How did one go about their day after hooking up with their professor? This was the question uppermost on Hermione's mind as she got ready for class, a dull ache between her thighs mocking her attempt at forgetting about the night before.
It had been everything she'd dreamed of and more. Snape had made her fall apart under his touch.
She winced as she sat on the edge of her bed to pull on her shoes and then huffed in exasperation as her tangled, curly hair fell in her eyes. Using her wand she cast a smoothing charm which left her frizzy waves in perfect smooth curls which fell around her face and shoulders in gleaming perfection. Daphne had taught that particular charm to her in their first year after witnessing Hermione's long winded and largely unsuccessful struggle with her hair each morning.
Hermione was quite frankly terrified. How would Snape react to seeing her today? She knew better than to think he'd react openly. He was after all the master of deception. A spy talented in the art of occlumency, he gave deadpan a new name. And yet she hoped to see something, anything, a sign that perhaps he didn't regret last night.
"'Mione! Wait for me!" Daphne called as Hermione left their dormitory for the classroom.
Hermione waited for the blond girl who'd been the first person to befriend her at Hogwarts.
Daphne linked their arms and smiled at Hermione slyly. "Where were you last night?"
Hermione attempted her most convincing poker face and laughed. "I was in the library. Studying."
The other girl laughed too. "I saw you creep in at 3am, 'Mione, and you were a mess! Tell me who it was!" She urged good-naturedly.
Hermione's cheeks went pink and Daphne giggled.
"Oh fine, you don't have to tell me, but I swear I'll figure it out eventually."
Hermione smiled at her weakly. She sure hoped not.
They were joined by Pansy who took Hermione's other arm.
Pansy Parkinson was a misunderstood girl who most people found to be vapid and annoying. But Hermione had taken the time to dig below those outer layers to discover a true friend and confidant.
These two girls had befriended her from the beginning, from before she'd discovered who her family actually was, back when she'd been nothing but a muggle born witch with no money and no ties worth mentioning. This meant everything to Hermione, to be accepted by her house when she'd expected to be shunned had been wonderful.
Of course they'd all been unbelievably stunned when the sorting hat had declared Hermione Granger a Slytherin before it even touched her head. Salazar Slytherin had been a notorious blood elitist and the fact that a muggleborn witch had been sorted into that particular house caused an uproar.
The resulting mayhem had prompted Dumbledore to start an unofficial investigation into her parentage. It had taken exactly six months before Dumbledore had declared he'd found her real family and that it was unwise to pursue any knowledge of them. Hermione had naturally been shocked to discover that the Grangers were not her parents at all.
But she'd accepted Dumbledore's edict without protest because deep down inside she had no wish to find out who the family was who'd abandoned her as a baby. Her housemates were informed that Hermione was indeed a pure blood and that her parentage was such that it required secrecy for the time being. The pupils talked, rumours spread like wildfire and Hermione became a little famous. Of course, deep down inside she wondered who her biological parents could be. The twenty eight pure blood families which made up magical Britain's elite society were the only options she knew. Although her highly logical brain had already tried and tested each family for a sign that she might belong to them, she ignored this and pretended like it was all part of some dream.
"Hermione has a secret lover." Daphne declared to Pansy with a wicked smile. "She won't tell me who it is, but I'm sure we can figure it out together!"
Hermione sighed, arching her eyebrows in feigned innocence. "I don't know what you mean."
Pany laughed. "You'd better give it up, 'Mione, Daph won't give up until she discovers who it is!"
Hermione shrugged, going for indifference. "There's nothing to discover, but if you feel like searching for some imagined story, have at it. Have you two studied for our quiz today?"
Pansy grimaced. "Not much, no. You're the only one who studies quite so much! Although not nearly as much as you used to!"
All three girls giggled as they walked.
They made class with minutes to spare and Hermione sat down in her usual place.
His presence was palpable. She knew the moment he entered the classroom. Her heartbeat picked up and she could barely breathe with sheer nerves. Hermione organised her text books neatly across her desk and finally raised her eyes to see Snape - with his back to her.
"Today we will be doing a quiz, as discussed last week. The topic is counter curses."
Hermione dropped her gaze to her books and bit her lip, agitated.
"Miss Granger. Are we boring you?" Snape's smooth drawl ripped her out of her thoughts.
"No, of course not, Sir." She replied automatically, her gaze finally meeting his. Her cheeks grew warm at his indifference, which was clear by his bored tone.
"I'm relieved to hear it." He sneered sarcastically as he swept passed the back of her chair.
Hermione released a shuddering sigh as he moved away, her heart beating erratically.
The quiz went well - for her. The same couldn't be said for most of the other students who groaned as they saw their marks.
Hermione did her best to avoid Snape's gaze for the remainder of that class and rose to her feet extra fast as soon as the lesson was over. She gathered her books and shoved them into her satchel.
"Miss Granger, please stay behind. I need to speak to you." Snape's words stopped her in her tracks. What could he want to speak to her about?
She cringed to think of what it could be about.
The other pupils filed out, some looking at her with pity, clearly thinking she was going to get detention or a setting down at the very least.
Snape cast a silencing spell on the room and then warded it the moment they were alone.
Hermione swallowed hard, her mouth as dry as cotton as she held her bag against her chest as if it were a shield. The air seemed to crackle with energy. She wondered somewhat absentmindedly if she enjoyed the nerves which threatened to choke her each time she was in this man's presence. Did being belittled arouse her in some way? She wasn't sure, but the fact remained that he was the most intimidating man she'd ever known.
Snape stared at her, his piercing obsidian gaze disconcerting to say the least.
"Miss Granger, do you know why I asked you to remain?"
Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat and finally raised her eyes to his face. As their gazes met her heart stopped before sprinting away at breakneck speed towards one unknown precipice.
"No, sir."
His lips twitched. "It is very unwise to accost someone when they are deep in grips of Occlumency, were you aware of this?"
Hermione hesitated, torn between embarrassment and eagerness to learn more about occlumency. "No, Sir."
Snape leaned against his desk, his large, elegant hands grasping the edge of the desk. Hermione was mesmerised, her cheeks warming as she recalled how it felt to have those same fingers deep inside her. Her knickers dampened almost immediately causing her to shift from one foot to another in what she hoped was a barely discernible movement. Her hopes were dashed, however, when she saw Snape's gaze narrow suspiciously, his lips twitching.
There was an uncomfortable sensation in her head, she only noticed it this time because she had nothing else to distract her, beside her inexplicable arousal. She knew it was Snape breaching her mind's defences. It felt as though her mind was too full suddenly, an intrusion.
Snape stared at her, impaling her with his gaze and his gift at the same time. Hermione began to sweat, literal beads of perspiration dotting her smooth forehead.
The sensation of being mentally invaded ceased almost as fast as it had begun which left her reeling.
"You could have been hurt, Miss Granger. Do you understand? I wasn't myself."
Hermione bit her lip and nodded. It seemed Snape was going to ignore the fact that there had indeed been consequences for her invasion of his private rooms. Consequences she'd enjoyed immensely.
"I'm sorry." She murmured, her gaze lifting to his. "I just wanted to…"
Snape arched a brow, his face enigmatic.
"What? Help me? I promise you that I am quite capable of taking care of myself, Miss Granger. I ask you not to trouble yourself again on my behalf. Stick to your books and I will take care of my own business."
He rose from the desk and went to fetch something out of his desk drawer.
He brought a tiny vial to her. "Drink it." He told her in a tone which booked no refusal.
Hermione took it from him and recognised it at once. "A contraceptive potion?"
Snape smirked, his eyes glittering with dark humour. "Indeed, we have no use for any permanent reminders of our foolishness, do we?"
Hermione blushed, her cheeks almost painfully warm as she took the topper off the vial and drank the potion in one gulp. She returned the empty vial to Snape, their fingers brushing. She could have sworn she saw a small curl of blue tinged vapour emanate from the contact just as a strange little thrill shot through her body.
It felt the same as the euphoria she'd experienced with him the previous night. Dark, deadly, tantalising, it wrapped itself around every nerve in her body making her crave more.
"You're dismissed Miss Granger, see to it that you're not caught out of your dormitory after hours again or I will be forced to deduct points from our own house which will vex me greatly."
Hermione nodded. "Of course Professor." She turned to leave, suddenly forlorn and not knowing why.
She wanted to spend more time in his company, despite his reserved demeanour, or perhaps because of it. He was like a puzzle to her, a mystery, a challenge and Hermione had always loved a challenge.
She had to be a masochist, she decided. Perhaps she secretly enjoyed the set downs and the feeling of being completely out of her depth.
She slung her leather satchel over her shoulder and turned to take her leave of her professor only to find him watching her. There was a curiously intense expression on his face. It was speculative, as well as some other hidden emotion she couldn't quite name.
"Is there anything I can do to earn extra credit in your class, professor?" She asked suddenly, her voice annoyingly breathless.
Snape's lips curled into a miniscule smirk.
"Did you have anything in mind, Miss Granger?"
Hermione swallowed hard. "I was wondering if you'd give me permission to take a few books out of the library, Sir…out of the restricted section."
"Indeed." Snape's dark gaze glittered. "Are you particularly interested in the restricted section? I believe it is so named because students are forbidden from reading those books, here at Hogwarts."
"We may take books out of that section with the permission of a teacher, sir."
Snape walked closer to her, "You've done your research, I shouldn't be surprised. Are you drawn to the dark arts, Miss Granger?"
Hermione lifted her chin defensively. "I'm merely curious. I like to have a well rounded education. If subjects or literature are considered taboo, then I must know why."
"There was a time when magic was not segregated into light and dark, there was simply magic and it was used by all. It is only here at Hogwarts that it was decided that it is too damaging for young minds to learn of the spells, curses and hexes which can damage one beyond repair."
Hermione's eyes lit up as he spoke, her excitement palpable. "Please teach me, Professor."
Snape slowly went to his desk and wrote a few words on a small piece of parchment. He brought it to her and handed it over with another penetrative glance which warmed her blood.
"Here is your permission. Bring the books to my office tomorrow night, we will study them together as part of your detention."
Hermione stared at him. "Detention?"
Snape chuckled but there was no true mirth in the sound. "You were caught out of the dormitory by a teacher, Miss Granger. One detention should be sufficient for such an infraction."
Caught by a teacher! Hermione's cheeks flared with what and colour once again. Caught indeed!
The thrill of being given permission to read literature from the restricted section outweighed her indignation, however. She barely acknowledged the detention before leaving the office, floating on air.
She had won! Because not only could she read the books she had been dying to get her hands on but she would do it in Professor Snape's company.