Getting Past Broken: Part Six
Three weeks after his initial encounter with Hermione, Severus stepped from his bathroom, still wrapping his standard Hogwarts-issue towel around his hips, and felt half-way human. A decent mug of coffee and he might even consider himself fit for the company he had invited. It was odd to be waking so late-it made his whole world feel off kilter. She made him feel off kilter.
"Why Severus, I had no idea you had such lovely legs. A bit pale, perhaps, but so smooth and…ah…feminine." The cultured, dry tone made him start and nearly drop his towel. The ramifications of that would have been disastrous. Severus only barely contained a shudder at the thought.
Instead he scowled, and jerked his head toward one of the chairs and muttered, "I didn't expect you to respond to my note this early. I'll be out in a moment." With as much dignity as he could posses with only a towel and hairless legs, Severus headed into his bedroom to dress. When he emerged several minutes later, his friend was still not sitting, but staring at one of the tapestries on his wall with a wistful look on his face.
"This was one of Narcissa's favourites; she felt torn when she realised that it went well with how she was decorating your rooms." Lucius turned to face Severus and the barest hint of a smile crossed his face. "I don't think I ever thanked you for indulging her, in all of her mad requests. She was very fond of you, you know."
Severus snorted and sat, waving a hand at the other man to sit as well. "I never thought I had a choice. Narcissa was a force of nature." He pursed his lips for a moment, and then continued reluctantly, "I appreciate your willingness to abandon your plans toward Miss Granger."
Lucius arched an amused eyebrow as he seated himself. "It was an idle supposition, discarded the moment I received your letter the following morning." He glanced about himself at the living space and added quietly, "I see that you appear to have adopted them quite easily. I had not thought it of you."
"What?" Severus frowned and denied, "No. My plans remain unchanged. We are merely examining and routing her discomfort and fear. Nothing more."
The blonde's look was condescending. "Severus, she has clearly moved in."
Severus felt his scowl deepen. "We jointly decided that since my duties require my presence here at odd hours and that she could Floo to work just as easily here as from her own home that it would be wise if she were to stay a few days," he explained, and then added redundantly, "Temporarily."
Lucius snorted and managed to do even that elegantly. "Severus, it's summer. What duties could you possibly have? You have also cleared shelf space for some of her books. For you, that's tantamount to a proposal; it's certainly more serious than closet space."
"I dislike clutter; her things were in the way," he protested. He knew he sounded defensive-he bloody well felt defensive-but clearly the older man had entirely the wrong idea about what was going on between himself and Hermione. He ignored the voice in the back of his head that taunted him with the thought that he hoped Hermione had entirely the wrong idea as well.
"I see." The man's tone was mocking, "I suppose she had nothing to do with your sudden urge for smooth legs, either. You've taken up competitive swimming, I imagine."
Severus' developing foul mood settled more firmly, and he muttered caustically, "Couldn't leave it, could you? We were bathing and the silly chit knocked a bottle of depilatory into the bath whilst not paying attention. It was rather effective."
Lucius roared with laughter, and Severus had to remind himself not to hex one of his dearest and oldest companions. "The bath you say? Indeed. It will be entertaining to see you in three months, when it is growing back in. I hear sensitive areas can be made quite uncomfortable by the process."
Severus gripped his wand tighter, and shot back, "You would know, I am to assume?"
The other's look became bland. "Narcissa used to fuss horribly about it. Where is Miss Granger, anyway? Isn't she supposed to be lolling about in your bed?"
"Lucius," Severus hissed it through clenched teeth. "I asked you here for a specific reason."
The older man's smile faded and he stated simply, "Yes, I remember. Are you certain this is what you want, old friend? I have no wish to ruin our friendship. It nearly didn't survive when I asked the same of you." He hesitated, and then added, "I did regret my actions afterwards."
Severus shifted, uncomfortable with the frankness of their conversation. "I cannot say that I would not have done the same. You were newly married, and I cared a great deal for Narcissa. She got to have us both and you got your point across very neatly. You both knew I wouldn't refuse."
Lucius grimaced slightly. "You are more forgiving than I would be."
"It was many years ago, Lucius. We were all very young then."
His friend shot him a knowing look. "As Miss Granger is now. If it helps, I will swear that I have no intentions of pursuing her afterwards."
"She wouldn't have you if you did," Severus shot back acerbically. "It took her a full week to decide she wanted to try this; I think her curiosity finally got the better of her after I mentioned it."
"You mentioned it?" The other man was clearly surprised by the admission, and Severus couldn't stop himself from grimacing.
"I was angry."
Lucius' lips pressed together, clearly holding back a smile. "How very…Gryffindor of you."
"Fuck you," he responded irritably. "This whole conversation is too Gryffindor by half. You're getting soft and sentimental in your dotage, old man."
The blonde laughed. "I'm rather looking forward to this; reminds me of when we were in St. Petersburg, just before Draco was born. Remember that little Russian redhead we fought over?"
"That was Yaxley you fought with. He won, her name was Sofia, and she was Bulgarian, Lucius."
"Ah, yes, Sofia. How do you remember all that?"
"He married her, Lucius. Karkaroff insisted when he found out, remember?"
His friend looked genuinely surprised. "Did he? Why did he care?" Lucius shrugged, "I was only involved in the whole affair because Narcissa had locked me out of her bedroom for the last two months of her pregnancy." Lucius was quietly contemplative for a moment, and then asked, "I wonder whatever did happen to Madam Yaxley?"
Severus fought not to roll his eyes. The two men sat in silence for a moment, until Lucius ventured idly, "Is she aware that you are no longer beholden to her?"
Severus stiffened. Lucius was too good at playing ignorant when he was not, and then using it to catch people off guard. It was a talent that had served him well both socially and politically since he was a child attending Hogwarts himself. Severus scowled in response, unwilling to give him a definite answer.
"Ah. I see. Why would you arrange this, then? You were never the sort of man who shared easily. She doesn't seem to be the type, either."
Severus closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to release his tension along with it. "She suspects, at the least. I think she isn't sure, and that she is honestly curious to find out if I am her only option. I am inclined to give it to her. I have no desire to be a last resort and this may be…this may be what she needs."
Lucius' gaze was steady. "She might simply be testing to see if you would deny the request in a fit of jealousy, or grasping at straws to keep you from sending her away."
"It's a bit too late for that, now, old friend."
"I'm not certain that's true," Lucius mused. "Ladies do so love the drama of a man calling out another over them."
Hermione chose that moment to reappear from wherever she had disappeared to during his bath, appearing to open his door with her elbow as she attempted to juggle a slim stack of books in one hand and a tray of fruit in the other. She was dressed simply in cashmere robes that might have been able to pass as a Muggle dress, her apparent favoured style. Her thick hair had been tamed out of her eyes into a messy braid from which several tendrils had haphazardly escaped, and she wore no cosmetics or jewellery.
She looked enchanting to him and Severus was struck by the rather absurd urge to kiss her for no reason. Not for the first time that week, he wondered why in the hell he had agreed to let Lucius join them.
"Ah, Miss Granger, we were just discussing you." Lucius Malfoy stood to greet her, his smile overtly charming. Hermione looked up from her burdens with a start, her eyes widening with awareness when she registered his presence and what it meant. Lucius smiled urbanely and continued, "I like your hair."
Severus, hearing the sarcastic undercurrent, very nearly snapped that her horrid hair was utterly perfect and only just caught himself from the embarrassing display when Hermione lifted her chin and eyebrow in response, replying with equal dryness, "Thank you. If you like, I can do yours next."
Lucius laughed at that, clearly approving, and retook his seat, twirling his walking stick in one hand. "Alas, Miss Granger, my hair is so fine. It never holds a braid well."
"Perhaps you should use elastic, instead of pretty bow next time you try," Severus found himself sniping, referring to the queue his friend had favoured for a while.
Hermione turned her raised brow on him at that point, and commented, "Mr. Malfoy is not the only gentleman in the room with hair long enough to braid, Severus."
Lucius adopted an innocent expression and offered, "I can hold him down for you, if you like." The words prompted a memory to flash behind Severus' eyes from nearly twenty years previous.
Unnaturally pale hair spilled over his naked shoulder like fine corn silk, matching that of the man who stood before him. Lucius had used dark velvet ropes to bind him to a St Andrew's Cross in the lush master bedroom of Malfoy Manor, while his equally pale wife watched with anticipation, licking her lips.
Her hair had been elaborately styled and kohl had smudged her eyes; she had worn a fortune in Malfoy jewels and nothing else, including, he had been surprised to see, an emerald winking decadently from her clitoris.
Lucius had seen him looking, and had reached out a hand to touch it, causing his wife of barely three months to moan. "Do you like it? I arranged to have it done a few days before our wedding. She came to my bed for the first time a trembling virgin, already wearing a symbol of my ownership in her cunt. It was more satisfying to me than seeing my ring on her hand." His gaze transferred back to Narcissa, and he asked softly, "Am I not a generous husband, darling, to drape you in emeralds and then grant your request to have him as well?"
The woman Severus had been infatuated with for the last year and more had leant her head against Lucius' thigh, and sighed, "Yes…most generous, husband."
"Be a good girl then, while I've got him tied down, and show him how happy you are he's joined us." Lucius' gazed had locked with Severus' even as Narcissa's mouth had wrapped around his cock, the first one to ever do so, and his whole world had gone red.
Severus shook his head slightly, dislodging the memory. The night had not ended there, of course. They had both taken Narcissa that night in a variety of ways-and each other-indulging in dark games Severus had never dreamt of trying, and had not really wished to since.
As if reading his mind, Lucius smirked at him, and Severus shook his head again. No. Not like that. Not again.
Seemingly oblivious to their exchange, Hermione dropped the books she was carrying onto one of the tables, followed by the tray of fruit she had apparently procured for breakfast. Turning about to face them again, she continued cheerfully, "Well, if we're going to do this that way, we might as well make a sport of it like the Greeks. Shall I get the oil?"
"See, now, I just knew you had a wicked streak. Severus, I've decided that I would be delighted to join you on a debauched romp with Miss Granger, and you have my full blessing to keep her afterwards. It isn't often we come across a woman who is not intimidated by either of us."
Gods. He was going to kill Lucius. Slowly, painfully, and with great pleasure. "We have a few rules, Lucius." He ground out, his hands clutching the arms of his chair.
Lucius sniffed disapprovingly. "I suppose you're about to take all the fun out of it? No toys or buggery or eye-contact."
Hermione stared up at him, confusion writ on her face. "No eye-contact?" she inquired.
Lucius sneered and clarified, "Apparently it isn't gay if there is no eye-contact. Ask your Weasley boy about it sometime."
Severus sighed resignedly as Hermione's mouth dropped open. "Ronald is…are you sure, I mean you've…wait! How long ago?"
The wicked light had re-lit in Lucius' eyes, and he leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially, "A gentleman never kisses and tells, Miss Granger."
"Sweet Circe," she said faintly, then almost absently, she added, "Call me Hermione, will you?"
The blonde nodded. "Indeed, and you must call me Lucius." His gaze became very serious, and he said, "I am honoured that you would give me this chance to redeem my family's name with yours. Neither I, nor my immediate family, may have been there at the time, but I am told that you suffered greatly whilst on the premises of my home, and at the hands of my sister-in-law and her companions. I apologise most humbly for this, and render myself at your disposal to rectify matters."
The words hung heavily between them; Hermione stood frozen like an animal caught in direct wandlight, uncertain how to respond. Several moments passed, until Severus cleared his throat, loudly, bringing both of their attention back to him. His eyes met Hermione's briefly, then shifted to Lucius. "Hermione and I have been using stoplight colours," he began, and then scowled as his friend's eyes crinkled in pleased amusement.
He waited to be certain that Lucius was going to not interrupt before continuing, "No holding or tying her down. Everything gets explained first, and then she gets to decide if she wants to continue. No springing anything on her, and in this particular instance, protestation is not part of the game."
Hermione stirred, restless, and finally interjected, "How does one even go about starting something like this? Obviously, I never have, and frankly, this all feels a bit awkward and nerve wracking to me. We haven't really discussed what is even going to happen. I mean, Severus and I have-I want him here, and I am not opposed to touching both of you, but I don't wish to do something the both of you are not comfortable with, and…and how does one even proceed? Does Severus just watch, or do you take turns, or-"
"If I might make a suggestion, and perhaps offer some reassurance?" Lucius cut her off, standing once more, a jerk of his chin propelling Severus to his feet as well.
Hermione's breath seemed to catch, and she nodded, her gaze flicking between Severus to Lucius and back again.
"I have played with multiple partners on many occasions, and find doing so thoroughly enjoyable. I am aware of at least one instance where Severus has as well." A brow cocked in his direction, and Severus found himself nodding slightly. It was not something he preferred, but there was no denying the strength of his orgasms that night, or the anticipation that pricked at him even now at the thought of doing so again.
His nod seemed to reassure Hermione, and her tension visibly lessened. She turned back to Lucius, and appeared to gather herself, before saying, "You had mentioned a suggestion?"
Lucius drew his wand with a subtle twist of the serpent topping his walking stick, then removed a handkerchief from his coat. A delicate flutter of his wand and a murmured spell had it lengthening, transfiguring into a long strip of soft cloth. "You do not wish to be bound, but perhaps you will consent to a blindfold? It might, perhaps, be easier for you if nothing is required of you at first but to focus on what you are feeling."
Hermione jerked slightly, her eyes flying to meet Severus' again, clearly waiting for his opinion on the matter. The mental image of her naked and blindfolded between them, all soft skin and slight curves caused a definite reaction in him-a siren call to that darker side of himself that he had packed away a long time previously.
He could see a hopeful hint of relief in her expression that she wouldn't have to take the lead, warring with her anxiety that she wouldn't be able to see what was coming, and tipped his lips at her in a reassuring smile. Without removing his gaze from hers, he held a hand out to Lucius, silently requesting the blindfold.
The other man passed it to him, and Severus asked her softly, "Would you like me to do it?"
Her breath shuddered out and her eyes closed in the decision to trust him, her "Yes," barely audible. Severus ran the cloth up her cheek, caressing her softly with it, alerting her of his close presence, and felt her shiver in reaction. He wound the cloth around her head gently but firmly, looping it twice before tying it securely at the back of her head.
"Comfortable?" he asked. "Not too tight, too loose?"
"No. I mean, yes, it's fine," she whispered.
Severus slowly stroked his hands up and down her arms, lowered his mouth to her ear, and spoke cajolingly, "You are the epitome of your house, Hermione, so bold and brave, a true lioness in all her glory."
His words seemed to do as he intended, bolstering her nerves. She stood a little straighter, her chin lifting. Severus met Lucius' eyes over her shoulder and gave him a short nod, and with a small smile, the other man began to divest himself of his clothes in small jerks, folding them neatly into a pile on the chair he had been occupying.
Severus continued to speak to her softly, using the low timbre of his voice almost hypnotically. "You should see the look on Lucius' face right now, Hermione. His eyes are bright and hard with desire for you; I can see his hands actually shake slightly in his eagerness. He wants you nearly as much as I do, I believe."
Tucking a stray curl behind her ear, nudging the blindfold a little as he did so, Severus urged her head to the side, kissing the exposed line of her throat softly. Her breath released in a small moan-he had discovered early on that the sensitive skin there was one of her favourite places to be stimulated. He continued to nibble and suck her skin there, running his hands over her frame to stroke her rear, trace her waist and cup her breasts through her dress. He slowly released the knot at her hip that tied the ruched and wrapped robes together, unwrapping her in easy, sensual motions.
Lucius' gaze turned to watch with interest as Severus slowly drew the soft material down, using it to caress her skin and tease her already puckered nipples. She had foregone a bra, her small breasts not really demanding the garment, and they now stood bare in the soft lamplight, pale and creamy mounds just begging to be touched and plucked at.
By this juncture, Lucius was already naked, having stripped in front of him without the slightest hint of discomfort in doing so. He was in very good shape, Severus ascertained, though not, he noted smugly, quite as much as Severus was. Despite the other man's ribbing of Severus' hairless state, his own habits from his youth had not changed overly much; he was neatly groomed himself.
Severus' slow revealing and stroking of Hermione in front of him now caused the other man's cock to rapidly harden, rising in minute surges and pushing back his foreskin as he studied the scene in front of him. Severus let her robes drop to the floor around her feet, leaving her in only her knickers, and was slightly gratified to see Lucius' breath hitch in response.
Severus straightened behind her and drew her nearly naked form firmly against his, letting her feel his own hardening erection through his trousers against the curves of her arse. He continued to speak to her idly, cupping his hand over her knickers, rubbing her lightly through the cloth.
"Can you feel how hard I am getting, having you here like this, in my arms, Hermione? It's nothing new to you by now. You know the slightest thought of your skin, your taste, is enough to arouse me. You are doing the same thing to him…I can see the want on his face, the urge to bury his tongue in your cunt and feel you cry with pleasure under his hands."
She shuddered in his arms, and the cloth under his fingers dampened with her arousal. Severus' lips dragged across her cheekbone and pressed a kiss to her temple, just above the edge of her blindfold. His fingers edged their way under her waistband and ghosted over her clit, causing her to moan loudly.
Severus fondled a bare breast with his other hand, reaching around her so that the fabric of his coat scraped along her skin. Hermione tilted back more firmly into his arms, wriggling her bottom delightfully against his erection. His balls reflexively tightened, and he delved his fingers more firmly into her wetness, drawing a gasp from her.
A glance at Lucius showed that the other man had his hand firmly around his own cock, stroking himself in even pumps as he watched Severus pleasure his lover. "Come here, Lucius," he found himself inviting. "Let her touch you and feel what she's done to you."
The blonde strode forward without hesitation, still holding his cock, until he stood directly in front of them. Severus abandoned Hermione's breast and gently grasped her wrist, explaining softly, "I am going to put your hand directly on his chest and let go. What you decide to do from there is up to you, love."
The endearment came out before he could stop it, and Lucius' expression turned smug, but he thankfully didn't say anything about it. Hermione did not seem to notice; she merely nodded against his shoulder, the soft coils of her hair rasping against the fabric of his coat. He withdrew his other hand from her knickers and took her other wrist, then placed both of her palms gently against the planes of Lucius' chest, and watched with interest as she took a slow breath, and curled her nails into his skin slightly.
Lucius's eyes dilated and his own hands rose to her hips, holding her firmly in place even as Severus withdrew his own hands. Severus stroked them down her back, allowing her to feel the sensation of both men touching her simultaneously, ending with his fingers tucked into the waistband of her knickers again. He dragged them down slowly, brushing his knuckles against her thighs as he bared her entirely to Lucius' gaze.
His friend made a low, rumbling sound, and when he finally spoke his voice slightly rough. "Look at you, completely bare. I hadn't expected to see that on a sweet little innocent like you. Severus is correct, you know. You look delicious."
Severus removed his hands from her entirely, and set about removing his own clothes, watching a little enviously as Hermione's hands began to smooth over and explore the other man. They paused over his nipples, pinching softly, and ran down his stomach and back up again, avoiding his erection by a narrow margin. He watched as Lucius' hands tightened minutely on her hips, his cock seeming to actually quiver with impatience.
Her hands glided over his chest again, and her voice came softly, "You don't have chest hair, like Ron."
Blond eyebrows arched and Lucius responded, "I remove it, Hermione. My late wife preferred it that way and I grew used to it."
She didn't respond, but shifted her palms down his stomach again, this time tentatively stroking his cock as well. Her fingers learned the difference between his uncut state and Severus' own circumcised penis, dragging her thumb over the hood of skin and smearing the drop of pre-cum at Lucius' tip. Only then did his hands move at last, sliding over her body to close over her breasts, his hips tilting a bit to thrust in her hands.
Finally naked, Severus re-joined them, unable to simply watch while Lucius touched and fondled his woman-Hermione, he corrected himself-without him any longer. He added his hands to Lucius', deftly squeezing and caressing her skin and burying his head back into the curve of her shoulder to nuzzle her throat.
She groaned again and pulled Lucius closer to her, pressing him up against her bare breasts even as she flexed the curves of her arse back against Severus' erection again. Her head tipped back slightly, and suddenly Lucius' long hair was tickling Severus' bare shoulder as he firmly kissed Hermione. That was Lucius' hand suddenly tangling in his own hair, he realised, the other man's long fingers massaging his scalp with one hand, and pinching Hermione's breast with the other.
Severus insistently stroked her chin until he broke their kiss, tilting her head back further to kiss her himself, using his tongue to try to remind her of his previous claim. Lucius' low chuckle reverberated through her to him, and Severus found himself grinding forward more insistently, sandwiching her firmly between them. The three of them continued to rub against and with each other, an uncoordinated tangle of lips and hands and aroused flesh, until Severus finally drew back with a slightly ragged breath, and said, "This will be more comfortable in the bedroom."
Lucius shot him a lazy smile, and said, "Shall I carry you there, Hermione? It would be a shame to remove your blindfold when it's been working so well."
Severus gave him a flinty look, which only made the other man's grin widen, and attempted to not overtly sulk like a child when she breathily murmured her assent. Lucius gathered the naked woman up in his arms, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist the same way they had around his own their first night together, and carried her sedately into Severus' bedchambers.
Severus followed, snagging his wand from where he had left it on the floor and eyeing the flex of the other man's buttocks under Hermione's crossed ankles with interest. Once in the other room, Lucius laid her down on Severus' bed, then immediately flowed down her body to spread her thighs over his shoulders, and set to work on her quim with enthusiasm. He startled a short cry from Hermione, whose hands immediately delved into his long hair, gripping his head and thrusting her pelvis in time with his actions.
Severus crawled over the far end of the bed, dropping his wand beside him while his other hand gripped his cock and tugged, trying unsuccessfully to ease the pressure building there. A low flush had risen across Hermione's pale, slightly freckled cheekbones and had travelled down her throat to her breasts, her small brown nipples swayed slightly as her hips pushed against Lucius’ mouth.
Her lips were an inviting shade of pink and parted, and Severus edged closer, running the head of his cock along her cheek and jaw. Her head turned slightly toward him, her lips grazing his flesh, and her tongue flashed out lightly, licking the side of him. Severus grunted softly, and tried to angle himself so that she could take him in her mouth, but she wasn't able to reach.
Hermione, sensing his frustration, squirmed a little and moaned, then breathed out, "Let me turn over." Lucius laid her legs back down, and moved out of the way briefly while she scrambled over onto her stomach, and then her hand was blindly seeking his erection, trying to guide it into her mouth.
Severus helped her, and soon his cock was sliding into that gloriously soft, wet suction, his hands cupping the sides of her blindfold as he tried to guide her movements. His eyes closed and he enjoyed the feeling for a long moment, her lips and tongue stroking and tugging on his cock, her hot fingers curling around and rolling his balls.
She suddenly grunted and let out a long moan, taking his cock deeper than usual and sending a ripple of incredible vibrations down his shaft. Severus groaned in answer, opening his eyes to see that Lucius had risen to his knees behind her and sheathed himself to the hilt. His friend's eyes were slitted as he took in the initial feeling of her clasping him, before hissing through his teeth, "Fuck, it's been too long."
His eyes snapped open and met Severus' in a shock of steel gray, and he carefully withdrew from Hermione. She pulled back on Severus' cock as well, her lips tightening excruciatingly around his head before sucking him in again as Lucius hips snapped forward in a hard thrust. They continued this way for a while, Lucius' steady pumping jolting her back and forth on his cock until her every line tightened and she loudly expressed her approval.
Lucius moaned with her, clearly enjoying the feel of her coming around him, and then suddenly hauled her more firmly up on her knees, dislodging her from Severus. Severus fell back and straightened his legs into a more comfortable position and watched their expressions, stroking himself in time to his friend's thrusts.
Lucius pounded into her in fast, jerking movements, ruthlessly fucking as she gasped on her hands and knees, her breasts jiggling delightfully from his motions. His friend came like a freight train, his hair in disarray and his chest heaving. His stormy eyes finally slid shut again, breaking contact with Severus' own.
As soon as he released her to collapse back on his heels, Hermione sat up and tore her blindfold off, tossing it the side. She knelt there a moment on his bed uncertainly, dripping with her and Lucius' combined juices, her eyes fuzzed with passion.
Severus felt his lip curl in a half snarl and he grabbed his wand from the bed next to him, and aimed it at her with a sharp flick, ridding her thighs of Lucius seed. Tossing it back down he reached for her and she half crawled, half fell into his arms, her mouth meshing with his even as her hands stroked over his chest.
"I like your chest hair," she said nonsensically, and kissed him again, rubbing her breasts against him. After a moment she pulled back and her soft brown eyes searched his for a moment as if looking for reassurance, before she suddenly turned in his arms to face Lucius. "I want to see what he looks like."
His friend looked smugly satisfied, but a bit tired; under Hermione's gaze he straightened, attempting to show himself to the best advantage. She studied him openly, her eyes running over his chest and arms, lingering on his slowly softening cock and the muscle in his bunched thighs as he knelt.
"Hermione," he drawled, bringing her gaze back up to his, and arching an eyebrow reprovingly. "You've left a lover unsatisfied. Why don't you scoot back into his arms and let him lift you onto him this way, facing me? That way I can get a nice, good look at watching my friend shaft you. If you're a very good girl, I'll even help."
He felt her shiver in his arms, and per the blonde's instructions, scooted back into Severus, leaning in to him. Severus arched an eyebrow over her shoulder at Lucius, using his chin to dislodge her now hopelessly frizzy braid from his vision. Arranging Hermione's thighs over his, spreading her wide to Lucius' gaze, Severus lifted her and manoeuvred himself in place, then let her drop with a satisfying smack of flesh. She was slick, despite his cleansing charm, and feverishly hot.
Severus stroked the inside of her thighs gently, soothingly, rolling his hips to catch the inside of her sensitive core the way he had learned she liked best. It was a bit more difficult to thrust in this position, but as in the prefect's bath, it did offer him an unimpeded route to her clitoris, and he took advantage of it.
"Ah! A little more gently, please?" She whispered, her body shivering in his arms. "It's so, so sensitive now!"
Severus immediately softened his touch, stroking just around the tiny nub instead of directly on it. His hips rolled, her back arched, and a fresh trickle of moisture dampened the base of his cock. He swirled his fingers in it, then brought it to her right breast, rubbing it gently over the tip of it.
"Lucius, you promised to help, and I can attest that she is in this, like everything else she tries, brilliantly good." He lowered his voice to barely above a whisper, and said for her ears alone, "Insufferable know-it-all." His words seemed to trigger something inside her and she moaned again, satisfyingly loudly.
Smirk in place, he jerked an eyebrow at Lucius, who gamely crawled forward to draw the tip of her anointed breast into his mouth. She cried out again, the sound ragged as her orgasm slowly built inside her for the second time. Lucius pulled back, her nipple caught gently between his teeth, tugging. Severus' rolled his hips again, circling and stroking her where they were joined. Hermione's head jerked back and she whimpered, nearly crying from stimulation.
Lucius abandoned her reddened nipple to sink to his elbows, impatiently flicked Severus' hand away, and set about licking them together where Severus continued to slowly rotate his hips, never quite thrusting. The other man's tongue flicked over his cock, stimulating and titillating him to an almost painful level of excitement, then focused on Hermione, doing something in tandem with Severus' hips that made her scream.
Her fingers were caught in large fistfuls of Lucius' hair, her legs spread almost painfully wide over Severus' thighs, held in place by his hands gripping her hips. Lucius' tilted his head again slightly, changing the angle of what he was doing to her, and she screamed again and spasmed around Severus' cock, drenching it with a hot rush of liquid, her inner muscles fluttering wildly.
Lucius' lips ghosted around the edges where Severus cock was still flexing, sucking at her juices and licking the base of his cock. He lowered a bit further, and then the flat of his tongue was dragging across the underside of Severus' balls, returning to skate the edge of his perineum and…gods, daringly flicked against the edge of his anus. Unable to hold back longer, Severus shifted Hermione above him, drawing out slightly to thrust as far inside her as he could manage.
His eyes nearly crossed, he came so hard, the vague thought floating through his mind that if he pumped himself deeply enough in her, he might manage to shove himself all the way into her heart and keep her with him.
Fucking mad, he thought tiredly, his body protectively folding around hers as she collapsed back against him. We're all fucking mad. Hermione turned into a more comfortable position, her legs tangling with his as she snuggled against his chest. Vaguely, he felt the bed next to them depress as Lucius joined them, tucking himself along their length and tossing one leg over his to intertwine with hers, dropping an arm over them both to enjoy what was apparently going to be a post-coital, aftercare snuggle for three.
He drifted into consciousness when the bed shifted, possibly minutes, possibly hours later. Hermione mumbled something incoherently through her barely constrained hair and snuggled her face back into his armpit, where it had apparently ended up.
The disturbance turned out to be Lucius, rising from the bed to stand nearby, stretching and rolling his muscles slowly. He twisted, and soft pops emitted from his spine; his head tilted to more of the same. He scrubbed a hand over his face and through his hair, and glanced back down at where Severus looked at him blurrily.
The other man's gaze wandered over them and his cock twitched; his mouth jerked in a crooked smile. "You are a better friend than I deserve, including me in that," he said softly, nodding his head back at the tangled mess of woman still half in Severus' arms. "It's been…very lonely since Narcissa died. Don't let this one go, old friend. I think she's very well suited to you, and you'll regret it the rest of your life if you do." He padded naked for the door, clearly intending to grab his belongings and leave.
Severus found himself calling out softly after him, asking quietly, "What do you plan on doing now?"
The older man's lips twisted again, and he responded pointedly, "I'll not be propositioning her; I swore I wouldn't. I do think that it's past time I found myself a suitable wife, however. I'm not a man who does well without one." An eyebrow arched airily. "Perhaps I'll look up the Russian redhead; the widow Yaxley. What was her name again?"
Severus found himself smiling, despite himself, and hugged the witch in his arms a little more tightly. "Sofia, Lucius, and she's Bulgarian."
"Whatever," he shrugged offhandedly. "Redheads look stunning in emeralds." He disappeared through the door, and within several minutes, Severus found himself drifting back into the blissful black.
Awkward.
There was no more perfect word to describe what he felt at this moment, buttoning the nine thousand, seven hundred and eighty-four buttons that his shirt and coat seemed to have. He watched her tug her dress on and tie it to her specifications, so that it once more floated and draped about her calves. Her perfect, perfect calves.
Unless it was, perhaps, dying; that word might fit his current mental state as well, he reflected. He shook his head, disgusted with himself, and sternly reminded himself that 'dying' was an incredibly dramatic word, especially after only three weeks. He frowned at his shirt and noticed an odd ripple where he'd missed a buttonhole. Fuck.
Severus began to unbutton the ninety-eight hundred buttons in his way to get to the missed spot, grumbling under his breath.
"What was that?" Hermione twisted to look at him, an odd expression her face, and he felt himself colour. Since when did he blush? Or talk to himself?
"I didn't say anything," he responded shortly. Fucking buttons.
"Oh," she said quietly. "I…I suppose I should pack."
Severus grunted and stomped back into his bedroom, unable to face her. If he did, he might resort to the hideous prospect of begging. He had begged for Lily, and she had chosen Potter. He had begged Narcissa, and she had chosen Lucius. He wouldn't beg Hermione. She had sought him out deliberately to help her get over her sexual problem, and he had delivered to the best of his ability, going so far as to even do what he had sworn never to do again: share with his best friend.
Sure, Lucius could say magnanimously all he bloody wanted that he wouldn't pursue Hermione, but that didn't mean she would automatically choose Severus. All it meant was that he wouldn't have to watch while Lucius Malfoy married the woman he wanted again.
"Small fucking favours," he muttered. He stormed into his bathroom and stared at his reflection, sneer in place. His shirt was finally done up more or less properly, though it was wrinkled badly enough that he might as well have slept in it. His coat lamentably still hung askew with its forty-eight hundred and thirty-two buttons left to do.
It isn't love, his mind said rationally. Three weeks of sex, even glorious sex, isn't love.
"I know that!" he growled at his reflection, "but it's a possibility; it's a start. It's a bloody beginning to something that might be the best fucking thing that could happen to me, if the premise wasn't entirely idiotic!"
His reflection looked confused, and to his irritation said, "I'm not sure what you're on about, dearie, but it would be a better start if you cut your hair. It makes your face look so long…"
I will not hex the mirror, I will not hex the mirror, I will not hex the mirror. Severus chanted it to himself over and over in his head as he finally, finally got his damn buttons secured. He gave himself another cursory glance and tossed his head back, letting his greasy hair settle about him like armour.
When he marched back out into the sitting room, she was still gathering the random things that she had invaded his space with, tucking them into her absurdly small bag: her books, her favourite quill, her stupid, fuzzy pink socks that she used like slippers.
To his horror, he found himself blurting, "Do you plan on returning on weekends to continue your arithmantic work for me?" The last thing he needed was for her to drop by and work in close quarters with him, looking and smelling like…like herself. It would bloody well be torture, and might quite possibly drive him more insane than he already was.
Considering that his mental history already included several years of playing hide and seek with a despot, preferring to live in the dungeons, teaching snotty brats and holding out vague hope that a girl literally half his age would randomly decide to be his lover indefinitely, that was already a great deal of insanity. The girl in question blinked at him, owlishly, and fiddled with the strap of her bag. If she had pearls, she would have clutched them in horror, he thought, bitterly.
"I would like to, yes," she said slowly, her gaze searching his.
Fuck.
She took a deep breath and he found himself hyper-aware of her breasts shifting under the soft fabric of her dress. She wasn't wearing a bra, he remembered absently. His gaze lingered, now attempting to find the little peaks of her nipples through the dress. She shifted and he suddenly realised he was overtly ogling her breasts in front of her, and his gaze snapped back up to hers.
She was pretty when she blushed, he noted. That of course lead him to the memory of her blush spreading down over her throat and breasts, and gods damn it, he was thinking about her breasts again. He missed her question the first time-more proof that he was fucking round the bend-and was forced to ask her to repeat herself.
She stammered, she hemmed, she blushed again and looked awkward. Then she finally repeated, "I was actually thinking that I might give Minerva's offer some thought," she paused uncertainly and then clarified unnecessarily, "of teaching here; either Arithmancy or Transfiguration. I wouldn't, however, want to make things awkward for you. That is, I know it might be terribly…" Her voice trailed off uncertainly, and his heart ached.
"You should do what makes you happy," he said stiffly. "That's the point of everything you've done so far, isn't it? You fought the war, you fought the press, you fought your boyfriend's cruel remarks and your own nightmares and phobias. If you didn't go through all that for the chance to do what made you happy, then why did you? If teaching idiots is what will make you happy, then…" Severus cut himself off and turned away from her, choosing instead to focus on Narcissa Malfoy's bloody tapestry. Surely there was something terribly important about it, after all.
"What makes me happy?" She gave a soft little sigh. "I...you probably don't want to hear this, and I understand it's terribly naive of me, but...I don't want to leave here. You, I mean. I really, really don't," she whispered from behind him. "If you want; I mean, if you ever…" her voice faltered again and he heard her shift her weight slightly.
Severus' heart thudded to a screeching halt and his breath seized for one long, interminable minute. They hadn't made any promises to each other; he hadn't really held any hope that he might be able to keep her, despite her passionate response to him. Had she not responded with equal fervour to Lucius? Seeing her do it had made him achingly aware of how much of fool he had been to allow it, and how much he was losing in this deal. How much he had hoped beyond all stupid logic that it was only him she reacted that way to.
That she wished to stay was the last thing he had expected to hear from her.
His shoulders rigid, Severus finally turned to look at her, and commented quietly, "It won't be the same. I'm not a pleasant man much of the time, and I do not share. If you were to stay, it would be with me, and only me."
Some of the tension in her eyes seemed to relax at his pronouncement; her jaw loosened slightly. "What if I were to say that I had no desire to do that again? That it was…enjoyable, and enlightening, but not what I really want? What if I'm quite certain that I would only ever need you to keep me more than satisfied and interested?"
She fiddled with her bag again, gripping it so tightly that her knuckles were white. "I'll not lie to you; I'm a bossy, swotty arithmancer who is terrible at cooking and will likely attempt to read your notes before you've even finished them, but I want to be with you." Her eyes lifted to his again, her expression slightly pleading. "I want to stay here with you."
"Then stay," he answered, all elegant speech deserting him as he choked out, "If you want to stay, here, with me, then just...stay."
Her smile blossomed and her bag hit the floor with an incongruously heavy clunk. Then his arms were full of witch, and he couldn't even bring himself to be upset by the fact that she had completely bowled him over and that his arse was likely bruised.
(The End)
A/N: This is it! The final chapter! Thank you so much for joining me along the ride for my first completed longer fic. I wrote this for round one of the SSHG Prompt Fest on Live Journal; round two is just now starting and still accepting prompt requests. :-) You do NOT have write or be an artist in order to prompt, and you do NOT have to prompt in order to fulfill a fic or art prompt! I highly encourage everyone to check it out! Link to their page is here.
A review would be highly appreciated! As I said earlier, this is my first completed multi-chapter, and it also includes my first threesome. I was very nervous about trying to include that and Hermione's sexual PTSD in the same fic as per the prompt, and I would love feedback!
Thanks again and love to all!! <3 Tyche
Previous Chapter Table of Contents
"Why Severus, I had no idea you had such lovely legs. A bit pale, perhaps, but so smooth and…ah…feminine." The cultured, dry tone made him start and nearly drop his towel. The ramifications of that would have been disastrous. Severus only barely contained a shudder at the thought.
Instead he scowled, and jerked his head toward one of the chairs and muttered, "I didn't expect you to respond to my note this early. I'll be out in a moment." With as much dignity as he could posses with only a towel and hairless legs, Severus headed into his bedroom to dress. When he emerged several minutes later, his friend was still not sitting, but staring at one of the tapestries on his wall with a wistful look on his face.
"This was one of Narcissa's favourites; she felt torn when she realised that it went well with how she was decorating your rooms." Lucius turned to face Severus and the barest hint of a smile crossed his face. "I don't think I ever thanked you for indulging her, in all of her mad requests. She was very fond of you, you know."
Severus snorted and sat, waving a hand at the other man to sit as well. "I never thought I had a choice. Narcissa was a force of nature." He pursed his lips for a moment, and then continued reluctantly, "I appreciate your willingness to abandon your plans toward Miss Granger."
Lucius arched an amused eyebrow as he seated himself. "It was an idle supposition, discarded the moment I received your letter the following morning." He glanced about himself at the living space and added quietly, "I see that you appear to have adopted them quite easily. I had not thought it of you."
"What?" Severus frowned and denied, "No. My plans remain unchanged. We are merely examining and routing her discomfort and fear. Nothing more."
The blonde's look was condescending. "Severus, she has clearly moved in."
Severus felt his scowl deepen. "We jointly decided that since my duties require my presence here at odd hours and that she could Floo to work just as easily here as from her own home that it would be wise if she were to stay a few days," he explained, and then added redundantly, "Temporarily."
Lucius snorted and managed to do even that elegantly. "Severus, it's summer. What duties could you possibly have? You have also cleared shelf space for some of her books. For you, that's tantamount to a proposal; it's certainly more serious than closet space."
"I dislike clutter; her things were in the way," he protested. He knew he sounded defensive-he bloody well felt defensive-but clearly the older man had entirely the wrong idea about what was going on between himself and Hermione. He ignored the voice in the back of his head that taunted him with the thought that he hoped Hermione had entirely the wrong idea as well.
"I see." The man's tone was mocking, "I suppose she had nothing to do with your sudden urge for smooth legs, either. You've taken up competitive swimming, I imagine."
Severus' developing foul mood settled more firmly, and he muttered caustically, "Couldn't leave it, could you? We were bathing and the silly chit knocked a bottle of depilatory into the bath whilst not paying attention. It was rather effective."
Lucius roared with laughter, and Severus had to remind himself not to hex one of his dearest and oldest companions. "The bath you say? Indeed. It will be entertaining to see you in three months, when it is growing back in. I hear sensitive areas can be made quite uncomfortable by the process."
Severus gripped his wand tighter, and shot back, "You would know, I am to assume?"
The other's look became bland. "Narcissa used to fuss horribly about it. Where is Miss Granger, anyway? Isn't she supposed to be lolling about in your bed?"
"Lucius," Severus hissed it through clenched teeth. "I asked you here for a specific reason."
The older man's smile faded and he stated simply, "Yes, I remember. Are you certain this is what you want, old friend? I have no wish to ruin our friendship. It nearly didn't survive when I asked the same of you." He hesitated, and then added, "I did regret my actions afterwards."
Severus shifted, uncomfortable with the frankness of their conversation. "I cannot say that I would not have done the same. You were newly married, and I cared a great deal for Narcissa. She got to have us both and you got your point across very neatly. You both knew I wouldn't refuse."
Lucius grimaced slightly. "You are more forgiving than I would be."
"It was many years ago, Lucius. We were all very young then."
His friend shot him a knowing look. "As Miss Granger is now. If it helps, I will swear that I have no intentions of pursuing her afterwards."
"She wouldn't have you if you did," Severus shot back acerbically. "It took her a full week to decide she wanted to try this; I think her curiosity finally got the better of her after I mentioned it."
"You mentioned it?" The other man was clearly surprised by the admission, and Severus couldn't stop himself from grimacing.
"I was angry."
Lucius' lips pressed together, clearly holding back a smile. "How very…Gryffindor of you."
"Fuck you," he responded irritably. "This whole conversation is too Gryffindor by half. You're getting soft and sentimental in your dotage, old man."
The blonde laughed. "I'm rather looking forward to this; reminds me of when we were in St. Petersburg, just before Draco was born. Remember that little Russian redhead we fought over?"
"That was Yaxley you fought with. He won, her name was Sofia, and she was Bulgarian, Lucius."
"Ah, yes, Sofia. How do you remember all that?"
"He married her, Lucius. Karkaroff insisted when he found out, remember?"
His friend looked genuinely surprised. "Did he? Why did he care?" Lucius shrugged, "I was only involved in the whole affair because Narcissa had locked me out of her bedroom for the last two months of her pregnancy." Lucius was quietly contemplative for a moment, and then asked, "I wonder whatever did happen to Madam Yaxley?"
Severus fought not to roll his eyes. The two men sat in silence for a moment, until Lucius ventured idly, "Is she aware that you are no longer beholden to her?"
Severus stiffened. Lucius was too good at playing ignorant when he was not, and then using it to catch people off guard. It was a talent that had served him well both socially and politically since he was a child attending Hogwarts himself. Severus scowled in response, unwilling to give him a definite answer.
"Ah. I see. Why would you arrange this, then? You were never the sort of man who shared easily. She doesn't seem to be the type, either."
Severus closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to release his tension along with it. "She suspects, at the least. I think she isn't sure, and that she is honestly curious to find out if I am her only option. I am inclined to give it to her. I have no desire to be a last resort and this may be…this may be what she needs."
Lucius' gaze was steady. "She might simply be testing to see if you would deny the request in a fit of jealousy, or grasping at straws to keep you from sending her away."
"It's a bit too late for that, now, old friend."
"I'm not certain that's true," Lucius mused. "Ladies do so love the drama of a man calling out another over them."
Hermione chose that moment to reappear from wherever she had disappeared to during his bath, appearing to open his door with her elbow as she attempted to juggle a slim stack of books in one hand and a tray of fruit in the other. She was dressed simply in cashmere robes that might have been able to pass as a Muggle dress, her apparent favoured style. Her thick hair had been tamed out of her eyes into a messy braid from which several tendrils had haphazardly escaped, and she wore no cosmetics or jewellery.
She looked enchanting to him and Severus was struck by the rather absurd urge to kiss her for no reason. Not for the first time that week, he wondered why in the hell he had agreed to let Lucius join them.
"Ah, Miss Granger, we were just discussing you." Lucius Malfoy stood to greet her, his smile overtly charming. Hermione looked up from her burdens with a start, her eyes widening with awareness when she registered his presence and what it meant. Lucius smiled urbanely and continued, "I like your hair."
Severus, hearing the sarcastic undercurrent, very nearly snapped that her horrid hair was utterly perfect and only just caught himself from the embarrassing display when Hermione lifted her chin and eyebrow in response, replying with equal dryness, "Thank you. If you like, I can do yours next."
Lucius laughed at that, clearly approving, and retook his seat, twirling his walking stick in one hand. "Alas, Miss Granger, my hair is so fine. It never holds a braid well."
"Perhaps you should use elastic, instead of pretty bow next time you try," Severus found himself sniping, referring to the queue his friend had favoured for a while.
Hermione turned her raised brow on him at that point, and commented, "Mr. Malfoy is not the only gentleman in the room with hair long enough to braid, Severus."
Lucius adopted an innocent expression and offered, "I can hold him down for you, if you like." The words prompted a memory to flash behind Severus' eyes from nearly twenty years previous.
Unnaturally pale hair spilled over his naked shoulder like fine corn silk, matching that of the man who stood before him. Lucius had used dark velvet ropes to bind him to a St Andrew's Cross in the lush master bedroom of Malfoy Manor, while his equally pale wife watched with anticipation, licking her lips.
Her hair had been elaborately styled and kohl had smudged her eyes; she had worn a fortune in Malfoy jewels and nothing else, including, he had been surprised to see, an emerald winking decadently from her clitoris.
Lucius had seen him looking, and had reached out a hand to touch it, causing his wife of barely three months to moan. "Do you like it? I arranged to have it done a few days before our wedding. She came to my bed for the first time a trembling virgin, already wearing a symbol of my ownership in her cunt. It was more satisfying to me than seeing my ring on her hand." His gaze transferred back to Narcissa, and he asked softly, "Am I not a generous husband, darling, to drape you in emeralds and then grant your request to have him as well?"
The woman Severus had been infatuated with for the last year and more had leant her head against Lucius' thigh, and sighed, "Yes…most generous, husband."
"Be a good girl then, while I've got him tied down, and show him how happy you are he's joined us." Lucius' gazed had locked with Severus' even as Narcissa's mouth had wrapped around his cock, the first one to ever do so, and his whole world had gone red.
Severus shook his head slightly, dislodging the memory. The night had not ended there, of course. They had both taken Narcissa that night in a variety of ways-and each other-indulging in dark games Severus had never dreamt of trying, and had not really wished to since.
As if reading his mind, Lucius smirked at him, and Severus shook his head again. No. Not like that. Not again.
Seemingly oblivious to their exchange, Hermione dropped the books she was carrying onto one of the tables, followed by the tray of fruit she had apparently procured for breakfast. Turning about to face them again, she continued cheerfully, "Well, if we're going to do this that way, we might as well make a sport of it like the Greeks. Shall I get the oil?"
"See, now, I just knew you had a wicked streak. Severus, I've decided that I would be delighted to join you on a debauched romp with Miss Granger, and you have my full blessing to keep her afterwards. It isn't often we come across a woman who is not intimidated by either of us."
Gods. He was going to kill Lucius. Slowly, painfully, and with great pleasure. "We have a few rules, Lucius." He ground out, his hands clutching the arms of his chair.
Lucius sniffed disapprovingly. "I suppose you're about to take all the fun out of it? No toys or buggery or eye-contact."
Hermione stared up at him, confusion writ on her face. "No eye-contact?" she inquired.
Lucius sneered and clarified, "Apparently it isn't gay if there is no eye-contact. Ask your Weasley boy about it sometime."
Severus sighed resignedly as Hermione's mouth dropped open. "Ronald is…are you sure, I mean you've…wait! How long ago?"
The wicked light had re-lit in Lucius' eyes, and he leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially, "A gentleman never kisses and tells, Miss Granger."
"Sweet Circe," she said faintly, then almost absently, she added, "Call me Hermione, will you?"
The blonde nodded. "Indeed, and you must call me Lucius." His gaze became very serious, and he said, "I am honoured that you would give me this chance to redeem my family's name with yours. Neither I, nor my immediate family, may have been there at the time, but I am told that you suffered greatly whilst on the premises of my home, and at the hands of my sister-in-law and her companions. I apologise most humbly for this, and render myself at your disposal to rectify matters."
The words hung heavily between them; Hermione stood frozen like an animal caught in direct wandlight, uncertain how to respond. Several moments passed, until Severus cleared his throat, loudly, bringing both of their attention back to him. His eyes met Hermione's briefly, then shifted to Lucius. "Hermione and I have been using stoplight colours," he began, and then scowled as his friend's eyes crinkled in pleased amusement.
He waited to be certain that Lucius was going to not interrupt before continuing, "No holding or tying her down. Everything gets explained first, and then she gets to decide if she wants to continue. No springing anything on her, and in this particular instance, protestation is not part of the game."
Hermione stirred, restless, and finally interjected, "How does one even go about starting something like this? Obviously, I never have, and frankly, this all feels a bit awkward and nerve wracking to me. We haven't really discussed what is even going to happen. I mean, Severus and I have-I want him here, and I am not opposed to touching both of you, but I don't wish to do something the both of you are not comfortable with, and…and how does one even proceed? Does Severus just watch, or do you take turns, or-"
"If I might make a suggestion, and perhaps offer some reassurance?" Lucius cut her off, standing once more, a jerk of his chin propelling Severus to his feet as well.
Hermione's breath seemed to catch, and she nodded, her gaze flicking between Severus to Lucius and back again.
"I have played with multiple partners on many occasions, and find doing so thoroughly enjoyable. I am aware of at least one instance where Severus has as well." A brow cocked in his direction, and Severus found himself nodding slightly. It was not something he preferred, but there was no denying the strength of his orgasms that night, or the anticipation that pricked at him even now at the thought of doing so again.
His nod seemed to reassure Hermione, and her tension visibly lessened. She turned back to Lucius, and appeared to gather herself, before saying, "You had mentioned a suggestion?"
Lucius drew his wand with a subtle twist of the serpent topping his walking stick, then removed a handkerchief from his coat. A delicate flutter of his wand and a murmured spell had it lengthening, transfiguring into a long strip of soft cloth. "You do not wish to be bound, but perhaps you will consent to a blindfold? It might, perhaps, be easier for you if nothing is required of you at first but to focus on what you are feeling."
Hermione jerked slightly, her eyes flying to meet Severus' again, clearly waiting for his opinion on the matter. The mental image of her naked and blindfolded between them, all soft skin and slight curves caused a definite reaction in him-a siren call to that darker side of himself that he had packed away a long time previously.
He could see a hopeful hint of relief in her expression that she wouldn't have to take the lead, warring with her anxiety that she wouldn't be able to see what was coming, and tipped his lips at her in a reassuring smile. Without removing his gaze from hers, he held a hand out to Lucius, silently requesting the blindfold.
The other man passed it to him, and Severus asked her softly, "Would you like me to do it?"
Her breath shuddered out and her eyes closed in the decision to trust him, her "Yes," barely audible. Severus ran the cloth up her cheek, caressing her softly with it, alerting her of his close presence, and felt her shiver in reaction. He wound the cloth around her head gently but firmly, looping it twice before tying it securely at the back of her head.
"Comfortable?" he asked. "Not too tight, too loose?"
"No. I mean, yes, it's fine," she whispered.
Severus slowly stroked his hands up and down her arms, lowered his mouth to her ear, and spoke cajolingly, "You are the epitome of your house, Hermione, so bold and brave, a true lioness in all her glory."
His words seemed to do as he intended, bolstering her nerves. She stood a little straighter, her chin lifting. Severus met Lucius' eyes over her shoulder and gave him a short nod, and with a small smile, the other man began to divest himself of his clothes in small jerks, folding them neatly into a pile on the chair he had been occupying.
Severus continued to speak to her softly, using the low timbre of his voice almost hypnotically. "You should see the look on Lucius' face right now, Hermione. His eyes are bright and hard with desire for you; I can see his hands actually shake slightly in his eagerness. He wants you nearly as much as I do, I believe."
Tucking a stray curl behind her ear, nudging the blindfold a little as he did so, Severus urged her head to the side, kissing the exposed line of her throat softly. Her breath released in a small moan-he had discovered early on that the sensitive skin there was one of her favourite places to be stimulated. He continued to nibble and suck her skin there, running his hands over her frame to stroke her rear, trace her waist and cup her breasts through her dress. He slowly released the knot at her hip that tied the ruched and wrapped robes together, unwrapping her in easy, sensual motions.
Lucius' gaze turned to watch with interest as Severus slowly drew the soft material down, using it to caress her skin and tease her already puckered nipples. She had foregone a bra, her small breasts not really demanding the garment, and they now stood bare in the soft lamplight, pale and creamy mounds just begging to be touched and plucked at.
By this juncture, Lucius was already naked, having stripped in front of him without the slightest hint of discomfort in doing so. He was in very good shape, Severus ascertained, though not, he noted smugly, quite as much as Severus was. Despite the other man's ribbing of Severus' hairless state, his own habits from his youth had not changed overly much; he was neatly groomed himself.
Severus' slow revealing and stroking of Hermione in front of him now caused the other man's cock to rapidly harden, rising in minute surges and pushing back his foreskin as he studied the scene in front of him. Severus let her robes drop to the floor around her feet, leaving her in only her knickers, and was slightly gratified to see Lucius' breath hitch in response.
Severus straightened behind her and drew her nearly naked form firmly against his, letting her feel his own hardening erection through his trousers against the curves of her arse. He continued to speak to her idly, cupping his hand over her knickers, rubbing her lightly through the cloth.
"Can you feel how hard I am getting, having you here like this, in my arms, Hermione? It's nothing new to you by now. You know the slightest thought of your skin, your taste, is enough to arouse me. You are doing the same thing to him…I can see the want on his face, the urge to bury his tongue in your cunt and feel you cry with pleasure under his hands."
She shuddered in his arms, and the cloth under his fingers dampened with her arousal. Severus' lips dragged across her cheekbone and pressed a kiss to her temple, just above the edge of her blindfold. His fingers edged their way under her waistband and ghosted over her clit, causing her to moan loudly.
Severus fondled a bare breast with his other hand, reaching around her so that the fabric of his coat scraped along her skin. Hermione tilted back more firmly into his arms, wriggling her bottom delightfully against his erection. His balls reflexively tightened, and he delved his fingers more firmly into her wetness, drawing a gasp from her.
A glance at Lucius showed that the other man had his hand firmly around his own cock, stroking himself in even pumps as he watched Severus pleasure his lover. "Come here, Lucius," he found himself inviting. "Let her touch you and feel what she's done to you."
The blonde strode forward without hesitation, still holding his cock, until he stood directly in front of them. Severus abandoned Hermione's breast and gently grasped her wrist, explaining softly, "I am going to put your hand directly on his chest and let go. What you decide to do from there is up to you, love."
The endearment came out before he could stop it, and Lucius' expression turned smug, but he thankfully didn't say anything about it. Hermione did not seem to notice; she merely nodded against his shoulder, the soft coils of her hair rasping against the fabric of his coat. He withdrew his other hand from her knickers and took her other wrist, then placed both of her palms gently against the planes of Lucius' chest, and watched with interest as she took a slow breath, and curled her nails into his skin slightly.
Lucius's eyes dilated and his own hands rose to her hips, holding her firmly in place even as Severus withdrew his own hands. Severus stroked them down her back, allowing her to feel the sensation of both men touching her simultaneously, ending with his fingers tucked into the waistband of her knickers again. He dragged them down slowly, brushing his knuckles against her thighs as he bared her entirely to Lucius' gaze.
His friend made a low, rumbling sound, and when he finally spoke his voice slightly rough. "Look at you, completely bare. I hadn't expected to see that on a sweet little innocent like you. Severus is correct, you know. You look delicious."
Severus removed his hands from her entirely, and set about removing his own clothes, watching a little enviously as Hermione's hands began to smooth over and explore the other man. They paused over his nipples, pinching softly, and ran down his stomach and back up again, avoiding his erection by a narrow margin. He watched as Lucius' hands tightened minutely on her hips, his cock seeming to actually quiver with impatience.
Her hands glided over his chest again, and her voice came softly, "You don't have chest hair, like Ron."
Blond eyebrows arched and Lucius responded, "I remove it, Hermione. My late wife preferred it that way and I grew used to it."
She didn't respond, but shifted her palms down his stomach again, this time tentatively stroking his cock as well. Her fingers learned the difference between his uncut state and Severus' own circumcised penis, dragging her thumb over the hood of skin and smearing the drop of pre-cum at Lucius' tip. Only then did his hands move at last, sliding over her body to close over her breasts, his hips tilting a bit to thrust in her hands.
Finally naked, Severus re-joined them, unable to simply watch while Lucius touched and fondled his woman-Hermione, he corrected himself-without him any longer. He added his hands to Lucius', deftly squeezing and caressing her skin and burying his head back into the curve of her shoulder to nuzzle her throat.
She groaned again and pulled Lucius closer to her, pressing him up against her bare breasts even as she flexed the curves of her arse back against Severus' erection again. Her head tipped back slightly, and suddenly Lucius' long hair was tickling Severus' bare shoulder as he firmly kissed Hermione. That was Lucius' hand suddenly tangling in his own hair, he realised, the other man's long fingers massaging his scalp with one hand, and pinching Hermione's breast with the other.
Severus insistently stroked her chin until he broke their kiss, tilting her head back further to kiss her himself, using his tongue to try to remind her of his previous claim. Lucius' low chuckle reverberated through her to him, and Severus found himself grinding forward more insistently, sandwiching her firmly between them. The three of them continued to rub against and with each other, an uncoordinated tangle of lips and hands and aroused flesh, until Severus finally drew back with a slightly ragged breath, and said, "This will be more comfortable in the bedroom."
Lucius shot him a lazy smile, and said, "Shall I carry you there, Hermione? It would be a shame to remove your blindfold when it's been working so well."
Severus gave him a flinty look, which only made the other man's grin widen, and attempted to not overtly sulk like a child when she breathily murmured her assent. Lucius gathered the naked woman up in his arms, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist the same way they had around his own their first night together, and carried her sedately into Severus' bedchambers.
Severus followed, snagging his wand from where he had left it on the floor and eyeing the flex of the other man's buttocks under Hermione's crossed ankles with interest. Once in the other room, Lucius laid her down on Severus' bed, then immediately flowed down her body to spread her thighs over his shoulders, and set to work on her quim with enthusiasm. He startled a short cry from Hermione, whose hands immediately delved into his long hair, gripping his head and thrusting her pelvis in time with his actions.
Severus crawled over the far end of the bed, dropping his wand beside him while his other hand gripped his cock and tugged, trying unsuccessfully to ease the pressure building there. A low flush had risen across Hermione's pale, slightly freckled cheekbones and had travelled down her throat to her breasts, her small brown nipples swayed slightly as her hips pushed against Lucius’ mouth.
Her lips were an inviting shade of pink and parted, and Severus edged closer, running the head of his cock along her cheek and jaw. Her head turned slightly toward him, her lips grazing his flesh, and her tongue flashed out lightly, licking the side of him. Severus grunted softly, and tried to angle himself so that she could take him in her mouth, but she wasn't able to reach.
Hermione, sensing his frustration, squirmed a little and moaned, then breathed out, "Let me turn over." Lucius laid her legs back down, and moved out of the way briefly while she scrambled over onto her stomach, and then her hand was blindly seeking his erection, trying to guide it into her mouth.
Severus helped her, and soon his cock was sliding into that gloriously soft, wet suction, his hands cupping the sides of her blindfold as he tried to guide her movements. His eyes closed and he enjoyed the feeling for a long moment, her lips and tongue stroking and tugging on his cock, her hot fingers curling around and rolling his balls.
She suddenly grunted and let out a long moan, taking his cock deeper than usual and sending a ripple of incredible vibrations down his shaft. Severus groaned in answer, opening his eyes to see that Lucius had risen to his knees behind her and sheathed himself to the hilt. His friend's eyes were slitted as he took in the initial feeling of her clasping him, before hissing through his teeth, "Fuck, it's been too long."
His eyes snapped open and met Severus' in a shock of steel gray, and he carefully withdrew from Hermione. She pulled back on Severus' cock as well, her lips tightening excruciatingly around his head before sucking him in again as Lucius hips snapped forward in a hard thrust. They continued this way for a while, Lucius' steady pumping jolting her back and forth on his cock until her every line tightened and she loudly expressed her approval.
Lucius moaned with her, clearly enjoying the feel of her coming around him, and then suddenly hauled her more firmly up on her knees, dislodging her from Severus. Severus fell back and straightened his legs into a more comfortable position and watched their expressions, stroking himself in time to his friend's thrusts.
Lucius pounded into her in fast, jerking movements, ruthlessly fucking as she gasped on her hands and knees, her breasts jiggling delightfully from his motions. His friend came like a freight train, his hair in disarray and his chest heaving. His stormy eyes finally slid shut again, breaking contact with Severus' own.
As soon as he released her to collapse back on his heels, Hermione sat up and tore her blindfold off, tossing it the side. She knelt there a moment on his bed uncertainly, dripping with her and Lucius' combined juices, her eyes fuzzed with passion.
Severus felt his lip curl in a half snarl and he grabbed his wand from the bed next to him, and aimed it at her with a sharp flick, ridding her thighs of Lucius seed. Tossing it back down he reached for her and she half crawled, half fell into his arms, her mouth meshing with his even as her hands stroked over his chest.
"I like your chest hair," she said nonsensically, and kissed him again, rubbing her breasts against him. After a moment she pulled back and her soft brown eyes searched his for a moment as if looking for reassurance, before she suddenly turned in his arms to face Lucius. "I want to see what he looks like."
His friend looked smugly satisfied, but a bit tired; under Hermione's gaze he straightened, attempting to show himself to the best advantage. She studied him openly, her eyes running over his chest and arms, lingering on his slowly softening cock and the muscle in his bunched thighs as he knelt.
"Hermione," he drawled, bringing her gaze back up to his, and arching an eyebrow reprovingly. "You've left a lover unsatisfied. Why don't you scoot back into his arms and let him lift you onto him this way, facing me? That way I can get a nice, good look at watching my friend shaft you. If you're a very good girl, I'll even help."
He felt her shiver in his arms, and per the blonde's instructions, scooted back into Severus, leaning in to him. Severus arched an eyebrow over her shoulder at Lucius, using his chin to dislodge her now hopelessly frizzy braid from his vision. Arranging Hermione's thighs over his, spreading her wide to Lucius' gaze, Severus lifted her and manoeuvred himself in place, then let her drop with a satisfying smack of flesh. She was slick, despite his cleansing charm, and feverishly hot.
Severus stroked the inside of her thighs gently, soothingly, rolling his hips to catch the inside of her sensitive core the way he had learned she liked best. It was a bit more difficult to thrust in this position, but as in the prefect's bath, it did offer him an unimpeded route to her clitoris, and he took advantage of it.
"Ah! A little more gently, please?" She whispered, her body shivering in his arms. "It's so, so sensitive now!"
Severus immediately softened his touch, stroking just around the tiny nub instead of directly on it. His hips rolled, her back arched, and a fresh trickle of moisture dampened the base of his cock. He swirled his fingers in it, then brought it to her right breast, rubbing it gently over the tip of it.
"Lucius, you promised to help, and I can attest that she is in this, like everything else she tries, brilliantly good." He lowered his voice to barely above a whisper, and said for her ears alone, "Insufferable know-it-all." His words seemed to trigger something inside her and she moaned again, satisfyingly loudly.
Smirk in place, he jerked an eyebrow at Lucius, who gamely crawled forward to draw the tip of her anointed breast into his mouth. She cried out again, the sound ragged as her orgasm slowly built inside her for the second time. Lucius pulled back, her nipple caught gently between his teeth, tugging. Severus' rolled his hips again, circling and stroking her where they were joined. Hermione's head jerked back and she whimpered, nearly crying from stimulation.
Lucius abandoned her reddened nipple to sink to his elbows, impatiently flicked Severus' hand away, and set about licking them together where Severus continued to slowly rotate his hips, never quite thrusting. The other man's tongue flicked over his cock, stimulating and titillating him to an almost painful level of excitement, then focused on Hermione, doing something in tandem with Severus' hips that made her scream.
Her fingers were caught in large fistfuls of Lucius' hair, her legs spread almost painfully wide over Severus' thighs, held in place by his hands gripping her hips. Lucius' tilted his head again slightly, changing the angle of what he was doing to her, and she screamed again and spasmed around Severus' cock, drenching it with a hot rush of liquid, her inner muscles fluttering wildly.
Lucius' lips ghosted around the edges where Severus cock was still flexing, sucking at her juices and licking the base of his cock. He lowered a bit further, and then the flat of his tongue was dragging across the underside of Severus' balls, returning to skate the edge of his perineum and…gods, daringly flicked against the edge of his anus. Unable to hold back longer, Severus shifted Hermione above him, drawing out slightly to thrust as far inside her as he could manage.
His eyes nearly crossed, he came so hard, the vague thought floating through his mind that if he pumped himself deeply enough in her, he might manage to shove himself all the way into her heart and keep her with him.
Fucking mad, he thought tiredly, his body protectively folding around hers as she collapsed back against him. We're all fucking mad. Hermione turned into a more comfortable position, her legs tangling with his as she snuggled against his chest. Vaguely, he felt the bed next to them depress as Lucius joined them, tucking himself along their length and tossing one leg over his to intertwine with hers, dropping an arm over them both to enjoy what was apparently going to be a post-coital, aftercare snuggle for three.
He drifted into consciousness when the bed shifted, possibly minutes, possibly hours later. Hermione mumbled something incoherently through her barely constrained hair and snuggled her face back into his armpit, where it had apparently ended up.
The disturbance turned out to be Lucius, rising from the bed to stand nearby, stretching and rolling his muscles slowly. He twisted, and soft pops emitted from his spine; his head tilted to more of the same. He scrubbed a hand over his face and through his hair, and glanced back down at where Severus looked at him blurrily.
The other man's gaze wandered over them and his cock twitched; his mouth jerked in a crooked smile. "You are a better friend than I deserve, including me in that," he said softly, nodding his head back at the tangled mess of woman still half in Severus' arms. "It's been…very lonely since Narcissa died. Don't let this one go, old friend. I think she's very well suited to you, and you'll regret it the rest of your life if you do." He padded naked for the door, clearly intending to grab his belongings and leave.
Severus found himself calling out softly after him, asking quietly, "What do you plan on doing now?"
The older man's lips twisted again, and he responded pointedly, "I'll not be propositioning her; I swore I wouldn't. I do think that it's past time I found myself a suitable wife, however. I'm not a man who does well without one." An eyebrow arched airily. "Perhaps I'll look up the Russian redhead; the widow Yaxley. What was her name again?"
Severus found himself smiling, despite himself, and hugged the witch in his arms a little more tightly. "Sofia, Lucius, and she's Bulgarian."
"Whatever," he shrugged offhandedly. "Redheads look stunning in emeralds." He disappeared through the door, and within several minutes, Severus found himself drifting back into the blissful black.
Awkward.
There was no more perfect word to describe what he felt at this moment, buttoning the nine thousand, seven hundred and eighty-four buttons that his shirt and coat seemed to have. He watched her tug her dress on and tie it to her specifications, so that it once more floated and draped about her calves. Her perfect, perfect calves.
Unless it was, perhaps, dying; that word might fit his current mental state as well, he reflected. He shook his head, disgusted with himself, and sternly reminded himself that 'dying' was an incredibly dramatic word, especially after only three weeks. He frowned at his shirt and noticed an odd ripple where he'd missed a buttonhole. Fuck.
Severus began to unbutton the ninety-eight hundred buttons in his way to get to the missed spot, grumbling under his breath.
"What was that?" Hermione twisted to look at him, an odd expression her face, and he felt himself colour. Since when did he blush? Or talk to himself?
"I didn't say anything," he responded shortly. Fucking buttons.
"Oh," she said quietly. "I…I suppose I should pack."
Severus grunted and stomped back into his bedroom, unable to face her. If he did, he might resort to the hideous prospect of begging. He had begged for Lily, and she had chosen Potter. He had begged Narcissa, and she had chosen Lucius. He wouldn't beg Hermione. She had sought him out deliberately to help her get over her sexual problem, and he had delivered to the best of his ability, going so far as to even do what he had sworn never to do again: share with his best friend.
Sure, Lucius could say magnanimously all he bloody wanted that he wouldn't pursue Hermione, but that didn't mean she would automatically choose Severus. All it meant was that he wouldn't have to watch while Lucius Malfoy married the woman he wanted again.
"Small fucking favours," he muttered. He stormed into his bathroom and stared at his reflection, sneer in place. His shirt was finally done up more or less properly, though it was wrinkled badly enough that he might as well have slept in it. His coat lamentably still hung askew with its forty-eight hundred and thirty-two buttons left to do.
It isn't love, his mind said rationally. Three weeks of sex, even glorious sex, isn't love.
"I know that!" he growled at his reflection, "but it's a possibility; it's a start. It's a bloody beginning to something that might be the best fucking thing that could happen to me, if the premise wasn't entirely idiotic!"
His reflection looked confused, and to his irritation said, "I'm not sure what you're on about, dearie, but it would be a better start if you cut your hair. It makes your face look so long…"
I will not hex the mirror, I will not hex the mirror, I will not hex the mirror. Severus chanted it to himself over and over in his head as he finally, finally got his damn buttons secured. He gave himself another cursory glance and tossed his head back, letting his greasy hair settle about him like armour.
When he marched back out into the sitting room, she was still gathering the random things that she had invaded his space with, tucking them into her absurdly small bag: her books, her favourite quill, her stupid, fuzzy pink socks that she used like slippers.
To his horror, he found himself blurting, "Do you plan on returning on weekends to continue your arithmantic work for me?" The last thing he needed was for her to drop by and work in close quarters with him, looking and smelling like…like herself. It would bloody well be torture, and might quite possibly drive him more insane than he already was.
Considering that his mental history already included several years of playing hide and seek with a despot, preferring to live in the dungeons, teaching snotty brats and holding out vague hope that a girl literally half his age would randomly decide to be his lover indefinitely, that was already a great deal of insanity. The girl in question blinked at him, owlishly, and fiddled with the strap of her bag. If she had pearls, she would have clutched them in horror, he thought, bitterly.
"I would like to, yes," she said slowly, her gaze searching his.
Fuck.
She took a deep breath and he found himself hyper-aware of her breasts shifting under the soft fabric of her dress. She wasn't wearing a bra, he remembered absently. His gaze lingered, now attempting to find the little peaks of her nipples through the dress. She shifted and he suddenly realised he was overtly ogling her breasts in front of her, and his gaze snapped back up to hers.
She was pretty when she blushed, he noted. That of course lead him to the memory of her blush spreading down over her throat and breasts, and gods damn it, he was thinking about her breasts again. He missed her question the first time-more proof that he was fucking round the bend-and was forced to ask her to repeat herself.
She stammered, she hemmed, she blushed again and looked awkward. Then she finally repeated, "I was actually thinking that I might give Minerva's offer some thought," she paused uncertainly and then clarified unnecessarily, "of teaching here; either Arithmancy or Transfiguration. I wouldn't, however, want to make things awkward for you. That is, I know it might be terribly…" Her voice trailed off uncertainly, and his heart ached.
"You should do what makes you happy," he said stiffly. "That's the point of everything you've done so far, isn't it? You fought the war, you fought the press, you fought your boyfriend's cruel remarks and your own nightmares and phobias. If you didn't go through all that for the chance to do what made you happy, then why did you? If teaching idiots is what will make you happy, then…" Severus cut himself off and turned away from her, choosing instead to focus on Narcissa Malfoy's bloody tapestry. Surely there was something terribly important about it, after all.
"What makes me happy?" She gave a soft little sigh. "I...you probably don't want to hear this, and I understand it's terribly naive of me, but...I don't want to leave here. You, I mean. I really, really don't," she whispered from behind him. "If you want; I mean, if you ever…" her voice faltered again and he heard her shift her weight slightly.
Severus' heart thudded to a screeching halt and his breath seized for one long, interminable minute. They hadn't made any promises to each other; he hadn't really held any hope that he might be able to keep her, despite her passionate response to him. Had she not responded with equal fervour to Lucius? Seeing her do it had made him achingly aware of how much of fool he had been to allow it, and how much he was losing in this deal. How much he had hoped beyond all stupid logic that it was only him she reacted that way to.
That she wished to stay was the last thing he had expected to hear from her.
His shoulders rigid, Severus finally turned to look at her, and commented quietly, "It won't be the same. I'm not a pleasant man much of the time, and I do not share. If you were to stay, it would be with me, and only me."
Some of the tension in her eyes seemed to relax at his pronouncement; her jaw loosened slightly. "What if I were to say that I had no desire to do that again? That it was…enjoyable, and enlightening, but not what I really want? What if I'm quite certain that I would only ever need you to keep me more than satisfied and interested?"
She fiddled with her bag again, gripping it so tightly that her knuckles were white. "I'll not lie to you; I'm a bossy, swotty arithmancer who is terrible at cooking and will likely attempt to read your notes before you've even finished them, but I want to be with you." Her eyes lifted to his again, her expression slightly pleading. "I want to stay here with you."
"Then stay," he answered, all elegant speech deserting him as he choked out, "If you want to stay, here, with me, then just...stay."
Her smile blossomed and her bag hit the floor with an incongruously heavy clunk. Then his arms were full of witch, and he couldn't even bring himself to be upset by the fact that she had completely bowled him over and that his arse was likely bruised.
(The End)
A/N: This is it! The final chapter! Thank you so much for joining me along the ride for my first completed longer fic. I wrote this for round one of the SSHG Prompt Fest on Live Journal; round two is just now starting and still accepting prompt requests. :-) You do NOT have write or be an artist in order to prompt, and you do NOT have to prompt in order to fulfill a fic or art prompt! I highly encourage everyone to check it out! Link to their page is here.
A review would be highly appreciated! As I said earlier, this is my first completed multi-chapter, and it also includes my first threesome. I was very nervous about trying to include that and Hermione's sexual PTSD in the same fic as per the prompt, and I would love feedback!
Thanks again and love to all!! <3 Tyche
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