Chapter 3: Yule Vacation Part 1

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Yule Vacation: Part One

Severus headed to Minerva's office. He dreaded her questions. After leaving all summer and coming back tanned and unable to stop the occasional smile from slipping out, he knew she would be curious if he asked to leave during the coming Yule holidays.

It didn't really matter what she thought; he was going. It had been a hard semester. He'd kept busy trying to keep from thinking about the touch of Hermione's lips against his and the feel of her fingers as they slipped lightly over his bare stomach. He found he missed the smell of her hair as he leaned over her to help her with her summer studies course. They had spent a great deal of time making love, walking on the beach, climbing the cliffs, and brewing potions. They'd brewed some rather complicated ones, and he'd been proud of how easy it was for her.

Hermione wrote to him at least once a week...sometimes two...but she had a lot of work to do at school. It had been nearly four months since he had seen her.

On his last morning in France, she had clung to him. Tears had stained his robes, and he wasn't sure if the wetness on her face was all her tears or if some of his had mingled in. Saying goodbye had been harder than he expected. For the first he'd felt he belonged somewhere...there with her at the cottage. He'd Apparated to Hogsmeade and walked slowly back to Hogwarts, trying to get himself under control. It had been difficult, but he'd managed it. Now as he stood before the gargoyle to Minerva's office, he had to take a moment to compose himself. "Chocolate cherries," he finally said. He watched the gargoyle slide away and then stepped onto the stairway and rode the stairs to the office door.

McGonagall looked up at him when he stepped into her office. "Severus, to what do I owe this visit?"

Severus found himself glancing up at Albus Dumbledore's portrait. He was stunned to see the old wizard's eyes open and smiling at him.

"Severus, my boy. It's good to see you."

Severus stared at him. They'd had quite a row when he'd returned to Hogwarts. Albus had slept through the war, not giving any advice, and Severus had needed his counsel more than ever as Headmaster. Since then, Albus had feigned sleep whenever he was in the office.

Severus forced the tears that clouded his eyes to retreat. "Albus," he said.

"I'll go. I only wanted to say hello," Albus said, getting up from the chair he sat in.

"Don't bother. I only came to tell Minerva that I'm taking a vacation during the Yule holidays."

"Excellent," Albus said, sitting back down.

Minerva looked at him with that hard smile of hers. "You're going away again? That's very odd."

"Is it? I have spent nearly all my adult life closeted here out of necessity. Voldemort is gone, and now I want to take time away from here. I have vacation time saved up for years, Minerva. You cannot deny me." He stood and paced before her.

"I did not say I would deny you, Severus. There is no doubt you deserve the time off. It's just that someone else will have to be denied vacation, and we have a number of teachers here who spend time with their families."

Severus nodded. "Yes, well, I'm sorry. I'm done giving all of myself. I need some time to myself: this one and any other holiday to come for the next two to four years."

"Two to four years? What's going on with you?"

"I have never explained my business to you, and I do not plan to start now. I'm going."

"Very well. I will see you after the holidays then." Minerva got up and followed him to her door. "Severus, come back rested and healthy like last time. It has done you a world of good." She reached out to squeeze his arm, and he gave her a rare smile.

"Thank you, Minerva." He turned and left.

Minerva turned to look up at Albus, whose eyebrows were elevated. He said, "I wonder who she is?"

Minerva gasped. "You think there's a woman?" She glanced back at the door that had just closed behind Severus.

"Yes, I do. I have never seen him so happy," he replied as his fingers came up to stroke his long, white beard.

"He did smile, Albus," she said.

"Indeed he did," Albus said with a laugh. "And he spoke to me." The old man wiped his sleeve across his eyes.

"You old fool," Minerva said tenderly.

*******

Severus Apparated to a small alley in a suburb of London. He walked down the street, carrying his travel bag again. He pulled a piece of paper from the pocket of his Muggle jeans and checked it against the addresses on the apartments down the next street.

He pulled his coat closer around his body. Even with the warming charm he'd cloaked himself in earlier, he could still feel the cold. Snow threatened to fall at any moment. Finally finding the address, he climbed the few steps and pressed the button for the intercom by the door. A doorman answered, "Name, flat?"

"Severus, flat eight." The door buzzed open.

Severus pushed it open and stepped into a foyer with stairs at the end. He crossed the floor and nodded to the doorman, who sat behind a small desk with a computer on it.

"Sir, Miss Granger is expecting you. You have a right fine daughter there. Right fine."

Severus started at the man. Daughter? Had Hermione told this man he was her father, or had he just assumed he was? The idea that someone thought that suddenly sobered his good mood. He turned without comment and went up the stairs.

He found the proper door and stood staring at it. Sudden doubt about what he was doing with Hermione clouded his mind. A summer affair was one thing, but should he continue it? He turned away and went back down the stairs and out the door.

The doorman called after him, "Hey, she's been waiting."

But Severus continued on.

The doorman hit the intercom button. When she answered the speaker, he said, "Miss Granger, your father was here, and he left."

"Father? Oh, God, you didn't call him that, did you? He's not my father. I'm coming down."

Hermione flew down the stairs. "Which way did he go?"

"Left, I think. I'm sorry. I assumed..." But she was gone.

Hermione stepped out in the street. The cold hit her like a wall; she'd forgotten her jacket and her wand, but she would not let Severus get away. She ran down the street dodging the few people who were brave enough to be out. They were laden with shopping bags. Christmas was only the day after next.

She prayed she didn't slip on the ice. The frigid air tore at her lungs. She thought she caught sight of tall, dark-haired man, and she sped up.

"Severus, please! Wait," she called.

He continued away from her. Afraid he would Apparate at any time, she sped up.

"Severus!" He turned now, and she saw it wasn't him. She ran faster. Damn, Forest. How could he have made such a mistake? She ran a ways further, but the cold was hurting her now, and she couldn't draw a deep breath. She felt faint. She'd lost feeling in her toes and fingers. Unable to go further, she sat on a bench with tears freezing on her face.

"Severus," she whispered in a weak voice.

*****

Severus, his mind clouded with what others might think of him, continued on past the holiday shoppers. He was a teacher at Hogwarts. What had he been thinking making love to a child Hermione's age? People thought him old enough to be her father, and he was. But he was so enamored by her; he could see nothing around them when they were together.

He stopped and looked around. He thought he'd heard his name, but maybe it was the wind or wishful thinking. He had no idea if there was an Apparation point nearby, so he turned around and headed back. He'd use a concealment charm near her flat so she wouldn't see him pass. He was late, so he had no doubt she would be waiting. Perhaps she was watching out a window like last time. He felt like a foolish, old man and as he continued down the street. He suddenly realized there was a small crowd by a bench. Curiosity got the better of him, and he moved closer. He felt cold terror hit him when he saw Hermione slumped over in the cold: no coat, no gloves, no hat. Her face was white. He pushed his way through and picked her up.

"I know this woman. I will take care of her," he shouted as he ran down the street. He cast a wandless warming charm over her. When he finally reached her building, after running two long blocks, he, too, was feeling the cold deep in his lungs.

With wandless magic the door flew open, and he ran past the opened-mouthed doorman.

"Bring some extra blankets. "Why didn't you stop her? It's too cold outside to go out dressed this way."

He bound up the stairs and found the door to her small studio flat wasn't even closed. He laid her on the bed and used his wand to send a deeper warming spell over her. She was so pale, and he was so scared.

"Damn, Hermione, why did you go out like that?"

He knew it was his fault, of course. She would have come after him. Of course she was frantic like she had been the last time. For all her brains and know-it-all knowledge, she was very insecure. He grimaced...insecure like he was. What did it matter that he was older? Hadn't she already proven to him that she wanted them together for the long haul? In the South of France it was normal to see older men with younger women; no one had given them a second glance. But here in the city...

He ran to the bathroom and checked her medicine box. He found what he was looking for and returned, pouring a small amount of the fluid into her mouth and massaging her throat so she would swallow it. He was relieved when she groaned. The door burst open, and a pile of blankets entered. The doorman, quite frightened now of Severus, peered out from behind them.

"Over there." Severus pointed to a chair. He grabbed one and covered Hermione with it.

"Should I call a doctor?" he asked.

"I'm a doctor." Well, I'm a Potions master who makes many medications and knows how to use them. But he only said, "Now get out. I'll call you if I need you." He watched the man go, and then he locked and warded the door. He pressed his hand to Hermione's head: no fever, that was good. He went to the bathroom and discovered the claw tub she'd told him about in one of her letters. He filled it was warm water and then went back and undressed her and himself. He climbed into the tub and then levitated her in. The warm water surrounded them in a soft gentle cocoon.

After a few minutes, Hermione eyes fluttered open. "Severus!" she cried out in despair.

"Shushhh, I'm here, Hermione." He wrapped his arms about her tightly. "I'm here."

"What?" she asked in confusion.

"You've got a case of hypothermia; the bath will warm you slowly. Just lay back. Relax."

She relaxed against him and covered one of his hands with hers, threading her fingers with his. "I've been dreaming about getting you naked. But not like this. I'm sorry. I should have told Forest you were my boyfriend."

"I'm sorry I left. It shouldn't have mattered what someone else thought. It was one thing for us to be alone in France, but here people will comment. I am not brave when it comes to others' opinions. I cannot even tell Minerva about you."

Hermione reached back and touched his check, and the water from her fingers ran down his neck. "When you're ready, you will tell her."

Severus nodded. "Come, let's get you into bed." He helped her stand up. He then grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her. Then he climbed out behind her and dried them both with his wand. He picked her up in his arms, and she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him rather soundly. "Do not ever endanger yourself again!"

"I won't," she promised solemnly, as he tucked her into the bed then crawled in next to her. She wrapped her body around him and planted kisses across his chest.

"Hermione, you should sleep. Your body is recovering."

Hermione continued her exploration of his chest. When she sucked one of his nipples into her mouth and swirled her tongue over the tip, he sucked in a deep breath and groaned. He buried his hand in her hair, cupping the back of her neck. His other hand caressed her back.

"Hermione, you really shou...." He didn't finish because she had taken hold of him and was caressing his hard shaft.

"I've been wanting you each and every day, every hour since you last were with me. She rose up to look into his face. "We can go slow. Please, Severus, I need you."

"Alright." He turned her onto her back. "Let me." He kissed her and caressed her body until she moaned with pleasure. Finally, he slipped into her, and with slow, deliberate movements he brought them to fulfillment. Finally sated, she slept. Severus lay a few minutes with his eyes traveling around the flat. He smiled when he saw a small Christmas tree in the corner on a table. There were a few gifts there. There was a fireplace, and he used his wand to make a fire before he slipped into sleep.

*****

Hermione woke feeling better, and she smiled as she realized she was curled up next to Severus. She slowly remembered them making love last night. She had been so tired and sleepy from the healing potion, but she had needed that assurance that he was really there with her. She had needed to be one with him. She slipped her fingers over his stomach and felt his stomach muscles tighten. She grinned. Last summer she had found he was ticklish, and she had tortured him from time to time. But they had always ended up rolling around the bed, and he'd trap her and tickle her till she screamed, and then he'd make love to her. She set about tickling him some more.

Severus hand shot to hers, trapping it against his stomach. "Hermione, desist," he commanded.

Hermione giggled and attacked him with her other hand. He flipped her onto her back, pinning her arms above her. "I would love to continue this, but I am in need of the loo, and I'm starving. I didn't have dinner last night.

Hermione sobered. "I'm sorry. Let's get some breakfast. There's a little café at the end of the block."

Severus kissed her softly before crawling from the bed. "Let me go get it." He grabbed his clothes as he went. "I don't think you should brave the cold as yet. He came back from the loo dressed, and he said, "Anything special you wish? What's their specialty?"

Hermione was sitting in the bed with the sheet only to her waist, and Severus could not help gazing at her breasts. They were the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. He loved her body, and he loved that she didn't mind being naked with him. Hermione grinned knowingly. "You sure you are hungry?"

"Yes: for you and for food. Once I get back and am fed, don't plan on anything for the rest of the day," he promised, leaning in and kissing her.

He didn't wait for her to tell him what she liked. He turned and raced out the door. Hermione laughed and ran to the loo; then she took a quick shower and rubbed herself with lotions and used her wand to straighten the frizz and then make long curls from the top of her head down. She changed the sheets and put on the black silk sheets she had bought. She was back in the bed waiting when he returned.

He glanced over at her and the bed. "You're beautiful," he said as he set down the package he was carrying and stripped off his coat and sweater. He undid and pulled the belt from his black jeans and kicked off his boots. Hermione watched him strip with desire. Then he changed his jeans to a black silk pajama bottoms. Hermione found that she was starving as he opened the containers of food. They sat cross-legged on the bed and ate omelets and hot scones and butter. They drank hot thick coffee, rich and creamy. "Oh, Severus, I see they told you what I like."

He smiled. "Yes, seems they know you quite well."

"They do. I don't cook if I can help it." She forked a bite of omelet into her mouth and chewed it.

"You were doing so well last summer," he told her as he chewed a large bite of scone.

"After you left, I realized without you it wasn't as much fun. And I have so much class work that I seldom have time."

Severus took a drink of coffee and sighed. "How are your studies going?"

"Good. I don't have much time to think about my life. I seldom get enough sleep. You must know how it is." She reached out to caress his cheek with her fingers. "The minute I have time to think, I realize I miss you with each breath I take."

He covered her hand with his. "It's the same for me."

"I don't know how I will make it through the next three and a half years," she said. A sadness overwhelmed her, and her eyes filled with tears.

Severus quickly pulled the near empty trays away and set them aside and gathered her in his arms. "Hermione, I am more than capable of teaching you the things you need to know to pass your examination after you have finished two years. Cambridge has a correspondence program for upper graduates who are in full apprenticeships."

"What! Are you certain?" she asked, clutching his arms.

"Yes, most certain. It is only offered to students in the very top of your class, which you are."

"Where would we do this?" she asked, slipping into his lap.

"I will have to ask Minerva if you can come to Hogwarts," he said seriously.

Hermione hugged him hard and whispered in his ear. "I would love to be back at Hogwarts."

"I would love to have you there. But if you come, I think Minerva will insist we marry."

"What?" Hermione pushed him back so she could look into his eyes.

Stay tuned for part two of Yule Vacation

Lisa, thank you so much for your beta work. You are the best.

Becky, thank you for being the first set of eyes to read these and for your feedback.