Chapter 6 ~ A Sudden Departure and One Great Surprise
The next morning Hermione was in her lab when there was a pounding on the door. Frowning, the witch put down her quill, brushed off her hands on her robes and walked to the door, pulling it open.
"Wow Hermione. So it's true. You've been turned into a real looker!"
"Ron?" Hermione said, surprised.
"Yeah, it's me," he said stepping past Hermione and into the lab, looking the witch over. "You look fantastic!"
Ron went to hug her, but Hermione sidled out the way.
"Aw, come on Hermione, you haven't seen me in ages. I've been abroad helping with dragon transport for the past eight months. You can give us a hug," Ron complained, his blue eyes resting on Hermione rather hotly.
"No Ron. Hugs with you don't work. They involve too many moving parts," the witch said, walking back over to her notes.
Ron scowled at the witch. She had been stand-offish towards him since their seventh year, when he found out Harry had shagged a witch, and he hadn't. He pressured Harry to tell him who the witch was, thinking she might give him a go too. Ron was still a virgin and it irked him the Boy-who-lived had his cherry popped first.
"Oh come on Harry, who is she? Think she'd give me a tumble? I'm your best friend after all," Ron said to Harry, who shook his head.
"No Ron, she won't do it," the wizard had told him.
No matter how much Ron pestered Harry, he wouldn't tell him. It wouldn't have done Ron any good if he did. He had shagged Ginny, Ron's sister.
When Ron couldn't get what he wanted out of Harry, he began to harass Hermione for sex.
"Oh come on, Hermione. Let me get a shag. I want to know what it feels like," he begged the witch.
"No Ron! You have some nerve asking me to do that," Hermione had told him.
"It's not like anyone else is going to do it," the red-haired wizard pressed her, inadvertently reminding the witch how unattractive she was. "You might as well take me on. It will be between friends."
Hermione couldn't believe the randy wizard.
"What kind of friend are you asking me to shag you just because we are friends? No courtship, no connection of any type…hell you don't even like me that way, Ron. And I certainly don't like you that way either," she said.
Ron threw up his hands.
"What's that got to do with anything? We have the right body parts. That's all we need," he said to the witch. "Come on, Hermione. Give me a little bit so I'm not the last virgin in Gryffindor."
Hermione scowled at him.
"According to what you said a minute ago, I'm going to be the last virgin in Gryffindor," the witch spat at him, storming up to her dorm to get away from him.
Ron harassed Hermione for sex for the rest of the school year until she threatened to report him to Professor McGonagall for sexual harassment. Finally he gave up, but Hermione never felt the same toward him again. If not for Harry, she wouldn't have associated with the wizard at all. But now Harry was in America and Hermione had given the wizard a wide berth.
"You're still mad at me for seventh year, Hermione? I was young and randy. Gods, get over it," the wizard said scowling.
Hermione sighed.
"Ron, what do you want?" she asked him tiredly. She hadn't seen him in eight months and found that five minutes were more than enough.
"I came to see if you wanted to go out to dinner?" he replied.
"To dinner? With you? No way Ronald," Hermione said, looking at him incredulously.
Ron frowned at her.
"Oh, I see how it is. Now that you're all fixed up you're too good to go out with the likes of me," the wizard said coldly.
Hermione put her hands on her hips.
"Ron, I wouldn't go out with you if I hadn't gotten a makeover," she replied, wishing he would leave.
"I wouldn't have asked you then," the wizard said, his eyes washing over her curves. "Now I wouldn't mind being seen in public with you."
Hermione couldn't believe it. After all this time, Ron still didn't have a clue.
"All right, Ron, that's it. Goodbye," the witch said, her hand on her wand in her pocket.
"What? You want me to go?" he spluttered.
"Badly. And do me a favor and just stay away. We don't have a friendship any longer. We haven't since seventh year. You're a pig, Ronald Weasley. You treat me like I have no feelings at all and you haven't got a clue about anything. You're still the same as you were then. You haven't changed at all," she said.
"I was fine the way I was," he argued.
"Just go, Ron. All right?" Hermione said, gripping her wand tighter. The wizard was begging for a quick and painful hex.
"Fine," Ron muttered. "I come all the way out here to see you and this is how you treat me. Just fine, Hermione. See you."
"Not if I see you first," Hermione thought as the wizard stormed out of the lab, slamming the door behind him.
Hermione quickly warded it, then sighed and dropped to the stool in front of the counter, rubbing her forehead with her hand in exasperation.
Ron was the perfect example of "shallow wizard." What he said to her wasn't because he was incredibly honest, but incredibly stupid. He had come all the way out here to ask her to dinner and most likely to shag him afterwards. What a moron he was.
Hermione turned and focused on the parchment she was working on. It was a kind of schedule of what tests she planned to perform on Severus' mark, the purpose of them and what she hoped to discover. She wanted to manage her time with the wizard so everything would go smoothly and he could be in and out.
Hermione flushed suddenly. Severus Snape. In and out. Good gods.
The witch shivered.
Why oh why hadn't she demanded a prisoner from Azkaban to work on?
Because Albus already said no, that's why.
Well, there was nothing for it. Severus would be in her lab at ten o'clock Saturday morning.
She hoped he would be cooperative.
Friday night, Hermione went on her third date with Justice. They had a nice casual meal at the Three Broomsticks and spent a bit of time strolling through Hogsmeade arm and arm, enjoying the sights and conversating. Justice had no grip at all on Spells Making or really any cerebral pursuit. But he did enjoy Quidditch and his work, so that is what he stuck with. Hermione did her best to seem interested, but she heard enough about Quidditch from Harry and Ron to last her the rest of her life it seemed.
All right. Justice was no mental giant, but he was kind, handsome and thoughtful. And he seemed to like her very much. But some aspects of his work interested her.
"They put me on Rita Skeeter's case, and I went down to that Love Bites Beauty shop. What a piece of work that vampire who runs it is. Adam Sweetmeats? He's sweet all right. Gave me the creeping fugwugs the way he kept batting his eyes at me, and all the while his consort glaring at me as if he wanted to rip my throat out. I don't see why the Ministry lets them out in public. Vampires are dangerous," the Auror said, frowning.
Hermione didn't say anything, but Justice's dislike of Adam didn't sit well with her. The vampire had shown her great kindness and friendship. There was nothing wrong with him except he survived on blood and was undead. But everyone had their shortcomings.
"Anyway, I showed him a photo of Rita, and his eyes turned red. Red! Circe. Then he said he didn't know her, but she really needed to come to his shop and get a makeover. Rita had said that she remembered a man with an effeminate voice…but then again, he's not the only queer in Hogsmeade," Justice said. "It could have been anyone. But damn, they should close that shop down and send them both back to the grave."
Hermione became very uncommunicative. Justice didn't understand what was wrong.
"Are you all right, Hermione?" he asked the witch.
Hermione looked at Justice with rather cold eyes.
"Actually, I'm exhausted Justice. I'd like to go home," she said.
The wizard was stymied but escorted Hermione back to Hogwarts. When he walked her to the door and went to kiss her cheek, Hermione reflexively pulled away so he didn't make contact.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked the witch.
She looked at him.
"I happen to like Adam Sweetmeats. He did something wonderful for me, showed me kindness. I don't like the way you spoke of him. He can't help it that he's gay and a vampire. You sounded like a bigot, Justice," she said.
The Auror looked at Hermione incredulously.
"Hermione, he's a vampire. He can't be trusted. He can sink his teeth into anyone at any time. Do you know how hard it is to kill a vampire? If those two ran amuck, a lot of people would be turned before they could be stopped. They're a menace. I'm an Auror, Hermione. I have to think of the people I am bound to protect and watch out for danger. Those vampires are a danger…I don't care if they are accepted or not," Justice said with conviction.
"And because of that, Justice…I think I don't want to see you any more," Hermione said softly. "I want someone that accepts people as they are. Someone who can see beyond the surface. You can see me, Justice…you understood when you found out about my makeover. Adam understood me too…what it was like to be alone in the world and unloved. He made me see myself in a new light, and I will always be grateful to him. I can't be involved with a wizard who thinks he should be destroyed. I'm sorry, Justice. This is goodbye."
The Auror stared in disbelief as Hermione closed the door.
Damn it. He'd lost her…and over a fucking queer vampire.
Justice was tempted to punch Hermione's door in frustration, but instead turned on his heel and made his way out of the castle. The witch had made her decision. One day, she'd regret it, he was sure.
And that was the end of Justice Forall.
Severus smirked and pulled his office door shut, his dark eyes glittering. Now that was an interesting development. It seemed Miss Granger was now beau-less. My, my.
The wizard returned to his study and made himself a nice firewhiskey, drinking it down quickly as he stood before the fire. The Auror was out of the picture and Miss Granger was going to have to start from square one as far as finding herself a boyfriend. It was going to be difficult for the witch, since she stayed at the castle most of the time.
Then the wizard scowled. Shit, Hermione had made up with the henhouse. That meant most likely she would be going out with them on their "Girl's Night Out." Those birds got rip roaring drunk, and anything was possible. Hermione might even pick up a wizard and shag him under the influence.
Severus' face screwed up.
Why should he care who Hermione lost her virginity to? It didn't matter she was a virgin, only that she was a woman. He'd had used goods before. As a matter of fact, all he'd ever had was used goods. The Potions Master had never deflowered a witch before. He had never been the first man to pierce a witch's body…or hear her first cries of acceptance, or experienced the first pulses of womanhood as she was brought to orgasm. He had never been the first man to indoctrinate a witch into the pleasures of the flesh…to the lust, the fire and the power behind the initial desire.
The dark wizard sat down in his armchair and stared into the flames blankly.
No. Severus had never done that. And he had never been in the presence of a witch who was a virgin unless she was a student. And students didn't appeal to him at all. Too young and silly.
He leaned back in the chair and sat there for a long, long time.
Severus knocked on the Spells lab door, his arms full of Hermione's research notes. He was finally returning them after going over them carefully. Hermione opened the door immediately.
"Professor Snape, you're here," she said with a small smile.
The wizard looked down at her.
"No, I'm still in my rooms pretending that my day is actually my own," he snarked, striding past her into the lab.
Hermione fought back a scowl. She promised herself she would get along with the wizard. She closed the door and watch as Severus set her books on the counter.
He noticed a small padded folding chair in the middle of the room. It had a kind of extended wide arm on it, presumably where he would rest his own arm for examination. A large examination light bowed overhead.
"I imagine I will be sitting there," the Potions said looking at the chair.
Hermione followed his gaze.
"Yes, that is where you will be sitting. You can sit down as soon as you remove your robes," she said, walking over to the counter, picking up all the books and notes and carrying them over to her desk in the far corner. She walked back to the counter, straightening other parchments.
"Take off my robes?" he asked her.
"Yes, so the sleeves don't constantly fall down and disrupt the examination," she replied still sorting through parchments.
"Very well," he said silkily, unbuttoning his robes, removing them and sitting down.
Presently Hermione turned around to address the wizard, then gasped. The Potions Master was sitting in the chair in nothing but a pair of black boxers, his socks and boots, his dark eyes leveled at her and watching her reaction to him.
"Professor!" Hermione said, scandalized.
"What? You told me to take off my robes, Miss Granger. That is precisely what I did," he purred at her.
"But…but you're not wearing anything," she said, averting her eyes now.
"I assure you, Miss Granger, if I were not wearing anything…most likely I would be alone right now, looking at a witch-shaped hole in your lab door," he replied silkily.
"But…but..."she began.
"Miss Granger, I never wear anything under my robes except what you see here. In my rooms, most of the time I wear nothing at all. I have a great dislike of…restrictions on my body."
His dark eyes glittered at the witch as she swallowed still looking up towards the corner of the room. Severus smirked. Such an innocent.
"Miss Granger. You have me, now what are you going to do with me? I didn't come here to have my time completely wasted. If you are going to examine me, please do so," he snapped at the witch. "You aren't a child. Surely a little pale flesh and muscle aren't enough to put you off your game, witch?"
Hermione could hear the sneer in the wizard's voice and it angered her. So he thought she couldn't handle him being near naked and alone with her in her lab. Well she could do it. She'd been around Ron and Harry in their swim trunks before, this was no different.
Well, it was, but she could pretend it wasn't.
"No, it's not enough to put me off my game," she retorted, looking directly into his eyes.
Severus knew she was doing that to avoid looking at his body. Again he smirked.
This was going to be fun.
Hermione took a deep breath and approached the near-naked wizard, drawing her wand and leaning over him slightly, the Professor's dark eyes resting on her face as she murmured a spell. The wand's tip turned blue and beginning with his head, Hermione passed the wand over him slowly. She was forced to look at his body as she did so. She was checking his overall health and if there were anything wrong she would have to be able to identify where the problem was.
Her amber eyes took in his strong, lean build. Severus was the first truly mature wizard she had ever seen like this. For some reason, she had believed the Potions Master was skinny, but this wasn't the case. He had the build of an athlete, an athlete who kept himself in very good shape. As she moved the wand over him, she noticed scars along his chest and belly. Hermione colored as she passed the tip over his loins. The Potions Master shifted suddenly, making the witch drop her wand.
"Did I do that?" he purred at her, as the witch picked it back up and glared at him.
Hermione didn't answer the smirking wizard as she leaned lower, passing the wand over his legs. Severus' eyes glinted as she did so. The witch straightened.
"Lean forward so I can do your back," she said sharply.
Severus obediently leaned forward and Hermione started on his back, then gasped as she saw the criss-cross pattern of raised scars. There was one very large scar that started at the top of his left shoulder and ended at the top of his right buttock.
"What happened to your back, Professor?" the witch asked him, her voice almost a whisper.
"Voldemort. He used to torture me," the wizard replied. "Those scars are from whips and scourges."
"Oh my gods. You poor thing," Hermione said sympathetically, her eyes filling. "Why did he torture you if you served him?"
Severus really didn't want to talk about this.
"Suffice it to say, Miss Granger, I didn't always tell him what he wanted to hear. Now please get on with the examination," he said rather coldly.
"But what about this huge scar? What is that from?" the witch asked him.
Severus frowned.
"Do you really want to know, Miss Granger?" he asked her in a dark voice.
Hermione straightened and looked at him.
"Yes, I really do," Hermione replied.
"That is a sword stroke I received for failure to deliver what the Dark Lord wanted," the wizard said quietly.
"What did he want?" Hermione asked him.
Severus was silent for a moment.
"He wanted you," the wizard replied, looking up at her and scowling slightly.
Hermione's eyes widened.
"Me? Whatever for?" she asked.
"Because you were Harry Potter's friend. He felt by taking you from him, he could get at Harry who would surely try to rescue you. He was a foolish boy. I was whipped every time I went before him without you. It had come to the point where Albus was considering sacrificing you, so the Dark Lord would not kill me. He said the safety of the wizarding world was more important than the life of one young witch and I had to live," the Potions Master said in a rather distant voice.
Hermione felt a chill go through her. It was a horrible thing to hear…but considering how it was back then, Albus was right. But why hadn't she been taken?
"So what happened?" she asked, "Why wasn't I given to Voldemort?"
"I refused to take you," the wizard said, looking at the witch. "And before you think it was some noble act on my part, I assure you…it wasn't. I simply believed that you would be more of an asset to the wizarding world than I would be, if you were allowed to live. You were a brilliant witch, and when mature would probably been of great use to the Order if Voldemort had not been killed. When school let out and you went home, Voldemort was livid and intended to hack me to death. He must have had second thoughts and merely slit me open and let me almost bleed to death before healing me and allowing me to continue to spy for him. It wasn't my time."
Hermione blinked down at the wizard. He had saved her life when the Order would have given her to Voldemort. She had never known this. Severus frowned up at her.
"Stop looking at me like that Miss Granger. If I had thought there was any immediate benefit in giving you to Voldemort, I would have done it without a thought or guilt," he sneered at her.
"The immediate benefit would have been not being tortured, Professor," Hermione said. Her stomach was full of butterflies.
"Nonsense," he spat at her, angry now. "The torture would have continued regardless. He enjoyed torturing me. Now, enough of this. Get on with the examination, witch."
He stuck out his arm, Mark up, scowling blackly and not looking at the witch.
Hermione put her wand away. She would consider what the wizard had told her later. He was clearly agitated and she needed him calm and cooperative.
"All right, Professor," she said.
The witch touched the Mark, tracing it with her finger gently, examining it. It looked like a frightful tattoo. A skull with a serpent extending from its mouth. It almost looked alive.
"When was the last time you received a Phantom Summons, Professor, and what was the duration of it?" she asked him, still studying the mark.
"The middle of last month. It lasted about two hours," he replied, still looking away from the witch.
"On a scale of one to ten, what would you say the pain factor was," she asked him.
The wizard considered.
"Initially an eight, but by the time it ended, it was a ten," the wizard responded.
Hermione looked at him. The summons must have been painful indeed for the Professor to give it a ten after all the torture he'd gone through.
"How do you deal with the pain?" she asked him.
"I dance the Charleston," the wizard said sarcastically. Then, "How do you think I deal with it, Miss Granger? It's pain. I suffer through it. I have no choice."
"Have you ever attempted to answer the summons in the hope that the pain would stop?" she asked the wizard.
"Yes. It didn't work," he said, his brows drawing together. "I was transported to the graveyard where Wormtail resurrected him during your fourth year. There was nothing there but graves and tombs. The summons continued to burn. There was no relief."
Hermione was aware that every deatheater that answered the Phantom Summons was drawn to the graveyard and that the Ministry had investigated it thoroughly. Still, she needed to know the Potions Master's findings.
"The length and intensity of pain varies from summons to summons, doesn't it?" Hermione asked the wizard.
Severus nodded.
Hermione straightened. This was the first test.
"All right, Professor. I have found a way to get a reaction from the Mark, causing it to glow on the dead limbs. I want to see if I can replicate that response on your Mark," she said to the wizard.
Severus frowned. When the Mark glowed, that meant pain.
"I believe that will be quite painful, Spells Mistress," he said.
"It could be," she agreed, "I don't know, Professor. It isn't my intention to cause you pain…if you don't want to do it…"
Severus sighed. Albus had ordered him to help the witch.
"Go ahead," he said.
Hermione hesitated for a moment, then drew her wand. She made a circular motion over the mark, then held her wand steady. Severus could feel power flowing into the Mark.
"Tell me what's happening," Hermione said.
"It's beginning to tingle," the Potions Master said, looking down at the Mark. Suddenly the snake began to writhe slightly and his flesh started to heat up.
"It feels like a summons is coming on," the wizard said, beginning to grit his teeth as the Mark grew brighter. Suddenly it flared and the Potions Master gasped with pain, pulling his arm away and clutching the Mark. The pain began to quickly subside.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "But now at least I know I am able to duplicate a summons magically.
"Yessss. At least you know that," Severus repeated with a scowl as he rubbed his arm.
"Let me see your arm," Hermione said.
Severus looked at her a moment, then slowly extended his arm. Hermione checked it for blisters or any damage. There was none. The snake was immobile again.
"I'm going to have to take a bit of your blood," Hermione said.
"Why?" Severus asked her, a slight hitch in his voice.
"I want to see its reaction and find out if the Mark's effects are only local or if it's magic is imbued in your body as a whole. Your blood will let me know that," Hermione replied.
Severus hated giving anyone his blood. Blood could be used to create powerful deadly potions that only affected the donor. He was a bit paranoid about letting his out of his sight.
"Very well, but I want whatever blood you don't use returned to me," the wizard said.
"What? Why?" Hermione asked him.
"Just think of it as a personal quirk, Miss Granger," Severus replied evenly. "My blood is precious to me."
Hermione stared at him a moment.
"Well, you won't mind if I keep it in stasis, will you? I will most likely be doing more than one test on it and otherwise I will have to draw fresh blood from you each time I want to try something," the witch said. That would be a real pain to do.
"As long as you keep it in a place where it can't be easily accessed, I have no problem with that, but when you are done with your tests, I want whatever remains returned to me," the wizard said, his dark eyes somber. "I can't stress the importance of this enough."
Hermione wondered what the wizard's hang-up was. She shrugged.
"I will keep the cooler locked and warded," Hermione said, "Will that be enough?"
"Strongly warded," the wizard insisted.
"Yes, strongly warded," Hermione agreed.
Severus studied her for a moment.
"Very well, you may take the blood," he said to her.
"Thank you," Hermione said a bit sarcastically.
The wizard leveled his eyes at her as she retrieved the vials that would hold his blood. She approached him and said a spell, sticking the tip of her wand against a vein in his forearm. The wizard flinched slightly, then watched closely as the two vials filled with rich, crimson blood. Hermione took the wand away and quickly cast a stasis spell on both vials, then put them in the cooler, make a great show of warding it securely.
Severus screwed up his face at her display.
"All that isn't necessary, Miss Granger. Silly wand-waving has never impressed me," he said to the witch. "Just make sure the wards are strong."
Hermione sighed, finished warding the cooler and walked back over to the wizard. Gods, he was well-built. His muscles flexed as he sat up straighter in the chair.
"Is there anything else you want to do to me?" Severus asked her silkily as she stopped beside him. His eyes glittered and Hermione got the distinct impression he wasn't referring to further mark-related examination. She colored.
"Not at the moment, Professor. This was just an initial examination," she said, her voice sounding a bit strained.
Hermione then waved her wand over the wizard, casting a spell. The Professor felt warmth settle over him and sink in.
"What did you just do?" he demanded.
"I put a small alarm ward on you that will tell me when you are in pain," the witch said. "I need to know when your Mark is invoked, so I can record what happens…maybe I will be able to help you with the pain."
Hermione then walked over to the counter and picked up a small oval shaped item and pointed it at him. She clicked a button on top.
"Now, what is that?" he asked her.
"It's a Track-a-Port. It turns you into a kind of port key destination. I will be able to port key to your side wherever you are. It is a device created by Fred and George Weasley. When the ward goes off, I will port key to you," Hermione said. "I will have it with me at all times."
Severus scowled. He didn't like the witch having access to him like this. But damn it, it was part of her work on the Mark so he had to allow it. Then the wizard smirked. If he should be summoned in the dead of night, and Miss Granger port keyed to him, she would get quite a surprise, since he slept buck naked. Or what if he were in the shower? Hm. This could become quite interesting.
"Will you be taking it on your dates?" Severus inquired, easing into more personal conversation
The witch's face fell.
"No. Currently I'm not dating," Hermione admitted.
"Did your little Auror dump you?" the wizard asked, knowing this wasn't the case.
Hermione frowned at the wizard.
"No, he didn't dump me. I just found out we weren't compatible," she said evenly.
Severus looked at her.
"Isn't that a shame, Miss Granger? All fixed up and nowhere to go," he purred at her.
Hermione badly wanted to tell the wizard to shut up. Severus knew it too, by the mutinous look in her eyes. He smirked nastily then suddenly stood up, stepping close to her, the witch looking directly at his naked torso as he towered over her. She backed up.
"Do I make you nervous, Miss Granger?" he asked her silkily.
"A little. I'm not used to being alone with half-naked wizards," she replied, her voice quavering a little.
"Oh, so naked wizards are more your forte," Severus said, mirth in his dark eyes.
"No!" Hermione said vehemently, then caught herself. "No, I'm not used to naked wizards either."
"Have you ever seen a wizard naked, Miss Granger? Other than in books I mean," the wizard said in a low voice. "If you are curious…"
The witch colored.
"No, and no I am not curious, Professor. I got excellent grades in biology, thank you. I know what the male body looks like," she responded, walking around the wizard and pretending to fix her parchments. "You can dress now. I'm done with you," she said, hoping her voice sounded stronger than it was.
"Are you really?" he asked her, his voice soft…but there was something in its inflection that caused a bit of heat in the witch's belly. Gods, he had to get out of here.
"Yes, I am. Please get dressed, Professor," Hermione said. There was a bit of pleading in her tone.
Severus chuckled and picked up his robes. He put them on and buttoned them up securely.
"I'm 'presentable' now, Miss Granger. You can stop pretending to straighten your parchments and look at me," the wizard said as Hermione flushed again. Was she that obvious?
Hermione turned around.
"Thank you for your cooperation today, Professor. I will let you know when I want to see you next," Hermione said, relieved the wizard was leaving. His presence was a bit disturbing.
Severus looked at the witch consideringly.
"Before I leave, Miss Granger, I would like to ask you something," the wizard said.
Hermione felt her stomach tighten.
"Go ahead," she replied, her eyes meeting his.
"This makeover you had…what drove you to do it?" he asked her.
Hermione hesitated.
"I just got tired of looking the way I did. I wanted to look better," she replied.
Severus nodded.
"So you did this for yourself?" he asked her.
"Yes," she responded.
"Were you hoping this change would attract wizards, Miss Granger?" the Professor asked her, his black eyes seeming to look right through her. If she lied, he'd know it. The Professor always seemed to know when she lied, even as a student.
"Well…yes," she admitted.
"And why do you want to attract wizards, Miss Granger," Severus pressed her.
"Why does any witch want to attract a wizard, Professor? To find someone to love of course," she replied.
Severus' lip quirked.
"So it's love you're after. Romantic affiliation. Emotional commitment. The higher notion of male and female interaction," he said with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. "You think all that is necessary to be involved with a wizard?"
"Yes, I do," Hermione replied.
"So naïve," the wizard said under his breath, turning to exit the lab.
Hermione bristled. She was well-educated and hardly naïve about anything. Maybe sex, but she knew all the mechanics behind it…so had a working knowledge if not actually hands on.
"Naïve? What do you mean, naïve? I'm not naïve," Hermione declared, her hands on her hips.
Suddenly the Potions Master turned back around and strode toward her, backing the witch against the counter, his body inches from her own, gazing down at her…his face unreadable as Hermione gasped at his closeness. Her heart began to pound as the wizard lowered his head, his mouth just a hair's breath away from hers.
"I am a wizard who exudes nothing of romantic affiliation, emotional commitment, or any higher notions, Miss Granger…but you would let me kiss you if I desired," he said silkily, his warm breath washing over her.
Hermione looked hypnotized, her head tilted back as she looked up at him. She felt she couldn't breathe.
"My closeness has an effect on you. You think you are looking for love, but it is not as involved as that. In a manner of speaking, Miss Granger, you are 'in heat.' You would settle for a sexual experience if the wizard aroused you enough. But you are trying to take the safe, acceptable route. Or what you consider 'acceptable.' A few dates with a wizard, a chaste kiss here and there, the slow build-up, the proper amount of 'time' to 'develop' feelings culminating in 'lovemaking.' You would consider it 'wrong' to just let go and get fucked the way you secretly wanted without wasting all that time. That's what I mean by 'naïve' witch," Severus said, backing away from her.
"You've got a lot to learn, Miss Granger," the wizard said, his dark eyes seeming to burn into hers. Then he turned and exited the lab.
Hermione stood frozen against the counter, breathing heavily, her entire body tingling from head to toe. Dear gods that had been intense.
The witch rubbed her hand over her face and straightened, drawing in deep breaths to calm herself. He was wrong. She wouldn't have let him kiss her…she wouldn't have let him touch her.
But deep inside, a part of her knew she would have.
And it frightened her.
Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were in the parlor having brunch when the wizard suddenly dropped his cup of tea, grimacing and clutching his arm. Narcissa looked at her husband sympathetically.
"Another Phantom Summons, love?" she asked him, her ice-blue eyes full of concern.
Lucius gasped and after a few seconds released his arm.
"Yes. Thank the gods it was only a flare-up," the wizard replied, pulling out his wand and scourgifying the broken cup and tea. "I wish someone could do something about this. Who knew the Dark Lord would keep hold of us even after death?"
Narcissa sighed. The willowy blonde witch had no answer for him, so said nothing.
Lucius stood up, crossed the room and exited the parlor, heading to the kitchen for more tea. The wizard had elves to serve him, but after getting hit with the summons, he felt like moving…it made him feel less helpless.
All around the wizarding world, former deatheaters clutched their marks, and found themselves thankful the pain only lasted a few seconds. No one tried to answer the summons…they knew it was futile. All they could do was what they always did. Bear the pain.
But in the graveyard, secure in his underground stronghold, Peter Pettigrew was pacing back and forth in front of the beaker of his master's blood, rubbing his arm and looking both excited and confused. He had felt the summons and the pain of it, but he shouldn't have because he was in the presence of his master's blood. That summons had come from someplace else. Had his master reformed in some other place and called him for assistance?
The rotund wizard didn't know, but thought it could be a possibility. The summons had been too short for him to answer. He would have to go outside to follow it, since the wards in his domicile did not allow apparition. Next time he felt the pain of the call, he would make haste to answer it.
Maybe the Dark Lord had returned.
He looked at the beaker of blood.
"Wherever you are, Master," the balding wizard intoned, "I will find you."
The blood sat there, unresponsive.
Severus strode past his office, heading directly for the Great Hall and lunch, his brow furrowed. He hadn't intended on pressing Hermione as he had, but when she attempted to argue that she wasn't naïve, it was as if something snapped in him. Severus didn't like when others tried to correct him, and in the case of Hermione's naivety the wizard knew he had her pegged. He just couldn't let that go without driving his point home in no uncertain manner.
The witch had absolutely no experience with wizards or with sex. Only the notions she had picked up from books and the deluded ideals of others concerning the proper way for males and females to interact. As far as the Professor was concerned, when it came to desire, there were no proper rules of conduct…only a proper ending with bodies entwined.
He turned on to the main hall, scattering students as he walked but hardly acknowledging them. Hermione's reaction to him had been strong…he could have easily seduced the witch right there in her lab and gave her a proper education. It had crossed his mind for a moment, a quick moment but he held back. Severus wasn't sure if he wanted to fuck the witch. She was a virgin, and as such he had no way of knowing what she would expect from him afterwards. Love? Affection? She could get those sentiments easier from a stone than from him.
Momentary lust?
Now that he could give her.
Severus was used to fucking witches and walking away. There were only a couple of witches he engaged more than once. Both were prostitutes and still fresh at that point. He dropped them after a month or two when their wares became worn. He didn't need another Sybil on his hands.
Yet, Hermione had always been a rather mature young witch. Maybe if she knew the rules of the game and was willing to accept him as he was, he could indulge himself. It was obvious to the wizard she was attracted to him. If he had kissed her, he could have fucked her as well…he had no doubt about that.
The wizard turned down the corridor that led to the staff entrance to the Great Hall. Perhaps he should play the Professor role in this case, and carefully educate the Spells Mistress in the way real wizards and witches dealt with sexuality and desires. Those who did not let social niceties restrict their urges or force morality upon them. Two consenting adults did not have to dance…in order to 'dance.' Even the gods fucked who they wanted when they wanted. Could men do less?
Of course, Slytherin philosophy played a large part in the Potions Master's approach to sex, and Hermione was a Gryffindor with an entirely different set of values. Those values may work in a perfect world, but the world Severus was considering drawing Hermione into was far from perfect. It was his own dark construct where he was Lord and Master. Where physical desire and the animal nature were the norm of the day, humanity be damned. There were areas other than sex where the 'higher facilities' were much more practical. It only got in the way when it came to fucking.
If he did this, it would mean breaking the witch down in increments. Awakening her urges in such a way she was drawn to him. It would take more than simple seduction to change her values. True, he could fuck her as is…but what would be the fun in that? It would be much more challenging to make the witch wild for him, much more interesting to have her in a moral, ethical quandary and certainly much more rewarding when she admitted she wanted him rather than just taking her.
The Professor smirked darkly. Yes. He would show the witch how freeing giving in to her urges without the restraint of 'proper conduct' could be. It would be a most interesting game indeed.
In fact, it had already begun.
Severus swept into the Great Hall and took his seat. He glared at the students for several moments until they were properly terrorized then ordered his meal. He felt like steak.
Rare.
Hermione finally exited her rooms, still trying to come to terms with what happened between herself and the Professor. When she went to use the loo, she found that her knickers were wet and sticky and had to change them.
What was it about the Professor that made her react as she did? He was all wrong. All wrong. It was easy to see he was not the romantic type. Actually he gave her the impression that he despised romance and thought it a waste of time. She couldn't imagine the wizard courting any witch, but she could imagine him fucking one.
Hermione shuddered.
The Professor was so dark and intense…predatory. When he trapped her against the counter, she felt as if he were about to devour her, those black eyes like the eyes of a snake hypnotizing its prey before striking. She had felt mesmerized, as if unable to move without his permission. If Severus had been a snake, she would have walked right into his jaws.
And what he had said about her being naïve and having a lot to learn about the interactions between wizards and witches…it disturbed her. She knew how it was supposed to go. You met a wizard you were attracted to, got to know him, spent time together and let feelings develop. Then once you fell in love, you had sex, rewarding sex because you were in sync mentally and emotionally. It was natural the physical would follow. That was the way sex was supposed to work. A logical progression. His words came back to her:
"You would consider it 'wrong' to just let go and get fucked the way you secretly wanted without wasting all that time."
Of course she would consider it wrong just to fuck a wizard without a proper courtship. Only "loose" witches did such things. But the Professor considered courtship a waste of time and sex the real issue when witch and wizard came together. Well, that was his take on it…and his take was decidedly leaning toward his own self-gratification with as little effort as possible. It was sort of "if you like me, let's fuck" attitude.
Hermione felt another tremor rush through her. She didn't want to admit to herself that the naughtiness of that belief turned her on. Hermione had a thing for rule-breaking, though she hid it under the guise of "doing what was necessary at the time," for justification any time she dipped below board. Judging by her knowledge of the Professor over the years, the wizard made his own rules, especially in situations he had control over. Just the way he acted as a teacher showed that. No other staff member at Hogwarts was as domineering over their students as he was. He very obviously practiced nepotism, favoring Slytherin students over all others…and showed his disdain for the other houses by taking points indiscriminately for the smallest most inconsequential reasons. He got away with it too. Not one rival head of house took the snarky wizard to task for it, and the Headmaster also turned a blind eye.
The Potions Master was probably domineering and controlling sexually as well. Hermione tried her best not to imagine what the wizard was like in an intimate situation. The way he rounded on her in the lab had to be an indication. He gave her no quarter, no space even to breathe as he said what he said. He had taken her over for those moments, totally in charge without even touching her. How much worse would he be if he did touch her? The witch imagined she would lose all sense of herself.
She felt a warmth inside as that terrible thought raced through her mind. Gods, what was wrong with her? There was nothing good about Severus Snape.
But that wasn't true either. If not for the Potions Master, most likely she would be dead, killed by the Dark Lord, a casualty of the power struggle between Good and Evil. And that terrible scar bisecting his back, a sword stroke. He had that because of her. The wizard had almost sacrificed his life protect hers. This knowledge made the witch grateful, but Hermione knew the wizard didn't give a damn about her gratefulness. It meant nothing to him.
The witch realized she hadn't even said 'thank you' to the wizard. As if a simple 'thank you' would be sufficient. How could mere words show him her gratitude?
Hermione turned on to the main hall, greeted by quite a few doting male seventh years. She flung her hand up absently as she turned down the corridor that led to the staff entrance, the young men looking after her. No students were allowed in that corridor.
Hermione frowned. Many wizards had saved the lives of others during those evil times, and thank yous were all they received. The Potions Master said he had his own reasons for not handing her over. He did it on his own…she didn't ask him to save her. Why should she feel she owed him her life? The wizard could have told her that just to make her feel obligated. He was that type.
Hermione sighed.
No, the Professor had only told her because she pressed him. He most likely would never have said a word about it if she hadn't asked…and he went out of his way to try to tell her he didn't do it for noble reasons, so he wasn't trying to milk her emotions by declaring himself her hero…though in fact…he was.
Well, if she solved the problem of the Dark Mark and ended his random suffering, that would be reward enough, wouldn't it? Besides, he didn't ask her for a reward. What he had done was a selfless act. Somehow selfless and the Professor didn't seem to mesh…but there it was.
Damn. She was thinking too much.
Hermione pushed the Professor out of her mind as best she could. He was an untouchable by choice, and if she had her choice…he wouldn't be it. A kind, caring, gentle, romantic wizard was what she wanted…what every witch wanted. The Potions Master didn't fit the bill in any way, shape or form.
So why was he lurking on the edge of her consciousness?
Hermione entered the Great Hall and her eyes fell directly on Severus. She felt a reaction too. Damn it. Damn him.
She quickly walked past him to the group of witches waiting for her with expectant faces. They wanted to know how the examination went with the wizard.
"Come sit, Hermione," Pomona said, practically bursting with curiosity, patting the seat between her and Minerva.
Hermione said down, and all the witches leaned toward her.
"So, how did it go?" Minerva asked in a low voice.
"It was all right…except when I asked him to remove his robes, he only had boxers on underneath," she replied. The witches all gasped, bringing their hands collectively to their breasts.
"That sounds like something he would do," Minerva said disapprovingly, "Whatever did you do?"
"I examined him anyway," Hermione replied. Then she ordered her meal as the witches discussed this.
"That took a lot of courage, Hermione," Pomona said in a low voice, her eyes shifting toward the Potions Master. "Personally, I wouldn't trust him alone with me, that's for certain. Sybil…she told us things about him…intimate things."
Hermione became instantly interested, even though it squicked her a bit thinking of the witch and wizard together in such a manner.
"Things like what?" Hermione asked.
"That he is an animal, an insatiable animal and his…his private parts are enormous. You know when a wizard has large private parts he wants sex all the time," the Herbology teacher said, her eyes narrowed. "Being alone with him is probably very dangerous. His urges could take over…and then where would you be?"
"Probably in heaven," Madam Hooch said, grinning. "I don't care what any of you think. Severus is a sexy beast."
The witches all tittered, scandalized but delighted at Rolanda's naughtiness. All except Hermione.
"What did he look like? His body?" Sinistra asked, her green eyes curious.
"Lean. Muscular. Pale. He's built like an athlete. I didn't expect that. And he has terrible scars from Voldemort torturing him," Hermione confided.
"Sounds yummy," Madam Hooch said, glancing down the table at the wizard, who was eating a piece of bacon. "Lean. Hard. Battle-scarred. Damn, Sybil was one lucky witch to catch him out there like that."
"Did he…did he try anything?" Pomona asked excitedly.
"No. No he didn't," Hermione replied, "He cooperated and left."
She didn't want to tell the witches about how he said she was naïve and cornered her against the counter.
"Anti-climatic," Madam Hooch sniffed. "I was certain something exciting would happen, especially with the way you look now. He is a man after all and single."
"Well, it didn't, and I'm glad," Hermione said, "He's insufferable. I would have turned him down in a heartbeat if he had tried anything, and hexed him to boot."
"Good for you," Minerva said approvingly. "Those types of wizards are to be avoided. Severus hasn't ever had a relationship as far as I know…you saw how he treated Sybil after tasting her wares. He's just…cruel. A user."
Most of the witches were of the opinion Sybil had used the Potions Master, but no one said this. They all just nodded…except Hermione, who cracked open her soft-boiled egg and started eating her breakfast as the witches talked among themselves.
Albus sat at the end of the table. Despite the witches speaking in low tones, he had heard everything, casting an amplification spell on himself so he wouldn't miss the gossip. The old wizard had noticed how Hermione's amber eyes shifted when she said the Potions Master hadn't tried anything and his mouth quirked. The Headmaster remembered from when Hermione was a student that the witch's eyes shifted unnaturally when she wasn't being completely truthful.
He imagined things were going to get very interesting around Hogwarts.
And probably very soon.
A/N: Oooh. Some very interesting trains of though here. Peter Pettigrew thinks Voldemort might have resurrected elsewhere because of the Phantom Summons. Severus has evidently formed a plan of action concerning the witch. Hermione is just all torn up about her reactions to the wizard. Madam Hooch is a hoot, and Minerva as disapproving as ever. I had to chuckle when Pomona said she wouldn't trust Severus around her and talked about his 'private parts'. Albus doesn't seem to miss a trick. A fun chapter to write. Thanks for reading. ***