*GASP!* What, what? An update to RODVVUB? Is she shitting us?
No no, dear readers, no shitting is occurring. This really is a real update. The first one since...what, April, right? Okay, so I know I promised end of August and I'm three days off, but August 31st came up to me and laughed in my face and said "SIKE! Here's what's actually going to happen: You're not going to get a lunch at work and instead you're going to sit down with a total of like fifty families and talk to them about adopting a pet. Then you're going to go out to dinner with your family without even a chance to change out of your nasty shelter clothes, and THEN you're going to get home late and so exhausted your brain just feels like mush, so you're just going to go to bed." And then September 1st and 2nd my dad, my brother, and I worked on assembling the new desk I got from IKEA and I spent the rest of September 2nd organizing my stuff in my new workspace. So the bulk of this chapter wasn't written until today September 3rd.
Whew. Okay, hopefully I've satisfied everyone for the time being, now for a disclaimer. Meet me. Humble biologist who has dreams of working in species conservation but actually cleans up after dogs and cats or speaks to either disgruntled or clueless people about the pets they want to give up to us or adopt from us respectively. That is not in any way, shape, or form a euphemism for "magnificent author who has created legendary worlds and characters and is consequently rolling in at least fame and probably fortune as well." And that's the difference between RP13 and J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer.
Oh, eh, I think I should warn you: This chapter contains sex. Lots of it. In ooey gooey sticky detail. Sensitive readers will please skip down from dinner with pesto chicken pasta to the triple * where they're woken up next morning and will not berate me if you read it anyway and are then offended. I will just say, "See, I told you so."
Chapter Eleven
~Preparations for an Epic Discussion~
When Severus and Hermione broke their kiss, Minerva spoke again. "It seems to me there is quite a bit of explaining to be done all around. And while your home is lovely, Mrs. Cullen," she said, nodding to Esme, "there is only so much that extension charms can do. I think it best if we relocate somewhere with a bit more space."
"What do you suggest?" Carlisle asked, frowning in puzzlement.
She thought for a moment, taking in the gathering of what was now nearly thirty people, one of whom was heavily pregnant. Finally she replied, "I think it best if we relocate to Hogwarts. For one thing, the castle has plenty of space. For another, our nurse, Poppy Pomfrey, will be able to take a look at Hermione's cousin – Isabella, correct? – and between her, Hermione, and Severus, who is a Master of Potions, we will be able to think of something to help her through her pregnancy with as little difficulty as possible. Furthermore, I wish to remove both her and Hermione from the Forks area at least until we have decided what to do about Lucius Malfoy. I'm sure Severus and Hermione have explained him?"
Upon receiving a nod of confirmation, she continued. "We can make arrangements to bring you all here by Muggle transport, as magical transport will not be good for Isabella. Our Ministry for Magic now has a small collection of airplanes, automobiles, and helicopters for when some of our higher officials need to meet with Muggle heads of government, and as our Minister has close ties with many of us, it will simply be a matter of asking him to send a plane to pick everyone up. If I send him a message now, he can have a plane here in a day." She fell silent, allowing the vampires and the wolves to discuss things, the wolves through their pack mind-link and the vampires in a manner that was far too quick to be heard by anyone else.
The pack debated long and hard, though not over whether or not they would go, but rather over who would go. The entire pack couldn't go, as some would be needed to stay to protect the tribe. The Alpha had to go, of course, as he would be vital to the discussions pertaining to how the wolves would do their part to protect the tribe and Forks from Malfoy.
Finally it was decided that half the pack would go. Sam would be accompanied by Jake, Paul (who was a good strategist), Embry (who was good at keeping the peace when tensions got high), and Seth (who was good at diffusing tensions when Embry's peacekeeping methods didn't work). Leah had been offered a spot on the team that would go, but to no one's real surprise, she declined. She preferred to stay and keep her mother company, and though she was very careful not to think it, this would also give her the chance to be away from the pain of her failed relationship with Sam.
The wolves ended their debate at approximately the same time as the vampires stopped their own discussion. Sitting back on his haunches, the intelligent eyes of the black Alpha met those of, surprisingly, not Edward, but rather Severus Snape.
The only sign of the dark wizard's surprise was the way he blinked. But it took him no time at all to understand the wolf's message. He straightened, shifting his and Hermione's position so that they stood side by side, both facing the others in the room, but kept one arm around her shoulders as he met Sam's gaze and entered the black wolf's mind. "Sam says that half the pack will go," he announced smoothly. "The rest are needed to remain behind to protect the tribe and the townspeople. He will go, accompanied by Jacob, Paul, Embry, and Seth. The others will remain."
Sam nodded his head to show that Snape had translated truly. He had wanted Snape to translate because he had a feeling the wizard, while capable of reading people's minds at will with or without their consent, he had not developed a habit of doing so. He had the feeling that Snape only used that ability for very particular, very important reasons, whereas Edward, who couldn't turn the ability on and off, was not always particularly inclined to just tune out the thoughts of others, especially when he was curious.
Minerva nodded her understanding. "Very well. And since we are taking half your number away for some days, we will have one or two of our number stay behind to help. Molly, do you suppose any of your boys might consent to stay?" she asked the red-haired matron.
Molly considered. "Charlie probably would. He has an interest in travel, and his schedule with the dragons is more flexible than anyone else's."
Minerva nodded, ignoring the interested looks of the wolves and vampires at the mention of dragons. "Anyone else?" she asked, turning to face the other witches and wizards that had come along.
To everyone's surprise, George volunteered to stay as well, clapping his brother on the shoulder as they both announced that whether one of them stayed behind or not, they'd be closing the shop for two or three days because there was no way both of them would be missing the epic discussion to come.
Once it was decided who all would be travelling – all the vampires would come – Minerva nodded her head and asked Severus and Hermione if they would allow her to use their fireplace to Floo back to her office at Hogwarts where she could then Floo-call Kingsley. Upon their agreement, she stepped aside to wait for them to accompany her to the cabin and bring her through their wards. That prompted Molly to start urging all the witches and wizards who had accompanied her to return home to prepare for the next several days.
The original four youths who had popped up, plus Luna, stayed behind for a few moments after the adults had left in order to bid goodbye to Hermione. They all admonished her gently one last time, but this time the reprimands were tempered by congratulations for both her and Snape on their impending parenthood. Harry and Ron, of course, congratulated their ex-Professor rather stiffly and with much glaring, warning him as subtly as they could – which is to say, not very subtly at all – to treat Hermione well. Hermione rolled her eyes at them, but to her surprise, Severus took their warnings with utmost gravity, giving them a firm nod to show that he did not take them lightly.
Once their goodbyes had been said and the five of them popped away, the wolves decided to take their leave as well. They needed to return to the reservation and make arrangements for their departure in a day's time, which would involve convincing the elders of the necessity of half the pack attending this impromptu conference. They left with a promise from Hermione that an owl would deliver a message to Sam's home in the morning with information on where and when to meet to board the plane, as well as with instructions on how to relieve said owl of said message.
Finally, Severus, Hermione, and Minerva were the only guests left in the Cullens' home, and they turned to their hosts. Before doing anything else, the three of them raised their wands and restored Esme's living room to its original size and state.
Once they were finished, Hermione tucked her wand away before she spoke. "If we're leaving in a day, Severus and I have a lot to prepare for. We need to explain to Charlie that we'll be gone for a few days, and we'll probably tell him that I want to use the library at Hogwarts to search for information that will help Bella. We'll also need to make sure that his house is sufficiently protected."
The Cullens and Bella bade them goodbye. Bella rose unsteadily to her feet but was chased back down to the cushions of the sofa by her cousin, who came over to her and fussed, admonishing her and saying she could just as easily hug her where she was without Bella having to get up.
"Hang in there, all right?" she murmured as she held her cousin as tightly as she could while being mindful of Bella's frailty. "One more day and you'll be on a private jet plane that's powered by professional pilots but that has luxury seats charmed so that you can't feel any of the plane's motion. The atmosphere within the plane is also spelled so that you're not affected by the altitude as you are in regular planes. It will be the easiest plane ride you've ever taken."
"That from a woman who absolutely detests flying in any way, shape, or form," Severus put in helpfully. He paused and then added, "Well, unless she's in the form of a bird." He shook hands with Edward and Carlisle, gave a shallow but respectful bow to Bella and Esme, and inclined his head in acknowledgement of the remaining four vampires. Then he stepped back and offered his arm to Hermione, who took it.
Severus nodded once more to the Cullens, Hermione waved, and Minerva said, "Once I have made arrangements to have the plane come to pick everyone up, I'll stop by and relay the message to you."
Carlisle nodded his understanding and the vampires all bade the witches and wizard goodbye before the three turned on the spot and disappeared with an almost perfectly synchronized series of pops.
Hermione, Severus, and Minerva appeared just outside the wards to the cabin in the woods, and Severus offered his free arm to Minerva so he could bring her through the wards. Hermione went on ahead in order to open the door.
Once the three were inside, Minerva bade Hermione and Severus goodbye herself before stepping into the fireplace. Before she tossed her handful of Floo Powder onto the flames, she looked at them and smirked. "Oh, and do try to get some rest tonight. I realize you two won't be travelling for nearly as long as the Cullens or the Quileutes, but I imagine tomorrow will still be a long day for you. You should at least spend part of the night sleeping, though I'm sure the temptation to do otherwise will prove difficult to resist." And with that, she whirled away in a flare of green flames.
Hermione blushed; Severus noticed and smirked, saying, "She knows us well. I fully intend to spend half the night celebrating your ability to have children and our impending parenthood with you in my bed after dinner." So saying he took her hand and linked his fingers with hers, pulling her to the kitchen.
Dinner was a simple spaghetti with slices of sautéed chicken breast in a basil pesto sauce. The normal accompaniment to such a dish would have been wine, probably something along the lines of a Spanish tempranillo, but Hermione, who greatly enjoyed a good glass or two of wine with dinner, had absolutely no regrets about abstaining for the next nine months or so.
When dinner was finished, Hermione excused herself to the bathroom to prepare for bed, paying special attention to her nightly teeth-cleansing routine. She emerged from the bathroom in her nightie and paused uncertainly in the doorway to Severus's bedroom – as intimate as they'd become over the past twenty-four hours, this was still so new to her.
Severus, who had just finished changing into the navy blue soft cotton pajama bottoms he'd taken to wearing here in Forks, where the nights were often a bit cool, turned to see Hermione standing in the doorway, and his breath caught.
Her steel-gray satin nightie was fairly modest, its lace hem falling somewhere between mid-thigh and her knees and its thick lacy straps sitting comfortably on her shoulders, neither so loose they would constantly fall nor so tight as to bite into her flesh. The neckline was modest as well, revealing only the barest shadowy depression that marked the very beginning of the valley between her breasts. And yet the overall effect of the dark-but-not-quite-black nightie that clung loosely to her curves and contrasted with her medium skin tones along with the hair that tumbled loose and untamed in a waterfall of curls down her shoulders and to the small of her back and the freshness of her recently-washed face caused his body to come to nearly painful attention. He had to force himself to momentarily ignore his body's reaction in favor of inviting her in.
"Come, Hermione. Make yourself comfortable. I will be but a moment."
She stepped hesitantly into the room, and when she would pass him, he stopped her with a hand on her waist. When she turned her head to look at him, he murmured, "You are absolutely beautiful." He pressed a kiss to her temple and then released her before making his way to the bathroom.
When he emerged, she was standing by the edge of the bed, staring down at the forest-green bedcovers. In a flash of insight he knew she must be nervous; he knew that such an intimate relationship was entirely new to her, as was sharing a bed with another person, and though they'd spent much of the day earlier as well as last night getting to know each other's bodies, such a change took time getting used to.
He stepped up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, drawing her back against him. "Come, my dear," he murmured. "There is no reason to be nervous. You will get used to this. We can take things as slow as you like."
She looked up at him with a relieved smile, glad that he'd picked up on her thoughts. She shook her head. "I don't want to take things slow, at least, not tonight. I was just thinking this will take time getting used to." She turned in his arms. "But I'm going to enjoy every minute."
He bent to kiss her. He was momentarily surprised when, before he could request permission to enter her mouth with his tongue, she initiated that contact first as her tongue darted out to stroke his lower lip once, twice. Smirking against her mouth, he opened his and allowed her tongue inside to tangle with his. Soon, however, he became the aggressor, chasing her tongue back into her mouth with his before he completely laid siege to her mouth.
Without breaking the kiss, he let his hands wander down from her shoulders, touching, caressing, squeezing, grasping her flesh through her thin nightie. His hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs toying momentarily with her nipples before his hands wandered lower. She clutched his shoulders in a death grip as his large, hot hands filled themselves with her bum and began the most intimate massage she'd ever had, gripping, squeezing, rubbing. At the same time, his lips wandered away from her mouth, across her jaw, and to her neck, where he settled to feast, apparently intent on marking her flesh for all to see.
After a few moments, his hands moved lower yet again. This time, they stole under her nightie and slowly trailed back upwards, bringing the nightie with them. She obligingly lifted her arms as he pulled the nightie off her, and then her arms lowered to encircle his neck as he continued to kiss and suck on hers. His hands grasped the plain black satin bikini briefs she wore and pushed them off her hips before returning to grasp her bottom. Hermione gasped aloud, her eyes flying open wide as his hot, rough hands met the soft skin of her bum and began to play.
She trembled as his fingers danced over her flesh, tracing circles on the surface of the sensitive skin of her bum cheeks and dipping into the cleft between them. While one hand remained and continued to play about her bum, the other wandered around to her front, trailing about the soft, warm flesh of her belly. He rested his entire palm against her lower belly for a moment as if to greet the tiny soul that had just begun to develop within, and the tenderness of the action would have brought tears to her eyes but for what he did next. His hand came lower and gently nudged her thighs further apart before he covered her mound with his entire hand. Her legs nearly buckled, but the grasp of her arms around his neck and of his other hand on her bum kept her standing.
His clever, talented fingers delved into the neatly trimmed curls that were now damp with her arousal and immediately they went to play. His thumb worked mercilessly on her engorged clit, drawing a surprised and aroused whine from her lips, while his middle and ring fingers plundered her tight passage. He chuckled at the sounds she was making, sounds of arousal and frustration and need.
"Relax, love," he encouraged. "Just enjoy this. I know I am." When she shut her eyes, trying to keep control over her responses, he tsked. "No, love, open your eyes. I want you to watch my hand between your legs even as you feel my fingers fucking you from within. That's it," he murmured as her eyes opened, glazing over as she looked down at the dirty, beautiful sight of his large hand moving between her legs.
He brought her very nearly to the edge of her orgasm, but stopped just short of letting her fall over that precipice. She nearly cried in frustration, but before she could make her feelings known, he was drawing his now-soaked hand from between her thighs and bringing it up. And she nearly did fall over the edge when he drew his fingers toward her lips and told her, his voice dark and erotic, "Taste yourself. Clean my hand, and I will reward you with more than what you seek."
She opened her mouth to obey and a bolt of heat shot down her spine and brought another gush of hot liquid between her now-slick thighs as his wet fingers dipped between her lips. She tasted her own essence and immediately set to cleaning his fingers; she knew she shouldn't enjoy the taste of herself so much, but perhaps it was the taste of her own essence mingled with the taste of his skin that made her so wet. In fact, the only thing she could recall tasting better was the taste of his seed as it had splashed onto her tongue and down her throat yesterday after she'd sucked him off.
By the time his fingers were clean, she was so wet her essence was very nearly starting to trickle down her thighs, and he was so hard he nearly thought he could crack glass. He decided enough was enough. In the next second he had relieved himself of his pajama bottoms and his hands came back up to her shoulders. "And now, little one, your reward for cleansing my hand so well," he said to her, smirking as she shivered at the dark sound of his voice.
Hermione tried not to shudder at the sound of his voice, but was only partly successful. His voice was practically hard-wired to her pussy; she thought he could probably make her wet just reading aloud from a Potions journal if he only read it in that voice.
She allowed him to turn her around so that her back was pressed to his front, and his hands came back down from her shoulders to grasp her hips. He held her there for a moment, and she failed to suppress a gasp as the hot, velvet-clad steel of his thick shaft pressed its length between her buttocks as he ground his groin into her bum.
Then one hand left her hip and came between her shoulder blades, and she felt yet another gush of liquid heat race to the apex of her thighs as she realized what he was about to do the moment before he did it.
"Bend over," came the hot whisper in her ear, and she was very nearly panting as she obeyed, lowering her chest and belly to the surface of the bed while her tail remained in the air.
"Gods," he said raggedly as he brought both hands to rest on her bum. "The sight of you bent over before me, that beautiful pussy peeking out at me, waiting for me to take you from behind…absolutely fucking gorgeous, love."
The dirty words his dark, erotic voice spoke to her left her panting. "Please, Severus, I need you. I need you inside me," she begged.
"You beg beautifully, my dear. But there is no rush. I find I am thoroughly enjoying the sight of you like this," he said as he massaged the cheeks of her bum again before pulling them up and away from each other to get a better look at the swollen lower lips pouting at him between her legs. Mesmerized, he knelt behind her, his tongue darting out to take a long, slow lick from one end of her soaked slit to the other. "Delicious," he murmured before settling in to feast, plunging his tongue into her depths and making her keen.
He was more merciful now, fucking her with his tongue, than when he'd fucked her with his fingers. This time, when she reached the point of orgasm, he allowed her to fall. "Come, my dear," he commanded as he pulled his lips away just enough to speak. "Come for me. Come all over my tongue and let me drink you down."
She obeyed with a cry, legs trembling as her entire body tightened and shattered. She was grateful for the support of the bed beneath her torso, holding her up and offering an anchor for her clenched fists as they gripped the comforter with bloodless fingers. Her pulsing pussy offered up its nectar and he drank greedily, so voracious as to nearly bring her back up to another orgasm. But before she could reach that point, he stood. He urged her to climb onto the bed and lay down on her stomach, his hands nudging her legs apart so he could kneel between them. He lowered himself over her, allowing his hips to settle over hers but bracing his arms so that his torso stayed off her. "Truly, my dear, your pleasure is the sweetest thing I have ever tasted. The sight of you bent over before me, one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, only trumped by the sight of either your tight little pussy or your hot little mouth wrapped around my cock." As he spoke, he rubbed the length of his cock first between her bum cheeks and then along her dripping slit, circling the head around her clit.
Finally, she felt the swollen, mushroom-shaped head of his cock, slick with his pre-come, pressing inexorably against the depression marking her entrance. Her entrance gave way and the head of his cock came into her passage with a little pop. But to her frustration, that was as far as he went. Oh, he circled it within her, even gave tiny, shallow thrusts that were more like undulations within her, and even withdrew completely before entering her once more with just the head of his cock. When she tried to thrust back and impale herself on him, his iron grip on her bum and hips stopped her. She made a noise of pure frustration, and he chuckled, obviously enjoying the power he had over her.
Abruptly she lost her patience. "For God's sake, Severus, just fuck me! Come inside and fuck me!" she shouted.
He laughed, the rich bass of the sound making its way between her legs just as easily as his erotic murmuring had. "I suppose I had forgotten whom I was dealing with. You command as magnificently as you beg, my love. And it will be my pleasure to obey." And with that, he released her hips and arse only to lean forward and completely cover her back. His hands ran the length of her arms until they covered hers. He gently pried her fingers from the coverlet and linked them with his.
"Grip my fingers, love. Anchor yourself to me," he told her. She obeyed, clutching his fingers between hers even as her fists grasped handfuls of the coverlet. The moment she did so, his hips snapped forward and his cock surged into her. She let out a scream of delight that settled into long, almost continuous moans when he began to move, not even giving her time to adjust as his cock plundered the depths of her body. Tears of ecstasy began to make their way out of her eyes as his cock rammed into her cervix on every plunge, and she was honestly glad she was apparently not like most women who found it painful for a man's cock to be pressing into their cervix so much.
"Is this what you wanted, Hermione?" he grunted, as if reading her thoughts. "For me to fill you so much and fuck you so hard your pleasure borders on pain? I will turn you inside out, witch. I will wring every bit of your pleasure from your mouth and throat that I can. I will make you scream until you lose your voice. And I will fill you with so much of my seed that, had you not already conceived my child last night, you would conceive triplets. And shall I tell you something else? I will fuck you once more before we leave for Hogwarts, and I will take my seed off your thighs but I will leave what is inside you to leak out slowly on its own for Lupin and that pack of overgrown puppies to smell so that they will know you are mine, inside and out."
Her fingers tightened, clenching both the coverlet and his fingers, and he felt her arms trembling as his dirty words brought her closer to her peak. "Gods, Severus," she gasped, panting. "Your voice – ah! – makes me so – ohh – so wet! Oh, gods, yes, right there, don't stop!"
Her moaning was music to his ears, and he could feel himself edging ever closer to the drop. Wanting her to be with him when he took the plunge, he wrapped one arm around her middle and urged her up until they were both on all fours, still joined together, still fucking. He released both her hands, bracing one of his against the bed right beside hers. His free hand left her middle and found her other hand. He coaxed her fingers to release the bed covers and then he brought her hand to the place where they were joined together between her legs. He arranged her hand so that her fingers were splayed on either side of his wide girth and she could feel the place where his cock disappeared inside her as it pounded away between her thighs. Once he was sure her hand would stay there even after he took his away, he brought his hand back to brace on the bed in order to fuck her more solidly.
That was hotter than anything else she could have ever imagined, she thought vaguely. The instant she'd realized his intention, she gushed around his cock. Even the idea of the mess growing between her thighs and now between her fingers, a combination of her essence and his, only served to make her hotter. She astonished herself by thinking that when this was over she'd like to taste their mingled secretions, perhaps cleanse his cock the way she'd cleansed his fingers.
"Who do you belong to, Hermione?" his voice murmured compellingly in her ear.
"Oh, gods, Severus, you!" she gasped.
"Whose pussy is it I'm fucking now?" he grunted.
"Mine. Yours! Yours," she sighed.
"And whose cock is fucking that pussy? Whose cock is the only cock that will ever bring you pleasure like this?" he growled.
"Yours!" she groaned. "Yours, Severus, gods, ohhhh, yours forever!" And she punctuated that declaration with a loud moan she couldn't hold back, her trembling arm finally collapsing and her torso tumbling to the bed, though she remained arse-up, her pussy still impaled by his cock, and her other hand still between her legs as he fucked her right through that first orgasm, then a second, and toward a third. That was when he decided he could hold on no longer.
He raised his torso until he was kneeling behind her, gripping her hips in his large hands, and he jerked her hips back to him with every forward thrust of his own, now fucking her as hard as he could. The head of his cock was now ramming hard up into her cervix and she was seeing stars as she shot fast toward her third orgasm.
And as she got closer and closer, her moans escalating into loud cries, her pussy tightened around his cock more and more, until he knew that when she finally fell, she'd bring him with her.
He trembled on that point, and some instinct deep within him gave him an idea he wasn't even consciously following. He leaned forward and sank his teeth into her neck at the junction of her neck and shoulder. A rapturous scream she couldn't hold back ripped from her lips as her arm locked at the elbow, shoving her torso up against his, and her fingers spasmed around the base of his cock where it was swallowed by the vise that was her pussy. And they fell over the edge together, two stars causing each other to explode together into a supernova that in a fraction of a second became all that existed in the universe.
As the brilliance of the supernova receded somewhat, Hermione distantly realized that the multiple spurts of his seed against the barrier of her cervix and into her pulsing passage actually prolonged her own orgasm. And true to his earlier words, she could feel his seed starting to leak from around his embedded, still iron-hard flesh, seeping between her fingers.
An exhausted smile lit her features as she allowed him to ride out the last of both their orgasms and continue shallowly bouncing her hips against his as he continued to grind his cock inside her, coaxing out the last of his seed. When he finally stopped spurting within her, the two of them collapsed to the surface of the bed, his finally flaccid cock slipping out of her.
She caught her breath for a few minutes before rolling to her belly once more, wanting to try her idea. She pushed herself back until she was level with his slippery, sticky cock, and took him in the same hand that had been between her thighs, feeling the place where they fucked. And then to his shock, her tongue emerged and trailed from the base of his cock to the head as she cleansed him of their commingled juices. She licked him clean, swallowing what she cleaned off his cock, and continued licking even after he was clean, now alternating her licking with sucking as she miraculously brought him back to hardness. Too tired to protest, he lay back and let her administer to him as mercilessly as he'd done to her earlier. And he was as helpless to fight the orgasm that rushed upon him now as she'd been earlier. He came with a hoarse shout, spurting another load of seed he hadn't realized he had left onto her tongue and to the back of her throat. And much as she had last night, she swallowed everything he gave her with a look of adoration that nearly brought him to tears.
When he came down from his orgasm and she finished swallowing, he brought her up to lie beside him and kissed her tenderly, tasting not only the seed he'd just finished unloading into her lovely, boundlessly talented mouth, but also their combined secretions that she'd cleaned from his cock and that still seeped from between her thighs.
He summoned his wand, intending to clean her with magic, but she put a hand on his wrist to stop him. "Just take it off my thighs," she told him, much as she had last night.
He acquiesced with a chuckle before then deciding to also use a couple of breath-freshening charms on both of them – while the taste of their combined essence was all well and good while fresh, it would be unbearable the morning after. She huffed her amusement, too tired to laugh properly, and thanked him for his foresight before rewarding him with a brief kiss that tasted of cinnamon and mint.
They were woken at what felt like an ungodly hour the next morning by a voice calling out to them from the living room.
"Severus? Hermione? May I come through?"
Severus, his face stuck into the space between Hermione's neck and shoulder, groaned and sighed, his gusting breath stirring her curls.
"What is it?" she mumbled.
"Minerva," he grumbled back, though he made no move to get up. "Come to deliver the news of when the plane will be here to pick up the Cullens and the pack, no doubt."
She sighed. When she realized he had no intention of getting up to speak to their guest, she nudged him off her with difficulty given his extreme reluctance to let her go. "I'll speak to her, Sev, and try to send her on her way as quick as I can."
He sighed again and rolled away a bit so she could get up. Sleepy though he was, he was alert enough to be able to fully appreciate the sight of her naked form rising from his bed and standing before moving toward the door. As she passed the open door of the wardrobe, she reached in and removed the shirt he'd been wearing yesterday from the hook on the inside of the door.
Severus watched with extreme satisfaction as she pulled on his soft dark green cotton shirt, and he reflected that the color looked quite good on her medium-toned skin with her chestnut curls. She buttoned it halfway as she walked from the room. His satisfaction only grew when he saw how hard she was trying to walk normally, though it was obviously difficult for her to not move so gingerly.
Hermione decided not to button the shirt all the way, hoping that the sight of the top two or three buttons undone would signal to Minerva that she had interrupted something very important. Of course, whether Minerva thought she'd interrupted an intimate moment or the sleep they had actually been engaging in, she didn't particularly care.
"Professor," Hermione greeted, dismantling the wards around the fireplace. "Come on through."
She didn't wait for Minerva to follow as she made her way into the kitchen to make some coffee for herself and Severus. "Tea?" she asked Minerva.
"No, thank you, dear. I won't be long. I can see I have interrupted something," the old witch said with a smirk on her face.
"Oh yes, Severus gets quite cranky when his sleep is interrupted," Hermione replied casually as she set about making the coffee.
Minerva blinked and looked more closely at Hermione's unblushing face. "Sleep," she echoed, unconvinced. Then, raising an eyebrow, she met Hermione's gaze shrewdly. "Of course. Sleep, no doubt much needed after vigorous nightly activities?"
Ah, there was the blush. She smiled at the young woman. "So it seems I was right when I left you last night." Then, tilting her head curiously, she asked, "Forgive me for asking such a personal question, but how do you feel?"
Hermione blinked, not having expected the question. She thought back to how gingerly she'd walked out of the bedroom, and muttered, her face red, "Like I've spent far too much time on horseback."
Now that made Minerva raise her eyebrows. "Oh, my. Well, I certainly hope he gives you something for that." Hermione hmmed noncommittally, and Minerva continued.
"At any rate, I spoke to Kingsley last night, and he will send a plane that will arrive at eleven tonight, Forks time. It will arrive at a private hangar at the small airport just outside of Port Angeles, and I asked him to have the plane arrive at night so that the wolves might run and arrive undetected. We will have associates from the Ministry seat in Seattle in place to monitor the situation just in case someone sees anything they should not, as well as to clear the memories of the authorities tracking arriving and departing planes. No one will be any the wiser. And the plane will land at the Ministry's hangar, where Bill Weasley will meet them. I have also arranged with the Minister to have one of their new cars pick up Edward and Bella and fly them to Hogwarts while the vampires and wolves are free to run."
"Car?" Hermione asked, confused.
Minerva blinked, and then remembered that Hermione, having lived for so long in the rainforest, had missed a lot of the developments that had come about after the war. "Well, Arthur Weasley actually sold his idea for a flying car to the Ministry. They had Muggle-born mechanics work in conjunction with Charms Masters perfect the flying cars so that what happened with Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley and Arthur's car in your second year won't happen again. These cars can fly anywhere over land, but once they are flying over water, the charms lose potency quickly and things become very dangerous. That is why we are sending a plane to Forks instead."
Hermione was quite impressed, and resolved to ask Severus about more of the events and developments that had occurred in the last eight months.
Once Minerva had relayed all the important details to Hermione, the young woman asked her to repeat them so she could put them in the letter to be delivered to Sam. Once the letter was written, however, she realized she needed to find an owl to deliver it. Finally she decided that once Mierva was gone she'd pop over to the post office of the magical community outside Port Angeles.
The details given, Minerva took her leave, now to report to the Cullens. Hermione returned to the bedroom she'd shared with Severus last night only to find him fast asleep. She penned a brief note to him and left it on her pillow beside him, explaining where she'd gone and that she'd be back soon. She dressed quickly, grabbed her wand, her beaded bag, and the letter to Sam and his pack, and quickly left the wards. Still a bit shaken after the events of what was now two days ago – the encounter with Lucius Malfoy, to be specific – she popped away the second she was outside the wards.
Her business at Port Angeles's magical post office was quickly concluded and she returned to the cabin, popping briefly into existence in the woods before disappearing from sight as she stepped through the wards to go back inside. Though her appearance had only lasted seconds, it was noticed. Some hundred feet off, hidden by the foliage of a large, shady thicket, a pair of pale blue eyes gleamed.
So, what did you think? Anybody get a little hot under the collar there? Or did you think it was too much? I kind of feel like I was overcompensating for having spent waaayyyy too long away. Too much sex, not enough plot? Or was it okay? I will say, though, that if there's any sex in the next chapter, which there might be and there might not be, it will be far less graphic. And I hope you now have a general feel for what the next chapter will look like. If you don't, I have no hope for you as a detective.
RP13