Hard Times for Severus Snape - (Editing)

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 19 ~ Marketing Arrangements

The next morning Hermione awoke sore and aching. She turned over, the memory of Severus' eyes burning down into hers as he came filling her head. He had such beautiful dark eyes...such, black, piercing, intense eyes…

Hermione pushed the memory of the Potion Master's passion from her mind. He'd never look at her that way again. This was a new day, a new beginning. She would pretend today was her first day serving as his apprentice. She had read somewhere that if a person pretended something was true hard enough and long enough, it would be absorbed into his or her psyche. For all intents and purposes, the pretense would seem to be true. She would be testing that claim for the next seven weeks.

Hermione rolled from the bed, the scent of Severus still on her body. She picked up her wand, looked at her bed for a moment, then scourgified it. For herself, a nice, hot shower would wash him off of her, physically anyway. It might take a little time to get him out of her head. Hermione walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She set it to warm at first and stepped in, then turned down the cold water until the stream was hot as she could stand. The bathroom filled with steam as she washed all traces of the night before from her body and her hair. Now it really was all a memory. She finished her morning toilette, then returned to her bedroom and dressed, pulling a robe over her jeans and t-shirt. She put on socks and her trainers. As she bent, she still felt the ache of the wizard, dull and insistent. A reminder that couldn't be washed away. She needed to do something about it.

Hermione opened her bedroom door and looked out carefully before exiting. She stood in the study uncertainly for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to ask the Professor for a healing draught. His were more potent than what Poppy had in the infirmary. As she stood there, Severus walked out of his bedroom. He stopped and looked at her a moment, his black eyes sweeping over her.

"Good morning, Miss Granger," he said, walking past her and heading for the study door. He showed no obvious evidence of what they shared the night before.

"Good morning, Professor," Hermione said in a small voice.

Severus heard a quaver in her greeting and turned to look at her.

"Is something wrong, Miss Granger?" he asked her, one eyebrow arched.

Hermione stepped toward him.

"I was wondering, Professor, if I might get a healing draught from you," she asked him.

Severus looked at her, his face unreadable.

"Yes, Miss Granger. Come with me to my classroom and I will get one for you," he replied, opening the study exit and walking through.

Hermione followed, closing the door behind her and walking through his office to the classroom. She waited by his desk as he returned with two bottles. He handed them to her.

"Drink one now, and another this afternoon. Your discomfort should pass," he said, his black eyes meeting hers.

"Thank you," Hermione said, putting one bottle in her pocket and opening the other, draining it down. She felt better immediately. The Professor looked at her a moment, then walked over to his desk, sat down and took out a piece of parchment and a quill.

"Miss Granger, I will be gone the next two days. I will be with my solicitor, registering and preparing the enhancement potion for marketing. Madame Pomfrey requires her stores stocked for the upcoming school year. I am giving you a list of potions that must be brewed. Your assignment for the next several weeks will be to prepare these potions for delivery to the infirmary. Some are quite involved and require several days to complete. I suggest you start with those, leaving the simpler brews for completion later. It is my hope you can handle preparing all of these potions and elixirs in a timely manner," he said as he wrote.

"Do you have a name for the potion, Professor? A name to market it under?" she asked him.

Severus looked up at her, a look of distaste on his face.

"Yes I do," he said reluctantly. "My solicitor arranged for a study to find a name that would be most attractive to the public. He sent me the name yesterday by owl."

He reached in his pocket and produced an envelope, holding it out to her.

Hermione took the envelope, opened it and took out the parchment. Severus watched as her amber eyes moved from left to right, reading it. They began to crinkle. Hermione burst out laughing.

"Liquid Wood?" she gasped at him, holding her stomach in an attempt to calm herself.

The Professor scowled at the witch.

"It is not my first choice as a name, particularly since I am associated with it," he said rather lamely, "But it will sell the potion, and increase my residuals. I spent good galleons finding that infernal name. I'll be damned if I don't use it."

He looked at Hermione somberly.

Hermione looked at his somber face, and broke out into fresh peals of laughter.

"Liquid Wood, my gods," she chuckled, taking the list of potions from him and scanning it.

The Professor rose.

"I'll be taking my leave of you now, Miss Granger. Be sure to feed the nifflers, and stay away from my library," he said, his black eyes narrowing. "You can get books from the school library restricted section that are quite interesting."

Hermione stopped grinning and scowled at him. You'd think after fucking her, he'd at least let her peruse his books.

"Fine," she spat as he headed for the lab door. She looked down at the list.

"Do you have all the ingredients for these potions in your stores?" she asked him.

He turned.

"I'm not sure. Do an inventory, and any ingredients you are lacking in you can go to Diagon alley and put on the Hogwarts Potions account," he said. "Try not to destroy my lab while I'm gone."

With that final comment, the Potions Master left. Hermione scowled after him. It seemed he had no problem reverting to the snarky bastard she knew and semi-despised. Destroy his lab indeed.

The witch pocketed the list and exited the lab, heading for breakfast. Afterwards she would do an inventory of the Professor's supplies and take it from there.

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"Professor, you're going to make a fortune with this potion," Fledsbetter said, eyeing the blue bottle as if it were made of solid gold. The projections for sales are excellent. I have all the paperwork ready to be owled out to the proper places. We have secured Durham and Conks to brew, bottle and market the product. All you need to do is wait for the residuals to roll in."

The short, balding solicitor beamed at the Potions Master, who eyed him quietly. Fledsbetter might not look like much in his cheap suit and small office, but the solicitor was one of the best. He liked to be low-key and had some very powerful accounts. As far as Severus knew, the man was quite wealthy, investing in his clients' products heavily. He was sure the wizard had put a hefty amount of galleons behind the enhancement potion. That didn't matter to the dark wizard, as long as he received his due.

Fledsbetter, I want to make an amendment to the paperwork. I would like you to add a name. Hermione Granger. She was tantamount in helping to discover the proper formula, also in the testing of it," the Professor said.

Fledsbetter's eyebrows rose. The solicitor knew about the trouble the Professor had getting people to test the potion. And there was only one way to test it. He looked at the Professor thoughtfully.

"Of course you realize if I add her to the paperwork, she will be entitled to a portion of the residuals," Fledsbetter said.

"I know," Severus said evenly, "Believe me, she earned it."

The image of Hermione sobbing against his shoulder as he fucked her against the wall appeared in his mind. He felt a throb, and pushed the image from his mind.

"She earned every knut," he reiterated.

"Very well," Fledsbetter said, wondering if the Potions Master tested the potion's effectiveness on the witch himself. If he had, the solicitor had no doubt the woman earned her cut. The dour Potions Master was quite thorough in everything he did. There was no reason to think he wouldn't be when it came to sex.

Fledsbetter spent the next hour amending the paperwork under Severus' watchful eye. When he completed it, Severus looked it over carefully, making sure Hermione got full and equal credit. Fledsbetter eyed the wizard. This witch must have made quite an impression on him for him to give her half of his residuals.

"This Hermione Granger…is she someone I should know?" Fledsbetter asked the wizard as he rose to go.

Severus looked at the solicitor.

"I believe in a few short years, Mr. Fledsbetter, that Miss Granger will be someone everyone will know," he replied. "Hopefully, these residuals will help her achieve the greatness she's destined for without having to bow to the powers that be."

It was the Potions Master's hope that Hermione would have enough money not to have to take a low-level entry position as a Potions Mistress for some commercial company, where her creativity and intelligence would be regulated to creating popular, in-demand fad potions. He was of the opinion that someone of her talents having to spend years moving through the ranks of those less capable before she could strike out on her own would be a complete waste of valuable time. If she were independent, then she could do what she wished. He liked the thought of that.

"Professor, I never took you for a philanthropist," Fledsbetter beamed at him.

Severus scowled at the very idea.

"I assure you, Mr. Fledsbetter, I am no philanthropist. I just don't like to see talent wasted," the Potions Master replied. "Good day, sir. I have some other business to attend to, and will return tomorrow to find out if all is in order."

Severus exited the room. Fledsbetter looked after him. Then the wizard walked over to his desk, sat down and looked over the paperwork again. He let out a low whistle.

"I don't care what he says," the solicitor said to himself, "that wizard's sweet on that witch. He has to be. He just made her a very rich woman."

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A/N: Aw. Severus must have been quite impressed with Hermione's "skills". He just set her up for life. Now…what kind of gratitude would that inspire, I wonder? I know I'd be 'grateful'. Wouldn't you? Please review.