#7 ~ The Ghost and Lady Snape

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JKR (except Marcus Delaluci). All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 6 ~ The Dragon Tries Again

Hermione awoke about six o’clock in the morning. She looked around, disoriented until her eyes fell upon Severus, sitting in the tiny visitor’s chair, his long legs extended and head thrown back, lightly snoring, nestled under a blanket. His neck was definitely going to be hurting. She realized she was in the infirmary. All she remembered was working the containment spell, a burst of blackness erupting from the sphere and a terrible cold pain in her chest as something slammed into her with a great force. Now she was here. And so was Severus. And he would not be pleased at all. Still, there was no helping it.

She experimentally shifted in the bed. Nothing hurt. So that, at least was good. She looked at her husband. He had a bit of shadow around his jaw, and looked paler than usual. He’d slept in his clothes. She was sure that he never left her bedside. She felt a little swell of tenderness rise in her chest, as well as a small stab of apprehension. He was going to be so angry with her, and a lecture would be in order. And maybe later, a bout of ‘reassurance sex’ as she had named Severus’ passionate and very possessive lovemaking whenever he felt threatened about something coming between them. In other words, a very sound pounding that might require a purple vial or two.

She didn’t understand what went wrong. The containment spell was perfect. It held securely. She had been tiring, but she hadn’t weakened the spell. Any magic that occurred should have been contained within the sphere. She remembered the book and time turner had vanished. She must have overshot the moment of its creation. What a loss. Well at least she still had a copy of the text to peruse.

She looked at Severus again, and sighed. She needed to let him know she was all right. She sat up in the bed.

“Severus,” she called gently. He roused a little.

“Severus.”

Severus sat bolt upright, looking around. His eyes fell on Hermione and he froze, staring at her. His black eyes were unreadable in the dim morning light. Suddenly he was on the bed beside her, kissing her soundly and pulling her to him so tightly she could hardly breathe. Then he seemed to realize he was crushing her and pulled away slightly, his eyes anxiously searching her face for any damage he might have caused.

“Are you all right, Hermione?” he asked, his voice sounding strained.

“I feel fine, Severus,” she responded, “really.”

He embraced her again, gentler this time, and stroked her hair.

“I’ve never been so afraid in my life,” he breathed against her, “when I saw you on the floor, your body cold and lifeless, it felt like the entire world had fallen in on me and crushed every bit of light in my life to nothing.”

He pulled away from her, and held her by her shoulders, looking in her amber eyes with deep emotion.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he said. The despair in his voice was undeniable. Hermione was hit with a wave of guilt at having put her husband through this.

“I’m sorry, Severus,” she whispered.

“Aw, now isn’t this sweet?” came a voice that neither Hermione nor Severus cared to ever hear again. Marcus stood on the other side of the bed, next to the parted curtain. He leaned insolently against the wall with a smirk on his face. Severus stood up, his eyes black with fury, and Hermione narrowed her eyes

“Good to see you back with the living, Lady Snape,” Marcus drawled, “now maybe you can tell us just what the fuck you released down there in your little lab of spells.”

Hermione looked up at Severus, who was bristling but managing to hold himself back.

“What is he talking about, Severus?” she asked.

“Watch your mouth when addressing my wife, Mr. Delaluci. This is the first and last time I will tell you this,” Severus growled between clenched teeth.

Marcus shrugged.

“Ok. What were you doing in your lab during lunch?” he asked again, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Hermione scowled, “What business is it of yours what I do in my lab?” she retorted.

“Mr. Delaluci is of the mind that an attack he had yesterday was the result of your…experiment,” Severus said, never taking his eyes off the blonde wizard.

“That’s ridiculous,” Hermione snorted, frowning at Marcus, “what I did couldn’t possibly have any effect on you.”

“Why don’t you let me decide that? Just tell me what you were doing,” Marcus said, his eyes telescoping to black. Severus stepped forward.

“Mr. Delaluci, my wife is under no obligation to tell you anything. And I will not stand by while you try to interrogate her on her sick bed. I suggest you leave, Mr. Delaluci, unless you want a blow by blow replay of what happened at the club.”

“and he’ll have help this time,” Hermione added with a growl of her own.

Marcus stiffened as he looked at the couple, who both had very serious expressions on their faces. He threw up his hands.

“Fine, he said, “I’m just trying to save you both some heartache, and get to the bottom of a situation that is adversely affecting me. A situation I am sure your Lady created. If this thing is half as bad as I think it is, you’ll both be looking for me, and soon.”

Marcus turned and left, pulling the curtain closed and returning to his cot. He sat down on it, exasperated. Snape knew something was up. But he wasn’t going to do anything until it bit him or Hermione on the ass. Fine. Let them find out for themselves. It would be good to take them down a peg or two. But Marcus hoped their reckoning would come sooner rather than later. The pain was not fun. He had to do something about it, and without Hermione’s cooperation he didn’t have a hope in hell. Shit. Of all the people to have to put his trust in.

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Madame Pomfrey bustled in at around seven-thirty, delighted to see Hermione awake. She checked her out thoroughly, Severus hovering over her like a big, black bird, and announced that Hermione appeared to be fine. She then asked Hermione what happened. Hermione told her she was working on a spell and something went wrong, and she wasn’t sure what, but when she reviewed the experiment she would be able to tell her more. That much at least was kind of true. Then she added that the spell was specifically being designed for the Order, so she couldn’t reveal exactly what it was she was working on. A bald-faced lie if she ever told one.

Severus folded his arms and looked at her sharply. She avoided his eyes.

This explanation seemed to satisfy Pomfrey and she allowed Hermione to leave the infirmary in the care of her husband, with the admonition that if she began to feel poorly she was to return immediately. Severus hooked his arm into hers and led her from the infirmary. By the stiff way he walked, Hermione surmised he had moved past relief and was well approaching anger. They descended the shifting stairwells in silence, and their footsteps were the only sound in the main hall. They entered the dungeon area and Severus led Hermione to his office, which he unwarded and walked her through, never releasing her arm. He opened the bookcase and walked her through directly to the bedroom. He finally released her, and turned her to face him.

“Tonight, we are going to have a long talk about what happened yesterday, and about that book,” he said sternly, “for now you are to spend the day in bed resting up.”

Hermione opened her mouth to protest but shut it tightly at the look he gave her.

Severus leveled a very stern look at her, his eyes glittering.

“Stay out of the Spells lab, or I promise you, Lady Snape, I will spank you,” he growled.

“Spank me!” Hermione gasped.

“Yes, spank you. You have driven me to the edge with your willfulness. I am at a loss at what else to do. You will stay in bed and rest, or face the consequences. I am serious, Hermione. I will whip your little ass,” Severus said, his eyes harsh.

Hermione knew he meant business.

“Fine, I’ll stay in bed,” she pouted. The pout was real, but totally ineffective.

Severus began unbuttoning his robes. Hermione’s breath caught for a moment, but then he turned and headed for the loo. She sighed. It was better this way. He was so angry that if he did get at her, she would probably be in the infirmary again for an entirely different reason. Making love to Severus when he was angry could be hazardous to your body. A delicious shiver washed over her.

“Stop that,” she breathed to her darker nature.

She undressed and scourgified herself. She could’ve had a shower, but suddenly she felt exhausted. She could hear the shower running. Severus was getting ready for his day.

She pulled on her nightgown. Suddenly a banana nut muffin and a hot cup of coffee complete with cream and sugar appeared on the bedside table. The house-elves were still on point. She sat down on the edge of the bed and took a large bite of muffin. It was scrumptious. She washed it down with the hot, sweet coffee. Delicious. She finished the whole thing in several bites. As she polished off the coffee, Severus came out of the loo, a towel wrapped around his waist. He looked at the empty plate on the bedside table.

“You ate something?” he asked.

She nodded. He still looked dangerous…but delicious, water still dripping down his pale skin. He walked over to the closet, removing the towel and giving Hermione a clear view of his slim, muscled buttocks as he dried himself. When he bent to dry his legs, his large attribute hung long and low between them. He was beautiful. He ruffled the towel through his hair and dropped it on the floor, then selected his clothing. He always made such a production of this. Practically everything he owned was the same. He pulled on his silk boxers, his black dress pants and white shirt. He turned as he buttoned the cuffs, then looked at her.

“Why are you not in bed yet?” he asked, raising one eyebrow.

Hermione skittered under the covers, pulling them up to her chin. Severus turned back and pulled his staff robes from the closet and put it on, buttoning it up with his back to her. She remembered dreaming about what it would be like to unbutton his robes, back when she was a horny little seventh year, fantasizing about her cruel, unreachable Potions Master. She hadn’t known Severus had witnessed just about every fantasy she had about him. The idea of it still made her blush. She had some randy fantasies back then. She thought he must have memorized them because he pretty much acted out every one of them with her. He was such an animal back then. He was still one when the mood hit him, or should she say, her masochistic need hit him. But he had become more tender toward her too, sometimes making love to her so gently and sweetly that it brought tears to her eyes for an entirely different reason. She was sure she was the only woman Severus had ever been gentle with when making love. She was the only woman he loved enough to take his time with. His brutality was often welcome, but his tenderness, gods.

“Thinking of me, are you?” Severus asked, standing over her, fully dressed for work. His eyes glimmered, “I can always tell when you are. You give off heat and scent.”

He bent down and gave her a slow, sensual kiss, his eyes softening. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in and starting to open her mouth. He pulled back and gently unwound her arms.

“Now, you rest,” he said with false gruffness, “I will come check on you at lunchtime.”

He turned and left with his trademark billow of robes. Hermione snuggled down and closed her eyes.

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The presence spent the night investigating the Slytherin students. They were all purebloods. Salazar’s wishes had at least been followed when it came to his house. No mudbloods here. If there had been, they would have had a very unpleasant night. All the students were wrapped up tight in their blankets. The night had been extraordinarily cold. It was time to get up, but not one wanted to leave the warmth of their beds. They weren’t as strong as the first. Pity.

The presence stopped drifting. His mudblood liberator had returned and she was alone. He turned and drifted through the common room and out into the hall, gliding toward the Potions Master’s private rooms. He could touch her a little now. Just a little.

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A/N: oh oh…this does not bode well for Hermione. And Marcus is stuck in limbo until something happens. Please review.