SUMMARY: Hermione looses her two best friends in the war against Voldemort. Because of this, she becomes depressed and flees from the world she loves. To London she goes and chooses to live as a muggle. Six years pass. Hermione slowly begins to forget how to use magic. Will the staff of Hogwarts be able to teach her again before the damage becomes permanent?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.

PAIRINGS: Hermione Granger, Severus Snape (eventually); Rated M

A/N: This chapter contains sexual content.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"I am so sorry I'm late" yelled Hermione as she entered Snape's classroom, closings the door behind her. She nearly toppled to the floor. "There is no excuse for my..." She trailed off.

He wasn't there. The classroom was completely deserted.

That's odd. I know he was expecting me. Maybe he is in his office...

Hermione walked past the desks and crossed the room, only to stop in front of Snape's office door. It was massive. She placed her hand on the knob and prepared to twist, then stopped.

Knock first.

So she did.

"Professor..." she called through the hardwood carvings.

"Yes." Hermione whipped around, a small gasp escaping her lips, and saw Snape standing behind her, at a reasonable distance, holding two vials filled with a yellowish green liquid in his hands.

"There you are," she said in a high, somewhat squeaky voice.

"You're late." Hermione furrowed her brow and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You weren't even in here," she said. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I didn't," he replied, "but you just confirmed my suspicions, Ms. Granger."

"It's not like you can take points away from me..." she snickered under breath. She was unaware Snape had heard her.

"I will not tolerate tardiness," he said as he walked over to his desk and placed the vials he held down, "especially from you."

"And what exactly is that suppose to mean," she asked, stepping to him slowly, her voice definitely louder this time.

"You have been through this process before, Ms. Granger," he said, his voice grew this time. "It should be embedded in your brain, for we all know that it is larger than life," he added that little comment before he continued, "that you will be on time for anything and everything I assign to you. You have never had a problem with it before. Why ruin a good thing?" He smirked.

"How dare you!" Hermione was more than outraged. "You have no right to insult me! I'm not some idiot student who you think won't say something back because you happen to be my teacher. Wait, what am I saying? You're not even my teacher anymore! I can say and do what I wish to you!" Snape blinked away his confusion.

Did she just yell at me?

"It's apparent you have completely lost your mind, Ms. Granger," Snape roared, decreasing the distance between them. "Professor or not, you will not, and I stress the word not, talk to me in such a manner! I may not be your teacher anymore, but respect will be given to me-"

"Respect," she interrupted. "I have done nothing but respect you! For seven long years, I have had put up with your stale attitude and your many taunts! You are the one who decides to slap me across the face with your world famous ridicule and sneers!"

"Sarcasm is a great part of this world, Ms. Granger! If you can't except criticism, you might as well stop living! It's amazing you've got this far!"

Hermione laughed.

"Your offensive chatter never ceases, does it!"

"Nor does your impertinence, you filthy little know-it-all mudblood!"

The room became eerily quiet. You could hear a pin drop. Hermione backed away from him, small tears forming in her eyes, overly shocked at his words.

"What..."

"Ms. Granger, I..."

"I haven't heard that word in a long time," she said softly. "I forgot how much it hurts. Thank you so much for digging up that memory, Professor." A single tear trailed down her cheek. "I hope your satisfied." And with those words, she made her way around a completely bewildered Potions Master, heading for the door, but then stopped and faced him once more.

"Why would you say that to me," she asked, tears beginning to form again. "No one who says that word could ever apologize enough. And it hurts me even more that it came from you. That's something I'd expect from Malfoy, not you. Your a professor for goodness sake!" Hermione stormed from his classroom before he could stop her.

"Brilliant, Severus. Absolutely brilliant..." Snape said to himself as he began to chase after her.

"Leave me alone," she screamed at him. Hermione was currently on her way back to her bedroom. She didn't want to be anywhere near Snape. "Don't you think you've done enough damage!"

"I did not mean it, you must understand that, Hermione," he pleaded, not even noticing he called her by her first name. She finally stopped outside her door and faced his approaching form.

"You didn't mean it! Oh, well that makes it all better, doesn't it," she yelled as she twisted the door knob, placing one foot over the threshold. "A little word of advice, Professor, groveling is not your best trait! I highly recommend against it!" Out of no where, Snape grabbed her right arm, pulling her back toward him, causing her to violently shut the door.

With her left, Hermione whipped it around and slapped him across his face. Hermione couldn't believe what she had just done. Her breath began to quicken when Snape turned to face her. She had never seen that look in his eyes before.

"Um...I'm...I'm sorry." Hermione was unsure why, but Snape pinned her up against the door. What was he going to do to her? "Did I mention, I'm very, truly, deeply, sorr-" She was cut off by a kiss.

And what a kiss it was.

Such emotion, such desire, such want and need.

Hermione's knees became Jello. She would have fallen to the ground if it weren't for Snape's strong grip fastening her to the door. Strong but gentle.

Their kiss, however, was anything but gentle. Months of restrained passion, at last, exploded. Hermione opened her mouth willingly to him and Snape took advantage. He ravaged her mouth with his tongue, meeting hers halfway.

The moment was perfect. There were no interruptions, thank the gods, there was no Dumbledore.

Snape brought the kiss to a rocky and unwanted end to catch his breath.

"I've wanted to do that for so long now," he whispered against her lips, his hot breath sending millions of shivers through her body.

"You picked," she swallowed, "one hell of a time to kiss me..." Hermione's eyes still remain closed, her mind trying to understand. Just a minute ago, they were at each others throats. And now, Hermione hadn't a clue what they were fighting about. She breathed in his scent and opened her eyelids slowly.

"I promise never to call you such a thing again," he said softly.

"There's no need to promise. Um, you've convinced me..."

"Still, I am very sorry I called y-"

"If you keep saying you're sorry, your apology will eventually loose all meaning." Hermione began to become aware that Snape still held her, very securely in his arms. His gaze, all of a sudden, was beginning to make her nervous. "Aren't you going to release me from your grasp?"

"Why would I want to do that, Hermione?" He paused his movements just inches from her lips.

"What did you-" She was cut off with another breath taking kiss.

"You...you called me Hermione..." she said, taking in gulps of air when Snape finally broke away. The last gulp she took was that of Snape. He descended upon her lips once more. Hermione was right, it was magical. Though she desperately wanted this, she fought against it.

"You...should...really...go..." she said in-between kisses. It was incredibly hard to think at the moment.

"Why would you," he kisses her neck, "deny yourself something," he kissed her earlobe, "that you so dangerously want?"

"Dangerously want," she asked, trying to fight a shiver. "We could get caught."

"No one ever comes down here," he whispered. "And besides, what are you afraid of?" He kissed her lips slowly, trying to persuade her to stay.

"I'm afraid of a lot of things." She kissed him back, holding on longer than expected.

"I'll protect you," he mumble against her lips.

Who was she kidding? Hermione wasn't going anywhere. She embraced Snape with everything she had, and he did the same to her.

Snape brought his hand to the back of her neck, lightly caressing, while Hermione entangled her hands in his smooth, black hair, causing him only to deepen the kiss. He traced her lips lazily with his tongue. She could fight it no more. Hermione gladly gave him entrance to her mouth once more. He pressed her against the wall, deepening the kiss once more.

The clashing of their tongues sent her mind spiraling. The heat from his body was enough to make her loose all control.

Snape deepened the kiss again, making her moan into his mouth. He was so passionate. They couldn't get enough of each other. He filled his hands with her chestnut brown hair, pulling her closer yet. Hermione reacted by pressing against his chest.

The thought of a bed entered both their minds. Both being at Hermione's bedroom door was completely perfect. Snape felt around for the door knob. Once he found it, he twisted it quickly, pushing both of them inside. Hermione kicked it shut.

Snape pulled Hermione back towards the bed while she frantically tried to unbutton Snape's robes. She was doing fine, but quickly became distracted when Snape moved to nibbled her earlobe. He met her lips in a scorching kiss when she finally removed his black top, only to reveal another shirt, it was white. In no time at all, Snape made Hermione's top disappear with a wave of his hand. She giggled lightly.

"No fair! I did all the work..." Her words stopped when he reached around her back and unclasped her bra, letting it fall to the floor. He also took the liberty of removing his under shirt.

The sudden contact of their upper bodies was earth shattering. She could feel his growing arousal pressing against her. Hermione slowly moved her hips toward him. A low growl escaped him as he bit her neck. As Hermione brought her hands to his pants, Snape trailed light kisses down her neck. It wasn't to distracting. Though, moments later, all her concentration was broken.

Hermione let out a loud moan as he took her left nipple in his mouth. He bit and lightly sucked on the sensitive bud, making her arch to his touch. The same attention was given to the right. Hermione was beyond intoxicated. Snape pulled her into another kiss.

"Say my name..." he said breathless against her cheek. His voice vibrated off her ears, his breath so warm on her face.

"Severus..." she said. He loved the way his name rolled off her tongue so effortlessly. "Severus..." she repeated as he kissed her again.

Snape picked her up by the waist and carried her the rest of the way to the inviting bunk as she kissed his neck. He placed her on the bed and his attention went immediately to her pants. His hand found them and traced along the waistline before he unbuttoned them. Hermione took a sharp intake of breath when he unzipped them. Hermione pushed her whole body against him when his hand found it's way inside.

"You'll be the death of me," she whispered in his ear. She was surprised she even had the strength to speak. Snape relieved her of her misery. With a wave of his hand, their clothes had vanished off them, to a pile of the floor. They just started at each other for a moment, taking in the beauty of one another, before the danced a new.

Snape pushed her roughly back onto the pillows, climbing atop her. Hermione went with out hesitation.

Snape ran his hands over her flat stomach. She bit back a small moan as his hands crept lower and lower. He brought his hand over her dark triangle that hid her from his view. He squeezed her mound softly and she arched to him, kissing his neck lightly. Snape went even lower and began to trace her delicate folds of sensitive flesh. Her core was on fire. She was ready for him. How much longer would he make her wait?

"Please..." she begged. Snape could not deny her, nor could he deny himself. He kissed her deeply, silencing her sigh. Hermione moaned with delight when she felt his manhood finally enter her moist center.

Snape deepened the kiss, tasting every inch of her. Hermione rocked against him, matching his rhythm. He drove into her, causing her to moan once more. Their kiss ended and Snape gazed into her bright brown eyes, getting lost in the moment. Hermione's eyes locked to his as well and found it impossible to look away.

She wrapped her legs around him, bringing him deeper yet, her hands around his back, clawing and scratching sweaty skin. As their pace quickened with each thrust, Snape felt her tighten around him, causing him to plunge into her faster and faster, moans escaping both of their lips. Finally, they both reached the end of their ride, enjoying the waves of pleasure and ecstasy filling them.

A few minutes later, their breath beginning to return, Snape rolled off Hermione, stopping on his side, and bent his head to lightly kiss her temple. She closed her eyes at the feel of his lips and nuzzled against his chest. Neither of them spoke, both thinking it would ruin the moment. Slowly, her eyes began to droop, and sleep eventually claimed her. Snape joined her shortly after.

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