A/N: Hello, everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their continued support, and to point out that this story has reached one thousand followers! This absolutely blows my mind, and I am so grateful to everyone who has enjoyed this story of mine, and let me know by either following, favoriting or reviewing. These things keep me writing, you guys, and help me to find a reason to expend my creative energies in this direction. Bless you all!

Beta Love: oblivion . baby, my sweet, sweet, confectiony dollop of grammatical goodness.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Vow

October 5, 1997

She waited in the dark, her wand trained on the wooden door leading into their sitting room. She had exhausted her supply of tears nearly an hour before, and had focused her energies almost immediately on solutions. The problem, as she saw it, was that her husband had the unfortunate tendency to underestimate her and the heinous power to enforce his opinions. The only way to solve the predicament was by force, and Hermione knew she was quite capable of what she had planned.

She heard him before she saw him, his boots striking the stone floor of the Headmaster's Office as he made his way toward their chambers. Her eyes flashed as she adjusted her grip on the vine wood wand in her hand. He paused on the other side of the door, as if he were listening for her, trying to place her in the room.

"Hermione?" He paused, and Hermione held her breath, eyes still narrowed. "Hermione, can I come in?"

She said nothing, only waited until Severus sighed and turned the handle of the door, pushing it inward and stepping quickly into the room. She watched him for just a moment, noticing the rucksack he had slung over his shoulder and the wand held loosely between his fingers, and then she sprang into action.

"Incarcerous," she hissed.

Before he could react, the ropes which sprang from Hermione's wand were winding around him, binding his hands and his legs as Severus struggled and the wand dropped from his fingertips to clatter against the floor.

"Hermione!" he gasped, just as a kerchief gagged him and he collapsed to the floor, completely bound and wandless.

"Yes, Severus, you were saying?" She took several steps toward him, pointing her wand haphazardly at the sconces on the walls and lighting them wordlessly. "I'm sorry dear, I'm having a little trouble understanding you." She laughed as Severus' eyes widened at her feet, waving her wand once more to roll him from his side to his back so that she could look down into his face directly.

"Comfortable?" she asked, and cocked her head to the side. Severus stilled and stared up at her, his eyes now narrowed into glittering slits as she studied him.

"None of that," Hermione ordered crossly. "You're lucky ropes are the only thing I've decided to use on you." She paused, thinking for several seconds before shrugging. "For the moment."

Severus tried to speak from behind his gag, but his words were completely obscured, and Hermione sighed audibly. "You know, I really think you've done enough talking tonight. I think I deserve a turn." She settled onto the floor beside him, using her wand to shift him until his head was lying in her lap and she could run her fingers through his hair. She could feel damp sweat at the roots beneath her hand. She watched him as he allowed his eyes to flutter shut at her touch, and then tugged sharply at his locks. His gaze flew open immediately, startled, and she smiled sweetly at him.

"Now pay attention, love," she told him, keeping her voice low as she continued to twirl his black hair in her hands. "I understand that your great, neanderthalic brain thinks it has some sort of advantage over my lesser, feminine organ… hush, no protests. Its obvious, that you think you know better than me, and that you think it's acceptable to impose your preferences despite my own desires, but I really think it's time for you to reexamine your instincts where I am concerned."

Idly, Hermione began to braid a lock of Severus' hair, leaning down to kiss him on the forehead when she was finished and smirking at the look of absolute fury on his face.

"I am not helpless, Severus," she continued with a narrowed gaze. "I am quite capable of defending myself… and of seeking my own retribution. I am, after all, my father's daughter."

At this, Severus rolled his eyes and mumbled something from behind his gag. Hermione responded by digging her nails into his scalp, and he flinched in response.

"What was that, darling? You agree?" And she reached down, untying to the gag he wore and tossing it aside. Severus moved his jaw and lowered it from side to side before looking back up at her.

"You may wrap yourself in the icy exterior you've attempted to cultivate, Hermione, but I know it's nothing more than a facade. I am not some common Death Eater to be intimidated by your blood. I am your husband, dammit."

"Funny," spat Hermione, who stood abruptly and let Severus' head hit the hardwood floor with a thunk. "I rather thought you were my gaoler. You played the part rather convincingly this evening."

"Hermione," he said with a pained note in his voice.

"No," Hermione hissed, and whirled back to face him with her wand drawn. "I'm not interested in your penitence. Get up." She released his bonds with a flick of her wand and levitated his own wand towards him. He looked confused for a moment, until Hermione adjusted herself into a dueling stance.

"Hermione, I'm not going to—"

"Stupefy!" she cried, and the jet of red light flew from her wand toward Severus, who raised his wand instinctively to deflect the spell.

"This isn't going to fix anything, please just—"

"Reducto!"

"Protego!"

A blast reverberated against his shield, and Hermione watched in satisfaction as Severus adjusted his own stance to one more appropriate for dueling. It took several more nasty hexes aimed in his direction, however, before Severus finally took the initiative and began levelling his own spells at Hermione, who snarled response.

Flashes of light and small explosions rocked the room as the pair fought, Severus largely shielding himself, and throwing only the occasionally jinx in response to Hermione's deluge of curses.

"Fight back, you bastard!" she cried as she aimed a slicing curse at his legs. Severus growled, avoiding it narrowly, a long, thin tear opening his robes at the knee.

The duel went on for several minutes more, and as Hermione finally managed to back Severus into one of the corners of the sitting room, she could feel sweat beginning to form on her brow.

"Lumos Maxima!" The spell Severus cast took her by surprise, and Hermione winced, squeezing her eyes shut tight and turning her head to the side as she lifted her wand to extinguish the brilliant light. Before she could do so, however, something hard collided against her, pushing her off balance and taking her down to the floor in a tackle.

"Bloody, fuckering shite!" she spat, as she struggled against the figure which was now pinning her to the ground. Her wand had been lost in the flurry of movement, and she began to pinch at any bit of skin she could reach beneath the voluminous robes her attacker wore.

"Gods dammit, you hell cat!" Severus hissed, taking her hands and pinning them deftly above her head as he settled his weight atop her to keep her still. "I was trying to protect you!"

"You were silencing me!" Hermione glared up at him as she stilled, realizing that with his weight and strength she had no chance of escaping until he was ready to let her. The bastard.

"I was preventing the bond from endangering either of us near the Horcrux, you insufferable—"

"YOU TOOK AWAY MY CHOICE, SEVERUS!" She screamed the words into his face and saw his brow furrow as their meaning seemed to sink in. He clenched his jaw.

"Neither of us has any real choice anymore, Hermione. I stole the illusion of autonomy." He released her hands, and she pushed him away immediately, shimmying out from under him and leaning her back against the wall as he raised himself to his knees, a pained expression on his face.

"I am sorry," he said, and Hermione laughed humorlessly.

"For what?" she asked. "Sending me to my room like an errant child, or pissing me off?"

"For hurting you." His answer was barely more than a whisper, and Hermione's heart clenched in her chest, but the indignation she still felt over his treatment of her would not allow her to forgive him just yet, not until she had secured what she had required.

"Empty words," she said, voice cold as she stood, retrieving her wand from the floor and tossing him a contemptuous look as she made her way into the bedroom. Severus followed, giving her only a little space as she moved to the bedside to light the tall candles waiting there.

"Hermione, I had to protect you. The bond—"

"I don't want to hear about the bloody bond," she snapped. "I won't have you using our marriage as an excuse to control me, Severus Snape. You could bloody well have explained to me if you were feeling a compulsion to protect me, and I would have listened!"

"That's rich," Severus scoffed. "I tried to explain to you the dangers that existed, but you, in all of your experience and wisdom, decided that you knew more than I!"

"That wasn't your compulsion speaking, you arse, it was your fear!"

"I was trying to protect you, you insufferable nag!"

"You were trying to tuck me safely out of the way, like some porcelain prize you're afraid will break!"

"You're angry because I love you and am trying to keep you out of harm's way!?"

Hermione growled and rounded on Severus, striding forward and poking him in the chest with her wand, which sparked and singed his robes.

"No," she cried, "I'm furious because your idea of protecting me takes away both my choice and my power! I am not frail, Severus. I am a bloody Dark Princess, and the brightest witch Hogwarts has seen in an age. I am capable of killing a fucking Horcrux and bringing a great bloody Dark Wizard like you to his knees. I don't need you to control me, or tuck me away in some stupidly gallant effort to keep me safe. I am more than capable of protecting myself using the talents I've spent my life cultivating. And I am sick of being doubted, of being underestimated."

As she spoke, she noticed Severus watching her. She was impassioned by the injustice he had done her, and was determined to make her point; she supposed it must be making an impression, because when she was finished speaking, he sat heavily on the bed. He dropped his face into his hands, his dark hair falling down to obscure his expression completely. He seemed torn, and Hermione thought that perhaps the time had come to ask for what she wanted.

"I cannot apologize for wanting you safe," he said, his voice hoarse.

"But you can see that forcing the issue was wrong?" Hermione pressed, staring at him and watching him intently for signs that he was willing to admit that Ordering her had been a mistake. She realized, as she waited, that whatever his answer, it would be a turning point for them.

"Hermione, I could not see another path. Bond be damned, you are the most important thing in my world… and I cannot bear the thought that you might suffer harm when I can prevent it…" His voice broke and trailed off for nearly a full minute before he spoke again, turning his pained black eyes to face her. "But you're right; my use of the Order was selfish, not altruistic. I was not compelled. And I am sorry."

Hermione let out a relieved breath, vindicated at last, as a weight seemed to lift from her chest. She moved to his side, sitting on the bed and feeling his weight next to her as she grabbed his hand, running her thumb along the ridges of his knuckles. She noticed an ugly burn across the back of his hand and frowned.

"What's this?" she asked. "Accio Dittany." The small potion bottle sped into her hand from the bathroom, and she began to tend to the wound.

"The diadem. Burned the shite out of my hand as I tried to stab it. Fucking thing tried to attach itself to my head." Severus winced as Hermione grabbed his other hand, which had burns more extensive and more severe than the ones she had healed already.

"But you destroyed it?" She asked, breathless as she waited for his answer. Severus only nodded, and Hermione exhaled in relief. "Thank God."

They sat in silence as Hermione continued treating the wounds on her husband's hands, watching as skin regrew and knitted itself together, leaving behind only shiny pink flesh, tender, but mostly healed.

"Thank you," Severus said when she was done and had released his hands, corking the dittany again and sending it zooming back to its place in the potions cabinet.

"Don't thank me," Hermione shrugged. "I need your hands relatively comfortable if you're going to make a vow to me." She said it casually, tossing the words out into the air as if they weren't likely to create the sort of arched eyebrows reaction Severus was now giving her.

"Excuse me?"

Hermione cleared her throat, feeling nervous now, but pressing on despite the uncertainty. This had been her plan since he'd walked through the door, hadn't it? And it was no less important now than it had been when she had bound and gagged him. "I said I want you healed so that you can take a vow. An Unbreakable Vow. I know you've apologized, and it isn't that I don't trust you… but Severus, we can never truly be equal in this relationship if one of us holds the type of power you do, over the other. I want you to swear that you will never force me again, and in return, I will vow consideration for the dangers which might compel you. I will not promise to stay cloistered away when there is a threat… but if my actions, or presence become a danger to you… Severus, you're safety is important to me too. If I am putting you in danger, I will rectify the situation, and if that means hiding away in my rooms, so be it. I can't— Severus, what are you doing?"

He was sliding off of the bed, onto his knees beside her, and Hermione watched in astonishment as he moved to face her, his expression unreadable and his posture stiff. Without a word, he lifted his wand, aiming it just over his heart as he reached out with his free hand to place his palm over Hermione's chest and her own pulsing organ.

"Sev—"

"Shut up," he insisted, cutting her off and meeting her gaze, his eyes deep and impenetrable pools. "A vow requires a third, and I will not bring another in to witness. A Magical Oath will have to suffice. You are familiar with how they work?" Hermione's eyes widened, and she nodded. She had read about oaths of this kind over the Summer, when she had been ensconced in the library of Keep Avery. Unlike the Unbreakable Vow, Magical Oaths did not require anyone's participation but the oath taker's, and they did not result in a loss of life, but in something many wizards deemed far worse.

"Hermione Snape," Severus began, his gaze still holding hers steady as his hand warmed the spot over her heart. "I pledge, that I will never again use our bond to force you into compliance. I pledge this on my wand and on my magic, may both be taken from me should I break trust." Intense heat flowed from Severus' hand into Hermione's chest, flooding her with an almost uncomfortable glowing warmth that dissipated nearly as quickly as it had seared her.

"Oh, Severus," Hermione cried, dropping to her own knees, leaving them mere inches apart as she placed her own hand on his chest, mimicking the motions he had made. "Severus Snape, I pledge to honor our bond, and to listen to your concerns about my safety, keeping in mind how my actions affect you, and to make decisions I think will do the least harm. I pledge these thing on my wand and on my magic, may both be taken from me should I break trust."

This time, the heat began in her heart, at the point where her wand was pressed, and rushed through her. It settled in her hand for a moment and then seemed to cross over to Severus, whose eyes widened and whose nostrils flared at the sensation.

"Thank you," Hermione said, her voice hoarse with emotion, and she fell against him, pressing her chest to his and relishing the feel of his arms as they wrapped around her, drawing her as close as possible. She breathed in his scent as her eyes fluttered shut, and she buried her face in his shoulder, letting the silken strands of his hair brush her cheek. He smelled of smoke, sweat, and dust, with a hint of the sour stench of rotted basilisk still clinging to him. Still, despite the offensive odors, she drew in another breath, noting the subtle sandalwood and brandy beneath it all. "Thank you," she repeated.

One of his hands stroked up her back, its fingers twining in the hair at the base of her skull and tilting her face up to give him access. He kissed her, soft and slow at first, but with increasing desperation as they continued to cling to one another. Soon, his mouth was slating above hers, his tongue delving in to brush her teeth as she shivered and then moaned, melting against him with the practiced ease of a familiar lover.

When he broke the kiss, she was little more than a puddle, held boneless in his arms. She made a noise of dissatisfaction as he withdrew, and he chuckled, stroking her cheek with a hand before leaning in to drop a chaste kiss there.

"Perhaps another night," he murmured. "I'm afraid being bound, gagged, and hexed, does little for the male ego." He picked himself up off of the floor, his black robes draping around him as he began to unbutton them. Severus' eyes positively twinkled as he shed the garment and climbed into their bed. Hermione's pupils widened in response.

"You bastard. You're teasing me!"

Severus smirked and held out an arm.

"Come to bed, Hermione."