Chapter 9-Halloween Night

Hermione woke with a smile on her face. Draco had been right. He does care! Her smile was quickly replaced with a frown as she hardened her resolve. It had been tough to reach through Severus' mind. She knew that if she did this every night until Halloween Night, he would dismiss what took place that night as a dream as well. She sighed as she slipped out of the covers. It was best for Severus that way. Her plan for the Final Battle would more than likely result in her death and it would be easier if Severus thought all he had was dreams and then discover that they were memories he could keep with him. That and it was dangerous in this time to form a relationship.

She quickly threw on some of her muggle clothes and waited for Luna to get ready. Blast Dumbledore and his insistence on an escort!

Luna was smiling at Hermione when she met Hermione in Draco's Common Room. "So," Luna drawled, "Severus is it?"

Hermione stiffened, shot her a poisonous look, and grabbed a pillow off the couch and tossed it at her.

"Don't worry me and Ginny hadn't planned on telling the boys. It's only obvious to us because we're female. And since Ginny is actually dating Draco, he told her who it was. That and you said his name several times while you were sleeping. Nice dreams?" Luna giggled out as she easily caught the pillow Hermione had tossed at her and threw it back at her.

"Yes, thank you," Hermione replied snippily. "Shall we attend lunch then?" This week was bound to be lots of fun, Hermione mentally rolled her eyes.

Luna nodded and followed Hermione out of the portrait.

The ball was a formal event. And it was starting in fifteen minutes. Hermione was almost ready. Since she wasn't Head Girl, at her request, she didn't have to be early, but she did want to arrive relatively on time. There. She thought as she put the final touches on her hair. Time to face everyone. She smirked. It would be no surprise to see her in Slytherin colors, but not many people knew which Slytherin actually had commandeered her heart.

Severus was scowling and pacing like a maniac. The sooner this ball started the sooner it would be over with. He loathed the fact that the Headmaster had mandated that all staff be present until the end or until he personally dismissed them. Of course, he had no date, so he didn't have anyone to talk to. The room was so silent a pen could have dropped in the dungeons and you could have heard it. Severus glanced toward the entrance and froze mid-stride. Mia. That was the only way he thought of her now, at least in his brain. For the past six night he had been haunted not by nightmares, but by her. She was stunningly and achingly beautiful. Her floor-length gown was a shimmering emerald and silver swirl. As she entered and headed toward Draco, he noticed that the dress was backless, with corset style top, a flowing ball-appropriate skirt, and her straps were no more than a single strand off emeralds and diamonds. Not to mention the gorgeous teardrop emerald earrings and an emerald-cut diamond around her neck. Whoosh, all the air in a man's lungs were no longer needed.

The music and conversations had started back up. At that moment though, he wished more than anything that she was dressed that way for him, but she would be off to shag Lupin after the ball was over. He shot the werewolf a purely venomous look. Well am I a Slytherin or not, he thought firmly. He smoothly strode over to where Draco and Hermione were talking.

"Mr. Malfoy, may I snatch my apprentice from you for a dance?"

Draco turned to Hermione with a devilish look in his eye. "Miss Granger, would you mind doing my Head of House the unmentionable pleasure of dancing with him?"

Hermione's eyes sparkled and she smiled innocently. She turned to address the Professor in question. "It would be my honor, sir." She extended her hand and as Severus lead her to the dance floor; she looked over her shoulder and winked at Draco.

Neither Severus or Hermione noticed that conversations were hushed once more. Their only thoughts were for each other. Everyone around them had to scoop their jaws off the floor and force themselves to pay attention to something else; they did not want to watch their hated potions Professor dance.

Severus twirled her to him once they arrived at their destination, but was careful to keep a professional distance. He fought against his body's reaction to her closeness and so he reverted to his Professor mode of speech.

"Slytherin colors, Miss Granger? Not very Gryffindor of you is it? What do all your friends in that house think of tonight selection of dress?" He sneered brutally.

Hermione looked up at him and smirked. "Well as seeing how my boyfriend is a Slytherin and that I am your apprentice, they are not at all surprised to find that both yourself and Draco have corrupted me in that respect. Besides, I've always enjoyed wearing green." Her eyes were full of humor and mirth. Severus knew that Draco was not really her boyfriend, but he didn't know that she wished he could be.

"What about you, sir? I never thought I'd see the day you actually danced at one of these functions. Or without your normal teaching robes on." She inquired; her innocent voice was not working at the moment.

Professor Snape growled. "The Headmaster threatened my future employment options if I did not attend and did not dance at least once. You, Miss Granger, besides Draco are the only person I can stand being around for the length of a song. It would not look good for my reputation if I were to dance with your boyfriend. Don't you agree?" He tried to sound vicious, but that worked as well as her trying to sound innocent.

Hermione almost giggled, but stopped herself in time. It would not look good for either of them if she did that and she struggled to put a stern expression on her face. She tried to think of a response, but the song was ending. Regrettably, she drew away from him, curtsied, and he swiftly escorted her back to Draco.

The next few hours flew by. It was time to put her plan in effect. She turned to Draco, who pulled her into a fierce embrace and whispered in her ear, "Go get him, tiger." She giggled and went to Harry. He was to be her escort down there so he could meet Ron in Draco's Common Room with none the wiser. Luna and Neville already had claims on the guest bedroom.

They walked in silence for a while. They had almost made it to the potions classroom when Hermione whirled on Harry.

"Give it here, Harry! I won't let you find out who it is until I'm ready to tell you!"

"Give you what, Hermione? I don't know what you're babbling about." Harry really couldn't lie to Hermione when she was glaring at him. "Okay, okay, don't get your knickers in a twist." He said belligerently as he handed the Marauder's Map to her.

She flashed him a feral look and promptly replied with, "Oh, Harry didn't you know. I wasn't planning on worrying about my knickers at all?" Harry blushed, kissed her on the cheek, headed toward Draco's rooms once she was in the potions classroom, he didn't even stop to wonder why she was going to be meeting her man in there.

Hermione sighed. One problem down, she thought as she put her school robes over her dress, one major one to go. Time to get to work. She laid out the tea; she knew that as soon as Professor Snape came down, he would need it. She hastily added the forgetfulness potion and then hesitated, silently debating whether or not to add the lust potion. She sighed and put that vial away, she could always sneak it in later if necessary. She set to work brewing Wolfsbane, since she could leave that particular potion by itself for a few days once she completed certain steps.

Upstairs in the Great Hall. A seemingly normal exchange happened. Ron nudged Ginny and left the Great Hall, Ginny whispered in Draco's ear, Draco nodded to the Headmaster, and Dumbledore made his way to Professor Snape.

Severus was cursing the Headmaster as he entered the classroom and slammed the door behind him. He immediately noticed a fragrance of vanilla and fresh rain and looked up to see Miss Granger in her gorgeous ball gown with her school robes hanging open while she worked. He also noticed the tea and made a beeline for it, immensely grateful for her insight.

"Was it really that bad, Professor?" Hermione asked softly.

He scoffed as he loosened his tuxedo bowtie and unbuttoned the top button of his green shirt. "Of course," he replied sharply. Before he had a sip of the tea, he remember his manners. "Miss Granger, would you like to join me for a cup of tea for the duration of the simmering time?"

"Yes, sir. I'd like that, just hold on a minute." She finished the last step she could do, removed her school robes, took a deep breathe, exhaled, grabbed her cup of waiting tea, and followed him into his study.

"God, it was bloody awful. However, it was nice to catch a few couples snogging on the dance floor and remove points from them. Ironically enough it seemed that I happened upon no Slytherin couples." He smirked as they sat opposite one another. He took a sip of his tea and relaxed into his chair.

"No, detentions, Professor? I'm appalled. What's going to happen to your reputation?" Hermione watched him carefully from beneath her eyelashes and took a sip of her own tea.

He chuckled softly. "No, no detentions tonight, Albus stepped in." He drank more of his tea…there was a new taste in it. He was having a hard time pacing it, which was very unusual. He was a Potions Master after all.

They sat in silence, both draining their cups. As Severus felt a strange feeling come over, the last semiconscious thought was the hint of chocolate. The tea tasted of chocolate.

Hermione had waited for this and pointed a finger at him, "Mobilicorpus." She had exactly one minute to put him in designated chair to make him think this was all a dream. Thank God Draco had given her the passwords to his private chambers. She took off his shoes and socks with certain spells and put him in his chair by his fireplace with his teacup in his hand; she slipped off her own shoes and hid them under her chair. She remembered that they were both wearing glamours and quickly removed them with a wave of her hand.

Severus shook himself awake. He smelled a perfume. Mia. She was as beautiful as ever sitting in the chair beside him calmly sipping her tea. That dress had definitely been made just for her and for him he added.

He shot her an inquiring look. "I must have fallen asleep earlier than I planned."

She laughed merrily.

He set his cup down on the table, took hers and placed it down as well. He stood and held out his hand. "Would you do me the undeniable pleasure of bestowing this dance on me, Mia?" God's he was as nervous as a schoolboy, but he daren't show it.

She silently slipped her hand into his and allowed him to pull her gently into his arms. Hermione thought hard for a moment, negligently waved a hand, and music started playing. She knew it was one of his favorites and she automatically added both their favorite slow songs to the play list.

A phrase his grandfather had uttered when he was younger sprang to his mind as he gazed at her: If you want to make love to a woman, do it in the bedroom. If you want to seduce a woman completely, do it in the dance. His mind made up, he began to pour his energy into the seduction of Miss Hermione Granger, even if it was just in his dreams.

Hermione was breathless with anticipation. Severus was guiding her expertly in the dance; she was aware of nothing but how their bodies moved together. Draco's words rang in her head: He'll be more affected by you than the potion, Hermione; she was glad she had forgone adding the lust potion It coincided with Severus' actions these past few nights in their shared dreams. Although, nothing in the dreams could have prepared her for the response she felt when he whispered his nickname for her in her ear as he had asked for the dance. Gods, his voice. It was a low, vibrating baritone, but when he had spoken her name, he had dropped his voice another octave. She had to struggle not to shiver.

Severus watched her in fascination as she flushed with each brushing of their bodies. He had never realized how potent love, real love, made foreplay. He smiled, it seemed when you were in love every act done out of love was an act of foreplay in a category by itself. The skin on her back was creamy, flawless. As his hand moved up and down her back, he began to wonder if all her skin was the same texture and abruptly, he felt himself flush with arousal.

Neither of them knew when they stopped dancing at all. Their movements no longer followed the beat of the music, but the beat of their hearts. The moved toward the bed slowly. There was need to rush, Severus thought, he had all night in his dreams.

Hermione thought for sure she was dreaming. Yet, the fact that the normally cold dungeons were unbearable hot convinced her otherwise. She lowered her hands from his neck to begin slowly unbuttoning his shirt. She planted kisses along each inch of freshly exposed flesh. After all, that book about 'love' had been part of her research and had given her some very helpful hints. She looked up into Severus' eyes and flashed him a feral grin as she slowly pushed his shirt off his shoulders. She circled him, a predator stalking its prey. She nipped at his shoulders and neck, every so often flicking her tongue out to taste him, running her own hands up and down his sculpted body.

As she circled in front of him, Severus pulled her roughly against him and sought to sear her soul with a kiss of earth-shattering proportions. That feral grin she had shot him, combined with the bites and her hands, nearly drove him to the brink of his control. At the same time, however, he decided that rather than using spells to find them of their restrictive clothing, that undressing one another added to the seduction. Of both parties, he added wirily.

No words passed between the two as they continued to reveal and explore one another. Spoken words were not necessary; their eyes and instincts guided them. Each caress, moan, and growl communicated their feelings just fine.

They stood in silence, face to face. Exposed to each other: mind, body, heart, and soul. They leisurely looked one another up and down, amazed at the true beauty the other possessed. He noticed that Mia didn't flinch when she saw his scars or the Dark Mark; she simply accepted all of him, without reservations. Severus gently picked Mia up and laid her on the bed. "Gods, you're even more beautiful than I ever imagined." Severus breathed, barely registering that the words escaped his lips. He laid down beside her and a moment before he dragged her into his fierce embrace, whispered, "I love you, Mia."

Hermione crept softly out of the bed; she couldn't afford to wake him and the potion would be wearing off any moment. She should have left either, she scolded herself mentally, but she was amazed to find how peaceful and young Severus looked while sleeping and had spent a long time watching the rise and fall of his chest. She muttered a few spells as she slipped her clothes back on, she remembered that she had to replace their glamours and did so quickly.

There, no sign she was ever there. She had used a rare charm to send her virgin's blood to an unbreakable flask in the potions classroom so it wouldn't interfere with the activities. She flushed as she recalled their lovemaking. They had been insatiable for one another; it was more wonderful than she had even thought possible. She sighed softly. She checked the room once more and stealthily exited the room. She grabbed her things out of the potions classroom and made her way to Draco's rooms.