Pussy Whipped

Chapter 5: Pussy Whipped

Despite the frustrating beginning of the evening, the rest of the night went better than planned. The sex was exhilarating, the dinner sumptuous, and the dessert... erotic. I will have to remember to thank Dobby,thought Snape as he licked the remaining whipped cream off of Rosmerta's breast.

"Would you consider extending your visit until morning?" purred Severus, while his attentions were still on the delicious nipple.

Having recently been brought to climax, Rosmerta felt another twinge of excitement. She groaned inwardly as she fought the inner battle of being responsible or irresponsible. She would desperately love to spend the whole night with Severus, wake up in the morning enveloped in sleepy warmth with their naked bodies snuggled together.

She reached up to cup Snape's face in her hands and then lightly ran her finger down his nose and over his lips. Staring at him, she continued her internal debate. Finally, Rosmerta decided to do the mature and sensible thing, but not without regret.

"I've got to get back to the pub. You know the old saying, 'No rest for the weary.'" She noticed the deliberate look of rejection on Severus' face, and it twisted at her heart. "Actually, nothing would make me happier, but I promised Aberforth that I would return before closing. He was such a dear to come and oversee things while I took off; however, he needs to leave before too long. He mentioned that he had to get back to the Hog's Head Inn to take care of something tonight.

Snape snorted, "I'm sure he has a hot date with a goat."

"Come on now! You know that is just a vicious rumour," she laughed. "I know he has a certain fondness for goats, but not in that sense. Besides, what would you do without your source for bezoars?"

"I suppose," Severus sighed. Then a thought came to his mind. "Well I certainly can't send you back in this condition – all wet and sticky. Perhaps you could stay a little longer and join me in a nice hot shower? It's much more satisfying than a cleansing charm, and I promise to wash yours if you wash mine." He gave her a mischievous grin.

"Hmm! You drive a hard bargain, Professor. I suppose I do have time, but we have to make it rather quick."

"Quick?" Snape leaned down and gave Rosmerta a long, leisurely kiss. "Are you quite sure of yourself?" He leaned into her again, teasing her mouth with his tongue.

"Severus," she warned, "you are making it very difficult for me to..."

She never finished her sentence as he continued to kiss her lips, working his way to nibbling her earlobe. "You must realize, by now, that I am quite selfish when it comes to you." Strategically moving on to her neck, Severus continued to nip and suckle until he reached her collarbone. Rosmerta moaned as her body reacted to his attentions. He smiled wickedly, hoping to wear down her resolve. "What would be the harm of owling the old goat – requesting that he close your little establishment down early tonight?" Lightly licking a path to his lover's breast, he sensed her weakening.

"Mmm!" The witch found herself being pulled away from reality by the wizard's charms. The thought of closing down was quite tempting and, of course, very possible... except... she had her own dealings to attend to at the end of this evening's shift. Damn this war and its inconveniences! "No!" The word came out a bit stronger than she meant.

Severus stopped ravishing the body below him and looked at Rosmerta with confusion. She blushed as she fought for the right words without revealing the true reason of her need to depart his company.

"Severus," she began pleading, "I really do want to take advantage of that hot shower offer, but if you keep this up, I'll barely have time for the cleansing spell." She gave Snape a small smile, in hopes that he would not be too hurt by her persistence to leave his bed.

"I really don't understand why you feel so compelled to get back to the pub," Snape grumbled in irritation. He sighed, gave Rosmerta one last look before he rolled off of her, out of the bed, and stalked off to the bathroom.

Rosmerta's heart dropped as she felt guilty about how close she was to ruining the end of a perfectly wonderful evening.

"Severus?" She wasn't sure whether she was supposed to follow him, wait for him or just get dressed and leave. "Shit!" Rosmerta ran her hand through her hair, cursing herself for being such an idiot. She closed her eyes and listened to the thoughts that ran through her head. I am really handling this rather well, aren't I? Why does he have to be so temperamental? Why do I have such an attraction to the man? Buttons! Buttons! Damn those insufferable buttons! No... it was about the buttons, but now I think I love him. Shit! I promised I wouldn't fall for anyone until after this bloody war. This complicates and compromises everything. Shit! Shit! Shit!

As Rosmerta opened her eyes again, she saw Severus standing above her. He reached out his hand, waiting for her to grab it.

"Well? Are you going to just lie there and waste more of my valuable time or are you going to join me in the shower?" The sternness of his voice was belied by the slight smile that played across his lips.

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

The couple finished their shower and reluctantly donned their clothes. After being naked all evening it seemed strange to be dressed. It felt constricting.

Severus stood before Rosmerta, wearing his frock coat with the missing button. Usually one who paid attention to details, he wouldn't ordinarily dream of presenting himself in such disarray. Tonight, however, he looked upon the missing item as a badge of conquest or at least a reminder of their lovemaking.

Reaching up and slowly running her fingers across the remaining black buttons, Rosmerta sighed. "I had a wonderful evening Severus. I hate to see it come to an end." She leaned into him and placed her head on his shoulder. The musky smell of sex was replaced with the clean fragrance of sandalwood soap.

Snape held her against his body and ran his hands gently through her damp hair. "I take it that you would like a repeat performance?"

Rosmerta lifted up her head and smiled. "Oh, yes. I have every intention of repeating tonight's performance." Tugging gently at each of Snape's buttons, she continued, "Again and again until I manage to acquire every single button you own."

"Sounds like a worthy challenge."

"One I intend to win." The determination on the witch's face and in her voice gave the Potions master no doubt that she would, indeed, keep his wardrobe in constant repair.

Looking at the mantle clock, the couple noticed that their night together had come to an end. Rosmerta looked disappointed while Severus looked irritated. He briefly fantasized about tying her up to the bed and not allowing her to leave, but thought better of it. It was best not to risk any future encounters for his selfish desires.

"Well... would you care to escort me to the main gate? I would hate to be considered an intruder and be at the mercy of Argus Filch," Rosmerta joked.

"I can assure you, my dear, that he would enjoy every moment of it. I've heard rumours that he has quite the collection of manacles in his office." Lucky bastard, thought Snape.

"Hmm! Interesting! Perhaps you can borrow a pair for our next encounter," Rosmerta teased and then gave Severus a quick kiss.

"I could arrange that if it is what you wish. I'll see what it takes to acquire such implements." Snape gave her a fiendish smile before taking her arm and leading her out of his chambers.

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

The two figures made their way through the winding halls of Hogwarts until they reached the main entrance. Snape took great care to appear discreet, formulating a story in case they were approached along the way. He knew full well that any fabrication he developed would be suspect, but he felt it was nobody's damn business what he did in his free time. Although a trademark glower would certainly dissuade any students or faculty members from asking questions. A quick "Obliviate" would also be sufficient in taking care of such a matter. The thought of running into and wiping out the memories of a certain trio from Gryffindor was especially appealing to him. Suddenly, his thoughts were cut short by an annoyed and slightly distressed Rosmerta.

"Oh bother! I've lost it!"

Severus stared at her as he tried to decipher the cause of this woman's state of mind.

"The button! I've lost it!" Rosmerta was searching the pockets of her dress until she found a small hole. She poked her finger through the tear. "I must have ripped it open when I was undressing." The witch stomped her foot in agitation.

"Lost to a worthy cause, I may add." Snape tried to keep a straight face, but the corners of his mouth started to curl up.

Rosmerta flashed her eyes up at him. She managed a slight smirk, but Severus could see the disappointment in her face.

In order to ease some of her dismay, he continued. "Perhaps if you look around the castle floor you may find a replacement. Seems I've been losing quite a few buttons as of late. I suspect that I'm a target of some juvenile prank, and some idiot child has been hexing my clothes."

This caused Rosmerta to smile a little more. "Perhaps I'm not the only one with a button fetish." As she said this, she reached up to grasp one of Snape's remaining buttons.

"Hmm, perhaps..." He quickly grabbed her hand. "However, an unfortunate event such as losing your trinket, does not permit you to help yourself to another. Again, Miss Rosmerta, you will have to earn it."

Rosmerta was undaunted by this course of events and was very confident that she would acquire her button... and many more.

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

The button lay silently on the castle floor; its polished surface caught the light from the burning sconces hanging on the wall. The reflection caught the eye of Hogwarts' notorious watch cat – Mrs. Norris. She was on her evening rounds of stalking mice, beasties and students. She cautiously crept up to the black object and sniffed it. Staring at it for a moment, she finally recognized its essence. A vision of a dark-robed man appeared in her mind. It belongs to the dark one... the one they call Snape. She purred as she nosed the button for a moment and then lay down to rub against it.

Mrs. Norris didn't care for many of the castle's inhabitants. She took a standoffish manner with most that she met. Aside from Filch, the dark man was the only other human who she could say she adored. He wasn't overly friendly with her, but did allow the cat to follow him around the castle dungeons, rub up against his legs and sit beside him. Occasionally, the wizard would rub her head while talking to her master or feed her bits of kibble while working in his lab. He never made a big fuss over her, unlike the bearded one her owner called "Hagrid". He was too annoying for Norris' taste. His beard made her sneeze, and she often wished she could give him a good case of fleas.

Mrs. Norris got up and began pawing and batting at her newfound treasure, hitting it against the castle wall and chasing it as it bounced off and rolled away. So caught up in play, the cat didn't notice the bystander.

"Well, well, if it isn't the resident hairball of Hogwarts."

The sneering voice stopped Mrs. Norris in her tracks. The button rolled and came to a stop in between her and the intruder.

"Crookshanks!" Mrs. Norris hissed.

Her ears laid back and she positioned herself – ready to pounce.

Of all the cats in the castle, Mrs. Norris found Crookshanks the most irritating. His superior attitude and habit of harassing her fuelled her emotions.

"What do you have there, Norris?" Crookshanks asked as he eyed the button.

Mrs. Norris' claws came out as she cautiously stalked closer to the button. It was her button, and she would be damned if that mangy cat would take it from her.

"Nothing of your concern!" she spat. Trying to redirect the larger cat, she asked, "What are you doing down here?"

Crookshanks directed his attention to Mrs. Norris and sneered, "I smelled a rat and came down to investigate."

"Why? Not enough vermin crawling around up in the Gryffindor Tower?"

Crookshanks hissed, "Is that supposed to be funny?"

"About as funny as that furball you call 'master.'

"She's not my master – I own her!" he spat out.

"Hmm! Right then, that's what all self-important kitties think." Mrs. Norris smiled and continued. "Go back home before your bushy headed Muggle comes looking for you."

"At least she's magical – unlike your Squib! He couldn't hex the inside of a paper sack if he was standing in it."

This wiped the smile off Mrs. Norris' face. She hissed and took a swipe at the big yellow cat.

Crookshanks laughed. "Getting a little personal for you, Norris?"

Mrs. Norris couldn't contain her anger any longer and launched herself at the larger cat. A fight ensued with both cats hissing, spitting, clawing, biting, and snarling at each other. In the scuffle, the button was knocked down the hall, rolling out of sight.

The ruckus of the catfight caught the attention of Severus Snape, who was returning from his castle walk with Rosmerta.

"Wonderful!" he grumbled. "I'm reduced to not only breaking up fights between adolescent wizards, but now unruly cats."

Having experienced such fights between mongrels, he knew better than to jump into the middle of this mess. Raising his wand, he muttered, "Stupefy." The two cats suddenly stopped and all was quiet.

Severus carefully walked up to the jumble of fur and separated the two forms. He immediately identified one as Mrs. Norris and the other as Hermione Granger's. He picked up Mrs. Norris and cradled her in the crook of his arm.

"You," he uttered as he looked disdainfully at the large yellow cat, "can lie there until trolls become the superior race. Come, Mrs. Norris," he said sympathetically, "I'll take you back to Argus."

The professor started down the hallway but stopped, for a moment, and turned around to take another look at Crookshanks lying on the cold stone floor.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for neglecting to restrain pets after curfew."

With a satisfied look, Snape turned and continued on his way to Filch's. Keeping Mrs. Norris tucked close to his body, Severus knew he didn't want to break the spell on the cat, as of yet. He was certain that, when she awoke, she would have a few good swings in her before she realized her surroundings. He gently scratched the back of her ear as he took her to Filch's quarters.

Snape was not especially fond of pets. He could manage to live with owls or ravens for they didn't require extreme amounts of affection. They also tended to be independent and, more importantly, useful in delivering mail and packages. Mrs. Norris, on the other hand, had grown on him over the past number of years. She had a knack for searching out wayward students. On the Potions master's nightly rounds, he was always prepared to give her extra treats for finding wandering Gryffindors. Filch's cat served a purpose and was quite useful to Severus. He also felt she was a bit fond of him – or at least tolerated him as much as he tolerated her.

Snape finally reached his destination and knocked on Argus' door.

"Home again, you scruffy little puss."

As Mrs. Norris was being returned to the safety of her owner, a knock was heard on the entrance door of the Three Broomsticks. Rosmerta stopped cleaning up the remains of the night, smoothed out her dress and straightened her hair. Taking a deep breath, she went to receive the guest on the other side. Wistfully thinking of the mantra which got her through unpleasantness – this too shall pass – the proprietor did her best to put up a good front for the person which whom she was about to entertain.