So that was what all the fuss was about!

Hermione greeted Harry, Ron and Neville at the breakfast table the next morning with a little smile playing on her lips. She felt… different. It was a good different - like she had a delicious secret that only she knew about, and it made her want to hug herself with glee, or shout 'I had sex last night and it was amazing' so the whole house could hear. Looking back, it had been better than she had imagined it would be for an awkward first time, and she was pretty sure that it was the kind of thing that got even more fun with practice. And now she'd tried it she intended to practice every opportunity she got with the Professor. In fact, she thought happily, she had a whole list of things she'd read about that he might be persuaded to try with her if she asked in the right way.

She almost expected everyone to notice that she was no longer a virgin as it felt like she was walking around with a big flashing sign on her forehead - ***Hermione Granger got shagged last night***. However one of the advantages of having almost exclusively male friends was their wilful inability to detect, especially when it came to anything personal. Even if they had been observant on a normal day, today the boys were chatting about quidditch so Hermione was able to safely ignore them and reflect without fear of being found out.

Hermione wondered if this feeling of exposure and different was usual. It wasn't as if she had much information to go on other than books and half-heard conversations in the dorm. Not having any close girl friends meant she had never got to be part of a whispered giggly confession of how it felt the first time. Ron and Harry were great, but discussions on relationships with them usually involved alcohol, details she would really rather not know about the prowess of her two best friends, and a stunned silence on their part if she dared to add any risqué details of her own.

Not that she'd really had any before…

Now though, she thought with amusement as she buttered some toast for breakfast, she could probably make both of them faint clean away if she told them who she'd slept with the previous night.

Sitting down on the wooden kitchen chair to eat her meal the young witch winced slightly. Apparently there were muscles in her inner thighs that she'd not known existed before which now ached from overuse. The Professor, a Potions Master to the end, had pressed a small phial of a healing potion into her hand before she left his room that morning. He'd told her to add it to a glass of juice before drinking, so she'd had to wait until now to take it and it hadn't kicked in yet.

Her insides felt a little sore too. He'd been gentle, but it was still unfamiliar territory. She'd felt… full. It was a strange sensation, having someone else's body inside your own. In some ways the aches were welcomed actually as they made it all feel more real. Because Hermione thought that if she had woken in her own bed in her ratty old pyjamas she would have been inclined to think it had all been a dream, a lovely fantasy.

And then there was The Orgasm.

Well! That had been a revelation. She wasn't completely innocent - she knew her own body and how to arouse herself. But it felt different with someone else's fingers directing the fun. Not to mention the previously unknown pleasures of dirty talk. She sniggered under her breath, 'If the Professor ever wanted to stop teaching he could make a fortune on premium rate phone lines with that voice. I swear he could make a shopping list sound obscene.' She was glad he was no longer her teacher as it would be impossible to sit in his classroom and listen to him lecture without flashing back to his wonderfully lewd whispers.

Unfortunately she was brought out of her happy daydreams by the alarm on her wand, reminding her it was time to meet the team at Hogwarts for another morning of repairing the castle. Hermione had yet another busy day ahead with castle work in the morning and then a late afternoon PR event at the ministry. The only good thing about it was that Professor Snape was on the list to attend the afternoon too, so Hermione would have an excuse to see him. Quickly finishing her toast she headed back upstairs to grab her bag before flooing to the castle.

oOo

Hermione came out of the floo in the Head's office to a full room. Hogwarts was busy as always with people and elves everywhere. There were magical building crews in doing all the big work but the castle was full of damage from the battle. Almost every one of its rooms needed to be cleaned and checked for unexpired traps and spells - there were literally hundreds of small jobs anyone with a wand could do. The house elves were all working as hard as possible to clean in between their normal duties but every hand was needed on deck if the school was to be ready to open again in September. As such, appeals had gone out to the magical community at large for volunteers to help and witches and wizards had responded in droves. It was an eclectic mix of the retired, housewives (and indeed househusbands) and the young - anyone who didn't have a job to go to.

Hermione wondered idly if she would be one of those coming back for the new school year. She had hoped not - as much as she loved Hogwarts and everything it stood for, the war had changed them all and the last thing she felt was a schoolgirl. Those days were long gone. But the NEWTs…Now that was the quandary. The thought of officially leaving school without getting her qualifications left Hermione with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Getting into a good university would be almost impossible without them. She knew cynically that all she'd have to do really would be to throw her name around a bit. No one was going to deny the Gryffindor Princess a place wherever she wanted to go, but Hermione wanted to earn it and get in on academic merit. She'd worked hard through her school years and wanted something to show for that.

She added NEWTs to her mental list of things to discuss next time she was sitting near Professor McGonagall for dinner. Perhaps there was a way of taking them without having to actually attend the school for another year?

Putting thoughts of the future to one side, the witch concentrated on the instructions she and her team were given for the area of the castle to clear. It was hard physical work but she enjoyed it in a lot of ways. Here, after the first day or so as part of the team, she was just another wand - nothing special and certainly not treated any differently for being a hero. The anonymity was refreshing. Their order for the day was to check and clear the rooms near the Ancient Runes classrooms, and she set to with a light heart, still enjoying flashbacks to the fun she'd had the previous night.

oOo

The house was quiet. Everyone was off doing whatever they did during the day, leaving Severus in blessed silence. After a lifetime living in a school with its hundreds of occupants he appreciated such peace whenever he could get it. Today however he was a little out of sorts at being left. He'd reached the point of his convalescence where he was well enough to do moderate activity, provided he didn't overexert himself and, for the first time since leaving the hospital, he found himself wishing he had a job to do. Besides, if he didn't leave his room he would fritter away the whole morning feeling smug at having bedded Miss Granger the previous night.

Using his need for a cup of tea as an excuse he wandered through the shared downstairs rooms of the house, browsing the shelves in the library before ending up in the kitchen. He put the kettle on and cast around for something to do to occupy his morning. Severus decided to investigate the small potions lab in the house basement. He hadn't been in it for some time - 'Perhaps a couple of years,' he thought, 'Would have been before Albus died and my endless year as Headmaster. I didn't come back here during that time after all.' It had always been small but efficient - just enough space and supplies to brew for a large household plus the odd draught for the Order. Nothing as fancy as his lab at Spinners End, or indeed his private lab at Hogwarts, but he supposed it would do.

The door was just off the pantry at the back of the basement kitchen. He looked at the kettle sitting on top of the ancient aga and decided he had time to have a quick look.

It was with trepidation he opened the door. Who knew what 2 years of neglect had done to the small space, or the potentially volatile ingredients stored within? Severus hadn't outlived both of his masters by being foolhardy, so he cast a shielding charm over himself before looking through the doorway.

To his surprise the room was spotless. Equipment was stacked neatly on one end of the workbench and the two shelves of potions ingredients looked fresh and well organised. He discarded his shield and went to have a closer look.

Not only were the supplies new and of high quality, but they included ingredients far more exotic than he used to stock when he was in charge of the space. He allowed himself a small amused smile at the sight, recognising the influence of a certain Gryffindor know-it-all. In fact, he would be amazed if anyone but her had entered since he'd left.

Perusing the shelves, he took down bottles absently, thinking about what he could make in a morning given what he had in front of him. He settled on an obscure nerve repair salve - complicated in terms of process and too fiddly for anyone below a Master to attempt - but would be complete in 3 hours. He purposely didn't think about how it might help Miss Granger. Instead he told himself it would be handy for Poppy to have in her supplies. Summoning parchment and a quill he sat on the bench and jotted down the recipe as he remembered, adding notations for adjustments he would have to make given the supplies available to him.

After hearing the kettle boil Severus nipped back to the kitchen to make his drink. Mug of tea on the bench, he rolled up his sleeves and pulled his hair back into a neat queue before going to the sink and scrubbing his hands and arms. The familiar routine of preparing to brew a medical potion was soothing and he absently wondered how he'd managed to go so long without it.

"Right," he said out loud as he reached for a cauldron and stand, "Time to brew."

oOo

Severus had just finished decanting the salve into glass jars when he heard the murmur of voices from the kitchen as the occupants of 12 Grimmauld Place returned for lunch. He straightened up until his spine cracked, looking around the small room with satisfaction. He couldn't help but feel immensely pleased with his morning's work - brewing again had been a joy. His choice of potions had been inspired…it had been a long while since he'd attempted anything that complex and it had kept his mind occupied the whole time. Plus he'd had the pleasure of seeing the end result turn out exactly as it should have. 'I'd almost forgotten how good it feels to make something with my own hands,' he thought to himself as he scrubbed the cauldron and stirring rod clean before wiping down the work bench.

In no time at all the lab was back to looking pristine. Severus was already half thinking about what he would make the following day, and wondering what potions books were in the Black library. He was sure he'd spotted an early edition of Moste Potente Potions in there once when he was waiting for an Order meeting to start. There could be all kinds of hidden treasures in that book if he could find it, for potions went in and out of fashion like everything else and were soon forgotten.

With a final glance around to ensure everything was back in its place, Severus burst abruptly through the door and swept into the kitchen, causing both Potter and Longbottom to jump in surprise at his unexpected entrance. He hid a smile and stalked past them without comment.

"Where in Merlin's name did he come from?" Whispered Longbottom in his wake, but the Professor didn't wait to hear Potter's response. A glance at the clock in the hallway told him he was running late for his afternoon appointment. He wouldn't have cared himself but Minerva got stroppy with them if they were late and he didn't fancy listening to her 'we must be professionals' lecture again that evening.

He quickly added a cravat and his frock coat to the trousers and shirt he had been wearing, buttoning it up to the top as he went back down the stairs. The ghouls always wanted to stare at his scar when he attended these things and he would be damned before he made it too easy for them.

On entering the library he saw Miss Granger already there, leafing through a book on one of the far shelves. She too was dressed formally, in navy robes.

"Miss Granger," he nodded in greeting.

Hermione looked up from the page she was studying and gave him a swift smile. "Good afternoon Professor. Ready to face the delights of yet another Ministry meet and greet session?"

Severus just about refrained from groaning out loud, but did allow himself a slightly petulant, "Because the questions this time will be so much more original than the usual dross."

"Tell me about it," Hermione sympathised while returning her book to the shelf. "If I hear one more question on what the Chosen One is looking for in a girlfriend I'll scream. Or hex someone," she added contemplatively, making a mental list of the best hexes to use in such circumstances. "They never seem to get the message that he's only interested in Ginny. Or ask me about anything I'd actually be interested in talking about like the warding system we used to keep ourselves hidden."

"Are we waiting for anyone else?" Severus asked, looking at the wall chart detailing everyone's appointments, "Ah, no. Mr William Weasley is the third of the Order. I assume he will meet us there."

"Oh good, I haven't had a chance to catch up with Bill in ages. I wonder how Victoire is doing?"

"I neither know, nor do I care," he snapped, his good mood from the morning swiftly dissipating as he contemplated the afternoon ahead. "Now, come on, or we will be late." Without waiting for her to join him he took a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fire, stating, "Ministry of Magic" as he did, and disappeared into the green flames.

Hermione allowed herself a fond smile - she had fully expected him to be just as acerbic to her now as before she'd slept with him, and she was right.

"It's nice to know that some things never change," she said out loud, grabbing some floo powder and following him through the fireplace.

oOo

The afternoon was as enthralling as they had all feared. It was a hot day and the last thing anyone really wanted was to be stuck in a stuffy room in the ministry for the afternoon. There had been a brain-meltingly dull and lengthy introduction by Kingsley, during which Hermione and Bill had communicated via notes they magically sent to each other on the parchment thoughtfully provided for them on the top table. Severus, a teacher to the core, had tutted and refused to respond when they tried to include him in their game of hangman. If anyone caught him sending illicit notes he knew he would lose any ability to crack down on such behaviour in his classroom for the foreseeable future. Still, he looked on with thinly disguised envy as the two other panel members appeared to have as good a time as was possible given where they were.

The questions asked were as asinine as expected and even Bill, the measure of good humour, was showing signs of strain by the end of it. Shacklebolt did his best to deflect the worst of them on to himself, but everyone wanted to hear from the romantic heroes of the day - the dashing spy and the courageous young heroine. Even Bill found himself the figure of amorous fantasies thanks to his visible battle scars and beautiful wife. Snape got through it by seeing how short an answer he could give. His all time winner had been silenced mid-question by an eyebrow raise. Alas the day's attendees were too self absorbed to stop in the face of his obvious disapproval and he was forced to vocalise his put-downs.

He could see that Miss Granger was becoming visibly unhappy as the questions continued and became more and more intrusive into the private lives of herself and Misters Weasley and Potter. Eventually he could see she was about to snap so when the next question was a thinly veiled insinuation that the three of them had spent the previous year shacked up in the tent in some kind of lewd menage a trois he took it upon himself to answer.

His response was dripping with acid as he went for the kill and chose the most socially unacceptable accusation. Severus not only implied the gentleman posing the question must have paedophilic tendencies to ask such a thing when it was well known that at least one of the trio had been underage for part of the trip, but also that he had some kind of voyeuristic disorder which clearly needed treatment either by psychologist or potion. By the end of his put-down the gentleman was visibly cowering and managed a stuttered apology to Miss Granger before sitting down again shame-faced.

Thankfully this broke the mood of the event and the rest of the questions were reasonably sensible and quickly answered. Even so it was a long and tedious afternoon and they were all glad when it finally ended.

oOo

It was gone seven when they got back home and both the witch and the Professor were tetchy from sitting in a hot and noisy room for too long, not to mention hungry. After bidding Bill goodbye at the floo Kingsley had joined them with the excuse that he wanted to catch up with Minerva. That he was there over dinner was purely coincidental, of course, he'd whispered to Hermione with a wink. Thankfully the residents were already round the dinner table and space was quickly made for the three of them and plates filled. It was Poppy's turn to cook and she'd made spaghetti and meatballs with green salad and garlic bread. Everyone at the table complimented her loudly as they ate, enjoying the change from the standard fare of meat-and-two-veg.

The chatter was loud and raucous, as always, and Hermione found herself relaxing as she sat down and sipped at a glass of wine. She'd found a chair between Ginny and Poppy and joined in the conversations around her with an easy mind. The meet and greet had been unpleasant but she'd got through it without causing anyone an injury which she thought was something of a bonus. As was when the Professor had spoken on her behalf. Now that had been most gratifying… she never really knew how to defend herself against such personal slurs, and his response had been truly masterful. She was twirling a piece of spaghetti around her fork idly, thinking back to the previous night and where the Professor had also been masterful when Ginny elbowed her.

"Who is it?" She whispered.

Hermione looked blank, "Who is what?"

"Who is it that put that smile on your face," Ginny nudged her again with a grin and teased, "Someone definitely got lucky."

Hermione could feel the flush rising on her cheeks. She desperately wanted to share the fun she'd had with Ginny but got the feeling that Snape wouldn't approve, so she kept quiet for the time being. "I don't know what you mean," she replied primly, "I was just thinking about how I'm going to transfigure my dress for the ball on Thursday. What do you think about primrose yellow for a change?"

Ginny immediately launched into a dizzying set of instructions for how Hermione should dress in order to look her best. Hermione did her best to listen as Ginny had excellent taste and wouldn't suggest something inappropriate, but she'd really only brought up the topic as it was a sure fire way to distract the red head. It had worked though and she felt relieved. She didn't want to lie to her but she wasn't quite ready to share either.

Severus watched the two giggling girls from his seat at the other end of the table with a scowl. He wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying but it was clearly confidential given all the whispering and giggling going on. He despised girly whispering, never having quite shaken off the teenage fear of being the brunt of it. This time he had a pretty good chance of it being about him again, which was exceedingly unpleasant news.

'Should have made her promise not to tell anyone about our arrangement,' he thought with another scowl at Miss Granger. 'Its not that we are doing anything wrong but I'd rather keep it between ourselves.'

He was debating how he could subtly tell the witch to shut up when Ginny waved her wand and an image of a dress on a miniature fashion doll appeared between them spinning in slow circles. The dress was outrageously short, figure hugging and bright yellow. Hermione shrieked and changed it to knee length and a soft buttery colour with a flick of her wand and the two of them giggled again. Severus watched with bemusement as the doll's dress flashed through a series of colours and styles as the two witches competed to get their ideas on view.

'Ah. Not talking about me after all,' he thought with some relief and a touch of embarrassment at having jumped to conclusions, glad he hadn't got as far as making a fuss. He was about to look away and involve himself in the conversation at his end of the table when Miss Grange glanced up and caught his eye. She gave him a warm smile before flicking her wand at the doll, which was suddenly clad in a severe black dress with a high collar and long sleeves to outraged splutters from Miss Weasley. He knew she was gently mocking him but it was in good humour so he merely rolled his eyes at her while she giggled before she changed the doll yet again into another yellow creation. Raising an eyebrow at him she looked expectantly.

'Is she waiting for my approval? Surely she can't expect me to have an opinion on it?' Severus was somewhat bemused, 'Although I suppose I will be the one spending the most time looking at it…' he examined it in more detail as covertly as he could before waving his own wand under the table, changing the back to dip lower with a line of tiny buttons down to the base of the spine and adjusting the colour a couple of shades lighter towards a rich cream.

He watched with thinly veiled amusement as the little Gyrffindor gave the doll a once-over before inviting Miss Weasley to do the same. It was loudly declared to be the winning look by the red-head and his witch flashed him a quick grin, her eyes dancing with mirth at having discovered his hitherto unknown design skills. He allowed her a slight softening of his own eyes in acknowledgement before resolutely concentrating on the discussion around him. 'Enough frivolities for one night.'

oOo

It wasn't long before the group broke up. Dinner was over and everyone had things to do. The two girls were clearing the table and spelling the dishes to wash themselves while Harry and Neville swept the floor and put the leftovers in the pantry. Hermione didn't notice when Professor Snape left and for a moment she felt a pang - she would have liked to wish him goodnight.

She took the stairs up to her room slowly, debating whether to detour to his. But she was tired and she ached after the long day, so in the end her own bed won out. To her surprise there was a small glass jar resting on her pillow. She picked it up and unscrewed the lid, sniffing the unguent within cautiously. It smelt faintly of menthol and eucalyptus. It was then that she spotted a folded square of parchment in between her bedcovers - it must have been on the pillow with the jar then slipped off. She opened it and read with a smile;

Miss Granger,

This nerve repair cream should assist with the tremors. Use sparingly twice a day on affected joints. If it fails to have a discernible affect after 3 days please inform me and I will provide you with a stronger variant.

S Snape

Hermione cautiously dipped a finger in the jar and spread the cream over her right wrist which had been aching and shaking on and off all day, thanks to overworking it at the castle. At first it tingled, then her whole wrist went icy cold before gradually returning to normal. She twisted her hand experimentally and found that there was still pain but it had lessened considerably and there was now a numbing sensation instead. She grinned broadly at the result - finally something that would help. It appeared she had yet another thing to be grateful to her Professor for that day.

A/N - thanks as always to those who review and leave nice comments. You all rock!