Author Notes: Wow.. Longest chapter so far. Once the plot bunnies were fed candy bars and beef sticks, they began to multiply at an alarming rate. GRAPHIC IMAGERY, TORTURE, SEXUALLY EXPLICIT DETAILS… and yes, the moment you've been waiting for. And every sticky detail of it…LOL! Grab your cigarettes, ladies and gentlemen, you'll need them.
The man in the dark robes stirred momentarily before opening his eyes. What he saw before him was gut wrenching. A pale frail form lay beneath a thin satin sheet. Her frame was delicate, yet, supple in the right places. Her gaunt features were bruised and scarred. Could he have done anything different? Was it perhaps his hint to Lucius that led to this torture? Severus felt something he had never felt before in his life…compassion.
"Mrs. Malfoy."
"He isn't around. Call me Hermione. Please."
He nodded slightly and reached for a vial from his pocket. He slowly let the contents drip onto her lips and slide onto her tongue. Her pain eased almost immediately.
"Thank you," she whispered as she closed her eyes to relax and let the potion take effect. "How long have you been here?"
"Hours. He asked me to watch over you while he was away."
Her perplexed look prodded him to continue. "You will finally be able to rest, Hermione. Lucius will be gone for two months working for Fudge. I can only guess as to their intentions, but I can assure you it will not be good."
Hermione nodded as best she could and tried to sit up.
"Don't," was the harsh reply to her actions. "You are not well enough to move about."
"I have to prepare. I have two months to figure out how to get out of this mess. I have to get started." She tried to sit up once more, but he placed a strong hand on her abdomen to prevent her from completing her task.
"Miss Granger, you of all people should understand that in order for a plan to work, you must have all the proper notations and documentations. You may dictate to me if you like, or I can purchase a Quick Notes Quill for you."
She smiled at the mention of her maiden name and his slip of the tongue for saying it. It warmed her to recognize that Severus didn't view her as an aristocratic matriarch, but rather still young and of her own mind.
"Very well. I need to find allies. People who will help me gather as much information as I can about Malfoy's meetings, business deals, and whatever else that I can use against him."
Severus nodded slightly. "I believe I know of a few. I can speak to them on your behalf. Test the waters in which they stand to see where their loyalties lie. I do know of one in particular that will help our cause. I will owl him this evening."
"Good. Now, I know that in front of the purebloods it has to seem as if Lucius is in control at all times. But I need to have the ability to act and speak when I'm compelled to do so. I don't want to walk around under Imperio should he decide he wants me to."
Severus stood and walked to the small table on the opposite side of the room. He withdrew a quill and some parchment. "Here." He jotted some words and handed the piece of paper to Hermione. "Recite this to yourself at any moment when you feel he might use the curse on you. You will not be immune to the effects but you will be more likely to fight it off, given your training of it already."
Hermione looked over the spell and saw the logic of it. She repeated the words softly. "Denego iubeo iussi iussum Lucius." It had the opposite meaning of the Imperius curse, however, required a lot of her power to actually work. She accepted the consequences that it could entail, folded the scrap of paper, and placed it somewhere safe.
There were a few moments of silence before she spoke again. "Severus," his insides seemed to rumble at her soft use of his name, "Thank you for everything you're doing. I know we haven't particularly been civil to one another, but I do appreciate anything you can do to help me. That spell alone was more than I could have wished for. To think of the things he could make me do." She shivered involuntarily.
Severus noticed the twitch and felt compelled to make her more comfortable. He cast a warming charm on the duvet and stood to tuck the edges in around her body. His hands began at her feet gently lifting each leg to place the blanket underneath. Slowly, they made their way up her legs, to her thighs, to her hips, to her waist, and to her chest. It wasn't until each hand was placed under each of her arms that he realized he was hovering over her provocatively. His eyes were caught by hers. His hair had tumbled into his face during his ministrations with the bed linens. Hermione reached up and tucked the stray lock behind his ear. She was sure to take her time doing so. She had to feel it. It wasn't nearly as oily as it looked. It was actually rather soft and shiny. Her hand stopped against the side of his neck. The stubble that tickled her palm was proof that he had been there all this time watching over her. Before she realized what she was doing, Hermione moved her hand to the nape of his neck and pulled him down to her lips.
The kiss was tender and, yet, desperate. It was then Hermione realized that the man pressed against her had been lost to intimacy much like herself in recent months. This made her want him more. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down onto the bed completely. Severus held her in his arms tight as he tried not to crush her. She was still weak, after all, and vulnerable.
Yes, vulnerable. Maybe too vulnerable.
"No, I can't…Hermione, I can't," he said as he raised himself from the bed. He ran his hands through his hair and took a long deep breath.
"Why not?"
He dared not turn to face her. He would only be swept back into her waiting, anxious, hungry arms again. "I have to protect you. Doing this would only complicate matters."
"Everything seems complicated as it is, Severus."
He cringed. He hated to do it, but he had to. There was no other way. "Perhaps we should forego the familiarities, Mrs. Malfoy."
There was no reply for the longest stretch of time until a rather hard stuffed pillow smacked him squarely on the back of the head.
"Get out of my room, Mr. Snape."
Hermione took the afternoon and much of the night reviewing every moment Lucius laid a hand on her. She wanted to feel the repulsion. This was her driving force. To relive every second his hands touched her, whether it was sexual or brutal. Hermione curled up on the seat which curved with the bay window of her turret bedroom. She closed her eyes and hugged herself tight. She played every moment back in her mind.
She walked slowly to the door off the side of the kitchen. Lucius followed her down the cold stone steps. She wouldn't raise her eyes to the see the room. She didn't want to know what was in store for her. He grabbed her wrist and jerked her to the nearest wall. Her arms were lifted above her head and shackled. Her ankles were pressed against the concrete behind her and also locked into place a few feet apart from each other. Lucius drew his wand and removed her robe with a flick of his wrist. She was covered in nothing more than a sheen of nervous sweat. She already felt betrayed as her core was thoroughly exposed to the chilling breeze that brushed against her sensitive skin.
Hermione felt his presence move away. She looked up to see if he was just going to leave her there bound to the wall. The sight before her mad her gag. Shackles of all sizes were dangling from the ceiling. Many of which were metal with sharp barbs placed in precarious positions. What made her sick was that some of the barbs still had flesh and blood hanging from their points. A table in the middle of the room was made of wood, however, Hermione seriously doubted it was mahogany even it did have a dark red hue. The floors were slick with pink water, a mixture of the clear liquid and what Hermione could only assume was blood that had been washed away. Lying on the table were dozens of knives, spikes, and hand saws. Most of them were recently used. Hermione could hold her tongue no longer and the shriek that permeated the darkness echoed long after she had closed her mouth to keep from spilling her breakfast.
She clenched her eyes tight hoping that some divine intervention would remove the grotesque images from her memory. They snapped open when the wet leather strips crashed against her left breast. Lucius stood in front of her in his Death Eater robes and mask. He didn't bother pulling up the hood so his long platinum hair flowed off his shoulders and whipped into his face just as the whip in his hand slapped against her other breast. The stinging pain was tremendous. And that's when Hermione finally broke down into sobs. Not from her situation or from what Lucius was doing, but from the way her body responded. It liked it.
Hermione wanted desperately to close her legs and keep from having an orgasm that stemmed from this punishment. However, her body had other motives. And when Lucius withdrew his wand and began to pump it inside her, she came. She could feel the splinters driving into her soft walls, but she could do nothing to stop the flow of her juices as they coated Lucius' hand.
Hermione, still sitting on the window seat, cringed as she thought about her body's mutiny. She despised how he could control it. That's why she was so thankful for the spell Severus gave her earlier.
She decided that enough was enough. She couldn't sit there and pity herself any longer without driving herself mad. In fact, she was still enjoying the idea of making Lucius insane. She stood from her seat and prepared for bed. The quilts were still warm from Severus' charm and quickly helped her fall deep into sleep.
The visions that played in her head were erotic to say the very least. Severus had bound her to his potions table. She was spread eagle and writhing to every thrust of his wand. She could feel the smooth ebony heartwood enter her folds and press hard against her most receptive regions. His mouth was clasping onto her erect nipple and biting lightly. She could feel the intensity. If anything, Severus Snape was intense. He removed his wand and mounted her. He was so hard. Rock solid was the term that floated through her fantasy. His best black teaching robes fell around her surrounding them both in void of color except for her naked skin, their flushed faces, and his pulsating member.
Hermione awoke the next morning with an agonizing ache between her legs. She took a few moments to stretch her still sore muscles and retrieved her wand from the bedside table. She re-enacted her dream down to every exquisite detail. When she finally climaxed, she noticed the aroma on the air.
Reluctantly, she rose from her nice comfortable sheets and tied her robe around her waist. She descended the stairs and heard an unfamiliar sound. As she got closer to the kitchen, she noticed it was the sound of humming. And not just any tune, but from Monty Python.
Hermione turned the corner to find none other than the object of her lust bobbing back and forth from foot to foot, humming in front of the stove. She did her best to keep her giggles to herself as she listened intently. To her surprise, he stayed in tune rather well. Her belly quivered when she wondered what his voice would sound like singing. She waited for the right part, pursed her lips together, and came in on cue…whistling.
He jumped near out of his skin, the pan in his hand falling to the floor, scrambled eggs scattered across the tile. Hermione could hold her laughter no longer and doubled over. She honestly thought for a split second she was going to have to run to the loo. She gained a smidge of her composure and looked up at him. It was the deepest scowl she had ever seen him display.
"Always looking on the bright side of life, huh?" she asked barely able to keep a straight face. His features grew darker. "Don't worry. You're secret is safe with me."
Severus' demeanor changed slightly as he cleaned up the mess with a wave of his hand. He placed another pan on the stove and began to prepare more eggs.
"You don't have to bother with those. I haven't the stomach for them at the moment," Hermione said as she took a seat and began to fill her plate with pancakes and bacon. Smothering it all in maple syrup, she noticed the man across the room approach.
He picked a piece of bacon off her plate, popped it into his mouth, and then reached for a piece of bread. He sat down not opposite of her at the other end of the table or across the room, but directly to her left on the corner. He, too, chose pancakes and bacon, but forewent the syrup and grabbed the blueberry preserves. Hermione watched intently as he spread a thin layer on the top flapjack and took a bite. She observed him close his eyes to revel in the tart sweetness in his mouth. She momentarily thought of how she would taste to him. Tart? Sweet? Somewhere deliciously in between. She was so entranced by her own thoughts that she didn't realize he was looking directly at her. Directly at her thoughts.
Severus was so aroused by the picture in his head she was displaying for him that he couldn't control it any longer.
"Let's find out," he said as he swept out of his chair. He flicked his wrist and removed most of the dishes from the table. He then proceeded to pick her up from her chair and placed her haphazardly upon her pancakes. Hermione felt the mush beneath her squeeze out from under her bum, but she didn't care. Severus had taken her mouth possessively with his own. She could taste the blueberries on his tongue as it explored her mouth, caressing her own with tender strokes. He buried his hand into her hair and laid her back onto his plate. He stood between her legs and admired his new dish. In an instant, Hermione could feel the sticky meal against her bare skin. Both she and Severus were now completely nude. He leaned over her, taking her mouth again. When he pulled back, the jar of jam was in his hand. He stuck two fingers into the purple mess and withdrew them. He slathered her nipples with the fruit and proceeded to clean them with his tongue. He licked them clean, sucking and biting alternatively. Hermione arched against him.
His mouth continued the ministrations travelling down her stomach. Hermione gasped when she felt the warm wetness push against her entrance. Both of her hands flew out to grab the edges of the table. One hand landed in the butter, the other knocked over the syrup.
Hermione whispered lightly, "Bind me."
Severus looked up from his dessert and did as she asked. He bound her hands to the table with a spell and continued feasting on her nectar. It was almost exactly like Hermione fantasized. It was coming to life. All she needed now was for him to…
Her grunt was guttural. He thrust inside her with such force that her body slid in the mixture of syrup, jam, butter, and smashed pancakes. Her back was lightly scratched by the crisp bacon, but it was that tease of pain that had her reeling.
Severus pounded into her with enough force to drive the table against the stove. The pots and pans hanging overhead began to clatter and bang. Hermione waved her hand and cast a fastening charm on the lot of them so they wouldn't fall on top of the breathless pair. Her hands grasped onto his hips, begging for more and goading him to go faster. He complied.
It was almost over as fast as it begun. Hermione found herself sticky and tired. She looked up and saw Severus stepping out from between her legs. He bent over slightly to catch his breath. He felt her small hand caress the back of his head. He looked up.
The look in her eye was enough to get his blood flowing south again. "How about a shower?" she asked with a sly smile. Severus scooped her up from the table and carried her up to the main bathroom kissing her deeply the entire way.
AN: Song.. "Always look on the bright side of life" By Monty Python