A/N: everything belongs to JKR! Review! :D

She was twirling around the trees of the forbidden forest, her basket swaying loosely in her hand.

She was humming the wedding march under her breath as she plucked her precious herbs from the mossy ground.

The moonlight made her skin shimmer like fairy dust and her eyes to shine like the doors to heaven. Her riotous curls glowed around her head like a halo and her cloak swirled around her legs as she danced between the trees. She looked every inch the innocent fairy princess.

Professor Snape had asked- more like ordered…not like she would say no either way- her to go to the forbidden forest at full moon, to pick Moon Blossoms for him.

She was aiming to be his apprentice after she graduated her last year at Hogwarts, so she leaped at the chance to prove herself to the sour potions master.

She had been together with Ron for half a year now and she had heard from Padma who was told by Parvati who heard from Dean who was told by Seamus that Ron was thinking about asking her to marry him after graduation.

After the news she had been walking on pink wedding clouds for weeks, and she was still on a high. Even though Ron never had taken up the subject of the future with her she was certain that he would pop the question when they graduated.

After all Padma did tell her. Really, the fact that Padma had told her should be a sure sign that something was wrong; considering the fact that she and Padma barely spoke a word to one another on regular basis.

As she tripped down a road she found in the forest she swung the nearly full basket in her hands and hummed the wedding march, still being cautious of the unknown creatures lurking in the shadows.

The road ended at the edge of a giant clearing that was filled with the ivory and silver Moon Blossoms. In the middle of the clearing stood a marble statue that glowed stark white in the moonlight, it was a man, wearing heavy tunics and a sword at his hip.

His right hand was held out, as if asking for help and his sightless eyes seemed to beseech her to give him her hand.

He had as ruffled hair as a marble statue could have; his lips were full and his nose straight with slightly slanted eyes under arched eyebrows.

He was like a medieval Adonis statue carved by god himself.

She looked at him across the clearing with curious eyes, but smiled and strode through the Moon Blossoms towards him, still humming the wedding march.

For some reason her mind formed a thought; she could practice for her impending wedding on him. So she wouldn't mess up her vows.

For a moment another voice butted in that the idea was idiotic, why should she pretend to marry a statue?

Her mind retaliated; it never was idiotic not to mess up. Practice did make perfect. It would be like studying for the epic test of life. And who was going to tell on her, The statue?

She smiled absentmindly and plucked a blossom from the ground and put it behind her ear before putting her hand in his outstretched.

"With this hand I will lift your sorrows"

His marble hand was big and strong and not as cold as she imagined against her skin.

"Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine"

She took one step closer and looked up into his sightless eyes.

She drew her wand from her pocket and caressed his smooth marble cheek with the tip.

"With this wand, I will light your way in darkness"

She put her wand back in her pocket and moved her face closer to his emotionless white one.

"With this kiss, I ask you to be mine."

Hermione leaned up and pressed her lips against his cold marble ones, before gasping as a strong wave of magic seared through her body and the statue.

Suddenly the lips beneath hers were warm and soft and a puff of hot air brushed her lips as he whispered "I do"

--

She was married to a statue.

A statue.

Sure, a now turned man statue, but still a statue.

Her mind screamed the fact in her head over and over again, it echoed in every nook and cranny. A statue.

He had told her that they weren't really married, that they had some kind of "test" round during a month when they could make the decision.

If he was unwed and unloved in the same place as she found him by the next full moon, he would turn back to marble, so was the rules, he told her.

They were lying on their backs in the clearing next to eachother, the sparkling silver pollen from the Moon Blossoms swirling in the clear night air.

The first five minutes after their kiss she had gone into hysterics, crying, screaming and pacing for all she was worth.

It had taken another kiss to make her go quiet again. Apparently the shock of his warm lips against her own caused her entire being to shut down.

He had smiled and said in his soft voice that sang like trees in the wind "Calm down, take a deep breath and listen to me"

She had nodded and sat down on the carpet of flowers.

Now they lay in silence, gazing at the sky, the giant white sphere of light that inspired to countless poems, the sprinkling of stars upon the black cloak of night.

He had explained the curse thrust upon him by a woman who broke his heart.

She had left him for his enemy, his childhood friend turned sour.

When she realized that he wasn't dying with grief she decided to make him stay alive long after she was dead, she made it so that he had to endure losing her forever, until someone would wed him.

One could fathom that she never thought that anyone would be crazy enough to try and marry a marble statue, but all great and long lasting magic had to have a loophole to work.

"Will the terms be of inconvenience to you?" his silky voice drifted with the wind to her ears and caressed her from the inside.

"No…it will be fine. I only wonder what we will tell the headmaster…" she mused out loud.

"The truth, I presume" he answered her musings quietly.

He was so unlike Ron…they were polar opposites. Ron was so unlike him with his fiery red hair and a matching temper, his voice rising with the slight change in emotion.

Ron was the one with the sparkling blue eyes and uncivilized eating habits, the one with the lanky frame and arms swinging at the sides as he strode the halls of Hogwarts.

This marble Adonis of hers…he couldn't be more unlike Ron in every way.

He had ruffled raven hair that fell into his equally as black eyes. His skin was a tanned gold bronze and his build was muscled, she could bet that his body under the clothes was magnificent.

His voice was smooth and even like the most expensive silk where Ron's was still breaking from youth.

She knew that she shouldn't compare him to her boyfriend, but she couldn't help but notice the fact that he was…perfect…at least by her standards.

Much less could she deny the fact that since she laid eyes on his long tanned fingered hands she couldn't stop thinking about those hands upon her skin.

The night passed quickly, their silence only sometimes broken with a stray comment and answer, a musing or a sigh.

Their thoughts were equally filled to the brim with thoughts of eachother, of their life, both their previous and their future lives together.

But as the sun rose to another day, pushing the black away from the sky and turning it in shades of pink, red, blue and yellow they couldn't push away the looming reality.

As the moon faded from the sky the two strangers clasped hands in silence and ascended the steps to Hogwarts castle, both sighing silently as they returned to their home.

She saw it as her home for this was where she lived, grew up and experienced most of her life. She had sensed heartbreak, love, friendship, hurt, calm and fear here.

He saw it as home for he had helped build it, he knew every nook and cranny of the beloved building, knew every stone set in the ground.

Just as he knew the castle, Hogwarts knew him, and her magic purred in delight when it sensed that one of her masters had returned to his rightful place.

As they stood there on the steps to the Hogwarts castle one could wonder what life had in store for them.

The man with the medieval clothes in green, black and silver, his sword hanging by his hip and hair flying in the breeze.

The woman clasping his hand, her other hand loosely holding a basket of faded silver flowers and her head a nest of untameable chocolate curls.

The two strangers who had felt a spark of something when their lips met in a kiss.

The two strangers with a path before them, a path that nobody could see ahead.

The two strangers who could feel now, with their hands clasped tightly that they would do anything for the other, no questions asked and no doubt felt.

This was the first seed of true love planted, unknowing by them, but still…a seed of love that would grow and in time turn into a beautiful tree.

--

"…Your new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Septimus Serpentia"

She clapped along with her peers as she hid a secretive smile as the black robed man rose from his seat to smile at the students.

Her marble Adonis had asked to see the headmaster alone, and after giving her a soft kiss goodnight she left him alone with the gargoyles that jumped aside without password.

Apparently he had a wonderful way with words, for hours later at breakfast it was announced that the previous DADA professor had been hit with a bout of Dragon Pox and would be replaced with the new Professor Septimus Serpentia.

The name was an obvious fake, but she could be wrong, since the topic of names never came up during the night.

The girls of all ages, heights, and houses were swooning as he rose and flicked his hair away from his bottomless eyes.

She couldn't control the instinctive urge to growl at the girls but stifled it, mindful of the fact that Ron was sitting next to her, shovelling his weight worth of food in his mouth.

She had decided to break up with him the same night, she was going to take him with her to an empty corridor and tell him that she thought that they needed to see other people.

Professor Serpentia's eyes were roaming the student's faces, looking for one in particular.

And he found it.

To a few jealous glares, shocked widened eyes and curious looks he locked eyes with one Hermione Granger and gave her a heartbreaking smirk and a wink that made a blush taint her cheeks.

A couple of hushed whispers travelled the hall, not many enough to be noted by all of the great hall, but now, the faithful gossipers of Hogwarts were wondering how the handsome professor and the head girl knew eachother.

--

"Come on, Hermione…just a little" he whimpered and pushed her gently against the stone wall, his lips seeking out hers.

She pushed hard at his chest, frowning at his blatant disregard of her obvious 'No Ron, I want to talk. I don't want to snog right now!'

"I'm serious, Ron, we need to talk!"

He grumbled about 'cold hearted birds giving him blue balls' before slipping his hands off of her body, crossing them infront of his chest impatiently instead.

"Thank you"

He nodded, face set in a childish pout.

Oh, how had she ever stood out with him earlier?

"I think we should break up" she said, hoping to do this like ripping a plaster off; Quick and painless.

He gaped; looking every inch the monkey that Malfoy compared his intelligence with.

"Break…up?" he echoed stupidly, proving that Malfoy's thoughts of the monkey winning the intelligence competition being very logical.

"Yes" she stated, glancing discreetly at her wrist watch, hoping that this wasn't going to make her late for class.

"B-but…what?" he walked closer to her, then shook his head and backed away, his face set in a frown of confusion.

Hermione was acting rather out of character, but after meeting the stranger-her husband- in the forbidden forest, she had changed so much from the love struck teenager she used to be.

How curious, that such an insignificant thing as meeting a new person could do such a change in personality.

"Yes" Hermione repeated, growing tired of all the nonsense. Why couldn't he just accept what she was saying?

"I'll be late for class if I don't go now, Ron…I hope we'll still be friends" she said weakly and turned away from the heartbroken boy, mouth open as he looked at her departing form.

--

Can you guess who Hermione's mysterious husband is? Dun-dun-dun!

Review with your guess! Winner gets a pie!