Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Void	By : katiecld Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 21190 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, they belong to J. K. Rowling and I do not make any money from my stories.

Chapter List
- 1-Empty
- 2-Sear
- 3-Try
- 4-Hold
- 5-Stay
- 6-Start
- 7-Fun
- 8-Dark
- 9-Work
- 10-Ceremony
- 11-Comfort
- 12-Class
- 13-Wrath
- 14-Hate
- 15-Over
- 16-Kiss
- 17-Say
- 18-Mine
- 5
- 6
- 7
When I got in, it wouldn't have taken a rocket scientist to know that Crooks wanted feeding. The feline had practically ripped the kitchen apart in my absence.
“Crookshanks!” I squeaked. “What did you do?!” Nearly all the ground level cupboards had been shoved open and most of the contents had been flung across the floor. “Damnit cat, it's going to take forever to clean this up!” I scowled at him as he rubbed his furry ginger body against my legs. I quickly appeased him and emptied a rather large amount of food into a clean bowl. Cat now distracted, I decided to get about cleaning the torn up remains of my kitchen.
Before I left Snape's chambers I'd cleaned the dishes and wiped down all the worktops, feeling rather guilty for him making me breakfast when he easily couldn't have. It was all I could do to repay the favour. Though it did take me half an hour to find where everything lived and I hoped it was all where it belonged before I left, last thing I intended was to misplace everything, only for Severus to have to return and right it all himself.
Pleased with the work I'd put in to rectify the kitchen, I found myself drifting to the lounge. I knew the place needed a clean, I suppose I didn't anticipate it needed it quite as badly as it actually did. The idea that Snape was in here only days before made me cringe, more so when I got to my bedroom and noticed dirty underwear and similar items littering the floor.
Over all it took me five whole hours to scrub, dust, wash and polish every inch on the house. I was utterly exhausted after, but wholly pleased with myself. It was, as I'd predicted the day before, a good distraction. The only problem was, now that I was done what was there to do now? It was nearly three in the afternoon and I just knew that come nightfall the urge to go out would be overwhelming. I desperately wanted to kick the habit, not only did I want to but I really needed to. For the sake of my job and my health.
I could try shopping again? I pondered. My fears of ending up in the same sorry state as last night nearly put me off the idea entirely. But honestly, I had one more day to get ready. Might as well have tried today, right? At least then I'd have tomorrow to try one last time. My logical side had a good point and I decided to relent.
I seriously needed to take good self control with me this time.
**
I did it, I'd managed to stomach my uneasy stress and found the courage I needed to complete the task. I was sat in a little café in the centre of Diagon Alley at about five in the afternoon, my enchanted bag fully equipped with most of my needed supplies. Some of which I couldn't quite get a hold of or couldn't afford, but I decided they weren't important enough to worry about. I was certain that I could squeeze a few more shops in before it got too late, mostly to browse and buy unrelated goods. I hoped this day would exhaust me enough to want to get straight home, and into bed. Sipping my hot chocolate I stared out the window, the sun was lower than I'd expect it to be, giving off a stunning warm glow to illuminate all the interestingly shaped old buildings. I thought that perhaps it would be nice to have come out with some company, but everyone I considered just made me want to forget I'd even conjured the idea in the first place. Though I did find my mind wondering to a certain dark haired wizard... Looking at the empty chair in front of me I scoffed. As if he would join me here. I mused and quickly banished the thought.
I got up and left the café. The breeze outside making me feel good and positive, I took it all in while it lasted. Recently, positivity didn't stick for very long, so I had to make the most of it whenever I could.
Visiting several other shops, I purchased some more books, some basic potions like 'pepper up' and 'dreamless sleep' since I presumed I was going to need them. I also bought some new cloaks and sleeping garments, along with extra blankets, some bedside lights and lastly, quite a lot of parchment, notebooks, quills and inks. If I was going to be working under Snape I was going in prepared.
The evening quickly passed by and I eventually found myself staggering out of the last store, the weight of sleep felt heavy on my shoulders. I climbed up the street and stopped outside George's joke shop, I looked into the windows, it was obviously closed. Not really sure what I expected to find through the glass, I sighed. I really hoped he was okay and I made a mental note to visit him soon. With that sad feeling in my chest again, I quickly spun, and with a pop, I landed outside my house once more.
I didn't waste any time in showering and getting ready for bed. Crookshanks already situated on my pillow. I shooed him off and got in, I hoped I'd managed to avoid another one of my episodes today but I hadn't. Not long after getting into bed I sobbed, clutching onto myself and curling into a ball. I tried not to think of all the death, friends who died, the people who suffered. I tried to remember that it was in the past, now it was time to move on. I tried but it didn't make the pain go any sooner. Feeling the void in me ache and burn I clawed at my thighs with more force than I intended and leaving raw, bleeding marks in their wake. I was tempted to claw at my face next, I just wanted it to stop. My persistence paid off and after an unknown amount of time, it wore off. Sighing, I rolled over and wiped my face. Snape said to start small, where was small? Maybe it was just taking one moment at a time. All I knew right now was that tomorrow would be my last day here, I'd spend my evening packing so that there would be no temptations for me.
**
I woke up late, did my daily feeding of the cat and made the bed. I even went around the house, looking to see if I'd missed anything during cleaning the day before. Eventually settling on doing some laundry, I piled it into the machine and after many lodes were done I simply sat in the lounge on the sofa. The day was very much dragging on, having nothing to do made me physically ache from head to toe. I came to notice that whenever the feeling rose up in me, I would claw at the backs of my hands, the worse the pain got, the harder I would tear away at the delicate skin there. By the early evening a large patch on the back of my right hand was quite badly blistered. I hoped I didn't make a regular habit out of it.
“Time to pack.” I told Crooks as I entered the bedroom. Using my wand I summoned a large case from under the bed and flicked it open. I emptied all my new items from my satchel and placed them neatly into my case, along with plenty of thick clothes, clean underwear, towels and toiletries. Even simple things like hair bobbles to tie my hair back and some clips. I had some space left so I packed some extra bed sheets and some cat food for Crookshanks, who would obviously be coming with me.
An hour later and I was done. I sat on the bed in the dark room staring at my packed case. It was only 6pm and I had nothing to do. I clawed slowly at my hands, noting how much harder I was getting when I saw blood getting smeared across my lap. Gulping, I went and washed my hands, the new wound stinging and causing me to hiss. All I could think about was needing to leave, I needed to leave. I desperately needed to get out and find someone, anyone.
I fought with the urge, making me curl onto the bathroom floor cradling my hand. I had to fight it, I just had to breathe. I took in several gulps of air as the searing pain swept over me again. I embraced myself tightly, certain that this time the pain was going to kill me.
“I'll be back.” I told the cat that was happily making its home on my bed. Running out into the street I braced myself for a moment, wondering what I was doing, where to go and whether or not I was being stupid. I glanced around. I knew I was being weak. Bracing myself for a second or two, then three, I was heavily debating it. Eventually I managed to coax myself back into the house. I suffered in silence for the rest of the night. I only had to make it until dawn then I'd be at Hogwarts, with no more temptations. Or so I'd hoped.
**
Morning came and at first glance in the mirror I could make out the prominent dark circles under my eyes, not a wink of sleep.
“Today is going to be fun...” I murmured sarcastically. Part of me was in fact, delightfully chirpy at the prospect of getting settled at Hogwarts, even with the lack of rest.
I quickly scurried around the house finishing off any odd jobs I needed to do before setting off, making sure I looked not quite as sick as usual, this included wearing fingerless gloves to cover the lacerations on my hands so that I didn't cause any unwanted attention to myself. I packed Crookshanks away in a little carry case and I shrank my large briefcase to fit into my enchanted satchel. With great haste I left the house, and in turn, the street. Arriving at the front of the school. I had no idea where to go so I figured the best place to start would be to visit the headmistress. She greeted me with open arms.
“You made it! Earlier than I expected.” She beamed, then looked at the clock. “I'm very sorry Hermione dear, but I have somewhere I need to be. I'll summon Severus, he'll direct you. He also has more knowledge regarding your placement than me.” She chimed. “Please make yourself comfortable and I'll meet you in my office this evening at seven if that's okay.” Smiling, she gave me a brief one-armed hug and saw herself out. It all happened very fast, but I found myself alone in Dumbledore's old office. I let Crookshanks out of his case and vanished the transport item out of sight, I was confident the cat would know his way around the castle and I didn't fancy lugging him about for the rest of the day.
I wandered over to the large desk and spotted a bowl of lemon drops left on the surface, probably placed there in memory of the previous headmaster. Toying with one in my fingers I felt the familiar ache in my chest starting to burn. I knew that if he were here now, he'd know exactly what to say to make everything better.
“I'm sorry you weren't around to see Voldemort perish.” I spoke to the sweets. As if perhaps they were a direct link to the powerful wizard.
“I've always been around.” Said a portrait, amused. I looked up and found the painting looking down at me, friendly eyes smiling back through half moon spectacles.
“It's not the same.” I returned his smile, sadly. He nodded, still looking cheerful considering the current conversation.
“We all did what we had to, Miss Granger. It had to turn out the way it did, or it wouldn't have ended the way it was supposed to.”
A few moments passed in thoughtful silence. “It could have ended better though...” I finally whispered and looked down at the sweets once more. With my left hand, I reached under the sleeve of my cloak and started to rake my nails into the flesh there.
“It also could have ended worse.” He replied, positively. His optimism always baffled me. The wizard knew from early on that he was going to die, yet always kept his chin up. It was awfully admirable.
“Miss Granger.” Came another, deeper voice from behind me. I turned to find Snape and wondered how long he had been there. Glancing back at the painting I noticed Dumbledore had fallen to sleep in his chair, I felt another pang of sadness.
“The portraits will always be there, Miss Granger. I don't have all day.” He sighed impatiently before leaving, I assumed I was to follow him so I did, quickly.
As we made our way down to the dungeons he politely asked me if I'd managed to acquire all the items on the list and I confirmed. He didn't seem at all perplexed by my lack of luggage, though saying that, I doubted I'd ever see Snape baffled. When we got to the potions classroom I noticed a small pile of black clothes folded neatly on the desk I used to so often sit at when I was a student. Hung next to it on a bookshelf was a cloak and what looked like a corset on the inside.
“That is your required uniform.” He didn't even look at me when he answered. I moved closer to the pile of fabric. On the table were three identical black full length button shirts, two pairs of black trousers and a tie that bore all four house colours, the emblem and an 'Apprentice' title embroidered into the bottom in neat, fluid writing. I was about to question the attire but he beat me to it.
“All Teachers Assistants and Apprentices must wear a labelled Hogwarts tie while on duty.”
I had no idea, I'd never seen one before, though we never had a TA before. At least not in any of the classes I was in.
“Unfortunately Miss Granger, the substitute staff quarters are unavailable for your temporary use...” He started and walked over to his desk. My heart dropped, the last thing I needed was to have to commute from home, I was glad to be away from there. “And your personal chambers aren't ready as of yet.” Please don't say I'll have to go home... I thought. “So at my own expense, I've transformed my personal study into a room for you until your own space is completed.” He finished and sat at his desk. I just stared, shocked into silence. “Unless you were too intoxicated to remember, the door to my chambers is through the office at the back. I had used charms to conceal it but now I have simply hung a tapestry over it while you will be staying there. I've also allowed my wards to grant you access for the time being.” As he stated that, he gently flicked his wand at me, it felt as though nothing happened. I suspected that perhaps that was the spell to allow me past his wards.
“Umm, thank you, sir.” I stammered, still a bit dumbfounded. Nothing else was said after that, he nodded to me and started to write intently on several pieces or parchment at once. I took that as my queue to leave, so I flicked my wand at the clothing he had left for me. They hovered on the spot, as I moved they trailed behind me. I passed Snape at the desk and promptly left the room.
As promised, the door to his personal suite was no longer invisible when I lifted the draped fabric. What I did notice, however, was the lack of a door knob. I tentatively touched the part of the door where it should have been, and the second my fingers made contact, it slowly opened. I brushed past the door. The moment my whole body and the floating uniform were safely on the other side, the door merely closed again, all by itself.
It was different seeing Snape's living space this time, probably because I wasn't drunk. Maybe it was because I would be living there for a while. Whatever the reason was, I did realise that I felt somewhat at ease here. Which should have been strange to me, but it didn't feel wrong.
Making my way easily through the quarters, I found myself outside the office room. Nothing about the door looked any different, not that I really expected it to be. The inside of the room was a different matter. The desk had been moved to the corner of the room and emptied. A bed stood where the settee was previously, and a small arm chair sat by a new chest of drawers. I smiled. It wasn't a lot but it was more than I'd thought he would do, at least I had a bed. I was almost certain I'd arrive and it look just like it had before. With a wave of my wand I moved my new uniform to the desk before pulling my shrunken carry case out of my satchel and quickly transforming it back to it's original size.
After unpacking everything and making the bed, I decided to try on my new teaching uniform. I had to admit it was making me curious. I stripped down to bare flesh and hunted in my new drawers for some black underwear and bra. After locating some and slipping them on, I tugged on one of the two pairs of black trousers. They were form fitting and felt nice, albeit heavy. I slipped on and buttoned up the black cotton shirt, at least that was lighter. When it came to the corset item, I assumed it was going to be soft and pliable but it wasn't at all. The fabric was velvet and nice to touch but I could feel how rigid the backing was. I loosened the cables at the back and opened the front buttons before wrapping it around me, I re buttoned the front but there were too many to do by hand so I decided to cheat and use my wand. The corset was under bust and pointed up in between my bosom. Deciding once again, to cheat, I magically fastened up the cables at the back. I tightened to as much as was comfortable but the item was obviously too small for me, I frowned.
“Professor Snape?” I asked timidly from his office door.
“Yes?” He acknowledged.
“Part of my uniform is too small.” I whispered, I didn't really know why, after all I had already disturbed him.
“You're mistaken, Miss Granger. It will all fit.” He dismissed. It obviously didn't though and besides, how did he know what size I would be? So I lingered in the door, unsure what to do. He got up and suddenly pulled me towards his desk, I yelped. Turning me around, I placed my hands on the surface.
“S-see?” I stuttered. I heard him withdraw his wand. He pointed it at the cables and slowly it began to tighten, uncomfortably so.
“Sir! It hurts!” I panted as it constricted more and more of me. I never thought it was going to stop. My body quaked a little and I fell chest down onto his desk, spilling an ink pot in the process. Breathe, I had to remember to breathe but my lungs burned.
“Is that uncomfortable?” I heard him ask through the almost deafening sound of blood rushing to my ears.
“Yes!”I squeaked. As the seconds ticked by I noticed how my body was shaking, not from fear or pain, but from excitement.
“Well too bad, Miss Granger. I refuse to alter it. It looks to me like it fits just fine.” As he said that, he plucked the tight strings on my back, tugging on the odd one and making my whole body slide on the desk slightly. I panted, the confinement of the garment was so much more blissful than I thought, to the point where I didn't mind the pain. Snape bent over my back and lined himself up with my ear. “I'm sure you'll grow to like it...” I gulped, the overwhelming desire to press my hips back nearly over taking my rational senses. Before I knew it, he'd withdrawn from me and reached under his desk. I slowly got up off my stomach and stood, the world swaying. The wizard had retrieved a pair of shoes, they were black and looked elegant yet practical, when he handed them to me I noticed they had a decent thick heel on them.
“These are to work in, only.” He added. I panted and stared at them, heat in my face. He wrapped his arm around me and tugged on one of the cables again, causing my eyes to flutter close and my breath to hitch. “Continue dressing.” He smirked and gently nudged me towards his office door again. I slowly made my way through, and back into my room. Conjuring a full length mirror I checked myself out. My shirt sleeves were long, but didn't look out of proportion. It hung over my knuckles and somehow looked right. The item of clothing that drew the most attention was the under bust corset, it was matte and felt soft to the touch. Seemingly hundreds of buttons down the front centre of it and I actually laughed, he'd made it to match his own robes. I look a bit like Snape... I mused and to my own surprise I didn't mind, I kind of liked it. The constricting item made my waist significantly smaller, I was already underweight so I wasn't exactly happy about that. At the same time it made me look curvy, not bony. The clothes he'd picked I noticed had actually been thought out and over all seemed to benefit my unhealthy appearance. The black helped too. Buttoning up the rest of the shirt above the corset, I reached for my tie. Once on I frowned, it didn't suit the rest of the outfit and I found myself wishing it was also black instead of overly colourful. I donned my cloak and shoes and appraised myself one last time in the mirror. Aside from the tie I did actually look like a female Snape, neck to toe in black. Aside from still blushing and feeling out of breath, the rest of the clothes were very comfortable yet heavy, but I didn't mind.
I headed out of the room, back into the class. The Professor turned and gave me a once over.
“Very good.” He nodded, yet all I saw was his smirk. My breathing was still rapid and I wondered how long it would take me to get used to it. He made a gesture for me to sit on a chair across from him.
“In regards to work I've come up with this schedule.” He handed me parchment. Studying it I read that I would work with him on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from six until eight, plus six hours on Saturday starting at nine. Each night bar Sunday I was to be given an assignment due for the following day or as directed.
“You'll also be present to all of my classes to either observe or assist.” He said, looking at another paper he was holding. I suddenly realised that the days were going to be long. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays I would be looking at over twelve hours on my feet, then I'd have to do an assignment. I gulped. I pictured how my free Sundays would probably be spent sleeping the entire time.
“There are a few more days until the term starts, but you'll find all the teachers are officially present and preparing, as will you be.” He got up from his desk. “In the next few days I'll need you to take inventory of my stores and familiarise yourself with where everything belongs.” I gaped, that was going to take forever.
“Oh and Miss Granger, although you will be staying in my quarters let me first warn you. You work for me, what I say is, and will always be, your first priority. Defy my orders, or disobey any of my instructions and the punishment will be severe, are we understood?” He spat. I took a few seconds to absorb what he said, his words sounding much harsher than he looked. Maybe that was just me growing accustomed to his malicious temperament, but I nodded at him anyway.
“Yes... Yes Severus.” I hesitated. I figured that while we were having this conversation I would learn what I should be calling him. His eyebrow cocked up.
“That would be Professor, to you.” He corrected, but not harshly. I believe he knew what I was trying to achieve. He grabbed his travel cloak from a hook behind the door.
“Are you leaving?” I asked. “Professor.” He passed me, blatantly ignoring my question in the process and left the room. I frowned. Snape seemed so different today I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Perhaps this was his usual behaviour, but I was always too drunk to notice in our previous encounters.
After a few minutes of fidgeting and stretching to see if I could get the offending corset to give a little, I decided to just start taking inventory. The stock room was large. Swallowing back my dread, I summoned a notebook and quill. This was going to be a long afternoon.
**~~**~~**
So there's a bit of everything going on in this chapter, I apologise if it's skipping a lot but if I didn't do that, there would be nothing to write and all of you would fall asleep! (I was also half asleep when I wrote this and I'm sorry if it reads that way.)
I want to thank everyone for the continued views and rates! I'm so chuffed!
Thank you to Missycam for your first review, I'm so pleased that you're hooked and I hope I don't disappoint. :D
I already have the next chapter finished but it needs a read over (or two... Or three.) but it will be up as soon as I do.
Enjoy!
~GW
- 5
- 6
- 7
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Void