The Potions Master and the Ravenclaw

"Hold Me Tighter"

Snape burst through the gates, striding with singularity of purpose toward the castle.

He actually started running as he approached the main entrance. He went first to the hospital wing, thinking Madeline might be there, but Madame Pomfrey told him she had gone home to rest before returning to work at midnight. Moody would need constant care for the next several days and they were taking it in shifts. Madeline had offered to work overnight.

Snape thanked her and ran to the dungeons. He knew he should probably meet with Dumbledore first to debrief him, but he would be damned if he would make Madeline suffer for a single second longer than was necessary, and he was dying to see her. He felt almost euphoric. He had beaten death - successfully convinced the Dark Lord not to kill him - and the only thing he wanted to do was hold his wife.

Well, maybe a little more than hold her.

Dumbledore would keep.

He burst through the door to see Madeline sitting in his chair, Merlin the cat curled up beside her. When she saw him she leapt up, whispering his name, and ran to him, throwing herself into his open arms. He picked her up, his large hands cupping her bottom to support her weight. Her hands held his face, staring into his eyes, as her legs clamped around his body. She kissed him, then, and their tongues met - hot and wet and desperate. She was whimpering and moaning into his mouth and he held her tighter than he had ever held anything in his life.

He carried her to the rug in front of the fireplace and knelt with her still in his arms. He laid her down and unbuttoned his trousers as she pulled off her underwear. She opened her legs for him and he climbed on top of her, covering her body with his. They didn't even bother to undress and Snape was, in fact, still wearing his traveling cloak, but he had to have her. Now. He couldn't wait another second. He entered her in one smooth motion and they both cried out, yearning and aching for each other.

She held his face in both her hands and their eyes locked as he thrust into her. They were moving together as she wrapped her legs around him and took him in as deeply as she could. She had never needed anything as much as she needed him to fill her up, needed him inside her, needed to feel his weight on her body, needed his hands on her skin, needed to breathe in his scent and look into his beautiful face.

There were no words between them. None were needed. Their bodies spoke to each other, connecting, moving together.

He leaned down to kiss her and she grasped his long hair in her fists. She hoped she wasn't hurting him, but she had to hold onto him. Had to feel him in her hands and touch him.

Snape tasted her sweetness, her tongue gliding against his. He felt her soft body writhing underneath his own, matching his rhythm with a perfect synchronicity. She was all he needed, all he ever needed. She was warm and wet, sheathing him perfectly, and her fingers were tugging at his hair. The kiss finally broke and he pressed his forehead to hers, his hips rolling into her. Madeline's hands slid down to his shoulders and grasped him. They were both panting, bodies crashing into each other, fueled by anxiety and adrenaline and relief that Snape had survived.

He felt her starting to tighten around him. She was close and so was he. Their coupling became more frantic, more frenzied, and her breaths were coming in quick, staccato bursts. She tilted her hips up to meet him. It caused them both to tumble over the edge, exploding with pleasure. A guttural cry rose up from the depths of her soul as she drowned in her climax, and Snape almost roared with the intensity of his own release.

He lay next to her and pulled her close, cradling her against his body.

"I love you, Severus. Thank God you're here. I love you. I love you." Her voice was raw.