Hello my lovely people :)
I am so sorry for not updating earlier. I am currently on a holiday in the countryside as some of you have maybe seen on my Instagram. I did however finish a chapter last night, so here comes Chapter 20! (and 20a!)
Quick reminder of the story rating again... there are no explicit scenes in this chapter, but you can find the full version on AO3 again :)
(just search for FEATHER AND ROCK by mynameisnicse on AO3 xxx)
Because this is mainly a *lovely* chapter, it is rather short on here, but much longer on AO3.
For those of you who do read the full version... please let me know what you think :D I felt so weird writing it, but it was great fun. I never know what is too much or too little...
Now, enjoy chapter 20 and leave me your feedback xxx
Song Recommendation
DON'T LET ME GO - RAIGN
The next morning Hermione was up early and decided to see her parents for breakfast before she would apparate to Severus's house.
"How lovely to see you, darling. Come in", Jane said and beckoned Hermione into their house.
She eyed her daughter curiously and a sly smile appeared on her face.
"How are things going with your French beau?"
"Mum, he's not even French!"
Jane's smile transformed into a broad grin.
"That means it's going well. Tell me all about it!"
They sat down in the kitchen where Hermione's dad drank his tea and she started telling them about their evening together.
"He dropped me off at home and you know…", she looked at her mother meaningfully. "I'll go and see him after this. He offered that I could leave Crooks with him."
Hermione helped herself to some fruit that her mother had served.
"He sounds like a decent chap", her dad commented, and Hermione smiled sheepishly.
Soon her expression became a little bit more thoughtful and Jane only needed to throw her husband a couple of glances to tell him that it was time for him to leave.
"I'll head into the surgery for some office work", he said, took his cup of tea and left.
Hermione looked at her mother with a worried expression on her face.
"Mum, I think I ought to tell you something about Severus."
Jane just gave her an encouraging look. She took a deep breath and folded her hands on the table.
"His full name is Severus Snape."
She could see that it slowly dawned upon her mother and continued speaking before she would lose her courage.
"He used to teach at Hogwarts before. He was my potions teacher."
Jane's face went blank and Hermione could literally hear her mother's thoughts racing. She didn't say anything else and waited for her to speak.
"He is the spy you've been talking about years ago?"
"Yes."
Jane took a deep breath and nodded.
"Is he much older than you?", she added after a while.
Hermione hadn't thought about this.
"I think it might be something like twenty years", she said. "But compared to how long witches and wizards live, that is not really an issue."
Jane just nodded again.
They talked a while about how Hermione had exactly met him again and how they'd become friends.
"You're a bright woman", her mother said eventually. "You will know if he's good for you or not."
Hermione smiled at her mum. Then Jane got up and walked outside into the garden.
"Come!", she called her daughter.
Hermine joined her mother outside and was surprised when she handed her a pot with a plant.
"You said he wants a vegetable garden", Jane explained brusquely. "Here is a tomato plant, with compliments from your mother."
Hermione laughed and took the plant.
"Thanks, mum."
An hour later, she walked down the hill to Severus's house with Crookshanks on her arm.
"Look at that Crooks", she said to the Kneazle. "I think you might like it here, won't you?"
Crookshanks continued purring, hanging lazily in Hermione's arms.
Severus was looking after the apothecary garden when Hermione spotted him. She entered the garden through the low gate and let Crookshanks down to discover the new surroundings.
"I didn't think you'd be that keen on gardening", Hermione said as she went over to him.
He looked up at her and to Hermione's surprise an adorable smile adorned his lips. She wanted to kiss him already.
"It's not gardening it's -"
"Nurturing!", Hermione finished his sentence smiling at him. "Neville says so too."
Severus snorted loudly and furrowed his brows.
"Please don't compare me to that oaf."
"Neville is a talented wizard and an extremely skilled herbologist", Hermione returned.
Severus got up and cleaned his hands.
"All I have ever seen him do was of poorest quality", he said.
"You haven't seen him in more than ten years", she reminded him. "I have, and I tell you that your opinion is outdated."
"It might be, but I don't take other people's word. I base my opinion on personal interaction. Therefore, I currently think of him as the oaf he used to be until I experience otherwise. Which I highly doubt", he sneered.
Hermione shook her head. How did this happen? She came here full of joy and anticipation and now she had to defend her friends in front of him. It made her sad.
"Why do you always have to be so hostile?"
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at her coolly.
"Neville is my friend and I would appreciate if you wouldn't talk ill of him", she said.
"It's not my fault that all your friends are dim-wits."
"You know what?", she looked at him bewildered. "I think I better go home again."
"What?", he said a bit louder that she expected. "No, don't!"
He went up to her and touched her arms.
"You can write me when you've decided to stop being abusive towards my friends", she said calmly and turned around to find Crookshanks.
"I didn't mean it like that", he said quietly, following her through the garden.
She turned around and looked at him, calm but resolute.
"Yes, Severus. You did mean it like that, and I am not accepting it."
"I just don't understand why they are your friends", he said gruffly. "You've got such a huge and interesting mind and they're so…"
Hermione could tell he didn't want to finish his sentence so he wouldn't upset her again.
"You're just so different to them", he said finally.
She crossed her arms.
"I am no different at all actually", she said. "Don't try to make me feel better by discrediting my friends."
He looked at her. His face was blank only his eyes spoke if his inner torment. Hermione could tell he didn't know what to do. She sighed and walked up to the bench in front of the house and sat down.
"My friends all have what they want from live. They are as successful on their path, as I am on mine, if not even more successful", she started to say.
"And anyway, there is more to friendships than similar brain activity or what you might call it. Or is that the only thing you like about me?"
She looked at him questioningly.
"No." He shook his head. "No, there are a lot of things I like about you."
"See." She smiled at him. "I have my friends, because we share the same values, they are kind, and interesting and honest. And sometimes they're stupid or reckless and need my help or help from each other, but that is exactly what friends are for. We complement each other. They all have so many different traits that I like about each of them, and the fact that some of them are not as interested in academics as I am doesn't change the way I feel about them."
He said nothing but just looked at her. She knew that was a good sign, he was thinking about what she said.
"And for your information…" She got up and grinned at him. "Neville is the best academic friend I have. He is incredibly intelligent, and you would do well to talk to him about those half-dead plant younglings of yours."
She nodded towards the apothecary garden.
"They're not half dead!", he growled.
She laughed and got up to stand in front of him.
She looked at him a little bit nervously and reached for his face. He immediately leaned in and with his kiss he let her forget all the worries she might have had.
Hermione lost herself in the sensation. The warm sun was tickling her cheeks and she could smell that Severus was slightly sweaty from working in the garden. He smelt of herbs and something that was distinctively himself and it sent warm jolts down her back.
She leaned carefully back to rest against the table and he tenderly let his fingers wander up and down her arms.
When they stopped kissing, she smiled at him.
"I have something for you."
She opened her bottomless handbag and pulled out a pot with a plant in it.
"A tomato plant. With compliments from my mother."
She put it onto the table and then she pulled out a number of small containers.
"And several different vegetable seeds. She labelled them."
They spent the afternoon digging around the soil in the vegetable patch. It was sunny and warm and Hermione kissed Severus every time she felt like it, which was rather often, and they nearly ended up on top of one another on the grass.
Crookshanks walked by once they had started planting seeds again, and Hermione was surprised to see how smitten Severus was with the Kneazle.
"I think we should have bacon for dinner", he said, lovingly tickling Crooks behind his ears. "Does he like bacon?"
"I don't know", Hermione laughed. "He gets normal cat food or whatever he catches himself."
"Merlin, you poor, deprived creature", Severus murmured to Crooks, who rubbed his head against Severus's hand.
Hermione was so endeared with the picture she stopped her gardening and watched them for a while. When Severus noticed her watching him, he stopped and got up.
"Are you thirsty?"
"I would like it if you kissed me again", she said without thinking.
He pulled her up by the hand but didn't kiss her.
"I'd like you to drink something first."
He walked towards the house and she waited for him to bring some water outside. After she demonstratively drank a whole glass, she stepped closer to him and pulled him down to her. His hot lips met hers, cold from the fresh water. It was an oddly pleasant sensation and Hermione sighed into their kiss.
Without prior warning, Severus picked her up and sat her onto the table. He buried one hand in the hair at the back of her neck and with the other one he pulled her closer, passionately deepening their kiss.
Hermione spread her legs so he could stand between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. He sucked softly on her lower lip and the tip of his tongue requested entry to her mouth.
He kissed her passionately for the first time, and a pleasant aching rose in Hermione's groin. His lips found their way across her jawbone and onto her neck. Hermione's head fell backwards, and she moaned in pleasure.
He pulled back slowly and looked at her hungrily. Hermione's eyes found his and she sank into their depths, not seeing anything else. His eyes were filled with a heat she had never seen before.
"Don't stop now", she said with a husky voice.
He pulled her close to his chest, his arm tightly wrapped around her body, and he moved them into the house. She was so busy getting a hold on him, she didn't realise he lifted her slightly to get them both upstairs. Taking his face between her hands and kissing him ardently, she slung her legs around his waist. He tumbled at the sudden movement as they were already halfway up the stairs. To keep balance, he pushed her against the wall, his body pressing against her and nearly robbing her of all air.
"Sorry", he mumbled into their kiss, and as she slightly pushed her hips against him, he moaned quietly. Hermione nearly came, just at the pleasant sound out if his throat.
He held her tight and went all the way upstairs, before he put her down and pushed her into the bedroom. She noticed how he looked at her for a moment, but Hermione wouldn't allow him the pleasure and grabbed his shirt at the chest to pull him with her towards the bed.
She groaned in protest, as she lowered herself onto the bed and he didn't follow her immediately, but then she noticed he had taken his shoes off first. She kicked off her flats to and lay down on the bed.
Her head was placed between two pillows and she saw him coming closer, crawling over her. The sun was shining through the window, it illuminated his pale face, and to her surprise his dark eyes were filled with a warmth, instead of the previous heat. He looked at her, as if she was the most precious jewel in the whole world, as if she was the only star to be seen in a cloudy night sky.
He brought his hand up to her cheek, caressing it and pushing stray strands of hair out of her face. He kissed her softly but pulled back again to look at her face. Hermione covered his hand on her face with hers, closed her eyes and enjoyed the soft touch.
When she realised that the arm he was leaning on started to tremble slightly, she pushed him over and turned around so they faced each other.
She let her fingers wander over his neck, feeling a prickling sensation where he had put a glamour over his scars. He flinched under her touch and moved away slightly.
"Do they still hurt?"
"No", he replied.
She realised quickly that he didn't want her to see the scars.
"Don't hide from me, Sev", she said. "I've been there with you and I am with you now."
He didn't reply, but his eyes went soft and he took her hand to kiss her fingertips.
"Did they heal well enough?", she asked quietly.
He nodded.
"Yes", he said, his voice thick. "Still not very nice to look at however."
"Everything about you is nice to look at", she said and pushed some hair behind his ear.
"Don't be ridiculous."
He lowered his face. She could tell he felt insecure and wanted to let him know that there was no reason for it.
"I'm not", she breathed and kissed the bridge of his nose and his pronounced cheekbones on either side. Her hands wandered to the buttons of his shirt, fumbling two of them open to touch his warm skin under it. Dark black hair was covering his chest sparsely and she let her fingers run through it.
He joined her in discovering one another's bodies, running his hands over her sides down to her hip and back.
Only after some time she noticed her dirty hands. She had completely forgotten that she was covered in soil and probably reeked of sweat.
"Ugh!", she exclaimed and showed him her hands.
He laughed quietly and kissed her knuckles.
"Mine don't look much better."
She looked down and noticed they had dirtied the sheets under them.
"Oh, gods", she exclaimed. "I am sorry, let me…"
She fumbled for her wand in her skirt, but he stopped her hand and moved it up next to her head, pushing her over and cowering over her.
He placed soft kisses along the inside of her arm. She moaned quietly and he kissed her fiercely onto her mouth, trailing his lips across her face to the spot behind her ear and wandering down her neck painfully slowly.
He started to move his hips slightly and she could feel his erection against her thigh. A deep sigh escaped her mouth and she tried to move her own nether regions closer to his. She started breathing heavily as he worked his way over her chest, sucking softly at the skin above breasts, but stopping just at the seam of her top.
"I'll sort out the mess and make us some food, you can take a shower if you like", he breathed against her hot skin.
"I don't think I'm hungry", she said breathlessly.
He placed a trail of kisses up along the other side of her neck, stopping next to her ear, and whispered: "You will be, and I won't let you go once I get started with you."
With that said, he moved off her abruptly, got up and left the room.
Hermione was left alone with her besotted mind and she could hear how the blood rushing in her ears slowly calmed down. A love-drunken smile appeared on her face and she touched her neck where just a moments ago his lips had kissed her.
Severus Snape's lips.
How in Merlin's four-hundred years did she end up in one bed with Severus Snape? She knew how it had happened on her end, but how was it possible that he had wanted it too?
She thought about the moment when he had kissed her at the concert last night and a wave of tenderness swept over her. How careful he had been, and how soft.
Then she thought about all the other kisses they had shared since then. His heated passion when he had dropped her off at home, and all the kisses they had indulged in this afternoon. He had had such wild force in his eyes, but his actions and movements were so soft and careful.
And he hasn't even started yet.
The memory of his low, rumbling voice made her hot and she closed her eyes for a moment.
Get your lazy arse up, or he won't have a chance to get started, you gormless goat.
She quickly got up and made her way to his bathroom. Closing the door behind her, she looked at the key in the lock for a moment. She didn't think he'd try to get in, but she left it unlocked anyway.
Just in case, she thought cheekily.
There were two jars with different liquids in the shower and she wondered if he had made them himself. They smelt like Severus, herby and fresh, and she immediately felt the heat between her legs again. She would have probably touched herself, had the object of her desire not been only a small distance away.
She cleaned herself quickly but thoroughly before getting out of the shower and wrapping herself in a towel. Her clothes were still mucky.
She carefully opened the bathroom door.
"Severus?", she called.
"Yes?" His voice came from the bedroom, he had come upstairs again.
She crossed the small distance and peeked her head into the room. He was just putting fresh linen on the bed. Was it the sexiest thing she had ever seen? Definitely.
"My clothes are still dirty and…-"
"And you only like them from a muggle washing machine", he finished her sentence. "I remember."
Then he looked at her and she could have sworn she saw his eyes widen.
"Would you mind if I borrowed some clothes?", she asked grinning sheepishly.
"Sure…", he said befuddled.
He was very obviously checking her out, but before Hermione could act upon it, he dropped the linen and opened a drawer, pulling out a dark grey shirt and some shorts.
"I didn't think you had any shorts", she teased him, taking the clothes. "Thanks."
She wanted to turn around and go back, but he stopped her softly. To her satisfaction, the heat in his eyes was back, when he slowly pushed her wet hair of her shoulder and placed a kiss on her moist skin.
"Get dressed in here", he said, and she looked at him in surprise. Did he want her to get dressed in front of him?
"It's my turn", he said, placing another kiss behind her ear and going into the bathroom.
Her eyes followed him, and in her mind, she was following him too. She sighed quietly when he closed the door and decided to put his clothes on before her fantasy would drive her completely bonkers.
With a quick wave of her hand the bedlinen put itself on and she made her way downstairs, so she couldn't be tempted to do something silly.
She went outside, where Severus had put food onto the table. Bread and cheese, and she could also smell bacon. When she had a look in the kitchen, she saw Crookshanks enjoying a few slices of it under the kitchen table and it made her feel completely love-struck again. She went back outside and stretched out on the bench, dropping her hair over the armrest to let the sun dry it.
He came downstairs so quietly, she started in surprise when his fingers started combing through her curls.
"Move over", he said.
They sat next to one another, enjoying their small meal.
"Where are we actually?", Hermione asked. "Geographically", she specified.
"North York Moors, York is about an hour south."
"I really like it", she said, gazing over the garden and the hills. "How did you find it?"
"Estate agent."
She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You went to see an estate agent?"
He scowled at her. "So what?"
She laughed, resting her head on his shoulder and putting a hand on his arm.
"Nothing, I just can't imagine you brooding grump walking into an estate agency. You could have used my laptop."
He snorted, leaning back and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "It was much easier than your useless laptop."
It was her turn to snort.
"Don't do that, it doesn't become you", he sneered.
"Is that so?", she laughed and leaned back to have a better look at him.
He looked absolutely stunning in the late afternoon sun. His hair was still wet, and he had left it open, but tucked behind his ears. It was longer than she remembered and had a slight wave to it that she hadn't noticed before because he had always tied it up.
"Does it lower my attractiveness to you to such a level that you couldn't possibly continue where you have left off?", she said matter-of-factly, although in reality she felt nervous asking him.
He looked at her, and she got immediately lost in the depths of his intense gaze. His whole presence was all-encompassing, she could smell him, fresh and clean but still distinctly him. The warm light made her vision hazy and she thought she was half in a dream.
"Nothing could make me not want you", he said seriously.
She leaned in, kissing his cheek above the freshly shaven beard line, and boldly whispered in his ear: "Prove it."