Becoming Familiar with a Man of Misery

Chapter 24 ~ Recovery

“I’m telling you it’s the most amazing recovery I’ve ever seen!” Poppy said to Hermione’s parents as they smiled at their daughter, who was sipping some of Poppy’s awful broth and trying not to make a face.

“Hermione, you scared us to death,” Ron said scowling at her.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed. “You were looking pretty bad there, ‘Mione”

“I’m glad you’re all right Hermione,” Ginny said, smiling down at her.

Hermione smiled at all her friends and family, but said very little as they gushed over her miraculous return from the brink of death. Only Severus knew she had actually died.

The witch was happy to see them, but the one person she wanted to see most wasn’t there, in body anyway.

Raucous watched the goings-on with disgust. If he had his way, he’d shit on every chattering person surrounding her bed. The witch needed rest, not all this. He fluffed his feathers and clung to the back of the visitor’s chair he had occupied since first starting his vigil over Hermione for his master. He pecked Ron in the back when the wizard thoughtlessly tried to take the seat.

“Ow! That bloody bird pecked me!” Ron said, frowning at Raucous and trying to rub his back where his sharp beak had driven home. “Why is he here anyway?”

“That’s Professor Snape’s familiar, Raucous. He watches over me,” Hermione said.

Raucous clipped his beak at her nastily, just to show her that the war was still on.

“Looks more like he wants to get you than watch over you,” Harry said, eyeing the raven, who was fluffed up with his beak open, trying to look as threatening as possible now that he had everyone’s attention.

“Raucous and I have a history,” Hermione said with a smirk.

Raucous cawed at her. He still hadn’t forgotten how she turned him yellow. He was only here because Severus sent him. As far as Raucous was concerned, Hermione was well enough to shit on again. But Poppy would have a fit.

Flowers and chocolates surrounded Hermione. Everyone was happy she was fine, and begging for the details of the Dark Lord’s demise. She told them about the death of Nagini, and how she came to be in Voldemort’s stronghold.

“Ew, you actually touched him, Hermione?” Ron said, his nose wrinkled as Hermione described how she grabbed on to Severus and disapparated with him. “Poppy, you did do a deep-cleansing scourgify on her, didn’t you? Merlin only knows what she could have picked up from the greasy git.”

In his study, Severus scowled. If he saw Ronald Weasley before he departed Hogwarts, he’d be sure to shoot a tripping spell at him surreptiously. Hopefully he’d fall on his face.

If only Mr. Weasley knew how much and how intimately Hermione wanted this “greasy git” to touch her. The Potions Master grinned. Fucking Hermione Granger was going to bring Severus satisfaction on so many levels just because he knew so many people would be absolutely appalled that the beautiful, sweet Gryffindor witch had been reamed by him. He intended to keep their sexual relationship as quiet as possible, but a leak to her friends would be so, so rewarding. Knowing Hermione, she would eventually confess to fucking him to them.

He’d love to be a fly on the wall when that happened.

Severus watched as her visitors oohed and aahed over the details the witch could remember. She didn’t embellish anything or try to take credit for the Dark Lord’s demise.

“We just had to wait him out. Nagini’s death was what really destroyed him. We were just there,” she said.

“Yeah, but you kept him occupied so he didn’t look for another familiar,” Harry said.

Harry was so relieved that he didn’t have to battle the Dark Lord. It had been a cloud over his life since his fifth year when Albus revealed the prophecy to him. The globe must not have figured in Nagini. No one did. If they had known her death would mean the Dark Lord’s death, someone would have killed her long ago.

“Professor Snape withheld that information from Voldemort. That’s why he didn’t look for a familiar,” Hermione said, giving credit to the dark wizard. “He was the one that suggested gathering the snakes to distract him.”

Both Harry and Ron frowned at this.

“We had hell taking all those snakes back to where they belonged,” Harry said.

Ron nodded in agreement, scowling. Both wizards were Aurors, and they had to go to the Dark Lord’s stronghold to help clear out the bodies and the snakes.

“Nasty wankers,” Ron said. “They were slithering around everywhere trying to bite everyone. I don’t think we returned the right ones in the right places, but hell, they were all King Cobras. What’s the freaking difference? I felt a bit sorry for the snake charmers though. Their cobras were more like pets.”

“How many deatheaters did the Dark Lord kill?” Hermione inquired.

“We counted three hundred and forty-two,” Harry said, shaking his head. “That was their reward for following him. I tell you, evil doesn’t pay.”

“But they killed a lot of people too,” Ginny piped in, her brown eyes hard, “In horrible ways, at the revels. They got what they deserved, if you ask me.”

There was a murmur of agreement.

“What did they do with Voldemort’s body?” Hermione asked curiously.

“They cremated him and put him in a small casket with mirrors and buried him in an undisclosed location. If people knew where his ashes were, some nutcase might dig them up and try to restore him,” Harry said.

Yes, there was that. Though Hermione couldn’t imagine any deatheater trying to restore Voldemort after what he had done to his loyal servants. Lucius Malfoy lost his wife Narcissa that night. Theodore Knotts was dead as well as both Goyle and Crabbe, former Hogwarts students. The list went on.

The group stayed with Hermione until Poppy finally drove them out, saying she needed her rest. Her parents kissed her good-bye. She promised to come see them as soon as she could.

Hermione lay back down in the bed and looked at Raucous, who was watching her quietly.

“I wish Severus would come see me,” she said to the bird wistfully.

In his study, Severus heard her sentiment.

He had left her bedside shortly after her miraculous recovery, calling Raucous back to watch her and went about his day as usual. The bird had left with Dumbledore and Poppy the night before, giving his master some privacy, sure the witch would die. Raucous was glad she lived for his master’s sake.

Severus sat there a moment in indecision. Then he decided to wait to visit her. Poppy had just made everyone leave because she wanted the witch to rest. He’d wait a couple of hours, then go see her for a few minutes.

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Ollivander’s Wand Shop did a roaring business as former deatheaters replaced their wands. Mr. Ollivander remembered every wand he ever sold, and made new wands to match the old ones. Severus ordered two wands via Raucous, one for himself and one for Hermione.

The Potions Master tested his, and it was a perfect match to his old one. He had no reason to believe Hermione’s new wand would be of any lesser quality than her previous one. Severus requested that the wandmaker etch the Gryffindor standard in the handle of the witch’s wand, and Mr. Ollivander had done an excellent job, even using the Gryffindor colors.

Severus gave the witch the wand when he visited her next. Hermione was delighted, sat up in bed, grabbed him around the neck and thanked him with a quick kiss on the lips. She colored as he arched an eyebrow at her and licked his lips, tasting her with a bit of a smack, his dark eyes resting on her calmly. It was the only sign of intimate interest he had given her since she’d been under Poppy’s care.

Hermione had been in the infirmary six days now since her recovery. She was getting antsy. It was as if Poppy didn’t want to let her miracle patient go.

“I just want to make sure you are completely well,” Poppy said, when Hermione attempted to coerce her into letting her go.

Severus was there, watching them silently, his long legs stretched out as he sat in the small visitor’s chair. He believed Poppy kept the rickety, uncomfortable things to shorten visits.

Poppy looked at the Potions Master rather sharply when she said to Hermione, “I don’t want you engaging in any strenuous activities before you are ready.”

Hermione blushed and Severus arched an eyebrow at Poppy. He felt he had done nothing to warrant the medi-witch’s scrutiny. In fact, he hadn’t. It was the way Hermione looked at him that made the healer aware there was something going on between the two. Or there would be when the witch was released.

Poppy had treated Severus for many, many years and was well aware of how the wizard was hung. Hermione was such a little thing, and still a virgin. But judging by the look in her eyes whenever Severus entered the infirmary, she wouldn’t be one for much longer.

Severus, for the most part evidenced no outward signs of wanting to bed the witch. He didn’t show any signs of affection at all, to be honest. He just visited and asked her how she was feeling. But Poppy knew he was not the kind of wizard to show his hand for all to see. If he were going to show the witch any heat, he would do it in private.

Poppy couldn’t imagine Hermione with Severus. He was so cold and dark, despite all the good he’d done. He just didn’t seem capable of the kind of affection the young witch would require. Poppy had an erroneous view of Hermione however. She didn’t know the witch preferred dark, brooding and snarky and wouldn’t have liked having a wizard that put their relationship on public display…hand-holding, kissing and walking about with arms entwined was something the witch had never wanted to engage in. She thought it childish and exhibitory.

Well, Hermione wouldn’t have to worry about that with Severus. He’d never let anyone know they were involved at all if he could help it. And holding hands in public? He’d probably rather cut his hand off than be seen doing such a thing.

Severus had his own plans for Hermione. Yes, he planned to fuck her, and fuck her good. He was still angry with her for taking the curse meant for him, and that was just another line on his list of grievances against her that would accompany them to the bedroom when the time came.

The witch had died. Severus had witnessed enough deaths to know that Hermione left the land of the living. Her return was a true miracle. But she had thrown her life away for him, and he was going to take her to task for that. He didn’t need any more life debts. Potter had been bad enough. The Dark Lord was dead, so the Potions Master was freed of the debt he owed James Potter for saving him from Remus when he transformed into a werewolf. His son Harry was safe and could live his life any way he saw fit.

Severus knew he owed Hermione, and he hated owing anyone.

When she recovered, he pushed the words he said to her on her deathbed to the back of his mind. He would have never said such things if he knew she were going to live, and was glad that she had no recollection of them. Or his tears. The tears were the worst part.

He did figure out however, why he had cried. It wasn’t love. He had cried because someone innocent and beautiful was leaving the world because of him, someone who deserved to stay and live and do amazing things with her life. He cried because there was nothing he could do to help her.

Yes, he had seen death before, but never for his sake. No one had ever laid down his or her life for him before, though he had offered up his life down every day for the wizarding world at large. Hermione’s sacrifice wasn’t the same. He did what he did for the greater good. Nameless faceless people reaped the benefits of his risk. Hermione had done what she did, for him alone, knowing who and what he was, and seeing past it.

She wanted him? She would have him. He would give her every inch of himself and then some. However deep her hunger was, he would fill her, feed the witch until she had no more hunger left. And in the process of this, he would feed his own need to possess her, to make her submit to him, give him every secret part of herself, slake his desire to break her apart and put her back together again. Hermione had drawn this out of him, so she would have to handle the beast she released. She might not ever let him touch her again afterwards, he might prove too much for the fantasy. But for that moment, he would own her and she would know without any doubt that she had been marked and claimed.

Severus knew that Poppy was right to keep Hermione as long as she did. No matter how distant the wizard seemed, the medi-witch sensed what he had planned for Hermione once she was in his grasp. The witch would need to be as strong as possible. If she wasn’t, it would make no difference.

He would take her anyway.

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On the morning Hermione was released, Severus was not there. He had gone to breakfast, as was his usual routine. He was very aware she was being released, however. Hermione left the infirmary alone, though Poppy wanted someone to escort her to her rooms.

“Why, Poppy? You kept me here as long as you could. I’m strong as a troll. I don’t need escorting. I’ll be fine,” Hermione said, waving away the medi-witch’s protestations.

She navigated the infirmary corridor, took the shifting stairs down to the main hall and walked to the dungeon corridor entrance, breathing deeply. It felt good to be free again. Poppy was sweet, but as tough as a prison guard.

Focused on returning to her own rooms, Hermione didn’t see the slight motion in the shadowed niche of the dark corridor as she passed. Black eyes watched her intently as she walked toward her rooms door.

Hermione opened her door and was about to enter, when a loud squawk sounded. She looked up just in time to see Raucous swoop down on her, depositing a large, wet dropping in her hair and winging away down the corridor before she could draw her wand, his caws sounding very much like laughter.

Seething, Hermione entered her rooms and headed for the shower immediately. Scourgifying bird shit didn’t work well. She had to wash her hair.

Damn that stupid bird.

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In the Great Hall, Severus was on his last piece of bacon when Raucous came winging in, landing beside his plate. The Potions Master gave the raven the bacon he was about to eat. The bird woofed it down, then squawked at him and sent him an image of an irate, but well Hermione, bird shit dripping wet and glistening down her chestnut locks.

“Raucous, you didn’t,” he said to the bird, knowing very well he did.

The raven did a little victory dance.

The Potions Master couldn’t help smirking. What a welcome home for the witch. She hadn’t even made it into her rooms before Raucous wreaked his revenge for being turned florescent yellow.

“You’re aware you’ve drawn first blood,” Severus said to the raven, “She’s going to be after you with a vengeance.”

Raucous cawed disparagingly and sent Severus an image of him swooping down on Hermione and driving her away, flailing her arms and screaming at the top of her lungs.

Severus shook his head. He knew that scene would be highly unlikely. Hermione was most likely furious about the sneak attack and would ambush the bird with a hex before the day was over.

He sighed as he ate the rest of his scrambled eggs. He could expect a scathing complaint and a couple of threats concerning his familiar from the witch whenever he saw her. He looked forward to her indignation. He missed it a bit.

It seemed things were back to normal.

But they weren’t.

Marcus looked down the table at Snape with his violet eyes narrowed. The wizard had waited a few days before confronting him, having heard about the condition of the witch and their narrow escape from death. But now Hermione was quite restored and the Potions Master had more than enough time to recover from that ordeal. He ought to be ready to face a new one.

Marcus recovered fine from his one day stint as a physical pig, though he still was a pig in personality, at least when it came to women. But he still couldn’t get an erection. He tried a number of spells to remove the impotence hex, to no avail. He even gave in and went to Poppy for help, but after the witch examined him, she informed him whoever cast the spell on him had altered it and he would either have to go to a Spells Master or Mistress to have it removed or just wait until it faded. Going to a Spells Master cost galleons. Galleons he didn’t have. So he was stuck for it.

He didn’t plan on doing anything to Hermione. The witch had caught him dirty. He was like Severus when it came to being punished for being caught in the wrong. He got what he asked for. However, Severus had double-crossed him, letting the witch know about their original arrangement, thus cutting off any chance that Marcus had of bedding her. That had been distinctly unfair of the Potions Master, especially since the dark wizard wasn’t interested in fucking the witch himself, and Marcus meant to get his pound of flesh for Severus’ duplicity. Wands or fists, he didn’t care which, he just wanted satisfaction.

He saw Snape rise and head out the staff exit. The blonde wizard followed, purpose in his stride. He exited behind the Potions Master and hailed him. The wizard stopped.

Severus stared at Marcus, and knew by the look in his eyes that the wizard wanted satisfaction. He couldn’t blame him really.

“Yes, Mr. Delaluci?” Severus said as the wizard stalked up to him.

“You told Hermione about our deal,” Marcus said to him, “And she came to my office and hexed me. You had no right to do that Snape. The deal was over. She didn’t need to know about it.”

Severus’ black eyes washed over the angry wizard. His body language suggested he might attack him. He prepared himself.

“The situation between Miss Granger and I had changed sufficiently enough that I felt I should come clean with her,” Snape replied.

“No. You didn’t have to tell her anything. You ‘came clean’ to keep me from fucking her,” Marcus seethed. “And right now, I can’t fuck anybody, thanks to you. And that requires payback.”

Suddenly Marcus took a powerful swing at the Potions Master, who slipped it neatly, his black eyes going hard. Both wizards drew their wands and held them at face level. They glared at each other hatefully.

“I believe we are at an impasse, Mr. Delaluci,” Severus said, holding his wand steadily, pointing it right between Marcus’ eyes.

“Seems we are, Snape,” Marcus replied, his wand also held steadily between the Potions Master’s brow. “But we need to get this settled. You deserve an ass-kicking for what you’ve done to me.”

Severus’ eyes narrowed.

“And you believe, Mr. Delaluci, you are wizard enough to give me said ass-kicking?” he purred silkily.

“I’m sure of it, Snape. And without magic…but if you prefer to face me with a wand…” Marcus said, insinuating Severus wasn’t wizard enough to go hand-to-hand.

“Fisticuffs or the like will be fine, Mr. Delaluci,” Severus said darkly, “When do you wish to engage me?”

“How about this evening? Seven o’clock. In the clearing by Hagrid’s, just outside the Forbidden Forest. You know the place?” Marcus asked.

“Yes I do. We can have Hagrid oversee the fight. Keep it…honest,” Severus said, implying Marcus would try to cheat.

Marcus thought about this. The half-giant was a fair-minded sort.

“Fine with me,” he snapped.

Slowly, both wizards lowered their wands. Severus inclined his head slightly.

“Then I will see you at seven o’clock this evening, Mr. Delaluci,” the dark wizard said, his black eyes glinting, “And bring bandages. You’ll need them.”

Marcus’ violet eyes telescoped at the wizard as he turned and walked away.

“You better get out your best healing potions, Snape. That big schnoze of yours will be the first casualty, it’s such an easy target,” he called after the wizard.

Then Marcus turned and headed for his classroom. He was going to enjoy kicking that git’s pale ass.

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A/N: So Hermione’s back in her rooms, Raucous is in fine form and Severus is going to fight Marcus. Two alpha males duking it out with Hagrid refereeing. Ought to be interesting. Please review.

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The Burning Pen

Becoming Familiar with a Man of Misery
by Ruth Solomon

 

The story content is adult in nature and can contain graphic sex and violence. Those under the age of 18 are asked to leave this site immediately. You are not welcome here. The author is not responsible for those under-aged who view these works.

CHAPTER 25

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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