In Need

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Megan watched her seventh years’ progress in class with a mixture of pride and concern. Most of them were adeptly performing highly advanced spells and maneuvers - especially those who had the benefit of concentrated practice in the DA group. On the other hand, it caused her increasing amounts of worry that while they were good at throwing rehearsed spells at golems in a safe and controlled classroom setting, she doubted the ability of some who would be called upon to fight in the battle with Voldemort when it finally came.


She had discussed the issueconfconference with Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape. Together, they had come up with several solutions, but nothing which really struck Megan as preferable to what they were already doing. For example, Severus was of the mind that she should stop using the golems and have the students begin dueling with each other instead. He argued the point that those in the DA group had been practicing on each other for two years with no serious consequences. Megan took his counsel to heart and considered trying it, but in the end pointed out that many of the spells they were using in her class were of much harsher stuff than what the DA group was doing, therefore greatly increasing the risks of practicing them in duels.


One morning about a week before Christmas, Megan quietly observed Hermione as she ran into class, breathless and panting after having run up from the great hall. Watching Hermione catch her breath, it occurred to Megan that, aside from Quidditch, there was not a lot of regular physical activity at Hogwarts. Magic gave the wizarding community such convenience and saved labor in so many ways, that many of the more proficient magicians were not particularly physically strong or coordinated. Witches and wizards who were more interested in intellectual pursuits were at a disadvantage when it came to some types of practical application - they could throw the spells just fine in a classroom but were not, Megan believed, prepared to fight in a real battle…


…but the death eaters were. After decades of training without the limits that regard for safety (for others or for themselves) would have put on their abilities, reflexes, and instincts, the death eaters had all become fighting machines. Peaceful witches and wizards had no chance of standing up to their endurance or strength without building up some of their own. Megan’s thoughts drifted to Severus\' lean build - as much as she loved it, in this context it gave her an alarming reality check of what they would be up against. He was strong and fast, and she knew that the rest of the death eaters would be too.


How could she best prepare the kids for it while blending it in as a part of their curriculum?


Her classes were done for the day by lunchtime that day, so she had a free afternoon. As she ate, she formulated her plan. She told Severus that she had an errand to run in Hogsmeade, and he gave her a squeeze on her arm as she went on her way.
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When Megan got into town, she headed for George and Fred’s shop, ‘Weasley\'s Wizard Wheezes.’ The twins greeted her heartily as she came in. She was pleased for them that their shop was bustling with customers, and glanced at the now-familiar shelves of colorful sweets and tricks that they sold there. Seeing a new display on a shelf she was passing, she picked up one of the tiny chocolate men there, thinking how cute it was. It shrieked, bit her finger, jumped out of her hand, and ran back to its box, peeking over the edge to see if she was still there. ‘Yes, these two definitely have a twisted sense of humor,’ she thought to herself, smiling.


“George, look who\'s here! How are you doing Megan? Are you here to butter us up after breaking our poor dear big brother\'s heart?” asked Fred, winking at her.


“Have you decided that you love us instead? We just knew you would come to your senses and pick one of us after all,” said George, fluttering his eyelashes.


“You guys are a real riot,” said Megan rolling her eyes.


They chatted for a few minutes as their assistant helped other customers and rang up sales. The twins were funny as usual, and they were glad to get the latest Hogwarts scoop. Finally, Megan remembered her errand and said, “Guys, it’s great to catch up with you, but you’ll make me forget what I came for! I have important business to conduct with you.”


“Shoot, babe - what can we do for you?”


“I need for you to make packets about this size,” she said, indicating with her hands the approximate size and shape of a shoebox. “Fill them up with assorted stuff that you think seventh years would like.”


“Hey, sure! How many of these do you need?”


“One for each of the seventh years, please - here’s a class roster to give you a count.”


They stared at her for a moment. “Er - are you saying that you want us to make a package like this for *each* of the kids?”


Megan nodded in confirmation, and the young men looked at each other like Christmas had come a week early. “Wow, thanks Meg! You just want a mix of different goodies thrown into each of them?” they asked, already making a line of boxes on the counter and putting things in.


Megan remembered who she was dealing with and decided to err on the side of being too specific. “Um - just be sure to leave out anything that could get the students into detention or me into trouble for giving it to them, okay?”


They immediately stopped what they were doing, looked at the line of boxes, and started removing things from them, giving her matching sheepish grinsNo pNo problem! We’ll just make a few adjustments here. Don’t worry, these will be great!”


Rolling her eyes once more and shaking her head, she thanked her lucky stars that these two were already out of school. She had some pretty lively students, but Fred and George had only been out of school for two years and their antics were already legendary.


“Thanks guys, you are too cool. Here is my Gringotts account number - charge it all, and please have it delivered to my office tomorrow.”


She brushed a quick kiss on each of their cheeks and left to do some more shopping.


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The afternoon went by much more quickly than Megan expected, and by the time she made it back to Hogwarts, she had missed dinner. She looked around for Severus, but couldn’t find him. It was unlike him to not be in his quarters or lab at this hour, but without a note she didn’t know where else to look for him.


She went to her quarters and sat down at her piano. Running her hands over the keys, she began playing, absorbing herself in the music and letting it express the array of feelings she had experienced over the last few days. She closed her eyes and thought of Severus, and her heart was drawn to the grace and longing of Clair de Lune. She played from her soul, the notes rolling smoothly together like liquid sound.


When the last notes of the song faded away, Megan felt gentle but urgent hands on her shoulders, pulling her hair out of the way, and a warm and seeking mouth kissing the nape of her neck. She turned around into Severus’ embrace and kissed him longingly, tasthim him and inhaling his scent. He winced slightly as she pressed her fingers into his back, and she looked at his face and noticed a faded bruise on one cheek.


“Oh, Severus - were you called to a meeting tonight?”


“Yes. I have already seen to everything that needs to be done for my medical repairs, but am still feeling a bit sore.” His eyes traveled over her and he reached for her again. “I think you had better be gentle with me tonight, love,” he said with one corner of his mouth turned up.


For as worried as she was that he’d had to go to a meeting, he was absolutely irresistible when he did that. What was it about such subtle expression that made it so profound in its own way? She took him by the hand and led him to her bed.


She lay down next to him, and he drew her to him in a deep and lingering kiss. His hands rested gently on the sides of her face, and he breathed in her scent of fresh air and honey. Severus closed his eyes as Megan covered his face in delicate butterfly kisses, mindful of the fading bruises there.


Severus took the lacy hem of her soft white nightgown in his fingers and slowly slid it up her legs, watching as her body was revealed, forcing himself to do it slowly. He uncovered her thighs, her white lace panties, her tummy, her breasts, and then she lifted her arms as he pulled the nightgown over her head and tossed it gently aside. He turned back to her and put his face up to hers, looking at her closed eyes and parted lips waiting for his kiss.


His fingertips traced lightly over her breasts as his mouth pressed against hers, sending shivers up her spine as his tongue met hers at the same second that he took both of her nipples between his fingers, teasing them into hard points. Still kissing her, he kept teasing her breasts, and she started to gently but insistently rub her pelvis up against his erection that was straining against the confines of his pants.


She murmured a spell, and Severus\' clothes swished off his body and fluttered into a heap on the floor. Megan skimmed hends nds over his body, loving the feel of his muscles flexing as he moved against her. They were lying on their sides facing each other - she draped a leg over his hip, and he felt her pushing against his hardness. As she moved against him, he felt her wetness spreading onto him, even through her panties. His erection jumped toward her with each gentle push against him. He slid his hands down her sides to her waist and hooked his fingers into the top of her panties. He pulled them down, sliding them over her hips, uncovering the neatly trimmed line of curls, and then finally sliding them down to expose her warm center.


Megan was running her fingers in light circles over the freshly healed skin of Severus’ back and chest, and she purred her approval when he parted her wet folds with his fingers and put a long finger slowly into her, teasing her. She tightened the grip of the leg that she had around him, trying to draw him in closer, rubbing against his hard length. He slid his finger out of her and put it slowly into his mouth, savoring her taste.


Gently licking his fingertip, he teased her nipples again, and she pushed herself insistently against him, silently pleading with him to take her. Taking his time, he instead traced the finger back down her body and slid it slowly back into her, moving it teasingly in and out of her warmth. He heard her sigh and watched her eyes flutter closed. He slid two more fingers into her wetness and felt her movement increase in pace as she rode his fingers. With his thumb, he pressed her clit, making firm and gentle circles in time with her movement. His other hand held onto her bottom, using it to press her tighter to him. She started rocking faster against him, whispering how good he felt in her in a string of incoherent endearments that was suddenly interrupted when she moaned his name, her tight walls contracting in ripples around his fingers.


As the ripples subsided, he took his fingers out of her and took his erection in his hand, stroking it and putting it up against her entrance. He slid into her tight wetness, and pressed all the way into her and stayed still for a moment. She felt him stretching her and loved the sensation of being filled up by him. Their bodies began to move in sync as he slowly withdrew from her and then began pumping into her in a slow, steady, serene rhythm. She moved against him following his tempo, sensing his need to take his time with her tonight. He moved teasingly in and out of her for some time, keeping her achingly on the edge, each of them simmering and ready to break into a boil as soon as the pace was increased at all.


After awhile, Severus could hold off no longer, and he began to thrust more quickly and urgently into her. With the sudden increase in their pace, Megan started to rapidly reach her climax. As she pulled him tight to her and ground herself into him, she breathed his name over and over. It pushed Severus over the edge, and he came into her, shuddering with the force of his release.


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Once spent, they lay twined together, him still inside of her, and neither of them wanting to draw away from the closeness. Severus thought of the meeting that he had gone to that evening, and shuddered slightly and sighed, drawing the blanket around them. Megan’s forehead was resting against his, and she looked into his deep black eyes, which were studying her solemnly. “You had to protect the ‘entertainment’ again tonight?” she asked quietly.


“Yes. There were three tonight.”


Megan was shocked - it hadn’t occurred to her before that there would be more than one. “Three? But how on earth did you take care of injuries like that by yourself afterward?”


“I didn’t. Poppy worked on me for quite some time, and gave me grief about leaving the infirmary tonight.”


Megan’s eyes widened. “What? Love, I wish you had said something! I had no idea you were in such bad shape tonight - I wish I had been there to help, or just to be with you!”


“I’m afraid I wasn’t in much condition to ask for you,” he said quietly, kissing her on the forehead. “I was able to apparate back outside the grounds after the meeting, but I had to communicate with Dumbledore for assistance to actually go the rest of the way inside. I have been thinking that it would be a good idea for you and I to exchange mirror connections, and then in the future I will be able to contact you too, should the need arise.”


She frowned, regretting not thinking of that earlier. She communicated with Dumbledore regularly by magic mirror, but since she had been spending so much time with Severus, she had not had the need to contact him remotely yet and had not yet thought of adding him to her connections. A feeling of protectiveness toward him crept ugh ugh her and made her agitated to feel like there was nothing she could have done to spare him the injuries and danger.

“I think that’s a good idea,” she said. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you - I wish I could have been with you in the infirmary. Actually, I wish I could have been at the death eater meeting with you to share the blows.”

He looked severely at her, “Megan, promise me that you will never try to do anything like that. Do not even speak of it. To have you there…,” he trailed off and grimaced. “I know that you are strong and want to help, but to even entertain such notions is dangerous and inappropriate. Do not make my work harder by making me wonder and worry that you are going to try to interfere.”

Overcome by worry for him now, though, she was off on a rant. “I think it’s terribly unfair thou hou have to bear that all by yourself. I *would* go with you if I could. I bet others would too if they knew of a way to do it. I know that you can handle it, but wouldn’t it be nice to have help for a change? I just wish we could all show up there together and show those monsters a thing or two.”


He stared at her and whispered, “What did you say?”


Still on her rant and not really noticing the change that came over his expression, she continued, “I said that I wish someone else could go with you to the meetings! I know we can’t, obviously, I just worry for you is all - I love you so much. I know that if I went and you were there, I wouldn’t be afraid of anything.”


As he looked into her blue eyes, his thoughts were racing. He looked very agitated. Something that she just said…


“What’s the matter, Severus?” she asked, finally noticing. “Are you alright?”


“I must speak with Dumbledore immediately,” he said, getting up, spelling their clothes back on them, and taking her hand. “Come with me please.”

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