Snape spent the summer in agony without Mary. True to his word he sent an owl to her at least once a week and he heard just as much from her. He had a stack of letters that he saved and had tied with a brown ribbon, the most recent had come yesterday.

Severus,

I long to be with you. Your last letter made me miss you so much. I'm still trying to convince my parents to let me go to Knockturn Alley, I want to check out their bookstore and get my own interesting volumes. I hope you have considered reading some of my literature as well, it would do you some good to learn how to mend clothes and how to clean them in a pinch. I know your mother doesn't bother with that stuff but I know you would feel better if you could do it yourself. I'll be in Diagon Alley in a couple of weeks, on the 25th of August. Do you think we could meet at Malkin's around 2 PM? I can shake my parents for a bit around that time as they want to meet up with some of their friends. Don't forget your certificate.

Warmly,

Mary

After a lot of wheedling Snape had convinced his parents to go to Diagon Alley the same day that Mary would be there. Snape's mother gave him a small bag of money so he could shop on his own, his parents were going to be at the Leaky Cauldron, waiting for him.

Snape walked quickly to Malkins, eager to get a head start on the shopping before Mary got there. As he walked in Madame Malkin bowed and asked how she could help. Wordlessly he gave her the sheaf of parchment. She looked at it carefully and then cheerfully asked again how she could help.

Snape frowned at her, he wasn't sure what he needed besides his usual robes for school. Madame Malkin seemed to sense his hesitation.

"Come over here so I can measure you and get a good look at you," she said kindly.

Snape shuffled over to the mirror where the measuring tape was suspended on its own in midair. The measuring tape got to work as she eyed him carefully.

"You need a nice cloak, black leather shoes, black slacks, some dress shirts, and a nice leather belt." She said decisively. She went around the shop gathering various items and had him try things on as she tailored his clothes. After an hour she was putting numerous things in bags for him. The bell above the door rang and Mary stepped in, her eyes looking for Severus.

Her eyes found him and she smiled. Snape gave a small grin as she strode towards him.

"There you go dearie," said Madame Malkin. She had finished wrapping up everything and gave Snape two bulging bags of clothes and accessories.

"Thank you, Madame," said Snape sincerely.

Mary quickly got her new school robes and than they left the shop together, they decided they were going to hang out at Flourish and Blotts until it was time for them to leave.

"I already went to Knockturn Alley earlier," she whispered excitedly to Snape. They had found a quiet corner to sit down. She showed him the battered green tome that read Hexes for the Fairer Sex. Snape turned the pages in interest and realized that a good bit of these dealt with hexing a man's nether regions.

"I hope you don't plan to use any of these on me," he drawled.

"Of course not," laughed Mary. "These are for creeps like Avery."

Mary reached over and held Snape's hand as they talked about their summer and the upcoming school year, they would be sixth years and would be studying NEWTS.

"I got E's in almost everything of course," bragged Mary. "I only got an A in History of Magic and who cares? What did you get?"

"E's in most everything as well," said Snape evenly. He was trying not to smirk. "I got O's in Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Transfiguration."

"You show off!" said Mary as she pushed him jokingly.

"Well isn't this cozy?" said James, he had just turned a corner into their nook. He was standing next to Sirius and Remus.

"Get lost James," said Mary in a bored tone. She glanced at Snape and rolled her eyes which made Snape smirk.

"I see you've kept your hair clean over the summer," said Sirius nastily. "That must have taken bottles a day, it's no wonder you don't have any decent clothes."

Snape pulled out his wand so fast that the others followed suit including Mary. Sirius looked down at Mary's wand and raised his eyebrows.

"You should think again about letting a Slytherin near you," said Sirius quietly. "Let's go."

They left but not without giving Snape another hard look.

"Forget them," said Mary. "They're just jealous because you have a girlfriend and they don't."

Snape smiled at that remark and put his wand away. As they sat back down they spent the next hour catching up and making plans for their first night back.

Snape quickly found an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express, he and Mary would be spending the train ride together. He was already wearing his new clothes and was getting a lot of looks from everyone, he was starting to get self-conscious.

Mary found their compartment and closed the door to signify that it was taken. She opened her mouth in surprise when she saw Snape.

"Severus! You look so handsome," she squealed. She ran up to him excitedly and kissed him. Snape blushed and looked at her carefully. He was trying not to get his hopes up.

"Do I really look that different?" he asked.

"It's not just the clothes," gushed Mary. "You're taller and broader, the clothes just accentuate it."

Snape looked down again at his black slacks, and his black leather shoes, and had to admit he did feel more comfortable.

A couple of hours passed on the train, Mary and Snape had gotten their books out and were looking at what they would be studying this year. Mary had gotten comfortable on Snape's lap, her legs off to the side resting on the carriage seat, they sat like that reading a book together.

Their door slid open.

Lily's mouth fell open in shock, and without saying anything she slammed the door shut again.

Snape looked quickly down at the book determined not to look at Mary. He had honestly not given a lot of thought to Lily over the summer but seeing her again had been jarring. He wasn't sure how he felt but as he sat there talking to Mary and laughing he realized he didn't need to give it much thought.

Their first week back went quickly. NEWT-level courses were a lot of work but Mary and Snape quickly found a rhythm again. Snape had resumed eating his meals at the Gryffindor table, something that he found easier now that he had new clothes. Everyone had noticed a change in Snape, most noticeable was how often he smiled, especially with Mary.

That first Friday night in the tub was magical. They had wasted no time with words as they wrapped their arms around each other and kissed and groped. Snape was impatient. His fingers found the thin fabric of Mary's bikini bottoms and cautiously he slipped his middle finger underneath her bottoms, searching. Mary gasped wide-eyed as she looked at Snape.

He had found what he was looking for, it was warm and a different kind of wet from the water. He pushed his finger in a little deeper and heard Mary moan. His lips found hers and as he thrust his finger in and out he picked her up and sat her at the edge of the tub. His black eyes glinted as he maintained eye contact with Mary. He grabbed her bottoms roughly and pulled them down all the way and threw them off to the side.

Snape looked back to Mary who was watching him carefully. He bent down and started kissing her inner thigh, she closed her eyes as he kept kissing her thigh up to her center, when he got there he stuck his tongue in, Mary gave a small squeal. Reflexively she closed her thighs on Snape's face but he didn't let go, he buried his face in her more deeply and kept moving his tongue. Mary leaned back on her arms and moaned.

After a couple of minutes of Snape torturing Mary she pushed his shoulders back and slid back into the water. She wrapped herself around him and felt his massive reaction. She got down briefly to yank his shorts off before getting on him again.

Snape gasped as he looked at Mary.

"Did you take the potion?" he asked her.

"Not yet," she answered smiling slightly. Mary put her arms around Snape's neck and gently lowered herself to Snape's bulging erection. Very carefully she lowered herself to the tip and started thrusting.

"If you're going to tease me, I'm going to tease you," she said naughtily.

After a couple more thrusts she got off and got out of the tub.

Snape gawked at her breathing hard.

"Next time, don't shove your tongue down there unless you've asked me if I've taken the potion. I won't be able to control myself next time," Mary said breathlessly.

"Next time you know we'll be here just take the potion, I brewed enough," said Snape weakly.

"Fine," she said admitting defeat. They had become too enamored with each other to push the inevitable away too long.