Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Broken Dreams	By : onecelestialbeing Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 34536 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 13
Disclaimer: I make no money from this story, own nothing of Harry Potter, haven't met any of the people (except Alan Rickman and sadly that was brief)

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
A/N: I squeal like a little girl (something I'm not!) whenever I get a review so thank you all! Morphine, darling I wish I could BELIEVE ME! MadamDragon :D

Hermione was pleased to note that Severus' surly disposition lessened marginally towards her after their strop. The two didn't discuss it after that night, and Hermione looked at it as water under the bridge.

Still, she partly blamed the new professor for the trouble in the first place and was still a bit put out whenever they crossed paths.

Friday morning, Hermione rushed to eat breakfast before holing herself away in the Potions laboratory. She had a ton of prep work to begin for the afternoon classes and was eager to begin.

Waving disparagingly at Slughorn whom was perched at his desk, Hermione pulled out a tray of caterpillars that had been caught by students serving detention with Hagrid. The third years were going to be making a Shrinking Solution and it seemed as if there was an endless supply of the caterpillars.

"How many did Hagrid think I needed?" she wondered aloud, wielding the tip of her finely honed, silver knife. Hermione then set up a rhythm of easily making lengthwise slits into the soft, squishy insects.

When the two trays of caterpillars were finished, she moved onto the barrel of dead rats.

Hermione generally had an aversion to rodents, rats in particular, especially after the incident with Peter Pettigrew. Admittedly, she took some slight pleasure in dissecting the creatures, considering all of the horrors he'd put his so-called friends through.

Still, she was unable to totally let go of her squeamish ways, and opted to don gloves while handling the rats. The first time Severus saw the blue latex covering her hands, he merely smirked.

Hermione smugly looked right back at him, explaining that she'd brought them from home as her parents had an endless supply leftover from their dental practice. They'd come in handy many times over, protecting her skin from the innards of the foul things she handled on a daily basis.

"All right, rat spleens. Here we go," she said to herself.

Before Hermione was able to make the first incision, Slughorn came tumbling out of his office, claiming the need for some fresh air before his first class.

Waving the man away with one blue gloved hand, Hermione poised over the rat pinned down on the tray, painstakingly slicing into its belly.

By the third to last rat, Hermione's hand began aching from holding the small knife for a length of time. She pulled the gloves off with an audible snap, setting them down on the lab table along with the knife. Spending a few minutes to massage the aches out of her palms, she pulled the gloves back on and picked up the sharpened implement.

'I'm nearly done anyway,' she reasoned to herself.

Hermione was beginning the fine incision on the last rodent when a piercing voice rang out, startling her and causing the tip of the knife to slice clean through the blue latex and leaving a deep gash in her palm.

"Hermione Granger! Do they really have a fit witch like yourself cutting up rats?" Randy's shrill voice called out.

Swearing loudly, Hermione threw down the knife with a loud clatter and yanked the glove off her hand. Looking at her palm she found a clean, diagonal line stretched across her palm. It was the sort of cut that exposed the white flesh before it actually began bleeding. Hermione was thoroughly horrified once the blood began pouring from her hand.

"Don't you know better than to sneak up on someone while they're holding a knife?" she shrieked at the grinning man.

"I'm sorry," he replied lightly. "Didn't realize I'd frightened you. Hmm, you'd better have Madam Pomfrey check that hand. That doesn't look very good."

Hermione decided that she was spending too much time with the headmaster, as she threw Randy a sneer so vicious that made even his usually unfaltering smile fall.

"Damn," she snapped, holding her hand just so in an attempt to stop the bleeding. The gash was deeper than she realized and now stung like mad.

"Was there something you needed, Professor?" she tightly asked, scrounging around for a clean rag to wrap her hand in.

"Yes, there was actually," the brunette pony-tailed wizard continued. "Seeing as how you don't like surprises, I'll just come out with it. Your mates Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter are coming to visit the school on Monday. Isn't it brilliant?"

Hermione's furrow grew deeper. What was it with the man calling everyone by their full name?

"Brilliant," she replied tersely, refusing to ask questions and encourage further conversation.

Of course, Randy was only too happy to continue speaking anyway.

"Yes, Headmaster Snape gave me the okay to have them come up to talk to my classes. You know, for anyone that might be considering a career as an Auror."

"Weren't you an Auror? Couldn't you just have offered the students advice?" Hermione asked pointedly, roughly tossing things out of her way until she found a rag.

Randy was brought up short for a moment. "Well you know, I thought they might get on better with a couple of more familiar faces. "

"Sounds wonderful," she replied halfheartedly, tightly binding her hand. "I don't want to be rude, but I have a bit of an issue right now. I think I'll be off to the infirmary."

"Well seeing as this was sort of my fault, at the very least allow me to walk you," Randy offered.

"No thank you-I'm sure I can manage," Hermione hastily replied.

"Oh, it's no trouble. In fact, I insist."

Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes, clutching onto the blood soaked rag and practically running out in the corridor.

Randy attempted to keep up with Hermione's brisk canter, all the while still trying to look dignified in his ornate grey three piece suit.

Severus had been in the midst of giving two fifth year Ravenclaws detention for brandishing their wands in the corridors when he noticed a disheveled looking Hermione ambling past him, holding a cloth saturated with red around her right hand.

She had an look of utmost disgust on her face, and was seemingly trying to get away from the DADA professor that was hot on her trail.

"Miss Granger?" he drawled, standing in front of her.

Hermione hadn't noticed Severus in the hall in her desperate need to get to the infirmary.

"It won't stop bleeding," she explained, gesturing to her hand.

Severus ignored the lingering Randy, gently taking Hermione's hand in his.

"You're not usually careless. How did you manage this?"

"I was sorting out the rat spleens when Professor Sunderland came into the classroom and startled me."

Severus treated the slightly shamefaced man to one of favorite visages of belittlement usually reserved for dimwitted students.

"Professor Sunderland, I would appreciate it if you would kindly remain in your own classroom unless invited by others," the headmaster told him. "This is why we don't allow the students to traipse about. We like to avoid unnecessary mishaps."

"Not a problem, Headmaster. I think I'll be getting back to my classroom; take in a bit of light reading before the next wave of a students."

Randy awkwardly looked from the narrow eyed headmaster to a grimacing Hermione.

"Sorry about that," he told her before walking away.

"Idiot," she heard Severus drawl under his breath before he began leading Hermione up to the infirmary.

"I told him I didn't need him to walk with me, but the man is either daft or stubborn," she insisted.

"More like tenacious," Severus muttered.

Madam Pomfrey was most surprised when the young Potions apprentice - followed by the frowning headmaster - swept into her infirmary.

"Miss Granger, I was wondering when you'd be paying me a visit!" the elderly witch greeted her.

"What, were you hoping to see what sort of animal I'd accidentally change myself into this time?" Hermione was unable to resist with a small laugh.

"Oh no, no," she replied, laughing herself. "It's just that nearly every apprentice manages to maim or mangle themselves at some point or another."

"Well, this wasn't actually my fault," Hermione grumbled as Madam Pomfrey ushered her to sit down on one of the beds, standing in front of her and unwinding the soiled cloth from her hand.

"No?"

"The new professor startled Hermione while she was dissecting rats," Severus explained, standing next to the bed.

"Oh, that Mister Sunderland," Pomfrey scoffed. "He's a bit forward, and too casual with the students if you ask me."

"He keeps coming into the laboratory when I'm there," Hermione said, intently peering down at the curled edges of her wound. "If he's looking for a chin-wag or such, he has the wrong person. I'm not particularly chatty, especially when I'm working."

Severus smirked when he heard Hermione say that she wasn't chatty. He'd only asked her to be quiet nearly every time they were together in his sitting room. Once he threatened to gag her and the cheeky little witch merely laughed at him.

"I daresay he's looking for more than that," he quietly said to himself.

Hermione was engrossed with her bleeding hand and missed the underhanded comment, yet Pomfrey's sharp ears instantly picked up on it.

She turned and looked pointedly at Severus, but he'd already turned away from her glance.

"All right, dearie," she said to Hermione, now brandishing a tall, white glass jar. "I need to clean your hand first. Merlin knows what's lurking in those filthy vermin."

Pomfrey then began dabbing the foul smelling liquid onto Hermione's hand, causing her to shrilly cry out and jerk her arm back.

"Ow, that burns!" she shrieked.

"Well, of course it does! Do you see how deeply you've cut yourself? Although I must say, I'm impressed. This is the most precise incision I've ever come across, even if it was unintentional."

Hermione shuddered, still cringing at the fiery sensation in her palm. "I've seen enough. I don't think I need to look again."

Trying to keep herself from flinching whenever the fresh solution touched her skin, Hermione looked over Pomfrey's shoulder and at Severus.

He was in his usual stance; arms folded and swathed in black teaching robes with an austere countenance. The only difference now was that his black eyes were focused on hers and seemed warmer than usual.

"We're nearly done, Miss Granger," Pomfrey told her, moving to a side table and withdrawing a small jar.

"Thank goodness," Hermione replied. Something cold and greasy was then applied to the wound, and it burned worse than the acrid smelling liquid previously used to clean it.

She fairly yelped, a look of complete discomfort on her face.

"Surely it's not that bad, Miss Granger," Severus told her in a lazy voice.

Hermione glowered slightly, knowing full well that he was merely taking the piss at her.

"Severus Snape, as if you should talk!" Madam Pomfrey interjected.

Severus immediately glared at the elderly witch whom ignored him, continuing on with her statement.

"He was in his sixth year and somehow managed to get porcupine quills embedded in his hand. Well! You've never heard such a fuss when it came time to remove them."

"Enough, Poppy," he replied tartly. "That was an unfortunate incident due purely to the lack of common sense from my fellow classmates. After I explicitly told my potions partner to leave the quills in the middle of the desk so as to avoid an accident, what does the halfwit do? He leaves them on the edge of the desk and right beneath a lit cauldron. It was a bloody miracle the entire thing didn't explode in our faces."

"Severus here accidentally put his entire left hand down in the tray of quills," Madam Pomfrey explained. "Fortunately for him, it wasn't his wand hand that was injured as he hexed the poor lad at the first opportunity. The boy retaliated, and they both had detention for a month, not to mention making more work for me what with coming in here at all hours of the night!"

Their little anecdote served as a distraction for Hermione; she only hissed a few times in pain when her skin began knitting itself closed.

"For some reason I'm unable to picture Professor Snape misbehaving," Hermione said in the most serious she was able to conjure, the edges of her lips twitching slightly. "He seems to be the utmost paragon of following Hogwarts rules and regulations."

Severus' eyes narrowed ever so slightly at Hermione, and she knew that he was going to get her back once they were alone.

"You're done, Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey told Hermione once she finished bandaging her hand with a length of white gauze. "It should be fine in a day or two."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said, peering down at her barely exposed fingertips. The elderly witch nodded in her direction before walking back to her desk.

"Come along, Miss Granger," the headmaster said, waiting for her to stand up from the bed.

"Well there goes the rest of my day," she complained as they walked out of the infirmary.

"I'll let Slughorn know that you will be unavailable for the remainder of his classes," Severus told her.

"Oh, how will he manage?" Hermione asked, voice thick with sarcasm. "The horror of the notion! The man will actually have to watch over his classes alone for a change."

Severus inwardly agreed with a smug look on his face.

Hermione remained in the office tower with the headmaster until lunchtime. He'd been quizzing her on materials for her upcoming exam, going so far as to throw in trick questions.

Mildly pleased yet not surprised when Hermione was able to answer them all, he had to threatened to bodily carry her out of the office, and away from her books, when she said that she'd forgo lunch to continue studying.

"Not likely, Miss Granger," he told her. "Besides, I'm sure Miss Weasley will tear down the castle with Miss Lovegood looking for you, so go on and meet your friends."

"All right then," she grumbled, awkwardly reaching with her left hand to carry one of the books with her.

"Leave that behind," Severus told her without looking up. "I believe the house-elves are serving pot roast for lunch; I saw nothing about "Obscure Potions in Theory" on the menu."

Hermione scowled at the dark-haired man but left the book behind.

"What happened to your hand?" Luna asked, her blue eyes focused on the white gauze once the three were sitting down in the great hall.

"Ginny's fancy bloke is what happened," she explained, all thumbs as she unsuccessfully tried to cut her pot roast with her left hand. "I was in the lab working, holding a very sharp knife, when he flounced in, scaring the life out of me. I cut my hand open and the damned thing wouldn't stop bleeding."

"For goodness sake, Hermione," Ginny said exasperatedly, tired of watching her friend fumbling with the knife and fork. Snatching Hermione's plate in front of her, she deftly cut everything into small enough pieces and pushed it back.

"Is that better?"

"Much better, thank you," she answered, gratefully taking a bite.

"You could have just eaten with your fingers. We don't mind."

Hermione wrinkled up her nose. "My mother would turn over in her grave and my grandmother would rise from hers to whack me over the knuckles. Besides, it's habit for me to eat with a fork and knife, it would feel strange not to."

"Whatever makes you happy, Hermione," Ginny told her with a smirk.

"Oh, Ginny, you're going to be over the moon about this," she continued, taking a bite of pot roast. "Professor Sunderland said that he's invited Ron and Harry up to the school on Monday to talk to his DADA classes. Brilliant, isn't he?"

Ginny's brown eyes had gone wide, her jaw halting mid-chew when she heard Hermione's comment.

"What? Why?" she fumed.

"Because apparently he wants a 'known face' to talk to his students about going into Auror training. Rubbish excuse if you ask me. Clearly the man is a sycophant."

Ginny roughly shoved another bite of food into her mouth. "Well thanks for the warning," she grumbled. Her countenance brightened slightly at her next though. "I think I have a few Puking Pastilles in my trunk; perhaps they'll come in handy on Monday."

Hermione giggled, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "It sounds good, but we're going to have to face them both sooner or later. "

"Damn, I guess you're right. The school year is nearly over and I know I'm going to see Harry at the Burrow."

"You two worry too much," Luna told them in her serene voice. "Everything is going to be just fine."

"I hope you're right, Luna," Ginny said. "Because if Harry so much as attempts to rile me up on Monday, he is going to feel the wrath of a Weasley woman."

"Oh no! Not the wrath of a Weasley woman!" Hermione said in a mocking tone.

"Oh hush, you maladroit southpaw," Ginny retorted, breaking out into laughter. "I'm serious! Things were fine between Harry and I, and then you lot left to hunt down Horcruxes. I don't blame him for being out of sorts what with the war and all, but even after it was over with he switched right back to normal. Now...it seems like he changed overnight, fairly ignoring me and barely returning my owls. If he didn't want to be with me then fine! But at least have the decency to make up your mind and be honest. He's worse than a fledgling witch with her first crush."

Hermione had stopped chewing, apprehensively eyeing her friend when she went off on a rapid tangent.

"O-kay," she murmured.

"Sweets?" Luna asked, seemingly oblivious to Ginny's little rant as she pulled over a tray of little frosted cakes and set them in front of her friend.

Luna's blue eyes were wide and innocent. Ginny and Hermione couldn't help but to giggle at the absurdity of their situation.

"I swear, I'd go mad here if not for you two," Hermione commented with a laugh.

"Do you know what that idiot's gone and done?" Hermione fumed later that evening when she and Severus were in his rooms in the dungeons.

"And which idiot would that be?" Severus asked as he calmly bent down in his armchair to remove Midnight's little claws from his trouser's hem.

Hermione crawled over and caught the wayward kitten in one hand and pulled him into her lap. She'd kept her hair pulled back into a single braid yet Midnight still somehow found a way to chew on the dangling ends.

"Sunderland," she answered, saying his name like a curse.

"Why, Miss Granger, this is a surprise. You of all people speaking ill of your colleagues."

Hermione held up her right, bandaged hand as if it was a token of her disgust. "Damned right I'll speak ill of the man! Do you know how hard it was eating and doing everything else with my left hand?"

"I wouldn't know, I'm ambidextrous," Severus lightly replied. "As it were, I can imagine. It's a good thing Flitwick is adept with a wand else he would've been covered in half your dinner."

Hermione cringed thinking back to the past few hours in the great hall. It was just her luck that the house-elves had served cubed carrots and peas with dinner, and it had been all she could do to eat properly.

She'd managed to catch a few of the fallen vegetables before they reached the floor, but somehow a couple of forkfuls ended up in the direction of the Charms professor.

Hermione blushed profusely, apologizing and holding up her bandaged hand. Everyone at the table had broken into silent titters, even Severus had been trying to keep the corner of his mouth from curling up.

Sunderland was sitting between Hagrid and Slughorn, appearing most sheepish knowing that he was the cause of Hermione's trouble. Hagrid was unable to keep from frowning at the young professor, as he'd run into Hermione earlier that day and immediately clucked in horror when he saw the bandage wrapped around her hand.

Slughorn, on the other hand, had barely blinked an eye when one of the peas bounced off of Flitwick's plate and landed next to his.

Thankfully Flitwick had been very cavalier about the entire situation, using his wand to cast a sort of shield charm around Hermione's plate before returning to his own meal.

"I was too preoccupied - what with slicing my hand open and all - but right before doing so, he told me that he's invited Harry and Ron up to the school on Monday to talk to his DADA classes."

"I'm well aware that Mister Potter and Mister Weasley will be gracing us with their presence. I gave my permission for them to do so."

"Not that I mean to sound impertinent...but might I ask why?"

"You're impertinent whether it's intentional or not." Hermione scowled at that glib remark. "Let's just say I have my own reasons."

"To which I know it is pointless if I ask what they might be, so I won't."

"How very astute of you, Miss Granger," he told her in his best teacher voice.

"You know, if there was ever the chance that I'd forget my last name, I'm glad to know that I'd be able to rely on you to remind me. I think I've heard 'Miss Granger' from you more than I've heard 'Hermione'.

"I'm more than willing to change that if you like. There are several names that come to mind when I think of you- know-it-all, shrew, termagant, knee-high harpy-"

Hermione floundered as she thought of a witty reply, bowing her head and looking at the sleeping kitten on her lap. After a minute she was unable to come up with anything. "I'm going to short sheet your bed."

"Hermione, I have nineteen years of experience on you and am privy to several more childish pranks and antics than you'd dare to dream of. Now ask yourself, do you really intend to travel that route?"

The look he gave her was pure Severus Snape, yet his black eyes glittered with a sort of dark mischievousness.

"I might be daring, but I'm not completely daft. There is no way I'm bumping heads with you when it comes to that," Hermione said.

"Wise choice, Miss Granger."

Severus smirked when he saw the scowl cross Hermione's face when he used her last name again. True it had been habit for him to do so as that was how he referred to her since she was a child. Now he did it more so to push her buttons.

"Where are you going?" he asked, watching as Hermione set Midnight down to her side before rising to her full height.

"I'm going to charm everything in your room varying shades of pink. I think you'd rather fancy ruffled pillows the color of candyfloss."

"I think-no I know- that you know better. So unless you want all of your knickers to mysteriously go missing-"

Hermione feigned anger, childishly sticking her tongue out at Severus before stomping off to his room.

"I'd keep that tongue in my mouth unless you want to be shown how to use it properly," Severus' deep voice called behind her as he turned the page of his book.

She paused in place for a moment, wondering what the hell he meant until it finally dawned on her.

Severus heard her sudden gasp of comprehension and chuckled to himself.

"This is rubbish," Hermione snapped once they were both lying in bed in Severus' dark room.

"What are you griping about now?"

"My hand; I can't touch your hair like I usually do when I go to sleep."

"I don't see why that's such a problem; perhaps I'll wake up without looking as if I've been petrified."

Hermione laughed, not even bothering to point out that her marauding fingers weren't the cause for his hair's rumpled condition. In public, Severus' appearance was always fastidious as his nature, but when he'd woke up in the mornings he was disheveled just like any other man, Muggle or wizard.

"You don't look petrified when you wake up," she mumbled from her place against his chest.

"So you say," Severus replied, one hand coming to her head. His fingers began easily removing the tight plain, finger combing the tresses until they fanned out over Hermione's shoulder. "Let's see how you look in the morning."

'Bloody hell that does feel good,' Hermione thought to herself when his long fingers began rubbing small circles into her scalp. Her entire body went lax after a minute and she briefly hoped that she wasn't drooling on Severus' chest.

"If I had known that this was the key to keeping you quiet, I'd have done it a long time ago," he said.

Hermione gave a weak chuckle, entirely too relaxed to come up with a sarcastic reply.

Hermione didn't know what time it was; the only thing she could focus on getting to the loo. After she'd shuffled through the dark to relieve herself, she glanced at the mirror over the sink, doing a double take when she saw her appearance.

Despite still being half asleep, she wanted to thrash Severus as his fingers had managed to separate each of her curls and transform them into a cloud of fuzz around her face. Inwardly seething, she was positive that he'd done it on purpose, knowing that she wouldn't notice until the morning.

After all of her internal bickering, she turned out the light and made her way back to Severus' room. Crawling back into bed she snuggled closer towards him, instantly appeased when his arm found its way back around her body, pulling her against him even in the midst of slumber.

"That's a pretty bracelet, Ginny," Hermione said to her friend over breakfast that Monday morning.

Ginny looked down at the gold and emerald encircled around her wrist, smiling fondly before pulling her sleeve down to cover it.

"Oh, don't tell me you're shy all of a sudden," Hermione laughed before taking a bite of toast.

"Shush," Ginny replied, gesturing towards Hermione's plate. "Eat up. You're going to need your strength to deal with my dim brother when he comes round."

"Don't remind me," she grumbled into her goblet of pumpkin juice.

"How is your hand, Hermione?" Luna asked, looking up from an upside down issue of the Quibbler.

"Oh, it's better, thanks," she answered, looking down at her right palm.

Hermione had planned on visiting the infirmary that morning when Severus told her in a cynical tone that he was more than capable of removing a bandage. He'd carefully examined her hand, deeming it fully healed before giving her a short buss on the lips and sending her off to her own rooms.

"But I swear, the next person to barge in on me or sneak up behind me while I'm working is going to get jinxed," Hermione continued, collecting her ruck and standing up. "Speaking of which, I have to run. Luna? Please make sure Ginny behaves herself."

Luna's wide blue eyes looked from Hermione, who had one eyebrow raised to Ginny whom shot her a mischievous grin.

"I'll try," she finally answered softly, making both of her friends laugh.

"Fine Ginny!" Hermione told her before walking away. "If Gryffindor loses the house cup, I'm going to let everyone know that it was due to their seeker's antics."

"Shush!" Ginny shouted behind her. "Come meet us during our free period."

Waving her approval, Hermione walked out of the great hall and up to the classroom.

The first and second year classes had been relatively easy to deal with. The third years had been marginally better, except for one student that almost spilled his finished vial of Shrinking Solution on his lab partner.

The accident played out in Hermione's head, and she'd dashed over to the child, hastily pulling them out of the way before the liquid was able to land on their feet.

A few students thought it hilarious and abruptly burst into laughter, until Hermione chastised them, asking how would they like for their shoe, with their foot still inside, to shrink down into nothing.

That had put a stopper in their amusement; although, she still had to placate the agitated Hufflepuff boy.

"It's okay, Sean," she told him kindly. "Just try to be more careful, all right?"

Sean nodded his head and then began helping his Potions partner, a shy Ravenclaw girl named Julie, clean up their work area.

Julie had been nothing but forgiving about Sean nearly making her foot dwindle drastically in size, giving him a little smile when he profusely apologized.

Hermione noticed that Sean was timidly smiling back at her, his cheeks suffusing with color.

Their shared glances were anything but conspicuous, and Hermione turned around and left to give the young witch and wizard a bit of privacy. 'They are so cute!' she thought, fighting back the smile on her face.

She then thought of her own dark-haired wizard and afforded herself a little smirk.

At that moment two things occurred to Hermione. She'd just thought of Severus as her wizard, also the fact that the very idea made her stomach warm and fluttery.

Once the classroom was empty, Hermione began the task of cleaning up when a knock came at the door.

"Good afternoon Miss Weasley, Miss Lovegood," she heard Professor Slughorn say.

Hermione had been shocked that the man stayed around for the entire duration of all the morning classes, becoming even more impressed that he'd unearthed himself from his office.

"Good afternoon, Professor," Ginny greeted. "We're here to collect Hermione."

"That's right, Potter and Wemby are here," he cheerfully replied. "I'm sure you're eager to see your friends. No problem, Miss Granger. Off you go then, be sure to send them my regards."

With a final flick of her wand, Hermione watched as the last of the scattered trays sorted themselves into a neat stack on the side table.

"Slughorn doesn't have to tell me twice," she whispered conspiratorially to Luna and Ginny as she stored her wand before walking out of the classroom.

"So how did things go with the dynamic duo in your class?" Hermione asked as they made their way through throngs of students.

"Let's see, besides half the girls falling out of their seats like simpering twits?" Ginny offered. "Not bad actually. Harry was hardly able to look at me, which is more than I can say for my brother. When class let out, I finally told Ron that I'd send Charlie an owl letting him know that he was behaving like a prat towards me."

"Then she threatened him with one of her Bat-Bogey hexes," Luna interjected. "I think he was a bit frightened."

"Ginny!" Hermione laughed. "Did you really threaten to hex your own brother?"

Ginny arched an eyebrow, defiantly looking back at her best friend. "Damned right I did. I meant it too. In fact-"

The three witches had unknowingly walked past the Transfiguration classroom, and Professor McGonagall's voice rang out into the corridor.

"Miss Granger!"

"Damn! Why did we walk this way?" Hermione hissed beneath her breath. Looking up she realized that Ron and Harry was standing next to the elderly witch, a small smile gracing her features.

"We might as well go inside. It would be rude not to," Luna gravelly offered.

"Blimey, Hermione you know she's right," Ginny retorted under her breath.

Hermione, Ginny and Luna shuffled into the classroom, the first two witches looking slightly put out.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, forcing a smile on her face.

"Miss Granger, I believe you know these two gentleman," she replied, smiling fondly at Ron and Harry.

They were both clad scarlet Aurors robes with trainee badges, looking every bit of an officious nature. Despite their stances being a bit relaxed the looks on their faces displayed just the opposite.

"It's a rare occasion that you three are together without some sort of calamity," McGonagall continued despite the obvious tension in the air.

Ron and Harry had awkwardly mumbled hello to the girls, obviously unsure of what else to day.

"Well I'll leave you all to it then. It was good seeing you two," McGonagall said before ushering the group out of her classroom.

"Ginny, you weren't serious about hexing me...were you?" Ron managed to ask in an uneasy voice.

"I was," she coolly replied. "Only if you were intent on continuing to harass me."

"Bloody hell, all I asked was where you'd gotten that bracelet from! You didn't have to rip my head off."

"And I told you, it was none of your business!"

"Ginny has a point, just leave it," Harry told Ron.

Ginny then pointedly looked at Harry, her brown eyes warning that she held something less than amicable for him in store if he also chose to get on her bad side.

"Don't worry Ginny, the last thing I plan to do is to get into a strop with you," he told her.

She rolled her eyes but remained silent, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

"How is training going?" Luna asked, attempting to be the ever so rare voice of sanity amongst the group.

"Still the same," Ron replied in an attempt to behave civilly. "Mum keeps worrying; thinks they're working us too hard."

"That's Molly," Hermione feebly offered.

"It's not that bad though, to be honest," Harry continued. "I mean, how could it be? Randy was gone for the past year or so, and he was one of the Ministry's top Aurors. Speaking of Randy, he kept asking me about you Hermione."

"Did he now?" she asked archly.

"Bloody right he did, the tosspot," Ron grumbled. "We were barely able to make it out of the classroom. He kept firing questions at us. What's his problem?"

"What's the matter, Ron? Are you jealous?" Harry asked, only too eager to take the piss at his friend. "You two were bosom buddies right up until he beat you over the head with his incessant queries about Hermione."

"Oh shut up," he grumbled. "Seriously, Hermione. I think the bloke fancies you. It was 'Hermione Granger' this and 'Hermione Granger' that."

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Hermione said dismissively. "But is that a normal thing for him? You know, to call everyone by their first and last name?"

"Dunno. I guess," Ron answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah well, he's the one responsible for Hermione nearly cutting her hand off," Ginny added.

Both boys looked at Hermione with horror in their eyes.

"Hermione, how the hell-?" Harry began, only for her to hold up her right hand, bearing the light pink line across her palm.

"I was dissecting rats when he scared the devil out of me," she explained. "I sliced my hand open with a knife."

"It was a bit perturbing," Luna said. "Hermione's wand hand at that; she accidentally threw food at Professor Flitwick the other night at dinner."

"Luna, did you really notice that from all the way across the great hall?" Hermione asked incredulously. She then paused when she noticed a group of fifth year Gryffindor girls sauntering past, making obvious eyes at Ron and Harry.

"All right, if we're going to stand around and chat at least let's get out of the corridors," she said. "These students have a hard enough time focusing on their work at it is."

The five walked out into the courtyard, lingering about beneath one of the arches.

"Before I forget, Professor Slughorn wanted me to send his regards to Potter and Wemby."

"Old codger still doesn't know my name," Ron said, shaking his head as Harry chuckled at his misnomer.

"Hermione, did you really chuck food at Professor Flitwick?" Harry then asked with a crooked grin. "That isn't like you."

"Oh shush," she snapped, her lip curling up into a smile. "I hurt my right hand; do you know how hard it is to scoop peas onto a fork with your left? It was a miracle I got any of my dinner into my mouth."

"Ginny, that bracelet looks really expensive now that I think about it. Sure you don't want to tell me where you got it from?" Ron asked, staring at his sister's wrist, completely ignoring the banter between Hermione and Harry.

Hermione, Harry and Luna's eyes grew wide as they watched Ginny's face turn into a shade that rivaled her bright hair. She then withdrew her wand with a flourish, aiming it at her brother.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" she shrieked, sounding every bit like her mother. "Didn't I tell you that!-"

"Well well, Miss Weasley. Surely your actions are justified but I'm sure that you are well aware that I cannot condone this sort of outburst," a deep baritone drawled from behind the redhead.

Five pairs of eyes turned towards the headmaster, who was standing behind Ginny, clad in his black teaching robes.

"Sorry, Headmaster," she mumbled, shoving her wand back into her robes.

"It's no matter," Severus continued, his dark eyes now focused on Ron and Harry.

"Mister Weasley, Mister Potter. How gracious of you to take time out of your busy schedules to pay a visit."

"Hello, Professor Snape," Harry politely greeted, looking directly at the towering man.

"'Lo," Ron grumbled, still uneasy with the authoritarian figure and staring down at his feet.

"I trust things are going well at the Ministry?" Severus then tonelessly inquired.

"Yes, sir," Harry answered as Ron was still too nervous to speak.

"Indeed. I must be off now, but before I leave... Mr. Weasley, the next time you intend on taking liberties to which you have not been granted with a witch that is not yours, for your sake, I implore you to think otherwise. That goes double when you're in the view of students beneath my tutelage. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," Ron answered meekly, unable to meet Severus' direct gaze.

With a curt nod Severus swept off in the other direction, his black robes flapping behind him.

"Bloody hell, he's still scary as I remember!" Ron shuddered afterward.

Hermione and Ginny were now fighting back a fit of laughter, as they both knew exactly the incident that Severus had spoken of. Luna was also aware of the fact that Ron kissed Hermione without asking her permission, yet seemed completely nonplussed.

"At least it's Ron that got a verbal lashing and not me for a change," Harry snickered. "You have to admit, you sort of deserved that."

"Oh, piss off Harry," Ron grumbled, his face slightly reddening.

"You first," Harry replied. "But we do actually have to go now. The last thing I need is for Snape to come back and bodily eject us from Hogwarts, although Shacklebolt would most likely laugh his arse off if I told him that."

"Maybe you should stick around for a bit longer than," Ginny offered, her brown eyes shining wickedly. "The sight of Professor Snape levitating you out of the school might prove most amusing."

Despite Harry behaving amicably, she still hadn't forgiven him for acting like a prat towards her over the past few months.

"No thank you. I think I'd rather be on the receiving end of one of your Bat-Bogey hexes," he cautiously replied.

Ron was still abashed at being chastised by the headmaster as if he was still a student, and quietly told the girls goodbye before following behind Harry.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Luna told Hermione and Ginny as they walked to the great hall for lunch.

"Yeah, it could have been worse," Ginny agreed. "Brother or not, it was funny seeing his face fall when he saw Professor Snape. Although I'm still owling Charlie. I hope he sends Ron a Howler, the git. Where the ruddy hell does he get off questioning me like he's Mum or Dad?"

"You know how your brother gets," Hermione said. "He wants to poke his nose where it doesn't belong but don't ask him anything personal. He clams up worse than someone hit with a Langlock jinx."

"Don't forget what they said about your fancy bloke," Ginny cackled. "What do you intend to do about that?"

"Not a damned thing," Hermione spat.

"What's wrong, Hermione? Is Randy trying to invade another wizard's territory?"

Hermione remained silent, worried that if she looked at Ginny the expression on her face would give her away.

"Did I tell you how utterly brilliant you were earlier?" Hermione asked Severus later that night once they were in bed.

"Indubitably you're talking about my ability to shut Mister Weasley's mouth, even if just momentarily?"

"That's exactly what I'm talking about," she replied, her laughter cutting through the silence in the darkened bedroom. "Ginny was nearly over the moon when she saw the look on her brother's face. Thank you for not taking house points, by the way."

"I should have, but I think I'll excuse her just this once. Although, for your friend's sake, you should impress upon her not to pull another stunt like that ever again."

"I'll tell Ginny, but I doubt it will happen again. It was just that Ron kept harassing her about some new bracelet of hers, demanding to know where she'd gotten it from as if he was her father. I don't know what the hell his problem is as of late."

"Young men always want what they cannot have, what is not theirs," Severus answered.

"So I've noticed," Hermione replied. "When I was interested, all I got was the brush off before he ran off with Lavender Brown. I was furious with him when it happened, but now that I think about it...it's actually quite funny."

"At any rate, that daft witch was more of Mister Weasley's pace. You'd have had turn your own wand on yourself as a reprieve to the monotony."

"That is a positively horrid notion, although something tells me you're right. Ronald tends to have the depth of a shallow glass of water and the tact of a four year old. I think he's still reeling over the 'witch that isn't yours' part of your scolding."

"I'm sure he'll survive," Severus told her in a disinterested tone. "Although I believe I'll need to teach you a repelling jinx to ward against the wizards trying to lay claim to you."

"I won't ask, but I take it you heard what Harry said about Sunderland."

Hermione was barely able to see Severus' face, even though she was lying in the crook of his arm. But she was sure that if she was able to, his visage was that of pure disgust.

"As if I need the Boy Wonder to keep abreast of affairs in my school," he scoffed. "It was you that pointed out how the idiot grins like a Clabbert whenever you're near."

"But he does that with everyone!" Hermione shot back.

"Precocious in many ways you are, yet completely unaware in others."

"I'm aware of that fact that you told Ronald that I wasn't his witch," Hermione saucily replied. "Does that mean I'm your witch?"

"I'll let you decide that for yourself."

Grumbling inwardly, Hermione shifted her weight and moved atop of Severus, straddling his hips beneath the eiderdown. "It's never a bloody yes or no with you, is it?" she complained.

"Only when I deem it necessary. Besides, you enjoy the conundrum," Severus easily replied.

"And you know me so well, do you?" Hermione softly asked, lowering her head to the side of his face.

"Cheeky witch," Severus said, turning his face towards Hermione's. "I could tell you things about yourself that even you've yet to discover."

"Perhaps I can convince you to divulge that information one day."

Hermione traced her lips across Severus' features until they brushed against his, pleased when his tongue darted out to caress hers. His arms then came around Hermione's body, pulling her tightly against him.

Severus brought one hand base of her neck, his fingers gently massaging the soft skin there before sliding his long fingers up into her curls. The other was pressed into the small of her back, the entire time his mouth never stopping its movement against hers.

Her arousal instantly peaking, Hermione's hips began gyrating slightly seemingly of their own accord.

"Losing your head already?" Severus murmured, his warm breath blowing against Hermione's cheek.

"It's your damned fault," she all but moaned, using both hands to clutch onto his head. Fervently holding onto his hair, Hermione pressed her lips back to Severus', dipping her tongue back into his mouth.

Still rocking her hips against his, she soon felt his confined erection pressing against thin cotton of her knickers covered womanhood. Breaking their kiss, Hermione shifted herself upright on Severus' lap. The angling caused all of her weight to drop back down, and her clit was pressed alongside of the tumescent length beneath her.

Remembering that she'd barely had the chance to explore Severus' body, within means of course, Hermione pressed one hand against the exposed skin at the top of his pajama top.

Severus settled down further into the mattress when Hermione's soft, little fingers began tracing against his neck and chest. When the errant digits began straying further down, he quickly held her hand in place.

"Would you rather I pop the buttons off?" she asked, bringing her freed hand up to his pajamas.

"As charming as your perseverance is, you're forgetting what I told you."

"Please?" she asked, attempting to slide her fingers underneath the space between two of the buttons. Staunchly keeping her hand in place, Hermione finally felt Severus loosen his grip on her.

She slowly unfastened each of the small buttons, scooting back onto Severus' thighs when she reached the hem. Pushing the material back, she ran her hands over his bared chest and stomach, appreciatively getting a feel of his soft skin.

There was a sprinkling of hair between his pectorals, and then the faintest trace leading from his navel downwards. Whenever her fingertips grazed Severus' nipples, Hermione noticed that his body tensed ever so slightly.

Inwardly musing that he did a better job at containing his arousal, she dipped her head, nuzzling her face against his skin before pressing gentle kisses. Remembering how she'd come apart when Severus gently bit down on her neck, Hermione wondered what would happen if she did the same.

Lightly scraping her teeth against one flat nipple, she was instantly rewarded with her name being uttered in a deep, constrained groan that made her clit throb and insides clench.

"You continue to try my patience, witch," Severus spat out.

The idea of the usually dour wizard caving at the slightest caresses of her hand was more than Hermione could bear. Moving her right hand down, she waited on tenterhooks to see if Severus would try to stop her. When he didn't she gently ran her hand against the front of his pajama pants, then daringly grasping onto his erection.

"I think I've allowed you far more liberties than warranted," Severus told her in a strained voice, moving his hand down over hers.

"You know you want me to. Just let me," Hermione replied in a hushed tone. "I promise to not do anything else."

Severus was well on the verge of losing control, and finally resigned to letting Hermione continue her exploration. Had he not been so painfully aroused, he might have chuckled, remembering when he told Hermione that she should be careful not to look for things she wasn't ready for.

He should have known better. Hermione was relentless in everything she did. Despite Severus always being the one to say no, she took his word quietly, but attempted just the opposite when the opportunity presented itself.

Right then her little hand had insinuated itself at the waistband of his pajama bottoms, her fingers delving inside and grazing against the coarse pubic hair before moving lower.

Hermione could literally feel her walls throbbing when her hand enclosed over Severus' erect cock. It was warmer than the rest of his body, and felt like velvet wrapped around steel.

Enclosing his manhood in her fist, Severus' hips began moving slightly as if he was beckoning her to continue. Gripping him more firmly, she moved her hand up and down the stiffened length, surprised when she felt moisture beginning to collect at the tip.

For a brief second, Severus brought one hand down over Hermione's, showing her how he wanted to be touched. Once he let go, Hermione continued with her ministrations, Severus' writhing hips only adding more fuel to her fire.

Moments later he shuddered against her, his thighs trembling slightly beneath her weight. Severus' breathing was growing increasingly ragged, his body tensing up sporadically.

A stifled groan suddenly rent the air, and Hermione felt the underside of his cock pulsing in her hand. Copious amounts of his release spilled over and trickled down her hand and onto Severus' stomach.

Feeling his body growing relaxed, Hermione released his now shrinking penis, yet opted to keep her hand on his thigh.

"Sorry about that," Severus told her in a husky voice tinged with languor.

"For what?" Hermione asked, wondering what the problem was. Up until now, Hermione thought that making herself come with Severus touching her was the single most erotic experience of her life. Then she made him come apart with a few strokes of her own hand, when the idea alone was enough to leave the seat of her knickers soaked.

"Didn't you enjoy that?"

"Of course I enjoyed it, silly girl," he replied, sitting up slightly. Realizing that he'd moved his hand over hers, she felt the sticky juices of his release disappear. "I was merely talking about erupting all over your hand."

"I didn't mind," she said.

That was putting it mildly; between her legs was throbbing so viciously it was nearly painful. Kneeling up, Hermione hastily lifted her nightgown and held it in place while impatiently shoving the other hand into her knickers.

Nearly recoiling when she found that between her legs was positively saturated, Hermione wasted no time in stroking her tingling clit. Despite still having her knickers in place, the sounds of fingers moving about her wet flesh filled the room, but Hermione was too aroused to care.

Nothing else mattered at that moment; not the fact that she was prostrated over one of Severus' legs or that she was moaning uncontrollably- she just needed to come.

With a few more frantic caresses of her fingertips, Hermione let out a high-pitched cry as a forceful orgasm washed over her. When it finally subsided, she removed her hand from between her legs and promptly collapsed against Severus' chest.

Too spent to notice anything else, Hermione missed that Severus had left his top unbuttoned as her face was resting against his bare skin. Her sensitized body was still trembling against his, and Hermione nearly swooned when he began to gently run his hands over her back.

Hermione fell limp across the length of his body, nuzzling her face into his neck, seconds later dropping off to a deep sleep.
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Broken Dreams