Hermione entered her Professor's room with a mix of confidence and nerves. She was looking forward to the evening ahead, especially after the spectacular non-starter the previous day to whet her appetite. It had been such a disappointment to have missed out after all the anticipation, let alone the worry from letting him down. Hermione had known Snape long enough to know he had the tenacity of a niffler searching for gold when it came to holding grudges… if he'd decided she had purposely snubbed him by not turning up then she knew she would never get a second chance.

Luckily though this wasn't the case and her idea of bathing with him had also gone down well and, she thought, made substantial inroads into appeasing him for the spoiled evening. Plus she didn't mind admitting she had enjoyed it. It had been more than pleasant to lie back in the scented and steaming water and listen to him talk about his book. Despite their current arrangement to sleep with each other, conversation between them had been limited and Hermione appreciated the chance to get to know him a little better. After all, his mind was what had attracted her to him in the first place. It wasn't that she regretted her deal with him as such, but she was certainly grateful for any time they got to spend together beforehand outside of the bedroom first. It was somewhat daunting to imagine bedding her revered and much respected former Professor - not because he would necessarily be intimidating (although she frequently wondered if he was capable of being anything else) but because she wanted so desperately to impress him and knew full well that the fumblings of an inexperienced virgin were highly unlikely to do so.

Hermione thought with good humour that given she was a war hero these days and a darling of the wizarding world she really should get over her obsession with Professorial approval.

Still, she wasn't above using all the advantages she had, and subsequently when she knocked on his door she was freshly showered in a clean sundress with pretty underwear underneath, carrying a bottle of chilled white wine and two glasses. The appreciative look her Professor had shown when he glanced at her and then at the bottle label had told her she'd made the right decision on the warm summer's evening and was off to a good start.

"Dutch courage?" he arched an eyebrow enquiringly.

She laughed lightly, "Something like that, yes."

He motioned her to the bed where she had sat the previous day and busied himself opening the wine and pouring them both a glass. She took the opportunity to look at him and around his room, enjoying the chance to be nosy.

It was a light and bright room, surprisingly given her Professor's usual habitat in the Hogwart's dungeons. Not big, but none of the bedrooms at Grimmauld Place were spacious. The bed was standard for the house, as was the wardrobe and chest of drawers. She brushed the bedcover behind her with the tips of her fingers. The crisp white cotton sheets were fresh and soft under her hand and there was a cosy looking navy blue throw on the end. His chair - an elegant wingback - looked well worn and slightly out of place in the room and she guessed it was his own and not part of the house. Unsurprisingly, given they were all there temporarily, there were no pictures on the walls or much in the way of personal affects. However what there was in great abundance was books. They were stacked by the bed and against the wall in great towering piles, and on top of the chest as a makeshift bookcase, plus several by his chair which looked to be in current use. Hermione's eyes lit up at the sight and she was itching to get up and have a good look.

Her Professor handed her a glass of wine and sat back down in his chair. He was, as usual, clad in a pair of black trousers and a white shirt. He'd left the frock coat off, which she was unsurprised about given the warmth of the summer's evening. She noted with an internal grin that he'd left his dragon hide boots off too and was padding around in black socks. Somehow seeing the intensely private and buttoned-up man without shoes made it all so much more intimate, even though they had been naked the previous day in the bath.

Silence reigned.

"Um…" She started, then stopped, feeling foolish at such an inane opening. Luckily for her, the Professor took up the mantle of instigating conversation.

"I believe, Miss Granger, I spent 3 hours escorting you at the ball this week once the dinner and auction were completed. Therefore, I expect your company tonight for the same amount of time. Is that acceptable?"

"I guess so… that does seem fair," she admitted. "So, now you have me here, what are you going to do with me?" She took a sip of her wine and grinned at him over her glass.

"That, Miss Granger, is for me to know and for you to just wait and see," he replied archly. Truth be told he didn't really have much planned for the evening. Given that all this was new to her, and they were new to each other, he hadn't wanted to get his hopes up too highly for anything specific. He only made the comment about the time to see how she would react.

Severus was used to his conquests being far easier to bed than Miss Granger was turning out to be. Usually he met them in a pub or at an event. He never found it difficult to find a woman to fuck - he might not be a muscled adonis but he knew full well how to use his dark exterior and silky baritone voice to seduce… for one night, or occasionally many. Sometimes they stayed around for a while but inevitably any relationship he had was short-lived. There were few that were actually interesting enough for him to even consider it in the first place. Then he couldn't risk getting close to anyone whilst a Death Eater for fear of putting them at risk. Besides, not that many were willing to overlook the fact he lived in a creaky old castle full of school children for most of the year. They all knew the score though - they were both there for sex and that was it. He didn't have to worry overly about hurt feelings or what they would think in the morning.

And therein lay the rub. The biggest challenge with Miss Granger, in Severus's mind, was not the bedding of, but the morning after. How was he to ensure that her first time - he sneered inwardly at such a trite teenage concept - was mutually pleasant? He wasn't going to offer her romance and false promises, but nor was he going to just screw her and leave. It was uncharted waters for him and he approached as he would a volatile potion - slowly and with a great deal of caution and care.

His first task was to make the girl relax. He knew she was relatively comfortable in her skin, having watched her undress in front of him without an excess of modesty, and that their kisses had shown an acceptable level of chemistry. However she was wound a little tight for his liking just then.

"Miss Granger, I seem to recall you were reading a copy of the latest version of 'Magical Drafts and Potions' at dinner the other day. Tell me, what did you think to the revisions to the cauldron size to stirrer ratio that Jigger proposes?"

"Well," she replied excitedly, leaning forward…

With that they were off and running. Twenty minutes of heated conversation later and they were both noticeably easier with each other, just as Severus had hoped. He knew full well the best way to make her forget her surroundings was to get her brain working on something else. Now she looked relaxed - her sandals had been kicked off and she sat with her legs curled up beneath her on his bed, wine glass in hand as she gesticulated fiercely to defend her point. Besides, he'd wanted to talk to someone about the changes since he'd read them but found Grimmauld Place sadly lacking in informed opinions when it came to Potions, despite the enjoyable intellectual mix around the dinner table. 'A Slytherin never does anything without at least three different motives,' he thought smugly as he topped up their wine glasses and fired off yet another opinionated remark just to watch her splutter her indignant response.

oOo

Hermione wasn't stupid and she knew full well he was deliberately engaging her in conversation for ulterior motives. However it was working in her favour, and she rather enjoyed debating with him now he couldn't take house points from her or throw her into detention. To her surprise she found him to be considerate when it came to her opinion and he appeared to give it genuine thought, even when it contradicted his own. She had expected him to sneer and talk over her as he would have done back in his classroom, and this more controlled response was more than she had hoped for. It was almost like… 'He's treating me like an adult. Gosh!' she thought with surprise. To have been upgraded from student to near equal was heady praise indeed.

Eventually there was nothing left for either of them to argue. Hermione had conceded that the Potions Master was probably right, and deferred to his greater experience. She was feeling slightly buzzed from the glass or so of wine she'd drunk although nowhere near inebriated. However it had done the trick and she was feeling far braver than when she'd knocked on his door. Time to up the ante.

"As fascinating as this is, Sir, I don't think you brought me here to discuss cauldrons all night?"

"No" his voice growled suggestively, "I didn't. In fact pet, why don't you come over here and sit with me?" He patted his knee, indicating where he wanted her to sit.

She paused for a second. This was it - the point of no return. Of course, she was sure that actually she could back out at any point up to and including the act itself and he would respond instantly and respect her decision. However this was the moment where she willingly went to him knowing where it would end up. She thought about all her options - all the very willing boys and men out there who wanted to date the celebrity she now was, and she thought about that first night in the kitchen where she'd seen her Professor as a man rather than a sexless educator and wanted him fiercely. Quite frankly, it was no contest.

She stood and did her best to walk seductively towards him. It was a bit ropey as she didn't exactly have much practice in moving gracefully, but he had the decency to look appreciatively at her rather than laugh, so she counted it as a win. Hermione debated saying something witty and suggestive but wisely decided that she could never compete with him when it came to vocal allure or clever remarks and instead simply perched on his knee.

The Professor immediately put one arm around her waist and pulled her close to him so she sat on his lap on the chair with her back to his chest.

"That's better," she could hear his voice rumbling through her ribcage. "Now, little Gryffindor, some choices,"

As he spoke he leant across to the windowsill and put down his glass. Then with his now empty hand he stroked her hair away from her shoulder and neck on one side, leaving it free for him to nuzzle. She gave a small gasp when she felt his lips on her collarbone and he suppressed a small grin at her responsiveness.

"Some choices?" She was proud of the way her voice remained steady, despite the delicious feeling of the little nips and kisses he was bestowing on her skin while his other hand held her comfortingly in place.

"Oh yes. I've decided that as this is all new to you that I'd give you some options for the evening. Don't think you'll get this every time Miss Granger, because you won't. Sometimes I'll ask you for something specific and that will be it. But tonight I'm feeling generous." He warned her between kisses which he peppered on her neck and shoulder.

"That does indeed sound generous Sir," Hermione cursed herself internally for being unable to do more than simple parrot his words back to him, but she could hardly think over the sensations. For an area of skin that was relatively 'safe' his actions felt amazing. She stifled a squeal as he chose a particularly tender spot on the dip in her collar bone and began to suck and worry it with his teeth. "Merlin!" she gasped and leant back into him to give him full access, feeling herself turning to jelly while her insides burned. Even his teasing of her nipples in the bath the previous day hadn't felt as good as this!

The Professor finally stopped teasing her skin and drew back slightly, smugly noting that the spot was turning red already. He was a possessive man and it was instinct to mark his territory.

"You like that pet, do you? That's interesting," he murmured under his breath, pleased she was enjoying a little pain with her pleasure. It opened up whole worlds of sensual experiences he could introduce if she was willing to move beyond vanilla… but he was getting ahead of himself. 'It's just tonight,' he told himself sternly, 'forget about what might be in the future and focus on now. If you don't stuff this up perhaps she'll be persuaded to return and then you can fulfil whatever fantasies she'll let you get away with.' "Now, as I said, you have some choices. Put simply, my desire tonight is for us both to orgasm. My choice would be through penetrative sex, but given your lack of experience, if you preferred I would accept for us to explore manually, or orally instead."

"Oh. Oh!" She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks, much to her chagrin. Really it was ridiculous to get embarrassed discussing an act when she was about to fulfil it, and was more than eager to do so. "Um, well, I'm not adverse to any of those really. Perhaps we could aim for, uh, penetrative sex and see how we go?" she offered, somewhat timidly, cringing at the clinical term.

He tightened his hold of her and kissed the mark he'd made on her delicate skin again. "Excellent decision, Miss Granger," he growled. "I think we should start with removing this little dress of yours." He let go of her hair and ran his hands down her sides, sliding them back up to rest on her thighs under the skirt of her summery dress.

She squirmed in his lap. The feel of those deliciously long fingers on her was intoxicating, especially when he started to run them up and down her bare legs, his thumbs circling as he did, each pass edging slightly higher. Her legs fell open instinctively and she felt him chuckle into her shoulder.

"I see someone is eager," he teased. "As you should be. Enthusiastic bed warmers are infinitely preferable to shy and demure ones in my book."

She could hear the tacit approval in his comment and took heart from it. She didn't have to be accomplished to please him today, just willing. 'I can do willing,' she thought, 'If nothing else, I can definitely do willing.'

He slid his hands back up to her neck and then down her back, sliding the zipper of her dress down as he went. He nudged her off his lap and back to standing, still facing away from him. She went to turn around but a hand on her waist stalled her. "Not yet, pet. Let me lead you for now."

She shivered at the anticipation evident in the slow enunciation of every syllable. He was clearly enjoying having her at his mercy for once. His hands ghosted down her arms again and then he started to gently peel her dress from her, allowing it to slip and slide down her body until it pooled at her feet. Next came her bra, carefully unclasped and dropped to join her dress on the floor, his fingers doing nothing more intimate than brushing her ribs, much to her frustration. Her hair was once again pulled to one side, leaving her back bared to him.

She remained still, waiting to see what he would do next.

He did not disappoint.

One finger slowly traced down her spine from the nape of her neck to the top of her buttocks, stroking the edge of her panties. This was followed by feather-light kisses along the same route - so gentle she felt his hair brushing against her skin with more force. His hands were on her hips, both holding her still and offering reassurance and something for her to ground herself with.

She gasped, "Sir!" and he chuckled again. Then she felt him guiding her forward a step or two before he stood behind her, encouraging her towards the bed.

"Lay down," his voice was silky and oh-so-smooth as he directed her. "I want to start by exploring you. You are a very lovely young woman, pet, and I want to take my time."

"O-okay," she stammered, then shifted her head back to look up at him and grin, amused at her inability to talk coherently already. As she met his eyes her smile died - his always black eyes were even darker with lust. She was yet again aware this was no inexperienced boy. Sliding on to the bed, she pushed herself up to rest her head on his pillows. Her hands were in the way - where to put them? Finally she settled on having them at her sides, surreptitiously gripping on to the soft cotton bedding.

oOo

Severus looked down at the woman on his bed and smirked. She really was lovely, and very responsive too. It was all too easy to divorce her in his mind from the annoying brat he'd taught for all those years. After all, having taught for twenty years, pretty much every younger woman he met had been through his classroom at some point.

He glanced down at her again. He was definitely going to enjoy this. The sight of her virtually naked whilst he was fully clothed was quite delicious, 'As are those little panties. White with a little touch of lace… she couldn't look any more virginal if she tried.' Taking out his wand he cast on himself and then on her - "Contraceptive charms," he informed her before she'd had a chance to ask. He took his time putting it carefully on the bedside table, knowing full well the value of a dramatic pause, before crawling up the bed to straddle her, resting on his hands and knees to avoid touching her yet.

Once he was eye level with the girl, he leant down slowly and kissed her softly on the mouth. She responded so sweetly that he barely managed to stifle a groan as her tongue slipped into his mouth. It had been a long while since he had indulged in so much time with merely kissing, yet it was such a pleasant part of foreplay with the right partner. Ending it slightly regretfully, he moved down her throat and then her chest, planting little kisses as he went until he reached her tight rosy nipples that just begged to be laved with his tongue and teased until she begged for him for more…

Eventually he lifted his head. Her cheeks were flushed and her breath was coming out in shallow gasps. Severus allowed himself a moment of smugness that she was clearly already aroused and they had only just got started. Sitting up he began unbuttoning his shirt, wanting to feel her soft skin against his.

She sat up too. "Let me help you with that," her hands reaching out already to his buttons.

With a smirk he put his hands on his knees, allowing her full access. She glanced up at him, meeting his eyes and grinning, then carried on where he had left off with the shirt. He looked down at her biting her lip in concentration as she undid his buttons one by one, revealing his chest, before reaching for the cuffs to undo those too. She paused at his neck, her fingers lightly tracing the edge of the snake-bite scar.

"Does it hurt?"

"A little," he admitted, "It's getting better though. The venom through my bloodstream was harder to heal than the bite itself. I'm still feeling the affects, to be honest."

"I'm sorry."

He quirked an eyebrow at that. "Why? It wasn't your fault, and if it is some misplaced guilt about leaving me in the Shrieking Shack then can I state here and now I expected nothing less from you," he told her sternly, "There were bigger things at stake than my wellbeing, like saving us all from the Dark Lord. Now, enough of that before you completely ruin the mood."

"Again, I'm sorry," she apologised with a smile, and proceeded to kiss her way down his chest to his belly button and below, tracing the trail of hair leading down with her tongue until she felt him shudder with pleasure. Hiding a self satisfied grin at having managed to affect him so, she moved back up and pulled the open shirt down off his arms. He slid the shirt off completely and with a wave of his hand it folded itself and landed on his chair.

"You want to carry on?" He arched an eyebrow in query while looking down at his trousers, still kneeling on the bed.

"Is that ok?" Again her lip was between her teeth.

"You may," he confirmed, smirking at the way her eyes lit up at the idea of getting her hands on him.

She carefully undid the buttons on his fly, brushing against his hard length as she did. Now it was his turn to gasp at the feel of those little fingers touching him so delicately, especially when she discovered he wasn't wearing anything underneath. Her exploration of him was unconsciously sensual as she drew his cock out and stroked it, clearly fascinated. 'Trust Miss Granger to make everything a learning experience,' he thought wryly as she examined him in great detail.

He bore it for what felt like an age before her touches grew more confident and his self control started to slip. Seeing her starting to lean over with a slightly open mouth he took evasive action. Placing his hands on top of hers, Severus gently disengaged her before he stood up and removed his trousers, tossing them on top of his chair too.

"Too much of a good thing, Miss Granger," he explained ruefully. "Hmmm, I think you are looking a little overdressed there."

He stood in front of her in all his naked glory, looking at the flushed girl on his bed who was eyeing him appreciatively. She gave him a little smile and shimmied out of her knickers, leaving her as naked as him. He felt himself grow even harder under her lustful gaze and it took all his remaining will power (and the reminder to himself that she was, as yet, untouched) to remain standing and not to ravish her that very second. He'd seen her naked the day before of course, in the bath, but this was different. She looked wanton, sprawled across his bed, her legs slightly spread giving him a glimpse of her pussy.

"Come here, Professor," Hermione beckoned and was gratified when he immediately lowered himself onto the bed beside her and kissed her again. His hands were busy too, with one stroking her from her knee all the way up her inner thigh, tantalisingly close but not quite getting to where she needed it. With a groan she succumbed and ended the kiss for long enough to beg, "Touch me, please." She felt rather than saw him smirk before those wickedly long fingers were finally brushing over her clit and up inside her.

"Merlin you're tight," he murmured as he explored her, taking his time to prepare her as well as he could. With his thumb he gently rolled her clit in a rhythmic fashion whilst his fingers were busy sliding in and out of her, stretching her as best he could. He knew the sex was more than likely to be painful for her, and she was unlikely to orgasm given all the unfamiliar sensations, so he intended to take her there first. With one hand busy in her hot pussy, the other snaked up to pinch and pull on her nipples, teasing them to hard nubs. He leant over as best he could and started to whisper in her ear, knowing full well the seductive properties of his own voice.

"Let me tell you what I'm going to do now, Miss Granger," he rumbled, loving the sight of her gasping and squirming under him, "I'm going to make you come, and then I'm going to fuck that tight sweet cunt of yours. You look positively edible right now, do you know? Next time I might just do that… lie you down and eat you until you are begging me to stop. How many orgasms do you think I'll drag out of you before I let you leave? Three? Four?"

With an incoherent scream Hermione came harder than she'd ever done before. The combination of the dirty talk and his divine fingers was impossible for her to resist. He continued to stroke her gently as she came down from her climax until she shuddered one last time and pushed his hand away.

"Oh god… That was… Wow… I… Sir, you are brilliant!" She flashed him the biggest toothiest smile he had ever seen as she lay boneless across the mattress. "Whew! That was amazing, and we haven't even fucked yet!"

"A state easily rectified pet," he growled, aching for completion himself. Her eyes were warm as she pulled him down on top of her. "This will probably hurt," he cautioned, "But I'll be as gentle as possible." He slowly lowered himself into her, kissing away her gasp of pain. He waited until the tension had bled from her features before he buried himself up the hilt and then cautiously moved within her.

She was so hot and tight that he could hardly bear it, especially with all the little noises of encouragement she was making and the way her hands gripped his shoulders as she rose to meet his thrusts. All too soon he found himself past the point of no return and climaxed with a roll of his eyes and a groan.

He lay on top of her for a long moment, trying to catch his breath before rolling to lay beside her. Opening one eye he surveyed her eager expression and the way she looked like she was about to burst. It was one he knew all too well from his classroom - a Miss Granger who had just made an exciting discovery and wanted to ask a thousand questions about it. Before she could even open her mouth he pulled her into his chest and with a barely intelligible grunt told her "sleep now, questions tomorrow," before closing his eyes and succumbing to the blissful sleep of the well sated.

Hermione giggled quietly at this display of typical male post-orgasm behaviour and snuggled down next to the lightly snoring Potions Master. 'Just five minutes,' she thought with a yawn, 'Then I'll go back to my own bed…'

oOo

Severus awoke with a sigh, gave a jaw cracking yawn and was about to turn over and go back to sleep when he realised that the little Gryffindor was still in his bed. Not only that but she was cuddled up to him, tucked into his side where she fit perfectly. He hadn't intended for her to stay the night - usually he had no desire to share a bed in general, and his in particular, beyond the sexual act itself. Years of spy work left him unwilling to be vulnerable enough to sleep in someone else's presence so he was surprised to find himself well rested.

Clearly his awakening also disturbed her as she shifted and then opened her eyes.

"Good morning Miss Granger," he rumbled, his voice heavy with sleep.

"Oh! Good morning Sir, I am sorry - I didn't intend to fall asleep here," she apologised. "If you give me a minute I'll be out of your way." She made to get up and was surprised when he pulled her back down into the bed with him.

"Not so fast. We have things to discuss, and now seems as good a time as any."

He could tell even as he lay there with his eyes shut that she was biting her lip as she thought. He huffed slightly in amusement. She was so predictable.

"So, last night…I thought it was fun, and you seemed to be, uh, satisfied, I think. Are you happy to continue?" Her voice betrayed her worry although he could tell she'd attempted a light and indifferent tone. He knew that she was nowhere near as impartial as she made out, which in turn made him feel really rather good. After all, it was nice to be wanted.

"Yes, I think this arrangement compensates me… adequately. However, I warn you now pet, I am not a man who likes to share." At this he opened his eyes and propped himself up on one arm so he could see her. "Whilst we are involved in this way I expect you to refrain from warming any other wizard's bed, if you want to use my original idiom. If you meet a dashing young man then you tell me first and we cancel this. I'll not be made a fool of," he warned her.

"Sir, firstly, do I have to remind you that you are the only one to have touched me?" she rejoined tartly. "If I wasn't inclined to go bed-hopping when I was free to do so, I'm hardly likely to do so now."

"Be that as it may, I still require your word."

"Fine then, I promise to remain faithful to you whilst you continue to be my escort, as agreed. I expect the same in return, of course?"

"Of course, Miss Granger. I would not insult you by offering anything less."

"Good. Well now that's settled… where do we go from here?"

"I rather thought a quick shower and then breakfast might be a good idea," he replied smugly and gave a chuckle when she thumped him in the arm.

"Ha ha! You know full well what I mean Sir."

He lay back down and stretched languidly, feeling thoroughly pleased with himself. It was a beautiful day outside and he was tucked up in bed with a lovely young witch who had done her utmost to leave him sated the night before, even if her attempts had more enthusiasm than skill behind them. Really, life couldn't get much better at that moment, and he gave a brief burst of thanks to whatever divine spirit had saved him from bleeding to death in the Shrieking Shack that fateful day.

"I think… we have ourselves a deal."

A/N - Sorry for the delay - this chapter just didn't want to be written. Hopefully the updates will progress at a faster rate now it's out of the way!