Diggory. He was smiling slightly, and was clad in his Hogwarts robes, as were the three other ghostly hosts.
"You'll want to be seated for when she arrives, Professor," Cedric explained, leading him to the head table, where he settled down at Lily's side, giving her a wary look.
"Hello, Severus," she greeted, taking his hand in hers.
"What is going on here?"
Lily raised a finger to her lips, "Shhh, she's going to arrive soon."
There was no need to ask who "she" was.
Cloaked in black like a Dementor, Hermione Granger made her way slowly, and deliberately to the head table. It was impossible for Severus to see her face, as it was facing the ground below her, but the errant curls that cascaded from her hood were unmistakable. Dumbledore followed behind her, a hand resting gently on her left shoulder. He stopped her from going any further once they reached the table, and pulled the hood from her face, as she lifted her eyes to the hosts of the table. When her eyes reached Severus, they lit up and her lips curved into a smile.
"Severus..." she whispered in the softest of voices. He was undone.
It took a matter of seconds for him to climb over the table, and pull her into his arms. He didn't care that the force in which he was gripping her was very nearly rib crushing, but then again, neither did she.
"Please be real," he pleaded, his voice quaking as he lost control of his emotions.
"I'm not, though." He released his grip on her, and cupped her face in his hands, tilting it upwards facing his own.
"Pretend you are," he replied, kissing her fervently. She returned his kiss eagerly, allowing him to pull her close against the length of his body once again.
"Do you love me?" She asked between a series of savage kisses.
"Don't you know the answer?"
"Yes, but do you?"
He stepped away from her, shakily.
"I do."
"And?"
His reply was interrupted as Sirius and James appeared behind Hermione, and began to drag her away from Severus. Beyond their shoulders was a slender white casket, wide open and empty. Hermione attempted to fight them off once she saw where they were taking her. Severus was glued to where he was standing, utterly speechless.
"Don't let them take me, Severus," she cried, trying to reach out for him. She was hoisted into the casket, screaming at the top of her lungs, and then muffled as the lid came down on her. Severus finally reacted.
"Come back, Hermione!" He started running for the casket, which Sirius and James were starting to carry out of the hall, one at each end.
"You've got to say it," Hermione's voice called back.
"Shut her up, James," Sirius mumbled. The two of them paused, and set the casket down. James opened the lid, and Hermione attempted once again to escape. She was thwarted, as James placed one hand under her chin, the other behind her head, and hastily broke her neck. She collapsed back into her casket, head tilted, and wide eyes staring into Severus's horrified ones.
"Let's go," James suggested. With that, the room was cleared, save for Severus, and Hermione's lifeless form.
"I love you," he uttered, before waking up.
Severus scanned his sleeping quarters with dull eyes. They widened when he realized that he was in the old Head Girl suite for the third time in a row since her death. Clutched in his hand was her wool scarf with the abhorred Gryffindor colors stitched in. He released it, and pulled himself to his feet.
In the darkness he could see her desk. Oftentimes he would stroll into her bedroom late at night for a rendezvous, and find her working diligently on one project or the other at that very desk. He summoned the image, unconsciously, imagining how the sparse light of her lantern, and the moon, would outline her curves through that seemingly prudish white nightgown she favored. He favored it as well, for the previously stated reason. She would look up from her work, smile, and say something very witty about him being out past curfew, long bout of shagging would ensue.
"How perfectly indecent," Severus said aloud, before returning to his own quarters.
How vividly he remembered Hermione's first attempt at seduction...
The school had been in an uproar that first week, reeling from the news that Ron Weasley had quit school, and was now very much on the side of Voldemort. Nobody had a real sufficient answer as to how it had happened, and when for that matter, but most reckoned it had to do with the fact Percy Weasley had joined ranks not four months before this all occurred.
Harry had taken the news as well as any teenage boy discovering his best friend had betrayed him for the man who killed his parents would...he destroyed all of Ron's pictures and past gifts from birthdays and Christmases that had been left behind, starting an impressive bonfire outside of Hagrid's hut. Hermione witnessed it tearfully, and declined the offer to roast marshmallows with Harry and Hagrid.
Not long before the Weasley incident, Severus had been painfully cut out of the Death Eaters, having been subjected to a number of unforgivables; he was miraculously, and suspiciously left to die. The shock of his survival must've been great, but the increase in security around Hogwarts once school started proved even greater. No one from the outside world was allowed access to the grounds, and no one from the inside was allowed out. Death seemed to only means of escape, and no one was stupid enough to go that route.
Everyone in Advanced Potions II took note of Severus's radically declining health, especially Miss Hermione Granger, who seemed to observe it a bit more thoughtfully than the others. He had been rapidly losing weight, and the acid sting to his voice had been softened to a slight burn. Hermione Granger came to the conclusion that if they were to win this war against Voldemort, the morale of one the Dumbledore's top allies had to be brought up drastically. Being Gryffindor, and a generally brave person, Hermione thought herself aptly qualified to be the person to do the "bringing up".
She had prepped herself for hours that night. Brushing her hair countless times, only to realize the repetitive habit was adding volume to her already voluminous hair, going through her limited wardrobe, searching desperately for something even quasi-suggestive, and deciding on not putting any makeup on her face after much debate.
She settled on a light cotton nightgown. High-necked, and long sleeved as it was, it also had the benefit of being a bit transparent when the light hit it. Her hair, she left unbound, flowing down to the middle of her back. With a slender red candle in one hand, she headed down to the dungeons, under the protection of Harry's invisibility cloak that she had pilfered cleverly.
She felt the tremors in her body grow more violent the closer she neared Severus's office, fearing imminent rejection, detention, and humiliation. It never occurred to her until then that he might vehemently decline her indecent offer. She felt like turning around, it wasn't as if she really wanted to sleep with Snape...it was purely for the cause!
When she found herself in front of his office door, she raised a trembling hand, and hastily knocked. When she heard footsteps, she discarded the cloak.
Severus Snape's face was impossible to read the moment he discovered the Head Girl standing outside of his office at the most indecent time of night. Hermione's was a bit easier to decipher; extreme fear that gave way to unconsciousness, as she fainted into his awkward arms.
She regained consciousness on what appeared to be his desk. He was towering over her, not with the usual menacing look, but with a look that told her that he was very...amused.
"Miss Granger, what brings you to my office so late at night?"
Hermione decided to come clean. She pulled herself unto her knees, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him full on the mouth. The awkwardness of the moment was magnified by the fact that he wasn't returning the embrace. She broke away, and smiled weakly.
"I've come to seduce you."
He laughed at her then. The volume of it startled her, and she slid off of his desk, onto the floor, and stared at him.
"Whatever for," he asked, once his laughter calmed down. She was glaring up at him.
"For the cause. You're losing your health, and I thought you would need something to get you through the final battle once it arrives," she explained in her best know-it-all voice. This only caused him to start laughing again.
"And you thought that bedding a stupid little girl would boost my morale, is that it? My, you are conceited."
"It's not like you could do any better," Hermione spat back, without thinking. Anger and humiliation were both clouding her mind. Her little barb had worked, however. He was now returning her glare.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for insulting a teacher, Miss Granger."
"Can I get a detention as well," she asked, lowering her voice to a seductress's purr. This infuriated him.
"No you may not! Now, Miss Granger, I'm not above being someone's pity fuck, but not yours, or any of my pupils', is that clear?"
"I wouldn't mind it, Professor." He was startled by the raw desperation in her voice, and then he realized, Ron Weasley had been her lover. She was still coping with his betrayal, and in some twisted way, this whole seduction was a coping mechanism. He immediately pitied the girl.
"Yes you would. You'd mind it plenty, waking up next to your despised potion's master. It would traumatize you, my dear."
"How would you know?"
Something in the air crackled, and Severus found himself hoisting the girl onto his desk, kissing her violently, with surprising possessiveness. His hands rested on the curve of her neck as he continued to ravage her mouth with his tongue. She quickly unbuttoned the front of her nightgown, allowing one of his hands to slip inside, cupping a voluptuous breast, teasing the nipple to a hardened point.
He was suckling greedily on the splendor of the side of her neck, when realization hit him.
"Miss Granger?"
"Yes, Professor," she asked in a breathless voice that nearly sent him over the edge.
"Is this what you want?"
"Oh, yes!"
He sneered against her neck, and then cruelly pushed her away from him.
"Isn't that too bad. Get out of my office, Miss Granger. I don't want to ever see your irritating presence in this room ever again."
She left the office quickly, leaving Severus with a pounding headache and a throbbing erection...
The Severus Snape of the present filed that memory away to a corner of his brain along with other things he was struggling to forget. The memories of him ever treating her cruelly was something he never wanted to ponder on ever again, as was the memory of his gradual dependency on her. He wanted her to be completely blocked from his mind.
That, of course, was proving to be very difficult.
End of Chapter
Quick note: There IS a plot, and like a good lawn chair, it needs to be unfolded slowly.
You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
But now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me
--Evanescence "My Immortal" (again)