A New Beginning (DH -COMPLIANT)

Chapter 20 ~ A Workout

Harry flew back to the gates, dismounted, reduced his broom, then exited the castle grounds and disapparated for home. By now, the stone should be well buried in the silt underneath the Squid and no one would be able to find it for centuries. It was safe.

Harry had no idea how sensitive the Squid was. One would think such a large creature wouldn’t notice such a thing as a tiny stone connecting with it. But the Squid had excellent reflexes and the moment it connected, the creature flung the stone shoreward instantly. Since every tentacle was moving, there was no way Harry could have seen this, and no way he could have known that a lone wizard who happened to be near the lake’s shoreline found the stone and took it with him.

There was also no way he could know one of the wizarding world’s most powerful magical objects was now in the hands of an inexperienced Hogwarts’ student, or know what series of events were about to occur because of this oversight. If Harry had known, he might have opted to try and destroy the stone outright rather than hide it.

After all, any gift from Death was one to be wary of. It may have taken generations for the specter to reclaim its own, but mortals were fools. One of them would make a mistake with the stone.

And Harry James Potter was that mortal.

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The next morning Snape awoke in his bed feeling oddly refreshed. Light. Almost giddy. Thinking he might be coming down with something the wizard pressed his hand against his forehead to see if he had some kind of fever.

He didn’t.

Completely nude, he rose, stretched and headed for the loo to relieve his bladder and consequently morning hard-on. He pissed, then walked over to the shower and turned it on, still unable to shake the feeling of lightness.

Eli prepared a light breakfast for the Potions master as he showered. When the wizard emerged from his morning abolution, he found he felt like having a workout. A real workout. Normally he did a bit of running in the morning through the forest, and all his working with the earth exercised his body quite well, but it had been years since he actually “worked out” and there was a perfectly good exercise room in the worksite that Hermione hardly utilized. Besides, she knew who he was now. He didn’t have to hide from the witch.

So instead of donning his robes, the wizard pulled on a black t-shirt, black sweatpants, socks and trainers. He then rifled through the top drawer of his dresser and located a black rubber band which he used to tie back his hair in a ponytail. He tucked his wand into his waistband, then grabbed a towel out of the bathroom, tossed it around his shoulders and headed for the kitchen. Eli glanced at his master as he set the table, then did a little double-take as the wizard picked up the glass of pumpkin juice next to his breakfast and drained it down. Then he looked at the elf.

”Put my breakfast up for now, Eli. I’m going to work out at the site for an hour or two. I’ll eat when I return,” the Potions master said.

“Y-yes sir,” the elf responded, surprised.

Eli watched as his master grabbed a piece of toast off his plate then left the kitchen. He could feel something different about the wizard. Something different and decidedly good.

As Snape made his way down the long staircase that led to the forest floor, he thought the mountain air never smelled so . . . sweet. It was a clear day, warm and filled with birdsong and chattering from the forest. He didn’t bother to disillusion himself as he normally did when he left his home. He walked boldly through his domain, getting on the path and making a beeline for the site.

He stopped outside the door, looking rather impatient.

“Professor Severus Snape. Authorized,” the female voice said, the door opening.

The Potion master strode down the corridor, past Hermione’s apartment and into the exercise room. He looked around for a moment, then walked over to a weight machine and adjusted the weight. He sat down comfortably, leaning back and grasping the hanging bar. Then he released it, sat forward and removed his shirt. No need on getting it sweaty. His pale torso visible, he again positioned himself and began his sets.

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Hermione put her terrycloth robe on and headed out of the apartment, down to the exercise room. She had really fallen in love with that Jacuzzi. She too felt a bit light, as if some hidden weight had been lifted off her. She figured a couple of minutes in the warm, bubbling, soothing pool would get her day off to a great start.

She walked down to the exercise room and entered, heading straight for the Jacuzzi.

Snape had heard the door opening, and as a matter of habit, pulled his wand and disillusioned himself. He was now sitting on the bench watching Hermione walk across the room in a white terrycloth robe. She was barefoot and barelegged.

Snape blinked and sat up, watching as the witch removed her robe, revealing a blue one-piece bathing suit and a very nice, womanly shape.

The wizard cleared his throat a little as his black eyes washed over her. Hermione wasn’t slender, but she wasn’t fat either. She was at that perfect feminine place, amply rounded in all the right places, her thighs a bit on the thick side. Her exposed skin was smooth and her breasts rather large. She was about five foot five in height. Snape watched as she eased her way down into the water, which immediately started churning. She sat down and lay back against the edge of the tub, closing her eyes and sighing with pleasure as the water did its work on her body.

She certainly wasn’t the wispy little thing she was at Hogwarts. There was a time Hermione was so skinny, her head looked too big for her body, and that bushy hair didn’t help. The Professor often thought she looked like a walking matchstick with hair, especially when she dressed in the muggle way.

Obviously, those days were long gone. Maturity and motherhood had done their work and a damn good job of it.

Hmm. Didn’t she say she wanted to discuss the project last time he saw her? Yes, she had said that. The Professor really hadn’t thought about it again, but now found that maybe he needed to make those arrangements. There was the work to think about after all.

No time like the present.

The wizard removed the disillusionment spell, stood up and walked over to the Jacuzzi, looking down at the witch. Hermione’s eyes were still closed and Snape still walked as quietly as a wraith, so she didn’t hear his approach.

Smirking slightly, the wizard spoke.

“I would think you’d have a more rigorous morning regime than this, Mrs. Weasley,” he said to the witch.

Hermione’s eyes opened wide and she gasped, ducking down into the churning water as she looked up at the wizard. The Professor hadn’t realized he didn’t put his shirt back on. But he soon realized it by the shocked look in Hermione’s eyes as they moved across his pale, hairless torso. The wizard was quite fit.

”Professor, what are you doing here?” she gasped.

”This is an exercise room, isn’t it? I came here to work out. A sight more than you it appears,” he commented, his black eyes resting on her flushed face.

”But I’m in the Jacuzzi. In my…my bathing suit,” Hermione said to him as if that meant something important.

”Yes, I can see that,” Snape replied

Silence followed this statement.

”I feel very uncomfortable,” the witch said, still cringing under the water as she looked at the half naked wizard, “and you standing there without a shirt isn’t making me feel any better.”

Snape looked down at himself.

”I didn’t realize I was so . . .offensive,” he said silkily, looking back at Hermione.

”It’s not that you’re offensive, Professor, it’s just that this is just…just rather intrusive. I thought this was my exercise room,” the witch said, wishing the wizard would go get a shirt. This was just crazy.

”Last I heard, this is Sparse Venues’ exercise room. In other words, mine, though you have access to every amenity,” he responded evenly. “And you’re going to be sharing it from now on. Since you know I am alive and well, I see no reason why I should have to climb craggy mountainsides and dodge through trees to get exercise when I can come here and target the parts of my body I wish to improve. So get used to seeing me, Mrs. Weasley.”

Hermione scowled at him slightly.

“I just hope I won’t be seeing as much of you as I am now,” she replied, still frowning at the wizard. He had some nerve still standing there like that after she had made it plain it made her uncomfortable.

Snape actually chuckled.

”No, you’ll be spared that. I removed my shirt before I noticed you,” he lied.

”Well, I’d appreciate it if you’d put it back on and give me a bit of space so I can exit the tub and get my robe back on,” the witch said pointedly.

“Fine, Mrs. Weasley. I only approached you to tell you I will drop in after lunch to discuss the project you are working on,” the Potions master said.

”That’s fine. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Hermione said to him.

Snape stood there a few more seconds to piss her off, then retired, walking back over to the exercise machine and pulling on his shirt, Hermione watching it slide over his lean body. She had covered her mouth when she saw all the scars on the wizard’s back, a glaring reminder of just how much he suffered while serving as a spy.

The Professor wrapped his towel around his neck.

”I’ll see you this afternoon, Mrs. Weasley,” he purred at her, “Enjoy your ‘workout.’”

The wizard left the room and Hermione had the distinct impression her preferred method of enjoying the exercise room had been found lacking by the wizard. Well, she didn’t need to bulk up. She was fine as she was.

Hermione looked toward the door furtively, then rose out of the pool, walking up the steps quickly, grabbing her towel and toweling off, then hurriedly slipped on her robe, tying it securely around her.

The wizard had made her feel as if she were naked, standing there looking down at her half-dressed like he was. Didn’t Snape have ANY sense of propriety?

Obviously not, strutting around like that in mixed company. And to think she had thought him repressed and straitlaced in school. He didn’t show a bit of skin, and his robes had so many buttons it was a wonder he got them all fastened quick enough to make it to class on time. Even in summer he wore heavy, thick layers of clothing.

It just went to show you never really knew a person until you were in close proximity.

Hermione opened the door to the hallway tentatively, looking up and down to make sure Snape had really left. She didn’t see him and scooted down the hall to her apartment, letting herself in.

At the end of the corridor, Snape materialized with a smirk, then walked back to the exercise room to finish his workout.

He had no doubt Mrs. Weasley wouldn’t be back for the rest of the morning. He removed his shirt again, resting it on a bench beside him.

As he did his reps, Snape’s mind drifted back to his interaction with Hermione and her reaction to him. Seeing the witch so distressed had been rather fun. Almost as fun as setting up her children or menacing his students when he worked at Hogwarts.

Done with working his upper body, Snape headed for the treadmill, got on and began an easy jog. Yes, this was quite nice.

After several minutes, the wizard began to perspire and feel the welcome burn he was looking for. If Hermione found his presence disturbing before, she should have gotten a look at him wet. Snape was in his fifties, but fifty wasn’t old for a wizard at all.

The man looked damn good for his age.

Damn good.

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A/N: Dun dun! Lol. Had to jump right in there. Fun eh? Thanks for reading. ***