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
- 17
- 18
- 19
A/N: Thanks for the lovely reviews! By all means, feel free to review some more, don't be shy! ;)

Hermione stirred slightly in her sleep, shifting beneath the duvet and pausing when she felt the heat of Severus' bare skin against her back. His long legs were stretched out and entwined with hers, his right arm draped across her waist. Gingerly turning around so as not to disturb him, Hermione mused over Severus in his repose.

Scattered rays of sunlight poured in from the window, falling upon his mussed, black hair that was splayed out on the pillow, a few stands framing strong features that had been softened by a peaceful, vulnerable state of sleep. Severus was breathing softly and steadily, the usually present harsh lines on his forehead and around his mouth now almost completely effaced.

A small smile involuntarily formed on her face, and Hermione sighed, resting her head on Severus' shoulder. She'd just closed her eyes when she heard a scratching at her bedroom door. Inwardly groaning, Hermione sat back up and climbed out of bed, wincing slightly when the aching muscles in her legs protested at the movement.

Rushing to find her clothes before Midnight was able to leave claw marks at the base of her door, Hermione picked up the wriggling ball of black fluff that immediately attempted to scamper in the direction of her bed.

"No, Midnight," Hermione quietly chastised, picking the kitten up before he was able to bother Severus, whom was still reclined on his side and soundly sleeping, the sheets drawn up to his bare, pallid torso. "Have you forgotten what happened the last time you woke up Severus?"

"Mreow!" the kitten mewled, his blue button eyes peering up at Hermione as if he was able to understand her. Midnight had unerringly made his way into Severus' bedroom one morning, jumping up onto his bed and managing to find his wand. He'd dredged out all of a few inches from beneath the pillow, attempting to chew on the carved, ebony handle, before Severus jerked out of sleep. He was bleary eyed, his black hair ruffled and sticking up, as he bellowed at the kitten whom gave a loud hiss before bolting out of the room.

Hermione had been comfortably curled up into Severus' side, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard him yelling. Severus then used a few choice four-letter words to describe the cat before yanking his wand from beneath the pillow, holding it up in the dim light, trying to make sure that it hadn't been damaged.

Hermione was still ridden with sleep, yet couldn't help it when she broke out into laughter at the disgruntled look on Severus' face. The glare he'd thrown her was completely aphotic , yet in her own way, Hermione managed to pacify Severus until he'd stopped glowering.

Still laughing at the memory, Hermione slowly made her way down to the kitchen, setting Midnight down on the linoleum. "Do you know that you have terrible timing?" she commented, pulling the pantry doors open and rifling through the contents. Arching an eyebrow, she threw a defiant look in Midnight's direction.

"Mrow," he calmly replied, rolling over onto his back and swiping the air with a single paw.

Shaking her head, Hermione continued shuffling things around the pantry until she found what she was looking for. Unearthing some tinned cat food that had been previously purchased for Crookshanks, she dumped it into a dish and set it on the floor. Hermione had barely moved her hand from the edge of the dish when Midnight bustled over, nearly knocking her hand out of the way to get to his breakfast.

"Heh, I should have named you Ron," she snickered to the greedy feline.

With Midnight otherwise occupied with his meal, Hermione put the kettle on for tea. She felt a bit silly knowing that she could have heated water within a second's time using her wand, but she'd left it up in her room. Waiting for the water to boil, she shuffled off to the downstairs bathroom. Hermione was in the middle of washing her hands and looked up, laughing when she saw her reflection in the mirror.

Her curls were tangled and sticking up all over her head, her lips slightly puffy and swollen. Her neck was gratuitously covered in love bites, and she had a niggling suspicion that if she were to take off her camisole, more would be revealed.

Severus had been right; had they made love the night before her exam she would have been inclined to draw her wand on him in the morning. Her legs weren't the only thing that ached; her entire body felt as if she'd gone running without stopping, not to mention the tenderness of her most intimate area.

To say that she had been worked over was an understatement. It felt as if Severus had taken her apart and turned her inside out - just as he promised.

Chuckling to herself, Hermione heard the kettle whistling and walked back to the kitchen. Preparing two mugs of tea, she turned to carry them upstairs, yet not before having to shoo Midnight away from her ankles.

Severus had turned over onto his stomach, his face buried in the pillow and his black hair splayed partially across one shoulder. Hermione felt a niggling of guilt at seeing the twin set of small, red marks standing out on both his pale shoulders, their shape matching the curve of her short nails. Her brown eyes then fell to the slew of faded yet ghastly scars mapped across his back, and Hermione had to force herself to look away. Setting his mug down on her dresser, she using her wand to cast a stasis charm to keep the liquid hot.

Blowing at the steam rising from her mug, Hermione gingerly folded herself into the chair across from her bed. Curving her hands around the warmed ceramic, she took a few sips of the marginally cooled tea while looking over at her slumbering wizard.

Her wizard.

She rather liked the sound of that. It was still amusing to Hermione, as she could vividly remember a time when she would have given her eyeteeth to avoid Severus. Now she was claiming him for her own.

Even though he was asleep, Hermione kept furtively peeking over at him, and had to bite down on her lip to keep from smiling. Without the forbidding black robes, Severus looked much less menacing. Throw in the fact that he was lightly snoring and sprawled out among her messy yet feminine sheets, and he looked like how she guessed any other man or wizard would after a long night of making love to his witch.

"Am I that interesting that you feel the need to stare at me whilst I'm sleeping?" she heard Severus suddenly ask in a slumber logged voice.

"Yes," Hermione answered. "You're positively enthralling. I've bought you a cup of tea, by the way."

Severus yawned as he sat up, shuffling to sit back against the headboard. Watching as Hermione rounded the bed to sit next to him, he took the still hot mug from her outstretched hand. "Thank you."

Demurely crossing her legs, Hermione yanked her hair over one shoulder, picking up a few fuzzy strands between her fingers and holding them in front of her face.

"You're rather quiet," Severus commented after a lingering stretch of silence. Looking up, she saw that his dark eyes were steadily taking in her appearance. "I don't believe I've ever seen you looking so pensive; and believe me, that is saying something."

Hermione smiled and gave a small shrug, yet still remained silent. She couldn't help but feeling a bit self-conscious. She was half dressed, sitting on her bed with Severus whom was completely naked, save for the sheet draped across his hips. After all they'd shared last night, the idea of being skittish around him seemed ludicrous, but that didn’t change the way she felt.

Severus took a long drag of his tea before speaking again. "What's wrong, Hermione?" he calmly asked. "Are you having regrets already?"

"No!" she hastily replied, her brown eyes flashing in Severus' direction.

"I just wanted to be sure. I must say, it was rather interesting, waking up without being in mortal peril of your wild hair suffocating me."

Hermione gave a scoff, pushing her tousled curls back over her shoulder. "Well, it's your fault it looks like shredded hay," she pointedly replied.

Severus smirked, draining the remains of his tea and wandlessly levitating the empty mug across to Hermione's dresser.

"Show-off," she muttered under her breath, eliciting a chuckle from the wizard. In a mock fit of peevishness, Hermione leaned across to Severus, bringing one hand up to further rumple his hair. "That's for calling my hair wild."

Severus didn't bat so much as an eyelash when the little witch proceeded to muss his hair. "Sprightly little troublemaker," he declared in a soft voice. "You should take heed of where those little antics will lead you."

Hermione threw Severus a defiant look. Within the blink of an eye, he'd reached across the bed and bodily snatched her up, trapping her beneath him.

"Severus!" Hermione yelled, laughing despite the fact that she'd been caught off guard. Severus easily pinned her legs between his thighs, pulling both of Hermione's arms up over her head. "Satisfied now?" she wittingly asked, looking up into Severus' smirking face.

"You're a mouthy, little witch," he grumbled, lowering his head to lightly nip at the juncture between Hermione's neck and shoulder.

"And you say that to say what?" Hermione averred, closing her eyes and tilting her head to the side, her body trembling slightly as Severus gently ghosted his lips over her pulse. Inhaling softly when he moved to her mouth, Hermione gave a little yelp when she felt Severus' teeth lightly digging into her bottom lip. She immediately opened her eyes to protest, glowering when she saw the complacent look on Severus' face, his obsidian eyes at half mast as they bore into hers.

"That's for your cheek," he told Hermione in a euphonic baritone before covering her lips with his. Severus finally released his grip on her wrists, and Hermione slid her arms around his neck, nearly purring with contentment at his kiss.

"Well if this is my punishment..." she trailed off, lifting her head slightly to place a kiss below his ear. Hermione continued trailing her lips across Severus' cheek, her hands tentatively running over his naked back. Hermione felt a flash of anger at the raised areas of old scars beneath her fingers, and refocused her attention to the feel of Severus' weight pressing her into the mattress.

"This is what you elect for my castigation?" Hermione asked, flexing her hips up into Severus' stiffened length that was now rubbing against her thigh.

"It's a good a choice as any," he replied, shifting up slightly to remove Hermione's satin knickers. Tossing the scrap of satin to the side, Severus positioned himself in the cradle of Hermione's splayed thighs, gliding the tip of his cock over her damp folds before gently nudging his way into her body.

"Ow," she hissed, flinching slightly when he grazed her sore entrance.

"Sorry," Severus said apologetically. Impeding all movement for a minute, his warm fingers enclosed around Hermione's right wrist, guiding her hand down between her legs.

Realizing what he expected her to do, she began gently stroking her fingertips over her clit. Once her body began giving way to arousal, Severus slowly propelled into her snug heat. Hermione was grateful that she didn't have to endure the sharp piercing, pinching sensation of her most intimate parts as she had the first time. This time the slight burn and stretch of her still tender muscles only lasted a minute, and Hermione was soon moving her hips along with Severus'.

Severus kept his movements controlled and in check; the glissando of his body so smooth that Hermione gasped each time he pushed forward. He was brushing against that recently discovered spot deep inside of her body, the motion making her womb clench in anticipation.

Caught between the sensation of her fingers moving over the sensitive nub, and coupled with Severus' gentle thrusting, Hermione desperately felt the need to scream and writhe about, Instead, she bit down on her bottom lip, her mouth soon going slack to release a breathless moan when she suddenly climaxed.

Falling limp when Severus paused for a moment, Hermione noticed that he had only done so in order to pull the silky material of her camisole down beneath her breasts. His hands curved around the warm swells of flesh, his thumbs running over the hard, rose tipped nipples before his mouth followed suit.

Letting out an uncontrollable moan, Hermione clutched onto Severus' head, arching her chest up against his mouth. His dexterous hands and tongue continued moving over her breasts, the lower half of his body resuming the slow, torturous rolling into hers.

Severus had taken her hard and fast the night before, his easy cadence now a complete opposite. Even as he slowly drove into Hermione's body, he continued looking down at her, his visage one of raw lust. Wanting to be kissed, Hermione reached up to pull at Severus' shoulders, tugging at him until his chest met with her partially uncovered breasts.

Sliding her tongue over Severus' lips until he opened his mouth, Hermione wasted no time in kissing him in a way that matched her escalating passion. Moaning and whimpering, Hermione's legs came around Severus' waist at the same time her arms ensnared his neck. Her cries of pleasure were muffled for the most part against his lips, the occasional utterance managing to escape.

Hermione's hands moved from Severus' shoulders down to his lower back, aroused by the tense and flex of his sinewy muscles beneath her fingertips. She was soon balancing the fine edge of climax again when his body came to a standstill.

"Why did you stop?!" Hermione plaintively cried out, her voiced leaden with desperation. Tightening her arms around Severus' waist in an effort to force him to continue, Hermione nearly became fighting mad when she heard him breathily chuckle into her ear. Severus then guided Hermione's tightly wound arms from around his waist, pressing them above her head and down against the mattress.

"Severus!" Hermione ground out, futilely arching her hips up. Her brown eyes were now flashing angrily at him, becoming further agitated when she was unable to tell what thoughts were hiding behind the sloe orbs peering down at her.

"How many times must I tell you that I won't be rushed?" he murmured against her cheek.

A second away from growling, Hermione attempted to slip from beneath Severus with the intent to switch positions, only for him to neatly press her back into place. "Damn you, Severus! Why are you being a git?"

"Perhaps I enjoy hearing that frenzied undertone in your voice," he suggested in a hushed, lascivious tone, as he slid his hands over Hermione's arms, moving up to her wrists and lacing his fingers through hers. "Or," he continued, fully withdrawing from Hermione's body, causing her to unleash a hiss while cambering her hips up against him, "I enjoy making you do that."

"I'm going to do a lot more than that if you don't get on with it!" she spat, her body humming with the suppressed release that Severus was quite fond of denying her for the moment.

"Or might it be this?" Severus silkily suggested, pushing his entire length back into Hermione's snug, quivering body to deliver slow yet full, deep strokes that made her legs tighten around his waist with each one, causing her back to form a sharp arc and her fingers to squeeze around his.

Emboldened cries that seemed to emanate from Hermione's very core erupted from her parted lips. She was unaware that Severus was paying rapt attention to the look of pure, unadulterated bliss on her face, enjoying the sight of her fingers clenched around his hands, resting on the disarray of brown curls that were splayed around her head.

Hermione swore loudly when Severus changed his angling slightly, brushing inside and against her in a way that set every nerve ending aflame. All it took was a few more well-delivered strokes before the intimate rhythm became too overwhelming. Severus had barely uttered the words "come for me," against Hermione's mouth before sucking her bottom lip into his, when the tense coil of her pent-up release finally snapped.

Digging her short nails into Severus' hand, Hermione gave a guttural scream as her body jerked and strained uncontrollably against his. Severus barely registered the little points being pressed into his skin, as he furiously erupted into Hermione's body, feeling her walls gripping and convulsing around his cock, liberally bathing it with the juices of her release.

Hermione's legs remained wrapped firmly around Severus as she came down from her orgasm, his head buried in the soft folds of her neck. Severus was still panting slightly when he tried to relieve Hermione of his weight, only for her to pry her fingers out of his and pull him back against her.

"Mm-hmm," she buzzed in languid protest, her small hands relaxing against Severus' shoulders. He conceded for awhile, ignoring Hermione's clamoring when he moved from on top of her.

"You can't breathe properly with me crushing you, Hermione," he calmly replied, moving to her side. Hermione was instantly mollified when Severus pulled her into the slim curve of his body, her head nestled in the crook of his arm.

"All right," she murmured, her eyes still closed. "I definitely need a shower now." Sliding her legs against the duvet, she gave a wince. "Better make that a bath. I don't think I could stand up right now, even if my life depended on it."

Severus gave a small laugh, pressing his lips against Hermione's temple. Her entire body was still flush from their lovemaking, the dark pink camisole bunched beneath her breasts and twisted around her torso. Severus moved his other arm up to Hermione's face, gently tracing his fingers over the light smatter of freckles dotting her nose and cheeks, moving down to trail over the cupid's bow of her lips.

"You're going to need to eat at some point," he commented.

Lazily holding onto the hand that caressed her features, Hermione pressed a soft kiss onto Severus' fingertips. "I'm too knackered to chew."

"Do I need to force feed you?"

"Oh, Severus," Hermione sighed in defeat. "All right, fine, you tyrannical savant. Just let me lie here for a moment; then I'll bathe and find us lunch."

"All right, ten minutes," Severus conceded, resting his head against Hermione's. "Then I'll levitate you out of bed if need be."

"You've got a lot of bloody nerve," she murmured, nuzzling further into his warmth. "It's your fault I can't move."

The two had unintentionally fallen back asleep for another hour, going well over the ten minutes that Severus had imposed. Hermione divested herself of the wrinkled camisole, walking to the bathroom to run a hot tub, adding a generous amount of bubble bath to the water. Severus found her reclining back in the tub, her shoulders peeking out of the fluffy, fragrance froth, and was unable to resist sneering when she suggested that he join her.

Severus grumbled that he had no wish to smell like a chemically engineered bouquet of flowers, only capitulating and moving out of the doorway after she solidly plead for five minutes. Hermione watched as Severus hastily unfastened and stepped out of his trousers. She moved forward in the tub, her dampened, dangling curls creating small parts in the suds. Once Severus slid down into the hot water, he stretched his long legs alongside Hermione's.

Severus had never taken a bath that smelled cloyingly of flowers, much less share one with another person. But when he pulled Hermione against him, allowing her damp back to rest against his chest, he decided that it was pleasant enough.

The bubbles had completely dissipated by the time they got out of the tub. Severus took his wand to his clothes before redressing, leaving Hermione to scour the contents of her closet, all the while grumbling that she needed her trunk from Hogwarts.

Severus told her to quit her whinging, they'd get her trunk later than evening if she was so inclined. They made their way down to the kitchen, where Hermione proceeded to ransack the fridge and pantry until she found suitable ingredients for an impromptu meal. She was thoroughly stymied when Severus rolled his sleeves up to his forearms, standing next to her at the counter to offer assistance.

"Are you really shocked at the fact that I know my way around the kitchen?" he asked, his long fingers curving around a knife while his other hand pulled a dish of vegetables over.

"Yes..well no..." Hermione replied, one eyebrow arched. "Well, I suppose I've never thought about it."

"I've returned to my own home over the summer holidays, just as you and the rest of your little friends have done year after year," Severus continued. "The only meals I had were the ones that I personally prepared."

Nodding her head thoughtfully, Hermione kept her eye on the tomato she was slicing, remaining quiet as she mused over his comment. She hadn't considered the fact that Severus lived elsewhere other than Hogwarts, and found that she was curious.

"I think the fact that you offered to help threw me off," Hermione said, changing the subject.

"And that would send you off kilter because..."

"Because I spent a year with two wizards that barely lifted a finger to help me with the meals, well, Harry did a few times. But all Ronald was good for was to complain that he was still hungry, or he didn't like what I prepared, or to compare my cooking to his mum's."

"I'm going to overlook the fact that you've just compared me to the boy wonder and speckled idiot," Severus began, making Hermione snicker at the less than affable epithets, "but I will say that Molly has her son spoilt. I'm amazed that you managed to spend a length of time with him in such close proximity without using at least one Unforgivable Curse."

"Believe me, it wasn't as if I'd never thought about it," Hermione admitted. "But I was ever so happy when it was over. Not that I was really focused on this insignificant point at the time, but do you know what it's like to go a full year sharing a tent with two males that haven't showered? I wanted to hex off my own nose."

"All right, I see your point," Severus said. "But do spare me any further details for now; I'd like to actually enjoy my late lunch."

**

Once their meal had been all but inhaled, Severus and Hermione went to her living room, resting for a minute on the couch. Midnight sauntered over to Hermione, mewing until she picked him up and petted him. She was in the middle of stroking the now quiet black kitten when she noticed Severus staring at something on the mantle.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"It's just odd seeing photographs that are inanimate,” he replied. Frowning slightly, his dark eyes settled on one of the frames. Using his wand to Accio it over to the sofa, Severus peered down at the image of Hermione as a child.

"I don't know why you feel the need to look at that thing," she grumbled. "The photographer made me smile, and I hated my teeth in that picture."

"I fail to see anything that's amiss."

"Oh, that's rich, especially considering you all but laughed at me in my fourth year when Draco jinxed my teeth and made them grow till they reached my wrists!" Hermione was now glowering at Severus, mentally rehashing the unpleasant memory. "I was positively mortified that day. If I could have disappeared I would've gladly done so."

"Goodness, Hermione. I apologize for laughing at you, as you put it. Of course you wouldn't have known this, but I did punish Draco. Contrary to popular opinion, he didn't get away with every one of his antics as you would believe."

"If you say so," Hermione sighed, taking the picture frame from Severus and placing it on the coffee table. "It's so quiet here, I'm actually not in the mood to leave. But I do need my trunk."

"Well then, put your miscreant of a cat down so we can hurry along."

Hermione balked at Severus' choice of words, but plucked Midnight from her lap and set him down on the floor. Once they'd gotten their shoes from Hermione's room, the both went out into the back garden and were standing on the deck.

"If I let you ward my house again, will I be able to get back inside?" she asked.

"Only if I come back to remove them," Severus smugly replied.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Severus. "Obviously that's what I meant," she shot back.

"Was that an indirect invitation back to the lioness' den?" he archly inquired, his black eyes glittering mischievously.

"Oh, bite my arse, Severus," Hermione snapped, roughly grabbing onto his arm. "Let's go get my ruddy trunk."

Severus chuckled at the harassed expression on Hermione's face, casting a Silencing Charm before Apparating them out from the back of her house.

It felt a little strange landing in Severus' office in the tower. Dumbledore's portrait had instantly caught sight of the two, and his blue eyes twinkled in their direction, although he stayed hushed noticing Severus' returned scowl.

"Do you think you'll be able to safely make it across the castle on your own?" Severus asked, "Or might I need to cast a protective shield around you first?"

"I'm sure I can manage, professor," Hermione dryly assured, giving Severus a mock grimace before turning on her heel.

"On your way then, Miss Granger."

Hermione seriously contemplated throwing a tickling hex in the headmaster's direction, but knew that the consequences would be severe. She knew that he would most likely do something harmless yet sadistic, like bind her into place while casting a tickling hex right back as well as using his fingers.

Making it to her room without being seeing by any faculty or lingering ghosts, Hermione used her wand to make quick work of neatly packing her things into her trunk. Securing the latch and tipping the bulky thing upright with a loud thump, Hermione dragged it along the floor and out of her room, barely casting a second glance back into the area.

The tinny sound of the trunk's wheels was magnified in the empty corridor. Growing wearing of hauling the oversized luggage throughout the castle, Hermione used her wand to levitate it front of her, until she was back at Severus' office.

His password was the same since she'd last used it on the day of her Potions master exam. Awkwardly fitting the trunk alongside her legs, Hermione waited for the gargoyle to ascend, knocking on the double doors before entering.

"Did you pack the curtains and furnishings as well?" Severus asked, looking up from his desk with a sneer when he saw the monstrosity that Hermione called a trunk.

"Hah hah," she replied dryly, arranging the traveling cloak around her shoulders and sitting down opposite Severus. "I told you everything I needed was back in my room."

"Clearly."

Hermione shook her head, biting down on her lip to keep from laughing when she saw Dumbledore's portrait winking at her. "You should keep a little dish of sweets on your desk, like Professor Dumbledore used to," she commented, earning another wink and a wide grin from his portrait.

Severus' head snapped up, his dark hair hanging menacingly in front of his face. "What did you just say?" he hissed.

"Sweets, you know, Jelly Slugs or Pepper Imps. Whenever we were in here, Professor Dumbledore would offer us one. Of course, I didn't indulge frequently, but there was a rather funny incident involving an entire bag of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum...this entire tower was filled with multicolored bubbles."

Dumbledore seemed to be highly amused, and was shaking with laughter in his frame, knowing that Hermione was merely poking fun at the dark wizard. Severus, on the other hand, was looking at Hermione as if she'd lost her mind, instead suggesting that he keep balls of dung on his desk.

"And why on earth, pray tell, would I do such an asinine thing?" he softly asked, quirking one eyebrow.

"Because, if you ever have students in your office, it might make them feel more at ease if you offered them sweets," Hermione replied, keeping a straight face.

Severus remained silent, staring at Hermione for a long time. "I can only assume that your lapse in sanity has everything to do with the fact that Dumbledore is behind me, enjoying your little antics more than he should."

Hermione finally capitulated, giggling uncontrollably along with Dumbledore. "Severus actually prefers chocolate; mild, bittersweet dark chocolate," the white-haired wizard called out, much to Severus' consternation. "A shame at that; he always turned down my offer of a nice toffee or lemon drop."

"That's actually quite fitting of your personality, Severus!" Hermione chirped. "Dark, but with an unexpected sweetness."

Severus spun around in his seat so fast, that his dark hair whipped around his face, causing Hermione's giggling to turn into loud laughter, tears of mirth filling her eyes. Severus was shooting an also chuckling Dumbledore the dirtiest look he could muster up. Turning back to the little witch sitting across from him, he saw that Hermione was now red faced, her laughter turning into a sputter when saliva went down her airway. She promptly began coughing, and Severus had to get up and come around his desk, thumping Hermione on the back until she was able to breathe again, the murderous expression never once leaving his face.

"Oh my goodness!" Hermione weakly cried, wiping the moisture from her face with her sleeve. "I don't think I've ever laughed so hard."

"If you two are nearly done, then perhaps we can continue on," Severus said crisply. He stiffly stood next to a still gasping Hermione, whom was holding onto his sleeve.

"Oh Severus, it was just a bit of fun," Hermione told him, her lips still stretched into a smile. "The day you keep a dish of candy on your desk will be the day I give up books.” Severus was still glowering down at her, finally stalking off, roughly grabbing the handle of her trunk and walking towards the door.

Hermione shook her head, looking over at Dumbledore's portrait. "He'll be all right, dear boy. He knows that we don't mean any harm."

Turning around when she heard the office door slam with a resounding bang, Hermione looked back at the portrait. "He's not really upset, is he?" she asked, her smile slightly faltering.

"Not at all," Dumbledore said reassuringly. "Now you run along. I daresay you'll be able to catch up with Severus before he makes it to the Great Hall. Oh, and Miss Granger, I'm glad to see that you two have patched things up."

Hermione flashed Dumbledore a grin before sailing down the short set of steps, and out into the corridor. The elderly wizard had been right; she was able to find Severus, whom was pulling her trunk along as if it weighed less than half a stone.

"Severus," Hermione called, jogging lightly to keep in step with his long strides. "You do know that I was only taking the mickey at you, right?"

'Hmph," came the curt reply, as he continued walking forward.

"If I make you a cake with dark cocoa, will you forgive me?" she slyly asked, peeking up into Severus' face. He still refused to look at Hermione, continuously pulling her trunk along.

"It better be one hell of a cake," he finally conceded, his lip curling slightly.

The two were still silently making their way down the corridor when they ran into McGonagall and Pomfrey. "Oh bloody hell," Severus swore underneath his breath. He'd been hoping to get out of the castle without having to offer any explanations as to his hasty exit.

"Severus!" McGonagall chirped, bustling over in a flurry of tartan robes. "Is everything all right?" She concernedly looked at the tight-lipped wizard, before curiously glancing at Hermione.

"Yes," he tersely replied, obviously not in the mood to make small talk.

"Poppy said you'd left here in a rush without saying anything."

Severus shot Madam Pomfrey a sulphurous look, apparently irritated that she'd opened her mouth to McGonagall. "Well?" she continued.

"All is in order, Minerva," Severus told her in a tight voice. McGonagall continued furtively eyeing the headmaster, casting Hermione another glance with some hidden meaning, finally relenting and walking away with Pomfrey.

"Do you think she suspects anything?" Hermione asked after the two elderly witches were completely out of earshot.

"It's quite possible," Severus replied without further elaboration.

"We won't get into any trouble...will we?"

At that comment Severus stopped walking, the wheels on Hermione's truck squeaking in protest at the abrupt standstill. "I would prefer to have this conversation in a more discreet location, but if you must know, no, we will not get into any trouble. We are two consenting adults, and what happens between us is no concern of anyone else."

"All right, I just wanted to make sure," Hermione said.

"Indeed. Now let's make haste, shall we? I'm ready to leave, and you owe me a cake for your transgressions."

"Is that so?" Hermione asked wryly. "Something tells me that you weren't all that miffed; but as usual, your cunning is going to land you freshly baked goods. Naturally, you're going to take advantage."

"Well, you started with that sweets in my office nonsense, and then proceeded to laugh at me along with Albus. And it was you that offered a cake as penance. Who be I to look a gift horse in the mouth?"

"A pain in my arse, scheming Slytherin, that's who," Hermione answered. "You'll get your cake. It'll also make up for that disgusting apple crumble. I swear, it tasted as if they used cumin instead of cinnamon in it."

"It is a distinct possibility, Professor Granger," Severus told her. "Just wait until you have a classroom of your own dunderheads; they'll pull out ingredients that have been painstakingly and carefully prepared, choosing the wrong one simply because they've looked at its colour instead of reading the label. I hope you're able to contain your mirth after they've blown up their cauldrons, explaining that they thought they were using one ingredient when in fact it was another, because, and I quote 'it looked like such and such."

"At the rate you're going, I'm going to pour a Calming Draught in the cake batter," Hermione threatened after awhile.

"Firewhisky or elf-made wine will suffice," Severus curtly replied as they rounded the corner.

Things seem to be moving smoothly, will they remain so? *dum dum dummmmm*
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Broken Dreams