Fate\'s Pawns

Author\'s Note: So this is the chapter you’ve all been waiting for. Maybe. Heh.
And would anyone like to beta my work? As of now, I\'m the only one there is to catch any errors I might make. You can catch me on AIM as PixiePang.

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The paperwork was completed and the project accepted at last. Hermione and Severus continued to see each other almost daily. They would meet Saturday and Sunday mornings for breakfast, as well as Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Occasionally one of them would make some progress in the project and they would celebrate over firewhiskey in Severus’ private quarters. Of course, Severus never allowed her to become drunk. Additionally, he had convinced Dumbledore to allow Hermione to use the timeturner after their meetings so that she would not lose homework time.

They had reached a truce that bordered on friendship. Severus decided not to berate her for who she was and allowed himself to enjoy her company, although silently. Hermione found that Snape wasn’t the bitter asshole to her that she expected of him and in turn didn’t tell anyone he was really a nice guy.

Hermione hadn’t wanted to notify her friends of her relationship with her professor. It wasn’t that they were doing anything “wrong” per say, but she knew that her friends would have difficulty understanding. Harry and Ron only learned of the project after it was announced as a side note in the Daily Prophet as good publicity for the school. They held an impromptu party in the common room for her, celebrating her apprenticeship and consoling her for the time she had to spend with Snape.

Just as Christmas break approached, the project had reached testing phase at last.


He
Hermione sighed slowly and dropped a 20 foot long parchment on Severus’ desk. He handed her a potion and she hastily drank it, a grateful look on her face. Immediately her disposition improved as her energy increased.

“Thanks.” She paused for a moment after drinking it, becoming accustomed to her newfound energy. “I’ve completed the calculations.” She began to laugh then, as she unfurled the parchment and pointed to a line of complicated calculations somewhere near the end. “This is where the arithmancy fails. The chemical reaction between the unicorn horn and the mugwort strip the ingredients of their magical properties. The arithmancy stops working because it’s assuming that the magical properties are still present. I discovered that you can prevent the loss by melting the two ingredients into, of all things, plastic. If this works, it will be groundbreaking. Of course, we will still need to prove my theories further, but it will be a step in the right direction. And at the very least it will be the first time that a wizard has successfully produced an anti-imperio potion.”

Hermione looked up at Severus to find two shot glasses and a bottle of firewhiskey sitting on Severus’ desk.

“Hermione, what, pray tell, is plastic?”

“It’s a muggle substance Severus. It’s made from a byproduct of alcohol production.” She picked up the shot glass and drank the shooter straight up, grinning evenly at him.

~~

Severus examined Hermione’s face, feeling a pinch of pride at her aclishlishment. He was incredibly turned on by it, but he didn’t say anything. He just let the tiniest glint of a smile grace his normally stone cold face as he shot down the whiskey.

“I need a week to acquire a few of these ingredients” he said at last.

“Yes well, I’ve heard that it’s difficult to get vampire pheromones. I’ve read about them: they’re expensive and can only be acquired through the black market.” Hermione looked into her empty shot glass with a bit of disappointment evident on her face.

“Actually the ministry keeps a supply, but it takes two weeks to get approved. I have written some – friends – over at Diagon Alley and they’ve promised some to me by the end of the week. That means we would be able to begin the potion at the start of Christmas break. That is, if you can be convinced to stay…” He poured her another shot of firewhiskey.

~~

Hermione liked drinking with Snape. It was casual and sneaky and Snape loosened up a little when he was slightly intoxicated. He stopped caring that she was muggle born and had a better time for it. Some of their best discussion had come in that slightly intoxicated stage.

She was a little sad that the research had reached a temporary standstill. She wasn’t even sure her parents would allow her to stay the break and she knew she wouldn’t be enjoying these evenings of theirs until their research progressed. Not until Severus received the remaining potions ingredients via owl.

“I will have to write my parents and ask permission to stay” she said at last. She took the shot and winced at the burning in her throat. She walked behind Snape and filled a glass with water. She drank it slowly, turning to look at him as she did so. She noticed that his head was sagging below his shoulders and slightly turned so that he could watch her drink her water. But his eyes – those were on her skirt. She knelt next to his chair and looked into his eyes.

“Thank you professor.” She was inches away from him and her heart was racing. The gaze between them was intense. She felt as though her belly was going to fly away as her heart pounded. Her gaze fell to his lips, which were tensed and slightly open.

She put her hand on his arm. She could feel his muscle below his robes. She realized he was tense. She looked into his eyes again and she could see the reflection of the candle on hisk ink in them. They seemed slightly glossy.

‘It was now or never’ she thought to herself. How long would it be before she saw him again? She couldn’t stand not knowing all that time away from him.

As quickly as she could, she placed her other hand behind his neck and lifted her face to his own, granting him the smallest of kisses on his lips, not giving him time to kiss back. She pulled away then and looked down at her fingers, fiddling her thumbs as she blushed a deep rosy red.

“Severus, I…” her throat backed up and she stopped speaking, unsure of herself.

~~

He was amazed at how gentle she was. She was everything he thought a girl ought to be; soft, sweet. Thel ofl of her cool fingers on his neck was soothing, the sweet warm kiss sent his heart into turmoil. How long had he dreamed of her? And she had been the one to come to him.

He wanted to give into her. A love at long last, freely given of her own will. He couldn’t give into her. Just a few more months and he could return her affections, but not now. Not while she was still his student.

And yet – how could he refuse her sweet face? She was blushing so. He felt for her – to have made this leap for him. Everything was at stake. He didn’t want to push her away; how could he refuse her?

As he always did.

But not with Hermione.

No, they had reached a truce. He couldn’t return to his harsh ways with her now.

“Hermione. I think that’s enough firewhiskey. As much as I agree that kissing you would be… pleasant, I’m afraid we don’t know what we’re doing right now. We have other things at stake. You’re my student.” He lifted her chin to look at her, but her eyes were nearly shut, as if even the candlelight was too much for her. Her face was a deep red. He thought he could see the glimmer ofear ear in her eye, but he knew that one would never fall.

What had he done?

“Hermione, I… think I’m. I… Hermione, I.” He didn’t know how to say it. He bent in and kissed her forehead, running his fingers through her hair. It was as if every moment was a millennium. He knew that it would be too long for her before he could return her affections. He stood up and offered her his hand. He watched as she rose to her feet.

Both were silent.

~~

Hermione felt the heat of a tear broach the edge of her eyelid. She cut her thoughts out of her mind. She would not cry in front of him. She didn’t look at him as she rose to her feet. She would not look into his face as they stood facing one another. She felt as if an awkward silence had filled the space between them, as if he wasn’t standing as close as she believed him to be.

She let herself fall into a trance, staring at the watery image of a dungeon wall just beyond Snape’s figure. She could not blink. She would not allow a tear to form on her face. She waited for the water to slowly evaporate off her stinging eyes.

Finally, she broke from the trance, her stomach unsettled. She couldn’t stand it. How much had he helped her? He had given his own Slytherins detention for their masquerading as deatheaters. He had sent the Bloody Baron in after Onan, who feared him as much as Peeves did. He had convinced Dumbledore to allow her the use of a timeturner once again. He had given her research his wholehearted support, indulging her by researching “silly muggle science.” He had broken school rules with her. He had given her a glimpse into a beautiful future through her dreams.

She knew within her that he wanted her to be with him as much as she wanted to be with him.

She knew it could end her truce with him, but she didn’t care.

She raised her eyes to his, her face determined. Moving quickly, she reached her arms around him, brought her lips to his and kissed him hard, pulling her body closer to his, her heat capturing him.

She moved her lips ever so slightly, massaging his own and forcing their uneasy response. She pulled away slightly with her upper lip. The saliva that dripped onto her lower lip lubricating the movement and sending shivers up her spine. She ran her tongue over the crease between his lips, which was slightly opened from his anticipation.

She noticed his eyes were shut and she could feel his erection through his robes. She moved her lips down and kissed his chin. And then the tip of his nose. And then his left eyelid and his right.. She moved to kiss his cheek, but she felt a strong grip on her hand and she stopped abruptly, looking at his stone still face and his shut eyes.

(until the next chapter… BWAHAHAHAHA!!!)
-Jen