Title: Gods In Love

Chapter 7: In which the author realizes she screwed up... (See author's notes...) I mean-

In which the seeds of future pleasure are planted by some, and a bitter harvest is reaped by others

Disclaimer: I do not own J.K Rowling's magical world of witches and wizards, or any of the characters in it. If you know the series, you will be able to pick out which characters are mine.

Description: In their seventh year, a wizarding sex shop opens for business in Hogsmeade, causing tension among the students and leading to unusual events and pairings (Ron x Hermione x Draco, Snape x ??).

A/N: OK guys... I am a HUGE fool. Today I came across some notes I made about this fic before I went on my little hiatus... and I've just realized I got ahead of myself... quite ahead of myself... so ahead of myself I'm going to have to rewrite the last chapter so the story works out in the end O.O

I'm super sorry! I'm going to include a chunk at the beginning of this chapter basically detailing what's going on, which will stand until I've fixed the last chapter. Some of the parts from the last chapter are going to be transplanted forward in the fic... wauugh!! I suck!!! ... on with the show ...

O0O0O0O

As opposed to explaining this in proper prose, I'll just be straight:

Ron and Hermione have NOT had sex, because Ron wants it to be 'special'. Hermione just wants it. She frustrated, and wishes he'd at LEAST be more aggressive. That's the only, but MAJOR, difference between what I wrote and what I should have written... The last chapter has been fixed to reflect this information, but for those of you who just want to move on in the story, feel free to do so :)

We left off with Hermione leaving an unsatisfied Malfoy in the waiting room as she headed for her test...

O0O0O0O

Hermione passed the test with flying colours. She heaved a sigh of relief and felt like hugging her wand in front of the class. Some of the students in the class sunk into despair, their 'If Hermione can't do properly it than NO ONE can' defence solidly shattered.

After the joy of passing the test, the reality of her situation regarding Ron and Draco began to drag her down. She watched the other students move to the front of the class, attempting to transfigure a rabbit into a music box without uttering a word. Some succeeded, some did not. She noticed no one had done it as handily as Hermione, whose music box had contained three dancing ballerinas and sang the listener's favourite song. This pleased her, but couldn't wholly distract her from the problem at hand. She was dating Ron, but felt a strong physical attraction to Draco, whom she hated. There was something about the way he held her, kissed her, touched her that kept him in her mind; he did it all as though he owned her, and that, more than anything, excited her. A shiver ran the length of her spine, and she immediately felt embarrassed for thinking such things during class, accompanied by the paranoid hope no one could read her mind. While she didn't think anyone in the class had the skill, she resolved to learn a little more about occlumency.

As everyone in class laughed at one student's music box, which was covered in fur, only managed to shakily sing the first few notes of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' before hopping off the desk. Hermione felt her mind slipping deeper into thought.

Should she even go to meet Draco tomorrow? She knew that if he initiated action she wouldn't want to stop him, but she felt terrible about the idea of hooking up with Draco when she was officially dating Ron.

She realized she was thinking about breaking up with Ron; thinking about breaking up with Ron for Draco Malfoy.

Her elbows on the desk, she covered her face with her hands.

'Ugh. What's wrong with me?'

She put her hands back down onto the desk, sighed, and looked up. The class was empty except for Professor McGonagall, who was looking concernedly at her.

"If you ever need someone to talk to..." said the professor hesitantly, "You know where my office is. You have so much potential Hermione, I hate to see it go to waste." She patted Hermione on the hand in a way that was strangely motherly, and left the classroom.

Hermione imagined explaining her problem to McGonagall of all people.

'You see professor, my boyfriend wants to wait for some ridiculous 'special moment' to have sex with me, and there's another boy I happen to hate, but with whom I'd definitely have amazing sex so I don't know who to choose...'

She snorted, chuckled wryly and gathered her books.

'Thanks professor, but I think I'll have to figure this one out on my own...'

O0O0O0O

That evening Snape sat happily sated in Deia's bed. The sun had long ago set, and the room was lit only by a few candles levitating here and there. He was relaxing and waiting for Deia to return from the washroom, his head leaning back against the headboard, when a glint of light caught his eye from the bedside table. Snape, curious by nature (a potions master could be no other way, as it was experimentation that lead to greatness), leaned over to see what it was. He moved aside the roll of parchment that partially hid the object.

Two objects; he took them in his pale hands.

His scientist's mind analysed the situation: two pieces of metal (gold- aurum in latin; hence the periodic table symbol Au), seven bright stones (diamonds; adamas in latin, an allotrope of carbon, symbol C).

His thoughts were cold, razor sharp, 'Rings. Wedding rings. No wonder I didn't remember a Deia Sevenstone from my classes... it's not her maiden name...'.

Snape rose from the bed, his expression neutral and calm, his thin, pale form covered in gooseflesh. He retrieved his robes from the floor, dressed himself.

When Deia returned from the washroom, freshened up for round two, he was already gone.

"Severus." she called playfully. "Where are you, lover?"

Levitating above the bed were some of the candles that had been lighting the room, and between them were two objects; her wedding rings.

"Damnit." she swore, picking them from the air and wrapping herself in her dark silk robe. Snape had arrived early, and she hadn't had enough time to hide them properly. She sat down on the edge of the bed, holding the rings tightly in one fist, the settings of the diamonds stabbing into her palm. Her eyes burned, and she fought not to cry. These past months had been perfect. She knew she'd have to tell him about her husband eventually, but hadn't wanted to ruin things. Now Snape had discovered on his own and presumably jumped to the worst of conclusions.

"Damnit!" she cried, pitching the rings across the room. Grabbing her wand from the bedside table, she extinguished the floating candles, and threw them into the wastebin. Angry at herself for her carelessness, she crawled into bed. She tried to sleep, but the sheets smelled of Severus.

The tears began to fall.

O0O0O0O

Hermione sat in the Gryffindor common room, her homework before her, still not done. She'd spent the last hour agonizing over her decision. Instead of solutions, she'd found only more questions and maybes.

What if Draco only wanted her once? If that were the case, breaking up with Ron would be silly and pointless. She could sleep with Draco and, her curiosity satisfied, could continue her relationship with Ron (who was probably better for her) and with whom she would have sex eventually. Ron was he type of man she could see herself maybe someday making a life with. Draco on the other hand... she grinned to herself.

'What am I thinking?!' She tugged a hand through her curly hair for the hundredth time, slowly eroding the spell she had cast on it to cause it to fall into ringlets, slowly returning it to its fuzzy, bushy natural state. 'I can't cheat on Ron! Why would I ever even consider that?'

'Because Draco can give you something Ron won't...' answered another voice. '...and according to the SMF he can do it better...'

She scowled, slamming her books shut. Obviously she wasn't going to get any homework done tonight. She trudged up the stairs to her room and put her books away, preparing for bed.

'Maybe if I just talk to Ron...' she thought sleepily, 'see what's holding him back...'

Climbing into bed and shutting off the light she resolved to at least speak to Draco the next day and find out exactly what he wanted. She would share her thoughts on the matter and they would reach a conclusion like civilized adults.

'Yeah right.' the second voice in her head sneered.

"Shut up." Hermione muttered to herself, and soon fell asleep.

O0O0O0O

Draco waited inside the Room of Requirement. He'd thought of making it into the lovely little bedroom to which he customarily brought his girlies, but had a strong desire to have Hermione on one of the large wooden tables of the waiting room... and so he had requested the waiting room again.

He sat in one of the chairs placed around the perimeter of the room, leafing through a conveniently placed magazine of a topic he found quite pleasing. He had just flipped the magazine sideways and greeted the lovely witch in the centerfold when Hermione entered the room, surprised to find him waiting for her. He was just as surprised she'd actually come to meet him. He put the magazine down and stood.

"No, sit please." she said, her tone businesslike. Draco didn't like the way things were beginning, but he humoured her and sat. She continued on before he could say a thing.

"I have a couple questions." she said.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Well, ask away then."

Hermione, not at all put out by his tone, did so.

"Firstly, what do you want from me?"

Draco laughed. "Oh come on now. You know what I want. Right now I want you naked on that table screaming my name."

Hermione flushed a little. "I mean what level of commitment do you want? Will we meet only once, multiple times...?" She left the question to hang.

"I hadn't so much thought about it." said Draco, shrugging. I suppose I'll want you until I'm tired of you."

"So definitely more than once?"

Beginning to get frustrated by the questions, Draco answered. "Well, of course. We've got to get used to each other first if we want to enjoy our 94 percent to its fullest I suppose." He smiled demeaningly "I'll need some time to... break you in, I guess you could say."

Hermione's flicked about Draco's body; pale eyes, pointed chin, long legs (wide open).

"And if you're still a virgin-" he said the word with disdain.

The way he sat caused his robes to fall to his sides, allowing her to see the large bulge in the front of his pants.

"Well, it's just going to take even longer."

She hurriedly switching her gaze to his knees.

"It usually isn't any fun the first time." he went on.

'... still too close ...' she thought,changing her focus to his feet and, noticing how large they were, realizing she hadn't stopped herself from thinking about the part of him she was trying to avoid thinking about it.

She looked back up at his eyes.

"So guess it depends how fast you learn." he said, now standing and walking toward her.

"I'm... a quick learner." she said, rather more breathlessly than she had intended. She could hardly stand the effect he had on her; he made her behave in a completely irrational way, losing all her good sense. He hadn't even touched her yet and she already felt as though the situation was escaping her control.

"Wait." she said.

He stood directly in front of her, looking down at her. She stared through his chest.

"I still need some time to think about this."

She turned and grasped the handle, walking out into the hallway.

Draco followed her, grabbing her by the wrist and turning her to face him.

"You're wearing on my patience. I want something in return for my time."

"No." said Hermione, frustrated. "I'm seeing Ron... and we haven't even... well... I can't see you on the side. That's the point. I need to speak to him."

"I could care less about your problems." Draco sneered, kissing Hermione full on the lips.

O0O0O0O

Harry was on his way to classes when he rounded a corner to see Hermione shoving Draco Malfoy.

"Hey, whoa!" he cried out, drawing his wand and running over to them, pushing himself between them, his wand at Draco's throat. "You leave her the hell alone Malfoy. We're sick of you and your crap."

Draco scoffed. "Yeah, whatever Potter. I'm so scared." He walked off down the hall.

Harry turned to face his friend.

"You OK Hermione? What did he want?"

She realized Harry would be a great deal more furious if he'd seen Draco kissing her, and calmed somewhat.

"I bumped into him by accident." she lied. "He was just being a jerk like always."

"That bloody git." muttered Harry through clenched teeth. "Let's go to class now."

O0O0O0O

Ron, doing some homework in the Gryffindor common room, saw Hermione enter with a thermos of something and an odd look on her face. She sat next to Ron on the couch.

"What is it?" he asked, knowing right away this wasn't usual behaviour for her. Without speaking she duplicated the lid of the thermos and transfigured the lids into two mugs into which she poured the steaming contents of the thermos.

"Tea." she said with a slight smile that soon faded.

Ron took a sip of the tea. "This has a calming draught in it." he said, recognizing the taste.

"Erm, yes." said Hermione, sipping her own. "We need to talk... about something big. And I thought it might help..."

Ron knew he should be experiencing anxiety, but felt only the smallest twinge of it. Hermione's calming draught was almost as good as his mother's. They sat in silence a moment in the warm emptiness of the common room.

Hermione cleared her throat and spoke, "Ron," she said, looking at him sincerely, "why won't you... have sex with me?"

Despite the draught Ron still coloured slightly.

"Well," he said, "I had a really terrible first experience I just want to forget... I'd just rather wait until it really means something to me- until I find the person I want to be with for good."

Hermione nodded, making an noncommital sound. "But Ron," she said softly, "I don't want to wait."

"I need to." he said, his eyes gleaming with hope and desperation. This clearly meant a lot to him. Hermione sighed.

"...but I don't. I- I want to get to know myself better before I settle down with any one person, and also... I just don't know how I feel about you yet. We've been friends for so long... I just don't know if what I'm feeling for you is friendship or something else."

"Yeah, I get it." he muttered. "It's, erm, it's alright. We'll still hang out, right?"

"Of course." she said smiling.

"Yeah, OK." said Ron, sounding somewhat less sad. He placed a hand on her knee. "And let me know when you figure out for sure how you feel about me."

"I promise." she said, giving Ron a long hug.

Part of her felt terrible for what she had done. The other part of her, the part that made snide comments and lusted after Draco, was only excited.

O0O0O0O

Draco lay in bed, about to fall asleep when a soft glow from his bedside table woke him. He rolled over to see through blurry eyes his SMF lit up to notify him he had a message.

I have a free period before Potions the day after next. It read. Can you meet me?

To the SMF and the darkness of the room Draco gleefully whispered:

"Yes."

O0O0O0O

A/N: I do believe I'm going to end this chapter here :)

Next chapter Draco and Hermione begin their ... 'little adventure' together and someone accidentally finds out about them :O

Also, Snape is back in all his sarcastic angsty glory, just the way we like him ;)

Also, also: A number of you guys have put me on your Favourites lists :D Thanks! I'm really flattered :) There are some of you I haven't heard from yet and would love to; psst leave me reviews! lol. I don't try to be subtle, haha.

Until next time!

Planeswalker