Delicate

Chapter Fifteen: Knowing











Oh, this could be the end of everything

So why don\'t we go somewhere only we know?

Somewhere only we know

Somewhere only we know













“Hermione, what are you doing?” Severus asked from the top of a ladder as he inventoried the school’s stores.





“Nothing…I’m just…waiting,” she said, fanning her face.





“You lie. You are staring at my crotch, Ms. Granger,” he said, staring down at her. She was sweating; beads of perspiration dotted her forehead and upper lip. She had cast off her robes hours earlier as the unbearable heat of the castle took its toll.





“I hate it when you call me that,” she said, frowning. “And I can’t help it…it’s in my line of sight.”





“You may as well get used to it, I can’t very well call you by a pet name in front of students,” he said, opening a jar and sniffing its contents. “And you can not be eyeing my equipment in front of them either.”





“You don’t call me by pet names anyhow,” she answered, tugging the thin tank top away from her sticky skin, unknowingly providing him with a view straight down the front of her shirt. “I’ll try to be more discreet about my ogling in the future.”





“Would you want me to?” He asked, ticking off another line on the list. Hermione thought about it for a moment, pet names from Severus didn’t quite work in her mind.





“I don’t think so, I’m not sure if I could stand hearing them from you, if I am honest,” she said, curling her nose in distaste. “Why, do you ever think of me in terms of pet names?” He peered at her around the roll of parchment levitated in front of him, one brow arched high.





“No, when I think of you I think of you not silly names,” he said somewhat distractedly. “Dare I ask if you think of me in terms of pet names?”





“Hmmm….I don’t think I have, actually,” she said thoughtfully. “I suppose I could…there is always Stud Muffin….or Snuggle Bunny…Cuddle Bear…”





“I adore you, Hermione, but I WILL hex you should you ever call me by any of those nonsense names,” he said frowning down at her.





“Not even Love Button?” She teased. He climbed down the ladder and raised his brows at her.





“You are pushing your luck, Ms.Granger, keep it up and I will be forced to take you to task,” he said sinisterly.





“Threat or promise?” She taunted.





“You are in a cheeky mood today,” he said, laying the parchment on his desk and leaning against it.





“It’s hot and I’m cranky,” she pouted as she came to stand in front of him. “Ouch!” She jumped when he swooped down at nipped at her protruding bottom lip.





“Don’t pout,” he scolded, before kissing her to sooth the sting. “Hungry?”





“Hot…want to go down and swim in the lake?” She asked.





“Absolutely not, I am too familiar with the creatures surrounding this castle and do not wish to have them eavesdropping, besides, I have no bathers here,” he said.





“Who said we needed bathers?” She gave him a rather saucy grin and was about to lean into him when they heard the door open.





“Ah, Minerva, what brings you here?” Severus asked, looking over Hermione’s shoulder at the woman eyeing them curiously.





“Just thought I would see how the two of you were settling in,” she said in her thick Scottish brogue.





“You know that Hermione and I live together, Minerva, so you know that we need no courting period in order to work well together. Why are you really here?” Severus asked rather abruptly, his arms crossed over his chest in a familiar defensive posture that Hermione was only too familiar with.





“Well, since you brought it up…I thought I might offer Hermione your rooms here in the castle since you have opted to live off grounds this year.” Minerva cast a hopeful glance at Hermione. She obviously felt the same as Molly about her living with a wizard without the benefits of marriage.





“I appreciate the offer, but I am quite content to live with Severus.” Hermione answered politely despite the rage churning inside her.





“Well, I don’t need to tell you that discretion is in order here.” Minerva said, shooting a disappointed look their way.





“When have you ever known me to be indiscreet?” Severus asked, frowning.





“It’s not common for a Professor to live with another member of the faculty, especially one of the opposite sex who is not only half his age but a former student! I don’t wish to deal with angry parents on charges of moral turpitude,” she said in a huff.





“Moral turpitude?” Hermione laughed and looked over her shoulder at Severus. “I don’t think our living arrangement is so scandalous, Headmistress.” Well, it sort of was but no one needed to know that.





“None the less, our school prides itself on the upstanding moral character of its faculty. I expect you to set a good example for the students and keep your…personal relationship…personal and out of the classroom.” McGonagall was red-faced and clearly agitated.





“Of course, Minerva,” he said, coming to stand just behind Hermione, his hand resting on the small of her back. “I am curious though, what is it that you think we might do in front of students, just so we are clear.” Amusement laced his voice; Hermione picked up on it right away and realized that he was enjoying baiting her.





“I may be old, but I am no fool, Severus. You share your home with an attractive young witch, you may deny it all that you like but I can see how you look at her,” Minerva said, shaking her head as though she still couldn’t believe it.





“And how is it that I look at her?” He asked, his hand sneaking up the back of her shirt. She was wearing a more traditional corset, one that laced up the back. A gift from him that he had enjoyed immensely when he had laced it that morning. He tangled his fingers in the strings and slowly twisted, tightening them gradually.





“Like a hungry wolf.” Minerva frowned, uncomfortable with how close he was standing to her favorite student. Hermione looked…different. Her cheeks were flushed, her skin moist and glistening, her eyes lowered and dark. She looked sultry, something Minerva never would have thought she’d ever encounter with Hermione, especially when it also involved Severus Snape.





“What a vivid imagination you have, Minerva.” Severus drawled, pulling the laces so tight that Hermione whimpered. “Anything else?”







Hermione noticed that he didn’t deny her accusations. Of course he didn’t confirm them either, but she would have expected a denial and was shocked that he didn’t offer one. Minerva looked between them, certain that there was something she was missing but she didn’t comment.







“Yes, Gretchen Sinclair will be visiting for a week; you and she are old acquaintances, yes?” Minerva arched her brow in query.





“Yes, Ms. Sinclair and I are acquainted. What brings her to Hogwarts?” Severus asked, noticing the sudden stiffness in Hermione’s shoulders. Was that the beginnings of jealousy?





“She is going to be Headmistress at the new American Academy for the Magically Inclined, she is coming to tour our school to observe and learn from an established institution,” she said. “I was hoping that since you were friends that you might help her feel welcome.”







“I wouldn’t call us friends,” he said. “But I will certainly assist the school in any way you deem it appropriate.”





“Alright then, I will just let you get back to….what were you doing?”







“We were finishing up for the day and about to head home, Hermione fancies a swim before dinner,” he said. “Isn’t that right, Ms. Granger?”







“Yes!” She chirped as he tightened the laces further.







“Very well, good evening to you both,” McGonagall said with a stern expression before she turned on her heel and exited the room.







“That was interesting,” Severus said softly, releasing her laces and sliding his hand down over her bottom.







“McGonagall doesn’t miss a thing, does she?” Hermione asked, closing her eyes as his hands cupped her backside and squeezed.





“No, she doesn’t, it’s what makes her the perfect headmaster for this school,” he said distractedly, eyeing the rounded globes of her ass admiringly.







“You don’t think you were a good headmaster?” She asked, turning around suddenly to face him. His hands were displaced but a moment before he decided that he enjoyed the current position much better and pulled her against him.





“I was a wonderful headmaster, for that time. I was in the position of being able to look out for the students and protect them. Now I am not what they need in a headmaster, they need someone who can be firm yet compassionate, Minerva can offer them that,” he said.





“She didn’t seem very compassionate a moment ago,” she muttered.







“She doesn’t like the idea of you and I together but accepts that it is none of her business,” he chuckled.





“You didn’t deny her accusations,” she observed, her hands twirling the hair at the back of his neck.





“They were true, I’ll not lie, Hermione, I’ve had enough lying to last a lifetime.” Severus said, caressing her curves, his hands burning her skin through the material.





“But…she knows…”





“Do you think she is the only one?” He asked, surprised at her naiveté. “Why do you think Molly harps on our living situation as she does? Why do you think that the invitations we received are addressed to both of us? No one is fooled, Hermione, people know the truth they just don’t want to say it out loud. Well, they think they know the truth, but only we really know what we have.”





“Well the fact that you seem intent on molesting me in front of others probably doesn’t help matters,” she said with a wry twist of her lips.





“Funny, I never hear you complaining,” he said pulling her tighter against him. “In fact, I think you like it. I think that you have a bit of exhibitionist in you.” He murmured, ducking his head and nibbling along the line of her jaw moving towards her ear. “I think that you like the idea of someone seeing us, watching us.” Her sharp intake of breath made him chuckle, the vibrations of his amusement rumbling against her skin.





“How much longer?” She asked softly, her hands sifting through his hair.





“I believe we are done for the day,” he said, nibbling on her ear.





“That’s not what I meant,” she said, lifting her leg to curl it around his flank.





“I know, but I refuse to put a time frame on this, be patient,” he whispered, nipping at her earlobe.





“I’m trying, it’s not easy,” she let her head fall back as he kissed a path down the front of her throat.





“Why don’t we go home and have a swim there, where we have privacy,” he said.





“The water is so cold in Dorset, the lake is warmer,” she shivered when he scraped his teeth over the sensitive crook of her neck.





“Good, then it will cool you off you hot-blooded wench,” he growled as his hand came down hard on her bottom, startling her. He kissed the stunned grin off her face. “Let’s go home.”









Somewhere Only We Know by Keane





I walked across an empty land

I knew the pathway like the back of my hand

I felt the earth beneath my feet

Sat by the river and it made me complete



Oh simple thing, where have you gone?

I\'m getting old and I need something to rely on

So tell me when you\'re gonna let me in

I\'m getting tired and I need somewhere to begin



I came across a fallen tree

I felt the branches of it looking at me

Is this the place we used to love?

Is this the place that I\'ve been dreaming of?



Oh simple thing, where have you gone?

I\'m getting old and I need something to rely on

So tell me when you\'re gonna let me in

I\'m getting tired and I need somewhere to begin



And if you have a minute, why don\'t we go

Talk about it somewhere only we know?

This could be the end of everything

So why don\'t we go somewhere only we know?

Somewhere only we know



Oh simple thing, where have you gone?

I\'m getting old and I need something to rely on

So tell me when you\'re gonna let me in

I\'m getting tired and I need somewhere to begin



And if you have a minute, why don\'t we go

Talk about it somewhere only we know?

This could be the end of everything

So why don\'t we go? So why don\'t we go?



Oh, this could be the end of everything

So why don\'t we go somewhere only we know?

Somewhere only we know

Somewhere only we know







~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~





Okay, I LOVE being pain free and feeling better….HATE being back to work when I have an over active brain. 2 stories going in circles, one nearly done the other waiting to be written….NOW another Girl Talk scenario has popped into my head, which I will probably end up working on AT work because I cant focus on anything right now LOL





Thank you all for the lovely reviews….I must be off to work so I lack the time to respond individually….I did laugh hysterically at the those who were freaked by the idea of a sexual Harry…I had fun writing that, actually….





So...expect to see another side to Hermione coming up…and Severus’s dark side emerging…I told you this wasn’t long, only 20 chapters…but more Sev coming soon, I think I got the bug…so another story with him has been pushed to the front five of the queue…more stories pop up all the time…Im afraid you are going to be stuck with me for a long time folks….***sigh*** oh well….toodles for now!!!!!!