A/N: Hello lovelies, thank you for your kind reviews to last week's chapter! Truly, your beautiful words mean the world to me, and they are what keeps me going in this difficult time. :)

For those of you who were confused about Severus's wish to have a child by Hermione, I suggest you give chapter sixteen a reread - things might clear up a little, and you might see his demands with new eyes.

Same as last week, I won't promise you an update for next Monday. A national holiday is coming up in Germany, and even though that should theoretically allow me more time to write, it will also give me more time to do things I rarely get to do anymore. Plus, there's still steps to take for me to settle into this new life I've chosen for myself, so again, no promise for an update next week. But I promise, you won't have to wait for longer than a fortnight, so I hope you'll forgive me for that. :)

Now, without further ado - enjoy!

Marcella xxx

Friday, January 30th, 1996

"Will you forever be taunting me with your silken knickers, Miss Granger?"

Hermione smiled. Her eyes were still closed from just having resurfaced from the pool. For a moment she wondered whether this was the only reason that the professor had forced her from her bath by cutting off her oxygen supply once more, wanting to ask about her knickers. She knew, however, that he would either tell her or not, so there was no use in wondering about his reasons.

"Have you been gaining any other information from my mind lately, professor?" she asked instead.

Hermione had been delighted when she had felt the brush of the Potions Master's mind against hers for the first time in what felt like forever, earlier in the day during their Thursday Potions lesson. She had been Occluding already, now able to better focus on her mental shields since her period had finally ended, and had thus been prepared against the attempt at an invasion. As soon as she'd realized that he'd be trying to steal her thoughts, she had flooded him with what he knew he desired, but didn't want to see at that point in time – images of her first pair of transfigured knickers, black silk with little cloth-covered buttons down the front.

"Lately?" he asked, and they both knew that she was talking about dinner, when the professor had nudged at her barriers once more and had received impressions of the back of those self-same knickers, lowered to lay bare a mere hint of her cleft. "No information that was desirable to me, no."

"Nothing desirable to be found in my mind?" Hermione repeated, feigning hurt. "You wound me, professor."

"I haven't wounded you in a while now, Miss Granger," the professor responded, and Hermione shuddered just thinking of the pain his magic whip had graced her with. "And to be fair," which they both knew he generally wasn't, "I don't believe you can conjure any thought in your mind quite as desirable as the very real experience of you climbing out of the bath to come play with me."

He paused, as if to give her time to answer, but Hermione had the impression that he was simply allowing her time to melt under the heated stare he was fixing her under, his eyes even blacker than usual. When she had sufficiently succumbed to the pleasure his eyes were promising her, a wetness pooling between her legs that had nothing to do with the soapy water surrounding her, he spoke again.

"Will you come out to play with me tonight, Miss Granger?"

The smile that had been fixed onto Hermione's face fell. The last time she had come out to play with the professor, he had threatened rape upon her and had essentially thrown her out of the bathroom. He had also confessed to thinking her beyond pure and had fingered her to a mind-blowing orgasm, of course, but Hermione wasn't about to risk subjecting herself to more threats, simply to gain a few minutes of pleasure.

There was also that little matter that the professor had wrought as good as a promise of sex from her, the next time she was able to participate fully. Hermione wasn't sure that she wanted to fulfil said promise in the prefects' bathroom.

"I don't believe I will, professor," she said, her voice almost apologetic. "But if I asked to see you for a private lesson this weekend… would you object to that?"

"What," the professor intoned, "if I wasn't in the mood for teaching you this weekend?"

Hermione sighed.

"What," she countered, "if I was very eager to learn from you?"

The Potions Master's eyes narrowed at the question.

"Learn what exactly, Miss Granger?"

Hermione chuckled in what she hoped to be a seductive, alluring manner.

"Oh, sir," she smiled, her voice so soft it was barely above a whisper, "there is so much I still have to learn, and you know me…" This time it was her setting a trap for him to fall into. "I am a very willing student."

The professor swallowed a few times. The mere fact that Hermione was able to notice that told her heaps about how affected he was by her suggestion.

"Assuming I was in the mood, Miss Granger –" he began, but Hermione cut him off.

"For teaching?" she amended.

"Yes," he drawled, "for teaching. If I was in the mood, you would do best to be at the ready to learn," he impressed before Hermione could chime in, "after curfew. Can you do that?"

"I believe I can, sir," Hermione confirmed. "Anything I need to bring for my studies?"

"I believe I set the terms for your studies quite clearly, Miss Granger, did I not?"

Hermione's smile widened considerably, and she wondered if she looked as much like the kneazle that got the canary as she felt she did.

"Oh, yes, sir," she confirmed. "Quite clearly, indeed."

With a nod, the professor billowed out the door. Hermione sat reclined against the walls of the tub for a while, smiling to herself about the peculiar banter they had exchanged. Eventually, she sighed. No need to sit idle.

Taking a deep breath, she submerged herself in the water.

Saturday, January 31st, 1996

Hermione had almost been certain that the professor wouldn't call upon her the prior night, but had held herself at the ready anyway. Of course, she had been right, and the Potions Master had apparently insisted upon some form of self-constraint as her locket had remained at body temperature all night, warmed by the heat her beating heart infused into the pendant resting between her breasts.

Either the professor's self-restraint did not go as far as she had believed he would force it to go, or he had decided to contact her at a certain point of time, for this Saturday night, the locket warmed exactly at half past nine – just thirty minutes after curfew.

The message held only one word.

Come.

Hermione smirked.

Come, she would.

Severus was not a patient man. He was very well capable of giving the impression of patience, but the girl was in for quite the speech if she was going to spend another single minute on her way to him.

He was counting down the seconds, landing at eight seconds left, when a knock sounded at his door. A glance to the clock showed the time to be precisely quarter to ten. Severus almost smirked – almost. Punctuality was a trait he could usually respect, but not when he was feeling impatient.

A flick of his hand had the door to his office swing open. Nobody was visible beyond the threshold, but he felt a familiar body pass through his wards that he recognized to be the girl from the few times she had come to his rooms to bathe her pain away.

Wordlessly, Severus led the way to his private quarters, stopping in the sitting room to readjust the wards at the gateway to and from his office. No need to have anybody disturb the two of them this night. Not even the Headmaster had direct access to his private quarters unless he called for the old man. Severus had no intention of calling anybody's name tonight, except perhaps the girl's, if she should prove to be a very, very adept student.

"Lift the disillusionment, Miss Granger," Severus demanded.

And lift the charm, she did.

As the girl's shape fluttered into visibility, the air shimmering around her form as she seemed to materialize in his sitting room, Severus's breath stocked for a moment. She had taken his instructions very, very seriously.

"Good evening, sir," the girl greeted him, her stance confident, but her voice rather timid. "I dressed to your exact specifications. Is this outfit up to your expectations?"

No, Severus thought, but found himself unable to voice the single syllable. The girl's outfit exceeded his expectations by miles.

Before him stood a young beauty, her body naked safe for the black silk knickers.

Knickers, he found, that lacked something rather substantial.

"Where are the buttons, Miss Granger?" Severus asked, now able to find his voice again in the motivation to find fault with something.

That was, until the girl turned around.

Down her bum, where the enticing cleft of her buttocks lay beneath the thin fabric of her knickers, trailed a line of miniscule cloth-covered buttons. They stopped maybe two inches before they were to disappear between her legs. Severus counted every one of them, but was too entranced by the sight to remember the number. It was high, he knew. Higher than he'd thought possible.

The girl threw her hair over her shoulder to face him while her back remained to him. Severus noticed the motion from the corner of his eye, while his sight was still trained on her Transfigurational skills.

"There they are, sir," the girl whispered needlessly, although the breathiness in her voice sent another wave of longing to Severus's already too hard cock.

"Indeed," Severus drawled, and watched as goose bumps erupted all over the girl's bare skin.

The girl turned back around. Now that his mind had slowly caught up to the image of those neat little buttons travelling down her bum, Severus's eyes managed to take in the beautiful sight of the girl's breasts. Oh, how he had missed them.

Crossing over to the couch, Severus sat down in the very middle, not even trying to hide the tent in his trousers. Looking up, he fixed the girl under his stare.

"Come here, Miss Granger," he demanded.

The girl made to sit down next to him, but Severus was having none of that. Grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her down into his lap, her back resting against his front. Tiny as she was, he could watch over her shoulder as her breasts, now illuminated by the crackling fire, rose and fell under her laboured breath.

"Why are you breathing so hard, Miss Granger?" Severus asked, his thumbs rubbing soothing circles into the skin of her waist. "Are you nervous?"

"Yes," she replied, the word little more than an exhalation of air.

Severus chuckled, but this time, the sound held none of its usual malice.

"Don't be," he said.

His hands wandered further up her torso, coming up to cup her mounds. They were warm and smooth and soft, and Severus allowed himself a moment to revel in their perfection. He smirked contentedly when the girl's nipples pebbled beneath his touch.

"Eager, as you said," Severus assessed approvingly. "Now bend forward, Miss Granger. Let me see those buttons again."

Severus helped her slowly lower her upper body forward, until the buttons came into view. He bade the girl rest her hands against the coffee table so that he might have both of his hands free, and she readily complied. Tracing the trail of buttons, Severus realized that they weren't simply decorative in nature.

Popping one through its hole, Severus watched the fabric part that it had formerly been holding together. He sighed, almost inaudibly.

"If you weren't a Gryffindor, Miss Granger," he spoke, "and if this situation wasn't as inappropriate as it is, I might commend Minerva on your superb skills in Transfiguration."

The compliment seemed to make miles of nerves fall off the girl, and she palpably relaxed beneath his touch. Her whispered Thank You was accompanied by another few buttons released from their holes.

When they were all separated from their holes, Severus parted the silken fabric. Tracing the cleft of her bottom cheeks with a single digit, he revelled in the shiver that ran down the girl's spine.

"Stand up, Miss Granger," Severus asked, "I want to see you."

The girl complied with his wish, climbing off of his lap and standing between his legs that he readily parted for her. The fabric of her knickers fell almost all the way down her legs. With Severus's assistance, the girl stepped out of them, now fully naked before his sight.

Taking her right hand in his left, Severus turned her to face him. Her features showed the nerves that had returned, although she certainly had no reason to be self-conscious about anything. While not a natural beauty, the girl was stunningly magnificent in her own right, and her body had all the curves a man like Severus longed for. If she was to be nervous about anything, then it was the fact that she looked good enough to eat. Then again, the obvious hunger in Severus's eyes might be the main reason for her nervousness, he supposed.

Still maintaining the hold on her hand, Severus pulled the girl into his lap again until she was straddling him. Her hot mound was rubbing against the bulge in his pants. Severus couldn't help grabbing the girl's hips to hold her still as he bucked against her seam. Afraid that he'd handled her too roughly, and embarrassed about his momentary loss of control, he turned his strong grip to a soft stroking of her tender skin, caressing her smooth roundness, as his right hand travelled to slip between her parted thighs.

As he began to rub circles around her clit, Severus realized that this position wasn't the best for foreplay if he wanted to last for a while. While tending to the girl, the motions of his hand had it rubbing against his own raging hardness, as well, and that did nothing to improve his self-control.

Fortunately, the girl's nerves did not make her immune to his skilled fingers, and she was soon panting on top of him. Her head was thrown back, so that Severus had ample opportunity to appreciate the beautiful curve of her throat, but did nothing of the sort. Too entranced was he by her soft sighs, her muted mewls, her hips rolling against the hand that pleasured the flower that lay between them, and the sight of her breasts, bouncing slightly from her exertions.

When he felt that she was dripping wet, Severus could not hold back any longer. It was tempting to have the girl come from his hand's ministrations alone once more, but the temptation to feel her clench around his length was greater by far. In a surprisingly graceful move that had the girl squeal in shock, he gripped her lower back and stood with her, only to plop her down onto the couch and to come to lie on top of her. His hips between her thighs, Severus was propped up on his hands, so as not to squash her beneath his body weight. The expression behind the girl's eyes, gazing up at him, was unreadable for once.

With a start, he realized that she was Occluding, and rather heavily at that.

"What are you trying to hide from me, Miss Granger?" Severus asked. There was no accusation in his voice, a fact that surprised the Potions Master himself. For once, he was simply curious.

The girl remained silent. He was about to admonish her, press her for answers, when he felt her hands travel up his thighs. Looking down, Severus found that they were making their way up towards his fly and zipper. He watched her fingers with great interest, his former question momentarily forgotten, and was pleasantly surprised when he found them eager enough to open his trousers.

He smirked when they withdrew for the fraction of a second upon the discovery that he wasn't wearing any pants underneath.

"We appear to complement one another quite nicely tonight, sir," the girl noted. Severus merely quirked an eyebrow at her in silent encouragement to keep talking. "I show up in nothing but my knickers while you are going commando. Together we make a fine pair."

A tentative smile had crept into the girl's face, one that made Severus ignore her last comment. Him, making any kind of pair with anyone, was of course a ridiculous notion, but he elected to allow the girl her ideas for this one night, if only because they lifted her nervousness a bit.

Freeing himself from his trousers, Severus followed the girl's appreciative glance towards his manhood. Eager and weeping tears of anticipation, it stood ready for action.

Positioning himself at her entrance, Severus thought to voice one last question.

"Are you consenting to this, Miss Granger? Of your own free will?"

Severus knew he need not ask. The girl had come to his quarters and was more than wet enough to receive him. For some reason, he still felt that it was the right thing to do. Perhaps it was the fact that he had threatened rape upon her, just a few weeks ago? Perhaps, he thought, but did not want to think too hard on that.

"Yes," the girl breathed, and Severus sank into her.

Tight, tight, tight, tight, tight, was all he could think at first. He kept sinking and sinking deeper into the girl, her vice-like grip growing even tighter the deeper he went, until he was balls-deep inside of her. Her legs came to wrap around his waist, her ankles locking, so as to give herself some more comfort. Rationally aware that perhaps he should give the girl a moment to adjust, Severus couldn't help withdrawing an inch or two and slamming back in.

The girl gasped.

Curious, Severus looked up to her face. He had not even realized that his gaze had been fixed upon the point between her thighs where he was immersed inside her, the two of them connected in the most delicious way, until he sought to find the reason for her gasp. Guilt was about to convince him that it was from the hurt he had caused her by moving too fast. Her expression was telling a different story, though.

The girl was actually smiling slightly, though she seemed so immersed in the sensations Severus was causing inside of her that she was unaware of that smile. Her eyes were big and fixed on his, her expression open, yet she seemed so honest in her lust that Severus felt that it would be bad form to perform Legilimency on her now.

Instead he sought to enhance her pleasure. Withdrawing almost all the way from her core, he slowly sunk back in, his eyes staring deep into hers without slipping behind the thin barrier she managed to maintain around her mind. Circe, Severus realized, this was far better than anything he might have hoped for when he'd wrought this bargain from the girl, back in autumn.

Not wanting to miss a single thing – not a single ripple of her walls around him, not a single tightening of her core, not a soft moan, not a sigh, nothing – Severus stuck to the slow rhythm that he'd started out with. Pulling out until only his tip rested inside her wet heat, he inhaled, before sinking all the way into the girl on his exhale. So intent was he on maintaining that steady movement that he was rather surprised when the girl spoke up.

"Faster," she sighed.

The girl seemed almost as shocked as Severus at the fact that she had spoken, not to mention the demand she had uttered. Almost bashfully, she averted her eyes for a second, before looking straight back up into his.

"Please, sir," she begged, "can we go a little faster, please?"

Severus merely smiled at her, for once not caring about the frightful sight he must be offering to the woman underneath him, and picked up his pace. The girl's moans urged him on, growing louder as he grow faster, and he did not stay at the quicker rhythm the girl had asked for. Instead, he found himself increasing the pace more and more, until he was only slamming into her, thrusting into her for all he was worth.

The girl, fortunately, did not seem to mind that in the least. If anything, she was outright jubilant about the tough pounding he was giving her, and he saw nothing wrong with that. If the girl liked it rough, rough was what she would get.

What had started out as gentle thrusting, so sweet it might have been called 'love making' if there had been any tender emotions involved, had quickly turned into desperate rutting. Severus felt the urge to come growing, but he would not embarrass himself as he had the last time – her first time.

His hand snaked its way in between their two bodies, finding her clit and tweaking it slightly. The girl's hips bucked up against him, and it was all Severus could do not to come instantly. Rubbing eager circles around and over her little nub of pleasure, the girl's moans increased below him until she grew silent all of a sudden. Severus was almost afraid that his frantic pace might have broken her, when her walls suddenly contracted around him, squeezing him and milking him, as the girl emitted a long, mewling moan.

Not wanting to be left behind, and unable to control himself any longer, Severus found himself slamming into the girl with abandon, needing to reach that same height her climax had brought her to, and succeeding. With a groan, he spilled himself deep inside of the girl, her tight walls still clenching and pulsing around him as he filled her with his seed.

Stilling for a minute, Severus revelled in the last of the girl's contractions around his softening member. When they stopped fully, he withdrew, his chest swelling with a proud sense of accomplishment as he saw the girl's thighs slick with his come.

Tugging himself away into his trousers, Severus stood up to pour himself a firewhiskey. He was just turning to offer another one to the girl, when he saw her in the motion of Vanishing all existence of their coupling.

He was over and at her side in a heartbeat, holding her hand still, clutching her thumb to her palm so that any flow of wandless magic was blocked.

"Don't," he growled.

The girl shrank away from him in fear.

"I meant no offense, sir," she pleaded, and Severus's features softened slightly when he realized what a sight he must offer to her. "I only wanted to keep from spilling on your furniture."

"Don't," Severus repeated, kinder than before, although not kind enough to be called 'kind'. He did not do 'kind'. "If I minded you spilling on my furniture, I would have prevented that from happening. As it is, Miss Granger," and his voice seemed to drop an octave, waking the girl's lust anew after scaring her a minute ago, "there is plenty of more furniture I would like you to spill on. Will you assist me in that quest? After all, the night is still young."

He saw the girl weighing his words, mulling over his offer of continued sexual interaction in his quarters, this night. Severus did not fear for one second that he himself might not be up to the task. If they took their time – and Severus knew the girl's body well enough by now to spend ample of time simply pleasuring her – he would well be able to entertain her once or twice more this night. The girl was all he needed to make his blood rise and his manhood swell in eagerness.

In fact, it was swelling again now.

Sweet Nimue, I must be starved for wanton flesh beneath me, Severus thought.

"If you're sure you don't mind, sir?" the girl replied hesitantly. "After all, the night is still young…"

Severus grinned. Finishing his firewhiskey with three large gulps, he felt the heat of the alcohol cheer on the heat of lust in his blood. Together, they made a very fine combination that had him ready for the girl in an instant.

"Are you cold, Miss Granger?" Severus asked. "The armchair by the fireplace is a particularly fine piece of furniture if you want to heat things up a little."

Sunday, February 1st, 1996

Hermione had not known that one month without sex could leave her so starved for cock, but then again, January was one of the longer months. She had been thoroughly satisfied, the professor's fingers not having left her for long periods without being pleasured by them since term had started, but they simply did not make up for the feeling of being thoroughly connected with somebody.

Their passionate bout of wild shagging on the couch had left Hermione thoroughly exhausted, but the professor's suggestion of a few next rounds had her body primed for more action at once.

Although Sirius had encouraged her to ride him a few times, it was not a position Hermione felt particularly confident in. Luckily for her, that actually worked in her favour. With how unskilled she appeared to the professor, Hermione assumed that his suspicions of her having indulged in sex partners other than him were diminishing by the minute.

He had assisted her off the couch where she had planned on relaxing from their furious act for a while, had led her over to the armchair by the fire, and had helped her climb onto his lap. Hermione had tried to stall their next coupling for a few precious minutes – her pussy was begging for a short break – but the professor had been having none of that. Gripping her chin between two gentle fingers, he had pressed her to lock eyes with him, and, without even needing to perform Legilimency on her, he had seen her reluctance in her expression. Wordlessly Summoning a small vial, he had coated one long digit in a soothing paste that he had continued to rub around her entrance and into her core. The relief had been instant, and after that, Hermione had been more than eager to go another round.

She had struggled with successfully mounting the professor, but he had held himself in one hand, the other steadying her hip, as she had gripped onto his shoulders and had manoeuvred herself onto his hard cock. Sinking down, the professor had mirrored her sigh. The fact that she had been able to make the stoic Potions Master lose control enough to utter any sign of pleasure in her presence, had been a huge turn-on for Hermione. Her professor had welcomed her ensuing enthusiasm in the lesson of riding him.

Now, everything was upside down in Hermione's world. Part of that was due to the earth-shattering orgasm that the professor's skilled fingers had elicited from her, just before her shaking on top of him had been too much for the Potions Master and he had spilled himself inside her once more. Part of that might also have been from the fact that she was lying on her back on the professor's private desk, her head hanging over the edge while he was pounding into her on the other side.

Hermione was close. They had been going at it for hours, and it must surely be long past midnight by now. Two orgasms while clenched around Professor Snape's cock had taken a lot out of her, and the two that had followed by his fingers alone, while he had been recuperating in order to be able to perform another round, had done their best to prime her for more pleasure, making her sensitive to any motions against her core.

The professor had closed her legs tightly, holding them straight, both of them perched on one shoulder. With every thrust, Hermione's legs moved just slightly, but enough to make her nether lips rub against one another, and in a way that stimulated her clit. It was ridiculous that such a position should bring her to orgasm, but Hermione was close. Close.

So close was she, in fact, that the world was growing dimmer around the edges of her vision. Mighty Morgana, Hermione thought, the professor will never want me again if I pass out from his attentions.

Her worries were unfounded, however, as her vision grew brighter again. Curiously enough, though, everything she saw took on a rich green tint. That seemed funny to Hermione, as she had been absent-mindedly staring into the fire before, too absorbed in the pleasure Professor Snape was offering her to really focus on anything, and that fire was decidedly not green.

The flames returned to their natural orange flickering after a few seconds, but not before a tall, dark shadow had stepped out of them. Something in Hermione screamed that perhaps she should cover herself, should cover her professor, should shield them from the embarrassment and scorn and all the actually bad and actually relevant consequences that would hinder Professor Snape from continuing in his role as double agent for the Order. The desperation of that scream did not really register with her, however, as she came in just that moment, instead screaming her pleasure as she pulsed around the Potions Master's hard length.

This time, it seemed, she had not managed to pull him over the cliff with her. As she lay in post-orgasmic bliss, her body shaking as it was being shagged over the table, Hermione noticed that Professor Snape was still pumping away at her. She wondered what might have kept him from climaxing with her this time.

"Severus," she heard a familiar voice greet her professor. "Am I interrupting something?"

Alright, Hermione thought, there was a perfectly valid reason form the Potions Master not to have come with her.

Coming up: Chapter thirty-five, wherein having a bite is discussed.