Say It Again
Chapter 14 of 40
AuretteHermione tries to assimilate the many sides of Severus Snape.
ReviewedThanks to Astopperindeath for the final beta. :)
I stepped gracefully into the lobby, the heels of my boots clicking on the tile. Ma and a short, stocky man, by his robes a fairly successful businessman, had their backs to me as they discussed fees and additional charges. When they heard me they both turned. I looked toward Ma, plastic smile in place as she spoke.
"Ah, here's the Princess! Come and meet this fine gentleman! Show him upstairs and give him a night to remember, Dear." I nodded to her and looked to the 'fine' gentleman himself, and my steps faltered. Of course he was completely nondescript, but the burning gaze from eyes I couldn't quite distinguish, belonged to only one man. I almost flew to his side.
I reached out and took his elbow and speared my arm jerkily towards the stairs, and we set off in silence, up the stairs and down the hall, toward the same room over the kitchen. When I entered the room, he whirled around behind me and closed the door. Taking out his wand he waved a complicated series of wards on the room that I thought unnecessary, due to the privacy and silencing charms already woven into the walls, and followed this by pulling objects from his robes and setting them on the table by the door. I saw a Sneakoscope and a Foe-Glass and another object I had never seen before that seemed to rock side-to-side for no reason. I grew very fearful and backed away across the room.
Silently, he removed the charm that changed his appearance and looked at me. He still hadn't said a word and made no move closer to me. We stared at each other in silence as I took in his changed appearance. His face was a blank mask. His eyes were fierce, but I did not understand the expression. He looked harder, sterner and more dreadful than I had seen him before. His skin was as sallow as ever, and I scolded myself for a fool for making him so dashing in my stupid, schoolgirl fantasies; he was not so. Oh, he was dressed in rich, dark robes of a very fine cut and cloth, purest black with subtle black embroidery, the edges of a snow white fine linen peeked through at collar and over-long sleeves. He wore them well. But his face was still the one that God gave him and, although it was mesmerizing, and indeed pleasing to me, it could never pass for handsome.
I wondered, as he stared back at me, if he also found me lacking, lesser somehow in flesh, than the memory. My fingers twisted themselves together, and I bit my lip as I looked down at the floor. I felt like I had in my first year, so desperate for approval that time had shown me would not come. I scrunched my eyes closed to stop my tears.
A light touch brought my chin up, and I was again looking up into his eyes. I had not heard him close the distance.
"You are well?" he asked, and I admit I sighed at the sound of his voice. What God passed over in his face, He made up for in his voice.
I saw his eyes soften ever so slightly at this and the hint of another expression, just there, for a fleeting instant. Hope. I realized in a flash that the element of fear caused by his entrance had given us the wrong dynamic. This dread lord, this man that had single-handedly taken control of the entire Ministry in a few months, had been so still because he was unsure of his welcome. God strike me for a fool; Severus Snape wasn't sure if he was wanted, and I had backed away in fear.
"Oh, Severus," I whispered. His face changed little, but there were traces of concern and fear still evident, and I knew I only saw them because he allowed it. I leaned up on my toes and kissed him. I wanted to kiss him properly he deserved it, but I choked at the last second, and my sad little kiss landed mostly on his cheek.
His arms came around me in a rush, and he pulled me up against his body, lifting me off my feet. His face was buried in my hair, and I wrapped my arms around him. I tried to make it feel welcoming, but it was more to keep myself from falling and taking him with me, so violent and awkward was the hug. He held me for a long time while I felt his shuddering breaths through the thick layers of his robes. He smelled so good. Eventually, he set me back on my feet but neither of us let go. My hands rubbed his back, and his kneaded at mine like a cat. I kept my cheek pressed to his shoulder, and he rubbed his in my hair. I felt a tentative, almost shy kiss on the top of my head and dug my hands into his back in response. He kissed my temple, and I ran my hands down his sides. He bent his head down and kissed my neck fiercely; I burst into flames and moaned. He leaned back to look into my eyes. He was panting like he had just run from Marathon, and his eyes burned me with their need. He looked possessed. I knew he would not ask. I knew if I backed away, he would shut it off completely as if it never was. He never would ask this of me. Even with his physical and emotional needs upon him so completely as to leave him looking almost demented, this man would never beg. So I did for him.
"I need you, Severus," I rasped. His eyes rolled up, and he growled as he bent down and swept me off my feet.
He carried me over to the bed as if I was no burden at all and laid me down upon it and then fell on me like a sudden storm, enveloping me completely. His lips were at my cheek, my temple, my eyes and my ear, while his hands, needy but gentle, raced along my body. I wriggled my legs to either side and cradled him between while my own hands flew up his back and threaded into his long hair. As he shifted down to plant wet kisses on my breasts, freed from my corset by tearing the laces apart, I pulled his hair up with both hands and scrubbed my face with it. I ground myself against his hardness, amazed at my own frenzy, and with a guttural growl, he reached down and cupped me. I cried out and started to twist against his palm.. He lifted up and looked down between my legs, pulling at my thong until it ripped off, resulting in some pain, which was easily ignored when his hands returned, caressing and probing.
"Where?" he asked. "Show me." His voice was husky, and I felt myself get even more wet.
My hands joined his, and I took his fingers and used them to circle my nub. I took his other hand and pushed two of his fingers inside. He groaned and pressed his erection against my boot-covered knee through his robes. I bent at the side to come closer and pushed his robes away to get at the fastenings of his trousers. I reached in and grabbed his length, so hot, so silky, and I began to stroke it until he cried out and reached up to still my hand. I held him tightly as he returned to his task, circling and rubbing while pumping his other hand in long smooth strokes. His cock slid out of my grip as he shifted back and dove down. His mouth made contact with my clit, and I screamed at the intensity of my feelings. This particular act had never brought me pleasure before, but I was completely undone now. He hummed his own pleasure, and the vibration made me squirm. His fingers slid out of me as his tongue took their place. He greedily lapped at my folds as his fingers returned to my clit. He was a very, very, quick study. The rhythm built up until I was mindless, chanting 'yes! almost!' over and over. He groaned long and loud, and I blew apart screaming his name. He continued to circle and stroke through my orgasm until it became rather uncomfortable. When I shifted away from his fingers, he scrambled up my body, stopping to try and suck an entire breast into his mouth before reaching down and placing his cock at my entrance and sliding in. He made me feel so complete, I think I started to weep.
"Oh, Hermione..." he gasped. His face fell forward until it was next to mine, cheek pressed against cheek as he pumped into me. Each thrust brought us to further heights and brought his nose closer to mine. As he pounded into me, seeking his release, his head turned seeking something else. Finally, I turned my head just the slightest and found his mouth, and our lips met for the first time. He keened, a desperate mewling sound of happiness as he gently pressed his lips to mine, and his arms wrapped around me. I pressed back and was so very pleased with myself that I did it right. His hips slowed down as his attention was taken up by the kisses he had wanted for so long. I opened my eyes to see his were closed, and I noticed for the first time how long and thick his lashes were. He reveled in the kisses, emotion was writ bold across his face. Feeling strong in myself, I opened my lips slightly and captured one of his and sucked on it gently. He whimpered. I ran my tongue across my captive, and his eyes flew open. Seeing the look of absolute need on his face, I opened my mouth fully, and his eyes fluttered shut as his tongue slid in. I felt his cock surge inside of me. This kiss was not a disgusting act to me, and I again felt my soul sing at the joy I could find with only this man. As our tongues danced, I thrust my hips up, and he renewed our pace. Our mouths broke apart as he started to grunt and growl. I could feel his impending release in the sudden increase in his size. He opened his eyes and looked straight into mine as his breathing became ragged, and I was consumed with one thought: 'Mine.' His eyes flew open even wider, and then his face crumpled into what looked so close to pain as he screamed out his final pleasure. He collapsed, shuddering, on top of me, but quickly lifted himself back up and loomed over me, his long hair falling to either side of our faces like a privacy curtain.
"Say it again," came his deep, hoarse voice, out of breath.
At first I didn't understand, and my face reflected as much.
"You said I was yours. Say it again, Hermione. I need to be yours, so very much." His face looked so earnest, a little boy asking for a gift.
I smiled; I hadn't realized I had said it out loud.
"Mine," I told him. "You are mine now, Severus Snape."
He leaned forward and gave me the sweetest of kisses before shifting to the side and gathering me up in his robes.
It was as I laid there, surrounded and protected by the warmth of this enigmatic man, that it hit me. I didn't say it aloud. Sneaky bastard. Harry had told me you needed your wand to perform Legilimens. I listened to the sounds of his quiet snoring and smiled.
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Latest 25 Reviews for The Princess of Gryffindor
597 Reviews | 6.94/10 Average
I agree with Mick42 in the sense that I don't like the Voldemort won/everyone's dead/Hermione's a whore stories. I avoid them like the plague. I decided to give this one a go based on the reviews. I was very, very skeptical. There were aspects to the writing that I didn't like, such as it being written in first person, but the memorial scene alone made it well worth the read. I may have shed a tear (or 10).
Wow...just wow. Now I know why all of these other reviewers have shed a tear. I am a mess. Still smiling tho'! Captivating read. Kudos!
Yay, all finished. It's been a while since I've read this, so I had forgotten a lot of the details in the ending chapters, but I still love it as much as I did the first time I read it. You have my in tears reading the end couple of chapters now, but that's terribly easy to do to a pregnant woman, so don't worry too much lol.
I just love Snape, have I ever mentioned that? I do. And it's stuff like this in stories- him vowing to protect Hermione- that make me love him even more..
This is one I've read before, on ffnet I think, but I have to read it here too, it just seems impossible not to reread your favorite stories when you come across them somewhere. The bonus is that you already know you love the story, even if you can't remember all the details between point A and A.D.
My dear Aurette,I have spent half of yesterday and all of today re-reading this unbelievable story. Half of the time, I've been a sobbing, sopping mess - when S&H were gathering forces and found people who were still alive, the whole Harry and Ron speaking to Hermione from the great beyond, the memorial scene (holy crap, talk about sobbing!), reuniting with Minerva's ghost, and the list goes on. I love the plot of the story. I love your numerous OCs. I love how the young DEs revolt. I love how forces from all sides join together to fight the Dark Lord. I love the romance between S&H. I love how utterly vulnerable he is to her, and she to him. I love how wizarding society hero-worships Snape in the end. I love So Many Things about this story. If my heart could take it, I'd start it all over again, but I really wasn't exaggerating when I said I was sobbing half the time I was reading. This might sound odd, but reading this today, US Memorial Day, just makes it seem even more poignant. But I do think it's honoring to RL sacrifices by reading about fictional ones. Thank you so much for this absolutely wonderful story, and for giving me such an enjoyable (if teary and snotty) way to spend my day off.Love,Christev
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
{{{hugs}}}What a beautiful thing to say. I am deeply touched and honored. Thank you, Christev.
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
{{{hugs}}}What a beautiful thing to say. I am deeply touched and honored. Thank you, Christev.
Heartbreaking and wonderful and worth rereading. Thank you for sharing this.
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
I'm so glad you enjoyed. ;-)
Just re-read this and had to mention: Best Epilogue Ever. Why couldn't you have given JK a few pointers? ;-p
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
LOL! She never asked... Thank you!
I've just flown through the last several chapters, held in thrall to this story! This is just genius, you know, starting at a place of total desolation - this terrible post-war dystopia - and taking all the elements from DH (the prophecy from Severus, the Hallows, even walking beside the dead and moving with them before returning to earth - thanks particularly for including Draco with the others), using them as they were meant to be used, finding another way of stopping Voldemort and reenvisioning a new world in the aftermath.
And I love seeing Snape marked as the Man Who Lived! And a father! And the Minister! (And that proposal? Mmm-hmm... clearly, he has caught on to everything Hermione's been teaching him!)
You strike such a great balance between comedy and high drama. It's such a pleasure to read.
Oh, Goyle. Goyles will be Goyles, I suppose!"I think you have just been metaphorically peed on." Oh, I love this line... particularly since Severus' possessiveness towards Hermione is such a strong part of his character (which is why his reluctant willingness to 'share' Hermione rather than lose her was SO terribly shocking).
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
Thank you! And I think, by his behavior in this chapter, you can see he tacitly took those words... back.
Response from ofankoma (Reviewer)
Oh, absolutely! That's what's so marvelous to see in this Snape. He acts impulsively so often, and then immediately knows that it's not what he really wanted, and is slowly learning to keep it all in check as he accepts the fact that she really loves him and that he's truly safe with her.
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
Hannah and Neville! Woo-hoo! (You can just feel the little triumphs along the way - things are getting brighter all the time!) And the lack of trust between all parties involved... yes, that feels completely, completely believable.(Also,I don't know that I've ever met an original character that I've liked, but Peaches is fantastic. Just fantastic. You make me change my mind on a lot of things, I think...)
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
I intentionally started this tale as dark as I could make it, and then slowly let the light in. Neville and Hannah were such a beacon of hope...
Ah, the trust between the two as they examine the girls! And her red robes... yes, I imagine Severus doesn't want Hermione in anything less than a high-necked robe in front of her old beau.
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
Trust is something they thought they had, but as you can see, they are both too emotionally unsophisticated to not end up with issues.
Whoa, whoa, whoa... Elder Goyle and Ma are two revelations here, aren't they? As for the former, it really makes me wonder (again and again) what Voldemort's plan was 'when' he won. Why cheat Death if you have nothing to live for? For someone as hypothetically long-sighted as he was (looking to an eternity of power and control over the wizarding world), he's remarkably short-sighted here (what do you do now that you've won?). You raise all sorts of fascinating questions here. And Ma, with the Veritaserum? Grand.
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
Ma was intended to just be a stock vilain, but she elbowed her way toward three dimentional. I was very happy with the way she worked out.
The robes! Wonderful, wonderful, all around, from Hermione's comfort in them and the note exchange.Charlie and Viktor? You're really getting things moving here, aren't you? Momentum. You're really a master with creating a momentum that just pulls a reader through the story. I don't mean just here, but everything I've read up til now - it's so well paced and unfolds so naturally. In case I haven't said this in a chapter or two, thanks so much for sharing this.
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
I was very attuned to the pacing of this tale. It was my very first mult-chaptered fic and getting the pacing down right was one of my primary concerns. Thank you so much for reviewing it!
Hooray! I love what you've done with Theo Nott. The second guessing and the regret shows how easy it was for misguided, then-ambivalent people to latch on to Voldemort's coat tails. (Cloak tails?) Very like Severus at that age, no?You're also hilarious, but I suspect you know that. "Conjure myself some decent clothes?" FABULOUS.
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
Exactly! I saw Theo as not being wildly different from young Snape, just perhaps a bit more entitled. I am so glad you liked this.
Wow. There are so many things I love, love, love in this chapter. First off, the relationship between Severus and the Malfoys. (Ach, and the horror of their deaths!) Next, Dumbledore's attitude. I, for one, have a tendency to vilify the man. Reading the repentance he shows here makes me rethink a lot of things about him. (So thank you for challenging me!) But you're right - we have a lot of evidence in DH that there are many unspoken things in his past that explain his present actions. And, of course, it's just a relief to see that he finally has someone to tell all this to, someone who will care for him and stand by him through it all. This is just wonderful, and I'm completely loving your writing and this story!
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
I also have a tendancy to vilify Dumbledore, but I know that was never JKR's intention, so every so often I try and reset my thinking. Then I backslide. lol.
There are so many reasons I love this story... wonderful narrative flow, seamless incorporation of canon devices (Hallows! Can't wait to see them in action!), a fresh perspective on the nature of evil in the Voldemort regime, a place to see regrets worked out and atoned for.But the single greatest reason why this is so fabulous is your clear vision of your characters. What we know of them from JKR is fleshed out so beautifully here, and it's not a happy-go-lucky, cleaned up and sanitized version of the very broken people we know (and love), but a hard look at the mistakes they make and how they learn together to move on and forgive one another in a much deeper understanding of who the other really is.
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
This chapter was my impetus for writing the whole fic. I wanted to get to this scene. Of course, once I did, I then had a Ministry to over throw... lol.
Oh, now that's interesting... incorporating the Hallows? I think this means we'll get to see some action from the Elder Wand (killing Voldemort?), the Resurrection Stone (Harry and Ron?), and the Invisibility Cloak (I have no idea on this one... it's useful in so many ways). I can't wait to see where they lead!
Severus' thoughts on the ambition of Voldemort five years out are interesting... it certainly does make you wonder - what would Tom have done had he won? Did he have a plan in place? I mean, the fear of ignominious death aside, what was really motivating his actions? What did he envision for the Wizarding world?
There's much that I enjoy in this chapter... the way they recognize each other as being, really, the only people left on earth (that we know of so far) who can really see one another is fantastic. Antarctica banter with penguins! 'Whoever had broken this man deserved to burn in hell.'What I found myself wishing I had here was Hermione's musings on her own sexual history. Was she a virgin before she was enslaved here? I found I wanted this when she first talked about her position as a whore with Snape as well... I just want it sometime. (Maybe it's coming up later? We'll see!) There seems to be space for her to say that she's still a virgin (so to speak) with a great deal of this as well. And defend her innocence. Since she never kissed Ron in the final battle (AU breaks off earlier here, right?), has she even been kissed?
Response from ofankoma (Reviewer)
(Because Severus very well may be right in trying to stop her... for her own peace of mind, certainly, and for the fact that she's been traumatised for years there. Another sexual experience now may not be helpful on the road to recovery, and he'd certainly be remiss if he didn't know the situation before letting her have her way with him...)
The harpsichord? That's hilarious. Does she tune it herself, as well? All the descriptions of this place add up to a bizarre, depressing, garish nightmare. It's like everyone tossed in their leftovers and out popped a brother, or several people's lives just vomited out all their extras on the (Voldemort-run) street.
Ah, Draco. I'm sad to hear he's lost. I have a soft spot for him as one of the people who gave Severus a will to go on in HBP and DH. I would have liked seeing your Snape deal with him.
That last long paragraph on the enigma of Snape? Spot on. It sums up why he's such a fascinating character in canon: powerful and powerless, beautiful and ugly, lauded and humiliated. The ambiguity of him is so rich, and not in the Dumbledore 'we sort too soon' sort of way, claiming that he's truly a Gryffindor at heart merely because he's on the side of good.
As to protection, well, that's another one of the strongest themes attached to him in canon, isn't it? He's constantly fighting to protect people - even people he despises -and he prepares them all to do the same. Your Hermione's a lucky girl...
Well done, you.
Hmm... "I, too, practice self-denial?" I think he might practice a few kinds of denial here, since he did just move to kiss her. (Of course, perhaps poor Severus doesn't know any better. He missed out on the 'What not to do whilst visiting a whorehouse' lesson in finishing school.) I greatly appreciate a post-DH Snape who doesn't know what to do with a woman... after all, when you poke around in canon, it seems fairly obvious that his social calendar was empty.
I also enjoy the dynamic you're setting up between Hermione and Peaches, the latter of whom is clearly in control of her own destiny in a way that Hermione just isn't... yet.
And...Harry and Ron? What?!?
Oh, gravy! Lime-green peignoirs and silver mules? This is a high class establishment poor Hermione's stuck in. (Although the lime-green clothing is oddly reminiscent of St. Mungo's...)
I love a phrase like "She floated in like a frigate in full sail." Really, the oppressing shabbiness of the place is overwhelming. I'm so very wary of new characters, so I'm really hoping I will like yours... Peaches, maybe yes? Ma, maybe no. Unless we do know Ma or Angel already and they're just under aliases like the Princess?
Drinking Cocoa enticed me back here to revisit this wonderful, deep, rich tale once again, when I should be doing my own writing and in other ways getting the heap of papers on my desk cleared and sorted (not to mention getting to bed at a decent hour). But, no, I had to swallow this beautiful work whole once again, rediscovering all its complexities and marvels, emotions and heatbreak, fascinations and intricacies. And it is now nearly 2am, and I can at last climb into my solitary little bed, wrapped in the warmth of some quite satisfying and delicious writing. Thank you.
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
I thank you, truly, for your revisiting this story. Nothing is more satisfying than knowing it is apreciated on a second reading as well. :-)
I give it five years before Brilliant figures out how to spell that journal open and gets the shock of her young life hahahaha.
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
LOL! Oh, that would be Brilliant! You need to write that fic!
Response from StarryEyedNoOne (Reviewer)
I haven't wrote HP fanfic since I was the age of a first year lol. I pray to any diety that's listening that NONE of it is still floating aroung out there. :-\
Response from Aurette (Author of The Princess of Gryffindor)
LOL! I understand. I once read that if you aren't embarrased by something you wrote a year ago, you are no longer growing as a writer. Hell, I get embarrassed over things I wrote last week...