A/N: Severus' point-of-view.
Severus woke up to the smell of warm tea at his bedside, and a pair of eyes peering eagerly over the edge of the bed. He smiled at the sight of Tonks' eyes looking at him. He could tell in her eyes that she was smiling at him.
"A man could get used to waking up to tea in bed with a beautiful woman kneeling at his bedside." Severus smirked as he rolled onto his side to face her.
"You never changed the wards to your room, Severus."
"I had no need to change it." Severus sat up and sipped his morning tea, letting his eyes trail over her figure as she knelt there.
"All this time, your door was open for me." Tonks' voice held a hint of soft awe.
"We both are equally stubborn, it seems." Severus put down his tea and pulled back his comforter invitingly. "It's a bit chilly this morning, and I fear that I am too lazy to use a warming charm."
Tonks crawled into bed and let herself be held as Severus pulled the covers over them both.
"We have much to discuss, don't we?" Severus asked, his lips pressing against her ear in a chaste kiss.
She nodded, snuggling herself against the length of the Potions' Master.
"When I am speaking to you as your Dominant, you are to address me as Sir. You are to also avoid eye contact unless directed to. This will assist you in avoiding surreptitious Legilimency.
"You will wear the bracelet that I have given you, and I will place a training collar upon you during the times that we will have more intense sessions. This will assist you in knowing when I expect more out of you and when you need not be focused on being my submissive.
"I will want feedback from you after each session. I want to know how you feel with our progression, and be able to function in your daily duties as an Auror and an Order member. Do you agree to these terms?"
"Yes, Sir." She replied, and was rewarded with faint pressure of his teeth near the back of her neck. The sensation electrified her, having her tilt her chin down to expose more of her neck to him.
"Very good, Nymphadora. Do you have any questions or requests?" Severus' cock hardened slightly as he had the witch in his arms.
Tonks' stilled in his arms, pausing as she thought of exactly how to phrase her question.
"What was the dungeon like? Were you there with someone else?"
Severus sighed, knowing that he'd have to tread carefully. "Before I answer that, I will require a wand-oath from you. Since you are a part of a law enforcement agency, you must swear that any knowledge I impart to you will not be used by you in any way to shut it down or to reveal The Sacellum to the Ministry. Imagine if Umbridge were to know of this place, and how quickly she would legislate her morality and send the owners of such a place to Azkaban."
Nymphadora gasped, almost inaudibly. "Very well." She pulled out her wand, and a golden glow emanated from it. "I swear, upon my wand, to conceal the secrets of The Sacellum from the Ministry and any other types of law enforcement."
Severus nodded, his nose buried in her pink hair. "That should suffice. It was stolen from the Church by the Black family during King Henry III's Dissolution of the Monasteries back in the 16th century. It is, essentially, a church re-purposed for BDSM activities with a darkly romantic ambiance."
Severus rolled away from Nymphadora and sat up, pausing before he dredged on. "It is run by a group of people who are well known in the community, and serves the wizarding world exclusively. Lucius' position was made vacant since he is in Azkaban, and I had to petition to replace him in order to ensure their impartiality."
Tonks rolled over to face him. "How long have you been a part of this community? Who else was there?"
"Tonight was my first night in an official sense. I never saw the need to indulge otherwise; I prefer my privacy. Likewise, the community depends on discretion, and simply telling you that Lucius was a part of it may be seen as inappropriate."
"You said something about the Black family... oh. You went with my Aunt Narcissa, didn't you?"
Severus nodded slowly. "I demonstrated my ability with waxplay and the singletail whip for recognition within the community, using her as my canvas and target. In the end, I succeeded to impress them all."
The moment hung between them, and Severus prayed that she not press any further.
"I…" Tonks wondered, "why did you? And did you…" She shrugged, unable to voice the question.
"It was a personal favor to Narcissa. And no, what I did with her was in a clinical, platonic manner. She is married to my best friend, and I wouldn't dare to come between them." He slid back under the covers, directing her to resume spooning with him. He had missed the physical contact he had with her, and resolved to hold her until she wanted him to let go. "I did, however, have to relieve myself of… a frustration afterwords. I found myself wishing that you were there more than ever."
Severus wasn't sure if his answer would quell her curiosity. The sensation of her wiggling bum pressing against his crotch made his gasp in surprise.
"What would you have done if I were there, Severus?" Her voice was satin to his ears, promising so much more than the words alone conveyed.
"Did you learn this particular style of interrogation in Auror training? If so, send my compliments to the Ministry." Severus' hand caressed the small part of her waist, fingers digging in possessively. "Witch, I was alone in a confessional booth, wishing you were there with your lips wrapped around my cock as I would thrust myself inside you with reckless abandon."
Tonks' hips stopped suddenly, and Severus growled slightly with need.
"I meant with the whip. The idea of such sharp, intense sensations gives me a bit of a thrill."
"I believe I can put that on our syllabus." Severus joked, slapping her ass playfully. He planted a trail of kisses along her jaw line and was rewarded with her lips.
"Want me to call you Professor, Sir?" She said suggestively.
"Tell me, when I was your Potions professor, did you ever imagine you being this cheeky with me?"
"I was a hormone-addled teenager then, Severus." Tonks' reply tried to sound reproving, but failed.
"You didn't answer my question, love."
"Are you asking me, when I was revising for my OWLS, if I fantasized about being in bed with my Potions Master, joking as he spanks my bum and makes my quim wet?"
"In not so many words, but yes."
"You may have been on my mind during a study break or two, Professor. Promise me that we won't let ourselves drift apart because of that daft man."
Before Severus could reply, a silvery phoenix flew overhead. It spoke with Albus' voice. "Severus, Ronald Weasley is in the Hospital Wing. Horace suspects poison was in a bottle of mead he owns. I would appreciate your input."
"Duty calls, Nymphadora." Severus apologized, pulling himself out of the bed and dressing himself into his customary frock coat. "Send me a Patronus when you are available."
Severus' robes billowed behind him as he entered the hospital wing, his face exuding a calm nothingness as Poppy called him to her office.
"Severus, the boy was quite lucky for there to be a bezoar nearby. But since Slughorn had already dosed him with an antidote today, I had to suspend him for a day before trying to heal his second poisoning."
He nodded, remembering Golpollott's Second Law concerning toxicity. "You appear to have done everything according to protocol."
Her face turned into a grimace. "Now for the hard part; do we trust that the stone worked or try to divine the poison used and to cure him?"
Severus nodded solemnly. "Have you approached Horace?"
"He's too shaken to be of use; he isn't one to shine under pressure. You remember the first war; he went into hiding." Severus looked over Poppy's notes concerning the patient and the poisoning agents.
"I'll need a sample of both the mead and the boy's blood." He looked over to the ginger boy and was surprised to see a massive tangle of brown curls asleep at his bedside. Granger, of course.
"Go right ahead; Miss Granger has been by his side like a sentry all evening." Minerva entered Poppy's office as well, pouring herself a cup of tea and sitting down.
"Hello, Severus. I just escorted Miss Brown back to Gryffindor Tower; I don't understand what the Weasley boy sees in that banshee."
He smirked at that, having issued many a detention to the high-strung Lavender Brown. "Thank you for sparing me from her deluge of tears and teenage drama. Do not worry yourself over your cub, Minerva. I should be able to brew the proper antidote." Severus nodded respectfully, leaving the office and standing alongside the unconscious student. As he conjured a flask and took a sample of his blood, Hermione startled awake.
"Professor Snape! I... must have fallen asleep. Madam Pomfrey says she cannot heal him yet." Her eyes were red from crying earlier, and Severus could empathize for her, but realized she needed to take care of herself first.
"Miss Granger, you are of little use or benefit to the Weasley boy at present; you require a meal and rest. Have your Head of House escort you back to your room and order something from the kitchens."
Hermione's eyebrows scrunched in rebellious concern. "I want to help, to do something."
Minerva approached them, standing behind Hermione protectively. "Severus, you know how hot-blooded my Gryffindor students can be. She won't be able to rest until she knows he's recovering. Besides, she can be of use; her OWL scores rivaled your own."
Snape regarded her, and could feel the mediwitch's eyes lingering on him. "Miss Granger, I have been tasked with determining the poison or poisons used and to devise the proper antidote. I could use an assistant in order to expedite in the creation of the potion."
Hermione's eyes shot upwards, her face smiling, glad that she could be of service.
Once ensconced in his private lab, he had removed his outermost teaching robes and began to wash his hands as he directed Hermione to do the same. She looked at him questioningly, and he shrugged his response. "I do not need voluminous robes in this room, accidentally dipping a sleeve into a cauldron or knocking any supplies off of a countertop." Donning his potion-brewing robe, it was more of a priestly cassock than standard wizard robes. It was, however, entirely black.
He had tasked her to do some basic ingredient prep as he ran his samples and confirmed that the poisons had transmutated due to the other potions active within his body.
"At least his nose seems fine since the New Year, I heard about what Nymphadora had done to him."
Hermione chuckled at that quietly, silently agreeing that the boy had deserved it. "She does seem quite defensive of you."
Severus nodded slightly, instructing her to shred the adder skin. "Her protective streak is a characteristic that I do find admirable among Hufflepuffs."
"That trait isn't just with the Hufflepuffs, sir. Professor Lupin told us what you did to save her."
"Ah, yes. No doubt you believe his assertions that I'm a soulless, dark wizard. Weigh out 2 grams of the skin. Use my silver scales."
She pursed her lips at the comment, nearly crushing the adder skin in her clenched fist. "Unlike the boys that must have bullied you when you were young, I am quite capable of reaching my own decisions concerning someone. Sir."
"Then what conclusion have you come to, with such astute observations?" Severus wasn't sure if Harry had told her about how the Marauders lived to torment him as a child, or if she simply figured it out on her own.
"You would risk more than just your life for someone you love. Few people would understand that level of devotion. When I was asked to play the part of an underwater hostage for the triwizard tournament; I wondered how far someone might go in order to save me. Harry might risk his life for me, but he was unable to maintain the Cruciatus curse on Bellatrix, even at the height of his anger. I think I would prefer someone with the conviction to do it, tempered with the morality to know when not to."
She handed him the weighed amount, and he macerated them in a tincture of alcohol.
"So you justify the use of infernal potions by wrapping them up in romantic platitudes. Typical." Severus poured his solution into a simmering cauldron and went over to analyze the blood sample.
Hermione shrugged off his response. "Are you not relieved that you delivered her from harm?" She asked, challenging him.
"I am. I don't regret my decision, either."
"I wouldn't regret my decisions either, not when protecting others." She replied. Severus was struck at her frankness.
"Professor, may I ask you something? Does it matter at all to be recognized for how far you went to help save someone?" As she watched him cast Specialis Revelio, she noticed a flash of remorse cross his face.
"It matters not, though recognition would be nice. In the end we must all answer to our own conscience. The boy is still drunk on those chocolate cauldrons; a sobering draught will need to be added. I have it in my storeroom. I believe you know how to get in there."
Her eyes went wide in surprise. "You knew it was me?"
"I was the one who had to brew a counter-potion. Polyjuice in your second year; I was too impressed to punish you for that. I will, however, deny that I ever said this to you."
"It was to find out if Draco Malfoy was the one opening the chamber of secrets."
"And therein lays the reason behind the madness."
Hermione handed him the potion and he measured out an aliquot. As he poured it in, Hermione kissed his cheek.
Severus stilled, unsure of what just happened. "What the devil was that about?"
"That was for helping protect the Philosopher's Stone and protecting Harry during the quidditch match in my first year. And for curing me during the second year. And protecting us from Lupin during the third. And returning to spy on You-Know-Who for the Order after the fourth year. And for protecting us and our secrets under Umbridge's rule last year, as well as alerting the Order when we went half cocked to invade the Department of Mysteries."
"I was simply doing my job, Miss Granger. You just happen to be associated to most of my more… tedious duties. That, and my supply of Veritaserum is sacrosanct. I simply used a switching spell and gave her undetectable calming draughts. They would appear to be under the influence without being compelled to tell the truth." Severus considered obliviating her after this conversation, but quickly dismissed it.
"I'm also thanking you for saving Ron's life, since he probably wouldn't think of it."
Severus bit the inside of his cheek to avoid smirking. "Seeing how the boy devours everything in sight, it might behoove you to keep a quantity of bezoars nearby."
Hermione chuckled at that. As the cauldron's quiet simmer subsided, Severus cross-referenced the poisoned mead to Ron's vial of poisoned blood. "Of course; hair of the proverbial dog."
He pulled out a bottle of fire-whiskey and added half a shot into the cauldron, stirring as the steam rising told him that it was complete. Casting a stasis charm, Severus sat at the nearby table and conjured himself a tumbler. Glancing towards Hermione, he shrugged and produced a second glass, pouring each of them a small measure.
"The antidote will be ready once it cools. Tell no one that we got along this well."
"Betray to the school that Professor Snape can be downright gregarious?" She smiled at him, lifting her glass at him. "Your secret is safe with me, since nobody would believe it. To protecting those we... care about." Hermione's hesitation was lost on the potions master, whose eyes were focused on the shock of pink hair that entered his private lab.
"...by any means necessary. Miss Granger, please finish up here and deliver the potion to Madam Pomfrey."
Hermione complied, blushing when she saw Tonks at the doorway. "Hello, Tonks. Um, brewed antidote." Nymphadora's eyebrow arched at the Gryffindor leaving, taking the seat that had been vacated.