Severus found himself awake until dawn, sleep eluding him after the fiasco of the previous night. It was not unusual for him to be so restless; however, it was not his night terrors that had kept him awake that night. His thoughts kept bombarding him with the predicament he was in with his new bride. Her inability to consume even the lightest of meals was worrisome, indeed, and he could tell by the anguish on the girl's face that she was concerned as well. He was still angry with her, but only because she had refused to seek help before she had gotten to that point. The more he thought about it, though, the more questions that seemed to crop up. According to her, it was not of her own free will that she was in the state she was currently in, and she had seemed genuinely surprised at her own revelation the night before. He found it hard to believe that she hadn't once thought to ask for help, but she was adament to believe that she had never once held intentions to seek aid and was at a loss as to why.

He was certain that there were much more underlying problems with her than just her weight. He was no stranger to lack of appetite, especially while under stress. His years of serving the Dark Lord proved stressful enough, and it wasn't until he was out of Azkaban after everything was said and done that he had regained some semblance of a normal diet. He had always been dreadfully underweight up until that point, even when he had been a student. After his release from the Dementors' watch, he had been forced to physically rehabilitate himself to overcome the pain that still wracked his body from Nagini's venom. After only a few months, he was finally at a more suitable weight with a good bit of definition forming in his muscles. With all of that in mind, he definitely understood stress causing the girl to lose her appetite.

He was almost positive that her problem was stress. Hermione Granger was by no means superficial, and she definitely wasn't daft enough to starve herself for that purpose. However, what did worry him was the stress she might have been dealing with. He understood the marriage law had caused some of the problem, but she said it had started over the summer.

Problems at home, then.

When he thought about it, he noticed she had made absolutely no mention of her parents. It definitely raised bells and alarms in his mind. The girl was Muggleborn, and he found that most Muggleborns were very close to their parents. They had to be for their parents to be accepting of what they were. Severus couldn't imagine how Muggle parents felt when they discovered there was a whole other world within their own, and suddenly their child was part of it. Up until that year, he had assumed her parents had taken her differences with grace. So what had changed?

Shaking his head, Severus closed the book he had been trying to occupy himself with and glanced towards his young ward's door. He supposed he could really only afford to worry about one problem at a time so he reasoned on focusing on the present concern, which was returning her to a healthy state. He knew marrying the wench would be a pain in the ass but he really hadn't anticipated the extent of it. He wanted terribly to ignore the whole ordeal and go about with his plan A, which pretty much entailed completely ignoring her as he had tried to do for over seven years. However, she was obviously not well, and she was his legal responsibility. Severus refused to allow anyone to think that anything belonging to him did not receive the best of care. And he refused to drag the girl's reputation down any further than she had when she married a murderer.

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Hermione's internal alarm clock awakened her with time to spare before class, but all she did was groan and roll over, blearily staring at the blank stone wall. She didn't want to get up. She didn't want to go to the Great Hall. She didn't want to have to explain to her friends why she had randomly disappeared, and then all of a sudden they hear from the newspaper that she had married their most despised professor. She knew she had no choice but to give them an explanation, but it was going to take more time than breakfast in the Great Hall, and she knew Ginny would prod at her all day. Christ, not to mention how Harry and Ron would react when they finally saw her again. She was honestly surprised she hadn't received numerous Howlers from everyone she knew. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Hermione rolled out of bed and walked into her bathroom, grumbling.

Thirty minutes later, she finally emerged from her seclusion, dressed in her uniform and ready to completely ruin her life. She noticed that Snape – Severus – was not there, and that he probably had been long gone. She glanced at the clock and squeaked. There was no time to go to the Great Hall. She wasn't even going to make it to Defense Against the Dark Arts on time.

As Hermione ran through the empty third floor corridor, well aware she was late for class, she realized that that morning had been the most normal morning for her in a long time. She actually cared about class. She actually cared about her friends. She hadn't felt the need to try and be her old self since the day the daily prophet made the Ministry's big announcement. She supposed that her new husband's reassurances that he would allow her to continue her education and have the career of her choosing gave her her renewed drive to do something with her life. It was not without effort, though. Her breath was coming in short bursts, and by the time she arrived outside her classroom door, she was gasping for air and shaking from the effort of holding herself and her bag up. It worried her, because she used to could make that dash without breaking a sweat and with time to spare. At present, however, she was afraid she was going to pass out from the exertion.

She took a moment outside the door to catch her breath and stop shaking. She also took the chance to mentally prepare herself. Everyone in the classroom knew about her joining with the dark Potions Master, as did everyone in the school, she assumed. It was going to take every ounce of her supposed Gryffindor courage to get through the day. Taking one last deep breath, she pushed open the door and stepped inside the classroom.

There was an excruciating moment of complete silence when everyone saw her walk in, then the classroom erupted into a bout of loud whispers, their topic obvious. Clutching her bag to her chest, Hermione bent her head down and made her way to her seat next to Ginny. As she sat down, she looked at Bill, who gave her a slight nod. She knew Bill wouldn't hold this against her in the least, being one of the more sensible Weasleys. Knowing she couldn't escape the inevitable, she turned to look at Ginny.

Ginny sat there, staring very hard at Hermione, but not saying a word. She didn't have to. She knew all of her questions, and she knew she would have to give most of the answers. With no other pretense, she whispered to Ginny, "Meet me at the Astronomy tower after Charms."

Ginny gave her a look, obviously very disturbed, then nodded wih a sober expression. Hermione tried to give her a reassuring smile, but the hissing of whispers that surrounded her had taken the last of her courage. Bill was having a difficult time getting the class to pay attention, so he slashed his wand overhead, which sparked fiercely and made the sound of a cracking whip. The class finally went silent, but Hermione knew that wasn't the end of it.

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Hermione felt much too sick to her stomach with nerves to attempt the Great Hall at lunch, and the hour after that was Charms. Rather than attend the Great Hall, she holed up in the library for the lunch hour. When it was time for Charms, it took every bit of her determination to stride through that classroom door. Just like in D.A.D.A., whispers immediately erupted around her as she took her customary seat next to Ginny, who was obviously calm enough to not blow up at her but obviously not talking to her

As soon as class was dismissed, Ginny sprinted out the door, not bothering to wait for Hermione. Hermione should have known people would react like this. As she trekked to the tower, she began running questions through her mind again.

'Is this the kind of treatment Snape always receives? Is this what it feels like to be a social pariah? I understand why they would treat me like this but why him? He doesn't deserve this kind of treatment...'

Hermione finally made it to the Astronomy tower, out of breath but only shaking a little. She felt a little bit of cold sweat accompany her stomach twisting in knots. After waiting about thirty minutes, Hermione was beginning to fear that her friend had completely rejected her and changed her mind about talking. After pacing back and forth frantically for several minutes, she finally heard the door open. Pulling together willpower, Hermione slowly turned to face Ginny.

Only, it wasn't just Ginny.

Standing there with the petite redhead was none other than Harry and Ron.

She hadn't expected to see them, but then again, Ginny was flooing to their house every night to be with her new husband. Of course Ginny would have contacted Harry to have him meet at the tower as well, and there was no way Ron would have passed up an explanation. The stony looks she was getting from the three of them, though, was enough to almost make her lose what was left of her nerve. The three approached and stood before her, not saying a word.

They looked pissed.

Hermione took a deep breath. "First of all, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It was kind of sudden and, well..."

The three raised an eyebrow at her. She tried again. "Okay, let me start from the beginning. And please let me finish before you hex me to death."

Taking a deep breath, Hermione started, "You guys know well enough that I haven't been quite... myself this year. Ginny has been around me more, but I'm sure she's kept you informed. The marriage law came as a shock, like it did for everyone. I was certain that my entire academic career had gone to waste. And then things became worse. I hadn't received any post for two weeks after The Daily Prophet's announcement, not even proposals. Then, suddenly one morning, an owl came through my dorm window carrying a letter. It... it was a proposal. From Lucius Malfoy."

She heard the quick intake of breath from the three, but continued on. "H-he was petitioning for me, and I completely lost it. I-I stormed McGonagall's office and, when I did, she had been talking to Professor Snape. Apparently he had already suspected that someone somehow had control over my petitions. W-when I told them about the letter, Professor McGonagall asked for Professor Snape's help. He had no doubts that... Well, he told me that wh-whatever Lucius had in mind, i-it involved keeping me alive. He... He said that there are much worse things than death." She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from stuttering more.

"Well... Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore's portrait kind of... well, collaborated, and th-the only logical solution anyone could come up with was... well... Marry him. Professor Snape. He was the only eligible wizard in the s-school, and if Malfoy decides that he wants revenge on me slipping through his fingers, then Professor Snape is also the only person skilled enough who could protect me – "

"Bollocks! We could have protected you – "

"Shut up, Ron, and let her finish!" Ginny scolded, hanging onto Hermione's every word. Hermione gave her a grateful look and continued with a little more confidence.

"I thought everyone had gone mad. But it turns out, Professor Snape had invested so much of his own time trying to help me find a way out, that he had passed up his chance to find a suitable... partner. He was in just as much need of a loophole as I was. It was only logical. So, they gave me time to think about it, and I realized that they were right. Professor Snape nor I were very happy with it, but it was better than the alternative. It also meant that I could continue my schooling, and he promised that he wouldn't interfere with my life in any way, and vice versa. It is strictly a marriage of convenience. We'll be using the time we have before graduation to find a way around the... other bit of the law. Other than that, though, we'll be going about our lives as normally as possible. I even have separate rooms from him, and it's quite a sight seeing him actually try and be civil to me. Or what he thinks is civil, anyways."

Hermione fell silent, looking nervously at her friends like she expected them to spit on her and grind her into the ground. "U-um..." she said in a meek voice, twisting her fingers together almost painfully. "That... That's about it."

She did not miss the blank looks on her friend's faces, but was surprised when Ron said, "So, you had to shag Snape?"

She almost wanted to break into a relieved grin, glad that they weren't yelling, but she was still highly embarrassed over the matter of sex, and thinking about it made her feel a little more queasy. Luckily, Ginny came to her rescue. "Ronald Weasley! That is none of your business! Did you not hear anything else she said? In case you didn't, she was one Severus Snape away from becoming Lucius Malfoy's sex doll!"

The color of Ron's face quickly matched his hair as he mumbled, "Sorry..."

"So, you're okay with this?" Harry finally decided to speak.

She nodded slowly. "I really don't have a choice, but no, I was not forced into this."

"Do you know if Malfoy knows yet?" Ginny asked, deciding that they were in for a long discussion so she conjured a chair to sit. The others followed suit until they were all sitting in a circle.

"There's a strong possibility that he knew when it happened. If he had control over those petitioning for me, I'd imagine he had to keep constant watch of my list. If not, he certainly found out yesterday morning," Hermione said ruefully, wondering what on Earth made her deserve the attentions of that nasty blond wanker.

"And Snape, of all people, agreed to this?" Ron asked, deciding to be a bit more tactful with his questions. Ginny had been hurling some pretty mean hexes lately, and he didn't want to inflame her wrath.

"Like I said, he really had as much choice as me," Hermione responded, giving him a shrug. "He could have either went with me, knowing there was a strong possibility of a confrontation with Malfoy, or he could have left the decision to the Ministry. He... Severus Snape had spent his whole life being forced to do things he didn't want to do all for the sake of doing the right thing in the end. I can imagine that he didn't want to let another part of his life be dictated so strictly. At least, with me, he knew what to expect... For the most part, I guess."

"Hermione..." Harry said with an air of not knowing if he should ask. "What do your parents think about this?"

Hermione felt her blood run cold at his awkward question, and her natural defense to that topic kicked in. "It doesn't matter. It's done."

There was a tense moment of silence before Ginny diverted the topic. "In light of what could have happened, I believe I'm grateful that Professor Snape stepped in. I think we all know enough about Lucius Malfoy to know what would have happened if you were forced to marry him, instead."

"Yeah," Ron chimed in, shaking his head slightly. "As much as I hate Snape, Malfoy definitely ranks higher on the nastiness scale."

"But just because he saved you from Malfoy doesn't mean I'm going to like it one bit," Harry said bitterly.

Hermione gave him a wry smile. "I don't expect you to. It is a pretty bizarre situation. However, it is done and over with, and I'm still going to need my friends. And I hope you guys will forgive me for my recent insanity."

"Of course, sweetie," Ginny said, giving Hermione a warm smile. "We'll always be your friends. We were all affected by the new law, some were just affected worse than others. And as long as you're not completely miserable, we should have no right to complain otherwise."

Hermione watched Harry grab his wife's hand and draw it to his lips to kiss it. It made her heart swell sadly.

"No doubt," Ron agreed. "You'll always be our mate. I mean, we probably wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for you."

"Yeah, Hermione," Harry said, giving her the first smile she had seen from him all night. "Besides, Snape's going to protect you from Malfoy. You need someone to protect you from Snape."