Be Careful in the Dark

Over the past months she'd used a variety of forms to visit Snape. Interestingly enough, the more attractive she made herself the more brutal his lessons. It didn't matter if she were male or female. She wondered, briefly, if maybe Snape swung both ways. More likely was a deep resentment of attractive people. When she was bored with changing her looks, she took to appearing as the students and faculty of Hogwarts. The first time she'd appeared as herself Snape had actually bodily removed her from his home. The second time, he removed himself.



Hermione had chosen her next target, though Snape didn't know that. Her initial target was a small time Death Eater, one who played a tiny but pivotal role in Voldemort's upcoming plans. If it worked, she would move up the ladder and locate someone with a little more information to extract.



Her mind turned again to Snape's reaction to her using the image of Hermione. I wonder why he acts that way. Perhaps I should test it. Hermoine felt a tiny, slightly vicious smile cross her features. Snape had not been a gentle teacher and while she had not expected him to be, there was some pleasure to be had in getting some of her own back.



She dropped the transfiguration and picked up a dress she had purchased recently. Even being kind it was little more than a cobweb of lavender material that clung to the curves it barely concealed. Strappy little heels completed the outfit. Hermione became a spider and crawled into Snape's living room. She knew he was dying to know how she got in but it was a secret she intended to keep. And now that she could apparate directly to the cabin it was far easier to keep that information to herself.



"I have been endeavoring to teach you the art of subtlety for months. And yet, you have missed two big clues. Now, get out." Snape snarled, looking up from his seat in the armchair, face an instant thundercloud.



"Severus, I'm not here for a lesson. I'm here for an opinion. A target has been chosen. What do you think of my bait?" She grinned at him and twirled slowly. It was bullshit of course. Bartleby Finch was not worth the time and energy a seduction took. She was going to shimmy into his home and slit his throat from ear to ear. Finch's death was the start of her hunt for a Death Eater named Avery. While it was true that there was an up and coming generation of Death Eaters, Hermione felt that taking out the old guard would weaken Voldemort the most. They also had the fattest files for her to dig through. Furthermore, she wasn't interested in putting her own face at risk for a seduction. But Snape didn't need to know that. She was rather enjoying watching him squirm.



She turned and found him towering over her in a rage. Interesting. His large hands gripped her shoulders so tightly his knuckles turned white.



"I disapprove." He hissed the words in her face.



"I know." She looked up at him wonderingly. Why such a strong reaction? Hermione Granger was nothing to him. A pest. A child. Why did he care at all?



"Don't look at me like that." Snape said very softly, dropping his hands from her shoulders though he did not move.



"Like what?" Hermione examined the planes of his face as if she had never seen it before. Snape stared at her.



"Like..." He paused before continuing, "...like you're her."



Realization dawned on her and she was suddenly unsure how to respond. Raising one trembling hand, she cupped Severus' gaunt cheek. He closed his eyes and a faint tremor ran under his skin.



"Stop." He whispered.



"I'm not doing anything." She whispered back. That was a lie and she knew it. But she did not want to stop.



"I did not train you to be a fool." Severus grated out. The trembling was more noticeable and he opened his eyes only to stare over her head.



"You are not the only one who trained me." The attempt at humor did not make him laugh though it did make him look at her. She set herself on tippy toe and pressed her lips softly to his. He did not respond though his heartbeat under her hand began to thunder. She pulled back but kept her hand pressed against his neck.



"You are more dangerous than I gave you credit for." And still his voice remained even.



"Yes. But not because of this, Severus." Hermione wasn't sure that what she had said made sense.



"Most especially because of this."



And then their lips crashed together.



He kissed like he was a drowning man and she the raft. It was needy and desperate and she found herself responding with equal fervor. He didn’t taste like anything. He tasted human and the resulting flash of heat low in her belly was comforting in its authenticity. Severus was going to be the first man she bedded because she wanted too. That was probably going to be disturbing later but right now, with their bodies pressed together, it felt right.



His hands stroked down her back and pressed their bodies impossibly closer. The heat of erection was hard against her belly. His mouth moved feverishly across the line of her jaw, pausing to lave the shell of her ear, before slipping down her neck. Shivers wracked her body in response.



Wiggling one hand between them, she muttered under her breath and then ran one finger up the front of his snug coat. Buttons flew off in all directions under the demands of her magicked finger. Underneath it he wore another shirt.



“Anyone ever tell you that you wear too much clothing?” She growled. All she received as an answer was a low laugh.



“I cannot say the same of you…” He whispered and she shuddered in response. With a sharp motion and a tearing sound she was naked. The cloth of his shirt against her nipples was deliciously rough and she pressed her aching clit against his pants to see if it had the same effect. It did. Her breathing was increasingly erratic and she knew she wanted but she wasn’t sure what.



With a frustrated groan she yanked the soft cotton shirt off and pressed her chest against his. It was difficult to tell where she began and he ended, the heat of their bodies fusing them together. She moved her mouth with increasing desperation over his chest and neck and he growled in response.



“This is madness.” His voice was low and gravely.



“Tell me something we’ve done lately that isn’t.” She whispered back and tugged aggressively at his belt.



In a sharp motion she yanked him free of his pants and undergarments and shoved him back onto the low chair behind him. His erection slapped against his belly as he sat with a grunt and she smiled. Leaning over, Hermione ran one hand up the shaft and swirled her fingers over the pre-cum glistening at the tip. He sucked in his breath but kept his eyes focused on her face.



The ache between her legs was almost painful. That, in and of itself, was a miracle. She moved her body over her his and impaled herself on him. Eye to eye with Severus Snape she began to move. Even in this it was a competition to see whose facial expression would change first. She suppressed a smile and rolled her hips against his so very slowly. He let out a small sound, deep in his throat and she smiled in satisfaction. He growled and dug his hands into her hips. He surged off the chair and she found herself pinned to the floor under his weight. He began to pump in and out of her, all attempts at self control gone. She lifted her hips to meet his, feeling her orgasm fluttering in her belly. Heat broke within her and she bowed her back, crying Severus’ name. When she came back to herself, he was slumped over her and the relaxed set of muscles indicated he too had had a moment of intense pleasure. She smiled and ran one hand down his back.



“You can’t wear her face to do whatever it is you are going to do.” He whispered it into the floor.



“I know.”



He lifted his head and looked at her.



“You were giving me a hard time weren’t you?”



She nodded.



He smiled in a surprisingly boyish way before his normal expression rose up and swallowed it.



They dressed in silence though it was not the same as it was before. How it was different, she wasn’t sure. That was a conundrum for another day.



She turned to look at him once she’d transfigured the pieces of her dress into something more…modest. He was standing utterly still in the center of the room, looking condescending and forlorn at the same time.



“Never come to me with her face again.” He sounded as if he weren’t very sure of the words though his voice was icy.



“Severus, don’t you ever say never to me.” She said back in a cool tone. Then she winked before apparating out of his cabin.