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Twenty Four Hours	By : Dazzlious Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 10678 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from JK Rowling’s fantastic books or films, I’m just borrowing and playing with them for a little while and get no monetary reward for doing so. Original Characters are mine.

Chapter List
- 1-Prologue
- 2-One
- 3-Two
- 4-Three
- 5-Four
- 6-Five
- 7-Six
- 8-Seven
- 9-Eight
- 10-Nine
- 11-Ten
- 12-Eleven
- 13-Twelve
- 3
- 4
- 5
Hermione smiled as she unlocked the door to the laboratory and went inside, using her wand to turn on the lights. She was the first one in, as always, just as she was usually the last to leave in the evening, but she was perfectly content with that.
She knew she was a bit of a control freak and had a tendency to micro-manage if she didn’t force herself to take a step back; delegation really didn’t come all that naturally to her. But being on her own during those morning and evening hours meant she could keep up to date on what her team was doing but could also keep that controlling streak in check while they were in the laboratory.
As she passed through the quiet room and into her office Hermione thought about how much she enjoyed the peace that an empty laboratory brought: the chance to sit quietly for a few minutes and consider everything she had achieved since leaving school — an opportunity to savour her accomplishments, which was something she never usually had time for.
The team were busier than ever with their research heading in interesting and, so far at least, useful directions since Severus had come on board. These days there was even less time for her to pause and reflect, to consider how things had panned out so far and what she was going to do in the future once the virus had been completely contained.
New challenges awaited her, of that Hermione was certain, but what they were and who she would face them with was something she had been trying to put off thinking about knowing the decision was likely to be a painful one that would change her life irrevocably.
It was always there in the background, pushing to be examined in greater detail, but until now Hermione had managed to ignore it, using the need to conquer the virus as an excuse to stop her facing up to the fact that her marriage was failing and there was little she could do to stop it.
There, she had finally admitted it — her marriage was a complete shambles and whatever she did someone was going to get hurt — and, unfortunately, it was probably going to be her.
It didn’t help that Severus Snape had come back into her life, a man whose work was so brilliant that her own talent was completely eclipsed. It made her determined to push herself further, to test herself in ways she had never done before, and she was enjoying both the challenge and the hard work that was required to succeed.
Her ex-Potions Master had aroused in a Hermione a zeal to excel in her chosen field that she hadn’t felt since she had been in one of his Potions lessons. But even back then she had held herself back somewhat, not wanting to make her friends feel inferior even though she knew they were as aware as she that she was streets ahead of them both in magical ability and intelligence. This time there was no reason to hold back, and Hermione knew that if she wanted to she could achieve extraordinary things in her career, especially with Severus as her mentor.
But the kindling of Hermione’s desire to excel at her profession was totally at odds with Ron’s expectation of her and with the life plan she had so assiduously mapped out at the beginning of her career, when her marriage had been new and exciting and the world had looked so hopeful after the defeat of Voldemort.
Leading a team that had contained and hopefully in the next few months would eliminate a virus that had threatened to decimate the wizarding world would have been seen as the absolute pinnacle of her career, and Hermione knew that back then she would have been happy to stop there, to take that crowning achievement and add it to her work of helping Harry to defeat Voldemort, then settle down and raise a family with Ron; still working, but with nowhere near the intensity or the sort of pressure she was currently under.
But things had changed . . . Hermione had changed . . . and that rosy future containing children and eventually grandchildren, with a steady husband by her side and roses round the door of a pleasant cottage in the country, no longer seemed as attractive as it once had, nor did it even seem achievable in the current climate.
She was aware that Ron, who had been growing ever more dissatisfied with his own job as an Auror, had not been at all pleased when Severus’ addition to the team had meant her working even longer hours than she had previously.
Hermione knew he understood in a general way both how important the work they were undertaking was and what a boost to the project the ex-Potions Master’s presence provided, but she also knew he didn’t like Severus and wasn’t pleased with how the increase in work had impacted their marriage.
The truth was that if the virus hadn’t happened and Hermione hadn’t had the chance to head up the UK team she would probably have had children by now, her dissatisfaction at work prior to this challenge having been as great as Ron’s so she would have been happy to give it up to look after a family.
But she had been lucky — if she could call it that considering how devastating the virus was — and now her desires and Ron’s just didn’t match up any longer, putting a huge strain on what was already an exceedingly stretched relationship.
The two of them were spending very little time together these days and when they did both were so tired and usually so grumpy with each other that there was very little in the way of romantic feeling between them.
Hermione didn’t even want to spend time with Ron now in case he brought up the subject of children; she knew he was still as keen to start a family as she was to continue with her career. It only caused arguments that left her in tears and him staring sullen and angry at the Daily Prophet until they slipped into bed, lying in silence, side by side only because there was nowhere else for either of them to go — neither of them wanted to sleep on the uncomfortable sofa.
She knew the situation was untenable in the long run, but cowardice stopped her from facing up to the problem head-on and so she hid behind her work, using it as an excuse to spend even more time in the laboratory and less in the poky little flat she and Ron shared, that she wasn’t certain was actually home any longer.
There was another area for consideration too, one that was potentially even more urgent than the problems with her career and marriage, but Hermione was loath to give it any space in her mind. There was already enough going on without adding that pressure. She knew the problem she was steadfastly ignoring was at least as volatile, intertwined with the other issues as it was, but at the moment she didn’t even want to acknowledge what was happening let alone work out where things were going to go.
Hermione rubbed her sore, tired eyes, then took a sip of the large caramel latte she had bought on her way into the office. The magical world could do many things but it couldn’t get a decent cup of coffee right. Fortunately, there were several good Muggle coffee shops on her route to the Ministry of Magic so she didn’t have to put up with the rubbish they served down in the staff restaurant.
She tore open the paper bag containing the almond croissant she had bought for breakfast, gazing at it for a few seconds as she continued to drink her coffee. She really wasn’t hungry. Wrinkling her nose slightly, she re-wrapped the pastry in the bag and pushed it aside, then pulled a red manila file towards her, opening it to study the contents: a detailed resume of what each of her team members was currently working on. She concentrated on the report for several minutes until a small bell from the clock on the wall sounded the hour.
Almost subconsciously Hermione processed the sound of the clock, her breathing shallowing slightly as her pulse quickened, her heart beating faster, the whole causing her to feel a little lightheaded. She dropped the file and took another calming draught of coffee before looking up expectantly at the door.
‘Good morning, Hermione. How are you today?’
Severus was there, lounging in the doorway, his long dark hair falling over his face as he watched her insouciantly.
‘Severus! I’m well, thank you. I hope you are, too?’
The tall, dark-haired man smiled as he walked into the room, closing the door behind him. Hermione got up from behind her desk and went to join him.
‘Better now,’ he crooned softly as he pulled Hermione into his arms, their lips meeting as Hermione wrapped her arms around him in return.
‘That seemed like an extremely long weekend,’ Severus told her once the initial kiss had concluded. ‘I’ve got a massive case of blue balls.’
Hermione shook her head, grinning slightly. ‘Ever the romantic, Severus.’
He shrugged and gave a small laugh. ‘What do you want me to say? That I’ve missed you and that I hated being away from you for so long? You already know that’s the case, Hermione, so what’s the point in restating it? Anyway, I think my comment made the point more succinctly.’
‘You don’t always have to be so cynical about everything, you know. Some of us like a bit of romance,’ Hermione pointed out.
Severus lifted her onto her desk, then kissed her again, his hands moving to slide up her skirt, searching for her knickers. Hermione pulled him closer, her hands reaching to undo the buttons on his trousers as he removed her underwear.
‘I don’t think romance is what you’re after at the moment, is it, Hermione?’ Severus asked quietly as he moved closer still, a smug grin on his face.
Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck at the same time as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
‘Shut up and fuck me, there’s a good boy,’ she told him in a whisper, just a moment before their lips met again.

Although Severus had been confident that his subtle but incessant manipulation of Hermione during her twenty-four hours in his command would lead to the desired outcome — namely her throwing herself at him and begging him for sex, despite the fact she’d had no desire to do so at the start of their incarceration together — he had not expected to enjoy the encounter anywhere near as much as he had done.
It wasn’t that Severus didn’t enjoy sex. He did and had never, despite rumours to the contrary, had a problem finding willing partners to fulfil his every need. But Lily was now a long time dead, and with the successful conclusion of the war ending the obligation he had felt towards Harry Potter because of his love for her he had finally been able to move on and live a productive life in the way he wanted.
Up until now this hadn’t included a romantic relationship as he considered them stifling and enjoyed the freedom and variety that different lovers brought, but after the time he had spent with Hermione at Spinner’s End — almost forty-eight hours by the time she finally left him — Severus had begun to change his mind about having someone in his life more permanently.
He had enjoyed Hermione’s company, despite the fact he had been playing with her mind. She was intelligent and gifted and still had the potential to do so much with her life if only she didn’t let her useless great lump of a husband drag her down. But more than her company Severus had enjoyed her body and the lovemaking they had shared, and he was loath to let go of this beautiful woman who fitted him so perfectly.
Severus had considered, fortunately only briefly, insisting that sexual intimacy with her be part of his contract for working with the virus team; but having won Hermione over he didn’t want to jeopardise their fragile new relationship by making her uncomfortable again.
Instead he had struck a slightly different deal, agreeing to join the project as a consultant, working three days a week at the laboratory in London with Hermione and her team where he could interact with both them and the other worldwide teams, exchanging ideas and information. The other two days he would spend at Spinner’s End, working both on his own ongoing projects and assessing the information he had gathered whilst in the laboratory.
Because of this arrangement Severus only saw Hermione on the days he was in London but he was hopeful that eventually he might be able to draw her back to Spinner’s End occasionally, and if that happened, then who knew what might occur between them.
He hadn’t been in London long when Severus realised that Hermione wasn’t very happy in her marriage. If he was being honest, he had suspected that things weren’t quite right between her and her husband when she had been so easy to lure into bed, where the intensity of her desire pointed to a distinct lack of intimacy between her and Weasley.
You only had to follow the pattern of Hermione’s working hours — early into the laboratory and extremely late home — to understand that she was trying to avoid spending any time with her husband. Severus had seized on this opportunity, ensuring that he, too, arrived at the laboratory earlier than the rest of the team and that he stayed as late as Hermione wanted to work.
At first he had held his tongue, neither mentioning her husband and seemingly fragile marriage nor anything about his desire for her. But within a couple of months Hermione had become used to Severus being at the laboratory when no one else was, so he had made his move.
It had coincided with the discovery of a significant piece of information that had completely changed the landscape for their research and was yielding positive results.
The UK team had taken an uncharacteristic break and were celebrating in a local pub. Hermione had promised to join them but wanted to review the findings again first as she needed to make a report to the Minister for Magic and wanted to be certain that what they were saying was correct.
Severus remained behind as well, feigning the need to visit a friend in another department although he, too, promised that he would eventually join the others for their celebration. He gave Hermione a short time alone, long enough for her to establish that the information was accurate, then wandered back to the laboratory to join her.
‘You’ve done it,’ he said, sounding pleased, as he entered her office. ‘This is what we were waiting for.’
Hermione looked up from where she was sitting on the corner of her desk still reading the report. She looked happy and her eyes were glistening. Severus wondered whether she was about to cry.
‘If it works,’ she replied quietly. ‘Until you brew the potion and we test—’
‘The report speaks for itself,’ Severus said, cutting her off. ‘Everything we do now will just confirm the facts.’
He moved closer, pulling Hermione up from the desk, wrapping his arms tightly around her as he bent to kiss her. Hermione kissed him back but then tried to pull away, looking anxiously towards the open office door.
‘What are you doing, Severus?’
He chuckled. ‘Congratulating you on an extraordinary piece of work.’
Severus had noticed Hermione’s glance at the door so he pulled his wand from his pocket and closed it, leaving the two of them alone in her office.
‘No one saw us, Hermione,’ he assured her gently. ‘They’ve all gone to the pub. You and I are the only ones still here.’
Severus kissed her again, pressing himself against her, making clear his desire for her.
‘Let’s celebrate properly,’ he whispered as his hands slid down her thighs heading for the bottom of her skirt.
‘I need to read this so I can report to Kingsley,’ Hermione retorted, indicating the folder that was still on her desk.
‘You can do that later. You won’t be seeing him today because he’s tied up with the President of MACUSA. They’re still trying to bash out some deal about the carpet sellers from Baghdad.’
Hermione looked at him in astonishment. ‘How on earth do you know all this, Severus? You’re hardly ever here yet you always know exactly what’s going on.’
Severus smirked. ‘Friends in the right places,’ he said. ‘Now, are you going to let me make love to you before we go to the pub?’
‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Hermione said, sounding anxious. She tried to push his hands away from her skirt.
‘That’s not what you said at Spinner’s End,’ Severus said. A wicked grin covered his face. ‘You couldn’t get enough of me then. You were very passionate.’
Hermione flushed deep scarlet. ‘I thought we’d agreed we weren’t going to mention Spinner’s End. It was a mistake and it should never have happened.’
‘Oh, come on, Hermione,’ Severus crooned, pulling her close once more. ‘You know as well as I do that there was no mistake. You wanted me every bit as much as I wanted you . . . and it was perfect.’
‘I’m married,’ Hermione reminded him with a hiss.
‘And that didn’t matter to you either at the time,’ Severus pointed out.
‘You manipulated me,’ Hermione accused.
Severus shrugged. He was still grinning. ‘Maybe. But if you were happy with Weasley you wouldn’t have been tempted, whatever I did. All I did was start the itch, it was your choice to scratch it.’
‘But that doesn’t mean we should compound the error,’ Hermione said.
Severus wrapped his arms around her more tightly and squeezed her.
‘We both enjoyed it and it relaxed you, which you definitely need with the stress you’re under at the moment. Whatever you might try to believe, Weasley doesn’t understand what you’re going through and never will, you know that, Hermione.’
‘He’s always been supportive of my work,’ Hermione said defensively.
‘But he doesn’t understand it.’
Severus hugged her close and squeezed her again, his forehead resting against Hermione’s.
‘Do you really want me to let go of you?’ he asked softly.
Hermione sighed as she pulled back to stare at him, then she shook her head.
‘No,’ she whispered.
Severus pulled her to him, his mouth finding hers as his hands began to move again.

There had been guilt in the beginning — on Hermione’s side, not Severus’. It seemed to him that in her opinion Spinner’s End had been relief from the mind games he had played on her and therefore didn’t count on her scale of infidelity, despite having occurred over the space of several hours and including far more intimate acts than the two of them frantically rutting on a desk late one afternoon.
But although she had finally accepted that she needed to have sex with him, afterwards Hermione had become withdrawn and anxious and Severus had to work hard to convince her that she wasn’t a terrible person for wanting some happiness in her life, however briefly.
Severus wanted Hermione in his life, wanted her with a passion he had never realised he could feel again, and he wasn’t prepared to let Hermione’s emotions ruin what he knew could be a wonderful relationship if she would just give it a chance. But there was more to it than that. He was determined she would reach her potential career-wise, too.
Initially he pushed, wanting to make Hermione see that she was unhappy because of her marriage that didn’t fit at all with the life she now so wanted to lead, but that had done nothing but annoy and upset her more.
Worried that she might cede to Weasley’s wishes of giving up on her career and starting a family if he continued down that path, Severus had backed off completely for a few weeks, giving Hermione a chance to come to terms with what was happening between them.
After a time he began to make advances towards her, subtly and without any fuss, making clear with his words and sly touches when no one else was around that anything that happened between them would be through her choice alone. This worked far better than he had expected, although Weasley’s seeming disappointment at the team’s success when he realised that nothing would now stop Hermione in her job had effectively sealed the deal.
Severus made sure he was there for Hermione whenever she needed him, whether to talk through a work problem or, increasingly often, to get away from Weasley and his moaning.
Slowly they came together as a couple, and when they eventually made love again the guilt seemed to have disappeared although Severus was well aware that Hermione was using her ever-increasing workload to ignore the breakdown happening between her and her husband.
Once the barrier was broken it was like a river spilling over its banks. Their passion drove them entirely and made them both insatiable. They were making love so often that Severus considered returning to the laboratory full time — the days when he was away from Hermione seemed long and tedious, even with interesting new potions to brew.
However, he was aware that the break was one of the things that kept their relationship fresh so he had reluctantly given up on the idea . . . until now.
The long weekend he had just spent away from Hermione, extended by a bank holiday that seemed to stretch on forever and an extra day that he’d had no choice but to spend sorting out his own business, had convinced Severus that he needed more than the secret frenetic sex they abandoned themselves to whenever the opportunity arose.
He wanted Hermione to be his exclusively, for the two of them to begin a new life together where he could assist her in reaching her full potential without needing to worry about treading on anyone else’s sensitive toes.
Severus was aware that it might not be the best time to bring the subject up, but with the project looking likely to succeed in its objectives within the next few months he was running out of time, and he knew there would never be a good time to talk as far as Hermione was concerned.
As with everything he had done in his life he was just going to have to take a chance and hope that what he and Hermione now shared was greater than her unfulfilling life with Weasley.

‘I was being honest when I told you I’d missed you, Hermione. We really have been apart for too long,’ Severus admitted, candidly for him, once he and Hermione finally separated, both panting slightly from the energetic lovemaking which had given them both total satisfaction.
Hermione picked up her coffee and took a sip, trying to calm down despite the fact that her heart was suddenly racing even faster than it had been a moment earlier; still pounding from the vigorous exercise they had just undertaken and now from Severus’ words.
She noticed her hand shake slightly and put the cup down again, hoping Severus wouldn’t notice as a swirling nausea-inducing feeling appeared in her stomach.
Despite their attraction for each other Severus had never been one for romance and sweet words, not even while they were having sex, and since the earliest days they had never discussed what was happening between them or how they felt about each other. The fact that he was suddenly being so overt could only mean that the problem she had so assiduously avoided thinking about was about to rear its ugly head.
Hermione wasn’t ready to deal with it, whatever Severus wanted to say.
‘I need to get ready for a meeting with Adriana, Peter, Mohammad and Elena to discuss where we are with the trial of the latest batches of the potion. I’ve got a lot to do—’
‘Don’t change the subject, Hermione. I want to talk to you,’ Severus said commandingly.
He moved towards her, blocking Hermione from leaving the office as she had intended to do.
‘I really haven’t got time to talk to you now, I’ve got too much to do, Severus. I told you I’m meeting with the other team heads,’ she told him, her stomach roiling worse than ever. There was no way she wanted this conversation: not now and not ever if she could manage it.
‘You mean you don’t want to talk to me.’ Severus’ voice was soft but held a steely undertone. ‘We need to work out what we’re going to do. We can’t carry on like this forever, you know. We’re going to get caught eventually and I’m sure you don’t want everyone finding out that we’re fucking each other on the sly.’ He paused for a second then added, ‘Anyway, you must know by now how I—’
‘Not now,’ Hermione cut in hurriedly, her voice pleading for Severus to stop as she shook her head. She glanced at the clock knowing that the first of her team would be coming through the laboratory door in only a few minutes. ‘There’s no time now. I’ve got too much to do and the others will be arriving shortly.’
She passed him and opened the door.
‘So when, then?’ Severus asked. He had moved close enough to take hold of Hermione’s arm and was staring at her with something close to anger. ‘When can we talk about it, Hermione? I’m not willing to let things to go on as they have been. It’s not fair on any of us. We need to talk about the future.’
Hermione stared at him with sad eyes. ‘I can’t,’ she whispered. ‘Please, Severus, let me go. I need to prepare for this meeting. I can’t think about anything else at the moment.’
As Severus was about to respond Hermione pulled her arm from his grasp just as the door opened and Lisa Steele, Stephen Fawley and Osbert Selwyn bustled in, talking loudly as they made their way into the laboratory.
Hermione left the office to join them, forcing a tight smile onto her face as she said hullo to them. Severus followed her a few seconds later, joining in with the conversation as the team greeted him effusively.
After a quick catch-up Hermione left them to it, excusing herself as she dashed from the laboratory desperately needing some fresh air and some time to think — about the upcoming meeting, not about her and Severus.
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Twenty Four Hours