Graduation day was long, exciting, emotional, and exhausting. Leaving the party early after tearful farewells to her friends, and earnest promises to keep in touch, Hermione walked slowly down the long hall to his room, and pausing to take a deep breath, knocked on the door.
Opening the door, he stared at her, heavy lidded, for a long moment before reaching out and drawing her in.
Encircling her in his arms, he held her tightly, kissing her long and deeply. Pulling back and keeping his eyes on her, he softly told her to repeat after him. Speaking in Latin, he held her face gently, looking deeply into her eyes. Without hearing her words, she repeated them back, mesmerized as always by his dark gaze, and thrilled to be held by him while they could actually see each other.
As his words faded away, all of the candles in the room lit up brightly and crackled.
Albus Dumbledore stepped silently from the corner of the room.
"Congratulations." Walking over to pick up Hermione's wrist, he kissed the back of her hand and added in his gravelly voice, "From this point forward, your shenanigans will be legal."
Blushing brightly, she stuttered, "What do you mean? I've been eighteen for nearly a week now."
Giving her a serious look, he spoke with a detached calm, "Did you really think there would be no consequences for your actions, my dear?"
He walked to the door, and opening it, turned to smile kindly at her bemused expression. "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Snape." And watching her jaw drop, left with an amused twinkle in his eye.
Turning, she met Severus's hard stare.
"You …. You … you … sneaky son of a …" she stuttered, drawing back a hand to slap him.
Catching her wrist, he snatched and held both of her hands behind her back.
"Tsk. Tsk. Is that the way for a new bride to greet her husband?"
"You bastard! How could you do that? Without asking me! Without my permission! Without any kind of consideration!" Raising her voice with each word, she was quieted abruptly by his hard kiss.
"I showed you the same consideration you showed me our first night together." Narrowing his eyes at her, he added, "It only seemed fair."
Glaring futilely at him, she struggled for a few moments before giving up.
"You didn't have to lower yourself to marry me, you moron!" she snapped.
Raising his brows, "Moron?" Tilting his head down, he pressed his nose to hers, and added succinctly, "Snapes do not take virgin blood without the benefit of marriage."
At her look of disbelief, he added wryly, "We are a dying breed. And I mean that, literally." Raising his head to look past her, he stated flatly, "It's past time I took a wife and continued my line."
At her angry scowl, he moved his hands to her shoulders and shook her briefly. "And I DID NOT LOWER MYSELF TO MARRY YOU!" he snapped, pinning her with the look that left most of his pupils boneless, until she dropped her gaze to the floor.
Listening to her harsh breathing for a few moments, he waited for the question he knew was coming.
Turning her large filled eyes up to him, she demanded in a choked voice, "Do you even love me?"
Lifting her chin with long fingers, he looked steadily into her eyes and answered.
"Yes."
Watching the color rush to her cheeks, he asked, "Do you love me?"
Caught in his dark, penetrating gaze, lulled by his mesmerizing voice, she whispered, "Yes," and felt something click into place.
Eyes locked, they pressed tightly together and kissed passionately and at great length.
Eventually, pulling back from her, he smiled softly. "Well, then, Madam, how would you like to begin celebrating your wedding night? Bubble Bath? Champagne? Massage?"
Tilting her head, she eyed him thoughtfully for a moment before twitching her lips. Snaking out a quick hand, she slapped him sharply on his left cheek, and stood back, wide-eyed, to watch her handprint appear.
Eyes glittering dangerously, he nodded slowly and spoke in deep, velvet tones, "As you wish," before tossing his trembling bride over his shoulder and striding purposefully toward the bed.
And the rest, dear reader, you can well imagine.
For those of you who expressed an interest in a more detailed wedding night, read on.
Standing at the foot of the bed, Severus reached into his robes and withdrew his wand. Frowning at the throbbing sting of her hand, he muttered a short routing spell and cracked his wand smartly across her poised backside on his left shoulder, causing her robes to dissolve and reappear folded on a nearby footstool. Another sharp stroke and her dress dissolved, leaving her dangling upside down in lacy undergarments. The third stroke forced a cry from her and left its mark on her now nude form.
Tossing her onto the bed, he stared at her silently for a moment before removing his heavy robes. Unbuttoning the long sleeves of his crisp white shirt, he began rolling them up to his elbows, riveting her with his piercing gaze.
Hermione watched him with large and then larger eyes, feeling the faint tug of lust in her belly that she'd once thought was fear.
Turning his wand lazily in the air, he summoned a straight back chair and immediately sat down, never breaking eye contact with her.
"Come here." The words were spoken low and soft, but his eyes remained unreadable.
Slowly climbing off the bed, Hermione approached him carefully. Standing fully nude in front of him, she shivered briefly. Her gaze moved over his broad shoulders and long, lean form, then raised to the redness of his cheek. Her faint twinge of regret lasted briefly.
Tugging her to his side, he pulled her across his lap and held her waist firmly, eyeing the red line across rounded bottom thoughtfully. Raising his right hand high, he brought it down sharply and swiftly to the expected count of twelve, smirking lightly at her gasps and squeals.
When she made a move to get up, his strong hold kept her firmly in place. With a velvet purr, he spoke. "I think, perhaps, given the circumstances, the punishment should be a bit harsher."
"Circumstances?" Fighting to keep the nerves out of her voice, she couldn't stop the shiver.
"The unprovoked, undeserved, unearned slap you surprised me with just a few moments ago. And on our wedding night." Making a tsking sound, he lightly skimmed his fingers over her stinging bottom, before tracing one finger down her center, and moving it in lazy exploration.
When she felt his thumb reach and find her g-spot and his long fingers dance over her most sensitive area, she thought she'd died and gone to heaven.
"So I think, perhaps, double the usual payback."
Squirming deliriously over his lap, she barely gave notice to his softly spoken words, until a stinging slap from his other hand landed on her bottom, causing her to emit a half-moan, half-cry. It wasn't until the second swat that she realized he meant to keep pleasuring and punishing her simultaneously. The dept of his sensual wickedness shocked and delighted her. She lasted to the count of eight. Feeling her stiffen and cry out, he stilled his hands and waited patiently.
Working to keep the smile out of his voice, he said blandly, "You do realize I'll have to start over. It hardly counts as a punishment if you're going to enjoy it."
"What?" The huskiness of her voice did wild things to his body.
Teasing her gently with talented fingers, he felt her jerk up and brought his other hand down once more upon her blushing bottom, saying in a flat voice, "One."
"Oh!" Hermione fought the feelings that rose the moment he touched her.
"Two."
His voice. Lord, his voice alone could do this to her, but his fingers, they were pure magic.
"Three."
Raising up quicker this time, she peaked sharply, and felt her body floating for long moments before his fingers began their insidious dance again.
"One."
"Ohhhhhhhhh. No … Severus, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaase."
"Two."
"Noooooooooo! Ohhhhh! Ooooooooh! Stooooop!"
Speaking matter-of-factly, he stated, "As my wife, you're going to need to learn self-control. This seems like the perfect learning opportunity." He punctuated his statement with another stinging swat. "Three."
Wiggling to avoid his hand only made what he was doing with his other hand more intense.
"Four."
Feeling as if her bottom was in flames, she nonetheless found herself building to another peak and tried desperately – in her passion-fogged mind – to find a way to tamp it down.
"Five."
Stiffening up her arms and legs, she tried bracing them on the floor in an effort to freeze the helpless jerking of her body.
"Six."
But there was no escaping the effect his teasing fingers had on her. And as she spiraled up again …
"Seven."
… she fought to keep the knowledge from him.
"Eight."
As intense feelings rolled over her in waves, she noticed the sharp slaps seemed muted, almost overwhelmed by her orgasm.
"Nine."
His fingers kept up their dance, taking her up to an even higher peak as her arms and legs quivered with the effort to keep still.
"Ten."
"Eleven."
She felt as if she would never come down. The intensity of sensations was mind-boggling.
"Twelve."
A sobbing moan escaped her as the last slap fell and both of his hands fell away. Relaxing her arms and legs, she collapsed, exhausted, over his lap.
Running a light hand over her back, he smiled to himself. He'd known each moment she'd climaxed, felt her quivering from within. Lifting and turning her in his arms, he placed her on her feet in front of him, closely watching her lazy, sated eyes grow round as the last pleasurable spasms faded and left her aware of her acutely stinging bottom.
Reaching back to rub her heated skin, she could only gaze mutely at him for a long moment, drawn into the pools of mystery in his darkly intense stare, weakened at the sight of his broad shouldered, confident stance. Strength and passion rolled off of him in raging waves, and the surge of lust that roared through her knew no bounds.
Leaping at him, she latched her body as closely to his as humanly possible, attacking his mouth with a fierceness that stunned him. And he thought he'd gone too far. Bending her back, he returned her kiss passionately, pulling her warm, naked body tightly against his, and breathing her heightened scent in with faint delirium.
Feeling his unquestionable desire for her pressing against her belly, Hermione drew back and began unbuttoning his shirt with deft, excited fingers, keeping her tongue meshed with his.
Moving her backwards, without breaking the contact of their lips, he helped her rid himself of all garments, and fell with her onto the large bed. Twisting and forcing him onto his back, she slid her body silkily over his, jumping when his hands took hold of her tender rear.
"Sorry" he mumbled between kisses, and moved his hands up to curve around to her breasts, thumbs flicking the taut peaks.
Moving her lips to his neck, she began a slow descent that caused the blood to soar through his veins. Gazing into his eyes as she took him into her mouth, she watched every intimate expression that flitted across his face with keen pleasure, loving her ability to turn someone so strong helpless in a matter of minutes.
Groaning deeply, he tugged her away and ground out. "This night will be over before it begins if you don't stop that."
Laughing, she twisted around and muffled his complaints, resuming her ingenuous endeavors to his ardent delight. He attempted to ignore what she was doing to his body by focusing on her pleasure. He quickly discovered the absurdity of the attempt, and pulled her away from him once again.
"Wimp." She taunted, and then giggled when he smoothly flipped their positions. Staring up at the lovely, dangling image before her, she fondled him lightly with fascination, paying close attention to his change in breathing patterns in response to various stimuli. Recalling a certain area of text in the book she'd read on the subject, she led him inexorably closer, before pausing momentarily to find the nerve. Resuming her warm, moist caress, she quickly licked her middle finger and plunged it inside him, ignoring his jolting surprise. Finding his prostate, she slowly pressed down on the soft, rounded area, increasing attention with her mouth, until she felt him stiffen and cry out loudly as he rocketed.
Eyes rolled into his head, Severus felt as if his orgasm had ripped through his body and exploded out of the top of his head. Lost in the exquisite sensation, he managed to roll onto his back and grasp her to him as his body jerked rhythmically. Holding his pulsing shaft delicately, she continued to run her hand up and down until his movements slowed and his breathing returned to normal.
Eyes shut, he groaned deeply, "What in the hell did you just do to me?"
Grinning, she turned and slithered up his sweat-soaked body to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Just something I read about in a book."
Opening one eye, he raked it up and down her face, and grasped her tightly to him. Placing a warm, slow kiss on her neck, he murmured, "Never stop reading."
Barely controlling a smug smile, she replied, "Don't worry. I won't."
Hugging her fiercely to him, Severus could only wonder at the curious workings of fate. He always knew life wasn't fare. Kismet, Karma, what have you, nothing really balanced out. Yet here he was with the most wonderful creature on earth. And she loved him. Remarkable. Incredible. Nearly inconceivable. One thing he knew for sure. With Hermione for his mate, life would never be boring.
Snuggling against him, she added in a husky whisper, "Sorry to cut the evening short, but I had to try that."
Lifting her chin, he looked deep into her lovely amber eyes and smiled wickedly as they widened in surprise. "I don't think we're quite through, yet."