Bloodbound

The Great Hall

Thanks to all who reviewed! And thanks to L’Vanna for betaing this story!


After what seemed like hours, Snape finally broke away from Hermione’s embrace. He looked at her, his eyes filled with an emotion Hermione could not quite read. She was just about to use legilimency to attempt to gain insight into his thoughts, when he spoke.


“Well I do believe it is close to dinner time, and we should go and eat,” he said, in what Hermione could only assume was an attempt to remove focus from himself. He made to get off the bed, and Hermione followed.


They had never entered the Great Hall together, and Hermione wondered how they would proceed to do so. For a fleeting moment she thought he might like her to walk ahead of him, rather than with him, and so she made to walk towards the door. Suddenly he reached out and took her hand, nearly causing her to jump out of her skin. The look on his face was of confusion and hurt. Not wanting to interrupt him, she proceeded to explain herself before he could speak at all.


“I’m sorry, sir. I just assumed you would not want to go to the Great Hall together,” she said in a rush, not meeting his eyes. ‘Sir?’ he thought. The word stung him like poison in his veins. He had thought they had reached a point where she did not need to call him sir. He tried to read her expression, and entered her mind.


He could see that she was afraid, afraid of him, and afraid of punishment. He decided to speak with her through legilimency this time, as it was a much more intimate form of communication.


“Hermione, I do not wish you to fear me. I demand your respect, but I offer you the same respect in return. You do not need to refer to me as sir when we are in private like this. I only ask that when we are in a classroom setting you refer to me as Sir or Professor. I’d hoped to make my feelings for you clear, and I thought that I had,” he stopped then, to allow her a reaction. She spoke nothing, in mind or by mouth, but he suddenly felt a sense of relief wash over him, as he knew it had to her. He looked deep into her eyes, searching them, and he tipped up her chin and kissed her softly. Then he took her hand in his and proceeded toward the Great Hall.


Hermione’s could feel the familiar tingle of anxiety within her belly. Severus had never acknowledged her in public this way. Many students were aware of their marriage, as gossip spread like wildfire within the hallowed halls of Hogwarts, but not once had any of them witnessed any show of affection on his part. Several of the Gryffindors had watched in anticipation during their potions lessons, but he had barely acknowledged her presence, much less shown any inclination towards her.


Severus could feel Hermione’s fingers tingling beneath his. This was another favorable effect of being a legilimens, not only could he share Hermione’s thoughts, but her sensations as well. This was not true of just anyone he could practice legilimency on; in fact this particular effect was typically only witnessed between people who were very close to one another, and often communicated through legilimency such as they did.


As they neared the Great Hall, Snape too began to feel jittery. He hoped she did not sense his uncertainty, and he most certainly did not want anyone else to pick up on it. He contorted his face into his most dour and threatening expression, in order to ward off anyone who might think he had slackened in his strict and rigid ways.


Hermione suppressed a giggle. She had caught a glimpse of Snape looking utterly menacing, and she knew what he was thinking without even reaching into his thoughts. As the pair entered the Great Hall, they could feel what seemed like a million eyes burning through them. It was as if everyone in the room had turned to stare. Snape’s expression deepened, as if to challenge anyone to test him. This was the point where their dilemma was reached; he was to dine at the Staff table, and she alongside her fellow Gryffindors. As what seemed like the entire school was staring, he searched for a way to break contact with her, without her thinking him harsh or abrupt. Cheeks flushing, he bent down and kissed her lightly on the cheek before releasing her hand.


Hermione’s face burned. She did not know what the cause of this reaction was, be it embarrassment or giddiness at the idea of him kissing her where others may see. In fact the only time he had ever kissed her while someone was watching was at their wedding, to seal the marriage. She practically floated to the Gryffindor table and took her usual place between Ron and Harry, choosing to ignore the murderous look Ron was casting at her husband. Harry simply stared at her in disbelief.


Suddenly, Hermione remembered that Severus had lifted the no touch charm, and carefully took Harry’s hand into her own. Harry winced, as if expecting the flesh of his hand to melt from the bones at her touch, and was surprised when it did not. He looked at her questioningly, and she replied, “He listened to reason.” Harry was so thrilled to hear this news that he wanted to throw his arms around her, but just as he was about to act upon this, she entered his mind.


“He lifted the touch charm Harry, but somehow I don’t think the sight of one of his worst enemies practically snogging his wife would make him very pleased,” her voice filled his head half pleading, half warning. He looked at his friend in disbelief and suddenly realized there was much about his friend he did not know.


Hermione was drawn into reality by incessant whispering from halfway down the table. She thought she heard her name a few times, and when she met eyes with Lavender and Parvati, they silenced immediately. Oh how glad she was that Severus had taught her the art of legilimency. It was utterly useful, and she practically chided herself for not seeking to have learned it earlier. She entered Parvati’s mind, intent to find out what the two had just been talking about, though she thought she already knew. She saw an image of Lavender in front of her, chatting away, and she listened intently to what had been said.


“It’s so unreal, the idea of them being together,” Parvati had said plainly


“Well not completely,” mused Lavender. “They are both highly unattractive bookworms, if anything it is a perfect match,” she said amidst a fit of giggles.


“Eww I wonder if they have sex,” asked Parvati, a hint of disgust in her voice.


“I don’t even want to begin to imagine that,” Lavender chided. Just then the image of herself floated before Hermione, and the look she wore was purely venomous.


When Severus seated himself at the staff table, his eyes immediately locked with Professor McGonagall’s. Her lips were pursed and the look she wore was clearly one of annoyance. Snape knew that McGonagall did not approve of his decision to contract Hermione to the Snapes, and when he chose to marry Hermione himself, she had all but stopped speaking to him. Although her attitude made him shift somewhat uncomfortably in his chair, it did not cause him to regret his decision in the slightest. He was in love with Hermione, and he had never wanted anything but to nurture her and guide her, to help her achieve her potential, and in her previous years of schooling, he had chosen to do so with an iron fist, because her complete lack of discipline in those years had literally disgusted him. He smiled to himself gently, proud of the progress he had made with her. McGonagall must have misinterpreted his smile, for she looked at him as though he were atop the list of highly dangerous pedophiles. Severus knew he would not allow this to bother him, for Hermione had turned seventeen the previous week. He thanked Merlin for her mishap with the time turner, for it allowed him to love her without guilt.


Hermione followed Lavender’s wide eyes to her finger. The girl was clearly in awe of her wedding ring. Hermione had to award it to herself…her husband certainly wasn’t lacking for a sense of style. She brought her hand to her neck, to touch the emerald satin ribbon that adorned her neck. Hanging from the ribbon was heart shaped diamond engraved with the letters HS. This had been his birthday gift to her.


Hermione was awakened by a gentle touch of her shoulder. It couldn’t be time to feed Sarah yet, she thought groggily, and proceeded to turn over.


“Hermione,” Snape whispered, his lips brushing her ears. Hermione felt a ripple through her body as she opened her eyes to look at him. He was already dressed and atop the blankets of their bed. His face wore an expression she had only seen on it one time, as she was walking down the aisle toward him. It was that of excitement, and she rather thought he resembled a child at Christmastime. She sat up and looked at him questioningly.


“Happy Birthday, Dearest,” he had said and then handed her a package wrapped in black paper, and adorned with a gold bow.


She had not expected anything of him, and was surprised to see such an elegantly wrapped package before her. She gingerly began to peel the wrapper off of the package, and upon seeing his look of impatience, moved faster, not worrying to tear the paper. There was a beautiful little box of the darkest cherry wood with a small stained glass window set into the middle. Carved in Delicate script along the bottom of the lid of this magnificent box was her name, Hermione Snape.


She was marveling at the box, thinking how gorgeous it was, and how it must have cost him a fortune, when he reached over and opened the box for her. When her eyes met the contents of the box she gasped softly. The emerald ribbon had been gorgeous enough, but when you added the sparkling diamond that was hanging from it, it took her breath away. It was a large diamond to be sure, but it was not gaudily so. It was roughly 2 carats in weight, and her heart skipped a beat as Severus leaned over and removed it from the box. As he lifted it, she noticed her initials, HS subtly carved into the surface of the precious stone. Hermione’s entire body tingled as his hand brushed against her collarbone to put the necklace on her. He must have felt the electricity, because she could feel his eyes burning into her, wanting her, needing her.


He pressed his hot lips against hers and she could feel him growing hard against her thigh. His hands found the tattoo, and he delicately brushed it, teasing her. She lay back against the pillows as he advanced on her, probing her lips with his tongue, tasting her mouth. She was wearing a simple silk robe, that contained absolutely nothing, and merely served to offer her body a little extra warmth, and to save her from having to walk to the lavoratory completely naked. He reached a hand into the robe and gently cupped her breast, kissing her neck deeply, nibbling softly. Suddenly he was on top of her, kissing her passionately, practically clawing at her robe. Hermione reached up and unzipped his wool trousers, removing his pulsating erection from the restraining cloth. He placed a hand between her thighs, and felt the slick moisture, that glistened on her hot center.


She was burning with desire and so was he. She wrapped her legs around his waist, beckoning him inside of her. He took the invitation and thrust into her. She gasped with the entry, and bucked her hips toward him, willing him to thrust deeper and deeper. He practically devoured her neck and pounded deeply into her hot core, thrusting his hips and showering her with kisses. She moaned in pleasure, clawing at his back, trying to force him deeper within her, filling her completely. Severus could feel her muscles tightening around him, as she approached her climax and he quickened his pace to allow her the full enjoyment of the blinding orgasm. She cried out in ecstasy, driving him into his own climax, filling her with his hot seed. He lay his head on her chest, and she softly stroked his black hair, wishing that time could stop, and they could lay that way forever.


Hermione was jolted from her reverie by the familiar sensation of someone placing a hand upon hers. She was shocked to see that the hand belonged to Ron.