A/N: This fic contains sexual content. Please, please, please do not read if that offends you! The Aftereffects of Amortentia was cross-posted on Livejournal. Please forgive the lack of breaks between scenes - fanfiction doesn't seem to accept anything anymore.
"Albus?"
Dumbledore calmly diverted his attention to the head that had just appeared in the fire.
"Yes Cornelius? Something wrong?"
"Oh, no Albus, nothing like that," the minister's head assured. "It's just the Department of Mysteries. The head of the department keeps bugging me, telling me they're running low on their supply of Amortentia. I really haven't the foggiest what they're using it for, but it's really none of my business to ask I suppose…damn unspeakables…anyway, as you know the whole ministry has been very busy what with the attack on those poor muggles in Bristol and I was wondering if perhaps Severus could…"
"Of course, Minister, I'll tell him right away…lemon drop?" the headmaster offered up a sticky bowl of yellow candies, his eyes twinkling.
"Oh, no, thank you Albus. I'll just be going, lots of work to do…thank Severus for me, would you? Later, Albus."
The Minister's head disappeared with a pop.
Dumbledore continued to watch the fire crackling, the orange flames reflected in his half-moon spectacles and the twinkle of his eyes.
Ten minutes later Dumbledore knocked calmly on the door to the Potion Master's dungeon.
"Come in," a cold voice hissed from inside.
Dumbledore smiled cheerfully and pushed the stone door inward.
Severus Snape was seated at his desk, scrawling on a piece of parchment.
"Good morning Severus."
Severus looked up, noticing the headmaster for the first time. He nodded his head in acknowledgement as he stood up from his desk.
"The Minister has just informed me that the Department of Mysteries is running low on Amortentia. I told him you would be happy to make more for them. The Minister sends his thanks."
Snape's lips curled into a sneer.
"Amortentia?" he hissed.
"That's the one, yes." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. "If you could have it to me by one I would be much obliged. I'm meeting Amelia Bones for lunch…lovely woman."
"Indeed," Severus smirked. "I'll be in your office at a quarter to one."
"Excellent."
Dumbledore turned on his heel to leave, humming something that sounded terribly like "All You Need Is Love."
Severus Snape sat in his large desk chair at the front of his dismal dungeon classroom. His elbows rested wearily on the surface of the desk and his head was in his hands. He massaged his temples furiously, willing the pain in his head to recede, even for a moment. His bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey rested precariously on the edge of his desk, half-empty.
Damn love!
His head had been pounding ever since he had brewed up the Amortentia for Dumbledore. A lingering smell hung about the room and he knew it was what was causing his headache. It was the residue left over from the dreadfully strong love potion.
A soft knock on the dungeon door sent Snape shooting up in his chair. His elbow hit the teetering bottle of Firewhiskey and sent it crashing to the floor where it smashed into a dozen pieces, the whiskey soaking a dark stain into the stone.
Snape swore quietly and muttered a quick incantation, fixing the bottle immediately. The whiskey, however, stayed where it was – in a useless puddle on the cool stone floor.
"Professor?" a female voice called from the doorway.
Snape looked up. He had completely forgotten about the Gryffindor know-it-all's late-night detention. He glared at her as she entered into the room, closing the door behind her. She walked bravely up to his desk, staring down at him expectantly.
"Well?" he grimaced. He hadn't thought of anything for her to do, though he was sure he could think up something dreadful for her last minute. His infernal headache, though, it was driving him insane…
In a flash of inspiration, he swept from his chair and over to a cabinet in the corner of the room from which he pulled a worn copy of Advanced Potion Making. He threw it over to her roughly as he slipped back over to his desk. He sat back down, rustling through papers and determinedly ignoring her curious gaze.
"Profess-"
"What?" he snapped.
"What am I to do with-?"
Snape made an impatient noise in his throat as he looked back up at her.
"Make me something. Anything. Just make this damned headache go away!" he looked back down at the paper he was grading and scrawled a large, spiky T without even reading it. It was bound to be dreadful anyway.
Hermione continued to stare at him for a few moments, as if expecting him to change his mind. When he did not, she turned and sat down at the desk directly in front of his and began to flip through the yellowing pages.
The Draught of Living Death
No. However appealing, deep sleep was not the answer in this situation.
Hermione looked up at Snape. He was agitated. She could see it etched into the lines of his face, reflected in his dark eyes…
It was really bothering him. She felt a pang of pity, then quickly pushed it away as she realized how absurd it was. Pity…honestly!
Amortentia
Oh no. Definitely not. Though she was sure his headache would go away (or would be ignored determinedly in his love-struck daze) she did not need Severus Snape to fall head-over-heels for her.
Hermione continued to flip through the book, falling upon equally useless potions and antidotes, none of which cured terrible headaches. After a while she noticed a strange smell to the room. It was very faint and not unappealing…just…strange.
The scratching of the Professor's quill upon parchment had paused and Hermione looked up to see the Potions Master's head in his hands, his jet-black hair spilling over his shoulders and hiding his anguished face from her view.
"Professor?" her voice was a mere whisper; she didn't want to disturb him.
Snape growled deep in his chest.
"What?" he snapped. His voice cut through the air like an icy dagger.
"I can't find anything…" she trailed off, her voice tentative.
Snape let out a dangerous hiss.
"Look again…if you can't help me I will take two hundred bloody points from Gryffindor!"
"Yes sir."
Hermione lifted the cover of the old book again to what she knew would be a fruitless attempt. She flipped through the stained pages one by one, carefully reading the name of each potion and going on to the next.
Snape watched her through his curtain of hair. A flickering candle stood next to the book, illuminating her young features. Her bushy curls spilled over her shoulders. Her nimble fingers darted over the aged pages. She tilted her head to the side, exposing her fragile neck. He watched as her eyebrows knitted together in a frown – she was obviously finding nothing and that vexed him, though not nearly as much as the sudden urge he had to run his thin, pale fingers through her mane of bushy hair. He bit his tongue, hard, and closed his eyes. What was happening to him?
Once again, there was no cure to be found. Hermione sighed, thumbing the corner of the last page absentmindedly. She looked up at her Potions Professor, who still sat hunched over, his dark head clutched in his hands. Pale, spidery fingers shone in the candlelight, snaking through his black, black hair. Hermione sat, fascinated, as she observed the pained man. She had never seen her professor in such a state. He was always sly, sarcastic, guarded, and cruel but never admitted to being in pain. He was not a weak man. Slowly, she stood up, pushing her chair back quietly as she got to her feet. She walked around his desk until she was standing behind him. He made no acknowledgement of her having moved a wit, but she could tell he knew that she was there – he had become suddenly tense. Hermione reached up hesitantly, laying a hand on his shoulder. He started, but moved no more than that.
"Professor?" Hermione leaned down to whisper in his ear. "I'm very, very sorry, but I can't find anything. I've already looked twice."
Snape's breathing went shallow. Hermione jumped a bit when he lifted his head to look at her, but she kept her hand where it was on his shoulder, though she didn't have the faintest idea why.
Snape immediately regretted his decision to look her in the face. The insane urge to run his fingers through her hair vanished to be replaced with the even more bizarre desire to kiss her fiercely…to back her up against the wall…to have his way with her in the cold, dimly lit dungeon…
Hermione saw something flash in Snape's eyes, something she had never seen there before. What was it? Hope? Desire? Ridiculous.
Not.
Snape was out of his chair and had her back to the wall before she could blink.
"Miss Granger," he hissed in her ear, "I do believe I will find you to be more useful tonight than any potion."
Hermione's eyes widened.
Snape twisted his long fingers into her silky hair and almost groaned at the sensation. Cupping the back of her head, he forced his hungry lips onto her own, begging her not to reject him…he needed this…
To his utter delight, Hermione responded without much delay. She lifted her arms to curl around his pale neck and buried her hands in his hair, pushing his lips down onto hers with more force. Snape let his tongue snake out of his mouth, trailing it along her swollen bottom lip. He groaned into her mouth as it parted, allowing him entrance. She trembled in his arms as he swept every corner of her mouth, running his tongue across her teeth and along the length of her own tongue. Hermione responded with just as much ferocity, dueling her tongue with his own as the heat rose. Snape broke away from her lips, trailing hot kisses along her jaw and down the pale column of her neck. Her eyelids fluttered and she moaned loudly, clutching his hair forcefully as he nipped her soft flesh, trailing his tongue along her collarbone.
Snape had her robes off within the minute and began to unbutton her blouse as his lips met hers again in a second harsh kiss. He groaned as she kissed him back with vigor, sending his mind reeling. He couldn't believe this was happening.
He lifted her blouse over her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He reached around her back to detach her bra. Hermione sucked her breath in at the feel of his cool fingers on the bare skin of her back. She smiled as he leaned down to kiss her again, desire burning a bright fire into his cold, black eyes. She didn't know why she was doing this, but it felt right.
Snape moved his hand to her exposed breast, thumbing her hard nipple with the pad of his finger. He trailed his mouth down her neck once again, stopping when her reached her other breast. Hermione moaned, throwing her head back as he took her nipple into his mouth, circling it with his tongue. He bit down lightly, eliciting another moan from her. He smirked against her full breast as she whimpered, digging her fingernails into his clothed back. As he moved on to her other breast, Hermione began to pull on his robes. He paused momentarily to shuck them before taking her breast into his mouth again.
Hermione undid the buttons on his shirt and lifted it over his shoulders, running her hands up his thin but toned torso. He groaned against her breast, licking the underside of her erect nipple. She undid the button on his pants and he let them fall to the ground as he raised his head to meet her waiting lips.
Snape ran his cold hands down her sides to touch her inner thighs. He lifted her pleated skirt and pulled her panties away. She moaned into his mouth as he pushed a long, thin finger into her. Her knees buckled as he added another, but he held her up, pushing his body against her and flattening her against the stone wall. She clutched his shoulders tightly as he thrust his fingers into her. She moaned again, breaking their heated kiss. Her eyes fluttered open and she frowned as he removed his fingers immediately from her wetness.
Snape smirked down at her, then pressed his long erection up inside her. Hermione's eyes widened and she clutched his shoulders again as he began to thrust into her warm center. Hermione lifted her legs to knot them around his waist, moaning as he buried his face into her bushy mane. He pushed into her again and again, groaning at her tightness and her pleasure as her breathing quickened and she moaned again into his ear. He shuddered as she kissed his neck just where it met his collarbone. She arched her head back, thrusting her hips against his own as he pounded into her again and again. Her lips found his ear.
"Please Professor…"
He thrust into her one last time before he came, falling over the edge into oblivion. He could feel her clenching around his member in her own orgasm as she grasped his shoulders, squeezing forcibly. He slid out of her and pulled her limp, sated body to him, clutching her against his chest. He breathed in her scent, running his thin fingers through her tangle of curls. She breathed heavily against his chest, reveling in the feel of his fingers snaking through her hair. She trailed her arms around his waist, pulling him closer into a tighter embrace. She could still smell the unusual aroma hanging around the room, but instead of smelling strange now, it smelled amazing. She didn't have a clue what it was, but it made her heart leap. She took a deep, settling breath against her professor's chest.
Snape smirked, pulling her closer.
"It looks as though I won't be taking any points off Gryffindor after all," he hissed quietly against her ear. "I believe that I've found my cure."