Hello everyone. This, as you might have noticed, is another Marriage Law fic. But, set after the first Wizarding War. I'm not sure if I'll continue with this story or not, depending on the response this gets. Hopefully you enjoy it and forgive my Snape for being so.. un-Snape like.. He's only 22 years old!

Severus Snape stared at the letter in pure, unadulterated disgust. Damn those Ministry meddling morons. At age twenty-two, marriage was the last thing on his mind. But with this awful Marriage Proclamation the Wizengamot had just passed, it appeared he had no choice in the matter.

Professor Severus Snape,

Due to the devastating death toll of the recent wizarding war, the Wizengamot has issued a Marriage Proclamation. Under this proclamation, muggle-borns and half-bloods between the ages of seventeen to forty are required to marry the muggle-born/half-blood witch/wizard of the Ministry's choice. These matches have been carefully selected. The marriage must take place within six months of the couple being notified. A child must be produced within the first two years of marriage. Extenuating circumstances may occur. Failure to comply with the proclamation will result in the breaking of your wand and a life sentence in Azkaban.

Your match is: Elspeth Bryony

Yours sincerely,

Enid Jones

Department of Marital Affairs

Severus read over the letter several times as he allowed his fate to sink in. He didn't fail to notice how purebloods were excluded from this Marriage Law. He would bet ten galleons that Lucius Malfoy had something to do with that. Still grumbling over everything, he began to think about his newly acquired fiancee Elspeth Bryony. The name did ring a bell, and thankfully not as one of his students. She was a Ravenclaw a year younger than him. He knew he should consider himself lucky for not having to marry one of his students. That lifted his spirits somewhat, but not by much. He still didn't want to get married. At all.

He wondered what Miss Bryony was thinking about their situation.

Elspeth sat at her small kitchen table in the flat she shared with her older sister, Fenella. Their parents had died during the war and they decided to stay close to one another. She was briefly wondering what was taking Ella so long in getting the post from the owls as her sister entered their small kitchen with a serious expression.

"Fenella, what's wrong?" Elspeth asked.

"Remember the Marriage Proclamation the Wizengamot was trying to pass?" the elder girl prompted quietly.

The younger girl nodded silently, not liking where this conversation was going.

"They passed it," Fenella said before thrusting an envelope towards her younger sister.

Elspeth took her time in opening her letter. Her eyes immediately jumped towards the part where her match was revealed. She stared at the name in puzzlement. She didn't know that much about him, to be honest. He was a year above her and a Slytherin. He mostly kept to himself.

"Who's your match?" Elspeth finally asked.

"Albert Davis," Fenella said, smiling slightly. He was a fellow Ravenclaw from her year and they'd always been friendly.

"What about you?"

"Severus Snape," Elspeth whispered quietly.

"I believe we both have some letters to write," Fenella said quite loudly compared to their previous quiet tones.

Elspeth nodded in agreement before getting up from her seat. She was glad it was a Saturday and didn't work today. She needed time to let this sink in. She didn't know if she should be jumping for joy or running away screaming. Who was Severus Snape?

Severus was surprised to find an owl tapping at his window. He wasn't expecting anymore post today, but then remembered he had a fiancee. Sighing, he quickly took the letter from the owl's leg and fed it a treat. When it didn't leave, he knew it was waiting for a response.

Severus,

Is it alright if I call you Severus? We never really crossed paths in school, so I fear this will be a little awkward. Due to our current situation, I think it would be best if we met up for tea sometime soon. Please let me know if you find this agreeable.

Yours,

Elspeth

Severus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't like this one bit, but not enough to find Azkaban appealing.

"Better to get this out of the way sooner rather than later," he mumbled to the owl before replying in the affirmative and asking if she would meet him at the Three Broomsticks at three.

Elspeth walked into the Three Broomsticks at precisely three o'clock and found him already sitting at a table. Even though they never really spoke during their time at Hogwarts together, she remembered what he looked like. It appeared he hadn't changed all that much, appearance wise. His pale skin contrasted sharply with his black clothing and hair. His face revealed no emotions and Elspeth's stomach clenched at that observation. That Slytherin mask of his was going to make things difficult, that's for sure.

She almost stopped walking when another thought came to her. He was also a Death Eater. Well, a former one, but a Death Eater nonetheless. Elspeth was about to run out when another thought came to her. Dumbledore allowed him to be the Potions Professor. If Dumbledore thought he was safe enough to teach kids, he couldn't be so bad.

Severus watched the emotions flit across Elspeth's face. She looked almost the same as she did back in school. She was on the petite side, her dark brown almost black hair fell down to her shoulder blades. Her brown eyes held so much emotion.

Soon enough, she finally approached the table he was occupying and he motioned for her to take a seat. She nervously slid into the seat across from him. They both remained silent, staring at each other.

"Uhm, hi," Elspeth blurted out.

Severus arched an eyebrow at her before responding, "Hello, Miss Bryony."

Elspeth blushed, feeling embarrassed that she wasn't handling the situation as gracefully as he was. No one continued the conversation any further and Elspeth couldn't stand it any longer.

"Oh for goodness sake! This is ridiculous," Elspeth muttered, much to Severus' amusement.

"I'm guessing you didn't plan out what you were going to say when we met?" Severus asked.

She stared at him pointedly, "No, I just forgot that you're an emotionless Slytherin."

Severus just glared at her, his amusement gone.

"We're going to have to work on that, you know," she stated.

He didn't respond and continued glaring at her. She sighed.

Severus awkwardly cleared his throat, "How have you been spending your time since graduation?"

"I'm a Healer at St. Mungo's," Elspeth said smiling. She really did love being a Healer.

"Which Ward specifically?" Severus asked.

"Artefact Accidents and sometimes the Potions and Plant Poisoning Ward, depending on how understaffed they are," she said.

Severus looked at her impressed. She had to be especially driven to be able to work in two different wards.

"How's teaching Potions? You were absolutely brilliant in school," Elspeth said.

"It's not as fun as you'd think. Most of the time I'm making sure no one causes any extreme accidents in my classroom. None of my students are as advanced as I was as a student," Severus said, with a slight bite to his tone.

"I remember in my third year, I tried asking you to tutor me in Potions," Elspeth said suddenly.

Severus stared at her, not remembering this happening.

"Well, it was common knowledge that you were the best in the entire school, and even though I did well in Potions, I wanted some extra help. I remember approaching you about it. You told me to leave you the hell alone. So I did," Elspeth said the last part quietly.

Severus had the decency to look a little sheepish, "That sounds about right."

The pair remained silent for awhile before Severus spoke up.

"What are your current living arrangements?" he asked.

"I live in a flat with my older sister, Fenella. Our parents died in the war, so we've only got each other. You have living quarters at Hogwarts, right?" Elspeth asked.

Severus managed to barely cover up the wince when she mentioned her parents dying. He wasn't personally responsible for their deaths, but he knew who was.

"Yes, I do. After we're married, it'd be the most convenient if you moved in with me. You'd be able to Floo to St. Mungo's from my fireplace," he said.

"What about during the summer holidays? Do you have another home?" she asked.

"I do have another home, but it isn't the most comfortable home in the world. We can buy a new house if you'd like," he said stiffly.

"Oh, that won't be necessary. We'll live at my parents' cottage," she said.

"Won't your sister mind?"

"I don't think so, since she'll have a husband of her own as well. She'll move in with him or whatever," she said offhandedly.

Severus nodded. They only needed to discuss when they would actually be getting married.

"I don't need a big wedding," Elspeth said suddenly.

"Are you sure? Most girls would want to go all out for their weddings," Severus said, somewhat shocked.

She shrugged, "I'm not like most girls. Besides, what's the point in making a huge fuss about getting married to someone I don't love, let alone even know?"

"Touché," Snape said quietly.

The pair remained silent for awhile.

"So, when do you want to get married?" Snape finally asked before taking a sip of his firewhiskey.

Elspeth shrugged, "To be honest, we could get married today. But I think tomorrow would be best. How does that sound?"

Snape sputtered, his firewhiskey going down the wrong pipe.

"Well, she certainly doesn't waste any time," he thought as he tried to recover.

"Are you alright?"

Snape nodded fiercely in the affirmative.

"If that's too soon, we can wait a bit longer, if you'd like," Elspeth said shyly.

Once Snape finally recovered, he shook his head, "Tomorrow is fine, better to get it out of the way as soon as possible."

Elspeth smiled slightly, "Oh, good. That'll give me some time to pack and move my things in with you."

Snape nodded, "Well, I'll meet you in the Ministry Atrium at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. I'll need to discuss this with Dumbledore."

Knowing she was being dismissed, she quietly said her goodbyes. No point in getting into a fight before they were even married. Walking out of the Three Broomsticks, she let out a sigh of relief. That could have been much, much worse.

Severus Snape waited a couple minutes before he too left the pub. He was deep in thought as he slowly walked back to the castle. He wondered what Albus thought about the new proclamation. He would probably probably say something along the lines of 'although the law itself is not ideal, you might actually benefit from this marriage.'

Severus scowled as he pulled his cloak tight around him. Although he was being to Miss Bryony, he thought of their upcoming nuptials as an annoyance. He couldn't think of any benefits.

A.N: If I do continue this story, my Snape will be rather hot and cold. At this point, I feel he hasn't completely controlled his emotions entirely yet (its only been a year since Lily's death) and hasn't matured (if you could say that) to be the cold and distant Snape we meet in the first HP. Hopefully you enjoyed this and please leave a review! :)