Through and Through

"'He accused me of being "Dumbledore's man through and through."'
'How very rude of him.'
'I told him I was.'"

--Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter 1

You've got to be kidding me.

The thought flew through Severus Snape's mind before he was able to stop himself.

"No, Severus, I am definitely not kidding you." Voldemort's pale slit of a mouth curved into something resembling a smile. "I trust you'll follow orders admirably. I'll leave the details to you."

With that, the Dark Lord strode out of the room, leaving Snape to his thoughts, which were tumultuous at best.

Marry Hermione Granger? That was unexpected.

The Dark Lord wanted to get one of Harry's friends closer to their side, and apparently Granger's intelligence and curiosity were key traits necessary to draw someone in.

And apparently her gender didn't hurt, either.

At best, according to Lord Voldemort, their side would gain a faithful new follower and greatly hurt the balance of the light's key weapon, and at worst they'd have a spy quite close to an important member of the Order. It was an obvious decision.

Snape was quite surprised and impressed by the Dark Lord's proposed method of matrimony, as well. Apparently he'd discovered an archaic magical law that had been forgotten in recent history and never used in at least three hundred years. The law was essentially a relic from the enslavement of mudbloods, in exchange for granting them use of their magic. This law said that they were bound to accept the first formal marriage proposal from an adult, financially secure witch or wizard who asked for them.

Because "formal marriage proposals" through the ministry were a bit antique themselves, and no one had acted on this law in so long, it had been forgotten, and assumed that no one would ever use it again.



No one, it seemed, had counted on Voldemort. Through his research, he'd found that the magical ties enforcing this law were still intact, and as long as Severus acted quickly and with discretion, it would still be very valid when he acted on it.

Which he would do, of course. No one says no to Lord Voldemort and lives.

So that was Severus's choice: Die, or marry Hermione Granger. For a moment he got a mental picture of the bushy-haired, bucked-toothed eleven-year-old he first met and shuddered visibly. She was an adult now, he had to remind himself. Eighteen, if he wasn't mistaken.

Even a Know-it-All Gryffindor was preferable to death.

Although, after thinking how Dumbledore would respond to all of this, he wasn't so sure….

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Dumbledore didn't respond well.

He never did, when someone displayed meddling skills to rival his own, but the old man at least wasn't naïve.

"So we basically have no other options open to us." He stated plainly, with absolutely no twinkle left in his troubled blue eyes.

"Basically," drawled Severus.

They'd been over everything, and couldn't find a way out of it without some fairly disastrous consequences. If Snape didn't petition for Miss Granger, Voldemort would know he was a spy for the wrong side and kill him. The Order would lose its insider, and Voldemort would still be after ways to break up the Golden Trio. If Dumbledore petitioned to have the law abolished before Severus could petition, Voldemort would be sure to know he leaked the information, kill Severus and still pursue the girl.

If Snape did petition for Miss Granger, well, he'd have to marry her, a student. She was an adult, so it was legal, but much frowned upon. Dumbledore was sure she wouldn't be tempted by the Dark Lord, since Severus was a double agent.

And as unappetizing as it promised to be for both parties, marriage was sure to be preferable to death.

"Besides," Dumbledore pointed out, "You would be protecting her in a way; if not for you, some other Death Eater would be after her, with less honorable intentions."

"Ever the optimist, aren't you, Albus?" Severus's hard, dark eyes stared into those of his colleague, mentor, and friend.

"In times such as these, Severus, optimism is often all we have."

On this simple, sage advice, the two men set to work drafting Severus's proposal. Neither wanted to think about what was to come: the wedding, the marriage, the inevitable conflicts. And most of all, neither Snape nor Dumbledore wanted to think about how well Hermione Granger would take the news.

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"You've done what?!"

Thus far, telling Hermione the news was not going so well.

"You just—petitioned for me? Like I'm some sort of… of—I don't know what! Professor Dumbledore, I trust you'll have this ridiculous law abolished as soon as possible!"

She was standing in his office, having abandoned her chair in righteous indignation. Dumbledore waited for her to stop sputtering before he responded.

"I do intend to have this law abolished, Miss Granger, but I'm afraid it will not stop the validity of your and Professor Snape's engagement."

Hermione made a face at this last phrase and tried to make sense of what they were telling her. "So, Snape had to petition for me so he wouldn't die; even if he didn't, Voldemort would still probably send someone who wasn't a spy after me. So what happens if I don't accept?"

Snape cleared his throat, and Hermione tried to read his face. As usual, it was a mask.

It was Dumbledore, once again, who spoke. "You are aware, Miss Granger, that these ancient laws were used to enslave muggleborns; their service and subservience was seen as their payment for using magic they… well, the general opinion was that they stole it."

Hermione scoffed. "I am quite aware of the history, Professor."

"Yes… well, Miss Granger, there was an ancient dark magic that has been all but forgotten now, that, if the laws were not complied with, would rip all the magic from the witch or wizard's soul."

"How is that even possible? A wizard's magic is ingrained into his soul. A person who'd had it ripped out, why, they'd be something less than human… like someone after the Dementor's Kiss."

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Yes, Miss Granger. This same branch of dark magic is what created Dementors. Fortunately, the knowledge of how to create it has been lost, but these old laws… I'm afraid, still function quite well."

And the news finally sunk in. Hermione was now sitting back in her chair, rather slumped over. Dumbledore was fiddling with something or other on his desk; she chanced a look at Professor Snape.

She'd never thought of him as anything other than an Adult, her teacher, and a Slytherin. Now that they were in this… predicament, she tried to see him as a man.

He wasn't un-handsome; His features would probably never land him in a glossy magazine, but the dark eyes definitely held something that she wanted to see. His hair was a bit ripe but otherwise quite nice; the nose was angular and large, but seemed to fit his face and his person. His jaw was firm and his mouth… well, she'd never looked at it before.

Everyone made jab's at the 'Bat-of-the-Dungeon's' crooked yellow teeth, but it really wasn't so. His lips, while not exactly full, fit his face nicely, and as he opened his mouth to speak, Hermione could see his teeth were white and even.

It was strange that little detail made her like him more; she really was the daughter of dentists.

Hermione looked back over his face and saw that he was looking at her.

"I trust that you have more questions, Miss Granger?"

His voice was like black silk when he wasn't taking house points away, she mused.

"Always, Professor. I understand that we must go through with this… What are the details of the law?"

Dumbledore was still fiddling with trinkets on his desk, but after she asked this question, his manner was pointedly busy.

The dark potions master responded. "We have one week to marry; it is a short time, I realize, but I didn't think you'd want a lot of fuss for this …arrangement. Now, there is a matter of wizard marriages, especially this old bonding. For it to be complete, it requires consummation."

Hermione tried not to flinch. She used every bit of will she had to close off her mind.

Snape continued, "However, we can postpone the act. I believe the marriage ceremony will satiate the law for up to a month, by which time we will have to… cement our relationship."

Hermione briefly wondered how many socially appropriate euphemisms for sex this man could think of under pressure. It was quite impressive. But he was expecting a response:

"I see. Well, it seems the only thing we can do."

The sentence was said calmly enough, but Hermione was churning inside. Have sex? With this thirty-eight year old man? She knew some girls liked older men, but she'd only just turned eighteen and really wasn't thinking about marrying and sleeping with her potions professor. Hermione had barely done anything, save for a few kisses with Victor Krum and Ron, neither of whom turned out to be her knight in shining armor… and now she was expected to do everything with this mystery man who she may as well never have met! He was an enigma, and he was stealing her future.

"Professor? Next time you see Lord Voldemort, will you let him know I'm rather peeved at him?"

With that sentiment, Dumbledore again appeared from behind his knickknacks with his eyes twinkling at full wattage.

"A proper response, I'd say. If you have no further questions, Miss Granger, Professor Snape and I will meet with you here, tomorrow after dinner, to discuss the details of the ceremony."

Professor Snape's face was a mask again, facing away from Hermione.

"Very well. Good-night, Professors."

And with that, Hermione left Dumbledore's office. In twenty minutes, her life had changed entirely. She walked back to her dormitory in a daze, and only after entering the common room did a resounding question enter her mind:

How on earth would she explain this to everyone else?