A Looping of the Scales - Chapter 1 to 20 - Harry Potter FanFic.net

A Looping of the Scales - Chapter 61 to 80 - Harry Potter FanFic.net

Her nostrils flared a bit as she thought about Snape asking her if she would be jealous if another witch wanted to shag him. Well, how would he expect her to feel? Having sex was a very intimate act after all and a person should only have one partner at a time, even if they weren't "technically" together. Each should still respect the other's feelings, right? It had nothing to do with being jealous really. No, not at all.

It was just—just good Quidditch to keep the partners down to one. Besides, there were all kinds of STDs out there, and one never knew what they were getting into when they started sleeping around. No, she wouldn't be jealous. She would just expect him to give any witch who wanted to play mattress-tag, a resounding NO. For both of their protection.

Having satisfactorily rationalized away her still obvious feelings of jealousy and possessiveness for Severus Snape, Hermione next set about plotting for the duel. The rules would have to be laid out plainly and she thought it would be best if the spells could only be used once, just like during the review. This way each person's skill and knowledge would be tested.

Pain would probably be involved. It always was in a good duel. Hermione had no doubt that Severus would cast a painful hex at her in a second, and he could count on her returning the favor sevenfold. Tonight was not the time to go soft. Besides, he was such an arrogant git every time he mentioned the duel.

Hermione growled a little at the thought of his smug, pale face, smirking at her loftily.

Let's see how smug and arrogant he'd be with the seat of his trousers on fire. She knew a pretty good spell that replicated a person being kicked in the arse. That would come in handy, too. Not every spell had to be crippling. Humiliating could work, too.

Hermione was very excited, but she knew she had to watch for Harry. He'd taken her "no" too easily. He'd definitely be lurking around. She'd keep an eye out for knee-high shimmers. Harry's cloak didn't cover him fully and even though Disillusionment wasn't allowed inside Hogwarts, that would make no difference to Harry. Not when he wanted something.

Hermione didn't worry the least bit about Ron, he was so smarmy over Susan. She would see them in the halls between classes, Ron with his arm around her waist, escorting her everywhere, being fed tidbits from her fingertips and trying to steal kisses all the time.

It was rather nauseating, and she'd zip by them quickly every time they popped into view.

And it had NOTHING to do with jealousy. She did feel a bit out of sorts when Ron declared his affection for Susan publicly, but that was just a bit of residual feeling for what they were trying to have, not what they actually had.

If this constant adulation and attention was the kind of relationship Ron really wanted with a witch, he was welcome to it. Hermione could never have dealt with a Ron so head over heels in love or lust. She was just glad their relationship hadn't been that way, or it couldn't have lasted as long as it did. It was like he was a male version of Lavender with Susan.

Brrrr.

Hermione shuddered a little, then found even ground by thinking about Severus. She couldn't ever see him acting as goofy as Ron. He was solicitous, sneaky and seductive with his affections. Hermione imagined he wouldn't show the world his hand, just the object of his desire.

Which, incidentally, was her. Hermione felt a bit of warmth flow over her again, and once again it wasn't a sexual pulse, but something from the heart, just as intense and thrilling. Something she was fighting hard not to recognize. Not now. Now wasn't the time for it.

She didn't know if there would ever be a time for it.

Snape spent much of his day reading spell books. Not that he was learning new spells. He was good, but not that good. It required time to learn how to cast an unfamiliar spell, more than a few hours at any rate.