Severus walked slowly towards the staff lounge. It was Hogwarts tradition that the faculty collected for a new years toast. Severus hated the tradition. Every year he chose to spend it in solitude, but he found himself trudging up from the dungeons this year. He told himself he felt obligated due to his position as Deputy Headmaster, but he could see through his own lies. He knew why he was going. Agatha Graves. He had neither seen nor heard from her since Christmas Eve. The night she gifted him the death cap mushroom. The night she smiled at him stirring an unfamiliar sensation from out of a deep slumber from within him.
Severus sighed. He wanted her. Just this morning his thoughts lingered on her, on her face and especially her body. While showering that day, he found himself in an act of self indulgence he hadn't performed in what must have been years. It took nearly no time at all for the release to flood him. The nearly forgotten intensity of the act shattered through him, weakening his knees and soothing the muscles of his back. Ever since, he had wanted that feeling again, but he had to see her first. Even a glimpse across a crowded room would suffice.
He could hear the din of revelry as he turned the final corner. He took the last few moments of solitude to school his expression before he reached the door. Severus stepped in, his loud, aggressive boot steps on the stone floor were swallowed by the noise filling the lounge. For a brief moment a few of his colleagues looked over, but quickly returned to their conversations.
"Ah, Severus, there you are!" Said professor McGonagall. She strode over to him, handing him a glass of champagne. McGonagall was surprised to see him, but knowing him longer and better than anyone else she chose to ignore the peculiarity of his presence and welcomed him in (She did however, have her suspicions). She quietly discussed a few unimportant school matters while guiding him deeper into the crowded room by his elbow.
Severus was hardly focused on Minerva. His attention was occupied by thoughts of Ms. Graves. He scanned the room from the corner of his eye looking for Agatha. As he walked deeper into the room he heard her laugh. His already dark eyes deepend with desire. He found himself in close proximity to her. Her back was to him as she was speaking with Professor Flitwick. He all but ignored the conversation with Minerva, eavesdropping instead, on Agatha's conversation.
"Now where abouts do you come from in America, dear" Flitwick asked in his shrill voice.
Agatha gave a languid sigh. "Between the beaches and the bogs..."
The beaches and the what? She was spouting her crazy abstractions again. But then he realized he understood what she was talking about.
"The screech of the cicadas, like a siren's song" she continued. "And trees drip with moss. Its primordial morass feels like stepping eons backwards in time."
She was from the south. And she was describing it longingly. She missed it, he realized. He never gave any thought to when she talked, but in that moment he realized when she spoke about subjects she loved, her words were poetry.
Severus realized Minerva had left him alone. He turned towards Graves, noting the confused expression on Flitwicks face reacting to her words.
"And where specifically in the south, Ms. Graves? Spanish moss and cicadas are quite common." He asked, injecting himself in the conversation to Flitwick's relief who took the opportunity to retreat into the crowd.
Agatha looked at him, her wide starry eyes glittering. She smiled politely. "Florida" she said simply as if it were obvious.
Severus tilted his head in acknowledgement.
Agatha noticed the champagne glass in his hand. She tapped her own to his before taking a small sip. "I'm surprised to see you here tonight... in a good way"
Severus didn't drink his champagne. "I trust the maps and charts you require have been ordered?"
Agatha nodded enthusiastically. "Yes they should be here in a few days." She leaned in, dropping her voice lower. "Thank you again, Professor"
Severus smirked, but made no reply. The two stood in an ever growing silence until it was broken by the clinking sound of a wand on a champagne flute.
"Attention please!" Came Minerva's voice over the crowd. "As we emerge into this new year I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for being here. This year closes, and another begins..."
The headmistress's words faded as Severus and Agatha stared into each other's eyes. Neither spoke. But the silence wasn't awkward between them. It could have been minutes or hours, it didn't matter. Severus let his gaze study her face, her hooded eyes, her high cheekbones and long dark brown hair which cascaded down to her shoulders over her collarbones. He studied the dip just below her throat, getting himself lost in the creamy expanse of her skin. He watched her bring the champagne flute up to her mouth and continued his ocular exploration of her hand. She had thin graceful wrists which perfectly matched her long fingers holding the stem of the flute delicately.
Those long fingers tipped with darkly manicured nails. Severus was lost in deep thoughts. Though his expression gave away nothing, his imagination was running rampant with thoughts of those fingers on his skin, tracing patterns over his chest and his back, wrapped around other, more needy, parts of his anatomy.
"TEN, NINE, EIGHT…" Severus was brought out of his trance as the room counted down the new year in unisom. He felt a pang of guilt about the thoughts he was having of Agatha. She didn't ask for, nor deserve to be the subject of his depraved fantasies.
"SEVEN, SIX, FIVE…" He couldn't stop, the way she would look at him. It wasn't fear or intimidation in her eyes. It was friendly, it was warm… it was ... .desirous?
"FOUR, THREE…" Severus noted the way her pupils dilated as she searched his face, her gaze trailed over his eyes and to his lips…
"TWO, ONE….. HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Came the shouts from the crowd, the cacophony of clapping, cheering, clinking glasses was deafening. Severus closed his eyes in annoyance. And then he felt it. The gentlest brush of lips against his cheek. It lasted but a fraction of a moment, but left a deep burning sensation in their wake which seemed to erupt a tempest of sensations within his stomach. Severus opened his eyes to see Agatha staring up at him with that soft, sweet smile of hers.
"Happy New Year, Professor." She said softly.
Severus remained expressionless, a moment passed and he realized he needed to say or do something, but what? He nodded towards her, letting the smallest hint of smile show through before speaking. "You as well, Ms. Graves. Enjoy your evening." Severus turned on his heels and strode out of the room leaving his undrank champagne on the counter.
Severus's private chambers weren't large by any means, but they suited his needs. There was a modest sitting area with a fireplace, two large dark leather armchairs sat before it, and a separate private bedroom and bath.
Severus took a seat before the fire. The chair was well worn, a stark contrast to its companion, which sat almost completely untouched since its creation.
The fire crackled in the hearth warming the cold dungeon room and casting just enough light to create dancing shadows across the bookshelves which lined the walls.
Severus deflated into the chair, allowing his normally large, stoic stature to melt back into the leather. His mind was on Agatha. He could still feel her lips on his cheek, he could still smell her perfume, a combination of peppermint and citrus. Her scent was bright and alive, perfectly matching her magic. He also pictured her hair, casually loose and framing her beautiful face, tickling her collarbones as it hung loosely at her shoulders. Severus hadn't felt such physical attraction towards a woman in many years. He wasn't sure he was capable of feeling it anymore, but tonight, he found himself in the thrall that was her beauty. Her hair, the way it settled along her shoulders and down her back, he longed to run his fingers through it, to feel her skin, caress her body.
That feeling from earlier in the day was beginning to rise up in him again, causing a stir in his trousers. He closed his eyes trying to shoo the thoughts away, focus on work, on research, on responsibilities.
Her silhouette clouded his brain. Her hourglass figure, exaggerated by the tight bodice of the dress she wore, swayed at the front of his mind. He pictured her before him, like a flower dancing on a still bed of water. Severus groaned, hating these thoughts. His pants became uncomfortably tight. He needed release. He was about to retreat to his private bath and relieve himself of this tension when a soft knock interrupted him.
It was nearly one o'clock in the morning. Surely there couldn't possibly be anything that required his attention at this hour. Severus was minutely grateful for the distraction. He took a deep breath to stifle the ever growing arousal in him before standing to answer the door.
"I hope I'm not disturbing you." Said Agatha as Severus opened the door. She wore a shawl and tightened it around her shoulders. "Gosh, the dungeon is cold at night."
Severus stepped aside silently letting her into the sitting room. He noted the relief in her face as she stepped closer to the warmth of the fire. She draped her shawl over the arm of the pristine chair. "What can I do for you?" He asked. He kept his expression indifferent, he didn't want to give any hint of the depraved thoughts he had just a short moment ago. He assumed she must have some urgent issue for her to have sought him out all the way down here in the bowels of the castle.
Agatha turned to face him, her skirt billowing around at her ankles. "I…" She hesitated to answer.
Severus raised an eyebrow encouraging her to continue.
"I hope I wasn't too forward. Kissing you." She finally stated.
Severus never broke eye contact with her. He was searching her face for any signs of regret or untruth, but found none. He slowly, subtly shook his head. "Not at all, Ms. Graves. I understand that revelry, along with the effects of alcohol, can often get the better of people, causing them to do things they wouldn't normally do otherwise."
She shook her head and took a step closer to him. "Its not that."
Severus stood still, unmoving, statue-like.
"I only drank one glass of champagne tonight, my inhibitions were not lowered. I wanted to kiss you."
Wanted to? He thought? She wanted to kiss him. Severus stood still repeating her words in his head. He was lost in the thought, not really noticing she had gotten so close to him.
"Its tradition, at least in America, to kiss someone at New Years." She said looking up at him, but he noticed her eyes did not meet his. Instead they were focused on his lips. Severus could feel a burn in his stomach, a lump in his throat and an ache between his thighs.
"Ms. Graves," He began, but was cut off when she reached up to kiss his lips. It was soft, gentle, and inviting. Severus's eyes closed involuntarily. When he opened them again he met hers looking longingly and expectant as if waiting for his reaction.
Severus had spent nearly his entire life suppressing any emotion, hiding any evidence of thought and he continued to do so. His mind swirled with want, but also conflict. He was her superior, afterall, but he had heard rumors during his career as a Hogwarts professor, of teachers jumping into bed with each other. There was even an old tale of a former headmaster who was known to seduce the younger, more naive staff from time to time. Surely such an act of impropriety could be forgiven of him. But Severus was better than that. He was more controlled, he wasn't just some lesser evolved man who let his physical needs control his actions.
As he stood still in contemplation, Agatha leaned upwards again, kissing him once more. This kiss was deeper, more longing, more invasive. He felt her tongue escape her mouth and run along his lips, and Severus found himself lacking in control. His eyes closed again and his lips parted and allowed her entrance. It was another moment until he realized he should either stop this or reciprocate her motions.
Severus reciprocated.
The sensation felt natural, but unfamiliar. His tongue darted out to meet hers dancing and swirling about in an act of love making of its own. When he felt her hands on his chest, Severus's own found her waist. The gentle curves of her hips and the dip of her back. She felt small in his hands, but soft and with an ever growing heat building from under her clothes. Severus felt a zipper on her back, the zipper to undo her dress. Surely that was not happening. He willed himself to banish the thought from his mind. He was fortunate enough that she was kissing him in this moment.
He felt her hands sliding from his shoulders around his neck, those fingernails tangling in his hair scratching at his scalp. It was divine pleasure. It caused a response in him, if he had an ache in his trousers before, that was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. Severus let his hands trail up her back over her shoulders to cup her face. He held her in place as his tongue moved, from an exploratory mission to a full on attack, his body was in control now and it wanted more of her. Severus's arousal was growing. He felt a pang of embarrassment but soon it dissolved when he felt her body press against his. He matched her movement, looking for more delicious friction and her magnetic body heat.
He couldn't get enough of the taste of her. When he broke away from the kiss, he didn't pause to catch his breath, his lips and tongue trailed along her cheek to her neck. She tilted her head granting him better access. She was breathing heavily, deep quick breaths laced with pleasure and excitement. The sounds spurred Severus on, nibbling, and licking the skin of her throat, just below her ear. Her head fell back allowing him to continue his lips journey across the front of her neck, to that little hollow just below her throat that his eyes had gotten lost in earlier.
A small, nearly inaudible whimper escaped her catching Severus's attention. He had never heard a sound so magnificent in his life. A sound which indicated this woman was enjoying what he was doing to her.
Severus wasn't devoid of sexual experiences. Especially in his days at Voldemort's right hand. Fellow Deatheater women all but constantly threw themselves at him. They weren't there for pleasure, and certainly not love, they were only looking for power. To win the favor of the Dark Lord's right hand would easily raise any woman within the ranks. Severus never cared about their pleasure. When he would select one to bed, he only took a quick release for himself, he never bothered to lavish any of them with kisses like he was doing to Agatha right now. They all tasted bitter to his tongue, cold to his touch, undeserving of gratification.
Agatha. Her scent of peppermint and citrus, her soft body, the sounds of her breaths. If divinity had a taste, certainly her skin was it. He didn't want this to end.
He could stay, forever locked in this embrace, fully satisfied with just the opportunity to have tasted her, but then he felt her fingers unbuttoning his coat. Her hands worked nimbly at his collar, releasing one button after the other, she broke the silence as she pulled the black cravat from around his neck. "So many buttons." She said with a small giggle.
Severus looked into her eyes. "Agatha." He expected her expression to she might come to her senses and leave him, but he found only sparkle, only delight, only desire. Even without legilimens, he could read her thoughts. She wanted him.
She wanted him.
In that moment, something broke within him. All resolve, all restraint had vanished and up until that moment he hadn't granted himself permission to have her. He captured her face in his hands once more and pressed into her with a bruising kiss. Years worth of holding back was spilling out of him and into her. Her body seemed ready and willing to accept all he might have to offer and he wanted to give it to her.
Severus had, for all his adult life, worn many layers. It was more than just a buffer from the cold of the dungeons, but gave him a feeling of wearing armor, though now he felt his attire was merely an encumbrance. Severus muttered a wandless incantation causing the buttons to undo on their own. Agatha immediately pushed the black coat off his shoulders. He still wore a white button-down undershirt.
Severus's fingers found the tab to the zipper on her dress. He pinched it lightly and was nearly about to pull it down, but stopped himself. He pulled back from Agatha, looking her in the eyes once more. "Come" He said quietly. He reached his hands down to grab hers and brought them up to his lips to kiss her knuckles before leading her into the next room where his bed was.
As the pair entered, candles ignited allowing the room to light in a warm soft glow. Agatha surveyed the room. It was bare. No decorations, only furniture. A large four poster bed took up the majority of the space, a bureau, and wardrobe lined the walls. As she stood, Severus stepped behind her. He began to kiss her neck again while letting his fingers find that zipper. He slowly pulled the tab down as far as it could go. The fabric loosened and he gently pulled each strap off her shoulders kissing the newly exposed skin. The dress slid down her body and pooled on the floor at her feet. She turned in Severus's arms, stepping out of her shoes and losing a few inches of her height in the process. She stood wearing a plum purple lingerie set. Lace panties and bra.
Severus's gaze roamed over her body beginning at her bare feet. She was exquisite even if she wasn't perfect. Her legs showed hints of cellulite, she had a small scar on her belly, freckles along her shoulders. He studied every mole, every crease, every detail of her body. When he finally reached her eyes, he could sense her self-consciousness. No words formed in his mind that might put her at ease. He shook his head subtly and captured her lips again. In his passion, she could tell she needn't worry that he didn't find her pretty enough.
He muttered the same incantation freeing him of his undershirt. And for a moment it was Severus who stood self-conscious. The dark mark, though faded with time, still stood out on his forearm. Not a witch or wizard in the world was naive to its meaning. What it represented. And beyond the dark mark, his body was littered with scars. Scars representing his past, scars he kept hidden under the many layers he wore. He searched her eyes once more, anticipating that she would want to stop, but she hardly gave it a second glance. She instead reached out to grab his belt, tugging it free. She palmed his erection through the fabric of his trousers whimpering again as she felt his size. Severus groaned.
Agatha stopped, she released him before stepping over to the bed. She sat upon it and pushed herself back to the pillows. She looked to Severus with heavy-lidded eyes. Severus's gaze ran along her body once again as he crawled up over her. He kissed his way along her chest, cupping each breast as he nibbled her collarbones. She arched her back into his hands. He wasn't used to such responses. Never had a woman who seemed to want his touch as much as he wanted to touch her.
"Severus" She breathed. His name escaping her mouth was music. He was not going to be able to hold himself back much longer.
He hooked his fingers into the waistband of her panties. "Lift your hips" He commanded and she did as was told. He slid the thin scrap of lace down her long legs before clutching the damp fabric in his fist and throwing it behind him. He next reached to his trousers and unfastened them. He barely got them pulled down to his thighs allowing his hard cock to spring free. He grabbed his length, surprised by the level of his own arousal and ran the tip across her slick folds. She was wet and wanting.
She rocked her hips into him silently pleading for him to continue. While he continued to kiss along her neck and chest, he blindly felt his way to her entrance. He paused before pressing forward, looking at her face once more, looking for any indication she wanted to stop. Her eyes were closed and a soft smile spread across her lips. Her hands were running along his back, and stopped at his arms, tugging him forward. Urging him on. "Are you certain?" He whispered into her ear.
She captured his lips once again, moaning in consent. Severus kissed her deeply, languidly as he thrust forward into her. Her tight wet heat enveloped him, he nearly lost himself at the sensation. She cried out, causing him to hesitate. She was tight and he was certain he hurt her. He paused letting her body accommodate his size.
When he felt her leg come up to his hip, he knew she was ready. Her body urged him to move. In slow deliberate thrusts he rocked himself back and forth into her. In and out, she felt heavenly. He felt his release building quickly. With any other woman, he would have allowed it to come and go and be done with the encounter. But this was different. This felt too good to be over so soon and for the first time, he felt he wanted her to enjoy it too. Her hips continued to meet his thrusts, he watched her face for several moments as it contorted with expressions of enjoyment. He listened to her moans, each one growing louder.
He could feel something else unfamiliar. Her body was reacting in a way he'd never felt from a woman. The way she felt around his cock was new and by god, it was incredible. It was as if her inner walls were massaging his length, with each thrust, he felt them tighten. With each oscillation of her hips, he was driven deeper in. It was as if her body craved him so bad it could eat him alive. He snapped his hips forward, driving his pace faster as he plunged into her.
"Yes, like that!" She moaned.
Her words encouraged him. He doubled his efforts, increasing his pace even more, pistoning faster and harder into her. He could feel her body tensing, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps. She was on the precipice of release and he was going to push her over the edge.
Severus groaned in bliss at the way her body tightened around him. Her moans evolved into hungry squeals. And suddenly her sounds were cut off and at the same time a litany of new, more intense sensations came from her. Her body convulsed, tightened, constricted around him. There wasn't a doubt in his mind. She was orgasming and he loved it. The thought alone was enough to trigger his own, with a final sharp snap forward, her buried himself, pulsating his release into her. He grunted and growled into the crook of her neck. Every muscle in his body relaxed, every nerve-ending fired off in pleasure.
He couldn't be certain how much time passed before her body stopped trembling. Her breathing was returning to normal, but her heart was still beating fast. He could feel his own heart thumping in his chest. He kissed her again and again not wanting to stop. Her hands roamed over his back, she giggled softly.
"Wow." She whispered into his ear.
He felt heavy, sated and boneless. He used what little strength left in him to roll off her. He felt his softening cock slide out of her, and he groaned at the loss of her warmth.
Agatha rolled to her side to face him. They remained silent for a long time. "Stay here tonight." He said, but it wasn't a command, it wasn't a request, it was a plea. He wanted to know what it would be like to hold her all night. To breathe in her scent while he slept and to wake up feeling her body in his bed.
Agatha smiled and nodded. She kissed him sweetly once more, as Severus sighed, closing his eyes and fell into a quick dreamless sleep.