Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter universe. It was created by J K Rowling. Any characters/places you recognise are just being borrowed. No profit is being made from this.

A/N Thank you for all the follows, favourites and reviews. Especially flower power monkey whose PM encouraged me to repost and continue.

Going forward I am hoping to update weekly on a Sunday.

Chapter 4 – The Go-Between

Voldemort had returned.

Hermione reflected on what she had been told at the Yule Ball. "If what I fear is true then I must play my role. I can not treat you differently, in fact I may even need to be crueller."

True to his word, Severus had not treated her any differently in public after she had learnt the secret he and Remus shared. On the rare occasions they had passed each other in an empty corridor, after checking they were truly alone, he would send her a small smile.

A couple of days after the ball she had received a letter from Remus, apologising for any embarrassment he may have caused her. He also had a favour to ask.

Severus does not feel it is safe for us to send too many letters to each other. He feels that people may start getting suspicious as we do not have any reason for corresponding, apart from the odd note about meeting for the Wolfsbane.

I am not sure that it will cause the issues he believes, but given the current worries (Severus says he mentioned something of this to you, yet another secret we must ask you to keep to yourself) I am willing to bow to his expertise in this area. However, I am hoping you might be able to help me work around this?

You and I have a mutual love of books and reading and, dare I say, have taken the first steps toward friendship. You are a mature and intelligent young woman with a curious mind. Perhaps I could offer some advanced tutoring via owl?

In exchange, could I ask that you pass any letters to Severus that I smuggle in with my ones to you?

Reading this again, it does seem very Sytherin, Severus must be rubbing off on me, but please be assured that my offers of help and friendship are genuine.

She had readily agreed to help Remus, knowing she would have done it without the offer of tutoring, but to her it was an added bonus.

She smiled to herself as she remembered delivering the first letter. She had chosen to roll it into her homework, thinking it would be the most discreet way of delivering it.

"Miss Granger, would you care to explain why you have submitted two scrolls of homework?" the silken tones drawled from the front of the classroom. "Does our resident know-it-all now feel the need to submit a second scroll listing all her references?" Severus had unrolled the second scroll. Only because she was watching closely had she seen his brief pause as he read the first words it contained. Almost immediately he had barked out, "Miss Granger, see me after class."

Hermione had not been aware that Remus had not shared his plan with his lover, wanting to surprise Severus. The potions master had a few choice words to say, though she suspected Remus had probably suffered more pointed statements when the pair had next met. That being said, when Hermione received her homework back, there was a second scroll, addressed to Remus.

True to his word, Remus had provided tutoring, often recommending further reading. Hermione had been surprised, when one day, early in the year, after the exchange of a couple of letters, Severus had found her in the library and placed a book in front of her. "This is from my private collection," he said. "I'm sure I do not need to tell you that no-one must learn where you got this from. I am also well aware that a know-it-all like yourself will know how to look after something so precious and so I will not belabour the obvious." With that he had turned around and walked off, robe billowing.

At first she had bristled at his words, then she saw the title and gasped. It was a translation of an old Finnish book – Origins of the Werewolf and other Dark Creatures. A book Remus had mentioned in passing, but had also said was rare in its original language, never mind in translation. The loan of such a book could only mean one thing. Hermione smiled to herself, he trusts me.

A number of the 'further reading' books that Remus recommended continued to come from Severus, always accompanied by a snide remark regarding her being a know-it-all. He never acknowledged the service Hermione gave in relaying the letters between him and his lover, but she recognised that the offer of books was his way of saying thank you.

At Severus' request she had begun to leave her bag open in class for him to slip his letters in to, rather than him always holding her after class, or her using the excuse to ask a question to be the last to leave the classroom. Activities that, if happening too much, could cause talk. One day, when searching through her bag at the end of the day, she was startled to discover that the extra scroll was not addressed to Remus, but to her. From then on she had also started receiving two copies when her homework was returned. One marked with red ink, with derisory comments for public consumption. The second, usually slipped into her bag, with helpful comments and praise for a job well done. She had tried to thank Severus the next time they were in private, but he had waved her off.

She had kept the letter from Remus, the turning point in her friendship with them both. She held it to her chest as she remembered the wonderful evenings she had with them both. Remus had come to Hogwarts for his Wolfsbane and she had been invited to meet with him, with both of them. It had started with an update about how Harry was dealing with the tournament and ended with her sharing hours of conversation and laughter with them both. They dared not speak of what hid in the darkness. Instead they shared funny stories of their youth, though Hermione noted that Severus did not seem to have many of these and Remus seemed to avoid mentioning the other Marauders. They had debated academic topics. Sometimes she had been able to add a different perspective, other times it was beyond her knowledge, though not her understanding. She had listened with interest, asking questions – learning. Both of them were intelligent men, and her mind was stimulated by their discussions. Severus was a lot more open when he was with Remus, but very rarely referred to her as Hermione, instead dubbing her as 'our little know-it-all.'

As per her promise to herself, she had not allowed conscious fantasies of the two men. Unfortunately she could not say the same of her unconscious. She had woken several times over the summer feeling 'hot and bothered', though she could never seem to remember her dreams. Just the odd flash of dark eyes, light coloured hair and two pairs of hands touching her. Consciously she dared not even think about the logistics of that, but judging by the wetness between her legs and the stiffness of her clit and nipples when she woke, her subconscious had no bother, or compunction in feeding her fantasies.

Tongues clashed, legs tangled, hard lengths pressed against each other. Severus kissed his lover passionately, then pulling Remus' head back by the hair he attacked the neck with his lips. "I've missed you", he murmured into the crook of Remus' shoulder, "I wish I could get away more often, but between the Dark Lord and our twinkle eyed Headmaster..."

"Hush, Severus," Remus said caressing his lover's face, bringing it up to kiss his lips, "not now." He pushed the dark haired man onto his front and clambered so he sat astride the lean, pale body of Severus Snape. If you had told him a year ago that he and Severus would be together, Remus would have laughed in your face, before suggesting a trip to St Mungo's, yet here they were.

Remus rubbed his hands together, making sure they were warm, before reaching over for the bottle of oil on on the bedside cabinet. Warming it in the palm of his hand he then allowed drops to fall on the back of the man beneath him and began to massage his back, feeling the muscles begin to loosen as he progressed.

Severus allowed his body and mind to unwind. "This is what is real. This is what I will live for." Since the return of Voldermort he had been bounced between his two masters as they played him off against each other. Proving his loyalty to Voldermort had been painful and his dreams were full of nightmares. In some ways proving his loyalty to Dumbledore was even harder, as he had to relive every moment of his time with the Dark Lord over and over again, until the old man was satisfied that he knew everything. Severus knew it was not necessarily a matter of trust, the Headmaster wanted to get an insight into the 'new' Tom Riddle. However, replaying the torture he was both subjected to and forced to inflict took a great toll.

The times he could get away were few and far between. He came here, to Remus' home, where he was always welcomed by open arms. As his lover worked down his back and to his legs, Severus dared to allow himself the fantasy of his life after the war. He and Remus, living together, no longer in the shadows. "Perhaps I could find a cure for lycanthropy," he found himself smiling.

"What are you thinking?" Remus said, leaning down and whispering into his ear.

"Imagining the future," Severus answered, "you and me."

Remus chuckled naughtily, and playfully nipped the ear, before soothing it with his tongue. "Hmmm, I like the sound of that," he said, gently grinding his erection against the body below him. "Turn over," he whispered, rising up slightly to give his lover some room to manoeuvre. He then continued the massage, arms, chest, legs.

Remus ignored his obvious sign of desire, "Sweet torture," Severus thought, "this I can live with...for a little while." He relaxed further, "Only one part of my body is stiff now," he though crudely. He allowed his eyes to close, allowing the musky scent of his lover to surround him. He felt Remus move again and the sound and renewed scent of oil being dripped on a hand.

Remus smiled wickedly to himself, as he coated his hands in oil again. "Only one more part to 'relax'." He frowned suddenly, then forced his thoughts away. Now was not the time to consider why Severus was so tense. He knew that Dumbledore had asked the man to be a spy again. Severus would not, or perhaps could not share more, but Remus had seen the new scars. He hated to think what his lover was going through. "Not now," he repeated the mantra to himself, shaking his head.

Rubbing his hands again he glanced up to make sure that Severus' eyes were still closed. Satisfied, he took hold of both their erections in his hands. Rubbing their shafts over each other as his hands cupped their balls, squeezing gently as he followed his plan to bring them both to completion.

Severus' eyes flew open at the first touch. His dark brown eyes met the clear blue ones of his lover. He was caught by the love in those eyes, the intensity, the caring. He forced himself not to close his eyes, wondering why the universe had given him this, and when fate would be cruel enough to take it from him. "I must not waste what I have now," he thought, and allowed himself to accept what was offered and return the love.

Remus watched, wondering for a moment at the indecision in Severus' eyes. His movements stopped for just a moment, before he saw love and acceptance reflected back at him. He shifted his hands again, never breaking the eye contact. As time passed their bodies undulated against each other, bringing them both, finally to climax.