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“Get back into your tent, Miss Granger.”
The familiar voice was nothing more than a whisper in the dark, but it startled Hermione as if a canon had been fired.
She had woken up in the middle of the night to find Harry was gone. He’d taken over the watch from her at midnight, but now he was nowhere to be found.
She had doubts about going to find him. After all, she didn’t have a wand. Harry had taken hers for the watch. The protective enchantments around the tent were still in place, so it would be safest for her to stay put. But what if Harry was in danger?
Ultimately, she’d decided to make sure Harry was alright. After that, all they needed to do was to find the tent again. Thus, she’d stepped outside and into the night, only to be halted immediately by her former Potions Professor and current Headmaster of Hogwarts.
“Where’s Harry?” She asked.
To her surprise he answered.
“On a quest not far from here. He will be back soon.”
“Did he see you?”
Her question startled Severus. He had expected her to inquire more about Potter’s wellbeing, or to run screaming from the Big Bad Death Eater outside her tent.
“How long have you known?”
“Known? For about a minute and a half. Hoped? A few months.”
Severus rolled his eyes and sighed. Granger really was too clever for her own good.
“What gave it away?”
“You called me Miss Granger and ordered me to safety whereas any other Death Eater would have called me mudblood and probably would have already done unspeakable things to me by now.”
The matter-of-fact way she spoke about that fate made Severus feel sick to his stomach. Finally, he turned to face her.
“Then go. Far away. Find your parents and start a new life together. I’ll look out for Potter -”
“I can’t! Don’t you see?,” She cut him off. “He is my best friend, I won’t abandon him.”
She took his hand when he tried to turn away again.
“I know things must have been hard for you,” She started.
Severus hated that, after all she had been through in the last few months, she was still emphasizing with him. Didn’t she realize he deserved this? That he was simply paying the price for his past mistakes?
“But you cannot be seen helping Harry. You Know Who needs to trust you. And Harry.. He needs me. If I go too, he will not make it.”
“Those boys wouldn’t have survived a day without you.” He grumbled.
A small chuckle told him she quite agreed.
“Sir, I -”
“Severus.” He interrupted.
She looked at him intently as she continued.
“Severus,”
He couldn’t help the tiny twitch that curled the corners of his mouth upward for a second at hearing his name from her lips.
“I do not know your history. I shall not pretend to know what drives you to do what you do, nor will I ask. Your reasons are yours. But as no one else knows what you have done for us, the lengths you have gone to, the immense risks you take. To keep us safe. To protect the students. I just want to say..”
She edged closer and stood on her tiptoes to press her lips against his cheek. Hermione couldn’t believe her own daring! True, she’d thought about kissing the tall man in front of her more than once. It had made paying attention to her work in his class rather difficult at times. She’d admired him for so long, both for his skill and intelligence as for his work for the Order. He had the most dangerous job of all. She knew most were willing to die for the cause, but to put your life on the line by seeking out the enemy time and time again and deceiving him took another kind of courage. And most didn’t even appreciate him for it. It had only fueled her indignation on his behalf and added to her ferocious admiration for him.
The moment her lips made contact with his cheek, Severus was filled with a warmth that only one other person had made him feel before, a very long time ago.
“.. Thank you.”
This time it was Severus who caught her hand as she made to turn around.
He looked into her eyes intently for two seconds, carefully gauging her reaction as he slowly leaned in. The moment she tilted her head he swooped down eagerly to capture her lips in a passionate kiss.
Finally. It was the only thought the sinister Potions Master's mind was able to form at that moment. He'd tried so hard to keep her from his mind last year, but even in sleep it was Hermione he kept seeing. He was busy enough as it was trying to make up for the horrible choices he made long ago, was a little peace and quiet in between serving two masters truly that much to ask? He'd felt like the universe was laughing at him, plaguing him with images of the stunning woman she'd become. Or had he been plaguing himself with them?
Now, Severus was savouring the moment. Something good was happening to him and his mind couldn't keep up with that development, or surely he'd been chiding himself for being a lecherous bastard lusting after his student. His body, however, was more aware than ever of what was happening and responding accordingly.
Hermione charded her fingers through his hair and pulled him flush against her. As Severus deepened the kiss and his tongue found hers, she could feel his erection forming, straining in its confinement pressed against her. She moved against it and Severus groaned into her mouth at the friction.
After a minute of snogging Hermione brought her hand down to grope his hard member through his trousers.
“You don’t have to..” He said as he backed up a little. He had tried to keep himself in check and to prevent his hands from roaming all over her body. It took all of his self-restraint considering she was still in her nighty.
Her hand left his hair and moved towards his neck, her thumb stroking his cheek.
“I know I don’t have to.” She smiled at him.
“Do you want to come inside?”
She slowly walked backwards, disappearing from view as she crossed the boundaries of her own protective enchantments until all Severus could see was her hand stretched out, reaching for him in invitation. As he put his hand in hers and let her pull him through the wards he realized she was so much more to him than simply an ally or the girl who haunted him in his sleep.
She was like him. She could understand him and cared for him, perhaps more than he'd been aware of. Though the thought scared Severus a bit, he found himself reluctant to let her go after tonight. Only once before in his life had he entertained the possibility of someone being so compatible with him, but back then the fates had decided it wasn't meant to be. In all those years they'd known each other, and they'd never even gotten this far as he had with Hermione in one night. Could he be getting a second chance?
Once inside, Hermione kissed him with renewed vigour and continued her exploration of his anatomy where she’d left off.
“What do you want, Hermione?” He whispered to her in between placing kisses on her neck. He needed to know if there was a possibility of something more. If this was just one night for her, if he would be watching her walk hand in hand with Weasley next he wasn't sure he would be able to handle it without anyone getting injured.
His breath in her ear made her shiver and she felt her nipples harden beneath her skimpy garment. Squeezing his cock through the material, she felt Severus sink his teeth into her neck at the sensation.
“You!” She gasped. “Please Severus, take me.”
“Are you sure, witch? Do you know what you’re getting into?”
She moaned as his hands traveled to her breasts to find her nipples already standing erect. He let his fingertips ghost over them before rolling them between his thumb and forefinger. Before long he was peeling the nighty off of her.
“I am a possessive man, Hermione. I do not share. If you ask me to take you now, I am not letting you go."
He guided her to the table nearby and sat her down upon it. Severus was now trailing kisses down to her breasts while one of his hands traveled south.
"You’re giving me something to live for, witch. If you ask me to claim you now, I will claim you when this war is over. You will be.."
He paused to cup her pussy possessively over her knickers.
".. mine.”
“Yours,” Hermione breathed as his mouth closed around her right nipple and he sucked. She kept murmuring the word over and over as he teased the sensitive peak with his tongue and teeth.
Her confirmation seemed to egg him on and his fingers started teasing her centre over her knickers. As she started to tug at his belt buckle even though she couldn’t quite reach it from her position Severus grinned up at her.
“Impatient witch.”
With a mere hand gesture his clothes disappeared. She gawked at his naked form as his fingers continued teasing her centre. She was soaking through her knickers by now.
Severus found it strangely endearing the way Hermione was eyeing him. He supposed she hadn't expected a man as private as himself to be so self-assured or comfortable as he was being nude, perhaps had expected him to be embarrassed. Not that he had anything to be embarrassed about.
“Close your mouth or I may find a new use for it, love.” He teased her.
She licked her lips and opened her legs wider, her ankles crossing around him to lock him in between them. He captured her lips in a searing kiss once again while he rubbed his hard-on against her centre. One more wave of his hand and her last layer of clothing was gone.
“Hermione,” He spoke her name as if it was a prayer in itself.
"Are you sure? Is this what you want?"
She could see in his eyes that he was perfectly serious. If they both survived, he would find her after the war and build a life for them. He would care for her and keep her safe. If she let him.
There was not a doubt in her mind. If he felt only a fraction of the affection for her that she felt for him, it would bring her enough happiness for a lifetime.
"I am. I will wait for you, I promise. Please claim me, Severus. Make me yours."
It was beyond anything he had ever hoped to hear. He would be hers as she would be his.
He would make sure she would have everything she could ever wish for. But first, he would make her scream.
Lining up his hard length with her entrance, Severus found her chocolate brown eyes and held her gaze as his body slowly joined with hers. It took a few gentle thrusts before he was fully embedded within her warmth. There Severus remained still and both of them let out a quiet groan that was befitting the intensity of the moment.
He was so deep within her Hermione was sure she felt him nestled against her cervix. Somehow still wanting to feel more of him, Hermione let the walls of her vagina squeeze him in even deeper. On instinct Severus started to move, thrusting slow and deep at first.
He relished in the wonderful noises he was drawing from her lips. Her stuttered breathing, her uncontrollable moaning and the dirty words he'd never heard her speak before. Greedy to hear more he brought one hand down to tease her clit while the other remained in her neck, caressing her and making sure their gazes never wavered from one another.
The added sensation made her cry out to God and Merlin multiple times, but most of all to him.
"Severus," she whimpered, the combined stimulation nearly too much for her. Sensing she was close to her climax Severus picked up the pace. He wanted this gorgeous woman falling apart underneath him, knowing it was him who had brought her this ecstasy.
Only a few more strong thrusts had her tipping over the edge. As she moaned his name, Severus found himself suddenly on the brink of his orgasm as well, her tight channel milking him for dear life. Every intention to drag out the experience for as long as possible suddenly forgotten, Severus eagerly joined his partner on cloud nine.
They remained there for a couple of minutes in heavenly afterglow. Too soon reality creeped back in and with it the realisation that Potter might be back at any moment. Silently they stared into each other's eyes for a moment longer before they seemed to reluctantly agree. One more kiss, not as passionate or lust fueled as before but rather adoring, and then Severus withdrew from her.
Both donned their clothing back on swiftly and efficiëntly and Severus found he was searching his mind for an excuse to linger. He should have been back at Hogwarts long ago, hadn't even known what had possessed him to wander through the forest after showing Potter where to go, except that he knew there was a chance to catch a glimpse of her.
But he couldn't linger now, not anymore. He still had a war to win before he could collect what she'd offered him. Severus was afraid that if he turned around to look at her now he wouldn't have the strength to look away again.
"I have to go."
Small arms snaked around him from behind as she held him to her and laced her fingers through his.
"I know." Severus thought he could detect a small hint of petulance in her otherwise resigned tone.
As she moved to face him he couldn't help himself but look at her. She was so enchanting, Severus could watch her forever. But he needed to go.
"Please be safe, Severus." She whispered to him.
His hand cradled her neck as he touched his forehead to hers. He wouldn't kiss her goodbye. It was not goodbye.
His thumb stroked her cheek. Before Hermione had fully registered the warmth from his touch fading Severus had stepped into the darkness of the night once more.