The Date
Three weeks after Prague Hermione was going crazy with the need to see him again. She'd almost managed to talk herself out of contacting him but then came that weekend at the Burrow and she'd sent off Iris with a note as soon as she was able. To make matters worse, he had waited over three full days before responding.
A tap on her window had disrupted her breakfast routine the following Thursday morning. A huge owl with a rounded face and mottled grey feathers hooted at her when she opened the window. The bird held out a leg for her to remove the scroll fastened there, and then scuttled over to where Iris sat on her perch. Did they know each other? She shook her head, offered the large bird some treats and opened the scroll.
Miss Granger — Hermione —
I must confess to a certain amount of disbelief at receiving your owl the other day. She was clever enough to fly directly to my quarters rather than to the Great Hall so that Minerva couldn't get her whiskers into your letter.
Unfortunately this weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend, and this time I drew the short straw to corral the rambunctious teenagers — Minerva claims it is because I was away for the conference but I know her better than that, she just enjoys making me miserable. The following weekend is free, however. Would a dinner at a Muggle restaurant be agreeable to you? I know of a good place in Edinburgh.
Refrain from buying Pepper-Up and similar potions, you know the mark-up the apothecaries add. If you are unsure of the brewing process I could supervise you, or just let me know what you need and I'll supply you with potions as long as you don't go asking for Polyjuice.
The owl is called Muninn. Yes I know, but he named himself. He is a great grey owl and rather fond of peaches.
Sincerely,
S.S
"Muninn, huh?" she said to the bird after reading through the scroll. "You're not a raven but Memory is a fitting name for an owl as well. Will you take a response back to Severus? You may rest here if you wish for a while before flying back and I promise to have peaches for you if I know to expect you."
The owl hooted at her. She wasn't sure exactly what he was saying, but she scribbled a note that she was available the weekend after next. Muninn held out his leg for her to tie on the scroll, hooted something at Iris, and flew off again.
Suddenly everything seemed so much better. He was real. It was real. He wanted to meet up again. Why was next Friday so far off?
~o~o~o~o~o~
After a very strange week where she'd met up with Ron, Harry and Ginny at Grimmauld over the weekend for some board games but managed to dodge spending the night with Ron, she was finally going to see Severus again. Luckily she'd been too busy at work to fret overly much over their upcoming meeting, and she hadn't even had time to go home and change clothes from her usual business robes. At least she wasn't in a lab coat, she thought wryly as she Apparated to the location he had indicated, a back alley near the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.
He was already there when she arrived, clad in his customary black and leaning against the wall. He straightened and moved over to her, taking her hand to ghost a kiss over her knuckles.
"Hermione."
He offered her his arm and led her into the bustling city. People seemed happy for the relatively mild March weather which held the promise of spring, and of course it was Friday so people were meeting up after work to start the weekend. The air was humid, colder than London with a sharp tang of malt from the breweries, and many of the old stone buildings were grimy with soot. She was glad to walk with him rather than meeting up at the restaurant, as even in a Muggle setting he managed to clear enough space so that they could walk relatively unhindered, scattering the boisterous crowds as they strode ahead.
Soon they found themselves in a nice restaurant, seated in a quiet corner at the back, apparently at his request.
"They do an excellent entrecôte here but the salmon is very good too," he commented as they perused the menus.
She ordered the salmon, he ordered the steak and some wine to go with their respective meals. It didn't take long for them to fall back to their state of easy banter they'd shared in Prague.
"So, Septimius Solutions, really? What are your plans?"
He smirked at her over his steak. "Potions and other consulting work. Do you remember the full name of that emperor?"
She tried to recall it but had to admit defeat eventually. His smirk grew wider.
"His name was actually Lucius Septimius Severus which made it even more fitting, so now you know my business partner. It's not just for brewing Pepper-Up, but rather for doing advanced Potions research while hiring staff to do the routine brewing, and also for assisting select clients with Dark curses and the like. The Malfoy library is rather extensive when it comes to the Dark Arts, even after the Ministry's post-war looting. Lucius helps out with finding clients and with some of the curses and charms if they are interesting, he always had a knack for that."
She couldn't help but to laugh. Although she didn't like Lucius Malfoy there was no denying the fact that the man had changed after the war, or probably even during the final few years before Voldemort's fall. The Malfoys had been more or less acquitted, sentenced to house arrest for two years and their home had been raided for Dark artefacts but otherwise they'd made it out of the whole mess relatively intact as far as she'd heard from Draco, not that he had told her much over the occasional coffee they'd shared in the Ministry cafe.
"Thank you for the scar salve, Severus," she said, changing subjects. "Several of the letters are almost completely gone and the other scar is much better too."
He almost smiled. "I'm glad to hear it, Hermione. If you want me to I'd be most eager to inspect it later." The heat in his gaze left her cheeks blazing.
They lapsed into silence for a little while, focussing on finishing their meals. She liked that too, the fact that he could be silent without it getting uncomfortable. The fish was excellent, anyway.
"How are things at Hogwarts?"
He shrugged. "Better than they used to. New staff is settling in, the battle scars are fading. Minerva has made some changes, many of them surprisingly sensible for a Gryffindor."
"Hey!" She tried to scowl at him over the insult to her House, but interest in what he was saying won out. "What kind of changes?"
"Slytherin is moved up from the dungeons, for one, and she's encouraged mixing of Houses at meals other than dinner. In her own way she tries to bridge the gaps between Houses to get rid of some of the mistrust and so far it actually seems to be helping. She has set up study circles and other activities to help students get to know each other across Houses."
The waiter came by again to take away their plates. The meal had been excellent but she'd been too focused on her companion to really notice.
"That's great, Professor Dumbledore wasn't exactly subtle in supporting Gryffindor over Slytherin, was he?" She wasn't quite sure what to think of Dumbledore anymore. After finally leaving Hogwarts and gaining some distance from the events she had wondered about a lot of his actions, regarding Harry and others.
Severus nodded. "Indeed, I often wondered what he was playing at, whether he was actually ignorant of the effects of his actions or if he did it on purpose. He must have, he cannot have been that dense. The Potions classroom is still down in the dungeons for security reasons but the Castle has somehow managed to fit my office and private quarters with windows, and proper ventilation and lighting for the labs and classroom. What will you have for dessert?"
"What? Oh…" Apparently the dessert menus had made an appearance. Was You an appropriate response? Flustered she looked at the choices but all of them seemed equally good. She wanted a dessert if only to prolong their date a bit.
"I'll have the caramel butterscotch pudding then," she finally decided and snapped the menu shut.
The waiter appeared as if summoned. Hermione ordered hers and Severus ordered a bilberry trifle.
They had lapsed into silence while waiting for dessert. He seemed to be studying her but she didn't mind his attention. He looked well, especially compared with those last years at Hogwarts when he'd been pulled in too many directions by too many obligations. Some of the harsh lines on his face had softened, his hair looked well kept and he had more colour to his skin compared to the air of pallid translucency due to sleeplessness and life in the Hogwarts dungeons that he used to wear.
That got Hermione thinking about the school again. "How do you feel about leaving Hogwarts? It's been your home for so long?"
He nodded. "True, but it is time for me to do something different with my life. Miss Bulstrode will finish her Apprenticeship this August if all goes according to plan, and will take over teaching next year. I promised both her and Minerva that I'd stay on for another year to ensure she has a good start to her teaching career and to keep teaching the current sixth-years in their final NEWT year. I plan to continue revamping the curriculum and publish the rest of the books before leaving Hogwarts."
The desserts arrived and Hermione was momentarily distracted by the sheer decadence of hers. She must have moaned when tasting it, as she suddenly became aware of his rather hot gaze on her mouth. She blushed.
"Try it," she said and held out her spoon across the table for him.
He complied, grumbling, but admitted that it was excellent. He did the same to her in return, holding out a spoon of his trifle for her to try. The gesture made heat pool low in her belly again. Luckily he seemed to be equally affected if the way he looked at her was any indication, all heat and focus.
"Would you come to my flat? For … for some tea?"
That eyebrow again. Gods, it was doing things to her. Wicked, naughty things. She was sure her knickers were soaked already.
"Tea, you say. Witch, are you sure?"
She licked her lower lip nervously and didn't miss the way his gaze fell on her mouth, eyes widening slightly. "Very sure."
He almost smiled then, and they quickly finished their dessert. He settled the bill and they went out into the chilly Edinburgh night. She snuck her arm around his waist, for warmth, and they walked in tandem around the corner, carefully checking to see that no one was close. Luckily, her extensive experience with Apparition during the war meant that Side-Along Apparition didn't faze her anymore, even if her passenger was Severus Snape. She took hold of his arm, focused and deposited them both at the Apparition spot in the building's foyer.
~o~o~o~o~o~
For some reason she became incredibly nervous as soon as they had crossed the threshold to her flat. What if he didn't want what she so desperately did? She hurried off into the kitchen area, tapping the kettle with her wand to fill it with water and looking for mugs that were suitable for one Severus Snape in her flat.
"Witch, breathe," he muttered and before long she found herself engulfed by his arms. He pried the mugs and tea tins out of her hands and gently spun her around. "Is this what you were implying, by inviting me here? Tea only? Or maybe… something else?"
"Yes," she managed, caught in his eyes. Her arms were snaking up around his neck and his lips were slowly, ever so slowly, coming closer to hers.
That first kiss was merely a ghosting of his lips against hers, as if asking for permission. That wouldn't do. She practically flung herself at him, pulling him down with her hands in his hair and demanding more, deeper, now. She could feel his smile against her mouth as he complied, pulling her close and opening up to her, his tongue seeking out hers, tasting, exploring. Yes, yes. This was right. This was it.
Somehow, without her really noticing, her hands found their way up under his shirt, tugging it up from his trousers to enable access to his skin. In the same vein, he must have done something wandlessly since she suddenly found herself without her office robes. She wore a simple top and bra underneath, and a pair of leggings against the draughts.
She backed up to her couch, pulling him along, and fell backwards while kissing him, trusting him to balance both of them. His weight across her legs felt reassuring, somehow, even as she struggled with getting him out of his clothing. His shoes were already off but his belt buckle was resisting her assault until she Banished his trousers with a growl. He chuckled but seemed equally eager to get her out of her clothes, ridding her of top and leggings as quickly as he could.
He was all heat and hands and need matching hers, driving her on. Her hands sought purchase wherever they could along his shoulders, chest and arms, while he kissed, nipped and licked everywhere he could reach. A hand snaked its way down to her core, finding her completely soaked, even before he pushed two fingers inside and put his thumb on her clit. He drove her completely insane with lust but she wanted, needed, more.
"Severus, need you, now," she managed, trying to stave off the impending orgasm.
He complied, finally, quickly moving into position before driving his cock home in one swift surge. She gasped at the intrusion, the size of him, the fullness, and pulled his head down for a heated kiss as if to make sure it was real, that he was real.
"More," she gasped.
He chuckled in reply but complied eagerly enough, her hips rising to meet his as he set a hard and fast rhythm, just like she wanted. Her sudden orgasm almost caused her to black out due to the sheer intensity of it, and he quickly followed with a groan and a shudder as he followed before collapsing on top of her.
Slowly the outside world started to seep back in and the feeling of being one with him receded. His back was sweaty and her left leg was cramping for some reason.
"Stay?" she asked shyly. She hadn't exactly planned on this, any of it, but she really didn't want him to leave.
"If you have a towel and a toothbrush," he muttered with a yawn.
"That can be arranged." After all, she wasn't the daughter of dentists for nothing.
He kissed her forehead and rolled off her, letting her get a head start in the bathroom before joining her in the shower. She felt completely exhausted, but in a good way. It still felt right to be with him, both in bed and sharing a shower. She didn't even feel very self-conscious about her scars or imperfections as it was so very clear that he didn't find anything about her to be repulsive. It was a novel feeling, one she decided to file away for later analysis. For now, sleep was the primary concern. With him.
She snuggled in close, letting him spoon her as they drifted off to sleep, lulled by his breathing and the warmth of his chest against her back.
The next day they woke up late, to the sound of rain on the window. Luckily she already had toast and some other things for breakfast so they didn't have to venture outside. After a lazy breakfast of toast, marmalade and tea, spent mostly in silence as they read through both the Daily Prophet and the Guardian, that gaze of his was back, quickening her breath. Somehow she found herself sitting across his lap, kissing his temple, his cheek, his nose. Another insistent erection was poking the side of her thigh, matching the heat she felt pooling in her knickers.
"What is a wizard to do when he finds himself with a lapful of sweet witch, hmm?" he murmured close to her ear. "Perhaps… perhaps depositing her back into bed and having his wicked way with her is the proper course of action?"
"Excellent choice, good sir."
She squeaked when he hoisted her up and rose from the chair in one fluid movement, and swiftly made his way back to the bedroom with her.
This time he took it slow, mapping every inch of her. He traced the scar across her chest with his lips.
"Much improved. How does it feel?"
"It's much better, less tight and it has faded quite a lot already. I've been getting tingly feelings along the edge though, is that normal?"
He nodded. "Yes, that's due to nerve endings regrowing. A good sign. Now, where was I? I believe, about here…" he said just as his lips finally alighted on her nipple, causing her to hiss.
The slow pace drove her mad. He meandered down her body, kissing her hips, her bellybutton, the outside of her thighs, her knees. He even licked her toes before slowly returning upwards again, via the inside of her legs this time, finally reaching her hot core. His breath ghosted across her lower lips, followed ever so slowly by the tip of his nose and the lightest touch of his tongue.
"Gods, Severus!"
She could feel his smirk against the inside of her thigh but at least he finally inserted one long finger right where she wanted him to, and then another, curling them inside her which when he added a tongue to her clit quickly hurtled her over the edge to another orgasm, almost bucking him off the bed as she came. When she could see again she pulled him up to lay beside her as she caught her breath.
She pushed his shoulder to encourage him to lie back in the sheets. Despite the rain, the daylight was still bright enough for her to see what she'd been overlooking earlier. He wore a glamour on his neck, over Nagini's scar. She recalled the way he'd pulled her off her throat back in Prague. It must have been much worse than she'd thought if it still was that sensitive after using his salve. She kissed the other side of his neck instead, wanting to tell him that she understood, wondering if he'd trust her enough one day to let her see it.
His nipples were two hard pebbles on his chest, tasting slightly salty but eliciting delightful moans from the taciturn wizard. She tweaked one with her fingers while nibbling the other, causing his cock to twitch against her hip. Her hand crept down his stomach to investigate further. She took him in hand, slowly stroking his length which earned her an appreciative groan, and reached up to kiss him thoroughly.
"I hope you don't mind but I want you," she told him and kissed his temple again. She slung a leg over his thighs, trapping his dick between their stomachs.
He smirked and put a hand on her hip. "Be my guest."
She shifted until she was properly positioned and then impaled herself on him, causing both of them to groan. She'd never quite gotten the hang of being on top but it just felt right to try. She started rocking experimentally, finding a good angle and rhythm.
"Lovely view," he commented and moved one of his thumbs to her clit.
After a while she asked him to help out a bit with the rhythm, seeing as her efforts didn't exactly get her anywhere. He planted his feet on the mattress for better leverage, grabbed on to her hips and started thrusting harder which soon had her panting. She had to brace herself with her hands by his shoulders, giving him a good view of her bouncing tits as he pounded both of them closer to release. With the help of one of his fingers she soon managed to catch her orgasm which in turn had him follow. She collapsed on top of him, feeling both exhausted and energised at the same time. He wrapped his arms around her as they caught their breaths, holding her close.
After another shower they finally got dressed. Suddenly she remembered something. She quickly walked over to her desk and pulled out the notebook she'd bought on her trip to Diagon Alley.
"I picked this up in Diagon Alley the day I bought Iris and thought that perhaps you might find it useful, I bought two and already started using mine, it's got an index and everything? The pages are supposed to be spill proof but I'm not convinced that covers absolutely everything one can find in a Potions lab."
His eyebrows rose but he accepted the notebook if a bit gingerly. "Are you sure?"
"It's a notebook, Severus, not the keys to my Gringotts vault. Of course I want you to have it, if you think it might be useful?"
He looked flustered which had her confused. Surely a simple gift wasn't such an odd concept? Or was it, to him? Still, he had already given her things, hadn't he? The scar salve, and he kept talking about providing her with household potions.
"In that case, thank you, Hermione. I can see it will be useful for research. Unfortunately I have detentions to oversee tonight so I must take my leave. I hadn't quite hoped… expected to stay this long."
She nodded. She too hadn't quite expected their date to be extended this long, but it had been absolutely perfect.
Just as he was about to leave, a thought struck her. She stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"Severus?"
"Hmm?"
"What is this… what are we?"
He shrugged but his eyes were hard when he looked at her again. "I told you, Hermione. I am not a good man. I know you're somewhat involved with the youngest Weasley but since you seem inclined to… this, I'll gladly take whatever you wish to offer me. For some reason I feel as if I can relax around you. Perhaps you understand how rare that is."
She nodded. She did know. "I know. I feel as if I can be myself with you. I don't want to lose that."
His eyebrow rose again and someone must have turned on the heat in her flat, or why was she so flustered all of a sudden? "I also happen to find myself rather attracted to you and would be very interested in seeing how far I can take you…"
She tried to respond but only managed a flustered squeak. How mortifying. "Ehm, yes please."
"Good." He was so close and now his hand rose, cupping her face, his thumb tracing her lower lip. "I must be off. Until later? Please tell Iris to continue delivering any letters directly to my quarters instead of to the Great Hall."
~o~o~o~o~o~
Easter was a boisterous affair at the Burrow, as usual, but they'd chosen to move the main family meal to Good Friday as Bill and Fleur had plans for Easter Sunday. Nearly the whole clan was there, even Percy, so the house was full to bursting just as Mrs Weasley preferred it. Hermione arrived with Ginny and Harry, on purpose so that she'd blend into the chaos a bit. It worked, she could stay away from the chaos in the kitchen and instead talk to Fleur and the twins while food and cutlery flew out of the kitchen at random intervals to settle on the dining table. Arthur had dragged Bill and Harry off to his shed to see his latest project, an old black-and-white Muggle TV set that he could get to play BBC One without sound in ten-second bursts.
Finally they were settled to eat, Hermione next to Ron this time. The food was excellent as usual, a lamb roast with lots of side dishes. Hermione readily admitted that Molly Weasley did know her way around traditional English recipes. She also appreciated being invited, and the way all Weasleys seemed to like having her there. One-on-one she liked all of them, really, even Mrs Weasley in small doses.
"How's your research going?" Bill asked over the lamb from across the table.
She sighed. "Not as well as I want it to, I keep running into problems with the memory restoration potion."
"What have you tried so far?"
"Well, I've been looking at the standard Memory Potions but they're not sufficient for this, of course, or they'd be in use at St Mungo's already."
George also looked interested. "Come down to the shop again, you know we've done some work on memories."
"Now now, don't talk about work here at the table," Mrs Weasley interjected.
"But it's about her parents," George protested.
"Well, dear, it's good that you have us now," Mrs Weasley said, giving Hermione a tight smile before turning to the other end of the table. "Harry, I heard about your promotion, congratulations!"
"Thanks, Molly," Harry said from across the table, and soon the talk turned to the regular topics. How well the Weasley boys were doing, Quidditch, the twins' inventions and Mr Weasley trying to ask her about something Muggle.
When Bill and Fleur rose to leave with Victoire, citing the toddler's need for sleep, Hermione decided to take her leave as well.
"Won't you stay the night?" Ron asked, having followed her to the door.
She shook her head. After that meal, and Mrs Weasley's comments the last time she'd stayed over? No way. "I can't today, Ron. Will I see you at Grimmauld tomorrow?" Harry and Ginny had invited her for a friends' dinner.
"Alright, see you there." He leaned in to kiss her.
~o~o~o~o~o~
Harry and Ginny had invited lots of friends the next day. A few were from Harry's Auror team but many of the others were old schoolmates. Neville was there, as was Seamus and Dean, Luna, Lavender and Padma, and several others. It was nice to see everyone and hear what they'd been up to, and to meet some of Harry's new friends. Ginny had invited her Quidditch team as well and several of them had shown up, causing a few of the others to blush and stammer when meeting a celebrity.
She sat next to Ron on the kitchen couch, snuggled into him while drinking a beer and laughing with friends. It was good. It felt good. Lavender was staring daggers at her, just like in school, but Ron didn't really seem to notice. Finally people started to leave in waves of hugs and laughter, it was getting rather late.
"I've missed you, 'Mione," Ron murmured against her ear, holding her close. "Come upstairs? I'll show you just how much I've missed you."
His words sounded so similar to what Severus would tell her that she felt a rush of excitement pooling in her belly.
"Alright, Ron," she conceded and followed him up the stairs.
Her courage seemed to evaporate with every step she took, and by the time she reached Ron's bedroom at Grimmauld she was nearly trembling. She turned down the lights completely, undressed and lay stiff as a board on the bed. Why was this so hard? Ron removed his clothes as well and lay down next to her, not really touching. Slowly, his hand came up over her stomach. She flinched at the contact and forced herself to relax, exhaling forcibly. Slowly it became easier, her body responded no matter whose hand it was, and the dark helped. His hand reached up to grope her breast and she even groaned when he moved to pet her snatch. This was her boyfriend, after all, it shouldn't be that difficult.
With some self-help and intense concentration while Ron grunted above her she even managed to come.