A/N: Well, it really is true – Muses feed on reviews. As the last chapter of GP did not receive that much feedback and this little story did (Yes, I know, I do love fluff and lemons, too, but somewhere there needs to be a plotline so sweeten the fluff, and that's where we're at with GP right now), the next chapter of GP has been pushed back in favor of the next installment of The Traggob. If you want to push your favorite story, flood me with reviews, folks… ;)

Chapter 3

Hermione closed the door to her quarters with trembling fingers, touching her forehead to the wooden surface. Emotions were swirling through her body, her thoughts scattered. She could not comprehend what had happened, why he had kissed her and what had caused his rejection.

Her fingertips softly stroked along her bottom lip as she remembered how soft his mouth had felt on hers, and how her body had exploded with ecstasy when their tongues had touched. She had often imagined what it would feel like, but reality had surpassed her wildest dreams. When she had stroked her fingers through his hair while his arms held her close, it had been pure bliss. And then…

And then he had pushed her away, and the look in her eyes had frozen her to the bone. Anger had been written all over his face, and she was sure she had even glimpsed a bit of disgust in the depths of his eyes.

The only logical explanation that seemed to present itself was that he had realized that she might have feelings for him and wanted to test her, gauging by her reaction if his assumptions had been correct. And fool that she was, she had proven him right. Why couldn't he just have asked her?

Because you would have lied to his face, she answered the question herself.

She felt a wave of despair claim her as she thought about what was to come, dreading the moment she would have to see him again.

Severus Snape sat in his chair, the fingers of his steepled hands touching his lips. His calm exterior did not betray any of the madness swirling within, a mixture of fury, guilt, disgust, confusion, desire and longing. For such a long time, it had seemed he had not felt at all, and now, there seemed to be too many emotions to process. He was overwhelmed, desperately fighting against this loss of control, looking for some measure to regain his senses.

He downed a Calming Draught and waited for the effects to set in. His emotions settled down but refused to disappear, always resurfacing after a while. This kiss had completely upset him. When the Granggob had first made its appearance, he had thought the idea ridiculous, convinced that there must have been some mistake, that the Traggob had not been the real thing, but now, after the treacherous reaction of his body, he was not so sure anymore. Somewhere deep within him, there was a desire for Granger. How else could he explain the way his body had exploded into feeling when their lips had touched?

The truth of this admission caused his anger to resurface. After all these years of devoting his life to the right cause because of her, his great love, the idea of his body wanting someone else when his heart had been clearly given to her seemed to sully his love and devotion to Lily. That thought fed his guilt and anger even more, and he sat there getting angrier and angrier at the Traggob for showing him Granger. It seemed like the one thing that had given meaning to his life was being taken away.

His heart clenched at the thought that something could try to taint his devotion to Lily, and he was filled again with a longing for her that almost took his breath away. He wanted to see her so much, to reassure himself that she was the only one for him, that this kiss with Granger meant nothing – nothing – compared to what he felt for her.

Suddenly, it dawned on him that he could use his desperate emotional state to his advantage. Right now, his desire to see Lily was at the front of his mind, and the Traggob would just have to take her form right now.

Wasting no time, he spun around and grabbed the floo powder beside the fireplace.

He stood in front of the wardrobe, concentrating on his need to see Lily, letting the emotion fill his mind and heart. He unlocked the wardrobe and took a step back.

Anxiously, he waited as the door swung open, ever so slowly. He held his breath as slender limbs emerged, not daring to hope yet. Finally, when strands of fiery red hair spilled over her shoulders and she looked at him with her beautiful emerald eyes, his breath rushed out and his heart stopped in his chest.

"Lily," he whispered.

"Severus," she replied, her lips turning up in a sweet smile, her eyes shining with love. "Finally, we can be together."

She stepped closer, the soft fabric of her white summer dress almost touching the buttons of his frock coat. His eyes roved over her, and as her hands came up to slide along the sleeves towards his shoulders, a deep sigh of satisfaction escaped him, and he allowed his arms to slip around her waist to come to rest at the small of her back.

"I want to kiss you," he told her, and her hands grabbed the fabric of his coat as she rose on her toes and whispered: "Yes, please, Severus – kiss me!"

He closed the distance between them and touched his lips to hers. They felt so soft, and opened eagerly under his. Her mouth tasted sweet, almost like strawberries. There also was a flowery note to it, he thought. All in all an interesting, appealing amalgam.

Her tongue was very warm as it slowly stroked along his, and he scraped along her teeth as he followed her movements. It was a very slow, leisurely pace, and he wondered if he should increase the tempo. The flood of emotions he had prepared himself for was curiously absent. Maybe it took some time for everything to really register, he reasoned. Maybe, if he deepened the kiss, he could draw out the same electric tingling he had felt with – no! Don't think of her!

He pulled back, looking into Lily's face, taking in her dilated eyes shining with desire and pulled her close, one hand cupping her cheek, one lovingly stroking her backside while he pressed his lips to hers, increasing the intensity of their kiss.

He started growing desperate as he realized that his brain was scientifically analyzing the kiss while his body remained detached and almost unaffected. It was a pleasurable sensation, but he did not burn or tingle on the inside. He tried to suppress his frustration and instead focused on how those tingles had felt, which way the hot flashes had raced under his skin, how he had felt light-headed. He wanted to feel it so much.

Slowly, he felt it unfurling in his stomach. Finally, the heat was spreading, scorching shivers running up his spine. He groaned in elation, allowing himself to be swept away by the reactions of his body.

After what had been an awkward stumble, their tongues now performed an elegant dance that took his breath away. She even tasted better now, those overly sweet notes having disappeared and all that was left was the taste of fresh spring rain. He groaned at the sensation and the delicious taste, when suddenly, he realized he had tasted it before.

He ripped his mouth away and pushed back, staring into the eyes of Hermione Granger, sparkling with mirth.

"Why?!" he shouted.

She snorted at that and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, and here I thought you were a smart man. You know what I am, what I do."

"My desire was to see her, to kiss her – not Granger!"

"Yes, when you first came here, it was. But then you wanted to feel that wonderful elation you felt when you kissed Granger, so I changed."

"But I want to feel those emotions when I kiss her, not Granger!" he shouted.

"Oh yes, and why not wish for world peace while you're at it," the Granggob replied drily. "Since we are obviously indulging in fantasies of things that are just not made to happen."

"What are you talking about?" he hissed at her.

"You don't really want her – you want Granger," she replied with deep satisfaction.

"Preposterous!"

"You know it is pointless to lie to me, right? It is essentially the same as lying to yourself. With the difference that you won't get me to believe you. I mean…" she waved her hands at herself, pointing out whose body she had currently taken.

"I've kissed her and overcome my desire," he ground out.

"Hm." The Granggob motioned for him to take a seat and pulled up an armchair for herself, positioning it so that it was facing him. She sat down on the edge and reclined so that the white summer dress was riding up her thighs.

"Did you notice that I am not wearing any knickers today?" she said conversationally.

His eyes instantly fell to her knees, which she opened slowly by a fraction of an inch at the time. Everything was hidden in shadow due to her dress, but his eyes stayed riveted on the spot between her legs nevertheless. He was holding his breath, his eyes dilated.

She put her hand in her lap, pulling slowly on the material of the dress so that it was inching up her thighs, baring more and more of her legs to the light, but still it did not quite reach that secret place at the apex.

His breathing was irregular, his eyes fixed on that one spot, waiting for her to go on, when she stopped. He looked up at her face with confusion, and saw surprise and disappointment in her eyes as she sighed and pushed the dress back down to her knees.

"You don't want me, either" she said regretfully. "You needn't have worried about becoming addicted to me – you're too aware that I am an illusion when you could have the real thing. You want Granger. In the flesh."

Severus was half disappointed, half relieved that the Granggob had not treated him to that special view. "But I kissed her. It should have driven my irrational desire out."

"Yes, because a kiss is all you'd ever want, right?" she said sarcastically.

He glowered at her.

"Just imagine," she whispered "if just a kiss from Granger can make you feel that way – how is sex with Granger going to feel?"

As his mind tried to wrap around the idea, he could not suppress a groan.

A/N: You know what to do! There's the review button. Do your duty, or I'll be holding the smut hostage ;)