A/N: WOW! I can't believe I'm finally writing again! This time I REALLY have no clue where the inspiration came from, but here it is! I do hope this chapter is somewhat enjoyable. And I hope that there are still people out there reading this… Thank you all, in advance, for your reviews!

Still don't own HP…

Defense

Hermione rushed back to her rooms once she was safely around the corner. As soon as she shut the door, she stripped off her outer robe. "Should have known," she mumbled to no one in particular.

"Should have known what, precisely?"

Hermione jumped. "Oh! I didn't see you there, Professor."

Minerva chuckled. "So I see." She rearranged herself on the sofa, taking a sip of her tea. "Now, shall we go back to my question?"

The younger witch plopped down beside Minerva and proceeded to fan herself. "I ran into Professor Snape today."

"Oh?"

"Yup." She swept her hair out of her face. "He has a beautiful coat, you know," she paused, "of fur."

Minerva took another sip, then set her drink on the table. "So, he finally revealed himself." A twinkle appeared in her eyes.

Hermione stopped fanning and turned to the older woman. "Why do you say it like that?"

Minerva smiled. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." She stood. "Now I really must get back to work." She placed a vial of blue liquid on the table beside Hermione's drink. "That should help with the heat."

Hermione smiled. "Thanks, I really appreciate it."

The older woman nodded and left the room, leaving Hermione alone to quickly down the potion. (Side effects may include, but are not limited to: drowsiness, nausea, and random bouts of cursing.)

Monday dawned chilly, but found Hermione splayed out on her bed, naked, without a single sheet.

Hermione shifted, moaning. A look into her dream would have happened upon a certain raven-haired professor, his black eyes gazing into Hermione's as he caresses her face. Brown eyes shot open and she cursed. These nightly excursions into fantasy land were quickly starting to piss her off, and sadden her at the same time. She knew they would never be together, why couldn't her subconscious understand that?

A cool breeze fluttered the drapes when she opened the window and she let it surround her, hoping for it to cool her body. When that didn't seem to help, she growled and stomped off to the bathroom for a nice, long, cold shower.

Severus took another long draught of his firewhiskey, straight from the bottle. He knew it was probably a bad idea to be drinking this early, and if Minerva knew she'd kill him, but he had to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts in less than an hour, and she would be there. He could tell from her scent that she was in heat and would probably be trying to cut back on clothing. His pants tightened at the very thought and he cursed. He put the bottle back into the cupboard, and then went to take a quick, cold shower.

Hermione trudged into Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry and Ron in tow. and hair still damp from her earlier shower. The two boys stayed a few paces behind Hermione, having already been subjected to her less than pleasant mood when she blasted both of them out of her quarters.

Draco grinned at the look on harry and Ron's faces, but when he glanced at Hermione, it took all of his willpower to not mirror the frightened faces of the other two boys. She looked like Hell. 'No, not Hell,' Draco thought. 'More like Hell let the She Devil out to play after not letting her have sex for about a century.' He decided that today probably wouldn't be the best day to start teasing her about what had happened the weekend previous. He also hoped that Severus wouldn't be stupid today.

Hermione flopped unceremoniously down into her seat at the front of the classroom. This was one of those times she wished she sat in the back. Her clothes were clinging to her, damp with sweat, and she didn't even have her robes fully closed. She knew it was a highly inappropriate look, but she couldn't help it. She was so damn hot. Letting her bag drop to the floor, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and began fanning herself with some loose sheets of parchment.

Severus threw the door open and stormed into the room, scaring almost every student, save one. He stalked to the front of the room and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Hermione. Once again, his pants tightened, this time because he was seeing what he had only imagined earlier. It was obvious that Hermione was not 100%. Her clothes were clinging to every inch of her body and her robes were open just enough that Severus caught glimpses of cleavage when she waved her fan. Her hair was pulled back so he could see the soft skin of her neck. His imagination had him thinking just how sweet her skin would be if he could just lick her neck. His pants tightened further and he had to clear his throat before he could speak. "Today we will be discussing Unforgivable Curses. I know you have already gone over them in previous years, but that does not mean you know everything about them. Pair up, find the chapter, and get to work."

Severus watched as the entire class hurried to get out their books and find a partner. It did not surprise him that Mrs. Weasley and Potter ganged up, but when Draco leant over and whispered in Hermione's ear, he tensed and thought it best if he sit and try to ignore them.

Draco grinned as he scooted his chair closer to Hermione. "Hey, Hermione," he leant in so that he could whisper in her ear, "why do you think Professor Snape isn't actually teaching us today?" His eyes roamed over her disheveled appearance. "Couldn't be because you're showing a bit more skin today, could it?"

Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously, causing Severus to glare at Draco. She whispered back, "I don't really want to talk about that at the moment, Mr. Malfoy." She turned her back to him and continued fanning herself, wishing for nothing more than to go outside and lay naked in the snow.

He pressed on. "I mean it, Hermione. The looks that man has been giving you, and me for talking to you, mean something. I am sure that he feels the same way about you that you do-"

She cut him off with a mighty glare, knowing that with as sensitive as her hearing was, Severus' was probably more so. She really didn't need him giving her detention over Draco being stupid. "I mean it, Draco. If you would like to further discuss this subject, come to my rooms or see me in the Great Hall. This is not the place."
Draco blushed, having the decency to feel slightly abashed. He had forgotten that Severus would most likely be able to hear their conversation, considering how close they were. "Sorry, Hermione," he mumbled. "I'll come by after class today. I would really like to talk about it."
She answered him with a small smile and they opened their books, oblivious to the stare boring into both of them.

"I don't know what it means, Minerva." Severus was pacing in the Headmistress' office after his classes. He had only heard snippets of the conversation between Hermione and Draco, and they were very confusing snippets. "I could have sworn I heard Draco say something about she felt about me, but it just can't be possible!" He huffed and sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk, only to stand right back up and begin pacing again. "I know there is no reason for her to feel anything for me, respect or otherwise, but I just can't stop lov- having some sort of feelings for her…"

Minerva sat at her desk, hands together at the fingertips, mirroring the picture of Albus sitting above her. "I'm telling you, Severus, do not let this drive you mad. You need to let her know how you feel about her." She held up a hand to stop his reply. "I am glad that you have finally admitted to yourself that you… care for her, but now you need to let those feelings be known." The twinkle in her eyes grew brighter. "You know that if you don't say anything to her, someone else will…"

His eyes grew wide as he remembered something Draco had been saying to Hermione. He turned to the older witch. "I can't, Minerva. I just know she'll want nothing to do with me and she'll tell me that I'm too old and snarky for her."

There was a look of desperation in his eyes that touched Minerva's heart. "I will see what I can do. Shall I talk to her for you?"

Severus looked into her eyes. "Please, Minerva. It would mean so much."

Ah... Feels good to get another chapter out there. Can't believe it took me so long... Maybe, juuuuust maybe, I finally got inspiration because I'm in love. *sigh* Yeah, that might be it. lol

Hope you all enjoyed it! R&R, pretty please and thank you!