a deadly, poetic infection (sappholococcus) wrote in hp_traditions, @ 2008-06-06 23:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | nc17, severus/hermione |
Happy Traditions, tattooedsappho!
Title: Potions Master
Author: bean120001
Gift For: tattooedsappho
Pairing(s): Severus/Hermione
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Hermione has finally finished her Potions Mastery and a thank you gift to Severus triggers an interesting revelation.
Warnings: A little oral sex, sex, nothing too crazy.
Word Count: 5600ish
Beta: Hecticity (our darling mod)
Read it here or at Livejournal, and be sure to leave feedback for all of our lovely participants!
Five years, five bloody years. That's how long it had taken Hermione to finish her potions mastery. It hadn't been an easy five years either. Studying had only been a fraction of what she'd had to do to prove herself. She had also taken countless exams, prepared potion after potion, day in and day out, and worst of all taken on an internship with the most disagreeable man on the planet. That had taken over half of the five years all by itself.
Severus Snape, Potions Master Extraordinaire, utter bastard.
Snape had been a severe taskmaster, allowing no room for error. Once she'd brewed a strong healing potion that took nearly two months to complete and, in the final wonderful stages, he'd declared that it was a shade too orange and then destroyed it. She'd nearly cast an Unforgivable.
Her entire internship with him had gone just as badly, with few praises and even fewer moments of congratulations when she managed to impress him.
Despite his rather sour personality and cruel method of teaching, she did have to admit that he really was brilliant. He'd stretched her abilities to the limit and then forced her past them relentlessly. She'd learned more from him in three years than she could have in a lifetime by herself.
Hermione sighed and looked herself over in her mirror, double checking her dress robes and hair. She was actually going to miss working with him, despite his disposition. After her induction ceremony today, she would be free of him and she wasn't so sure she wanted to be. She didn't know what she'd do with herself, not seeing him every day.
She'd miss the rare chats they had while waiting for a potion to boil, where he'd reveal some tidbit about his life, or explain a theory to her without that superior sneer on his face. She'd miss when he forgot she was 'Hermione Pain In His Ass Granger' and actually talked to her like she was a colleague. She'd miss the way he became so absorbed in a potion or a theory in a book that he didn't hear a thing going on around him; the way his eyes stared intently and his dark hair fell forward into his face completely unnoticed. She'd miss watching his long, nimble fingers, wrapping around a razor sharp knife, slicing ingredients and then sprinkling them over a boiling cauldron with precision few could hope to match. She'd miss the way his nearly black eyes flashed when he was furious or the way they'd crinkle ever so slightly when he was trying to hide his amusement.
She sighed again and shook her head at her silliness, smiling ruefully at the tiny crush she'd developed for the uncompromising man. It was foolish, really, to hold a candle for the one man that would never see her as anything more than a student.
“Hermione?” Ginny called, knocking on the door and peeking in. She'd been Hermione's roommate for four years now, though she spent so much time at Harry's house, Hermione didn't know why she bothered to pay rent here at all. “You ready?” the red head asked with a happy smile.
Hermione drew herself up straight and took a deep breath. “Yes, I think so. Are Ron and Harry here already?”
Ginny opened the door wider and shook her head. “They owled and said training ran long today and they'd meet us there.” Ron and Harry had been training a new batch of junior Aurors and the group had been giving them hell every moment. She thought it rather fitting, considering all the stunts they'd pulled since age eleven. Let them have a taste of what it was like dealing with overenthusiastic young men and women.
“Well then, I guess we'll just go on ahead then,” Hermione said with a small nod. She smoothed her long red robes nervously and then picked up her wand. “Are you ready?”
“Yep,” Ginny said grinning and pulling out her own wand. “Meet you there?”
Hermione nodded and watched Ginny disappear with a pop. Another sigh fell from her lips and she smiled ruefully as she followed the younger woman with her own crack of Apparation.
***
It was customary, during the induction as a Potions Master, to give and receive potions to and from other masters. Hermione had met several of the Masters during her studies and hadn't had much trouble choosing which potions to brew for them. Some got Pepper-Up potions for those long brewing sessions, some healing potions for achy joints, some cosmetic potions if they admired their own looks, some joke potions, if they had a sense of humor, it varied really. Snape's had been the only challenge. What did you brew for the man that you'd both feared and admired more than anyone since the age of eleven? What did you give a man to show him how much you appreciated him and how much you'd miss him?
After weeks and weeks of stressing over it, she'd finally settled on a simple energy potion to keep him awake during marathon brewing, and one of the most valuable ingredients in the wizarding world. It was nearly impossible to come by untainted by dark magic or malice or fear. Few ever bothered to try and most lost their one chance before they even realized it had gone. Hermione Granger wasn't one to pass up an opportunity, however, and she'd collected the ingredient so carefully it was as pure and untainted as it could possibly be. She could make a fortune off of it and change her whole life, but somehow she knew he could change the world with it.
After the speeches to welcome all of the new masters to their fold, the Potions Masters stood before their former students and offered their gifts of healing potions, rare ingredients, even rarer poisons, and simple but amusing concoctions. In return they gracefully accepted those potions carefully brewed by their new colleagues. When Hermione came to stand before Severus she fairly trembled with nervousness. What if he made a spectacle of her for her gift; called her a foolish girl before all of the Master's? She hoped instead, he'd look at the gift and see her in the light she wished him to; one that was not entirely professional.
Severus looked down at her with deep, dark eyes, regarding her seriously as he handed her a smooth wooden box. She accepted it with a quiet thank you and opened it gently. Inside were three bottles labeled “Fame”, “Glory”, and “Death”. Really they were just potions to make the drinker prettier for an hour, take away their fear for an instant, and to heal them from a nasty wound, but she appreciated his subtle humor in giving them to her. She smiled up at him and nodded her thanks again, before pushing her own gift into his long fingered hands.
He opened the box without a word and stared into it silently for a long time, his eyes unreadable. Finally he reached out one index finger and ran it down the tiny red vial she'd nestled into the back velvet interior. “A priceless gift, if it's what I think it is,” he murmured in true appreciation. His eyes flicked to hers in question. “Are you certain this was meant for me Miss Granger?”
“Quite certain,” she replied. The only thing she was more certain of was that she would have appreciated his assistance in collecting the rare ingredient in his hands. She would never tell him that of course.
“Where did you get this, if you don't mind my asking?” he asked, closing the lid of the box. “This is a very expensive gift to purchase for your Master, not to mention skirting the borders of legality. It wasn't necessary.”
“It was mine to give and you can use it properly,” she said simply, a tiny flush touching her cheeks.
“Ah,” he said softly, nodding in understanding. “May I ask who harvested it?”
“Me,” she said, her blush deepening. “Who else could I trust to do it?” she asked turning her gaze away.
“What a pity,” he said in a rich purr that made her shiver. “It would have been my pleasure to assist you, had you only asked. I'm quite good at collecting delicate ingredients Miss Granger.” She trembled harder as his hand came up to touch her cheek, but both were startled out of the odd moment between them as the audience stood and roared happily as the Grand Potions Master bid a final welcome and congratulations to the new members. He stepped back into the line of older Masters and she turned to receive the general congratulations with blind eyes.
***
The moment she stepped off the stage Ron and Harry surrounded her. She shook off the odd feeling that Severus had left her with and laughed at there enthusiastic hugs and congratulations. “I'm so glad I'm done and can finally move forward,” she said with a happy sigh.
“You deserve it,” Harry said tugging at a loose curl. “You've worked your arse off for this, 'Mione.”
“Yeah, and no more Snape,” Ron said with a grin. “That's got to be the best of all of it.”
Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but Ginny beat her to it. “I don't know about that. I think he's rather different than he was back in school. I've spent a little time chatting with him at Mum's parties and he's not half bad when he's relaxed a bit. He has some interesting stories at least.”
Hermione grinned at her and mouthed a thank you, while Harry and Ron just snorted their disbelief. “What did you give him?” Ron asked, peering over at the man in question. Severus was talking to another of the older masters, a German man with a hearty laugh and a tendency to pinch Hermione's rear every time he saw her. She adored the lecherous old fart. “He stared at it as if you gave him the Queen's crown jewels.”
“Better,” she said with an embarrassed smile. “I gave him virgin's blood.”
“Bloody hell,” Ron choked. “Where'd you get the money for that? Is it even legal?”
“Yes, barely, and I didn't buy it anyway Ron,” Hermione sighed, shaking her head in amusement. “It's mine. It was free.”
“Who the hell touched you?” Ron growled, eyes narrowing. “I'll kick his arse if he hurt you.”
Hermione and Ginny laughed and Harry snorted. No matter how old Ron got, he didn't change. It took him a moment but then he rubbed his head and apologized, grinning sheepishly. Hermione smiled, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek. “Ronald Weasley, never change. I love you the way you are.”
“I love you too, Hermione,” he sighed. “Don't forget it either. You know where to come if anyone ever hurts you.” He pulled back a little and stroked her cheek. “He was good to you, right? If not just point the way.”
“There was no 'he'. I collected it myself,” she said pulling away with a blush. “Alone.”
Ginny giggled as Harry and Ron both blushed furiously and stuttered out that they were going to go find something to drink. In an instant they were gone, leaving Hermione and Ginny behind, very nearly in a cloud of dust. “Funny you'd think they'd be more uncomfortable knowing I'd slept with a man than they would with me touching myself.”
“I think it's rather like me telling Ron that I like to touch myself while watching Harry do the same. It's just too much information from his sister...which you sort of are by now,” Ginny explained with a wicked smile on her lips.
“Oh,” Hermione said softly, “You and Harry...oh. Funny I always sort of wondered about those things with them...how they'd look you know?” She sighed, “Guess they really do just see me as one of the guys if they don't wonder the same.”
“Oh you're not missed out on anything with Ron. I caught him at it once and he was all red and sweaty...just not...well I suppose he is my brother though,” she trailed off thoughtfully and then shrugged. “But Harry is really something. His cheeks get a little flushed and his eyes slide shut and he tilts his head just so,” Ginny said softly, demonstrating the relaxed posture Hermione often saw Harry adapt while day dreaming. “Then he strokes himself so slowly, like he's savoring every moment of it. He'll groan softly, like he's afraid he'll be heard, but he can't stifle the sound. As he starts to get closer, he bites at his bottom lip and arches his back just a little...and the sounds he makes when he comes are so hot,” Ginny sighed dreamily and stared off into space for a moment. She shook her head and then coughed a little. She flushed red, as if she'd just finally heard her own words and realized how very revealing they'd been. “Would you excuse me? I just need to...um...congrats!” she stuttered.
Hermione laughed and watched Ginny bolt off in the direction Harry and Ron had gone in. Shaking her head as the redhead ran Harry down at the drink table, she turned and found herself nose to chest with Severus. “Professor Snape!” she gasped in surprise, her belly fluttering at the his closeness. Merlin he smelled nice, especially for a man that spent most of his day sweaty, bent over a cauldron.
“Severus,” he corrected softly as she stepped back a little to better look at him. “I didn't mean to scare off Miss Weasley. I apologize.”
“You didn't scare her off,” Hermione said smiling over her shoulder as the young woman sidled up to her boyfriend with a coy look on her face. Whatever she whispered in his ear had him shoving his drink into his friend's hand and immediately dragging her through the crowd of potion enthusiasts, leaving a disgruntled Ron behind. “Poor Ron,” she said with a laugh. Ginny might have embarrassed herself saying dirty things to her best friend, but she certainly didn't seem put off by saying them to Harry.
“Perhaps you should join him,” Severus suggested, waving her towards Ron.
“Eh, he'll be fine,” she said with a casual shrug. “He's a big boy now.”
“Today is a day to celebrate with loved ones and significant others. You don't need to entertain me, I assure you,” he grumbled. “Go be with your boyfriend.”
“Ron's not my boyfriend Professor...Severus. He's more like a brother really. And look, he's doing just fine now,” she said pointing as Ron began to flirt with a pretty blond that Hermione vaguely recognized as a new Master from France. “He's always had a thing for French girls,” she muttered, mostly to herself.
“I find myself a bit confused then,” Severus said hesitating. “Was that vial not...not what I think it is?”
“It is virgin's blood, mine actually,” she said with a small nod. “Well, your's now.”
“I thought for sure that Mr. Weasley would have jumped at the chance to help you...now I find myself wondering who it was,” he said, a strange look on his face. “The other participant does alter the quality a bit if they are tainted in some way. I need to know what I'm dealing with before I try to use it.”
“Fred,” she said blurted out with a blush, ducking her head to avoid his gaze.
“Fred Weasley?” he asked sounding horrified at the thought.
“No,” she squeaked. “No! It's the name I gave my...um...toy...the one I bought to break my....” she trailed off waving her hand vaguely.
“You broke your maiden head with a...? Alone?” he asked haltingly a small flush touching his own cheeks. Ah now she had him thinking, didn't she? Well at least one man could imagine her frigging herself senseless without running away. Maybe she should have just told him that she liked to masturbate, on occasion, instead of going to all the trouble of harvesting her blood to get him to think of her in a more sexual light.
“Yes? Does that ruin the blood?” she asked tentatively, looking up at him through her lashes. She'd tried to find out, but it wasn't something that was written about much. There was certainly a lot written on all sorts of dark rituals that involved the blood, and some on healing potions, but nothing on collecting one's own blood for any of them.
“No, but it rather takes all the fun out of it for all involved,” he said in a surprisingly teasing tone, his eyes glittering in amusement.
She peeked up at him again and giggled. “It really wasn't very fun. It really hurt since I was a little hesitant and well after, I just couldn't...um...finish.”
“What a pity,” he purred in that voice that made her shiver every time he used it. “And since then, have you found someone to remedy that unpleasant experience with?”
“N-no,” she said in a small voice, her heart pounding and the new look in his dark eyes. It was a look she'd never seen in them before, but it was awfully close to the angry look, so she wasn't sure if she should be turned on or if she should run away. Instead she stayed in place, trembling softly.
Eyes glittering he stepped towards her until he was nearly touching her. She could feel the heat of his body against her skin, and his breath ruffling her hair. “I know of a charming little library with a lovely view of the ocean, just down the hall. Would you care to see it...Hermione?”
Completely unsure if he was serious about showing her the room or if he was finally propositioning her, she nodded mutely, figuring either way it would probably be a positive experience. She did like libraries after all.
He held out his arm for her and she took it with trembling fingers. She saw Ron look at her questioningly from across the room and shook her head minutely, blushing all the time. His eyes narrowed slightly at her odd expression and he tensed up as if ready to storm to her defense. Another shake of her head and he forced himself to relax and nod his reluctant acceptance. Fortunately his attention was drawn back to the blond as she touched his arm and asked him a question. The red head disappeared from her sight as Severus guided her from the room and down the hall.
“Are you really showing me this library or was that just a cover for...something else?” she asked in a tentative voice. She wasn't really in her element here, as boys seldom gave her a second look. It wasn't that she wasn't pretty, she was, but being the best friend of two Aurors, one being the Savior of the Wizarding World and the other from a family with five brothers and a wicked sister, tended to cool the ardor of any male.
“Yes,” he replied, not answering either question, but in a way confirming that she hadn't misunderstood his intentions. This was a whole new side of the man she'd worked with for three years and she had no idea what to do with him. She was curious though.
“Why now?” she asked. “Why not before? You never showed any indication that you were interested in me; rather to opposite actually.”
“You weren't my equal, now you are,” he said simply, opening a narrow door and guiding her into a small, comfortable library. It was done all in oak and rich greens and blues; probably due to the lovely picture window showcasing the ocean a quarter mile away. “I didn't wish to be accused of using my status over you to exploit you in any way.”
“You wanted to 'exploit' me?” she asked with a small laugh.
“Until you passed out from exhaustion,” he growled, slamming the door shut and pressing her up against it abruptly. His lips came down hard on her, stealing her breath in an instant and cutting off her squeal of surprise. She could do little more than whimper under the onslaught of lips and teeth and tongue. “Every time I saw you dressed in one of those damned strappy shirts of yours, bent over a hot cauldron, it was all I could do not to bend you over a workbench and fuck you senseless,” he growled against her mouth.
She groaned at the thought of him spinning her around and pinning her into one of the high benches, shoving her skirt up and driving into her from behind. She'd never done that kind of thing, of course, but she had a very good imagination. “Oh Merlin, please,” she gasped, arching into him.
He groaned roughly and kissed her hard, spinning around and backing her towards a desk near the window. She stumbled slightly as the backs of her thighs hit the cool surface, but quickly recovered and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him frantically. “Severus,” she whispered, pressing her hips forward, unconsciously seeking more, shuddering as she felt the hard length of his arousal through layers of thick robes. “Please.”
“Too fast,” he growled. “This is moving too fast.”
“Don't care,” she said biting at the underside of his jaw and drawing a grunt of pleasure from him.
Severus spun her around abruptly and pressed her down against the cool desk. She panted in excitement, not caring that her first 'real' time was going to be a five minute, from behind quickie. She just knew that she had to have him, and now. Rough hands slid up the backs of her thighs, taking material of her robes with them as they slid over her bottom and came to rest on her lower back.
“Merlin,” he whispered softly, reminding her which underwear she'd chosen that day. Her mother had once told her that feeling sexy was powerful; it made a woman feel confident and in control. She'd grinned and handed Hermione a small flat box with three pairs of black lace panties in it. Despite her initial gut reaction to snort at the absurdity of such a statement, Hermione had never returned to plain cotton again. Today she'd chosen to wear a white lace thong that barely covered a thing, but at least played at being underwear, so she felt decent.
Hermione felt him shift behind her and then suddenly there was warm breath on the small of her back. She squeaked and jumped slightly as something wet traced from his hands downward, realizing quickly that it was his tongue. Severus Snape was licking her, and what's more, he kept going! She shuddered as Severus traced the line of her panties all the way down, tickling over the valley of her bottom in a way she was hoping he'd explore with her more in depth later, coming to rest deep between her thighs.
Ginny had often mentioned how much she liked it when Harry tasted her, but Hermione could never quite understand the appeal...until now. She groaned as Severus tugged the string of her thong to the side and teased his tongue over her delicate folds. Nerve endings fired off in rapid succession, leaving her trembling and gasping for more. His low growl of excitement tickled her core and she couldn't help crying out, loud enough that he paused and cast locking and silencing charms on the door.
“Oh that feels lovely,” she moaned softly as he caressed her swollen clit with his lips and tongue.
“Only lovely?” he asked nipping at her bottom and making her jump. “I'd better work a bit harder then.” He leaned in and traced his tongue around her folds, before sinking it as far into her body as he could reach, working his mouth over her like the most wickedly decadent kiss ever. Her knees collapsed immediately and she very nearly screamed.
“Oh please,” she gasped, “I can't...Severus!”
“Hmm?” he murmured pulled back and tickling his tongue back up the valley of her rear, teasing over her tiny rosebud all too briefly, and then standing up.
She began to tremble as she heard the soft pop of buttons being freed from their moorings and the rustle of cloth being shifted. “Oh fuck,” she heard herself gasp, earning a soft, wicked chuckle from the tall man behind her.
“Indeed,” he purred.
Hermione arched and gasped as his large, calloused hands returned to her bottom and opened her wide to his gaze. There was a vaguely alien, blunt pressure and then she felt herself begin stretch around the invader. She'd used the toy, 'Fred', on occasion, but it was nothing like the sensation of warm, living flesh sliding into her body. He pulsed and jerked in a way no toy would. He filled her, molding her to him, yet his flesh was yielding and comfortable like a hard toy couldn't possibly be; not even with magic. “Oh,” she sighed. “This is...oh Severus.”
He chuckled softly, undulating his hips slowly as he filled her tight body, inch by inch. “Good?”
“Better,” she moaned softly as he bumped into her cervix and pressed. “Do that again.”
A deep moan rumbled up in his chest as he drew back and slid forward again, a little harder, but with the same hip twist that had him caressing the opening of her womb. Her back arched and she opened her mouth in a silent screamed of pleasure. Merlin's beard, she was a responsive witch!
“Harder,” she gasped out after a few more teasing thrusts.
He grasped her hips and snapped his forward, drawing a shriek from her, which made him smile.” He'd heard her voice raised on several occasions, sometimes with him, but usually with Potter or Weasley. It wasn't a particularly pleasant experience. Never had he heard it raised like it was now. Now that he had, he wanted to hear it again and again. “You like that, Miss Granger?” he growled.
She moaned as he spoke in that sneering teacher voice he'd used as they were all growing up. She'd never fantasized about him while in school, but if she'd known he could do this, she might have.
“How do I feel inside you, Miss Granger?” he asked jerking his hips forward in rapid succession, drawing wonderful shrieks and gasps from her full lips. “How does it feel to have my cock in you? The cock of your childhood Potions Professor, the cock of your Master. How does it feel? Tell me!” He groaned, startled when she tightened fiercely around his body and arched hard, screaming out his name. Severus had to pause as she rode the waves of her orgasm, fearing he'd lose control and come before they'd really begun.
When she finally collapsed panting he began to moved again, slowly in deference to her likely sensitive body. “That was impressive,” he teased her gently, stroking his hand up her sweaty back with long fingers. “I don't believe I've ever made a woman come just from talking.”
“Then you've been entirely too quiet in the past,” she groaned into the desk, undulating her hips up with each thrust. “Your voice is like velvet on the skin. Besides, it wasn't just your voice,” she said, rising up on her elbows and clenching her center around his length. “To answer your question, it feels bloody amazing. Better than I thought it would. Way better than Fred, definitely.”
He pulled from her body and tugged her over onto her back, spreading her out over the desk like he had in so many of his fantasies in the last year. “Well it's certainly a relief to hear that I perform better than a phallic shaped sex toy,” he purred, the familiar sneer making a brief appearance. Her eyes slid shut as he slid between her soaked thighs once more, tilting his hips just enough to rub across her clit with each thrust. She sighed and moaned softly, reach down her body and letting her fingers graze over him as he moved in and out. Her belly clenched at the eroticism of touching her body and feeling him there, moving and thrusting, alive.
She slid the other hand under her robe and pinched her nipple, as the other alternated between touching his gliding cock and her swollen clit. Never in her life had she been so wet and aroused. She teased herself carefully, knowing that in an instant she could bring forth her orgasm, but wanting to savor the sensation of the climb.
Hermione gasped as his thrusts got rougher, faster, the rhythm of them irregular and his breath coming out harshly. “Are you...?” she asked in excitement. The ever-serious man hovered over her, his eyes closed, mouth open and panting, losing control...because of her.
“Close,” he grunted, sliding his hand between them and taking over her teasing caresses with firmer, determined strokes.
She cried and arched her hips, clasping her legs around his hips in an effort to get the angle she wanted. His thrusts shifted and became short undulations as she tightened her legs around him and began to clench her muscles in preparation. The climax that was building was going to be mind blowing in every cliché way she could imagine. She could feel its power roiling across her clit and thighs. “Harder, fuck me harder,” she managed to gasp out.
Severus very nearly roared at her demand and let her take control of her body once more as he grabbed her hips and pounded into her in short powerful thrusts. Hermione pinched her nipple again, hard, as her middle finger flew over the engorged head of her clit. And then...everything came apart. She shrieked and arched, swearing and then freezing as her orgasm tore through her body and shorted out her brain for a blinding, glorious instant.
Awareness seeped back in just in time to see Severus jerk his hips one last time and give a strangled shout as he pumped his seed into her rippling sex. He hung suspended over her for a few heartbeats, before giving a rumbling groan and sinking into her waiting arms. “Merlin's balls, woman,” he mumbled into her neck.
“I doubt Merlin's balls had anything to do with that,” she said with a breathless giggle. She pushed at him until he came up on his elbow above her. “Thank you,” she said sincerely, looking into his relaxed face, happy that she'd had a hand in making him look that way.
He smiled slightly and nodded. “It was my pleasure, I assure you,” he said, drawing himself gently from her body.
“And mine,” she assured him with a nod, ignoring the less than pleasant sensation of something leaking out of her. It didn't matter right now, not after that. “Perhaps...perhaps we might do it again?”
He reached out a hand and pulled her to her feet. “I think I might be able to arrange that, though I think dinner might be a good idea first? I don't know about you, but I'm rather hungry.”
“Are you asked me out on a date?” she asked with a laugh.
He shrugged slightly, “A little out of order, but that's that, isn't it?”
“I'd love to have dinner with you Severus, several of them in fact,” she said smiling shyly.
His lips quirked up in a small, pleased smile and he pulled out his wand to tidy them. “Perhaps we'll start with the one we're no doubt missing right now and then plan from there?”
“Alright,” she said with a nod and a small laugh. “Will they be able to tell, everyone?”
“Tell what?” he asked buttoning his trousers and glancing up and her briefly.
“That we've just...you know?” she asked straightening her own robes and patting her hair back not place.
“No. Everyone is too preoccupied with their own celebrations to take much notice of anyone else. Would it bother you?” he asked, face carefully blank.
“I'd rather no one know I just got shagged within an inch of my life, but if you're asking if I'm ashamed that it was by you, no. I don't mind that part in the least,” she said walking forward and placing her hand on his sleeve. “I was rather hoping that my gift would make you see me in that way anyway. I didn't realize you already did.”
“I do indeed, but I thank you for the gift none the less. It is priceless and I will use it very wisely. That I promise you,” he said, leaning it and kissing her gently. “Hungry?” he finally asked.
“Yes, famished,” she said with a small laugh. “We should go out while there is still food left.”
“Indeed,” he held out his arm again and with a wave of the other released his locking and silencing wards.
Taking a deep breath and grinning up at him, Hermione let herself be led to dinner, feeling surprising different, yet completely the same. She was still Hermione Granger, new Potions Master, but she was also Hermione Granger, lover. She smiled to herself and decided that she rather liked that -- and she had the same man to thank for it.