It Happened One Hallow's Eve

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 33 ~ The Punishment

“Punished?” Hermione repeated, staring at the wizard.

Severus, having little experience with women in extended relationships was not aware of that dangerous little squeak in Hermione’s inflection…the little squeak that meant something very, very unpleasant was about to happen.

”Yes punished. If you had managed to get on the grounds, more than likely you would have triggered members of the Order to show themselves before planned, in an effort to protect you. The outcome could have been casualties,” Severus said. “As it is, only one person died. Voldemort.”

“He’s dead?” Hermione asked, a feeling of joy welling up inside her.

”Yes, he’s dead. And your Mr. Potter came through without a scratch…although he’s still a bit disoriented. No doubt Miss Weasley will put him to rights in a short time,” the Potions Master replied, starting to unbutton his robes, his eyes on the silk shirt Hermione was wearing.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief…then her eyes hardened as she looked at the Potions Master calmly undressing as if he didn’t have a worry in the world.

Well he did.

Severus was just sliding his robes down his arms when Hermione pointed the borrowed wand at him.

“Incarcerous!” she cried.

The wand worked fine

Ropes flew out the wand tip and wrapped around the startled wizard, binding his arms and legs to his body tightly.

“What in the world do you think you are doing?” he roared at Hermione, who dropped the wand and caught him as he toppled forward. It was an effort to keep him from hitting the floor but she managed…panting at the wizard’s weight.

“Funny, you don’t feel this heavy when you’re on top of me,” she huffed, dragging the wizard toward the bed, pushing him upright for a moment, then letting him fall face first into the mattress. She picked up the remaining wands on the bed and piled them on the nightstand, then rolled Severus over, managing to get his legs in and shoving him over a bit so there was enough room for her to sit on the edge of the bed.

“You let me go immediately, witch…or I swear by every god spawned by heaven I’ll…” the wizard seethed, struggling to no avail. The ropes tightened more.

“You’ll do nothing,” Hermione said darkly, her amber eyes narrowed in anger. “So stop blustering, Severus.”

Severus was so surprised at the young witch addressing him in such a way, he shut up.

“Good,” Hermione said, frowning down at him. “Now you’re going to listen to me, Severus Snape and listen good. I have a few things to say to you. First, how DARE you imply that I need to be “punished?” Don’t you think being locked in here, not knowing what was going on and what was happening to you and Harry punishment enough? And you took my wand…and I had no clothes. That was a terrible thing to do, Severus.”

The wizard looked at her. He wasn’t thinking about how terrible it would be to Hermione. He was only thinking about keeping her from getting killed.

“I had to protect you, Hermione. The gods only know what could have happened if you charged out into the middle of all that. This was the only way I could think to do it. Harry and I had to protect our own asses. Protecting you would have distracted us to no end,” the wizard said.

Hermione let a bit of the anger creep out of her voice.

“Severus, I know what your intentions were…but you treated me as if I were a child. I am eighteen years old. An adult. If I am old enough to fuck you, I’m old enough to fight beside you,” she said evenly. “You didn’t even give me a choice in the matter.”

Severus scowled.

“A choice? Hermione, would you even have asked me to let you fight?” he asked the witch.

Hermione hesitated. No, she wouldn’t have asked him because she knew he would have said no.

“That doesn’t matter. The fact is, you just arbitrarily locked me in here to wait to see if the wards dropped and you died. Now you want to “punish” me for trying to get out?” she said to him. “Listen Severus…I’m young but I refuse to have you acting as both a father and a lover. If you want to be my father, then we need to break this off right now. I love you, but I refuse to let you drive me insane by controlling every aspect of my life. I am a woman, not a child…and if we are going to get on…you’re going to have to treat me like an equal. That means not locking me in a room every time you want to do something without me and talking to me about things that concern you. I love you, Severus. I have a right to have a say in what you do when the results can be devastating and you can be taken from me.”

Severus blinked up at Hermione. She did have a point. He did treat her like a child outside of the bedroom. He didn’t mean to do it, but she was so young, and he was so protective. He would rather lay down his own life a thousand times than to have one chestnut hair on her head harmed. Plus, he never had to think about what his actions would mean to someone else. He had always been alone, and didn’t have anyone who cared for him the way Hermione did. He always made his decisions based on the fact it was “his” life, to risk if he wanted to.

Now, it wasn’t that way anymore.

Whatever he did would affect Hermione too, and later on…his family if the witch accepted him for a husband. The Potions Master was entering an entirely new facet of life. One he was completely unfamiliar with.

The wizard sighed. Hermione wasn’t the only one who had to grow up. How had he ever thought he could accomplish his goals of happiness without changing? Without sacrificing? Without becoming more than who and what he was? He was part of two lives now, and no longer a lone soldier fighting the forces of darkness. He had to adapt if he wanted to fulfill his dreams. Reality still dictated.

Severus looked at the witch, swallowed and said, “I’m sorry, Hermione. There is so much I have to learn about you, about us. About what it means to be involved with another person’s life. I wish there was some course or lesson plan to guide me. I didn’t think about how you felt…only about my own wishes. For this, I apologize.”

Severus meant this sincerely.

Hermione’s eyes softened as she listened to the hardest man she had ever known in her life apologize for being so thoughtless. This had to be another first for the wizard. And it was a good one. She placed a cool palm on the bound wizard’s cheek.

“I don’t think there are any lesson plans, Severus. There are books about starting and keeping relationships…but as much a bookworm as I am, even I wouldn’t read them. It’s different for everyone I think. We’ll just have to learn as we go…and both be willing to make the necessary choices and concessions in order for it to work. Severus, you are going to have to show me the respect I deserve as an adult, and the consideration I deserve as your witch. I don’t mind your advice…you do have more experience with the world than I do, but I have more experience getting along with other people than you do. So we can help each other,” she said softly.

The wizard nodded. No wonder Hermione had tied him up. He wouldn’t have listened to this if she hadn’t. Hermione stared down at him.

“Now, about this punishment…” she began.

Severus shook his head.

“After due consideration, I don’t believe “punishment” is in order,” he said to the witch, expecting her to accept his change of heart and let him loose.

Hermione stared at him.

“Not for me, at least,” she said evenly.

Severus looked confused.

“What? What do you mean?” he asked the witch, a cold feeling starting to spread through his belly.

Hermione stood up and started pacing, the wizard’s dark eyes following her as best they could as the witch walked in and out of his line of vision.

“You would never respect me if I just let you get away with locking me in here the way you did,” she said thoughtfully.

“But I would respect you. Very much. For being a kind and forgiving witch,” the Potions Master replied. “For adhering to your Gryffindor upbringing.”

Hermione stopped pacing and looked at him.

“I’m afraid after dealing with you, Severus, my Gryffindor upbringing has been severely compromised. Thanks to you, I’ve quite a bit of Slytherin in me now,” she said with a little wicked smile. “And I think it only fair that you be punished for your treatment of me. Now, if you don’t agree, I can just 'go away' for a while until you do.”

Severus scowled at the witch. Was she…blackmailing him?

“This is extortion,” he seethed. He was free now. He wanted Hermione accessible to him. This was the worst time for her to make herself scarce.

“Yes, it is,” Hermione agreed, that same little smile on her face. But her chin was also thrust out, which meant she meant business. She’d walk out on him. “Now, do you agree to submit yourself to my punishment, or do I leave now?”

Severus continued to scowl at her.

“Fine. I will submit…this once. Only because my actions against you were so grievous,” the wizard snarked bad-naturedly. Hermione had him right by the balls…literally.

There was a swirl of magic in the air, and Hermione looked at him triumphantly.

“Damn it,” Severus hissed as the wizard’s Oath took hold. He hadn’t meant for that to happen. Now he was bound to take whatever the witch dished out without complaint.

Hermione pointed the wand at Severus.

“Libertius,” she said, and the ropes flew back into her wand. Severus sat up scowling, rubbing at his arms to get the circulation going again. Then he looked at the witch.

“Now what?” he groused, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and frowning at the witch.

“First things first,” Hermione replied lightly. She was going to enjoy having the wizard at her mercy. “Where’s my wand?”

”In the study,” Severus replied.

“Retrieve it for me,” she ordered.

His nostrils flared, Severus stood up, stalked over to the bedroom door, pulled it open and stormed through. This was fine treatment for a wizard who just helped bring down Voldemort.

He returned with the wand and held it out to Hermione, who took it from him with a smile.

“And now?” Severus asked her.

“Sit down and let me think of something fitting,” the witch replied.

Severus walked back over to the bed and plopped down on it, hoping at least some aspect of the “punishment” would require him to take his clothes off.

Hermione walked back and forth, looking thoughtful…stopping now and again to look at Severus for a moment, then shaking her head and pacing again.

This went on for about ten minutes, Severus’ arms tightly folded across his chest, a scowl plastered on his face as his nostrils pulsated impatiently. He wanted to tell the witch to hurry up and found he couldn’t. It seemed the Oath considered waiting part of the punishment.

Suddenly Hermione stopped, then she began to laugh. And it was a true witch’s laugh, her cackling making the hair on the back of Severus’ neck stand up. What had the witch come up with?

Hermione turned and looked at him.

“All right, Severus. This is just the preliminary warm-up punishment,” she said, drawing her wand and making several flicks with it toward the center of the bedroom. She smiled wickedly and turned to Severus, who was practically red with rage. But he couldn’t say anything as he looked at what the witch had conjured.

There, floating about a foot off the floor, stood several large silver hoops, equally spaced.

Hermione grinned at him.

“Go stand in front of the first hoop,” she said, giggling as the dark wizard rose and stalked over to the first large ring.

“I think you know what to do…several times,” Hermione said, sitting down on the bed and getting comfortable.

Severus looked at her as if he wanted to wring her neck. Hermione chuckled and made a number of jumping motions with her wand, which seemed to irritate the wizard even more.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

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A/N: Lolololol. I just had to bring it to life. Hermione’s going to make the wizard jump through hoops for her. Too funny! Well, Severus learned Hermione was not the little cream puff he thought she was. She’s right. She doesn’t need a father. Severus is realizing there is more to having a relationship than he thought. He’s going to have to change. Being nice to Hermione isn’t enough. He has to prove himself. There will be lemons next chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one. Thanks.