She was still sitting on the sofa with the letter on her lap when he returned. She accepted her cup of tea with a smile and pointed to her letter, sheepishly. "Unplottable – it says it right there!"
"Overlooking the obvious again, Miss Granger?" he asked in his best sarcastic Professor Snape voice – complete with sneer.
"Shut it, you!" she said, laughing. "Fortunately, I already knew your other details that the letter stated or I would feel even more stupid right about now! Professor Snape would really have had a ball with that!" She laughed and he was relieved that she seemed to know just how much of an act that particular persona was.
Merlin, I love it when she jokes with me! Plus, she knew everything else about me that was in the letter? How is that even possible? He remembered how many questions that he had about her information and decided that it was now time to bring those issues up. However, she spoke before he could.
"Seriously, though, Severus – if your home is unplottable, why would you give me the address? We could have met anywhere in Wizarding or Muggle England, but you trusted me – not only with your address, but with your wards today, as well. Thank you for that! It is a great honor to be trusted by someone who has such valid reasons for trusting no one." With that statement, she leaned over and kissed his cheek.
She kissed me! She touched me – with her lips – on purpose! She thanked me! I should be the one thanking her!
He steadied himself as the question hit me. Why did I trust her? He wondered for a moment. However, he already knew the answer and said it aloud. "You are, and have always been, an imminently trustworthy person." Then he quickly changed the subject. "Now...speaking of our letters, I did have a few questions about yours. Do you mind?"
"Not at all," she said smiling, pleased with such a positive analysis of her character – especially from him! "Ask away. I can't promise that I can or will answer everything, but I will try. Just remember we have to keep an eye on the time so that I can get to the bank before it closes."
He tried to hide his grimace at the thought that she had to leave – and he would never see her again. Therefore, he needed to go ahead and ask his questions – before it was too late.
"Can you tell me what happened with your job as an Unspeakable at the Ministry? Or are you still compelled not to do so under the Unspeakable's Oath?"
Hermione smiled, a bit deviously, and muttered a spell under her breath and then spoke quickly. "My main job as an Unspeakable was research and spell development… Good, it looks like the Sacramentum Rejectus spell is working. I don't know how long it will last, though. I have only been able to test it for a few minutes at a time before this."
"Sacramentum Rejectus – Oath rejection – You created a spell to allow you to circumnavigate the Unspeakable's Oath?" Severus found himself amazed, once again, by the cleverness of this witch.
"Well, I thought it might come in handy. I don't like being forbidden to do anything! What if something truly horrific had been happening there and I had to be silent about it? Now, I had better explain quickly before the spell wears off!"
Severus just snorted in amusement and gestured for her to continue.
"At first, I was assigned to the Time Division, but after I finished my project there much faster than anyone expected, (I will have tell you about that another time.), I was assigned to the Emotions Division. Specifically, I was assigned to research Love and Affection. I was commissioned to create a spell to test for relationship compatibility. Do you see where this story is heading?"
"You created the eHarmonius spell? That's why you are so confident in its accuracy." He nodded in understanding now. That really did put a different spin on the situation. It explained why she was so comfortable with the idea of them! He had to admit that with his new knowledge of her abilities, he felt more secure with the idea of the spell's accuracy, too. That meant that they really were the best match for each other!
"Yes. Keep in mind, though, that it was nearly two years ago that I created the spell. I thought that it would be used more as a novelty or something that dating/matchmaking services would utilize if it were ever released. I had NO idea that it was going to be used to back up this marriage legislation or else I would have flatly refused. As it was, I was basically shanghaied and my research was stolen by the Ministry itself. Even though, as they very condescendingly explained to me when I had the nerve to protest, all my research technically belonged to them anyways - since they paid my salary. Needless to say, when I found out that not only were they going to enact a Marriage Law using my spell, but that it would also be solely Wizard's choice, I lost my temper! Aurors may have even been called in to forcibly remove me from the presence of the Ministry cabinet."
"Dare I ask why?" Severus asked torn between concern and amusement for the woman next to him.
"I may have threatened to hex their bollocks off if they set up innocent women to be forcibly wed and legally raped - while using my spell as justification." She smirked, then. "Unfortunately for the cabinet, Aurors Potter and Weasley were the ones who showed up to answer the summons to arrest me. Needless to say, with the entire Golden Trio facing them, the Cabinet backed down. Can you imagine the publicity that would have resulted, otherwise? I didn't accomplish much more after that, but I did manage to get the "Witch's Choice" amendment to the law approved and the Marital Monitoring amendment dropped at the last minute – in exchange for my resignation…and temporary silence enforced with an Unbreakable Vow until the legislation was released to the public . It still wasn't ideal - I couldn't get the entire Law repealed, but I did what I could."
"Little Witch," Severus tried to regain control of his rampant thoughts and overwhelming admiration for the woman in front of him, "are you trying to tell me that you, almost singlehandedly, threatened and faced down the entire Ministry Cabinet – and won?"
"Well, I obviously didn't win, because the Law still happened – and I lost my dream job in the process."
"You lost your job in order to protect others. That's really something. Also, I'm almost afraid to ask, but does Marital Monitoring mean what I think it does?"
"Probably. The consummation of the marriage and frequency of marital sex would have been regulated under the original law," she sighed with the absurdity of it all.
"Merlin! What were they thinking?" Severus roared in absolute outrage. "Instead of losing your job, you should have been given a medal for putting a stop to such an atrocity!"
"I've already got one," she said tiredly, referring to the Order of Merlin for her efforts during the war. "We all do, remember? Doesn't look like it did us much good, though, does it?" She closed her eyes and leaned against the back of the couch. All of this was in the past, but it didn't make easier to remember. She was still quite upset about how it had all worked out - about how she had been betrayed.
"Despite all of that, everything you did, you still got caught up in this marriage mess." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. How could they have done this to her? A thought suddenly occurred to him and he shot up suddenly in his seat and snarled. "Being matched with me was your punishment, wasn't it? They knew that the Gryffindor Princess would never agree to marry the Slytherin Bat. Therefore, they knew that you would flee the country and they wouldn't have to deal with you anymore. Manipulative bastards!" He was so very angry for her to have been placed in this position. He was angry for himself, as well. Just when I was starting to let my guard down and beginning to think that maybe we were compatible after all. I should have known…
"Severus, that's not true!"she said quietly, her eyes still closed. "If they were that good at planning, then I would never have caught them in the first place. No, I stand by the spell. It is accurate. I know it is! I know that it doesn't mean much to you, but we really were meant to be a match!"
He didn't look at her. He was still too upset to do so. "I know that you created the spell, and feel strongly about it, but results can be manipulated. People can be manipulated. You were manipulated into having to deal with this humiliating situation with me!" He jumped up and started pacing. He glanced over at the little witch still leaning back, eyes shut, on the couch. How could she be taking this so calmly?
As he opened his mouth to say something else, he noticed a lone tear slide out from under her eyelid and slip silently down her cheek. Shit! I'm making it worse, aren't I? he thought remorsefully. She's trying to stay calm, keep it together, and I am ranting like a madman. What a strong person she is! She has been trying to make this whole ordeal easier for me, and how am I repaying her? He saw her screw her eyes up tight for a moment, apparently to try and hold back more tears, and something inside of him broke a little bit. He crossed back over to the couch, sat back down next to the witch, and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. He held her close, a little uncertainly at first, not used to such close physical contact. Because of that, he didn't know what to think…or how to feel, when she sighed, snuggled a little closer to him and rested her head in the crook of his shoulder – actively seeking his comfort. After a moment, he realized that he rather liked holding the pretty little witch in his arms. He only wished that she had not had to be upset for it to happen. "I don't blame you. None of this is your fault." He felt the need to reassure her. After just a few minutes, he was very surprised when her hand slid up to cup his cheek. Then she reached up and quickly brushed her lips against his in a very gentle, feather-light kiss. He stiffened in surprise and was temporarily rendered speechless by her action. Wha…what just happened?
"Thank you," she whispered. "I think I needed that." She patted his cheek and sat up. "Do me a favor," she said softly, still touching his face, looking into his dark eyes, and giving him a gentle smile. "Please don't ever think that you are a punishment to me. Please believe me when I say that I know for a fact that is not the case! Even if nothing else ever comes out of this, then I am pleased to have made a very good friend." She then forced a little, sad laugh. "Now, please show me where the loo is. I have to get cleaned up and ready to go."