Sodalis

Chapter 9

Severus had spent his whole life honing his ability to stay in control of his emotions, magic, and physical reactions. He was a spy who duped the greatest dark wizard of this century. His accomplishments spanned skilled Occlumens and Master of Potions. But with his arms filled with a beautiful young woman who was kissing him passionately and the bond between them bursting forth, enveloping them in what could only be euphoria, he was left with only his baser instincts.

He buried one of his hands in her mane of curls and his arm wrapped around her waist to pull her flush against him. Severus should be the adult, he should pull away or push her away, but he couldn't. The feel of her lips pillowed against his, accompanied with her signature scent of parchment, vanilla, and cinnamon filling his senses was all consuming. He felt her shift them so that he was pinned between her body and one of the classroom tables.

The sound of Filch calling out for Mrs. Norris somewhere down the hall traveled through the open door of the potions classroom. Startled, Severus pushed Hermione backward and gripped her at arm's length by the biceps. She looked thoroughly snogged which spurred him to release her and step towards the doorway. He slashed his hand through the air, slamming the door shut then warded it. How could he have lost his self-control so easily? Weak, despicable, old man!

The girl was standing in the room chest heaving, hair a mess, cheeks pink, and looking utterly mesmerizing. Merlin, have mercy.

Severus rushed past her to stand behind his desk at the front of the room, putting space and obstacles between them. He should say something but was overwhelmed by the bond begging for more contact with the witch. He hated himself a little bit when he noticed the tenting in his pants. His mind flashed with a fantasy of her. A fantasy he had forced behind so many walls in his mind that he had forgotten about it completely.

His mind flashed back to a night at Grimmauld Place early that summer.

Severus had stumbled into the blasted house of Black late in the night. He had been summoned and forced to witness the death of his colleague, Professor Burbage. Nights like this one were almost worse than those when the Dark Lord allowed Bella to 'play' with him. His scars this time were mental rather than physical. Though Bella had still seen fit to send a slicing hex his way as he walked out of Malfoy Manor.

He didn't know what compelled him to choose Grimmauld Place over Spinner's End that night but he had been greeted by a fussy Molly Weasley and for once had not stopped her when she plied him with tea and food. Knowing that revealing his wound would only result in even more motherhenning from the Weasley matriarch, he had slipped himself a few potions until he could get some privacy.

By the time he was able to get to the room he normally occupied, he was barely standing on his feet. He did not notice that the bedroom door stood ajar as he slowly peeled his cloak from his body. Not for the first time, he cursed himself for the damnable buttons he had to undo. Even with magic it took longer than he liked. Dropping the frock coat to the ground revealed the white dress shirt with a bright red blossom of blood on his side. The bleeding had stopped and the drying of the fabric meant that it would be horrible to rip off.

Severus managed to get his right arm out of the shirt but hesitated to do the rest. The left side of the shirt was already dried to the wound, pulling at his skin as he delicately tugged at it. A gasp came from behind him and he whirled around. In the door was Miss Granger, in dark red pajama bottoms and a strappy tank that left her arms and shoulders bare.

"Are you going to add impeding upon my privacy to your long list of skills, Miss Granger?" He turned, too tired to be self-conscious about his state of undress. "Turn around and do not speak of this to anyone."