Chapter Five

"Hermione?" Sirius sounded rough. Possibly hung-over, she thought, or maybe just run down. "Eh, she must have gone with Molly and the others, hey Beaky?" A guttural screech carried through the open door as the Hippogriff presumably agreed. Or perhaps Disillusionment Charms didn't work on magical creatures, and Buckbeak had clocked them. Regardless, the door closed again, and Snape let out a long breath that he didn't know he had been holding. He removed his hand from Hermione's mouth, planting a feather-light kiss on her forehead by way of apology; casting a swift, albeit slightly belated Imperturbable Charm on the bedroom door.

"Close." She thought he sounded almost amused. Clearly he was willing to take a lot of risks in order to continue their liaison. She didn't think he would be so cavalier if it didn't mean a great deal to him. Half-amused herself, and half-flustered at their narrow miss, she clenched her muscles down below. He still had his cock inside her and it had obviously not been put off by the rude interruption. He withdrew for a second, and she caught a glimpse of it momentarily - solid and smooth-looking. The whole thing about wizards with big feet was obviously true, she thought.

"Well?" Mock-indignantly staring up at him, placing her hands out on her hips, she wriggled from side to side in the bed. "Are you going to shag me properly Severus Snape, or am I going to have to do it myself?" His black eyes widened perceptibly at the thought, but then he decided that he didn't want to miss out on the fun and thrust back into her suddenly, taking her hard in retaliation for her cheek.

"Ten... points... to... Gryffindor..." He was started to sweat heavily now, his hips moving jerkily and she knew he must be nearly there. She reached down to cup his balls, caressing them firmly and she heard his breath hitch.

"Merlin's... beard! You're going... to kill... me... Hermione!" He collapsed on top on her suddenly, his strength expended; he just managed to brace himself on his elbows to avoid crushing her. Seeing that he wasn't quite finished, Hermione used her legs' grip around his hips to topple him to the side, and brought up an arm to roll with him as he went, so that she was now above him, sat up in the middle of the bed.

"Not yet Severus. I still have a few things I want to do to you first! Perhaps you should have brought a Strengthening Solution with you?!" Before he could rescind his recently awarded house points for her impertinence, she started to rock backwards and forwards, riding his cock and grinding herself against him. He went completely limp underneath her, his arms and legs splayed out as he watched this beautiful witch fuck him to within an inch of his life.

"Ah! Herm- I... Ungh! Ahh! Oh yes! Hermione... Ahh!" Hearing his increasingly desperate cries of pleasure, she quickened her pace; her thighs were burning as she slid up and down on him. His feet kicked at the mattress, as he scrabbled for purchase. "Aghh!" Snape tensed up suddenly underneath her, his whole body locking up as he convulsed a couple of times, then relaxed again. Hermione leaned down to kiss the beads of sweat off his forehead, and brushed away the strands of wet hair that were stuck to his cheeks, the normally sallow skin now flushed with effort. Pausing for a moment to savour the feeling, Hermione then dismounted as gracefully as possible, shuffling down the bed and taking his softening cock into her mouth and sucking it clean slowly, her eyes meeting his unblinking gaze the whole time. He thought he might just blow his load all over again watching her do that, if it wasn't so soon already.

Patting the bit of empty mattress by his side, he beckoned her up to lie next to him. She curled up against his bare skin, draping a slender leg over his teasingly, and rubbing her pale, creamy skin against his fuzzy thigh. "I think perhaps... I might need a bit of time to recover... before you try and seduce me again, Miss Granger..." He stared down his nose at her, his eyes twinkling. "Although Merlin knows I would very much like to do that again in the near future."

They lay there for a while, listening to the sounds of each other's breathing as it returned to normal slowly. A couple of pigeons cooed at each other on the windowsill outside, and a lorry rumbled past on the road. Hermione lay an arm across his chest and rested her head up against his ribcage. To her mild surprise, Snape reached out his arm as well; sliding it underneath her shoulder and pulling her in closer to him. "That was delightful, thank you. Perhaps it was worth the risk after all..." He murmured into her hair. She brought a hand up to his face, tracing the line of his jaw and brushing his lips with her thumb.

"Definitely! Between the two of us, we could totally have taken Padfoot out with a couple of hexes before he managed to do anything if he'd rumbled us anyway." She was joking, mostly. Her hands continued their trail down his neck and back across his chest, and snaked slightly further down, to the indentation above his hips and the faint trail of black hair that led downwards. He cleared his throat pointedly.

"Ahem - I fear that if you wanted a quick turnaround, you should have focused your romantic attentions on one of your younger classmates I'm afraid. I shan't be good for much for a little while yet. I thought you were a Know-It-All? Although perhaps I might...?"

Placing his hands around her waist, he moved her up and back until she was kneeling up on the bed again, straddling him. Bracing himself against the threadbare headboard, he pushed himself down through her open legs until his face was directly beneath her hips. Hermione inhaled sharply, knowing what he was about to do. Guiding her downwards a little until he could reach, Snape buried his face into her pussy, his nose touching her sensitive clit straight away and making her twitch. Tensing her body, Hermione closed her eyes, and leaned forward to prop herself up on her arms. Snape was using his magic tongue again, alternating between light, rapid flicks and long, slow licks as he worked up and down. She started to cry out almost instantly, still highly aroused from their previous session.

"Oh God, Sev...! Yesss! Ohhh!" Spurred on by her encouraging words, he put his mouth around her pussy and clit and sucked on her, letting out a throaty hum at the same time which made her eyes roll into the back of her head. "Oh my...!" She was even more beautiful when he was fucking her. Contrary to his earlier statement, he could in fact already feel his cock starting to stiffen again in response to her words.

Running his hands up her legs to caress her bum, Severus trailed his fingers over her perfect skin, massaging and kneading her body to heighten her pleasure. Once again he slipped a single finger inside her as he lashed her clit with his tongue, and felt her legs twitch above him as she desperately braced herself against his ministrations. It was a point of pride with him that he wanted to make sure she got just as much - if not more - pleasure than he did out of this. Her cries had stopped now, he noticed; she was concentrating fully on her building climax. Curling his finger inside her and pressing against her walls, he carefully added a second digit while still sliding them in and out of her. His lips were almost numb now, but he continued, sucking hard on her clit before letting it go with a 'pop', and pressing his tongue into her folds, running it along the whole length before repeating it. As his tongue was flicking deftly at her clit again she reached out a hand backwards to rub his chest in wordless encouragement. With a couple more licks, she let out a small noise and her thighs shook violently a few times, her upper body jerking as well in synchronicity as she rode out her orgasm and collapsed forward. Giving her one final wicked lick, Severus scooted out from under her and crawled back up to the top of the bed, flopping down next to her with a satisfied grin. He reached out with a calloused thumb to wipe the beads of sweat off her forehead from her exertion and she returned his smile.

"Wow!"

"Wow."

"That was..."

"Quite."

"Have you got to go soon?"

"Not imminently. I have at least a week before I'm due to leave for Hogwarts. There are a couple of things I need to do for the Order first, but nothing too urgent."

"Good." Snape wrapped Hermione in his arms and held her close. She pressed a kiss just below the hollow at the base of his throat. "You've got enough time for us to do that again then."

He let out a low, rumbling chuckle. "You really do want to kill me, don't you?" He stroked her cheek lightly with the back of his index finger, taking in every detail of her features, and staring deeply into her warm eyes. He noticed she was looking at him with a rather serious expression suddenly.

"Better me than Vol- the Dark Lord." He appreciated her not using the name. While he wasn't particularly squeamish about the word itself, he had both a healthy respect for the man formerly known as Tom Riddle, and it also brought up less-than-healthy memories from his early years as a Death Eater.

He placed his finger across her lips, tightening his embrace around her. "Shhh. I know what I'm doing - I've been doing it for a long time, Hermione. Albus has faith in me, you shouldn't worry yourself. It must be done anyway, regardless of the risk." Or cost, he thought to himself. He might lose everything just as he were finally starting to enjoy a fulfilling existence for once in his miserable life. Indeed, life was not fair. She said nothing more, but clung to him closer, wrapping her legs and arms around him as if she could protect him from all that was over the horizon. Something deep in his chest fluttered at the thought that someone actually cared about what might befall him.

After a couple of silent minutes, he felt Hermione shift against his side and craned his neck down to look at her. "Where is it that you live when you're not at Hogwarts, Severus? Cokeworth?""

"Yes. It's in the Midlands - not the most picturesque of places, but it's adequate for my needs."

"Do you think you can Side-Along with me that far? Just until I get my licence that is - I don't fancy running the risk of getting caught here again!"

"Hmmm. That filth, Wormtail, has been hanging around rather more than I'd like of late. Doubtless on the Dark Lord's orders to keep an eye on me, although probably more as punishment for Pettigrew than myself. I certainly try and do my part to that end anyway. I may be able to send him away on some fool's errand for a bit. Preferably a dangerous one!" A familiar, malicious sneer crossed his face and Hermione suddenly saw in front of her not Severus Tobias, but Professor Snape, Hogwarts Potions Master, and dungeon bat. She rolled her eyes to herself; she adored him for who he was, and that included his many eccentricities, but he did sometimes exasperate her with his stubborn nature and unwillingness to evolve. A creature of habit indeed. With all that he'd been through in his short life though, it seemed only fair to give him some leeway when it came to behaving like a reasonable wizard.

"Well, don't do anything silly! I'm sure we can find somewhere else to meet that's less conspicuous. I hear the Three Broomsticks does a very reasonable rate for rooms?" Snape's head whipped around to face her, initially unsure as to whether she were being serious. Hermione's face broke into a wide smile, and she prodded his arm mockingly. "I guess that's a 'no' then? I don't mind Madam Rosmerta knowing if you don't! Never mind, I'm sure we can work something out. Perhaps I could come and visit you in the dungeons before curfew? There's hardly anyone ever mooching about down there in the evenings anyway I shouldn't think..." She shot him a lascivious look and planted a kiss on his thin, pale lips. "We still have a week anyway. I'll tell Harry and Ron that my parents want to spend the rest of the holidays with me or something. They'll believe whatever I say, especially if I include lots of boring details."

"Why, Miss Granger, how very Slytherin of you! You weren't perchance considered for being Sorted into my house?"

"Nope - Ravenclaw was a possibility though. I don't think I was quite a Hatstall..."

"Ugh, thank Merlin for small mercies. Ravenclaws are so unbelievably tedious."

"That's mean, Severus. We all have our strengths - I'm not sure how 'ambition' is more aspirational than 'wisdom' anyway!"

"I'll have you know, we're also exceptionally cunning and resourceful."

"Oh really? So cunning that you let a twelve-year-old set fire to you while you were attempting to save the Boy-Who-Lived, from a man with You-Know-Who on the back of his head?!" The corners of her mouth twitched in amusement. She was enjoying this. Snape decided to let her know who was going to be the winner if she insisted on entering into a battle of wits with him. Rolling on top of her, he pinned her down by her arms.

"So it was you? I had my suspicions..." She braced herself for the tirade that was coming; his inevitable need to protect his bruised ego. "Nice charm work. Bluebell flames? You are truly the brightest witch of your age, Hermione." Touching his forehead to hers before releasing his hold on her, he slid sinuously off the edge of the bed and began retrieving some of his clothing from where it had landed on the floor. "Where are my pants?" He turned to see she was holding her wand pointed at him, the offending underwear draped over the tip. He grabbed them from her and quickly finished dressing, buttoning himself into his tunic like a soldier putting on armour; fastening himself in as he worked his way methodically up the sleeves to his elbows, and down his chest.

"Very handsome." He raised an eyebrow at her observation, as if waiting for the punchline. Instead, she shuffled her way to the edge of the bed on her knees, still completely naked, and reached up to rake her hands through his hair.

"What did I do to deserve someone like you?" It was mostly rhetorical, and he had been unsure as to whether it was even something he should say out loud. She pulled his head to hers in response, and he returned her kiss enthusiastically. Less frantic than their earlier embraces, they were taking their time, exploring each other and communicating something more than passion. "Mmmph!" He tore himself away from her finally. "I really must leave now though. I've remembered I need to go to Diagon Alley to pick up some more Flobberworm mucous." She made a revolted face at him. "The second-years got through an astonishing amount last term, I have no idea how - I hardly Vanished any of the pathetic excuses for potions from their cauldrons! Horace will need some more for the next batch of dunderheads, I'm sure."

"You're not taking Potions this year?" Hermione stared at him, puzzled.

"Ah, no. It slipped my mind to tell you; I shall be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts in September. Don't tell Potter and Weasley, I'd like it to be a surprise." There was that malicious humour of his again. Hermione's expression had now changed to one of alarm. "What?"

"Well... It's just... The last five Dark Arts professors we've had haven't exactly had much in the way of... longevity." She was chewing anxiously on her bottom lip, in a way that made her look both rather vulnerable, and completely ravishing. He tried hard to concentrate on the subject at hand. Two Death Eaters, a werewolf, a fraudulent pretty-boy and a loathsome Ministry hag didn't exactly make for an impressive list of previous incumbents, he had to admit. Small wonder he'd finally been accepted for the post - Dumbledore should have jumped at the chance of someone with his talents long ago.

"There's no need for concern, trust me Hermione. Apart from the fact that I consider Albus the closest thing I have to a friend - present company excepted - I am extremely valuable to him. If he were in any way concerned, more than usual, for my welfare, trust me, I'm certain that he would have had no hesitation in denying my application for the fifteenth year running. Besides, the headmaster has a... contingency plan... in place, should anything occur this year that might put either myself or the school at risk, given the current changing circumstances in the world at large. I shall do my very utmost to avoid meeting an untimely demise, or being sent to either Azkaban or St Mungo's, I can assure you."

Not looking at all mollified by this, Hermione slumped back down onto the bed and drew the covers up around her, perhaps to give herself the illusion of security. There was no such thing, he knew only too well, but perhaps he didn't have to disabuse her of that notion just yet, she was such an innocent creature.

"I shall endeavour to take care of myself, if only to ensure that we can do this again at some point." That cheered her a little, she seemed to shiver slightly in anticipation. He suppressed a smug expression at the thought that he had that kind of effect on her. Leaning over and bracing his arms on the mattress, he gave her a final hard kiss, pulled his boots on, retrieved his wand, and left her laying in the bed. Hermione watched him lift the Charm on the door and Disapparate silently downstairs from the doorway. She thought she heard an old woman's cry of "Filthy blood-traitor scum!" followed by a loud crackling 'zap', then the front door closed and there was silence.