The wedding was a small affair, in fact they mainly were these days. The queues for the Ministry of Marriage were constantly out the door, people didn't want to pay for lavish affairs when in most cases it wasn't for love. Severus and Hermione had stood outside in the queue waiting in silence, breaking it only to say their vows and then they left. They stood outside the hall awkwardly. They were waiting for another owl to see where their Ministry-appointed house would be. Hermione could tell he was hoping that they would get to stay in Spinner's End. The owl swooped down and Severus took the letter of its leg, read it and then passed it to her.

Dear Mr and Mrs Snape,

Due to a shortage of homes, we have made the decision that your application to stay at Spinner's End has been granted.

Good luck in all your future endeavours,

The Ministry of Magic

He had applied without discussing it with her, should she be upset? She didn't have anywhere to stay so it would make sense that she would move into his. He apparated without talking to her, and she assumed he was heading to his and followed. She felt as though she was intruding on his life, and a part of her wished that they had been allocated different housing where they could start a fresh.

"Miss Granger I have made a room up for you,"

She jumped, startled. He was waiting for her by the door, she followed him up the stairs and into a sparsely furnished box room.

"I hope you'll find this to your tastes,"

She merely nodded without looking at him. He stopped at the door as if to say something more. He just shook his head slightly. He walked from the room leaving her to his thoughts. She curled up on the bed, bringing her knees to her chest and began to sob. She had never imagined her life to be like this. Her breath hitched, and she crawled under the duvet and fell into a sleep, not worrying about crumpling the white summer dress that had become her wedding dress.


Severus left and heard the sobs. He placed his hand on the wooden door, wanting to comfort her, knowing it wasn't possible. He walked down the stairs slowly, and sank into the chair. He tried to read, but his mind was elsewhere. Mainly up in the second bedroom with the sobbing Miss Granger. He stood up and went into the kitchen, determined to find something that would cheer the young witch up.

The pain in his neck began worsening. He gasped and stumbled over to his cabinet, reached for a small vial and drunk deeply. The pain lessened, it hadn't disappeared but it never would. He was surprised that she hadn't asked any questions over how he had survived and the life he had lived since.

He stood and began to cook dinner. He was going to make pasta in a sauce of his own design and hope that it was enough to entice her down from the bedroom. His head was all over the place. He couldn't believe he had survived the war and lived long enough to be married.

The food with a little magic was ready and then he was struck with what he should do next, go to her room, interrupt her crying, or leave her food in a perpetual warming state? She couldn't cry forever. He sighed, running his hand through his hair. He ran up the stairs, and was relieved to hear that there was no noise coming from the room. He knocked.

"Miss Granger? I have cooked a meal for us,"

She was lying on the bed asleep, but as he walked over to the bed she awoke. He stood there awkwardly.

"There's food downstairs if you're interested?"

He was blushing, he could feel the heat on his cheeks, she just observed him.

"I'll wait for you to join me."

She nodded before swinging her legs over the bed. He left her in the room and started to dish the food out onto two plates. He placed them on the table as she walked in still wearing the dress they had married in.

"It smells wonderful,"

"I hope you like it,"

They sat and Severus waited for Hermione to put the first morsel in her mouth and watched as her face scrunched with pleasure before starting his.

"I am not going to deny that this must be an awful situation for you to be in." He started. "But if there is anything I can do to make this any less painful for you, then please let me know."

"I'm not in pain,"

"What?"

"I'm not in pain, I just- I didn't imagine my life like this,"

"Neither did I,"

"We will make the best out of a bad situation then,"

She said smiling at him, he relaxed slightly.

"What have you put in this sauce, it's to die for," She said, with her mouth full.

He found himself smirking.

"It's my own recipe."

"It's brilliant."

Hermione jumped into a tirade about all the things that she wanted to achieve with her magic and he found himself completely enthralled with what she was saying. He noticed that she would tuck her hair behind her ears when she got really into something she was saying, and the way her eyes lit up when he contributed to what she was already saying.

Then came the owl that ruined everything.

Dear Mr and Mrs Snape,

Please remember that for your marriage to be legal and binding, it must be consummated with the act of sexual intercourse.

You have 24 hours.

Many happy returns,

The Ministry of Magic

Hermione's face paled and then blushed deep red. He looked at her, and grimaced, she held a small smile to her face.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know this was an obligation,"

She blushed deeper.

"I did, I just wasn't expecting it to have a time limit about it."

He looked at her with sympathy.

"Shall we get this over with?" She said pushing back her chair and walking out of the room.

Severus gazed after her in amazement.