Author's Note: First let me thank everyone who had reviewed, alerted, or put this story on their favorites it means a lot to me and keeps me writing.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Do I really need to say that I don't own them? I'm just playing with someone else's toys and do return them in the same shape I have found them (well that may not always be the case).

Hermione woke alone in her own bed in the dungeons, it was strange since that first night that Severus asked her to share his bed they hadn't slept apart when they were together. She turned over knowing that she wasn't going to be going back to sleep anytime soon, she sat up grabbing the parchment that Severus had gave her last week. An agreement between them if he accepted her as an apprentice, she had been shocked by what it contained. If he taught her to be a potions mistress he wanted her to teach him about how to please her. Sex, he wanted her, twenty years his junior and her experiences consisted of a date rape drug, that other thing and him. To teach him how to please her, of course it made sense to her. But still, she didn't even know the answer to that let alone to be able to tell him.

She stood going to the door, she thought she knew why he didn't know about… how did he put it? How to make love. She even understood that after knowing what his father did to him, but she wanted to make sure that was why.

"Did I wake you?" Severus asked when she stepped out.

"No, what time is it?"

"About nine, we are good right?"

"Yes." She said as she sat down, "I want to talk to you about this." She showed him the parchment.

"Very well."

"How… Why…. Damn it, do … is this." She stopped talking chewing on her bottom lip, she wanted to know but didn't really know how to ask the question.

"It's because of what Tobis did, I…."

"It put a stigma on any kind of relations of that nature." She said.

"Yes, I'll be damned if I was going to rape someone when I had to listen to it then see it when I was a death eater."

"That brings up another question, how in the world did you…. What I mean is some of the others talked like they were just a forced as the victim."

Severus smirk at the memory, it was the first lie he had told the dark lord and when it was believed it made all the others come naturally.

"I told the dark lord what happen, then led him to believe that I was…. Damaged. I am a potions master after all."

"You took a potion so you couldn't…. um obtain an erection."

"Yes, every day for a long time. Finally I was able to not have to go, then the dark lord was gone. Malfoy tried to get to go with him to brothels but the potions effects were longer lasting than I even thought they would be, that and when I did it I didn't know that the potion also striped you of the desire to have sexual relations."

"I see."

"It wasn't for not wanting to, not that there was anyone….. I cared about. But I did go to a brothel once, but that just was a waste of time. Nothing happen and I went on with things."

"Okay." She didn't like hearing it but she also knew he was older than her and had to have life outside of this school.

"I now believe there was a reason for it, fate had other plans. Now I'd give anything to have done it right the first time with you."

"At least I remembered the first time with you." She said looking off into the fireplace, her words not really penetrating her brain until a few moments past.

"What?" Severus finally asked.

She turned to look at him, before saying.

"Because of the drug I really don't have a clear memory of losing my virginity."

Severus felt his blood boil, that was the last thing he expected to hear. Then a little voice in his head said 'was what you did any different?' he sneered at his inner thoughts.

Hermione saw him sneer and thought it was directed at her,

"It's fine, I got over it a long time ago. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

He looked over at her, his face changing before he asked,

"Other than giving you a drug, how was I any different?"

"I wasn't forced, I agreed to the bonding and that included the sex. I mean I am…. Was….. no am damaged, I didn't expect much from the whole thing."

"And I lived up to that didn't I." he snapped at her making her look back at the fireplace. She counted to ten twice before saying,

"I'm not trying to say you did anything wrong. It's just what it was."

Severus had calmed before he spoke again,

"I didn't mean to imply…."

"Severus, stop. We never talked about it, well we did but not in a fashion that would have me telling you that secret from my past."

"You could have told me, I would have tried to…."

"To what? You were angry remember? The only thing I had ever know was angry sex, to me it was normal. That's why I don't know if I can do this, I don't know what pleases me. I just know what doesn't."

Severus stood going over to sit with her on the sofa, he took her hand laying it on his thigh. He had learned something in the last few weeks, if they were touching neither of them seemed to get as upset as when they were not. He spoke calmly but truthfully.

"I know you know a few things that you like, I know this because when I figured them out I wouldn't do them again."

"I know, I just didn't realize that you knew you even did that."

He rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand, just giving a moment to pass before he spoke again.

"You know this," he pointed to the parchment, "can be whatever you want it to be. You are agreeing to giving me complete control in teaching you potions to obtain your masters in it. I am agreeing to give you complete control in the bedroom, I spent years controlling what happen in there I don't want to anymore. I want to give you that, I want you to show me what I should have done. I want you to enjoy it as much as possible, and honestly I don't think you would not make sure that I enjoyed it also."

This was not the best conversation to be having with her hand on his thigh, he didn't really get why the thought of this small slip of a woman controlling him in the bedroom stirred him but it surely did.

"There are a few things I would like to add to this agreement."

"And that would be?"

"I want four date nights a month, two out and two in. Nothing fancy just dinner maybe dancing or a movie. Then the two in I want one that I cook for you and the other you cook for me."

"Not that I'm saying no or even against it but why?" He really wasn't against the idea, he just wanted to see if her reason was the same as his.

"Because we will be living here, together. Because I've never really been on that many dates, because it gives us something besides magic to do. Plus dating is the part where you build the anticipation of what is to come."

"Okay add them."

She grabbed the parchment and pen writing them in then he said,

"Anything else?"

"I don't want to be the one always in control, I want to be made love to also. When we get to that, which brings up another question. Time frame, how soon are you going….."

He cut her off saying,

"You do not have to fulfill your part until you are ready to, I'm not going to push you into having sex with me. I will be here for some time, as you will also. There is no need to rush, I want you to be fully comfortable and ready without doubt or question when that time comes."

She smiled at him before saying,

"Well there really is nothing else I can think of to add, you seem to have done a thorough job with this. Can we add a provision that it can be changed if something comes up?"

Severus took the quill adding that to the bottom before they both touched their wands to the parchment binding the contract.

"Now all you have to do is accept me as your apprentice."

"You do have to apply with Minerva, but you know she's going to be more than willing to have you back here."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow." Hermione said as she laid her head over on his shoulder, she was always amazed that they could talk about the really tough or touchy subjects now and not have it come down to yelling matches or tears. Well there were still tears, but a lot has passed for there not to be.

Author's Note: Comments really do make me smile and brighten my day.

Also I wanted to let you know that I have a couple of Severus/Hermione videos on youtube, the link is in my profile.