Warning

This story is not suitable for readers under the age of sixteen. It contains sexual content, including some non-consensual, and may offend some readers. If this subject is offensive to you, please do not read this story.

Chapter 35 – Owl Post

"Blackmail?"" Hermione stared at Snape in disbelief. They were eating dinner, and he had calmly dropped the fact that he was being blackmailed into the conversation. And by Malcolm Baddock, of all people! "How much does he know?"

Snape's manner was calm, and, for once, Hermione could not tell whether this was genuine, or the result of careful control. "I believe the phrase he used was something about 'sleeping with the Mudblood'."

"Didn't you deny it?" she asked, incredulously.

His eyes met hers across the table, and held her gaze. "It would not have made any difference, Hermione," he told her softly. "He would still be snooping around us to find out more information, and the safest way to prevent him from making things too difficult is to play along and let him think he has the upper hand."

As far as Hermione was concerned, it seemed that the Slytherin did have the upper hand – especially if Severus was simply going to give him anything he wanted. It took Snape a long time to convince her that he had chosen the right path, and even longer to calm her fears of discovery.

Her voice trembled as she reached across the table to take her lover's hand. "Severus, if the other students find out about us, it will ruin everything," she panicked. "Professor Dumbledore is more understanding than I would have thought, but I doubt that anyone else will be. There'll be all kinds of owls from parents about the idea of a teacher and a student together, not to mention what the governors will say – Dumbledore said that... "

Calmly, Snape stood, and walked round the table to her. Kneeling beside her chair, he looked up into her face, and put his arms around her. "My darling, it will be alright." Reaching up, he kissed her cheek, and whispered, locking her eyes with his own, "Now that he has a hold over me, he won't want to lose it. If I cooperate, and give him just enough to keep him happy, he will have no reason to tell anyone. I've told him that all deals are off, if anyone else finds out." Her expression told him that she was not yet convinced, and he continued, "Hermione – I know a thing or two about blackmail. Trust me." A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes, and his lips formed a knowing smile. "I'm not the Head of Slytherin for nothing, you know!"

Finally, Hermione managed a half smile, and kissed her lover. "I just hate the idea of having to give in to Malcolm Baddock," she said, softly, then reached out to put her arms around his neck and kiss him again. His warmth and presence were reassuring, and she allowed herself to be soothed by his lips. Their tongues met as the kiss grew deeper, and she felt warmth and comfort reaching out to her. His touch was so familiar to her, now, but a kiss from him could make her react strongly, as though they had never touched before.

His hand reached up to stroke her neck, and sent tingles down her spine at the gentle contact, making her lean into him, drawing him closer. Strong but gentle hands began to unfasten her robes, and her body responded in anticipation of his touch. Her back arched, and her heart gave a jolt of excitement as his fingertips brushed her breasts through the fabric. Unfastening his robes, she moved her lips down to his neck, tenderly kissing the soft skin in gentle movements that she knew would arouse him the way he was arousing her.

The warm breath on her own neck felt perfect, causing a sigh to escape her. She took the lobe of his ear between her lips, and pulled teasingly at it, before whispering into his ear, "Make love to me, Severus!"

For a moment, his lips continued to play on her neck, then he stood, drawing her to her feet with him, still kissing her skin. "Well – if you really insist."

It took a long time to move from the table to the bedroom. Snape was clearly determined to do a thorough job of fulfilling Hermione's demand, and his hands roamed her body, stroking and caressing, and slowly removing her robes, leaving them, along with his own, wherever they fell. Reaching the doorway between the rooms, he leaned her almost naked body against the doorpost, and took her mouth with his. Pulling his hips towards her own, she felt his hardness against her, and longed for him to possess her as he pressed towards her eager body.

Eventually, the distance to the bed was covered, and the remainder of their clothes carelessly discarded. Pushing Hermione down to the edge of the bed, Snape leaned over her, kissing her, but then pushed her legs apart, and knelt on the floor between them. He dipped his head, and kissed the inside of her quivering thighs. Hardly able to breathe, Hermione closed her eyes and tipped her head back, torn between her longing for his kisses to move to their goal, and her desire to make the wonderful anticipation last.

It seemed that her lover had his own ideas about taking his time with this, and his movements were infuriatingly and tantalizingly slow. Gentle breaths of air teased her skin, making her want to scream out to him, and turning her own breaths to shallow gasps of desire. When his tongue finally flicked lightly over her tense body, she gave a whimper of pleasure – arching her body to try to avoid breaking the contact as his lips drew away. A moment longer, and he was touching her again, and she was moaning in pleasure. His tongue could drive her crazy with need for him, and his teasing told her how well he knew it. Making her wait as he took his time with her was clearly the theme for the evening, and he made no exception now. Keeping her on the very edge of ecstasy, his tongue caressed her softness, making her moan and sigh for him, and taking her mind and body into pure bliss.

As he finally gave her release, her thighs gripped him tightly and she let out a wonderful moan, wanting and needing nothing but him.

Slowly, her breathing slowed, and she opened her eyes to meet his as he leaned over her, a hand on each side of her body. He reached down to kiss her neck, then gently whispered into her ear. "Turn over."

For a moment, she gazed up into his eyes, surprised at this, then smiled and rolled onto her front, still at the edge of the bed. Soft kisses trailed over her shoulders, then down her spine as Severus returned to his position of kneeling between her legs. She felt excitement at this untried scenario, and stretched her arms out in front of her, enjoying the feeling of his lips on her back.

The feeling as he slid into her warmth and wetness was incredibly sensual and arousing. She couldn't help but want his slow, firm thrusts to push deeper and deeper, despite her initial hesitancy. His hands reached out to grip her waist, and she arched her body away from the bed in pleasure. She let out a slight gasp at a sudden stab of pain as his climax brought with it deeper penetration, but the sound of her name on his lips as he climaxed drove the brief thought from her mind.

She wasn't certain that this was a position she would like all the time – she liked to hold him close to her as they reached release – but it had excited and thrilled her. As her lover stroked her back and brought his breathing to its usual pace, she smiled contentedly. He made her body respond to his in ways that she couldn't begin to understand. His slightest touch was enough to make her quiver, and even a glance or a word in that low, sensual voice, could make her ache for him.

"I didn't ... hurt you, did I?" Severus asked her tentatively, as they moved up the bed to lay in each other's arms.

She kissed him. "No – it felt perfect. And I would have told you if you'd hurt me." He smiled at her reassurance, and Hermione, glad that he had asked, snuggled into his arms.

- - -

The next day was Saturday, and Hermione had left Snape's room early in the morning, to join Ron and Harry for breakfast, planning to return in the afternoon to continue her efforts on her project. As her teacher, he had given her some useful and constructive criticism about her work. For a little while, the two of them together had seemed to slip back into their former teacher-student relationship, with his severity being met by her proud need to prove herself. She had smiled inwardly at the scene, pleased that, despite everything, there was still a professionalism between them when it came to her schoolwork. Hermione was not one to want or accept favors!

This morning, she had work to do with her friends, finding out more about how to make the tunnels to the lake appear on the Marauder's Map. Given Severus' apparent skills with concealing tunnels, she had briefly considered asking for his help, but somehow she did not feel that Ron and Harry would appreciate it, and he would probably consider it a waste of her time. The plan, therefore, was to return to the library, in the hope of working out how to alter the map themselves. Given their promising results during their last research session, Hermione had high hopes of success, and she also had some information of her own to check out while in the library.

The Potions Master's face was expressionless as he entered the Great Hall for breakfast. That certainly wasn't how he'd looked in the shower an hour ago! Carefully avoiding eye contact, Hermione glanced back to her friends, but looked up, a moment later, as the owl post arrived. Three letters were dropped in front of the friends. Ron received the latest update from Charlie about the habits of the small family of dragons he was working with. Hermione received two letters, one expected (and dreaded), the other with her name in an unknown hand.

Sighing, she regarded the letter from her mother. It had a stamp in the corner, having started its journey via the muggle postal service, transferred to owl mail at the sorting office. This was something she really didn't want to have to deal with right now, and she slipped the letter into her robes, planning to read it later.

The other letter, she opened with interest. There were no clues on the envelope, and glancing at the bottom of the sheet, the name 'Grendel Moldbury Arkletan' told her nothing more. It was only when she began to read that she smiled with happiness at the contents.

She handed it to Harry, who read aloud:

"My Dear Miss Granger,

"I was so pleased when Albus sent me your preliminary draft of your research project. I have discussed the matter several times with your headmaster, and he has given me great assurances of your progress, which I was very pleased to see confirmed in your own hand.

"Your work shows great promise, and I anticipate including it, almost in its entirety, in my finished work. Please keep going with your fascinating research, and I look forward to reading the completed article, which Albus has promised to owl to me as soon as it is submitted.

"With my very best regards,

"Grendel Moldbury Arkletan

"(Order of Merlin, First Class)"

The boys' faces showed their excitement for her. "That's brilliant!" said Ron, happily.

Harry agreed. "Can I have your autograph, now, before you get too famous?" he asked her, pretending to reach into his robes for a quill. She laughed. Having her name in print would be wonderful, but she doubted she would be signing autographs for a while, yet!

Ron's letter caused just as much excitement. Since before Christmas, Charlie had been sending weekly owls about the dragons, and the eggs that the mother had been keeping warm with great flames were due to hatch any day. He promised regular updates, and to send them photographs as soon as they were hatched. They were still discussing their post as they entered the library, but Hermione kept her second letter to herself. Both boys had seen it, including the tell-tale stamp, and respected her wish to avoid the subject.

The other thing that Hermione was keeping to herself was Severus' bombshell about Malcolm Baddock. She would tell them at some point, but not right now. Despite her lover's assurances, she was not at all certain that Baddock could be trusted not to tell anyone. If someone like Malfoy found out, everything would be ruined. Dumbledore's words of a little more than two months ago rang through her mind – 'if this becomes public knowledge, I may have no choice but to change my position on this subject'. The thought of Severus being fired from Hogwarts sent a chill through her. She had to do something about the situation, and until she had things clear in her own mind, she didn't want her friends to know anything about it.

She did at least have an idea of a plan, though, and, while Ron and Harry looked for spells to help with the map, she turned to the section on memory spells.