There's No Place Like Home

Summary: He didn't hate Granger, but he wasn't exactly fond of her, either. So it was with great annoyance that Severus found himself pressed into service by Headmistress McGonagall to find the lost witch. Had anyone told him he would be enjoying the ample 'favours' of the not-so-bookish know-it-all by the end of the day in an effort to get back to their reality, he would have promptly committed them to St Mungo's. But reality has a way of turning on you, and magic can have many different meanings.

A rather later response, more or less, to Lotm's "Lost in a good book challenge" on Wiktt. Challenge rules follow chapter one.

Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc., of the Harry Potter series are not mine; they belong to J.K. Rowling and Co. I promise to return them when I am through. Well, most of them anyway.

And for the record, the characters, settings, etc. of " The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty" by Anne Rice, "The Story of O" by Pauline Réage' and "The Master's Handbook" by Jack Rinella, as with HP, are not mine, either.

Severus Snape and The Claiming of Sleeping Hermione

Chapter Four: There's No Place Like Home

The serving wench was Millicent Bulstrode. Hermione remained in the bed with the sheet covering her body until the girl left.

Severus sat at the table the girl had brought in. "You know you can't remain in that bed forever. The Prince paraded Beauty nude everywhere he went." He was pleased to see her blush covered the upper half of her torso.

Hermione grabbed a pillow off the bed and placed it on the chair. The sheet and pillowcases were clean; there was no telling when the chair had been cleaned last. "If you think I'm walking around nude, you've got another...hey, I was going to eat that!"

Severus batted her hand away from the food. "And you shall eat, my Beauty, what I feed you. Just like in the book," he said with a smirk.

Hermione pouted but took the proffered grape gently between her lips. She kept her hands in her lap, eating and drinking only what he fed her. Softly she sucked at his fingers, hers eyes fluttering close. The scene was erotic, and one Severus was starting to regret as he felt his body respond to the visual stimuli.

They managed to make it through dinner without Severus throwing Hermione down on the table and taking her again.

It'd been a long day. Hermione sank gratefully into the bed. Removing his clothes, Severus joined her, once again pulling her lush body against his. After much discussion, they decided the people around them were not the people they knew.

"Thank God, I'd never be able to face anyone again. I'd hate to think all those people are going to see me nude and remember what I look like."

"Or recall the lovely handprints you've been sporting on your backside." A quick swat accompanied the statement. "Your mind must be populating the story with people you know," he said, feeling the comforting weight of Hermione lying on his shoulder. He pressed a soft kiss to her temple. "We need to talk when we get out of here."

"Mmm, I agree." The statement was muffled. The stress and events of the day had exhausted the witch. Sleep overtook her almost immediately.

Severus watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest. What would happen when they left the book? After the physical relationship they'd shared here, even if it wasn't real, he didn't think he could go back to being indifferent where she was concerned. If he were really going to be honest with himself, he'd been admiring the young woman for sometime now. She had more than lived up to Minerva's expectations of her teaching abilities. The students liked her and, more importantly, learned from her. They'd had a few interesting discussions in the staff room when he found out she still subscribed to Potions Today. He had to admit, her mind was as sharp as it had ever been.

And now this.

What would happen to them when they left this world?

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"Severus, wake up. Where are we?"

Severus looked around the room. Their surroundings had definitely changed. The dusty, disintegrating opulence of the palace had been replaced with a kind of solid country look. The four-poster was gone. Instead, they were sleeping in a simple bed without a headboard. The tiled floor was replaced with a wood one. Even the walls were bare, the draperies plain fabric instead of the decaying silk swags he had noticed. "Well, we're not in Kansas anymore, that's for sure."

"The Wizard of Oz, you're quoting The Wizard of Oz to me?" Hermione looked at him questioningly. "How do you know The Wizard of Oz? Don't tell me Frank Baum was really a wizard?"

Severus shook his head. "No, but you knew Albus. Did you really think he would've passed up the chance to show the staff a movie about what Muggles think of witches? He told us it would better help us understand the prejudices we'd face when talking to the parents of Muggle-borns."

Hermione laughed. She could just imagine them gathered in the staff room, Albus spelling a projector to show on the walls. "Did he let you have popcorn? It's a good movie, and maybe not so far off target."

Severus rose and moved to the window. "Frank Baum somehow stumbled into a Quidditch game. I'm not sure how he came up with his good witch/bad witch theory; maybe it had something to do with the colours of the uniforms. He was Obliviated and returned to his home."

"But a green witch?"

Severus shrugged "Most likely someone dyed their skin in support of the Kenmare Kestrels that year. Probably the Memory Charm scrambled a few things in his brain. They do have a tendency to backfire from time to time. Well, from the looks of things, we're at the Inn. The spell must have taken pity on you and decided you didn't have to walk nude out of the castle."

Hermione scrambled over to the window. A quiet country road ran alongside the building they were in. "How do we get out of here?"

"Through the door." Severus smiled. "Let's go, my Beauty."

Hermione turned around. Severus was dressed in traditional clothes of the era. His cape wasn't too different from the one he usually wore at Hogwarts, with the exception that this one wasn't black. "Can't you transfigure something for me to wear? I don't seem to have my wand with me. Or a place to put it."

Severus ran his hands slowly up and down the smooth skin of Hermione's arms. His voice was low, mesmerising. "No one is real here, except me. This is a fantasy, taking place in your mind. Let yourself go. When we get out of here, the people you think you've seen will have no idea what you're talking about. They're not experiencing this, you are." Gently he turned her toward the door. "Go."

As if in a trance, Hermione walked out the door and down the stairs. She barely saw the people in the Inn, her eyes on the road outside the door, instead.

"Your Highness, the horses are ready for our return trip."

Hermione stopped suddenly and balked. A bored-looking Ron Weasley stood holding the bridle of Severus's horse.

"Not real," he whispered in her ear. Severus smiled as Hermione reluctantly nodded. "Thank you, soldier. Hold the lead steady while Beauty and I mount her."

Hermione turned to glare at the dour man when suddenly her world shifted. "Severus!"

He'd used the advantage of surprise to grab her around the waist and throw the witch over his shoulder. A quick swat to her exposed buttocks brought a quiet chuckle from the assembled. "Quiet, Beauty. We have far to go today, and I'll not listen to your tongue waggle the whole trip."

Hermione fought to keep a civil tongue in her mouth, knowing he would not hesitate to spank her again. "Yes, Master."

Her shiver was real as he gently caressed her backside. "Good girl," he murmured.

A simple Levitation Charm allowed him to keep Hermione on his shoulder as he mounted the horse. They took off for the castle at a steady pace.

A short while later, they came to a wooded area with a fresh stream running through it; Severus ordered a rest stop for the horses and their riders. He walked his horse a bit deeper into the trees, casting a Disillusionment Charm and Do Not Notice on them and the area around them. Carefully, he slid Hermione off his shoulder and pulled her around to face him, her legs straddling his thighs as she sat backward in the saddle.

"Planning to have your wicked way with me again, Master?" She braced herself against his chest as she moved forward for a kiss.

"Something like that." He had to assume it was the spell. He'd had the witch twice, and he was hard again. Of course, the feel of her breasts bouncing against his back as he rode, and her constant squirming, hadn't helped the matter. "Any objections?"

Hermione reached forward to free his turgid member from its confines. "None that I can think of."

He pulled her up against him, positioning her over his cock as she moved and allowed gravity to take its course as she impaled herself on his member. His mouth plundered hers, one hand pulling at her nipples, his other seeking out her clit.

Hermione was a willing participant in their shared debauchery, one hand gently massaging his balls, the other gripping his shoulder, her nails digging through the soft silk of his shirt.

"Severus..."

"I know." They rode each other hard and fast, each reaching for their own completion as they felt their partner doing the same. Suddenly, the world around them streaked with light and went dark.

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Severus woke up first. They were back in the Forbidden Forest; from what he could tell, maybe twenty minutes had passed since he'd stumbled upon the witch. Fear and doubt tumbled through his mind. It wasn't real; he knew that, but they had shared something. And he thought he might have found something he'd lost a long time ago.

Would she be interested in pursuing a relationship with him? The sex had been mind-blowing, but there was something more there.

"Would you say something, anything?" Her quiet voice cut through his thoughts.

"We're back." He didn't know what to say. He did; there were a thousand things he wanted to tell her, but he didn't know where to begin. "Hermione, I..."

"Severus, I'm sorry. I didn't know you could drag someone with you into the book."

He shook his head. "It's all right."

A smile lit her face. "You don't mind?"

"Have you ordered any other titles from that company?"

"There are a few I've been looking at. Why? Would you consider another go round with me?" she asked.

"I believe that could be a definite possibility."

They both sat quietly for a moment, lost in thought. It was Severus who broke the silence. "I know the book isn't real, but I think we..." He stopped, not sure how to express his feelings.

Hermione's eyes sparkled. "We had a connection. I felt it too."

"Would you be interested in seeing if we have anything in common in the real world?"

"Besides the great sex? Yes, I think I'd like that."

Severus helped her pack up and shrink her belongings. "Whatever possessed you to purchase that thing?"

The witch shrugged. "When you're alone as often as I am, well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Actually, considering the outcome, I'd say it was a great idea."

"And there is no one that interests you?"

"There is now. Severus, you said it yourself: I'm a know-it-all. What man wants to date a know-it-all and a hero of the war to boot?"

He held a hand out to her as they stood, pulling her into his embrace. "I can think of someone. Care to see the dungeons, my Beauty?"

"I thought you'd never ask...Master."

--The End --

A/N: Well, it seems I can write a PWP, even if a smidgen of plot did sneak in. I usually find it easier to write intimate scenes when they are part of a larger story and portray the characters changing feelings for each other.

I'm hope you've enjoyed the story, who knows, maybe they fall into another book sometime in the near future.

A grateful thank you to my beta, Nakhash, for her corrections, suggestions, and never-ending supply of commas; she is truly the best of the best. Another set of eyes is always helpful; the mistakes, however, are still mine.

Pearle