Chapter 4

Severus shot up in bed, his hand immediately going for his wand. He managed to block the first curse just in time.

"You bastard! How dare you? You've done a lot of horrible things to me, but this is the worst," Hermione yelled at him.

He began cursing at his own stupidity. He had really mucked things up this time.

She threw another hex at him. He blocked it, struggling in his head to think up how he could possibly fix this situation so that she would not despise him. He was at a loss. It was likely she would hate him forever, and he couldn't blame her.

This was possibly the biggest mistake of his life, right up there with letting her walk out of his laboratory eight years ago.

He stumbled out of the bed, trying to avoid more of her hexes. "Hermione..."

"Nothing you can possibly say can change the fact that you stole my potion and used it to take advantage of me," she hissed. Suddenly, her face colored as she looked down and took in his nudity. He grabbed a sheet from the bed and struggled to wrap it around his waist with the hand that was not defending himself.

It hadn't escaped his notice that she was clad in only her undergarments, but he had been trying to avoid dwelling on it while protecting his bits from whatever curses she had thrown at him.

"Hermione, can we get dressed and talk like rational human beings?"

"We're past that point, Snape. You are obviously NOT a rational human being."

"It was a mistake, Hermione," he said as he deflected another hex. "I was trying to test the potion. But as soon as I picked up the vial..." Another curse flew in his direction "...I couldn't help myself. Believe me, Hermione, drinking the potion was not part of the plan."

As he mentioned the potion, thoughts of taking it ran through his head. Suddenly, his mind could only focus on one thing: he wanted more of it. He thought back to the vial he had filled yesterday. He had at least five drops remaining...

"I suppose that you thought seducing me would be a good way to humiliate me."

"Absolutely not. I would never try to humiliate you. The potion only gave me the confidence to do what I should have done long ago." Part of him wished that he had never taken the potion. He had wanted her for a long time, nearly ten years. Now that he'd had her... suffice to say, there would certainly not be a repeat of the previous night.

The other part of him wished that he could take it again.

She was silent for a few moments, as if trying to process what he had just said. Thankfully, she had stopped throwing curses at him, no doubt realizing that it was completely pointless since he would block them. He tightened the sheet around his waist.

"You had no right to steal it. Tell me, Snape, how did you get it? Did you break in to my lab?" Suddenly, she gasped. "You used Polyjuice! What did you do with Dennis, you bastard?"

"Creevey willingly gave me some of his hair. He was worried about you, as was I."

"Neither of you has any right to interfere. This is my potion. I am the only person who should be testing it."

"I would have let you alone if I hadn't thought you were seriously endangering yourself. Hermione, I've dealt with many Dark potions in my lifetime, but this is one of the most addictive substances I've ever encountered."

"This is not a Dark potion, Snape. I would never make a Dark potion."

"Perhaps it's not Dark in the way that Voldemort's potions were, but you can't deny that it has some very harmful effects."

Her voice was suddenly less threatening.

"Severus, since I made the potion, my life has been immensely better. When I'm Miranda, I'm completely free from all of my inhibitions, and I can actually enjoy my life. You felt it, too, didn't you?"

He had, and he knew exactly what she was talking about. Last night, he had felt that he could do anything. On top of that, his appearance had improved, and he had experienced the best sex of his life.

Severus took a deep breath. "Hermione it's not real. I woke up this morning, and I was back to being Severus Snape, and you were back to Hermione Granger. All I was left with was a memory of an amazing night experienced by another person."

"It doesn't have to be that way, Severus," she said, looking earnestly into his eyes. "What if you could change yourself permanently?"

For a moment, he felt the craving build up inside him. If he took more of the potion, he could once again experience the ecstasy he had felt the previous night.

He snapped out of it. "No, absolutely not. I don't want that, and I know you don't either."

"Don't try to tell me what I want," she said. "You know absolutely nothing about me."

"I know that, right now, you're wishing that you could take more of the potion and go back to being Miranda for just a few hours. However, the more of it that you take, the harder it will be for you to stop. You've spent months feeding an addiction to this potion, but it's going to stop. Today."

"Don't you dare take this away from me, Snape!"

"Expelliarmus!" Her wand flew into his hand, and she looked shocked. "Never let your guard down, Miss Granger. Did you not pay attention to anything in Dueling Club?"

She didn't respond, but he could recognize the glint in her eye. He knew that if she had her wand, she would continue trying to hex his balls off.

Thank goodness he had disarmed her.

"Here's how it's going to work, Hermione: I am going to take your mixture to the headquarters of the International Potions Organization in Geneva. You have the choice to either accompany me or spend the day locked up in my house."

"You can't take it there without me."

"I most certainly can, but if you come along, the paperwork will be a lot easier. Since the rights of the potion belong to you, everything must be filed in your name."

She gave him a strange look. Did she still think he would try to take credit for it himself?

"I'd like to get dressed first."

"As would I," he said, looking down at the sheet around his waist.

"And I'd like to go home to take a shower. I need my wand for Apparition."

He looked at her for a few seconds, debating about the wand. "I'll give it back on one condition. I'd like to Apparate back with you and put my own wards on top of yours, so that you cannot get to the potion."

"No, I need access to the potion for testing."

"You don't really have a choice, do you?"

She was silent for a moment, and he knew that despite the petulant frown on her face, he had won.

"Fine. Let me get dressed, and we'll Apparate together."

"I'll be back in just a moment." Severus summoned his clothes and took them into the bathroom. He kept Hermione's wand with him, just in case. He dressed quickly.

His gaze fell upon the vial. It was still sitting there, where he had left it the night before. Suddenly, he forgot about Hermione, about the problems that the potion had caused, and about what had happened the previous night.

It felt cool in his hand and completely tempting. He uncorked it and brought it to his mouth.

"Severus, I'm ready to leave," Hermione called through the door. "I'd like my wand back."

He took the vial away and quickly stuffed it into his pocket.

Severus walked out. Hermione was dressed in a tank top and miniskirt that he vaguely remembered removing the previous night. She looked uncomfortable in the outfit.

"I need to get something from my lab," he said. The vial was burning a hole in his pocket.

He was grateful that he had kept his stock of medicinal potions updated. After a quick scan of one of his shelves, he found several bottles of anti-addiction potion. He uncorked each of them, then took the vial out of his pocket, ignoring the urge to try some for himself. Into each of the bottles in front of him, he added a drop of the Perfectus Potion.

Without hesitating, he Scourgified the remainder of the Perfectus.

Severus recorked the bottles and brought them out of his laboratory. Hermione was sitting on the sofa. He set the bottles down on the table in front of her. "Do you know what this is?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm a first-year, Snape. Of course I know."

"I've added the Perfectus to them, already. Do you know the proper dosage?"

"Ten drachms twice a day for the next two weeks, followed by five twice a day for the two weeks after that."

"I've charmed it so that you can't drink more than that at once."

"Thank you, Severus. I enjoy being treated like an idiotic child so much. Do you have more of the Perfectus?"

"I used Scourgify to get rid of it."

"What? Are you crazy? Don't you know how valuable it is?"

"It's also extremely dangerous. You know what happened the last time I took the potion." She didn't respond, only wrinkled her nose in displeasure. Was the thought of sex with him that repulsive? He felt a painful tug in his chest at the thought.

"Shall we go?" he said, holding out his arm.

"Can I not Apparate on my own?"

"I certainly don't trust you to go by yourself." He had visions of being locked out of her house while she overdosed on the potion in her laboratory.

She took his arm, and he Apparated them. He followed her inside the house to the entrance of her lab. With his wand pointed at her, he gave her wand back.

Without speaking to him, she took down her wards and let them into the laboratory. She frowned as he walked towards the vault where she kept the potion.

He spent ten minutes adding wards that were basic, but would be impossible for her to bypass without his wand.

Then she added more wards. "You got in once before, and I certainly don't trust you not to try again," she told him.

"Hermione, I'll be back in three hours. The office in Geneva opens at eight o'clock. I'll get us a Portkey. Goodbye." He left the laboratory and her house, Apparating to Harry Potter and Dennis Creevey's apartment.

After knocking on the door for several minutes, a tired looking Harry Potter opened the door.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter."

"Professor Snape?" he asked with a yawn. "What time is it?"

"Four forty-five. I need you to help me get an emergency Portkey to Geneva for this morning. It's for Miss Granger."

"What's wrong with Hermione?"

Severus quickly told Potter about the potion, leaving out his own personal experience with it. Thankfully, helping Hermione was enough motivation for Potter to contact one of his many admirers at the Ministry and get the Portkey.

When Severus got back to his own house, he sank down onto the sofa. He could still smell Hermione/Miranda's scent.

He felt frustrated. Hermione absolutely despised him, and he really couldn't blame her.

He couldn't change what had happened, however. He had taken the potion, he had slept with her and now he would just have to live with his mistake.

****************

After having a headache and feeling tense and irritable all morning, Hermione finally gave in and took her first dose of the anti-addiction potion Snape had given her. Part of her wanted to rebel and not take it because she was so angry at his treatment of her.

Had he not warded the vault, she would have taken some of the Perfectus Potion. Over the last few weeks, she had got in the habit of taking the potion in the morning, in the afternoon and at night. After one drop in the morning, she didn't actually leave the house, but it allowed her to relax before starting a long day of working. The euphoria from the morning usually lasted long enough to get her through lunch.

She didn't have that right now, but Snape's potion had helped.

As much as she hated to admit it, she had been too hard on him. Trying to curse him earlier had been too much. Deep inside, she had known that "Toby Prince" was actually him. And it hadn't been as though he had forced himself on her.

He shouldn't have taken the potion, though. She was still upset about that. Even though he'd told her he had done it to help her, drinking it himself was crossing the line.

Severus Snape knocked on her door at seven thirty.

"You're early," she said.

"The Portkey leaves in twenty minutes," he told her. "I want to take all that you have brewed to Geneva. It's dangerous for you to keep it here. They will allow you to use their laboratories there for any tests you need to do. Of course, it is highly regulated, and you won't be able to use yourself as a test subject."

Part of Hermione wanted to argue, but she knew it would be futile.

They went into the lab and unwarded her vault together.

Hermione began putting the bottles of the potion into a special bag that would keep them safe during the Portkey trip.

Severus stopped suddenly. Hermione looked over and realized that he was staring at one vial and moving to take the top off of it.

She caught his hand midair. "No, Severus," she said softly. At her touch, he snapped back to reality and quickly put the vial into the bag.

Then he looked back at her. Hermione was surprised by the tenderness she saw in his eyes.

She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I've been so difficult. The potion..."

"Don't apologize, Hermione. What I did yesterday was far worse than anything you've ever done. And as much as I'd like to apologize, there's nothing I can say to change it."

"Perhaps we should try to make a fresh start of it, Severus."

"Perhaps."

That day, she surrendered all of her potion to the International Potions Organization. As hard as it was to let it go, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

The researchers at the laboratory would test the potion's properties and allow her to continue making adjustments in the laboratories there.

The Portkey let them off in front of her house later that evening.

They stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments. What now? she wondered. Should she invite him in? Hermione wasn't sure if that was a good idea.

"Hermione, if you can ever find it in yourself to not despise me, I would like to see you again. Goodnight."

He Disapparated before she could respond.

********************

Over six weeks passed before he saw her again. He had been brewing potions for St Mungo's when he heard the knock at the door.

He hoped it wasn't Harry Potter or Dennis Creevey. Or both of them at the same time. Severus shuddered. For some reason, the two of them considered him their friend now.

He supposed they weren't too bad. They were his only connection with Hermione, after all. Dennis kept him updated on Hermione's progress.

Hermione stood at the door. She looked better than he had ever seen her before; her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was wearing a simple blue dress. She was beautiful, much prettier than she had ever looked as Miranda.

"Good morning, Severus."

He stared at her for a few moments. "Hermione. Would you like to come in?"

She nodded and took the chair that he gestured towards.

"Dennis told me that you've stopped taking the anti-addiction potion. He said that you're doing well."

"So you're on a first name basis with him now?" she said with a smile.

"I suppose that I don't completely dislike him. But I still stand by my conviction that he is one of the worst Potions students I ever taught."

Hermione laughed, a sound that was music to his ears. "I do think he'll be more suited to his new job in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. And Harry?"

"Harry was also a dreadful student."

She laughed again. "He told me that you'd become friends with both of them."

"I think the word 'friend' is a bit strong. I tolerate them."

"Did Dennis tell you that I'm leaving for Geneva next week to begin working on reducing the addictive aspects of the potion?"

Dennis Creevey had mentioned it, actually. At the time, Severus had been hit by a twinge of dejection when he'd realized that she would probably leave, and he wouldn't see her again for a long time.

"Yes, Dennis mentioned that."

"Well, it's true. However, before I leave I would like to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"In testing the potion, I'm going to need a lot of extra help. And I've heard that the researchers at the laboratory in Geneva are complete imbeciles."

"I can't imagine who would have told you such a thing," Severus said dryly.

"Severus, would you like to work with me on the potion?"

"Are you saying that because your former assistant quit, you'd like me to take over his job of cleaning cauldrons and organizing potions ingredients?"

She laughed. "Although I have no doubt that you excel at those things, I believe that your research with medicinal potions can assist me greatly. And of course, your name will be mentioned alongside mine in the finished product. Severus, you're the best Potions master I've ever met. I don't think I can do this without you."

"You managed to brew Perfectus without my help, Hermione. I'd say that you're capable of making almost any potion imaginable alone."

"I don't want to do it alone." Her eyes met his. He was struck by the bare yearning in them, completely unaffected by any potion or other outside force.

He leaned closer and tentatively brought his mouth to hers.

She kissed him back eagerly.

Other than the night his alter ego had kissed her alter ego, it had been many years since he had kissed anyone. Even then, it had never felt like this.

"I suppose that I can take some time out of my busy schedule to help a former apprentice," he said after the kiss was over. "Just don't force me to be nice to the imbeciles at the International Potions Organization."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"And we'll need new test subjects. I don't think either of us can be trusted to test it on ourselves."

"Already done. Although, if you want to test it again after it's completely finished, we could try to repeat that night we had a few weeks ago..."

"Or we can repeat it without the aid of the potion."

"Even better." She kissed him again.

The End