Christmas with the Humbug; Part One
Disclaimer: I own nothing… I'm just borrowing! I swear!
Warning: This chapter contains material of a brief explicit nature. If this offends you, or if you are under the legal age, please exit now. Thank you.
X- This story was edited due to the fact that… well… I kind of forgot what I had written previously. I had forgotten that Hermione was raped by Voldemort and was therefore no longer a virgin. The only part that was edited was that, and I'm sorry for any confusion and/or frustration that my idiotic slip-up has caused!-X
'Wow…' she thought, stepping into the most elegant room she had ever seen. This was Snape Manor- the home of her Potions Professor and guardian. Severus gave her a tour of the house and she saw that every room was decorated in deep reds, greens, and, of course, black. There was antique furniture, whittled to perfection, and almost every room had its own fireplace. He finally showed her to her own room and she nearly fainted. It was the only bright room that she had seen, with pale green, sponged walls and soft, pink carpets. The bedspread was also green and pink. What puzzled her, though, was the fact that pink and green were her favorite colors.
"I had your friends help with the decorating," Severus said, uncomfortable in his own home for the first time since- ever.
"Thank you, so much!" she said.
"I know I told you that you could have your friends over, but please keep it to a minimum. The last thing I need is the entire house of Gryffindor roaming around the house."
"I know. I am expecting Harry, Ron, Draco, Ginny, Blaise, Parvati, Lavender, Luna, Neville, Dean, Seamus, and Hannah," she said.
"Really?" he replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. I didn't really want Blaise to come along, but Draco convinced me that he was an okay guy," she explained.
"So only twelve extra teenagers…" he said sarcastically.
"Yes, only twelve," she agreed, making him sigh.
"I'll- just leave you to unpack then… if you need anything, I'll be in my study or you can ask one of the house elves," he said.
"Alright. Thanks," she said as he walked out, shutting the door behind him.
She smiled. Never- in all her years at Hogwarts- had she seen Snape so… awkward. She couldn't suppress the laugh that escaped her mouth as she placed her delicates in a drawer.
"I can't wait to tell Harry and Ron tomorrow," she said to herself, finishing up and stepping out of the room.
She ran, almost immediately, into a small house elf, who bowed immediately, muttering his apologies. Hermione smiled at the poor creature, saying that it was no big deal. The little elf's eyes watered and he offered a small smile.
"Manny thanks to you, miss," he said, "You are far too kind."
"Doesn't your master treat you well?" she asked.
"Oh yes! Master is also possessing a kind heart. He treats Manny far better than Manny is deserving. Manny has never even gotten punished, like Master's ancestors used to-"
"Are you being a nuisance, Manny?" another elf said, appearing next to Hermione.
"No, Mother!" he squeaked.
"Are you sure?" she said, narrowing her tennis-ball eyes.
"Pardon me, but he's really fine," Hermione piped.
"Oh, again, Miss is too kind!" Manny blubbered, and Hermione was instantly reminded of Dobby.
"Well, hello! You must be the guest that Master was telling us about," the elf said, "I'm Winny, the Head Elf, and this is my son, Manny, whom you've already met. You're Hermione, right?"
"Yes…" she replied, shocked that Winny spoke such proper English.
"Master taught me many things," she said, as though she could read Hermione's mind.
"How-?" she asked.
"You're very easy to read, dear," Winny said, smiling warmly, "There's another one of us around here somewhere. My daughter, Quinn. She's rather young, and a bit clumsy, but she's really very sweet. I try my best to keep her out of Master's hair, but the blasted man actually encourages her antics."
Hermione smiled. Winny can certainly talk, she thought, She might even give Parvati and Lavender a run for their money. She continued to listen avidly to Winny's explanation of house rules and such, taking mental notes. Eventually it was time for dinner and Winny and Manny excused themselves to prepare the table. Manny came and got Hermione for dinner, showing her where she would sit, which was directly across from Severus.
Winny and Quinn served the dinner- roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, and sweet peas. Quinn was handing Hermione a crystal glass of pumpkin juice, when the glass suddenly slipped through her fingers, shattering on the floor. Winny began scolding her, while Quinn burst into tears and Snape looked rather stern. Hermione, however, began to laugh.
"It's nothing, Quinn," she said, smiling at the young elf, "Look- Reparo! See? It's all better. Stop crying. My mother used to say that there was no use crying over spilled milk. The same should go for pumpkin juice, right?"
"Yes, Miss, thank you," she squeaked, disappearing into the kitchen, followed by a chuckling Winny.
"That was very kind, Hermione," Severus said, "Most other witches and wizards would have yelled at her for being incompetent."
"She's not incompetent, she's just young," Hermione said, "I love the house, by the way."
"Thank you," he replied.
"It's so big, though. It must get lonely," she stated.
"I guess sometimes, but I've got those odd creatures in the kitchen to keep me company," he said after swallowing.
"Yes, I suppose…" she said. The rest of dinner passed with pleasant conversation and afterward they sat in the parlor, both reading in quiet companionship. It became late and Hermione excused herself to bed.
"Does Miss need Manny's assistance with anything?" he asked as she brushed her teeth.
"No, Manny, I'm perfectly alright, really," she said, rinsing her mouth out.
"Are you sure? Manny could, perhaps, fluff the pillows?" he said, jogging to keep up with her fast pace.
"Manny, do you know who you remind me of?" she asked.
"Who, Miss?" he replied.
"A house elf I know- Dobby," she said.
"Manny knows of this Dobby! He is a legend among us! It is said that he wears clothes and gets paid- like a wizard- like an equal," Manny said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I believe that house elves are equal, and should be treated as such," Hermione declared, throwing back the covers.
Manny's eyes immediately watered- for the thousandth time- and he bowed low. "Such graciousness, Manny has never heard from any witch or wizard. Manny thanks Miss Hermione, and bids her sweet dreams." With a slight pop, Manny disappeared, leaving Hermione alone in the big room.
She tried her best to fall asleep, but in the end she sat up, turned on the bedside light, and started reading a book. It wasn't until nearly an hour later that she fell asleep, Advanced Spells for Protection and Defense resting on her stomach.
x
"Stop it! You'll wake her!" a feminine voice whispered in Hermione's dream.
"Well, somebody should!" another voice rang out. Was that Ginny?
"But she looks so peaceful…" Oh, that was definitely Neville.
"Shh! I think she can hear us!" said a boy who sounded oddly like Ron. Funny- she seemed to be dreaming about all the people who were to be visiting her the following day.
"Bloody hell! This is absolutely ridiculous!" Draco? What was he doing in her dream? "Hermione, wake up! We've been sitting here for nearly fifteen minutes."
She opened her eyes and looked around at the faces of her friends. Everyone was there. Draco, Harry, Ron, Neville, Ginny, Parvati, Lavender, Luna, Dean, Seamus, Hannah, and Blaise had all gathered in her bedroom. She smiled, sitting up.
"Well, now you've woken her!" Ginny exclaimed, smacking Draco on the arm.
"Just a moment ago, you were saying that somebody should!" Seamus exclaimed, grinning.
"Yes, but I wasn't serious," she retorted.
"How awful has it been?" Parvati asked, and Draco shot her a look.
"It hasn't been awful at all!" Hermione said, smiling brightly, "It's been quite pleasant. I've even made some new friends."
"Who?" Lavender asked, wrinkling her nose.
"The House Elves," Hermione replied.
There came a sudden pop, and Quinn appeared in front of them. "Quinn was just wondering if Miss needed any help with her guests," the little elf said, looking around, wide-eyed, at all the people.
"Actually, could we get some cookies?" she asked, and Quinn, with a nod, disappeared again.
"Cookies?" Draco smirked, raising an eyebrow.
"I want cookies… do you have a problem with that?" she snapped, then sighed, "Sorry… I didn't get much sleep. This room is so huge and I'm not really used to it. I ended up reading."
"We saw… nice bedtime story 'Mione," Blaise said, chuckling.
"Yeah, well, I enjoy learning," she said, standing up and walking to her dresser and pulling out some clothes, "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go get dressed."
She came out of the bathroom moments later in a pair of dark jeans, a red, long sleeved fleece shirt with a sweeping V-neck, and black leather boots. Draco smirked. Red truly suited her… though she looked exceptional in green and black as well. The moment she saw the plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies she practically dove on them, with a shout of 'breakfast!'
Dean and Seamus joined her in attacking the cookies. When they backed off a bit, the others helped themselves. Luna was the last to even realize that there were cookies in the room… of course, and when they were finally all gone, Hermione sat back with a sigh. She smiled at them, feeling very much like she was still at Hogwarts.
"So… what do you guys want to do?" she asked.
"I dunno… do you want to go outside?" Ron replied.
They all nodded or shrugged their agreement and began bundling up. Scarves, gloves, boots… all of the necessary winter apparel… came on. All of their gloves were black leather, and their scarves were mostly their house colors- except for Harry's and Blaise's, which were blue, and Hermione's, which was black.
"You guys go on down and I'll meet you outside in the garden," Hermione said.
"Alright…" Ginny said, then mumbled, "If we can find the garden…"
Hermione smiled and went to find Snape. He was in his study and she knocked on the doorframe tentatively before entering. "Um… Severus?" she said, quietly.
"Yes?" he replied, barely glancing up from his work.
"We're going out into the garden…" she said, feeling like a little kid again, "I was- just letting you know… in case you worried- or something."
"Very well…" he stated distractedly, and she turned to leave, rather disheartened, "You should wear a jacket."
She turned around, eyebrows furrowed. "What?"
"It's winter… you should wear a jacket," he said, a little more stern than before.
"Okay," she said, "Thanks. Bye!"
She turned and walked down the hall. She got about halfway to the stairs and then she slowed. She glanced over her shoulder furtively. She was getting a very strong feeling that somebody was following her. She had nearly broken into a run when an arm snaked around her waist and a hand came up to stifle her scream.
"You're disobeying orders…" a laughing voice said into her ear, "Where's your jacket, Hermione?"
She bit her captor's hand, making him release her. "Draco, you bastard, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" she hissed.
He only laughed harder. "You were so scared! I can't believe you thought somebody would be following you…"
"Of course I thought somebody was following me! Somebody was following me! YOU!" she shouted, "I can't believe you'd do that!" She turned away from him and began walking briskly toward the stairs. He followed, quickly, keeping pace with her easily.
"I'm sorry… okay? Come on! Say something!" he pleaded, but she held her silence, "Hermione… what do you want me to do? I apologized didn't I? Why won't you say something?"
He stepped in front of her, blocking he escape. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her, roughly, to him, lowering his mouth to capture hers in a soft kiss. As she relaxed, so did his grip on her shoulders, until his hands were merely resting there, his thumbs rubbing small circles where they had been depressing her skin. He moved away, smiling.
"Was that a good enough apology?" he asked.
She smirked. "It'll do," she replied, "Now can I join my guests in the garden or are you going to attack me again?"
"I'll attack you later…" he whispered into her ear before racing down the hallway.
She shot after him, yelling, "What the hall does that mean?"
"Why don't you ask your little girl friends?" he laughed.
By the time they reached the garden they were both so out of breath that they simply flopped into the snow at their friends' feet, laughing. Blaise poked at them with a stick, making everybody laugh. Except Ginny, who smacked him on the arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" he whined.
"Don't poke people… it's not nice!" she said.
"But nothing is really dead until you poke it with a stick…" he explained.
"We're not dead!" Draco said, sitting up with Hermione, "See? Breathing and talking…."
"Ahh! Zombies!" Blaise exclaimed, running around like an idiot… until Ginny nailed him with a snowball.
"Shut up, you lunatic!" she yelled.
"Oh, so that's how it is!" he replied, packing his own snowball- and that's how the great snow war of Snape Mansion began…
"Ah-choo!" and that's how it ended…
"He was right… I should have worn a jacket…" Hermione muttered, waving to her friends as they left.
"Are you sure you don't want us to stay?" Ginny asked.
"After I've gotten a little more settled in… like in a couple days," Hermione said, smiling.
"See ya!" she exclaimed, flooing back to the Burrow.
When everybody was finally gone, Hermione laid back on her bed, basking in the silence.
"Ouch!" a feminine voice exclaimed from the parlor, "Remus, get offa my foot!"
"I know that voice…" Hermione said, running down the stairs to see Severus greeting Tonks and Remus at the fireplace. She grinned broadly as she entered the room.
"Heya, Hermione! How's life been treating you?" Tonks asked, grinning.
"Fine, all things considered," she replied.
"That's good," Remus said, "I hope things went well with your friends today."
"They went great, thank you-…" she said, sneezing, "We had a snow war."
"You wore a jacket, didn't you?" Tonks asked, and when Hermione only smiled, she rounded on Snape, "Severus! You didn't make her wear a jacket? What kind of parent do you expect to make, not even making her wear a jacket out in the snow! It was below freezing!"
"Tonks! He told me to wear a jacket, I didn't listen! It's my own fault!" Hermione exclaimed, surprised at the way she scolded Snape.
"Still… you'd think a man of his nature would enforce his own rules…" Tonks said, with a sly grin and the expression on Snape's face. Hermione suspected very much that Tonks was just messing with his mind. In fact, by the end of the night, Hermione suspected very much that Tonks and Snape had a sort of "thing" for each other- and from the look on Remus' face every time he glanced at them, he thought the same thing. And was right pleased with it, too.
Hermione finally retired to her room at nearly eleven, but only after having a cold remedy thrust upon her by Snape- with Tonks' help. She shut her door, locking it behind her and walked to her dresser, pulling out a pink night dress. She threw off her clothes and pulled it over her head before heading to the bathroom to relieve herself and brush her hair and teeth. When everything was done, she walked back into her room and came to a dead stop. Lying on her bed, with a very pleased grin on his face, was none other than her beloved Draco.
"What the hell are you-? No, why- how long have you been here?" she asked, eyes wide.
"Since about ten thirty… y'know, you have nothing to read," he said, smiling.
"You mean… you were here while I was-? Why didn't you say anything?" she exclaimed.
"I didn't mind," he said, smirking up at her, "Besides, you seemed so distracted, I thought it best not to pull you from your thoughts."
"You are an arse," she said, barely containing a smile.
"I know," he replied, not bothering to contain his smile.
"Well, just so you know…" she said, grinning, "Now would you mind vacating my bed?"
"There's room enough for two," he replied, smiling.
"You must be joking…"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"You can't stay the night! It's- completely improper!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, come on! I don't want to stay in my house… at least not alone," he said- or whined, "It's big and creepy… and lonely."
Hermione felt her heart clench in sympathy, but she pushed it aside. "Stay at Blaise's house," she suggested.
"Under normal circumstances, I would, but he has… er… company," he said, grimacing, "And I really don't want to witness that."
"You could stay with Harry or Ron," she said, hopefully.
"We're not quite that close, Hermione… it'll take a while before they forgive me for- what?- six years of torment," he stated, "Just let me stay! Please? I promise I'll behave!"
Hermione sighed. "As long as you don't get caught…"
"Yes!"
"AND you don't hog the bed," she added, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Moi? A bed hog? How dare you even suggest-!" he stopped when she growled at him, "Alright, I won't hog the bed… or the covers."
"Good… now, move over," she said, slipping under the covers next to him.
He automatically slipped his arm around her, pulling her closer until her back was pressed against him. He brushed her hair to the side and placed a soft kiss on the nape of her neck, making her shiver. He smiled against her skin and began gently nibbling on the lobe of her ear.
"Draco, you said you were going to behave," she said breathlessly.
"I lied…" he replied, his warm breath so close that it made her shiver again.
She turned over to face him and he fastened his mouth on hers, fiercely. His complete, unbridled passion frightened and excited her at the same time, and she kissed him back with as much fervor. His left hand rested on her hip while his other was tangled in the delicate hair at the back of her neck, and hers were wound around his neck.
He flipped her so that she was lying beneath him and began kissing every inch of skin that was exposed to him. His free hand had somehow found its way up her night dress and was playing across her stomach, just above her panty line. His shirt had been lost somewhere and his pants were soon to follow, leaving him in only a pair of black boxers.
He smirked down at her in that Cheshire cat way that she adored. "This doesn't seem very fair. Here I am, nearly naked, and you still have all of your clothes on…"
She smiled, arching her back to pull off the thin shift. She watched his eyes roam over her exposed body and then saw his eyes darken with increased lust. She fought the urge to shy away from that intense gaze, and instead met it.
He lowered his mouth to one of the coral peaks that were beckoning him and sucked, using his incredibly sensuous mouth to its full potential until she was writhing in near ecstasy. He shifted to the other breast, pausing slightly to give her time to come down from her cloud. However, the true ecstasy came when he practically tore her knickers off.
Her leg jolted slightly, coming up to brush against the one place that he needed the most attention. He groaned, bowing his head so she couldn't see the pained pleasure in his face- but, of course, she did. She almost apologized, but held it in, going for a different approach.
She reached down and tentatively brushed her fingers across the growing bulge in his shorts. He grabbed her wrist in a lightning fast motion and brought it to his lips. All the while, his eyes held hers in a kind of hypnosis.
"Don't… I can barely control myself as it is…" he whispered huskily.
She merely nodded, awed by his powerful reaction to such a simple touch. Did she really have that much affect on him?
He lowered his mouth to hers, his fingers seeking her warmth and slowly stroking her until she was ready. At which point, he hurriedly kicked off his boxers and, kissing her gently, entered her in one swift motion. He stilled momentarily before beginning a slow, smooth rhythm, giving her time to adjust to his size and for the pain to ease before quickening the pace. It wasn't long before they both reached climax and, calling each other's name, fell, in burst of light and color, back into their bodies.
Draco rolled over onto his side to face her, brushing her hair from her sweaty forehead. She smiled at him, kissing his palm. He smiled back, unbelievably glad that he had decided to come back to his Godfather's house.
He suddenly burst into a fit of stifled laughter.
"What? What's so funny?" she asked, sounding rather hurt.
"Nothing… except…" he wiped a tear from his eye, "This isn't exactly the time or place that I envisioned our first time together."
"Oh… oh! Oh my-! For Merlin's sake, this is… my Professor, adoptive father, and you Godfather's home! Dear Lord, what was I thinking letting you stay the night!"
"I haven't actually stayed the night yet," he said, "We have yet to sleep…"
"I was stupid to allow this…"
"Why? We've slept in the same bed loads of times, and nothing has happened before," he stated.
"Yes, but that was at school! It doesn't count," she said, smiling.
"Shut up and sleep, know-it-all," he commanded.
"Right…" she said, yawning and scooting closer to him, "Sleep is good…"
x
WoW! I feel like a dumbass! LOL. Nothing was really edited except that one part, so whatever! Review and enjoy the long chapters to come!