Part the Eighth

As always, this story is brought to you by stgulik's House of Great Beta Work, and I couldn't do it without her - just like I can't do it without you!

By the way, this chapter contains explicit sexual content.

Severus followed Hermione over to the fireplace, where a red-faced and sweating Harry Potter burst from the Floo, hair standing on end and arms full of packages. He looked disheveled and excited, and when he turned to Hermione with a look Severus could not decipher, she squealed and clapped her hands.

"You did it, didn't you?" When Potter smiled his reply, she fairly danced, crying, "You did! Oh, Harry, thank you! I owe you one or twenty!"

Potter laughed. "Make it around fifteen or so. It wasn't easy, but I will have to say this is one of those times I'm glad I was The Boy Who Lived." He gave Severus a nod. "Good evening, Mr. Snape. Ready to get stuck in?"

Refraining from comment, Severus helped Potter retrieve all the packages from the Floo. "Are these all from Father Christmas?" Severus drawled, as present after present was stacked in the corner. "Do we think Father Christmas robbed a vault at Gringotts?"

Hermione laughed. It did look as if someone had bought out Diagon Alley. She pointed at the various mounds of presents. "That's Father Christmas. These are from Molly and Arthur, that bunch came from Charlie and his partner in Romania, and this group is from the rest of the aunts and uncles." She gestured to another set of wrapped presents already beneath the tree. "And those are the gifts Rose will take with her tomorrow when she goes to the Burrow for her grandparents and cousins."

Severus looked at Hermione quizzically. It sounded very much like Hermione would not be joining her daughter. A dozen wild ideas flew into his head, and he could barely manage to reply, "Do you not go to the Burrow with Rose?"

With a shake of her head, Hermione said, "Nope. Christmas Day and Boxing Day are all about the Grandparents and the kids. Molly and Arthur have all the grandchildren over, and we adults get two days to recover from Father Christmas. I usually spend Christmas Day in my pajamas, eating goodies and watching old Muggle films. Either that, or soaking in the bath."

Severus nodded, uncertain. Was this her way of hinting that he, too, should make himself scarce for the day? No. He didn't believe that. He wouldn't. He couldn't.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. She put her arm around Severus and led him away from Harry, who was busy separating the boxes to make sure they corresponded with the meticulous list Hermione had given him. "I said that's what I usually do," she whispered. "This year, we're making new Christmas traditions, so you'll just have to lounge around in your pjs and eat junk food with me. That is, if I let you out of bed long enough to turn on the telly." His expression didn't change, but he could feel a flush creep upward, and Hermione gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

With her eyes still glowing, she stepped back, raising her voice so that Harry could hear. "Do you like Muggle films, Severus?" She sounded as innocent as a lamb.

Having only just succeeded in taming the erection Hermione had given him in the kitchen, Severus felt it stir anew, and hoped that a shag would be in the cards for Christmas day. He attempted to deflate his tenting trousers by reminding himself that Potter was in the next room, and would be for some time. He answered rather lamely, "I remember a Muggle Christmas film called The Bishop's Wife. My mother was fond of it."

From the front room, Harry exclaimed, "Hey, Cary Grant! I like that one too." He sat the Christmas list on the table. "Right, everything's in order. All presents present and accounted for." He said it in a way that gave Severus the impression this was a very old, very lame joke between him and Hermione.

Harry then turned to Severus. "And speaking of holiday traditions: we adults take full advantage of Molly and Arthur's loss of sanity by having everyone else over at Grimmauld Place on Boxing Day afternoon. We just eat leftovers and play card games and enjoy the quiet for a few precious hours before our little darlings return to us after two days of sugar, over-stimulation and sleep deprivation. Hermione always stops by, and I would consider it an honour if you'd join us as well, sir."

Severus glanced at Hermione, who was smiling and nodding enthusiastically. "It would mean a lot to me if you come with me," she said. "It's your choice, of course."

Choices. How few choices he'd been given, and how many he'd chosen unwisely. And now this lovely witch and her daughter were giving him new choices; choices that had no strings attached, except the ones they'd ruthlessly dragged around his heart. And he thought he was safe here. Hah. He didn't stand a chance. He might as well get it over with.

"I should very much like to come, Mr. Potter, if you're sure I'll be welcome."

Harry beamed, and Severus thought for a moment how little he'd changed. Still the overly-energetic pup he'd always been. "You'll be more than welcome. There'll be a few familiar faces there, and everyone will be happy to see you." Harry turned and prepared to leave, but his voice sounded strangely knowing. "Well, I guess that's all you need me for, Hermione, so I'll just be going-"

"Don't you dare, Harry Potter!" she exclaimed, and grasped Severus' hand. "It's all well and good you fannying about with the presents, but I've been waiting on pins and needles for days now, and this poor man is going to want to finish Tom Riddle's job when he finds out!"

"But I was working on presents!"

"Multi-task." Her tone was murderous.

Harry had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry to keep you waiting, sir."

Puzzled, Severus scowled, "Since I have no idea what you are prattling on about, Mr. Potter, I am neither awash with anticipation, nor do I know what I'm supposed to be waiting for."

Harry's eyes grew wide. He turned to his friend and in an almost accusatory tone, he chastised, "You mean, you didn't tell him?"

Hermione huffed. "Well, I didn't think you'd be beating about the bush for so long, and I wanted it to be a surprise."

Severus felt the tension between them. "Tell. Me. What? Mr. Potter?"

Harry stilled, and his playful pup demeanor vanished. Suddenly, Severus saw the man Harry Potter had become, the man James Potter never had the chance to be. And although he still looked like his father, there was nothing of James Potter's smug superiority in his son's bearing. He faced Severus with dignity and respect.

"Mr. Snape, ever since Rose discovered you, Hermione and I have been petitioning the Wizengamot on your behalf. What was done to you was a travesty. And Hermione and I aren't alone in feeling this way. Many others stood on your behalf. In taking away your magic and garnishing your war stipend, the Wizengamot did you a grave injustice."

Hermione turned to Severus, sorrow in her eyes. "But we did you a greater one, Severus. We knew the truth, but we were too caught up in our own little worlds to keep up with you. We should have looked out for one of our own, and made sure you were alright. I know your Obliviate had something to do with it, but that doesn't make it right. We should have done more." She looked down at his hand, clasped trustingly with hers. "I should have done more."

Severus raised her chin so that their eyes met. "Hermione, I should have done more. It's no one's fault but mine. I told myself I neither needed nor deserved anyone's help or charity. You've done more for me in the last month than I've allowed anyone to do in my entire life." It was his turn to look away. "That was my blindness, my choice. I chose this."

Harry cleared his throat. "Well, you didn't deserve how you'd been left to fend for yourself, even if that was your choice. So, we did something about it."

Harry removed a rolled-up parchment from his pocket and enlarged it. He grinned. "I have to say that Kingsley wasn't entirely thrilled that I showed up at his house yesterday demanding he call an extraordinary meeting of the full session of the Wizengamot on Christmas Eve. Of course, it helped that I brought a crate of single malt Ogden's Old Firewhisky, along with every Order member except Hermione, and I pulled the 'You're-A-Mean-One-Mister-Grinch' card, and the 'Tom-Riddle-Is-Dead-Because-Of-Snape' card, and even the 'Do-Something-Right-For-Once-It's-Christmas' card-"

"Harry," Hermione growled threateningly. "I realise you are telling the tale, but I'm going to be pulling the Unforgivable card if you don't get on with it."

Harry blushed. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry!" He took a deep breath as he presented the parchment to Severus. "This is your full pardon, sir, for any and all acts performed during the course of war as a spy for the Order. Your war stipend has been fully returned to you, and it, along with your personal vault, is available for instant access at Gringotts. The stipend includes interest accrued for the past ten years. I made them put it in writing and magically bind it and this is the Gringotts receipt to that effect."

Stunned beyond utterance, Severus took the parchments and his vault keys numbly, like a sleepwalker. He looked at Hermione, who was smiling, but tears glittered on the edge of her lashes.

Potter withdrew another small box from his jeans pocket and enlarged it with a tap of his wand, handing it to Severus. "Here is your Order of Merlin, First Class, for your heroic efforts as a spy in bringing about the demise of the reign of terror perpetuated by Tom Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort, along with the right and privileges contained therein, awarded by a grateful Ministry, etcetera etcetera..." Harry gave Severus a wink. "I use mine as a paperweight in my study. But that's another story. And last but certainly not least..."

He produced another small box and tapped it with his wand. "Engorgio!"

The box grew until it took on the exact size and shape of an Ollivander's box. Hermione took it in hand and opened it carefully. Severus beheld his own ebony wand nestled within, and he almost started hyperventilating. His wand! For the last ten years, it had been secreted away in some forgotten corner of the Ministry, little more than a stick of wood. He had resigned himself to never seeing it again. That meant-

Harry gently divested Severus of his documents and his Order of Merlin. Then he turned to Hermione. "I think it's only fitting that you do this last bit, Hermione. After all, none of us would be here without you."

She looked up at Severus, formally offering him his wand. His fingers trembled they curled around the handle. Touching the tip of her wand to his, she recited from the Official Proclamation: "Veneficus liber aufero redimio!" And the cuff that had been magically sealed onto his wrist ten long years ago snapped open and fell onto the floor with a hollow, impotent clink.

The room was silent. Then a burst of magic so intense it took Severus' breath away rushed from and into his body, his heart, his lungs, his brain, his soul, and it was so wonderful and beautiful it literally drove him to his knees. Harry and Hermione staggered back as Severus' restored magical signature pierced them, hungrily seeking out the other magical souls in the room and embracing them, recognising them as kindred.

"Damn, that was intense," Harry said, awed. Hermione couldn't speak. Severus' magic had been like a tongue of flame that rolled over her roughshod, then ran down her spine and into her groin. He was unspeakably beautiful; glowing, shimmering with magic. Looking at the dark-eyed wizard, augmented with his power, panting like a runner, head flung back in ecstasy, Hermione gasped. Gods, if I thought I wanted you before, she thought, her head spinning, It was nothing compared to how much I want you now.

When Severus' eyes cleared, he found himself on his knees in the center of the room, laughing and feeling so damn good he wanted to fly. He raised his wand and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"

A huge Bengal tiger flew from his wand and bounded into the room. The three of them stared at it in shock. "My doe is gone," said Severus numbly.

The tiger turned to its master and gave a mighty, triumphant roar that thundered through the room and rattled the windows in their panes. Severus gasped at the magnificent beast. It seemed to take up the entire room, and it was as powerful and confident a Patronus as he'd ever cast. He felt a momentary pang for the loss of his doe Patronus, but the tiger then turned and looked him in the eye and Severus recognised its significance.

"This is a Patronabeo," Severus said. He turned to Hermione and Harry, who looked puzzled at the word. "A transitional Patronus." His eyes found Hermione's. "When a person experiences a life-changing event, it can cause their Patronus to change."

Harry nodded. "Of course! Tonks' changed when she fell in love with Remus."

The tiger, huge and magnificent, watched them impassively. Its uncompromising gaze seemed to say, "Pontificate all you want. I'm not going anywhere." Severus felt a sweet surge of happiness and knew that this Patronus was a new beginning. He found both comfort and anticipation in that thought.

"You're beautiful," Hermione said to the great cat, which graced her with a look of such haughty splendour she laughed. She looked at Severus, and he saw things reflected in her eyes that also felt as new and powerful as his restored magic. "And so are you. I can't think of a Patronus so fitting. Proud, strong, protective."

Severus staggered to his feet. And suddenly she was in his arms, and he was holding her, and the tears were sparking in his eyes and he didn't care that Potter was watching. He was holding on to hope, and hope was soft and warm and shaped like this bossy little witch and her big, compassionate heart.

"Was this what you were doing the other day?" he asked, when he could trust his voice. "When you asked me to pick up Rose from school?"

Hermione nodded. "I didn't want to say anything until we had the documents signed. I was asked to testify on your behalf. I got Harry involved so you wouldn't have to go back there. You've done and said enough. It was time for the Ministry to grow a pair and do the right thing."

Severus, still overwhelmed, turned to thank Harry. Suddenly, they heard a galloping sound from the back of the house. Hermione's eyes widened in panic, and she turned toward the mountain of presents, casting the fastest Notice-Me-Not Charm Severus had ever witnessed.

The items faded just as Rose crashed through the door. She stared at the three adults in confused excitement, wide-eyed and eager. "Has Father Christmas come?"

Harry, covering for Hermione, exclaimed, "Not yet. But I just stopped by to let your mum know he's on his way, Rosie dear!" Harry staggered back as the young girl rushed into his arms, squealing his name.

Severus grimaced. "That burst I experienced when my magic returned might have cancelled out your Silencing spells," he said apologetically. Hermione shrugged, too happy to care.

After gracing her uncle with a kiss, Rose breathlessly reported, "I heard a sound like an explosion and - and then a roar and then, oh, Severus, you have your magic back!"

The three adults looked at her in surprise, and her mother laughed, and pulled her into her arms. "Yes, darling, he has!" She looked up at Severus, and he found himself in the embrace of the two witches, feeling as if he truly belonged there.

"How did you know, Rose?" Severus asked, with a slight smile on his angular face.

Struggling to answer, the young girl closed her eyes, as if visualising to herself. "It was like a humming or a vibration. It was really deep and loud." She looked at Severus with something like awe. "You must be very powerful, Severus. I've never felt that even from Mum, and she's like the most powerful witch I know."

Severus nodded sagely. "Indeed she is." He glanced at Hermione. "Although I would not be surprised if you turn out to be just as powerful one day. I, too, can sense magical vibrations in others, and yours is just as strong as your Mother's."

Rose turned to her mother, delighted at Severus' prediction. He pulled Hermione and Rose closer. He felt joy coursing through his veins; the simple, perfect pleasure of his own magic, restored and powerful again. "Thank you," he said, simply, and his eyes met those of the boy he once thought of as his enemy. "Thank you, Harry."

Harry returned his nod. "Thank you, sir. I'd say as Christmas presents go, this is about the best one I've ever received."

Severus tilted his head, puzzled. "Received? Given, don't you mean?"

"That, too, sir."

Severus looked down at the lovely witches in his arms. "I suppose you realise that anything I say right now is totally inadequate to how I feel, but-"

Harry rubbed his nose and cleared his throat again. "Well, I'd better be going before Father Christmas reaches London." He gave Rose another hug, then smiled at Severus and Hermione. "See you on Boxing Day."

Severus allowed Hermione to disengage herself from him just long enough to embrace her friend and whisper her thanks. "Happy Christmas, Harry," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You have the best timing in the world."

Severus held out his hand. "Thank you, Harry. I am grateful that you would do this for me, on this night of all nights. I'm sure you'd rather be home, spending it with your family."

Harry took his hand without hesitation. He looked at Severus, then to Hermione, to Rose and then back to Severus. In a voice tight with emotion, he said, "I am spending it with my family, sir. Happy Christmas."

It took another hour to persuade Rose to return to bed, that Father Christmas had not actually arrived, and neither would he unless she obeyed her mother. Once they left her with a cup of cocoa to help speed her on to her dreams, Hermione and Severus resumed their task of displaying Rose's Christmas Day gifts. When it looked properly presented to Hermione's exacting specifications of how and where Father Christmas would place each and every gift, she turned to Severus, who had been only too happy to do most of the work using his newly restored magic, and kissed his cheek, her eyes promising things of which Severus had never thought to dream.

When they were done, and the clock chimed midnight, Hermione rose and took his hand, wordlessly leading him upstairs. Severus followed her, his heart pounding, and as they crossed the threshold of her bedroom, she quietly closed and warded the door.

Trembling in anticipation, Severus took the diminutive witch in his arms, and before he could speak, she rose on tiptoe and placed a soft kiss on his lips. She was warm and supple, and in spite of his early declaration that he would take things slowly, his mouth descended upon hers hungrily, with a moan of arousal. He drank in her kiss, and thirstily searched for more. He would be generous later - oh yes, very generous.

Hands moved of their own accord, touching her everywhere at once. His fingers settled in her wild mane, pulling her face closer to his, and when his tongue swiped against her mouth, she opened her lips and he felt her suck his tongue into her mouth almost impatiently. He clamped his large hand against the back of her head and slanted her head to open her fully to him, and he ravenously devoured her, without consideration of comfort or will. Hermione could barely draw breath, and yet she could not deny herself his wicked, demanding tongue, battling against hers in the most sensual of dances. His body pressed against hers like a hot brand that she could feel through her clothing. He lavished her with this banquet of lips and tongues and when she imagined his warm wet mouth sliding down her body, her knees almost buckled. His soft moans and sighs excited her; her gasps and mewls of pleasure ignited him.

When at last they broke apart, they were both panting, their moist breath stirring one another's hair. He looked down at Hermione's lovely face, flushed and glowing, her lips swollen by his kisses, and he sucked hard on her plump, bottom lip, so doped with desire he could barely think. His cock was straining in his trousers in a way that was impossible to hide, and he adjusted himself to find some relief. He found none. Gradually, her warm eyes opened, and he stroked her cheek with shaking fingers. "I'm – I'm a little nervous, Severus," she confessed breathlessly.

He shook his head. "Shh, that doesn't matter, love. It's been a long time for me as well. We'll take it slow." A smile tilted his lips. "We have all the time in the world."

As he placed warm, slow kisses against her throat, she whispered, "I realise I don't have much experience, but I do know what I like, and how to tell you how I like it done."

Merlin's nightgown! he thought, raising his head from her satiny shoulder. Adopting what he hoped was a playful tone of voice, he drawled, "I'm all ears, unless you'd like to give me a practical demonstration."

Her head tilted thoughtfully. "I could, I suppose, unless you would be averse to watching me and my vibrator." Her blush at her own forwardness made Severus lightheaded, and he decided to quit before he scared the poor girl away. He pulled her into his arms and pressed her head against his chest.

"Don't misunderstand me, witch. The thought of watching you pleasure yourself is almost as arousing as making love to you, but," he added, pressing his lips to her forehead, "as I mentioned before, I have a good enough imagination, should you not feel able to favour me."

She smirked at the obvious challenge of his words. She stepped back and said, "That was so Slytherin it was almost cliché, Severus Snape."

He returned her smirk and raised her a purr. "And yet, it worked, did it not?"

She laughed. "You know, I think it might have." She gave his hair a stroke, then walked over to her nightstand and opened the top drawer. "Who knows? This lesson may be for my benefit as much as yours." She glanced over her shoulder at him provocatively. "After all, demonstrations are made to instruct one in how to emulate the process, are they not?"

He took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart. With the little amount of reasoning left in his endorphin-intoxicated brain, he countered, "Perhaps we both have lessons to teach, Miss Granger."

She approached him again, and he closed his eyes and swore softly as her small hand cupped his erection. "You always were a passionate teacher on the subjects you enjoyed. Hard," she said, taking his breath away with an eager stroke of his aching cock, "but very passionate."

He slid his hands under her shirt, his fingers caressing her tender skin. With a soft chuckle, he countered, "The lessons may get a great deal harder before the night is through, Miss Granger."

They undressed one another silently, their fingers trembling, their breaths shaky and loud in the room. Severus watched Hermione carefully as she caressed his pale skin. In her eyes, dark and wanting, he saw no revulsion at his scars or pity for his thin, angular frame. Instead, he saw affection, trust, acceptance, desire. It rocked him to his very being, and he made a silent promise that before the night was out, she would know the depth of his gratitude.

She turned around so that he could unhook the fastenings of her bra, and when she turned back and he pulled the garment from her shoulders, he whispered, "Sweet Nimue." Her breasts were everything Severus had ever wanted: rounded and full, with large, rosy nipples. Before his next breath he was on his knees, caressing the soft, luscious mounds. "Oh, you are beautiful," he breathed, his voice dark with longing.

She gasped and whimpered as his mouth closed over one succulent nipple, and he moaned around it, sending a vibration through her that shuddered down her spine into her core. Hermione could barely think against the delicious, devastating pleasure of feeling his warm, slippery tongue flicking over her most sensitive flesh, worshipping at her breast.

She looked down at his pale body, lean and ascetic, and cradled him to her, crooning her appreciation. At the sound of his whispered name, he looked up at her, and his dark eyes burned, scorching any inhibitions from her mind, and she stroked his dark hair as he licked and sucked her nipples until they were glistening in the candlelight and hard as candy in his mouth. He slid her knickers from her hips and stroked her thighs, making them tremble.

Just as his large hands reached around to cup her bottom and pull her closer, she put her hands on his shoulders and stepped away, hissing as his teeth released her nipple with a reluctant little tug. He looked up at her uncomprehendingly, and she leaned forward and kissed him passionately, until he relaxed again.

Gently breaking the kiss, Hermione stood, her eyes locked on his. "You inspire me, Severus Snape." She continued playfully, "I believe there is the matter of educating you in the art of pleasing me." She backed away until she was lying on the bed, propped up on several pillows. He slowly rose to his feet and sat down at the end, resting his back against one of the posts at the foot of the bed. Their eyes met, and Hermione bit her lip as she reached for the vibrator. "Of course, you could give me a demonstration as well," she added coyly, and he smirked.

Cocking his head in a way that way almost coquettish, he quietly murmured, "Hermione, if you entertain any thought that I'll not touch myself while watching you masturbate with your vibrator, I'm afraid you have quite an exaggerated impression of my self-discipline."

She saw that he had unbuttoned his trousers, and was easing his impressive cock from its confines. She watched intently as he caressed its length and heard his breath hitch in his throat, and when she caressed her breast and gently rolled the nipple in her fingers, he moaned her name softly. Hermione felt that irresistible power a woman has over her wizard. "I love the sounds you make when you're aroused."

He looked at her with eyes that were burning with sexual secrets. His pale skin had a delicate tinge of pink. "Then you'll definitely enjoy the next hour or so," he purred, his voice low and dark and sensuously warm.

Hermione felt her own body flush. "I like it hard," she said, in a rush, wanting to tell him, and afraid her nerve would fail her. "I want it hard fast and deep. I want to be fucked until I can't do anything but scream your name."

He closed his eyes and gave his tumescent cock a hard stroke. "And have your previous lovers given you what you want?"

"No," she said, unwilling to admit that, beside Ron, she'd only ever had sex twice. "But I'm sure you'll pay attention, Severus, so you'll know what to do the next time."

He laughed his dark, sexy chuckle, and that excited her even more. "The next time, witch, you'll have no need of a vibrator." Hermione closed her eyes. She was so wet, almost shamefully so. She hesitated then, but he said, "No, I want to see you. I want to know how to send you careening to the heavens with my body. Don't deny yourself."

She answered with a soft moan. "Merlin, you were right. You are sexy as sin when you talk about something that interests you."

"I'm just warming up to the subject." Her breathing hitched, and a wave of almost feral arousal surged through him. With a lustful sneer, he said, "Show me, Hermione." He enticingly caressed the head of his cock with the tips of his fingers. "Show me how to make a goddess like you scream a man's name."

Breathing hard, more aroused than she'd ever been in her life, Hermione opened her thighs, revealing herself to him. "Oh, fuck yes," he swore softly, and wrapped his fist around his large member. Hermione took a deep breath, and as she touched the vibrator to her already glistening labia and switched it on, and he made a startled hiss, as if he'd felt the intense vibrations himself.

At first, she closed her eyes, allowing the sensations to wash over her, acutely aware of Severus' presence, his soft murmurs urging her on, his incendiary gaze as he drank in the sight of her, but as her pleasure grew, and her body became taut and ready, she found herself watching him as he stroked himself steadily. She noted how he twisted his wrist on the upstroke, how he fondled and caressed his balls to his perineum. It was unbearably erotic, watching him. His face was curiously blank; his mouth open, his lips parted and wet. His eyes were glazed with arousal. He was beautiful and intense and radiating desire and magic and power, and it was thrilling, this performance for him alone, and she grew more uninhibited and abandoned.

She began to mewl, and her hips bucked against the vibrating dildo, and she whispered, "Severus, gods, I'm so close... so close..."

"Fuck, Hermione, do it," he moaned, as his hips began to rock against the downward stroke of his hand. His face was flushed and his mouth formed an O of intense pleasure. He crooned helplessly, "I'm going to come, watching you play with yourself. Come, witch. I want to see it."

"I want to feel you come in me," she moaned, delirious at the rough edge of his dark voice. She felt her own orgasm ramping up to the point where she could no longer back down from it. "Come in me," she rasped, and just as she felt her climax peak, he surged forward, and plucked the vibrator from her hands. Holding onto his turgid member, he plunged it into her pulsing cunt with a hoarse cry.

His eyes rolled back, and he mewled, "Oh, fuck, what a sweet pussy-" Hermione cried out, impaled on this massive pole deep within. He pulled away and thrust himself to the hilt so hard they both cried out. He looked down at her, his eyes wild with lust, and growled, "Come with me, girl. You have to. I can't hold back-"

At his command, her body leapt to obey. Artlessly, she threw her head back and howled his name, and he grunted with each hard thrust. They cried out together, each feeding on the pleasure of the other. His mouth descended on her aching nipples, causing her to shudder with each throbbing note of the most intense orgasm she had ever experienced.

She heard his roar of release, then felt him surge within her, his issue spurting eager and hot into her. Her orgasm continued to ripple through her, clutching his cock like a vise. Hermione fell back, gasping, and he collapsed on her, moaning rapturously. She held him tightly to her, feeling as if she were floating off the bed.

Severus rolled over so that Hermione could at last breathe, but winced at the protrusion humming away beneath him. He reached under and retrieved the still-merrily buzzing vibrator, switched it off, and then licked it like a lolly, causing Hermione to shiver with pleasure. Finally, he tossed it aside and drew her into his arms, kissing her gently.

For several moments, neither spoke. Then Hermione giggled. "'Fuck, what a sweet pussy.'" She grinned up at him. "That's the nastiest thing anyone's ever said to me."

Disheveled and smugly satisfied, Severus rumbled, "Typical. Here I am, recovering from the most erotic moment of my life, and you're teasing me about it."

Hermione snuggled closer. "I'm not teasing. I'm going to buy a Pensieve so I can relive it over and over." She turned to look into his face. "Did I really give Severus Snape the most erotic moment of his life?"

He looked down at her imperiously. "Hermione, I was a spy and a Death Eater. I've been a recluse and a derelict. I've lied my head off about just about every aspect of my life, but I've never lied about sex." He pulled her closer. "Besides, I don't exactly have a plethora of women beating down my door demanding of my services."

"More fool them."

"Stop. You'll have me hard again, and I want to bask in the glory of this moment a little longer."

Hermione sighed contentedly, and Severus shifted so that he could look down upon her, cradled securely in his arms. "You know," she said, "I fit rather perfectly in this little place between your arm and your shoulder."

"It had not escaped my notice," he rumbled, looking down at her with his little half-smile. He lazily stroked her downy skin. "After I recover from that breath-taking demonstration, I plan on discovering other ways we fit perfectly together."

She made an adorable little giggling noise, and nuzzled against his chest. "There are other things I'd like to try as well."

"Such as?"

She gave him a look that made his bollocks tingle. It was a smile so rich he could taste it.

"Everything."

He smiled to himself. Basking was probably overrated. He could always do it later.