Three

JKR's, not mine.

Many thanks to pyjamapants for the beta.

At that moment, the flames in the fireplace turned green.

Out of habit, Hermione tensed for a second, her hand twitching to where she usually kept her wand until she remembered that the number of people who had Floo access to Malfoy Manor was extremely limited.

An irate Potions master stepped out of the fireplace, brushing a speck of soot off his robes with so much force that a few sparks followed in its wake. 'She ordered me out,' he huffed.

Hermione and Lucius shared a quick look.

'Who did?' Hermione asked, keeping her voice carefully neutral.

A dark glare turned her way. 'The Headmistress. Mangy bundle of fur.'

'Ah.' Hermione decided not to comment on the fact that he had turned up at the manor rather than going to his own house at Spinner's End.

Around the place were Severus was standing, the air crackled with magic, causing the holly garland around the mantelpiece to burst into flames. The house-elf who had just come in, shrieked, dropped a plate of mince pies and disappeared with a bang.

Lucius frowned. 'I thank you not to scare my elves witless. I, for one, would like my Christmas dinner tomorrow not burnt or spoilt by a frightened elf.'

Severus quickly restored the holly garland to its original state with a wave of his hand. 'Sorry,' he muttered.

'It's all right. What happened?' Lucius asked.

'Minerva. She threw me out. She phrased it a bit differently, nattering on about how I really deserved a few days off and so on. She threatened to use force if I didn't go.' Severus remained standing stiffly where he was, but at least the crackling magical energy around him had stopped.

'Poor thing.' Hermione walked over to him and drew him into an embrace.

His eyes had narrowed at her words, and his posture remained rigid, but when she started to run her hands up and down his back, she felt the tension begin to ease out of him slowly. She touched her lips to his. Tenderly. Carefully. Until he started to respond.

They stopped kissing, and she rested her forehead against his. 'Are you hungry?' she whispered.

'No, all I really want is a bath and sleep,' Severus said, his voice low.

'That can be arranged,' Lucius said from behind them. 'Come.'

~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus closed his eyes and leant his head against the rim of the bathtub. Warm water surrounded him, smelling pleasant. Lavender, sandalwood, and a hint of orange, his nose informed him. In a second he would pick up the sponge, right after he'd catalogued the properties of the oils. Lavender for relaxation, sandalwood for…

His eyes snapped open again when he heard the door open and close. The water had grown tepid. Odd. He'd just closed his eyes for a minute. The water became warm again, and a voice whispered into his ear. 'I think you fell asleep.'

'I wasn't asleep,' he protested. 'I merely rested my eyes for a bit.'

'Of course.'

Severus felt the sponge running over his neck and shoulders, followed by small kisses, then he felt Hermione gliding in behind him, the tub obligingly elongating itself to make room for her. She continued to wash him: collarbones, upper arms, torso, lower arms, his hands. All the attention she lavished on him made him wriggle. After all, he was perfectly capable of washing himself.

'Relax,' Hermione admonished him, soothing her order with more kisses on his neck. He could feel her arm sneaking around his middle, the sponge now gliding over his stomach, hips and thighs, when the door opened again.

'Let me help with this,' Lucius said, and with a practised move, his dressing gown—dark grey silk—slid from his shoulders.

He knelt in front of Severus—the bathtub had happily accommodated him as well—conjured a second sponge and proceeded where Hermione had left off: thighs, knees, lower legs, feet while Hermione started anew at this shoulders.

Severus didn't know whether he wanted to jump out of the tub and run or stay and close his eyes again and let the other two indulge him. His problem solved itself when Lucius lifted one of Severus's legs out of the water and started to kiss along his calves. A little moan escaped Severus, and he forgot all thoughts about getting out of the tub as another part of his body expressed definite enthusiasm about the proceedings. Hermione pulled him back against her warm, soft body and proceeded to pepper his neck, shoulders and face with little kisses. With a sigh, he closed his eyes again. It didn't matter whose mouth kissed him where or whose hand it was that eventually closed around his cock. What did matter were the strokes: slow at first, and then faster, the hand around him tightening a little bit until all was warmth and light.

Later, as he lay in bed, snuggled between his lovers, his head on Hermione's shoulder and Lucius spooned behind him, his glance fell briefly on the window. Outside, snow was still falling. Severus burrowed deeper underneath their duvet and drifted away into sleep.