You Show Me Yours and I'll Show You Mine

Chapter 7

The dinner with Septima had gone well, but as she walked back to the DADA classroom, she couldn't help but feel woefully inadequate. They had talked about her upcoming teaching role and Hermione began to realise how hard it was really going to be. She was glad that Septima would be there to hold her hand for the first term, but what frightened her most was that she would eventually be left alone to deal with a class full of students. A few would be her age or only a little younger. Some of her earlier felt confidence was starting to crumble and she wished she had her mother to talk to.

It was what you signed up for! She told herself angrily as she walked through the empty classroom, trying to summon up some of her Gryffindor courage. She made her way up the stairs to her accommodation and lifted her hand to knock on the door in case Severus was still there, but before she could, she noticed the envelope pinned to its surface. She pulled it off and opened it.

Dear Miss Granger,

Your accommodation has been left in an orderly fashion, please keep it that way. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask one of the House Elves. Welcome to Hogwarts, the members of staff look forward to your attendance at breakfast tomorrow. Please remember to set your own personal wards on the room at the soonest possible convenience.

Regards, Professor Snape.

She folded up the parchment, thrust it into her pocket and opened the door. She had not really expected him to be in residence, but secretly she had hoped. There was still a low fire burning in the grate to keep the chill off the room, but apart from that all other personal belongings were gone. Hermione stifled a yawn. She would explore more thoroughly in the daylight hours. She made her way straight to the bedroom. Candles lit the room, giving it a cosy feeling. The gaudy scarlet bed curtains were still there, but the bed was freshly made and turned down. It riled against her sense of justice that it had been changed by the elves, but that was one hopeless cause she had exhausted. Still, she would rely on them as little as possible while she was here. She located her beaded bag on a chair and rummaged around for a pair of pyjamas; she stripped and slipped them on, gratefully sliding into bed. She was asleep almost instantly.

Hermione had not bothered to draw the curtains before going to sleep and bright sunlight shone through the windows. For a moment she was disorientated, forgetting she was at Hogwarts and she half expected to see Ginny sleeping over the other side of the room. Hermione checked her wrist watch. She had overslept! Quickly, she got out of bed and ran to the bathroom with her bag and scrambled around inside for toothpaste and a toothbrush. Another mad dash back into the bedroom, while she pulled out her newly acquired teaching robes. Most of the teaching faculty seemed to favour black so she had bought her purchases accordingly. Luckily for her, Madam Malkin's had just reopened and had been fully stocked, many of the shops in Diagon Ally were still being refitted. Most had been too afraid to start trading again after the attacks.

Hermione dressed herself in a white no nonsense blouse and put a fitted black waistcoat over that. She had chosen a long flowing skirt of the same colour and teaching robes to match. Shoes, were the same comfortable low heeled kind she had wore here as a student. She looked at herself in the mirror, hoping that would be proper enough attire for the Headmaster after his dig of the night before. She allowed herself a little smile before hurrying from the room. Hermione burst into the hall through the staff entrance, out of breath as she made her way to the only empty seat at the high table, which she noted was as far away from Severus as was possible. She wondered if he had manoeuvred it be so. She sat down next to Professor Flitwick, who gave her a welcoming smile.

To her embarrassment, she noticed that food was already on the table and the other teachers had varying degrees of impatience written across their faces as they waited to start their meal.

"I am so sorry." She said in a small voice.

"So very kind of you to join us." Drawled Severus, as he rose from his chair.

"Now, before we begin there are some matters of business which I wish to address." He retrieved several rolls of parchment from his robes and held them up. "I received some news this morning by special owl about possible sightings of pair of Death Eaters that are still at large. One Augustus Rookwood and one Walden McNair were sighted in the Yorkshire village of Upper Flagley. Although that is still a fair distance from Hogwarts, for now, anyone wishing to leave the castle for whatever reason must ask my permission and give a time of leaving."

Minerva pursed her lips in disapproval. "I had a trip planned to Diagon Alley on Friday. I feel like a third year asking for a permission slip for a visit to Hogsmeade."

"This is for your own safety Minerva, for everyone's, and you can still go." Severus reassured her.

Hermione coughed nervously. "Was anyone hurt?" She asked.

Snape put the parchments down on the table and looked at her for the first time since she had entered the room. "There was an incidence when the Aurors gave chase, but no one was seriously injured and Miss Granger I ask that you especially adhere to my wishes in this matter."

"Why is that?" She asked.

"Because if anyone is likely to flout the rules, then it is you." He smiled meanly.

Hermione said nothing, choosing instead to look down at her empty plate. Everyone waited in silence for the Headmaster to continue

"McNair and Rookwood were reported to be hiding out in an old Muggle farmhouse and they left some belongings behind, evidence, which pointed to fact that they are out for revenge for the Dark...Voldemort's death. Miss Granger, yourself being one of the key persons that helped to bring him down makes you a...target, along with Potter and Weasley."

Hermione felt a hard lump form in her chest, her appetite fled. "Ron and Harry, they must be warned..."

"It has already been done." Snape interrupted her. "Now, perhaps without further hindrance, we can eat." He sat down and began nonchalantly buttering a slice of brown toast.

He almost had it to his mouth when Hermione spoke up. "Doesn't that put you in danger too, Headmaster? I mean you fooled them for years, not just Voldemort, but all of the Death Eaters. Surely they must want to get even with you as well."

Snape put the toast back down on his plate. "I have considered everything Miss Granger." He replied arrogantly.

Horace Slughorn, who sat on the right of Hermione, was turning an alarming shade of puce. Severus's glares were doing nothing for his nerves. He desperately sought a neutral subject. "L-lovely weather we have been having, don't you think, Hermione?"

"It seems rather stormy to me." She muttered, looking at Snape.

"Hmm, yes quite. Could you pass me one of those toasted muffins, please Filius?" Slughorn asked. He turned back to Hermione, quietly whispering under his breath. "Never mind Severus, he never was much of a morning person, even when he was a student."

Hermione grinned, feeling some of her apprehension dissolve. "Are you sure he was ever an anytime of the day person." She glanced at the subject in question as he bit into his toast.

Hermione realised in that moment that it had been a mistake to look as it drew attention to his mouth. She watched, unable to look away as the tip of his tongue licked away an errant crumb. She remembered the feel of that same tongue in her mouth as he had kissed her. Severus looked up, sensing that he was being watched. He turned his cold black eyes on her as she watched him eat. His expression seemed to ask what she found so interesting. His brows knitted together in confusion momentarily, before his eyes widened in revelation as he noted her watching his mouth. A small pleasurable smile graced her face as if she took enjoyment from it. It gave him a surge of male satisfaction that this lovely young Witch seemed to find him a sensual being. No one ever had before.

On an impulse he reached for the pot of strawberry jam and spread it liberally on his toast, licking his fingertip deliberately before he resumed eating. A quick glance at her face told him it had had the desired effect. Hermione's breath hitched in her throat, which she covered with a cough. Slughorn turned to pat her on the back.

"Be careful Miss Granger, we would not want you choking on us before you have had the chance to prove yourself."

Severus's face was akin to that of a cat that had swallowed the cream as he finished it off his slice. Let her suffer a little as she had made him suffer, he thought smugly. He sat back in his chair looking around the hall like a king surveying his kingdom. It felt good to have regained the upper hand for a while. He was the Headmaster of the most famous Wizarding school in the world, he was not about to allow that to be overturned by a slip of a Witch. If he were a wiser man, he would send her packing at the first possible opportunity, but of late his judgement seemed to have gone out the window where she was concerned. Dumbledore had seen fit to bloody well send him back here; it had to be for a reason. His eyes flicked to her for an instant...immediately regretting having done so.

Hermione had quietly studied him as he had looked about him. She had not misinterpreted that expression of self-satisfaction, either. He had liked that she had been affected by him, enjoyed it. Two could play at that game. She reached for a toasted muffin, buttered it in quick strokes and took a bite out of it. She then ran her tongue along her lower lip, mimicking his earlier actions. His sallow cheeks flushed as he watched, unable to help himself. All the other occupants in the hall melted away for both of them. Hermione went for the coup de grâce as she noticed a small glob of butter on her finger and she sucked the entire length of it into her mouth.

It was too much for him. Severus gulped down his coffee and abruptly got up from the table. "I-I have matters to attend to. If anyone wants me I will be in my office." And with that he swiftly left the hall.

Minerva looked at the retreating form of the Headmaster in bewilderment and several of them started at the loud crash as the door slammed shut behind him. The morning owls chose that moment to fly into the hall, only a few, as there were no children to deliver to. Several parcels and letters were dropped onto the table. Two letters fluttered next to Hermione. She recognised the handwriting on both of them, one from Harry and one from Ron. She quickly opened them. Both had been concerned about her wellbeing and informing her of the news about Rookwood and McNair. It seemed with Ron's father working at the ministry they had both known about the Death Eaters since late last night and had written at the first opportunity.

As always Harry had been more articulate in his letter. Ron had just penned a few lines in an untidy scrawl. Hermione tucked both letters into the pockets of her robes and looked at the two rolled up packages left for Snape, no doubt his copy of the Daily Prophet and his Potions Weekly magazine. Hermione finished her toast, swept by the empty Headmaster's chair and picked them up.

"I will take these up to the Headmaster." She paused and looked at the teachers, apologetically. "I really am sorry for being late this morning. I promise it will not happen again."

Septima looked up from her bowl of cornflakes. "See that it does not Hermione, I expect great things from you, do not disappoint me." She said sternly.

"I hope I do not."

"The morning is yours to do with as you wish, but I expect to see you directly after lunch to go through the lesson plans." Professor Vector informed her, before going back to her breakfast.

"I will be there." She promised meekly.

"Do not fret about it Miss Granger. It is your first day. I am sure you will be used to things by the time September comes around. We have to set an example to the students." Minerva said gently.

"Thank you." She turned to leave and then a thought occurred to her. "Will I need a password to gain entry to the Headmaster's office?"

"Of course." Minerva replied. "If you can wait a few minutes, I will escort you myself."

Snape paced the floor of the office. Albus had finally woken up in the portrait. When he had returned here last night, the previous headmaster had been snoring away in his chair. Severus, not exactly in the mood to have a third verbal discourse that day, had made every effort to leave him undisturbed. He had been too twisted up inside by Miss Granger and her gentle kiss. It had been the last thing that he had thought about as he had drifted off to sleep and the first thing on his mind when he had risen this morning.

"Severus, you are going to wear a hole in the floor at this rate, even if it is made of stone." Albus commented.

Snape stopped pacing immediately and spun on his heels to face his old friend. "I want to know what you bloody well know about the life that waits for me here Albus. What was so special that you sent me back with your ever enigmatic comment that fate was not done with me!" he slammed his fist down on the desk in frustration.

Albus looked at his friend, a mysterious smile spreading across his features. "Ah, but if you knew everything where would be the enjoyment in that? I have often said that death is the next great adventure, but sometimes so is living."

"You knew my life better than anyone Albus, especially as you had owned it this many years, why would..." Snape snarled.

Dumbledore cut him off mid rant. "Minerva seemed to be under the impression that you were avoiding me."

Infuriatingly, Snape knew his old comrade well enough to know he would not get any more answers out of him today, or any day, unless he chose to divulge them and it was hardly likely. "She was right. However, it was not because we needed to talk, but because I was too infuriated to see you."

Dumbledore sighed. "You cannot be angry with me forever Severus."

"No, but I can try."

Severus turned his back on the portrait, picked up his quill pen out of the inkwell and began to go through the latest batch of papers sent out by the Ministry. He had not realised just how much they stuck their noses in the day to day running of the school. He had budgets to organise, bills to be settled, and only with the stipend that the Ministry allotted them after the battle. It was far from generous. They might just have to make do with some of the books they had left from the year before, the ones that hadn't been blasted to hell anyway. Madame Pince was not going to be happy and he had already had several unpleasant encounters with that harpy.

Minerva voiced the password and the Gargoyle began to revolve as it climbed slowly upwards. The older Witch left her at the base of the stone steps, hurrying off up the corridor and disappearing round a corner. Hermione hesitantly put her foot on the first step; she took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She held his post to her chest like a talisman as the staircase climbed up. What she wouldn't give for one drop of Felix Felicis at this moment. Harry had given them what was left of his vial during the Battle of Hogwarts. It had probably helped save their lives.

She wouldn't be here now if she had not been encouraged by him licking his fingers at breakfast. Severus had looked at her as if he wanted to devour her as well as his food. He had promised to never touch her again, but she knew it had been a promise wrung from him under pressure, right now she didn't know if she wanted to flee the castle or kiss him.

She would be seeing Ron on Saturday in Hogsmeade and as much as it would hurt him they would have to have a serious talk about where they were going. As things stood she couldn't marry him, feeling this way about another man. What she felt for Snape was a grey area in her mind, but she loved Ron. But was it the kind of love she should feel for the man she had promised to marry? How could she really love Ron, and crave another man at the same time, another man such as Snape? They were as different as day and night.

The bravado she had felt of the night before when they had been alone in his rooms, evaporated, as she neared the top and could see the door, each revolution of the gargoyle taking her closer to Severus Snape. Torches burned brightly each side of the doorway, giving the entrance a cheery well lit look which, she was sure would be very different to the reception she would be likely to receive behind that door.

Not the kind to run away from anything, she straightened her back, held her head up and knocked firmly. For several moments there was nothing but silence, but then she heard a deep sigh come through from the other side.

"Come in." Several drawled.

Hermione lifted the latch and entered the Headmaster's office. The room was a little different from when she had last been here; when she had Harry had been invited to tea by Professor McGonagall. Severus had obviously added a few of his own personal touches here and there. What was most noticeable was that all of the past Headmaster's portraits were now reoccupied.

Even the malicious Phineas Nigellus Black was back in his frame. He eyed Hermione with distaste. "I see you are back, Mudblood." He sneered. "Thought now that we have a Slytherin Headmaster..."

"Silence!" Snape, all but shouted at Phineas. "Use that word again and I will banish you to your portrait in Grimmauld Place...for good."

"You cannot do that." Phineas protested.

Snape got out his wand. "I can and I will if that phrase passes your lips for a second time."

Severus had been surprised to see Hermione again; convinced he would be spared the doubtful pleasure of her company at least until lunchtime. However, he would not tolerate Phineas or anyone else using that word. It was an expensive word that had cost him dear already and he was not about to repeat the experience. He glanced at Hermione, she had gone pale and her eyes shone with unshed tears. It reminded him all too much of the time he had called Lily that unpardonable name and it squeezed at his heart.

"Miss Granger, I am certain Phineas would like to take this opportunity to apologise to you."

Hermione looked at Phineas. "I see the time spent in my bag did little to sweeten your temper."

Phineas glanced nervously at Snape, who still had his wand out and pointed at the portrait. "Perhaps, I was a little too hasty in my greeting; I believe we did work well together in the quest to bring down Vol..."

"Thank you Phineas." Hermione interrupted him, accepting that it was about as much as an apology that she would get from the cranky old Wizard.

She turned her attention back to Snape, ignoring Phineas's sour expression. "You left the hall rather hastily this morning and missed your morning post." She said innocently, dropping the two rolled up tubes on the surface of his desk. Severus slowly put away his wand and looked at them. "Potions Weekly and the Daily Prophet, I believe." Hermione added.

Snape looked at her suspiciously. "How do you know, have you been going through them?"

"Just observations." She admitted. "I used to see you put them out in the classrooms, once or twice I arrived early and watched you through the door."

Snape looked surprised. He had indeed left his old copies of Potions Weekly laying around in hopes that the bigger dunderheads of his class might improve; sadly no amount of help would advance some of the Witches and Wizards in his charge. However, what had stunned him more was that she admitted to having watched him and long before any awareness had sprung up between them. Most people avoided him, even looking at him, but then he had to confess that Hermione was not most people.

Severus turned his attentions, if not his thoughts, back to the pile of papers on his desk. Several moments passed, he had expected to hear her to leave and became slightly agitated at her continued presence. He could feel her eyes upon him. He had not wholly recovered from her performance at breakfast. Seeing her finger disappear into her mouth, those pink lips enclosing it...sucking off the butter. He acknowledged that he had no one but himself to blame, he had started something with her and she had upped the ante.

"Was there anything else Miss Granger?" He enquired; he lifted his gaze to her and raised an eyebrow.

Hermione hesitated, biting her lip. "I came to ask permission for a trip into Hogsmeade on Saturday."

"What time, where exactly in Hogsmeade and with whom?"

"The Three Broomsticks, one o'clock and with Ron Weasley." She replied with an equal economy for words.

His eyes narrowed slightly and she could see by the flare of his nostrils that he was gripped by some emotion that she could not quite identify. At times like these she wished she was a little bit more experienced and then she would feel more equal to this powerful Wizard in front of her. At the moment she felt like she had a tiger by the tail and if she let go for an instant he would consume her.

"Having a little tete-a-tete with Mr Weasley? How nice, I was unaware that Madam Rosmerta rented out rooms by the hour. Although, looking at the boy I doubt he will need the whole hour to fuck you. He wouldn't last five minutes."

Hermione gasped at the crudity of his words. "Why must you be so cruel?"

"It's my nature." Snape replied curtly.

"I don't believe that for one second, not anymore."

"Then you do not truly know me Miss Granger, I have had a great propensity for cruelty in the past."

"In the past being the operative words...you have done some terrible things Severus Snape, I am not so brainless as to not realise that. How could you manage to fool Voldemort himself for so long, otherwise?" She reminded him.

Snape roughly pulled up the sleeve of his frock coat. "I did not get...this," He looked at his faded Dark Mark in evident disgust. "By being a good man."

If he expected to send her running by the mere sight of the physical proof of his past allegiance to Voldemort, then he did not know her that well either. "Is that supposed to scare me?" Hermione rolled up the sleeve of her blouse and showed Severus the pinkish scar on her arm, courtesy of Bellatrix Lestrange.

He looked at her exposed flesh, reading the very word they had heard Phineas utter only moments ago.

"Maybe this is not in the same league, but as you see, I have my share of battle scars too."

Snape clenched his fists in impotent rage. Bellatrix, that sick bitch. If Molly Weasley had not already killed her, then he would have hunted her down himself for that. "Did it happen when you and your friends were taken to Malfoy Manor?" He asked.

"Yes," She said quietly. "It had to be an enchanted blade, nothing would remove the scar. So, like you I am stuck with it."

Hermione walked around the desk to stand next to him, looking at all the portraits. Every single one was watching them with a keen interest and several of the more elderly Headmasters had even gotten out ear trumpets to better listen to their exchange. She glanced behind Severus's head, straight into the eyes of Albus Dumbledore. He smiled at her and gave her a wink before closing his eyes and settling down for a nap.

"Severus, I hate to remind you, but the walls have ears, quite literally."

Severus pulled up his sleeve, removed his wand from his robes, and waved it at the walls and the occupants immediately left the frames.

"Bloody portraits. I have them giving their advice on how to run Hogwarts all day long."

"And I thought you didn't go in for foolish wand waving. Where did you send them?" She asked.

"Anywhere, but here. It won't harm them to share canvas with the other paintings in the castle for an hour or two until the spell wears off."

Hermione picked up several pieces of parchment and moved them carefully along the desk, clearing herself a space on its surface, she sat down. He knew he should be angry at her for her impudence, but it was wonderful to have her in this close proximity again. He placed his hands flat on the desk, willing them to stay there. The gesture was not lost on her as she studied his elegant fingers.

"I will ignore your earlier unkind remark about my meeting Ron and tell you something you might be interested in."

"Really?" He asked doubtfully. He unconsciously held his breath in anticipation.

"I am not going to marry him." There, she had said it out loud. "At least I am going to tell him that I need more time and that perhaps we should see...other people."

Severus stared back at her, his black eyes piercing. How could she have ever thought them dark and empty? Whatever he was feeling, he quickly got control over it as he gave her a studied look of indifference at her words.

"Decided to play the field a bit Miss Granger and go back to Mr Weasley with a tad more experience? Don't think you will use me to get it."

"Merlin's balls Severus." She snapped angrily.

"Language Miss Granger, no doubt you learned it by spending too much time with that fiancé of yours."

"You were the first one who brought vulgar language into this conversation, not I!" she reminded him.

"Yes, but I am Headmaster of Hogwarts and while I am here, I can do what I damn well please. You would do well to remember it. While we are at it, there will be no more disgraceful displays like the one at breakfast or at any other mealtime."

Hermione stood up, her hands on her hips as she looked at him; glad he was still sitting, so she at least had the advantage of height for now. "You started that too!" She gave him a pitying look. "Harry once told me that you despise people who wear their hearts on their sleeves. I wonder if it is because secretly you envy them because you have no heart to wear on yours." She finished desolately.

Severus flinched at her words. "What sort of reaction did you want to your announcement that you have changed your mind about being Mrs Weasley...possibly?" He got up from the chair with a loud scrape. "Perhaps you would like me to get on bended knee, kiss your robes and write you a sonnet?"

He was desperately attempting destroy this fragile thing between them with each word he uttered, but he didn't seem able to stop himself. He could see the crushed hurt on her face. His chest constricted painfully. It was better to rip the seed out, before it took root. Being with him could come to no good. Yes, he had admitted to her only last night that he wanted her, but he could not afford to take the final step and give into that want. Hermione stirred a fire in him that threatened to blaze out of control like a burst of Fiendfyre. He could not take the chance of rejection. Lily had chosen James in the end, just as he knew Hermione would ultimately choose Ron. Why would anyone want him and for life?

"No, I would not expect such things from you. I think tenderness is rarely used word in your internal dictionary, but when I look at you, I see a man who gently held a dead Lily Potter in his arms and wept. Perhaps, if I had not seen that I would see no future in my feelings for you. Do not shut yourself away forever Severus that would be two lives wasted, yours and hers."

He fought an internal struggle with himself. "Do not pin your hopes on me Miss Granger, people I have loved and people I have hated have died for knowing me."

"Very well, but you cannot tell me how to feel." She held out her hand with her engagement ring that Ron had given her; she slipped it from her finger and put it in the pocket of her waistcoat. "I just hope Ron can forgive me one day." Hermione said sadly.

She didn't mean to cry, it had not been her intention, but with her confused emotions, his bitter words and the thought of her forthcoming meeting with Ron were all too much for her. Hermione fiercely wiped away the tears that spilled down her face, angry at her weakness. Severus's hands curled into fists at his sides to stop him from reaching for her and holding her in his arms. A broken cry crumbled his final line of defence. He roughly pulled her close, placing his hand on her head as he pressed her to his chest. Hermione nestled closer to him with an odd feeling of having come home, feeling completely safe within the circle of his arms. His hand slipped lower and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"I thought you would never touch me again." She hiccupped in between sobs. Hermione instantly regretted her words as she felt his hold on her, slacken. She took his hands and put them back around her waist. "You really are better at this than you give yourself credit for, you know." He returned to stroking her back. Shivers of sensation ran up her spine.

Severus could not speak, he had no words for how good and how right it felt, holding her so close. He had never embraced another being in such a way, not even Lily when she had been alive, nor his mother who had never been one for displays of affection, even to her own son.

Of the few sexual encounters he had had as a younger man, they had been with Witches, more to the point, female Death Eaters and it had been all about sex to them, no real wanting or care. In the face of Hermione's distress it had been his first instinct to hold her, an instinct that had shaken him into silence.

Hermione decided that she could happily stay here evermore, pressed up against the soft wool of his frock coat, her cheek brushing the long row of buttons. Her fingertip traced one of them, accidentally unfastening it. Hermione sucked in a breath as she quested further beneath the material and encountered a linen shirt and more buttons. She went deeper still, feeling him flinch as her fingertip touched the bare flesh of his chest beneath the layers of fabric. From where she was, she could feel the thud of his heart as it gathered pace, his breathing becoming more shallower.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" He asked, his voice, low and deep to match his breathing.

She smiled as he used her name, unfastening another button and slipping a second finger in to stroke his chest. "I need to touch you." She admitted. "Do you not feel the same way?"

Severus still could not articulate words. He groaned as she found his nipple. Hermione had never explored a man in such an intimate way before, not even with Ron. She wanted to know all of his secrets hidden away behind the austere garments that he wore. She sought to hear him moan again and was rewarded by another sound torn from his throat as she touched the sensitive flesh. She pulled back a little and could see the pale skin of his chest through the gap and a light smattering of dark hair upon it. Severus stopped stroking her back, to cup her face in his hands.

"Kiss me, please?" She pleaded.

"You are so needy." He hissed.

"Aren't you? Aren't you sick of always feeling alone, even in a room full of people?" She replied.

In answer, he lowered his head and kissed her hard on the lips until she surrendered her mouth to him, opening for his tongue as it begged entry. He allowed himself the luxury of running his hands through her snarled mass of hair, enjoying the feel of its heavy weight. At some point during their feverish kisses she felt herself lifted up and placed upon the desk once more.

They broke apart for breath. "Gods Severus, I swear you could draw a woman's soul out of her body with your mouth more efficiently than a Dementor."

His chest swelled with pleasure and contentment at her words, but cold reason started to take over him. He looked around the room, as if realising where they were for the first time. If he carried on like this he would end up taking her on his desk. An erotic vision flashed before his eyes of her spread out among the papers, parting her legs... He grew harder. He detected a delicious scent coming from her, which he recognised as her mutual arousal.

"We have to stop." He said reluctantly. The throb of his erection was as painful as it was pleasurable within its confines. He released her to adjust himself.

Hermione watched the movement. She ached for him, not wanting to break the contact between them. "What if I do not want you to stop?" She pulled his head back down, and his lips brushed along her neck. He moved away the collar of her blouse and he sucked at the flesh beneath, marking her as his. She welcomed the slight sting, wanting his brand on her skin.

Severus pulled away reluctantly, Hermione tried to kiss him again, but he put his hands gently on her shoulders. "Stop...we must." He hastily refastened the buttons on his shirt and frock coat that she had loosened and tried to gain some semblance of control.

Hermione took his hand and curled her own fingers around it. It pleased her that he did not remove it, but returned the gesture, looking at her tiny hand in his. She looked him deep in the eyes. "I came here unclear on how to proceed with you, but I had to know, for my own peace of mind and I am sure for yours. I am an all or nothing type of person, and I think you are the same...I know what I must do now...I cannot expect Ron to wait around for me, it would be cruel...you've told me to not pin my hopes on you, but I will." She breathed.

There was a knock on the door, they sprang apart. Severus swiftly moved to his high back chair, finding refuge as well as concealment behind his desk. He would have a hard time explaining the erection that was currently tenting his trousers as well as Hermione's presence in her current state. Her mouth looked as if it had been thoroughly plundered, her lips swollen and the high blush of excitement on her face were doing nothing to abate his need for her.

"One moment." He called out. "Quickly, take some floo powder from the mantle and get out of here. It is connected to most rooms of the castle; may I suggest the staff room?"

Hermione took a moment to gather her thoughts. She nodded vaguely as she straightened her robes and tried to smooth down her hair, made even more unruly by his earlier caresses. "I think I had better get back to my quarters and make myself presentable for lunch and Professor Vector. I assume there is a connection to the DADA classroom?"

"Yes, there is, but I think I should close it after today." He replied.

"Why?"

"Because you are too of a much temptation Miss Granger...and in light of recent events, I give you permission to visit Hogsmeade on Saturday."

"Thank you."

He waited until the green flames had died away and looked to the door, unconscious of the smile on his face. "Come in."

TBC