A/N: Thank you to EllieL and LovestruckRickmaniac in the Hearts & Cauldrons discord server for helping me figure out what kind of creature to use for this fic.
This one is for my love TheFrenchPress, my first real friend on discord and an absolute joy in my life. Frenchie, I'm so glad you exist and you have made my fandom experience all the better. I'm sorry I made you wait so long for this piece, but it wasn't your half-birthday yet! And it's still not actually, but I got too excited to wait! Severus and Hermione have finally arrived to help you ring in the new year. I hope you enjoy.
Thank you to LunaP999 for collaborating with me on this and for the amazing artwork which you can see on ao3. Check out her tumblr.
And lots of love to my beta aureliandreams who always makes my work better.
"Morgana's fucking tits." Severus fell through the doorway of his quarters with Hermione on his heels.
"Severus."
Caked dirt fell everywhere as they rapidly yanked off their outer layers, scrambling to distance themselves from the tainted clothes.
"This is hardly the time to be vexed with my language, witch. If we don't get this dragon's venom off us quickly, we're going to be suffering far worse than your delicate ears."
Hermione huffed. "I said I was sorry!"
"It is rule number one, Miss Granger!" His coat finally unbuttoned, he threw it to the floor and Vanished it with a flourish. "You do not take samples of Peruvian Viper saliva from a mother's nest. Ever."
Hermione threw her cardigan onto the floor and watched as Severus Vanished that too, her hands making quick work of the laces on her shoes. "I told you, I didn't see that it was a nest."
A frustrated noise rumbled through his chest, breaking through his composure. Teeth clenched together, he said, "Which is precisely why apprentices do not typically assist with ingredient collection in dangerous environments—"
"Spare me the lecture, please, my skin is on fire."
"We have to shower this off quickly or we're not going to have any skin left," Severus retorted.
"Shit." Hermione froze, her eyes darting to the floo. "Is your floo open? I can't get back to my rooms like this."
"Of course not. Why would I want to allow anyone the ability to traipse into my private quarters?" His fingers froze on his shirt buttons as he realized their predicament. "Fucking Merlin." He pointed to the lavatory. "Shower. Quickly."
She thought for only a second before quickly discarding her shirt and working on the buttons on her skirt. "There's no time."
"Miss Granger!" He turned sharply on his heel, facing away from her as she continued to undress.
She tutted. "Don't be a prude, Severus. There's no time for us to do this separately. Do you see how much hair is on my head? It would take me at least 20 minutes and by the time I'm done, you'll be reduced to a raw pile of flesh."
"What are you suggesting exactly?" he bit out as his fingers worked his buttons, still facing away from her.
"There is only one shower," she stated clearly. "Therefore we have to do this together."
"Miss Granger!"
"Fine, suit yourself! But I don't know any healing spells for skin that melts off your body, do you?"
He growled before discarding his shirt and unbuttoning his trousers.
"I'll meet you in there," she said, running to the lavatory in just her undergarments before he could reply. Despite her brave words and desperate need to not be skinless, she still felt a little shy.
Hermione Vanished her remaining clothes and climbed into the shower, sighing as the water rinsed the toxic venom off her skin.
She heard his feet pad on the floor outside the curtain as he approached and suspected he was walking heavier than usual so as not to startle her.
"Are you finished?"
She laughed. "Hardly, but it's better. Just get in, Severus, I don't want to have to go to Azkaban for the rest of my life for killing my Potions Master."
She heard rather than saw him roll his eyes with an exasperated sigh as he pulled the curtain back and stepped in. Keeping her back to him while remaining under the water, Hermione was suddenly acutely aware of her nakedness.
There was a small gasp as he took her in before turning to face the wall—the echo gave him away.
Oh. So he liked her arse. Good to know.
"Okay, let's swap so you can wash off," she said. She held her arms in front of her chest and moved around one side of the shower so that they had effectively switched places while remaining back to back. Severus exhaled with relief just as she had when the water rinsed the caustic liquid from his skin.
Hermione tried to keep her eyes trained on the wall. "Can you pass me the shampoo, please?"
"You'll smell like me," he protested.
"Yes, well, I don't have any here, so it appears my options are rather limited at the moment."
She heard him attempt to control another sigh in the midst of their unorthodox predicament and a moment later, he pressed a bottle into her hand, still facing away.
"Thank you."
She lathered her hair with his shampoo, the scent of juniper berries and pine enveloping her. He was right—she did indeed smell like him. That thought sent a wave of heat straight to her core and she felt her cheeks tinge pink. There was no reason to be unprofessional about this, she chided herself. Her longtime schoolgirl fascination with the surly Potions Master was just that—a fantasy, nothing more. She could be mature, even if she did smell just like him, while standing naked, in his shower, a foot away from his—
She rubbed the soap harshly through her hair and then winced in pain. "Ah!"
"What is it?" he said, instinctively turning to look.
She tried her hardest to keep her eyes from drifting down his half-turned body.
"I think a patch of skin burned under my hair, on my neck."
Severus turned fully towards her now, moving her hair to examine the spot.
Hermione waited, stark naked and wet, with her mentor's hands on her neck and in her hair. He seemed completely unbothered by her state of undress in the face of danger to her person. His fingers touched the spot that hurt and while it did fucking hurt, she'd never had his hands on such an intimate part of her skin before. She slowly exhaled, willing her traitorous body to calm down. She knew that he was only doing his job as her employer, making sure she was okay, but she wished he were as affected as his presence was making her.
"It is burned. But it's not too large a spot. I should be able to heal it."
He reached out of the shower to grab his wand before singing the incantation over her neck in a low, gravelly voice.
Hermione felt an involuntary shiver go through her at the sound of his voice. A small moan escaped her throat.
His hands froze.
"Miss Granger."
Mortification flooded her body and she stared intensely at the crack in the tile before her. "I'm sorry—your voice is just...very nice. It was soothing. It's nothing. Sorry. Thank you."
She moved further away into the stream of water to rinse out the rest of her hair, still with her back to him. The seconds stretched on and Hermione wasn't sure if the heat in her face would ever abate beneath the hot water, but at least this way he could not see her embarrassment. She heard Severus place his wand down again finally and his arm reached past her to grab the bar of soap on the ledge.
Remaining under the stream, she willed it to wash away the shame and self-consciousness she felt, grateful for the water to hide the patch of wetness collecting between her legs. She had always loved his voice, but she didn't think that she would be so affected by his naked proximity. She had been serious that they just needed to get the poisonous solution off their skin; it wasn't a rouse.
But the best laid plans, as they say.
Hermione felt his eyes on her arse the way one knows when someone is watching them from across a room. Tilting her head to the side under the guise of washing the soap from her curls, she used her hair as a curtain to peek back at him.
He was hard.
Oh gods.
Thankful for the mess of hair hiding her widening eyes from his notice, she watched as he lathered soap between his hands and rubbed it along his chest, his stomach, down…
She quickly ducked the rest of her head under the water, not willing to get caught staring at him as he ran his hands over his cock.
Severus cleared his throat roughly. "I should rinse this off, Miss Granger."
She pulled back from the water quickly. "Oh, yes, of course. Sorry." And she stepped further towards the front wall of the shower to give him access to the water. Realizing a moment too late that she had trapped herself between him and the wall with only a few inches of space on either side, she tucked her arms across her chest and bravely turned to face him.
"Do you have conditioner?" she asked.
He nodded slowly, their eyes locked together, both fixedly not looking down, and reached above her head to pull down a bottle from its slot on the wall.
"Would you…" he began and then stopped.
She raised a brow. "Yes?"
"Do you require assistance?"
She tried to reign in her surprise lest the delicate balance be broken. With a measured breath, Hermione boldly dropped her arms so that her breasts were completely visible to him and watched him glance down for only a second before swallowing, the neutral mask on his face still in place.
Was it an invitation?
She certainly didn't need help washing her own hair...but he had asked to touch her, and she wanted to feel those hands on her again.
"Yes, please."
He poured the conditioner into his hand and replaced the bottle on the shelf. She stepped alongside him as there was more room to work with if she stood at the back of the shower, and then pushed her hair over her shoulders.
His fingers were in her hair and on her scalp and massaging her head within seconds. Hermione braced her hands against the wall for stability and let her mouth fall open under his ministrations. Fuck did it feel good to have his hands so embedded into her curls. He wasn't rough or perfunctory; instead, he seemed to be caressing her with intention through the actions.
After half a minute of this, she steeled herself. Be brave, Hermione. The worst he can do is hex you and then you'll just have to Obliviate yourself. No problem . "Severus?" she asked, barely more than a whisper.
His hands paused where they were and there was a delay before he answered. "Yes?"
Without turning, she raised her hands to his own and took them in hers, sliding them down her neck, shoulders, around to the front of her chest just above her breasts, and stopped. She'd placed him on her skin, let him know she wanted his touch, and the rest would be up to him.
She felt him step forward, hands still hovering above her soft chest, just above the line of impropriety. As if standing naked with your apprentice in the shower were not already leaps and bounds past that boundary.
"Are you sure?" His voice was hesitant, barely more than a whisper.
Her heart rate kicked into double speed. He wanted it?
He wanted it.
"Yes."
Severus was on her immediately, hands cupping her breasts, body pressed flush against her back. She could feel his hard length against her bum as he pressed her forward into the wall. His mouth descended along her jaw, moving along the column of her neck as he nipped and kissed it affectionately. This time she didn't bother to hide the sounds he evoked from her. He stepped just off center so that his cock rested by her hip and he thrust forward. She felt the skin along his length rolling against her as he pressed forward and dropped her hand immediately to stroke him.
He groaned, sucking at the spot beneath her ear, still pushing in and out of her small hand. She rolled her thumb over the head and he sucked in a breath.
"Hermione."
She mewled, keening under his touch, and pushed her arse back towards him.
His fingers trailed down her spine, over her bum, and found her center. Delirious with the dizzying knowledge that her Potions Master's fingers were circling her core, she panted, trying to gain enough breath not to pass out. He slipped one long, dexterous finger inside her, rubbing along her front wall, hooking her body onto his palm.
"Fuck."
"Language, Miss Granger," he drawled.
Hermione blushed furiously as he pumped one finger slowly in and out of her, her hands against the wall, cheek pressed against the cool tiles. The longer he continued his slow manipulation of her most sensitive spots, the harder she breathed, spots in her vision as he deftly maneuvered her closer to the edge.
"Please," she begged.
"Are you going to come for me, Hermione?" he whispered in his silky, deep voice, his mouth pressed against the shell of her ear. "Are you going to give me all your pleasure?"
"Yes, yes, yes." She was close, so close—
He grabbed her by the hips, turning her around in one fluid motion as he lifted her and pressed her back against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist, impressed and even more turned on by the display of strength.
He kissed her soundly and her mind went blank.
"You are an intoxicating tease," he whispered against her mouth between explorations.
Her? She had been so close. If anything, he was the tease. She tilted her face up more, wanting his lips along her jaw. "I'm not a tease. I want you. I have wanted you for far too long."
He smiled against her mouth. "It is mutual, witch."
Her lips molded to his and she tasted the hint of camomile and mint from his tea.
She broke apart from him only to lean in and whisper. "Please, Severus."
It was all the encouragement he needed. He shifted her against the wall and lowered her onto his cock, sliding in easily with her arousal.
The stretch was immaculate. She gazed into his dark eyes as she felt him bottom out inside of her, both of them breathing rapidly. There was no going back now.
"Move," she breathed.
And he did, but oh so slowly, quirking an eyebrow at her with a smug grin, reminding her that he was totally in control. The drag along her walls was the most perfect friction, and he slowly drove her higher, grinding perfectly against her favorite spot. Her arms never left his neck, her mouth parted as he watched her eyes on every stroke. Her curls hung wet around her shoulders, her mind blank. There was nothing but the pleasure he was giving her.
"You are divine," he breathed, punctuating each word with a roll of his hips. Hermione moaned, words beyond her as she accepted every stroke and touch. He nipped at her lower lip, eliciting more sounds of pure delight. "And I want to feel you fall apart around me."
Her eyes rolled back as he shifted his weight, using one hand to reach his thumb across her middle and rub her clit while he rocked into her.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck—"
She was done for. Hermione shattered around him, vision too bright, each repeating pulsation magnified by his continued movement.
"Severus!" she cried, head thrown back against the tiles.
"Hermione, gods—"
And she could feel him filling her, the total lack of anything between them in that moment of pure connection prolonging her climax.
Her body squeezed his and he held deep within her, eyes locked on hers as they both slowly regained their breath. Her legs suddenly felt weak and she slid a fraction down the wall.
She giggled and was pleased to see an answering smile on his lips.
"I never thought you the type to seduce your employer," he said with a grin.
"I never thought you the type to be seduced," she replied, matching his smirk.
"I suppose we were both pleasantly surprised by the turn of events then." He squeezed her bum where he held her up against the wall.
"I'm not complaining."
"Nor am I."
"My legs are getting a bit tired though," she said apologetically, sliding another inch down the wall.
"Of course," he said, lowering her gently. "You should lie down and rest after such a trying day. The bed would be the most comfortable place to regain your strength."
"Oh, the bed?" A grin stretched across her cheeks. "I'd love to see it. After I get this conditioner out," she said with a blissed out grin.
He snorted, pulling her to his chest under the stream, the warm water enveloping them as they clung to one another in newly found joy. Every touch so novel that her heart and skin sang.
A smile pulled at her lips as she wondered what they might discover about each other on his bed. She felt sure he would let her stay the night after such exhaustive research. She'd be too tired to return to her own quarters.
And after all, there was only one bed.