"Hell guys, this is so boring!" Ron groaned, kicking moodily at a stone. "Why do we even have to come back to school? It's not like we've got anything to prove."

Harry leaned his chest against Ginny's back, chin resting on her shoulder as he stared up at the castle, silhouetted against the darkening sky. Magic had rebuilt the walls that had been knocked flat by giants, restored corridors rent by explosions, returned the jewels to their hour-glasses in the Entrance Hall. But something wasn't the same. An air of stillness. Of quiet. Even the shuffling line of students seemed to be muffled in respect.

"Sorrow," he said and felt Ginny's hand tighten round his. Ron turned to him in confusion.

"Come again?"

"That feeling," Harry laced his fingers through Ginny's, a silent comfort. "The castle is in mourning."

"Right," Ron said with an attempt at a mocking laugh, but he turned away, the stifled laugh of a red-headed man echoing in his ears.

Harry pressed his eyes against Ginny's shoulder until stars erupted in the blackness, blotting out the rows of the dead that had lined the floor of the Great Hall only a few months ago. He felt Ginny take a deep breath.

"We can't run away Ron," she answered his previous question. "The longer we leave walking into the Great Hall, or...or down a corridor...the harder it will be. You have nothing to prove. None of us do. But we need to ease back in. School is what we know. It is normal. And so we have to come back. If only to...move on."

Harry tightened his arms round her waist.

"Ginny's right," Hermione whispered quietly. "We have to deal with this."

She placed a gentle hand on Ron's shoulder but he shrugged her off, glancing at her sideways out of the corner of his eyes. He still felt a slight awkwardness that had grown from their heat of the battle actions. Sudden kisses and fumblings that had seemed hurried and childish once the sun had risen on the body of Tom Riddle, and so many others. He was glad that it had not gone further. He didn't think that he'd be able to look at Hermione at all if they had actually had sex. As it was, the whole incident was swept under the carpet. As far as anyone was concerned it had never happened. It was never spoken of. All the remained was the careful way in which Ron and Hermione stepped round each other.

Ron glowered at the path. "Remind me why it's taking so long just to get in for the feast?"

Hermione smiled indulgently, used to his hunger triggered outbursts having endured nearly a year of them. "We're all being searched. Just in case. We don't want any accidents triggered by vengeful ex-deatheaters do we?"

Involuntarily Ron glanced at Ginny, remembering that time in their second year when the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Ginny met his gaze, raising one eyebrow disdainfully. Ron kicked at the dust with the toe of his shoe and the line shuffled forward once more.

"So who do reckon is going to teach Transfiguration?" Ron asked in an attempt to change the subject.

McGonagall had accepted Kingsley's offer of the post of Headmistress when Snape had resigned as Headmaster. It had been an enormous shock when, several hours after the death of Riddle Severus Snape had dragged himself to the steps to the Entrance Hall, robes covered in blood but the wounds on the side of his neck miraculously healing. It had been McGonagall herself that had rushed to his side. Snape had looked up into his colleague's eyes and a small smile had appeared on his face. Then he had collapsed away in a dead faint.

It was only later that they found out what had transpired. Snape had had one tiny vial that had saved his life. On last gift from Dumbledore that gave him choice in his future. Choice that he had lacked for so long. In the vial had been Phoenix tears. But Snape alone knew that it was only the sight of Lily Potter's eyes, staring down at him from the face of her son that had given him the strength to reach into his robes and extract the glass vial. One last thing for her. One last thing she asked of him after all the pain he had suffered. Live. Live and move on. Once again he would do as Lily wanted, or die in the attempt. He shut himself away, and slowly began to get better.

"Dunno," answered Hermione, glad of his lead. "Hope it's someone good, even if they can't change into a cat."

"And what about DADA and Muggle Studies and stuff," Ron chipped in. "They don't have teachers either do they?"

"Harry knows who's teaching DADA," Ginny said a little smugly. Hermione and Ron rounded on him.

"What?" Hermione cried.

"Who?" Ron exclaimed.

Harry looked at the ground and shuffled his feet.

"ImsharingitwithSnape," he mumbled.

"WHAT?" Ron yelled.

"He said," Ginny grinned, "that he is sharing it with Snape."

"I'm teaching first to thirds and he has fourths to sevenths," Harry confirmed looking embarrassed.

"Wha...how?" Ron asked incredulously.

"They wanted someone with experience," Harry mumbled, "and everyone else is tied up clearing up the rest of the mess. It won't be for more than a year," he hastened to assure them.

"But Harry, why didn't you say?" Hermione asked.

"Because he's a stuck up git," Ron muttered.

Ginny stepped on his foot.

"Don't know what you're complaining about," she said archly. "Harry knows who is teaching Transfiguration too. Tell them Harry."

"Madame Delacour."

Ron gasped and Hermione tutted.

"Next," shouted a voice and Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny looked up to see that they had reached the front of the queue. Filch brandished his probity probe at them and leered. "Hurry up," he crowed, "we haven't got all night."

Ginny grimaced and stepped forward. Filch ran the wand-like sensor over her body and pushed her forward.

"Next."

Harry and then Ron were pushed through the main doors.

"Next."

Hermione stepped forward and held out her arms, gritting her teeth. Filch lifted the sensor and ran it down her body. It made a weird sort of beeping noise. Hermione grinned nervously.

"It's supposed to do that, right?" she flashed Filch a smile.

"Yes luvvy," Filch smirked. "It's supposed to do that...if the person is hiding something. Wait there."

Filch shoved Hermione to the side just within the doors and turned back to the dwindling line of students. Hermione lent her back against the wall and waited. Finally, the last of the students had crossed the threshold and disappeared into the Great Hall. Filch turned back to her.

"There's always one," he leered. "And this time it's our Head Girl. Such a disappointment. Follow me."

Filch set off in the direction of his office, Mrs Norris twining sinuously round his ankles as he went. They stepped into the room and Filch shut the door firmly behind him.

"Now," he smirked, "we try again."

He raised the probity probe and Hermione obediently raised her arms. Filch ran the probe down her back, dipping into the small of her back and bumping it across her buttocks. The whole time it emitted that weird beep. Filch straightened up and stepped round her. Hermione turned her head away and closed her eyes as the probe brushed over her breasts and then the slight rise of her pubic bone. More beeping.

Filch leered at her and reached for his secrecy sensor, repeating the process just as he had with the probity probe. This time the room was filled with a high pitched wining.

Filch brought his face close to hers, his fetid breath playing across her lips, his eyes glinting. "You are hiding something, Miss Granger. It is my job to find out what." It was impossible to miss the satisfaction in his voice.

"I'm not hiding anything," Hermione said forcefully. Except what happened with Ron, a little voice inside her head reminded her, Oh yeah, and that muggle contraception implant you had stuck in your arm...just in case. Hermione shook her head.

"If you're not hiding anything, Granger, then you won't mind my having a look, will you." Filch's smile broadened. "Stand in that clear space of floor and take off your robe."

Hermione gasped and glowered at Filch. She could refuse, she knew. But then what? Everyone would think she had something to be ashamed of. Resolutely she stepped forward and tugged her robe over her head, handing it to Filch. He took it from her and passed both sensors over the garment. Both remained silent.

"Shirt."

Hermione tugged it over her head too and tossed it at him, glad she had not worn the lace bra that showed her nipples. Again both sensors remained silent. Hermione glowered more and kicked off her trainers and socks. Still silence. Viciously Hermione tugged at her belt and removed her jeans.

Silence.

Hermione stood in Filch's office in her bra and pants, wondering what would happen next. Filch leered even more.

"And next Miss Granger."

Surely he couldn't be serious. Hermione looked at the expression on Filch's face and knew what came next. Resignedly she turned her back on him and unhooked her bra, tossing it over her shoulder to him. After a few moments of silence from both the sensors she slipped her fingers into the elastic of her panties, pulling them off and tossing them to Filch too. She stared resolutely at the wall. Whatever happened, she would not turn round.

"Whatever it is, it's not in your clothes Miss Granger," Filch's voice held a note of triumph and Hermione wondered briefly how long he had been hoping to do this. "That means it is somewhere on your body."

She felt rather than heard him step up behind her and then the probity probe appeared in her line of vision. Automatically Hermione held out her arms for a third time that night and screwed her eyes tight shut. She felt first one, then the other sensor run intimately down the front and back of her exposed body.

Silence.

She heard a faint, panting gasp from behind her and suddenly had the sickening realisation that Filch was hopelessly turned on by this. She shuddered at the thought, fighting the urge to throw up and wishing violently that this was a female searching her thus.

"Open your legs, Granger."

In a daze Hermione obeyed and felt the sensor run between the lips of her labia, over her slit, her anus and along her crack.

"Hidden it well, Missy. But we'll find it."

She felt the probe retrace its tracks, coming to rest at the opening to her vagina.

"No," she protested and felt the pressure slacken slightly.

"Ready to tell me what you're hiding?"

Hermione but her lip to hold back the tears.

"I'm not hiding anything."

She heard Filch chuckle at the same time as he pushed forward with the probity probe. Hermione whimpered at the invasion of her channel. She was not in the least bit wet and as a result the feeling was dry and sore. She reached forward and leant her palms against the wall in an attempt to stop herself from falling down. Finally, she felt the end of the probe touch her cervix. There was a muffled beep. Filch jabbed it a couple of times and Hermione felt like her body was giving up, attempting to curl in on the point of pain deep within her.

"Get...it...out," she panted through gritted teeth. Filch chuckled again and tugged the probe a couple of times. It did not budge but pulled on her sensitive walls causing Hermione to howl in pain.

"Stop...stop...just take it out," she whimpered, her legs giving way as she subsided to her hands and knees, legs still spread.

Filch followed her to the ground and tugged again. The probe would still not budge.

"The probe is a little stuck Miss Granger. It'll come loose...in time. Meanwhile, I will finish my search." Filch released the end of the probe and left it sticking out of Hermione. Instead he reached for the secrecy sensor. The probe had beeped, but there was still one place left to check. He leered at her arse as she crouched on hands and knees, panting.

Hermione winced as she heard Filch crouch down behind her once more. She thought she knew what was coming and it scared her to hell. The tip of the secrecy sensor pressed against her puckered opening and she whimpered in fear. It felt like searing, ripping, tearing as Filch pressed the sensor forward and she moaned at him to stop even as the sensor remained silent. Filch pushed on and on and Hermione writhed in pain until at last there was only two inches of the sensor outside Hermione's body.

Filch stopped and looked at the shivering girl before him. Nothing. Maybe he had been mistaken. In that case he better let her get dressed and get her back to the Great Hall in time for pudding.

Hermione felt Filch tug at the secrecy sensor. It did not budge. And then there was a high pitched whine from the sensor. It had found a secret. Filch leered even wider than before.

"Two sensors, two secrets, Miss Granger," he crowed into her ear. "Tell me, what are you hiding within yourself?"

"I'm...not...hiding anything," Hermione moaned. "Please sir...just...get them...out. Hurts."

"Alright Missy, but then we must have a thorough examination, mustn't we?" he cackled.

He reached down and attempted to pull the secrecy sensor from her body. It didn't budge. His hands flew to the probity probe and tugged hard. It didn't move either. Filch swore under his breath.

"Mr Filch," sobbed Hermione, "please just take them out."

Filch lent down and had one more go. Neither sensor would move an inch. Hermione heard him scramble to his feet and back away.

"Where are you going? Please...you can't leave me like this. What's going on?"

Hermione had a growing sense of dread about the whole situation. Why didn't he just remove the probes and let her go down to dinner.

"They're stuck," she heard Filch gasp from behind her.

Hermione felt a wave of panic crash over her and she tried to move but that caused the things to shift within her and she cried out again. She heard the door slam shut behind her and prayed that Filch would return with help quickly. Her arms were tired and beginning to shake and her knees were very painful. Sweat was starting on her body from the exertion of holding herself rigid. There was a trembling creeping through her.

It seemed like years before she heard footsteps in the corridor outside and the creak of the door. The footsteps stopped short and there was a sharp intake of breath.

"Good God Argus," came Professor McGonagall's voice, "I can see you weren't joking. Strip search indeed. What would Miss Granger have to hide?"

There was a muffled sound from Filch who, Hermione guessed, must be standing behind McGonagall.

McGonagall approached Hermione slowly and knelt down beside her. Hermione felt her place her hand on the small of her back and she could feel the blood rush to her face at her teacher seeing her like this.

"Miss Granger are you alright?" McGonagall asked in a concerned voice.

"I...want...them...out," Hermione panted in response. She could feel that her arms were on the point of giving out.

The old witch carefully took hold of the secrecy sensor and gave a gently pull. She tried again with the probity probe. Neither moved at all. Hermione heard McGonagall sigh before she felt the tapping of a wand accompanied by a faint muttering. Nothing happened.

"Argus," said McGonagall, "I need you to go and find Severus. This is magic that I do not know. Something akin to dark magic. He may be able to help."

There was a shuffling sound as Filch left the room.

"No," Hermione croaked, "don't want Snape to see me like this."

"Now now, Miss Granger," said McGonagall soothingly, "let's get you more comfortable."

The old witch waved her wand and Hermione found that she was once again wearing her bra and shirt. Another muttering and Hermione saw a bed appear in the corner before McGonagall muttered a levitation charm and Hermione felt herself rise off the floor and cross the room, before being set down on the mattress. McGonagall looked at the shaking girl before her and raised her wand once more, waving through the air and conjuring a thick woollen blanket which she laid over Hermione.

"Now Miss Granger, I think it would be better if we were to move you onto your side."

Hermione whimpered in response to the old witch's hands moving to help her. As she rolled the sensors shifted, jabbing at her once more and Hermione cried out, going rigid in an attempt to stop the feeling.

"Miss Granger, it will not be comfortable," came McGonagall's soothing voice again, "but it will be even worse if you collapse from exhaustion. Now, are you ready?"

Gently but firmly McGonagall manoeuvred Hermione onto her side while the girl gasped and moaned at the sensation such movement caused. When she was finally on her side Hermione closed her eyes wearily, feeling the headmistress sit down on the edge of the bed and lay a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"Severus, Professor Snape that is, will be here in a few moments," McGonagall said. "Are you otherwise unharmed?"

Hermione nodded her head without opening her eyes, taking refuge in blindness. When she spoke her voice felt thin.

"Does he have to see?"

"Yes." Hermione was glad of the gentle command in her teacher's voice. With no choice, at least she didn't have to think.

Footsteps sounded in the corridor once more and Hermione felt the old witch rise from her side. The door creaked and she listened without interest to the muffled sound of rapid conversation in the corridor. The door creaked again and steady footsteps approached where Hermione lay. Still she did not open her eyes.

"Minerva, if you would leave us..." Hermione heard McGonagall begin to protest but Snape's baritone spoke over her, "I have a few things to discuss with Miss Granger and I need her to be candid. If you would?"

There was a pause and then a rustle of robes as McGonagall turned and left the room. Hermione could imagine Snape staring down at her, his lip twisting into a sneer as he regarded her plight. She was glad she had her eyes shut and couldn't see the real thing. There was a grating as Snape drew up a chair. He sat down and rested his chin on the tips of his steepled fingers, watching Hermione closely. After a while he spoke.

"Miss Granger?"

She nodded her head to show she had heard.

"I need you to answer any question I put to you honestly and as fully as you can. If you do not, the consequences could be very serious for you."

Hermione turned her head away from where she could feel Snape's eyes boring into her face. She nodded her head again.

"Good." Snape rose and walked round to the end of the bed. "And now I need to see. Miss Granger, I am going to touch your left leg, at the knee." His hand paused in mid-air until she had acknowledged his statement before he took hold of her leg through the blanket and bent her left knee up until her foot was flat on the mattress. Hermione whimpered at the movement.

"Did that cause you discomfort Miss Granger," Snape enquired in a neutral voice.

"I can...yes a little."

Unseen by her Snape quirked his eyebrow at her amended statement, wondering what she had originally been going to say. 'Honestly and fully'.

"Would that be discomfort at my touch, or at the movement of the probes?" Snape asked and Hermione felt herself turn a deep red.

She turned her face into the mattress and muttered, "The second."

"Good," said Snape succinctly, "as I will be unable to help without touching you at all. I am going to lift the blanket now."

Without waiting for her response Snape folded the blanket back so that it lay over Hermione's waist, baring her shame to his view. She whimpered, but he ignored her.

"Lumos," he muttered and bent closer, lighting the point where the probity probe disappeared between the lips of her sex. Instinctively Hermione tried to close her legs against this intimate inspection and Snape gripped her thigh tightly. "Miss Granger, do please try and stay still," he said a little cuttingly.

Hermione took a deep breath and tried to force herself to relax. Snape seemed to become aware of her internal struggle as he lifted his head and spoke in a somewhat gentler tone.

"Miss Granger, I wish to make this as short and painless as possible. So please..."

Hermione nodded her head gratefully and Snape returned to his inspection, moving his wandlight to where the secrecy sensor vanished within her body. After a few moments, he sat back.

"Miss Granger, have you ever been penetrated before?" he asked in a calm voice.

Hermione felt her face flush again.

"Wha...I..."

"Miss Granger it is a simple question. Have you ever penetrated your vagina with anything before? A penis? A finger? Your wand? Anything? I need to know."

Hermione covered her face with her hands and nodded her head once, tears pricking at her eyes.

"What?"

"Finger." Hermione paused. "Not mine."

She dug her fingernails into her forehead and pressed the heels of her hands hard into her eye sockets so that lights exploded in her vision. Snape watched her reaction.

"Care to...tell me?" he asked, crooking his eyebrow.

Hermione sneaked a peak at him through her fingers. She shook her head. Snape shrugged and pushed his sleeves up past his elbows to stop them getting in the way. The movement bared the ugly black mark on his forearm – the skull with the snake protruding through its mouth.

"We all make mistakes," he said, and lowered his eyes to his hand as he drew her leg a little further up.

"Ron," Hermione muttered, surprising herself. Unsure why she would tell Snape of all people, especially when he was now muttering in a sing-song sort of a way in a language she did not recognise. His murmuring paused.

"What about Mr Weasley?"

"Him," Hermione whispered. "His finger."

"Ahh," said Snape, but he had raised his head once more. Hermione had never thought of the brooding potions master as a man who invited confidences. But here and now...she suddenly felt she wanted him to understand.

"The final battle. We'd been down to the Chamber of Secrets. And then I kissed him. In front of Harry and everything. But then after we'd seen you...die...Harry sort of vanished and Ron turned on me. Shoved me up against a wall. He said he didn't want to die, and he looked so scared. I wanted to comfort him so when he groped me I let him. And then he shoved his finger...But it hurt. And then Harry was dead and then he wasn't and then Riddle was dead. When the morning came Ron was acting all different, macho, as though nothing had happened..." Hermione tailed off, fearful of what Snape's reaction might be.

Snape stared down at the young woman before him. He could see that Hermione was glad to have told someone. Instead of replying directly to what she had said however he returned to the matter at hand, knowing that a comment from him would seem like a judgement.

"Miss Granger, I am going to try and move the probity probe now."

Hermione's body went rigid but Snape lowered his hand anyway, taking hold of the protruding end. Gently he tugged. Hermione hissed in pain but Snape did not desist. Instead he pushed against the end of the probe, seeing if it would move deeper. Hermione reflexively tried to move her body away.

"As you have not explored your own body you may not know the answer, but is the end of this probe resting against your cervix?" Snape asked evenly.

Hermione thought of the pain as Filch had rammed the probe into her.

"I think it may be. I'm not sure," Hermione bit her lip, the tears spilling from her eyes. "I don't know sir. Please, just get them out."

"I am doing my best, Miss Granger," Snape replied a little icily. "I am going to have to find out. This won't be very comfortable," he warned her.

Carefully he pulled back the lips of Hermione's sex and pushed the probe as far to the side as he could. Hermione moaned as she felt herself stretch and tear a little more. As gently as he could Snape pushed the tip of his lighted wand into her entrance, murmuring a spell so that its passage was eased by a thick lubricant. Hermione shifted, trying to move away but Snape held her firm, peering closely in order that he could see better. The tip of the probe was pushed tight against the opening of her womb. Snape swore quietly under his breath. Hermione froze.

"What?" she asked a little breathlessly. "Is it bad?"

Snape raised his head to meet her eyes as she lowered her hands.

"I know the curse," he stated flatly.

"And? Can you fix it?"

"Yes." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "However it will be risky. And invasive."

Hermione swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and nodded her head.

"Do it," she whispered, and let her head fall back against the pillow as she once more covered her eyes.

Snape stared at the prone figure for a few more seconds, before lowering his head once more.

"The secrecy sensor is easier," he intoned in the voice he would use while explaining a potion or spell. "It is not fused. The simple application of your personal lubrication should suffice to allow it to move. Miss Granger, have you ever engaged in clitoral stimulation?"

Hermione nearly choked as Snape asked her directly whether she had ever touched herself. Numbly she shook her head and heard Snape swear once again.

"Miss Granger, while I understand that these are not the ideal circumstances for experimentation I need you to try. I shall be in the corner, facing the wall. Please, let me know when you have succeeded in producing some...dampness."

Swiftly Snape rose and crossed the room, stepping up to the cold stone wall and resting his head against it, fighting to regain control of his breathing. The thought of the courageous young Gryffindor getting herself off while he stood in the same room turned him on no end and he was glad that McGonagall could not see him now. He thumped his head against the wall again.

"Umm, sir?" Hermione's voice was filled with the blush that he knew would suffuse her cheeks and he shut his mind to the idea of how low the blush might reach. "Professor Snape? I...umm...I don't know what to do."

Snape ground his knuckle against the rough stone, tearing the skin.

"Dammit Miss Granger," he growled out between his teeth. "Think of the wizard you want it to be and pinch, press, rub or whatever feels good."

Silently he cursed the blood that was flowing from his head to exactly where he did not need it right now. He wondered how long he would have to wait. He tried to make his mind go blank. And then he felt her consciousness tug on his mind. He was a very accomplished legilimens and her over active thoughts were practically begging him to read them. Not that she was aware of that of course. He was suddenly overcome with a burning curiosity. Who would Miss Granger imagine at a time like this? Who could she trust enough to turn her on even under so much pressure. Giving in to temptation he dipped quickly into her mind.

And saw himself. But not as he saw in the mirror. In her mind he was a war hero. Strong, faithful and true. In her mind he reached out and touched her once and he felt her reaction. The burning. Quickly he withdrew from her mind, breathless and disorientated. He shook his head, trying to clear the image that was burning its way onto his retinas. He jumped when she spoke.

"Umm, sir? I...think I've done enough?" she sounded very shy.

Snape did not move for a few more seconds, gathering the courage to turn even as he gathered his robes to hide his raging erection. Finally he turned and swooped back to his former position, looking up between her legs. He took a deep breath and regreted it immediately. The smell of her juices assaulted his sensitive nostrils. He looked again. She had indeed succeeded in making herself a little damp, although it was obvious she had not come. He wondered if she was aware of this fact. He shut his mind to that thought.

"Miss Granger," he said, trying to keep his voice steady, "in order to release the sensor I need to place a little of your...dampness...on the end inside you. I am telling you this as the only way to do it is to use my finger. You must try to relax or it will prove painful. I do not wish to damage you. I suggest," and here he paused again, "that you try to distance yourself from what is happening."

With that Snape steeled himself and dipped one of his long fingers into the dampness that had collected round the probe. With the other hand he took hold of the sensor and, just as he had done with the probe before, pushed it as much to the side as he could. Her sphincter muscle tightened in response and he heard Hermione draw in a quick breath. As gently as he could he pushed his wand into her tight entrance alongside the sensor and muttered the lubrication charm again. In his mind he pictured a barrel of horned slugs he had taken delivery of for the first years a few days ago. He tried to remember exactly how they had looked, slimy and ugly. He withdrew his wand and laid it on the mattress. Carefully, slowly so as not to cause her alarm, he pushed his finger into where his wand had been moments before. She was so hot and tight.

Horned slugs, he thought hastily, frogs' legs. The rotting ones he had not thrown out from some previous year. He worked his finger deeper, berating himself for his lack of control. What was he going to be like when he came to remove the probe? He pushed his finger in as deep as it would go and reached for the end of the sensor. Hermione groaned and the sound went straight to his groin. But at last he felt it, the end of the sensor. He touched it with the tip of his finger where a little of Hermione's juices still remained. Immediately something shifted and Hermione's sphincter clamped down. Snape gritted his teeth against the pain in his finger, waiting until she was once more relaxed before slowly beginning to withdraw.

It seemed to take an age but at last Hermione felt Snape's finger slip from her body and she breathed a sigh of relief. At once he took hold of the sensor and slowly began to pull it from her body as well. Once it was free Snape picked up his wand and vanished the offending sensor from his sight. He shut his eyes. Now for the difficult bit.

"Miss Granger, how do you feel?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "A little sore." And then she added because he had told her to answer him fully, "And a bit empty."

Snape quirked his eyebrow but before he had time to speak Hermione spoke again.

"And the probe sir? You can get that out, can't you?" There was a slight edge of panic to her voice.

Snape nodded curtly. "For the first part I need you to remain very still. I need you to trust me as the slightest lapse could have very serious consequences. Are you ready? Open your legs as wide as you can."

As Hermione tried to obey his command Snape was assailed with the smell of her sex. His cock twitched.

"Oww, sir. You're hurting my leg."

Snape snapped together and realised that he had been clutching Hermione's ankle incredibly tightly. He muttered an apology and leaned forward, once more spreading the lips of the girl's sex and inserting his wand. Very slowly he pushed it deeper until it came to rest alongside the probity probe.

"And now Miss Granger, this may hurt. It is imperative that you remain still," he warned and carefully began to move the wand so that the tip touched the probe just below where the end was fixed tight to her cervix. Hermione braced herself and gritted her teeth. Snape took hold of the protruding end of the probe. "Sectumsempra," he said quietly.

Hermione gasped, but did not move. For a few seconds, everything was still. And then Snape pulled gently on the probe and the severed shaft slipped from Hermione's body. He let out a breath he did not know he had been holding. Only one small bit remained inside her, and he knew exactly how to get rid of it.

"We are nearly done, Miss Granger," he told her.

"Thankyou sir," she whispered. "How are you going to..."

She tailed off as she saw the look on his face.

"The sensor needed female emissions to release it," Snape said in a guarded voice. "The probe will need..." his eyes slid from hers, "those of a male."

He tried to shut his ears to her horrified exclamation. He stared at the wall.

"Will you...I mean...how..?" Hermione stammered.

"A drop on the end of my finger," Snape said coldly. He did not mean it to sound harsh, but he desperately needed to distance himself from the situation.

"Oh...umm..."

"If you would give me some privacy," he almost sneered.

Hermione turned a beat red and hurriedly shuffled over on the bed, closing her eyes and covering her ears. Snape turned to face the wall and regarded it grimly. The grey stone taunted him until he shut his eyes, only to be assailed with a vision of Hermione, her face contorted in pleasure as she had been in her fantasy. He reached to the front of his robes, unbuttoning the black trousers he wore beneath and pushing past the elastic of his black boxers. His cock twitched as he took himself in hand and he bit his lip, squeezing himself gently as his fingers travelled along his length. His thumb ran over the head and became moist with the first bead of pre-cum. He ran his hand along his shaft once more, this time collecting the bead of moisture on his index finger. One handed he re-buttoned his trousers.

Snape did not look at Hermione as he knelt once more between her legs. As he pushed his finger into her entrance he bit his lip and closed his eyes. Hermione thought she heard him mutter 'flobberworms' but she could not be sure.

Snape ran his finger round the top part of the probe that was still embedded within her and felt it loosen. Carefully he withdrew his finger a little and added his middle finger too, trying to capture the shard between his finger-tips. He felt Hermione tremble and thought she may have stifled a groan of something other than pain. But then he caught it and withdrew the offending shard, vanishing it from sight with a flick of his wand.

"I would advise a pain potion and a sleeping tonic," he said smoothly and rose to look down at her. She was staring up at him as bent and handed her her underwear and trousers.

"Thankyou Professor," she said in a small voice, finding that she could no longer look him in the face.

He nodded curtly and turned in a swirl of robes, shutting the door quietly behind him. McGonagall started forward as soon as she saw him.

"Severus, what happened? Were you successful?"

"Miss Granger is fine. I suggest you see to her," Snape answered briefly before striding off down the corridor, intent on making it to his private quarters in order to take care of a problem of his own. McGonagall shook her head at the retreating back of her colleague before pushing the door open and entering quietly.

Hermione was just pulling her robes down over her head and she looked exhausted. McGonagall regarded her head girl for a moment.

"Are you alright, Miss Granger?" Hermione nodded briefly but did not look into the old witch's eyes. "You are aware, Hermione, that should you feel the need discuss anything that has happened, myself, Severus or any member of staff would be more than happy..."

Hermione nodded briefly and offered a small smile.

"Thankyou, Professor," she said and her voice sounded tired. "If it's alright I think I'll go to bed now."

"Of course, Miss Granger." McGonagall smiled kindly at Hermione before the girl turned and left the room, making for the quiet of her separate head girl room, and plotting what she would tell her friends come the morning.