«We've gone down so many lonely roads
Searched for what we'd known was right around the corner
And I know from the time I saw your face
From our first embrace that you were the one» ©
Blackmore's Night — Call It Love
The first week of marriage flew by so fast for Snape and Hermione that they didn't even have time to realize that they, in fact, were now married. Family life. The very phrase sounded alien to them. And if Snape was perfectly familiar with his principles regarding matrimony, then Hermione's opinion on marriage life, still, remained a mystery to him.
The past seven days, immediately following their impromptu wedding ceremony, turned their lives into absolute chaos. Snape put the potion stirrer aside, frowned in annoyance, and stared out the window.
Minerva was summoned to the Wizengamot, where she had to fight for the rights of orphaned children and imply the wonders of resourcefulness for which no Gryffindor was known until now. Having inherited from the deceased Albus not only the post of Headmistress but also the post of Supreme Sorceress - an example of honesty and justice - Minerva was not at all happy about this. For a while, she honestly tried to shove the responsibility assigned to her onto Snape's shoulders. He remained adamant.
"Severus, listen," Minerva began smoothly when she happened to have tea in the Potions Master's office.
"Minerva, spare me, I beg you."
"You don't even know what this will be about yet," McGonagall asked in an innocent voice. Snape curled his lips and, with a gesture of a hospitable host, poured his own tea brew into cups.
"Madam, please, drink your tea, and keep your intrigues to yourself."
"Severus, you have every right to refuse my offer, but I want you to know that no one can handle the position of Supreme Sorcerer better than you. You take care of these children, you do your best to help their parents imprisoned in Azkaban, you are aware of the situation."
"Headmistress, I beg your pardon, but your words sound like a crazy farce to me. My fame as a Death Eater goes far beyond my so-called good deeds. Can you imagine what kind of hype the press will make when it finds out who exactly took the chair of the Supreme Sorcerer? And then, I take care of these children because once upon a time I was in a similar situation until Poppy practically adopted me," Snape paused for a while, indifferently sipping his tea, and then added, looking Minerva in the eyes, "And you, Minerva, adopted me as well. The fact for which I will forever be grateful to you."
McGonagall only brushed it off: the harsh Gryffindor lioness was not characterized by excessive sentimentality.
"Leave it, Severus, that's not the point. The point is that I will not be physically able to run the School and administer justice in the Wizengamot. And if Remus agreed to temporarily lead Gryffindor, then what to do with Hogwarts, I have no idea. Do you perhaps have any suggestions on what I shall do about the School?"
Ignoring Minerva's cunning squint, Severus set his cup down on the saucer and stretched lazily.
"You can always count on me, Headmistress."
"As much as you try to emphasize my title, my boy, we both know that the Castle itself has chosen you as its leader."
After Minerva's words, Severus straightened in his chair and leaned forward slightly.
"I never wanted to be a leader, Minerva. I would be much safer following the instructions of a wise commander than planning strategies and tactics on my own. The leader must be someone who cannot be broken, seduced with benefits or secret knowledge, and promises of false recognition. Yes, while the idea of joining the Death Eaters was the biggest mistake of my life, for a while I was almost happy. My thirst for knowledge was satisfied, it seemed to me that I was noticed. And who knows how the story would have turned out if I hadn't taken up espionage. The leader should be someone like Lucius, who will come to an agreement with the devil himself, someone like... Black," Snape squeezed the armrests, catching his breath. This unexpected conclusion made him recognize the potential of his once bitter enemy.
Minerva poured some tea into cups and motioned for Snape to continue.
"You know, I warned him about the Prophecy, I tried to convince him that Pettigrew was a traitor. I understand perfectly well that the past cannot be corrected, and this whole conversation has no meaning, but..."
"But you took care of Harry in your own way when all of his so-called relatives were too busy with revenge, just because you once tied yourself to the Life Debt of the Potters."
"Don't make excuses for me, Minerva," Snape waved away.
"I am not making excuses, I am, as you like to repeat, stating the obvious here. You are wrong to think that you are incapable of being a leader, Severus, the Castle itself chose and accepted you once. You know about that little intrigue made by Poppy and me. The one that allowed you to bypass Albus's direct order and avoid killing him at his request. After Dumbledore's death, I was supposed to lead Hogwarts, but the School called on you, and you responded."
"Poppy killed Albus to save me," Snape whispered, lowering his eyes. "Why, Minerva? Why did you continue to help me even when you found out that I joined Voldemort?"
"Because, Severus, not only are you tired of being a pawn in someone else's game, but also because sometimes parents see the potential of their children much earlier than children themselves," Minerva said and squeezed Severus's hand for a moment. "I have lost enough of my children in both senseless wars to stay on the sidelines when there is still a chance to fix everything."
Snape was silent for a while, pondering her words, then asked, voicing a sudden thought:
"Do you know about Hermione's intentions?"
"She tries to bring Sirius Black back? Debts must be repaid, Severus, you know perfectly well that the burden of guilt adversely affects the general welfare," Minerva smiled, "besides, Britain needs a leader, and Sirius needs to keep himself busy."
"That is, you have already decided everything for him?" Snape grumbled, sympathizing with his former enemy.
"Severus, listen to me: you have longed for peace and quiet all your life, you would be quite happy even in the Slytherin dungeons, even in the House on Grimmauld, even on a desert island. However, Albus Dumbledore decided otherwise: you had to establish social contacts, solve unsolvable problems, come up with strategies and tactics, while Black, active by nature, was forced to be a prisoner first in Azkaban, then in his own house. You managed to let go of the past, with the help of Poppy and me, you managed to let go of Lily, Sirius unlike you cherished only one feeling: revenge. Politicians don't like revolutionaries, Severus, so while raising a hero in Harry Potter, Albus skillfully got rid of those who might interfere with him. Until the Headmaster's stupidity and the Resurrection Stone intervened in the course of history. You know the rest of the story. And Sirius, meanwhile, saved Hermione from death, allow her to pay her debt."
Without waiting for an answer from Snape, Minerva straightened the folds in her robes and ceremoniously walked towards the exit, accidentally remarking in parting:
"The Hat offered you Gryffindor, my boy, don't deny that; that's why I want to say that you have much more leadership qualities than you can imagine. Therefore, Severus, from next week the School will be under your control."
All the following days from Monday to Saturday, Snape was sure that he lived in his own revived nightmare, which was called: "The forced Headmaster of Hogwarts and the problems that come his way." Someone threw a baby salamander into the Gryffindor Tower, fortunately, the fire was extinguished in time, and no one was hurt, but the fire victims were now forced to live with the Slytherins. Not to say that the warring faculties were too happy about this fact. Snape and Remus, who had entered into a non-aggression pact, had a shared opinion: it was time to eradicate the stupid rivalry between children once and for all, showing them that when united, they were capable of much more than apart.
Pomona Sprout fell ill with an inflammation of the middle ear, having received it by an absurd accident while working with mandrake embryos. Longbottom took care of the faculty temporarily and even had to postpone preparations for his own wedding.
Filius Flitwick was summoned to the annual world conference on goblin magic and race history. Filius, as a representative of these creatures, acted as a guest of honor and a respected magician. Ravenclaw in his absence was taken care of by Luna Lovegood. Severus was not worried about the blue-bronze faculty: the "eaglets" were capable of taking care of themselves, with their iron logic and incredible independence.
Hermione was torn between her ministry practice, the Advanced Charm final exams, and the Transfiguration lectures, which Snape had shamelessly pushed onto her shoulders when he couldn't find a more qualified specialist.
"I can't believe it, Severus," Hermione repeated, burying her nose in the lecture notes and blowing an annoying strand of hair from her forehead, "you passed NEWTs for the highest mark, and you claim that you don't understand Transfiguration?"
"Miss Granger, if you please, do you really yearn to catch rat-tailed tables around Hogwarts, or maybe chase broomsticks with bat wings with a net, or drink tea from teapots with turtle paws? Because I cannot give one hundred percent guarantee that something unaccounted for will not be conjured up during my practical seminars. I am a Potions Master, a duelist, a specialist in the Dark Arts, if you will. Turning pins into hedgehogs is hardly my forte."
Hermione looked up from her book and laughed at his words.
"Okay, I'll help you, but on one condition."
"I'm all the attention."
"Stop calling me Miss Granger and kiss me."
Snape was dumbfounded. Yes, he perfectly remembered that behind all the turmoil that fell on his head, they had not managed to consummate their marriage yet. Though, they acquired a habit of kissing each other. Hermione pecked him on the cheek in the morning, on her way to the Ministry. He gently left a kiss on the top of her head when she fell asleep at the desk too wrapped up in her books. She casually brushed stray strands of hair away from his face, her lips touching the edge of his lips.
He hugged her to himself, waking her up after a nightmare, and kissed her forehead.
He loved stealing kisses from her lips, he finally had the right to do so.
Therefore, hearing his wife's ultimatum, Snape just grinned and opened his arms to her.