Senses

Chapter 40

Severus picked lightly at the bandage on his hand. He'd have to keep it wrapped for at least two days to stave off infection. He just prayed to the powers that be that nothing would happen in that time. His mind was sitting in a foggy place, while he was meant to be thinking about how he was going to replace Granger's wand; all he could think about was their time in the bath together.

"Do you want me to help you with your hair?" Hermione's voice was soft, a gentle smile ticking at the corner of her lips as she watched him from the other side of the tub.

Severus had been banishing away the larger debris with his wandless magic but it was becoming very clear that his non-dominant hand wasn't as dexterous as his wand hand. He gave her a calculating look as he ran his fingers through his inky locks pulling out another rather mucky clump of ash. Thus far, she'd kept her distance and had busied herself with her own hair.

Her tears had finally come to a stop leaving her face a bit red in places where she'd rubbed them away. The glamour had long since faded but the skin around her eyes was red and irritated from all her crying. Her wet hair surprisingly didn't make her look like a drowned cat but it did make her look a bit mousey. Overall, she'd recovered well enough.

"Only my hair?" Severus was just a bit wary, given the lack of clothing to keep them apart. While he was sure he could physically keep her wandering hands at bay, he wasn't so sure he had the strength left inside him.

Hermione curled in her lips, her eyes flicking into the water that obscured his lower half from view. As he sat, the water was just a little over waist height for him leaving the rest of his frame shadowed below. While a small gleam did flash over her eyes, she did eventually nod her head and lift her eyes away from the water, "Of course..."

Hermione could feel a heat rushing up into her cheeks and though she had on occasion dreamed of touching more of him than what she had thus far, she knew that it was an experience she would never be granted. A slow breath left her chest as she moved from the far edge towards the center bench. Her teeth worried her bottom lip before she looked down into the deeper waters in the center, "Can you sit here? I don't think I'll be able to reach your head otherwise..."

She could, but her chest would be right in his face the entire time and she was very certain that that was something he would neither want nor enjoy. It was hard enough for her to look at her malformed frame, she didn't want to force him to do the same, despite the numerous times he had taken care of her.

"Right..." Severus glanced towards the center of the bath before placing a bubble charm over the wrappings on his wand hand. A small adjustment slipped him easily down deeper into the waters, the level of which rising just over the rise of his shoulder as he settled down.

Hermione took a slow breath as his body moved closer to her legs, her feet widening to take his wide frame between them before she moved just a bit towards the edge. Her forearm had been wrapped as well protected with a water-repellent charm. As he settled down, his warmth ran through her lower half making her lose sight of what she was supposed to be doing for a few seconds.

Severus tried not to flinch when her fingers ran through the crown of his hair, his shoulders so tense you could bounce a sickle off of them. His eyes closed tight as he tried to not let the sensation overtake his senses. How long it had been since someone had touched him so kindly? How long had it been since he had allowed someone so inside his personal space?

"You should breathe...I don't think I'm strong enough to keep you from drowning." Hermione's words were spoken with a smile ticking at her lips. Her fingers slowly untangling his hair as she went. It was still devilishly soft, even with the ash and dirt and she closed her eyes to allow herself to take in every single strand.