Is a disclaimer really useful? Of course, these characters aren't mine. ;)

I'm happy to see that this little prologue was enough for you to follow this story, it means a lot to me! Thanks for your reviews, Bluefirefly5, Catsgotmytongue, my dear Hannoie, Moi (are you French? By the way, you got the answer to your question in this chapter. :)), Saraim and RhodaBush. Hope that you will enjoy this chapter as well!

For the people who are also following The Assistant, there will be a chapter 20 really soon, before this week-end. Stay tuned. ;)

Edit: another chapter edited by my wonderful Beta, Bluefirefly5!

Becoming One

Chapter 1

"You are kidding me, aren't you?"

Severus Snape made a step toward her, and shook his head.

"Not at all, I'm afraid," he answered, readjusting his cloak on his shoulders.

Why does he have to wear a cloak in this bright sunny day of June?, Hermione asked herself, frowning. It was something to see him dressed like that in Hogwarts, but not outside the castle. Severus Snape seemed to be quite a character.

"Both of us have to find... A partner," he continued. "Unfortunately, you're the only witch that I know who is as desperate as I am to accept me as a husband."

"Who said that I was desperate?", she let out.

"Come on, Hermione. You were on your way to the Ministry, you said it yourself. They can pick a worse wizard for you than me. Even if it seems to be impossible to your eyes, trust me, they can."

"How come? You're a former Death Eater who always hated me and treated me like less than a house-elf, so I can hardly see how they can pick somebody worse for me, really," she said with a disdainful look, even if she knew that he was a spy for Dumbledore during all this time.

"Really?", he echoed her. "Let me think... Hm, let's say that, for some reason, the Ministry wants to rehabilitate the former Death Eaters that you are talking about while pairing them with the people who fought for Harry Potter and the Wizarding World's safety. It's just an example, of course," he finished with a smirk.

"They can't do that...", Hermione whispered.

"Can't they?", Severus retorted. "Let me be honest with you for a second: I do not want to marry you, I need you to marry me. There is no love involved in what I am asking you to do, for God's sake. No love, no feelings of any sort. Not even hate, since you seem to be so sure that I hate you. I came to you today as neutral as I can be, because I know that we can save each other from a sentence of the Ministry that none of us want. They can attribute you somebody as Malfoy – not the young one since he is not of age, but his recently divorced father if you want to know everything – for example. Would you like that, Hermione?" he asked with a low voice.

"I understand what you are saying to me, Severus, but I don't understand what you are winning here. I really don't."

"Let's just say that I can do worse than you. Yep. Moreover, I know that you are a clever girl – and don't ask me to repeat that again, please -, intelligent enough to understand that we will not share any intimacy in this marriage, at least not more than they will ask us to have, as I am sure they will do."

Hermione nodded, pleased with what he just said to her.

"And if for some reason this stupid Law is repealed...", she began.

"Then we will agree on a divorce, you should have no doubt about it."

XxX

That day, she said yes. That day, she had changed her mind and she hadn't gone to the Ministry. She just said "yes" to Severus when he asked her to marry him, and eventually, all the trouble that was on her mind disappeared.

Not for long. A day later, she finally realized that she had said "yes" to Severus Snape, her former teacher and the man who she had thought was a traitor for a long time. The man who had spent his life in the dungeons of Hogwarts. She didn't even know if he had a house of his own. Where would they live?

Molly Weasley had told her that it wasn't a so terrible deal in the end. Severus Snape was a good man, good enough to not hurt her. Not hurting her physically, true, but he was so rude and so... Weird. His whole physical appearance was weird – not that Hermione thought that she was herself a model -, with his long nose and black hair. He was tall, tall enough for her to have to raise her head when she wanted to talk to him. Tall enough to scare her when he wanted to.

And this man, Severus Snape, would be her husband in a few hours...

During the two weeks that had followed his awkward proposal, they rarely met. He just came at the Burrow once or twice to see if she was still okay to marry him and to ask her a few questions about the ceremony. She wanted to do it at the Burrow, with every person that meant something to her. Of course, Severus wasn't really pleased about it, but when she asked her what he wanted, he just shook his head. Hermione thought that he just wanted to go to the Ministry, sign some papers, and then it would be done.

Hermione was not a really romantic girl, but she always thought that her marriage would be good enough for her to remember it when she would be older. Of course, she never thought that Severus Snape would be the man who would share this moment with her, but she wanted it to be a good moment anyway.

They only had a fortnight to prepare everything, and Hermione was happy to know that in the Wizarding World, it was easier to prepare a marriage. Molly Weasley helped her for everything, and so did Ginny and Harry, even if they were not really happy with the fact that she had to marry Snape.

"Do you really not have another solution, Hermione?", Harry asked her the day she told them everything.

"I don't think so, Harry. You know, I don't want to marry him, but I have to. And he's not that bad, after all... He's twenty years older than I am, sure, but... I think that we can agree on a life together. It will not be the life that I dreamed of, but at least, I'm sure that he will not forbid me to follow my career plan for example. Let's see the good in the bad, okay?", she finished with a sad smile.

That same day, she had received her acceptation letter from St. Mungo's Hospital. When she was younger, she always thought that she would work for the Ministry one day, but after the devastation of the War, and the little help from the Ministry they had got, she changed her mind. That's why becoming a Healer had became her new career plan. She wanted to help people, and that was a good way to do it.

Harry, Ron and herself had obtained their Hogwarts degree thanks to Minerva McGonagall, who had understood the part that they had played during this year away from school, searching for the Horcruxes. Certainly, Hermione did not got the pleasure to have a bunch of Outstanding this time, but even if she was craving for knowledge, she didn't want to return to Hogwarts. So many things had happened in a year, and being alone in this castle where she had witnessed so many deaths wasn't an option for her.

Moreover, she was engaged to Severus Snape now, and it was her duty to stand next to him.

XxX

With a sigh, Hermione finally took all the courage she's got to raise from her bed. Her gaze fell onto the ring that was on her left hand. It was a beautiful silver ring with a diamond on it. But it was not a simple white diamond as it usually was. No, this one was particular. It was white, but the reflections on it were changing with the light. Sometimes, it was as green as an emerald, and the next second, it could be as red as a ruby.

Hermione loved it.

And today, she was about to officially become Mrs Hermione Snape.

It scared her, since she had to move with him to a place she didn't even know about. She learned from Harry that Severus got a place at Spinner's End, but she wasn't sure that he wanted to live there with her. Severus seemed to have had a terrible childhood, from what she knew, and living in the place where he had grown didn't seem to be a good idea to her.

Hermione went to the wardrobe that was next to Ron's bed and opened it. She then saw the most beautiful dress she ever saw, and her eyes were suddenly wet. Everything was so true now, she couldn't back off. Her parents... They didn't even know that she was marrying someone today. It was so hard for her to tell them; to tell them that at 18, almost 19, she had to find herself a husband. She knew that they wouldn't understand, that they would freak out.

Of course, one day... One day, she would have to tell them. One day, she would knock at their door with Severus next to her, and they would understand. They had to.

Suddenly, someone knocked at the door.

"Come in!"

Molly Weasley sneaked into her son's bedroom, a shy smile on her face. She went closer to the young woman, and didn't take long to notice that Hermione was about to cry.

"Oh, Hermione...", she just said, taking her in her arms.

"I don't even know why I am crying," Hermione sobbed in her embrace.

"You don't have to be ashamed of it, my dear," Molly murmured. "It's okay to feel this way, really. This repulsive law is destroying a lot of lives, and yours too, we will always be there for you, and I'm sure that Severus will be a nice husband to you. The Ministry hasn't rehabilitated him yet, but it's just a matter of time. Don't cry..."

She stayed in Molly's arms for a long time, trying to calm herself down.

"Why can't I do like Ron, and flee from this awful country? I don't know, maybe it would fix things," she said, still sobbing.

"You're not that kind of girl, Hermione, you're far from it. You're a strong, brilliant woman. Do you really want a runaway life? Ron did it because he didn't have to marry someone right now, but you... If you run away, nothing will be the same. This law is for everyone around the world, wizards and witches. It's not fair, I agree, but there is no way that you can escape it..."

Hermione nodded. She knew that there was no escape from this marriage. She had to walk to that altar today, and put her hand on Severus' hand. They had to exchange their vows, and there had to be a bounding ceremony.

Molly took a step back from her, and with her hand, erased the last tear that was on Hermione's check.

"So... Do you want me to help you to put your dress on?"

XxX

"Breathe, breathe..."

Severus Snape was still at his flat, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He put a wizard robe on, but not a black one this time. He had thought about it, to be honest. But it didn't seem to be appropriate, even for him. It was his wedding, not some funeral.

It wasn't a white robe either, he would have preferred to die rather than to wear a white robe. He finally opted for a dark blue robe, elegant and highly appropriate for this kind of ceremony. At least, that was what the seller had told him three days ago.

He made an effort on his appearance this time. He used a potion for his teeth that were cleaner than ever, and disciplined his hair. They were quite silky now, not perfect, of course, but far from a greasy texture.

Severus never thought that he would marry someone one day. Surprisingly, he never thought that he would marry Lily Evans when he was a young boy. He wanted to be with her, but all that he wanted was to please her. Marriage was not something that you thought about when you were fifteen.

And here he was getting ready, to take Hermione Granger as his wife.

"Do you want some help?"

Severus didn't turn, still looking at himself in the mirror.

"No, thank you."

"Look at you, Severus... Your soon-to-be bride is a lucky witch."

The former Hogwarts professor met the eyes of his friend in the mirror and frowned.

"Spare me your sarcasm, Lucius, if you do not mind."

"Well well, I was just saying something nice. You seem to be a little... Tense, aren't you?", Lucius Malfoy said with a smirk.

"Not at all. You see, marrying someone is something that I do everyday", Severus retorted with some irony in his voice, leaving his reflection in the mirror to face Lucius.

"And what a "someone" you put your hands on. I must admit that I am quite jealous, Severus. I still don't know what you said to that witch for her to accept you so easily, but I am admiring. What a shame that you don't want to share your secret with me..."

"This is none of your business, Lucius," he spat. "What is important, is that I'm marrying her today. That is all."

Lucius went to the armchair that was next to the mirror, and casually sat on it.

"Well, you are right. That is what is important, for both of us,"he said with a disdainful gesture of his hand. "Talking about it, I saw Mulciber the other day, he greets you."

Severus didn't reply, and served two glasses of firewhiskey, handing one to Lucius who took it with a nod.

"You still don't want me to come as your witness? Think twice, Severus, think twice..."

"I do not have to think twice to know that you are not invited. All the Weasleys will be there, and Merlin knows that you can't behave yourself when you are next to them."

"Well, that is a good reason for me not come, I have to admit it. What a shame that this Granger loves that vermin with all her heart... I thought that she was close to that Ronald just because of Potter in the first place, but now that he is gone, she's still hanging with that crazy family. A pity, really. But I assume that you will change that, right?"

"She can do whatever pleases her, I don't care."

"Please, Severus...," Lucius said with a soft voice, "you can't possibly let her see them once she'll be married to you. It is... insane," he finished in a whisper, before drinking a sip of firewhiskey.

"I said: "she can do whatever pleases her, I don't care,"" Severus repeated, louder this time.

Lucius made a face, starting to become annoyed by his friend's reaction.

"I guess that you will change your mind once all these rats will come to your house. By the way, that was a good idea to buy this place. It is.. charming."

"Thank you. Spinner's End is not a place that I'm fond of. And I was not sure that Hermione would like it."

"It is Hermione, then?", Lucius let out with a mean laugh. "I did not know that you two were that close already."

"We are not. I am just trying to make things easier between us."

"I see. Well, I think that I have to go now. You should do the same," he added with a glance at the clock. "See you soon, I guess."

Lucius didn't wait for Severus to reply, and a second later, he was gone. Angrily, Severus drank the rest of the firewhiskey and disappeared too.

XxX

"Are you ready?"

Ginny was at the doorstep of her brother's bedroom, looking at Hermione who was struggling to adjust the back of her dress.

"Quite ready...," she mumbled without a glance for the young redhead.

"You're really beautiful, Hermione, and I mean it," Ginny whispered while coming closer to help her in her task.

"Thank you," Hermione replied, looking at her friend through the mirror in front of her.

"Dad is in the living room, waiting for you..."

"I'm so happy that Arthur accepted to do it for me, you have no idea how much this is important to me."

"I know, and he's really happy to do it too," Ginny said with a smile. "Even though he doesn't understand why you seem so reluctant to tell it to your parents," she added.

"They are Muggle... They can't understand such a law, trust me Ginny.I would have told them if I thought that they would have understood. But...", she stopped, taking a deep breath.

"It's okay, I got it. Just relax. Snape is also here, but in the garden. He's waiting for you, so try not to cry, okay?", she said with a little grin.

"I promise. Let's go, Ginny."

They went down the stairs, Hermione wearing her white bridal dress, a simple one tightening under her breast, and falling in a beautiful way around her legs. Molly had taken care of her hair, and her large-sized curls and soft waves were free on her shoulders, just held by some flowers. Indeed, she was beautiful.

Ginny was her bridesmaid, and was wearing a cute pale pink dress.

When they arrived at the bottom of the staircase, Hermione met Harry's gaze, and he gave her a nod.

"You two are wonderful," he said before taking Ginny's hand in his.

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione whispered while Ginny was giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.

Not so far from Harry, Arthur Weasley was looking at her, smiling.

"Hermione, you are stunning. I'm a little disappointed to know that it's not my son that you are going to marry, but he's the idiot here. Let me tell you that I'm happy to take you up to the altar," he said, coming next to her to give her his arm.

Hermione took it with a smile on her face. At least, she was surrounded by the people that were dear to her. That was the most important.