Severus blinked and nearly choked on his salad. Be with him? Well -- that was nice, if a bit startling. He'd been under the impression that she felt affection and compassion for him, and wouldn't seek him out... but she was doing so now, and he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth!

When he'd cleared his windpipe of oily lettuce, he replied, "Yes, I did speak with Albus, and we should be able to move forward with no problems." He kept his voice low as he continued, "Albus is asking Filius—Professor Flitwick—to put a mapping charm on a room so we can track instances of, er, name-dropping. We can use my... tattoo... as a limiting device."

On the other side of him, Professor Sinistra was clearly trying to listen in without appearing to, so Severus turned and shot her a blank, forbidding look. She colored and turned away hastily, saying brightly to Sybill on her other side, "I hear you get our indomitable Miss Granger this afternoon!"

Sybill looked tragically in Hermione's direction and called out loudly, "Yes, indeed I do. I hope she has opened her mind somewhat in the years since she stormed out of my class."

Severus' lips twitched as he turned back to Hermione. "Sorry about that. But anyway... yes, Albus thinks the spell is completely workable. We can start a few things tonight, if you're prepared."

Hermione shot Professor Trelawney a very bitter look as she overheard her taunting remark. If she was going to be like that throughout the entire class, then she may very well be tempted to walk out all over again.

Deciding to ignore the rest of the nonsense escaping the Divination professor's mouth, Hermione turned back to Severus, and said "Tonight... yes, of course I'm prepared."

It was exciting. She was glad that they were making such quick progress with the plan. Even if that didn't work, they still had a potential back-up plan, which was something even more reassuring; it gave her hope and thoughts of what the future may hold if they are to be successful.

Before she knew it, she was just sitting there staring at him, with every ounce of sincerity emanating from her unblinking gaze. "I'm really looking forward to it," she finally admitted—a double meaning playing on her words without intention.

Severus felt a flush spreading up from his neck to his ears as Hermione continued staring at him. Eventually, feeling uncomfortable, he cleared his throat.

"Yes, well..." he mumbled. "I hope this idea of yours works. Well, I'm sure it will. It was your idea after all, and you're no doubt the most brilliant witch of your generation... it's a good thing you weren't Pureblood, or I'm sure the Hat would have sorted you into Slytherin," he rambled on, looking at her left eyebrow. He wasn't able to look away entirely from her face, but didn't want to just stare straight at her. An appropriate remark finally hit his mouth: "Why didn't the Hat Sort you into Ravenclaw, for that matter?"

When Severus asked her the question concerning her Sorting placement, Hermione turned back to her meal and took in a few more bites as she pondered for a moment. Why had the Sorting Hat placed her in Gryffindor after all? She didn't think much of it before... but now that the question surfaced, she couldn't help but wonder what Gryffindor qualities she actually possessed. It wasn't like she was really courageous or anything... she just always got dragged along into most things and fortunately had the smarts to adapt. If she had never met Harry or Ron, she wouldn't have gotten involved in half the ventures she'd experienced up to that point in time; rather, if it had been up to her, she would have avoided it at all costs, just like any other average student focused solely on their education.

"I never really figured that out, to be honest," she finally admitted. "But, no matter the reason... I'm happy where I am. Heaven forbid if I was put in Slytherin, though... bunch of horrible, wretched, rotten—" Quickly realizing her mistake before she went any further, her face flushed and she glanced guiltily at Severus, then back down at her food. "Sorry... I mean, they're not all that bad..." It was a struggle for her to admit that; she only ever managed to like one Slytherin, and that was the very man sitting right beside her. Even then, it took her six years.

((Going to skip ahead, so we're not stuck at lunch forever...))

Severus snorted. "No, you're right. Most of them are highly ambitious, but also lazy, dependent more on who they know rather than how hard they work. They were even in my day. I sometimes think Albus assigned me to the job of Head of Slytherin because he thought I might be able to influence a few of them." He paused, chewing thoughtfully. "Maybe it's arrogant to say, but I think I have. There were a few years, before you arrived at Hogwarts and You-Know-Who began resurfacing, when most Slytherins were simply ambitious social climbers, seeking power and influence but not on the level of the current crop."

They conversed about Houses and Hogwarts history for the remainder of the lunch period, and it was only when Trelawney stood up, clearing her throat meaningfully, that Severus was forced to let Hermione go. He leaned over, though, before she could leave, and whispered in her ear, "Just act professional. You're only her assistant; you're not a pupil. And remember to address her as Sybill—especially in front of the other students. That will reinforce your position."

((Sorry for taking so long... my Grandmother died on Friday, so I inherited a bit of a writer's block.))

---

Hermione nodded after taking in Severus's advice, turning her head to meet his close gaze. It was only then that she noticed it was the first time she'd ever seen his face so clearly. Every other close encounter with him occurred in the dungeons, where it was dark and gloomy; but now that she was closer than ever to him in the light, she could see every little detail, including a sharp glint in his ebony eyes. It enticed her up to the point of realizing she was staring inactively for much too long.

Shooting up from her seat, she looked down at him and sent a short smile. "Thank you. I'll let you know how it goes, later, Severus. See you this evening." And without another single glance back, she dashed after Sybill to follow from a moderate distance, as to not evoke undesired conversation along the way.

*

It was when Professor Trelawney had begun her introduction speech that Hermione remembered exactly why she hated Divination so much. Gloating on and on about the Inner Eye and how true a Seer she really was, and how the majority of the students may not possess the Gift. Then all the nonsense about predicting the future and how much of an influence personality traits had. It felt like poison was seeping in through Hermione's ears, and she had to distract herself with random baubles on the batty woman's desk, just to try and tune it all out. She had no doubt that the more of that trash her mind took in, the more space it wasted in her brain—space that she would much rather be consumed by worthy material.

"And Miss Granger here—" There was a moment of silence, and then a clearing of throat. "Miss Granger here—" The voice finally zoned in, having been much louder this time, at which point Hermione snapped out of whatever reverie she was in to sit upright and direct her forced attention.

"Yes, Miss Granger here..." her voice returned to its misty-like self, "has been kind enough to offer her assistance"—Hermione nearly snorted—"for this class today. As we are beginning with tea leaf reading, I shall be using her as an example so that you may all have an idea of what to do and what to look for on your first attempts." Hermione had to hold back an obnoxious complaint, as there was absolutely no point in having to demonstrate. She remembered when she had to do the assignment, all she had to do was make up whatever images she saw in the tea dregs... there wasn't much complication in that, however ridiculous the procedure was. Clearly she was scheming something—probably trying to get Hermione to open up her own mind in the process; but, to Hermione, it was defiling her mind.

"Now, everybody collect a teacup from the cabinet over there; I will carry the teapot around and pour in your tea. Oh, and both you dears," she pointed at two of the students, "get a Cooling Charm ready—you're going to accidentally burn yourself on your tea." Sure enough, seven minutes later once all the students have reseated with their empty teacups on their tables while Trelawney distributed the steaming tea, the mentioned students burnt themselves. Hermione merely rolled her eyes, as she sipped her own tea.

Another ten minutes passed, at which point the majority of students had finally drained their tea. Hermione was just finishing the last few drops of hers, when Sybill came sweeping over the instant her teacup met the surface of the front desk.

"Very good. Everyone pay attention to this now," her eyes swept over all the students, gaining their attention, before turning back to Hermione. "Now, dear, would you please demonstrate the next step to the class? As you've no doubt forgotten... you ought to swirl the dregs around three times with your left hand, and then tip your cup over onto your saucer." She kept looking back and forth between Hermione and the students, to make sure they were still paying attention. She didn't catch the repugnant look on Hermione's face after presuming that she'd forgotten the steps. "If you'd please," she continued, staring expectantly at Hermione through her large, buggy eyes, gesturing, with her hands, for Hermione to execute the next step.

Lips pursed tightly as she forced herself to breath calmly, Hermione did exactly as she was told, resulting in an up-turned teacup on her saucer.

"Excellent. Now, wait a few moments... Ah, yes, that ought to do. Now, if you would gently flip the cup back over, we shall examine our results."

Hermione proceeded to follow the woman's instructions, turning over her cup, and handing it to Sybill.

"Oh, no, dear... tell me what you see first. I want the students to know that it's okay if they can't read the symbols properly at first... and, as I correct you, they shall hopefully learn from your misinterpretations." Her huge eyes bat innocently at Hermione, but Hermione just wanted to swat her like a fly. The frustration was building up inside, but she quickly tore her gaze away from the creature and gazed down into her cup, observing nothing but brown dirt.

"Well... uh..." she twisted the cup around in all different directions, trying to catch a small glimpse of something. Normally she would have just made it up, but after Sybill's demeaning comment, she was determined to prove her wrong. "I see... a sun?" She looked up at Sybill for confirmation, but the woman only had eyes for her.

"What else, dear?"

Looking back into the cup with a frown, Hermione's eyebrows creased. "Er... a fish, and... an arrow." She looked uncertainly back up at Sybill, who finally took the cup in her own hands and peered intently.

The last time Hermione saw the woman look so engaged in someone's teacup, was when she was examining Harry's. The expression on her face was beginning to worry her. "Hmm... interesting," was all she muttered in a distant, dreamy voice.

"Well," she finally spoke up, voice back to normal, "it is no surprise to me that your interpretations were completely incorrect."

Hermione's faced dropped. "What?! What are they, then?" Her fists were clenched and she glared daggers up at the woman. She had a feeling that she was probably opposing her out of spite, and that she was actually right... despite it not having a single meaning in the end.

"Let's see... this here is a skull," she pointed at the dregs, and displayed it to both Hermione and the class, "which, if you turn to page six, means you will face danger somewhere along your path." Hermione continued to glare at the woman, but something inside her twitched. "Next... ah, yes. A needle. There is a risk you must take... one that may inflict pain, should you be unsuccessful." A gulp squeezed its way down Hermione's tight throat, a part of her wanting to stop the woman right there from saying anything more, but some unknown force was holding her back. "Now, this... this is interesting. Right here you have an apple... the symbol for forbidden love... but the interesting thing is that this is no ordinary apple... it is a rotten one—which means your future connected to this sign... is already in its commencing stage. That is what occurs when your present meets your future... the sign begins to decay in order to allow an opening for more predictions. But that only means—"

"It means nothing!" Hermione yelled after a loud moan, suddenly snatching the teacup out of Sybill's wiry hands and letting it smash to the ground in pieces. "All that... it's a load of rubbish! You're just out to get me for what happened in my third year! I still don't take back what I did then, and I certainly don't take this back!" To prove her intentions, she marched away from the woman, taking care to step on the broken bits of porcelain as she made her way briskly over to the door. Right before opening it, she turned to give the class the most twisted glare. All of their little eyes were on her; shocked and blanched. "I apologize to all of you for my behaviour, but if you want don't want to spoil your brains with useless, senseless mush... I suggest you drop this course as soon as possible. Good day!" And without a word more, she darted out of the room, slamming the door loudly behind her.

((Gosh, I'm sorry to hear that! Take time off if you need, it's no problem.

*reads your post* Good grief! Good for Hermione!))

---

Severus was distracted all afternoon. He wondered how Hermione was doing up with Sybill.

"And make sure you add powdered moonstone in the fourth step, or your potion will be worthless," he told the class.

What on earth had possessed Albus to agree to the request? Surely the Headmaster knew that Hermione despised Professor Trelawney, and vice versa. He hoped she hadn't come to blows with the crazy woman.

"Professor," said a voice, "professor?"

Severus looked down at the student who was calling his name. "What?" he snapped.

"The bell has run, Professor Snape," the kid said nervously.

"Class dismissed!" Severus shouted, feeling like hitting the kid for noticing how spaced-out he was.

The next class entered, the last one of his day. Thank heavens...

"Do you think he's in love with her?" came a whisper from the hallway.

Girls giggled. "Do you think she's in love with him?" asked a voice in response.

"Well, I think it's pretty obvious he's head over heels for her," said the first voice, a little louder now as the group approached the classroom. "Look at how he stares at her!"

Had he been that obvious?

"Yes," giggled the second voice, "but she stares just as much. And working on a special project with him? You'd have to be crazy to do that!" More giggles. "Or in love!"

The group of giggling fifth-years came around the doorframe to see Severus glaring at them, arms crossed, foot tapping.

"Did you have any comments to make, Miss Gribble, Miss Vanita, and Miss Aubergine?" Severus said coldly.

They gasped and dived for their seats. Over the course of the lesson, they collectively lost nearly a hundred points for Hufflepuff.

Then, as Severus was accepting their finished work for the day, he realized: for that matter, wasn't it up to Severus to decide with whom Hermione worked?

He nearly dropped the flask he was holding in startlement.

"Is everything okay Professor?" asked one of the Hufflepuff boys.

Severus shot him such a frosty glare that the boy retreated.

Having closed up the classroom, Severus headed for the Great Hall, eager to hear from Hermione how her day had gone.

Ever since she booked out of Divination class, Hermione spent the rest of her time pacing and thinking in the courtyard. Surely they couldn't get mad at her for losing control and ditching the class... could they? It was a known fact that she hated both the class and the teacher, so a great risk was involved from the very beginning. But then she thought of Severus... would he be disappointed in her? What about Dumbledore? Would he relinquish her position as an assistant? All these worries bombarded her non-stop, making the time race by very quickly.

At quarter to the end of the final class of the day, Hermione made her way back into the Entrance Hall, where she sat at the foot of the staircase leading down to the Dungeons, waiting until Severus surfaced.

The bell echoed throughout the entire castle, indicating the start of the new hour. At that point, footsteps could be heard from all around, and soon enough students were filling the halls, each and every one heading in the same direction. Hermione stood up and waited for all the students streaming through the Dungeons to pass by her, knowing full well that Severus would be last.

Finally, as his image came into view from behind a corner, Hermione dashed forward and grabbed hold of his arm.

"Mind if we make a head start on my detention?" she asked, gesturing back to where he just came from.

"Er," said Severus intelligently. "Huh?"

Hermione looked flustered and upset, but also impatient, as if she wanted to distract herself by becoming absorbed in work. He couldn't blame her, if she'd just spent three hours with Trelawney.

Still, he wouldn't ignore a chance to be alone with her. He put his hand over the one she had on his arm, and walked her back towards his classroom.

"Well?" he asked. "How did it go?"

Once inside the room, Hermione hurried to shut the door behind her, before turning her back on it to face the questioning man.

"Oh, Severus... it was—it was horrible! She rambled on and on about all her usual nonsense... then she made me demonstrate to the students, which lead to embarrassing me in front of the whole class... and then," she bowed her head and buried her face in her hands, "I'm sorry... I completely disregarded your words and lost control. I smashed her teacup, yelled at her, then stormed out of the classroom. I'm so sorry..."

She began to feel a stinging sensation develop within the corners of her eyes, but refused to remove her hands from her face as she struggled against the will to cry.

Severus moved forward to hold Hermione, taking every advantage of the situation. She was trying not to cry, obviously upset that she'd done something wrong. "There, there," he murmured soothingly.

Still, though, his lips twitched.

After a few seconds, a grin broke through.

Then, as he couldn't hold it any longer, he let out a howling guffaw of a laugh. Tears streamed from his eyes, his gut ached, and he had to lean on Hermione to keep himself upright.

"I wish," he gasped, "that I could have been a fly on the wall for that. Oh, it must have been wonderful to see." He closed his eyes, imagining. "Hermione Granger finally telling Sybill Trelawney off." He sighed in smiling bliss, still chuckling hard. "Ah, that must have been very satisfying. What did you say to her? I bet it's making the rounds of the entire Great Hall right now." He grinned down at her.

Having been so startled by Severus's hysteric distortion of mood on the situation, Hermione almost forgot what she was bemoaning about.

When he mentioned the stories spreading around the Great Hall, however, her insides coiled. He may have been laughing now... but the situation was much more serious underneath the surface. The fresh material they had to work with was like food to the already radiated rumours, which had been bad enough as they were.

"Severus... it's not a joke. She made, well—'predictions'—about me... us... in front of the class. I mean, it was all speculation, but from the amount of students who actually believe that kook and with what has been going around already... it's not difficult for everyone to put two and two together." She caught her hastened breath for a moment and shook her head. "I don't want to face the Great Hall now... I can't face it."

Severus thought Hermione was taking this all far too seriously. It was, after all, just Trelawney and her usual babble. If he recalled correctly, only a handful of students every year believed her rubbish.

"What sort of predictions?" Severus asked, still grinning. "That danger lay before you, and that you had already embarked on some forbidden path from which no turning back was possible? Or did she see the Grim in your teacup?"

What on earth could Sibyll have said that made Hermione worry? This was Hermione after all -- she'd faced down a lot worse than the Divination Professor's silly predictions, and she'd already once before been the subject of unpleasant public opinion, thanks to the so-called journalist, Rita Skeeter.

Hermione shot Severus an incredulous look, face still flustered. How he seemed to be taking everything so light-heartedly—almost in amusement—Hermione could not understand. In a way, his attitude was annoying... perhaps he had already made peace with the whole notion, and learned not to be thwarted by social standards and the opinions of the others. If that was the case, was he expecting her to do the same? Deep down, she already knew that she wanted to... but not in such an abrupt and subnormal way.

Turning her back to him, Hermione took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "She knows... about us. And now, from her presented readings, the students have undoubtedly made the connections. But, maybe... maybe that's the way it should be; everything out in the open... no more lies... no more secrets." Her feet dragged her away from him to go sit on his desk, facing the blackboard.

"I'm alright with it, to be honest... just as long as it doesn't interfere with... well, you know..." She stared at her fidgety hands. How would Harry and Ron react to the new rumours? Maybe she could convince them otherwise... at least for a little while, until their whole mission was over. Did that make her a rotten friend? Probably.

((posting without reading your post because I have to revise my 20-page dissertation proposal tonight... Will check in with you again Thursday. I hope. Busy busy busy!!))

((Yay, diss proposal revised, Fulbright interview got through, and I finally have a spare hour or two to myself!!))

---

Oh. Severus' grin faded instantly from his face. Now he understood why Hermione was so upset. Still, a part of him couldn't help but feel a little thrill when she said "us." There was an "us" for Hermione, and that meant a lot to him. But he wanted to strangle Sybill Trelawney for her careless words.

He looked at Hermione's back turned toward him and felt guilty.

"Sorry," he said quietly, moving to stand behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I didn't realize..." He cleared his throat, giving her shoulders a little squeeze. "Why don't you tell me exactly what she said, and we can figure out where to go from there? As much as I'd like to be able to openly"—was date the right word? commit?—"acknowledge our relationship, if you're not ready for that, I don't want to pressure you into anything that makes you uncomfortable." He moved his arms so that, instead of resting on her shoulders, he was embracing her from behind, his arms crossed over her collarbones. She felt wonderful against him, even if she seemed to be trembling somewhat.

"So, what exactly did she say?"

((Yay! - You are such a busy lady.))

---

With the weight of his arms across her chest and torso pressed against her back, Hermione felt a sudden new sense of comfort—nearly capable of convincing her that, at that point, just about everything would be okay. Revelling in this immune sensation, she placed her hands over his encompassing arms, like some kind of bind. For the life of her, she didn't want him to let go.

"Well... she started out with her usual predictions of danger and whatnot, and then she 'foresaw' me getting involved in an act of... forbidden love," Hermione finally said after a long sigh. "The thing is, she was able to determine that the process had already commenced on my time line... and since I haven't been very close to anyone but you lately, people are going to assume the obvious."

She let her head roll back against his chest, taking in his musky smell mixed with his breath; it was strangely soothing, and really helped to calm her nerves.

((More revisions due... my other advisor took the thing completely apart sentence by sentence, telling me I was basically writing it all backwards. So this is a quick visit to hop in and catch up! Oh, and I ADORE the new avi.))

---

"Hm," Severus said, paying more attention to the sensation of Hermione's hands on his: trusting. Accepting his reassurance. She seemed to be calming down.

Then what she said finally caught up with his foggy brain processes. "Hm, yes. The rumors will probably start flying." He decided not to mention the whispers he'd heard in the corridors. "But, Hermione, do remember that most people—even the third years—will think everything that Trelawney says is just guesswork and funny voices. Sybill has no doubt noticed that we're spending more time together, so she probably wanted to make an impact on the class. It's her favorite teaching method, if you recall, to startle the class. Usually she predicts that someone will die. This time, she decided that hinting at a scandal would be the best way."

Severus could smell Hermione's shampoo; her hair was tickling his nostrils. He brushed it away, enjoying the texture as he had a few days ago (only a few days... so much had happened). "I still don't think we need to be concerned about what Trelawney says. Do you really care what the rest of the school thinks about you? About us?"

((My oh my... it just never seems to end with you. And, thanks. <3)

---

Upon first thought, Hermione had the urge to blurt out 'Absolutely!' in response to Severus's question, but caught herself quickly before making that rash mistake.

She closed her opened mouth and welcomed the opportunity to actually consider for a moment; it was within that moment that her female, red-headed friend re-surfaced once again behind her eyes. The words she shared remained ever so clear in her head. Almost like a conscience, she reminded Hermione of what was important, and seeded the courage to accept and admit within her heart. Honesty was the most important first step; without it, there was absolutely no chance of success.

A steadied breath escaped her lips, as she finally uttered, "No... No, you're right—I don't care. It was silly of me... I panicked. I should have just admitted it all from the start; then I wouldn't have to worry about certain people having a sudden change of heart—to put it lightly. But now... I guess it's best that peoples' suspicions are confirmed earlier rather than later; I just want to get over the hype as soon as possible... and hopefully it won't leave any permanent damage." By that, her concern was directed mostly towards her closest friends—Harry being the fattest balloon in the bundle; if he burst, it would have the greatest impact. Her only consolation for that was Ginny.

((

Hey guys, please bear in mind that ALL of Mene is PG-13 and that included PMs. No RP can have a rating higher than this, and it is strictly against the rules to "take it to PMs". Thanks!

:(:(:())

That's not aimed directly at us, is it? We're doing fine staying within PG-13, right?

Anyway, I haven't forgotten you! I'm just super overloaded, and add to that that I nearly got a divorce Monday night when I came home to find my husband had drunk an entire bottle of vodka in one afternoon. He's got issues, and I've been trying for years to get him to therapy. It's complicated.

So, I'm putting finishing touches on my dissertation proposal, have another grant due next Wednesday, and can't wait to get back to RPing next week...

----

Severus stared at Hermione. He'd actually been expecting a different answer; she was still young, and peer pressure was strong. And in fact, when she'd first opened her mouth, he'd thought she would answer positively, she'd admit that it mattered. But then she seemed to re-think.

"Really?" he asked, somewhat startled. "You're willing to let this be known publicly?" Then more questions hit him, and he had to ask: "What, exactly, do we have?" It seemed silly to think of Hermione as a "girlfriend," but that was the technical term. Partner? Would they date? "And how do we move forward from here?"

((My point is, it means that whenever we reach that 'moment', we won't be allowed to take it to the PMs after all, like we intended. ... I want an 18+ section pronto.

Oh dear... I'm so sorry to hear that. If such problems have been carrying on for years, as you say, maybe it's time you start reconsidering new alternatives. It can't be healthy for your lifestyle if you have to spend your time constantly aiding someone else.

I hope everything turns out for you. :)))

---

Whatever they had, Hermione had been trying to put her finger on right from the get-go; to define it now was still next to impossible. All she knew was that she harboured feelings for him—and vice versa—and had the desire to be a part of his life. How that was so difficult to describe, she did not know.

"I can't honestly say," she admitted. "A lot has happened... within such a short amount of time; I think it would be reckless to place a label on something still so fresh and unstable." She finally whirled around on the desk to face him directly. "If you ask me... we should just let nature take its course. We are what we are. People are going to perceive us in innumerable different ways anyway, so there is no point in trying to explain it... we can just say that we've become close. In the end, that's generally what's happened, isn't it?"

She gazed up at him with her wide, almond eyes—hoping that anything she said would be neither too bold nor disappointing to him. A huge part of her wanted to know what he thought... she already knew he loved her, but to what extent? What is 'love' to him? Even she doesn't know what it is to herself.

Love is complicated.

((He's finally agreed to go into therapy, and even made an appointment! The earliest he could get is next month, but that's fine, since it's only $30/session because it's through the school's psychology department. Yay!!

And, I'm kinda back. I have a final all-nighter tonight to finish the last urgent grant, but I'm poking my head in now because I wanted to say hi and check on this.))

((We could take it to emails or something.))

---

"Let nature take its course..." Severus echoed. Oh, Hermione, he wanted to groan. Did she know what that meant to him? He wondered if his thoughts, most of them unsuitable for public airing, were visible in his eyes. He wanted her, oh, how he wanted her. Not just intellectually, with the amazing exchange of ideas and energy their interactions had only begun to hint at, but physically as well... he wanted to hold her, to touch her skin, to smell her essence.

He knew he wouldn't be able to control himself much longer if they stayed in such close proximity, but he didn't want to pull away from her. She had given him an invitation; she was an adult, and was going into this with eyes wide open.

"Hermione..." he whispered. "I do love you, oh, so much."

Moving very slowly, giving her the chance to back away, to break off, to stop, Severus leaned forward to touch his lips to hers.

((That is great news! I hope everything works out for him and you get to see improvement.

And yeah, I suppose we could take it to emails.))

---

The chance to respond had been well overridden by the reaction to Severus's advances—slow advances. Too slow.

She wouldn't grant him the opportunity to take his dear sweet time.

Before even three seconds could say their farewells, she was crushing her lips hungrily to his, fingers snaked around the nape of his neck. All sense, worry, and fear were completely lost at that point; the only thing crowding her view was the man before her and the blazing desire to be with him. It was happening again... only this time, there were no uncertainties in her judgement.

Shuffling a little closer so that her legs could reach past his sides and her whole frontal torso was pressed against him, she continued to feed the fervid connection between their mouths, all the while bathing in his intoxicating scent. It was something she would have considered far from appealing once upon a time, but ever since she's been having feelings for him, it's just about the only scent she craves.

((Goodness, Hermione is bold tonight! email is alexandramuses, on gmail.))

---

Severus' body responded instantly to the pressure of very solid yet soft and feminine girl -- woman -- pressing herself up against him. She was kissing him back, but more than that, it was as if she was trying to crawl inside him. He wondered if she'd had experience with boys before... if they had been any good...

He wondered how far she'd let him go tonight.

He wondered if he ought to be the responsible adult and remind her that they needed to deal with the Dark Mark before they got further involved.

Then, as part of her body touched a certain part of his, he found he couldn't think anymore.

Hermione was sitting on the desk with her legs wrapped around his torso, her lips clamped on his. He could tell she didn't weigh all that much, and, moving using a part of his brain that had become separated from the bit that remembered important things like his name, where he was, and the fact that he had a death sentence tattooed on his arm, his lips left hers, and he picked her up and pinned her against the wall, holding her up by her thighs.