The First Summer and Summer Series

Dave Faversham gave Hermione a superior smile. “I did warn you, Hermy, that I thought taking on such a thesis topic was going to be too much.”

“It wouldn’t be too much if I had some help. Don’t you know ANY source materials for matriarchal mandalas? And don‘t call me Hermy!”

“Sorry HERMIONE. It’s not too late change your topic.”

Hermione slammed her notes down onto his desk. “I don’t want to change my topic! What I want is a tutor who can guide me. It’s your job. What you’re paid to do.”

“What you need is to relax.”

“I can’t relax! I have to do double the footwork on this because of you.”

“Now! Now!” Dave tutted, “Don’t blame me for your stress! Besides, you say I never help you. I have brought you something to assist with your rather anal study habits.”

He reached into his pockets and pulled out a tiny bottle, setting it on the desk in front of her.

“What is it?” Hermione asked. She picked up the bottle and noticed it had no label on it.

“It’s a ... revitalizing potion.”

“A what?”

Dave looked at her with a smile. “It helps you stay alert and keep studying.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes and glared at Dave. “What’s the name of it?” she asked suspiciously.

Dave shrugged, “I don’t remember offhand. I used it frequently during my university years. It’s especially handy during exam weeks.”

“Is it legal?” she asked suspiciously.

Dave laughed heartily, “Would I give you something that wasn’t legal? This is just a little something I get from a hag I know down in Kent.”

Hermione picked up thttlettle and examined it while Dave gave her detailed instructions for its use. She listened to him talk but had no intention of trying it. Nevertheless, she pocketed the small bottle and thanked him. It was the only thing he had ever voluntarily done to help her.

“I’ll ask my fiancé about it,” she said finally.

“Your fiancé? Is he familiar with potions?”

Hermione laughed, “I should say so. He’s the potions master at Hogwarts.”

Dave looked slightly pale, “Severus Snape? You’re engaged to Severus Snape?”

“Do you know him?” Hermione asked.

“Only by reputation,” Dave admitted. He paused a moment, chewing on his lower lip. “You know Hermione, I wouldn’t show that bottle to Snape if I were you.”

“Why?”

He giggled nervously, “Well, he might think that I was over-stepping my bounds, providing potions for you. I’m no potions master. Say you won‘t show it to him. Please promise.”

More confused than ever, Hermione agreed. When she got home she put the bottle on the shelf in the medicine cabinet and wondered what it contained. Whatever it was, it had made Dave Faversham very nervous.

“Oh gods! What has that an bee been up to now?” Severus groaned as a knock sounded on the dungeon door yet again.

Crookshanks had been a resident of Hogwarts for less than a month but he had already turned the castle upside down. Confined to the dungeon for the first few days, the cat had been more than anxious to be allowed to roam free once more. As soon as he was let, he ran through the corridors, making short shrift of any animal that crossed his path. The exception was Mrs. Norris.

When he had originally lived in the castle, Crookshanks avoided Mrs. Norris. The two had lived in very different areas and claimed different territories. Now that they both lived in the vicinity of the dungeons, they fought several pitched battles. The final result was a draw. Crookshanks and Mrs. Norris went from sworn enemies to furtive allies, protecting their domain from all invaders. They roamed the hallways of Hogwarts like a pair of Nazi SS guards.

Severus opened the door to an angry Professor Sprout.

“Snape! I insist you do something about that feline nuisance!” the short witch shouted.

“What has he done?” Severus sighed.

“That cat of yours and that creature of Filch’s cornered one of my students in the greenhouse. The poor boy had to take refuge on the potting shelf and brought down a whole tray of scullcap seedlings. It really has to stop!”

“And what was the boy up to?” Severus asked.

Professor Sprout was amazed. “What was that?”

“I said, ‘What was the boy up to?’ Those cats wouldn’t have cornered a student for no reason. Small animals, yes, students, no. I suggest you question him and check his pockets.”

Sprout’s mouth opened and closed like a dying fish. “Are you excusing that animal?” she finally spluttered.

Severus raised one eyebrow, “I am simply suggesting you find out what the boy was doing alone in the greenhouse after class. I will deal with Crookshanks.”

Just at that moment the feline in question slinked past Professor Sprout and into the room.

“If that is all, I’ll bid you good evening,” Severus said. He closed the door and spun around to look at Crookshanks. The cat had taken his usual spot in front of the fire and was purring and washing his face innocently.

“I suppose you think you’re clever. I would thank you not to get yourself into anymore trouble. If you do, you’ll find yourself living with Hermione’s parents again, and you don’t wan be be permanently stuck in the muggle world away from your mistress, do you?”

Crookshanks just purred louder and walked over to rub on Severus’s legs.

“Yes, yes I know. I’ll feed you shortly.” He scratched the cat on the ears and went to fetch his tin of cat food. The dungeons were much nicer now that Crookshanks was there, but he still missed Hermione.
EvenEventually the calendar rollhrouhrough December and Severus found himself marking the last day off on his chart. The morrow would bring Hermione to his side again and he could barely wait. He always hated the last week of classes before Christmas. The children, especially the first years, were inattentive and careless in class. He had to be especially vigilant for errors. Potions was a subject that could be quite dangerous wmixemixed with inattention. It had been a relief to dismiss them.

He drank his glass of brandy by the fire with Crookshanks purring on the hearth rug. At 11:00, he retired to his bed chamber. This was the last night he’d have to sleep alone for two blessed weeks. He stretched himself out under the blankets and thought of Hermione. He’d make love to her tomorrow. Severus reached down and touched himself, smirking with satisfaction at his immediate erectile response. He withdrew his hand. He wanted to save everything for her.

His eyes closed and he began to relax. His mind drifted carelessly, thinking oingsings he had done today, yesterday, last week. It was a blurry continuity of thought, leading him to sleep. Suddenly, his unconscious mind took a leap back in time and he found himself in a graveyard. It was place he knew well, too well. Dark figures surrounded him, there were murmuring voices, a restless shifting of bodies, anticipation of something dreadful about to happen.

Severus was aware of a body lying on the ground before him, a young muggle girl. She wasn’t dead, yet.

“Ennervate!” commanded a voice beside him.

The girl’s eyes twitched open, full of fear. Her breath was heavy and frantic.

“Avery?” asked the Dark Lord’s voice. “Would you like to sate yourself on this piece of rubbish before we dispose of her?”

A lecherous laugh emanated from one of the dark figures. Avery’s shrouded form crouched over the girl. Severus tried not to watch, not to see, not to listen. He concentrated on blocking out the cries of pain, fear and rape. He felt very ill but knew his life was forfeit should he try to intervene.

At last, Avery stood. There was the sound of sobbing coming from the terrified girl. Severus made the mistake of looking down into her eyes.

“Please help me!” she whimpered pitifully.

Another Deatheater took Avery’s place, then another, and another. Whenever the girl lost consciousness, a command brought her back.

“Don’t you want your turn, Severus?” the Dark Lord asked sarcastically then he laughed a horrible laugh.

Voldemort turned to the girl and began to use the cruciatus on her. Her face contorted in agony. She begged and pleaded for it to stop. After what seemed like an eternity, the curse of pain finally ended. Voldemort raised his wand for the kill. The girl leapt up and grabbed Severus by the arm. Her fingers clutched at his flesh. Hyes yes pleaded for salvation. Then there was a flash of green light.

Severus awoke with a scream. There WERE fingers clutching at h

The next thing he knew, he was sitting up quivering in his own bed and Hermione was holding him tightly.

“It’s all right,” she murmured gently, stroking his hair. “It was just a bad dream. Relax. It’s all right.”

“Hermione?”

“Shhh. I just got here. I came back early. It’s all right now.” She rubbed his back gently and soon the shaking stopped. She pulled her clothes off and slid into bed beside him.

He held her tightly. Embarrassment began to flood his body. “I’m sorry you had to see me like that,” he began.

“You can’t control your dreams,” Hermione responded. She ran her hands up and down him. “I know you have nightmares often but I’ve never seen you like this before. Is it always the same dream?”

“No,” he replied bitterly. “Thanks to Voldemort I have a large selection of memories from which to produce nightmares.”

“Are they memories then? Of things that really happened?”

“Yes.”

After a moment she asked, “Would you tell me about it.”

Severus sighed, “Why do you want to know about horrible things, Hermione?”

“To understand you better.”

“There was a girl. A young muggle girl. I watched her repeatedly raped, tortured then finally murdered. At some point during the proceedings, she looked me in the eye and begged me to help her. I‘ll never forget her eyes.” His voice was full of deep regret.

“If you had tried to help her, they would have killed you. And then they would have killed her anyway,” she reasoned.

“True.”

“You still regret it? Knowing that?”

“Yes.”

Hermione wished there was something she could say to help him. He continued to clutch her tightly so she stroked his back until finally she felt him relax his grip. The movements had comforted her as much as him. This wot hot how she had intended her homecoming to begin.

It had been a shock to her. Wanting to surprise him, and unable to wait until morning, she had come up from London during the night. She had let herself into their chambers silently, knowing he was asleep and not wanting to wake him. But when she arrived at the bedroom door it was clear he was in the middle of a nightmare. He had been thrashing and muttering. Hermione had moved to shake him awake, grabbed his arm. He had suddenly jerked upright and screamed. It was a horrible sound.

She knew he had had nightmares before of course, but rarely, and nothing like this. Usually, if she felt him start to twitch, she would snuggle an arm around him or caress him gently. His body always seemed to relax after that. At other times she would be awakened by him suddenly clutching at her, but then, too, he would fall right back to sleep. This was different. Was he often like this when he was alone?

Hermione wrinkled her brow. She remembered Harry saying how often he had run into Severus in the corridors at night. Perhapis wis was why he was so nasty to his students during the day, if he didn’t get any restful sleep. Time would tell. Soon they would be together full time and she could chase the bad dreams away. She kissed him lightly and drifted off to sleep herself.


Hermione awoke to the delightful sensation of someone nuzzling the area behind her ear. A warm body was moldedher her back and fingers were delicately fondling her breast.

“Mmmm...” she sighed.

“Awake?” growled a sexy voice in her ear.

“Not yet.”

Teeth nipped her neck sharply.

“Ow! Careful!” she snapped.

“That has you awake!” Severus announced triumphantly.

Hermione turned to face him. It was good to see him, especially good to see him smiling.

“Glad to see me?” she asked.

Wordly, ly, he pulled her hand down to make contact with his erection. Hermione sighed again, allowing her fingers to sensuously run up and down his length. Impatiently, he grabbed her hand, curling her fingers around the top of the shaft and guiding her to stroke him briskly.

“What about me?” she whispered, as she pulled her hand away. She parted her thighs as his hand drifted deliciously from her breast, lightly over her stomach and came to rest in the soft down of her mound. He cupped her with his hand, applying light pressure and move. Th. Then Hermione felt his middle finger slyly insinuating itself between her folds. The gentle rocking movement of his hand increased. His finger was just grazing her clitoris, dipping further and further back into her depths with each pass. She spread wide for him, growing slippery and wet.

Suddenly, he thrust his finger deeply into her. Hermione gasped and momentarily closed her thighs on his hand. As soon as shleasleased him, he withdrew his hand and knelt between her legs. She had thought he was going to mount her but instead he bent his head. She felt his warm insistent tongue lick up the length of her crevice, stopping over her clitoris. He captured the button in his lips and sucked gently.

Hermione groaned. She heard Severus pull his breath in deeply and knew he found the sound of her groaning erotic. She spread her legs as wide as she could, wrapped her fingers in his hair and allowed herself to moan with abandon. She could feel an aura of sexual energy emanating from him. He pulled his head back from her, gasping audibly and sat up between her thighs.

Hermione glanced at his manhood. The straining organ was oozing freely. She reached forward and began swirling one finger in the pearly liquid as Severus watched. Her finger circled the head enticingly then she allowed it to trail down the cleft.

He hissed.

Hermione smirked. She scooped her finger over the oozing slit and came away with as much fluid as she could gather. Making eye contact with him, she put her pearly wet finger in her mouth and sucked sensuously.

“That’s disgusting,” Severus announced.

“You taste divine,” Hermione countered.

“I’m glad you think so. Personally I like Hermione flavour.”

“Well, that works out well doesn’t it?” She reached for his hips, pulling him close to couple with her.

Severus smiled and bent forward.

Hermione felt his organ pushing against her, nudging gently. After lodging the just the head of his arousal in her opening, he paused.

“Do you want me?” he growled sensuously.

She thrust her hips against him, “Yes.”

“How much do you want me?” he breathed.

She pulled ineffectively at his bottom, trying to force him in. “Damn it Severuuck uck me!”

He looked down at her surprised, one eyebrow raised. “That’s a very dirty word, Miss Granger. Where did you learn such foul language?”

“No games! Please Severus, I need you. We’ll play games later, I promise.”

She felt him begin moving his hips. “I’ll hold you to that. In fact, I may give you detention later for using foul language.”

“That’s fine, but right now I want you inside of me.”

He chuckled and began making love to her in earnest.

re wre was possibly nothing as blissful in the world, Hermione considered, than having Severus Snape buried between your thighs. She concentrated on the sensation. His narrow hips forced her wide, member impaling her deeply. She skimmed her teeth on the milky flesh of his shoulder, hearing him suck in his breath in response.

His breath tightened as he thrust, he broke his rhythm suddenly to keep from climaxing before her. He held his body still, hips pulled back away from her, barely connected, willing himself to stay in control. Hermione pushed herself upwards, impaling her body against him. Then she began to grind her clitoris firmly on his pubic bone.

“That’s good,” he whispered, “Get as close as you can because it won’t be long.”

She moved to her own rhythm, maximizing the contact of her body against his. She looked up to see his eyes were closed trying desperately to hold back. For a long time nothing existed for her except the sound of his breath and the feel of his body between her legs. At long last, the glowing heat of climax began to build, blinding her with its overwhelming force.

She wanted to tell Severus to let go and come with her but didn’t have the breath. She tensed then felt herself succumb to a series of mind blowing spasms.

Suddenly aware he no longer had to hold back, Severus began thrusting into her orgasm with abandon. The speed and strength of his thrusts combined with her climax made her shudder uncontrollably. Small inarticulate sounds escaped her throat. She never wanted it to end but yet she didn’t know if she could bear for it to go on. Just as she felt she was going to lose consciousness, he came. Hermione felt warm jets stroking her cervix from within. He cried out softly as his body convulsed.

“Oh gods, Hermione, my sweet Hermione.” He collapsed, panting, on top of her. They lay together for a long time, savouring the close contact, the rglorglow of spent passion.

He finally rolled off. “It’s nice having you home.”

“It’s very nice to be home.”

Severus began caressing her hair. Pushing it back from her face, he grazed her cheek and ear with his thumb. “Shall we spend the day in bed?” he suggested.

Hermione laughed and pushed him aside, “Too much to do! I‘m going to get some coffee and have a shower then I want to see this guest list you‘ve been working on.”

Severus was slightly disappointed. It must have shown in his face because she reached back out to him promising, “I’ll bring you your coffee in bed, then maybe after we chat about the wedding, we can practice some more for the honeymoon.”

He sighed bitterly as she left the room. All he wanted was to spend the first day of the Christmas holidays in bed with Hermione. Was it too much to ask? He had been without her for three months. She’d only be a few days here at Hogwarts then he’d be stuck going to his futun-lan-laws house, playing muggle. He never could quite bring himself to make love to her there, knowing her father was two doors down the hall. And there was no doubt in his mind what the main topic of conversation was going to be at the Granger household. The blasted wedding wasn’t for over five months. Merlin knew! He could plan the silly event in five days if he was let. If only she’d just forget about it for a while!

Hermione, meanwhile, had a shower and tried to plan her day. It seemed like there was so much to get done. Against her better judgment, she had left all of her study mater at at the house in London. Her thesis had consumed so much of her time during term that she was determined to spend her holidays getting the majority of the wedding planning finished. Her case was pack with wedding magazines, estimates, menus and guest scrolls. To say she was stressed was putting it mildly. If only Severus would be a little bit more helpful about ningning this! She only needed his cooperation on three things!

After what seemed like an eternity, Hermione returned to their bedchamber with coffee, toast and several very large scrolls.

“Now! Guest lists,” Hermione began. “Did you work on a list as I asked?”

Severus gave her an exasperated look and summoned a small sheet of note paper.

“That’s it?” Hermione was amazed. She pulled out her scroll which was some three feet long and filled. “Alright, let’s see it.”

Reluctantly, Severus handed over the small paper. The list was brief. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Pomfrey, all on her own list already. And...

“Filch?” Hermione asked in amazement.

“Is that a problem?” Severus asked.

Hermione shook her head. It was one of his co-workers. She had dealt with Filch for years; she could deal with him at her wedding. There was only one name left on his list. She read it twice, trying very hard to convince herself it was a mistake. This time it WAS a problem.

“Lucius Malfoy?”

“Yes.”

Hermione glared. “I am NOT having Lucius Malfoy at my wedding!”

Severus gave her a long and unreadable look. He then took the quill from her hand and drew a neat but precise line through Malfoy’s name. He put the quill back down and waited, silently.

A surge of annoyance filled Hermione. Why in the name of Merlin did he have to put THAT name on his list? Of all the people he could want to invite, that was the one person that was going to annoy her. She looked at his brief list of seven names, five of which were already on her own list, then she looked at her own three foot scroll containing hundreds of names of people she wanted to invite. Guilt began to overcome annoyance.

“Why, Severus?” she asked softly.

“Hmmm?” He sipped his coffee and pretended facetiously he had already forgotten.

She sighed, “Why do you want Lucius Malfoy at our wedding?”

“It no longer matters. You made your pronouncement. He is not being invited.”

“Stop that!” Hermione snapped. “Tell me why you put him on your list in the first place.”

She watched his face become mask-like, the way it always did when she asked questions he didn’t want to answer. After a long wait, he finally gave in.

“Lucius Malfoy has been present at every major event of my life. I would like him to be present at this event as well.”

A great struggle went on inside of Hermione. She hated Lucius Malfoy with a passion, but she also loved Severus. She didn’t often get the chance to do anything special for him and he often did special things for her. Silently, she tookher her quill and re-wrote Malfoy’s name on his list.

“That isn’t necessary,” Severus said.

“I know. But I’m hoping it’s going to get you into a sweet mood for the rest of the wedding planning. Alright?”

He graced her with a half smile.

“One item down, two to go,” she thought to herself. Hermione reached for the rest of the scrolls.