Ready and Willing

Chapter 3: A Tisket, a tasket, A Potion in the Basket

Hermione finished unpacking her things and smiled. Her things were placed tastefully all around her new quarters. And it was needless to say that she was more than pleased with the accommodations. Her quarters held four different rooms. There was a kitchenette with a dining place setting in case if she didn't want to eat in the Great Hall. The kitchenette was even equipped with a cooler that had a never thaw charm on it. 'I can't wait to stock it with some of my favorite muggle tastes.' she thought with a smile.

The bedroom was twice as large as her head girl rooms and had an adjoining door into the bathroom. The bathroom was probably Hermione's favorite part of the entire set up. It had a tub that could easily fit four or six people and was almost as deep as she was tall. The bed was a king-sized four poster bed with white bedding and curtains. In fact, everything was white. Hermione supposed that it was up to the person to design their rooms.

She shook her head and went out into her seating room. She still had yet to see where the other two doors led. One door near her bedroom lead to a study with floor to ceiling, wall to wall shelves. A beautiful mahogany desk sat near the window and Hermione immediately fell in love with the room. The last door which was connected to her study was a private laboratory. Her jaw dropped when she saw it was stocked for not only her charms things, but potions as well.

" Professor Snape...." she whispered, knowing who had set this up for her. She smiled and realized this was the single, and yet, the kindest thing he had ever done for her. A flutter of unknown origin started in her chest and was gone just before she noticed it. She walked back into the living room with a purpose and picked up a package from the side chair closest to the fire place.

Her mind whirling, she unwrapped the parcel, which turned out to be a Pyrex brand casserole dish. She whispered to herself and began to transfigure the dish into a clear glass cauldron. Smiling to herself, Hermione made her way down to the dungeons with the glass cauldron in tow.

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Severus heard her in the hallway outside his lab, and looked out the door. " Hermione?" he said, slightly surprised.

" Hello Severus..." she said .' Wait a moment...when did it become Severus?' she thought. " May I come in?"

Severus nodded and allowed her to pass. " What's that you have there?"

Hermione smiled. " A glass cauldron. Here, go ahead and test it out. Brew a Pepper up in it. It won't melt."

Severus was highly skeptical of this cauldron. The Pepper up had to be boiled hard for at least fifteen minutes. No glass cauldron that he had used could take that kind of beating. " What ever you say, Hermione." he said. He began brewing the Pepperup.

Severus watched with trepidation as the potion came to the hard boil stage. Miraculously, after the entire fifteen minutes, the cauldron had not melt into a twisted blob. " Hermione, how?"

" Ever heard of a muggle baking dish with the name brand Pyrex? It's supposed to be able to take high levels of heat and not melt what so ever. Do you like it?" she asked.

" Yes. Hermione, this has got to be the most important thing anyone has ever done for my research. Thank you, very much." Severus replied sincerely.

" I also wanted to thank you for completely stocking my lab with potions ingredients. I figured this would be a great way." she replied, blushing slightly.

Severus smiled slightly and took a look at the potion through a clear glass phial. He was surprised to see that the potion looked three times better than it had when brewed in a steel or pewter cauldron. It was practically a pure potion. " Hermione....You should really market this idea. I'm sure that the ministry could make settlements with the Pyrex company. Your residuals from this idea would probably be more than what I make in month, and that is saying something."

" Oh please Severus....It was nothing." Hermione said. " But you’re probably right about marketing the idea. The problem would be hiring a trustworthy solicitor..."

Severus smiled. His solicitor was one of the best and could have Hermione rolling in the galleons by the end of the winter term. " I'll strike a bargain with you...We'll speak with Filius and Minerva and see if you can intern with your potions first and charms later. Filius will agree that potions is the harder subject and will be the best choice to take first for your cert. We'll set it up that instead of teaching, you will help me mark the students’ papers and grade their potions, as well as developing the Lycanthropy cure. If we develop the cure, we'll be half and half with the residuals for the potion. As for the cauldron, we'll go seventy five, twenty five. The twenty five percent will go to me for allowing you to use my solicitor. I'll pay to have it marketed."

Hermione sat looking thoughtful at the man before her. His bargain was typically Slytherin, but held for more in her favor. It was quite a fair bargain in her eyes. Hermione also knew that she would rather complete the potions certification first, as it was harder and longer. It had the oral, practical and written exams. Charms only had the written and practical. " That sounds like a great bargain. We should talk to Minerva and Filius tonight about this....It's quite last minute...."

Severus nodded. " I quite agree. Come, we can use my floo..." he said. He took her arm gently and guided her to his private rooms. It wasn't what you would expect to see for the Slytherin head of house. The four houses were all represented in some fashion and the quarters were quite homey indeed, Hermione took a quick second to look around and saw his bedroom and the huge bed that was in it. The view was suddenly swept away as Severus' rich baritone called for the headmistress' office. Hermione stepped out of the fireplace and looked around for Minerva.

" Minerva?"

" Yes, Hermione?" Minerva replied. She came out of the other room and looked at the young woman, only to see her standing near the fire place. " Is there something that you need?"

" Actually Minerva, we need Filius here to." Severus replied as he stepped out of the floo. " I flooed him before I came over and he should be right along."

As soon as Severus had said that, Filius came stumbling out of the floo and hit the back of Severus' knees. Severus buckled and he fell into Hermione. They tumbled to the floor and Severus felt his lips collide with hers.

' Oh dear lord, please tell me I am not kissing Hermione Granger.' he thought exasperatedly. Even as he thought this he took in the texture of her mouth. It was soft and pliable beneath his own demanding one. Her lips fit snuggly between his and the taste on her lip was sweet, like a port or sangria. Her body beneath his fit almost perfectly, like the ying to his yang. He lifted himself from her and looked at her. Her face was as red as a rose and once again he found himself wondering how far that blush went down.

" Ms. Granger, I am terribly sorry...." Severus said. His pale cheeks were slightly tinged with pink.

" It's not a problem Professor..." Hermione replied.

Severus automatically felt the loss of her calling him by his given name. ' Why should I care, she's the insufferable know it all, Hermione bloody Granger. She's my student...Again.' he thought. " Filius, next time be more careful."

Filius turned a deep scarlet at what Severus said. " My apologies Severus...I tripped on my robe." he squeaked.

Minerva sighed. " Shall we just get on with this. What was it that you needed Severus?"

Severus nodded and sat down. " What Ms. Granger and I wanted to discuss with you both about the possibility of switching the order of her internships. She has more to study for her potions certification and not to mention her and I have made a breakthrough."

Minerva's eyes widened and she smiled. " A breakthrough, in the Lycanthropy cure?"

Severus nodded and Minerva's smiled broadened. " Oh Filius...Think about it. With those two working together on the Lycanthropy cure, Remus could be cured within months! Nymphadora would be elated to know this news. Filius, you don't mind do you?" Minerva said.

Filius was smiling. " Not at all Minerva. Besides, Severus is right. The potions is much, much harder. Besides, I'm sure that Ms. Granger here would be able to take her charms certification now and pass it." he said. He smiled at Hermione. " I don't mind at all that you would rather do the potions cert first. In fact, that gives you more time to see which one you would rather do more. Potions is the only field with limitless possibilities, charms is rapidly losing material to work with. Just let me know at the end of the year and we'll talk, is that alright?"

Severus snorted diresively. " And try to keep Ms. Granger from her quest for knowledge? I highly doubt that will be that will be the case." Severus replied.

" Thank you Filius, I'll get back to you on that." Hermione replied. " Professor, I do have a few things to do this evening...I believe we should talk more about this in the morning. Good night everyone."

Severus nodded, and proceeded to walk towards the floo to go back to his office. " Severus...." Minerva said, closing the door behind Filius.

" Yes, Minerva?" he replied.

" I just wanted to be sure of something. Your relationship with Hermione is platonic, yes?"she said.

Severus looked off to the side and back at Minerva. " Only if she wishes it to be so. I can say this. She's not the little girl I remember. She has grown into a woman, and I have begun to think of her in a different light. I will not make the advances to court her until she's finished her internship." Severus said.

Minerva smiled. " Even you deserve a chance at happiness. And besides, I don't think she would mind all to much. "

Severus groaned. " Not a word of this to anyone Minerva, I just now admitted it to myself."

' Hmmmm...Looks like a match that might be possible. And it seems that Albus wasn't the only meddler in this castle.' Minerva thought. " Go on Severus, I still need to talk to Hermione in the morning to have her sign her contract." Her heart ached at the thought of Albus Dumbledore. He had been a wonderful friend even when she was his student in transfiguration. She waved goodbye to Severus as she sat down.

Albus Dumbledore had in fact been killed by the hand of Severus Snape, but not by the Killing curse. Severus had only sent a harmless set of green sparks at him, but the potion that Albus had drunk in the cave had been his undoing. The magic that ran through Albus' veins reacted horribly to the sparks and sent him flying over the edge of the Astronomy tower. Severus felt the guilt for weeks on end and had been contacted by none other than Remus Lupin. In Lupin's letter, Severus came to find out that Albus had left a pensive hidden away in the room of requirement. In fact, the pensive had been found by none other than Harry Potter himself.

Harry had been beside himself when he saw the way the Professor had been manipulated into killing Albus Dumbledore. Of course, Severus had given an Unbreakable vow to Narcissa and had been forced into giving Albus one as well. Harry himself also testified on the Professor's behalf after Voldemort had been defeated. Severus was indeed thankful to the young man for it, but it didn't stop them from being at odds with one another.

Severus sat down and summoned a bottle of Ogden's. He felt an all to familiar tightening on his jeans and groaned. That dream he had of Hermione was still affecting him now. He couldn't have a dicent drink without thinking of her. But he also realized what he said to Minerva was true. When her internship was done, he would look forward to courting her, and then seducing her. He couldn't ignore how her body had felt against his, how her kips had tasted for that brief second. Severus knew the witch was something special, and he felt thqt they were compatable. She wzs more or less his intellectual equal, given that she ws twenty years his junior, but Severus never faced more of a challenge than he did with Hermione Granger. Suddenly reminded of their agreement, Severus wrote out a letter to is solicitor and sommomned his familiar. The raven came through the floo and cawwed in greeting to his master. The dark bird held out it's leg for it's master and Severus tied the letter on.

" This needs to go to my solicitor in London. Make sure you wait for a reply. Now go." With that, he sat down and waited.

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Here are the specs for the challenge:
Summary: Hermione must be in her 7th year, or an intern for one of the teachers. If she is in her 7th year, she must count as of age either due to her birthday, or the time-turner's use in her 3rd year.

One of the teachers, preferably Severus Snape, although Remus Lupin or Sirius Black could be fun as well, must set out to seduce her.

If you use a character who is assumed to be deceased in the real books, such as Sirius Black, you must provide either an alternate storyline from the point of their death or some reason their death was faked or mistaken.

Hermione must be kissed at least 3 times by the seductor before they go any further. Whether or not they go further is up to you. Must be at least 5000 words.


A/N: HA! Kiss number one, and Severus is more than certain that Hermione is more than competant partner. Rate and review please