Turn Up the Heat

A/N: This was originally written as a two-chapter story, but with all the comments in the reviews (over at Ashwinder) about wanting a bathroom scene, I found myself unable to refuse. :-)

Chapter 2 - Turn Up the Heat

"What about daisy extract?" Slow puffs of purple smoke were rising from a cauldron in the middle of the room as Hermione Granger went through yet another book on magical plants.

"A splendid idea," came the answer from a few feet away, where Severus Snape was grinding saffron with only one hand, "if you want to develop incurable boils on the back of your hands."

"Orange blossom?"

"Non-stop vomiting for days on end."

"Liquorice roots and vanilla?"

"Extra ears sprouting from under your chin. Very flattering."

"The tail of a newt then, ground with peppermint?"

"You do realise that your grade is slipping with each inane suggestion, do you not?"

He could hardly contain his smirk as the silence stretched out between them. Moving to the side to stir the bubbling cauldron, he briefly inhaled some of the purple smoke. It seemed promising.

"Bring me the ground saffron and a gold ladle, please, Miss Granger," he said, concentration written on his face as he added one counter-clockwise turn. He could almost feel her anticipation as she placed the fine powder in front of him on the working table. He stopped stirring the potion and added two pinches of the red powder to the cauldron, watching the potion turn a shade of ruby.

"There..."

With an ease that came of much practice, he dipped the gold ladle into the potion and withdrew a small amount, holding up their combined hands and letting a single drop fall where their palms joined together. Tugging gently, he slowly moved his hand away from hers, triumph gleaming in his eyes.

Until his hand stopped, irrevocably, two inches from Hermione's slender fingers and then shot back as though attached to a rubber band. A not-so-silent oath escaped his lips.

"Ah, Severus, Miss Granger!" Dumbledore swiftly strode through the dungeon, coming towards them. "Tell me, is there any progress?"

A thousand witty and not-so-witty retorts crossed Severus' mind before settling on a half-strangled, "I'm afraid not".

"That's a terrible shame, my friend," Dumbledore responded, not sounding overly sorry. "Luckily, I've managed to find someone to take your classes on such short notice, so not to worry, not to worry."

"Who?" It was a miracle, really, how it was actually possible to speak when grinding your teeth so ferociously.

"Horace Slughorn! Your old Head of House. I believe that he will do splendidly. Had to bribe him quite exuberantly to come of course, but once he learned that Harry was still in attendance and taking Potions, he agreed quite readily. Of course, he always did have a soft spot for his mother. Lily Evans was quite remarkable at Potions, as I remember."

"Yes," Snape managed to spit out through his rigid jaw. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Headmaster, I have a problem to quite literally solve. Miss Granger, if you could be so kind as to hand me the scorpion's tail?"

Turning his back to Albus Dumbledore, he vanished the ruby potion and started afresh.

"I - I'm sorry!"

Hermione's words were muffled by the pillow she'd thrown herself into after realising that the warm, smooth skin of her professor's neck against her lips was not a figment of her imagination.

A muttered oath came from the man next to her as he clenched his hands until the knuckles turned white and the nails bit into the skin of his palms. His mind was fighting for control, his anger boiling for having lost it at the pull of arousing dreams and soft skin against his. Thoroughly disgusted with himself and his current situation, he closed his eyes and turned inward, methodically turning his breathing back to normal and clearing his mind of inappropriate, tempting thoughts.

He didn't speak to her as they awoke later in the morning, simply dragging her about his chambers, pretending she didn't exist. Despite the warmth in the room, she felt chilled inside and tried to make herself as small as possible in the large chair where she was sitting. Trying to distract herself from her thoughts, she reached for the Daily Prophet on the side table, just to stare in shock at the headline covering most of the bottom of the front page.

Hogwarts Heartbreaker Strikes Again

Miss Hermione Granger (18), who three years ago caused quite a stir at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by toying with the feelings of two young men (sensitive and fragile Harry Potter – The Boy Who Lived – and internationally renowned Quidditch star Viktor Krum) is again giving evidence of questionable moral behaviour, writes Rita Skeeter, special correspondent. Having apparently grown bored with the boys her age, the devious Miss Granger is now setting her sights on the Hogwarts faculty. Sources claim that she's been seen often in the company of a certain Severus Snape, Hogwarts Potions master (aged 38), and some say that she even shares his quarters. "She never leaves him alone," seventh-year prefect Miss Pansy Parkinson tells the Daily Prophet. "On Monday, during class, she just threw herself at him. It's pathetic really, how she clings to him." Other students add that, since the affair came to light earlier this week, the suspected couple has been conspicuously absent, and the theory is that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has sent them both away to keep the truth from coming out. Though not strictly illegal, a relationship of this kind is, of course, highly unethical, and one would hope that the Headmaster of one of Europe's finest Wizarding schools would put Miss Granger's insatiable lust for seduction under check, in order to protect the students and staff from her assaults, as well as to protect the school's reputation...

"Bloody bitch! I knew I should never have let her out of that jar!" Hermione screamed, throwing the paper at the fireplace before abruptly getting to her feet. "Well, this time I won't. Unless it's to crush her under my shoe," she half-snarled, marching towards her wand on the desk, only to be stopped by the immobile weight of her Potions professor.

"Accio newspaper."

She watched as he retrieved the newspaper from the edge of the flames and quickly scanned the article, eyes hardening with every word.

"Are you quite content?" His voice was very quiet, but every syllable so crisp they stung her skin.

"Wh-what?"

He didn't face her, staring hard into the fire, the newspaper crushed in one of his hands.

"You have made a spectacle out of me and forever destroyed my reputation in this world." His expression was stony, closed off and forbidding. "I would order you out of my sight, except for the fact that you're bloody stuck to me!"

"Sir, I –"

"Not a word, Miss Granger."

Tears of frustration pooling in her eyes, she fell down into her chair again, her shoulders slumped in resignation.

"Miss Granger, please get up and follow me."

The crisp tones jerked her awake from the exhausted rest she'd accidentally found over her desk, her cheek smudged with ink from the parchment before her. She staggered to her feet and obeyed the pull on her right arm. He moved them swiftly across the floor into his private quarters, leading the way towards the bathroom.

Sighing, she prepared herself for the awkward situation of standing glued to the outside wall, her arm stretched painfully through a small hole that had been charmed on the door to keep the privacy when "attending to one's affairs" (as her professor called it). Even with a handy Muffliato from the person inside to take away all sound, there was just no getting away from the acute sense of wrongness that she felt at sharing this very personal matter with Severus Snape. She therefore was very much surprised when he didn't guide their hands through the hole in the door and slam it closed, but pulled her into the bathroom with him.

"Um – Professor, what are we doing in here?" she asked, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

"It's quite simple, Miss Granger," he answered in even tones. "I have been working tirelessly in the lab for four days on end and feel positively grisly. I intend to take a shower. And I think you should take one too."

She couldn't stop the small yelp from escaping as her mind started to spin. She too felt like a shower was terribly overdue, but still... Pictures of the two of them writhing naked against each other under the spray of hot water immediately surfaced in her mind and flushed her face. Surely, he couldn't mean...?

"No, Miss Granger," he answered smoothly, as though he'd been able to read her thoughts with perfect clarity, "I do not intend to turn the task of taking care of my sanitary needs into a rose-coloured encounter inspired by the latest romance novel! I know that rumour has it that I never set foot in a shower, never mind even own a bottle of shampoo, but since you have at least somewhat higher brain capacity than the people you socialise with, I trust that you already knew that this rumour was just that. Now get in the shower."

"But, sir, how...?"

"Miss Granger, my patience is waning. I have had a very long day – a very long week actually – and I want to take a long, hot shower and clear my mind of this insane situation we are in. I do not want to stand here and argue with you."

"I just –"

"For heavens sake!" He turned abruptly and dragged her over to the alcove occupied by a dimly lit shower, easily large enough for two people. "Get in." Hesitantly, she opened the glass door and stepped inside, looking up at her professor with eyes that spoke of apprehension as he followed her.

"Thank you." With a wave of his wand, a second glass was erected between them, leaving the same kind of hole for their hands that had previously been charmed onto the bathroom door. "Now, perform a Muffliato around yourself." She obeyed once again, and he nodded in approval.

"Vaporio!"

Steam exited from the tip of his wand and attached itself to the shower walls. After a few seconds, she found herself in a steam-filled cocoon, unable to see either her professor or the rest of the bathroom. Looking around, she saw a small shelf with various shower gels and shampoo bottles and started to relax. Noting that she no longer heard any movement or sound from the other side of the wall, she realised that Snape must have also performed some sort of Silencing Charm. Though still acutely aware of his presence and the fact that he was, most likely, removing all his clothes just a few feet away from her, she managed to get her fingers to stop trembling for long enough to remove her robes and undergarments and hang them on a hook on the alcove wall. A second later, warm water was falling from the double showerhead above, soaking her. Closing her eyes, she turned her face to the spray, pure enjoyment filling her body as the water washed over her.

She remained immobile for quite some time, just letting the water fall, clearing her mind of all thoughts and washing dirt and sweat off her body. She felt stronger, cleansed and able to get through the next few days before she could go back to her own room and attempt to heal the bruises on her ego. She needed her peace of mind back if she were to get through the NEWTs, and wounded pride because the man she fancied did not want to get involved with her wouldn't help. Sighing, she reached for the shampoo and began cleaning her hair as best she could with only her left hand to help her.

She was just at the end of rinsing the last of the conditioner from her long curls as she felt herself being pulled gently towards the glass barrier which separated her from her professor, and forced her to hunch down as her arm was turned in an unnatural angle. Moving closer, she sensed movement on the other side, and a bottle of some sort being put awkwardly between her fingers and the ones attached to them. A small shock went through her as she felt the hands turn, squeezing the bottle and letting it drop to the floor after fumbling with the cap. The next moment, her hand was touching wet hair, following the one attached to it mindlessly as it worked the shampoo into the dark strands and scalp of the man behind the glass. Closing her eyes, she tried her best to remain focused, to think about something else than the silky feeling of his hair tangled around her fingers, or the feeling of his skin as she brushed across his cheek or neck. She tried not to think about how he must look, on his knees (most likely, considering the position of her arm) and only inches away from her where she pressed against the glass. A shiver went through her, and she leaned her forehead against the barrier, biting her lip in agony as her mind spiralled into overdrive, every fantasy she'd had in the past few months coming into sharper focus with help of the sensory memories of the past few days. The position of her arm relaxed, and she realised that he must have finished with his hair and got to his feet without her noticing.

Suddenly, she felt his fingers touch her arm, and instinctively jerked, wincing slightly as she hit the upper part of the hole in the glass. With a firm grip of her hand, he started to lather her arm with soap, his fingers trailing across her sensitive skin. Feeling her body tighten in response, she let out a small moan of frustration, damning, for the thousandth time, the stupid crush that made her so weak where this particular man was concerned. As abruptly as it had begun, the washing was over, and she straightened up and took a trembling step back from the glass, trying to get her breathing to return to normal.

It hitched in her throat when she realised that the area where she'd rested her forehead was now clear of steam and showed a very clear view of the lower part of her professor's stomach.

She watched, mesmerised, as water trailed down the taut skin, following the thin line of dark hair which continued out of view. Without realising it, her shaking hand touched the glass, wiping at the steam. Nothing happened, and she wondered if she had somehow, unconsciously, performed magic when trying to abate the rushing arousal that came from touching him before. Then, a hand came into view, stroking the skin of the flat abdomen firmly before slipping downward, exiting her range of vision. She watched the muscles in his stomach clench and unclench as the part of the arm she could still see moved rhythmically along his body. She bit back down on her lip as her mind constructed vivid images of the missing parts of the scene, showing his hand wrapped around his hard length, stroking it back and forth as his breathing grew more shallow and his face relaxed and opened with pleasure. Without thinking, her free hand found one of her breasts, and she moaned in relief as pleasure surged through her and her nipples tightened almost painfully at the touch. Not being able to keep her eyes away from the erotic scene on the other side of the glass - her mind doing an incredibly fine job of showing her what the steamy barrier couldn't – she lost herself in the combined pleasure of the warm water and her left hand moving over her aching body.

Severus Snape stepped out of the shower, feeling thoroughly invigorated and pleasantly relaxed. Pulling Hermione with him, he moved to sit in front of the fireplace, placing an order for the evening meal to be served. Leaning back comfortably in his chair, he picked up his research notes and started to tackle the problem of finding a new solvent for the Sticking Solution with a fresh mind. His eye wandered briefly to his student where she sat in the next chair, staring into space. The fire was reflected in the damp curls around her face, and he felt a surprising pang of sympathy for her part in their situation. The anger that he'd felt towards her over the week – anger that she should so invade his privacy and make him lose control (albeit subconsciously) of his reactions when he was asleep and vulnerable to the inclinations of his body – lessened now that his body was relaxed and his mind free of its urges. Reaching out, he caught the tray of food that had just appeared out of the fire and set it on the small table between them. A good meal and a night of uninterrupted sleep, and he'd be ready to get back to work in the morning. A small smile formed at the corner of his mouth as he moved in on the food.

A/N: Please review!

The third and last chapter of this story is, I'm happy to report, finished and will be posted to the queue as soon as this chapter gets through. See you then!