Chapter Nine: Complications

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Chapter Nine: Complications

"SNAPE, YOU BASTARD! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER? HERMIONE! HERMIONE! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" The pounding on the outer door was enough to wake the dead.

"Fuckingronaldfuckingweasley! I'm going to kill him!" Hermione shoved Severus off and scrabbled around for her wand.

"Hermione... Hermione... HERMIONE!" She stopped in the bedroom doorway as Severus's voice finally imposed on her consciousness.

"What?"

"Your clothes?"

"Oh."

Severus once again put his pants on, this time without bothering to button them, and strode to the door. Flinging it open, he grabbed the angry redhead by the robes and dragged him inside, which put a temporary stop to the tirade. Wandlessly and wordlessly summoning the younger man's wand, he glared silently as Ron took a breath. Seeing his witch approach his side, clad in his half-buttoned shirt, he smirked and said, "It appears we have a guest, my love."

"A guest? My love? What do you think you were doing to Hermione, you greasy, old pervert?" Ron blustered, holding the Marauder's map in his hand. He turned to his friend. "I realised I hadn't seen you all evening and finally checked Harry's map to find out where you were. I looked everywhere until I found you in his quarters. In his BEDROOM! Just what do you think you are doing?" He suddenly deflated as he took in Snape's bare chest and unbuttoned pants and realised what Hermione was wearing and how little she was wearing beneath. "You... you... and Snape?"

Hermione smiled dangerously. "Yes, Ronald. Snape. You have a problem with that? Not that it is any of your bloody business."

"But – it's Snape!" He ran his hands through his hair, trying to understand how things had gone so far wrong. He noticed his friend's hand tighten on her wand, which he was aware was pointed in his direction. Snape himself remained disturbingly silent, yet alert.

She ran her hand down the wizard in question's chest and deliberately brushed past the opening of his pants. "Mmm. I know." Turning back to a dumbfounded Ron Weasley, she asked, "Do you have any further questions? Because Severus and I were a little... busy... and would appreciate it if you left." The accompanying glare belied her polite request.

Ron's mouth suddenly felt dry. "Professor McGonagall..."

"Has given us her blessing. I will explain later when you are prepared to listen with an open mind. I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself between now and then, if you want to retain your capacity to father untold numbers of Weasleys in the future. Now, I am planning to have mind-blowing sex with this incredible man in approximately thirty seconds, so if you don't want to see a whole lot more of your Potions professor and me than you really wanted, I suggest you CLEAR OFF!"

Snape just smiled, which was even more disturbing.

Ron looked at them both, paled, and cleared off, albeit with a lot of muttering under his breath on the way.

"And you were absolutely no help!" Hermione turned and prodded Severus's chest. "Since when have you held back when it comes to berating Gryffindors out after curfew?"

"Oh, I thought you were handling that perfectly adequately, my dear. My assistance was surely not needed," he declared smugly. "Now, where were we?" He reached for her and missed as she ducked away.

"Men! Well, you will just have to wait. I need to Floo back to my room and warn Harry about Ron." She looked back at her man as she threw on her robes and took a handful of Floo powder. "I suggest you ward the door and cast an Imperturbable. There will be no further interruptions! And get those pants off."

"Yes, miss!"

After a few minutes, Hermione returned to find Severus obediently naked and on the bed awaiting her. She smiled as she warded the Floo behind her.

"Do you think there is a conspiracy afoot to stop me losing my virginity?" she grumbled as she tossed her robes on the chair and slowly started unbuttoning Severus' shirt.

"Nothing we cannot defeat, my love. I, for one, am definitely in favour of remedying that state of affairs as soon as possible," he reassured her, using hands, lips, and tongue to reinforce the message.

"Mmm. I can't think of anyone I would rather have to assist; I'll just check you are up to it," she murmured, taking him in hand. "Oh, yes. Definitely."

Moments later, Professor Severus Snape, Potions master, was lying flat on his back, completely at the mercy of a wild-haired, flushed, young witch, who was about to take advantage of him in the most intimate way.

"This is your last chance to change your mind, Spartan," she declared as she positioned herself astride his hips. Close, but not close enough. His arousal begged for contact.

"Never." He shifted slightly, brushing himself against her moist heat.

"Then kiss me and take me as yours," she ordered, sliding decisively onto his hardness with barely a wince as he completed his task.

"Mine," he breathed as their lips met, and their passions fused and burned.

"Yours," she whispered as their spirits took flight together.

***

Limbs intertwined, skin sticky, hair entangled, the couple lay together asleep. She murmured softly in her dreams as he held her in his embrace. Gradually, the room lightened as the sun's rays peeked through the enchanted window revealing clothes strewn around the room and sheets pushed to the floor.

"Damn!" Severus sat up abruptly, momentarily forgetting his bed companion.

"What? What's wrong?" she murmured sleepily, opening her eyes to see a naked wizard staring at her with dawning comprehension and renewed arousal.

"My apologies, love. I woke to see the sun was already up. Just for moment, I thought I had missed our usual meeting." He looked at his witch with relief. "But now..."

"Just because I'm here with you doesn't mean you are excused. I'm sure I can think of a few... exercises... you can practise. Just give me a moment." She jumped out of bed and made for the bathroom, oblivious of the view which was causing a faster rise in heart rate in her wizard than any amount of callisthenics. Bladder pacified, she returned to bed, this time quite aware of the effect her nudity was having on the man awaiting her. "I see you are quite recovered from last night's exertions," she noted.

"Quite," he agreed. "However, I must use the bathroom as well. Fancy a nice, hot bath?"

"Mmm. Sounds good. I'll give you five minutes, and then I'll join you." Her kiss was sweet and lingering, leaving him doubtful that he would be in a fit state to empty his bladder within five minutes.

"Er... make it ten. It may take a while." He looked down ruefully as she giggled.

By the time they had finished their bath, there was more water on the floor than in the tub, and both witch and wizard were sporting absurdly smug expressions. Bathing would never be the same again. With a few flicks of their wands, the floor was dried and the bathroom restored to its normal state.

Severus's relaxed state dissolved when he saw the clock in the bedroom. "Merlin, Hermione. Look at the time; if we don't hurry we'll be late for breakfast."

"And I still have Ron to deal with. Hopefully Harry has settled him down a little." She quickly found his shirt, which she had claimed, and her robes.

"I suggest you don't leave that lying around, my dear. It may create unwanted questions," he advised.

"Oh, this is for personal use only." She winked and laughed at his expression. "I must go. May I return tonight? I can't imagine sleeping without you now."

"You are welcome in my bed any time. If it were up to me, I would keep you there with me all day long." He smiled wickedly at the thought. "But I would suggest we exercise caution on weeknights. If you are too late to return in the morning, your fellow students may become suspicious."

"They would assume I had found a boyfriend somewhere and was sneaking off to spend the night with him." At the look of shock in his eyes, she explained. "Do you realise how few of my peers spend their nights in their own beds? All of those from my original year group have their own rooms, Severus. How do you think Draco Malfoy became known as the Stud of Slytherin? Although, I think I have found a contender for the title," she teased as she tossed some Floo powder into the fireplace.

***

Quickly changing into jeans and a T-shirt, Hermione made her way to the Great Hall for breakfast. She found a place waiting between Ron and Harry and sat down, expecting the worst. Harry glanced at her sympathetically, his expression telling her he had done all he could, and it was now up to her. Ron's mutinous expression was concerning, but at least he had the forbearance to keep his mouth shut during the tense, barely eaten meal.

The temporary truce was disturbed as a familiar-looking owl flew overhead and dropped an alarming red envelope atop Severus's plate. In front of the almost the entire staff and student body of Hogwarts, the Howler exploded open, and Molly Weasley's voice was clearly heard shrieking invective at the now flushed Potions master.

HOW DARE YOU, SEVERUS SNAPE! INVEIGLING THAT INNOCENT GIRL, A STUDENT NO LESS, INTO YOUR BED AND DESPOILING HER WITH YOUR WICKED, WICKED WAYS! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF...

It went on for a full two minutes, with nary a phrase repeated, but luckily the Weasley matriarch had not seen fit to mention the "poor innocent student's" name. By then, the entire school was staring at the unfortunate recipient – some with horror, some with awe at the thought that Snape actually had a sex-life, and some, particularly the older Slytherin males, with envy. Others were gazing suspiciously around the room, trying to discover the identity of their professor's paramour. No-one doubted the veracity of the information Molly Weasley had obtained; she was known as an upstanding member of the post-war community, after all.

Severus did not dare glance at the Gryffindor table during the tirade. He steadfastly bore the brunt of the Howler, unwilling to risk increasing its fury by attempting to banish it. Ignoring the unwanted attention, he made a show of finishing his breakfast and then left, his previous cheerful mood well and truly destroyed.

At the Gryffindor table, Hermione waited impatiently until her lover had left the Great Hall and the excitement had died down to a general gossip session, then grabbed Ron and Harry by the sleeves.

"My room. Now!"

As soon as her door had been locked and warded, she turned to Ron. "How could you? It was none of your business and certainly none of your mother's!"

He looked at her sullenly. "I love you like a sister, Hermione. Mum thinks of you as another daughter..."

"Right at this moment, I don't care what you or your bloody mother think, Ronald Weasley. I could be your long-lost twin sister, and my love life would still have nothing to do with either of you. Who do you think you are? The self-appointed guardians of my virginity? Why don't you lock me up in a tower and throw away the key while you are at it? Do you involve yourself with Ginny's sex life?" she demanded, throwing an apologetic glance at Harry, who was trying hard to stay out of the argument.

"That's different. Ginny is with Harry."

"So, as long as you approve, I can shag anyone I like? How generous of you."

"Well... er... yes," Ron agreed reluctantly. "But Snape?"

"So what! It could be the shade of Tom Riddle himself, and it would still be NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, RONALD WEASLEY! How often do I have to repeat myself to get you to understand? Severus is an intelligent, courageous, and noble man, not to mention sexy as hell and incredible in bed. Oh, stop cringing, both of you. Severus Snape and I had sex, and we are planning on doing it again – as often as possible, if I have any say in the matter. Get over it!"

"But he's our teacher, and he has always been awful to us." Ron resorted to whining.

"You know damn well there was a reason for the way he treated us. Double-agent. Spy. Life depended on being seen to favour Slytherins. Ring any bells? We have the headmistress's approval. We don't need yours, but if you were any sort of friend at all you would be happy for me. Merlin knows you have nagged me often enough about finding a boyfriend." She glared at Harry's poorly disguised snort. "Lover. Is that better, Harry?"

Ron scowled but backed down a little. "I still think it's a bad idea. And don't expect me to be friends with him. But I am sorry I owled Mum; I was just so upset over it. I really didn't expect her to react like that."

"Like you did, you mean?" Hermione was not in a forgiving mood.

"OK, you two. I think that's enough. Ron, you were a prat, but only because you care. Hermione, you have every right to be angry, but cut Ron a little slack, will you? We need to figure out what to do, because I will be willing to bet Snape is fuming right now." Harry for once was the voice of reason, and both his friends calmed with his soothing words.

"Severus! I must go to him. He will be feeling awful. Ron, please don't do anything rash until I return. Just stay here with Harry. Harry, thanks for everything. I owe you."

Ron nodded glumly as Hermione stepped into the fireplace.

***

A/N: This story is dedicated to the esteemed leader of F.A.R.T, Robbi, whose encouragement, nay, nagging, turned this story from a vague idea to an actuality. However, any expressions of emotion emanating from Severus Snape are entirely my idea. She made me clarify that. Of course, my dear friend, ladyinthecloak, bossed the commas into submission and tidied up any mistakes. Thanks, girls!