A hair's breadth before wrapping his fingers around Hermione's throat, Harry was jerked back and away. Hermione opened her eyes from the instinctual wince and saw Snape leaning across the table, holding Harry by the hair and one wrist. The previously enraged subicio was now panting heavily, eyes cast down and body completely lax in the painful-looking hold.
"Holy Cricket!" the shaken woman breathed. "What on Earth was that?" She stood up and took a step back from her friend who was still sprawled on the table. "How did a pregnant person move that fast? And why?" she asked in a ragged voice.
"Yes, quite spry, wasn't he?" Snape remarked calmly. "I had no idea he could travel so quickly with his bulky frame. I had half-assumed he would use magic instead. I'll have to make a note of that."
Hermione stared at the dark man as if he were mad. "Professor! Why would Harry do that?" She turned to look at the still motionless body on the table. "Harry? What's wrong? What happened?" Her voice was taking on a hysterical tone that she would later be embarrassed about, she was sure.
"It was simple jealousy, Ms. Granger," Snape said, still calm as he held Harry by the hair and wrist, paying no mind to the elbow in his soup bowl and the crackers that had fallen on his shoes.
Hermione put a hand on her chest as her eyes widened in incredulity. "Jealous? Of what?"
"Do not worry yourself over it, Ms. Granger. It was a simple experiment. You were quite handy." Snape looked down at Harry. "Get off the table." Harry never raised his eyes as he slid himself to the edge and onto his feet. Snape let go of the tousled hair but not the wrist. Green eyes looked up at Hermione and it was as if she were looking at a stranger. The eyes held such accusation and malice, it was almost too much to meet them.
"An-an experiment?" she asked, gratefully looking to the taller man. "What do you mean?"
"This is why your little paper was flawed. The simplest of details fall through the cracks of that overly-large brain of yours," Snape remarked maliciously. "I could hardly stand to get through the title of that drivel you wrote."
"But you-!" Hermione closed her eyes and took a calming breath. Opening them again, she saw Snape staring at her with a raised eyebrow and Harry again looking at the floor. "Very well," she said, in control of herself again. "You were flattering to get me to react the way you wanted me to, attempting to raise jealousy in Harry. Correct?"
"Very good," Snape drawled. He stepped back away from the table, taking Harry with him, as Ably popped into existence and began cleaning the spilled soup and crackers.
"Why would you do that? What possible purpose could that serve?" Hermione asked in frustration.
"Now what have you done, Severus? If you have run her out of here, I will be eternally grateful."
Hermione spun to watch Draco walking through the doorway. Then her eyes narrowed.
"Gods, you both are just the nastiest of pond scum," she seethed. "Fine. Have your sick little experiments. I just hope Harry comes back to his senses soon and leaves this house." With that she stormed out of the room and through the front door. Draco smirked after her, then turned to look at the disarrayed table and the other two men.
"What happened?" he asked seriously.
"Go to Draco," the Potions Master ordered and Harry immediately moved to his husband.
Draco frowned. "Why have you got him on the pheromone leash?"
"Harry very ungraciously attacked his luncheon guest." Snape calmly sat back down at his chair to the fresh bowl of soup already there. He watched from the corner of his eye as Harry went to Draco and immediately began rubbing his cheek against the taller man's shoulder. Draco put a gentle hand to his husband's face and looked down at it in concern. Snape could actually see when the induced docileness ceased. Harry's entire body stiffened and he spun, rather well with having the extra weight in front, to glare at the Potions Master.
