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Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 13 ~ Another Take
Hermione was still in her training clothes when she finally came out of her room, fuming and walked downstairs. No one was in the living room. She walked into the kitchen. Tonks and Kingsley were there, and Tonks looked like the proverbial dragon that swallowed the canary. Her pixie face had a mischievous smile on it. Kingsley was studiously studying his nails. The remains of their supper was sitting in front of them.
“Heya Hermione,” Tonks greeted her, grinning wickedly, ”We saw your ‘opponent’ in the ROR this morning.”
She and Kingsley both dissolved into helpless laughter. Hermione scowled at the both of them and walked over to the pot on the stove to see what they made for dinner. Severus walked in. He immediately saw Hermione, and his eyebrows drew together blackly. Then his black eyes fell on the Aurors, who immediately tried to get themselves together. Severus knew by the way they avoided his eyes that the joke had something to do with him. And by the way Hermione was scowling over the pot of food she was examining, it was something at her expense.
He knew no one would tell him what the joke was, so he employed a little room-wide legilimency. All three should have similar thoughts about one specific idea or incident. He touched Tonks first, and saw himself in a bed, naked, propped up on his arm. This startled him. Where had she seen this? The room he was in was completely unfamiliar. He looked into Kingsley’s mind next. The Auror was walking towards Tonks and the open door of the ROR. The Auror looked in, and there Severus was, again in the bed. The Potions Master then delved into Hermione’s mind, and saw the entire scene unfold. The witch asking the room for a random scene generation with one opponent, and his golem appearing in the bed in front of her. Ah, now he understood. The ROR was the rock cake that broke the Thestral’s back. That’s why she came to him. She felt thoroughly defeated. Well, that must have thrown her for a loop.
Hermione was spooning some stew into a plate.
“I hope you leave some,” Severus said, “I’m extremely hungry. For food that is.”
He saw Hermione pause.
“Someone did a fine job of killing my other appetite,” he finished.
He just managed to get out of the kitchen door before the plate of stew hit it.
Severus stood in the corridor smirking. So, she was sensitive about what he said this afternoon. She was in battle mode too. He hurried upstairs to change clothes. This was going to be fun. If he did this right, maybe he wouldn’t have to wait after all.
Hermione scourgified the mess off the kitchen door as Tonks and Kingsley looked at her soberly. They had heard what Severus said to set her off, and guessed the dynamics to their stormy attraction for each other had changed. Tonks looked at Hermione curiously as the witch scraped every remaining bit of food out of the pot and put it on her plate, then filled the empty pot with water and set it in the sink. Let him eat that.
Hermione stalked over to the kitchen table, sat down and started eating. She was still mad at the Aurors for teasing her about the golem the ROR generated this morning.
“I take it you and Severus are at a new level,” Tonks said, looking at the witch as she chewed her food angrily. Hermione leveled a hard gaze at the Auror, then looked back down at her plate, gathering more food on her fork.
“Come on, Hermione. We were just teasing,” Kingsley said, grinning at her. “You have to admit it was pretty funny.”
“To you, maybe,” Hermione grumped.
“What was Severus talking about, Hermione?” Tonks asked her outright.
Hermione looked up at the Auror, then her amber eyes cut to Kingsley, who rose.
“All right. I know where this is going. See you later,” he said, picking up his plate and putting it in the sink, then striding out the kitchen door. The two witches watched him go.
Tonks fixed Hermione with her hazel eyes. “All right then, spill it.”
“I told Severus I was willing to…to…”
“Fuck him?” Tonks said excitedly. She always went right to the meat, that one.
Hermione scowled at her a moment.
“Yes,” she said.
“Ooh, so when are you doing the dirty deed? Or did you do it already?” Tonks asked, her hazel eyes practically glowing. She was ecstatic Hermione was finally going to get good and laid.
“No…we haven’t done anything. He said I was trying to be a martyr and he’d come for me when the time was right,” Hermione said.
Tonks looked perplexed.
“What did you do, Hermione? This morning it looked like he wanted to fuck you right here in the kitchen. You must have done something to cool him off,” the Auror said.
Hermione shrugged.
“When I was coming upstairs from the ROR and saw him sitting in the living room, I just realized I was fighting the evitable. It was going to happen, so I just gave in and told him I’d do it,” she said.
“You…gave in.” Tonks repeated. The Auror looked thoughtful. “All right, you tell me every single thing you said and did from the time you left the ROR until the end of your conversation with Severus,” Tonks said. “I’m good at this stuff. Men might seem tough, but they are sensitive too. Even Severus.”
Hermione snorted. “The only place that man is probably sensitive is the part he wants to stick in me,” she said, frowning.
Tonks grinned. “All right. Give me all the details.”
Hermione painstakingly went over the sequence of events that led to the final blowup between them. Tonks asked a question here or there. When Hermione finished, the Auror wrinkled her brow and looked at her seriously.
“He still wants you. But not the you that was folded up in that armchair. He likes the Hermione that fights with him and stands up to him. Not the one that folds and says, ok, just fuck me,” Tonks said. “He’s attracted by your passion, Hermione. He could probably work it up in you if he just accepted what you said and took you to bed, but he wants you to be the woman he battles with every day. Not a submissive. More like an equal, know what I mean?”
Hermione looked at her. Tonks voice grew soft.
“Hermione, Severus isn’t like other wizards. He’s alone because he hadn’t found a woman that really attracted him or aroused him. He spent so many years living a lie that, I don’t know, maybe he just wanted something real when he came out of all of that. He could’ve just gone to the brothel and fucked somebody, you know? That’s what most wizards would have done. He feels something’s special about you. Something honest and real. You challenge him, you aren’t afraid of him like most people are. I’ve seen people cringe when he walks into a room. You never cringe or fold. You never treat him with kid gloves like the rest of the people he deals with. You’ll tell him go fuck off if he irks you. That’s what he likes, Hermione, your spirit. He’s not going to touch you if you’re not yourself. He wants the whole package. It’s not just the pussy. That he can get anywhere. And all you offered him today was pussy. That’s what’s wrong,” the Auror said.
Hermione ran her hand through her hair and looked at the Auror. Tonks might be a bit on the wild side, but the witch could always hit the mark in a situation. People always underestimated her, and that’s why she was so good at what she did for the Order and for the Ministry. She interrogated deatheaters, and from the pieces she gleaned from several sources, she could put together an entire picture, and they never even knew they had given her anything to work with. Tonks was just that good. Hermione sighed.
It was true. She did have a defeatist attitude when she talked to Severus today, and he picked up on it. She had tossed the Potions Master into the same bag as other wizards, men ruled by their cocks and happy with a woman who was willing to fall on her back and let them have their way. Severus never cut corners or took the easy route in anything he did. Just because something was offered him didn’t mean he’d take it. What happened with the Order of Merlin, the most coveted medal in wizarding society proved that. He turned it down, because it wasn’t given honestly. It was offered to ease the Ministry’s conscience.
She should have known he wouldn’t want her like that, just giving in. It was a cheat. But she hadn’t been thinking about him. Just herself. No wonder he had become so angry.
“I think I understand Tonks. Thanks for clearing that up for me,” Hermione said to the Auror warmly.
“It’s what I do,” the Auror said modestly. Then her eyes glittered.
“You need to go and straighten this out so you can get to the goodies. I’m telling you, when you finally get together with that wizard your toes are going to be perpetually curled. I can see it in his eyes,” the Auror grinned at her. “It’s been years for him. He’ll be an animal.”
Hermione looked doubtful.
“I don’t know if I can do ‘animal’ Tonks,” she said.
“Tell me, when he gets near you, does your belly heat up?” Tonks asked her.
Hermione nodded.
“When he had you pinned against the wall, did you feel like you were on fire?”
“Yes,” Hermione admitted.
“And when he pressed his cock against you, did you get an ache between your legs? I know you made him let you go…but did that happen?”
Hermione nodded again.
“You’ll do ‘animal’ just fine,” the Auror grinned at her, “You need to go find him and let him know you know what he needs from you. Talk to him. Shit, snog him. I guarantee that will get you smoking just the way he wants you. Remember this too, Hermione. You want him just as much as he wants you. Don’t play the submissive role. Or the shy retiring type. He’s the kind of wizard you should enjoy. Have fun with. Get freaky with. You’re a tiger. Rowr.” Tonks clawed at the air. Hermione laughed.
“A tiger. All right Tonks, I’ll find him,” she said, rising from the table. Her belly was all fluttery.
Tonks looked at her.
“Hell, you’d better do more than find him. I don’t like my pep talks wasted. I expect to hear about some serious fucking tomorrow morning. Every blinking detail,” the Auror said with a very serious look on her face. “Now go get him.”
Hermione gave Tonks a small smile and left the kitchen.
She was walking toward the living room, when she saw Severus walking toward her. He was in training gear. Sweats, t-shirt and trainers. All black of course. She had never seen him in workout clothes before. She could see his body now. He was lean, and on the verge of broad shouldered. He was definitely muscular, but in an athletic kind of way. She could see the sinews in his arms. He stopped in front of her.
“Severus, I want to…” she began. Severus pushed her shoulder, hard.
“What are you doing?” Hermione said, frowning slightly. Severus pushed her again, forcing her back.
“I’m tired of you throwing things at me,” he said silkily, “If you have some aggression you want to take out against me, we can do it in a more exacting manner than you throwing plates of stew and cups of coffee at me when my back is turned.”
“I can’t beat you in full contact,” Hermione said, scowling at him. Her fists were balled. She didn’t like him pushing her.
“So we’ll spar then. Throws, locks and holds. Pulled punches and kicks. There will be some contact. Some…bruises. Unless you’re afraid you can’t even handle that,” he purred at her. “Or are you still in your “I give up, I give in” mode? In that case, you’re already beaten and would be a waste of my time.”
That was it. Hermione poked him hard in his chest.
“I’ve been waiting to get you back for over a year. Ever since you kicked me from behind, you bastard!” she spat. “Sure, I’ll spar you.”
Severus looked at the irate witch. Her eyes were flashing, her mouth was curled in a snarl, her breathing was heavy, excited. She exuded defiance from every pore. Yes…this was a good catalyst. He felt a little throb of desire.
“Let’s go then,” he said, jerking his head toward the stairway leading to the ROR.
“I’m already there,” Hermione growled, walking toward the cellar, her fists clenched to her sides.
Severus followed, smirking, his black eyes focused on the witch as she stalked angrily ahead of him.
If this didn’t inspire her passion, at least he’d get to kick her ass.
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A/N: And let the gaaaames begin. Please review.
The Burning Pen
Love Can Be a Battle or a War
by Ruth Solomon