Chapter Nine: Woman: Unveiled
Chapter 9 of 41
sunny33The exhibition and its effects.
ReviewedDisclaimer: The characters and settings belong to JKR. I just torment them for fun.
Chapter Nine: Woman: Unveiled
The truth was oddly liberating. Hermione told her mother almost everything, skimming over some of the more personal details.
"This professor, isn't he the unpleasant one you always used to complain about?"
"He was... he is... but that's the problem. I can't see him like that anymore. Not now I've got to know him. He's... different."
"You've found the man behind the mask, dear. Teachers are human too; it's just we rarely have a chance to find that out while we're still their students. Didn't you tell me he'd played a huge part in ending that dreadful war?"
"He did. He was amazing. The sacrifices he made to ensure our safety... and all the while we denigrated him and cried unfair. We were awful really."
"You didn't know at the time. I hope you're all treating him with more respect now."
"I've always treated him with respect, Mum, but I still feel guilty about how much I disliked him. That's why I was so confused at first. I was mixing up all the old feelings of fear and dislike and suspicion and couldn't let go of the past. I also knew I had to go back to school and sit in his class, knowing he was Sidney, knowing I had posed naked for him, knowing he had allowed me to see him at his most vulnerable."
Jean watched the emotions play across her daughter's face. "If you felt that way, why did you keep writing to him?"
Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. His first letter was so very formal. After all the things he had said, I just wanted to find out if he still felt the same way, or if it was just the situation at the time."
"You said the letters became more suggestive and flirty. He didn't do anything inappropriate while you were modelling for him?"
"No, Mum. Like I said, he became aroused during the last two paintings but felt really embarrassed by it, and that was why he ended the sessions early and finished them alone. He didn't want to act on his feelings. He's twenty years older and believed I was a Muggle."
"Does his age bother you, love?" Jean's voice was gentle, non-judgemental.
Hermione looked up from her study of the carpet. "I should be asking you that question, Mum."
Her mother smiled and took her hand. "I understand better than you might think. I've never told you the story of my first relationship, have I?"
"Before you met Dad, you mean?"
"Years before. I was a second-year student at university. My pharmacology lecturer was in his mid-thirties, a brilliant but unpopular man with a reputation for reducing female students to tears and avoiding faculty social events." Her face softened as her memories travelled back down the years. "One day I approached him after the lecture to ask a question. At first, he was monosyllabic, but I persisted, and eventually he relented and allowed me, a second-year, to converse with him. After that, I spoke with him at the end of each lecture, and soon it was coffees at a discreet café."
Hermione giggled as she realised where her mother was heading. "You didn't?"
"I did. I fell head over heels for Paul. He was my first, and only, grand passion. It took months, but eventually he succumbed to my charms and took me home to his flat." She sighed. "It was wonderful. We spent all our spare time in bed making love and talking about our hopes and dreams for the future. I cherished the fact that, of all my friends, I alone knew the real man inside."
"So, what happened?"
"The end of the year happened. I went home to my parents' home for the summer, and while I was away Paul was offered a professorship at a prestigious university in the United States."
"And he just left you?"
"No, he wrote, asking me to go with him, but I was away in France with my parents and didn't get the letter until it was too late. He had gone."
"Mum! You should have followed him."
"I seriously considered it, but I was afraid. Afraid our feelings weren't real. Afraid I would upend my entire life and go to him to find it was only about sex. You see, we had never talked about love. I had no idea what he felt for me. So I never replied to his letter. To this day, I still wonder what happened to him."
Hermione felt a tear slip from her eye. "Did you ever look him up? And what about Dad?"
Jean smiled. "No. I decided a long time ago the past should stay in the past. And your father was the best thing to happen to me. I met him some years later, and his kindness and sense of humour and gentle nature wound its way into my heart before I knew. He was, and still is, the right man for me, and I've not regretted for one minute becoming his wife, but I don't regret the time I spent with Paul either."
Hugging her mother, Hermione sighed. "Oh, Mum. What shall I do?"
"I can't answer that, love. You need to decide if and when you tell him who you really are, and if anything happens tonight, know I understand. I allowed Paul to slip out of my life because of fear. You and Sidney... Severus... have been through so much over the last few years. Don't allow your fight for freedom to go to waste. Even if it doesn't work out, the journey will be worth it."
***
Hermione stood outside the door to the studio, twisting her hands together as she tried to calm her nerves. The last time she had seen Sidney Reilly, he had sent her away. Had he really changed his mind?
Opening the door, she let herself in. "Hello! Sidney!"
A soft gasp behind her alerted her to his presence. She turned to find him standing just inside the door, rigid and silent. "Oh, there you are."
Snape closed his eyes briefly, then re-opened them, meeting her blue gaze. "Grace," he whispered.
"Sidney, what's wrong?" Hermione took the few steps that separated them and grasped his arms. "Are you all right?" Oh, Merlin, he's regretting those letters already.
He shook his head, then nodded and met her eyes again, pupils dilated with arousal. "It's... I'm... You look..."
"Sidney?"
"Dammit, woman. How can you do this to me?" He glanced down at himself. "Even when you're fully dressed. Although I have to ask whether you're actually wearing anything under that."
Hermione's smile bathed Snape in its warmth. He's definitely still interested. Very much so, judging by the state of his trousers. I wonder if I dare...
Reaching up, she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, retreating before he could react. "Hi. It's good to see you, too. And a lady never tells."
His answering groan sent a shiver down her spine. I can do this. He's the man I want.
"I think we should go before I do something I might regret. Our ride is waiting outside."
Taking her arm, Snape escorted her to the taxi, then returned to lock up the studio. The trip to the exhibition was surprisingly short; only two or three miles separated the shopping centre where the studio was situated from the sophisticated art gallery in the midst of the city nightlife. During the ride he had remained silent, simply watching her as they sat in the back of the taxi, thighs tingling where they nearly touched.
"I don't know if I can do this." Another attack of nerves assailed Hermione as she stepped out of the car and saw the number of people milling around outside and within the gallery.
"Do what?"
"Go inside. I've just realised all those people in there will know what I look like naked."
Snape smirked. "But I'm the only one who has been lucky enough to see the real thing. Or unlucky, perhaps." He looked down at his straining trousers with a rueful grin. "Stand in front of me, will you? I need a moment."
You need a moment? I take one look at the effect I have on you, and I feel all weak at the knees, Severus Snape! Laughing, Hermione stepped aside, leaving him to his battle with self-control.
"Heartless woman. I'll remember that." He caught up with her at the door and swept it open with a bow. "Allow me."
The foyer of the gallery was classic in its simplicity. Plain white walls and a black granite floor were strategically lit to highlight the three charcoal-on-canvas sketches propped unframed on easels just inside the entrance. A large poster on the wall behind simply announced: Woman, Unveiled. A Collection of Works by Sidney Reilly.
In the gallery proper, Snape's paintings had been arranged as planned with a variety of presentations. There were more sketches, several Hermione had never seen before, some paintings mounted on block and others framed.
"When did you do these?" she asked as she studied a simple sketch of her face in repose.
Snape flushed a little. "After you had left, from memory."
"They're amazing. You've captured me so well, even the stupid way I bite my lip when I'm thinking." That is definitely a habit I need to break.
Before they had a chance to see any more, a tall, good-looking man of around forty approached them.
"Well, well, this must be your lovely model, Sidney." He took Hermione's hand in his and brushed his lips across her knuckles. "Delighted to meet you at last, my dear. My name is Standish, William Standish. We must get together and chat soon. Don't allow Sidney here to monopolise you all night. He's had you all to himself for far too long." Seeing another familiar face in the crowd, Standish made his excuses and moved on, leaving a thin-lipped Snape and a bemused girl behind him.
Hermione reached out and squeezed Snape's hand as Standish left, seeing the tension drain visibly from his shoulders. "You'd think he was the one who had seen me stripped naked from the expression on your face, Sidney."
"He's rich, successful, and charming."
"So. He's also not my type." She looked up at him and smiled.
"You have a type?"
"Yes. Brooding, artistic, and passionate." She pulled on his arm. "Come on; I want to see the rest of the paintings."
Walking around the gallery, Hermione was once again entranced by Snape's talent with his brush and pencil. Each work breathed life, as if he had poured his heart and soul into its creation. The paintings and sketches of her hands were exquisite in their detailing of the tiny creases around her knuckles, and his brutally honest depiction of her less than generous breasts warmed her heart when she realised it was another he had painted from memory.
"These are brilliant," Hermione told him, reaching for his hand again. Feeling the warmth and rightness of Snape's fingers entwined with hers distracted her as they wove through the crowd amassed before the final two paintings. Glancing back at him, trailing just behind, she noticed a trace of anxiety in his eyes as he stared above her head to the canvas before her. Only then did she realise the people beside her stood silently, watching the two newcomers.
Her brow furrowed a little as she looked at the painting they had gathered to view.
It was magnificent.
Snape had managed to imbue the canvas and oils with a quality of richness and vibrancy which reached out and caught the viewer in its spell. For a moment, Hermione wondered whether he had used his magic. There she was, Hermione Granger, or Grace Henman at least, dewy-eyed and innocent, with skin like creamy silk and sweet curves of promise, and at the same time lush and enticing, every man's temptation, every man's downfall.
"Did I really look like that?" she asked Snape, convinced he had taken liberties with his brushes.
"To me you did. You do," he replied, his syllables caressing her self-esteem.
Further conversation was forestalled by the rush of congratulatory handshakes and comments directed at the artist himself. With an apologetic twist of his lips, he turned to accept the praise and toasting from Muggles he had rarely allowed from the lips of his fellow wizards. Nodding her understanding, Hermione moved away to examine the painting which had left Severus Snape's iron control in shards of self-recrimination.
Oh, Merlin, I never realised just how intimate that pose was. No wonder he was suffering so much. And he's managed to convey how damned moist I was. Every bloody person here can tell I was turned on while he painted that. Bastard!
Still, it really is a beautiful work and completes the collection perfectly. Just let the gods ensure no-one I know ever sees it. Even if they didn't know it was me, I'd know.
I wonder if it's normal to feel so turned on by the sight of my own naked body. Or maybe it's the knowledge that Sidney, no, Snape, dammit, was so aroused while he was creating it.
And now, judging by the way he's holding that program in front of his groin. That'll teach you to look at that painting in public, my dear Severus. Shall I go and rescue him or leave him to suffer for a little longer?
"Grace, please!"
"Problem, Sidney?" She slid in front of him, deliberately nestling her bottom into the hardness he could not control.
"Must you? It's hard enough to hide as it is."
"Mmm. I can tell." She wriggled slightly, drawing a smothered groan from the man behind her.
"You're an evil woman. I don't know what I ever saw in you." Snape refrained from moving away, despite his protests.
"Oh, I think everyone here has a fairly good idea."
Snape leaned forward, allowing his lips to brush her earlobe, setting off a delicious heat which coursed through her body. Voice low and throaty, he said, "We need to talk. In private."
Hermione spun around and met black eyes glittering with desire and hope and so much more. "I thought you'd never ask. The studio?"
He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. "Now... please."
***
A/N: This was written for the TPP Every Flavour Auction for shalimar1981. Many thanks to karelia for the beta work.
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Latest 25 Reviews for Limited Exposure
1604 Reviews | 6.58/10 Average
This is one of my favorite SSHG stories ever <3 brilliantly done
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Thank you! :D
Loved the whole story. Lots of fun!
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Thanks. :)
"And today, you’re as jumpy as a unicorn around Pansy Parkinson." Love it.
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
;)
That was a great read, and I've recced this story on the One Bad Man comm over on LJ. I hope that some more readers will experience the pleasure of this story that way!
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Thank you for reading, reviewing, and reccing! :D
Excellent!!
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Thanks! :)
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Thanks! :)
I think Blaise Zabini bought Hermione's pictures.
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Read on, MacDuff! :)
I thought it sounded like a good idea. Severus may need a body double for a pregnant Hermione or they could use polyjuice from a pregnant woman. Would that work? I know she wouldn't be pregnant, but would she look pregnant? The breasts change with pregnancy and he is all about the breasts. If he does the early pregnancy painting before a woman is completely miserable, maybe Hermione could just stick out her tummy. The 1st baby I didn't show for 5 months. Only my breasts got slightly larger. She could be looking in the mirror and imagining herself as a mother with a baby at her breast. Please tell me they won't have children this soon. Studies in the US show that people without children are happier than adults that have childern. At least if they stay at Hogwarts there are probably house elfs lined up around the block for the chance to take care of their baby while they work.
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Don't panic, Hermione has her own opinions on that idea! :)
I do like the fact that most of the other characters beside H and S are very astute and aren't missing much when it comes to the couple in question. In most other stories the other characters aside from possibly Ginny and maybe Harry seem to be mostly cluelss, but we all go along with it because it fits the needs of the story. I'm afraid to find out what Minerva has discovered.
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Most of them are pretty smart people who know these too well. Of course they'd figure it out. :)
Please let Minerva be understanding. Sorry. I have to get on to the next chapter!
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
:)
Dear Severus, Blaise knows about us and he is in love with me so he had been providing a shoulder for me to cry on, because I've been crying a lot. He has been trying to help me work things out with you. He's very supportive and noble. In case you've been listening to gossip, I'm not shagging Blaise. I'm sure you are above listening to gossip started by Ronnald Weasley. That burk has no idea what really I do in my private life, otherwise he wouldn't be spreading untrue gossip would he. He saw Blaise comforting me and jumped to the wrong conclusion. Wouldn't it be awful to be like Ronnald Weasley?
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Hehe!! :D
WTF!!! I guess I'll find out who that was soon enough. I hope it was Ginny. That would take care of that little problem. Severus wouldn't open her door without knocking, I think. Blaise is too good. What would Severus do if he thought Hermione was spending her free time laying on her bed with Blaise? Would he be jelous or would he nurture it and use it to rationalize a reason for dumping her and hating her? Does he really expect Hermione to leave him be? Can't they just agree to wait until the end of school? They are adults after all. Hermione would protest but it would be the best thing to do in the long run. But then again, where would be the fun in that? Are Christmas Hols coming up? Two weeks at the studio would be nice.
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
LOL wouldn't be much of a story if they did the mature thing and waited. ;)
Not the response I was hoping for when he figured it out. What will you do with Blaise? Just as there is no one like Severus Snape, there aren't other girls like HG running around the school. He might like Ginny if he knew her better. Maybe Luna? She is definitely an unique individual. I've been too enthralled wanting to get to the next chapter to leave reviews, but I want to tell you that this is awesome!
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Thanks. :)
Is she going to tell her mom the real truth? She seems like someone she could tell the truth to. She is a lot like my mom. Maybe her mom can talk some sense into her about continuing to deceive Severus.
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Her mum's pretty open. :)
That silly girl. Is she trying to torture him by continuing to stir this up? Her stream of consciousness ramblings indicate she has no intention of letting Severus discover she is Grace, yet she plays with fire. I suppose that because she is more naive than any 19 year old would realize they are, she doesn't realize how cruel this is if she doesn't plan to have a relationship with him but only plans to lead him on for her own titillation. Does she plan to live a double life? Hermione Granger during the week and Grace Henman on the weekends? The more she draws this out the more deceived he is going to feel when he realizes he's been tricked. She isn't a stupid girl and she must know this deep inside. Now he knows she returns his feelings. What is he supposed to do with that information? This is going to get bad before it gets better I fear. I feel the most concerned for Severus who has more to lose. He would have let this lay if she hadn't egged him on. He didn't pursue her because he didn't want to be hurt. He felt it was inappropriate but aslo that she would never be interested in him because of his age. He isn't looking for a booty call. Has she thought that he might be interested in more than sex? Now that she has gotten his hopes up what does she plan to do about it? Has she thought it through that far? Again I ask, has she thought this through?
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Of course not. She's nineteen. She knows she wants him but hasn't really thought beyond the moment. You know what they are like at that age! :)
It's too bad Severus feels he still has to be a git. I know potions is dangerous, but I'm sure he could get the NEWT students to cooperate without being mean.
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Not sure he knows any other way to behave. :)
Well, I've been thinking about how brave Hermione is. She has been nothing but professional. I admire her. I am a femenist, but I don't think I could have been that relaxed in her situation. It is unusual to find a young woman that is so comfortable with her own body and isn't recriminating herself for imagined flaws for one thing. She doesn't feel super sexy but she also doesn't feel embarrassed about any of her features. I suppose I wouldn't be able to pose like that without feeling at least as aroused as she did. She did have the knowledge of the truth to keep her from getting carried away. On the other hand, Severus was very hard on himself but he didn't judge her for feeling aroused too. What a gentleman. I am feeling very sorry for Severus. He is so sensitive. He's got it bad for Hermione and she's only "just interested" in comparison. She is young and has never really been in love yet. She doesn't know what a broken heart is yet. I've heard it said that women fall in love easier, but men fall in love harder. I suppose one could say he is only sexually interested in her but we know he wouldn't be aroused if he didn't truely like her for herself. Female Death Eaters didn't have the same affect on him. And what do you expect a normal red blooded male to do when a beutiful and aroused teenaged woman is willing to lay there with her legs spread for you for hours while you examine her every nuance', realising she is aroused because she is showing her lady parts to you. How sad for him to have her treat him so causally kind and truely proffesionally, to be honest. It must make him feel like he's just a harmless old man, and maybe even as if he was a trusted harmless old favorite uncle that paints lots of nude women and figure that she could never imagine him as a sexual creature even when she knows he desires her. Because while he could tell she was obviously aroused, I'm certain he didn't immagine it was due to the fact that she was thinking sexy thoughts of him. Hermione acted completely professionally. How was she to know he would develope feeling for her. I sense that this will get worse before it gets better, but I'm comforted by the hope that you will help them work this out and they will be whole in the end and a happy couple.
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
It's sort of like biting off more than you can chew, isn't it? Neither of them really knew what they were getting into, but are trying as hard as possible not to ruin the hard work they have done so far by given in to their physical responses. :)
This story reminds me. About 16 years ago I went to the Musee d'Orsay in Paris with a friend. We thought we had seen everything there until we were leaving and I saw the postcard for the L'orignine Du Monde. I was like, "Hey Kathy! Hold on! Look at this! We've obviously missed a section somewhere because I'm sure we haven't seen this yet! My eyes had landed on it immediately like a magnet as I scanned the stand. 
I wonder how many people actually buy that postcard? I personally prefer my postcard of the statue of David for unreligious reasons. He has such large hands. I love large hands on a man. 
Which reminds me again! Later at the Louvre, we were down by the mummies. The underwire in my bra had broken through the fabric. I just couldn't bare it jabbing me between my breasts anymore, coupled with my painful feet from walking all over the city. So, I reached into the top of my sweater and pulled and struggled and pulled and wrestled it somemore, as I tried to get the wire out of my bra. There was an older woman resting in a chair by the wall. She was looking at me in horror as if I was about to pull a bomb out of my bra and blow the whole place up! Finally, I got the wire out and looked at her as I pulled it out of the top of my sweater holding it up. Her face and eyes lit up in a friendly smile of comradery as she nodded her head sagely and said, "Ahhhhh!" I saved that underwire with all of my other Paris mementos. Apparently broken underwires transcend the language barrier. 
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Love it. Every woman can understand that pain!
Very lovely!!!! 
Can't wizards feel the magic signature of another magical person when they are together? I wonder if he stares at her long enough he will notice she is wearing a glamour? I don't know how they work in this story, but it seems in other stories they can be detected by the trained eye, and if anyone has a trained eye it is Severus Snape. I suppose we see what we expect to see and he isn't expecting to be deceived. 
I wonder how long Hermione can keep up the charade? I'm a little surprised he didn't recognize her voice when she was on her feminist rant. Maybe he has never really listened to her because she annoyed him so much. 
If she pulls this off for the holiday, I can't imagine he won't become suspicious after school starts. After watching her for so long he will have to notice the similarities of voice, scent, hand gestures and facial expressions when he see's her in class. What if he falls in love or infatuation with his model? During breaks he will surely find out what an intelligent woman she is and find her interesting. That could be good or very bad depending on how he takes it when he finds out who she really is. What a tangle that will be. 
Ha! I had no idea this would be bringing up the feminist cause when I went on my own rant in the last review!
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Just pretend for the sake of the story that he can only see a magical signature if he actually looks for it. He sees what he expects... a Muggle. ;)
Great stream of consciousness monologue! Yey for the hippies! My mom was a hippie. Bodies are just natural. Handy for the breastfeeding lady except when people are offended at mums breastfeeding in public and mistakenly say something in my presence and I have to climb up on my feminist soap box. I have to climb because I'm quite short, but once I'm up there I am very passionate. People who can't look at a breastfeeding baby without sexualizing it makes me very uncomfortable and I don't think they should be allowed to do that in public. It totally grosses me out! Strange. The young women that are my colleagues at work don't understand feminism. Why did they become lactation consultants and childbirth educators? Will Hermione tell him who she is or not? I am going with "not" for the time being.
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Totally agree about breastfeeding. It's perfectly natural and if people don't like it they don't have to look. Prats. :)
This end of this chapter had me in in fits of little school girl giggles hehe. Can't to see the real reactions to that scene!
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
LOL Thanks. :D
Response from Duchess_Of_Arcadia (Reviewer)
Yeah I wrote that review very late haha not my best typing skills lol, I've finished the whole story now and I just loved it, well done :)
Dear sunny33,
I am writing to inform you that you've been nominated for the following category for the Fall-Winter 2013 Round of The HP Fanfic Fan Poll Awards (hpfanficfanpoll . livejournal . com):
SHIP: SNAPE X HERMIONE
CATEGORY: BEST ROMANCE for "Limited Exposure"
You need not take any other action at this time, unless you would like to reject the nomination. In that case, please contact us and we'll remove the nomination and contact the person who nominated you to let them know your decision.
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The nominations period ends on October 28, 2013.
The voting period will commence on November 1, 2013 and close on December 31, 2013 (that gives two full months to read and consider the nominated fics).
Our awards ceremony is open to the public to vote, and we encourage you to ask your friends/family to participate. We will tally up all votes and announce winners on or before January 10, 2014. Please check back then to see if your stories placed, or add us as a FRIEND on Livejournal so you can get emails when that list is broadcast on our blog. Banners for your nominations/placements will be available at that time, too.
Congratulations on your nomination!
Sincerely,
Melissa, The HP Fanfic Fan Poll Awards Moderator
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Thank you. :D
I've thoroughly enjoyed this. I remember reading this when it first started to post and I'm so happy to see it completed now. I meant to stop inbetween to leave reviews, but I was to eager to see what happens next.There are so many things to love here: the relationship between Severus and Hermione, Snape the painter (and I can see him so well pouring all his pent-up emotions into his art over the years), the friendship between Hermione and Blaise, the relationship between Draco and Neville...I had to grin when Kingsley turned out to have a wife after all - apearances can be deceptive ;)Very delightful tale with a lovely happy ending for all!
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
LOL Some me ARE just well groomed. Thanks for stopping by to review! :)
nooooooooo! i'm not ready for it to end! any next generation of their children fics u are thinking of?
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
I don't do next gen fics. I'll let others take that on.:)
love the argus kiss and his inclusion and pride in his hobby!
Response from sunny33 (Author of Limited Exposure)
Thank you. :)