Of Days and Ends

A/N: I hope you all have splendid holidays. I would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and New Year! May all your food be tasty, your cocoa, rich, and your sprog, writers!



Enjoy!

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Chapter 16—Boxing Day at the Snapes’



The next morning, Hermione woke up long after Snape had, and only vaguely registered the soft kiss that started her day. “Hermione, sweetie.”



“Mmm…” she uttered, stretching under the covers.



“Hermione, your parents are here.” Said a much deeper voice from across the room.



She refused to open her eyes, growling at the lot of them and pulling the covers over her head to mumble incoherent obscenities.



“Happy Christmas!” Her father cheerfully laughed before tickling her through the covers until she gave up and pulled the sheet off of her face. She clutched the comforter to her body though, because Severus had left her naked under the covers.



She looked around the room and spotted five presents sitting on Snape’s side of the bed. As her eyes continued to travel around, she noticed that her father wore a green knit Weasley sweater with an “S” emblazoned on the front in grey. Mrs. Granger wore an overlarge purple wizard’s cloak and Hermione’s pants from the previous day. Snape leaned against the window-sill wearing his trademark black robes and a smirk.



She didn’t expect her parents and Snape to be in the same room this early in the morning, but something had apparently gone right and she said so, “Well, this is a great gift.”



Her parents gave her a confused look, but Snape said, “Happy Christmas.” And gave one of his rare genuine smiles. “The three largest are from your parents, the smallest is from me, and that last one is from my mother.”



“What about your gifts?”



“I found mine this morning when I was looking through the clothes I never wear. You had stashed it in the green cloak Albus gave me last Boxing Day.”



She smiled, “Are you wearing it?”



Lifting it from under his robes, he twirled the golden cobra snake between his fingers and it drew back as though to strike him. Its emerald eyes sparkled in the morning light, “It is magnificent, but I couldn’t save your gifts to your parents. I was only able to sneak these three away.”



“Oh, I see.” She muttered and took the gift that her mother was placing in her lap, making sure that the blanket didn’t fall down and that the pillows behind her back covered her completely.



Her mother had bought her a large wicker basket with four wrapped gifts inside. The first gift was a gorgeous pair of sapphire-jewelled earrings that dangled from curly gold, the second contained a truly ancient looking gold ring, the third was a flat gold necklace, and the final package contained her mother’s rose broach. There was something behind each gift in the basket, but she couldn’t figure it out. She looked up at her mother with a bewildered expression, but she was waved on to her father’s gift. His eyes glittered with anticipation as she opened the overlarge box to find years worth of childhood photos, bank statements for a secret account in her name, and a tiny wooden box with roses engraved on the front. She lifted the box gingerly and opened it to reveal a small, dead, fragile wreath of daisies. It was truly a beautiful testament of her father’s love for her. “Do you remember when we made that?”



“No, daddy.” She looked up at him with large eyes and he was briefly reminded of her as a baby looking up at him with that same sort of curiosity and wonder that she still possessed and applied to almost everything in life.



His voice quavered as he rasped out, “We made that together after your first day of kindergarten.” Then with a sigh and a look that was not altogether pleased he looked up at Severus, “I wanted to save it for when my only daughter became a married woman.” Snape matched her father’s piercing gaze and refused to show weakness and back down.



Hermione, on the other hand, stared at her gift with a pensive expression. “Oh, I understand now.” Her words ended their staring match. “These are wedding gifts. Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue, and a dowry.”



“It’s more than that!” Her mother exclaimed and passed her the biggest package. Inside, was a cardboard shipping box. Hermione raised one eyebrow curiously as she opened the bright yellow box and cleared away the packing peanuts. Inside laid five thin books sitting spine down so that she couldn’t read the titles of the books. Selecting one, she read the title, Muggle Magic, and flipped through the sparsely illustrated books excitedly. “Brilliant! Brilliant!” She absentmindedly muttered over and over again.



“We went online to see if anything had ever made it out of the magical world to ours, so we typed ‘muggles’ and found those books and a few stuffed dogs that someone had named Mr. Muggles.”



“Brilliant!” She shouted, wrapping the covers smoothly around her body while getting up to hug them both. “Thank you so much, Mum and Dad!”



Her mother smiled down at her daughter in her blankets and cleared her throat, “How about we leave you two alone now, so that you can get dressed. Yes?”



“Yes, please. I’ll be down to cook breakfast for y—”



“I already took care of that.” Severus interrupted her.



“Yes, we’ve already decided that we are going to explore the grounds, if that’s all right.” Her father added.



Severus nodded and after the door shut, he gestured for her to pick up the small, jewelry box. Opening it, she found a platinum band with an ivy design that seemed to be moving across the surface. She was studying the intricate piece so closely that she didn’t notice Snape crossing the room to her until his hand was taking the ring from her. “I wanted to get you something that would remind you that we are on the same team, and that I am honoured to have had this opportunity to be by your side during this time.” He took the ring and held it up to the light and held up a magnifying glass he had bought especially for this. The vine pattern was enlarged until words became visible:



“Two souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one.”



“Wow… Severus I—I—” she was stunned and her mind raced as he placed it on her finger. She abandoned words in favour of reaching around his neck and unclasping his necklace and let the pendant fall into the palm of her hand. He pulled back to look at the snake as she placed it on his ring finger and watch it curl twice into place. Severus smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione was staring fixedly at the ring, so he refocused on the golden serpent as the scales disappeared to be replaced by the very same quote Snape had chosen.



Hermione’s last gift was nearly forgotten as they kissed until Snape pulled away and plopped it on her lap. “Oh!” She exclaimed, unwrapping the huge package to reveal the Book of Days and Ends. “Oh Severus…” she sighed.



“It’s yours now.” He said softly.



“Don’t you mean ours?”



“No.” she could tell that there was some sadness there. “By making you my wife I made it yours.”



Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck; effectively letting the sheets wrapped around her drop, and kissed him deeply. “Thus, by making me your wife, you made it ours.”



He smiled against her mouth and stroked her cheek before running his hand through her hair and coming to the patch of fresh hair. When he tugged it gently, Hermione lolled her head back and he nipped at her neck. She gasped and grasped his long, lank, ebony hair and massaged his scalp with the tips of her fingers. When he finally released her and looked at the purpling mark forming over her jugular, he ran his hands over her soft buttocks and helped her to adjust herself over him.



“How did you choose that inscription?” she asked as she pushed him back.



“I’m sure the same way you did.”



“And that was?” She pressed as she opened his robes to find him naked beneath. “Oh, Severus!” He gave her a dark look and lay back, pulling her hips up over his face. She furrowed her eyebrows, but followed his lead.



Keeping his eyes focused on her, he began to lick gently on her clit and she tensed her legs in an effort to keep from smothering him to get a less tickling touch. She couldn’t see his mouth, but she knew he was smiling. He continued to tease her until she leaned back and grabbed his hard member. Only then did he apply the perfect amount of pressure.



She could hear herself making soft whimpering noises and could feel the effect it was having on him. When he placed his hands on her hips to keep her from smothering him as she began to reach completion, she was reminded of how uncomfortable he must be and stood on the bed over him. He licked around his lips, savouring every bit of her juices.



Kneeling back down, she carefully lowered herself over him and he closed his eyes as her sheath covered him. When she wasn’t moving he opened his eyes and was surprised to see her looking at the wall at the head of the bed.



“What are you doing?” He asked though he didn’t really care. He just wanted her to start moving.



“Did you hear that?”



The unease in her voice pulled him from his reverie and he listened as another thump landed on the wall of her parents’ bedroom. He narrowed his eyes and moved Hermione off of him to grab his wand. He pointed his wand at the wall and rendered it see through, and regretted it immediately.



He had fallen for the classic mindset that parents do not have sex, and found Mr. Granger doing just that with his wife on the other side of the wall. When he looked back at Hermione, the look of shock on her face was priceless and he couldn’t help the laugh that seemed to roll up from the base of his spine.



When he turned around again, Hermione was racing out of the room and he looked back at the wall to see Mrs. Granger mounting her husband. To him it wasn’t disgusting because they were the same age he was and they weren’t his parents, but he did them the courtesy of ending the spell. Flopping back on the bed, he tried to remind himself that she was young and couldn’t possibly realize how unflattering it was for her to be so easily distracted when she was with him. When the rhythmic pounding of their headboard on the wall began, he had to admit that that would have distracted him too.



With a heavy sigh, he pushed himself up and went to the bathroom where Hermione was leaning against the wall staring blankly at the far wall. “I didn’t expect to see that, Severus. I’m sorry.”



He smiled at her. He couldn’t help it. The memory of her face, slack with shock, was priceless. “Don’t worry about that, but I am going to take this opportunity to chastise you again.” He was warning her this time, so she knew that he didn’t expect a defence and wouldn’t tolerate it as he stepped back into his teaching mode. “What, living with me, do you think your reaction should have been?”



“Indifference.” She responded, refusing to meet his eyes as he conjured a bench and sat facing her.



“No, not quite.” He softly responded. “Action.” She had always been his favourite pupil and he had always loved that little tilt of her head and narrowing of her eyes. It meant she was interacting and trying to process what she had just learned. She was so very unlike the many slack-jawed idiots around her with their blank stares and distracted attentions.



She sighed, “I see, but it really did take me by surprise.”



“I wasn’t expecting it either, but you didn’t see me even look shocked did you?”



“And were it your mother?”



He thought about it for a second and shook his head. “No. No difference.”



“And your father?” Apparently, Potter didn’t tell his friends what he had seen in his mind.



“I would hope that she would kill him.” He said darkly, and he was glad that Hermione knew not to press the subject.



“I did… think… about what you said last night.”



He raised an eyebrow at her, “When?”



“While I was opening my gifts and…” she blushed, “When you were… um…”



He rolled his eyes. Women were odd creatures. No man’s mind would ever wander during sex unless it was bad, and a more experienced woman would never admit it to her man. He ignored her faux pas and encouraged her to continue, “What were you thinking about?”



She leaned her head back against the wall, gathered her thoughts and sighed, “I am emotional in comparison to you, but that is who I am and if I react in any other way it would not only be unnatural, but delayed which could cost me just as much as my emotions.”



“Only at first.” He paused when she looked doubtful. “You’ve never had to try for anything you were good at. You are brilliant, because you love to read and you love facts. You are courageous because it comes naturally to you. You can read people because it comes naturally. You are a delightful lover without even thinking about it, but you won’t ride a broom, you won’t play chess, you won’t play exploding snap, and you won’t try to control your emotions.” He stood and approached her, “Unfortunately for you, if you don’t control your reactions, you leave yourself completely helpless.” Hermione looked at the ground, refusing to meet his eyes, and he took her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. He bent his head down to hers and kissed her, pulling away to order in a very professorial manner, “I’m going to teach you, and you are going to apply this everywhere.”



“Yes sir.”



Snape stroked down the side of her abdomen before circling around her waist to rest on her lower back. Her eyes widened and he raised his wand. “Not a reaction, not a move, not an expression. Do you know all of the ingredients in Wolfsbane?”



She nodded.



“Tell me the composition of the potion, the consistency, the way the ingredients blend, and any alternative ingredients. Remain focused and tell me about the spell that most effectively mimics the effects of the potion against a werewolf.”



Hermione braced herself for anything and relaxed her face. “Wolfsbane is a potion that is made up of—ahh…”



“Focus, Hermione.” He purred into her ear.



She marshalled her thoughts, closed her eyes, and tried again, “Wolfsbane is a potion that is made up of primarily moonflower despite the fact that it is not the most necessary ingredient. It can easily be replaced by 29 days of outdoor brewing by the light of a full moon cycle.”



“Open your eyes.” He ordered.



She followed his instructions and looked into his black eyes. “W-wolfsbane is—is—” She stuttered on her words as he stroked her clit and he reproached her. Rolling her shoulders back she tried again, “Wolfsbane is fairly dependent upon the wolf it is being made for.”



“That’s only a theory.”



“Potions Periodicals present a good argument for it.”



Severus’ technique was definitely working as he began to work her into frenzy and forced her to continue talking. Eventually, her only reaction was a strain and flexing of her flat abdomen and panting in her voice as she struggled to remain passive. Dipping a finger into her core nearly broke her concentration, and he was proud of her successful attempt to cover her fumbled words. He tested her when he took her wand from her hand and cast a blinding spell on her. Like a master, she didn’t react.



She became silent finally, having exhausted the topic of Wolfsbane and almost cracked as he moved his hand away.



“Tell me, Miss Granger,” his use of her maiden name surprised her, but she refrained from raising an eyebrow at him, “What would you like me to do for you?”



She was embarrassed to say, and blushed against her will, “I’m not sure.” She lied.



“Ah, but your blush says differently. It says you know exactly what you want me to do to your body.”



She wanted to melt, but remained composed. Holding her head high to put on a show of being more collected than she felt, she licked her lips and whispered, “I want you to… keep touching me just like you did before.”



“Before? You mean like just now?” He asked, dipping two fingers into her tight, hot, vagina. “Or like earlier?” He squatted next to her and flicked his tongue out to her clit in that same teasing, barely there, lick he used in bed.



“Yes. Like that.” She felt tortured by the inability to show expression.



He licked until her hands gripped his hair and pulled hard. He stood as she brought him to face level. She pressed her lips against his passionately, pulling back to snarl, “Let me see and let me show you my pleasure.”



He immediately complied, removing the blindness spell and lifting her legs around his waist. “Show me your pleasure, Hermione.”



She smile wickedly at him and impaled herself over his significant girth. Now that she could, she groaned at the feeling of him filling her. “Oh Severus!” Her head was over his and he bit softly into her shoulder as they began to bounce. Her cries echoed around the large tile bathroom and it didn’t take long for her to tighten around him in ecstasy.



He took her immediately to their bedroom where the insistent pounding against the wall had finally stopped and Snape lay Hermione down to climb over her. He turned her and guided her to prop herself up on her hands and knees. Curiously, she looked back at him as he inspected the marvellous globes of her ass. A smooth stroke down her crack to her wet canal, provided enough moisture to lap off of his fingers as he pushed the head of his cock into her. This was a new position for them and he took pleasure in the look of growing pleasure on her face.



She was a gorgeous girl if not by traditional standards and her long, lean, young body pushing back on him, arching beneath him, and gripping him as she came a second time was intoxicating and he was soon brought over the edge again. Her chest and shoulders slumped to the bed as he finished, pumping his seed into her with vigour and deep grunts. Watching him finish was, quite possibly, the most alluring thing she had ever witnessed and she twisted herself to watch him. His black hair hung around his face which was contorted with pleasure, and she whimpered as an aftershock and sudden warmth rolled through her.



He collapsed against her back and she flattened against the bed, her face, mere inches from the highly anticipated Book of Days and Ends. Somehow, she had transcended the book, and she no longer cared. She turned to her right, where Snape had rolled and was very nearly asleep, and tucked herself under his arm where she could hear his heart beating in perfect time with her own. He opened one eye to look at her face and she closed her emotions off before he had a chance to register the change in her. Regardless, he pulled her closer with a sigh and dropped off to sleep.



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A/N: “Two souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one.”-- Franz Joseph von Munch-Bellinghausen



Aaaaaand now is the time for reader recognition, because you all so dearly deserve it!



My most sincere appreciation to nanoq, Lady_of_Clunn, Megan, Dresoul, PyroAngel, sarehtipsreh, and Johanna 3030! Your reviews are sweet nectar for the little voice in my head, and I can guarantee you that this strike it’s on has nothing to do with you all. It doesn’t have a union, but it does have delusions of power.

Now, to my frequent reviewers: you are so dear to me and I know you mustn’t be happy with how long it took me to post this chapter, but please forgive me. I appreciate all you’ve said and how quick on the draw you are.



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