Authors note: This story is running away from me! longest chapter so far. Please let me know how you like this chapter, took me a lot longer to write then usual and I'm a little nervous. Chapters should continue to be a little longer than they were, so my updating schedule should be a little more sporadic. Hopefully an update a few times a week. Like and review so I know I'm still doing good. Happy reading! :)

Two weeks after Alice's wedding, when Petra was feeling absolutely lonely and isolated, her mother informed her that her fiance Severus would be joining the family for dinner so the two of them could get to know each other outside of school. Petra was sure her mother did not care whether or not they had dinner together, and this was confirmed when she overheard her grandmother saying to her parents that 'she'll be more responsive if she feels less like she's marrying her teacher.'

Well, Petra was sure that it would still feel that way after attending her last year at Hogwarts with Snape as her advanced potions teacher. The class would be smaller to help her prepare for her N.E.W.T.S. with more one on one and he would definitely feel like a teacher then. But she held her tongue and attended the dinner with all of the pureblood elegance she could muster, lest she bring any of her family's wrath back on her.

The dinner went better than she thought it could, with her grandmother asking most of the questions, and her mother getting frustrated by Snapes one word answers. Her father was amused by his wifes displeasure, and over all Petra left the table a little less angry then she had entered. If Severus (Petra was still unsure about using his first name) was going to upset her mother anytime they conversed then maybe this marriage wasn't the worst thing that could happen. At least he didn't look at her the way Thorfinn had looked at Alice and sometimes even Petra.

So Petra returned to school a little less afraid of her impending marriage at the end of the year. She was of age and even had her apparition license, although she didn't particularly like that mode of transportation. The welcoming feast started as it normally did, but with a surprise guest at the staff table. What was surprising was a new potions teacher and Snapes promotion to DADA, but she was relieved by this news because she knew he would at least prepare her year for their N.E.W.T.S properly, and fill in the gaps left by Umbridge. She was less sure about the new potions professor, a large balding man named Horace Slughorn, who was far into his cups by the time the welcoming feast was over. Hopefully he was better at potions then self control and she wouldn't have to spend more time with Snape this year keeping up with advanced potions.

Her first week was easy, and she started to read further into her textbooks as the other slytherins were doing, making notes for class and checking off information she was confident in. Snape acted normally toward her in class, answering her questions and ignoring her unless she needed him to help. All in all it wasn't a bad way to start her last year.

Petra would be taking all of her core N.E.W.T.S. along with alchemy, arithmancy and ancient runes. That was eight N.E.W.T.S. she would have under her belt, and she felt that all would contribute to her apprenticeship presentation for wand making. It was a large workload but hopefully it would pay off well. At least being engaged to Snape she was pretty sure he would put her studies and career on high priority and not expect her to drop everything once they were married. Most pureblood matches ended with careers that were only sought to entice potential suitors, like Alice's Mediwitch apprenticeship. Alice had chosen medicine with her future children in mind. Petra wasn't the type to settle on that kind of relationship and had always been ready to fight tooth and nail to become a wand maker.

Being invited to Dumbledore's office later in September wasn't surprising but what she saw when she arrived was. His right hand was blackened and dead. She had so few visions that summer that she assumed this year might be relatively calm. Apparently not. He smiled at her nonetheless, and asked her to sit down and offered her a lemon drop which she declined.

"Any new visions this summer miss Strider?" He asked politely.

"Nothing noteworthy, although I do know who wins the last two quidditch games this year." She smiled her half smile.

"While that is tempting, I believe I must decline that information out of moral necessity. Any Strange dreams?"

Petra had been having quite strange dreams, and she wanted to tell him one specifically, of Dumbledore falling from the astronomy tower, but after Snape's warning last year and a dreadful feeling in her stomach when she thought of mentioning it, she kept it to herself.

"Nothing other than usual dreams and nightmares, sir." She felt terrible lying but felt better than if she had told him. Sometimes the right decision still felt bad.

"And what of your engagement to Severus?" This caught her off guard, and her shields strengthened automatically to keep her calm.

"I was informed of it this summer and my parents hosted him for dinner sometime toward the end of July. He seems like a respectable match and I'm happy to have parents thinking of my future." Fiona had prepared her for questions like this and this felt like an appropriate response to his question.

"Oh, miss Strider, I am not your parents, nor your grandmother, you may speak honestly here in my office. I understand that this must have come as a surprise, and probably not a welcome one. Not like presents on Christmas but more like a cold hand on your arm. I regret this chain of events leading to you but I felt it was in your best interests not to marry someone much worse with whom your family might be acquainted with. Severus is a good man and will make you a loyal and protective husband who, hopefully, will be able to keep you out of this war."

This news made her head swim. Dumbledore had helped make her this match? How?

He sensed her apprehension apparently. "Miss Strider, I would like to informally make you a member of the order of the phoenix now that you are seventeen and in your last year of school. While I would usually wait until a student has graduated, I feel that you would have much to contribute and it would be a way to enter you into the fold and explain some things that may confuse you about what I have just told you."

"What would joining 'informally' entail, sir?"

"Well, a vow to keep the secrets of the order, and a vow to not reveal yourself as a member to anyone outside of the order. If you choose to accept, this conversation will continue and you will be let in on secrets which will make your impending nuptials easier to handle." His eyes twinkled and he smiled at her conspiratorially.

"May I accept later on in the year? I would like some time to think about it."

"Yes, but you will have to vow not to speak of the order outside of this room and only with me. Does that sound reasonable?"

"Yes, headmaster, that sounds more than reasonable." She sighed in relief. "I vow to speak of the order to know one but you, Headmaster Dumbledore, and to not speak of the order outside of this room, until I am a member of the order of the Phoenix." She felt the vow settle into her wand and her magic.

"Thank you Miss Strider. You may go back to your common room now."

Petra spent most of November thinking about her answer. She knew that if her parents found out there would be hell to pay, but with vow to not reveal herself, and she imagined most of the order had taken similar vows, that was, at the moment, a non-issue. Knowing more about Snape would also be nice, and if he was involved somehow in the order than it would make Petra feel much better about marrying him.

So on the second of December Petra asked the gargoyle to let her up as Dumbledore had instructed her to. She gave it her temporary password 'ham and cheese' and the stone moved aside to reveal the spiral staircase which took her up to the ornate doors where she knocked. A quiet, "come in" and the doors opened to reveal the Headmaster and his blackened hand that made her uneasy.

"Hello Miss Strider. I suppose you are here to deliver your answer?" He looked tired. His 'affliction' hadn't spread any farther, at least to her eye, and that was a relief. Seeing the chaos of a Hogwarts without him was horrifying, and having nightmares of his death wasn't helping her fear one bit.

"Yes, Headmaster, I am here to accept your offer to join the order of the Phoenix."

….

Joining had been simple, and after, she had been filled in on a lot. Apparently her fiance was a spy for the order, and Dumbledore had thought it would make her impending marriage easier on Petra to know she wasn't marrying a full fledged death eater. It really was a relief. Petra had been finding it hard to breath whenever she thought about her position in the second war being on the side of evil.

She was invited to the next order meeting, if she could manage to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas break. If not she would have to find a way to sneak out and apparate to a little park in London and find 12 Grimmauld place. It would be terrible if her parents found out but she was eager to attend her first meeting and get to see her best friends again.

Dumbledore also wanted to start making time for Severus to court her; a day once a month or so for them to socialize as adults and equals, and not student and teacher. Petra was honestly excited for this, it would mean being able to ask him questions and talk freely to him without constraint. She doubted the dour professor would enjoy these meetings at all, but if Dumbledore insisted Petra was sure that Severus would accept.

The first of these meetings was right before the students were to leave for break. Petras mother had surprisingly allowed her to stay, though Petras guess was that her mother had no use bringing her to parties if she was already engaged. Dumbledore arranged for her to stay at 12 grimmauld for a week in the middle of break, to celebrate Christmas and catch up with the Twins.

At 6 pm on the day before break, Severus was waiting at the school gates for her, dressed in his usual black frock, with a sour expression on his face. Petra was dressed in a princess style dress, in emerald green with a skirt that swept just past her knees, with a shawl draped elegantly across her shoulders. For once she thanked her grandmothers insistence that she at least have a few formal dresses packed in her trunk for 'surprise occasions.' This was one of her favorites and she had never had a reason to wear it before. Plenty of warming charms were keeping her comfortable on her walk down, and she was taking her time so that he had plenty of time to take her in.

He was scowling at her attire. His entire body was tense and he looked like he would rather drag her to the gate so he could apparate them wherever it was he intended on taking her that evening. Instead he waited impatiently for her to finally arrive.

He awkwardly offered her his arm, and as they stepped across the property line she felt a pull in her belly and was apparated away.

They arrived on a side street in a wizard district Petra did not recognize, and the only reason she knew it wasn't muggle was the magical signs hanging above the shops. Floating signs were not normally hung above restaurants in muggle london.

"We are in a wizarding market in Greenwich. There is an acceptable restaurant down the street from here that I thought would be appropriate for tonight." his deep voice was softer that night, and Petra was lulled by it.

She continued to hold his arm as he led her down the narrow street. It was a colorful little area, with many shops Petra would have loved to explore on another night. She reapplied her warming charms as they strolled, and once or twice thought about making conversation but was a little too nervous to think of anything interesting to say to him.

He stopped walking and stood outside of a little restaurant called "A little piece of the world." Inside they were seated by a young woman who was either sick or baffled by the couple as she led them to a corner table and handed them each a menu. She understood now why he had decided this an appropriate place for their first 'date'. It had a menu item from every part of the world. It was the perfect place to take someone you know nothing about.

"This is a lovely place you have brought us to, um-" She had no idea how to address him. Obviously 'sir' or 'professor' was off the table, and she was quite sure that the Snape name was a muggle one, and if it was not, it was not a noble family so he would not be 'lord Snape'. Petra was completely lost.

"My official title is Lord Price, after inheriting the Prince's legacy when the last of the line passed away. But for the sake of this farce, and since I am here to court you, you are permitted to call me Severus, miss Strider, but only when we are alone and away from the school." He said all of this without looking up from his menu, which must be quite interesting if the way he was reading it was any indication.

"Well, Severus, I insist you call me Petra, with the same conditions. Thank you for agreeing to court me before we are married. It would be rather awkward to know nothing about each other before our wedding." She felt this was the appropriate thing to say.

"And what is so interesting about you that I should know before our wedding?" His sneer was intense and he looked at Petra like she was a sniveling child. "I already know about your absurd visions, and you come from a joke of a family. I cannot imagine there is anything of interest I could learn about you."

Petra was taken aback. His tone and the way he had gone from investigating the menu to staring at her was unsettling. Her temper was rising by the second and she could not help the outburst that followed.

"Well, Lord Prince, I see now that you have no interest in me as a person or a spouse. Now that I know your true feelings of courting me and this farce of an arrangement I will beg your forgiveness, and first thing tomorrow morning I will meet with Dumbledore and let him know that there will be no further need for this courtship." Her tone rivaled Fionas in that moment. She was not sure whether her grandmother would be proud or appalled but it honestly could not matter to Petra. She was beyond insulted.

"Petra, I-" He began but never got a chance to finish. The second he opened his mouth she was standing and reaching for her shawl.

"I beg your pardon, Lord Prince, but I am no longer hungry and would like to return to the castle. It would certainly be nice if you accompanied me but if you are too busy loathing me I will apparate back myself."

With that she was stalking back out of the restaurant and into the cold on the street. She didn't bother applying warming charms. The cold was helping her calm down and she needed to be level headed to apparate.

He was a step behind her as she started back up the street to where she assumed the apparition point was.

"Please, Petra. Listen to me before you storm away."

She stopped walking but refused to turn around. She heard him sigh before he spoke.

"I am deeply sorry for having insulted you. This marriage was no more my idea then it was yours, and it was wrong of me to treat you like that. If you will please have dinner with me tonight, I promise I will not continue to insult you before I get to know you." Petra turned around slowly to face him. He looked tired and torn and she could not bring herself to walk away.

"Fine, but I expect you to act like a gentleman and not an arrogant little boy."

They walked back to the restaurant in silence. When they returned to their table Petra quickly found something she liked. Their waitress returned shortly to take their order, and she looked even more confused after Petra stormed off, and she asked Petra to repeat herself more than was necessary.

Dinner was pleasant after they came to an understanding. Severus was a perfect gentleman all evening, and Petra was the perfect pure blood lady one could expect. When they returned to the castle gate later that night, she was surprised to see an almost content expression adorning his face. She realized that Severus Snape could look quite charming when he wasn't scowling or otherwise annoyed.

His nose was still too big, but fit regally into his face. His lips curved just so and his eyes- those deep black eyes- shone almost brightly, detailed with secrets and desires. His long black hair fell into a complementary shape along his jaw, and when he wasn't around potions almost 24 hours a day it was less greasy, and had a fairly healthy shine to it. Overall, he was more handsome then Petra had ever thought him to be.

"Thank you, for tonight, Severus." She half whispered. She was suddenly shy now that she was attracted to him. This was her first real crush, not some silly school girl crush where she admired in passing with no intention of ever talking to the boy, but an attraction to someone she would be talking to at least once a month and would marry in less then a year. Petra noticed she was blushing hard and let her light blonde hair fall over her cheeks in an attempt to hide it.

And then the strangest thing happened- the corner of his lips curled up when he saw her hide. It made him even more attractive and she was pretty sure her whole face was red.

"It has been my pleasure, Petra."