Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. But oh, how I wish they did……
Softly he touched her, one hand trailing down her chest and stomach to rest on her hip, the other, gently cupping her breast. His thumb moved back and forth, slowly, against the hardened nipple.
His mouth, with soft velvet lips, played against her own, nibbling and sucking. Occasionally, he would invade her mouth with his tongue, in a dueling battle of proprietary war.
The hand on her hip moved lower down her body. Gently he cupped her, opening her folds to his loving invasion. Her hips rose, in a jerking manner towards him. Slowly, he lowered himself, moving down her body, leaving small kisses and long licks on his way to glory, until he was positioned at her very core. He blew a soft warm breath against her wet skin. His head moved closer, until his mouth hovered over her very center. She wanted him to touch her, to kiss her, there, were her body ached the most. She moaned his name, "Severus". She arched towards him, begging for release.
"Hermoine! Time to get up!" she heard from her doorway as the knock interrupted her sleep.
With a groan, Hermoine opened her eyes and threw her pillow at the door. "Damn that man," she thought as she pulled herself from the bed.
For the past several weeks, they had been working such long hours together in the lab, on the Wolfsbane potion. Each night Hermoine went to bed in a state of confusion, as her feelings for her ex-professor grew.
They worked well together. Snape stayed in the background, most of the time, allowing Hermoine full control over the potion brewing, only stepping in when she asked for assistance, or if he saw she was doing something incorrectly, which would damage the potion. Thankfully, he had stores of the potion in stock, which he gave to Lupin as each full moon came. When he stepped in to correct her, he did so gently, in a kind manner. When she offered up questions on the brewing process he discussed the answers in a straightforward way. When she made suggestions, he listened carefully, weighing the matter, before explaining why the suggestion would not work, or on the rare occasion, praising her when her suggestion would indeed improve the potion. Hermoine found it much more gratifying, working with him as a partner, than as a student.
Their personal lives had not changed much. They still took dinner together in the quarters. He still pounded a wake up call on her door each morning.
Some things had changed though, and for the better. He laughed more and smiled more when they where alone together. He was still distant towards her friends, although she had caught him on several occasions talking to Lupin in a friendly tone.
The best part of their relationship, was also the most frustrating for Hermoine. They had yet to come anywhere close to intercourse. They kissed a lot more frequently, as Snape would surprise her with quick, hard kisses instead of praise on occasion in the lab when she did something right. They also would stop in the middle of dinner sometimes, to lay on the couch and just kiss and touch each other. But he would never allow her to disrobe and he would not go with her into either bedroom. He also had yet to display her any affection in public, since the kiss in front of her friends at Christmas.
That kiss had caused quite an upstart amongst her friends, as only Harry and Luna were aware of her feelings. As time went by and they were not witnesses to any other instances, her friends seemed to place the incident behind them, as though nothing had ever happened. Only Luna would talk about the relationship with her, but only when the guys where not around, as they only moaned and groaned about it.
Hermoine made her way out of the tower quarters and into the dungeon classroom via the transporter hallway. Exiting the classroom, she saw Snape on the staircase to the first floor. She raised her head and offered him a quick smile as she made to pass him. She was quite stunned when he grabbed her arm and pushed her roughly against the stone wall, cutting off any protest she could make by placing his mouth upon her own.
Taking hold of her hips, he raised her body against the wall, until she was hanging in the air. She wrapped her legs around his waist; she could feel his erection, hard and straining against the materials separating them. Using his hips and the wall to support her, he plunged both hands through the front of her robes and unbuttoned her blouse, allowing him access to her breasts. Bending his head, he took turns ravishing each hardened nipple in turn. In heat, and in shock, Hermoine did nothing, except cup the back of his head in her hands as she titled her head back towards the ceiling. She could see nothing of it though, as her eyes had glazed over in passion.
Looking at the top of his bent head, she turned his face towards her, and sucked at his mouth as it came back to her, his tongue matching in imitation the thrusting movements his hips where making towards her below. Holding his shoulders, to keep balanced, she arched her back, and ground herself into him. She gasped in protest, as she felt one of his hands leave her breast, until she felt him reach down for the end of her robes. As he slipped his arm under the bottom of her robe and then past the skirt of her under gown, she felt a warmth growing in her center. When he entered her with his middle finger, she was wet and slick for him. Pushing his finger against the wall inside her, he rubbed back and forth, in quick motion, hitting her g-spot again and again. As she felt the first wave of the orgasm hit her, he used his thumb to rub quick circles against her clit, making her soar over the edge. Feeling the need to scream his name, yet knowing they could not be heard, she sank her teeth into his shoulder, using the material of his shirt to muffle the sounds of her passion. As she bit into him, Snape pulled his own head back in a moan of pleasure.
Snape released his hand from under her skirt and removed his other hand from her blouse. Placing his hands on either side of her head, he allowed her to slowly slide down his body to stand against the wall. After a moment, their ragged breath quieted to normal and he bent and placed a delicate kiss upon her lips.
"Meet me in the lab, after you finish eating. I want to show you something before we start classes today." He then walked away from her, as though nothing had happened, and they had only stopped for a brief discussion in the hallway.
Hermoine rushed to the Great Hall, and ate her breakfast in silence, as none of the other teachers had yet to arrive. She swallowed down a quick sip of orange juice and then left to go back to the dungeons. As she slipped out of the door of the hall, she heard someone call her name.
Turning she saw Fred and Luna coming towards her, holding hands. While she and Snape where not public about their affections, it was general knowledge around the school that these two had become a couple.
"Hermoine, I wanted to talk to you about Easter. Mum owled this morning. She wanted to know what you where planning for the holiday. We have two more weeks and she is getting quite excited to have the whole family together again."
Fred took notice of Hermoine's flushed face and bright eyes and grew silent. His face a mask of stone, he brushed past her and began to walk towards the dungeon. Hermoine and Luna ran after him, catching up to him on the very stairwell that Hermoine and Snape had met on earlier.
"Fred, what is wrong with you?" Hermoine asked, grabbing the man by the arm.
"That blasted old bat is working you into the ground. Look at you! Your face is flushed, your eyes look feverish. It's obvious that you've taken sick!" Fred informed her.
Hermoine looked at Luna for assistance, hoping her friend could help her from a sticky situation. Seeing the look of concern on Luna's face, she knew nothing but the truth would save her.
"I'm not sick, Fred."
"Bullocks! If you aren't sick, than I'm the bloody Minister of Magic!" he retorted. "Why the hell do you look like that, if you aren't sick!" he demanded.
"I'm horny." Hermoine told him matter-of-factly.
Fred backed slowly away from Hermoine. Looking once more at her bright eyes, his face paling, he turned his head towards the dungeon classroom a few feet away. "That's…. That's just sick, 'Moine," his said in a weakened voice.
Luna stood behind Fred and Hermoine could tell her friend was trying not to laugh as her shoulder's shook in silence. Deciding to teach Fred a lesson, she motioned to the wall behind him.
"Earlier," she told him, "I met Severus right here, as I was on my way to breakfast, when he pushed me up against the wall. Then he unbuttoned my blouse and…"
"Please, don't say anything more," Fred pleaded, raising his hand to her.
"But I haven't even told you about what he did when he went under my skirt." Hermoine told him.
"Oh, Gods…" he moaned, his face turning green, "I did not want that picture in my head. Please quit. I promise never to be nosy again."
Hermoine caught Luna's eye and the two of them shared a laughed, before Luna grabbed Fred's arm. "Come on, luv, Let's go eat. I'm hungry."
As the two made their way back up the stairs, Hermoine could hear Fred, "How can you think of food, after all of that?"
She was still smiling when she reached the private lab. Opening the door, she saw Snape leaning over a table, his back to her. He appeared to be chopping ingredients. Slowly, she snuck behind him, then with her two index fingers, she jabbed him in his sides. "Boo!"
Snape had been concentrating so intently on his task that he had not heard her come in. In his own quarters, he had not been expecting any surprises and had not been on guard, as he always was when outside his own rooms. Hermoine chuckled, she had finally caught him off guard. As he turned towards her, Hermoine's laughter died as she saw the blood on his hands. Her eyes than turned towards the table, to see what he had been chopping.
Aconite, needed in the Wolfsbane potion, was lying on the table. Also known as monkshood, the plant's oil was highly poisonous and one needed to take extreme caution while handling it. Hermoine looked into Snape's eyes and saw that they where already clouded in pain. She tried to catch him as he slumped towards the floor. She just managed to keep his head from crashing into the stone floor. Within a second of his body touching the floor, the thrashing of a seizure began. Sitting on the floor, trying to cushion his head from the hard stone, Hermoine was terrified. She knew he did not have much time to be treated for the poison, but she also could not leave him to get help. There was no way she could let him out of her sight to run upstairs to contact help by Floo.
"Dobby!" she screamed as loud as she could.
Within an instance the house-elf appeared with a pop. "How can Dobby be of assistance?" the elf questioned as he bowed his head to the floor. Raising, he saw Hermoine on the floor, holding the professor's head in her hands. "Miss, what happened?"
"I have no time to explain, Dobby," Hermoine stated as she tried to calm down to talk to the elf. "Get Harry, quickly. Tell him it's an emergency. Then get Madame Pomphrey." As the little creature nodded in understanding, Hermoine begged him, "Please, Dobby, please hurry."
The elf left with another pop. Hermoine looked down at the now still Snape, and noticed that his face was wet. Her own tears had been silently falling from her face, onto his. With gentle hands, she wiped his face, smoothing his hair back from his temples.
In less than a minute, although it felt like ages had past to Hermoine, she heard a whooshing sound from the fireplace upstairs. She then heard feet running down the stairs. Harry burst into the room, followed by Harry, Lupin, McGonagall and Pomphrey.
Seeing the aconite on the table, and the blood on Snape's hands, the group deducted what had happened.
"We have to get him to the infirmary, now!" Lupin stated.
Madame Pomphrey raised her hand, "No, it would be better to have him in his own bed. We will be taking a risk, just moving him as far as his own bed. You men take him upstairs while I go gather my supplies."
Moving quickly for such a plump woman, the mediwitch quickly fled back up the stairs. Together, Harry and Lupin levitated the sick man and floated him up the stairs into his bedroom, followed by the Headmistress and Hermoine.
Nobody made any move to restrain Hermoine as she climber onto the bed next to the professor. Laying her head on the bed, she watched as his chest slowly rose and fell with each shallow breath. Clutching his hand, she softly crooned to him, begging him to get better.
Madame Pomphrey walked back into the room, seconds later, her arms laden with potion bottles, books and supplies. She said nothing of Hermoine lying on the bed, only turning her head to nod at the Headmistress, who was standing in the corner.
McGonagall walked over and gently placed her hand on Hermoine's. "Come now, we must all leave the room. It will be much easier to heal Severus without any distractions."
Hermoine rose and walked into the sitting room, where she moved a chair to face the doorway to Snape's bedroom. Sitting in the chair, she glared at the Headmistress who shut the door to the room, blocking Hermoine's view.
Not wanting to answer any of the questioning looks from those around her, Hermoine kept her eyes trained on the floor, or the door, or her hands, until finally the door opened and the mediwitch motioned them inside.
Hermoine rushed to the bedside, kneeling on the floor next to the ill man. Harry conjured a chair for her and sat it next to the bed. Hermoine tucked her hand into Snape's once more, before turning to look at Madame Pomphrey.
"I've done all that I can do," she informed them. "Now, we must wait. We will need to find someone to take care of him. He will need to take these potions," she motioned towards the bottle laden beside table, "at exact times during the day. He will need constant vigilance."
"I'll take care of him," Hermoine told the group.
"Hermoine," the Headmistress said, "it is a nice gesture, but you couldn't possibly care for Severus. You have your class to attend to, and we will need you to help with Severus' classes as well. Besides the strain of caring for a sick person, while maintaining your own life, a young girl like you could not care for a fully-grown man. Your system is much to delicate for some of the shocking things that would be involved."
"I am going to be much to worried and distracted about Severus to concentrate on my class, much less take on more. You'll have to bring in another instructor to teach while I am up here. I should be able to work on the potion brewing needed for the infirmary, as I won't be so far away in the lab. I'll, of course, need someone's help though in watching over him while I am in the lab and while I attend to necessities, like eating and bathing." Hermoine informed the Headmistress.
"Hermoine, I know you seem to have it all worked out, but it would not be proper to have you taking care of Severus. There are some situations a young woman like yourself may find improper."
Hermoine looked from the Headmistress to Snape and back, "If you are referring to changing his clothes, bathing him, taking care of his necessities, or anything like that, it won't bother me. There is no other reason to deny me."
Lupin walked up to the group, "Hermoine, I know that you care for each other. It may not bother you to think of seeing Severus undressed now, but actually doing it may be different. Once Severus is well, it may make it uncomfortable for the both of you."
Hermoine was growing upset over their denials and spat out, "I've already seen him naked, on more than one occasion, so you have no reason now to deny me his care!"
The three older people looked at each other, while Harry pulled the now very upset Hermoine into his arms. "I had no idea your relationship had gone so far," Harry whispered to her.
McGonagall, her lips pursed, raised her hands in weary acceptance. "If you believe you can care for Severus that so be it. I will bring in another instructor to care for your classes. Harry and Luna can take turns relieving you of your duties while you are brewing." The Headmistress walked towards the door to leave.
"Thank you," Hermoine offered as she watched the woman retreat.
"Hermoine," she stated at the doorway, "Don't think this is the end of the discussion. I will hear more from you, and Severus, about this situation, once he is better."
Lupin followed the Headmistress out the door and moments later, Hermoine heard the pair exit through the fireplace. Harry gave her hug, stating he was leaving to fill in Luna and Fred, and would be back later. He also left the room. Madame Pomphrey then filled Hermoine in on all of the potions on the table and their dosages and time of dosage, along with the other care needed to take care of the needs of her patient.
After the mediwitch left, Hermoine dimmed the lights of the room with a quick flick of her wand. Setting the timer on the bedside clock, for the next potion dosage, she curled up on the bed next to Snape, and promptly fell asleep.
The next few weeks passed by in a blur to Hermoine. She woke each morning, tired from the day before. She rose and dressed herself, leaving Snape's side only long enough to visit the rest room, and even then leaving the door open where she could see him. She would then bring a basin of water to the bedside, where she would undress the man, and gently bathe his body. She was still very good with her wand, and could levitate him above the bed, so she could wash his backside, without moving him. She would then dry him with a quick spell before dressing him and then she would change the bedding with another quick spell. She would then float his body around, until his head and upper body where no longer under the bed. Tenderly, she would pour fresh warm water over his long, black hair, before shampooing his hair.
Watching how the sunlight caught the shine of the deep black locks, she wondered how she had ever thought his hair greasy. Yes, the fumes of the potions they stood over all day caused the hair to appear lax, as Hermoine had already learned from her own hair. Yet, Snape was meticulous about his appearance and washed his hair every morning. She thought about the day, several weeks previous, when she had finally learned the secret about his hair.
Snape had walked into the sitting room early one morning, his hair still slightly damp from the shower. He had a bottle in his hand. Sitting on the sofa, he uncorked the bottle, poured a thin, watery potion into his hands and proceeded to run his hands through his hair.
Seeing that this potion did indeed make his hair look greasy, Hermoine had asked what it was for. Snape had explained that when working on potions that could turn flammable, he would use this potion on his hair, to protect it from damage. The only side effect of the potion was its greasy appearance. He used it mostly on days when his most clumsy of student's where attending class. When Neville Longbottom had been his student, he had felt it necessary to use the potion every day.
After washing and drying his hair, Hermoine would gently place him back correctly on the bed and then would give him the first of many dosages of medicine. Rubbing his throat to cause him to swallow, she would force the medicine on him, praying that it was making him better. She would then order some broth from the kitchens, which would appear on the small table she had brought into the room, which she would also then force him to swallow. After Snape was taken care, Hermoine would allow herself breakfast.
Besides adding the table to the bedroom for meals, Hermoine had also added a comfortable rocking chair by the window, where she would sit and rest, sometimes pretending to read a book, mostly staring at the pages and not comprehending any of the words.
Spending most of her time caring for the man asleep on the bed, Hermoine did little to care for herself. Her morning time was spent, rocking back and forth, by the window, rising only to give Snape his potion each hour. She had unknowingly forgotten to eat on many occasions. Luna and Harry had both noticed how thin she had gotten, so they tried to arrive each afternoon at dinnertime, in order to eat a meal with her.
After the meal, Hermoine would rush to the lab, to quickly prepare the potions needed for the infirmary. The first afternoon, when Hermoine had entered the lab, she saw the wilted flowers of the aconite on the table, and then the ruined caldron of the Wolfsbane potion they would have worked on the night before and cried. She completely broke down, and sat on the floor in tears for over an hour, before she rose and slowly cleaned up the mess.
Each day, while one of her friends sat upstairs, she would brew and bottle potions. Thankfully, she knew these concoctions by heart, for in the lab, she moved in a dream world. Concerned over the happenings going on above her, she moved in a robotic fashion around the lab.
She was in the lab, about to start work on some pepper-up potion, when she heard Luna call her name. At the frantic note in her voice, she dropped the caldron she had been holding, and rushed up the stairs.
Luna was standing in the doorway of the bedroom. She jumped back as Hermoine pushed past her and took in the sight of Snape thrashing on top of the bed.
"I've already sent for help." Luna informed her as together, they tried to keep the injured man from doing any more damage to himself. Hermoine softly hummed to the man, bending down next to his ear, in an attempt to calm him. It appeared to work, for his body relaxed. Hermoine lay next to him, crooning to him words of love, until his breathing calmed.
"He's better now," she told Luna. Resting her cheek on Snape's chest she listened to the steady beat of his heart. Shutting her eyes for just a moment, she concentrated on the sounds of him. She listened to the soft sound of his breathing, in and out. She slowed her own breathing down, to match the rhythm of his own.
A minute later she felt arms gently lifting her away from the bed.
"Hermoine, oh, Hermoine," Harry whispered as he pulled her into his arms.
Not understanding, she looked around the room. She must have fallen asleep, because the room was now full of lights, and people. She looked around the room and took in the sad faces of her friends and co-workers.
Madame Pomphrey and Headmistress McGonagall stood on the other side of the bed, clutching each other. Lupin and Fred supported a weeping Luna between the two of them. Slowly, Hermoine turned her body and looked upon the face of the man she loved.
His face appeared slightly paler than normal but relaxed in sleep. He actually looked better than he had earlier, as the lines, which normally etched his face, where relaxed along his features.
Hermoine turned back to face Harry, with a smile upon her face. "Harry, why are you all crying? He looks so much better. Look at how peacefully he sleeps."
Harry took hold of her shoulders and turned her back to face the bed. "Hermoine, he's gone."
It was then that Hermoine realized that Snape was no longer breathing. His chest was not moving. Rushing to the bed, she placed her ear against his chest. She could no longer hear his heart beat.
Hermoine looked around the room in confusion, "But he was better, just before. The seizure had stopped. He was breathing. His heartbeat was steady. I could hear his heart beating."
Harry took her hand and he told her, "I arrived just as the seizure stopped. I had stepped out only for a moment, to call for Minerva and Poppy. When we came back into the room, we found you asleep next to him. We saw how peaceful the two of you looked, and he did look fine at the time, so we decided to let you sleep. A few minutes passed and Remus came in, to see what had happened. When he arrived, he said he could smell death in the air. We came into the room, but it was too late. Death had already taken Snape."
"His name is Severus!" she yelled at Harry, as fury began to overtake her. Smoothing his hair once again, she spat out over her shoulder, " You're all liars! You never liked him. It's all a lie!" she screamed, turning to face the group once more.
Lupin walked across the room towards Hermoine, who had slowly sunk to her knees beside the bed. Bending to his own knees he pulled her to him. Sitting on the floor, with Hermoine cradled in his lap, he slowly rocked her back and forth, as she cried.
"Remus, please tell me it's all a lie. He can't be dead," she pleaded as Lupin stroked her hair and whispered shushing noises to her to calm her.
Hermoine pulled back from her dear friend and looked the older man in the eyes. "It has to be a lie. He can't die. He just can't. He hasn't told me he loves me yet."
Lupin pulled her tighter into his arms, as tears formed in his own eyes, "Of course, he loved you, Hermoine. I'm sure of it."
"But he never said it to me," she softly whispered before shock overtook her. As her mind drifted into darkness, her last thought was that maybe, hopefully, she could join him in death.