Touching and Testing

Disclaimer: I make no money from writing this fic. It's just for fun. A lot of fun.

Thanks go, as always, to my friend and beta, Southern_Witch_69, for the time she spends helping me and for the excellent work she does.

Touching and Testing

Over the next week or so, it was more of the same. After the first night, the uncertainty and formality began to slip away, and both became more comfortable in the other's presence. They spent most evenings in either his quarters or hers, talking and kissing, falling asleep together several more times. Severus managed to wake himself up on the nights he had to patrol. After that first night, neither had felt the need to wake the other when they left. It was an unspoken understanding that they'd rather not wake each other if they could help it, and neither took offense to waking up alone.

During the days, Severus found himself thinking about Hermione almost constantly, and when he wasn't actively dwelling on her, remembering a particular kiss or smile, she was there in the back of his mind. His students all wondered about the sudden drop off in the amount of points he took for random offences, but no one was foolish enough to look a gift horse in the mouth. Whatever had him distracted, they hoped it was permanent.

Severus didn't truly realize how hard he had fallen until the following Tuesday when Hermione received an owl at lunch from her Arithmancy friend. He saw her bright smile as she read the letter, then turned to him after to tell him that her friend, Chen, was interested in being their test subject. She told him how glad she'd be to see Chen since she hadn't seen him since university.

A stab of inexplicable jealously ran through him, and he had the completely irrational thought that Chen was the stupidest name he'd ever heard. Just as quickly as the thought had been there, he realized how childish a thing it was to think and wondered where the hell it had come from.

For one moment, he'd been truly, madly jealous at the thought of Hermione happy to see another man. He realized how inappropriate that was; they'd only been "dating" for a week. He knew logically that there was nothing to be jealous of, that she was just happy to see a friend, but he couldn't dismiss the fact that the jealousy had been there, had seized him as a gut reaction. That thought gave him pause.

He realized that though they'd only been seeing each other for a short time, he considered Hermione to be his. He'd considered her to be his for maybe even longer than she'd been his – perhaps not nearly to this extent, but on some level he must have. Why else would her ignoring him have bothered him so much? He'd taken for granted that she would always be there to smile at him, and when she'd stopped, he'd felt like something that was his, even something as simple as the warmth she'd always shown him, had been taken from him.

And now, apparently, just her mentioning another man sent a stab of possessiveness through him that was beyond his control. What did that mean?

It was then that he realized, with a great deal of astonishment, how deep his feelings for her ran. Even more amazing was that even as he realized he was in over his head, he realized he didn't care. The way he felt, the time he'd been spending with her, all of it was right. For once in his life, giving up control was proving to be the right thing to do. He was experiencing something new with Hermione every day, and if he hadn't taken the plunge and opened himself up to her, none of it would be happening.

As startling as the revelation of the depth of his feelings was, he thought it was worth it. As long as he could go on experiencing these moments with Hermione, as long as he could keep Hermione, the loss of control was something he could live with. In fact, he thought he would like to explore just how deep his feelings could go.

"Are you listening to me, Severus?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"What?" he said, her voice drawing him back to reality. "Yes, of course. What were you saying?"

She rolled her eyes. "I was telling you that Chen could be here on Friday evening. I asked you if you'd like me to confirm?"

"Yes, that would be fine."

"Right then." Hermione conjured a pen and immediately scrawled a response and tied it to the owl's leg. She watched with a smile as it flew away.

Severus could only watch her, his heart thudding in his chest as he lost himself to his observation, the rest of the world falling silent. She met his eyes, and he felt another streak of possessiveness grip him, but this time he didn't question it. Instead, he shifted his chair imperceptibly closer to her.

They still hadn't shown any outward sign of their new relationship in front of anyone else. Both of them were private people and didn't want to open up something they considered to be so personal to be gossiped about. But as he took in the affection in her eyes that she probably didn't even realize was there, he had an urge to take her hand, implications be damned. He resisted, giving her a small wink instead, then turned back to his lunch.

Hermione noticed how focused he was on her and wondered what he was thinking. This past week had been wonderful. She loved every moment she got to spend with him, even enjoyed his sarcastic comments and grumbled complaints because they came from him. She almost giggled at that thought. She was downright besotted, and she knew it.

She'd been in love with him for a long time, but the reality of having him made it so much more. She was giddy half the time. She often caught herself grinning broadly about how lucky she was to be with him after so long of wanting him and thinking it would just have to stay an unfilled desire.

But it hadn't. Somehow, fortune had landed her in Severus' arms, and she couldn't have been happier about it.

abababababab

That night, they both took dinner in the Great Hall simply because they didn't want their absences to be routine enough to notice. Severus asked Hermione where they'd be spending the evening.

"Acutally," she said, "I'm afraid I've gotten behind on my marking. I really need to get some done tonight."

Severus thought this meant he'd be spending the evening alone, and he sighed inwardly, but she surprised him.

"If you'd like, you can bring some of your own to my chambers, or a book, or something," she said. "That way we don't have to give up our time together."

He snorted amusedly. "Not much to give up if we'll both be busy with something else." He meant it as a joke, but Hermione's silence caused him to pause. He turned to her, wondering why she hadn't said anything, and was surprised as he watched the blood drain out of her face.

"Oh," she said. "You're probably right. I just... thought that... never mind."

A week ago, he probably wouldn't have noticed the hurt in her voice, but now it was loud and clear. He was confused. What had he said wrong?

"Hermione?"

She was deep in thought, chewing on her lower lip, and she barely heard him. The truth was that she felt that any time spent in his company was time well spent. It wouldn't have mattered to her what they were doing as long as they were together. She just wanted to be with him. Had she been wrong in assuming he felt the same way? She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but the thought that he might only consider her company worthwhile if they were kissing... hurt.

"What's wrong?" Severus asked.

"Nothing," she said quickly, then remembered as he raised his eyebrows that they needed to be able to talk to one another. How would she know what he was thinking if she didn't ask? She looked into his eyes reluctantly and swallowed. "I just... I thought it would be nice to have you there with me, even if we were just marking essays. I... I enjoy your company, even when we're not... you know, and I thought you felt the same. Was I wrong? Do you only want to spend time with me if we're..."

"No," he said quickly. "Of course not." He was mentally kicking himself. Of course he wanted to spent time with her. It didn't matter what they were doing. He'd be happy just to have her in the same room. Why had he said that? Did he really only want to spend time with her if it involved kissing and touching? No. That wasn't it. He enjoyed that part of their relationship very much, but he'd realized over the last week, and especially at lunch today, that his feelings for her were based on more than something purely physical. That was the last thing he wanted her to think.

"Then, what is it?" she asked, confused. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No, Hermione." He shook his head, leaning in close enough for only her to hear him – not that anymore could have anyway with all the noise and chatter in the hall. "There's nothing to tell. I made an unintelligent joke that I hadn't thought through. I didn't consider how it could be taken. Of course I want to spend the evening with you. It doesn't matter what we're doing. Actually," he said thoughtfully, "I do have some marking I could do, too."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief in and let herself smile.

"If the offer's still open, I'll just stop by my quarters and meet you there."

"It is... open, that is. I'll leave the door unlocked."

He nodded and took one more sip of his wine before he left. Hermione finished her meal and left about fifteen minutes later. She had barely closed the door to her chambers when Severus came in after her with a stack of papers in his hand.

She left him in her sitting room and went to change out of her teaching robes. She called to him and told him to make himself comfortable. When she returned minutes later, he had transfigured her sofa and coffee table into two chairs and two glass-top desks and was already occupying one of them, busily marking away. She usually did this in her study, but it would work just as well.

They spent a couple of hours like this until Hermione was as caught up as she needed to be. She glanced over at Severus to measure his progress through his stack of essays and found him watching her, no essays in sight.

"How long have you been finished?" she asked.

"Not long," he replied, yawning a bit. He stood and helped her to her feet, then lazily transfigured her furniture back to its proper form. "Now," he said, turning to her, "I have a little problem that needs attending to."

Hermione reflexively glanced down at his groin, and he chuckled. "Not that sort of problem. At least, not yet. I'm sure that will also be a problem in a short while if I get my way."

Hermione grinned coquettishly. "And what way would that be?"

"I've just spent the last ten minutes watching you gnaw on that lip of yours. I'm afraid it's given me some rather detailed ideas about what I'd like to do with it myself."

"Oh?"

"Indeed," he murmured as he pulled her against him and lowered his mouth to claim hers.

She relaxed against him as she felt his tongue dart into her mouth. After a few minutes of increasingly frenzied exploration, Hermione felt him growing hard against her stomach and felt her body heating up in a way it hadn't since that first night. The kisses they'd shared since then had been wonderful, but this was quickly becoming something different, something hungrier. She felt him rocking his erection against her gently and moaned into his mouth, and he moaned back.

Severus, for his part, had kept his more primal side at bay all week, knowing that they both needed the time to feel more comfortable with one another. He hadn't let himself become too aroused before tonight. He hadn't really intended for things to turn that way now, but it was rapidly becoming out of his hands. She was responding eagerly to the demands of his mouth, her hands clutching the fabric of his shirt tightly. Her little moans were making his head spin.

She felt so good rubbing against his cock like that. He slid his hands down and gripped her arse, pulling her against him and grinding harder, remembering how forcefully he had come by his own hand, just by thinking about her. It was completely intoxicating. Without even thinking about what he was doing, he sort of stumbled into a seat on the couch and pulled her onto him so she was straddling him. His hands cupped her arse again as he pulled her down against his erection and ground up.

He gave a low moan and let his head fall back. He was rapidly losing control again, and he hoped Hermione didn't mind, but any doubts he had about her willingness vanished as she attacked his neck with her mouth, groaning as she rocked her heated center against him, relieving some of the awful pressure there.

"Touch me," she said huskily. Severus was only too happy to oblige her. He kept one hand on her arse, setting the pace for her hips with a gentle pressure, and slid the other up to her breast, grinding his thumb in circles against her nipple through the fabric of her cotton blouse.

She shuddered. "More," she almost whimpered. He looked into her eyes dazedly; most of his consciousness was focused on the wonderful friction against his cock. But he still had enough sense to recognize a woman in need. He didn't waste time with the buttons of her blouse; he just used both hands to reach under the hem and bunch it up over the top of her breasts, then pushed the cups up, freeing them. If he hadn't already been so far gone, he would have appreciated the fact the he was staring at Hermione's breasts for the first time for the tremendous moment that it was, but his body was only telling him more, now...

He leaned forward and licked one puckered nipple as his fingers cupped and stroked her other breast, and she bucked hard against him, whimpering. "That's so good..."

Severus grunted something unintelligible and continued his ministrations, snaking one hand back down to rest on her hip, her body now thrusting against him without any help from him.

Suddenly she pulled his mouth away from her breast and back to hers. Her tongue plundered his mouth unmercifully until she pulled back and stared into his eyes.

"Oh, God, Severus, I'm going to come... Severus, I'm..." She threw her head back and cried out. Severus wished he'd been closer so he could have come with her, but watching her face twist and flush as she orgasmed was a beautiful thing in and of itself. Her shuddering finally subsided, and she met his eyes again. She smiled, and he thought they were finished, but again, she surprised him.

"Severus," she whispered, "can I touch you?"

Can she touch me? Merlin, yes... He nodded, hoping she meant she wanted to touch his cock. She did. He groaned as she reached between them and unzipped his trousers. They both watched as she pulled his erection out of his shorts. She held her hand still as she gripped him, looking at his pulsing cock with fascination.

She swiped the pad of her thumb over the head, smearing a bit of the liquid she found there, and he gritted his teeth. She stroked him once experimentally and watched his face for a reaction. When he hissed and bit his lip, she knew she'd done something right. She repeated the action several times and felt more confident when his eyes rolled back in his head. She'd had sex before, but she'd never done this. It reassured her to know it was affecting him so.

She began stroking him in earnest, all the while watching his face to make sure he was enjoying it and loving that she was doing this to him. After a few minutes, she felt his body begin to shudder, so she sped up. His cocked swelled in her hand, and she knew he was getting close.

He confirmed this, thrusting up hard into her hand and moaning, "Don't stop, don't stop, almost, there... Now, coming – Now, Hermione!"

She watched in fascination as first his face contorted as if in agony, then as his mouth went slack, and she could feel the warmth of his seed as it covered her hand. He let out a final, forceful sigh, and Hermione was understandably pleased with herself. He went boneless as she leaned forward and rested against him, smiling against his shoulder.

After a moment, he muttered a cleansing spell and wrapped his arms around her, sighing again. "Thank you, Hermione," he said.

"Don't mention it." She thought she should really be thanking him. She felt him shift and watched as he put his flaccid cock back into his trousers and fastened them. She smirked and gave him a quick kiss, then rested against him again, feeling content.

He muttered another spell, and Hermione felt her sofa shift again as it became a sort of makeshift recliner. Severus leaned back and pulled Hermione with him until she was draped over him and he was lying almost horizontally. He tucked her head under her chin and rubbed her back lightly with his palm. Soon, they were both asleep, and this time, they slept the night through.

In the morning, they both awoke early, and Severus left before it got too late. Neither wanted to risk that someone would see him exiting Hermione Granger's quarters and wonder why.

abababababab

Friday arrived, and with it came the nervousness and jealousy that Severus thought he was too old, too this, and too that to be feeling. If he could just get through the testing with his dignity intact, he could deal with his foolishness at a later date.

The evening came, and Severus waited quietly in his lab for Hermione and Chen to arrive. She'd told him at lunch that Chen would be arriving around six and would come to her quarters first before they'd join him in his lab. Severus had bit his lip to keep from snapping out something he'd regret. She had told him she'd explain everything in further detail to Chen on the way.

Just how much would she be explaining? Would she let him know that they were seeing each other, that she was his, or would he have to explain it for her? Just what was her history with this Chen person? How well had they known each other at university? He smugly thought that he'd known her for longer and that he had her now, and then he rolled his eyes at himself for his childishness – but the thought that he had something over Chen because he'd been a part of her life for much longer didn't cease to give him vindictive pleasure.

By the time Hermione and Chen arrived at his lab, Severus, in his mind, had constructed an image of a handsome, suave, devious bastard who was just waiting for the right moment to make his move on Hermione. When he opened the door and saw Hermione arm in arm with the man, grinning, he nearly growled. As it turned out, the man in front of him didn't quite match the image he'd constructed – he was shorter than Hermione and had a sort of mousy look to him – but there was still the fact that he and Hermione were linked arm in arm.

They stepped into the lab and Hermione introduced them. "Severus, this is Chen Gao. Chen, Severus Snape."

"Hello, Professor Snape," Chen said in a plain British accent that surprised Severus – for some reason the Chen in his mind spoke with a condescending Oriental twang. "It's an honor to finally meet you. Hermione's always had wonderful things to say about you."

Severus watched as Hermione blushed, and he felt the knot in his stomach loosen. "Oh?"

Chen nodded, but didn't elaborate, which disappointed Severus. But at least now he wasn't seeing green, much.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Hermione said, nodding to Severus.

Any lingering jealously and worry he'd felt lifted bit by bit as the testing went on and there was obviously nothing more than friendly companionship between Hermione and Chen – then disappeared completely when the testing had been completed successfully and the three of them were standing around discussing this and that; Hermione moved closer to Severus mid conversation and casually, but plainly, took his hand and threaded her fingers through his.

In front of anyone else, it might have made him uncomfortable, but in this situation, it was just what was needed to reassure him and put him at ease. She did it so naturally and didn't even blink or pause in her sentence when Chen's gaze flickered down to their joined hands. Severus squeezed her hand once to show that the gesture was welcome, and that was that.

After Chen left, Hermione turned to Severus and smiled brightly. "That went well."

"Indeed."

"Would you say the test was sufficient enough to satisfy the Licensing Office?"

"Yes, quite sufficient," he said, nodding. "It's just a matter now of the patent. Then we'll have a solicitor take care of the marketing aspect."

"This is so exciting, Severus," she said, moving in and hugging him happily. "I know I'm being silly, but I've never been a part of something like this. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be involved."

Severus hugged her back and smirked. Now was as good a time as any to confess. She'd figure it out eventually anyway. "About that," he said. "I'm afraid I have a bit of a confession to make."

She pulled back and scanned his face worriedly. "What?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

He chuckled. "No. There's just... I may as well just say it. I didn't give you the opportunity to be involved, Hermione. You created it yourself."

She looked at him in confusion.

"I wouldn't have even thought of the project if it hadn't been for you."

"What?"

He nodded. "I was irritated with the distance you were maintaining and wanted you to have no choice but to acknowledge me, so I asked for your assistance with the potion."

"Yes, I know. I figured that was why you asked me. I was so proud of myself that I'd gotten to you and that you were finally paying attention to me." She chuckled, amused with herself.

"Yes, well, what you apparently hadn't figured out was that at the time I asked for your assistance, there was no project. After you agreed to help me, I spent the week inventing the project so that when you arrived, I would have a legitimate excuse for having asked you. But then, by the time that night came, I was genuinely interested in what my little scheme had morphed into."

Hermione's mouth gaped open.

"So you see, you have just as much right to claim ownership of the Deciphering Draught as I have, as it wouldn't exist if not for you. That's why I insisted on you having an equal share."

Hermione started giggling, and her giggles quickly turned into uncontrollable laughter that had her bent over and clutching her stomach.

Severus didn't think it was that funny, but he enjoyed seeing her laugh, so he just watched, finding how extreme her reaction was to be much more amusing than the original confession.

"You," she finally choked out, "scheming. And me... my clever little plan. Oh, God..." She wiped tears from her eyes. "Oh... That's too perfect."

He raised his eyebrows in a silent request for her to elaborate.

"It's just," she said, the last of her chuckles finally dying away to be replaced by a grin, "I thought I was so clever getting you to ask me to help you, and the whole time you had a plan of your own, which of course you would. I don't know why I thought you would just passively take my bait. The whole time I thought I was the one in control."

He just stared at her, barely restraining the smile that was playing around his lips.

"Not that funny when I say it out loud," she said. "But in my head..." She laughed again. "You must think I'm crazy."

He snorted. "No crazier than I."

She moved in and hugged him again, and this time he did smile. "I don't think you're crazy. I think you're brilliant."

He tilted her chin up with his fingers and proceeded to prove just how brilliant he thought she was. This soon led to more, and they barely made it through the door of his chambers and onto his sofa before a spectacular repeat of the night before last left them boneless and sleepy.

This time it was Hermione who had to leave quietly before the hustle and bustle of the castle, even on a Saturday, made it difficult for her to get back to her own quarters unseen.

abababababab

At dinner, Hermione reminded Severus that the next day was her father's birthday. Severus hadn't even thought about it since she'd first mentioned it, but this time, instead of the reflexive alarm he'd felt when she'd asked him if he'd wanted to meet her parents, he felt a different kind of apprehension. This time, it wasn't the thought that it was too soon that had him swallowing thickly; it was that he was afraid he'd screw it up. He found he wanted to meet her parents because it would mean she was making him an official part of her life. He was just nervous about all the things that could go wrong.

He wasn't exactly the type that most women would bring home to 'meet the family.'

He took a deep breath as he listened to Hermione. "I've spoken with my mother, and they'd like for us to be there around 4:30."

"Us?"

She faltered. "Yes, us. I thought you said you wanted to come."

"I did. That's not what I mean. I was asking if your parents are aware that you won't be coming alone."

"Oh," she said. "Yes, I told my mother I'd be bringing someone with me."

"Someone?"

"A man."

He arched a brow, and she rolled her eyes. "Yes, a man I'm seeing. They know about our relationship."

Severus breathed a sigh of relief. That would be one less thing they would have to explain to her parents. But then that thought led him to another, and he had to ask. "Hermione, are they aware that I am the man you are seeing?"

She bit her lip.

"Your ex-professor? The man twice your age that you no doubt told them horror stories about during your school years?"

"Severus, I have never told them horror stories about you; I've never had anything but words of respect for you, even when I was irritated with your treatment of me and my friends, and you are not twice my age."

"Nearly."

She rolled her eyes again. "No, I have not told them that the man I'm seeing is my ex-professor or that he is older than I am because it doesn't matter to me. I don't want them to focus on that. If I tell them beforehand, it will just be opening the door for them to build up an opinion of you before they meet you. I want us all to start off on the right foot, okay?"

Severus nodded. What she was saying made sense, but still, he couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't wise not to give her parents time to get used to the idea first. "Hermione, what are they going to say when they open the door expecting to find someone young and handsome, and they find me? Don't you think it would be better to soften the blow first?"

Hermione snorted. "Blow? It's not as if I'm telling them I'm pregnant and moving to the States. It will be fine. You are not bad news, Severus. And you may not be as young as I am, but you are handsome."

Severus narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips as if to say, 'You must be joking.'

"You are," she insisted. "To me, you are. I like the way you look." She gave him a true smile and squeezed his hand briefly under the table.

"Really?" he asked, truly wanting to understand what she liked about his looks.

"Yes, really." She realized his fragile male ego needed stroking, and she didn't mind doing it. She really did think he was handsome, so she wasn't spewing false compliments. "I like your eyes, and your jaw, the sharpness of your features. Your hair, now that you keep it clean. I like that you're taller than me, and I like that you keep your body in shape. And, yes," she said with a smirk, "I like your nose. It suits you."

"You like all that about me?" he asked, honestly bewildered, but nonetheless pleased – and wanting to hear her confirm it one more time.

"Yes, I do. And those are just the things I like about you physically. There's more under the surface, and tomorrow my parents are going to see that, too, and once they have, it won't matter how old you are or that you were my professor."

Severus felt much better after that, realizing that Hermione wouldn't change her opinion of him no matter what happened when he met her parents.

abababababab

They fell asleep that night on Severus' sofa, at opposite ends, after spending several hours taking turns reading aloud and massaging each other's feet. Hermione realized as she left in the early hours of the morning that they hadn't kissed once the entire night. Oddly enough, that put a smile on her face.

SB's Notes: You may be able to tell how much fun I had writing that smut. It may not be the smuttiest of smut, but I hope it got the job done satisfactorily, so to speak. lol

Thanks for sticking with me. Only two more chapters to go! As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome and appreciated.

Next up – we meet the parents. Now that was fun to write.

:-D