Disclaimer: If I wasn't JK Rowling in the last chapter, it would stand to reason that I'm still not. Get a life, people.
Chapter 2 - Being Social
Hermione walked confidently through the halls of Hogwarts. It was her first day back and last night she had successfully orchestrated the Welcome Feast as Head Girl. Now she was stopping off at the Headmaster's office, as per his request, before going down to breakfast. Normally she would be concerned at being called to his office so soon after arriving, but seeing as how she hadn't done anything wrong (and, more importantly, Harry and Ron hadn't either - at least not to her knowledge), she figured it was probably Head business.
She uttered the password to the stone gargoyle outside of Dumbledore's office, which happened to be "Puking Pastille." She personally found his passwords to be stupid and easy to guess - utterly pointless, really. Plus, the fact that he was promoting the Weasley twins in their pranking escapades didn't help matters. She hoped Ernie MacMillan wouldn't get any ideas. Half the school population throwing up whenever there was a quiz was bad enough, but there'd be no stopping it if the Head Boy was in on it too.
However, her concerns for the new Head Boy were needless - he wasn't in the office. At first Hermione figured that he hadn't yet arrived (she was five minutes early, as a standard) and was preparing to sit down and wait for him… when she saw Professor Snape.
He was sitting in one of the two armchairs in front of the Headmaster's desk, sipping a cup of tea and staring out the window with a look of feigned interest, yet he still somehow managed to convey that he was extremely bored. He didn't look over at her as she entered.
"Ah, Miss Granger! Glad you made it. Sit down, sit down. If we get started right away we'll finish by breakfast!" the Headmaster greeted her, motioning her into the other chair, next to Professor Snape.
"Shouldn't we wait until Ernie gets here, sir?" Hermione asked, still trying to make sense of what Snape was doing in the room for a routine discussion between the Head Students and the Headmaster.
"Oh, Mr MacMillan won't be joining us. This concerns only you, Miss Granger." He paused while Hermione looked at him in bewilderment, suddenly wondering what Harry and Ron could've done in the short time they'd been at school, and how they had managed to rope her into it. That would explain Snape's presence - he was probably trying to get them all expelled again.
"Miss Granger, I assume you are aware of the newly enacted Marriage Law?" Dumbledore asked, watching her face and gauging her response carefully.
Hermione's face darkened. Of course she was familiar with that trash. She had no idea how the Minister had managed to get that horrendous act passed. Why the rest of the wizarding world seemed to go along with it and support it was absolutely beyond her.
"Yes, sir, I've read the papers. I don't see what this is all about, though. I'm not eligible until I'm 18, and I've got over a year to go until then. I'm sure it'll be rescinded before I'll have to worry about it.
"You think it'll be detracted so soon?" the Headmaster asked.
"Well, I was planning on campaigning against it once I graduated. Honestly, I can't imagine that many Muggleborns are happy with this, and I'm sure most of the Pureblood population isn't thrilled either." She glanced over at Snape, who still seemed to not notice that anyone but he was in the room. Why was the Headmaster bringing this up? Perhaps one of the seventh years was being contracted?
"You might want to look at another avenue with which to approach the law, Miss Granger," the Headmaster said cryptically.
"Sir?"
"What I mean is, you should start preparing for being affected by the Marriage Law a little sooner than you had previously planned." The Headmaster looked decidedly uncomfortable, while Hermione was just more confused.
"I can't say I'm following you, sir. Is one of the girls at school being contracted? Do you want me to talk to them?"
Severus really wished Dumbledore would just come out and say it. He had this nasty habit of skirting around issues and not giving out all the details. He'd learned not to do it to Severus, but this was the sort of thing that lead to Potter running hie-tail into Ministries and almost getting blown up in the process. It was obvious Granger hadn't a clue what the Headmaster was getting at - not that he had expected her to - and would respond much better to straightforwardness.
"Yes, Miss Granger. It seems that due to your prolonged use of a Time Turner in your third year has affected your age. The Ministry has taken this time into consideration, and has deemed that you turned 18 yesterday. You have already received two contracts."
Finally, the silly little know-it-all was being put in her place! For once in her - and his - life she was speechless. Severus strongly wished these things would happen more often to her, preferably in his class.
Hermione stared at Dumbledore in shock. She was 18!? This couldn't be! She couldn't be getting married! She was still in school for Merlin's sake!
She was about to voice these concerns when a movement in her peripheral vision caught her eye. She turned her head slightly to see Snape sipping his tea, stilling looking out the window as if the World Cup were happening right outside and as though he found everyone in the room were both boring and distasteful, which he probably did. This thought was the only thing that kept her from exclaiming the injustice of it all. She wasn't going to make herself out to be the whiney little know-it-all he so strongly believed her to be.
Trying to keep her voice from shaking, Hermione asked "Who's contracted me?" Her heart was already filling with dread. She didn't need two guesses to figure out who would have contracted her, one was enough.
Dumbledore opened the top drawer of his desk and handed her two contracts. Hermione read them out loud as she opened them. "Macnair, Walden." She raised her eyebrow. That was a surprise, though she should have expected contracts from other Death Eaters. "Malfoy, Draco." At this, Hermione simply looked up at the Headmaster with a bored look on her face.
"Well, sir? Are these it?"
Dumbledore stared at her a moment, before stating, "I know this is a lot to deal with at one time, Miss Granger. It's obviously been quite a shock for you. But the fact still remains that a solution must be found-"
"I'm not in shock, sir," Hermione interrupted. "Honestly, Malfoy hinted as much to me on the train. In any case, it doesn't take a genius to tell that this law reeks of Lucius Malfoy." Severus fought a smirk. At least the girl knew how to get to the point. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad, being forced to share his chambers with her. "I suppose I should feel complimented, that he went to all this trouble to get the law passed, just so that his son could marry me." Severus took a sip of his tea to keep from laughing.
"Miss Granger, I hope you understand the seriousness of this situation. The two men who, so far, have contracted for you are known Death Eaters. What's more, Professor Snape here reports that both of them are extremely devout Death Eaters. Mr. Macnair's character should be obvious from what you know of his involvement in Buckbeak's failed execution. As for Mr. Malfoy, it is not just a matter of the boy, but also his father. They will both take advantage of you, you will produce an heir, and then you will be discarded and killed. If you are lucky. You marrying one of them is not an option you should even be considering."
"I know, sir. I'm simply waiting to hear what the backup plan is." Severus was torn between admiring her cheek and resenting the way she assumed everything would be handed to her, even if she was correct in this assumption… at least, to a point.
She paused, then continued, "I mean, you did call me in here to tell me you had a backup plan, didn't you?" Hermione almost fainted herself at her impertinence, but it seemed the Headmaster was prepared to overlook it. Besides, she rather figured she was entitled to be a tad impertinent, considering the situation.
Dumbledore opened his drawer, and handed her another rolled up parchment. Hermione gave him a confused look and broke the seal, slowly, tremulously, opening it. She hoped it wasn't Ron. He was one of her two best friends, but she had absolutely no interest in marrying him. Malfoy was almost a better option.
Her eyes read over the name three time in quick succession before she looked up and screeched "PROFESSOR SNAPE?!?! THIS IS YOUR BACKUP PLAN!?!?!"
She spun around to glare daggers at the man in question, who was in the middle of taking another sip of tea, resolutely ignoring her existence. She had the fleeting thought that he was probably only drinking the tea to cover the fact that he was undoubtedly smirking, which would go belie his feigned disinterest. So much for Slytherin subtlety, if a Gryffindor know-it-all could see through it.
"I can't marry him! He hates me! He hates everyone!" Hermione ranted, once again speaking to her Headmaster. At least he acknowledged the fact that there were other people in the room; people whose lives were being flitted away.
Unfortunately, said Headmaster now had that incessant twinkle in his eyes. "Now, Miss Granger, if you'd just calm down for a moment you'd see that there are certain advantages to this plan-"
"Advantages!? What advantages could there possibly be!?" Hermione was beyond caring if Snape thought her a hysterical little girl (which Severus did), because she was not going to let her dreams be shattered without a fight.
Dumbledore gave a pleading look to Severus, who was determinedly avoiding catching the Headmaster's eye, then resigned himself to defending the Potions Master himself. "I'm sure you can appreciate that Severus is a distinctly better choice than either or your two previous suitors. For one thing, I doubt he plans to rape and torture you, since it was hard enough to convince him to agree to this in the first place. For another, he is in the perfect position to protect you; he is in an authoritative position here at Hogwarts, and therefore over Mister Malfoy, and he is quite familiar with the men in question's tactics and how best to defend against these tactics."
"Sir, I know Professor Snape has done so much for the Order - more than I'll ever know, I'm sure - but that doesn't make him any less dislikable." Hermione felt bad about saying rude comments about the man while he was in the room, but if he was going to pretend to be in another world, she'd gladly indulge him. "Just because he's saved lives doesn't mean he doesn't like to go back and make those people's lives miserable."
"What's more, and most importantly," Dumbledore continued, as if she hadn't spoken, "Severus has my absolute trust and confidence. I believe him to be the best solution to this situation, and as such I really must insist that you agree to his proposal."
There was a beat of silence, during which time Dumbledore looked imploringly at Hermione, who looked back at him with abhorrence written in her features, while Severus continued ignoring the world and looking outside the window. A bird had just landed in a nearby tree and he seemed fascinated with it.
Desperate for a way to convince Hermione, Dumbledore added cheerfully, "And besides, the two of you will probably be so busy avoiding one another that you'll never see each other!"
Hermione tried to think about what the Headmaster was saying. If it truly was a choice between Macnair, Malfoy, and Snape, she would be forced to pick Snape through process of elimination, which was probably why his contract had been shown to her last.
She racked her brains for anyone, anyone else who could fulfill the contract. Professor Lupin was a werewolf, and therefore not eligible for the Marriage Law. Besides, he was more like a father to her. Kingsley Shacklebolt had been killed during the final battle with Voldemort, and Hermione Shacklebolt sounded terrible enough as it was.
Ron wasn't of age, and she had absolutely no desire to marry him. While she had a sinking feeling that he had a bit of a crush on her and had been planning on contracting her when she turned 18, she didn't think she could take being married to a man who she squabbled with on a daily basis. Besides, he never did his homework and was hopelessly immature. His twin brothers were out too - she would go mad from the explosions she would have to clean up after should she marry one of them.
So, in reality, it really did all come down to Professor Snape. Greasy, mean, anti-social, superior, miserly, emotionless, domineering, condescending Snape. She had an inane thought over whether he was a Capricorn or Scorpio.
Hermione struggled to compose herself. Staring in shock and disgust at Professor Dumbledore was not going to solve anything. Neither was glaring at Snape, and neither was curling up in the chair and crying, as she so desperately wanted to do at the moment. The fact that an extremely sadistic man was sitting a few feet away from her, ready to store her actions away for future ridicule was the only thing preventing her from doing it.
Severus, for his part, was making an effort to appear unperturbed and uninterested. He was currently hoping that Granger wasn't about to burst out into tears. He couldn't deal with women who cried. If the girl couldn't deal with a simple thing like picking the best man out of three, he shuddered to think what their marriage would be like. Not that he actually shuddered - that would completely defeat the effect he was trying to put on.
After a long period of silence, Hermione said in a soft, defeated, barely-audible voice "I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?"
Dumbledore gave her a sad, almost pitying look. "My dear, you always have achoice."
"No. I don't," she said in harsh tones, "and you know it. You've as much as said so yourself."
Snape almost let a smirk slip out at her throwing Albus' comment back in his face. Perhaps when they were married they could come up with ways to get back at Albus for his meddling ways, twinkling eyes, and fascination with candy.
"Just give me the quill," Hermione gritted out.
Dumbledore handed his quill to her, his eyes twinkling in earnest, oblivious to how this angered Hermione more. As the girl swiftly signed her name next to Severus's, Albus smiled. The two really were so alike, it was amazing how they were so averse to each other. He could see great things coming from this marriage. If, of course, either of them ever let go of their prejudices and stopped hating each other.
As the scroll rolled itself up and departed to the Ministry with a pop, Hermione as much as chucked the quill at the desk and huffed back in her chair. Severus resisted the urge to point out how immature she was being.
He must have made some movement, however, because Albus was now looking over at him.
"Severus, you have been awfully quiet. Perhaps you'd like to let us in on any thoughts or input you might have regarding the matter??"
Severus narrowed his eyes at the teasing lilt in the Headmaster's voice. He slowly placed his teacup on its saucer, and stood slowly, in what he calculated was as menacing as possible. "Is this all you needed me for, Albus? I really should be going. Who knows how many school rules have been broken whilst I've been up here? Although I'm sure the number has significantly dwindled due to Miss Granger's likewise detainment."
"Perhaps you and Miss Granger should get together tonight to discuss… plans," the Headmaster interjected swiftly.
"What a lovely idea," Severus said acidly. He turned to his new fiancée. "After dinner, in my office, Miss Granger. I assume you can manage that?" She nodded, not looking at him. "I'm sure you don't need directions to get there, as you seem fully capable of finding your way when stealing potions ingredients in the middle of the night." She looked up at him quickly, startled. Severus smirked.
Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Well, Miss Granger, you must be hungry by now. Off to breakfast with you!"
Hermione got up, casting one more suspicious look at Snape, then preceded to walk out. Before she closed the door, she heard the Headmaster say "Severus." She smirked at the fact that Snape was liking to be chided like a student.
Severus turned to follow, but stopped when he heard the Headmaster's voice. He cringed. He was probably about to be lectured for not being considerate enough of the girl's feelings. Well, if Albus expected him to tiptoe around some relentlessly hormonal and (more than likely) depressed girl, he had another thing coming.
"I hope you will make an effort to be more… social… to Miss Granger tonight."
"I thought I was being social, Albus?" Severus said petulantly, before following Granger out the door.
AN: I hadn't realized that I didn't post the rest of the chapters I've finished. I'll be going through the ones I have (I've got up through chapter 6 so far), correcting and adding detail, etc. So this should be coming along quickly, now. Also, A LOT of people asked about what made Snape change his mind in the last chapter. Simple - he thought about it. Snape likes to be snarky, so naturally he refused straight off just to be a pain. But he's a good man at heart, and (as was hinted about twenty times) he usually gives in to whatever Dumbledore asks of him eventually. So let's just say that he wised up about it once he gave the idea a chance.
Up Next: Hermione breaks the news to Harry and Ron. Ron acts like an idiot about it, unsurprisingly enough.
