Fifteen

After allowing the morning to rouse them slowly, Hermione and Severus rose and went separately to breakfast.

They had said no more on the matter she had broached earlier, and despite the uncertainties that beset them, Hermione was happy in the here and now. She knew at some point she would have to leave and that they would have to confront their future. But for now she would survive on his passion and need alone, and hers.

Her need to maintain contact with him had abated somewhat once they had found themselves together regularly, but this morning was different. In the midst of conversing with friends, she found her eyes moving up to his frequently. He often had his head down, sometimes conversing with McGonagall on his right, but there were moments when his deep black pupils connected with her own, and the clenching in her belly intensified. Without the distraction of lessons to occupy her mind at the weekend, she knew she could not be apart from him all day.

As she and her friends got up to leave, she stood but could not resist turning and staring towards him. He was already looking down at her. Her mouth instinctively curved up into a warm smile. She held his gaze for as long as she dared, trying to communicate her need to be with him. He did not lower his eyes, and after a while she saw his eyebrows rise slowly in acknowledgement. Her smile broadened. She turned and walked out.

She had not noticed Ginny trying to catch her attention and when she could not, following her friend's eyes up to high-table where she saw them connecting with those of her Potions Master.

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As she left the hall, Hermione came across a gaggle of students gathered around a notice, talking excitedly. Crossing to them, she scanned the poster which was commanding their attention.

"Winter Ball – to celebrate this first new season of Frost and Snow clear of Darkness"

It was worded in an archaic way, but Hermione welcomed what must have been McGonagall's decision to banish all thoughts of winters past, spent under the shadow of Voldemort. There had not been an official Hogwarts celebration of the Dark Lord's death. This would be it. It was to take place two weeks before the end of term, just before exams. The student population, including Hermione, were euphoric.

As she turned away she collided with a firm, tall body. "Whoops!" Her giggle broke free in her excitement. Throwing her head back in laughter, Hermione's eyes came up to meet the sparkling blue ones of Lawrence Filmore.

The collision made her stagger slightly and she found him clutching her arms to steady her. Her laugh soon faded, but she tried to keep a polite smile on her face. She said nothing.

The boy's face was pink and at length he let go of her arms with a smile of embarrassment, but not as soon as Hermione would have liked. "Hi, Hermione. Sorry 'bout that. How's it going?"

She smiled warmly. It was hard not to respond to his easy, open manner. "Hi, Lawrence. I'm good thanks. Glad to see no damage was done that time." She laughed. "What are you up to today?" She had forgotten.

"It was gonna be Quidditch practice, but now I've got that bloody detention with Snape. Such a bastard."

Hermione visibly stiffened and shot him a venomous glare. He did not seem to notice. Lawrence indicated the notice on the wall.

"That's really great, isn't it? The ball. Not often we're allowed to party." He flashed his most gorgeous smile. It was wasted on her.

"Yeah ... yeah ... it'll be lots of fun." They stood awkwardly for a moment. Hermione knew she needed to go, wanted to go, but there were so many people surrounding them that she could see no obvious escape route.

Lawrence looked nervous. He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at every point around her except her eyes. "Hermione ... uhh ... would you like to ...."

"Oh! I forgot I left my Transfiguration text book in the library yesterday. I've got to go because I really need it for this essay I'm writing for my NEWT dissertation. I'd better do that now. The library shuts after lunch today. Bye, Lawrence." Her words spilled out in a flustered rush of trivial, boorish excuses. She knew what he was about to ask and knew also that she did not have enough of her wits about her to respond sensibly. Pushing her way through the crowd, she lowered her head and hurried away, leaving a bemused and disappointed Filmore behind.

Once away from the crowds, Hermione soon forgot about the incident and thought only of finding Severus. She hurried along the corridors to the dungeons. There was no one around and once again she proceeded undetected, but after a quick search of his rooms soon found he was not there. She hurried back to the area near the staff Common Room. If he was in there, she was unsure how she could alert him to her presence, but as she approached it her heart leapt.

Severus was standing talking to the current Dark Arts professor, a twinkly-eyed elderly wizard called Magnus Piercy. Seized with a sudden impulse and smiling broadly, Hermione approached them.

"Good morning, Professor Piercy, Professor Snape."

Professor Piercy's eyes lit up at the sight of the bright young witch before him. So did Professor Snape's.

"Aah! Miss Granger! How pleasant to see you on this beautiful autumn day." Piercy smiled broadly. Snape inclined his head to her slightly, looking momentarily into her eyes before lowering his swiftly. "What can we do for you?"

"I was just wondering, Professor, if you could lend me a particular book. Now the trouble is, I know what it's about, and I think I know the name of the author, but I can't quite seem to remember the title." Hermione spoke with wide-eyed innocence, exaggerating her mock ignorance.

She was standing close to Snape and could feel his rich black robes brushing against her. There was no one else around, and his voluminous clothes were shielding their arms from Piercy's sight. She stealthily moved her hand over and let it graze over his fingers. They were warm and tactile. Her belly somersaulted.

"Well, my dear, perhaps if you explain the content to me, I may be able to bring it to mind."

"Thank you, Professor. Well, it's about Dark Magic in medieval times, and how Witches and Wizards were employed by Muggle despots to create a smokescreen for the various atrocities they frequently perpetrated." Their hands still touched. Hermione's insides clenched unbearably as she felt his fingers enclose suddenly and tightly around hers, entwining and ensnaring them.

"Aah yes!" Piercy furrowed his brow in concentration. "I do believe I know what you're talking about. Now let me think."

Snape relaxed his hold on her hand slightly but continued to caress and stroke her fingers. His thumb ran idly over hers and the tip of his forefinger gently rubbed her palm. She drew in an involuntary little gasp and tried to turn it into an expression of extreme joy that the ancient professor before her had been able to assist her noble academic endeavours.

"Oh! I'm so glad. Do you know the author? It's Hurtwist ... or someone ... I think ..." She sounded ridiculously happy. Piercy was amazed once again at the Granger girl's thirst for knowledge.

"I haven't seen that volume for a while, but ... yes! I have it now!" His eyes widened in excitement. Snape's palm was pressed firmly into the flesh of Hermione's hand as his little finger rubbed exquisitely over the sensitive inner part of her wrist. She mimicked Piercy's expression of delight with genuine fervour as the gnarled professor continued. "It's 'Masking Muggles – How the Dark Arts shaped the Middle Ages' by Erasmus Hirstwhistle!"

"Oh, Professor Piercy – you are a star! May I borrow it?" Piercy flushed slightly at her compliment and lowered his head with a smile. Hermione wondered if she would come simply from her Potions Master's sensual caress of her hand.

"But of course, my dear. I shall have it ready for you at our next lesson. Now I must be off. Severus?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh! Actually, there was another matter I needed to discuss with Professor Snape. What a coincidence coming across both of you here. I find I'm in need of him too." She turned and beamed deliciously at the black-haired wizard still discreetly stroking her palm.

Piercy chuckled slightly and leant up to Snape, whispering, "Now there's an offer you can't refuse, eh, Severus?"

Snape shot him a look of such disdain that Piercy cleared his throat in sudden embarrassment before shuffling off as fast as a wizened old professor can shuffle off.

They had not let go of their hold on each other. Once Piercy had turned a corner, Hermione glanced about her. There was no one around, but they were standing in a wide, bright corridor. Although it was rare for there to be teachers or staff around here on a Saturday, it was possible that someone could come upon them at any moment.

Neither spoke. Their fingers were still entwined. Hermione turned to look up at him, and silently and sensuously, she drew her fingers out of his and brought both her hands up around his neck. In broad daylight, and in the middle of one of the most public corridors of Hogwart's School, she pulled Severus Snape's head down to hers and kissed him long and deep.

They stood together, their tongues dancing, lips tasting each other for an age. If he felt any concern about their situation, he did not show it. He drew his hands around her waist and pulled her in tight to him. Her fingers twirled in his hair, ruffling it as she held his head hard onto hers. The only sound was the occasional deep drawing in of breath through their noses. They did not wish to part their mouths for one moment.

Hermione pressed herself increasingly desperately against him and felt him hard and insistent. She groaned into his mouth, drawing another surge against her hips.

After an age they pulled apart, gasping for breath. Hermione looked at him, her focus bleary with lust, a satisfied smile on her red mouth. Her lips were swollen and bruised from the intensity of their kiss and he could not take his eyes from them. This time she grabbed his hands and pulled him back with her into a deserted classroom. As soon as they were inside their mouths met again.

He travelled down her neck, his hot, wet mouth igniting a trail of fire as it went. She still held his head tight, pressing him into her flesh and breathed out heavily, "What do you want, Severus? Tell me what you want."

He glanced up at her, moving ever down towards her breast. She lifted her shirt quickly over her head. Before she could reach for her bra clasp, he had reached into a cup and lifted her breast out to sit on top of it, the nipple already taut and expectant in the cool air. His thumb flitted over it, sending a shot of pleasure to her dripping pussy. She groaned, arching her breast up to his mouth, so close.

He continued to run his thumb lightly over the tight pink bud, breathing over it, "You know what I want ... I want ..." But he did not finish his sentence. His mouth descended hard and he fed on the nipple as if his life depended on it. Hermione's hand tightened in his hair, and she pressed him ever harder onto her, her question forgotten. She gasped with delight as delicious jolts of rapture coursed from her breast to her clit, the blood rushing in to swell it to a ripe kernel of desperate anticipation.

Snape stayed at her breast for some time. She knew how much he loved and needed it. She wasn't complaining. His tongue laved and swirled, his lips pulled and tugged, and his teeth, only when she was drawn out to the sharpest point, bit down tenderly at first, then with increasing need. A guttural cry started deep down in her, rising up to a scream of delight. She knew when at last he touched her clit she would come almost instantly.

At last he released the nipple from his mouth and glanced down to undo his trousers. He stepped out of them and his underwear and placed her quickly on a table before him. She wriggled swiftly out of her knickers and spread her legs wide. He could see her juices shining on her and groaned deep in longing. Then bringing his hands around her backside he pulled her forward, impaling her on him immediately. She gasped with the sudden emplacement inside her, but soon her features changed into a broad grin.

He reached under her rump and gripped firmly, then with a grunt of effort, lifted her up, standing with her resting fully on him, supported only by his hands and iron cock.

Her head fell back in an ecstatic laugh, and her legs curled tight around his waist. Her delight in him could not be contained and she started pushing herself up as much as she could, feeling him filling her so profoundly. "Oh god, oh god, Severus ... that's so good ... do you know how good that feels ... so fucking good." Her words were delirious, but they touched him so deeply he knew it would only take a little movement for him to finish.

Gazing into her lust-crazed eyes, he signalled to her. She started to move as much as possible. Not much was possible but little was needed. He easily caught her clit and she squeezed around him, raising herself up enough to give him the friction that he needed. It was enough for them both. She was so ready that the next touch of her clit, combined with the feel of him so hard inside her, was the end. She came violently, clasping her arms and legs tight around him, allowing her pleasured spasms to transmit directly to him. Her uninhibited groans reverberated around the silent room. As she pulsated around his cock, he opened his mouth, his pleasure ripping its way out of him. He cried out louder than she had ever heard him as he burst into her. His fingers clenched, digging into the flesh of her behind.

It wasn't until the last convulsions had left their bodies that Severus staggered quickly over, lowering her onto a desk. Hermione noticed that he was breathing heavily with exhaustion, and only then realised what an effort it must have been for him to hold her for so long on his cock.

Still, she smirked, it seemed to have been worth it.

After their breathing had settled and they were adjusting their clothing, Hermione spoke across to him. "We could do something this morning."

"Our options are limited." His response was instant and clinical.

She sighed quietly at his unimaginative reaction. "You know what I'd really love to do?"

He glanced up at her in query.

"Go to Hogsmeade with you. Just a normal couple: shopping, strolling, lunch. Wouldn't it be wonderful?"

Severus' face tensed and he looked almost lost, clearly unable to entertain such a notion. Not responding, he concentrated on doing up his buttons. She wasn't surprised by his reaction but still it caused her deep disappointment. He had after all not been worried about kissing her in an open corridor moments before.

Thinking about it, however, it was hard to imagine him ever doing those things, whatever the circumstances, let alone illicitly with one of his students. She wondered about suggesting a disguise, maybe even using Polyjuice Potion, but thought that would rather defeat the purpose; she wanted to be out with him, physically and emotionally. She knew it was impossible but still wanted to press him.

"What do you think?"

He shot her a glare. "Why are you being so foolish?" His voice was terse and spiteful.

Hermione was taken aback by his sudden coldness and felt herself blushing at his rebuke. She did not respond immediately, but once her confidence had returned she raised herself up and spoke firmly.

"I am not being foolish, Severus. I want to exist with you beyond this place. Clearly, it would be impossible to go into Hogsmeade as a couple now. I only mentioned it to allow myself a little moment of fantasy, silly little romantic fool that I am." She spoke bitterly, mimicking his tones and thoughts. "But one day, there will come a time, I hope, when the possibility of doing something like that may be a reality."

She watched him carefully. He could not raise his head to look at her. She sighed deeply, and making sure her clothing was neat, turned to go. "Well ... thank you for that, Severus ... bloody good fuck as ever ..."

She walked swiftly past him, but before she could get very far he had grabbed her arm sharply and held her back, staring hard into her eyes.

"Don't be so coarse." His words were forceful, dogmatic.

Hermione held her nerve and his gaze. "Why not, Severus? That's all there is between us. That's all we do. Fuck."

"You know that's not true."

"Do I?"

He looked at her, a fiery fury burning in his eyes. She stared back unabashed. Then suddenly he reached up, pulling off his robes and letting them drop to the ground. Grabbing her swift and hard round the waist, he twirled his wand, mumbling some words. Hermione felt her mind swirl; her feet were pulled out from under her and the room around her vanished.

A moment later, although it might have been longer (she had lost all sense of time and space), she became aware of standing on firm ground once again with the same strong hands still holding her. She looked up at Snape. His eyes were still trained on her but now glowed with a vibrant excitement.

Hermione realised suddenly that they were outside. Still holding him tight, she looked around. They were on a small, stone bridge, a gentle stream flowing under it. More stone buildings stretched off along a street with shops and restaurants fanning off it. It was a beautiful place, hardly touched by modern life, but still vibrant and bustling.

Hermione asked in hushed awe, "Where are we?"

"Grasmere. It's in the Lake District."

She glanced at him reproachfully. "I know where it is," she teased. "William Wordsworth was from here." But she could not chide him for long; she was ecstatically happy, but confused. "I thought it was impossible to Disapparate from inside the castle."

"It is for most, but you seem to be forgetting who I am." She smirked at his arrogant superiority but allowed him to continue. "Besides, that was technically not Apparition."

She raised her eyebrows in query. He continued. "It is a form of transport I have devised myself, similar to Apparition, but able to transcend any limiting charms and wards while also diffusing the rather more ... unpleasant side-effects."

Hermione looked up at him in stark admiration. She often forgot what an extraordinary master of magic he was. Her heart swelled and he allowed himself a slight smile of satisfaction as she gazed up. Then, with a deep breath, Hermione turned and started to walk with him through the town.

He drew several glances; his lengthy black hair and many-buttoned dark frock coat were hardly the norm in Middle England, but Hermione could not care less. She did not know these people and would never see any of them again. Their anonymity was liberating and exhilarating.

Hermione could not remember a more relaxed and enjoyable Saturday morning. Severus seemed completely content away from the oppressive school atmosphere and more at ease with Muggles than she thought possible. She was humbly reminded that he had grown up among them. They strolled through the quaint shops. It was a tourist hotspot but still retained the easy charm of deep-rooted English country beauty. On passing some tearooms, Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door.

She ordered for them: tea and cakes, anticipating them not getting back in time for lunch, although she knew at the back of her mind that he needed to be back to take detention.

As their food and drink arrived she leaned over to him and smiled cheekily. "I retract my previous statement ... and my – coarse language. You are right. I shouldn't use it."

Severus glanced up while pouring his tea. "It was not the word I objected to but the sentiment surrounding it."

"I'm sorry. I suppose I did it deliberately. I wanted to see how you'd react. It was as if I was challenging you."

He remained looking coolly at her. "And have I risen to your challenge?"

She smiled across at him. "Admirably. But then ... you always do rise to it, Severus." She smirked, lowering her gaze teasingly.

His eyes danced but his features remained impassive and he spoke with a hint of his familiar disparaging coldness, "I bring you to a beautiful part of the country, the town of one of our greatest poets, surrounded by refined decorum and propriety ... and still I cannot drag your mind out of the gutter." He paused until she'd raised her eyes to his again before continuing, his low drawl more delicious than ever, "Thank Merlin for that."

She smiled broadly and took a bite out of her carrot cake.

After tea, they went and sat by the lake, watching the people passing by and the boats and birds on the shimmering ripples of the water stretching away towards the rising hills beyond. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder. "We'll have to get back soon." She did not refer to the reason why.

They sat a while longer in the thin October sunshine.

"Thank you." He was not used to hearing that word addressed to him, and at first did not realise what she was referring to. She sensed his query. "For bringing me here. Have you enjoyed yourself?"

He raised himself to look down at her, his eyes flitting over her face, but did not answer. A pang of concern nudged Hermione. Then slowly, Severus lowered his head to kiss her warm, long and tenderly in reply.

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Oh, Severus, you got there in the end ...

I so enjoy reading your thoughts. LL x