Binding Ties

Binding Ties

Chapter Six
Hasty Harshness

Ron’s eyes narrowed in the direction of his only sister. She had the audacity to sit before him and so calmly tell him that Severus Snape, the long dead potions master of Hogwarts, was alive. Not only did she dare to tell Ron this, but she also told him that he had dragged Hermione into his sister’s house late last night.

“She was poisoned?” Ron gulped. He thought of his own near-death experience and felt the blood drain from his face. The thought of his wife dead was paralyzing, at best. The thought of his supposedly-dead previous teacher doing it, however, made him feel murderous.

“My question is: What were they doing together?” Ginny voiced the issue that had so long been picking at her. Ron shrugged. Then, suddenly, his face lit up with apprehension.

“Maybe Snape was trying to kidnap her! Then something went wrong with the Sleeping Draught he tried to give her.”

“Perhaps,” Ginny humored him. She, however, had an even better formed idea of what was going on.

xox

“It’s nearly noon! Is she awake yet?” Sizzling emerald eyes peered into the dark room through a minute crack in the door. The drapes had been closed to shield the sleeping Hermione from the cascade of sunlight that was bathing the rest of the house in light. Snape quickly strode to the door.

“She’s not awake yet. If she was, she would surely call for her family,” Severus said curtly, yet truthfully. As he shut the door he turned around and laid a wishful glance upon Hermione. Her small frame lay curled comfortably on Harry’s couch, covered in both a throw and Severus’ own cloak. She rolled over in her sleep without waking up.

Severus took this moment of silence to think about what he wanted most. His eyes landed on Hermione yet again. His heart began to race and he thought desperately of the many hours he would have to wait before knowing if he even had a chance. What it was about this witch, now in her forties that drove him so mad? What, about her, made him want to do nothing but hold her until eternity took the entire world in its grasp? He looked down at his hands. Last night these hands had caressed the woman’s skin. He had been so close to having her, as he wanted.

He leaned down and placed a well-aimed trail of kisses down Hermione’s jaw line, ending sweetly on her lips. Hermione’s eyes fluttered open, her brown irises softening at sight of Severus leaning over her. She smiled a bashful smile and sat up. Through a crack in the curtains, Hermione saw the blue sky bleeding on for miles.

“What time is it?” she asked in a groggy voice, as she stretched.

“It is almost noon,” Severus replied, opening the curtains a little further to allow light into the room. Hermione squinted against the brightness.

“Noon? I haven’t slept in until noon since I’ve had Rosie,” she mumbled. “Rosie! Oh my, she won’t know what’s happened! And Ron! Him, too!” Hermione raced off of the sofa and to the mirror. She desperately combed at her hair with her fingers.

Snape, seeing Hermione’s flustered form fly by him, walked slowly to her. She noticed him approach over her shoulder, before he kissed her sensually on the back of her neck. She leaned back against his body and felt the warmth wash over her. His hands reached around and locked onto her hips. Hermione shivered and pulled away, hating the sudden coldness on her neck.

“I think it is time I see my family,” Hermione said sharply. “They need to know what happened and that I’m alright now.”

“Your family knows that you have made an acceptable recovery. Every Weasley within the country has been by this house to drop off sweets and presents. Even Percy brought Penelope, who is currently nine months and two days pregnant.” Snape’s eyes scaled her body, pausing at every hairpin curve. His eyes suddenly snapped back to hers and he silently scolded himself for letting his carnal mind take over.

“If they know then I should be alright, for a while, don’t you think? I can pretend to sleep until this evening? I think if I see them now, it might change my mind for me.”

“Yes,” Severus started. “Unless….”

“Unless what?”

“Look, there are six hours between now and evening. You could just come to my house straight away. There you will find a large library to sit in and think all you like. No one will bother you there.” Severus finished in a rush, as if saying it more quickly would make it sound better.

“How are we going to get out of here, though?”

Snape smiled. Hermione had already decided to go to his house; now, all she worried about was escaping Harry’s manor. He had already formulated the plan, however.

“It’s simple. Pretend to sleep no matter what, alright? I’ll let them see that you can’t be wakened and then I will insist on taking you to a place with more potion ingredients.” Hermione nodded, and quick as a blink, walked to the sofa, pulling the blankets up over her. She closed her eyes as she heard Severus leave the room.

“Potter,” she heard in the next room, “I think we need to have a discussion. Weasley, I suppose you can come, too.” Three pairs of feet shuffled over Harry’s hardwood floors.

“Is she still sleeping?” Hermione’s heart skipped a beat; Ron was standing directly in front of her. She hoped that her shock did not show in her “sleeping” face.

“Yes. I’m afraid she is regressing. I am going to take her to my house. I have the appropriate accommodations and I will be able to brew a potion that she must take every hour. It is for the best,” Snape finished.

“I do not agree. I think needs to stay at Harry’s house. Or our own house.”

“Weasley, don’t be so naïve. She will need to be alone in bed for hours on end. The potion to be brewed takes a large amount of time. It also smells foul,” Severus started listing off reasons. Hermione heard more shuffling.

“Ron, just let her go. She’ll be alright.” Harry’s warm voice was now very close to her. Hermione smiled inside, Severus’ plan was working brilliantly.

“Fine. Just… when she wakes up, tell her I love her, okay?” With a few more shuffles and the snap of a door, Snape laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Stand up; I can take you to my house now.” Hermione stood and took Severus’ offered hand. They spun into the darkness.

Hermione found herself on a cobbled lane. A sign nearby was ripped off of its post so she could not read the street name. She heard the distant babbling of a river. Nothing, however, could take her eyes off of the door in front of her. Snape’s house stood there, proud as could be. Other houses around it were small, and dilapidated. He ascended the stairs quickly, opened the door and waved his wand around in the darkness before disappearing into it. Hermione walked tentatively up the stairs and walked inside.

A warm scent assaulted her senses. It smelled of wood polish, brandy, and old parchment. The entirely male scent intoxicated her, filling her with a wondrous lust that she could not explain. The small fireplace had a fire roaring in it, and the room itself was walled completely in books, ceiling to floor.

“Might I show you your bedroom?” Hermione jumped. She had nearly forgotten that Severus was in the same room.

“I… yes.” She walked up a staircase hidden behind a bookshelf, following the man all of the way. He opened a door to a dark room. With a wave of his wand, the oil lamps flickered on, bathing the room in a soft glow. A wrought-iron bed was made neatly with purple satin sheets. The walls were a purplish-gray, and the carpet was white. Hermione smiled around the little room.

“I like it. The design scheme is amazing.”

“If you like this design scheme, then it will be my privilege to show to you my chamber.” Snape led Hermione, now excited, across the hall. Upon opening the door, Hermione let out a gasp.

A large canopy bed made of black wood took up a wall of the room. A large desk and bookshelf, of the same wood, were also in the room. It was not the furniture, however, that left Hermione awestruck. The ceiling looked as if the night sky had been painted on it, only with magical paint. Stars twinkled, meteors flew across the sky. This carpet too was white and the walls matched the dark black-blue of the sky but something about the room instilled a bright courage in Hermione.

“I love your ceiling,” Hermione said politely. Closing the door with a quiet click, Severus closed the gap between them. His lips landed on her collarbone.

“I love you,” he murmured against her creamy skin.

“What was that?” Hermione asked as Snape made his way to the nape of her neck, nibbling at it seductively.

“I love it, too.” Hermione’s pulse began to pound in her ear. Severus hands found the skin just under her shirt once more. This time, Hermione pulled off her cloak and tossed it nonchalantly to the ground. Her shirt came next, leaving her clad only in her pants and a black lace bra.

“Hermione, I don’t know if I can control myself,” Snape said.

“Then don’t,” she whispered in his ear.