Disclaimer...I own nothing, everything belongs to the talented JKR.

The Problem with Dueling

Hermione Granger had returned to Hogwarts three years ago to take on the position of Charms Mistress. She was surprised by how easy it was to get along with the staff, the most surprising was her relationship with Severus Snape.

He had been so rude and unfeeling when she was a student, but after he came back to Hogwarts after the war, he was a changed man. Whether it was his near death experience with Nagini that brought it on, or just a change in attitude after the death of Voldemort...no one knew. He still wasn't a warm and cuddly man, but he wasn't rude to everyone anymore and he treated all the houses fairly now.

Her first year teaching, he was merely cordial when they would greet at the high table or in the hallways. But now that she had been teaching for three years, they were almost friends. They sat together at the high table and had animated discussions about potions articles and charms research. Occasionally, they would even meet for tea to continue discussions that they had started at dinner.

It was during this year that Hermione had finally noticed that he wasn't just a colleague. She noticed how he had filled out and looked less gaunt after the war. He had straightened his teeth and his hair was always nice and clean. That he had a nice chest...and well...he was a man, and an attractive man at that.

They were in the midst of one of their charms discussions when one of the sixth years ran up to them in the corridor.

"Professor Snape! Professor Granger! Two students are meeting in the Room of Requirement for a duel, and I've heard that they aren't just practicing, but might hex each other!"

They both had started sprinting towards the Room of Requirement, ready to discipline the students for illegal dueling. The faculty had learned how to access the room during the tenure of Dolores Umbridge, but invading the privacy of the students was only allowed for illegal activities like dueling and sexual encounters.

They entered the room as a stinging hex from one of the boys barely missed the door. They had just stepped between the two boys with their wands out when the spell hit them both.

"Divesto totalis!"

The two students stood there, mouths gaping, as they realized the spell had hit their professors, and not each other.

Hermione immediately glanced at Severus with the same panicked and embarrassed look that he had given her, when they both realized they were totally naked.

-ooOOoo-

It was a quiet and lonely walk back to her staff quarters that evening. She was normally escorted by Severus back to her rooms after dinner, but they were both far too embarrassed to walk with each other tonight.

As panicked and angered as she was with being naked in front of two students, she couldn't help but have a hint of desire when she saw Severus's naked body standing next to hers. He had a nice, lean athletic build...like a runner. And a small trail of black hair that went down to his very large...

She blushed as her thoughts became indecent. How am I going to face him now she thought. She already had a mild attraction to him, but now it was bordering on lust.

Meals and hallway encounters became awkward the next couple of days. She couldn't even look at him without thinking about his body...naked. And on more than one occasion, thinking about that naked body on top of her, doing a number of illicit things.

-ooOOoo-

Severus was also having a difficult time after the dueling incident. He had always enjoyed the dinnertime conversations with Hermione, and had never let her know that he had been attracted to her from almost the moment she had returned to Hogwarts to teach.

He couldn't talk to her without picturing her naked in his thoughts. Her perfectly round, full breasts, her small waist, and her perfectly shaped hips and thighs. He constantly thought about the perfect little triangle of chestnut hair, and what was just beyond that hair.

It was these thoughts that made talking to her unbearable. He didn't want her to know that he was aroused every time he even saw her for a moment.

It had been three days of awkwardness, and he finally couldn't take it anymore. He missed talking to her, and the stimulating conversations that they had shared. He was going to walk her to her room tonight after dinner, and try to salvage their friendship.

As they got to the entrance to her quarters, he knew he needed to speak to her.

"Hermione-", he started, looking into her eyes.

They locked eyes, and neither was certain who made the first move as their lips met in a passionate kiss.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione awoke the next morning with Severus's arms wrapped gently around her. She smiled thinking about the numerous times that they made love the previous night. He was a gentle lover, and they even had conversations between their bouts of lovemaking. They weren't going to let this be just a one time event, and they were going to see where it would lead.

She smiled as she thought back to the events of the past few days. They would never have known of their mutual attraction if they hadn't interrupted that duel. She was thankful that an embarrassing situation led her to her lover, and she was even more thankful that she had taught her sixth years "Divesto totalis" just a few days ago in class.

A/N...This little bit of fluff popped into my head, so I decided to post it before I continued on with Like a Sister.

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