No Longer a Student

It was a warm summer day, and Hermione Granger was lying on the beach enjoying the sun beating down on her skin. She had finished her seventh year just a few weeks ago and was already missing her life as a witch. Well, most of it. She had been in the middle of the war on Voldemort and was glad to get away from that aspect, and at this moment, she was enjoying being just a seventeen-year-old, even though she missed her two best friends terribly.

Harry had moved into Grimmauld Place, and he and Ron started training as Aurors. Hermione had decided to take an apprenticeship with Professor Flitwick, but that didn't start until the new term, so she decided to take the summer off. She needed it after all.

During the past year, they had been trying to search for the remaining Horcruxes. Although they had been successful, Voldemort still could not be completely vanquished. Something else was keeping him alive, and the research to eliminate him for good continued on. Hermione and the boys were finally officially inducted into the Order of the Phoenix before the school year ended, yet on Dumbledore's orders, the three of them were to enjoy their last summer off and do the things that young adults should do before it was time to get back to their duties. So, Hermione came home and was now sitting on the beach, tanning.

Her favorite cousin, Jezzie, the only other family member who knew she was a witch, joined Hermione. Jezzie was four years older than Hermione and worked in a pub near Piccadilly Circus. She was tall, popular, and athletic, quite the opposite of Hermione, yet they were as close as sisters. Hermione wanted to include Jezzie in everything about her life. Besides Ginny, Jezzie was the only other female in Hermione's life that she could stand to be around.

"So, what happened after you broke it off with Ron? Was he really pissed?" Jezzie asked.

"Not really. We both agreed we were better as friends. He has always had a soft spot for Lavender, and I think he still loves her."

"And what about you? We must find you someone!"

"I don't need anyone. Not right now at least. Not with the war going on," Hermione said while she adjusted her sunglasses.

"That's still so strange. You... in a war!"

Hermione threw the bottle of suntan lotion at her cousin. "You know it's a serious thing!"

"I know, I know. But after everything you've told me, I still see you as my little cousin, and it's hard to adjust knowing that you are trying to kill that bastard."

"Well, for the summer, I'm supposed to be acting my age. But Harry sends me information when he can. Like last week, The Order was talking about--"

"Hold that thought!" Jezzie said, reaching into her large bag pulling out her mobile. "It's work."

As Jezzie took her call, Hermione watched the waves rolling in and out. It was an endless cycle, quite like the mess with Voldemort.

"Okay, sorry. I have to go," Jezzie said.

"What? Why? I haven't even started sweating yet!" Hermione complained.

"My manager's wife went into labor, and he needs me there to take over the pub. I hate to ask you this, but could you--"

"Yes, of course. I'll do a Side-Along Apparation to get you there quicker. Let's hurry and clean our mess up. But you owe me a day of doing nothing."

"Deal."

Together, the two young ladies picked up their beach belongings and hiked up the sand to behind a few beach houses where no one was watching. Hermione grabbed her cousin's arm and Apparated them to the alleyway behind Jezzie's pub. They quickly changed out of their beach attire in the loo, and Hermione bid her cousin farewell and Apparated to Grimmauld Place.

"What are you doing here?" Harry said when he opened the front door.

"Well, that's a lovely greeting for your best friend," she said.

"I'm sorry. Hi, Hermione. What brings you by?" he said, moving to the side so she could walk into the hallway.

"I'm bored."

"I knew that wouldn't take long. Well, follow me. Ron and I are back from our training and are starving."

"What else is new," she said sarcastically while following him down the dark corridor to the kitchen.

"Hermione!" Ron said around a mouthful of a turkey sandwich.

"She's bored," Harry said as he walked over to the stove.

"That figures," Ron grumbled. "She doesn't know how to relax and do nothing."

"Hey! I tried to do zilch at the beach with Jezzie until she was called into work. And there is nothing for me to do at home; my parents are working, and I miss you guys, so I thought you would enjoy a visit from me."

"Well, it's a good thing you came when you did. We've got a meeting tonight," Harry said, removing a pot of stew from the stove.

"Wonderful! It'll be nice to get some information first hand rather than reading about it from you... although thank you for keeping me informed."

After lunch, Harry and Ron showed Hermione what they had been learning in Auror training. Afterward, Ron left to go visit Lavender, and Harry took a small nap while Hermione made herself useful and tidied the house up and then sat on the large sofa and read a book that had belonged to Sirius' family.

She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep until she felt a warm hand on her arm, gently shaking her awake.

"Oh, Professor Lupin, hello," she said, squinting through her half closed eyes.

"Hermione, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Remus?" he said.

"Sorry, sir, old habits die hard," she said, sitting up and running her fingers through the mop on her head, trying to not look like she had been sleeping too hard.

"Sir is hardly necessary, either. When did you get here?" he asked.

"Earlier today. I just couldn't stand to be away. I know Professor Dumbledore said to not worry about things here, but that's not in my nature."

"We all had a feeling you wouldn't stay away for long. Did you at least relax a bit?" said an older voice from behind her.

She quickly turned to see Dumbledore standing in the doorway, smiling.

"Yes, sir. A bit."

"Good. Well, let's get started," he said, and Hermione and Remus followed him into the kitchen.

When she entered, she was kindly welcomed back, and she took the only seat that was available: across from Severus Snape. He was stiff, covered in black from head to toe, as usual, and smirking evilly.

What the hell is he smiling about?

The meeting didn't last long. It was more of an update of the various events that had been going on. Snape informed the attendees that Voldemort had been doing some traveling, but didn't know where to. Dumbledore discussed the new wards that were placed around Hogsmeade. Overall, Hermione wasn't too interested in the meeting. No, something else had her attention. It was that smirk playing along her ex-Professor's lips; it had unnerved her, yet she didn't know why.

"Hermione--did you hear me?" Ron said, nudging her ribs.

"Ow, Ronald! No, I did not hear you. What were you saying?" she said, rubbing her side.

"Are you staying for dinner? Professor McGonagall said our N.E.W.T scores arrived and are waiting in the other room. Harry and I thought we would celebrate together."

Hermione barely registered all that Ron was saying. She had leaped from her chair, pushed by the remaining members who were chit-chatting near the doorway and run down the corridor into the parlor. Sitting on one of the tables were three envelopes, waiting to be opened. Hermione quickly glanced for hers and pulled it from the pile, hands shaking.

She ripped through the envelope and opened the parchment. There were two letters, but she didn't bother reading them; she just wanted to see her scores. Flipping the front page to the back, she saw what she was looking for. Outstanding in all subjects. Ahh, relief--wait... that wasn't an O. She re-read her Potions grade. It couldn't be. No, there was a mistake... an Acceptable? ACCEPTABLE?

Hermione felt the world swirling around her; she couldn't breathe. Her chest was constricting, and the anger swelled inside her. This couldn't be happening.

"Something wrong, Miss Granger?"

Hermione whirled around on her heel. There he was, leaning against the door jamb and still smirking, no less.

"Y-you!" She held up the parchment that was starting to wrinkle under her tight grip and shook it at him. "You knew these were here! You knew this all through the meeting. This is why you had that look on your face! How dare you! Why did you give me this score?"

"I didn't give you anything you didn't deserve," he said coolly.

"Deserve!"

"Yes, Miss Granger, deserve."

Hermione was beyond furious. She had always been the one with top marks in her Potions class. He had always given her a hard time, but this was going too far. She knew she had aced his written and practical exam; brewing a Blood Replenishing potion had been simple and writing about the uses of different herbs and venoms had been a snap.

That nasty grin playing across his face had finally pushed her beyond being reasonable. She stomped towards him, wanting to escape the dark room as fast as possible. Then, she forcefully pushed past him and under her breath she said, "You fucking bastard."

Like a snake, he snatched her upper arms and pushed her back against the door.

"Get your hands--"

"Listen to me, Miss Granger," he growled, leaning closely to her ear, breathing hot air down her neck. "I am no longer your teacher. You are now playing in the real world, and I will not accept your defiant mouth any longer. You earned that grade, you spoiled brat. I am the only one at that school who saw past your sycophantic bullshite. How many times have I told you that regurgitating something from the book is a waste of time? The only reason you received an Acceptable was because your potion was just that, but your written work was something I wouldn't even wipe my arse with. And that is why you deserved that grade."

He roughly released her, shoving her backward into the door before sweeping back down the hall.

Hermione was still against the door, shocked. Then his words hit her. She had strived so hard to impress him all these years because he was the only one that she couldn't get through to and now--he just told her the awful truth; she wasn't the brightest witch of her age... She just knew how to recite facts.

She slid down the door, tears streaming from her eyes. She pulled her knees into her chest, buried her face, and cried.

"Hermione! What's wrong?" she heard Harry saying. She looked up, and he knelt down beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"What's going on?"

"N-nothing."

"Hermione, you are such a poor liar; what's happening?" Ron said, sitting down next to her.

She exhaled deeply and held out the crushed parchment.

Harry pulled it from her hand and read over it. She watched as his eyes widened.

"Hermione... this is--"

"What?" Ron said, snatching the letter from Harry's grip.

"Bloody hell. That fucking git!"

"No. I earned it."

"Earned it? Hermione! He did this on purpose!"

"Perhaps," she muttered.

Ron scrambled to his feet, walked into the parlor, and grabbed his and Harry's N.E.W.T scores. Together, they opened theirs.

"Hey! Not bad! I have an Exceeds Expectations in Potions. See this proves it... He did this to you on purpose, Hermione. There is no way I am better at Potions than you," Ron said.

"He's right. I also got an Exceeds Expectations," Harry said.

"How about we appeal this to Dumbledore?" Ron suggested.

"No. These are final. I earned it. He even said so."

"What?" they said in unison.

She didn't want to explain the encounter she'd had with him, so she decided to just give a small account of the incident.

"He said that to you? You should have slapped him, Hermione!"

"What would that have done, Ron? It would just piss him off, and he was very clear that I was no longer his student, and he would treat me as such... meaning he will not hold back. I'm almost scared to think what he would have done if I had smacked him.

"Look, I've had a rough evening. I'm going to go check in with Jezzie and help her out. I need to get away from here for now."

Harry helped her to her feet, and she hugged both of them and walked away. She didn't bother saying her goodbyes to anyone else and slipped out of the front door, then Apparated back to Jezzie's pub. She leaned up against a brick wall, breathing in the summer's night air, letting it wash away the nightmare she had just left.

Severus was in his kitchen at Spinner's End, evil smirk still plastered on his face, as he made himself lunch. He was in a good mood. He just succeeded in making his most annoying student cry one last time. It was a perfect ending to seven long years with the bushy-haired know-it-all.

She was right though; he was a fucking bastard, and he had given her a grade she didn't deserve. In fact, her potion was brewed beautifully, and her written exam was perfect; however, she was friends with Potter. She was a Mudblood. She was a forbidden fruit that he desperately wanted, yet could never have. She therefore had to suffer like he did, and nearly failing her was a perfect answer to his problem.

Hermione Granger taunted him. He had never met any other witch who had the brains to equal his. He never had anyone challenge him the way she did. Yes, she was annoying, but nothing he couldn't fix. If he had any love in his black heart, he might say that he fancied her. But no, she infatuated him. He was obsessed.

In his eyes, she turned from a big-toothed child to a vivacious young woman.

Her curves haunted his dreams. He wanted her.

Her aroma was tantalizing his senses. He wanted to claim her as his own.

Her smart mouth calling him a fucking bastard. He wanted to break her.

The thought that a seventeen year old could cause him such agony was preposterous. He, the right hand man of the two most powerful wizards in the world. He, the ruthless killer; the man that would be handing over Harry Potter on a fucking silver platter to Voldemort could not be affected by this girl. But he was. And he was disgusted with himself, and her, for causing this nonsense.

He loathed her.

Today, however, he was ecstatic. He loved seeing the tears swell to her eyes. It only took a few sentences to crush her spirit. Oh, yes, this was a good day.

Then his left forearm had started to sear.

"Fuck," he mumbled as he pulled his wand from his concealed pocket. Before he touched the tip of the wand to his Dark Mark, he cleared his head and suppressed anything that had to do with her. Then, there was a tug on his arm, like someone was pulling him. He disappeared into the night.

Within seconds, he was standing in front of his master. He quickly dropped to his knees and bowed. Only after he felt the heat of the Dark Mark disappear, did he know it was safe to rise and take his place. He stood silently in the circle, waiting for the other Death Eaters to arrive.

A chilly voice filled the air.

"Good evening. As you all know, I have been out of the country in search of ancient magic to use against Harry Potter. In my absence, some of your fellow Death Eaters caused a bit of a ruckus."

There was a slight stirring among the gatherers.

"When I am gone, I expect you to follow orders. Bradley, Zeller and Jenkins--please step forward," Voldemort demanded.

Three average sized men slowly walked into the center of the circle. Severus could smell the fear coming off of them.

"Care to tell your Lord what you did while he was away?" Voldemort mocked. Severus was aware that Voldemort already knew what they did, but the Dark Lord had to make them an example, and slow torture was his favorite. With a small flick of his wand, Voldemort made the black robes and silver masks disappear, leaving the three men in their undergarments.

"M-my Lord, please... we just wanted to prove a point," said Bradley.

"Ssso, you figured you would tarnish the reputation of being a Death Eater by killing several wizards outside the Leaky Cauldron without permission and in the middle of the day? You do realize we have strict rules on killing?"

"Yes, your Lordship. Our mistake," said Jenkins.

"Zeller, you haven't said much. Tell me--what was the reason for this insubordination?"

"They were ridiculing you and our cause. So, we did what we had to do, as you would have done," Zeller said, trying to redeem himself.

"Hmm. I take it you can peer into my mind and know what I am thinking and what I would do in that situation," Voldemort hissed.

The tone of his voice made the three men drop to the floor.

There was a deathly silence. Severus knew Voldemort was looking into each of their minds.

"I see what each of you are thinking; a Crucio attack, or worse. And you are wrong. I am not going to punish you."

The three men looked at him warily.

"Severussss. Please come forward."

"Yes, my Lord?" Snape said, walking toward Voldemort.

"Junior Death Eaters do not take matters into their own hands without following my code. How easily they could have been caught in broad daylight... How easily they could have been forced to tell of my whereabouts. Did they think about this? Apparently not. Now, please show our supporters what happens when you do something as foolish as these three have done."

Severus smiled. This was a wonderful day.

Severus held his wand at the ready, watching the three men wince from fright; then, in one swift movement, he sliced his wand to the left; a silver metallic light shot from his wand and beheaded the three men kneeling before him.

The heads dropped to the ground with a thunk; the twitching bodies toppled over, and blood splattered everywhere.

Severus then conjured a post beam structure and stationed it in the center of the circle. A few flicks of his wand, and each head sat on the ground, blood drizzling onto it from the headless body that was hung upside down to drain.

"Anyone else wish to disobey?" Voldemort asked after Snape finished.

"Very well. At this time there is nothing new to report, except I will be leaving the country again. And this time, I do not want to have to come back and take matters into my own hands because I promise, the next person to step out of line will be punished by my own hand. And I will not be as gracious as Severussss."

With those final words, the meeting was over, and Snape Apparated back to his home. He stripped his Death Eater robe off, hung it in his wardrobe, and placed his silver mask inside a cedar box lined with black velvet.

Then, he walked into his bathroom, and with a snap of his fingers, hot water began streaming into his deep porcelain tub. He stepped inside and fell back onto the side, letting the sound of rushing water fill his ears and relax his mind. Snape tensed, thinking of his three fellow (former) Death Eaters. Pushing all thought of their gory demise roughly aside, he began thinking back to his encounter with the girl and how it felt to finally be able to touch her.

To grab her.

To handle her.

As he thought more about placing his hands forcefully on her, he felt a spasm in his groin. An ache that needed to be touched. He slid his slender hand below the water and gripped himself, slowly stroking his cock, but after a few frustrating minutes, Severus removed his hand and gave up.

Damn it. I have to have her. I can't pleasure myself because I want more. She'll pay for this dearly.

Irritated, he stepped out of the bath, dried off. He then went to his cabinet, hastily threw on some black trousers and a black shirt, grabbed his traveling robe, and Apparated directly outside of Hermione's Muggle home.

It was after midnight, and although the house was dark, he knew she wasn't home. She always stayed up well into the early morning hours reading, and a soft glow would stream from behind the drapes. He had been coming here, watching her window and her movements in the house, for at least the last three summers. He knew her routine.

Of course, it was pure torture, the thought of watching her, yet not being able to touch her. Some nights, it nearly drove him mad. But not tonight. She was officially no longer his student anymore. He could do whatever he wanted and not fear losing his post at Hogwarts; spying had come first.

He had seen her inside her room several times when the curtains were opened and could visualize it completely. This was the first time he was going to try to Apparate directly into her boudoir. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his destination; then he disappeared and landed next to a white-washed vanity table; a place he had seen her sitting many times.

Being the efficient spy that he was, he looked around her room without touching anything. He read some of the papers laid out on her desk... mostly from Potter about The Order's efforts, then looked at the photos she had around her room... again mostly of Potter and that other annoying boy, Weasley. Before he had a chance to look further, he heard footsteps and muffled voices coming toward the closed door. He quickly Disillusioned himself, positioned his body in the furthest corner of the room, and waited.

The door slammed open.

"Well, Hermione, if you are that angry about it, take it to Dumbledore like Harry and Ron suggested. He can't get away with that; someone else could re-test you."

Complaining about our N.E.W.T grade, are we? And to this Muggle? I've seen her before, now I'll know who she is. Apparently she knows about our world!

"No, who cares about a grade when there are more important things going on?" Hermione said, falling back onto her bed.

Severus caught a whiff of her. It was the same honeysuckle that he smelled when he was so close to her earlier. He felt himself twitch under his robes.

"I'm just complaining. I mean, I've always respected him and defended him... how could he do this to me? Doesn't he know how bad I've always wanted to impress him and that it really matters what he thinks of me?"

I do now.

"Of course not," said the older girl, sitting in a small chair. "From what you've told me, he doesn't like you and from the way you sound... it's like you have a crush on Snape."

Hermione sighed, "No, it's not like that."

"Uh huh. Then what's it like?"

Yes, Hermione... do tell.

"He is the only person to tell me what he really thinks, even if it's not what I want to hear. I always thought he was the best professor for that reason because he would challenge me to strive harder, but when he said... those things earlier... it just proved that I was wrong in thinking that. He would only question my methods, not to help me, but to set me up for failure... for his amusement."

"Oh."

For a split second, Severus felt a twinge of remorse. She really did respect him. But it disappeared when she finished off by saying, "Well, it doesn't matter anymore. He's a prick, but at least he is loyal to our side; underneath all that blackness is a heart, and he's going to be one of the main reasons we win this war."

How dare she presume to understand his heart? She thought underneath it all he was SOFT? Well, he would show her differently.

"Well, I'm going to go. Thank you for Apparating me to and from London today," said the other girl.

She's Apparating this... MUGGLE?

"No problem, Jezzie. You know I would do anything for you. Lock up on your way out."

Severus watched the other girl gather her belongings and leave. He suddenly realized that he was stuck in this room.

Alone. With Miss Granger.

As soon as the Muggle left, Hermione walked around to the side of the bed that he was standing on. She sat down and pulled off her shirt, revealing her silk-covered breasts.

Severus was trying hard to contain himself. He wanted to pounce on her and rip off that black bra and devour the tantalizing nipples that were hard beneath the thin fabric. Then, as if she had read his thoughts, she reached behind her back, unfastened the hooks, and released her succulent tits.

Snape was now fully hard and aching to be released. He ran his slender fingers over his bulge, careful not to make any sounds. Then she stood and slid her jeans over her hips; Severus took this moment to run his eyes across her rounded bottom, wanting to reach out and squeeze it. She threw on a tight white tank top, crawled into bed, and turned out the light.

He was in a compromising position. Somewhere between removing her bra and pulling on her shirt, he had unzipped his trousers and started pulling on his member. He knew he couldn't go anymore, for he would eventually groan so loud that he would get caught--literally with his pants down, but he needed to release.

She wasn't asleep yet, but he didn't care. He removed the Disillusionment charm, still careful not to make a noise. Then, he took a step close to the edge of the bed and leaned over her. She must have felt a presence over her, because her eyes shot open.

Before she could scream, he snatched her jaw in his hand, silencing her yells. Her eyes were wide with fright, and she started to kick out, but he climbed over her body, pinning her to the bed.

"Stop trying to fight me, Miss Granger; you will lose," he sneered.

She stopped moving, and he watched the rise and fall of her chest; she was clearly scared.

"That's it. Now, if I remove my hand, are you going to scream?"

She slowly moved her head side to side, and he released his grip.

"W-what do you want?"

He dragged his finger down the middle of her chest and then over each of her peaks, moaning as he felt her nipples firm under his touch. "I want you."

"What? You sick bastard!"

Again he gripped her jaw, squeezing it so her lips were puckered, and she couldn't speak. "Don't call me names, Miss Granger. You will regret it." Then, suddenly his Dark Mark started searing. What now?

He knew he couldn't leave Voldemort waiting, but he wasn't going to leave her there, knowing that he almost took her. Oh, no... he would finish this another day, but he, of course, couldn't have her ruining his plans. He pulled his wand from his pocket and held it to her temple. She was shaking with fear.

"Oblivate!"

Then, he quickly Apparated to his calling Master.

A/N: Well, what do you think? Muwhahahha. Many hugs and kisses to Lariope, my beta. Once again, she has taken on the task of fixing all my mistakes (I have a ton), and I can't thank her enough for her time and patience with me. She is truly wonderful. I am also excited to have Lulabelle72 as my second beta! This is the second story she has done for me, and I am thrilled! Without her advice and Brit-Picking... well, I'd be lost. And--you will see this again on chapter eight, but I am going to say it here too--I just wanted you to know that I started this story and became stuck after the fifth chapter. I ran out of ideas. However, I read An Unreasonable Man by Lulabelle72, and I am proud to say that she is letting me use The Grotto in this story (read her story if you have no clue as to what I'm talking about), and without it, this fic would be sitting in my computer getting dusty. She is a huge inspiration. One more thank you goes to Chivalric. She gives me wonderful ideas and advice on my story, and I am happy to have her input on this, especially when she knocks me back to my senses! Thank you, ladies!