As Hermione lay in her bed that night her thoughts drifted to her future husband. Twirling the ring back and forth, she suddenly had a longing to see him and be near him. She had never felt this before, not even with Ron. She tried to ignore it and go to sleep, but the feeling of needing to see him just grew instead. She knew she shouldn't be out of bed after hours…but it was only 10pm, and because he was her fiancé, maybe she could claim a genuine excuse? It was decided in that moment and Hermione climbed out of bed and started to walk towards where she knew his chambers would be. Despite the new position, Snape had clung onto the dungeon room, probably so he could get to the Slytherins in an emergency. As she got closer to his door, a feeling that something was really wrong began to overwhelm her. She knocked on his door, hoping that no one would see. When she heard moaning from the other side, she took that as an invitation to enter. What she saw was Snape on the floor writhing in pain and unable to move from that spot near the fireplace.
"Sn-Severus! Are you ok?" Hermione gasped, through sheer shock of seeing her professor in such a vulnerable state.
"Of course not, you silly girl! Now help me get to the hospital wing!" He felt ashamed asking for the help of his student, but he tried to think of it as help from his fiancé. It didn't make him asking for help any easier. Hermione took his arm, put it around her shoulder and tried to take as much weight from him as possible. Then slowly, they began the ascend to the hospital wing.
The journey there was slow and filled with small talk, most of which got rejected by Snape. But as they climbed the stairs, Hermione couldn't help but notice the muscles in his arms, and she found herself wondering if his entire body was like that. Then an image of him half naked flashed into her mind. And she didn't find it totally unwelcome. Snape was also noticing something. As he tried to not focus on the pain he began to notice that Hermione actually smelt…pretty nice. Wonderful. He could get used to that smell. Then he tried to turn his head out of shame, nearly knocking the two of them down and he was forced to smell her for the rest of the journey.
When they got to the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey took over and Snape quickly got the potions to relax him and he was placed in a secret area for teachers to recover. Hermione stayed until he was settled in his bed, never leaving his side. She had no desire to. When everyone else seemed to disappear and it was only those two left, she got up t leave, and was surprised when a strong hand grasped hers.
"Don't go. Not yet," Snape said quickly, realising how pathetic he sounded. He had no idea where it had come from, but he knew that he couldn't let her leave. Not yet. She sat down silently and smiled at the professor, already feeling the pull towards him when he stood up. He was still holding her left hand – admiring the ring that had been given just 12 hours ago.
"Has anyone noticed yet?"
"Harry noticed. He asked me about it at lunch, in front of everyone."
"What did you say?"
"I…I told him it was a promise ring. I don't know. I just feel that if he knows, then he would know. And then yo-we! We would all be in danger," Hermione burst out, unsure of what she was feeling. All she knew was that when she looked at Snape, she suddenly felt calm. That was something she had been deprived of for 5 years. This small token of calm was special to her, and she didn't want to let it go.
Damn that Potter lout! Snape thought when Hermione told him. Why give her more things to worry about now? She probably hates the thought of marrying me, why can't he give her a break? All thoughts ceased in a moment however, when Hermione took his other hand and squeezed it gently. He looked into her eyes, so full of passion and care for him. He felt something that he hadn't felt since-in a long time.
"Do you want to tell anyone?" she asked. He looked away again, though he wasn't sure why.
"Well Dumbledore knows, therefore I think we can presume that all the staff know. I think it would be too dangerous for anyone else to know, they could be Dark Lord sympathisers or tell someone who is. Though, I trust you want to tell your parents?"
That's when it hit Hermione. This wasn't just some wild event that's happening in the future, she would forever be bound to this man. And for the first time since she got the letter, she felt that things would go alright. "Yeah, my parents would kill me if they weren't at the wedding,"
"Ok, Miss Granger-"
"Severus! I thought we went over this," She said, getting eye contact again. "I want you to call me Hermione. Besides, I won't be Miss Granger for long."
"Right. I was just wondering if you knew what happens during a magical engagement."
"No, I don't. Is it any different from a muggle engagement?" she looked puzzled as she questioned him. He was surprised about the lack of knowledge. He would have to teach her.
Little did they know that their conversation was being witnessed by two others. They just stood in silence as they watched this thing blossom. Madame Pomfrey and Dumbledore just looked at each other knowingly before giving the two the privacy they thought they had.
"Well, Miss-Hermione. The main difference between a muggle and a magical engagement is the time of it. Muggle engagements can last any period of time; however Magical engagements can last no longer than one month. The ministry is paranoid about marriage laws and try to get everything done quickly. However, due to my lengthened bachelor status, the ministry informs me that the wedding must take place within a week. They must be scared that I'm going to run away," Snape stated. When Dumbledore told him about this rule, he had groaned at the time, but now he was glad he was going to be joined to the girl sooner rather than later. It would give her time to adjust to him before any major battles begun.
"Is that the only difference? What about the actual marriage itself?"
"Again, there is a...minor difference. Muggle marriages are made official when the two participants sign a bit of paper. Magical marriages are made official when it is…consummated. And it must be made official within 24 hours of the ceremony, or they send sex experts to help with things," Snape stated, watching the young girl's face carefully as the words of what he was saying sunk in.
Sex. With Severus. Hermione felt her temperature increase at the thought, knowing that she was blushing. She mumbled a quick 'I should go to bed now' before making her way quickly back to her dorm.
As Snape lay there, embarrassed at her rejection of him, he couldn't help but wonder if she would ever accept him willingly? Little did he know that Hermione was thinking the same thing all the way back in her dorm bed.
