The Seaside Retreat

Chapter 13 … The Hogwarts Express

The morning that they were to leave Hermione and Severus laid in bed a bit longer then they should have. Luckily she could apperate to the station, so they had a bit longer to lounge about and be morose. For the first time in her life, Hermione was not looking forward to school. She had more going for her this year then any other year and she was excited about that, but she didn’t want the summer to end, it had just flown by.

Severus of course was never excited about going back to teaching, but at least this year for the first time he had something to look forward to. Clearing his head of his musings he gently disentangled himself from Hermione and stepped around to lift her out of bed himself. They spoke of her friends over breakfast and what she should tell them concerning Severus and herself.

Hermione, who had thought of this at length since they discussed carrying on with each other, spoke of her thoughts on the matter. “I have decided to leave the boys in the dark for now. I trust them completely and I know that in the end they will support us, but I am not sure I want everyone to know yet; we are too new to have to undergo an inquisition about this. It’s been awhile since Harry has hated you Severus, but he doesn’t know you enough to feel anything other then a reason to stay away from you. Ron and I, well we tried to make it work once between us, but it was like kissing a brother and at least we ended it well. We are stronger now then we were when we thought we cared for each other romantically. The three of us are stronger then siblings and families don’t turn each other away. I will know when the time is right to tell them.”

“And what of Miss Weasley?”

“I will tell her when I can get her alone. Ginny is like her mother, very intuitive and even if I choose to keep her in the dark she will figure it out quickly enough. If I let her in on it on my own she will respect our privacy.”

“You speak highly of her Hermione.”

“Yes I do. She has been my rock before. Sometimes it got a bit difficult to be the estrogen of the trio, she understood that and never showed jealousy over my closeness to Harry.” Severus nodded his understanding and looked thoughtful for a few moments before announcing that they must go. They kissed each other goodbye at the house because they couldn’t do it in the platform and with a crack arrived at the train.

Hermione looked around for her friends and pointedly ignored the not so subtle whispers of Hermione’s return and the odd sight of Professor Snape at her side. He un shrunk her trunks and helped her find a compartment on the train to store them. He nodded his head to her and left the train with not so much as a by your leave. Though Hermione knew the reason for it she couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed.

She settled herself into the train compartment to wait for the friends she hadn’t seen in months. She didn’t have to wait long before the compartment door swung open and her friends marched in a swinging her up in their arms.

“Oh Mione! We were so worried about you. We looked for you for weeks before we got word from Professor McGonagall about you” Harry panted, out of breath from picking her up and swinging her about so vigorously.

Ron, who like she had told Severus, had quickly become one of her greatest confidants after their “break up” was holding her in his arms and hadn’t said much yet. He just kissed her cheek and sighed in relief upon seeing her whole and well. Hermione smiled a beaming smile at him and turned to Ginny.

As horrible as it seemed to Hermione, the war seemed to have done some good for Ginny. She had grown up considerably and held herself with not the rash confidence of youth, but now with the confidence of a woman who knew what she wanted out of life. It looked good on her and Hermione found herself almost envious of the younger girls newfound self assuredness and beauty.

Hermione and Ginny embraced and kissed each other a small hello that left Harry squirming in his seat and had Ron looking a bit uncomfterable. It had been a tradition between the two girls to kiss each other hello and goodbye when they were leaving and not seeing each other for awhile. It was something so platonic they didn’t even think of it any longer, but in the last year or so it had been taken notice by some of the guys in their tower who apparently thought it was hot. Now they did it a bit more often just to tease them.

As the train rumbled away from the station the group settled in for the journey and listened to each others tales of the summer. Now that Harry no longer had to return to the Dursley’s he spent his time with the Weasleys for one final glorious carefree summer and flooed frequently to Grimmauld Place to prepare it for his inhabitance after graduation. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were all invited to move in as soon as school was done.

This seemed like a good transition point to Hermione who replied to the invitation accordingly. “I would love to keep a room for weekends and some holidays if its okay, but I am not sure if I can live there or if I am expected to live with my master.” The other three looked confused when hearing about a “master” and their minds went immediately in the gutter. Seeing their faces made Hermione laugh and she hurried to correct herself.

“I’m sorry I could have put that better. What I meant was that Professor Snape has agreed to take me on as his apprentice this year. If it goes well I will move in with another Potions Master at the end of the year to complete another year of study before I can apply to become a Potions Mistress myself. I hope to have Professor Snape take me on again, he is the foremost master in the United Kingdom and he hasn’t taken on an apprentice in 16 years, it would look very good for me. So you see he will be my ‘master’, as in Potions Master. ”

The group laughed off the misunderstanding and congratulated Hermione in her success, if you could count spending extra time alone with Snape success. They supposed though if she could spend a summer alone with him and come back in one piece then she could handle an apprenticeship.

They spent the remainder of the trip laughing and joking and for the first time since Voldemort’s return then downfall, acting like teenagers. It was all too soon that the train pulled into Hogsmeade and they were donning their school robes and trudging off the train and towards the thestral carriages. It was a shame how many students could see the thestrals now, even Hermione who wasn’t in the final battle had seen her share of death and destruction.

They boarded the carriages waving hello at students they had missed and scooted over so Neville and Luna could squish into a carriage with them. Before long they were at Hogwarts and the group took a collective breath at being home after a long hard summer for everyone. It wasn’t long before they took their places in the great hall and hung their heads sadly at the missing students. Slytherin was hit especially hard and you couldn’t help but feel a bit sad for them. It must have been difficult to have been raised with a set of morals that you have believed since birth only to be proved wrong. It was an expensive lesson to learn that was paid with more then one family being torn apart by war and death.

Hermione’s gaze drifted over Malfoy’s form and she couldn’t help but feel a little shocked at his expression when they locked eyes. Hermione had expected to see hatred and accusations in his eyes and found the sadness and resignation almost scarier then the hatred. What was a Malfoy without his arrogance? She made the decision then to speak to her friends about staying off his back this year and she would try to reconcile with him. It’s hard to think for yourself when someone else’s ideals are constantly being shoved down your throat. They exchanged glances for a few seconds longer and Hermione surprised Draco by nodding and giving him a small reassuring smile.

She was about to turn to her friends and relay the message, however when she turned to open her mouth her friends were already staring at her and they each nodded silently to Draco in turn, silently accepting his hardship along with theirs. She was so proud of her friends for doing what so many full grown wizards failed to do. Forgive. The biggest step to a unified magical world lay with them, and they were obviously planning to do their part in helping their own and the next generations unite.

At the front of the room the glances between the two rival houses did not go unnoticed and more then one teacher found themselves with misted over eyes in pride at the maturity and forgiveness the students had decided to bestow upon each other. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and looked around the great hall, ensuring herself that the new first years had settled in at their new house tables. Stood at the podium and everyone felt a bit nostalgic at seeing the new Headmistress standing where they had all watched the great Dumbledore stand for so many years.

“Welcome back students and welcome to the new ones. For those of you new students from wizarding families and those of you that have graced the halls of Hogwarts before know the obstacle we have overcome as a community to allow us to continue to study here today. Many of you older students stood tall and proud among us as we fought for ourselves and for each other and many in the school had families torn apart and lost to the war. Times have been hard and we have lost many, but as in every great war throughout history there are great survivors. As survivors we have a responsibility to carry on and hold our heads high. We will walk through the rest of our lives carrying the torch of tolerance and understanding and we will embrace each other in respect and love. As I stand here and look out at every face in this school, I see the greatest generation of students Hogwarts has ever seen and I am proud to be Headmistress. I would now like you all to direct your attention to our new Head Boy and Girl as I would like them to help reveal the new memorial dedicated to all those who gave their lives for the fight.”

Hermione stood and made her way to Professor McGonagall and looked around the hall, pleasantly surprised to see Draco make his was over with his Head Boy badge pinned on his robes. Hermione was happy to see that Professor McGonagall had stood behind the Slytherin students as well, and thought the united front of Gryffindor and Slytherin head students would send a powerful message to the younger students.

Together they smiled at each other and grasped hands Draco holding a velvet drape aside while Hermione pulled the cord releasing the covering. It was a powerful message to see a muggle born witch and the son of a death eater standing united to honor the lives and deaths of the brave souls lost at the hands of Voldemort and the evil he spread amongst the world. The memorial was spectacular with a huge painting of all those lost in the war, the first and last, was hung on the wall above a large marble fountain that on one side honored all those lost and on the other honored all those who contributed to the light. Hermione found tears stinging her eyes. It was a perfect blend of honoring death and celebrating life and the student body stood and bowed their heads, many openly crying as they showed their thanks the only way they knew how.

Hermione and Draco made their way back to their seats and looked toward the head table showing the new Headmistress respect as an example for the other students. Slowly other students collected themselves and diverted their attention once again to the front. Professor McGonagall wiped her eyes on her sleeve, took a deep breath and continued on.

“And now we shall speak of death and sadness no more. I have the honor of congratulating Miss Hermione Granger, our head girl in securing an apprenticeship with Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy our Head Boy in securing one with Professor Flitwick. Congratulations to our Head Boy and Girl and I ask them to please stay behind so that I may speak to them. To the rest of you, enjoy your feast and please check the extensive list on Mr. Filch’s door to inform yourselves of banned items.

The feast as always was excellent and it was with full bellies and fuller hearts that the students, led by prefects, made their way to their common rooms for the night. Draco and Hermione stayed behind to talk to the Professors and were informed of their new living arrangements.

“Your quarters will be located in a central location in the middle of the four houses so that you are easily accessible to all students in need, not just those from your own houses. You will share a common room, but you will each have separate rooms and bathrooms. Now, the students will be informed of where your quarters are located, but not your passwords, so your portrait will take messages if you are absent and inform you of visitors if you are there.” Professor McGonagall explained while she walked them along with Professors Snape and Flitwick towards their new rooms.

They arrived at a huge portrait of a sea captain sitting in the bow of his ship with a wooden leg. He kind of reminded Hermione of Mad Eye Moody.

“All right you two, think of a password and let us know, I will make sure all the teachers have the password to your common area.” Hermione and Draco put their heads together and after a couple of seconds came back with the password and informed the Professors.

The door swung open to reveal a tasteful common room, much like the respective house common rooms, done in creams and browns and blues. There was a large cushy brown couch in a suede material sitting in front of the fire and matching armchairs placed next to that. There were two desks placed facing each other in a dark cherry wood that matched other accents around the room. Both Hermione and Draco were amazed at their new quarters and turned around to thank the Headmistress.

“Well, you both certainly deserve it, and I would like you both to know how proud I am that you set aside your previous animosities to be role models for the other students. Now Draco, Professor Flitwick will show you your room and discuss your new apprenticeship schedule, Hermione the same goes for you and Professor Snape” Hermione could swear she saw the slightest wink from Professor McGonagall. Hermione thought it was a bit odd that they were discussing this tonight and not tomorrow in their offices, but she wasn’t going to complain.

They bade Professor McGonagall goodnight, Draco and Snape shook hands and Hermione hugged Flitwick goodnight and each professor/student duo headed towards their rooms.

Hermione and Severus climbed the stairs towards her room and soon came across another portrait this one with pirates. Hermione giggled and gave the password “swashbuckler” while Severus glared at her then rolled his eyes. She would be sorely mistaken if she though he was going to use the term swashbuckler when trying to access her room.

Like downstairs, the door swung open to reveal a room and it took Hermione’s breath away. It was decorated in earth tones and neutrals with bold splashes of color set around the room randomly. The wall were a dark khaki with a navy blue couch in front of the fireplace a huge black sleigh bed with a navy comforter. The dresser and the bookshelves were black lacquer as well lending a very sophisticated air to the room. Hermione’s things were set up already and her books were threatening to overtake the bookcase. She plopped on the bed and patted the spot next to her.

“Hermione we just have to talk about what days you are going to apprentice, we shouldn’t give Flitwick cause for suspicion.”

“Your right Severus, well you just go ahead and throw out some ideas, and I will listen while I get ready for bed.” Severus was watching her suspiciously but continued to talk, keeping his eyes on her the entire time.

Hermione rolled off the bed and walked over to her dresser pulling out a boy undies and a tank top. She turned and responded to Severus’ comments and kept the conversation up while walking over to a table placed her I Pod into a speaker stand she had enchanted to work in Hogwarts. It started to beat out a slow and steady rhythm and she unconsciously swayed her hip to the music while she peeled off her layers of clothes. Severus was slowly trailing off in his speech, concentrating on watching her strip tease.

He snapped out of it when Hermione knelt before him in a tiny pink tank top and purple and pink stripes boy shorts. He was enthralled with her pert body and knew he was done for when her hand pulled his erection free and wasted no time in licking him from balls to head then blowing cool air over his throbbing cock. She took a moment to swirl the tongue over the weeping head then surprised him by swiftly changing direction and sucking his balls into her hot mouth swirling her tongue across them.

Severus threw his head back and groaned bucking his hips until she took him in her mouth and sucked, running her tongue all over him while she took nearly all of him and pulled back again. It only took a few moments of intense head before Severus had fisted his hand in her hair and was groaning as he shot his seed into her throat.

“So” she said standing up “that’s Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday for our lessons, right Severus?” Severus just grunted and nodded his head before catching his breath and tucking himself back into his trousers.

“You are a little Minx, you know that? I can only hope Filius Flitwick doesn’t come down looking as happy as I do or I may have to have a talk with my Godson.”

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all the reviews I really appreciate the feedback! I got some great tips and some even better ideas, and I really think they will help take the story in a great direction! So I have a question to ask about an idea I had and I want to get some opinions on it. I was thinking about eventually trying to write in a drunken threesome between Ginny, Hermione, and Severus. I will keep it tasteful and it won’t be a major point in the story just something I wanted to try writing. Anyway, let me know! I love you all!