"I do not know what happened. One moment they were still here and the next they were gone," Severus stated as he paced the floor up and down, his hands behind his back and his black robes billowing around him with every turn.

Hermione sat down on a chair in the Headmasters' office, her face full of concern.

"Albus, I demand to know what has happened to my son and Savannah."

Albus shook his head sadly.

"We don't know yet, Hermione."

"I hope that the investigation of the potion will bring us a few answers, love." Severus said as he stepped behind her to gently rub her shoulders. She laid her hand over his and rested her head against him.

"I will help you. The sooner we find something, the sooner I will get my baby back."

"He is hardly a baby anymore, wife!" Severus said, irritated.

She stood up to face him.

"He will still be my baby when he is eighty!" Her voice got higher with every word and Severus felt that she was on the edge of tears. He pulled her into his arms.

"Sshhhh. It will be all right, my love." He rocked her gently in his arms, trying to calm her.

Albus watched the couple with a smile. Who would have thought that they were soul mates so long ago?

---

Payton lay on her bed in the head girl room. She was worried sick about her brother and Savannah. She didn't know what had happened but she was sure that there was dark magic at work. She sat up and changed her robes into tight jeans and a deep brown T-shirt. She put her long black hair into a ponytail and left her room.

She went through the Gryffindor common room and left through the portrait of the fat lady. She was in search of her friend James, whom she thought she might find on the quidditch field.

He was exactly where she'd thought he'd be. After she arrived she decided to wait patiently for him to finish his training. Once he had spotted her, he waved and she waved back. She watched him play with the other team members, deciding that he was a very talented young man.

Once the training was over, and they were dismissed, he landed on his broom in front of her.

"Hi, Payton. Any news, yet?"

She shook her head. "No. That's why I need your help."

He took her hand in his.

"Not here. Let's take a walk so that we can speak in private." She nodded her agreement and they left the quidditch field, heading towards the lake.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" James asked.

She smiled up at him. He was a good head taller than she was. His thick black hair was still damp from his practice. He was muscular and quite good looking.

"Jamie, I'm sure that there is dark magic at work here." Her voice belied the stress and fear she felt.

"I was thinking about the same thing. Have your parents finished the investigation yet?"

"No. I want to do something on my own. I can't just sit here and do nothing. It drives me crazy not to know what happened to them." She felt like crying, especially since the absence of her twin bothered her so much.

They stopped, staring at each other.

James looked down at her. A few strands of her silky hair had escaped of her ponytail and he brushed them behind her ear. His hand lingered awhile on the soft skin of her throat, before he gently squeezed her upper arm.

"I understand this, Payton, but I won't let you do any research on your own. I'm going to help you."

She felt such a wave of relief washing over her body that she followed an impulse and embraced him stormily.

"Thank you so much, Jamie. You don't know how much that means to me," she whispered into his neck.

James felt shivers slide down his spine and he embraced her tighter.

"Don't you know that I would do anything for you?" he asked hoarsely.

Payton pulled back a little, to be able to look into his bright green eyes. Before she could say anything, James had captured her lips in a soft kiss.

She was shocked for a moment, but relaxed very soon and closed her eyes. Her fingers went into his hair and she pressed herself tighter against his hard body.

James felt himself melt into her body as she relaxed against him.

He had wanted to do that for so long. His teeth nibbled lightly at her lips before he gently traced the outlines of her soft mouth with his tongue. Payton moaned and parted her lips. Their tongues met and they both lost themselves in each other. He held her tighter, his tongue thrusting deep, threatening to lose control.

Only the need for breath stopped them. They stood, foreheads against one another, lightly panting.

"I'm sorry." James said.

Payton looked up sharply.

He was sorry that he had kissed her?

He saw her angered gaze and quickly corrected himself.

"No! It's not what you think. I'm not sorry for the kiss. It's the opposite. It was just the wrong time. I shouldn't have approached you in a situation like this. I .."

Payton almost smiled.

He is so cute when he is babbling.

She decided to release him and closed his mouth with a gentle kiss.

"It's okay. I have waited for you to do this for what seems like my whole life."

He looked at her, surprised.

"Really?"

"Really!"

----
Past

Hermione strode through the hallways on her way to the Gryffindor tower. She had just finished the research for her potions' essay in the library. She knew that it was way after curfew but as a Head girl she wasn't bound to this. So she had extended her time in the library until her eyes started to burn from all the reading. She had put her books away and locked the door on her way out.

She rounded the corner and nearly collided with Professor Snape. They stood mere feet away from each other. Hermione was unhappy to see him. She hadn't been able to fully understand yet what had happened between them earlier.

"Lost your watch, Miss Granger?" His silky voice filled the hallway.

"Pardon?"

Severus struggled to follow the need to roll his eyes.

"You are out after curfew, Miss Granger. Surely you are aware of that." He stood gazing down at her and she started to get nervous.

" No, Professor. I am aware of the curfew but I'm also Head girl which means that I am not bound to it."

Severus raised his eyebrow and took a deep breath. This wasn't a good idea. He was far too drunk to think clearly. He should go to his rooms immediately.

Despite his better judgment, he stepped forward until he stood so near that their bodies were touching.

"Indeed, Miss Granger."

She backed away and he followed her until she touched the wall with her back. She swallowed hard as he came nearer and trapped her , placing his arms on either side of her head against the wall.

"Umm, Professor is their anything else I can do for you?" She asked.

He bent his head a little closer and inhaled her scent deeply.

"As a matter of fact, there is, Miss Granger." His head moved even closer until his lips lingered over hers.

"I ... I don't think that this is a wise idea, Sir." She mumbled, her heart racing. She could feel his hard erection against her body and her own body was tingling in anticipation.

Would he dare? Would I dare?

"This is the first time we have the same opinion, Miss Granger," he whispered against her soft lips.

She opened her mouth to respond, but he seized the opportunity to seal her lips with his.

There was no gentleness or kindness in his kiss. All she could feel was passion, burning hot, scorching her.
His lips plundered her mouth and she was totally helpless against it. He didn't hold her; he was keeping her in place just with his kiss.

Hermione didn't know what was happening to her. She felt herself responding to his kiss. Her knees turned into jelly and her hands reached for his shoulders to steady her self. She clung to him as if her life depended on it.

Severus felt her soft touch and deepened the kiss. His tongue was fighting with hers for dominance.
She moaned and pressed her body tighter to his. Severus still didn't touch her. He let her do all the work except for their mouths, which were in a sensual dual.

Hermione moved her hands fiercely over his body. Severus could smell her arousal and wondered what she would do next. He was surprised that she had responded so eagerly to his touch. Hell, he was surprised that she responded at all and had not started screaming for the Headmaster.

He could feel her hands playing with his hair and growled low in his throat.

I have to stop this. This is crazy. Albus is going to kill me if he ever hears anything about it. By Merlin's robes, what was the silly girl doing?

Severus started to pull away but Hermione didn't let him.

"please...."

What exactly am I pleading for? For him to take me? To stop me?

He released her mouth and opened his eyes as he took her arms and removed them from his hot body.

"Miss Granger."

Hermione had her eyes still closed and tried to catch her breath. Severus was still holding her arms.
Through the fog of her desire, she heard him whisper her name.

She opened her eyes and looked at him wonderingly.

"Miss Granger, I do believe I was out of line." He said, almost breathless.

"Professor I...."

He stopped her before she could say anything else.

"You may leave now, Miss Granger, or better yet, you'd best run."

Hermione looked into his eyes and what she saw frightened her. She took a step back and turned around. She didn't run away but she walked rather fast.

Severus observed her leaving and his hands balled into fists as he tried to stop himself from following her.
His body ached for her. He wanted nothing more than to claim her. His Death Eater self was demanding satisfaction. He wanted her under him, wet and ready for him to thrust inside her willing body. He had trouble regaining his control. He forced himself to return to his dungeons and locked himself away, taking a quick cold shower before he slipped under the covers. Images of Hermione Granger were still spinning around in his head. Her eyes closed. Her soft body pressing into his. Her lips swollen and red from his kisses.

Severus felt his body reacting strongly to his thoughts.

His cock lay heavy and throbbing against his belly. He reached down and started stroking his erection firmly. His eyes closed as more images of Hermione floated through his mind. He increased his stroking and felt that his release was near, running his hand over his slick cock, squeezing it tightly and imagining it was her tight tunnel instead. He came with a deep growl and his hot semen ran over his hand, throbbing and pulsing from his yearning cock. It was a long while before he recovered enough from the fantasy to summon a cleaning spell and then fall into a deep sleep.

Despite her own needs, Hermione ran back to Gryffindor Tower. She hurried through the portrait and the common room and didn't stop before she reached her own room. She leaned against the door and tried to collect her thoughts.

What have I done? I snogged in the hallways with my grumpy old potions' master. I offered myself to him like a slut.

She closed her eyes in disbelief and bumped her head against the door. She didn't know what was worse, that she had snogged him in the hall or that she liked it and wished they had continued.

"Definitely the last one," she mumbled to herself.

Blushing at her thoughts, she went into the bathroom and filled the tub with hot water. After she had added bubbles she undressed and let herself sink into the hot liquid.

She closed her eyes and tried to relax while images of herself and Snape filled her mind.

He wasn't good looking. But something about him was very attractive. She felt herself drawn to him. In the last few weeks she found herself trembling whenever he was in the same room. She felt nervous whenever he was near and just the sound of his voice made her body tingle with anticipation.

Her fingers traveled to her still swollen lips and she smiled as she remembered their heated kiss.