Yes, Sir

Lesson 2: Safewords

In retrospect, Hogwart's 5th annual commemorative ball, to celebrate and remember those who had passed during the Wizarding War, had not been the best place for Hermione to seek the answer she was looking for. Nay, the person she was looking for.

It was all rather accidental, if she were being honest. Just two weeks prior, the man in question had offered Hermione a permanent position in his school, as Professor of Arithmancy and Head of Gryffindor house. A rare night, celebrating her achievement with her friends, had changed her life forever.

Hermione lingered around the makeshift barspace, with a concoction of champagne and peach juice in her hand, she waited. She had been watching him all night, and knew he would approach sooner or later. Their host had been zig-zagging around the room, seemingly avoiding idle conversation with intolerable guests, choosing instead to grace only a few of his preferred colleagues and friends with his presence. The glass in his hand had been looking dangerously empty for a while now.

She had made sure with the careful positioning of herself amongst the other barflys, that when he did approach, he would stand next to her.

"Professor Snape." Hermione greeted the man, with a curt smile and a delicate glace through her eyelashes.

He handed his empty glass to the bar staff, who seemed to understand what the headmaster was asking for without him having to speak a word. He replied, "Professor Granger."

"I'm not quite a Professor yet, am I?" Hermione said in a deliberately low voice, so that the man couldn't mistake her intentions.

Severus whipped his head around at an alarming speed. Hermione gave him a sweet smile. "I suppose not." He replied.

She made a show of glancing around the room. "A beautiful celebration."

He shrugged. "As usual, I have had nothing to do with it. I only show up when and where Minerva instructs me."

The Great Hall of Hogwarts had once again been bedecked in varying shades of grey and silver. Round tables, featuring a place setting and a memorial booklet for each of the guests, had replaced the house tables that usually lined the halls. A makeshift stage had been erected near where the staff tables usually resided, along with a lectern and an old fashioned microphone for the speakers. A temporary bar had been fashioned near the entrance of the hall, staffed by a group of witches and wizards wearing matching robes, who barely looked old enough to imbibe.

The guest lists had featured various, important Ministry figures (including the Minister of Magic himself), The Hogwarts teachers, and members of disbanded organisations such as The Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army. Now that they had all endured the pompous speeches, moments of silence, and charitable pledges, the guests were free to mingle and talk amongst themselves.

"If I may be frank, Miss Granger, you have clearly been trying to attract my attention all evening. What do you want?" Severus said plainly.

It wasn't exactly how Hermione had expected this conversation to go, but she ran with it anyway. She cleared her throat, all confidence vanishing. "I happened to come across a friend of yours last week. Farris Idris."

She had certainly caught Severus off guard. His stony facade had slipped for just a second, revealing a flicker of shock and amusement. Severus sipped his whiskey with fake nonchalance. "How exactly did you meet Farris?"

"At his establishment." Hermione said, as though admitting that she had attended a fetish club was not the most embarrassing to reveal to her new boss.

When it was clear that Severus wasn't going to reply, Hermione continued. She was already toeing the line of sexual harassment in the workplace, she may as well reveal what she was alluding to. Besides, the bar was crowded enough that no one would hear their hushed conversation. To anyone on the outside, they simply appeared as two colleagues that were sharing a discussion.