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Amphitrite	By : AndreaLorraine Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 9422 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
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Severus
watched her sleep. She looked too perfect
in her potion-aided slumber, like an actress in a Muggle movie whom you knew
was not really asleep. Her hair was
arranged in flowing corkscrews over the pillow.
Her lips were parted slightly, pink and full. Her face was a mask of tranquility, her eyes
still beneath lush eyelashes.

Where had this siren come from? She couldn�t be that mousy, pouf-haired
little girl that had walked into his classroom over a decade ago. He hadn�t liked that girl, not one bit. But this�this woman�he couldn�t stop himself from liking her. Caring for her. Even�wanting her?

Severus abolished the thought from his mind. Want her he might, but it wasn�t any
different from desiring any other young, nubile girl. And what young, nubile girl would desire him
in return, unless, of course, she was in desperate need of money?

He sighed and reached out to touch a stray curl. A woman�s hair had to be one of the most
wonderful things on earth, both to touch and to smell. Hermione�s was soft and velvety on the rough
pads of his fingers. It was like
stroking a swatch of silk.

He released the curl and it sprung back into place. He should have left her after putting her
back to bed. No doubt she would find it
strange that he sat and watched her, like some cold, calculating voyeur.

She
was beautiful. How was it that Potter
had never courted her? The brat had
always had a penchant for pretty girls; first the exotic beauty of Cho Chang, and then the striking
looks of Ginny Weasley. But why not Hermione?

Even
as he thought it, Severus prickled with distaste. It wasn�t that he disliked Potter; no, he
could stand him. He�d met people a great
deal worse. But the very thought of
Potter and Hermione together made a scowl bloom on his face.

Someone
like Harry Potter could never truly appreciate a woman like Hermione. There were endless depths of her intellect
that would be left barren, unexplored, if she wound up with someone like
Potter. So much
wonderful rumination that would be lost or drowned out by talk of Quidditch and much more trivial things. It was undeniable; if Hermione did not marry
someone very much like herself, it would be a complete waste, both of her
talents and her womanhood.

It
was said that opposites attract. It was
true enough; opposites DID attract.
He�d lived long enough to be able to confirm the veracity of that
statement - but attract was all they did.
Opposites did not last.

It
had become clear to him earlier that day.
He had thought that Lucius and Dawn�s shaky relationship was doomed
because they were opposites, and once the initial physical attraction wore off,
there was nothing left. But the more he
watched them, the more he realized that they were not opposites. All he had to
do was think back to his school days to remember a Lucius that had been just as
mischievous, up-front, loud, and likeable as Dawn. That Lucius did not always show his face;
purebloods were sticklers for propriety.
He�d once told him that being home for the summer holidays was like
living in a monastery. But among
friends, such masks were often dropped.

Even
if Lucius was too programmed into his stiff behavior, that streak would never
be extinguished. There was mirth inside
of him; mirth, and joy, a comedian and prankster, a merry drunkard�

So
Lucius had his match, and a fine witch she was, if a little abrasive. Severus could not claim to be much better.

He
sighed and slouched in his chair. It was
so simple for everyone else. Sure, there
were plenty of fish in the sea, but they were all different. How many women of his caliber � or men of
Hermione�s � really existed? And what
was the probability of ever encountering them?
And, if it did actually happen, who would really find him attractive?

He
blew out a breath between his teeth.
This was why he tried not to think of things like love and soulmates and settling down. Inevitably, numbers would start whizzing
through his head, and the results always depressed him.

* * * * * *

�I
thought you were supposed to be smart.
Perhaps all the inbreeding has left you defective.�

I
didn�t even hear her approach. My
instincts have become lamentable. If it
was still wartime I�d be dead. I�m
startled, but I prickle with anger when her words process.

�Have
you come out here to just to insult me, or was there some other purpose?� I
reply, trying to keep the ice out of my voice.

�I
thought a pureblood might recognize an invitation when he was given one.�

�An invitation to what?� I say irritably.
The exhaustion and her cheek are getting to me.

She�s
quiet for a moment, and when she speaks, her voice is soft and low.

�An invitation to come to bed.�

My
anger evaporates like denatured alcohol.
I crane my neck to look at her; she is just a dark silhouette against
the early morning sky.

�You�re
too forgiving.�

�Only
for you, because you need it.�

�I
do not.�

�I
can see it, Lucius.�

�See
what?� I snap. I�m becoming annoyed
again. I don�t like the direction this
conversation is heading. I knew I
shouldn�t have told her anything personal.
She�s using it against me now.

�I
can see that the thing you want most in this world, more than power or money or
love, is absolution.�

�You
can�t give me that,� I say bitterly. Her
words are so true that they rankle. �All
you can give me is pity.�

�I
don�t pity you, Lucius. Not for a
second. All those choices were yours,
and therefore so were their consequences.
I don�t pity a man who has invited adversity upon himself.�

�Then
why do you bother? It�s obvious that
you�re uncomfortable with my past. Why
waste your time with a man of questionable motives, morals, and appetites?�

�Is
that really what you are?�

�I�ve
changed, but I�m still Lucius Malfoy.�

I
hear her sigh.

�That�s
the trouble with you. I don�t think you
ever knew who Lucius Malfoy was to begin with.�

�Don�t
try to analyze me. No one else has ever
succeeded,� I bite off caustically. I�m
about to say something else when I�m robbed of my breath. She�s kissing me. What is with
this woman? One moment she�s insulting
me, the next trying to dissect my mental health, the next forcing me to confide
in her, and then she decides to kiss
me. Why
do I care so much? I shouldn�t even put
up with�

My
thoughts dissolve into nothing as her tongue flickers lightly over my lower
lip. I can�t stop myself from parting my
lips to let her in. �The Sex Switch� is
activated. That is how all my conflicts
with Narcissa were solved. We�d be in the middle of a terrible row when
she�d get this devious look in her eyes.
It would be one thing if she had been an ugly woman, but she was far
from it, and unless I was furious,
she would easily seduce me out of my anger every single time. It was in no way constructive, or a real way
to solve problems, but it would leave both of us sated and too tired to fight. It made me hate her in a way, I suppose. That was her power over me. Carnal power.

I
don�t want Dawn to have the same kind of power.
I don�t want anyone to have any
power over me. But my body betrays
me. I can already feel the endorphins
surging through my veins, and a fierce desire flares as she gently thrusts her
tongue into my mouth. I respond, attempting
to get a taste of her, but she pulls away so that my tongue only brushes the
tip of hers before our lips separate.

I
stare at her. She is only two or three
inches away. Her eyes are deep and shadowed,
her lips slack and glistening with shared saliva. How am I supposed to resist?

I
try anyway.

�I�m
no good for you,� I murmur, my voice husky with arousal.

�We�re
no good for each other,� she replies in sultry tones. �But that shouldn�t stop us from having a
good fuck now and then, should it?�

I
think I twitch visibly at that statement.
That is exactly what my body
is aching for � a fuck. But somehow her
attitude rubs me the wrong way. I don�t
want to be just a fuck. I don�t want her
sleeping with other men. I want her all
to myself. The thought of her with
someone else, while being slightly erotic, makes a hot spear of anger rise in
my gut. I cringe. Possessiveness is the first step towards
love.

�What�s
the matter?� she says.

I
stare at her for a moment longer before making my decision. I have to take control of this
situation. I simply cannot play the
passive.

I
surge up, grabbing hold of her wrists and turning us so that she is pinned on
her back in the sand. She cries out, and
when I look down at her, her eyes are squeezed shut. I can feel the muscles and tendons in her
forearms quivering. It is then that I
realize that I am gripping her more tightly than I meant to; I can feel her
pulse pounding against my palms.

I
let go instantly, mentally kicking myself for handling her so harshly. A Sumo wrestler could have been gentler. She pulls her arms to her chest and rubs her
wrists. I can see that my nails have
left little crescent marks on the pale, fragile skin of her inner arm. There will be bruises.

�I�m
sorry�I didn�t mean��

�You
did. Why?�

I
clench my fists in frustration. I didn�t
want to have to say it out loud. It
sounds so foolish and weak out loud. But
now I must.

�I�m
a greedy man, Dawn. I admit it. I don�t want any other man touching you.�

She
contemplates for a moment, and then says,

�What
about women?�

I
feel my eyes grow huge. Merlin�s balls. She�s
bisexual? The thought of her with
another woman is both incredibly exciting and terribly vexing. I want to pull my own hair. I�m well on my way to another nervous
breakdown when I realize that she�s laughing.
Just like she was that morning after. Only this time, I�m glad to hear it.

�I
couldn�t resist,� she says through her giggles.
�You left yourself wide open for it.�

�I
don�t appreciate you making jokes out
of my profound and earnest admissions of�of��
I frown, unable to find a word to fit what I�m trying to say.

�Of
selfishness?� she supplies.

�Selfishness
in the name of�like,� I finish lamely.
Annoyed at being unable to express myself, I revert back to the only way
things make 100% sense to me. �Je t�aime.�

Her
laughter has at last abated, and she reaches up to brush her fingertips lightly
over my cheek. I have never been more
thankful for the language courses American witches and wizards are forced to
take.

�Je sais,� she murmurs, not looking at me. �Je
t�aime, aussi. Mais��

�Mais rien,� I say, placing a
finger against her lips. A moment later
I replace it with my lips in a gentle, chaste kiss. �Allons-y.�

* * * * * *

Severus
had just dozed off on his cot-transfigured-from-the-uncomfortable-chair when an
odd sensation came over him. Everything
seemed to tilt out of focus, even to his partially dormant senses. His equilibrium was off, so when he opened
his eyes he was completely disoriented.
He didn�t know which way was up.

The
room was pitch black, as per his own preferences. There was a sound, a
hum that he thought was present only in his own ears until he heard a thump and
a shatter of glass. What in the
hell? He forced himself to stand. It took a moment, but he managed it with a
few slight wobbles.

At
first he thought it was his legs that were shaking. But when he put his hand on the wall to
steady himself, the wood was vibrating.
The entire cabin was
vibrating, as well as the ground beneath it.

Earthquake.

There
was another shattering sound, much closer this time. He actually felt shards of glass bite into
his legs and feet. Quickly he banished
the darkening charm, and Hermione�s still figure was illuminated. She was still out cold on the bed. Severus experienced a brief moment of pride
in his sleeping draught; now he wouldn�t be exaggerating when he said one could
sleep through an earthquake under its effects.
Although, he thought, at the moment that might not exactly be a good
thing.

He
lunged forward and plucked Hermione out of the bed at just the right
moment. A mere second later, a cascade
of items fell where her head had been, upset from the wooden shelf above the
bed.

His
balance was even worse with her in tow.
He staggered towards the door, trying to figure out the best course of
action. Didn�t they say to stand in a
doorframe during an earthquake? Or was
that a tornado? Oh, how was he supposed
to know? Neither ever happened in England!

There
was no way he could stay in the doorframe with a rather heavy, limp Hermione in
his arms. And if the quake got worse,
there was the chance that the cabin could collapse. And if it did, he�d rather not be inside
it. So it looked like outside was the
best bet.

He
fumbled for the doorknob, half-dropping Hermione, and when the door finally
sprung open he was completely off balance.
He toppled to the floor and had the breath knocked out of him when
Hermione flopped gracelessly on top of him.

Wheezing
and dizzy, he gathered her into his arms again.
It was barely light out � the dark blue-grey of pre-dawn � and he strove
for only one thing: to get away from the cabins.

�Over
here!� someone shouted, and he followed the voice. The tremors got worse as he dragged Hermione
over the threshold of some quick-thinking wizard�s wards. Hands grabbed him and pulled him closer, and
he held fast to Hermione, who was beginning to make small sounds of confusion.

There
was a loud bang, and a flash of light that burned his retinas with its sudden
brightness. There was a screaming sound
that he later recognized to be a combination of sirens and car alarms. He cracked his eyes open and looked toward
the muggle city.
It was sheer chaos.

But
his eyes did not linger there for very long.
There was a great rumble, and the ground shifted beneath them. Simultaneously, several people cast
levitating charms and the group began to float a few inches above the heaving,
restless earth.

A
few moments later, there was a sound like a tree limb slowly breaking. The sand to their left seemed to cave in upon
itself as a fissure opened and rapidly spread, expanding like
a spider-webbed windowpane.

�Oh,
Merlin, no!� someone close to him whispered as the fissure inched towards the
excavation site. He felt very much the
same. There was a secret down there,
somewhere, and the earth was going to swallow it up all over again before they
got the chance to understand.

But
it was the far row of cabins, one of which he had just stumbled out of minutes
before, that were upset. The fissure
wormed beneath the entire row in a straight, almost perfect line; Severus was
reminded of bits of meat speared on a wooden stick. The cabins collapsed like houses made of
cards, and inwardly he prayed that no one was inside any of them.

�Mighty
Poseidon, have mercy!� that same person whispered, and he realized that it must
be Cyrus. Only a true Greek would direct
his plea to Poseidon; most did not know that the ancient god of the sea was
also the god of earthquakes. He himself
had not known until he�d come across it in some obscure reading. Naturally, when he�d found out about the
excavation and made his decision to join, he figured a little research was in
order. Severus glanced down at Hermione,
who was awake but too disoriented to do much but lay against him with her eyes
squeezed shut and her hands pressed over her ears. She, too, had probably run straight to the
library after she�d been asked to join.

The
earth gave one final, violent heave, and then all was still. But the sounds were still there; the muted swish
of the ocean, the crackle of fire, the whine of sirens, and the sound of a
great many people both lamenting that it had ever happened and exulting that
the worst was over.

�We
shouldn�t stay here.� It was Dharvish who spoke this time. �I�ve seen earthquakes at home. There will be aftershocks, and the fissure
will widen. The whole beach could be swallowed
up.�

�Agreed,�
Cyrus said, dropping the wards. �But we
have to make sure that we have everyone first, and if not��

He
didn�t finish the sentence. They all
knew what he meant.

* * * * * *

Lucius
was not in their cabin. It was still
standing, albeit a bit crookedly, but it was intact. But Lucius was not there. Severus cringed and looked to where Dawn�s
cabin had been. It had been the first to
succumb to the earth, and now only pieces of splintered lumber stuck up out of
the sandy gap. Where else would Lucius
have been?

A
thick, sickly knot coiled low in his stomach.
Lucius had followed him
here. If he was dead, it was his fault,
in a way. And Draco! It would be partially his fault that Draco
was made into an orphan. Would the boy
ever forgive him? Would he ever forgive
himself?

There
was a loud crack as a water main broke along the street above the beach. It was enough to startle Severus out of his
pity-party and get him refocused. Just
because he couldn�t see Lucius didn�t mean that he was dead. Perhaps injured, but�no, his longtime friend
was much too arrogant to let something so simple as a
seizure of the earth kill him.

He
crouched near the edge of the fissure, about a foot from where the wreckage of
Dawn�s cabin protruded from the ground.
He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted down into the dark
crevice.

�Lucius! Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me?�

A
moment later a familiar voice wafted up to him from a little further down.

�Severus? That you?�

�Yes! Are you all right?�

�I�m
fine, but there are people hurt down here!�

�Anything really bad?�

�One
unconscious, one broken leg, some nasty cuts, but that�s the worst of it.�

�Does
everyone have their wand?�

A pause. Then,

�All but two.�

�Can
you levitate them up?�

�Where
are you, exactly?�

Severus
frowned, pondering how to let Lucius know where he was along the fissure.

�I�ll
cast a Lumos.�
And he did so. A moment later
there was a shuffle and two faces, dimly lit, were staring up at him. One was Joeri, a
Russian wizard, who looked mostly untouched, and the other was Lucius, who
looked the exact opposite. Then again,
head wounds usually did look worse than they were, but that thought did not
register until after the initial shock of seeing the blond man�s face covered
in blood.

�Merlin,�
Severus said reflexively. At this Lucius
gave him a look of annoyance and waved his hand dismissively.

�Something
fell on me. I�m bloody fine.�

�You�re
bloody, that�s for sure.�

Lucius
gave an impatient snort.

�Can
we move this along? I have no desire to
be stuck down here for the aftershocks.�

Severus
carefully levitated Joeri out of the opening and told
him to go report to Cyrus. An Irish
witch named Catherine followed, nursing a bad gash on her right arm.

�Where
is Dawn?� Severus asked before Lucius walked away.

�With the others.�

�How
many of you are there, total?�

�Including Joeri and
Catherine, twelve.�

�Hm.�

�What�s
the matter?�

�We�re
missing thirteen.�

�I�ll
have a look around, but some of the debris is pretty unstable��

�That�s
fine. The others can levitate themselves
up, right?�

�Most likely.�

�Aren�t
we supposed to have a healer among us?�

�She�s
down here,� Lucius answered. �She�s the
one with the broken leg. It�s pretty
bad�nearly compound. I don�t think we
should move her too much.�

�How
far down are you?�

�Follow
my Lumos.�

Severus
stood and followed the dim sphere of light.
It was amazing how deep the crevice was � probably about fifteen feet
into the ground. The others began to
levitate out of the fissure, and a few moments later, Dawn rose up into the
pink light of sunrise with the unconscious wizard in tow. It did not escape Severus�s
notice that she was wearing Lucius�s shirt � and
nothing else.

After
her, Lucius began to rise out of the earth, the temporarily crippled healer
suspended carefully beside him. Others
had come over to help by now, and took over for Lucius once he was on solid
ground. Severus resisted a smirk; Lucius
was wearing naught but his pants, which weren�t completely fastened � clearly
thrown on in great haste. A comment
about �making the earth move� was on the tip of his tongue, but it was much too
easy, and Lucius would likely not appreciate it.

* * * * * *

They
did, in fact, have everyone. Lucius had
forgotten to include himself in the hasty count down in the fissure, and once
they realized it, the relief among the contingent was palpable.

Cyrus
had quite happily declared it a miracle.
Then there had been a short debate about where to go. Some had wanted to go into the muggle city and blend in until it was safe again, but most
were against it. It was too complicated,
and they didn�t like the idea of being separated. So they had decided to stick together and
brave the aftershocks on the beach; hopefully they would not be anywhere near
as severe as the original quake itself.

Lucius
and Dawn sat close together, her back against his chest, his cheek resting in
her hair. They didn�t speak, but nothing
really needed to be said. Severus
watched them with a slight pang of envy until he realized that he was sitting
the exact same way with Hermione � her back against his chest, her fragrant
curls beneath his chin, and his arms looped gently around her in a gesture
every bit as possessive as the one Lucius was unconsciously displaying.

It
made him feel slightly queasy. Clearly,
if Hermione was in her right mind, she�d never want to be�well, wrapped up in
him like this. On impulse, he lifted a
hand and tilted her chin up so he could see her face. Much to his surprise, a pair of perfectly
lucid chocolate-brown eyes met his glance.

�What
is it?� she murmured, wearing a look that faintly reminded him of a cat that
had just been awakened from a nap in its favorite spot.

�Nothing,�
he replied. She smiled slightly and then
nestled closer to him. He blinked in
shock, but allowed himself to be made into a pillow. He didn�t understand how she could be
comfortable leaning against him; he was like all Snapes,
lean and sharp-angled. But within
moments she had dozed off, and looked, for all the
world, like she was an angel sleeping upon a cloud in heaven.

If
he had looked up right then, he would have seen Lucius whispering quietly into
Dawn�s ear. He also would have seen that
both of them wore suspiciously smug and satisfied expressions. But he didn�t look up; he could not tear his
eyes from Hermione�s sleeping face. So
the plot went on, unbeknownst to the parties involved.

At
last, Lucius had an ally in his silly matchmaking quest.

A/N � Yes, there is a point
to the quake � I didn�t just throw it in there for the whole �man and woman
survive natural disaster together and then fall in love� effect. For one thing, Hermione was too drugged to
comprehend much of went on at the initial time of the quake. As for whether or not she was still feeling
the effects of the potion at the end of the chapter, I�ll leave that for you to
decide ::wink:: In the next few chapters,
Draco arrives, Anatole and Nick cause trouble but
also make themselves useful, and the focus returns (sort of, LoL) to the school and the artifacts.
- 5
- 6
- 7
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