~~Mischief Managed~~
Her first day hadn't gone as well as planned. Two melted cauldrons and three first years moved to tears. Teaching wasn't as easy as she thought, but she knew it wouldn't be long before she found a routine that worked for her. It would be easy to settle into a life here, if only … well, if only she could get Severus to speak to her.
She's chosen quarters near the classroom, and near Severus, though she'd not seen him once all weekend. She couldn't say the same for Fred though. The mischievous ghost had been following her about from the moment she'd arrived, telling jokes and casting insinuations at every turn.
She'd finally resorted to threatening him with his mother yesterday evening. A look of terror and he'd taken off in the other direction. Funny how that still worked.
Thankfully she hadn't seen Fred all day today, because finally seeing Severus, and being in the same room with him, had been almost more than she could handle. He'd shoved the lesson plan, without a word or a glance, at her early this morning and retreated to a far corner half hidden behind a shelf to observe her during the first class.
She wasn't sure if she'd been relieved or disappointed when he had stomped into his office after she'd helped a second year pick up the shrivel weed he'd dropped. It wasn't until after she'd crawled about on her hands and knees that she realized she probably should have used her wand. Crawling around with her bum in the air wasn't very professor-like.
After the class, she tried to enter his office to apologize, but the door was locked and he wouldn't answer.
The next time she saw him was after lunch. Entering the storeroom to gather ingredients, she physically bumped into him. His hands had automatically gone to steady her but before she could even comprehend what had happened he was gone. His touch had lingered though. It had taken all her concentration during the next hour to not close her eyes and daydream about those hands on her body.
The day had ended and though they'd sat next to each other at dinner, he hadn't looked at her once. She was certain he was aggravated with her for her actions in the classroom, but it was only after being prodded by Minerva that she gathered her Gryffindor courage and decided to confront him. She knew this wasn't going to be easy but to get to the next step he had to at least speak to her, didn't he?
Raising her hand to knock on his office door she was surprised when the door swung open slightly. Pushing it with her toe to create an opening, she peeked into the office. Severus sat at his desk with his chair pushed back and to the side. The Mirror of Erised was hanging on the wall behind him, a perfect angle for Hermione to see what he was so raptly watching.
Oh! The mirror!
Regrettably, after she had signed her contract and sent it back to Hogwarts, all the mirrors had gone back to only showing her reflection and nothing more. She had survived on her dreams and her active imagination for the week leading up to arriving here and now she knew why the mirror had stopped. It was showing him the scenes instead.
She watched quietly as his doppelganger wrapped his arms around her likeness, pulling her close and kissing her. She could see their tongues slide against one another as they explored one another's mouth. Hands clutched and caressed, as they too, explored each other's bodies frantically.
The real Severus rubbed a flat hand against his groin and stretched his long legs out in front of him. Hermione bit her lip. She could hardly believe this was actually happening.
Her likeness took a step backward and slowly began unbuttoning her robes a teasing smile on her face, surprising the real Hermione that she could actually look that tempting. Obviously she wasn't the only one who thought so, because both Severus' licked their lips in anticipation and the real Severus let out a guttural moan when the robes slid down her doppelganger's body revealing nothing underneath.
She watched mesmerized as Snape's reflection grabbed her roughly, his expression lust filled, and bent her over what looked to be his desk.
Merlin! How many times had she daydreamed about this very scene in the last week?
She actually swooned and fell into the door causing it to open all the way. This whole thing was too much for her. She was tired of watching—fantasizing. She was ready for the real thing already, damn it!
He jumped when the door banged and stood so quickly she barely had time to recover before he was glaring at her from his position in front of the mirror.
When he saw it was her, he backed closer to the mirror and puffed out his chest, his black eyes wide.
"What are you doing, Ms. Granger?" he snapped.
"May I enter, Professor?" she asked politely. She was positive he would catch how breathless her voice sounded.
She took a step forward as she said this and the door swung closed. Her head swiveled to look behind her when she heard the lock click in place. When her gaze returned forward a dark cloth was hung over the mirror and the professor was standing half hidden behind his desk oblivious to the locking of the door.
Interesting.
Well this explained his actions toward her, and the magical item he's been complaining about to Minerva. If he was still being subjected to these images more than a week later, she wondered if he was resisting the idea more than she had.
Although, the way he'd been staring at the scenario playing out just now, she didn't think he'd be resisting much longer.
No. Not if she had her way.
Hopefully looking more confident than she felt, she strode into the office and gave him the most alluring smile she could muster. She tried hard not to look at the wall behind him.
"Hello, Professor. I thought it would be nice for us to review my first day together," she said as nonchalantly as she could.
His eyes flicked to the mirror and back to her obviously deciding she hadn't seen anything.
"Very well, I suppose we must," he said slowly as if he was resigning himself to being annoyed. He sat at his desk and tried to discreetly adjust himself.
Hermione bit her lip. It was powerful knowing the kind of thoughts that were running through his mind and knowing for a fact that she was the star.
She leaned slightly over the back of the guest chair in front of his desk pushing her arms together so that her cleavage was in his direct line of sight.
"Do you have any feedback for me, Severus? I was so disappointed when you left this morning. I know crawling around on the floor was unseemly but …" she stopped herself when he squirmed in his seat, his eyes still staring at her chest. Oh! It wasn't that she'd been unprofessional, no; it was that his imagination had taken hold of him. He must have liked the way her bum looked all pushed up in the air like that. Probably as much as she had liked his when he'd bent over during her interview.
So, how brave was she? Could she do this? He wasn't yelling at her or throwing her out of his office—yet—so would he let her take this to the place she really wanted it to go?
She pushed up from the chair and gathered ever ounce of courage she had. As she headed closer to his desk and to the mirror Severus leaned back, subtly trying to protect the item behind him.
"Ms. Granger, please sit." He gestured to the chair, his eyes still south of her face. "Let's go over the day as you had suggested." His voice was deep and rough and the tone sent shivers down Hermione's spine.
Ignoring his words she came to rest on the corner of his desk. Looking down at him she gestured at the mirror with her head. "What's this?" But before she could reach forward to pull down his cloak from its place covering the mirror he was standing in front of her his eyes flashing but his cheeks flushed.
"You should leave now, Ms. Granger. What is in my office is none of your business. I was attempting to be congenial, but you are trying my patience."
"I'm just curious, Professor. I thought I saw something when I first walked in. Actually, I thought I saw myself. Did I, Professor?" She leaned forward as she asked this, entering his personal space. Mmm, he smelled amazing."Don't I have the right to know if it was?"
"Ms. Granger I must ask you once again to leave," he blustered as she backed him up a pace pushing her body against his to distract him.
A quick reach around him and she grabbed the cloak and uncovered the mirror.
Severus froze and she peeked around his body. Obviously their doppelgangers had continued on even without an audience. They were both lying naked on his desk passionately kissing.
"Oh! So this is where the mirror got off to." She looked back up at him calmly. "First tell me what you see and then I'll leave. If you still want me to," she added coyly.
"That's … that's none of your concern," he stuttered out.
"Fine then. Would you like to know what I've seen, Severus? What I'm currently seeing? You might find it of particular interest." She looked him up and down, practically devouring him with her eyes. "I know I do."
He fidgeted. Yes, Severus Snape fidgeted. And then he audibly gulped. "I don't believe I do. Now leave," he snapped.
"I don't think I will." She licked her lips and gazed up at him in invitation.
"Please?" he asked, clearly embarrassed and completely out of his element.
"No."
"Fine! Then I shall," he mumbled and removed himself from in front of Hermione.
Insufferable man!
She was practically throwing herself at him and he was leaving. Maybe the mirror really was wrong. A feeling of defeat washed over her.
He cursed loudly and then she heard him utter a quick Alohomora. She guessed he really hadn't heard the door lock behind her as she came in.
"It's locked, Severus."
He didn't respond but she could hear him continue in his attempt to release the spell that seemed to be holding them captive.
She looked at the mirror and was surprised to see the two figures sitting, arms entwined, staring back at her.
Her doppelganger smiled at her, kissed Snape's likeness and then pointedly looked in the direction of the real Severus.
She frowned at the mirror. Would it be that easy? The Snape behind the glass nodded his head encouragingly.
Well, she had nothing to lose at this point, so she turned to the man muttering furiously at the door. Not trying to be sexy or seductive, she insinuated herself between him and the exit, rose on her tip toes and kissed him squarely on the mouth.
He froze. Her lips slid over his as she tried to coax him into responding, but after several seconds of absolutely no response, not even a twitch, she pulled back with a heavy sigh.
That seemed to snap him back to awareness, because he yanked her back against him, kissing her with a fervor she'd only seen in the mirror, his hands searching out buttons with amazing speed.
"Severus, slow down." She pulled back gasping for air.
Severus stilled, his back stiffening. "I'm sorry. I thought this is what you wanted. After all, you were the one who assaulted me."
"Assaulted?" Hermione laughed. "I hardly think a kiss is an assault."
Severus removed his hands from her. She grabbed them before he could pull away completely, placing them back at her hips. She wasn't going to let him retreat again. Not when she finally had his full attention.
"I just meant that I wanted us to go a little slower. I want to remember this, whatever is happening between us. I want it to be every bit as good as everything I've been dreaming about for the last week."
He pulled her closer again. "Dreaming? Really?" he said as if he didn't believe her.
Oh, there was that lust-inducing baritone again. Yes, it was so much more powerful with the audio.
"Severus, I've seen images in that mirror, just as you obviously have, and I thought I was going insane. But I couldn't get you out of my mind even when they disappeared. I obsessed on what I'd seen, and not just the racy parts. I obsessed over you. I just want to know this is for real. For both of us."
He subtly ground his hips against her abdomen. "Well I can assure you that biI/i/b am definitely real, Hermione. And as to those images, you aren't the only one who thought they were experiencing delusions. As much as I wanted to believe it was possible, that you would even look at me in the way your reflection looked at my likeness, with love in your eyes, I never imagined any of it could actually happen."
His voice practically vibrated through her.
"So what did you see, Hermione?" he whispered into her ear. "Tell me."
"Oh no! I want to know what it showed you," she insisted, tilting her head toward the mirror. "Look. Tell me what you see now."
Severus turned her to the mirror, his arms still wrapped around her. He kissed her neck before looking into the mirror, giving Hermione a moment of déjà vu. They looked almost exactly as they had when she had seen them in the mirror on her birthday.
"Well that's odd," he said, finally giving the mirror his full attention. "I don't see anything but our actual reflection this time."
"Oh! You're right. That is odd."
"Perhaps, we are supposed to make our own scenario this time?"
Hermione's answering smile when she saw its reflection looked familiar, too. It was wicked, almost predatory. She turned around in his arms. "Now there's an idea I am definitely in favor of."
Those were the last words spoken for a very long time.
The mirror's scenes didn't hold a candle to the real thing. He kissed like a dream. Such urgency, such passion, and in an unexpected surprise, so tender. And those fingers! They were just as marvelous as she had suspected.
A hidden double door at one side of the office opened widely into his bed chamber and they left a trail of clothes as they slowly made their way to the bed. When the back of her legs bumped against the edge, they finally broke apart to catch their breath and she got a good look at him. His skin seemed to gleam in the low light of the candle sconces. He was thin, but fit. He had broad shoulders, and the mirror hadn't exaggerated when it came to his muscled, sparsely haired chest. His hips were narrow, his legs long and lean. She almost swooned though at the sight of his most impressive, very eager looking, member that she'd only seen in the mirror.
From the hungry look in his eyes, he apparently liked what he saw as well. With a rumbling growl, he lifted her up onto the bed. He lavished her body with roaming, lingering kisses. She literally whimpered when he laved her nipples with his tongue. She was writhing beneath him by the time he made his way down her body to where she wanted him to touch her most. He teased, licked and suckled until she screamed with pleasure. The scenario she'd seen in the bathroom at Grimmauld Place brilliantly executed down to the last detail. But this time she wanted more.
So much more.
"Severus, please. I … I need you," she panted when she finally came back down from her flight of ecstasy.
His smug smirk was incredibly sexy as he looked up at her from between her thighs.
They moaned in unison as he slowly entered her. He felt amazing, filling her, stretching her. She pulled him down for a kiss as they established a slow, steady rhythm. She wrapped her legs around him, kissing and nibbling her way down his neck and collarbone as the heat built low in her abdomen.
"Vixen," he groaned when she nibbled on his earlobe.
Oh! He liked that! She repeated the act. He snapped his hips hard. She whimpered and wrapped her legs tighter, the heat spiking and burning up her spine.
"Oh! Severus! Again. Do it again."
He snapped his hips again, drawing another whimper of pleasure from her, then increased the pace. The heat grew and expanded within her until she couldn't hold it in any longer. She bit down on his shoulder to stifle her scream of pleasure. She vaguely heard his roar of "Hermione!" through the sound of her pulse whooshing through her ears. She felt as if their souls connected in that moment and all was right with the world.
He smiled at her as she finally came back to her senses. The first genuine smile she'd ever seen from him. It was incredibly tender and incredibly sexy. Something she could get used to seeing every day of her life.
For the next few hours they lay next to each other quietly talking as they explored each other's bodies with fingers and lips until they fell blissfully asleep.
When Hermione woke, snuggled next to Severus and wrapped up in his warm comforter, she thought she'd woken from a dream. Everything she had never known she wanted was in this perfect man next to her. As much as she hated to admit it the mirror had been right. Severus Snape was her soul mate.
A slight cough caught her attention and she jumped with a start when she glanced through the double doors into Severus' office.
Fred's transparent form beamed down at her from his perch on top of the mirror's peak. With a wink and grin he disappeared. A moment later the mirror flashed and Hermione saw two words appear across the glass… Mischief Managed! and then with a pop … it too was gone.
A/N: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter! Thank you again to Deemichelle and Snapemylove for all the support and suggestions. I love you guys!