As the weeks went by, I spent more and more time with Severus. By the end of the first week at Hogwarts we were already on first name terms and I was falling hard for him. By the end of the second week, I was completely in love and hoping he might feel something more than friendship towards me. Little did I know that all the other professors had bets on how long it would take for the two of us to get together.

On Friday of the second week, Severus asked me to have dinner with him, since we had worked late and missed dinner, working on a theoretical potion together. The air that evening was thick with tension and clearing off the table after dinner we bumped into each other, heading towards the sitting room. We paused, staring into each others' eyes... And then we were kissing. We deepened the kiss and he pushed me back against the wall. Our bodies fit snugly against one another and of its own volition my leg slid up the outside of Severus' leg a bit. This caused our bodies to come even closer and he groaned slightly. He pulled back a bit and we both paused to catch our breath.

"Hermione... If you want to take things slow, you'd best tell me now..." he said, his voice a bit strained.

"As long as this isn't a one time thing...?"

"No. I don't want that."

"Then I see no reason to take it slow."

With that, he pulled me close again and kissed me with such passion my knees gave out. He easily lifted me and carried me into his bedroom, never breaking the kiss. In stark contrast to the intensity and persistence of his kisses, he laid me down gently on the bed and joined me, holding himself over me. I started unbuttoning his shirt impatiently and he slid a hand under my shirt, teasing my nipples. Finally all of our clothes were strewn about the room and I could feel the heavenly sensation of his skin against mine. I reveled in this sensation for a moment before my hand skimmed its way down Severus' chest and grasped him firmly. His lips moved from my mouth to my neck, gently sucking and nipping their way down to my chest. He suckled lightly, then more persistently as I gasped in pleasure. I slid my hand up and down along his length and his hand came down between my legs, returning the gesture. Right before I went crashing into orgasmic bliss, Severus pulled away and I growled in frustration. He chuckled breathlessly, then positioned himself at my entrance. He stared into my eyes as he pushed deep within me. Moving slowly at first, we found our rhythm and picked up our pace, until he was pounding into me. The tension built and built inside me as Severus' movements became more erratic until I could hold it back no more. The great ball of pleasure exploded, consuming me entirely and I heard Severus groan as he, too, came to completion. He collapsed on top of me and I held him there, enjoying the feel of his weight above me.

We fell asleep like that, holding each other close and when we woke... well, we didn't leave those rooms for a long time. From then on, our days were spent in much the same way as before, but with the wonderful addition of kissing and touching and cuddling. Our nights held a far more radical and pleasurable change for both of us. My separate quarters quickly became unused and rather than having to Floo back and forth from his rooms to mine for clothes and whatnot, I moved into his rooms.

And have been there ever since.