The Ties that Lead to Trust

Chapter 30~ Responses

Across from Severus, the tall auror leaned back in a newly conjured office chair and put his feet up on the desk with an air of exaggerated comfort. Kingsley Shacklebolt stretched his arms and put them behind his head breathing deeply. “Well Snape, you’ve seen the report and everything I’ve got. What do you want to do with it?”

Placing the stack of folders back on his desk, Severus shook his head. “Hmm. I’m not entirely certain. The hospital report would get a muggle assault conviction but the charmed hair warrants more investigation and, if we can get it, a search. Getting the assault would be something, but I think there is no hurry. If we could find sufficient evidence of bribery and corruption, that would be enough for a search if I’m not mistaken.”

Kingsley nodded. “Yes, that would be enough. Truth be told, the assault is enough grounds for a search, but pressing charges just now isn’t the best if you want to take him in for everything. Solid evidence of a crime significant enough to qualify for testimony under the influence of a truth serum would be needed. We don’t have that. It can wait, a little while at least. He’s been sniffing around the Ministry, though I really can’t say what his job actually is now. When he isn’t strutting around pretending to be important, he’s closeted in with one of the junior undersecretaries. Haven’t seen him with Fudge himself in a long time, but the school directors still seem to be wrapped around his finger.”

“Pity corruption is so difficult to get reliable evidence for. Surely that is a crime worthy of trial by veritaserum,” Severus answered with a humourless snort.

The dark man reached over for the folders and leafed through one again. “There is circumstantial evidence of plenty of that, but not enough to move ahead unless I can find someone who isn’t terrified of being on the man’s hit list. Very few people have enough courage to spit on Malfoy’s boots rather than lick them. You’re an exception, of course, but then again, very few people are like you either. So? You want to hold off then? See what else I can come up with?”

He nodded. “Yes. I can wait. I definitely want to press charges before the school year is out though. I don’t need any house calls.”

“That little rumour I heard is true then?”

“What rumour is this?”

Kingsley chuckled. “Let’s see... Tonks heard from Remus about that little tiff you had with your lovely wife. Apparently Harry mentioned something about it in a letter. Anyway, word has reached my ear that you’re leaving Hogwarts.”

“When did my business become that mangey wolf’s?” he sighed deeply, shaking his head. “You have heard correctly. I’m resigning at the end of this school year. Albus is already looking for a replacement. I’ll be starting with the Mungo’s research team in the fall and I want to have this dealt with long before then.”

“Sounds like a good move. I always wondered how you kept teaching so long,” Kingsley said while standing and gathering together his folders. “Well, I’ll get to work and see what I can find for you.”

Severus also stood and shook the auror’s hand. “I do appreciate this Kingsley. Contact me as soon as you have something new.”

When the door closed behind the auror, Severus vanished the additional chair and locked his office for the evening. Making his way back to his quarters, he sighed at the amount of time it was taking to gather evidence against Lucius Malfoy. It was obvious some of his connections were beginning to fail him, but that still left intimidation as protection. At least Hermione was closer to him in the school and she would continue to be when it was time to leave Hogwarts.

It wasn’t his habit to become excited about things before they actually happened, but he had to admit to himself he was greatly anticipating the end of the school year and the new start it would bring. He hadn’t owned his own lodgings for over fifteen years and the possibilities were overwhelming. A functional modern laboratory without the worry of students breaking into it was exciting. A house without children at all, in fact. Just he and Hermione.

Entering his rooms, he carefully closed the door and unlocked the sealed drawer he had set aside for legal business. He now had copies of all the documents Kingsley had shown him and wanted to put them in a safe place. Though the wards on his office were strong, it felt better to have personal matters in their own place. Inside the drawer, he noticed the small brown package Hermione had given him months ago. It had gone in the drawer for lack of a better place, and he hadn’t taken the time yet to look at the contents.

Severus untied the string and removed the photos from the paper wrapping. The first image was himself, alone and frowning at the camera. His photo self didn’t move much at first. One might actually have mistaken it for a muggle photograph until his frown deepened and he crossed his arms, scowling.

The second was another solo picture, this time of Hermione. His eyebrow raised at this. He thought Hermione would have kept all the pictures of herself at the time. The woman in the photo was standing beside a small, slender tree about ten feet tall. The leaves trembled in a light breeze and a few of Hermione’s loose hairs danced around her face and neck, causing her small smile to grow as they tickled her. He smiled when he saw this and felt a small thrill of excitement go through him when he thought about how she smiled when he tickled her face and neck with his lips. Suddenly, the photo Hermione’s attention was drawn away as a small bird flew across the image and landed on a branch. She looked at it for a moment before it flew away again and her attention returned to the direction of the camera.

He set aside that photo and flipped to the next. They were both in this one, standing beside each other near the lake and trying not to look too obvious in their discomfort, but not succeeding too well. Hermione looked slightly aside, as if someone had spoken to her, then coloured a little and took his hand. His photo self looked slightly startled, but laced his fingers through hers and gave a barely noticeable, thin lipped smile.

There were a dozen or so more pictures, similar in their poses with a few varied locations. Like nearly every photo that had ever been taken of him, he was scowling, or at least frowning, in all of them with the exception of the picture by the lake. He looked at the small pile of pictures critically. What should he do with them? He possessed no album of any kind to put them in and they weren’t doing more than taking up space in his drawer. What had she done with hers?

Taking the photo of Hermione he had set aside and watched the image startle at the bird again, smiling broadly. She really did look lovely with her hair up and those robes rippling in the light breeze. With a sudden impulse, he took out his wand and conjured a thin wooden frame and put the picture inside it. He was going to put this picture someplace he could look at it. Glancing around the room, he looked at the mantle and nodded. There was space beside his clock and he propped the frame up on a stand. The photo Hermione surveyed her new location for a moment, then returned to smiling at him. He couldn’t help a small smile in return. The rest of the pictures he put back in the paper wrapping, returned them to the drawer and locked it.
*********

Stretching out her body under the covers, Hermione smiled softly at the continued sound of deep breathing emanating from behind her. Severus was always so peaceful in sleep. His warm body was pressed up against hers and the firmness of his morning erection was settled along the groove of her buttocks. Firm, but not yet insistent as its owner was still asleep.

Hermione drew a satisfying long breath and let it out slowly, sinking further under the covers. She knew it was only Thursday morning, and she would have to get up soon for classes, but it was still early. For now she could enjoy the comfort of pre-dawn wool gathering. It was in this time between wakefulness and actually rising that she did her best thinking. Her mind was free to wander where it would. For a moment she reflected on the oddity of her circumstances once more, laying naked in the Potions professor’s bed, on a morning with classes, in the middle of term.

Wednesday afternoon tutorials with Severus had the potential to become exceedingly awkward, but instead added a unique dynamic to their relationship. She usually had the notes and preparatory work done well ahead of time and the afternoon in the Potions classroom was simply to allow her to actually brew the potions she was studying. Severus kept half an eye on her while she worked at her cauldron, but spent most of his time grading papers or preparing lessons and materials for the following day’s classes. They didn’t speak, save for occasional questions, during the several hours they spent in the classroom together. It was only when she was finished her work that words were exchanged. He would test her knowledge and examine the results or her potion while attempting to distract her from answering. It seemed odd to her initially that he would do so, but she smirked now understanding it was something of a secret fantasy to him. Well, hardly secret anymore.

Since their first experience together, Severus had always maintained a quiet sense of restraint about their intimacy. In general he was not bold with his affections. When they made love he was tender and attentive, always mindful of her, but something had changed slightly that day in the Potions classroom. Some part of his self discipline had fallen away, revealing an adventurous side she hadn’t encountered before. That day he had been more confident, even a bit demanding, as he took her on the bed, in the shower and on the table in his dining room. His demeanor had been playful and enthusiastic with a sense of barely contained joy. It had taken her breath away. So rarely did he seem so happy. So rarely was he carefree. So rarely was there a release from his quiet intensity.

It was usual for Hermione to spend most of her school nights in her own room. It helped her concentrate on her classes, but there was something oddly thrilling about sitting through a Charms class after an exhilarating night with Severus. After her tutorials, Severus would indulge himself in more unusual situations even activities she was certain bordered on fantasies, particularly while they were in the Potions classroom itself. She would sometimes grin and blush at the memory of their extra curricular activities. It seemed somehow deliciously naughty to remember what she had been doing a few short hours previously while Flitwick gave them instructions for the class in his usual slightly squeaky voice.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the hand draped about her began slow caresses along her side, the shallower breathing against her neck as he nuzzled her a clear indication he had woken. His voice was slightly guttural from sleep. “Morning beautiful.”

“And just how do you know I am awake?” she inquired, her voice also cracking slightly.

“Because you always wake before I do,” he informed her.

She could feel his smirk against the skin of her neck as he dropped a kiss there. “So you’re telling me you’re lazy in the morning?”

The bed creaked as Severus moved suddenly. In a blur of motion, Hermione found herself pinned beneath him, her squeal of surprise trapped by a hungry kiss. The erection that had been pressed against the groove of her backside was now nudging against her warm folds, showing no obvious signs of laziness. His lips were eagerly exploring her face and nipping at her neck. A chuckle rose in her throat, “Alright, I take it back.”

“Hmm, not what I had in mind, but perhaps another time,” his voice was still low and full of suggestion.

Her eyes went wide. She was fully awake now. “Severus!”

“Your mind isn’t as quick in the morning, is it?” he teased and returned his attention to her neck.

“Quick enough. It’s Thursday. We have classes in a couple hours,” she hissed, trying to wiggle away.

His body restrained her attempts quite effectively. “We won’t be able to take our time about it then.”

Hermione groaned, initially in frustration but then in pleasure, as his hand found its way to her breast, pinching and fondling it. She shifted and opened beneath him, granting him entrance to her heated centre, and hummed. “Good morning.”

He gently rocked into the cradle of her legs and groaned in response to the sensations enveloping him. Hermione pushed back against him, smiling at the expression of contentment on his face. Severus didn’t often indulge in satisfying his early morning desires, but had been more bold about it lately. Hovering above her, his body radiated warmth and a thin film of sweat glistened on his skin. Slowly, rhythmically they moved together building a delicious tension in the early morning quiet. The shift of the bedclothes and small grunts and whimpers of exertion seemed preternaturally loud to Hermione’s ears as Severus strained against her in the dim light of the few candles that were lit. His breathing became heavier and after a few less controlled thrusts he spilled himself into her and lay sated on her breast.

She saw his eyes struggle slightly to open then give up. His voice was still gravelly when he spoke again. “I couldn’t wait. I’ll help you finish in a moment.”

Though a mildly irritating sense of partial satisfaction pervaded her body she couldn’t hold back a small chuckle. “It isn’t important.”

“I beg to differ. You are very important,” his voice rumbled against her chest.

“Yes, but I fear that any more enjoyment this morning will curtail my ability to get up for class. I’m fine, really,” she insisted.

“You should enjoy gratification as well.” Severus marshalled his strength and propped himself up on his arms and looked at her with determination. “I would be remiss to-”

“-let me enjoy some anticipation? It feels good.”

“Does it? But you haven’t-”

“There is more than one way to be satisfied. It isn’t always fireworks for women,” Hermione lowered her lids and felt silly for the blush that was beginning to stain her cheeks.

Severus’ brow furrowed slightly and he shifted off and onto his side facing her. “I would like to think it would be somewhat difficult to feign enjoyment successfully with me.”

“I don’t,” she said looking directly back at him, “but it isn’t always the same. It’s normal.”

He gave her a disbelieving look. “How so?”

Uncertain as to how she could explain, she closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. “Well, just now was more like gentle waves on the seashore than explosive fireworks. Both are nice, but different. I don’t think that it works quite the same for you.”

“Perhaps not. Are you certain that you don’t...” He trailed off.

Hermione noted that he seemed a bit flustered and reached an arm around him. “Yes. We need to get up soon, and I need a shower. Join me?”

His arms snaked around her and he kissed her lips softly. “I believe I shall.”
*********

The first Friday in April, Hermione found herself bombarded by owls in the Great Hall at breakfast. She was seated at the Gryffindor table chatting with Ginny and her face lost most of its colour when six heavy parchment envelopes were deposited beside her plate. Harry looked at her eagerly from across the table and urged her, “Go on, open them.”

“I- I don’t think so. I-I.. I can’t. We have class. Let’s go,” she stammered, gathering up the letters and putting them in her school bag with a shaky hand.

“You haven’t finished your breakfast,” Ginny called after her but Hermione was already halfway out of the hall.

After her Friday afternoon Herbology class, Hermione usually spent what would have been her Potions class in the library working, but today she couldn’t manage it. Instead she had spread the six letters across the coffee table in Severus’ sitting room and alternatively stared at them and paced. She knew they contained responses from the different apprenticeships she had applied for and felt too nervous to open them for fear of what they contained. It was during one of the times she was busy staring at the sealed parchments that Severus returned from his afternoon classes.

“Are they what you anticipated?” he inquired.

“I don’t know.”

“Any thoughts on which you will accept?”

“I don’t know.”

“At least tell me who you have responses from.”

“I-I don’t know.”

Severus furrowed his brow and sat beside her. “Haven’t you opened them?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m too nervous. Part of me really wants to know, but another part is telling me that ignorance is bliss.”

“I doubted such a thought had ever occurred to you,” he chuckled. “Their contents won’t change for you ignoring them. Whatever happened to the legendary Gryffindor bravery hmm?”

“You know very well that I do not have a house,” she retorted, but her voice held a twinge of sadness.

He put an arm around her shoulders. “None of us ever truly loses our house. Those I attended school with still identify their affiliation and I have seen the same in every class that has passed through the school while I have been teaching here. Now go ahead and see what the great minds of Britain have to say to you.”

Quivering both in fear and anticipation she picked up the first letter which she was fairly certain contained a response from Kinnley, one of the Transfigurations Masters. Slowly and methodically she read through each of the letters full of glowing praise and offers of apprenticeships. Kinnley and Savelle for Transfiguration and Harrison, Wymar and Ross for Charms. The last of the six letters she was confident had come from Ms Carter and there was the notable absence of any response from Mr Ashfordly. Hermione took a deep breath looking at the last envelope. “I’m reasonably certain this one is from Carter. I’m disappointed not to even get a rejection letter from Ashfordly.”

Severus shook his head. “Winston is a miserable old codger who will want to make you worry. I would wait at least a couple weeks before despairing about a lack of response from him. If he is sending an acceptance, he will hope you have given up and settled for another and if it is a rejection, he will leave it late with the idea you will get your hopes up when you receive the owl. He delights in tormenting prospective students.”

“Not unlike someone I know,” she commented pointedly.

“Dear Mr Ashfordly makes me appear the soul of compassion himself. True he is the best, but there are many reasons for passing him by. Shall we see what Ms Carter has to say for herself?” he tilted his head towards the sealed letter in her hands.

She nodded, carefully cracking the wax seal and reading the contents. Her features were carefully blank as she scanned the contents of the letter, but one line in particular caught her eye. “What?! A simple no would have sufficed. You don’t have to be a miserable... Oh, of any of them I would have expected...” She trailed off
sniffling.

Cautiously plucking the offensive parchment from her hands, he glanced through the letter mumbling. “Dear Ms Granger... sincerest regrets... excellent academic record... What?! Wasting her time and effort on someone not likely to put her education to use? Shackled to a man instead of embracing knowledge? What is this woman on about?”

Hermione was breathing deeply in an attempt to remain calm. “I shouldn’t be so surprised. I know she has slipped in and out of muggle society helping with woman’s suffrage and the liberation movement, but you would think she had some compassion for what has happened with Act 275. I was a fool for even applying.”

“While she may be a very innovative mind in Charms, she is a hundred if she is a day and set in her ways. It isn’t you. It’s her. All these others,” he gestured to the opened letters on the table, “have looked at your academic record and seen fit to offer you the position you deserve. Jane Carter is losing out because of her stubbornness.”

Fitting herself against his chest, Hermione nodded and continued to take shaky breaths. “I’m just disappointed. I don’t handle failure well.”

He snorted a bit at this. “Five offers of apprenticeship? I should fail more often. I received no offers when I finished school. My Master title was earned through the tutelage of a less than savoury individual when I was young and impressionable. That was part of the reason I took the mark. There was a Potions Master working with the Dark Lord who was willing to take me on. It had very little to do with my own merit. You, however, have Masters clamouring to have you as an apprentice, as I knew you would. You should be proud of yourself.”

“I am, I guess,” she said half heartedly.

Severus hooked one of his long fingers under her chin and lifted her to face him. She wasn’t crying, but her eyes glistened with wetness and her mouth was twisted into a fake smile. “Really. I have five offers. I have to get down to choosing one now. It’s still difficult.”

“Don’t do this, Hermione. You shouldn’t need someone else to tell you. You should know it yourself. You are brilliant,” his lips dropped onto her forehead and rained soft kisses across her brow. When he looked down at her again, her eyes had fluttered shut.

“You are observant,” he breathed against her closed lids and brushed a delicate butterfly kiss on each before trailing down her nose.

“You always speak your mind,” his tongue darted out and traced the inside of her lips, gently running along her teeth before slipping in further and deepening the kiss. Her arms came up around him as she returned the action, exploring with the same delicate softness.

When he broke away, she was breathing somewhat unsteadily and continued to clutch him. His lips moved along her jaw and up her neck until he encountered her ear. He growled in a low voice, “You remember everything you hear and can call upon it at a moment’s notice.”

His teeth nipped her earlobe and held it for a moment before continuing to lightly bite her neck. Hermione made a small squeak of surprise and squirmed beneath him when he pinned her against the soft leather of the sofa.

“And beyond your wonderful mind and engaging personality, you are beautiful,” he whispered against her ear.

She pushed him back shaking her head. “I’m not. Don’t patronize me.”

Ignoring her protests, Severus broke contact long enough to strip her clothing before trapping her beneath him again. His voice was still low, barely a whisper. “I do not patronize anyone be they a first year Hufflepuff, the Minister of Magic or the woman I love. I will not lie to you. I think you are beautiful.”

His lips trailed down her neck and he shifted as he moved down her collarbone towards her breasts. Her nipples had contracted in the cool air of the room and he laved one with his tongue. His breath danced across the wet skin when he spoke again. “You looked so lovely the day I married you. That robe looked superb on you and even though I wouldn’t have wished it, I was not disappointed by the prospect of taking you to bed.”

He moved to the other nipple and gave it the same treatment with his tongue before stroking both breasts with his hands and continuing to voice his thoughts. “You startled me in the shower. I hadn’t expected you to invite me in, but I was pleased when you did. Your wet skin pressed against mine felt wonderful as did your breasts in my hands.”

Fingers slipped down her stomach and traced her bellybutton with delicate touches. Though she was ticklish, his touch was firm enough not to elicit a laughing fit. He followed his fingers with his lips until both encountered the mound of curly hair. She gasped as a single, elegant digit drew circles through the hair. He lowered his mouth to the nest of curls and kissed the top. “You are very lovely. It is wrong to deny it to yourself.”

He drew his tongue along the line of her slick folds before parting them with his fingers and bowing to taste her fully. Hermione’s breath was coming in small pants and each stroke that passed her sensitive bundle of nerves caused her to whimper, gasp and mewl. As he pleasured her, Severus continued to whisper endearments, delighting her soft skin with the feather like caress of his breath. A long finger meandered through her folds before pressing into her wet centre. Her body arched and he placed a hand on her hip to restrain her as his finger continued to move within her. Circling her swollen nub with his tongue, Hermione’s cries became more insistent. “Severus, stop... I... oooh... come here...”

Restraining the urge to chuckle he stopped the ministrations with his mouth long enough to state confidently, “No.”
before resuming his exquisite torture of her pulsing flesh once more. Her hands moved from his hair to the edge of the sofa where her fingers gripped until the knuckles turned white. A thrill of tremors raced through her and she shook against him, gasping and shuddering at the intense sensations gripping her body.

With blood still pounding in her ears, she reached for him to hold her. Lifting her, Severus settled back on the sofa, cradling Hermione against him and running his hands from nape to knee. Hermione leaned against him, speaking softly. “It is very odd not being the stable one anymore.”

“Mmm? Stable one?”

She sighed a little. “I’ve always been the one in control, levelheaded, rational. Goodness knows Harry and Ron needed it. More and more I feel like I’m spinning out of control. I hate being so overemotional and needy. It must be very frustrating to you.”

Severus shook his head. “You are only frustrating to me when you are being stubborn. As for losing control, I think that it is only as you grow older that you realize how little control you ever had.”

“Easy for you who is pushing forty to say,” she teased, feeling her earlier troubles easing away.

“Thirty-eight,” he corrected.

She giggled softly. “My mistake.”

Tightening his grip, Severus kissed the side of her neck and sighed in disappointment. “As much as I enjoy your present attire, Albus said he would be dropping by sometime with your independent research assignment. I handed the others back in class today.”

Hermione squeaked in alarm, collected her robes from the floor and hastily shrugged into them. Poking her head out of the collar she asked, “Were they well done?”

He nodded, “For the most part. There were a couple I gave failing marks to as they clearly copied straight from the more common reference books in the library, but there were also a few surprisingly good efforts.”

“Crabbe and Goyle copied straight from the text?” she guessed.

“Correct. You should be pleased to know that Mr Potter did very well,” he commented.

She smiled while fiddling with her cuffs. “I figured he would. I helped proofread his paper.”

“He should have no difficulty with his application to Auror training. His work this year has been quite satisfactory,” Severus said and pulled Hermione into a tender embrace, “and you shall have your own work cut out for you in the next few years. Regardless of who you choose in the end, an apprenticeship is hard work.”

“You’re right. The others aren’t bad options, just not my first choices. There is nothing wrong with any of them. I suppose I’ll just have to wait until Ashfordly condescends to send me a response then move on from there,” her voice was confident.

He nuzzled her neck. “I love you and I’m very proud of all you have accomplished.”

“Likewise,” she shivered from his touch and pulled him into a loving kiss.
*********