A follow-up, of sorts, to An Electrical Experiment...check that one out first just to be safe.

Disclaimer: So not mine, I'm just borrowing.

The clock in Hogwarts strikes midnight and twelve chimes ring through the school, loud enough only to be heard by those who are still awake. In the Astronomy Tower, surrounded by star charts and telescopes, Professor Auriga Sinistra smiles at her sleepy-eyed students and dismisses them for the evening. The heavy door to her classroom swings shut behind the last student with a resounding thud and she gives a contented sigh to the empty room.

'Zodiac, Auriga?' a voice says from the darkened corner and she frowns at the star chart in front of her. 'Is it that time of year already?'

She looks up from the desk as Severus Snape materializes out of the dark, his robes billowing only slightly. She has often theorized that without his billowing robes, Snape would be little more than a grumpy old man. Still, the sight of him in her empty classroom is no less imposing. The last time they were alone together, he kissed her senseless and while she isn't quite willing to admit it was horrible, she's not entirely sure she wants to repeat it.

Especially when she considers that it took her more than a week to get a good night's sleep and even now trips to the Restricted Section of the library induce a curious crimson blush in her freckled cheeks.

'Well, it is springtime, though I doubt you'd remember that. The dungeons are severely lacking in windows…and light, for that matter.' She smiles sweetly at him and rolls up the star charts. 'You're very good at lurking in dark corners. Practicing for a career as a bat, are you?'

He says nothing as he positions himself on a desk in front of her, but instead smiles serenely. It annoys her more than anything that might have come out of his mouth.

'Honestly,' she says, exasperated, 'why are you here?'

'I came to see how your day was.'

Any retort she might have come up with dies on her tongue and she finds herself staring at him with an expression akin to a dying flounder.

'That's…' she begins, but fails.

'Sweet?' he offers.

She frowns. 'I was going to say surprising, but sweet also works.' She comes around the desk, places a cool hand against his forehead and her frown deepens. 'Are you feeling alright?'

He takes her hand in his, lowers it to his lips, and kisses the palm of it.

'I feel quite fine, Auriga. I assure you.'

Her breath hitches just slightly when his lips brush the pulse point of her wrist.

'Another experiment, then?' she asks, trying not to sound petulant.

He lifts his eyes to meet hers and what she sees there is different from the last time. Yes, there's still the desire and the want, but affection is mingled with those emotions and it throws her off guard.

'No, Auriga, not another experiment.'

He pulls gently on her wrist and she takes a couple of willing steps towards him. They're at eye level with each other and she's trapped between his knees. It's intimate beyond what she thought their relationship – if she could even call what they have a relationship – has ever suggested.

'Consider this my apology, for the library incident.'

She's about to tell him to take his apology and walk out the door, but she doesn't have the chance. Her brain won't work with her mouth and saying anything other than 'hmmm' isn't possible. He closes the distance between them, kisses her neck, her jaw line, and when he finally reaches her lips she's as close to puddle status as being a corporeal human being will allow.

This kiss is gentle, soft, and yet insistent. Her lips part, allow him access, and the rest of the world melts away. She's aware of only him…the smell of wood smoke, the feel of his lips on hers, the sensation of his fingers brushing across bare skin as they slowly undo the buttons of her robes. When nimble fingers run themselves over the swell of breasts, she can't stop the moan that escapes her.

It's too much for him.

He's off the desk and switching positions with her before she has the opportunity to protest. She hits the hard wood of the desktop with a soft thump and a laugh escapes her. She feels him smile against her mouth.

'Sorry about that,' he says softly.

She tightens her grip on his shirtfront.

'Shut up and kiss me.'

And he does, for what feels like hours. He cradles her head with one hand, leans her back, and pulls her robes away to expose her camisole underneath. His lips are moving their way down when someone knocks on the door.

They freeze.

'Maybe they'll go away,' she whispers.

Another knock, this time accompanied by a familiar voice. 'Professor, I forgot my books and I need them for my homework assignment.'

She sighs the sigh of an unsatisfied and interrupted woman and Severus helps her up and back into her robes. 'Just a moment,' she calls as he helps her button them. She points to the back door of her office.

'My rooms are through that door and down the stairs. So help me god, Severus, if you're not there when I get there…'

He hushes her with a kiss. 'I'll see you shortly.'

And then he's gone.

She pats at her hair, smoothes out any renegade wrinkles in her robes, and goes to the door. If the tiny third year Hufflepuff notices that her Professor seems out of sorts and more than a little disheveled, she has the decency not to say anything. Auriga hustles her in and out of the classroom in record time and when she's gone, Auriga locks the heavy wooden door and rushes to her rooms.

She closes the door behind her and is thrilled to see Severus Snape, her sometimes plus one, standing in the middle of her living room with a somewhat bemused expression on his face.

'I think I may love you,' he says as she crosses the distance to him.

She smiles. 'What a wonderful coincidence. I think I may love you, too.'

The smile he gives her needs no words to convey what he's thinking. In fact, for the remainder of the evening they forgo words altogether.