So for Chapter 2, how had Hermione come to be back at Hogwarts.
Hermione wondered why Kingsley had summoned her. She knew he was pleased with her work; she had only just had her appraisal.
She knocked on his door and entered.
'Good morning, Kingsley,' she said cheerily. 'How can I help you?'
'It is I who is going to help you Hermione. The education department is creating a new post. They want someone to review the curricula for OWLS and NEWTS. I immediately thought of you and have put your name forward. I hope you don't mind? It is a promotion and much higher pay grade.'
'It sounds like a really exciting opportunity,' replied Hermione. 'I don't think I'll have to think about it for long. What is the selection process?'
'Whoever I recommend will have to go to Hogwarts for a month, observe lessons and write a report about what changes they would like to see in these very different times for the magic world. The appointment is, in part, dependent on the quality of the report. Now go away and think about it and let me know tomorrow.'
Hermione left the office with very mixed feelings. It was a task she would love to undertake. However, despite all the good memories of Hogwarts, did it contain too many negative ones?
The biggest potential nemesis was Professor Snape. She knew he was back at the school and she did not know how she would react on seeing him. Hermione prided herself on control of her emotions, well every aspect of her life, actually.
After the wars Hermione's relationship with Ron had continued, but only because everyone assumed it should. However, they soon started to drift apart, Ron concentrating on making it in the professional Quidditch world and Hermione…
Hermione had drifted with no real focus for some time. She had attended all the Death Eater trials, but got no satisfaction from seeing them punished.
She had been pleased that Draco did not receive a harsh punishment. She would also do anything for her family, so she could not really condemn him.
But the trial she thought would banish all her demons took a long time. Snape was recovering in St Mungo's. The whole wizarding world seemed to hold its breath waiting for this event.
When it happened she was shocked to see Harry appear for the defence and it was his testimony that swung the verdict in Snape's favour.
She had questioned Harry extensively after the trial but still could not reconcile her feelings with the answers he gave.
However, in true Hermione style she compartmentalised her feelings and moved forward with her life. Her relationship with Ron ended amicably and she took up an appointment at the Ministry in the education department.
Promotions came rapidly as she applied herself with renewed vigour, immersing herself in her beloved world of academia. But now this had opened up all her old memories and doubts. Why did the thought of seeing Snape again prey so much on her mind? She could not reconcile the admiration she had for him as a teacher with her other feelings. They were almost like lust and passion, though what they felt like she couldn't remember she thought to herself wistfully.
At the end of the day Hermione returned hurriedly to her small apartment. After a small, rushed supper she cleared her table and arranged paper and quills. One piece of paper headed, 'FOR', the other 'AGAINST'.
With a swish of her wand she set the quills hovering above the pages and as she spoke, the quills wrote:
'FOR: Opportunity to help a new generation of witches and wizards. FOR: Enter the education world, an area I love. FOR: In some way, possibly help Muggle-borns. There is still some prejudice out there. Muggle studies needs its profile lifting.' From the serious to the flippant the FOR list had run on for two pages, ending with: 'FOR: I love the place.'
Hermione had still not written anything against accepting the task, but she knew she had pushed the only two reasons away. Reluctantly she voiced her fears.
'AGAINST: Memories of evil, violence and destruction. But do these outweigh the happy memories? AGAINST: Reacquainting myself with Professor Snape. But avoiding people does not solve the problem.'
Could those two reasons, especially with the caveats she had written after them, win over the pages of positive reasons?
Hermione read the lists several times more. She sat up straight, thumped her fist on the table and said out loud, 'No, I will not let the past dictate my future. I will accept the challenge.'
With that she threw the sheets into the fire, smiling as the paper caught and the smoke drifted up the chimney. The smoke was her concerns and as the burning ceased and the smoke disappeared, so did her worries.
Hermione slept soundly having made her decision. The next day she went straight to Kingsley's office and told him of her decision. He was delighted. He provided her with an outline of the task, informing her that she would be leaving in a week. A week in which Hermione would need to show a new witch how to do her job, pack and prepare paperwork for the work ahead.
She prepared several more of her famous lists, ticking items off as they were completed. With a day to go before her departure she was as prepared as she could be, but still checked her lists one more time that night.
That night with nothing else to think about Hermione thought her sleep would be restful, but it was not to be. As soon as she fell asleep the figure of Snape entered her dreams. A tall, thin figure striding purposefully towards her. Black robes billowing out, long dark hair streaming behind him as he bore down on her. His mouth opening and closing without a sound being heard. The apparition came to a halt in front of her, the cold, dark eyes boring into her. A long bony finger stretched out, almost touching her nose and then the drawling voice she had always detested in school, 'You're mine now, Miss Granger, to do with as I wish.'
The vision disappeared and Hermione woke sitting bolt upright in bed, covered in a cold sheen of perspiration. She shivered.
Hermione sat up for most of the night wondering whether she was doing the right thing. Eventually she drifted off to sleep, but it seemed no sooner had she done so than her alarm was going off.
Having showered and dressed she departed with her luggage to find the Portkey she had been informed of. It was exactly where she had been told; grasping it she felt the familiar twisting pull and then landed just beyond the gates.
She looked up at the imposing castle, nostalgia, good and bad, sweeping over her.
The gates swung open and there was the wheezing, stooped figure of Filch.
'We've been expecting you, Miss Granger. Follow me.'
He turned, shuffling along in front of her towards the castle entrance.
On reaching the large doors they opened automatically in front of them.
Hermione stepped into the large entrance hall. She looked around at the staircases moving, the high ceilings, drapes and floating candles. She inhaled deeply, letting the castle assault more of her senses. She felt at home.
But she also noticed the deep scars on the walls, the marks of misdirected spells caused during darker times and her memory was tinged with sadness for the friends she had lost.
Hermione was shocked out of her memories as a cold sensation filled her.
'Sorry,' said an ethereal character as he passed through her. 'In a rush. Annual meeting of the Headless Hunt, don't you know.'
'Still not a member then, Sir Nick?' she laughed.
The ghost paused in his flight, looking back at her. 'Well bless my soul if it's not Miss Granger. Welcome back, but must rush. I'm sure this will be my year.'
'Some things will never change,' she thought, with a comforting feeling of familiarity, a smile lighting up her face.
'This way,' wheezed Filch.
He turned and shuffled down the corridor, turned up three flights of stairs, halting in front of a room at the end of a corridor.
'This is yours for your stay. All your instructions and timetables are in there. Meal times as you will remember them. The headmaster is away on business at Durmstrang. You'll have to sort yourself out.'
With that he turned and hobbled off back down the corridor and disappeared from view before Hermione could say anything.
Hermione entered her room, she walked over to the window opened it and looked out. The grounds looked magnificent. Memories flooded back as she saw the Quidditch posts in the distance, the forbidding line of trees marking the boundary of the Forbidden Forest and sadly the sight of Hagrid's dilapidated hut. He had moved on and was now Ambassador to the Giants on behalf of the Ministry.
Returning to the desk in the corner of the room, she opened a large folder and read her instructions. There was a fully detailed timetable, indicating which lessons to attend, when she had free time to write up her report and where she was and was not allowed.
Turning to the timetable one name leapt out at her, causing an involuntary flush - Snape. How could just a name cause that reaction?
Hermione recognised very few of the other names. The wars had decimated the teaching profession and it was going to take some time to build back up. With this thought she begrudgingly accepted that someone like Snape, intelligent, articulate, talented, would be an asset to the school.
After freshening up she took a stroll around the castle, enjoying the sights and the memories they roused, of young witches and wizards dashing around corridors, prefects chivvying them along. Sounds, sights and smells that were most pleasurable.
That night Hermione slept soundly having organised and checked everything several times.
She breakfasted heartily, a confident aura about her, she was ready.
She attended two lessons, Arithmancy, which was excellent and Defence Against the Dark Arts, which was surprisingly poor. She made copious notes, satisfied that her job was worthwhile.
Hermione left the classroom, her mind alive with possibilities, her eyes shining with satisfaction. All negative thoughts banished.
She stopped suddenly, all positive thoughts dispelled, a cold tingle running up her spine. In front of her stood Professor Snape's tall, intimidating figure directing pupils onwards.
Should she just turn and leave, or confront him now.
She called to him and after a very curt, short conversation, the encounter was over.
Hermione stood in the corridor confused. He had been as dismissive of her as ever, but there was something else, a look in his dark probing eyes that did not promote fear, but something just as primeval.
His long dark locks, piercing eyes, aquiline nose and most surprisingly his voice had started butterflies in her stomach, feelings of what?
'Attraction, don't be ridiculous,' she chastised herself.
She was unable to analyse her feelings over the next two days, as they were so busy and had no further contact with him.
However on the third day she was waiting for him in the potions class.
Once again the conversation was stilted, Snape making unfair references to her performance as a student, but he looked at her differently.
Throughout the lesson Hermione caught Snape glancing at her with those dark intense eyes. As he did so her temperature rose and her body flushed, blood rushing around as her heart rate increased. The feeling became more intense as he moved around the classroom, his dark billowing robes following him along with a masculine musky scent.
At the end of the lesson, confused in body and mind, Hermione rushed back to her room.
She tackled this problem the way she did all others, work harder. She sat at her desk and wrote up her notes, working late into the night.
With a long yawn she stopped, undressed and got quickly into bed, hoping to find a swift path to sleep.
As she drifted off, images of Professor Snape entered her dreams. He was boring down on her and as he got closer Hermione saw he was naked, a huge cock pointing straight up his flat belly.
'Let us finish what we started,' drawled the apparition angrily.
Hermione sat bolt upright, hot and bothered and realised her hand was caressing her pussy, slick with her juices.
She was shocked and wide awake. She pondered the significance of her dream, then thought to herself, 'Over analysing things again, Hermione. If you can't sleep go and take a bath to relax yourself.'
She made her way to the bathroom of the girls' prefects. She ran the water as hot as she could stand and added sweet smelling bath salts to help her relax.
Hermione slid into the water, sighing at its heat and soothing feeling. Cupping water she rinsed herself completely then lay back with her head on the tiled edge.
There was still the unresolved matter of the turmoil between her legs and her hands slid down to caress her pussy. She stroked her lips gently, occasionally dipping a finger between them feeling the heat of her arousal.
As Hermione's arousal increased her other hand slid beneath the water and started to stroke her clit, the waves of pleasure from the sensitive bud running through her body, and she realised with shock she was imagining Severus' hands caressing her.
As she increased the pressure of her stroking, occasionally pinching at her clit, the pleasure built towards an orgasm, but she seemed unable to reach her peak.
'It has been so long but tonight I need a cock,' she thought to herself.
Reaching out she grasped her wand and used an advanced conjuration spell to summon up a pink dildo.
Dropping her wand she seized the rubber cock, turned on to her knees and ran it up and down, causing an outpouring and a spreading of her lips. She slid the dildo slowly past her engorged lips and pushed gently.
Hermione let it rest within her for a while, enjoying the feeling of fullness and then slowly started moving it back and forth. Her breathing became raspy and she lifted her hips above the water, resting her head on the bath's side, her other hand squeezing and stroking her clit.
Her eyes closed as the feelings intensified, a figure appeared in the forefront of her mind. A smooth, white torso, its sinews straining, above it a gaunt face staring intently at her, the eyes black as coal, the face of Severus Snape.
She did not stop her ministrations, but a surge of intense pleasure ran through her body. She thrust her hips higher and heard herself, as if in the distance, shouting for Severus to fuck her harder, telling him how she loved his massive cock.
Hermione reached her peak and orgasmed more strongly than she had for an age, gasps and groans escaping from her.
As the pleasure slowly subsided and her body sank back into the water she heard a sound. Her head shot round and she was looking straight at a very large erect cock being gripped in a fist. Slowly her eyes moved up the body until she was staring into the lust filled eyes of Severus Snape.
