Judging Books By Their Cover

Weeks passed and Hermione and Severus spent as much time together as they were able without arousing suspicion. It was still there, but more easily managed. Hermione was going home for the Christmas holiday and even if they could steal some moments together on break, it was far from something to be counted on. So the last night, when nearly everyone else had already left and the rest were staying up late in their common rooms, Hermione had spent it in her professor’s arms. At times it had been sweet and slow, at others faster and more desperate.

When she rose to dress the next morning, Hermione had to choose her clothing carefully to cover all the marks Severus had left on her body. Not that she was complaining, she thoroughly enjoyed receiving every single mark and had given many marks to him in return. She was beginning to find pleasure in pain, something the younger Hermione would never have expected. A relationship with Severus was a complicated thing, but in the bedroom he made everything better. She trusted him, knowing he wouldn’t intentionally harm her, and knew he had the experience to realize what would or wouldn’t be a pleasurable pain.

Hermione had hoped that, with time, he would lighten up a bit and confide in her. It concerned her that he had to lead such a terrible double life, unable to confide in anyone for fear he would be exposed or taken advantage of. At first she had tried to make him see that he could trust her, but with time she had realized it wasn’t going to happen that way. One of these days, maybe he would see. Until then she would just have to be satisfied with what she had of him.

“I’ll see you at the end of break, Severus,” she said softly to him as he sat by the fire, a book in his hand though his eyes had been on her the last half hour. He nodded and returned to his book, causing her to sigh as she walked out the door. He had told her repeatedly that he thought a lot of her, and that he had never slept with a student before, and he wasn’t going to tire of her – but all of that didn’t seem very convincing when he sat in his chair with his book as she walked out the door.


Holidays with her family were always enjoyable, but Hermione found herself moping more than usual. She tried to act normal when her parents were around, but Hermione was fairly certain they saw at least partially through her acting. They had always been good at that. This year there had been no trips to other countries or fancy outings, it was enough to be at home and with family. She tried to keep the majority of the dangerous things that happened in the wizarding world a secret, but she had a feeling that they saw through that act as well, and that was more than enough to make parents want time with their daughter.

Her parents had gone out shopping for the afternoon and, though they invited her, Hermione had opted to spend the time in their garden. Snow covered the ground and the only color to be found was in the few evergreens peeking out from under their white coverings. It was cold, but sometimes that was the best weather for thinking things over. She stirred from her thoughts long enough to see an owl descend next to her and hold out a letter.

You asked before if I would tire of your company, and I know you have been ill at ease with the precarious way our relationship has been hanging. I don’t have every answer for you, but I believe I may have found some.

S.S.

Hermione made it halfway through the letter before she started shaking and felt tears flowing down her cheeks. She had worked so hard to bury certain feelings very deeply within her while she was away, and now Severus’ letter brought it all back up to the surface. Standing abruptly, she turned to run back inside and ran straight into a tall, dark figure.

Her hands felt a well muscled body under the layers of black fabric and she looked up at the figure’s face with mixed feelings about who she believed it to be. There was little time to process what was happening and who she saw before she felt his warm, soft lips cover her own. “Hermione...” he said softly when they broke the kiss.

“Let’s go inside,” she said, interrupting him. “It’s too cold out here for conversation, and we have a while yet before my parents get home.”

“I do wish you hadn’t told me that,” said Severus as she led him indoors. “It makes it more difficult to behave properly knowing us to be alone.” His voice was very monotone, but she wasn’t fooled by it for a moment.

Hermione took him into the kitchen and pointed him towards the chair. It wasn’t until she had made hot chocolate for them both that she spoke. “Alright, now explain what you are doing here.”

He raised his eyebrow at her. “I had hoped for a little more enthusiasm regarding my presence.”

“You know what I mean, Severus. I am very happy to see you, but I can’t decide quite how happy I am until I know what is going on. Not to mention how you managed to arrive right after your owl. That was rather good timing.”

“Simple tricks,” he told her, dismissing it with a wave of his hand. “I will explain another time if you really wish to know. For now I need to get this off my chest before I lose my nerve.”

“That’s a brilliant idea,” said Hermione. “You have such a beautiful chest that it really is a shame to keep that shirt on.”

“Not what I meant, Miss Granger,” he said, tone serious though she could see the mischief in his eyes.

She grinned. “I’m sorry, Professor, please continue.”

“I’ve missed you, Hermione.”

“You certainly didn’t seem to think you’d miss me, the way you acted when I left,” she said, her mood having turned slightly bitter.

“I was afraid to care,” he told her. “Part of me still is but I’m trying to get past that. I knew I’d miss you and I didn’t want to go so long without seeing you. I think maybe the dread of these weeks is what made my pride kick in so badly.” She said nothing, just sat there staring at him, so he continued. He was good with words, and rarely found himself at a loss with them, but now he found himself stumbling. “I don’t...I can’t say that I... Hermione, I do care for you more than you realize, I just don’t know what label to use for how much I care, and there are some words I’ve spent my life not saying to anyone. I don’t want you feeling as if you aren’t important to me just because I can’t seem to put it in the right words.”

Between his voice, which she always loved hearing, and tortured expression he wore on his face, Hermione had felt herself melting at his words before he’d gotten halfway through. She let him finish though before she went to sit on his lap and kissed he pained look off his face. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, seemingly unwilling to ever let her go.

The front door opened and closed and Hermione heard the voices of her parents in the hallway. She stood up quickly, looking at Severus apologetically as she tried to decide what to do. Severus decided for her. Smiling, he said “I’ll see you soon” and disapparated before her parents could walk into the room.

She was sorry he couldn’t stay, but her holiday started going a lot better for her now that they had talked.
Severus had told her that he would see her soon, knowing she would never suspect just how soon he intended on seeing her. That night when he had finished all his potions work and was sure she’d be near ready to go to bed, he returned to her home and apparated straight to her bedroom. Hearing voices in the hall he smiled at the knowledge that his timing was every bit as good as he had expected it would be. There was a rather comfortable looking chair in the darkest corner of the room. He went over and sat down in it, eagerly awaiting the time when she would walk through that door.

When she walked into the room a moment later he saw her quickly close the door behind her. He was always so relaxed around her that he didn’t think anything of it when she pulled out her wand. Then he heard her say “silencio” and realized a little too late that she was on to him.

“Do you have any idea how bad it would have been if my mother could recognize the sound of someone apparating?” she asked him in a hoarse whisper, walking over and sitting on his lap. “It was so low that she thought it was just the house settling, but any witch would have known to suspect it. No, don’t give me that look. It’s not funny.” Of course, though she insisted it wasn’t funny, she was still giggling rather loudly by the time she had finished putting a silencing spell on her room and taken it off Severus. She had sat on his lap as if meaning to ride him immediately, and had rolled her hips slightly as she adjusted in his lap to get comfortable, delighting in the knowledge that he was painfully aware of every movement.

“Oh, but you know she would have been delighted to find one of your male professors in your bedroom,” he insisted, pulling her to him and half-heartedly attempting to tickle her.

“Hah. Yes, just as delighted as you would be to learn you had an extra class of first years to teach, or perhaps even more delighted than that,” she said. “Not that I’m sorry you came back, but I wish you’d warned me earlier.”
He shook his head. “That would have taken all of the fun out of it.”

“Oh, well if we are trying to make this as fun as possible...” She trailed off as she reached for his clothes and began unfastening them. He glared at her for a moment then added some additional spells to the room in addition to her own and yet another on the door to keep it shut. After that was done he gave her free access to his clothing and began working his hands under hers as he slowly removed it piece by piece.

“So just how much did you miss me?” she asked, moving her arms in such a way as to help him remove her shirt, but managing to grind into him more in the process.

“I think you will return to Hogwarts to find most of the staff ignoring me. Apparently my moods were worse than usual in their eyes, though I daresay it was their own fault for provoking me,” he said. Nearly all of their clothes had been removed, and he carried her over to the bed. “How about you, how much did you miss me?”

“My parents have been watching my every move, asking all the questions they can think of about how school is going,” she answered as she watched him unbutton his trousers and remove the last remnants of his clothing. He had a wonderfully muscular form, and what little moonlight made its way through her window played beautifully across his features. “Apparently I’m usually a know-it-all, and according to them I’ve scarcely spoken more than a few words at a time.”

The room was a bit chilly so they climbed under the covers for warmth, and he wasted no time in reintroducing himself to her body. “You are a know-it-all,” he said with mock severity as he worked his way down her figure, kissing her most sensitive areas lightly and moving on before she could grow too quickly eager. It had been too long since he’d been inside of her, and he planned on taking his time. He buried his face between her legs, alternating between soft kisses and using his tongue to devour her flesh.

Hermione couldn’t quite decide how she felt about his teasing. She varied between soft moans, begging him to stop, and using her hands or thighs to urge him onward. His tongue and fingers delved into her, and finally she felt she needed some form of relief. She knew he was too eager for teasing to thrust inside of her with what she craved so badly, so she pushed him away slightly and started her own exploring. She reached down and wrapped her hand around his length, moving further down on the bed so that she could reach him with her mouth. He didn’t fight her. Instead he laid back and watched her movements, a slight smile playing across his lips and a look in his eyes that made Hermione feel as though she were on fire. She teased him as he had done to her, touching only the tip at first, then running her tongue lightly all over him and finally taking him fully in her mouth. At times she felt ridiculous when she heard herself moaning under him, but now she was hearing him moan and it thrilled her.

Finally, Severus could stand no more teasing. He pulled her up on the bed and rolled over on top of her, using a finger on her a few moments more before aligning himself at her entrance and burying himself within her. It was late that night before they succumbed to weariness and Severus lay there as he watched her drift off to sleep. Having Hermione laying next him felt right, more so than things had felt for him since the holidays had started. He thought about his feelings for as long as he felt himself able to remain awake, finally letting sleep take him. They slept peacefully all night, Severus’ hand never moving from its possessive position on her hip as he lay curled up behind her.