I'm so glad you're liking this one. It's fun to write.
I am working on the next chapter of Innocent Shadows too. Plots they are a-thickening.
Oh and also a little bit of an M warning ahead...
Molly Weasley's wand jabbed towards them. Sparks spat from it. "Unhand her this instant!"
"Severus…" Mr Weasley's calm tone cut across that of his irate wife, putting his fingers over her hand and forcing her to lower her wand. "I hardly think…"
"What?" An edge of anger laced Snape's voice and without thought Hermione ran a hand over his chest, wanting to soothe him. Her cheek pressed to his frockcoat and she could feel the heavy drum of his heart. "Am I not good enough for the Gryffindor Princess?"
"We're not saying that, Severus…" Remus Lupin's soft voice followed straight on.
"Oh yes we are!"
Sirius. Shit how many were crowded into the library to witness her attempted seduction of Severus Snape? And damn them, she'd been successful too. Would Snape throw her to them now? Walk away in disgust? She pressed herself to him and he looked down briefly, an eyebrow lifted. There was mocking humour in his dark eyes.
Fuck. Ron's giant mouth and primary school jealousies had ruined her one chance with the man she truly wanted. She tried to step back, but Snape's hand on her arse stayed firm.
"Going somewhere?" he murmured.
A smile broke from her, her pulse jumping. "No. Not at all."
"Hermione, come away." She turned her head to look properly at the crowd in the doorway. All stern, thin lipped, angry. Mr Weasley stretched out his hand. "You may think this is what you want, but you would be safer—"
"With Ron? He described me as, and I quote, 'a pity fuck'. So, no thank you, Mr Weasley."
A flush ran across Mr Weasley's cheeks and his wife's mouth whitened, anger flashing in her dark eyes. It was probably to do with Hermione's use of the phrase, not her darling Ron's harsh words.
"Hermione?" Remus' softened gaze touched her. "You can find someone else to learn from. Severus is known for his…preferences."
"Your tutoring days are over, Lupin. Tonks insists." Snape bit out the words and Hermione blinked. Had Professor Lupin followed Shacklebolt into this strange training wizards gave virgin witches? A wicked smile wrapped around his voice. "Is Potter…aware?"
Ginny. Ginny had slept with Professor Lupin. Had been tutored in the art of sex by him. Hermione's gaze jumped to the girl's parents…and they presented no shock. Had they agreed to the arrangement? And they would happily let their only daughter romp with a known werewolf…but objected to her with Snape? Hypocrites. Bloody hypocrites.
"My choice is clear. And made." Hermione gave them all a short smile. "So, if you could allow us privacy, please?"
Sirius made a grab for her arm. "Hermione—"
"Hands off, Mutt." Snape's wand gouged into the amimagus' neck and Sirius winced, his fingers flexing and drawing back. "We mustn't touch what isn't ours."
"You're sure?" Remus held Hermione's gaze, his green eyes quiet and firm. "Even at this late stage, you can pull away."
He thought –they all thought— she'd already slept with Snape. "I'm sure, thank you, Remus."
The werewolf turned and ushered the others from the room. Reluctantly, they moved to his will. Sirius' grey eyes, hard and angry, were the last thing she saw before the library door thudded shut.
Severus flicked his wand and threw wards and silencing spells until the wood groaned. Hermione –still crushed hard to his body— shut her eyes and willed down her terminal embarrassment.
"Severus…"
He swore and stood back from her. "It seems you have your way, Miss Granger."
She wanted to point out that he had liked her kiss, that he was the one to deepen it. But she didn't. Instead, she found her chair again, picked up her glass and took a burning gulp of the foul whiskey. The hard cough and splutter that followed pushed out everything, her soured desire, her mortification, her disappointment.
"No pleas? No justification?"
Hermione stared at the drink in her shaking hands, ignoring the man looming over her. Had the eruption at their lack of approval simply happened early? Would they have reacted the same way in the morning…or whenever her tryst with the dark wizard was discovered? What was so bad about Severus Snape? A smile tugged at her mouth. Until the war ended, that list would've been long indeed.
"Miss Granger, I am not used to being ignored."
"Remus mentioned your preferences. Is that your disgust for virgins?" She looked up and Snape frowned at her.
"Not disgust." He sat forward in the chair opposite, his finger drawing a line over his lips. "I am known not to have the temperament for the inexperienced."
Hermione sighed. She'd messed up everything. As if sex had ever mattered to her… Yet it did now. After his kiss. Now she could think of little else. For a long moment, she held his gaze, seeing nothing in its darkness but the reflection of the fire. She trusted him. Deep down, she always had. "You won't hurt me."
Snape snorted. "How do you know that also isn't a predilection of mine?"
She blinked and her mouth gaped. No words would come out. Wonderful, she was doing a brilliant impression of Ron.
"Don't worry yourself, Miss Granger."
"Hermione." She gave him a tight smile. "You will see me naked, after all."
"Hermione." His velvet voice wrapped around her name and there was that familiar throb. He pressed his lips together and she caught the subtle shift in him. Severus had left her. Professor Snape was back.
"You are about to enter into what is known as The Virgin Agreement. Or simply The Agreement. It's an ancient tradition, dating back millennia." His mouth ticked upwards. "Virginity in the wizarding world isn't prized. Too often a virgin's blood and bone is a component in dark magic. So –if not already disposed of— when they're of age, a young wizard or witch's family offers them The Agreement."
She stared at him. What? "How did I not know of this?"
"I will be asking Minerva that very question in the morning. It's usually a pureblood tradition –hence Miss Weasley— but half-bloods and muggle-borns adopt it for protection too."
The Weasleys knew of this tradition and hadn't thought to mention it to her. Was it something that was not talked about outside of immediate family? "Did you…?"
His face hardened, his eyes black chips. "No."
Hermione looked to her glass again and put the warmed whiskey back on the table. She stretched her fingers. Whatever they were going to do, learning about his past would not be a part of it. "What must we do?"
"You must chose how I will be of service to you." He lifted his chin and there was a tightness to him now. She had backed him into this. Backed them both. "There are two forms. Magister and Mentoris. The first is a…private tutor. We would meet in a neutral place, perhaps once or twice a week. There I would instruct you. No one would be privy to The Agreement."
A dirty secret. That was the first impression Hermione had. A way to wipe away her ignorance. It was no doubt the method Snape preferred. Least fuss to him. And in a way to her, if the reaction of the people closest to her was anything to go by. "And Mentoris?"
"The traditional method. A ribbon is worn at the throat, a sign to everyone of your Agreement. I would wear a ring. Mentoris is the honour of not only awakening your flesh, but introducing you to the wizarding world as a fully adult witch. To our ways and culture."
Hermione's belly tightened. She wanted him to be her Mentoris. More than anything. For him to fill the vast gaps in her knowledge. And the dark thrill of being tied to him, even if it was only for this short time. "How long does The Agreement last?"
A muscle tugged in Snape's cheek. "As a Magister, anything up to a month. I understand the time spent together is intense, the magic flowing through the bond sharpening the sexual experience. Almost as if it were a lust-filled affair, satisfying, but bound to end.
"A Mentoris a season. Perhaps longer."
Three months with him as her lover. The temptation of it was sharp. A thought hit her. "I've never seen Ginny wear a ribbon."
"Lupin because of his affliction was restricted to the Magister method."
She frowned, still basically shocked at a side of wizardry about which she'd had no clue. And Ginny was her friend. "Wasn't it dangerous for Ginny? With Remus?"
Snape shrugged and his smile was dark. "He would not be someone I would chose for my daughter. I believe the bond protected her from his lycanthropy. Arthur and Molly certainly thought so and trusted him. As others have. Potter will now reap the benefits of her education."
Hermione winced. She didn't want to put Harry and sex in the same thought. She picked up her glass again, rubbing her thumb over its cut crystal. "This is all still so strange." She met his gaze, her pulse thudding. She had what she wanted. Severus Snape would be her first lover. She would offer him the method. It was only fair. "Which one should I chose?"
"Miss Granger…"
"Hermione."
His mouth pursed and that urge to kiss him reared in her thoughts again. "Hermione. The choice is yours."
"But it's your life. As Mentoris you would be seen with me, others would know."
"I would accompany you to parties, private and Ministry-sponsored. There would be perhaps lessons that did not involve a bed, in history and etiquette. Then there is the time spent in a bed. Beyond that, my life would be my own."
A stone dropped in Hermione's belly at his last words. He would not be exclusively hers. He would continue to play the…rake. Her eyes burned.
"Witches and wizards are always honoured to have a ribboned-witch in attendance. It's a sign of taking your adult role in the world. Of protecting others." He sipped his whiskey. "I imagine we will see a resurgence of it with Riddle and his followers finally imprisoned or dead. Before it was prudent to hide your virgin status."
"Did no one ever wonder about me?"
"It was assumed either Potter or Weasley did the deed." A wry smile tugged at his mouth as she stared at him. "I admit, I may have fed that rumour more than once. Potter's virgin friend? Too tempting for the Dark Lord to ignore."
Heat burned her face in a mix of embarrassment and anger. He had slandered her? As if the Prophet hadn't taken as much delight in dragging her supposedly loose morals through its pages. A contradiction if keeping her virginity was so bad. Perhaps it was the leaping from partner to partner that was so morally wrong?
Snape's final words pushed through her indignation. "Riddle would have bled me dry?"
"Without a doubt."
"Then, thank you for making me out to be a hussy."
A chuckle broke from him. He sank back into his chair and pointed his glass at her, his eyes narrowed. "You think I would prefer to be a Magister for you. An intense rush of lust, hidden from view. But I know you want me as your Mentoris."
"Sir…"
"A sign to the wizarding world that there is nothing to fear now."
Her heart squeezed. She could let him believe that. That she was using him as a stunt, a brash and Gryffindor way to show that Riddle was dead and she was not afraid to display herself and her status. He was right. It was also that. But mostly it was having time with him. Having more than sex with him.
She gave him a quiet nod, not able to hold his gaze. "Yes."
"Then I will be your Mentoris."
Her mouth dried. "Thank you."
She looked up and found his wand in his hand, his glass once again on the table. A few complicated flicks, the murmur of words and a thin white ribbon and a heavy white-gold ring appeared on his thick palm. His wand disappeared back up his sleeve. "Stand, please."
Hermione put down her glass and rose.
"Take the ring and put it on the little finger of my wand hand."
He held his right hand out, steady and sure and she pushed the ring on his finger, the flicker of magic stinging her skin to course along her veins. She gasped, her body suddenly arcing against the lick of flame that unerringly found her nipples. "What…?"
Snape's smile was wicked as he stood before her now, the white ribbon looped between his hands. He kissed it and Hermione almost groaned. His mouth had burned hot and wet over her navel. "Lift your hair, Hermione."
His voice was soft, enveloping her. She watched him close the short distance between them. His dark eyes heated. Yes, Severus was definitely with her now. "What will this do?"
His smile deepened and her flesh tightened at the pure wantoness of him. How was she going to keep her hands off him in public?
"Oh, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise."
It was a hot, velvet whisper against her mouth as his fingers skimmed her throat. Hermione didn't breathe, couldn't think. Her flesh was on fire. Her breasts ached, her nipples tight and hard. And as he eased the ribbon around her neck, his light touch flowed over her, flowed down. Down between her thighs were no one had touched, seeming to stroke, to play with a level of skill that shamed her own inept fumblings.
"Breathe, Hermione."
She sucked in air on his command, staring at him, fear and want a heady mix in her thoughts. His smile was dark, his eyes almost sinful. And still his touch, at her neck and between her legs held her. Her pulse pounded. Everything, her flesh, her sex, her chest, everything was so tight, straining for something under the power of his remorseless fingers.
With the hint of a smile, he licked her lip. "Come for me, Hermione."
His taste, his touch, his sin-filled voice burst over her tortured flesh and blazed a riot of heat and light over her body and mind. She cried out, her spine bowing, lost in a wild moment of complete and utter joy.
Vaguely, she was aware of Snape's –Severus', surely now— strong hands holding her up. She trembled and without his support she was certain her knees would've given out. She let her head fall against his chest and simply breathed as the echoes of her climax chased through her flesh.
"Your first orgasm?"
Further heat ignited her face and she could only nod against him.
"You surprise me."
Hermione closed her eyes at the flicker of amusement in his voice. "It was never a priority."
He tipped her chin up and gave her a short smile. "Let's get you back to your room, Hermione. Remember to lock, silence and ward it. We will discuss our agreement further in the morning."
He unwarded the door and slipped her arm into his as she fought to pull her mind and body together.
What had she agreed to? Perhaps a quarter of a year of this with Severus Snape…and he hadn't even touched her. Not properly. Worse to spend time with him and to know it was a binding, nothing more than a contract with a set end date. And that even in the short days to come, he was not solely hers.
Sometimes she was so stupidly, stupidly muggle, wanting something that was impossible even in a magical world.
Let me know what you think! :)