Snape reached his office in record time, having run from the Black Lake with Hermione bleeding out in his arms. Once he got to his lab, Snape quickly cleared one of his workstations and carefully laid Hermione down. He fetched blood replenishing potions as well as a potion he had brewed before in case of decompression sickness. Once he had gotten both down her throat, he himself ingested his potion and started working on her wounds. They were deep and she had lost a lot of blood, as he repaired her skin, Hermione would whimper softly. Before long, Professor Snape had cleaned and restored her shoulder. It would take time for the wound to fully heal but he was confident in his healing abilities. Taking another look at her, he noticed she was shivering, he cursed himself as she was still in her wetsuit. Gingerly, he carried her to his office where he transfigured his chair near the fireplace into a cot for her to lie in next to the fire.
Confident that she would be fine if he were to quickly change in his chambers, Professor Snape hurried to grab his warmest change of clothes. Once he returned, Hermione was still deeply asleep and no longer shivering. Professor Snape poured himself a firewhiskey, deeming the occasion appropriate for a stiff drink. As he sipped his drink, his gaze lingered on the sleeping form in front of him as he contemplated the events that had just transpired. Miss Granger had killed not one, but two sirens in ways he would not have guessed her capable of doing. He had grossly misjudged the sleeping young woman in front of him. How she knew of the Ignitis spell was beyond him, she had not been kidding when she alluded to her illegal activities. He wondered how many times she had snuck into the restricted section to research dark spells, just like he had done during his youth spent inside the very same castle. He had been surprised at her willingness to break the rules, she had always been the voice of reason within the Golden Trio, only going along with the two idiots to make sure they didn't end up dead. Snape took another sip, feeling the warmth spread throughout his body, feeling much better for having changed. He decided he would do the same for Miss Granger, she would not doubt be uncomfortable in her attire.
Snape contemplated calling one of the female teachers to assist him but thought better of it. Too many questions as what they had done wasn't exactly legal. Snape finished his drink before getting up and placing a blanket on the sleeping girl, vanishing the torn wetsuit underneath. He then transfigured the blanket into a long sleeping gown, keeping the thick blanket material. Having finished his task, Snape sat back down and mentally cataloged his newfound information on Miss Granger. Before long, his eyes started drooping, the stress and physical exertion he and Miss Granger had dealt with were taking their toll. Not wanting to leave her alone in case she needed medical attention, Professor Snape transfigured his own cot and placed it next to hers, falling asleep almost immediately after laying down.
Hermione woke up to her shoulder throbbing, but she no longer felt the excruciating pain and for that, she was immensely grateful. As she shifted in her cot, her eyes raked down to the truly horrifically tailored nightgown she was sporting. It reminded her of what her muggle grandmother used to wear back in the 80s. As she shifted further in her cot, she was surprised to see that Professor Snape was sleeping right next to her. His face was the most relaxed she'd ever seen it, he looked much younger without the permanent scowl on his face, nor his trademark sneer. Hermione took the time to examine her former Professor turned mentor. She had never been one to stare at him for too long, one because he would have snapped at her had she looked at him for more than a minute, and two because she had never seen him in this light before. Hermione had classified all her teachers the same way, as sexless beings with no lives outside of the castle. For most, that had been a fair assessment, but Hermione could no longer see Professor Snape in that particular light. Not when she was currently appreciating the man's interesting, yet intense features.
Professor Snape could feel eyes on him, he had not been the greatest spy there was by not being keenly aware, even in the midst of sleep. He had felt Granger wake up but was curious when she started openly staring at him, he had chanced a glance when he felt she would not notice. Her gaze was deep in concentration, he could almost feel her brain working as if it was trying to decipher a puzzle. He assumed he was that puzzle. After the aftermath of Potter announcing his honorable intentions towards his late mother, hoards of witches had written to him. Some letters were downright scandalous while others were rather sweet, telling him how honorable and how heroic he was for his actions. He had been tempted to answer some, but thought better of it, not entirely trusting the witches intentions. Not wanting to lose track of what they both needed to do that day, Snape decided to catch the witch watching him in the act.
"Miss Granger are you quite done with your analysis of my person?"
Hermione flinched slightly, clearly surprised that he was awake and knew she had been watching him.
"Apologies professor, I was just...um, making sure you were well" Said Hermione clearly blushing.
As Snape got up from his transfigured cot, he raised his signature eyebrow at her "Hmm, yes I'm sure. No need to fear Granger, I will be back to terrorizing children and stalking the halls in no time. You however, will need to rest . Your shoulder was badly injured, I'll spare you the gory details but your shoulder essentially needs to grow back. I will not lie to you Granger, this will be a painful process, I suggest you rest for the rest of the day. I expect you to be back and ready to continue with your apprentice duties by tomorrow evening. My office, 7:00 PM sharp. I will leave you to go back to your own rooms as I would like my office back, besides I'm sure you will want to change out of that...thing"
Hermione looked down at herself and remembered the awful nightgown she was sporting.
"Ah, yes of course, well...until tomorrow evening Professor" Hermione said blushing and slightly embarrassed before slipping out of Snape's office and heading to her room. As soon as she reached her own bedroom, she transfigured the nightgown back into the blanket and promptly fell back asleep.
Snape felt relieved to be alone again, he was not used to having people, or even one person around his person. It had only been a few days, but he already felt exhausted by the human contact. Granger was not as insufferable as she had been in the past, she had stopped regurgitating information and had started asking insightful questions. He would have to discuss her actions with her tomorrow evening, how she came to know the spells, and to debrief her on their next mission. In the meantime, he had an idea on how to relieve some pressure and the stress of the last day.
Pushing back his social exhaustion, Professor Snape went to seek out the new Herbology Professor. He had noticed her looking at him thought the few meals he had attended since the start of the year. He knew he was no Casanova, but he had learned the art of seduction during his time as a young Death Eater with Lucious Malfoy. As he reached the greenhouse, he saw the unmistakable shade of red hair blurred by the glass. Knocking on the door, a plan formed in his head.
"Professor Snape, what a surprise!" The new Professor said, giving him a warm smile. "Is there something I could help you with?"
"As a matter of fact there is, I was wondering if I may raid your greenhouse for some plants I need for a potion." Said Snape, leaning his hand on the door frame, allowing him to lean slightly closer to her.
"Of course! Please do come in, I was just cutting some stems from the Nefarus plant. Please take whatever you need, my greenhouse is at your disposal" She said looking back at him flirtatiously as they entered the greenhouse.
"I am in your debt Professor Jones, perhaps I could repay you somehow?" Snape said with a slight smirk.
Professor Jones chuckled slightly "No debt required, but perhaps you could brew me some fertilizer, I've never quite had the pre-disposition, as one might say."
"I see, Herbology has never been my strong suite. As a Potion Master I must be able to grow my ingredients, but I prefer to have someone else grow them for me. Things tend to die around my person."
Surprisingly Professor Jones laughed at his last statement, he did not know if he should be offended or delighted at her reaction. He chose the latter option.
"For the longest time I could not keep my own houseplants alive, I know, shameful for a Herbologist to admit but in my defense, I was out of the house for long hours."
Snape smirked at her statement, looking around he saw a door leading to a different part of the greenhouse.
"Where does that door lead to?"
"Ah yes, this is where I grow my more...exotic plants if you will. I could show if you like?" Professor Jones quirked her eyebrow waiting for his response.
"I would very much like that" Replied Snape, making sure his voice sounded like pure honey.
"Follow me, be careful some of my plants are known to bite"
As they entered the room, Professor Snape was amazed by the variety of plants, some he could not recognize.
"Welcome to my pride and joy" Professor Jones said with her arms extended towards her plants.
"This is truly impressive, how did you manage to get all of these specimens here?" asked Professor Snape as he examined the room.
"Extensive travel, before coming here I was in Africa studying specimens found in some magical territories. Before that I was in Iceland studying specimens within magical caves. You would be surprised at how much of our world is un-researched, undocumented especially plants with magical abilities."
"Fascinating, I would be intrigued to know more of your research" Said Professor Snape earnestly. Snape continued to make rounds towards each plant and thoroughly examining each while asking questions. "This one seems to not be doing so well" He said while touching the seemingly dying plant.
Professor Jones sighed before answering "This is my latest one, I can't seem to replicate the right temperature or setting for it to thrive or even survive. I have about given up on it"
As Professor Snape looked up to his colleague, he could see her eyes glistening from unshed tears. "If I may I could bring it to one of my Labatories and continue to do tests to see if it reacts positively to one of my potions."
"I would be in your debt if you could save my plant Professor Snape" Said Jones, her eyes lighting up.
"Now see, I for one do hold onto my debts Professor Jones..." Professor Snape said as he slowly advanced towards her.
Professor Jones giggled slightly "I'm sure whatever you demand of me would be reasonable"
"Hmm we may have a different definition on what 'reasonable' means. I will need a few of your more exotic plants for my brewing. I may also need your assistance identifying different breeds."
"I am at your service with whatever you need Professor Snape" Professor Jones said with a flirtatious smile.
"I will need to go back to my office however, a word of warning, brewing fertilizer does have quite a pungent smell, you may want to steer clear of me or my labs for at least a few days..." Snape could tell he had her full attention as he stepped closer towards her, almost pinning her to the wall "Which would make taking you out for dinner quite a challenge..."
Professor Jones was flushed, clearly flustered and from the blush he could see creeping up her neck, slightly aroused.
"Professor Snape...I-"
"Severus, you may call me by my given name as we are...colleagues now"
"Severus I would be delighted to have dinner with you, I insisted you call me by my given name, Anita" She said with a shy smile as she looked into his eyes.
"Tonight, my office 6pm?"
"I look forward to it"
"As am I Anita, as am I..."
With a flourish of his robes, Snape left the greenhouse, content with his distraction for the evening.
Hermione work up much later, disoriented and confused, she had dreamt she was back in her Gryffindor rooms and had woken up in her designated apprentice room in the dungeons. As she pieced together the last few days, the events in the lake rushed back to her. She couldn't help it, she started to sob uncontrollably, wishing she weren't alone. After pulling herself together, she glanced at the clock seeing that it was only 9:30pm. Professor Snape must surely still be up, she thought to herself as she dressed and headed out to find him. When she got to his office, she noticed the fire going but no one there, Hermione turned to leave but heard muffled groaning coming from behind one of the bookcases. Worried he might have been hiding an injury, she slowly crept to where the noise came from. As she got closer she noticed the bookshelf leading to his bedroom was not all the way closed, she peeked inside and was shocked to by the scene unfolding before her eyes. On his bed was the new Herbology Professor, tied up as her hands and feet were bound to the four poster bed. Above her Hermione saw Professor Snape's hands around her throat, choking her as he fucked her mercilessly. She had never seen such violence in sex, Hermione quickly took out her wand, ready to attack Snape until she saw the Herbologist's face. Her features were not in pain, on the contrary, she looked to be feeling pure bliss and consenting to what was happening.
"You like that don't you, you little slut" Groaned Professor Snape "Beg for my cock or I stop fucking you this instant"
"Please! I need you inside me, please don't stop I-"
Hermione left before she could hear anymore, her mind was racing, she had no idea what to think about what she had seen, but what she couldn't ignore was the throbbing between her legs as she made her way back to her room.