Into the Forbidden Forest

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any related characters; they are the property of JK Rowling. I am merely obsessed and like to borrow them occasionally, so please do not sue me. I am making absolutely no profit from this story.

A/N: Hiya, guys. I'm so sorry this update took so long. Real life has been absolutely hectic, and I just couldn't ignore it. Hope the wait was worth it. And a big embrace to my stupendous beta, Nom de Plume.

Chapter 4

Into the Forbidden Forest

Saturday morning brought more bad news to the halls of Hogwarts. The attacker had struck again; this time the Whomping Willow had been set on fire. The tree was badly damaged, and if it hadn't been for Hagrid's fast thinking, it would be completely destroyed. Harry was particularly outraged about this, since the tree symbolised so much more for him.

Hermione was devastated by the news, but over-all she was in a good mood today. She was looking forward to spending her Saturday night with Snape. Her school uniform was thrown into a corner of her room, and she had opted for a more curve-hugging outfit. If Snape was going to see her as a woman, then she would have to do her part. Hermione picked out her 'perfect' pair of jeans that accentuated her curves. Originally she had thrown on a red T-shirt but quickly decided that her pale green T-shirt was far more appropriate to bait a Slytherin. Not to mention the V-neck cut might allow him a peek. Nervous that her wild curls would get in the way, she once again had her hair up in a ponytail.

She was determined that she would take a risk today. If Snape showed any signs of being interested, she would start referring to him as Severus. If he argued with her decision, she would merely point out that what they had already done more than merited her to use his first name.

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At ten minutes to four, Hermione was outside of Snape's office once again. She had been so anxious that she had headed down early. When she knocked, however, the door did not open. She tried again, and when there was no answer, she figured she was too early, so she waited patiently. At exactly four o'clock, Snape walked around the corner, robes billowing behind him.

"Follow me, Miss Granger," he snarled, "and do try and keep up."

Hermione did as she was told and followed Snape out of the dungeons, out of the castle, and across the grounds. Where is he taking me? wondered Hermione, It looks like we're heading for the Forbidden Forest... He wouldn't take me in there... Would he?

"Umm, sir?" Hermione said timidly. "Are we going into the Forbidden Forest?"

"Yes," hissed Snape, "and unless you wish to serve two more weeks of detention, I suggest you cease your incessant questioning and follow quietly." Hermione actually considered refusing to go for a moment, thinking that two more weeks with Snape might not be so bad, but the bruises on her body and his temperament quickly chased that thought out of her head.

The two walked into the Forbidden Forest. Snape never slowed down, and Hermione did her best to keep up. Hermione was eternally grateful that she had decided to wear sneakers instead of the low heels she had been considering. They walked on flat ground for a while, but after about half an hour, Snape veered off the path. The way was becoming far more arduous, and Hermione found herself constantly tripping over rocks and tree roots. She had fallen so many times that she had made holes in both knees of her jeans. Snape continued on as if nothing was happening, making what was quickly becoming a climb, rather than a walk, look extremely simple.

After what seemed an eternity, Snape finally stopped at the mouth of a small cave. Hermione turned to look at the setting sun and approximated that the time was probably somewhere between five and six o'clock. Snape had been standing in front of the cave, waiting for her to catch up.

"Are you done holding us back now, Miss Granger?" he asked in a neutral tone. "We do not have all night."

"Sorry, sir," she replied breathlessly. Snape turned around and pulled out his wand. A quick "Lumos" and the tip of his wand lit up. Hermione pulled out her wand and did the same. Snape then advanced into the cave with Hermione just a few steps behind him. She looked around at the cave walls and was surprised to see how rounded and smooth they were. This cave was definitely artificial; nature could never carve out a cave like this. The tunnel was extremely straight and led deep into the mountain, but it was so dark that Hermione couldn't tell just how far it went.

Ten more minutes of walking brought them to a sharp turn in the tunnel. Hermione could see a subtle white glow coming from the other side of the curved wall, and her encyclopedic mind quickly ran through possibilities for that glow. Before she could figure it out, though, Snape stopped them.

"Miss Granger," he said in a tone she had never heard before. "What you are about to see must, under any circumstance, remain a secret. You are not to utter a word of this to anyone, including those two idiot friends of yours. Do you understand?"

Hermione nodded. "You have my word, sir." This seemed to satisfy Snape, because he then turned around and proceeded towards the white glow. Hermione followed, but what she saw when she turned the corner left her so stunned that she stopped in her tracks as if frozen. Right in front of her was the most beautiful sight she had ever laid her eyes on: an underground field of flowers. The flowers were the purest white she had ever seen, so pure that they glowed, making their lit wands useless. The room was shaped like a circle, and she estimated it to be about 200 feet deep. With the exception of a small path down the middle, every inch was covered in flowers.

"Miss Granger, don't just stand there, get over here!" Snape's bark brought her back to reality, and she realised her jaw had been hanging open. She quickly closed her mouth and started making her way towards Snape at the edge of the flowers. However, a closer examination of the flowers caused her to freeze again. She looked up at Snape, an amazed look on her face.

"Sir, are these White Miani flowers?" she asked in a hushed whisper.

"They are," was Snape's only answer.

"But that can't be!" Her voice now much louder. "White Mianis are extinct. They have been for years!"

"Miss Granger," he snarled, "I am in no mood to lecture at the moment. Now if you will..."

"Well, that's too damn bad!" interrupted Hermione, obviously very irritated. Snape was so shocked by her response that he just stared at her wide-eyed. "You made me feel like I had wasted the most precious ingredient in the world! I was horrified at what I had done. I felt absolutely terrible! And now you're telling me that there's a whole cave full of these things, and you want me to just nod and accept it! And you..."

"If you're quite done, Miss Granger," barked Snape, "we have work to do, and I will not..."

"No, I'm not done!" shrieked Hermione. "You owe me an explanation!"

"Miss Granger!" spat Snape, but before he could continue he noticed the look on her face. And despite the fact that he was a grown Slytherin male, not to mention an ex-Death Eater, he thought better than to pick a fight with her. Especially deep in a cave where there would be no witnesses. With an exasperated sigh, he continued, "Very well, Miss Granger. Have a seat and I will explain everything."

Hermione was so worked up that she sat down a little harder than she meant to, receiving painful protests from her bruised bottom. But she was so anxious to hear what Snape had to say that she didn't complain. She leaned back against the cave wall and watched Snape as he sat about six feet from her on the opposite wall.

"Miss Granger," he said in his practiced lecturing voice, "do you know what White Miani flowers are used for?"

"I think so," said Hermione hesitantly. "Aren't they used to stabilise extremely powerful potions that would otherwise not be possible?" Snape simply gave a short nod to let her know she was right.

"There are many potions in this world that should not exist," he continued. "And I believe that is why they cannot be balanced. However, the White Miani root has an element within it that exists nowhere else on the planet. It is an element so hard to identify that even the greatest wizards cannot properly describe it. Therefore, it cannot be replicated.

"Seventeen years ago the Dark Lord entered the Potter residence and was destroyed. As far as most know, he was not seen again until Harry's first year at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, that is not the case. There was not a moment when the Dark Lord was not trying to bring himself back to life. I was more than aware of that, and so I started making a list of all the ways in which he could bring himself back.

"One of those ways, Miss Granger, was with the use of the White Miani flower. There is a very powerful potion that, if brewed correctly, could bring back those on the edge of death. But the potion could not be possible without the stabilising agent: the White Miani root. At the time the flowers were growing in select spots of Europe and Africa. They would have been far too easy for the Dark Lord to access.

"I took it upon myself to destroy them all. However, being a Potions master, I couldn't bring myself to finish the job. Instead I settled for hiding them in this cave, where no one would ever wander, therefore keeping them safe." Everything was quiet for a while, with nothing but the sound of trickling water in the background.

"If they are so dangerous, sir, then why do you use them?" wondered Hermione. She was not really expecting him to answer, so she was surprised when he did so willingly.

"Dumbledore is an old man, Miss Granger. He has seen many wars and fought many battles. This has caused his heart to weaken, and so I brew him a special potion to help him function normally. Dumbledore is crucial to the wizarding world, and they need him around, especially now." Hermione nodded to show that she understood. Another question though had been on the tip of her tongue for a while.

"So then why were you so angry with me when I accidentally used them?" whispered Hermione.

"Because, Miss Granger, it is not like you to make errors, and I found it very upsetting." His honesty was startling, but Hermione found it somewhat refreshing.

"I'm sorry I disappointed you, sir," she replied sadly as she looked at the floor. Snape then stood up and pulled a small brown case from his pocket. After a wave of his wand the case expanded to its normal size. Snape placed it on the ground and opened it, revealing two dozen empty bottles. He took out one of the bottles and moved to the edge of the flowers.

"Come, Miss Granger, I will show you how to properly bottle these." His tone was much softer now, almost friendly (almost - this was still Snape after all) and Hermione liked it. She gave him a small smile and moved to stand beside him. They both knelt down, and he showed her how to pull the flower and properly cut the roots off. He then taught her the preservation incantation to properly bottle the roots without losing the magical properties.

Hermione was really enjoying this one-on-one lesson, and once in a while she would 'accidentally' brush her hand against his, causing her skin to tingle. He was so close to her that she could feel his body heat, and Hermione wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him and kiss him. It took all her restraint to pay close attention to what he was saying; she did not want to disappoint him again, so she took careful mental notes of everything he said.

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An hour and a half later, they were almost done filling all the bottles, and Hermione's body was hurting more than ever. Being bent over so long was really not helping her already bruised back, but even worse than that was having to kneel. After falling so many times on her way through the forest, her knees had many cuts and scrapes. When she finally bottled her last roots, she sat back and looked at her knees. The cuts were now filled with dirt and throbbing painfully. She would have healed them earlier, but she was too intent on following Snape's directions. She reached for her wand and cast a healing spell on one of her knees, but before she could do the other, Snape stopped her. She wasn't sure how he could move that fast, but he was now kneeling in front of her, holding her wrist so as to stop her incantation.

"Miss Granger," he said softly. "You cannot cast a healing charm without first disinfecting your wound." Their eyes locked, and Hermione was already getting lost in the depths of his black gaze. She could feel a fire starting to build inside her. Snape gently removed her wand from her hand and set it aside.

"Allow me," he said. Snape then cast a spell to undo her last incantation. He pulled out a bottle of water and gently poured some on her knee. With his long fingers, he carefully removed the dirt from her cuts. The feel of his fingers on her skin was causing Hermione's heart rate to increase. The fire in her stomach was roaring now. She wanted more, so much more. Once Snape had finished getting the dirt out, he cast a cleaning charm to completely disinfect the wound and then a healing charm to close the wounds. Just to make sure he had been successful, he ran his fingers over her knees one last time. His eyes then moved up to meet hers, and it felt like an eternity passed before either one of them moved.

"Well, Miss Granger," said Snape in a soft growl, "your knees are all healed. I trust you will figure out how to stay on your feet on the way back down."

"Yes, sir," said Hermione uncertainly. "Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it."

The two then moved to stand up, but Hermione stepped on a rock and felt herself falling backwards. Instinctively she reached out and grabbed Snape's robes to steady herself. Unfortunately Snape was in the middle of standing up, and when she grabbed at him he lost his balance and fell forward. Hermione was now spread out on the ground with Snape between her thighs. His face was just an inch away from hers.

"You are far too clumsy for your own good, Miss Granger," whispered Snape. Hermione couldn't help but notice there was no anger in his voice.

A softly whispered "Sorry" was all she could manage. He was staring at her with such intensity that she felt like she would melt under his gaze. The weight of his body was so comforting and warm. Neither one of them moved for a moment, simply lost in the other's eyes. It didn't take long for Hermione to note that he wasn't getting off of her, but he wasn't doing anything else either. I'm gonna have to make the first move, she thought, otherwise the moment will end, and I may lose him forever.

Before she could change her mind, Hermione lifted her head and claimed his lips. She held on to the front of his robes, terrified that he would move away if given the chance. He was unresponsive at first, but he wasn't moving away either. After a minute of indecision he seemed to have made up his mind because his kiss came with such force that her head hit the ground behind her. His lips pressed against hers, and before he could ask, she opened her mouth and allowed him entrance. Snape was pushing down on her with so much need and desire that she couldn't help but to return it. Their tongues were in an all out war for control, wrestling and pushing against each other. The fire inside Hermione was quickly intensifying and settling between her thighs.

Finally they had to pull away from each other for lack of oxygen. Their breathing was ragged and uncontrolled. Snape was looking down at her with a look she had never seen before; his eyes were filled with passion and lust and... something else. Before Hermione could figure out what that something else was though, Snape reclaimed her mouth again. His kisses were so demanding and possessive that Hermione thought she might have burst into flames right on the spot. She shifted her body to better align herself with him when she felt it. His erection was pressing on her pelvis. Oh Merlin! she thought, I want him... no, I need him inside me!

Snape suddenly realised that he was pressing against her. He pulled back abruptly and moved off of her. Without giving her a second glance, he turned and retrieved all the bottles. He placed them in the case, which he then shrunk and placed in his pocket.

"Come, Miss Granger," he said as he moved towards the exit. "It is getting late. We must return to the castle immediately."

"Wait!" she screamed. "Severus, we..." Snape turned back around with a venomous look in his eyes. It caught Hermione so off-guard that she stopped talking.

"You, Miss Granger," he spat, "will never show me such disrespect again! I am your professor and you WILL address me as sir or professor. Do you understand?" Hermione was so shocked that she couldn't help the tears that were rolling down her face. She looked at him for a moment, hoping he would change his mind, but his demeanour was unaltered. Hermione just gave him a shaky nod and stood up.

Snape led the way out of the forest, never once turning around to look at her. Hermione was devastated and did her best not to cry as she carefully watched her step so as not to fall. I've lost him, she thought desolately. Severus will never care for me. Severus could never care for me. I'm the fool for thinking that that night ever meant anything.

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A/N: Okay, I know I promised you some lemons in this chapter. Snape, unfortunately, is a stubborn man and he just wouldn't cooperate. (Please don't throw things at me!) But here's the good news, chapter five is very sour. Snape will cooperate if I have to tie him down to do it! (Of course, I might just do that anyways. *evil grin*) Please let me know what you thought of this chapter.

The next updates will probably be two weeks apart; it's just unrealistic for me to strive for weekly updates. Sorry.

Lotsa Love,

Cyana White