Chapter 75: Flared Tempers

The Great Hall, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...

Emerald green eyes glared daggers at the staff table as Harry Potter made his way toward the Gryffindor table. He had been trapped with Snape in the dungeons for hours since the previous night and all he could think about was hexing the bloody git into next week. The ache in his head had not subsided in the least and the git didn't even have the decency to give him a pain potion to end his suffering. Hermione noticed that her lover and her best friend had been glaring rather murderously at each other for the past several minutes since the beginning of breakfast.

"Are you alright Harry?" asked Ron taking a bite of his bacon and looking his friend over. "You're looking kind of worse for ware."

The green eyed wizard curled his lip in disgust as he threw himself down into his usual seat.

"I'm doing just fine Ron." said the embittered young wizard. "Everything's sunshine and roses."

"Wow..." said the red head wizard trying his best not to take offense. "Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

"I didn't wake up in bed at all." muttered Harry shoving a spoon into his rather tasteless bowl of oatmeal.

Hermione had been stealing glances at Snape amid her meal wondering why he had appeared to be so rundown at the beginning of the day. He had put on airs for the watching Slytherins and Gryffindor table but she had known all too well that he had been exhausted beyond belief. She had only just turned her attention to her best friend and the dark circles around his emerald green eyes.

"He's right you know." she said biting into her slice of apple as her amber eyes examined her friend. "You do look terrible."

Harry chuckled some as he continued to scoop his oatmeal onto his spoon.

Despite the vast array of treats and various selections, he had not been in the mood for much else.

"At least I look better than that sodding git." muttered Harry turning his gaze back to the staff table and to Snape whom had been watching him like a hawk.

As the older wizard's obsidian eyes glared at him from afar, Harry had been trying his best to keep from cringing in anticipation from another attempt at him to invade his mind.

"Are you sure you're alright Harry?" asked Hermione concerned as she looked from Snape to her best friend in confusion.

"Yeah." replied Harry going back to his breakfast. "I'm fine Hermione...it's nothing to worry about."

The inquisitive witch had not been so sure. It was apparent that something was going on with her boyfriend and her best friend that she had not been privy to and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

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Snape's Office, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...

The Potions Professor had been exhausted but did his best to keep up appearances. He had no idea what the beast that lurked just beneath the surface of his consciousnesses would do once it noticed how weak he had been in his attempts to conceal it. His aggression in the presence of that blundering idiot Harry Potter had been a clear indication that he had been running on fumes.

It was dangerous to function in this state of mind as the whimpers of the beast within could be heard as it clawed against the confines of it's fleshy prison to get out into the open and leave behind it's trail of destruction.

As if it had been a summons, Hermione arrived outside the office and knocked on the door. The Potions Master did his best to play the part he had so many nights prior within the vast halls of the castle despite wanting nothing more than to strip the witch bare and sink his cock into her warm depths as quickly as possible.

He opened the door and allowed her inside ensuring any whom had been stupid enough to eavesdrop or spy on him would believe this to be a matter concerning academics instead of the social call it had truly been. Once the door closed the mask of indifference dropped and Snape practically leapt over the desk to get to his witch. Hermione had barely taken a breath before she was pressed against the cold stone wall of the castle and his large pale hands were roaming along the contorts of her uniform.

"I've missed you witch." he said in a breathless whisper.

Hermione smiled a bit a she released a silencing charm followed by a few other wards to ensure they were not interrupted. She had not come to have him bed her but she still needed to discuss The Rivermist Plant as well as Harry's current condition with him.

"Severus...I need to speak with you." she said in a stern tone.

"What do you need?" he asked looking rather deeply into her eyes as if he wished to devour her.

The hungry expression on his face had not been lost on Hermione as she continued to explain her reason for the visit.

"Severus...Harry's been looking a bit run down recently...and so have you for that matter." she said.

"It's nothing for you to concern yourself with." said Snape evenly. "Dumbledore asked me to tutor the brat in Occulemency do to his recently discovered connection to the dark lord's mind."

Hermione seemed horrified by the implications of such a connection.

"Poor Harry." she said unable to imagine the horrors he was forced to endure due to the despot.

"Yes, poor Potter." said Snape in his usual mocking fashion. "I'm the one stuck tutoring him and he insists on fighting the lessons every chance he gets...it's not a wise thing to piss off an exhausted werewolf."

"Severus don't you dare..." said Hermione turning stern in her approach.

"I wouldn't dream of it love." he replied carrying her toward his desk. "Besides...I have a much better use of my...abilities."

"Speaking of which." began Hermione as he sat her on his desk and stood before her as if contemplating. "We have to ingest The River Mist Plant."

Snape nodded absently as he continued to run his increasingly predatory eyes over her body.

"We have to eat it now, Severus." said Hermione getting an uneasy feeling being in his presence for the first time.

"As you wish." he replied in a casual tone.

He moved over toward his desk and pressed a button that seemed to reveal a secret staircase. The stone steps seemed to wind as they descended into the bowels of Hogwarts Castle.