Hermione opened her eyes, immediately wide-awake. She turned on her side and tried to defocus her eyes enough to see Severus' face. Only she was too close and was going cross-eyed trying to see him properly.
If he wakes up now, she thought with a wry smile, he'll get the fright of his life – big, bad Death Eater or not.
She gently rolled back on her back and looked around the dimly lit room. She wondered briefly where the light was coming from – they were in the Dungeons for God sake. Why have those big velvet curtains when there couldn't possibly be a window this low down?
Severus' breathing was light, so light Hermione could barely hear it. She looked down at his half uncovered chest and bit her lip. Yes, it was the next morning; the light of day when her sanity should have returned, and she still wanted him. Quite badly in fact.
Except she knew with almost absolute certainty how the peacefully sleeping man next to her would react when he woke up and remembered how much he'd let down his guard. He'd talked to her, held her hand and touched her (admittedly not as much as she'd wanted him to). He was going to remember, close his heart off to her, then go all cold again. And she wasn't sure she could handle that. Not right now.
She rolled off the bed as quietly as she could, closing her eyes as the now familiar early morning bout of nausea hit her. Actually, it had moved from being 'early morning' nausea, to being 'whenever she was hungry' nausea. The evil thing being that she felt too sick to eat, but until she ate she'd feel sick. And she felt too sick to eat. And so on.
God is definitely a man.
She pulled on her hospital gown and cloak, then shoved her feet in her bunny slippers, wincing at the indignant squeaks that each of them gave. Harry really picked some awful presents. One year he'd got her one of those incredibly tacky Nodding Dogs, which would have been bad enough on it's own, but this was a Wizarding Nodding Dog. Rover (that had been the name on its collar) had barked manically whenever she walked into the room and refused to stop until she was finally forced to leave the room. And every now and again it winked at her in an 'I know something you don't know' sort of a way.
She wondered, with a brief stab of guilt, if it was now barking and winking at the fish as they went by. It had just… slipped from her hand as she'd been walking by the river a month or so after she'd received it.
As she got to the door, she turned to take one last look at her partially covered, slumbering Potions Master. She knew she had to leave before he woke up and threw her out, but part of her wanted to just walk back over to his bed, take his face in her hands and kiss him awake.
I've fallen in love with him, she admitted to herself, cringing. God, I'm stupid.
She closed her eyes for a second, before turning on her heel and quietly walking out. She owed Poppy an apology, and then she needed to get ready for her first day back at class. She'd been studying a lot while she had been in the Infirmary, but she had missed the lectures and they made all the difference.
Especially in Potions, she thought, with a little mental shiver. That voice… God, I love it when he lectures in that deep, silky voice.
The she shook herself. This really was getting ridiculous. She was Hermione Granger – her classmates were the ones who obsessed over boys, while she looked on with an indulgent smile then went back to her books. And now she was obsessing over a man, one of the most impossible men she'd ever met, (a position which was no mean feat – she knew the Weasleys).
Ridiculous, she muttered to herself, striding into the hospital wing and almost walking into Poppy, who was on her hands and knees picking small purple pills off the floor, which must have fallen from the bottle in her hand.
"Hermione!" Poppy exclaimed, straightening up and sounding out of breath. "You're back! Where were you last night? I looked everywhere, but Albus insisted…"
"I spent the night with a friend," Hermione interrupted, bending to help Poppy pick up the rest of the pills. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you where I was going – I was upset at the time."
"You need to relax more," Poppy said, her hands on her hips. "All this rushing about! If I didn't know it would go in one ear and out of the other, I'd insist you stayed in here another few days."
"I've got my NEWTs to take in a few months," Hermione reminded the Witch for the hundredth time. "I'll not pass if I miss any more classes."
"Rubbish," Poppy declared, handing her a cup of water, which Hermione took gratefully. Water usually helped her nausea a little.
"Eat this," she instructed, handing Hermione a Digestive biscuit from her pocket. "You know you're a brilliant enough student to have a few more days off without trouble. But we've been through all this before and I know I can't win. Just promise me you'll keep coming in for checkups."
"Of course," Hermione said, smiling at Poppy as she nibbled on her biscuit.
"You were with the father?" Poppy asked, turning to put the pills back on the shelf. "Does he know yet?"
Hermione nodded. "He knows."
He just doesn't seem to care.
"How is he taking it?" Poppy asked gently. She had grown attached to Hermione over the time she'd had her in the Infirmary and wished she could help her through all the hard things she was going to have to go through. If she just didn't have to go through them alone…
"He hasn't said," Hermione said, shrugging as if she didn't really care, only the misery in her eyes betraying her. "He's not very easy to read."
The understatement of the year, she thought almost despairingly.
Poppy reached out and gave the small girl an impromptu hug.
"If you need to talk, I'm always here," Poppy said, giving Hermione one last squeeze, before going into the next room to see to her other patients.
Hermione stared after her, before dashing the sudden tears away with the back of her hand. Hugging always made her cry when she was already upset. She was just fine until someone wrapped their arms around her, and then she was lost and all bravery flew out of the window.
She left behind all the possessions she had needed for her stay in the Infirmary, knowing they would appear in her quarters shortly after she did. Then she walked back to Gryffindor Tower, glad it was still too early for someone to bump into her. Not that she was ashamed of the bunny slippers exactly…
Severus woke up feeling curiously well rested. He smiled and turned on his side, opening one eye to check on Hermione, as he'd done a couple of times in the night. Both eyes flew open and he sat up, looking at the large expanse of empty bed.
"Accio dressing gown," he said, getting to his feet and walking across the cold stone floor to search the rest of his chambers for the girl.
He could smell the musky perfume she wore, so she couldn't have been gone long. He walked back into the bedroom and put his hand on the pillow, checking to see if it was still warm.
Why would she just leave like that? He thought, sitting heavily down on the bed. Have I done something wrong?
He thought back to how she'd found him in the bath, completely drunk and full of self-pity.
That probably didn't help matters, he thought, with a grimace.
Then he'd insulted her, spilled his guts to her and then touched her when he'd promised himself he wouldn't. But he'd been so sure that she had wanted him. He had finally convinced himself that she at least cared a little – enough for them to at least cultivate some sort of friendship, given time. And maybe that way he could also be a small part of his child's life.
But apparently she doesn't feel the same way, he thought, resting his head in his hands and groaning. Or she'd be here now; instead of running off before she had to face me.
Here so he could touch her, kiss her and hold her. Except she had disappeared; so quietly and stealthily that even he hadn't woken. He had been a spy for twenty or so years, how on earth hadn't he heard her leave? Had he become that bewitched by her that he'd actually let his guard down?
The awful idea hit him that she was actually ashamed to have spent the night in his rooms.
He glowered and got to his feet.
At least I have first year Gryffindor again this morning, he thought with some satisfaction. I can see how many of them I can make cry. That should help to cheer me up immensely.
Professor Binns was at his most boring that morning and even Hermione was starting to fall into a bored stupor. She was sitting next to Harry instead of Ron that morning. Ron had smiled at her nervously and then had gone to sit with Neville, leaving Harry and Hermione to pair up.
Harry had given her a sympathetic smile, then had given Ron a warning frown, which the red-haired boy had pointedly ignored. She wondered what she'd have to do to fix things between herself and Ron.
Maybe he'd like a nice pair of pink bunny slippers…A note being shoved under her nose made her blink and come back down to earth. Luckily her hand seemed to have the ability to copy down notes without needing her brain to actually be switched on first; a talent she was very grateful for in these classes.
'We need to talk,' the note read cryptically in Harry's messy scrawl.
'What about?' Hermione wrote back, before moving her pen back to her book to carry on writing down whatever Professor Binns was droning on about. Professor Binns was the only lecturer Hermione wasn't fond of. She didn't think his teaching methods were good, or his ideas up to date. But then, what could you expect from a man who had been dead several years?
'Those ingredients you wanted me to… get,' Harry wrote back, looking at her from under the fringe that had flopped into his eyes again.
Oh. Bugger.
'Don't need them any more,' Hermione wrote back, suddenly distracted enough from her note taking to have to force herself to concentrate enough to take notes again.
'I figured,' Harry wrote back, not looking at her this time. 'When are you going to tell Ron he's going to be a dad?'
Hermione's eyes widened and her body forgot to breathe. She gave a little yelp, then covered it with a cough. Just then, the bell rang for the next lesson. Hermione closed her eyes.
They flew open again as a hand came down in front of her and snatched the piece of paper she and Harry had been writing on.
Goyle. No, no, no. Of all people, Draco and his gang could not read what Harry had written.
Hermione reached to snatch the paper back, but Goyle, being over a foot taller than her, easily held it out of her reach.
"Give that back Goyle, or I'll hex you so fast you…"
What Harry would have done to Goyle, Hermione would never find out. Harry had suddenly stopped talking in shock as Draco Malfoy had reached over Goyle's shoulder and plucked the note from his fingers. Then he handed the note back to Hermione without even sparing it a glance, before turning and walking out of the classroom, leaving a gobsmacked Harry, Ron and Goyle in his wake.
"Did you see that?" Ron asked as the bewildered Goyle stomped off. Ron was so shocked he hadn't even realized he had walked over and was coming over to stand next to Hermione. "Or am I hallucinating again? Pink Hippogriffs aren't about to come ice-skating into the room are they?"
"Pink Hippogriffs?" Hermione asked, looking confused and relieved at the same time. Whatever Severus had said to Draco had definitely had an effect. Being 'niced' to death was going to be… interesting.
"Don't ask," Harry said, shaking his head. "Though it still couldn't possibly be as weird as that. Was Malfoy just… nice?"
Hermione shook her head, as if to clear it. They had their Potions class to get to and she didn't want to draw attention to herself by being late.
"Come on," she said, taking both Ron and Harry's arms, ignoring Ron's flinch. "Harry and I need to get to Potions before Professor Snape decides to lock us out again, like the last time we were about thirty seconds late. And you can walk us there, Ron."
Harry and Ron let her lead them to the dungeons without protest, still in shock from Draco's kind act she supposed. She used the time to think, quickly. So Harry hadn't trusted her and he'd gone and looked up those ingredients she'd sent him for. It wouldn't have taken more than twenty minutes of research to work out that she had been going to make a Pregnancy Testing Potion.
And now he thinks I'm pregnant to Ron! Hermione thought almost frantically, as she walked into the Potions classroom. What on earth am I going to tell him? "No Harry, Professor Snape's the father. He's bloody sexy naked, in case you were wondering."
The rest of the relatively small class were already sitting down, the three other houses sitting as far away as possible from the only two Slytherins. Hermione waved goodbye to Ron, who had a free period and was using the time to go and visit Hagrid in his hut.
I'm going to be so bloody friendly and pushy that Ron is going to haveto stop being a prat and talk to me, Hermione decided.
It was a pretty good plan and Hermione was pretty sure it would work, given enough time. She was pretty sure the same method wouldn't work for Severus Snape though. He was a Slytherin and therefore needed manipulating subtly, or knocking on the head with something heavy – either one would do, although the latter would admittedly sometimes be much more satisfying.
She automatically unpacked her bag and started following the instructions on the blackboard, without actually thinking about them. The potion they were working on was a simple Vanishing Potion; the only reason it was in the Advanced Potions class was that the ingredients had to be perfectly chopped, grated and ground, or the potion was rendered useless. Younger students almost always failed to make this potion as they lacked the practice needed to work with such precision.
As she started to carefully shred the Willow bark, she suddenly became aware of the fact that she was being watched. She glanced around the classroom, until her eyes landed on Draco Malfoy. He had stopped shredding and was just staring at her. As their eyes met, Draco quickly looked away with a grimace.
Bizarre.
Except she still felt like she was being watched. She turned her head again and finally noticed Severus, standing in the doorway of his storeroom, leaning against the wall, his arms folded. His eyes were dark and brooding and he was watching her with such intensity that Hermione shivered.
She met his eyes bravely, refusing to look away. His eyes narrowed.
Sleep well last night? Severus' sarcastic voice echoed around her head, making her jump. She looked around at the nine other members of the class, who were still grating and chopping as if Severus had never said a word.
She looked back at him, a small frown on her small face.
How?
Severus smirked, then unfolded his arms and walked over to Hermione's desk.
"Something wrong, Miss Granger?" he said out loud.
"No Professor, nothing," Hermione said, still holding his gaze.
"If you can't concentrate on your work, I shall be forced to rid myself of your presence and send you back to the Infirmary. Is that clear, Miss Granger? I will not tolerate daydreaming in my class."
"Yes sir," Hermione answered, not letting his sharp tone get to her today. She tried to ignore Harry's fuming presence beside her.
"Heartless bastard," Harry whispered as Severus strode back to his desk. "Surely he knows about your mum and dad? And you're only just out of hospital…"
"Silence Potter!" Severus shouted from the front of the class, making every student jump. "Or you will be needing a trip to the Infirmary yourself."
Harry glowered, but turned back to his work. He needed to get his Potion's NEWT to become an Auror and he wasn't going to let Snape get to either him, or Hermione. He reached out and put his hand on her thigh and squeezed it gently, comfortingly.
Hermione reached down and squeezed the hand on her leg in a 'message received' sort of a way. They both shared a smile.
Hermione was just working out how to remove Harry's hand from her leg without offending him, when she suddenly felt a hand clapped down on her shoulder. She yelped, jumping and dropping the scalpel she had been holding.
"Outside," Severus snapped, a hand on both Harry and Hermione's shoulders. "Now."
Hermione and Harry got to their feet and let themselves be marched out of the classroom, into the hallway. The classroom door slammed behind the three of them and Severus turned to his two scared and bewildered looking students.
"I have warned you both," Severus said, his voice so low they had to strain to hear it. "And still you sit in my class, groping each other."
Hermione looked at Severus, her eyes wide. "We weren't…"
"Silence!" Severus hissed, moving his face close to Hermione's. "You may think that my apparent concern for your well-being entitles you to liberties no one else has, but I can assure you…"
"It wasn't what you thought it was," Hermione interrupted, suddenly furious. Her eyes flashed as she looked at him. "And even if it was, it hardly warrants all this."
"I thought I told you to keep quiet!" he snarled, grabbing Hermione's shoulders in a hard grip.
"What are we supposed to have done?" Harry asked, his hand reaching for the wand in his pocket, getting ready to hex Snape if he hurt Hermione.
"Do you want me to hex you, Potter?" Severus snarled, whipping his head round to glare at Harry, before turning back to Hermione.
"Grope your boyfriend out of class, if you must." Severus sneered the word 'boyfriend' as if it was something nasty, his mouth no more than a couple of inches from hers. "But never in my class. Never. Do you understand?"
He shook her shoulders, not hard, but hard enough to make her head snap up. Her eyes met his and she felt a stab of awareness run through her body. His dark eyes flashed with some intense, mostly buried emotion.
Was he… jealous?
"Harry, can you just go for a little walk? Come back in a few minutes," Hermione said calmly, still holding Severus' gaze.
"And leave you alone with him? You've got to be kidding."
"I need to talk to Professor Snape," Hermione said, gritting her teeth. "And it's private."
"There is nothing more to say, Miss Granger," Severus said, letting go of Hermione's shoulders and taking a step back. "Get back to class, and never let me see you acting in such a disgusting way again."
"I only put my hand on her knee, for God sake!" Harry said, fuming. "It wasn't as if I pushed her over the desk and…"
"Harry, please don't finish that sentence," Hermione quickly interrupted, wincing as Severus rounded on him, his wand suddenly gripped tightly in his hand.
"Have you gone completely insane?" she hissed, reaching for his shoulder and trying to pull him back as he advanced on Harry.
"Harry, for God sake, go. Leave me to deal with this." Hermione pulled at Severus' shoulder again.
"Don't force me to Stupefy you both," she warned, as Harry and Snape circled each other, wands at the ready.
Harry took his eyes away from Severus for long enough to give Hermione a look of confusion. He was trying to help her and she was threatening to Stupefy him?!
Severus merely ignored Hermione, which annoyed her even more.
"Do you really think you can take me, Potter?" Severus sneered. "All that fame really has gone to your head."
"Expelleramus!" Hermione snapped, her hand out. Both Severus and Harry's wands flew through the air and into Hermione's outstretched hand.
Harry stood with his mouth open, gaping at Hermione, while Severus rounded on her, his eyes flashing.
"Hand me my wand," he said through gritted teeth. "Now."
Hermione turned to the flabbergasted Harry.
"Do you really want to end up expelled for hexing a teacher?" Hermione asked, exasperated. "Go back into the classroom. I'll try to sort this out and Professor Snape can tell me whatever punishment he's decided on. I'll talk to you after class."
At Harry's hesitation, Hermione glowered.
"Go!" she said, giving Harry her very best intimidating glare.
Harry shrugged, defeated. As the classroom door shut again, Hermione turned back to Severus.
"My wand, Miss Granger," he said, leaning against the wall again, his arms folded, mimicking the pose he had adopted earlier.
"Not yet," she said, putting all three wands in her cloak pocket for safekeeping.
"You may be able to treat Potter like an infant, child," Severus drawled. "But you are sadly mistaken if you think you can give me orders."
"You were out of order, as you well know." Hermione folded her arms in front of her in an unconscious gesture of self-defence. It made her look vulnerable and Severus hardened his heart against her.
"Was I really? How terrible."
"I don't know what's wrong with you, but you must see that you overreacted?" Hermione sighed.
"I will conduct my classes however I see fit, Miss Granger," Severus said, pushing away from the wall. "And your conduct was out of order, as you well know."
"Fine, then punish us as you would anyone else," she said, hands on her hips once more. "But don't let petty jealousies get in the way."
Severus stared at Hermione for so long she started to feel uncomfortable. Had she pushed him too far? She took a step away from him, preparing to run if she had to.
He waved his hand in the direction of the classroom door, muttering some sort of locking charm. Then he advanced on her, taking hold of her by the shoulders and pushing her backwards until she was pressed hard against the cold stone wall.
He let go of her shoulders, running his hands down her arms all the way to her wrists, which he then circled with his fingers, gripping them tightly. He lifted them above her head, using one hand to pin them both to the wall, leaving her feeling exposed and helpless.
He reached behind her head and took a fistful of her hair in his hand.
"Fifty points from Gryffindor for your conduct with Potter," he murmured silkily. He gripped her hair more tightly in his fist, making her head tip back as she winced. He moved closer and ran the tip of his nose and lips from her ear, down her neck, all the way to the base of her throat. His hot breath against her skin made Hermione shiver.
"Fifty points for his conduct with you," he carried on, using his free hand to tear the sides of her robe apart impatiently. He carried on, moving his warm lips slowly down her bare chest, making her breathe hard.
"Fifty points for answering me back," he said, using his mouth and lips to push the material still further down, closing his eyes as he realized the girl wasn't wearing a bra. It was almost his undoing.
He nosed the thin material of her top to the side and took her nipple in his mouth, making Hermione gasp and sag against the wall, only his hands on her wrists holding her up.
He took his mouth away, letting the cold air of the dungeon harden her wet nipple. She gasped and squirmed against him. He pressed against her, moving his mouth to her ear.
"And ten points from Gryffindor," he whispered, breathing into her ear. "For inappropriate clothing."
Hermione groaned as he took her earlobe in his mouth and bit down gently. He released her hands and took a step back.
"You and Potter will in my classroom, scrubbing cauldrons every night for the next two weeks," he informed her, his voice normal as he walked back into the classroom, trying to pretend the erection he had developed didn't exist. He shut the door after him, giving Hermione time to collect herself before coming back in.
Hermione sagged against the wall and fought to catch her breath. She walked into his class with her head down, carefully avoiding Severus' eyes. He didn't say a word to her, and Harry didn't dare do more than briefly give her a consoling look.
She settled down in her seat and started chopping ingredients again, biting her lip as she tried to calm herself down. She gave a silent groan and put all her frustration into perfecting her potion.
Bastard, she thought, glowering, a shiver running through her body as she tried not to remember how it felt to have his mouth on her skin. Utter bastard.
