Seeing More Than His Duty

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters. I'm just having some fun with them.

I'd like to say thanks to my brilliant beta, Charmed Nay.

Severus staggered to his bed. "Why do I do this time and again?" he asked aloud, slurring slightly. "Fucking Hooch!" he groused. Where is that Sobering Solution I made? He'd been talked into a drinking game with Rolanda and Hagrid. They, along with the headmaster, Minerva, and Filch, were spending their summer at the castle in order to provide extra protection in the case of the remaining Death Eaters coming onto the grounds for whatever reason.

In his opinion, it was ridiculous. Those that were still not captured were likely long gone. He wouldn't have remained nearby in an attempt to seek out Potter. Shrugging, he pulled his robes off, and just as he unfastened the second button at the top of his shirt, he heard a scream. It sounded like Granger. Wand drawn, he moved quickly to the wall, pushed his tapestry aside, and made his way through the small walkway towards her room. Before he pushed aside her tapestry, he heard her giggle. This caused him to pause. If she was in trouble, she wouldn't be laughing, the twit!

They'd been at the castle for nearly four days, and though they hadn't truly been a bother to him, he hated having to take his meals with them and check on them. Just as he turned around to head back to his rooms, he heard, "Oh, yes, Harry. Just like that."

Granger? Seemingly breathless and anticipating something... sexual? Eyebrow rising nearly to his hairline, he tiptoed forward and peeked through the space between the wall and the thick drapery. Her bedchamber was mostly dark, save the single lit candle on the opposite side of her bed. He knew that he would not be seen, so he opened the tapestry a little more.

Potter was sans shirt and hovering over Granger. He thought them to be in the midst of a coupling, but then, he noticed that the boy still had his trousers on. Feeling no shame by watching, he smirked as the boy started to hump her through his clothes. What in the world is he about?

"Come on, Harry," Granger said in annoyance. "Off with them. Fuck me. Really fuck me."

Severus nearly choked, for as she said that, she sat up to reveal her full, bare breasts. The only thing going through his mind was that it was a pity that they were being wasted on Potter. Come on, boy. Lower your mouth and take a nipple between your lips!

Potter sighed. "Hermione, it doesn't feel right to me... Ron being dead and all."

To hell with Weasley. He's dead and can do nothing for her. Get on with it, Severus thought in annoyance.

She took the brat's hands and placed them on her breasts while she moved to unfasten his trousers. "I need this, Harry. So do you," she said, easing down his trousers.

Disgusting, Severus thought, lip curling in distaste. He turned around to head back to his room when he heard Potter groan.

"Good God, Hermione. You're so wet."

"Yeah, snogging for an hour does that to a girl," she answered tartly.

Severus felt a jolt run through. Exactly how wet was she, and why did he care? If I'd known that I would be in this sort of mood, I would have taken Hooch up on her offer. He shook himself mentally. What am I saying? Hooch had been talking about some new magical strap-on that she wanted to purchase to explore her manly side a few weeks back. For all I know, she's gone and bought one.

Deciding that one last little peek wouldn't hurt, he moved back to the tapestry, moved it slightly, and saw that they were in the midst of a snog, Potter's hands on her breasts, her hands fondling him through his underpants.

He was suddenly horrified as Potter bolted up and said, "What the fuck?"

Severus thought sure he'd been spotted, but he heard the squawk of an owl. How had an owl found its way into her chambers? he wondered, half thinking that he'd heard wrong, being intoxicated. In the next instant, he saw the Weasley owl, Errol, circle Granger's room and head for the small table in the corner nearest him. Unfortunately, it wasn't able to stop itself, and it smacked into the wall. Errol slumped, unconscious, onto the table, his legs in the air and a damp red envelope in his beak.

Don't the Weasleys realize that their owl represents them in the public's eye? Why not be rid of such an incompetent creature? he thought snidely. He'd never own something so ineffectual.

"Oh, a Howler!" Granger yelled, nearly knocking Potter off the bed to grab the envelope. "Hope Snape doesn't hear this!"

Potter was pulling on his shirt and fastening his pants, as if the sender could actually see what he'd been about. The boy froze when the yelling began.

HARRY POTTER! HERMIONE GRANGER!

YOU'D BETTER LET ME KNOW THAT ALL IS WELL THIS INSTANT, OR I'LL COME TO FIND YOU MYSELF. I'VE ALREADY LOST ENOUGH OF MY FAMILY. I NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE BOTH SAFE!

"She's right," Granger said, moving back as the envelope burst into flames.

Potter shrugged. "I thought that Dumbledore would tell her."

"No, that's not it. You just don't want to face her in any way since Ron died. Admit it."

"Maybe," the boy confessed. "I just want things to be like they were... especially with the three of us."

"Harry," she said, moving to pull him close, her bare chest crushed against his clothed one. "We need each other now more than ever. Stay the night with me. We'll work through this."

"No, Hermione, I can't. Especially not now, not after hearing her." He snorted and stood. "It's like betraying him. Don't you feel... dirty?"

Granger gasped. "Get the hell out of here then, Harry!"

"Wait! I didn't mean that you were di..."

"Just go," she said, holding out a hand to stave him off. "I can take care of this myself."

"It's only because we had that firewhisky, you know," Potter ventured. "You wouldn't be all over me like this otherwise."

"I am always trying to be with you. You're just too thick to notice. The liquor just gave me the nerve is all. Now... if you don't mind?" She nodded to the exit as she brought one hand to her breasts, and the other moved beneath her knickers. "Unless you want to stay of course."

"Not tonight," the boy said, fleeing from the room.

"What an idiot," she said in exasperation, falling back to the bed, ceasing her tempting ministrations immediately.

Severus couldn't believe that Potter had turned her down. The idiot needed only to remove a couple of layers of clothing, and he could have had her. Not realizing what he was doing, he stumbled through the opening. When she gasped and sat up, he said, "I couldn't help but to hear a ruckus." He hoped that she would think he hadn't been there until after he'd heard the Howler. "I came to see if you needed assistance."

"I'm fine," she bit out, covering herself with a pillow. "You're in my private bedchambers, Snape. I'm not dressed."

Raising an eyebrow, he said, "So I noticed. Whilst I was here, I happened to hear Potter rebuff your advances."

"And?"

Oh, but he could nearly see a fire burning in her eyes. Was that a fire needing to be extinguished, or was she about to explode in anger? "And I was wondering if you needed my... assistance in regards to that," he said lamely. Damn! Not what I meant to say at all.

"Are you mad?" she asked incredulously.

"Whatever gives you that idea?" he asked indignantly.

"You're pissed!" she accused. "I can hear the slurring of your words!"

"I've only had a few... bottles, though I did share them with my associates," he confessed.

Granger's mouth gaped open, and she shook her head. "I can't believe this! What happened to never using this passageway unless it was an emergency? You shouldn't just barge in, you know!"

"Headmaster Dumbledore requests that I protect you. When I heard something out of place, I had to check," he said crossly. "A mistake I'll not be making again for certain."

Hermione started laughing. "You'd have to be pissed to come here and offer assistance to me."

Was she fishing for him to ask again? What was that mischievous tone? "Miss Granger, I meant what I said," he said as seductively as he could. "Why ask a boy to do what a man can do better?"

"Bloody hell! You're serious!"

"Sirius? How dare you call me that?" He turned on his heel and fled the room, much like Potter had. "Sharp-tongued harpy," he groused as he entered his bedchamber. He went to use the loo, undress, and take a bit of his Sobering Solution.

I can't believe I propositioned her! She's probably gone to Potter's room, and they're likely sharing laughter at my expense! Severus scowled at his appearance in the mirror. "How dare she think that I look like Black?" He pulled his clothing away, save his underpants, and stood against the wall while his potion took effect. Feeling that his head had cleared, he opened the door and strode out. Only when he reached his bed did he notice a silhouette step out of the shadows.

Granger. What the hell did she want? "Come to have another laugh at my expense? Don't bother. I've seen to it that I'm no longer intoxicated, and had that not been the case, I would never have..." His voice trailed away as she moved forward. She stopped a few feet from him and slowly lowered her knickers...the only bit of clothing she'd had on. He was at a loss for words. Though he'd seen most of her body in her rooms, he'd not had her present herself to him so openly or so invitingly. The effect was completely and utterly... arousing.

"Come here, Snape," she said seductively, crooking her finger at him.

How dare she think to come into his rooms and command him to go to her... like some randy little schoolboy that would fall prey to her charms! He did what any sane, logical man would do.

He went to her.

Southern's Notes: Fear not. All the "good" stuff missing here will be in the next chapter. I couldn't fit all of that in here with the word limit restrictions on the challenge. Harry is just missing out, isn't he? Hehe!

Hp and the CoS quote: Errol slumped, unconscious, onto the table, his legs in the air and a damp red envelope in his beak.