#1 ~ What Was I Thinking? ~ Part 1

Disclaimer: All JK's world. I'm just a visitor warping it a bit.


Chapter 5 ~ A Meeting of the Minds

Hermione was lost in thought as she stormed through the empty hallways of the castle, making a beeline for the library. What the hell happened in the Great Hall today? Usually she took Ron’s ridiculous outbursts about her love of study in stride.

Her brow furrowed as she considered. “It’s this blasted hormone thing. That’s what it is. I was out of sorts, angry, frustrated and looking for release. I guess I got it, but at Ron’s expense.”

She shrugged.

“I know it was embarrassing for him to get dressed down in front of the whole school, but he’s had it coming for a long time. He’ll get over it. It might take a little while but at least I’ll have some peace in the meantime. I’ll apologize to the Headmaster and staff later on today at supper.

Suddenly she slammed into something hard enfolded in something soft. She staggered back, and slowly lifted her eyes to meet the hard scowl of the Potions Master. He stood there, arms folded, as his black eyes raked over her. She felt light-headed for a moment as a sensation curiously like melting hit her midsection. She wobbled a bit, then drew in a slow calming breath, hoping he hadn’t noticed her reaction to his slow perusal. Gods, she wanted him.

“Miss Granger,” he said with a purr, dragging the silk of his voice over each word uttered. “Do you make it a habit of blindly traversing corridors where unsuspecting yet fully aware individuals travel with a modicum of regard for others, not expecting to have a collision with anyone, much less you?”

“No sir. Sorry sir.”

“Yes. I imagine you are,” he said with a bit of an edge. “And where, pray tell, were you barreling off to before you were…momentarily indisposed?”

“The library, sir. To do a bit of research,” Hermione answered, dropping her head to keep from looking into those captivating eyes. She swallowed reflexively.

Severus drummed his fingers on one forearm.

“Ah yes, the library. The place that you believe holds all the answers to the things that baffle you.”

“Well sir,” Hermione said, her voice gathering strength as she met his gaze again. “Maybe not all the answers, but enough information so that I can figure out the rest on my own.”

“Yes. I see. Relying on that great, know-it-all Gryffindor brain of yours to divine the truth behind all mysteries, great and small,” the Potions Master sneered.

Affronted, Hermione shot back, “This “know-it-all” brain as you so ineptly put it, has served me pretty well these past seven years. There is no problem that logic and intelligence cannot work out, given enough information and time.”

“Really now?” said the Professor with a sardonic smirk. “So tell me, how does that great brain of yours wrap itself around the idea that you want me pumping and panting under those robes of yours?”

Hermione’s heart almost stopped with shock. He knew. Oh gods, he knew! Color flushed up from the neck of her robes, bathing her entire head in a shade of red that would make even the Weasleys envious.

“I don’t know what…” she began weakly, trying to shield herself from his knowing eyes with a big, fat dollop of denial. He cut her off.

“Don’t look so shocked, Miss Granger. I am a grown wizard. Do you really think that I don’t know when a woman wants me to bed her? Save your lies, Miss Granger. They are wasted on me. Besides, I didn’t say I wasn’t…shall we say… intrigued by the idea. There aren’t many eighteen year old virgins queuing up to offer me their ripe little cherries, after all.”

Hermione felt faint. The corridor began to spin wildly as the floor flew at her face. Suddenly she felt a strong grip on her forearm, jerking her upright before she collided with the rushing stone. Severus gathered her up and pressed his cheek against hers firmly, his sable voice warm on her earlobe.

“Oh no you don’t, Miss Granger," he purred. "You won’t wriggle your way out of this situation by fainting.”

Severus pulled his wand out of his left robe pocket and pointed it directly between the dazed witch's eyes.

“Ennervate!”

Hermione’s head cleared and she found her footing. The Potions Master looked at her intently, black eyes scanning her face for any sign of continued weakness.

“Better?” he asked, not unkindly.

“Er…yes. Yes, I think so,” Hermione said with a hint of embarrassment. “Thank you.”

“I believe you will, Hermione. Quite vocally, in fact."

The Potions Master's face seemed to lose a bit of its harshness. Not much, but it was a decidely less dour look than Hermione was accustomed to.

"May I call you Hermione? We are both adults here, and with your pending graduation so close, I see no reason not to use our given names…in private settings, of course..”

Hermione nodded, flushing again at his thinly veiled confidence of their approaching intimacy.

Severus cocked his head as he appraised the succulent young witch before him. “Hmm. Lioness got your tongue?”

Hermione started at the clear reference to her dream. How much did this desirable, aloof man know about her? About her longings, her deepest desires, her needs?

“I know more than you’d ever dream I know,” he responded, his hand dropping from her arm belatedly. The hard set of his features returned as his eyes took on an almost predatory gleam. He seemed to be scrying into her very soul.

“Remember, I am an accomplished Legilimens as well as an Occulmens, “ he explained patiently, as if to a two-year old. It rankled Hermione. Severus grinned inwardly as he noted the mutinous gleam in her eyes. Naturally, he continued in the same vein.

“It is through these abilities I’ve managed to stay alive so long. Being the consummate Slythern, I am not hesitant to use my skills when it pleases me…and in your case, it pleases me very much to delve into your lusty little mind.”

His voice took on the low, sensual timbre of a man waking his exhausted partner for another round of pleasure.

“You have no idea how stimulating your fantasies can be.”

Hermione felt a wild urge to flee from this man, and from the confused, jumble of sensations he caused to rise inside her. Being this near to him, knowing all she attempted to hide was so open to him, was sheer torment. He was possessing her without laying a single finger on her.

“Don’t!” He hissed commandingly. “Don’t run from me, when I have all the answers you seek. Where’s that annoying Gryffindor courage when you need it?” he mocked.

The young witch corralled the fleeing vestiges of her courage and answered hotly, “I’m…not…running”

Severus felt a flicker of admiration as Hermione found her nerve and addressed him with quite a bit of fire. Nicely done, Lioness.

“Hermione, there are many things I wish to say to you, intimate things that I would prefer not be said in the open air, where others may hear them, or divine them later. Though sometimes cruel and thoughtless, I have never been anything other than forthright with you in situations requiring honesty in all the seven years you’ve attended this school. Do you realize that?”

Hermione considered. Over the years, when other teachers would coddle and hide things from her and her friends “for their own good,” it had been Professor Snape…no…Severus, who would tell the them the truth, no matter how unwelcome or unpleasant it was. In some ways, he was more trustworthy than the Headmaster himself.

“Yes. Yes I do realize that…Severus,” she replied softly, hesitating on the unfamiliar but enticing sound of his given name on her tongue. “You have been the most honest and forthcoming member of all the faculty in Hogwarts.”

“That is because I do not believe ignorance is bliss…even in children. But I digress.”

The Potions Master took a step closer to Hermione, a dark fire smoldering in his eyes. She wanted to be consumed by it, to be burned alive by it, and left as nothing but quivering ash. Her eyes dropped to his mouth and she unconsciously stepped closer, aware of his now hooded eyes, and the heat of his body radiating from beneath the severe black robes. She felt him waver, then withdraw from her proximity. Disappointment washed over her.

“Hermione, I need you to trust me now. If you are ever going to be freed of your desire, I need to share what I know of you, and what to expect from me. An understanding must be reached before we take this any farther. I must perform a spell which will cause our minds to merge so we can hold a truly private dialogue. Some say all the walls of Hogwarts have ears. After my dealings with Albus, I don’t doubt the truth of that statement. But in this way, Hermione, I can offer a great protection if anyone attempts to use Legilimency to discover what we have divulged to each other. I can allow you to keep a ghost of the memory, while I retain the actual remembrance. No one will be able to discern or extract what you remember. Will you do it? Will you have a meeting of the minds with me, Gryffindor?

His tone was that of a challenge. No self-respecting Gryffindor could back down from that, especially when issued by a Slytherin. No matter how sexy.

“Yes. I’ll do it. I want to know …” she began.

“Sssh,” Severus intoned softly as one of his hands lightly caressed her brow, fairly crackling with electricity, and gently lowered her eyelids with two fingers. The skin where his deft fingers made contact still burned. Her breath caught in her chest as he spoke the incantation, waving his wand in an intricate pattern that was far from silly.

After a short interlude of disorientation, Hermione found herself walking through a dense gray fog. It was cooling on her skin, but not damp like normal condensation. As she walked she noticed a slight trail effect, an overlap of her movements that produced a visual stutter similar to a weak acid trip.

Where am I? she asked the swirling mist before her.

Here. With me. In the infinitely small space that separates soul from mind. Severus answered, his voice sounding slightly hollow.

Where are you?

Here. In front of you.

Severus appeared out of the boiling mist, standing in front of her, a mere handbreath apart. His eyes were deeper than she ever remembered. Luminous dark pools that seemed to hold all secrets, all wisdom. He looked down at her, his face impassive. Without formalities, he launched into their dialogue. Most of his words were stunted. Direct. Without frills but burning with conviction. So were her responses.


You have not been sleeping.

No.

You have been dreaming.

Yes.

You have been fantasizing.

Yes.

In my class.

Yes.

In your bedroom.

Yes.

In many inappropriate places, at inappropriate times.

Yes.

I saw you touch yourself.

*Silence*

You were beautiful.

*Silence*

You want my mouth. My hands. My cock. Why?

I don’t know.

I think you do.

I don’t know.

You want to know about me. How deep I go. What it is like to be with a man like me.

Yes.

Because I am dangerous. Intense. Untouchable. Clinical. Exacting. Merciless. This appeals to you.

No.

You should have been sorted into Slytherin. Conquest is all you desire.

No.

You want me because you need, and will always need to discover what no one else has realized. To throw light on the Mystery. To be the first.

*Silence*

You think to dissect me.

No.

You want my strength. My ardor. More, you want my weakness. Revenge is there.

No.

Yes. Revenge for all the years I’ve brutalized and shamed you, while I’ve taught you amazing things.

No.

You want me to continue this humiliation, if it will slake your thirst. You hunger for the physical rather than cerebral now. You want my tried and true method of education because it is familiar. Because, despite the pain, it works.

*silence*

There is more. You want me to need you, to require something of you that can only come from you.

Yes… No… I don’t know.

You try to make your lust more noble by deluding yourself that you will be my reward. My reward for all the pain and ingratitude I’ve suffered at the hands of those I protect. In other words, you wish to be a martyr, but live. So selfish. How much more Slytherin can you be, Gryffindor?

No. That isn’t true. This is not a need for martyrdom.

I am not concerned with your conception of truth, Hermione… and if you are honest neither are you. Truth does not make you run your hot little fingers over your twat as you picture me driving into you. Truth is the farthest thing from your randy little mind. But don’t be ashamed. That very same image arouses me as well, so you will be martyred. Your innocence totally slain. I am too selfish, too much a slave to my own dark needs to be noble, to send you away safe and intact. Innocent. Pristine. You will be my reward.

*silence*

But I have something to offer in exchange. Something you will not find in books, or definable within the boundaries of intellect or reason. You can read about it, theorize but never know the truth of it until it is experienced. You are intelligent enough to have realized this…

Yes.

You do not know how to relinquish power. You tried by stepping back, by allowing others to make decisions and struggle with answers you feel you know. But this is not your heart. It is a farce, a falsehood, and it galls you that you are forced to fall back, that you are not the commendable, sincere Gryffindor you claim to be. Just once you would like to know what it is to fully trust. What bolder act than to trust the one most distrusted in the wizarding world with what you hold most sacred? Your body. Your innocence. Your good name.

*Silence*

So, I have decided I am going to fuck you, Hermione. I am going to fuck you until you no longer know who or what you are. Because you want it. Not me. It. Do not confuse this. I will show you answers even as your body forms more questions. Consider it a crash course in surrender. A thorough dissertation in submission and release. Be assured that this education will not take seven years.

When? When will you show me?

Patience.

When? I can’t stand this emptiness.

Soon. Very soon.

Will you be gentle?

No.

And then?

And then…nothing. Do you understand?

*Silence*

Do you understand, Hermione?

Yes.

Then it is settled. I will come for you. Expect me.


***********************************

Serverus murmured the words necessary to break the connection. Hermione’s image squashed horizontally to a thin line, then collapsed vertically, was gone. His consciousness returned to its proper place in the space/time continuum. With a flick of his wand, he released Hermione from the charm and deposited it in his robe pocket. It simply would not do for any of his students to see him brandishing it, as much as he declared to despise wand-waving.

Hermione’s eyes were still closed, but her body quivered with desire. If he wanted, he could take her right now, lead her to some dark, cool niche and fuck her up against the wall like a madman. He swallowed visibly as her amber eyes flew open, liquid with need, cursing himself for such a luscious but unseemly notion.

Hermione gasped softly as she took in the lust-filled face of her Potions Master. The mount of his adam's apple bobbed up and down the pillar of his neck, and she longed to latch her mouth onto his throat, and feel it working convulsively under her tongue.

Caught by surprise, Severus quickly screwed his face back to its usual dark and scowling demeanor.

Hermione wasn't fooled. A second gasp escaped her lips as she became aware the delicious tickle below her belly, like sensation of fireflies fluttering inside her. The throbbing ache between her thighs was unbearable. She needed relief. Now. She didn’t care what he did, or who saw it. She moved to close the gap between them, only to be stopped by Severus’ strong grip on her shoulders.

“Please…” she breathed as the touch of his hands burned through the fabric of her robes. “Kiss me, touch me, feel me up… do something, Profess...Severus. I can’t stand feeling this way. Please.”

Hermione was so aroused she was feverish. She grasped his wrists and attempted to pull his arms down, so his hands would slide across her tingling breasts. He resisted as she thrust her hips and open mouth forward to make contact anyplace she could.

“No…no, Hermione,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “Not now, woman. Not now!”

Her passionate, tortured pleas had his cock hard, throbbing and fully extended. The tensile strength of his erection lifted his robes noticably, pointing like a compass needle towards the damp seat of her need. His shaft actually smoldered for want of contact, and he could feel hot blood rushing through the delicate veins of his organ to pool at the tip, swelling the thick purple head. He would have a horrible case of blue balls if this kept up, and he wasn’t sure if he had any deflating draughts handy in his supply stores. He would hate to ask Pomphrey.

In addition, Severus could smell the savory aroma of her juices. Her panties had to be dripping wet, her readiness flowing thick as honey in the crotch. Gods, he wanted to taste her. But he didn’t dare dip a single longing finger into that honey-pot. It would bring her over the edge, and now was not the time for her to scream a release that would echo from one end of the school to the other. It was bad enough the air was ripe with the scent of her arousal.

Severus groaned, desperate to escape as he wrestled with the young witch. She was strong, almost incoherent with desire. Twisting her left hand down, he was able to reach into his right robe pocket and extract his wand. With difficulty, he angled the tip awkwardly towards her ribcage and breathed a charm.

“Petrificus Totalus!”

Hermione’s arms and legs snapped together in a full body-bind. Her lips were compressed tightly and only her eyes could move or express emotion. And express they did, filled with hurt and disappointment, and a touch of madness. Severus almost slumped with relief as he carefully swung her around and leaned her back against the wall like a piece of deadwood.

“My apologies, Miss Granger…but there was nothing else I could do…” here Severus paused as he slid flush against her bound body, crushing her breasts against his chest as his huge erection pressed hot and pulsing into her abdomen. Nuzzling her neck, he pointed at a nearby window that looked out over the grounds toward the Forbidden Forest and whispered succinctly...

“…other than bend you over that sill and fuck you senseless before I originally planned. And I prefer to stick to my plans, Miss Granger. Especially my "best laid" ones.”

Hermione’s eyes blinked back tears as she looked at him pleadingly.

Severus suckled her throat for a moment, relishing the salty/sweet flavor of her clean perspiration. Abruptly he pulled away, and performed a freshening charm to dispel the scent of her overzealousness. He rearranged his robes as best he could while sporting a stubborn and noticable erection that refused to concede defeat. He turned to Hermione. She still had desperation in her eyes. She'd head straight for his dungeons at this rate, rules and observers be damned. He never dreamed Hermione would be so aggressive. Fucking her was going to be a signature moment. He could probably look forward to a very rough and lusty struggle for dominance. Oh yes.

Severus licked his lips as this delicious thought added even more weight to the monster jutting out from under his robes. "Down, boy," he thought as he discreetly but ineffectively pressed down on the tented fabric in a vain attempt to smooth it to normalcy. It didn't work. His cock popped right back up in full-masted glory.

Hermione watched his feeble ministrations with glistening eyes, eyes that looked uncomfortably triumphant. Severus dropped his head and sighed.

He had to make sure she would keep herself under control when released. Establish some boundary that she wouldn't overstep. Ah, yes. The threat of imposing a penalty that would negatively affect other students, coupled with a callous and abrupt dismissal. That should hold her off for a while. Severus drew in a deep breath before addressing her.

“This spell will wear off in a few minutes. I’ll be taking my leave of you now, Miss Granger. I warn you, if I find you sniffing around the dungeons at any time this weekend, I will deduct so many points from Gryffindor, that it will take years to restore them. I hope you understand this, Miss Granger. I do not make idle threats, even to the witch I plan to ravish. Let’s not test my mettle, hmm?”

And with that final acerbic statement, Severus departed the corridor without a single glance back, his stubburn erection bobbing sullenly along beneath the swirl of robes.

Hermione waited patiently for the body bind spell to wear off. Her need for the Professor had not cooled at all, but didn’t want to test the infuriating man. She sighed inwardly, and knew it would be a long afternoon spent locked in her room alternating between dream research, cold showers and desperate attempts at release. She hoped her fingers wouldn’t cramp up this time.


************************************

A/N: Firstly I would like to thank Shiv5468 for pointing out to me that I was spelling Hermione’s name incorrectly. I’ve always had trouble with the “I before E” rule, and I guess this comes in a close second. Maybe I suffer from a selective form of dyslexia that only affects the names of Rowlings characters. I don’t know. Anyway I corrected that error in this chapter, and will eventually go back and fix the others. I hope you liked this chapter and didn’t find the mind dialogue too difficult to follow. I started to put S: or H: before each statement or response, but since it pretty much went back and forth, I thought it might work as is. Let me know. Once again, thank you all for reading, and I offer a special nod of appreciation to those taking time from their reading to review. It is ink for the quill. I think there are only a couple of chapters left to this story. I am ready to gather the lemons in for harvest. I doubt there will be any sugar to be found. I like my lemons to go down with bite. I wish all things good for you until next update. :)