Twice Bitten ~ COMPLETED

Chapter 38 ~ A Moment of Clarity

Snape awoke in the middle of the night, Hermione tucked against him tightly, sleeping soundly. Apparently, he had stopped snoring long enough for her to fall asleep. Not that he knew he snored.

The wizard carefully slid his arms from around the sleeping witch, reached under his pillow, extracted his wand and climbed over the witch. Nature called, but he was still wary as he stepped away from the bed. It was quiet except for Hermione’s breathing, but he had an ominous feeling as he walked toward the bathroom.

Then he heard it, a slight creak. The wizard spun toward the bed.

”Protego!’ he cried, casting a shield around Hermione just before the iron-wood supported canopy and all four posts crashed down on the sleeping witch with terrible force. His heart pounding, Snape ran over to the bed and pulled the splintered wood away, a terrified Hermione safe beneath them. He pulled her out of the bed and pushed her behind him, staring at the wood.

”I should have thought about this,” the wizard said thoughtfully as Hermione trembled behind him. Snape looked at her.

”Are you all right?” he asked the witch.

Hermione blinked at him.

”Considering I was almost killed by a bed, yes,” she replied in a small voice.

”Apparently, the demon can’t work his wiles when someone else can be injured. It waited for me to leave the bed before it acted,” Snape said. Then he pointed his wand at the broken bed and cleared all the wood away.

“Wait here. Don’t move a muscle,” the wizard said, striding into the bathroom and using the loo. Hermione listened to the long, powerful stream, trying not to imagine the wizard standing there, nightshirt lifted and pointing his big tool at the bowl. Of course that brought the image directly to mind.

The bowl flushed and Snape returned.

”Get back into bed,” he said to her.

Hermione hesitated.

“There’s nothing to hurt you, now get back in,” Snape urged her, pushing the small of her back gently.

Hermione did so, followed by the dark wizard, who once again put his wand under the pillow, then curled around her protectively. He could feel her heart still racing.

“It’s going to be all right. During class tomorrow you will be doing more research,” Snape said, “I’m sure we’ll find some way to thwart the demon. Now try to sleep.”

Hermione lay there a second, then said, “I’d sleep a lot better if you didn’t snore so loud.”

Snape’s head popped up.

“What? I don’t snore,” he snarked.

”I wish there were another word to describe what it is you do. ‘Snore’ just doesn’t cover it. It sounds more like a tribe of giants roaring than snoring. It’s horrible,” the witch complained.

”Maybe I should give you something that will make you sleep more soundly,” the wizard said in a slightly threatening voice. “And I don’t mean a potion.”

He tightened his grip on Hermione for a moment, the witch stiffening. Then he relaxed. Maybe if it were earlier he might have shagged the witch, but she had to get up early for class, and it wouldn’t do for her to have bags under her eyes, particularly with Minerva already with her knickers in a wad.

“I’m going to cast a Silencing Spell around you,” the wizard said, pulling his wand out. “But if you need to get up, wake me.”

”All right,” Hermione said, relaxing as Snape cast the spell.

Ah, peace.

Hermione snuggled against Snape, then drifted off to sleep, aided no doubt by the excitement of almost being crushed to death. Snape lay there for a bit, then followed her to dreamland.

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Early the next morning both Snape and Hermione were awakened by a shrill voice calling from the study.

”Severus Snape! Why is your floo warded?” Minerva McGonagall demanded. She had tried to enter his study to see how the night went for he and Hermione.

“Oh dear Merlin,” Snape groaned, releasing Hermione and climbing out of the bed, wand in hand. He pulled on his house robe and slipped on his slippers, looking at the clock. Gods, it was six-thirty. They could have gotten another half hour’s sleep. Hermione blinked up at him sleepily.

”Get up,” Snape said to her, but Hermione didn’t respond. Snape realized she couldn’t hear him and removed the Silencing Spell.

”Severus Snape! Get out here!” Minerva demanded angrily.

“Why is she yelling like that?” Hermione asked, sitting up on the edge of the bed and rubbing her eyes like a child.

“She wanted to ‘catch me in the act’ no doubt,” the wizard replied. “Come, let me show her you are all in one piece, virtue relatively intact.”

Hermione and Snape walked into the room. In the fireplace was Minerva’s scowling visage. She looked from one to the other.

”Why did you ward your floo?” she demanded of the wizard.

”Privacy for one. And to cut off means of possible entry. I am supposed to be protecting Miss Granger, Headmistress. I can’t very well do that if I allow access to these rooms while we sleep,” he replied evenly as Hermione scowled at the Headmistress.

Minerva’s lips drew into a thin line for a moment, then she looked at Hermione.

”How did your night go?” she asked her, her eyes darting at Snape for a moment.

”It went fine until I was awakened early,” Hermione replied, irritation clearly in her voice.

Minerva had the grace to look a little taken aback by the witch’s statement. Then she looked at Severus again.

”Where there any attempts on Hermione?” she asked him.

”Two,” the wizard replied, but as you can see, she survived.”

Minerva’s eyes shifted back to Hermione for a moment, then she said, “You will be coming to breakfast?”

Snape sighed inwardly. He had already explained this to the witch.

”No, we will not. We will dine here then go directly to my classroom. I will have a student deliver her finished assignments to the appropriate classes. The less we move about the castle, the better,” Snape said tightly.

Minerva looked miffed about this, then said, “Please leave us so I may speak to Hermione alone, Professor.”

Snape left without a word.

Minerva looked at Hermione with a piercing gaze.

”Did the Professor conduct himself appropriately, Miss Granger? Do you have complaints? Any at all?” Minerva pressed her.

”He was fine. He protected me. I could have been killed twice. Do you have to be so hard on him? Really, you’re acting like he’s a danger, Headmistress,” Hermione said to her former Head of House.

“Considering he is responsible for your current state, Hermione . . . he is dangerous,” the Headmistress responded. “I only hope he can come up with a solution to your dilemma quickly. It makes me uncomfortable that you are domiciled with him.”

”It would be even more uncomfortable for me if I weren’t, being that I’d most likely be dead,” Hermione replied evenly. “Right now, the only one causing me distress, Headmistress is you. Please stop treating Professor Snape this way. I can’t stand it. It’s not his fault this happened. It really isn’t. I feel horrible every time you talk to him the way you do. Like he’s a child you’re chastising. It’s demeaning.”

Minerva blinked at Hermione. Albus used to always say her tongue worked faster than her brain and was always telling her to curb her tongue. But she was so angry at Severus and the entire situation. Still, if it was negatively affecting Hermione . . .

”Very well. I’ll hold my tongue for your sake, Hermione. But I still want to know how you are being treated and what progress is being made,” the witch said.

Hermione nodded.

”Thank you, Headmistress. We’ll keep you informed,” the young witch promised.

“I may drop in on you in Potions class,” Minerva said to the witch, “just to see how you’re doing.”

”That’s fine,” Hermione replied, smiling now.

”Carry on,” Minerva said, disappearing from the fireplace.

Hermione let out a sigh and walked back to the bedroom. Snape was standing just inside the door, his black eyes resting on her.

”Thank you,” he said shortly.

Hermione looked at him uncomprehending.

”For getting the dragon off my back,” he added, shifting his eyes toward the study for a moment before returning them to Hermione.

“She was making me crazy,” Hermione replied. “I just had to tell her to stop it.”

”And it’s appreciated. Now, since we are up, we need to prepare for our day. You shower first,” the wizard said, indicating the bathroom.

Hermione gathered together her clothing then walked into the bathroom. She pulled her nightgown over her head, then gasped as she saw Snape leaning against the vanity, his dark eyes on her body. She was only wearing knickers. Hermione instinctively covered her breasts.

“I am only keeping watch,” the wizard purred, his dark eyes glinting as he looked at the witch. “And it makes no sense to hide what I’ve already seen . . . more than seen in fact.”

Hermione stared at him for a moment, then slowly lowered her arms. Snape’s eyes washed over her again, pausing at the juncture of her thighs.

”Go shower,” he said, his voice a bit raw.

Turning away from him, Hermione removed her knickers and turned on the shower spigot, mixing the water, then entering. There was no door so she had to wash with Snape watching her.

And watch her he did, swallowing from time to time as the memories of taking her came back in full force. He watched as she soaped her body, the water washing the lather between her breasts, down her curves, Hermione standing in constant profile, coloring as she bathed her intimate parts. She shut off the water and Snape held the towel for her as she exited, enfolding her in it and stepping away so she could dry herself and dress.

Hermione couldn’t help but notice that his housecoat was extremely tented, but the wizard made no move toward her.

She was slightly disappointed, but they did have to eat and get ready for class. Snape disrobed as she was dressing, and Hermione averted her eyes as he strode past her and entered the shower, turning on the cold water and dipping his head underneath the freezing blast. He stood there, letting the spray cool his ardor. Hermione exited the bathroom and sat on the bed to wait for him.

Presently he emerged, only a towel wrapped around his loins and Hermione dropped her eyes as he walked over to the wardrobe and dresser, collecting his clothing and dressing. She lifted them when he approached her.

”Ready for breakfast?” he asked her, his eyes glittering.

”Yes,” she said, aware of how hoarse her voice was.

Snape was very aware of it as well.

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Throughout the day, Snape’s students cast curious looks at Hermione, who was sitting next to Snape’s desk at a table of her own, leafing through books. Word had gotten around that the Professor was protecting her from a demon, and she was staying in his rooms. Of course, all kinds of nasty rumors were circulating about, Draco Malfoy sneering at her as Snape gave a lecture, but Hermione not noticing at all.

She had no time for Draco or any gossiping students.

She had found something. Or, it could be something. As Hermione read through the instructions, she knew Professor Snape would not willingly participate in it, particularly since it required Hermione to take a very dangerous risk afterwards. She’d have to do it on her own, without the wizard knowing. After she had completed the spell, then she would work on the next step. Snape would be livid, but it was the only possibility she saw short of killing someone and giving the demon his or her soul. That was not acceptable.

Hermione colored as she read what she needed to make the spell complete. Well, it wasn’t as if she weren’t willing to collect it. Snape watching her bathe caused a very physical reaction in her. She had half-hoped he would throw discipline to the wind and enter the shower with her, but he didn’t. But that cold shower he took afterwards spoke volumes.

Hermione closed the book and looked at the lecturing wizard thoughtfully. If she wanted to see this through, then . . . tonight she had to break the wizard’s resolve.

They had to be intimate.

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That evening, Hermione completed her assignments as usual, Snape working on marking class papers. They sat in companionable silence as they went about their work, then once again began poring through the books, Snape completely unaware Hermione had already worked out what had to be done and was withholding it from him.

They ate dinner, then once again retired to bed, Snape wrapping around the witch protectively, noticing that she didn’t wear the granny gown to bed this time, but a knee-length cotton white nightie. He didn’t comment on it, figuring the witch may have felt rather warm in the heavy gown. He didn’t even think she had ulterior motives, though a few impure thoughts drifted through his mind as she entered the bed.

Snape pushed them away.

They lay there together in silence for a few minutes, neither moving as Hermione gathered her courage. Finally she spoke.

”Severus?” she said softly, using the wizard’s given name.

”Yes?” he murmured, feeling sleep drifting down on him.

”I’m not wearing any knickers," she breathed, turning in his arms.

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A/N: lol. Thanks for reading.