Chapter 8

Ronald Weasley awoke with the reflection of the sun on the lake; he was wearing a stiff fitting frock coat and a teaching robe, which had to have been Snape's. He smiled; it must have been one hell of a night. He didn't remember getting into the roll playing gig, but then since the battle he had been sleeping very soundly. He was sitting in an uncomfortable chair facing the bed. There was a roll of parchment in front of him addressed to Hermione in red letters. Wow, he must have drunk something which had him plastered if he was pretending to be the greasy git. He looked at his wife sleeping on the mussed bed. The light wavered as the lake moved in the morning breeze. The enchanted window was the only light in the room.

She had circles under her eyes and her hair stood up in the back like the lady who had snakes for hair. Medusa or something. Ronald had always been glad she was a myth 'cause she sounded like someone Hagrid would like.

Hermione moaned a bit and stretched, her gray robe revealing her young body to her equally young and frisky husband. Ron pounced on her like an owl on a mouse. She screamed her head off.

Ron backed off. "'Mione it's me, I am sorry about the clothes. I woke up and found them on me. I don't remember I must have gotten dressed while I slept.

Her eyes were unfocused for a moment and then taking in both the red hair and the teaching robes, she jumped into his arms sobbing. "Ronald, mffpp hsstr fst ahhhhhhh." She cried into his neck. Ron was at a total loss. What was she saying? Why was she crying as if the world had ended? He just held her snuggled in his lap as she sobbed for several minutes, completely unintelligible. His early morning lust had withered away and he was starting to think about how long until he got her calmed down and made it to breakfast. There would be no shagging this morning.

She got up finally and excused herself to the bathroom while he looked down distastefully at the ill-fitting clothes. He had the most uncomfortable hunch that the clothes were the cause of this morning's outburst. He ripped the garments off and picked up his wrinkled cast off Quidditch uniform. The transfiguration had worn off and once again he looked like a rag picker.

He looked over to an open closet door and peered in looking for something other than the teacher's robes or the cast offs he was wearing. He stood there nude and looked about the dead mans things thinking that Snape had fewer clothes than the Weasley family. There was an odd short sleeve t-shirt in black, some black slacks and the most hideous collection of multicolored socks, black underwear and a neat set of dragon hide boots. There were several sets of teaching robes and if there was a dress set amongst them you couldn't tell it from the others. . The entire wardrobe had a smell of both dungeons and potions. He found some maroon socks that looked perfectly new and the t-shirt and slacks. He tried to fit into the boots but they were to narrow for his feet Hermione left the bathroom and Ron swiftly ducked in to clean up and use the facilities.

When he left the bathroom, Hermione was reading the scroll and looking very serious. She was giving a sniff ever so often, her mouth pulled into a tight line. "Hermione, what was that all about this morning? Was it me in the git's clothes? I told you I don't remember putting them on."

"Ronald, were you hexed badly during the battle? Think carefully." She was so serious.

"Well I was confunded and awoke clear over by the tomb." Ron replied slowly; he didn't like what he was starting to feel. "I know I was away from everyone and just got back before Mum finished Bellatrix." He was so proud of his little mother, taking on such a powerful witch and defeating her.

Hermione gasped with the confirmation about the tomb. She had intended to stay up earlier and watch the transformation carefully. She remembered the sleeping draught, and her hysterics and him…

The parchment was full of both questions and cautions. Snape wanted this kept between the three of them. She didn't want to conceal it from Harry but she knew how Ginny could gossip. Get her mad and you may have just told the wizard wireless.

"Ronald, sit down. You may not believe this but you were hexed badly enough you were on the verge of dying. Headmaster Snape saved you but it is at a cost to both of you." She wondered if they would be able to conceal it from the newest Hogwarts ghost.

"What are you on about, 'Mione?", Ronald suddenly lost his appetite. He had the feeling that he wasn't going to like what she had to say.

"Last night, while we were making love….", She hiccupped and quickly ended, "You transformedintoSnape."

"What! Say that again slowly so I can understand."

"You transformed into Snape while we were making love."

"Maybe his wardrobe is enchanted. I know I awoke in his clothes but there is no reason to tell me I transformed into the Greasy Git." Ron was starting to get angry.

"Read this; he left it so we wouldn't endanger ourselves." Hermione tossed the parchment to Ron.

Ron blanched as he looked down at the handwriting. It was definitely Snape's. That cramped scrawl had liberally decorated his potions essays for years. He looked up at Hermione again; he didn't want to read it. That would make the situation more real. "How would we endanger ourselves?", He asked slowly.

"If they try to separate you from him… ", she hesitated. "You will both die. If they find out about the spell they will haul him to Azkaban and you will go along with him." Breathing deeply she added, "He still has enemies on both sides and they will come after you to get at him."

Ron was thinking and he had a methodically analytical mind when he bothered to use it as such. "How often will I transform? Once a month like a werewolf? Only when we make love? What sets it off?"

"You can't stop it. You change with the sun. He has the night and you the day." She was crying softly.

"Fits the vampire git." So that was why he had slept so deeply. He had never heard of such a thing before so his mind kept comparing it to either a vampire or werewolf. All he knew was he felt he now had his own monster. He had always wanted to be different, like Harry or brilliant like Hermione. He was different all right; he was a bloody freak who was shackled for the rest of his life to another bloody freak. "What happens if he dies?"

"You would die as well. If you hurt, he hurts. It was an obscure dark arts spell he found when he was researching for Voldemort. It can only be used when two are both at deaths door. You were dying and he was as well. He said since you both wanted to go back to battle it worked as you had a common goal." The tears were slowly drying on her face.

Well there went the idea of killing Snape. Not that he was serious, but it was a pleasant solution. Ronald thought Hermione looked more beautiful then, than ever before. She stood before him, her hair in snakes and her face wet with tears and he knew she would stay with him no matter what. He had to try; he couldn't face asking her to stay. "Mione we need to dissolve this marriage. I can't ask you to stay with me, when half the time you have to put up with him."

She laughed at that. Ron had no idea that their marriage could not be dissolved. She had no intention of telling him either as he would probably freak out. "Ronald, we said we wanted to stay together… would you leave me if I turned into Trelawney at night?"

"Yuck! Hermione I didn't need that image! I might if you did that." Ron looked down at her. He knew he wouldn't leave her. Weasley's were as steadfast as a Hufflepuff with their mates. It was the deciding factor on allowing Fleur into the family; she stood by Bill when she didn't have to.

"How did he act Hermione? Was he nasty and cruel?" Ron was very concerned with how Snape had treated her.

He wondered if there was a way to control his monster the way Lupin had his wolf. Would wolfsbane work on Snape? Maybe Hermione would invent Snapesbane.

Hermione blushed recalling the way she had discovered Snape's transformation. Ron didn't need to hear that either. "He was a bit disoriented, and was in the dark about what had happened after the battle. I was in hysterics and he got me a sleeping draught and I woke up here this morning," she stuttered. Well that was glossed over.

Ron wasn't buying that. "Hermione, you can't tell me I went from Ronald Weasley, 'lover extraordinaire' to the Greasy git and that was all there was to it?" He eyed her as a chess competitor. "Tell me love, what caused your hysterics? What did he say to you? Did he touch you?"

She looked down at her binding marks; they were orange and blue again. This was more than she wanted to deal with right now. She looked up at her husband, and asked, "Can we go up to breakfast, Ron? I don't want to think about it all right now."

"Alright, but you need to tell me everything." Ron needed time to think about what he could do if something bad had happened. He didn't want to go to Azkaban, but if the git were messing with his wife he would protect her. "I want to tell Harry."

"Snape suggested that we keep this quiet."

"Not, Ginny I know she is a gabber mouth but Harry can keep it quiet." Ron wanted backup, someone he was sure would protect Hermione. "Think about it: we should give it a day and see what we can discover about things in the library."

Hermione looked at him as if he had two heads. Ron Weasley suggested they look for answers in the library. Would wonders never cease?

Thanks much to my new beta DrDimensio