Chapter Thirty-Eight: Playing with Fire

PART FOUR

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Playing with Fire

Monday, 8 March 1999

Severus fairly flew down the stairs toward the dungeons. He was playing with fire. And he was in love with Hermione. She had breathed for him when he should have been dead. He had to be in love with her. They were dating. He shouldn't even be pretending to seduce other witches, let alone kissing them...even if kissing Poppy had felt so lovely. He pulled his teaching robe closer around him, fastening the clasp at the waist. He had more than just a slight reaction to the thrill of the kisses, those almost illicit kisses, and although he doubted that it would be evident under the long frock coat he was wearing that day, he didn't want there to be any chance that someone might see him and notice his erection.

Despite the distance between the infirmary and his rooms in the dungeons, his erection had scarcely subsided at all by the time he closed his door behind him. He tore off his teaching robe, tossing it over his couch, then unbuttoned his frockcoat and dropped it on top of the robe. He unbuttoned his trousers and sat down in his favourite chair, his feet up, and took his cock in his hand. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on his cock and not think about Poppy. He had barely given himself three strokes when there was a knock at the door. He groaned and quickly tucked himself away.

He opened the door only a crack and looked out, ready to bite the head off whatever Slytherin dared disturb his evening, but it was Poppy.

"I forgot to tell you. I made the appointments with the students that you requested, Stratton and Huxley."

Severus nodded numbly.

"Was there anything specific that you wanted me to mention to either of them?" Poppy asked.

"No, just whatever you usually tell them," Severus said, still hiding partially behind the door.

"I could come in and we could talk about it," Poppy suggested.

"Come in? I don't know...just a minute." He closed the door in her face and grabbed his teaching robe, pulling it on as he reopened the door.

"Sorry," he said as he let her in.

"I can come back later...or we could discuss it in my office tomorrow, if you prefer," Poppy said.

"No. I just don't think there's anything to discuss. Dumbledore's the one who caught them. You could ask him precisely what they were doing, if that is helpful. He did not go into detail with me."

Poppy chuckled. "He'd be more likely to go into detail with you than with me, Severus. But I will ask him if you think that is best."

Severus nodded.

Poppy looked around the room. "You know, now that you have time to think about things like this, you might want to discuss having your rooms upgraded. I never did understand why you didn't take Slughorn's old rooms. He had them quite tricked out."

"I did not deserve any luxury. You may have forgotten, but when I became Head of Slytherin, it was only because I was not in Azkaban."

"Albus made you take these rooms as some kind of punishment?" Poppy asked, incredulous.

"No, but when I refused Slughorn's rooms, he didn't offer to make any changes to these. I chose them and took them as they were."

"But over the years..."

"Over the years, I have occasionally thought of things that might be nice, but I never knew when he would return. I could not become soft. And it is easier to be angry and bitter when you are living in ugly rooms." Severus looked around him. It wasn't as bad as Spinner's End. "Dumbledore did insist on putting in a new shower and bath for me several years ago, but I told him no frills." He quirked a slight smile at her. "In retrospect, I should have asked for a few frills."

"Yes, you should have," Poppy said with a smile. "Still, these aren't bad. A little dark, though."

"Bats like the dark," he said.

Poppy chuckled. "You are no bat, Severus. I would have noticed by now, I believe. But with these robes and the way you sweep and swoop," she said, taking hold of the lapels of his teaching robe, "you do a fair imitation of some kind of flying beast. Not a bat, though."

She stepped closer to him. Looking down at her, Severus was very aware of her creamy cleavage.

"What, if not a bat?" he asked softly.

"A great owl or eagle. Some kind of raptor ready to swoop down on its prey and carry it away," Poppy replied. She looked up into his face. "I felt a bit like prey this evening, Severus."

"You did?"

"Yes. And I wondered why. That is why I am here, to find out."

"Do you really want to find out, Poppy? Are you sure you want to know?"

She nodded, her eyes not wavering from meeting his gaze.

"You are not afraid?"

"Not afraid."

"I am a Death Eater. You should be afraid," he said in a low voice and looking for a reaction, waiting for a tell-tale flicker of fear in her eyes.

She shook her head slightly.

Wondering how she could trust him, Severus raised his hand and touched her face, tracing the line of her jaw then caressing her throat, watching her expression as his fingertips moved lower, down toward her cleavage. He slipped his fingertips just under her robe, moving his caress to her breast. Her lips parted and he could feel the pounding of her heart.

"This is why, this is why," he whispered.

"Tell me why," Poppy said.

"You are an attractive witch. You are . . . you are intoxicating," Severus said, slipping his hand further into her bodice, feeling her soft, sexy breast.

"I need to know . . . what you want," Poppy said.

Severus shook his head. "I don't want anything."

"Your hand has other ideas," she replied.

"I do not want to offend you," Severus said. He removed his hand. "You have taken care of me, and I am grateful for that."

"Just tell me what you want, Severus."

"I don't want a relationship," Severus said softly. "I don't want that, but I find you very attractive. I am sorry. I ought not have said anything or touched you as I have. I am sorry."

Poppy moved her hands to touch his chest beneath his robe. "You took off your jacket," she said.

"Yes."

"And put your robe back on...for me?" She moved her hands over his chest and down over his stomach. "I liked the kiss you gave me, Severus. Do you suppose you have another for me?"

Severus bent his head and kissed her softly as he had before. One of Poppy's hands moved lower, and he gasped and straightened as she touched his erection.

"You were not joking about being attracted to me," Poppy said, looking up at him and pressing her hand against his erection. She brought her other hand to caress his face. "You know, we don't have to make any sudden, earth-shattering changes to our relationship, Severus. But I would be more than happy to help you to relieve some of this," she said, rubbing her hand against him. "If you don't think you will be terribly disappointed by this old witch, that is."

"I told you, you are not old," Severus said hoarsely. "But I would disappoint you, I am sure."

"Doubtful."

"You must have low expectations," Severus said, trying to joke.

"Not at all. But you have me intrigued," Poppy replied.

"Why would you do this?"

"As I say, you have me intrigued, Severus. Your behaviour this evening was atypical, but I believed you when you said that you were not just teasing me. Was I wrong to believe that?"

"Yes," Severus whispered. "I did not mean to be quite so . . . so . . ."

"Seductive?" Poppy asked.

He nodded. "I do find you attractive, though. And I didn't lie to you. I just . . . I suppose I thought it might be nice to flirt a little bit. I shouldn't have. I didn't know what I was doing."

"You did quite well at first, but you moved very quickly from flirting a little bit to flirting a lot. I have to say, though, Severus, that you really were quite seductive, and if you didn't know what you were doing, then once you do know what you are doing, you will be very dangerously seductive." She had dropped her hands to her sides and stepped back.

"I am sorry, Poppy." Severus looked down.

She raised her hand and caressed his face. "So am I. I am a foolish old witch, I suppose, past it all . . . but it was rather nice to think for just a little while that . . ." She shook her head and reached for the doorknob. "I shouldn't have come down here."

"Wait, Poppy. You don't understand. You aren't a foolish old witch. I am attracted to you, very much. You could feel that for yourself." He took her hand and brought it toward his erection, though he did not touch her hand to it. "I would ask you to stay, but it . . . you . . . I can't."

"Do you want me to stay?" she asked. "Don't tell me whether you think I should stay, or whether I will be disappointed or you will be disappointed, or whether you think that it will change things between us. Just tell me whether you want me to stay."

No other considerations . . . "Yes, I want you to stay."

"And what do you want?" Poppy asked softly.

"I want to touch you, and I want to kiss you," Severus whispered. "And I want more."

"Then I will stay unless you tell me to leave," Poppy said. "And we can be lovers tonight and colleagues tomorrow."

"Why? Why would you stay?"

"You intrigued me, as I said, and your words and touches aroused me. And, if this doesn't sound too pathetic to you, or too selfish, it has been a while since I've been with a man."

"No, that doesn't sound pathetic or selfish," he said, thinking of his own lack of experience. It was unlikely that she was inexperienced, though, and he doubted that she would have come down to his rooms if she were. "And that's all?"

"I also do care for you, Severus, very much, you must know that. I wouldn't want to be intimate with you if I didn't."

"Yes, stay," he said. "Stay."

He leaned forward and kissed her again, this time putting his arms around her and drawing her close. His kiss grew more passionate, and she responded, her lips moving with his, her tongue meeting his, stroking and teasing. He pushed her toward the couch, never breaking the kiss except to change his angle and return.

Severus sat, pulling Poppy down with him to lie across him. He cupped and kneaded her buttocks with his left hand as he held her close with his right arm. Finally, he broke away and looked down at her. He couldn't believe that she was there with him, so close and warm. He didn't know what to do, but he knew that he did not want to hurt this witch in his arms.

"If you want to leave, at any time, you just say so," he said softly. "And I need to warn you that I have somewhat limited experience. If I do anything that doesn't feel good, tell me. I don't want to hurt you, Poppy. I want you to be glad you came down to me and stayed."

Poppy nodded breathlessly.

He ran his hand over her chest then brought it lower to caress her breasts through her robes.

"May I?" he asked.

She nodded, then she sat up, reached behind her and touched the first of her Charmed hooks, releasing them. She looked at him, and he brought his hands forward and pushed her robes down and off her shoulders. He felt a Support Charm release as he pulled her bodice down to reveal her breasts. Gods, this was better than any fantasy.

Cupping both breasts in his hands, he raised his eyes to meet Poppy's. "Very beautiful," he whispered.

She smiled and caressed his face, pushing his hair back.

Severus shifted so that Poppy was leaning against the arm of the sofa, her legs across his, and entranced, he watched his fingers as they stroked the skin of her breasts, coming to tease her nipples, then he leaned toward her and closed his lips around her left nipple as he cupped her breast with his right hand and teased her other nipple with his left hand, remembering what Minerva had said about a touch going from pleasantly stimulating to unpleasantly rough very quickly. He heard Poppy moan, and raised his eyes to look up at her. It had been a moan of pleasure. Her head was back, her lips parted, her eyes closed. He smiled as he moved to lick and tease her other nipple, flicking his right thumb over the one that he had just abandoned.

As he suckled and flicked, Severus groped with his left hand trying to raise Poppy's skirts. She reached down with her right hand and helped him tug them up. He slipped his hand beneath her skirts and caressed her leg as he moved it higher. She bent her right leg, granting him greater access, and he found her knickers covering her feminine softness. They were damp. He began to rub and press against her, and Poppy raised her hips, arching her back.

"Oh, Severus! More, more, Severus," she gasped.

He reached up and pulled on the waistband of her knickers. When removing them seemed too difficult at that moment, he simply pulled on them with a slight burst of magic, ripping them off. Poppy didn't react except to push against his hand as his fingers slid into her folds. He moved his mouth to her other breast again, pausing to look down at her. She was moaning and gasping as he rubbed her clitoris, and her breasts, her beautiful, sexy breasts, were flushed and peaked. Any inhibitions that she may have had disappeared as her arousal increased.

He began to suckle her left breast again. Poppy was moving on him, arching her back, bouncing and wriggling against his moving hand, and her buttocks were rubbing against his erection. He slipped a finger into her vagina, stroked for a minute, then withdrew it and inserted two. Still teasing her nipple with his tongue and lips, he began to rapidly pump his arm, thrusting his fingers into her vagina and his thumb against her clit. He raised his head to watch her face. She was grasping his leg and the front of his robe, and she was moaning more and more loudly.

He remembered what Gareth had said to him the day before, telling him he was sexy. She might like to hear him say something.

"You are gorgeous, Poppy, so sexy, so very sexy, Poppy, so passionate and sexy, come, Poppy, come," Severus said in a low, intense voice. His cock was heavy and straining against his clothing as his own excitement grew.

"Oh, gods, yes, Severus, don't stop, don't stop! Oh, don't stop!" Her legs were trembling as she gasped and cried. "Yes, I'm coming, Severus, Severus! Ah, ah, ah!"

Her grip on him tightened as she peaked, then she relaxed back down onto his lap and opened her eyes, looking at him. Severus removed his fingers and wiped them discreetly on his robes.

"All right?" he asked softly.

She smiled at him and reached up to touch his face. "Very. Kiss me?"

Severus leaned forward and kissed her lips, pulling her toward him. He nuzzled her ear. "I think I would like to get you out of your robes. They are somewhat of an obstruction to providing you the pleasure I wish to bring you." He licked the shell of her ear and was rewarded by a sharp gasp.

"If that's the case, I can't get out of them fast enough, since what you were able to do when obstructed was nothing to sneeze at," Poppy said.

She kissed him, putting her arms around his neck. She drew back and looked into his eyes. "We also cannot forget about you."

"Believe me, Poppy, I am having a great deal of pleasure," Severus whispered. "You have amazingly beautiful breasts, and feeling your arse rubbing against me as I am touching you, it is all very, very good."

Poppy gave him a quick kiss on the lips, then she moved off and stood in front of him. Her ripped knickers fell to the floor, and after she unhooked the waistband of her under-robe, her robes joined them. She was now only in Charmed stockings, having lost both shoes at some point. She brought one foot up to rest on Severus's knee and she rolled down the stocking of that leg, then she did the same with the other. He grabbed her legs and pulled her toward him and onto the couch so that she was raised up on her knees and straddling his legs. He cupped her buttocks with both hands, pulling her closer. He buried his face in her breasts and felt her combing her fingers through his hair.

Severus raised his face and looked up at her. "You are wonderful. Thank you," he said softly.

"We can thank each other in the morning, I think," Poppy said. "But now, I would say that you are the one with clothes getting in the way."

She moved back off of him and took his hand. "Would you undress for me, Severus?"

He gave her a slight smile. "You have said that to me before, though never in quite that way, and in very different circumstances. I have to admit that this is the first time I will be happy to comply, although I must also admit that I am more nervous than usual."

"Believe me, I never dreamed I would be undressing for you, so if I can stand here naked in front of you, you shouldn't feel nervous."

She pushed his teaching robe off, and he began to unbutton his waistcoat. Her hands went to his trousers, and she smiled as he let her unbutton them. As soon as she finished, she ran her hand over the length of his cock then slipped her hand into his pants to touch him. Severus couldn't restrain a slight groan as her thumb spread his moisture over the head of his cock. He quickly shed his waistcoat then pushed off his braces.

Taking her hand from his pants, he kissed her palm, then sat and quickly shucked off his boots and pulled off his socks before standing again and removing his trousers and pants at the same time. He removed his cufflinks, then rather than curse the fact that he had too many buttons, he simply unbuttoned the first few and pulled his shirt off over his head.

Poppy's eyes were on his cock. He stepped forward and caressed her cheek.

"What next?" he whispered.

She looked up at him. "Whatever you want, Severus. Whatever you want."

He pulled her close and bent his head to kiss her, one hand squeezing her buttocks. His cock was pressed against her stomach, and although Poppy was certainly fit, she was soft, much softer than Gareth's muscular male body was. He loved her softness.

He looked down into her eyes and caressed her cheek with his thumb. "Before you arrived, I was prepared to take care of my erection quickly and expeditiously," he whispered. "Now, though, I want to take my time. May I take my time with you, Poppy?"

His voice sent thrills through her, and she nodded mutely. He picked her up and carried her into his bedroom. He set her down on the bed, then waved his hand, lighting the lamps, bringing them to a soft glow.

Severus looked down at her and ran his hand over her body from her shoulder, down her side, then over her stomach to her hip. He let out a long, appreciative breath.

"You are so beautiful, Poppy. Very beautiful."

She shook her head, but he only climbed onto the bed with her, straddling her legs as she rolled over onto her back.

"I wish I knew what to do to give you all the pleasure you deserve, but I will do my best," he said softly. "If you don't like something, you must tell me."

Severus lowered himself to lie on top of her. As her fingers caressed his back, he kissed her shoulders, her chest, her breasts, pausing and suckling briefly at each breast, then moving lower, kissing her torso, her stomach, her lower abdomen. The sensation of her skin beneath his lips was more sensual than he would ever have believed it could be. Moving down the bed, he kissed her knees, then he slowly made his way back up, kissing her thighs. Bringing his right leg between hers, he gently urged her legs apart. Gently, softly, slowly, he kissed and licked her inner thighs, pleased to hear her gasps. Slipping one hand beneath her left knee, he urged Poppy to bend her leg and open herself further to him.

He moved back up to kiss and lick her lower abdomen just above her thatch of dark hair, tickling her skin lightly, and he began to tease her clitoris with his finger and thumb again. Severus sat back on his heels and watched as he spread her folds and played gently with her clitoris. It seemed to him that Poppy was holding herself still with some effort, and her breathing was heavy. He rose up on his knees and lay down on top of her.

He rubbed her clitoris and whispered in her ear, "May I kiss you here?"

"Oh, gods, yes, Severus," she moaned.

"I . . . I need to know if you like it when I'm doing it, or if you need something different," he said softly, still rubbing her clit.

"Yes, yes, fine, oh, please, Severus," Poppy gasped.

He kissed her cheek, then he moved back down the bed and came to lie between her bent legs. He separated her folds with his fingers, then closed his eyes, held his breath, and approached her. Gareth had said flicking her clit with his tongue was a good way to start. He stuck out his tongue and it met her clitoris, and Poppy gasped. He flicked and licked her nub lightly, first one direction then the other, and he was rewarded by Poppy's moans.

"Yes, good, Severus, so good, yes, like that, don't stop, please, yes, just like that!"

She was arching her back and moaning as he flicked gently but quickly. When her moaning grew louder and she wriggled against him, he began to rhythmically press his tongue against her nub as he slipped two fingers into her vagina. She rocked up to meet him as he thrust his fingers and licked her clit.

"There, there, like that, Severus, just like that, inside like that, oh, gods, Severus, Severus, I'm going to come again!" She let out several crying moans, pounding her hands against the mattress, and Severus was surprised by a sudden flow of warmth into his mouth, but he continued to lick and thrust until she collapsed back onto the bed and gasped for breath.

Severus sat back and looked at the witch on his bed. A witch in his bed. And he had made her come...more than once. And she had ejaculated, something he had heard of but never seen before. There was a beautiful, warm, sexy witch in his bed. Not some whore or pathetic reject. No one he had coerced or paid or forced. A sexy witch who had wanted to be with him, one who cared about him. He felt tears come to his eyes, and he blinked them away.

Poppy caught her breath and looked up at him. She smiled slowly. "Come here, Severus. Come here to me."

She held him in her arms and kissed him, his lips, his cheeks, his jaw, his lips again. She brushed back his hair from his face.

"That was wonderful, Severus. I find it hard to believe that you are inexperienced."

"You did say it had been a while since you'd been with someone," Severus said self-deprecatingly.

"Not so long that I can't tell that you are a wonderful lover," Poppy whispered. She smiled to see the pleasure lighting his eyes. "But there is still the matter of this," she said, reaching between them and touching the head of his ready cock. "You are very, very ready. I am impressed by your self-control."

"I was thinking of you, Poppy," Severus said softly.

Poppy kissed him, kissing his lips repeatedly, holding him tightly, and when he drew back, breaking the kiss, Severus was surprised to see tears on her cheeks and more flowing freshly.

"What is it, Poppy? What's wrong?" He wiped her tears away with his hand. What had he done?

"I am so sorry, Severus, so sorry for all those years you suffered."

"Is that why you're here with me?" Severus asked, stiffening, thinking he was being used as a pity fuck.

"No, that's not what I meant." She caressed his face, looking into his eyes. "It simply makes me very sad to think of all that time, and to know that . . . that there was this tender, patient, thoughtful, wonderful lover buried within you. To know that you have so much potential, so much warmth in you, and yet you lived as you did for so long. I can't bear to think of it."

Severus kissed the tip of her nose lightly. "That is very sweet of you to say, Poppy, but I don't think that this person was there then, or that he could have emerged earlier. And I'm still a pretty miserable fucked-up bastard, and I know that. I often dislike myself. I can still be mean and nasty, and I don't always regret it when I am. Sometimes, I even still enjoy saying something cutting and hurtful for the most petty of reasons." He swallowed. "But I am trying. And I am very glad that you enjoyed that."

"It was pure ecstasy, Severus. You brought me pure ecstasy," Poppy whispered. She kissed his lips softly.

He blushed. "That was the first time I ever did that," he said very softly, "what I did, kissing you there."

"I never would have known that," Poppy replied. "Thank you. That means a lot to me, Severus. It really does."

She moved her hand down his shaft and watched as he closed his eyes. She stroked him a few times, then shifted, bringing her leg over his hips and moving her crux to his cock. Lying on her side, she guided him into her vagina, slipping over him. Severus let out a long, low moan as she fully sheathed him.

"You have a huge cock, Severus," Poppy whispered as she began to move and rock against him. "So very long, very good."

Severus didn't even try to keep from moaning. His gasps and moans were joined by Poppy's, and he finally rolled her over onto her back and began to pump. He stroked in and out, shifting and moving, watching her face, looking at her breasts, lying on top of her and feeling his sweat run to meet hers, and he wanted her to come again, but he didn't know whether he could last. He tried to think of something dull. The three steps to brewing Boil-Cure Potion. It didn't seem to help, but then he shifted again as Poppy arched her back and met his thrusts, and she began to moan more loudly. This was power, he thought, the power to bring her pleasure, the power to make her moan with desire and arousal. And it felt good, so good to move in and out of her, shifting and thrusting, burying himself in her over and over.

Severus thrust again and again, drawing out and pushing in, crushing himself against her softness, inside her warmth, and then Poppy was coming, shouting, grabbing him hard as he continued to thrust into her, grinding his pelvis against her. He felt his balls tighten and his own orgasm burst forth; he buried himself deep within her as he ejaculated.

Gasping and trying to catch his breath, Severus collapsed on top of Poppy. "Fuck, that was good," he mumbled. "Mm, sorry. My language..."

"'S'okay. I will second that: fuck, that was good," Poppy said with a deep, contented sigh. "I am very glad I came down here tonight."

"So'm I," Severus said, rolling off of her onto his back, his eyes closed. "Perfect."

"Absolutely," Poppy agreed, rolling onto her side and putting an arm around him. "And incredibly good for first-time sex. Maybe because we've known each other so long. But mostly, I think, because you were so thoughtful and took so much time with me. Thank you."

"Thank you," Severus said. "I never did anything to deserve your company for ten minutes, let alone for this." He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her, smiling slightly. "I'm glad I decided to see whether I could flirt with you."

"So am I, Severus." She traced the outline of his lips with one finger. "You were positively seductive. And I didn't mind being seduced by you. I might not mind it happening again sometime, either."

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think that we should act any differently toward each other in public."

"Of course not," Poppy agreed. "We will be colleagues again in the morning."

"You do deserve to have a relationship with someone, Poppy, and I hope you understand..."

"Yes, I understand, Severus. Really. And if I'd wanted to have some other kind of relationship with you, I likely wouldn't have come down here tonight. I think my expectations would have been different."

Severus nodded and closed his eyes.

"Do you think we could get into bed? The dungeons are a bit cooler than I'm used to," Poppy said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, of course!" Severus Summoned his wand from the other room and cast a Warming Charm as he moved so that she could pull the covers back and climb into bed. "I'll be right back!"

He padded quickly into the bathroom and dampened a flannel. He brought her the flannel and a big towel. He remembered how Gareth's cum had run out of him into his pants the night before, and he thought that there must be some spell to prevent that sort of thing, but his experience was limited to ordinary cleaning and washing charms, and he didn't know if he could use something like that on Poppy's tender parts, particularly not inside her.

She opened her eyes and smiled up at him when he returned.

"I thought you might like to freshen up. Unless you'd prefer charms, but I don't know what you might like to use," he said awkwardly.

Her smile grew. "Thank you, Severus. That is very thoughtful of you." She made use of the flannel and spread the towel under her.

Severus began to get into bed when he suddenly had a thought that froze him in place.

"Severus? What's wrong?"

He turned and looked at her. "I am a dunderhead. I think I need one of those lectures you give. We didn't do anything about contraception. I didn't even ask about it. I don't know if you need it, but if you do..."

Poppy shook her head and smiled. "Don't worry about it, Severus. I'm a mediwitch, remember? You know there are potions one can take afterward. I have a few doses upstairs. I will just take one in the morning."

"All right." He lay down beside her. "I am sorry, though. I should have thought of that in advance. If you were someone else, I could have just caused you a real difficulty. And myself."

"You know, if you are thinking of becoming more sexually active than you were in the past," Poppy said, "it might not hurt to have a refresher on the different spells and potions, just practically speaking. I'll get some information together for you and send it to your office for you to look at at your leisure."

Severus was acutely aware at that moment that not only was he much less experienced than most wizards his age, but that he was also much younger than Poppy and that she had been the school matron when he had been a student. It was odd. He wondered how she felt about it.

"Poppy?"

"Mmhm?"

"I was just thinking . . . wondering . . . have you thought about the fact that when I was a student, you were the matron then, too?"

"I have thought about that, but not tonight, not until you just mentioned it," Poppy replied. She moved closer to him and put an arm around him. "Does it bother you? You said . . . you said you didn't think I was old."

"I don't. You aren't. You're scarcely middle-aged, for a witch." At Poppy's laugh, he said, "All right, you're middle-aged. But I wasn't thinking about it like that. I was wondering whether you think it's strange to have sex with someone who was a student when you were matron."

"That was quite a few years ago, Severus. You've been my colleague far longer than you were one of my charges."

"It's none of my business, and you don't have to answer, and I hope it doesn't insult you, but have you had sex with anyone else who was a student whilst you were matron?"

"Umm, yes, there was one wizard about twenty years ago. But he'd been a seventh-year student when I first started here at Hogwarts, and so he really wasn't very much younger than I was. Ten or eleven years, I think. Then we got together quite a bit after he'd left school."

"I see. I was just curious." He thought about Hermione. She was still so young and had been his student so recently. People would surely talk. The fact that he had been a Death Eater, even a reformed Death Eater and confirmed war hero, wouldn't help matters. That October, he had learned that Minerva had actually encountered some opposition to his continued retention. People were talking about a "clean sweep" and a "fresh start," by which they meant sweeping him away. Minerva had never even mentioned it to him, only working on trying to convince him to stay on for at least one year. If he had known, he probably wouldn't have returned to Hogwarts. He would have gone and sat in Spinner's End and rotted.

Poppy yawned. "Do you sleep with the lamps lit?"

"What? No . . . I just thought . . . well, if you were going to leave, I would wait to extinguish them," Severus said.

"Oh. You want me to leave?"

"Don't you think you should? It's unlikely anyone will see you leaving my rooms now, but in the morning, students could see you. That would be very indiscreet." It wasn't as though he were ill and needed her professional attentions. She wasn't wearing her matron's pinny, either.

"I thought I could just Floo from your rooms to the Hospital Wing in the morning before breakfast. No one would know where I spent the night. But if you would rather I leave..."

"No, I don't. I didn't think of that." Severus rolled over, pulled her to him, and kissed her. "I would like you to stay."

Poppy smiled. "Good. Then I will."

Severus waved his hand and extinguished the lamps. "Good night, Poppy."

Poppy gave him a squeeze. "Good night, Severus."

He fell asleep with a smile.

NEXT

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Morning After

Tuesday, 9 March 1999

Severus has a very surprising but pleasant start to his day. Poppy finds someone waiting for her in the infirmary.

Characters: Severus Snape, Poppy Pomfrey, Minerva McGonagall