Chapter 2: Married Life
Severus should not have lived through the Final Battle. He was supposed to do his job and depart from the world once the Dark Lord discovered his duplicity. He certainly was not counting on Hermione to show up and administer anti-venom draughts from his snake bite.
He had opened his eyes and saw her tears, tears for him. If he had the strength to speak, he would've said, "Get out of here you stupid girl!" No no, she was not supposed to be there, she wasn't supposed to save him. He was to be left alone and the marriage would be dissolved, and she would be free. She had destroyed everything, ruined all his plans. Why would she condemn herself? He was only supposed to be seen by Potter!
Severus was sitting in his office, resuming his position as Headmaster after he was exonerated, which was a sordid affair in itself as well. Their marriage has gotten out to the public eye, and Hermione put herself at the forefront of his campaign.
How he hated her for that, he hated her for making him a piteous cause in the eyes of everyone. Poor Hermione Granger, err Snape, shackled to the nasty professor. Of course, with Potter's help, she managed to prevent his admittance into Azkaban, and make him a hero.
The hero part he didn't mind, the much prolonged delay of recognition had finally fallen away and he was respected, not feared, but respected. It was what he always wanted, wasn't it? By all means, he should thank Hermione, he should be grateful for her assistance, and standing by his side faithfully…well he wasn't, and he wasn't sorry that he wasn't.
He was pleasant to her in public, he gave her that much, and the little chit should be thankful that he gave her that much. In the public, they were that loving couple that survived the war and relied on each other…what utter simpering nonsense. He had respected the girl, but she had ruined it. He did not like it when people went against his wishes, that goes without saying.
A lot has changed in the last couple years, Hermione got her teaching certification and was the new Muggle Studies and Integration professor. She brought in electronic devices for the students to use in class like cell phones, blackberries, laptop computers, and etc. There were only three places in the entire school where "reception" for these items were allowed, the Muggle Studies classroom, his office, and their chambers.
She had proposed this program about a year ago, stating that it was necessary for the students, especially those with no muggle background to be able to keep up with the growing technology so that if they had to venture out into muggle cities and etc. they wouldn't be like a fish out of water.
Severus was sure there was more to her plan and her proposal, but honestly he had stopped listening after that and just approved it so he wouldn't have to hear more of that annoying chattering.
If he had refused, she would always speak of it, so why not indulge in her stupid little program if it shut her up. He knew what a cell phone was, what a laptop was, he knew everything about Muggle technology, though she assumed he hadn't, stupid girl. At every opportunity she would try to show him something, and how useful her blackberry was in communicating with her parents than simply by owl.
He wanted nothing more than to shout at her for her arrogance, like she was the only one who knew how to operate these devices. He had a blackberry of his own, for his own uses. It helped keep parts of his life private from her. Merlin only knew she had taken over every other aspect of it. She worked with him, lived with him, he could not simply get away from her!
She had no idea the restraint it took for him not to break his resolve and tell her exactly what he thought of her. However tempting it was, he wanted to keep the peace in this castle, as he did not need the additional gossip. He simply dismissed and ignored her. On Saturdays they would fill the consummation requirement, but it had become more perfunctory now than it had been whilst she was still a student.
For goodness sake, she could at least try to make the act a little more pleasing, but no, the girl had let herself go. He meant that in every sense of the world, mind you, she was still as intelligent and enthusiastic as ever, but the girl had gotten chubby! Chubby!
As if the sex wasn't awful enough, the girl had gone and gotten herself chubby. He knew he was no looker, but by all means she wasn't any better. Her hair was still a mess and had to be braided as to not arouse the gossip of the students, and the girl never wore makeup! How was he supposed to make this marriage work when the girl did not even care how she looked?
By not brewing potions every second of every day, his hair had gotten considerably less greasy, and of course Hermione insisted he get his teeth fixed by her parents, which he grudgingly accepted after three months of constant nagging. A man can only take so much nagging. Just those things alone had improved his appearance significantly, at least he thought. If he had to get his teeth fixed, why couldn't the girl get liposuction, or at least get her hair done? If he was stuck with her, couldn't she at least make herself more appealing? Was that too much to ask?
While still contemplating in his chair, the person in question barged through the door uninvited.
"Hi Severus!" She positively beamed at him, and he would've probably laughed if he saw his own face of disinterest compared to her smiling one.
"To what to I owe the pleasure?" he asked with a tone of mild sarcasm.
His face did not dissuade her, "I came by because your quarterly potions journal arrived and I came by to drop it off. I already read it and thought we could discuss it over dinner tonight," she smiled.
Of course you already read it you stupid bint! Do you do anything else except read? "Yes, of course, sounds fine Hermione. Now, I have a lot of work to do, and I suppose I'll see you at dinner?" Her face fell a little, but she quickly recovered.
"Yes, of course. Umm, oh! I also came to tell you that Victor Krum is arriving at 2:30 for his interview here and I wanted to remind you, as I know how you hate unexpected guests."
Indeed. "Yes, thank you, now if you'll go, I have to prepare," he said with as little kindness as he could muster.
"All right then, until dinner," she said, a little disappointed at his dismissal. He didn't even answer her as she walked out the door. He let out a sigh of exasperation at her exit and was thankful for the respite.
He had forgotten Mr. Krum was due in today. He had suffered a mild leg injury in the Final Battle and could not play professional Quidditch anymore. Madame Hooch was retiring, and he needed to fill her position. Though Krum could not play, he could still fly, but the interview would tell if he could teach.
Severus' thoughts were interrupted as he felt a buzzing in his robe and instantly knew what it was. He pulled his blackberry out of his pocket and looked at the screen.
Ah, another email from Evelyn, my day is getting better already.