Author: SforSnarry

Title: For Better, For Worse

Genre: Angst/Drama/Romance

Pairings: Snape / Harry

Summary: A Snarry that follows the typical lines of forced marriage. Be warned that I'm aiming to have VERY canon characters and no guarantee of a happy ending. This follows DH, but in the scenario where Ginny dies rather than Snape. There might be some disturbing themes, don't like it, don't waste your time reading it.

Rating: M – simply because it follows a very mature theme and there might be a few hot sex scenes, but we'll have to ask Harry and Snape won't we?

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not associated with any stake holders in the Harry Potter empire. I'm quite clearly not about to make any money off it.

Chapter One : More Bad News.

It was nine o clock in the morning, precisely three months since Harry Potter vanquished Lord Voldemort in the Battle of Hogwarts. The boy with inherrently messy hair did not seem to have noticed the milestone, he didn't seem to be noticing anything as he stared out absently across the Great Lake. A crumpled 'Daily Prophet' lay next to him, the moving pictures gesturing beneath a damned article, bylined Rita Skeeter.

In new measures passed by the Wizengamot late last night, I can inform the Wizarding Public that due to a very low birthrate and the diminished wizarding population a relic of You-Know-Who's campaign of terror, there will be forced marriages for all witches and wizards between the ages of 17 and 21. It is hoped that these dramatic measures re-invigorate the population and expand the magical world of Britain...

Harry tried his hardest to ignore the article but he kept reading it and re-reading it, hoping that it was all just some sick joke. His stomach turned when he considered the prospect of marrying someone like Parvati Patil or the incredibly annoying Lavender Brown. It was not to be an issue for Ron and Hermione, not judging by the holiday pictures from Spain and the gold bands on each of their fingers. He wished that Ginny was here with him, he'd wished that since the day she'd died, fallen from Voldemorts wand. It had been quick, for that he counted his blessings, but Ginny was meant to be his, they were meant to marry, have children and be brilliant together. Even although Harry determined a scent of homosexuality in his desires, he knew that there was no way he'd ever find a male partner and besides everything felt so right with Ginny that he decided to ignore his urges, it was for the best, he knew.

For a fleeting moment, he entertained the prospect of marrying someone to avoid the new law, but wasn't that just the same as a forced marriage anyway? And Harry had no idea who he would choose if given the choice. 90 percent of the girls fancied the Boy Who Lived, not Harry Potter and Harry wasn't sure that he even KNEW any gay men, no one had ever mentioned it to him. He sighed, knowing that somewhere out there his destiny was being determined by Ministry paper-pushers. It didn't feel good.

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"Harry, please sit down,"

"Professor McGonagall," Harry bowed slightly and took a set before her desk.

"Call me Minerva, would you care for a biscuit?" she asked kindly setting out a tray before him.

"Er, no, I am fine,"

"I insist," Harry sighed and took a ginger Dragon whilst the elderly headmistress shuffled some papers before her. "I am sure that you are aware of the new Ministry laws?" Harry nodded, realising what their conversation was to be about. "I have received word that Lucius Malfoy has bribed the officials necessary to ensure he is married to you, when the forced marriages begin,"

"What?" Harry snapped.

"You heard correctly Harry. I believe you would not like this arrangement?" she asked, knowing the answer.

"Of course not,"

"Well, in that case, we must find someone to marry you and fast. The deadline for marriage is midnight tonight."

Harry gasped, as soon as tomorrow, he could find himself married to Lucius Malfoy. The most cold hearted, ego-tistical, death eater of all time. Let alone expected to have children with him? No way Harry thought grimly.

"Madam, do you know of anyone who would wish to marry me?" Harry asked politely. "Only, I am not in that scene," he added blushing slightly.

"Minerva, Harry," she corrected gently. "It is my belief that you should marry someone on the Hogwarts staff, we need someone with reputation as it is likely the union should be challenged and of course a male," she said intuitively. "Harry, how would you feel about Severus Snape?"

SNAPE?! Harry screamed in his head. But that horrible streak of logic, the part that Hermione would admire should she know it existed, knew that it was the lightest of the two evils.

"Well I won't lie about it Minerva, I am not happy about it." Harry paused. "I know however, that this would be the better of the options," Of coure you're not thinking about that silky black hair, or those long thin fingers. That was the snide, nasty part of his head. The part that was daring him to accept that he thought Snape was sexy, though an asshole.

"I will call Severus on the Floo, it is imperative that we get this ceremony done, are you happy to have me as your witness?"

Harry nodded, words seemed to fail him.

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A/N : First Chapters are always crap, so give me a review and inspire me to write a hopefully better second chapter. I am really stressing here, that I'm going to try my best and not fall into the Harry and Snape fall in love and live happily ever after kind of story, I don't have definate plans, but there's going to be a lot of fighting, angst, blame and a lot of 'I hate you's'. - At some stage, Harry is definitely going to prefer Lucius to Severus, who would've thought?

- SforSnarry.