Monday morning came with the inexorability of doom, with the inevitability of evil fate, waiting around the bend to fall on Snape's head, demanding retribution. Not that he had no sins to atone. Rather, Severus simply did not like Mondays, and over the years he spent at Hogwarts, Monday mornings answered him with absolute reciprocity.
At first, he suffered from insomnia. Closer to midnight, his restless wanderings round the chambers were replaced by a migraine brought by snowfall, and finally, at dawn, he was awakened by Crookshanks, who again made his way into Snape's chambers totally unexpected though not unwelcomed. Having suffered until the gray November pre-dawn twilight, Snape hesitated between the desire to swallow the dreamless sleep potion, which caused him a terrible addiction since the war, and a glass of Firewhiskey. After some careful thinking, he dismissed both options as meaningless and went out into the corridor. Crooks, like an insistent red flame, hurried after him.
It didn't take Sybil Trelawney's talent to understand what exactly disturbed Snape on this gray morning, shrouded in frost and anticipation of another storm. Today... everything was supposed to happen today, closer to midnight. Alarmed and completely confused, Hermione must find herself in Minerva's office. She must experience extreme stress, which would entail another panic attack. After that, the frightened Headmistress would ask for help, and the Ministry would accept its infamous Law.
Severus was determined to make the coming situation as bearable as possible, both for himself and for Hermione.
He worried about her. More and more with each new day. In the past, his wife was radiant with energy, if not spreading her optimism everywhere, then exactly finding words of support for everyone. In the present, she was prone to silence most of the time. Hermione developed a routine of going to the library or spending her time in the greenhouses. Maybe even hiding in Severus' laboratory and experimenting with dark potions. Snape did not approve of this but decided to wait with his poisonous remarks for now. There was no need for them to quarrel now. It would be absolutely useless.
Thinking so, Snape made his way to the Astronomical Tower unnoticed to everyone and froze at the entrance, noticing Hermione standing thoughtfully at the railing.
"Good night, Professor. Or better say, good morning," Hermione whispered, grinning at her own thoughts.
Snape stepped inside and stood next to Hermione, not breaking the silence with unnecessary comments.
Snowflakes were slowly falling from the sky, covering the ground frozen over the fall, and it seemed that the annual arrival of winter, despite the cold weather, made the world a little warmer, as if covering it with a blanket.
"Ron left for Romania and he is quite happy with his dragons. Recently he sent me a letter saying that he found himself a clever witch named Iona, he is sure that no one can cope better with baby dragons than her. I'm happy for him. Harry and Ginny are preparing to announce their engagement. Neville and Luna seem to have unexpectedly got teaching jobs and acquired love as a bonus. And Merlin forbid, I'm not complaining."
"Which is why you came to the Astronomical Tower at a pre-dawn time: to express your thoughts into the void."
"Why not? I think you are a worthy companion to express my thoughts to," Hermione muttered and looked Snape in the eyes. He averted his gaze.
"This place is not a good choice for confessions, Miss Granger, and I'm hardly a sympathetic listener."
"Nevertheless. You could advise me to go find Remus and pour out my heart to him, but for some reason, you are here and still have not chased me away."
"It was I who invaded your personal space this strange morning, after all."
"Ah, that's true. So, don't get me wrong: Remus is my friend, he and I went through a lot. I experienced a lot of bad things together with each of the inhabitants of Hogwarts, as I experienced them together with you," Hermione deliberately highlighted the last phrase, not noticing Snape's grip on the railing. "But he's a werewolf."
"I have not noticed your dislike of magical creatures before."
"I'm not talking about his illness, Professor, leave your prejudices. It's just that werewolves choose a mate for themselves for life, he has already chosen his. And lost her in that damned battle that changed our lives forever."
Snape froze, as if thunderstruck: this remark, casually thrown by Hermione, at once put all his indecision at rest. How could he forget this characteristic feature of wolves? Indeed, it was true that the werewolf had only one she-wolf for life. Magic would not allow him to find a partner for a second time. Feeling a nasty chill run down his spine, Snape decided to ask a question that worried him the most:
"Would you... Would you like to become a werewolf mate, Miss Granger, forgive my straightforwardness?"
"I have nothing against werewolves, and I am still not finished with my project regarding the rights of the Magic Races, but as I said, Remus is my friend. He's like the older brother I never had. Like Harry, only Remus is more open, or like Ron, only more serious. He is always ready to listen to my complaints and he is ready to gossip about the Ministry together, he is always eager to help me with the Dark Curses, and he always knows what exactly worries me today. We spent the first post-war year together. I helped Remus take care of Teddy, and he helped me lick my wounds after losing my parents, so to say. I owe him."
"Yes, which is why you are jumping headlong into another crazy project: precisely in order to repay the wolf for his kindness and supportiveness," Snape thought angrily. Her words left an unpleasant aftertaste on his tongue. Once again, the Marauder crossed his path, and Snape did not like the consequences. Remus knew a lot more about his wife than he knew himself. And who was to blame for this?
"Is that why you are looking for some crazy projects now? To thank Remus?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow in question. Hermione blushed and looked back in dismay, like a freshman who hadn't learned her lesson.
"How do you know about Sirius?"
"Miss Granger, only a deaf person has not heard about your conversation with Minerva, which was too enthusiastic, and, alas, even ghosts are not deaf at Hogwarts. So?"
Hermione was silent for a while, shifting from foot to foot, but after a while, nevertheless, she remembered her notorious Gryffindor courage and confessed barely audibly.
"I owe Sirius my life."
"Undoubtedly, which is why you decided to disturb the magic of the Arc of Death in order to return him the favor? How selfish of you, Miss Granger."
"Not at all," said Hermione, quite sincerely surprised. "I am going to use Arc's magic to bring him back to the world of the living."
Once again it was Snape's turn to stare thoughtfully into the distance.
On the day of that terrible battle in the Ministry, which claimed the lives of so many people, deprived them of health, and became just another move in the cruel chess game between Dumbledore and Voldemort, where the fates of people were only considered as the pawns, Snape did not have time. Once again in his life, he did not have time to help the idiot Potter, who rushed to rescue his godfather, did not have time to grab a bunch of unreasonable children who decided to play heroes by the scruff of the neck, for he simply could not leave the School unattended.
Narcissa sent him anxious Patronuses every hour: her husband, her sister, and cousin were now risking their lives for some unknown reason. And what could Severus say to her? Both Sirius and Bella were incredibly similar in their madness, both defended their own ideals. Lucius, for his part, could not disobey Voldemort's direct order.
Severus paced his office and waited for the outcome.
Minerva tried to rule the chaos, that seemed to take over Hogwarts, but it would be easier to contain the bursting dam. Every now and then there were reports from Alastor Moody that the children had been seen here and there, that these idiots had managed to fly on thestrals, and that the Ministry atrium was full of Death Eaters.
Snape wanted desperately to get drunk. He cursed Gryffindor's recklessness and immediately entered into a meaningless argument with his inner voice, reminding him that it was Minerva - a lioness to the bone marrow - who once took him under her wing and practically adopted him. That boring mental monologue only heated Snape's already stretched nerves to the limit. He hated himself for the forced helplessness, the feeling, however, was not new to him.
And so, at the moment when he was about to overstep both Dumbledore's order and a desperate request to look after the children from Minerva who remained in the castle, a silver dog jumped in the window and shouted in Black's voice: "Snape, damn you, run to the gate immediately. I need help here".
Black was asking for help from his worst enemy? Thinking so, Snape was already running downstairs, fearing to know which one of the children had managed to get into trouble this time.
At the gate, Sirius handed Hermione, who was barely conscious and in immense pain, to Snape's outstretched arms and Apparated away without any further explanation. Dolokhov's dark curses were just as insidious in nature as Dolokhov himself. This particular spell Snape recognized immediately and barely suppressed the colorful swearing bursting out from his tongue: of course, the champion of Voldemort's ideas was far from showering the Muggle-born witch with roses. The black magic of this particular spell made it impossible for Muggles and Muggle-borns to have children. And only the abilities of a pureblood wizard, in theory, could remove the curse. Or the power of love. Snape shook his head ruefully, considering two options in his mind, and hurried to the Hospital Wing. At the moment, he was more interested in saving Miss Granger's life than in her hypothetical heirs.
Before losing consciousness, Hermione whispered, "Will you help me, Professor?"
Now Hermione was seriously concerned with the idea of bringing Black back from the other world. She was sure, if he hadn't hesitated that night in the Ministry, if he hadn't rushed to her rescue, he would have time to dodge Bellatrix's curse, and Harry would not have lost his only relative.
Snape for his part cursed himself for not thinking about returning his own Life Debt to Hermione. Perhaps he would not have to re-live this crazy year now if he announced his intention to repay Hermione for saving his life?
Yes, of course, he knew about the Life-giving Blood potion, with the help of which Hermione pulled him out of the afterlife, but he also knew that she did not demand a debt from him. Consequently, she saved his life completely unselfishly, as Black had once saved her. No, Snape emphatically did not understand the Gryffindors, with their stubborn tendency towards the triumph of good and justice.
Evening found Severus pacing nervously through the chambers, glancing at his watch every now and then. He was tormented by insomnia again, meditation and Occlumency would not help, and he could hardly resist the urge to rush into Minerva's office and learn the latest news about the Marriage Law.
As always in moments of extreme anxiety, Snape reached for the Castle. The Headmaster's powers gave him an excellent opportunity to find out about the whereabouts of everyone who was under the protection of the walls of Hogwarts. In the past he often used this trick, managing at the last moment to save the children from imminent disaster. Now all his thoughts were directed to Hermione.
Her feelings were in complete disarray, he could hear her muffled sobs and words of comfort from Minerva. Hermione possessed extreme frustration with life, fear of the future, and reluctance to leave Hogwarts. The latter surprised Severus.
He was about to leave the chambers and rush into the Headmistress's office when suddenly the Castle told him that Lupin was running along the corridors. The werewolf was the last person Snape wanted to see on this troubled night. Somebody pounded on his door several times.
"Severus, come, quickly! The Ministry has bad news for us, and Minerva urgently calls for you."
"Is Potter returning to Hogwarts to teach Divination?" Snape snapped as he walked around Remus and locked the door behind him.
"What are you on about? I'm talking about Marriage Law, not Harry. The Ministry issued a decree that all Muggle-borns must marry under forced marriage within the next month and acquire heirs by the fall of next year, otherwise, they will be forcibly evicted from Britain. We've been given a list of potential suitors, and half of them are vindicated Death Eaters."
"What about you? Where is your illustrious Gryffindor nobility?" Snape could not resist his venomous remark, and turning around, he looked at Lupin.
"I suppose, Severus, you know more about werewolf mating than I do. And Nymphadora was not just a female that turned up on my way, she was my she-wolf. I don't need another one," Remus answered calmly and carefully. Snape broke out in a cold sweat.
"Go back to Minerva. I'll be right there."
"Help her, Severus, there's no one else but you."
"I don't need your morals, Lupin, leave them for Black. I heard Hermione was planning to bring him back from the afterlife."
"And you started calling her by her name, I see," Remus said cryptically and hurried back.
Snape didn't focus on his parting remark and instead closed his eyes in concentration. After a while, the stone floor under his bare feet warmed up, marking the shortest route to the Headmistress' office, bypassing treacherous flights and moving stairs. Snape had done a similar trick more than once in the past - taking off his shoes and letting Castle guide him toward his goal. Without Headmaster's ordering, but asking for help from Hogwarts.
Despair, confusion, and general depression were clearly felt in Minerva's office. Hermione rubbed her eyes sore with tears with a handkerchief, Minerva worriedly dripped the Soothing Tincture into the glass of water. Snape froze in the doorway.
"Severus, thank Merlin! Miss Granger wants to talk to you so I will leave you for a little while," Minerva said hastily and left her office.
Hermione gave Snape a haunted look and, her head down, spoke, barely uttering a word.
"The Ministry issued its Decree on Marriage, which they promised us from the very end of the War. An excellent choice awaits me: to become the wife of Yaxley, or Dolokhov, or perhaps the son of Rookwood, who tortured dozens of innocent people to death. Ron caught Dragon Pox and has been in quarantine for a month, not that he agreed to marry me, he is quite happy with his Romanian sorceress. I will have to leave Britain, where everything has just begun to work out for me. Of course, I will get out of the Sirius Arch. And after that, I'll leave."
"Where to?" Snape asked, feeling completely discouraged.
"I have no idea. Perhaps I will go to my parents in Australia, rent a house next door, get a job in some bakery and pretend that I don't know that such lovely people once had a daughter. Also, I'll write letters and send cards for Christmas, and miss Hogwarts,'' Hermione whispered and suddenly raised her head, burning Snape with her gaze. "I would like to say goodbye, Severus, while there is still time."
"What are you talking about? Wait!"
But Hermione did not have time to answer: the panic attack, restrained with the help of sedative drops, finally made itself known. Snape rushed to her, lifted her to her feet, hugged her closer, placed her bare feet on his feet, and cast a spell.
"Calor Aeternam!"
"It's the spell of the magic of eternal warmth," commented the eternal know-it-all in Hermione, trustingly clinging tightly to Snape once more, "It draws strength from the very soul of the conjurer, but... why? Why would you waste such powerful magic on me?"
"I want to help," Snape replied, trying to warm her icy fingers with his breath.
From the outside, they might seem like they were dancing or doing a famous scene from Pride and Prejudice, they didn't care.
"What do you mean?"
"Will you marry me, Hermione?" Severus whispered.
She smiled, hiding her face on his chest, and closed her eyes. She felt warm.