Brewing Glory

Hermione watched soundlessly as Snape shut the door in haste. She could hear his footsteps moving rapidly down the stairs. Her head seemed to be spinning and she could not contain the emotions surging within her body. Flinging herself onto the bed, she grabbed the pillow and screamed into it. What she just done? She just allowed her Potions Professor to KISS her.



Kiss her!



Her mind wandered aimlessly back to the feel of his tongue gracing over her lip so delicately and sucking it. The feeling was angelic… But so wrong. Hermione buried her face into the pillow and heaved a great sigh. He was right. This point in her life was not worth worrying about love or definitely kissing... or worse. But she could not seem to shake the feeling that went through her body when he leaned it to put his lips on hers. What was he thinking anyway? Why would he be even slightly interested in Hermione Granger in that way?



Then Hermione felt angry. Maybe he was on the Dark after all, trying to use her and get her to trust him.



“Don’t be ridiculous,” Hermione said to herself, snuggling up to her pillow. She decided it would be best to just not think about it right now. A few moments after she closed her eyes, she fell asleep.



*



Snape made his way down the steps in hurriedly, ignoring the impish house elf who spoke to him on his way down. His heart was pounding furiously against his chest and his head seemed to be spinning. He made his way into the kitchen and sat down, staring into the dark area that surrounded him. The peace and quiet was palatial, despite being in the house of his one of his former enemies. And he had kissed a young girl, or was she a girl?, under the very same roof.



The way Snape was feeling at that moment could not necessarily be explained, but he felt puzzled. Unsure of when and how he had become attracted to the distressing Miss Granger. Perhaps it had been the night they made potions together, or the night they read by the fire, or maybe it was the night he held her in his arms?



Whichever night it was, Snape never knew and didn’t want to think about it. He knew there were more important things to think about. He woke up the night morning; face down on table in the dining room of Grimmauld Place.



*

“Severus?” Mrs. Weasley said quietly, shaking the dark man’s shoulder gingerly. She watched as he stirred and met the eyes of a very tired Severus Snape.



“Oh, Molly, I apologize—”



“No, no. It’s all very well, would you like a cup of coffee to lighten you up?” She smiled at him. It was too big of a bright and exuberant smile for Snape to handle first thing in the morning.



He closed his eyes briefly, unused to being attacked at such an early hour. “Thank you.”



Mrs. Weasley shuffled off into the next room before noises of plates colliding together and cups being set on the table were heard. The aroma of coffee filled the air.



Snape’s nose flared at the smell and he sighed heavily. It was going to be a very long day.



*



Hermione woke with a start that next morning to find herself lying on her stomach with her face stuffed in the pillow. She blinked before rolling out of bed, stretching widely. Surprisingly, she felt very refreshed and stronger than she had felt in a long time. Whatever Snape did the night before must have worked.



Snape.



The thought of the previous night’s kiss came flooding back in her mind and she struggled to push the thought away. Mingling in things of these sort was something she didn’t need, she reminded herself.



Hermione placed her feet comfortably in her slippers before making her way down the stairs to breakfast. She was greeted with a strong smell of coffee and eggs and her stomach growled. As she made her way into the kitchen, she bumped into Ron.



“Watch where you’re—” Ron blushed, noticing it was Hermione. “Hi, Hermione.”



She swallowed, “Hello, Ron. I’m hungry… is your mother making breakfast?”



He nodded and pointed toward the kitchen. “Yeah, she’s almost finished. Harry and the others are waiting for you out here.”



She followed Ron into the dinning room to find all of the Weasleys, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin, a few random Order members and worst of all… a very ill-tempered looking Snape, his nose buried in the Daily Prophet, and a cup of hot steaming coffee sitting in front of him. Typical.



Hermione felt a rush of nervousness plunge through her body but she took her normal seat next to Ron, only two seats away and diagonal from Snape. She tried not to look at him, but she could feel him glancing at her every now and then. The food appeared in front of them and Hermione began to eat quietly, lost in her own thoughts.



“Hermione?” Harry called, looking concerned. “Are you alright?”



Snape looked up when he heard him addressing her.



Hermione looked up from her eggs, which were barely touched, even though her stomach rumbled with hunger. She shrugged and stifled a yawn, then sighed. “I suppose I’m just tired, Harry. Long night last night I guess.”



Ron looked at her and she looked away from him to Snape, who held her gaze. He only stared briefly before burying his face back into his paper. Ron nudged Hermione and began to mutter something with his mouth full. “Well I tried to cheer you up last Hermione but if that git—” he lowered his voice, “hadn’t shown up, things would’ve been—”



Hermione fumed, looking rather affronted but he continued on.



“I’m just saying, Snape always has to ruin everything—”



“Did you say something, Mr. Weasley?”



Hermione looked up at Snape who eyes were fixed on Ron; a slight trace of malice could be seen beneath those dark orbs. She looked around. Everyone was looking at Snape and Ron, looking rather surprised that Snape had finally put down his paper and said something.



Ron shook his head.



“Are you sure?” Snape asked, an eyebrow rising. The sides of his lips curled as if he wanted to smirk at the boy. “Because I could have sworn I heard the words git, Snape, and ruin everything.”



Ron’s face turned a bright red and Hermione saw his mouth open to retort and she closed her eyes in fear of what might happen. “Well I was just telling Hermione that I could’ve been able to cheer her up last night if you hadn’t burst into her room—”



“Ronald, I think that’s enough,” Mrs. Weasley piped in, who was holding a plate in her hand and standing so still behind Snape she looked as if a Body Bind had been cast upon her.



Snape turned to Mrs. Weasley and merely smiled, “Oh, it’s quite alright, Molly,” and he turned his head back to glare at Ron. “I assure you, my reasons for visiting Miss Granger last night are obviously justified, you however, seemed to have failed to realize that due to your lack of—”



“Why do you always have to act like you’ve got something up your arse?” Ron spat, standing up quickly so that his plate clanked against the table.



Hermione placed her hand on Ron’s forearm and tried to make him sit down.



“No, Hermione!” Ron said loudly, still looking at Snape. “It’s time somebody stood up to this greasy, beak nosed—”



“That is enough!” Dumbledore said loudly, standing as well and looking from Ron to Snape. “Clearly, we all have woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”



Hermione heard Snape mutter something about waking up on the wrong side of the table and suppressed a small laugh.



Dumbledore rounded the table and put a hand on Ron’s shoulder, who still looked frustrated. “Cool down, Mr. Weasley, and eat your breakfast. There is no reason to be angry or upset. The appointments between Professor Snape and Miss Granger are crucial, I assure you, and no harm is being done.”



Ron gave a quick look to Hermione before storming upstairs.



The day went by rather slowly. Everyone inside of the house didn’t do much except chatter and eat dinner. No new news was coming to the Order and no news from Voldemort had arrived. The papers said very little about what was going on, so everyone in Grimmauld Place decided not to worry so much about it for a little while and just relax. And that’s just what Hermione did. She didn’t do much except spend more time talking to Harry and Ron, well more like just Harry, now that she thought about it, because Ron was still fussing about how Snape was up to something. She simply ignored him, trying to push away the thoughts of the kiss.



That evening, after everyone had went to bed, Hermione decided to make a kettle of tea before she went back to bed. She had not been able to sleep, because something was always bothering her. Either the blankets were too hot, or she got cold, and she wasn’t even remotely that tired. Figuring a cup of tea would help; she made her way down into the kitchen and brewed it.



Hermione was sitting in the dark at the table, sipping at her tea. She noticed the table looked very lonely and sad without all of her friends and members of the Order occupying it. The house itself looked lonely and sad it reminded her greatly of Sirius. All of the portraits were covered up and sleeping and Crookshanks hovered beneath the table, brushing up against her legs. She almost jumped when she heard someone coming down the stairs. The unfamiliar sound of footsteps made her feel uncomfortable. She held her tea tightly in her hands and waited to see what was coming.



Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest when she saw a dark figured, lanky and pallid man with shoulder length black hair make his way down the steps. He seemed oblivious to Hermione’s presence until he rounded his way into the dining room and stopped in his tracks when his eyes came upon her.



He simply stared at each other for a couple of seconds before he proceeded forward and made his way into the kitchen. She noticed that he came back with a cup of tea of his own and sat down.



“And just what do you think you’re doing up at this time of night, Miss Granger?” Snape drawled, lifting his cup of tea to inspect it, giving it a sniff and making sure it wasn’t too hot.



Hermione’s fists clenched at her side as she looked away from him and stared at her own cup of tea on the table. He was acting like him regular self now, as if nothing had happened at all. She should have expected it though, it was awkward enough. She was surprised she didn’t think he would be more cruel than usual after what had happened. Her eyes glanced up to meet his again. “We’re not at school, so I don’t see what the issue is,” Hermione said defensively.



Snape’s lips curled into a smirk and he finally took a sip of his tea and then set it down and placed the tips of his fingers together. “The issue is you should be in bed sleeping at this time of night. People may think you’re up to something.”



Hermione gave a slight scoff. “What could I possibly be up to? Nothing you wouldn’t figure out sooner or later.”



Snape chuckled, “Very wise, you are.”



Hermione wasn’t sure if she were to take that as a compliment or to just let it slide. As he drank his tea, she took in his features. His face was pale but his skin looked clean, as wells his hair. The light of the moon from the window shone through the window and lighted half of his face, his hair smooth and straight, his jaw line proceeding from his chin to his ear in a fine, toned line. If she weren’t so nervous and scared she might have considered him attractive.



“Has he summoned you?” Hermione asked curiously.



Snape glared. “No.”



“Oh,” she said softly, looking down at her lap as if disappointed. She was hoping for something juicier, something to relieve her. All this silence was making her anxious as to what the Dark Lord was planning. Too long without being summoned always promised something horrible.



“However,” Snape drawled, leaning forward in his chair, “it shouldn’t be too long before he calls for me again. That is when Dumbledore wants Harry to fight, for you and the Weasley boy to fight. He thinks by then that the time will be right.”



“Do you think I can do it?” Hermione asked quietly.



Snape eyed her, “What?”



She cleared her throat, “Do you think I can do it? I mean, do you think I’ll be able to fight him?”



Snape chuckled and leaned back in his chair. “If not, either I haven’t taught you correctly or being the insufferable know-it-all that you are; you pulled a remarkable stunt and for once in your life did not understand the spells.”



Hermione opened her mouth to say something but decided it against it when she realized his tone was not cruel and unkind, but light and teasing. She tilted her head in confusion and just stared at him. He was smirking wickedly.



“Did you just make a joke?” Hermione asked in bewilderment.



Snape chuckled lowly again. The rich, low, baritone sound gave Hermione butterflies in her stomach. Strange…



He suddenly got up and made his way into the kitchen and Hermione followed him with her eyes. She wasn’t about to let him get away with such sort conversation. She had been thinking about him for most of the day… she wanted to know the reason for what had happened before, even if it was just acting on lust.



When he did not return within a few minutes, Hermione began to think he had left. She got up out of her seat quietly and made her way into the kitchen to see Snape’s slender figure outlined by the light of the moon. He was standing by the window, his arms placed on either side of the sink and staring outside. His face twisted into a look of thought and contemplation and Hermione felt the desperate urge to know what she was thinking.



She walked up behind him shyly and stood behind him, trying to see what he was looking at. She began to realize that he was just looking at the moon. Hermione viewed him from the side. His nose was indeed hooked, but not too long, it matched his face almost perfectly. His eyes were narrowed and slanted, almost attractive really, and his hair hung onto his shoulders.



Snape sensed her scrutiny and turned his head to look at her, his brow furrowed as if he were still in the thought. He stared down at her and had to keep himself from letting jaw fall open. Her eyes were wide with what looked like amazement, the light from the moon shining into her eyes, giving them an innocent gleam. Her hair was shiny and curly, going down into her face and onto her shoulders. The face that proudly sported those beautiful eyes was white and smooth, her lips rosy and full. He began to think of the night before when he had so willingly placed his lips onto hers, taking her lip into his mouth to suckle on it. And it had tasted so good, so sweet, and so… innocent.



Hermione blinked and did not break her gaze, staring into the dark eyes of her professor. He still looked as if he were still thinking; only gazing at her, his hands still placed on either side of the sink. She leaned on the counter next to the sink and smiled at him lightly. “You look as if you’re thinking.”



This seemed to awaken something inside of Snape, because he blinked and his brow seemed to come to ease and he looked relaxed. He looked out the window again. “Are you afraid, Hermione?” he asked quietly.



Hermione’s mouth fell open slightly but she decided not to comment. She actually thought about his question before he looked at her and she realized he thought she wasn’t going to answer him. “Yes… Yes I am.”



Snape shifted his weight and removed his hands from the counter. He took a step towards her and narrowed his eyes. “Are of you afraid of me?”



Hermione was surprised by the question and it seemed as if a million thoughts entered her head at once. What did he mean by that? The look he was giving her was so dark and mysterious and she wished more than anything she could practice her Legillimency on him to see what he was thinking at that moment. His head tilted down slightly to look at her, his hair falling into his face, making his face look even more mysterious. Snape’s thin lips were pursed together and his brow furrowed again. She opened her mouth to say something, but before anything came out, he grabbed her hair with both of his hands and pressed his lips to hers.



She gasped but leaned into the kiss as his hands eased on her hair. He smelled of nothing she had ever smelled on any other boy she’d touched before. He didn’t smell like a boy, he smelled like the strong scent of a man.



Becoming less nervous, she wrapped her arms around his thin waist as she felt his hands wander away from her hair and onto the nape of her neck, rubbing his thumb gently over her collar bone. He pressed his tongue into her mouth and she graciously accepted, letting her own tongue mingle with his.



The sensation was overwhelming as she felt his tongue dance with hers. It was warm and slick and strangely… arousing?



His hands began to fall down her body as he moved his mouth away from hers and began to kiss at her neck, nipping it gently. She moaned and Snape pushed her back onto the wall, pressing his body up against hers. Hermione could feel something hard pressing up against her upper thigh and she gasped, making Snape pull his head away to look at her.



His eyes were glazed with lust. “Are you alright?”



“I-I j-just…” she inhaled, “I’ve never felt anything like it before.”



Snape smirked and leaned in again, letting his hands rest at her sides before sucking gently on her neck. His hand moved around her to slide carefully across her breast before moving down her abdomen and resting his hand on her inner thigh.



He felt her hips buck forward slightly and smirked to himself as he continued to kiss Hermione’s neck as she leaned her head back in pleasure. Snape looked up to see the look on her face, the look of ecstasy, as her eyes clamped shut and she bit her lip. It gave him great satisfaction to know that he was doing this to her.



“Severus,” she ground out, as she felt his hand move up slowly and more towards her warmth.



Snape felt himself harden painfully at the sound of her moaning his given name but he did not say anything as he flicked his thumb out to press against her sensitive nub through her clothing.



“Severus,” she gasped again, squirming anxiously as he began to rub slowly in a circular motion, “T-this is… this… too much…” she could not finish her words, for she let out a throaty moan as he hit a spot she never knew she had.



Suddenly, he stopped and began to undo her pants hastily, pulling down the zipper and pulling them down along with her knickers. He smirked again at the sight of her staring at him in awe, her legs now bare a small bush of wiry hair now visible just beneath her shirt.



He bent down slowly on his knees and nuzzled his face into her hair, before nipping at her mons very gently. She let out a whimper and reached down to grab his hair. Snape slid his long, slender fingers up her leg and into her inner thigh before inserting his finger into her to rub at her clitoris.



Hermione felt as if her world was spinning as she grabbed onto her Professor’s hair tighter, leaning her head and body back up against the wall. She spread her legs wider to allow him more access and let out a loud moan as he entered one of his fingers inside of her while still rubbing her enlarged nub. For a brief moment she thought maybe what she was doing was wrong, but decided not to think about it when he leaned in and flicked his tongue against her clit.



“Oh, gods,” Hermione moaned, massaging her fingers on his scalp, releasing a deep moan from him that vibrated against her labia. She was about to moan again when she felt her orgasm coming onto her and she grabbed onto his hair again, arching her back. “Right there,” she gasped, thrusting her hips forward as he slipped three fingers inside of her and rubbed her clit with his thumb.



“Do you like this, Hermione?” Snape growled, quickening the pace of his fingers as he felt his cock grow even harder by the second.



She let out a whimper and a yes before shaking uncontrollably against his hands and falling slowly to her knees. She opened her eyes and found herself at eye level with Snape and embraced in his arms. Hermione let out a small sigh of exhaustion and fell into him and he held her tightly. Breathing in his scent, she felt something hard against her leg and pulled away from him and looked him in the eye.



“What are you going to do about… that?” she asked, her eyes briefly looking down so that he got the hint.



Snape shrugged and smirked, “I’ll take care of it.”



Hermione reached out a hand to touch him, but he stopped her.



“No,” he said simply.



“What?” she hissed. “You did it to me. I should’ve know you were just using me—” she pulled back from him but he pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.



“I… I can’t,” he said, looking down into her eyes. He gave her a small kiss before rubbing her back as she laid her head against his shoulders. “Not right now.”



They stay in that position for a few minutes before Hermione stood and pulled up her pants. They just stared at each other.



“Will we…” Hermione was at a loss for words, “Will I…”



Snape swallowed but kept his face expressionless. He did not want to show her any of his emotions, especially not now, after what they just did. “I promise this isn’t the last,” he said quickly, before turning away from her and making his way upstairs.