Ten: Acts of Love

Chapter Ten: Acts of Love

"Albus, you must read this – there's an article here saying that I'm at death's door!" Minerva handed him the Daily Prophet. "I never would think that my illness would rate even a single paragraph in that rag, let alone a full column on page three."

"Mmm, above the fold in the top right-hand corner, as well. You have almost arrived. It's only a matter of time before you make headlines – wait, you've done that already, haven't you!" Albus chuckled. "Hmm. Well, at least there's nothing inaccurate. Other than the fact that the entire thing is a fabrication, of course. It would be the one time that the paper got all of the details right. Oh, did you see – they've put a little box down here with all of the things you can expect to have wrong with you once you've recovered. Unless you die, as they so charitably remind their readers. Mmm. I didn't realise that crossed-eyes might be one of your residual problems. I'm sorry, my dear, but if you go cross-eyed, I shall have to leave you . . . it would be most disconcerting!" he teased.

"Cross-eyed! Hmmpf! Let me have that back. You are not showing the proper amount of appreciation for my grave illness at all!" Minerva laughed.

"Oh, my, this does not sound very good," she said, looking at the list. "I do hope they are all optional. Of course I could always claim to be suffering from the fourth one. No one would dare question that."

"Which one was that, my dear?"

"Loss of libido." They both chuckled and finished their breakfasts.

"I think you should use the bathroom first, Albus. I need to go make sure that Severus hasn't allowed himself to enter a catatonic state just so that we could have a peaceful breakfast."

"Yes, and Remus will be here soon. I want to get up to the Great Hall in a few minutes. I should have left already, in fact."

Minerva finished her tea then walked out to the sitting room where she found Severus, fully dressed and reading the Daily Prophet. Wilspy must have brought him one, as well. Perhaps she was softening toward him.

"Did you find anything of interest, Severus?"

"Yes, a witch in Darrowby has written in for advice. She thinks that her son's wife is having an affair and she wants to know what to do about it. Thing is, she thinks that the affair is with her other son. She's afraid of alienating them both. And there's a girl who is suffering from unrequited love. She loves her best friend, but he just thinks of her as one of his mates. She wants to know how to get him to notice that she's not exactly like the blokes he hangs about with, as she puts it in her letter."

"You didn't look at the news items?"

"No, did I miss something?"

Minerva took the newspaper from him and had just found the article when Albus bustled through. "Severus, may I Floo through to your office? I am running a bit late, and your office is closer to the Great Hall."

"Of course, Albus."

"Here, Severus, read this – we made the papers."

Severus read in silent concentration. He had taken hold of her hand when she passed him the Prophet, and he hadn't noticed. Minerva stood patiently as he held her hand and read the story.

"How odd. It's accurate. At least as accurate as it could be considering the entire story is a falsehood."

"Mmm. I wonder who their source was."

"Must have been someone who was there. And someone who likes you and doesn't dislike me. Perhaps a member of the staff – although they should all know better."

"I liked the description of you carrying me from the hall. It was almost as though I was there. Which I was, but I wasn't in much of a position to appreciate much more than the fact that you were carrying me and keeping me from hurting myself."

"I don't want to think about that, Minerva. It was very difficult for me." He raised her hand to his mouth. "I need to make a very brief appearance in the Great Hall before I leave for Mongolia. May I kiss you before I go?"

Minerva smiled. "Of course you may, Severus."

He stood and looked down at her, caressing her face before tilting her chin and bending down to kiss her. He kissed her gently, softly, sensually, and he put an arm around her to pull her closer. Minerva put one arm around his waist and one hand on his shoulder. Hmm. This wizard learned quickly. The imperative compelled him further, and he began to push her dressing gown from her, trying to get closer, trying to show her his love for her. Minerva pulled back. "Severus – Severus – you have to go now."

Severus gazed at her a moment, then dropped his hands. "Yes. Yes, of course."

Twenty-five minutes later, Albus and Severus Flooed back to the suite. "I thought that went quite well, Severus. I believe that Remus appreciated the handshake. It was very collegial of you."

"Hmmpf. As long as he does what you brought him here to do, Albus. Does he know that Minerva isn't really ill?"

"Not specifically, although because I had asked him whether he could teach this week even before Minerva supposedly became ill, I am sure he has guessed it is some ruse to get you out of the castle. I doubt very much that he – or anyone else – would guess that your departure is going to be faked, as well. I hope you don't mind parting with a few locks of hair, my boy. I am sending someone to Mongolia for a few days, posing as you. He will return to England as himself late on Wednesday and wait for my signal to Polyjuice himself and Apparate back to Hogsmeade and return to the school. Then you can reappear, brew the potion, we can treat Minerva, you can begin teaching, and Minerva will recover sufficiently to return to the classroom a day or two later."

"Who is going to Mongolia, Albus?" Severus asked.

Albus hesitated. "Well, Minerva had said that you suggested he teach in your stead. I didn't think that was necessarily appropriate, but I did think that Alastor Moody could believably impersonate you enough to substitute for you in your little trip."

Severus stared, mouth open. "Moody? The man hates me."

"Perhaps, but he seems fairly fond of Minerva. And he is a loyal member of the Order. Of course he does realise that your trip is not to retrieve potion ingredients, or else you would be going yourself. He does not, however, know that she is not genuinely ill. Nor does he know that you are not actually going to be leaving the castle. He doesn't like not knowing the details, but I told him that for Minerva's sake, it was better he not know."

"Hmmpf. Well, I hope he enjoys having two legs. I do not relish the thought of someone walking about in my likeness, Albus. It's disturbing. Why do you think I use so much Shed-Stop Potion on my hair? And to think of Moody . . . well, perhaps he will appreciate having a different set of aches and pains than the ones he has."

"He did want me to reassure him that the Dark Mark would be . . . cosmetic only."

"No need for him to worry. Its magic won't transfer, just its appearance." Severus shook his head in resignation. "All right, Albus, give me a trim. But make sure that any that isn't used is destroyed immediately."

"Good. He's waiting in my office. Would you like to see him off? No? Thought not, but it couldn't hurt to ask!" Albus grinned, then lifted his wand and neatly trimmed a half-inch from Severus's hair; the trimmings floated meekly to a napkin on the table, which Albus carefully folded and put in his pocket.

"I shall leave you two to your own devices for a while. I still have work to do, but if you need me, just call Wilspy, and she can fetch me. I will join you for lunch, I believe."

Minerva kissed him good-bye before he Flooed to his office, Severus standing awkwardly, trying not to notice.

Minerva and Severus spent the morning much as they had spent Sunday. They both read, occasionally talked, or found something to read aloud to the other, then every sixty-five to seventy-five minutes, Severus would act on the imperative. Minerva felt odd about allowing him to anything more than he had done that morning, so Severus satisfied the Adfectus by kissing her, holding her in his arms, and fondling her breasts through her robes.

Just before lunch, Severus came over to Minerva where she sat reading a novel and knelt beside her. "Minerva, it is not quite an hour yet, but Albus will return soon. I do not want him to have to see me kissing you as I have."

Minerva agreed completely, particularly given how heated some of his kisses had become, and how fervent his attention to her breasts – breasts which should be only for Albus to touch. But Minerva merely nodded and stood. Severus rose and put his arms around her, kissing her mouth as he had done, then trailing kisses down her throat. One hand moved lower and found her rounded buttocks; he squeezed and moaned, then pulled her closer. She could feel his erection pressing into her belly, and his breathing increased as he kneaded her flesh and kissed her pulse point before he moved to her ear.

"Oh, gods, Minerva, I love you. I need you so." He sucked her earlobe, his breath heavy and warm. Minerva felt a tingling shoot to her groin.

She pushed him away. "That's enough, Severus. Enough for now. Lunch will be soon. I need to freshen up."

Minerva turned and went into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She flopped down on the bed. How could she do this, carry this out, if every time that she became at all excited, she felt sick and guilty? They hadn't even done very much yet, really. She wanted to talk to Albus about it, but she felt that would be terribly unfair to him. It was clear to her that, despite his claims that he was not bothered by anything she and Severus did, he was bothered on some level. It was triggering a few of his own insecurities about himself, for one. And he was bound to feel uncomfortable about the idea of another man touching her intimately, eventually even having sex with her, even if he understood it and approved of it on an intellectual level. Minerva doubted that Albus would voice this to her, however – although he did refer to it obliquely the previous evening when he said it was one thing to give his approval to anything she did – even acknowledging it in the abstract – and quite another to contemplate each individual activity in detail.

Minerva sighed. Tomorrow. It had to be tomorrow. She just couldn't go through with it quite yet, but she couldn't bear it any longer, either. She wondered whether she should tell Albus, or if it would be kinder to let him know after it was over. Perhaps she could just hint. If he wanted to know, he could ask.

It was with slight reluctance that she forced herself off the bed and back into the sitting room. Severus was at the table, looking through some of the notes they had brought with them from her sitting room. He looked up and smiled when he saw her.

"We might be able to Obliviate you afterward, Minerva, if you want. It doesn't interfere with the Adfectus as long as it's done after the spell has completely dissipated. Of course, we couldn't erase all of the last few days, that would likely damage your memory, but we could Obliviate at least the last few hours, if you would like."

Minerva smiled, "No, thank you, Severus. Not only do I not want that much of my memory erased – the prospect of losing even a minute or two to an Obliviate makes me shudder – but I think that there would still be physical memory of it. And I will remember everything leading up to it. I think I would find it most disturbing not to remember the event itself. But I appreciate your attempt at trying to find something that would help."

Severus had just begun to respond when the fireplace flared green and Albus stepped through.

Without any preamble, Albus said, "Minerva, we have a situation that requires your attention."

"My attention, but, Albus –"

"Your niece is here. She is in the infirmary giving Poppy a hard time. She insists that, as a Healer and your niece, she has the right to see you. You know Melina, Minerva. She is not likely to go away quietly. The last thing she told Poppy was that she would have the Ministry look into her practices if she wasn't allowed to see you and evaluate your condition. She was also most upset with me because I had not informed her and she'd had to read about it in the Daily Prophet this morning."

"I guess she'll have to see me, then. Severus," Minerva said, turning to the younger wizard, "it is probably best if you stay in your room while she's here. We can at least keep up part of the pretense for her."

Severus nodded and left, and Albus Flooed back to his office. A few minutes later, Melina Flooed through, followed closely by Albus.

"Minerva! What on earth?! Where are we, and why are you here, looking quite well, when you are supposed to be deathly ill in the Hogwarts infirmary?" Melina took her aunt's arms. "It is you, isn't it? You aren't some Polyjuiced replica like that Defence teacher was?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yes, Melina, it's me. Do you remember the first time you, Albus, and I ate at the same table? It was at that café in McTavish Street."

Melina knit her brows. "Albus could have told you that – tell me what you said when I told you about Brennan."

"I'm sure I told you a good many things, most of them ridiculous. I asked you if you had been fool enough to tell him you were a witch, for one. And I worried that he was too old and would drop dead any second. And I told you to tell your father about him. Does any of that convince you?"

"Yes, but what is going on? Everyone believes you are in quarantine suffering from febrile magical distemper of the spasmodic type. And hundreds of students saw you fall ill on Sunday."

"An act, obviously. I am fine, as you can see. But we would appreciate it if you could corroborate the story. Tell everyone I'm stable but not improving as quickly as I should given my weakened condition after the stunner attack last June, and that's why Severus was dispatched to Mongolia so that he can make a very special potion that should increase my chances of survival. All right? And let Mother know. She's probably having fits."

"She is. It was all I could do to convince her to leave it to me. Well, I don't know why you would want to do this, and I have a feeling I wouldn't want to know, either. Especially given that the notes on that table are all about the Actus Adfectus Amor Verissimus, and I'm betting it's not you or Albus who has a problem with that."

"You have seen and said too much, Melina, and if you weren't my niece . . . go back now with Albus; let everyone know you've seen me and you have strong hopes for my recovery. And be sure to apologise to Poppy before you leave. She knows less than you do."

After they had left, Minerva knocked on Severus's door. "It's okay, Severus, you can come out now."

"She's gone?" he asked, opening the door.

"Yes. Probably with as many questions as she arrived with, but they're different ones, and she won't be demanding answers for them."

It was another half hour before Albus returned for lunch, by which time Severus was feeling the urge to act on the imperative again, and they left briefly to take care of it. When they returned, Albus was sitting at the table, waiting for them to join him.

"Wilspy has provided us the meal you missed Sunday night, my dear, and which neither Severus nor I could properly appreciate, anticipating what you were going to be enduring."

"Yorkshire pudding! Lovely!"

Lunch was pleasant, but Minerva felt that it was more silent than she would have liked. Of course, she had no expectations of fascinating conversation with Severus, although he had been trying that morning, but Albus seemed preoccupied.

"Is everything all right, Albus?"

"Oh, yes, my dear. Just fine. I need to leave shortly to teach your classes. I think I should attend dinner in the Great Hall, since I have missed lunch and was only there for a few minutes during breakfast. Since both you and Severus are gone, I don't want the staff table to look quite so devoid of senior staff. Horace, of course, is temporarily in charge of Slytherin, and Hagrid is doing his best with the Gryffindors, but the school has been thrown into a bit of chaos with two Heads of House absent. Not to mention that one of them is the Deputy Headmistress. Filius has offered to help me with some of your duties, Minerva, but you do so much . . . I don't know where to begin telling him what to do. I think it would take longer to explain than it would to do it myself."

"Bring some back with you this evening, then. I can do some work from here – I'll just charm my writing to look like yours. It's not as though we haven't done that before. And while Severus is supposedly brewing my potion and I'm still recuperating, I will have a lot of time on my hands."

"All right, my dear, but now I must be off. I will see you both this evening after dinner."

When Albus announced his intention to be gone until after dinner, Minerva immediately decided that she and Severus could spend some time together getting more used to each other. Tomorrow was the day, and she would look forward to it.

"Severus, could you give me another massage? I don't know if you'd prefer to use massage oil or the potion you gave me – if it's safe to use that."

"Quite safe, Minerva."

"Good. You fetch it from the nightstand in my bedroom, then, and meet me in your bedroom in five minutes."

Severus raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Minerva entered his bedroom and closed the door. "Wilspy!"

Wilspy popped in. "Yes, Professor Dumbledore's Minerva? You wants something in Professor Snape's bedroom?" she asked with a disapproving look.

"Yes. Two clean sheets – extras. Immediately." For all she had defended Wilspy to Severus, she still didn't like the disapproval in her eyes.

Wilspy procured the sheets as requested and left. Minerva stripped off all of her clothes but her knickers, then lay down on top of the bed, arranging one sheet to cover her from the waist up and the other to cover her below the waist. She had just finished when Severus knocked.

"Come in." She looked up to see Severus standing, dumbfounded, in the doorway. He could see her robes draped across a chair.

"I thought you might, if you like, give me a full massage. I think it would help me become more used to your touch."

Severus only nodded and came toward the bed.

"I do have a request of you, though, Severus. I would like you to take off your robes; just leave on your shirt and trousers and roll up your sleeves – even your left sleeve. Will you do that for me?"

"If you wish, my love. I will do as you wish." He removed his outer teaching robe, then his shorter under robe.

Minerva saw the braces and belt. She fought the desire to laugh, and when she was sure she wouldn't, she asked, "Severus, why do you wear both a belt and braces? Isn't one or the other sufficient?"

She was very glad she hadn't laughed, since Severus blushed bright red. "I have since sixth-year."

"I see. May I know why?"

"I started wearing trousers every day after some students had turned me upside down, displaying my underwear for a small crowd of students. I had stopped wearing trousers when I came to Hogwarts because I thought that it might make me look more like the pure-bloods and less like the Muggle-borns. Of course, by the seventies, most young wizards were wearing trousers regardless of their origins, but I was insecure about these things. After the experience of having my underwear on display, however, I decided that trousers would be quite practical underneath my robes. But then, well, you were there, you must have seen what they did in the Great Hall at dinner, in front of everyone. And of course they were never punished because no one saw them do it."

Minerva suddenly remembered an event from almost twenty years before: someone had magicked Severus's robes up and his trousers down around his ankles as he was getting up to leave the Great Hall after eating his dinner.

"I knew who did it, Severus, and, although I couldn't officially punish them, I assure you they were not very happy about the lecture they received or the Hogsmeade weekend they lost. James in particular, since he apparently had a date." She had loved those boys, but their penchant for practical jokes sometimes crossed the border into cruelty, and they always singled out a target – usually Severus – who was not in a position to defend himself. And then when the target tried to exact revenge – again, usually Severus – there always seemed to be a teacher around to catch him, or the three together created too great a defence, and Severus came out the worse for wear. He was only successful when he used stronger jinxes and hexes than they had, which, of course, made him look like the greater bully. Minerva still didn't know how the enmity had started, and she had no idea if it could have been averted or ended.

"I see why you chose to do that. But you really don't need to wear both a belt and braces today. I mean that both literally and figuratively. Today, with me, one or the other would be sufficient, and in general, I doubt you are in any danger of someone pulling down your pants and pulling your robe up around your ears. Obviously, if you are comfortable this way, dress as you wish, but I think it would be nice if you wore only one or the other whilst we are together. I would feel you trust me."

"All right, Minerva," he replied docilely. "Which do you prefer?"

"I don't know which is more comfortable, but I think I've always found braces more attractive than a belt, for some reason." She had known two wizards who commonly wore braces, and she had been quite fond of them both. "I didn't know that trousers came with both belt loops and buttons for the braces."

"Madam Malkin adds the buttons for me," he said as he pulled off his belt.

"I think you might be more comfortable with your shoes off, as well."

Severus sat on the edge of the bed and removed his shoes.

"All right. I'm going to roll over onto my stomach. I thought you could first remove the upper sheet and rub my back, then you could replace it and remove the lower sheet and massage my legs."

Severus nodded seriously. She rolled over and felt him remove the sheet. Despite the other sheet covering her, she felt naked in front of him. She swallowed her nervousness and waited for him to begin.

He started by rubbing the warming potion into her shoulders. She could feel herself relaxing under his touch as he continued to massage her back and her arms. He draped the sheet back over her then removed the lower one. She heard his sharp intake of breath.

"You have beautiful legs, Minerva. Very beautiful."

He began massaging her feet, then worked his way up her calves to her thighs. He massaged her thighs much as he had the rest of her body, but she had always been particularly sensitive to the touch of a man's hands on her inner thighs. As if sensing that, Severus paid her thighs special attention, and gradually his movements became gentler as he kneaded the flesh of her inner thighs. Almost without willing to, Minerva allowed her legs to fall apart slightly. His touch proceeded up the inside of her leg, almost to her crotch, when she finally sighed and said, "Severus, I think that is enough for now."

He dutifully covered her with the sheet and stood. "Should I leave now?"

"No, not just yet." Minerva turned over, careful not to dislodge the sheets covering her. "You asked earlier if you could see my scars. I think this provides a good opportunity. Come here, sit beside me again."

Minerva swallowed and took a deep breath, letting it out before slowly rolling back the sheet covering her breasts. It was not her scars that she hadn't wanted to display, but her breasts, yet Severus seemed to be focussed on the scars.

"This one is long – it goes on further down."

"Yes, it does." Minerva lowered the sheet all the way to her waist.

Severus reached toward her, then glanced at her face. "May I?" Minerva nodded.

He very gently traced each scar with the tips of his fingers. His voice hoarse, he said, "I am sorry I was not there sooner. I wish I had stopped them . . ." He looked back up at Minerva's face and caught her eye. "I don't suppose you want me to kill Umbridge for you. I thought not – and I was just kidding! . . . Mostly," he added, with a quirk of his lips. "May I . . . if it is all right . . . I would like to kiss them."

Albus had kissed them. He had kissed them many times. He said he wished he could kiss them and make it all go away, and she knew he hadn't meant just the scars. But it was just skin. And Severus would remember this. She nodded. "Yes, you may."

Minerva closed her eyes as Severus's lips moved across her chest, up, down, over, and across again, tracing each one from end to end. When he had finished, he lay his head on her bare chest. "You are so beautiful, Minerva. The scars can only accentuate your beauty, especially knowing how you received them. You are brave and noble. Your attackers were cowardly scum. I love you." He kissed her breast as he finished speaking, then kissed it again. When she showed no objection, he raised a hand and began to fondle her breast and carefully play with her nipple as it peaked.

"I know what I said about not being too rough with it, but you don't need to be quite so careful," Minerva whispered.

Severus rolled her nipple between his fingers, and Minerva let out a sharply exhaled breath. He stopped, but she said, "No, that was nice. Quite nice."

He continued, then moved to kiss it. Once he kissed it, he didn't seem to want to leave it; he kissed her nipple again, then licked it. He closed his mouth around her nipple and, eyes closed in bliss, suckled a moment until Minerva pushed him up. "You needn't stop; just try the other one, as well."

He needed no further encouragement, and he moved to the other breast, suckling that one and fondling the other. A few moments later, and Minerva gently pushed him away from her.

"I think that is enough for now. We can do more later. And perhaps you might take off your shirt next time."

He just nodded and stood, the bliss of the satisfied imperative showing in his relaxed features.

"Why don't you wait for me in the sitting room, Severus. I will get dressed and join you shortly."

After that encounter, it shouldn't be too difficult tomorrow to have sex with him. She still hadn't let him touch her centre, but she wanted to wait and reserve that for the day of the actual deed. No point in giving him that kind of access until then. Besides, she would feel as though she were using him if she let him pleasure her in that way too many times before she was ready to agree to intercourse. The imperative would be satisfied, but other than that, she felt he wouldn't get much out of it. She'd be treating him like a gigolo or something.

By the time that Albus had returned that evening with Severus's new sleeping potion, it was almost ten o'clock. Minerva put Severus to bed almost immediately – because they had spent so much intensive time together over the last few hours, she only took ten minutes with him before emerging to find Albus. But he wasn't there. There was a note on the table.

"Call me if you need me, my dear. I will be in my suite. Wilspy can fetch me.

"Love,

"Albus"

Hmmpf. In his suite, indeed. Minerva sent Wilspy for him – telling the house-elf to inform him that she was not going to bed without him.

Albus came through a few minutes later. "You needed to see me, my dear?"

"I need to sleep with you, Albus, not see you."

"I don't think that is wise."

"I suppose you've cornered the market on wisdom, then," Minerva said crossly.

"No, no," he answered softly. "You know better than anyone that I haven't."

"I'm sorry, Albus, I didn't mean it – I just have been looking forward to seeing you all day. We've barely seen each other at all. And while ordinarily that wouldn't make me happy, I could tolerate it, but in this situation, I really need you here." She stopped, hesitating. She was thinking only of herself. Perhaps he hadn't wanted to stay. "Unless you aren't comfortable. If you don't want to, if you can't, that's all right. I understand. This must be very hard for you, too."

"A part of me wants to stay and part of me doesn't, to be completely honest. I had hoped and dreaded that perhaps you might be working toward ending the spell today. I thought perhaps if I left you alone with him tonight . . . you might sleep with Severus."

"No. No, I won't sleep with Severus. Ever. I will spend the night with you or alone. The closest I might come to sleeping with Severus is if he joins us, but given where the imperative is leading him now, I don't think I'd want that, either. So whether you stay or you leave . . . it's up to you, Albus. Whichever you prefer. I can sleep alone if I have to. I would simply prefer not to. And you are the only one I want to sleep with."

"Well, let's go to bed, then." He smiled, put his arm around her, and led her off to sleep.

Severus woke Minerva at four o'clock in the morning. She went with him into the sitting room and sleepily allowed him to kiss her and touch her wherever he wanted to for several minutes. She sent him back off to bed with another dose of potion more out of the desire to go back to bed and go to sleep than because she cared one way or the other what he was doing, she was so tired.

That morning, when Albus was dressing to leave, Minerva walked up behind him and gave him a hug. "I think it is best if you are gone for the day. I'm not sure how things will progress yet, but why don't we plan on your coming back here just before dinner. I will want to see you then, regardless of how things have gone, I am sure."

He turned around and kissed her. "That is fine. I will come by at five o'clock. Until then . . . enjoy your day, my love."

Minerva returned his kiss, then leaned against him. "I will try to. I love you, Albus."

"I love you, too."

After Albus had left, Minerva asked Severus if he wanted any breakfast. Neither felt particularly hungry – Minerva was nervous and Severus was more deeply in the thrall of the Adfectus, so Minerva drank a few cups of tea and Severus had his usual coffee.

Minerva stood from the table and took Severus's hand, leading him to his bedroom. She closed the door and place an Imperturbable on it. She turned to face Severus.

"If you'd like, you can undress me. And yourself. Um, gradually, I think."

Severus just stood there for a moment, then he stepped toward her, took her in his arms, and kissed her; he kissed her just as she had shown him she liked. As he kissed her, he began unbuttoning the back of her dress, then pushed it down. He stepped back slightly and sighed at the sight of her breasts, before stepping toward her and lowering her to the bed. He licked, kissed and sucked her skin from her throat to her breasts, then began to suckle at her right breast whilst fondling her left.

"Your shirt, now, Severus," Minerva whispered.

The dazed wizard sat up, lowered his braces, and removed his shirt, heedless of the mark on his arm. He embraced Minerva, holding her close and relishing the feel of her skin against his own.

"Mmm. I love you, Minerva, I love you so much. So much."

Minerva, eyes closed, allowed herself to enjoy the sensation of his body moving against hers, the feel of his lips moving over her throat then down to her breasts. His breathing was rapid, and she could feel his heart pounding as he moved further down and began to kiss her stomach and slide her skirts from her body, shoving them to the floor.

Minerva allowed Severus the freedom of her body, to touch and explore it with his fingers and his mouth as he undressed her. He lay back next to her and sighed after she finally pushed him away.

"I think a brief break, then I think it's time for you to finish undressing." Minerva pulled a sheet over her.

"May I just hold you, please?"

Minerva scooted over against him and let him hold her until she noticed that he was beginning to tremble. The imperative was calling more strongly after the access she had given him. Minerva moved up and kissed him, calming the spell with her mouth and her body. Severus's arms went around her, and he rolled her over, still kissing her. As the imperative and instinct took over, he reached between her legs and, for the first time, touched her centre. He moaned and tears streamed down his face as his fingers stroked her soft flesh. Whether it was his touch, his moan, or his emotion that did it, Minerva didn't know, but she began to grow warm and wet, feeling a tingling in her clit and the desire for something to enter her.

"Your fingers, Severus," she whispered, breaking off the kiss for a moment. "Pleasure me with your fingers. More. Inside." She reached between them and showed him what she meant, taking his hand and urging two of his fingers to enter her. As Severus, smiling, began to thrust his fingers into her as fast as he could, Minerva let out a deep sigh, and arched her back to meet them. "Mm," she said. She was so close, so close, but it was just frustrating . . . She pulled back from him and pushed his hand away gently. "That was very good, Severus. Very good. But enough for now."

She didn't think that the spell required her to orgasm, although, according to certain texts, it did require her to be "satisfied" with her partner's performance, whatever that meant. Minerva lay there next to Severus and rested. He seemed quite happy and was amusing himself by playing with one of her nipples.

"I think we'll skip lunch, if that's all right with you, Severus."

"Mmm. That's fine, Minerva. Whatever you like."

"I suppose I would like you to take off your trousers now. Just the trousers, though. And your socks, if you want." She didn't think she could deal with a fully naked Severus Snape yet.

Severus stood. The Adfectus was so in control of his actions that he made no comments about his ugliness or how she would loathe his touch. He simply stripped off his trousers and tossed them on a chair before sitting and removing his socks.

He rejoined her by moving aside her sheet and beginning to kiss her legs. His hand found its way to her clit again, and he began the exercise of stroking it before moving up to kiss her stomach. He lay beside her.

"Minerva," he whispered as he still fingered her wetness, "would you like me to kiss you . . . down there? I will if you wish."

Minerva opened her eyes and looked at him. She caressed his cheek. "No . . . it is a nice thing, you know, Severus, but I think I would rather you didn't. I think that someday . . . someday you should find another witch who might enjoy that and who you would enjoy it with. You probably would not dislike it now . . . and I would even likely get some pleasure out of it. But it is one of the most intimate things that I think two people can do with each other, and I would prefer that when this is over, I don't have that memory, even if the activity itself might be pleasant at the moment. Do you understand"

"Not completely. But I only want to do what will make you happy, my love." As he spoke, his fingers had found their way into her again, but he was just wiggling them around in a rather random manner.

"Severus – there may be women who enjoy that particular touch, but it doesn't do anything for me." Indeed, she was beginning to get dry. They would need to take a real break soon. Perhaps some tea and scones. Or perhaps sandwiches. Whilst Minerva was considering what to have for tea, Severus blushed and removed his fingers, lying down on his back beside her.

Severus wiped his fingers discreetly on the sheet. What had he been doing wrong? She liked to have him touch her there . . . there must be different ways of doing it. He wanted her to have an orgasm. It wasn't just pride. He knew she could climax . . . he had heard her. And he wanted to bring her the greatest pleasure he could. He wanted to show her he loved her truly. If only she would let him kiss her down there . . . but then, he didn't know what he was doing. He'd probably do it wrong. He sighed.

"What's wrong, Severus? I hope you weren't hurt by what I said about certain activities being too intimate."

"No, not really. I just don't think I can please you, Minerva . . ." Tears welled in his eyes.

"You can, of course you can. Let's put on our dressing gowns and get Wilspy to bring us something to eat. She'll be scandalised, but we can't do anything about that."

After a scandalised and disapproving house-elf had provided them with sustenance, Severus and Minerva returned to the bedroom. Minerva removed her dressing gown and stood naked in front of him, then she walked over to him and took off his robe, as well.

"I think I might enjoy this more if I were to do something other than just lie there and have you bring me pleasure, Severus."

Lying down on the bed with him, she touched his chest, stroking it and brushing her palm across his nipples. When she was certain he was comfortable with her touch, she braced herself internally and reached for the waistband of his boxers.

"Minerva, you don't need to do that. We can wait. We can wait until just before we need to have it out," Severus said, holding onto the waistband.

"I don't think I want to wait, Severus, but I don't want to rush you, either. Is there a reason that you don't want to remove them, or is it just that you don't think I want them off?"

"Um, I'm not sure. But if you don't want to wait . . . it's all right. I'll help you."

His penis was long and darkly swollen. Minerva noticed immediately that he was circumcised. She had never been with a circumcised wizard before. Probably because they had all been born well before Severus had been . . . he may also have been born in a Muggle hospital. She believed that some Muggles, regardless of religion, believed in circumcising all male babies. Minerva reached out a tentative finger to touch the head of his cock. It just felt like skin. More or less like the rest of his cock, she thought, as she drew her finger down from his head to the base of his shaft. His cock twitched. The head was not as soft as if he were uncircumcised – in her limited experience, anyway. Minerva's mind turned to what Severus had revealed to her the previous morning about his own limited experience. She wondered whether it was different to go down on a circumcised penis. Probably. She didn't want to find out through first-hand experience, though.

"Minerva," Severus rasped, "I hope you're not going to . . . you're not thinking about . . . I don't want you to do it."

"What?" Minerva asked, shaken out of her reverie by Severus's voice.

"It's just . . . what you said about my kissing you down there, and doing other things . . . it's what the other women do. I don't want you to."

"All right, Severus. Although just a kiss wouldn't be the same thing as a real blow job." Surprising herself, and before Severus could stop her, she swooped down and planted one quick kiss on the shaft of his cock before lying back.

"You see, I told you you were not disgusting and ugly, Severus." She pulled him to her and kissed him softly. She took his penis in her hand, but she had barely stroked three times when she felt him start to pull away, moaning, then on the fourth stroke, she felt his cock move; she gently took his balls in her other hand as they contracted and he spurted his cum everywhere – her hands, his stomach, her stomach, the bed.

"Oh, gods," Severus moaned. "Oh, Minerva, I am sorry . . . I am so sorry." He rolled over, turning away from her.

My, that was quick. But surely the spell wasn't satisfied. For one thing, he had come because she was touching him; he had not been acting on his love for her. For another, it seemed pretty clear that intercourse was required, although there was one documented case in which the spell's requirement was fulfilled by a couple fellating each other mutually. But Minerva was fairly sure this wasn't such a case.

She wiped her right hand on the sheet then Summoned her wand. Minerva quickly cleaned up herself and the sheets.

"Turn over, Severus, let me clean you up, dear."

Severus shook his head.

"It's all right, Severus. Really. That sort of thing happens all of the time. And since you should recover quickly, especially under the Adfectus, I am sure you'll soon be quite ready for another go. I just wish I had been able to give you greater pleasure, that's all."

"You did," came the croaked reply. "It was just too much. I didn't expect it. I didn't think you would really want to touch me. And I was already very . . . stimulated from being here with you, lying so close to you naked. I feel like a teenager."

"Well, there are advantages to youth. Come, now, turn around. I'll cast a quick spell and we'll be ready for more."

Severus rolled over and let Minerva cast a cleansing charm on him and the sheets on the other side of him where he had dripped.

She smiled. "Can be quite a messy activity, can't it? Now, give me a kiss and touch me as you would like."

Severus followed her suggestion, the imperative offering him little choice. Soon, he was kissing her, moving between her mouth and her nipples, fondling her breasts, and stroking a finger against her clit. Minerva began to feel more aroused and shifted her pelvis, attempting to encourage him to enter her with his fingers. She arched her back, and still he only rubbed her clit and her lips.

"Oh, gods," she said with some frustration, "Severus, would you please just . . . just more, okay? In me. Inside." She felt she was being impatient with him, but with the time it could take for the spell to dissipate entirely, this could still take hours.

Apparently Severus took no offense, and began to thrust his finger into her vagina. Again, Minerva felt on the brink of orgasm, but it just wouldn't come. She wanted to swear, but she knew that Severus was doing the best he could. It wasn't really his fault. She was trying to engage fully in this process, but she knew that there was a part of her that wouldn't allow her to let go completely. Finally, she stopped him again. "Mmm, that was very nice, Severus. But now I was wondering whether there was something you would enjoy. Something you would like me to do for you."

Severus looked at her a moment. "Well, there is one thing. Bella . . . Bella was the other witch I mentioned yesterday. Bella used to like to . . . hurt me. Just a little," he added when he saw Minerva's expression of alarm.

"I am not going to hurt you, Severus Snape." Her temper was beginning to flare.

"Oh, I don't want you to . . . not exactly. It wouldn't hurt. I just wanted to let you know what she liked to do, so you would understand . . . she never asked me what I would like or what I would enjoy. And sometimes she wouldn't even stop like she had said she would."

Minerva's arousal completely vanished. She was sure that Severus had been quite young when Bella had played with him and exploited him as she had. And she was six or seven years older than he. That certainly had not contributed toward his emotional health.

"I am sorry to hear that, Severus. But I really would like to do something you might enjoy."

"You might think it's strange."

"Well, let me decide. If it won't hurt either of us." And isn't too intimate, Minerva thought. "I don't think 'strange' necessarily means 'bad.'"

"Well, I'd like to lie on my stomach." He hesitated and Minerva nodded at him. "And if you could sit on me. On my shoulders, actually. And, um, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like it if you rubbed my lower back down to my legs."

"You want me to rub your buttocks, you mean?" asked Minerva.

Severus blushed and nodded.

"Well, that part is not strange. It probably feels pretty good to most people. And you want me to sit on your shoulders . . . how?"

"I'll show you, if you want to do it," Severus said softly, as though he couldn't believe Minerva would comply with his odd request.

Severus assured her he didn't want her to put her knickers on. He wanted to feel her. So she sat straddling his back, legs hooked under his shoulders, facing his feet, and she began to rub his buttocks. They were smooth, rounded, and muscular, with fewer scars than his back. As Minerva massaged him, she began to slide back and forth on his back. Hmm, this was rather nice. She felt guilty, as though she was using him as a tool for her pleasure, but she almost couldn't help but slide her wet clit back and forth on his back as she massaged him from his lower back to his legs and back up again. Soon, she was breathing more heavily than she had when he had been trying to pleasure her with his fingers. She wasn't going to come, but she was wet again. Perhaps it was time to try to fulfill the final imperative.

She reached between his legs as she massaged him, finding his sac and teasing it with just the tips of her fingers. Yes, now would be a good time to try. Minerva worked her way back around to lie beside Severus. It was more difficult getting out of that position than it had been to get into it.

"Severus, I enjoyed that; did you?"

He turned to look at her. His eyes were bright and his face relaxed. "It was one of the most wonderful things . . ." He kissed her. "I love you, Minerva. I will love you forever, even if you revile me, I shall continue to love you. Even if you raise your wand to kill me, I shall love you."

"I will not revile you, Severus, and to think I would ever try to kill you is absurd. Kiss me again and just show me your love."

He did kiss her. And she urged him to roll over on top of her. The imperative was strong and she barely expressed her desire for him to enter her when he tried, using one hand to guide himself. He went in and popped out immediately. He broke off the kiss to try again. He stroked in her twice then came out, the head of his cock hitting against her clit as he tried to find her entrance again.

"Damn," he said, as he again popped out.

Minerva thought he was just trying the wrong angle, but this was becoming a little frustrating. She didn't think it was his cock. It wasn't quite as big around as Albus's, but it wasn't what she would have called small, either. And it was at least as long. It had to be the angle.

She Summoned a pillow and placed it under her hips, then she guided him into her. Better.

"All right, Severus, start slowly until you feel where you are, where I am, and the angle of my vagina, then you can speed up as much as you like."

Severus took her advice and began to slowly thrust in and out of her. She saw the concentration in his face. He began to speed up. Minerva closed her eyes, concentrating only on that sensation of hard cock pumping in and out of her. Her tingling and warmth grew, and finally a small explosion erupted in her genitals and sent a wave of pleasure through her. Now she encouraged him.

"That's good, Severus, that's good. Come for me, Severus, come, come." She watched his face as it first went slightly blank, then his eyes closed tightly and he gritted his teeth as he came with a grunt, pushing into her, then collapsing.

Minerva gently rolled him off of her. She Summoned her wand and cleaned them both up.

"Oh, gods, Minerva . . . that was absolutely incredible."

"It was," she agreed. Incredible that they had done it at all, for one thing. But she was glad he thought it was that good. Hopefully that meant the Adfectus was gone. "How do you feel now, Severus?"

"Mmm. Sleepy, but good. I think I feel better than I ever have in my entire life. You are just the most amazing witch in the world. No, you are the most amazing woman ever." He turned and put his arm around her. "I think I really do love you, Minerva. But I suppose we now leave this little room, out of time and out of place, and return to reality."

"You can't leave quite yet, Severus. You know there's the dissipation period. Probably an hour or two. Since you feel sleepy, why don't we take a nap. Maybe when you wake up, the spell will be completely gone."

"Wise woman," he said, kissing the side of her head before closing his eyes and drifting into an undrugged sleep.

An hour and a half later, Minerva stretched and looked at Severus, who was stirring beside her.

"Are you awake, sleepyhead?" she asked.

"What the fuck?! Oh, crap." Severus pushed away from her. He stared at her. "Why are you here?"

Minerva looked at him, puzzled. Amnesia was not supposed to be a side-effect of the spell. "Don't you remember, Severus – you were hit by the Actus Adfectus Amor Verissimus, and I was the object of your affection, so to speak."

"Of course I remember that, woman! I am not an idiot. What I meant was, what are you still doing here?"

Minerva sat up and pulled the sheet around her. "For your information, if either of us has a greater right to be in this room, it is I, and not you, for a number of reasons. And if you don't remember this, I will tell you: we just had sex so that you could be freed from that curse. I spent the last five days with you, leading up to it."

"I'm sure that was a barrel of laughs for you. Did you and Albus get quite a chuckle out of the greasy git laying his heart out before you? I don't love you; I never did. That spell is absolute crap. You just happened to be the first mature witch I laid eyes on. That's all. I certainly wouldn't have chosen to be with you, of all people."

Minerva turned from him, lying down. "Get the hell out of my sight, Severus."

"You see! I told you that you would hate me when it was over, didn't I? But the noble Gryffindor thinks one good fuck and she'll have a pet Slytherin."

Minerva sat up, turned around and, in one fluid movement, slapped Severus hard across the face. "I know why you're doing this, Severus, but that doesn't mean I have to stand for it."

"You see – you wasted your goods on a bastard. Well, that was your choice. Not mine. I would have died. You should have let me."

"All right, if you won't go, I will." Minerva Summoned her dressing gown and pulled it around her without putting it on. She walked with as much dignity as she could muster into the bathroom and closed the door, casting an Imperturbable before she began to cry. She knew he was a bastard, and she thought he might be a bit more cold and formal with her now that they had done this, but she never expected him to be so nasty so soon, and not about what she had done for him.

As she ran a shower and stepped in, she heard a knock on the door. A Colloportus from her wand squelched a seal around the door. She would come out in her own good time.

Outside the door, Severus, dressed only in his unbuttoned white shirt and his boxers, leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. What had possessed him to say such things? Every one of them untrue. He scrunched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. He would not let her leave without him apologising. And she had to come out sometime. She couldn't Apparate anywhere.

It was a long twenty minutes before the door opened and Minerva, wrapped in her dressing gown, stepped out. She looked down at Severus and stepped over his legs as she went to retrieve her robes. "You're still here."

"Yes."

"I will dress in the bathroom, then."

"Please don't."

"Well, I'm not going to dress in front of you."

"That's not what I meant. I meant . . . I'm sorry. I don't know why I said those things. I am a bastard, but I am ashamed of myself," he whispered.

Minerva stood and looked at him a moment. Then she sat beside him and leaned against the wall. "I suppose we could look at it as a bizarre side effect of the spell. What happens when true love mixes with self-loathing."

Severus bowed his head, his hair curtaining his features. "I will never tell you this again, in all likelihood, Minerva, and I'm sure you grew sick of hearing it over the last few days, but I need to tell you now, when I am more or less myself: you are a wonderful witch, an admirable human being, and an example to anyone who meets you, and I love you. I always will. Anywhere I am, whatever I do." He turned to look at her and he smirked slightly. "Even if you revile me, I will love you. And I am sorry for every hurt I ever have or ever will cause you."

Minerva blinked back tears. "Thank you, Severus. Thank you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Don't expect many of those – but if you need to talk to someone, and not just about Quidditch and dunderheads, you know you can come to me. I am good at keeping confidences for friends."

"I will remember that. I may not take you up on it. But I will remember it and appreciate it. Now you go get dressed. I'll probably be gone by the time you leave. You and Albus can finally spend some time together without me interrupting you. And I am glad of that, myself." He reached out a tentative hand and touched her hair, which was still down from her shower. "He is a very lucky man."

"I will see you in a few days, then, when I am supposedly released from the infirmary."

Severus nodded and stood before going to gather his clothes, rummaging through the pile on his dresser to find fresh underwear. Minerva rose and brought her robes with her into the bathroom.

The next time they saw each other, it would be in public, and they would be in their old and familiar roles.

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Next: Severus meets with Albus to arrange his "return" from Mongolia; Minerva deals with Albus; and Severus returns to the place where it all began and encounters . . . I'll let you guess who!

If you enjoyed this, check out my long Minerva–and–Albus story, Resolving a Misunderstanding. Although it starts out simply, the plot quickly becomes broader and more complex.

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An Act of Love was a third-place winner in the Potter Place Winter 2007 Prompt Challenge!