AN: This is going to be an even faster bombing run than the other story. I apologize for choking the inboxes of those that have me on Author Alert.
'He looked at her with tear-moistened orbs of emerald green, and she felt her heart fill with song as he broke his resolve and reached out a trembling digit and traced her precious love bead with one well-muscled finger.
'"You are a glorious woman, Lisle" Etienne said in a voice filled with lust and longing and a harrowing need. "I want to sup upon this secret jewel. Tell me I can! Tell me that you have saved yourself for me!"
'A lock of tawny-colored hair fell across his fathomless green gaze, and she reached to brush it away.
'"Yes! I have! Take it! Take all of me, my lord!"
'He leaned his noble head between her creamy thighs and with one caress of his silken tongue, she felt herself lifted away as she experienced the transcendent glory of her very first taste of orgasmic ecstasy.'
"Miss Granger."
'He positioned his sword at the entrance to her sheath, and with a look containing all the years of longing he'd secretly carried, longing that he didn't have to hide any longer now that their love was sanctioned by King Leopold, he began to push his turgid manhood into her womanly tunnel.'
"Miss Granger?"
'Forgive me my precious, love! May this be the only pain I will ever cause you!' He reached a hand up and toyed with her coppery disks, and his caresses of her round and ripened breasts sent her spiraling away on a cloud of bliss. He took a deep breath and drove his love pump home, tearing through her maidenhead until he was fully sheathed in her hidden places. The burning, searing, pain made her cry out, but he held her in his arms and whispered his love for her until she realized the pain had turned into pleasure and the world was set back to rights.
'When he felt her start to thrust against him, he smiled, knowingly, and together they raced towards the gates of heaven. Lisle felt herself transported again, to that place she had never been before and she heard Etienne declare his love as if she was high above the world looking down, as he emptied his seed deep within her womb.
'They held each other lovingly, cherishing the afterglow of their lovemaking, and she knew she was now carrying a bit of him inside. She knew she now carried his heir and was proud.'
"He 'pushed his turgid manhood into her womanly tunnel?' What kind of twaddle is this?"
Hermione let out a squeal when a long fingered hand snatched her book out of her grip.
"Snape!" she cried, lunging for the book as he turned it about and began to read.
"My, my, my, Granger," he said, with dripping sarcasm as he jerked the book away from her. "I am severely disappointed in you. And look," he added, flipping through the pages, "you've dog-eared the best sections, haven't you?"
"I did not! It came that way!" she snapped back indignantly, climbing up onto the counter to extend her reach. "I got it off a swap rack in a coffee shop this morning!"
He rolled his shoulder, keeping the book out of her reach. "And yet, you are already on page… two hundred and eighty-six, and it's only ten o'clock in the morning." He dodged to the side as she launched herself off the counter, but she caught his arm just above the elbow and hauled it down by clinging and turning into dead weight.
"I might have skipped ahead a bit," she admitted through clenched teeth. "It's not like you can take house points, you know. Now give it back."
"Oh, look here, now she's drinking his man dew while he writhes. They make that sound positively revolting. This could put a person off of sex for life. Are you reading this as a form of contraception?"
She growled at him and he actually smiled, if in a loathsomely condescending manner, and she was just becoming aware of how very strong he was, as she dangled from his elbow, when they were interrupted by a 'fwoop' from across the room as a message cylinder arrived.
They both froze, and looked at each other. Now that the moment had been spoiled, they had no idea how to act. She straightened up and held out her hand, and he dropped the book into it.
"What are you still doing here, Granger?" he asked, as she smoothed down her robes and retreated behind her counter.
"I thought we had already established that I worked here." She said as she went to retrieve the message.
"Didn't McGonagall get in touch with you?"
"No. Why?"
"I would have thought she'd have looked into your situation after I wrote to her. It's been weeks, after all."
"You wrote to her about me?" she said, staring at him in surprise.
He stiffened and lifted his chin. "You came up in passing during a bit of correspondence after I saw you last."
"I'm rather touched. Thank you, Professor," she said.
He waved a hand, dismissively. "Obviously, it was nothing, and I am no longer a Professor, Miss Granger. A simple Mister will suffice."
"I'm still touched. That was rather kind of you. Would you like some tea?"
"Thank you, but no. I'm just dropping off a sample of my Tissue Regenerator Potion, as requested."
"Ah, in that case…" She leaned down and rummaged in a drawer and came up with a padded envelope. "I haven't had a chance to use one of these yet! I'll take the sample; you fill out this form."
He handed her a labeled vial and snatched up a quill and started to jot in the necessary information. She inserted the sample into the envelope and pulled out her wand to seal and ward it against damage during transportation to the lab downstairs.
"So, tell me, Simple Mister Snape, what have you been up to since you left St. Mungo's six months ago? I've been hopelessly out of touch with what's been going on, I can't abide reading the papers anymore."
He gave her an inscrutable look and stared around her office before replying. "Actually, Miss Granger, my life makes yours look like a veritable whirlwind of activity. I'm not doing anything at all, aside from occasionally puttering with my potions."
"Is that due to lingering health problems from the snake?"
"No, it's due to lingering anger, suspicion and the occasional death threat," he said snidely. When he saw surprise on her face, his own expression softened. "I'm considered an employment risk. Killing your employer doesn't look good on the C.V., you know."
She stopped and stared at him. "Good heavens!" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you having me on?"
"I assure you, I am being uncomfortably truthful."
"You mean to tell me, that a wizard as powerful and intelligent as you, with all of your qualifications and experience, can't get a job doing research here at the Ministry, or even at St. Mungo's? Have you tried talking to Kingsley?"
He stared at her with his lips pressed flat in annoyance. "This from the Brightest Witch of her Age stuck doing the work of a trained monkey."
"But surely, Kingsley would see you, I mean after all, you're not just a kid to him."
"Are you saying that Shacklebolt wouldn't even see you?"
Her face fell. "Well, he is a busy man, now that he's Minister. Arthur got me this job. I know it's only entry level, but he said if I proved myself to my superiors, then I could try for competency tests to move up to new positions as they come open."
Snape snarled and shoved his finished form at her. "Here."
"I'll send this off right now, sir. You will hear from the Ministry when they make their final decision."
"Thank you, Miss Granger. Have a good day. And for the love of Merlin, find something better to read before your brain rots."
"Yes, sir," she said with a mischievous smile. "I could lend it to you when I'm done; you missed the part about anal sex not counting as far as 'still being pure.'"
His eyebrows shot up. "I'm almost afraid of the words used."
"'Forbidden tunnel of sinful pleasure,'" she replied with glee.
He grimaced and shook his head. "That's just..."
"Isn't it? I laughed myself into a wheeze on the train."
"Severus! This is an unexpected surprise! Do come in!"
"Minerva. You look well, as always."
"And you look healthier than ever; the sun is uncommonly bright, and my Christmas was lovely, thanks. Now that we have all of that out of the way, what is on your mind? I'm a busy woman."
"Why is Miss Granger still rotting away in the bowels of the Ministry? I would have thought you'd have done something by now."
The Headmistress lifted her eyebrows. "What exactly was I supposed to do?"
He furrowed his brow and shifted forward in his chair. "You could have let her sit her N.E.W.T.s. You could have offered her an apprenticeship. There were many things you could have done," he snapped.
Minerva's eyes glittered with defensive anger. "I offered! Miss Granger was sent an application to sit her N.E.W.T.s just after the war, along with an offer to return to the castle for an intensive refresher course, if needed. We never heard back from her, nor Potter and Weasley, for that matter. Honestly, Severus, she was not the only one whose education suffered, we had dozens of students whose lives were uprooted in their final year, not to mention the students that spent most of it hiding in the Room of Requirement from you. Don't you dare come in here all high and mighty and accuse me of not caring enough about one foolish girl who's now crying because she only just realized her choices are limited. I've had my hands full these last nine months, I assure you."
"Where did you send it?"
"Excuse me?"
"Her letter. When you offered her a chance to sit for her exams, where did you send the letter?"
"Why do you ask?"
"You sent it to her parents, didn't you?"
"Well of course I did!" Minerva snapped.
Snape gave her a nasty smile. "I spoke with Arthur Weasley at the Ministry today. I've been a little removed from things and wanted to catch up a bit. I learned an interesting fact about Miss Granger. Did you know she wiped her parents' memories and sent them to Australia during the war? Sad, really, she couldn't reverse the Charm. They have no idea they even have a daughter.
"Tell me, Minerva, how long did you go without a response before you took the time to research the possible reasons why such a bright and studious girl would ignore the chance to learn more?"
He let her stew until she squirmed.
"How… disappointing." His words dripped with disdain. "And one of your favored cubs, to boot."
He unfolded himself and stood. "Of course, there still are measures that could be taken, but, as you pointed out, there are other students to oversee, and I see you are too busy."
He turned towards the door and had made it two steps further than he'd assumed he would, when she stopped him.
Hermione sat at her desk with her face buried in A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, when the door opened. She looked up right away.
"Good Morning, Mr. Snape! Welcome back! Are you filing a new first-time application?"
"Yes," he replied, as he approached the desk. He pulled out a thick packet of papers and took the first one off the top, as she reached for the proper clipboard. "I'll take that; you sign this," he said shoving the paper at her.
"What's this?"
"It's a form, Miss Granger," he said snidely.
She rolled her eyes at him. "I can see that. And yes, before you get any more obnoxious, I can see it is a consent form. I want to know what I am consenting to first." She smirked at him. "Brightest Witch of Her Age, and all that, don't you know."
"You are consenting to an evaluation to see if you are ready to sit your N.E.W.T.s, Miss Granger. Sign it."
She stared at him without blinking. In fact, it wasn't apparent whether or not she was even breathing.
"I…" Her words trailed away and she finally snatched up the quill from its holder and scrawled her name on the bottom of the form.
He lifted the paper and then dropped the thick stack of parchment on the counter in front of her.
"You may begin," he intoned, as he went over to claim a seat and fill out his own form.
There was a lull of about thirty seconds, before she screeched, "You mean right now?"
"Don't be a dunderhead, Granger. That is simply a pretest to see what areas you need revision in. Do get busy. I haven't got all day." He bent his head down to his own form and began writing.
Hermione went to pieces. She started to flip through the pages and saw the questions covered everything from the Goblin Wars, to the magical properties of vole dung. She began to hyperventilate.
"I-I can't!" she said in a faint, hoarsened voice.
"Then don't," he replied, without looking up.
She flashed him a panic-stricken look, waiting for his next cutting remark, or a guilt trip about this incredible thing he had done that she throwing away so callously, but he just sat there, filling out his form. Whether she took this test or not, seemed to be of no account to him, whatsoever.
She looked down at the top sheet of paper and re-inked her quill.
Dear Harry and Ron,
How are you? I hope things are going well. I read the highlights of your last game against the Falcons. Ron had a few good saves, from what I could understand, and I had to laugh when I read that he took out Cormac McLaggan. Heavens, I know it's petty, but I still hate him so much.
Ginny wrote. She's doing well, but misses Harry terribly, as I am sure he knows. She's very excited about being scouted by the Harpies while still in school, so the three of you will be in the game soon. How wonderful!
Speaking of school, you will never guess who has turned into my personal hero! Well, he already was a hero, obviously, but I'm talking about something slightly less important than saving the world, but no less impacting to me. Professor Snape found out that I never had a chance to sit my N.E.W.T.s. Apparently, I was asked, but the papers were delivered to Australia. I'm sure you can understand how that made me feel to find out after all of this time.
Anyway, he has arranged for me to be able to sit them again with this year's graduating class, and will be supervising my revision. He's simply marvelous! He's so different now. He's very kind and patient and has a wonderful sense of humor. Who knew?
I took a pretest today, to decide how many N.E.W.T.s to sit, or if I even have enough knowledge left to study for just one.
I don't think I did very well, but I will just have to calmly wait for him to tell me my score before I start thinking of which subjects to narrow things down to, or if I need to throw myself off a cliff.
I can do calm. Right? Patience has always been one of my strengths, after all. Stop laughing, Ron.
Well, I must get to bed, Crooks is giving me the evil eye. Good luck on Saturday against the Bats, I will be thinking of you both.
Cheers,
Hermione
She can do calm, right? She was always so rational when her grades were on the line...