Apparently it was a part of the Gryffindor Honor Code that any and every male affiliated with a witch was supposed to defend her from the encroaching Slytherin. Severus felt like the dragon who stole the princess from her tower. Now all the little heroes wanted a shot at slaying him to free their damsel from her fearsome captor. Of course, if the analogy were really accurate, said damsel was the one who leapt out of the window and onto the dragon's back, attempting to break him to her will. As if she ever could. Well, hopefully she didn't get scorched in the process. But honestly, it would serve her right.
His arch nemesis, Sirius Black, and the youngest Weasley boy had each started shouting matches with him earlier that very day. Arthur Weasley had given him a stern talk about how the little angel never put herself first, and how he should keep in mind that no matter how steadfast she seemed to be she was still only a girl. Ha. As if he needed reminding. And now it appeared to be Potter's turn. Harry Potter. The Chosen One. The Golden Child. The Boy Who Lived. If anyone was going to slay the dragon, it would be him. The miserable wretch had already killed one giant snake. But this Knight in Shining Armor was barking up the wrong dragon… so to speak. There wasn't anything Severus could do. After all, it wasn't like he hadn't tried.
"Professor," the boy began, cornering him at the top of the stairs. "Can I talk to you?"
"Apparently you can."
"Look," Potter sighed. This seemed to be quite difficult for him. "I know there's nothing you can do to stop this." Severus was taken aback. This was certainly a different approach. But the boy was doing his best to avoid his professor's eyes. "Hermione's unstoppable when she decides to do something."
"Well at least one of you…"
"And I know she seems strong," Potter cut him off. He had an air of needing to finish what he'd come to say before he could change his mind. "But really she doesn't have a clue what she's getting into. I guess I'm just trying to say… please don't make this any harder for her than it has to be." Finally those bright green eyes met his with an ardent plea. Severus didn't know what to say. "She's always stood up for you, you know. I mean… she respects you a lot." Blessedly, Potter lowered those eyes, almost sheepishly staring at the floor. "So just… please don't prove her wrong."
The boy left without another word, apparently too embarrassed by his cloying words to await the man's response. For his part, Severus was left to fume in silent rage at his presumption. What nerve! To suggest that he had any sort of responsibility toward the girl… to put that weight on his shoulders… why if she had such high opinions of him, either she would be proven wrong or she wouldn't be. But who was Harry Potter to suggest that it would take serious effort on Severus's part to live up to such expectations? Who was Harry Bloody Potter to suggest that he ought to do just that!?
And anyway… it wasn't as if he planned to hurt the girl.
Severus swept toward the door, deciding that he was far too early for the New Year's Eve festivities and that he would return as close to the punch line as possible. No need to spend more time than he had to with this bunch, after all. He had work to do. But as he passed the door to the Black Family Library, he caught sight of his bride to be. Her nose was buried in a book (Typical) and she was stretched out on the couch. The most shapeless jumper he had ever seen smothered her tiny frame and that miserable hair covered her face from his view. Looking at her, all he could see was that buck-toothed First Year, waving her arm in the air. And soon he would have to fuck her.
'Repulsed' didn't begin to describe it.
When he returned that night, near the stroke of twelve, he had it in mind to try one last time to dissuade the chit. Making his way toward her, he was cut off as the crowd of witches and wizards gathered began to count down, staring at the grandfather clock. Glasses of champagne were raised in the air and the excitement was tangible. How utterly absurd. It wasn't as if the New Year came with anything exciting, in and of itself. The Earth didn't celebrate this particular position in its cycle around the sun. But he'd let the cheering die down before he pulled the girl aside.
But then the strangest thing happened. The minute hand reached its apex and before it had even had a chance to begin its descent, all of the mated pairs of witches and wizards in the room simultaneously wrapped their arms around each other and caught lips. It was as if perhaps there really was some strange magnetic phenomenon in the first second of each New Year. Noting this, it became even more awkward that he was standing beside his betrothed. She seemed to sense it, too, if her awkward shifting from one foot to the other was any indication. Did she honestly think he had come over here just to kiss her? Idiot girl.
He was just about to disabuse her of this ridiculous notion-assuming, of course, that the thought had crossed her mind-when there was a collective intake of breath and all of the attention shifted from the ignorant clock to a couple in the back of the room. Remus Lupin was making an arse of himself by kneeling down on one knee, for no apparent reason, in front of his chosen witch, Nymphadora. He withdrew a tiny box from his shabby jumper pocket and the woman looked, for once, completely at a loss for words.
"Dora," the wizard said to an inexplicable flutter of excitement from the witches in the room. "I don't know how I was ever fortunate enough to meet you, but you make me happier than I ever knew that I could be. I want you by my side for the rest of my life… if you'll have me..."
"Yes!" the pink-haired witch gasped excitedly.
"Will you…"
"Yes! Yes, oh yes, Remus! Yes!"
"Marry me?"
"Yes!" The impatient witch suddenly tackled her werewolf, knocking him backwards onto his arse. Their faces melted together as the others in the room awkwardly turned away from the excessive display of affection. To Severus, it seemed as if they were almost accustomed to this sort of behavior. He shook his head, turning back to the girl beside him, preparing to put in one last attempt. But her eyes were glued to the practically mating couple with a look of such unadulterated, sincere happiness that he knew it was no use. Were those tears in her eyes? Yes, there was no denying it. He had already lost.
…*~*J*~*…
Professor Dumbledore believed it would be best to have them married and settled into the Potion Master's chambers before the rest of the student population returned from Christmas hols. And that meant today. Hermione had expected to be nervous, but making arrangements for this to actually take place was more nerve-wracking than she had realized it would be. Now, it really felt real. Staring into her closet, she couldn't help but wonder at the strangeness of it all. For one, she certainly hadn't expected to choose her 'Wedding Gown' from the clothes she'd stuffed into her luggage for two weeks at Grimmauld.
There was a tap at the door and Ginny entered. "So… today's the big day, huh?"
"Apparently," Hermione muttered glumly. It wasn't that she regretted this decision; far from it. But she wasn't exactly looking forward to it, either.
"Looking for something to wear?"
The older girl grunted in the affirmative. "Trying to decide. We're just going to the Ministry and signing some papers. Snape will probably roll his eyes if I wear anything more than jeans and a jumper. But…"
"But it's still your wedding day," the redhead finished for her. Hermione nodded. Ginny chewed her lip. "Stay right there," she said suddenly, "I'll be right back." And then she hurried back out into the hall.
When Ginny returned, what seemed like hours later, it was with Tonks and Mrs. Weasley at her heels. Tonks was carrying a bundle of white knit which she threw casually at the other girl. Hermione flinched, but caught it, staring wide-eyed at the other witches.
"We found an old jumper and did some minor Transfigurations," Ginny explained.
"The least we could do, really," Tonks added, almost sheepishly.
Hermione unfolded the item and took a look at her wedding gown. It was a simple sweater dress, mid-length and a rich, warm cream. A lump formed in her throat.
"Put it on so Mum can alter it to your size," Ginny told her, staring unabashedly into her eyes. The other witches backed out the door, but Tonks had to grab Ginny's elbow before she even thought to follow. Never much for modesty, was Ginny.
Trying the thing on sent a flutter of nerves through Hermione, and then a jolt of panic when it turned out to be nothing so much as a huge wad of knit practically swallowing her whole. She let the other witches back into the room, smirking shyly at the funny way the material hung on her bony frame. But Mrs. Weasley smiled kindly, setting to work without a word and slowly shrinking the item to fit snugly against Hermione's slender form.
The sleeves were long, but the dress left her shoulders bare ("My idea," Ginny told her with a wink). The hem reached just a few inches above the knee, which seemed appropriate and subtly sexy all at once. Looking down at herself, Hermione couldn't help but smile. But when they turned her around to face the mirror, the image took her breath away. It was perfect.
"Hermione!" said Ginny. "You look fantastic!"
"Beautiful," Mrs. Weasley whispered, tears suddenly filling her warm brown eyes.
Tonks shook her head in apparent awe. "Snape won't know what hit him."
"It's not," Hermione began sheepishly, tugging on one tight sleeve, "too much?" But the other witches all fervently began to shake their heads. They were smirking at her with strange expressions of something akin to triumph and Hermione began to feel it, too. This was her day, damn it. And she was wearing white.
..*~*J*~*…
"What could possibly be taking so long?" Severus growled. He was pacing in the front hall of Twelve Grimmauld, waiting for his bratty little bride.
Albus only twinkled knowingly. "It is my understanding that witches take inordinate amounts of time to ready themselves for such occasions. The hair… in particular… seems to be quite a process."
Severus snorted. "If they're attempting to tame that ridiculous bush on top of her head, we'll be here all day. And anyway who is she trying to impress? We're only signing a few papers." At that, the Slytherin stopped short, whipping around to face his employer with an expression of utmost dread. "We are only signing a few papers, aren't we?"
"It's not too late to opt for a full ceremony, if you prefer."
"Don't be ridiculous, Albus." The dark wizard had only just continued his pacing when Miss Weasley suddenly bolted down the stairs, bypassing him with a smirk and throwing open the door to the library.
"Guys," she called into the room, "Hermione's coming down." Next, Molly appeared at the bottom of the stairs, clapping excitedly as an exquisite stranger appeared. Severus had to shake his head. It was Granger. Her hair was pulled back into one thick braid and she wore a dress that was nearly immodestly snug. And good god, she had breasts. And hips. And legs. When had she gotten those? Who gave her permission? He realized he was staring as she walked toward him with an uncertain smile, and he scowled in answer. Suddenly, it was as if the hall had been flooded with people. Remus and Potter and every Weasley on the whole damned planet poured out of the library.
"Hermione!" the twins shouted in unison. The girl in question stepped right past her intended and into the waiting arms of the other men. Severus watched as they all seemed to want to take a turn.
"You look beautiful!"
"Like a… bride!"
"You sure you want to go through with this? It's not too late…"
Granger laughed a delicate tinkling laugh that immediately grated on Severus's nerves. "I'm afraid it is too late, Ron," she said. Severus scowled. Not that he hadn't already been scowling. But he scowled even harder. What right did these boys think they had touching… embracing… taking liberties with his wife?
…soon-to-be wife.
Well, when they were married, he would make sure no other man could touch her. Not that he was jealous. It was a matter of pride.
Albus Dumbledore stepped forward, clearing his throat. "You look lovely, my dear," he told the girl. "Are you ready?"
"I… yes," she told him, nodding as if to convince herself.
"Then we'd best be off."
Their departure from the house was followed by a crowd of waving witches and wizards and a slew of shouted 'Best wishes's, 'Good luck's, and one "Go break in that old Slytherin bed!" shouted by the Weasley twins through obnoxious grins, which Severus answered with a scowl. He didn't know much about weddings, but he was pretty sure there shouldn't have been so much scowling involved.
…*~*J*~*…
They made quite a sight. That was for sure. Hermione was embarrassed by the number of wizards whose eyes seemed to follow her as they trailed through the marble halls. But she was amused to see that Snape's glare could part the sea of Ministry employees the way it would a crowd of Hufflepuff First Years. It was not a wonder when the official in charge of marriage certificates gave them an odd, calculating look. He was a short, pretentious looking man with spectacles and a weak chin. And he was officiating her marriage. It was hard to tell if he was serious or being an arse when he asked which of the two men (Dumbledore or Snape) was to be the groom. Snape gave the man a death glare. Then they signed some papers and that was it. "I now pronounce you Man and Wife," the official tossed off in a dry, sarcastic tone. Hermione was pretty sure the man didn't actually have to say that and just thought he was being clever. It made her scowl. Instinctively she turned to her now-husband. Strange. Her husband. Her tall, dark, intimidating professor-husband. Strange. But he just scowled down at her, making it perfectly clear he was certainly not going to kiss her. Had she expected him to? No. Certainly not. Well, she could scowl just as well as he could.
Honestly, Hermione didn't know much about weddings, but she was pretty sure there shouldn't have been so much scowling involved.
…*~*J*~*…
A HUGE Thank You to excessively perky, Brightki, Karli1252, jensteed, Sassyluv, Hannoie, meg527, Very Small Prophet, viola1701e, Lorna brownie, mystery, RhodaBush, thechit, BlueBeast73, stexgirl2000, ahemmeri, Viteali Varishta, ReDish, gloryandfame, Artemis, rivruskende, Hada, AmeliaDoloreFan21, Amarenima Redwood, piano mouse, Mikena, marzipan4, Fantomette34, Her Royal Goddess, and several Guests for Reviewing my last Chapter! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support, but just know that it really makes my day to hear from you guys, so thank you SO MUCH!
Special SPECIAL Thanks to gloryandfame who created the Banner for this fic using her mad editing skills! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
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:} llorolalluvia
