4. Polyjuice Revisited

Chapter Four: Polyjuice Revisited

Severus was most definitely in love; there really could be no other reason for the senseless thoughts that held his logic hostage and clouded his judgment. At the moment he was too busy to let that bother him much, though, as he forfeited all thought to his senses.

Even the simple act of watching his lover's beautifully flushed face as his tongue danced around her sensitive areas stoked the fire that burned in his soul each and every time he saw her. It only furthered his desire to bring her to heights she had rarely, if ever, been and feed off her unhindered responses. He drew her closer to the precipice where her reason sacrificed itself willingly, luring his to the edge where it unbiddenly followed like two lovers falling to their demise.

Skillfully, his tongue played over and within, knowing just what to do and when it was enough. Her juices flowed from the pleasure he elicited, and he drank deeply as though he were dying and she was the source of life. Pointing his tongue, he forced it into her and ground his nose against her swollen bud, savouring her taste and scent like a fine wine, swirling his tongue in her essence until her hips lunged upward and her muscles quickened in response.

Screaming, her orgasm came crashing down upon her, which had the effect of turning his already besotted mind to mush. Clambering up to reach her before she began the spiral downwards, he buried his hard shaft within her to the hilt. Ah, sweet Nimue, there was nothing more beautiful than a woman who was being made love to.

Still in the throes of orgasm, her swollen embrace gripped him as he tried to gain access to her deepest point. Her heat burned, hardening his length further and sparking an uncontrollable lust. Though she was drenched from the attention of his tongue and the release of her desire, she was a snug fit, and he filled and stretched her to the limit. No other woman could satisfy him in such a way. She was perfection.

"Yessss," she hissed in his ear as another wave of her ebbing climax tightened around him.

He groaned as Hermione's head fell backwards and her hips tilted upwards in an effort to prolong the sensation. It was nearly his undoing. Diverting some of his attention away from what was happening below, he nipped roughly at the flesh beneath her ear and down her neck toward her shoulder. Soft whimpers vibrated beneath his lips.

Whimpers quickly turned into pleas, pleas that caused Severus' hips to flex involuntarily in response. He groaned at how good it felt to be surrounded by her, loved by her. Her body seemed to hold him tightly inside, reluctant to let him go as he pulled back; his return was met with a gasp as he nestled against the softness within.

Quickened breaths and fervent moans echoed off the silent walls, reflecting their passion. The nipples that peaked hard against his chest begged to be appeased, and he angled his neck to take one between his lips. Winding his tongue around the very tip made her breath catch in her throat and her back arch in a silent appeal for more. Sucking the nipple hard and catching it with his teeth, he caused her to scream and grasp his already flexing buttocks with both hands, driving him into her harder. Taking his cue, he drew her hips higher to change the angle of attack and was rewarded with the whispered ramblings of the woman in his arms.

"Oh! Severus, yes! Harder ... again! Please, don't stop, I'm so close ... harder ... oh, please! Just a little more ... there! Oh, gods yes, Severus!"

Her head thrashed against the pillows while her hands sought purchase on something, anything: in his hair, down his back, on the headboard, in the sheets. She was a woman mad with pleasure, and it was all because of him.

He focused on Hermione's face, trying to keep his vision from clouding over so he could watch her beautiful face as she neared her climax. The tension inside of him wound tighter, threatening to snap at any moment. Skin moist and hair damp with perspiration, heels and knees digging into the mattress, every breath a syllable of ecstasy, senses alive and screaming with the intensity of every stroke. Only when the passion broke and her body collapsed into paroxysms did he finally let go.

Her eyes were wet and wide as they stared into his, committing his expression to memory as he came inside of her. He saw the unspoken words behind those eyes and the bitten lip as she tried to keep them from accidentally tumbling out. It was not the time for those words yet. He suckled the wounded lip, caressed her swollen mouth with his own, and they kissed softly and quietly until their bodies gave in to sheer exhaustion.

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

Sitting in front of her dressing table mirror, Hermione contemplated her reflection while ignoring the sharp pulls of resistance as her comb caught in her damp curls. She snagged a rather stubborn knot and subconsciously went about detangling it as her mind visited more important matters. Severus had left to prepare for dinner, and she was feeling the loss keenly even though he was just down the hall showering and changing.

It was odd how hot water and a few scented bubbles always seemed to set her mind in motion. She had stumbled upon an idea, a very rough plan, while soaking her well-used muscles in the tub. By the time she finished washing her hair, she was almost certain it would work. She knew Albus would be more than willing to go along with it and probably more than a bit relieved as well. But Severus? Moreover, she was not certain that she herself wanted to go through with the plan. She frowned slightly at her reflection.

"I know exactly how you feel," a silken voice answered her unspoken thought from the doorway. She glanced up into the mirror to find Severus staring back at her. He had dressed in his usual stark, ultraconservative teaching robes, a reminder that he had to return to Hogwarts after dinner. The thought brought her mood down a notch.

"Hmm?" she said absent-mindedly, not having truly registered his comment.

Severus took a few steps forward to stand directly behind her. Removing the comb from her fingers, he lifted the next section of curls and began to gently comb out the snarls. His expression was haughty and fairly reminiscent of her school days. Odd how the look that would have wilted her composure a few years ago now made her want to take him immediately on the hard floor.

"I said, I know how you feel. After all, a Slytherin falling in love with a Gryffindor is most certainly a source of great consternation."

She looked up sharply into his reflected eyes. Did the man just say 'falling in love'? Her heart leapt in her chest and froze. He was falling in love with her?

"Yes, my dear, I most certainly did say 'falling in love.' Truth be told, it seems I have being doing so for some time now."

She turned in her seat to face him. He knelt before her and took her face in his hands, running his thumb over her bottom lip where she still bore a mark.

"Now," he purred, "would you mind enlightening an old man as to what ghastly thing was so unspeakable that you had to cause yourself damage?"

Her eyes glazed over as she enjoyed the touch of his finger caressing her lip. Such gentleness from a usually hardened man was certainly enough to draw confessions of love out of her. She had never felt this way before. It felt like love, but what if she was wrong?

"I was going to say..." She broke off, looked away and whispered, "But it's too early. Is it possible to feel this way so soon?"

Severus sat back on his heels. "We have known each other for many years, Hermione. While I would never admit to loving you while you were in school, I have always cared for your well-being. In a manner of speaking, my falling in love with you has been a rather long, drawn-out process."

Hermione smirked at her ex-professor-turned-lover. "Well, if you want to think of it that way, then. Since I have known you for, what, nearly nine years, even though most of that time you never passed up the opportunity to...rather skillfully, mind you...abuse and insult myself and my best friends, why then I believe you are right, Professor Snape. It is no wonder I am falling in love with you."

"You impudent girl," Severus grumbled, while miserably failing to stifle a grin. One thing he had to say for this Gryffindor: She had a marvelous way of chastising and mocking him while simultaneously throwing in an endearment.

"I wish I could take you back to Hogwarts with me," Severus murmured against her lips, nipping at them lovingly.

"Well, my dear professor, you may just get your wish," she said, pulling away from him. "I believe I have come up with a plan with regards to our alleged spy."

"My little Gryffindor, the brains behind the action, as always," Severus quipped. "I suppose you are not going to tell me what it is?"

The apprehensive look on her face was answer enough. She had no plans on telling him right now; she knew that he was not going to be entirely happy with the plan. Severus looked away, his hands falling dejectedly into his lap.

"Listen, Severus. No plan is perfect, but it is the only thing I can think of and, the thing is, I am quite confident it will work. It is going to be very difficult for me to propose the idea to the headmaster because I know he will be more than eager to see it put into action. Whereas," she added in a much lower tone of voice, "I most certainly am not."

He turned his eyes up, glancing at her from beneath his brow. She could almost see the young boy he must have been ages and ages ago before life so cruelly took its exacting toll. Hermione took his face in her hands and ran her thumbs over his brow, gently massaging the etched lines of worry from between his eyes. He allowed himself to relax, albeit slightly, into her caress.

"I love you," she whispered, "and I will make sure you will come to no harm. Do you hear me, Severus Snape? I swear it on my life."

For the first time since he was six years old, he actually felt like crying.

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

Dinner, thankfully, was a small affair. The only people present were Molly, Arthur, Ginny and Harry. Ron had been held up on an assignment and wasn't due home for another two days. He was taking his apprenticeship with Kingsley Shacklebolt quite seriously and had turned, to Hermione's surprise, into something of a workaholic. Neither Severus nor Hermione minded his absence in the slightest; it meant no further defence of their budding relationship was necessary.

Arthur, as usual, babbled on about the latest bewitched Muggle artifact the Ministry had discovered. It was rather amusing, and he took special care to involve Severus in the conversation, no doubt to keep him well occupied in light of the tense atmosphere. Molly, on the other hand, kept busy cooking and serving and eating and cleaning up, all in an overzealous effort not to look at Severus and Hermione.

Harry was still looking quite uncomfortable, but had no trouble keeping up normal conversation or his meal down, for that matter. Ginny just sat in her seat, beaming at Hermione in between bites until it nearly drove the older witch insane.

"Okay, Ginny, get on with it already before you split at the seams." Hermione scowled at her younger friend. Ginny looked more than pleased at the invitation.

"I just think it is...well, I'm sorry, Mum," she interrupted herself as her mother sobbed into the sink full of dishes. She spoke louder to make sure her mother would hear. "I think it is bloody marvelous that you have found yourself a man, Hermione Granger. And, if you ask me, I think he is absolutely smashing."

Happily, Hermione took another bite of her pudding. Severus glanced at her out of the corner of his eye while he painfully listened to Arthur spout inanities about Muggle telly-vision sets. Having long ago honed the ability to listen to two completely different conversations and keep up with both...it had saved his life on more than one occasion...he had heard everything the youngest Weasley had said. Under the table he grasped Hermione's hand and squeezed it gently. It was, after all, the only direct and pleasant thing that had been said at the dinner table all evening.

Severus cleared his throat as he rose from the table and announced, "I am afraid Hermione and I need to take our leave early this evening. Molly, thank you for a lovely dinner."

The comment was met with an incoherently mumbled response from behind a cupboard door.

"Mister Potter," Severus glared down his long nose at the boy. "Hermione will be accompanying me to Hogwarts. We have a meeting with the headmaster. No doubt she will be in contact with you in a day or two."

Harry nodded silently, looking slightly worried at Hermione as though she were being dragged off to the monster's lair against her will. Ginny elbowed him in the ribs, grinning from ear to ear as she noticed how Hermione's face positively glowed when Professor Snape walked around the table to take her hand. A pinch of Floo powder, a muttered destination, a nod of farewell, and they were gone.

"All right, Mum," Ginny scolded, "I believe it is safe to come out of the pantry now."

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

Albus rose from behind the desk as Severus and Hermione stepped out of the flames.

"Ah, my children! Come in, come in. I am so looking forward to this meeting. Severus mentioned that you have come up with a plan, my dear." Albus bubbled his way over to them and took Hermione's hand in both of his.

"Well, it is an idea. I wouldn't exactly call it a plan, Headmaster," she replied hesitantly.

"Nonsense!" he bellowed. "Any plan of Hermione Granger's is one worth listening to, and I am most definitely ready to listen. Sit, both of you. Would you like some tea?"

"I believe Firewhiskey would be infinitely more appropriate," grumbled Severus moodily. A tumbler appeared on the table next to him with a double shot on the rocks. He picked it up and thankfully drained half of it.

"Now, Miss Granger, I am sure you are simply bursting to regale us with your brilliant idea."

Severus snorted into his cup as it refilled itself.

"Actually, no, Professor. I am not," Hermione stated simply. "While I am sure it has a high probability of working, I would rather not go through with it at all. However, I feel that any probable idea should be brought out for discussion, which is why I am here tonight."

"That is not the only reason, I hope." Albus chuckled at the moody man across from him who was smoothly finishing his second Firewhiskey. "Now, Severus, I believe you better slow down a bit until Miss Granger has had her say."

The tumbler settled heavily onto the side table in response. He hated being reprimanded by Albus. He hated it even more when Albus was right. It made him feel like a sodding first-year.

Hermione cleared her throat to begin before she changed her mind. It was now or never.

"All right. There's not much to it," she started, looking both men in the eyes and clearing her throat again. For a split second she felt as though she were once again a second-year, proposing to Harry and Ron that Polyjuice Potion was the only way to find out who the Heir of Slytherin was. Instead, two older pairs of eyes looked back at her, their serious expressions urging her on. She may be much younger, but they were prepared to take her quite seriously.

"I know that we are not one hundred percent positive that Penelope Clearwater is the spy, though I daresay we have a good reason to believe so. We could check for the Dark Mark, certainly...most likely after we have properly sedated her," she added as an afterthought. "Anyway, my idea is that Severus would impersonate Miss Clearwater through the use of Polyjuice Potion. He could enter her quarters while Miss Clearwater is safely sedated elsewhere and see if there are any clues that would link her to Voldemort. If it turns out she is indeed the spy, he can use the Polyjuice Potion when Summoned and take her place."

The two men stared at her silently: Albus looked amused, Severus just stared at her with naked incredulity. He had never been on the receiving end of one of her plans before.

"Of course, any other bugs can be worked out once we find out more about the situation," Hermione finished.

"It goes without saying that Miss Clearwater would have to remain sedated once I begin going to the Dark Lord in her place," Severus stated matter-of-factly.

Hermione shifted her gaze in his direction. She wasn't prepared for him to accept her plan so readily, especially since it meant returning to Voldemort's side.

"Yes, she would," Hermione agreed. "She can easily be taken ill and kept in the infirmary. But we will have to work quickly from that point. From the day you return to Voldemort, I figure we will have barely a fortnight to bring things to a conclusion."

Both men's attention came immediately to the forefront.

"A conclusion?" Albus mused. "Yes. Certainly. Why not? Merlin's beard, a conclusion!" Hermione swore he suddenly looked twenty years younger.

"And then we should be rid of Voldemort forever," Hermione added, staring into Severus' eyes. "Don't you see, Severus? Just a little longer and we can be free."

"Free?" he mumbled softly to no one in particular. The idea was alluring, although completely foreign to him. He could not remember a time when he was free. It was an interesting concept, though.

"My dear Miss Granger, your plan is absolutely brilliant. You will, of course, let me know when you are ready to put it into action. I expect we will be seeing a lot more of you at Hogwarts over the next few weeks, and hopefully for quite some time thereafter. There is no need, I presume, to set up separate quarters for you?" he added rhetorically while ushering them out the door.

As the staircase wound its way back down to the floor below, Hermione commented, "I assume you have the ingredients necessary to brew the Polyjuice Potion then, Professor Snape?"

"And I assume you know exactly where to find them, Miss Granger."

She smirked as they traveled the deserted hallways to his quarters.

~End Chapter Four