I am so thrilled about all my nice reviewers. Just that you know my goal is to reach the 100 review mark, what do you think? Is it possible?

Thanks for all your patients and your loyalty ....

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In the early morning hours, Severus returned, tired, to his rooms. After the talk with his brother, he had quickly erased every trace of the Order and re-transfigured the rooms. After that, he immediately went to see Dumbledore to inform him of the situation and now he was back. The headache, which had started with the arrival of Molly Weasley and her constant rambling, had grown over the past hours. He lowered the wards around his room and replaced them once he had entered them. He went into his bathroom to change his robes into his sleeping trousers and brushed his teeth before he splashed some cold water on his face. He walked towards the large four-poster, lay down on the bed, and pulled the covers over him. He vaguely remembered that there was something he needed to take care of but his body was crying out for sleep. He had spent the last three nights at Dark revels with Voldemort and the last two days with the Order. So far, he had not slept in almost three days and he fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow. A small part of his brain wondered where the smell of jasmine was coming from, totally unaware of the sleeping girl lying beside him.

He knew that something was wrong long before he woke up. Severus could feel that there was something important he had missed. He struggled to stand up and his head rolled to the side. Sleepily, he opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of Hermione Granger who was still sleeping peacefully beside him. She was facing him and her hand was wrapped around his upper arm.

Second by second the happenings of last night came back to him. He did not know how long he lay there, just looking at her. Well, not really looking. He was staring. He was frantically searching for a solution.

Hermione opened her eyes slowly and her breath stopped for a moment as she saw who was next to her. She blushed as she noticed his intense stare but she soon discovered he was not really looking at her. He seemed to be deep in thought. Seizing the moment, she took the opportunity to look at him properly. His dark hair was tousled from sleep and she noticed that he looked more relaxed when his guard was down. Hermione's eyes traveled lower. She took in his barely covered form. His chest was quite muscular but still incredibly pale. Just a few curly black hairs were covering the chest before the line went thinner as it traveled over his belly and finally vanished into the waistband of his black sleeping trousers. Sleeping trousers!

She suddenly remembered the last night very well and her face blushed deeper as she thought about having thrown herself, naked, into the arms of her Potions master. Suddenly, she saw that her hand was holding his arm and she let go as if she had burned herself.

Severus was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt a sudden movement. He focused on his student again and noticed that she had become deep red. He nearly smiled at the thought how uncomfortable she must feel. "There is no need to be embarrassed, Miss Granger," he said in his usual stoic voice.

She looked up again into his intense gaze. "That is easy for you to say, Professor. After all, you are the one who is clothed," she stated.

"I did not mean that, Miss Granger. Actually, I meant that we have slept in the same bed. I have to admit that this was my fault. I did not get much rest these last few days and after the talk with my brother, and then with Dumbledore, I completely forgot about you."

"Your brother? I didn't know you had one. Is he a member of the Order?"

Severus rose up and rested the upper part of his body against the headboard before he crossed his arms over his chest. "No, he is not. He is a follower of the Dark Lord. But more importantly, he thinks that I am a true follower of the Dark Lord. His arriving yesterday is a huge problem. I already spoke with Dumbledore and I am afraid that there was just one solution to explain your presence here, Miss Granger, without causing any threat to your person. I already erased every trace of the Order and my brother is under the impression that I made you believe that I care for you deeply in order to get near Potter."

He observed her intensely before he finished his speech. "He believes that we are betrothed."

Hermione blinked several times. Brother? His brother had tried to rape her? She started to say something but then the rest of his speech started to sink in.

"Betrothed? You and me? Are you kidding?"

His eyes narrowed as he heard the shock in her voice. "Pretending to care for you is not exactly on my things-I-love-to-do list either, Miss Granger. However, it is necessary if you do not want to be a slave of the Dark Lord and if I want to keep my cover intact." He stood up and went into the bathroom. A short time later he emerged fully dressed in his black robes.

Hermione still sat in his bed and, for a moment, he felt the strong desire to protect her. Furious at his own ridiculous thoughts, he addressed her more sharply than he had intended. "Do you think I am going to serve you breakfast in bed, Miss Granger? If not, I would say you go and prepare yourself for the meeting with my brother. A proper one this time!"

The man must have gone completely mad! He wanted her to meet again with the man who slapped and tried to rape her? "I am not going to face your brother again, Professor!" she stated.

"Oh believe me, you will, Miss Granger. And moreover, you will be friendly towards him."

"I will not do such a thing!" she declared.

Severus went towards the bed and looked down at her with his arms crossed in his best big, bad, Potions professor pose. "You will, silly girl. If my brother gets suspicious that something isn't right between us, he will tell it the dark Lord and then I will be discovered and Dumbledore loses his only spy! Do you really want that, Miss Granger? Surely, meeting my brother will be the lesser evil!"

She swallowed hard. Of course, he was right. "Your brother thinks that I believe that you love me?" she asked as if she wanted his confirmation again.

"Indeed, Miss Granger, he does."

"So, what about me?"

His forehead wrinkled. "What do you mean?"

Hermione sighed. "Well, am I supposed to be in love with you, too?"

Severus smirked and bent over a little. "Indeed you are, Miss Granger. You are madly and completely in love with me. You would do anything I tell you. Including trusting me with your life. One could say that you worship the ground I walk on." His head had moved nearer to hers during every word of his little speech, until his face was mere inches away from her own.

"Do you have a problem with that, Miss Granger?" he asked mockingly. He focused his gaze on her soft lips and smiled as he saw them trembling. Maybe he should scare her off, just a little. Maybe it was a good idea to draw some borders now. He couldn't afford to loosen his grip over the girl. One slip could be disastrous for them.

Her eyes went wide as she noticed that he was so near. She tried to speak but not a sound escaped her partly opened lips. He was so near. Why was he so near? The light masculine smell of him filled her senses. Her lips went dry and she flicked her tongue over them.

Severus's eyes followed the movement of her tongue and he was suddenly reminded of the feelings that her soft skin had caused against his. He closed his eyes for a moment to regain his control but instead, the image of her naked body appeared before him and he had to stifle a groan. He reopened his eyes and saw her still staring at him. The temptation was too much. She would either back down immediately or he would taste what she so innocently offered.

"So what do you say, Miss Granger? Will it be a problem for you to pretend that you are in love with me?" Despite his own will, his lips crushed down on hers. After a moment of shock, he saw her close her eyes and he decided to allow himself the luxury of doing the same. He captured her lower lips between his and sucked gently on it before he drew the outlines of her soft lips with his tongue, begging for entrance.

After a moment of hesitation, she opened her lips and let him in. Severus took the opportunity to ravish her mouth with his lips, teeth, and tongue. He had kissed her to scare her, before this slowly growing attraction got out of control. He wanted to scare her off to prevent himself from going too far. But it hadn't worked. He was completely taken aback by her enthusiastic response. What was wrong with the girl? She didn't back down or run screaming to Dumbledore! She actually tried to kiss him back; he could tell that she was still a beginner in this field.

Hermione couldn't believe it. Her Potions master was kissing her. Her first impulse had been to run away but as his lips started teasing hers so perfectly, she couldn't help but react to him. Although this wasn't, by far, her first kiss, she had never been kissed so masterfully. She had never in her life been kissed like this. His passion was almost overpowering her. Her whole body started to tremble and she could feel desire growing in her body. Without noticing it, she had risen up and was now kneeling on the bed.

Severus savored the taste of her more that he had expected. He could feel her trembling flesh against his and, at this moment, he wanted nothing more than to push her back onto the soft matters and bury himself deep inside of her.

It was unbelievable to her that Severus Snape, of all people, could arouse her so much without actually touching her body! His smell and his flavor aroused her beyond thought. She moaned as the desire to feel his skin against hr own became almost overwhelming.

Severus felt that he was near to losing control and he immediately broke the kiss off. For mere seconds, he just looked into her face. Her cheeks were flushed and her skin seemed to glow. He tried to figure out how this little girl was able to stir this kind of hot desire inside of him. He backed away and crossed his arms again. If he wanted to distance himself with this pose or if he just wanted to hold himself back from reaching out to her again, he wasn't sure at all.

"Maybe it won't be a problem at all. But please do us both a favor and try to improve your skills, Miss Granger." He knew without looking at her that she was hurt but it was necessary. For himself probably more than for her.

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I don't know if you expected something like this so soon but it was necessary....

I hope you aren't to disapproving