Chapter Twenty-six: Conversations with the Headmistress

Disclaimer: The characters and settings belong to J K Rowling. I make no money from playing with them.

Chapter Twenty-six: Conversations with the Headmistress

The chilly halls of Hogwarts were dark and silent early on Saturday morning as the castle and its occupants slept. All but two, one under a Disillusionment spell, creeping towards the dungeons with her breathing too loud in her ears, and the other gasping her name as he spent once again on cold, lonely sheets.

A Silencing Charm ensured Elizabeth Burke would not raise any alarm should she notice the envelope being slipped under the door she guarded. Having delivered the gift, complete with detailed instructions, Hermione returned to the warmth of her bed, confident she would be seeing the recipient before the end of the day.

Snape noticed the envelope as soon as he walked into his sitting room. There it lay, seemingly innocuous, inviting him to investigate. Ever cautious, Snape used several charms to check for foul play before bending to pick up the envelope. Turning it over in his hand, he recognised the handwriting on the front and smiled.

Happy Birthday!

All my love, H.

Expecting to find only a card, Snape's eyebrows lifted in surprise when he reached into the envelope and discovered a sheet of parchment and a gaily striped parcel.

Clever witch. I don't suppose she learned that trick from Filius's classes.

The wrapping parted to reveal two medium-sized bottles with purple and gold labels and a scrap of gold silk with a drawstring and two long ties.

The bag seems very feminine. What was the girl thinking? He opened the lids of the bottles and put his experienced nose to use.

At least they're useful. Now the parchment. Hopefully this will explain the reason for the bag.

She can't be serious. It's a what?

Oh, fuck. She'll be the death of me yet. I'll never last the day.

Returning to his bedroom to comply with the instructions he had been given, Snape placed the two bottles beside his bed. "I'll be needing you later."

***

Hermione paid little attention to the conversation at the Gryffindor table as Snape's chair at the top table remained resolutely empty. Huffing her disappointment, she had turned to talk to Ginny when the redhead hissed a warning.

"He's here. And he's walking oddly. Do you think...?"

Turning her head slowly, Hermione watched a slightly flushed Severus Snape ease himself into his seat with a grimace. "Looks like it." She smiled and raised her glass to the now poker-faced professor. His slight nod would have been imperceptible to anyone watching.

Up at the staff table, Snape reached for the bacon, all too aware of every movement; the flimsy silk caressing his rigid cock and cupping his balls in an exquisite embrace. The added sensation of cold air drifting up to buttocks bare under his robes only served to enhance the experience, and the hungry gaze of the witch at the Gryffindor table increased it tenfold.

Nothing under my robes but the pouch, she said. Does she want me to come all over it before breakfast is finished? I must get her alone soon, or I'll..."

"Everything all right, Severus? You look a little restless." Rolanda Hooch nudged him when she reached for the teapot.

A glare sufficed to quell her curiosity as Snape once again shifted in his seat, feeling the silk already dampening from the weight of the robes dragging over his sensitive flesh.

Forcing a few mouthfuls into his stomach, Snape groaned silently with every tiny movement, finally pushing back his seat, sweeping his robes across the front of his body, and stalking out of the staff door behind the table.

A mumbled apology and an excuse involving Arithmancy equations sufficed to allow Hermione leave from her fellow students as she followed Snape's example and left the Great Hall. Glancing up and down the corridor, she could see no sign of the Potions professor and with a sigh headed for her room.

"Not so fast, young lady." His growl tingled down her spine, and a hand encircled her waist, drawing her into a dark side corridor. "See what you've done to me, witch."

One hand was pinned to the wall above her head, then the other was pulled under his robes to be placed over a straining erection confined only by moist, thin silk. Hermione inhaled his heat and desperation as he ground his arousal into her palm with a shudder. Before he had an opportunity to protest, she slipped from his grasp and spun him so their positions were reversed. Wrapping her fingers around his length, she stroked up and down, dragging a gasp of pleasure from Snape.

"I take it you're enjoying your present."

"It's torture." He closed his eyes and let his head fell back against the wall. "Pure torture."

Hermione watched his face as she cupped his sac and squeezed gently.

"Oh, fuck!"

"Such language, Professor. You should be ashamed of yourself."

He managed to open one eye and scowl at her grin. "Ten points from..."

Moving her hand faster, she captured his lips with her own and swallowed his cries of release when he came undone in her palm.

"Better?"

Not giving him time to recover his ability to speak, Hermione kissed him once more. "Happy birthday, Severus. I love you."

With a swirl of her robes worthy of the boneless wizard slumped against the wall, Hermione disappeared around the corner.

***

"Severus?"

The familiar tones of the headmistress's voice broke into Snape's sex-addled stupor.

"Severus? Do you have a problem? Should I call Poppy?"

He shook himself into full consciousness and levered his frame off the stone wall. The sensation of the sodden silk sheath clinging to his genitals and dripping onto his thigh stained his cheeks as he sought an adequate explanation.

"No. I'm fine. Just a migraine. I need to get to my rooms to find a headache potion."

"You'll do no such thing. I have the necessary potion in my office, which is much closer. Come along."

Wet, sticky, and still all but naked under his robes, Snape reluctantly followed.

"Sit yourself down, boy; you look done in. I'll fetch the potion from my bathroom." Minerva McGonagall fussed him into an armchair by the fire, then left the room.

As soon as she had gone, Snape used a Cleansing Charm to remove the evidence of his indiscretion, groaning anew when the dry silk whispered once again across sensitised skin.

"There. It's one of your own brews I obtained from Poppy. Drink it all. Good. I'll see to making the tea while you explain what is upsetting you enough to bring on a migraine."

Snape avoided her knowing gaze, standing and walking over to the window. Taking care to keep his robes draped over his once-again swelling penis, he sighed.

"I admit I have been struggling with something for some time now, Minerva. It's personal. Very personal."

The concern of her hand on his shoulder was his undoing.

"You know you can tell me anything, Severus. What's distressing you so?"

Like floodwaters released after the storm, the words poured from his mouth with only a sliver of self-preservation preventing disaster.

"I tried so hard not to fall for her. I told her at the end of the summer it was over. But she wrote... and it was... and that night... oh, gods... It's wrong. It's inappropriate. But I need..." Resting his forehead against the coolness of the window, Snape drew in a ragged breath. "What do I do?"

Minerva frowned, trying to piece together the snippets of information he had revealed. "She's someone you met over summer?"

He nodded, unwilling to trust his traitorous mouth.

"And for some reason you can't be with her?"

Another nod.

"I see." Her lips pursed as she fought her disapproval. "Pursuing a relationship with a married woman is inevitably a mistake, Severus. Perhaps you would be better to follow your original plan and cease contact."

Shoulders drooping in relief at her misperception, Snape bowed his head and gathered his control. "Yes, Minerva. I agree. I shall not trouble you again with the matter." Gathering his robes around him, he turned without a further word and swept from the room.

For a long time, the elderly witch stared at the door, pondering her Potion master's confession. His uncharacteristic willingness to discuss such a personal matter only served to increase the concern she had felt since the Christmas holidays. A ghost of a smile crossed her face when she remembered her star pupil's remark about her professor's kissing abilities. At least it was clear now where he had been practising. Tired eyes suddenly widened as a thought drifted into her mind.

"Oh, my, he hasn't been foolish enough to fall for a Muggle?" Minerva asked the room in general. Muggle-wizard relationships were difficult enough at the best of times, but for Severus Snape it would be a recipe for disaster. The man was far too Victorian in his attitude to cope with a modern Muggle woman. Shaking her head, Minerva sent the teacups back to the kitchen with a flick of her wand and began tackling the pile of parchment on her desk.

***

"Well?" Ginny closed the door after her and flopped down on Hermione's bed.

"Well, what?"

"Was he wearing his present?"

"Who told you I know that?" The triumphant grin on her face defied her attempt at nonchalance.

"That wicked smile told me." Ginny closed her eyes and rolled onto her back, hands tucked behind her head. "Tell me I should be more disturbed by the thought of Professor Snape in a tiny gold pouch. Did you make him dress in traditional style under the robes like you were going to?"

Hermione's blush answered the question.

"Oh, shite. Imagining that should really not be turning me on, Hermione. It's bad enough it turns you on. You're contagious, that's what you are."

Giggling and unable to speak for several moments, Hermione collapsed on the bed beside Ginny. "Now you know how I feel. But just remember, you can imagine all you like, but he's mine, and I'm not sharing."

"Not even a little bit? Just a quick peek?"

This time the gales of laughter drew attention from outside the room. With a perfunctory knock, Blaise walked in. "What's going on in here? Come on, share the joke, you two."

"Nothing you need to know, Zabini. We wouldn't want to sully your pure mind."

"You completely ruined my mind months ago, Granger." Blaise wandered over to the desk, having spied the brightly coloured catalogue lying on top of a pile of books. "What's this?" Picking it up, he leafed through a few pages. "Is there something you're not telling me, Hermione?"

Hermione snatched the catalogue back before Blaise reached the pages with the items circled in ink. "I just wanted to see what they sold, that's all."

Ginny nudged her with an elbow. "Show him that thing. You know, the one we couldn't work out a use for. It's on page twenty-two."

"You remembered the page number?"

"Hey, it was... er... fascinating. Show him."

"Yes, show me." Blaise sat down beside the girls and reached for the catalogue.

"Not so fast, Zabini. Let me find the page. There." Hermione pointed to an odd object at the top of the page. "It says it comes in black, blue, red, and pink, but it doesn't actually say what it's for."

"No idea. Looks weird." Blaise shook his head. "Perhaps you should order one. They might come with instructions. I'm sure you could find a willing test subject." He leaned back and grinned until he was smacked on the arms from both sides. "Hey, there's no need to get stroppy, girls. There's plenty of Zabini to go around."

"Oh, go back and tell Luna that. I'm sure she could find a use for you." Hermione patted Blaise's bottom as she directed him to the door.

"Do you really think he didn't know?" Ginny asked.

"Of course he knew, and it must be fairly outrageous because I've never seen him blush so deeply. And there's nothing on the page which gives it away, or we would have figured it out ourselves."

***

The door to the headmistress's office opened of its own accord when Hermione reached the top of the spiral stairs. Knocking appeared to be superfluous as Minerva McGonagall appeared from a door at the other side of the room and beckoned her in.

"Come along now, girl. Don't be shy." She guided Hermione to the chair beside the fire and pointed her wand at the grate to boost the smouldering fire within to a hearty blaze. "To what do I owe the pleasure today? It's not often I have students voluntarily coming up here, Miss Granger."

Hermione managed a tight smile. The distinct whiff of whiskey lingered in the air between them. Blaise was right. She does like a tipple or three. What is it with the female professors in this school? "I wanted to ask you a small favour, Headmistress."

Minerva had perfected the expressionless face long before Severus Snape had been born. Hermione continued, confidence seeping away as the silence yawned. "I mean, if you don't mind. You might say no. That's okay. I only..." She shrugged.

The headmistress relented. It was amusing playing the stern elderly witch with the younger students, but she respected the young woman before her far too much to trifle with her emotions. "It might help if you explained what the favour is, my dear, before you convince yourself I will not assist you."

"Oh. Well, I heard from Luna Lovegood that you had the original Charter of Hogwarts here in your office, and I wondered if you would mind if I looked at it. I know it's a valuable tome, and I would really be very careful with it. But I..."

Smiling, Minerva reached forward and patted Hermione's knee. "I'm surprised you haven't come and asked to see it long before now. I'm well aware of your love for old books, especially those pertaining to the history of Hogwarts. You were never seen without a copy of Hogwarts: A History for the first three years of your time here. I can only assume you had memorised every word by then and didn't need to carry it around with you."

Hermione blushed. "Something like that." She would still be carrying the beloved book with her if it hadn't been for the boys' teasing in fourth year.

"I have some people to see around the castle over the next hour or so, but if you wish, you may sit here at my desk and look at the Charter. It is not to be removed from the desk, mind you." Minerva spoke a brief incantation and pointed her wand at the glass cabinet on the wall behind her desk. Lifting the ancient book from its stand, she placed it with reverence on her desk.

Touching the still supple leather binding the book with the tips of her fingers, Hermione sighed. "It's magnificent. Look at the illuminations and the penmanship. I've never seen anything like it."

"Don't use any magic on the book. It is heavily enchanted to maintain its integrity so nothing can be tampered with, and any extraneous magic could interact with the charms already in place. I suggest you allow me to place a temporary Reverse Impervious Charm on your hands so you leave no traces of oil or sweat on the parchment."

Hermione held out her hands for the spell to be applied, then sat behind the desk as the headmistress left the office. The wonder of the book before her had driven all thoughts of her original purpose from her head, and for an hour she simply browsed through the pages, devouring the information within and delighting in the beauty of the workmanship.

The old-fashioned clock chiming the hour on the mantelpiece jolted Hermione from her study of the list of subjects originally taught at Hogwarts. Looking up at the door, she swore under her breath and as quickly as she dared, flipped the pages until she found Section 247b: Obligations, Duties, and Conduct of Staff.

Running her finger down the long list of rules pertaining to professors' daily lives at the school, including a detailed description of the dress code, Hermione finally found what she was looking for. Digging into her bag, she found parchment and a quill and copied word for word the relevant passages. Just as she finished, the door opened, admitting a flustered headmistress.

"Are you all right, Professor?" Hermione gently closed the book and gave it a final, longing pat.

Minerva patted down a few stray strands of hair and huffed a sigh of aggravation. "Peeves! That poltergeist is asking to be Banished. If it wasn't for Professor Sprout's tender spot for him, he'd have been gone years ago.

"But don't you worry about that. Did you find whatever it was you were looking for?"

Unable to stop the red staining her cheeks, Hermione dipped her head and avoided eye contact. "Nothing specific, Professor. I just wanted to look at it. I did have a question though; do the dress codes for staff still apply? Everyone seems to dress so formally. I've often wondered whether it was by choice or because you had to."

"Mostly by choice, my dear. We professors are an old-fashioned breed. I imagine if anyone really wanted to dress more simply, the Board of Governors would turn a blind eye. As long as they didn't wear anything too outrageous. Gilderoy Lockhart certainly pushed the boundaries at times with his frills and velvets... But I should not be discussing that with you."

Hermione smiled, remembering Lockhart and his fripperies. "Well, thank you again, Professor. I feel very honoured to have been allowed to look at the Charter."

After seeing her student to the door, Minerva returned to her desk with a speculative glint in her eye. She had not missed Hermione's blush or been taken in by her swift change of subject. Neither had she missed the sheets of parchment the girl had hurriedly stuffed into her bag.

A simple wave of her wand opened the Charter to the last page Hermione had been studying. Another flick and the built-in protection charms in the book activated. The passages recently read glowed a little.

"Now, what was so interesting that Miss Granger needed to make notes?" Scanning the page, Minerva frowned. "Staff duties. Dress code, as she mentioned. Nothing out of the ordinary there." Reading further to the last few paragraphs, her eyes widened.

Slumping back in her chair, the lines on Minerva's forehead deepened. The various threads of information had woven together into an alarming tapestry.

"Dilly!"

An ancient house-elf appeared. "You is calling Dilly, Headmistress?"

"I is... am. Please inform Professor Snape he is required urgently in my office. And accept no excuses. That boy has some explaining to do."

With a crack, Dilly disappeared to follow her beloved headmistress's order.

***

A/N: This was written for the TPP Every Flavour Auction for shalimar1981. Bucketloads of thanks go to quaffswinegaily for the alpha read and karelia for the beta.