Chapter 2

Explanations and Options

She turned slowly to face the voice. Her eyes burning with anger and her teeth grinding against one another in effort not to scream blue murder. How dare he mock her, she thought as she looked him up and down, her ministry letter gripped tight in her palm. Just what was he playing at? She wondered as she felt her legs move to stand her up.

Snape for his part merely stared at her his arm folded across his chest and an eloquent eye brow raised at her in question. 'Well Miss Granger? What do you require? Or do you simply take delight in pulling me away from more important things to deal with your petty problems?'

Her hair sparked with the force of the fury that coursed through her. She heard a blub to her left shatter and knew that logically she should calm down. But logic played no part in her psyche right now. The man before her was only making her feel more and more furious with every second of his arrogant waiting.

'I would think that there would be nothing more important than the problems of your wife.' She spat, tossing the letter towards him as she turned on her heal and stormed up the stairs to the room she and Ginny shared. She couldn't deal with this right now. She needed to think how the hell had she become married to her professor without her knowledge?

She slammed to door to Ginny's room opened and stopped in her tracks as she took in a half naked Harry and a swollen lipped Ginny. She blinked and glowered at the two. Hip hip hooray for them she thought angrily. 'Sorry' she snapped and left slamming the door behind her.

She walked across the hall and barricaded herself into Fred and Gorge's room. She grabbed a pillow off the bottom bunk and screamed with all her might, allowing the feathers of the pillow to drown out her fury and confusion she continued to scream until her head became clear once more.

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Severus' face had gone pale as soon as the girl had said the word wife. There was no way she could have known about their marriage. Dumbledore had given his word she would remain none the wiser.

He picked up the fallen letter she had thrown at him and read it. 'Bugger and bandit!' he cursed as his eyes darted over the parchment.

'Severus? What on earth is the matter? First our Hermione is hyperventilating and now she's raining glass down in my kitchen!' Arthur said as he waved his wand at the broken lights in the room.

'The ministry is what's the matter Arthur.' Severus said with a frown as he re-read the girl's letter. Perhaps there was a way for him to make this out as a mistake. His eyes however landed on the envelope that still lay on the table. He snatched it into his hands and cursed again. Hermione Snape. There was no way to lie his way out of this one, Slytherin or no.

'If you'll excuse me Arthur, I need to speak with Miss….Hermione.' he said amending his term of address. If the truth was to come out it would be prudent to call his wife by her first name, he thought to himself.

'I think she went into the twin's room, Severus, third floor second on the right.' Molly supplied helpfully. He nodded his thanks and made his way up the rickety stairs of the burrow intent to speak logically to the girl and if he was lucky, come out of the room with his life and family jewels intact. He knew from his godson that Miss Granger had quite the right hook when angered.

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He took a bracing breath outside the room's door and knocked.

'Go Away!' came the angered response from within, and Severus was sure he could herd the girl toss in the bed and huff. He swallowed down annoyance and reminded himself she was Seventeen and female.

'Miss Granger, there are things that need to be explained to you, allow me to do so.' He said in what he hoped was his gentlest, most coaxing voice.

'Bugger Off, You Cradle Robbing, No Good, Dirty Pervert Of An Old Man!' She screamed.

And Severus felt his nostrils flare with annoyance. How dare that bushy haired little chit! He gripped the door handle and forced his way into the room wither she wanted him there or not. All thought of speaking logically to her gone as anger took over. He was at the bed in two long strides and had her pulled to her feet and turned to face him before she knew what was happening.

'Now you Listen here Girl!' He seethed. 'I am 34 Years old and by the standard of a wizard in the prime of my life, I am not old! You girl, are 17 years old, of legal adult age in the wizarding world, meaning I Have not as you so eloquently put it Robbed the Cradle! And as for being as pervert, I have no desire to touch you in any sexual way, since I only signed that contract at the urging of Albus Bloody Dumbledore due to a letter from your concerned parents pleading for your safety on the dawn of this insane law!.' He hissed in her face.

Hermione blinked and took in what he had just said. 'My parents asked the headmaster to Marry us?' He thoughts flitted briefly to her parents. It sounded like something they would do. They wouldn't want her drawn even further into the wizarding world if they could help it. She was mildly surprised they hadn't married her off to a nice muggle boy.

Severus sighed and let go of her wrists, he turned and closed the door drawing his wand to ward it, giving them as much privacy as he could muster in this overcrowded hovel of a house.

'No your parents had caught wind of the law and asked the Headmaster to Marry you to a suitable partner who would keep you safe from blood thirsty Pure-bloods, and as Harry Potter's Little Muggle-Born you would have been Bride-to Be Number one for any Death Eater who had to abide by the law.' Severus said. He watched as she sat back down on the bed.

'I see and I couldn't have known about this before now? Apparently we've been married nearly 3 months!' She snapped glaring at the man before her.

'You were never to know. Dumbledore had planned to give you time to find a more suited match whilst being kept safe from the pure bloods by not actually being eligible to for the law should it come to pass...' Severus explained stonily. 'The marriage would be dissolved when you had found a true love match, you were to be none the wiser about our…union.'

'I see and how would you have explained my illegibility?' Hermione asked her eyebrow raised.

'Religious reasons.' Snape replied.

'Right and why wasn't Ron chosen? Or Harry?' Hermione asked her anger now quietly simpering beneath the surface. Surly there were better options within the order than Snape? She thought moodily.

'Potter would put you in as much danger if not more than a Death eater, and Your parents had a dislike of the Weasley boy.' Snape answered.

'Charlie? Percy? Fred? Gorge?' Hermione asked.

'Dumbledore thought it best to avoided a Weasley least he displease your parents.'

She had to hand it to the headmaster on that count. There was no way her parents would have liked her to marry into an improvised family like the Weasley's. no matter how accomplished the boy in question was, they would never be what would be considered middle class in the wizarding world.

'Remus?' she asked.

'Werewolf.'

'Sirius.'

'Convict on the Run' Snapped answered. Hermione cursed to herself she should have figured that one out on her own, Sirius was still a wanted man.

'Kingsley?' she suggested.

'Married.'

'Mad Eye.' She said hopefully.

'Gay.'

'Really? Mundugus.' She said, reeling slightly from the fact that Mad eye was gay.

'Currently MIA.'

Hermione sighed in frustration. 'Dolwack then.'

'Fulltime Cross dresser,' Snape answered.

'I don't care if he wears a flipping dress!' Hermione snapped irritably.

Snape snorted. 'More like she wears boxers all the time.'

Hermione's eyes went wide. She had always thought the twenty something young Aurar had been quite attractive. She'd never have guessed him to have been a she.

'Fuck.' She said throwing herself back onto the bed.

'Indeed, not only was I Your best option, I was your only option.' Snape said off handily. And even he had to admit he was the girls best option. An Order member, a teacher, so he could keep an eye on her at all times, and a death eater so that if needed he could keep the dark lords anger in check by providing false memories of beating and torture of Potter's worthless Mudblood. Dumbledore was truly brilliant sometimes.

'Fine, I'm still not happy I wasn't told about this though!' She snapped sitting up once more.

'Miss Granger if your anger subsided that easily, you would not be a woman.' Snape muttered lightly and Hermione snorted with amusement. 'Now what do you suggest we do about this?' He asked holding up her crumpled Ministry letter.

Hermione bit her lip pondering it. 'Lie through our bloody teeth and pray we're believed.' she said the words weighing heavily between them.