Original Author's Note below because I like it. Enjoy!
A/N: This morning I woke up itching to write and I had a plan which did not involve what you are about to read; however as always characters and fictitious magical governments got in the way of what I wanted. What I did have planned for this chapter is now two chapters away and so I am unlikely going to stop at 15 chapters as originally planned but go on and on until I get to a point where I'm happy, then do deleted scenes and the chapter that will lead to the sequel – expect a cliffy of monumental proportions because, well… because it's me and I can't help myself.
There will be a member of the Coven getting a Cameo role in the next chapter, which should be fun! The beautiful Vine will be present as Apalapachia Vine (credit for 'Apalapachia' goes to the writers of Doctor Who – Series 6, Episode 10 – The Girl Who Waited), I thought it sounded quite apt as a witch's name. Hope everyone agrees as it's my favourite word of the chapter.
Well enough of me rambling on… please enjoy and review and all the other good things. x
Warmly ensconced in the embrace of her Professor-turned-lover, Hermione was roused from sleep by an insistent tapping/scratching sound coming from somewhere beyond the comfortable darkness of her eyelids. She had no intention of investigating the source of such an unwelcome resonance that had the gall to even consider disturbing her bliss. However, as the aural intrusion became more insistent and the arms around her tightened, alerting her to Severus also waking from the noise, she resigned herself to having to deal with whatever it was.
Her eyes opened and she mentally took in her surroundings, recounting the glorious encounters of the night before whilst scanning the room for the source of the tapping scratchiness. Her sleep filled eyes landed on the window and the beautiful tan and cream wings that hovered outside the glass panes.
"Owl…" she croaked out so Severus wouldn't have to be further disturbed. "I'll get it."
Severus begrudgingly released his new girlfriend from his embrace and listened to the tell-tale sounds of her shuffling and foot falls as she made her way to the window, muttering about being cold. He smiled at her feeling the loss of his warmth. She was the only one who knew him to have any. Lost in that thought and still awakening as he was, he missed the sounds of her opening the window and removing the letter from the bird but he did not miss the loud gasp that followed.
"What new crisis does today hold to warrant such an alarming intake of oxygen?" He asked, unable to hide his distaste for Gryffindor dramatics.
When no answer was forthcoming, he knew there must be an actual crisis at hand which, considering he had been through enough of those to last a lifetime, made his stomach churn in dread. He opened his eyes and found her standing by the still open window, eyes wide and mouth comically dropped open in shock. The churn in his stomach worsening, he stood from the bed and approached her; his knees popping with age as the pressure of standing up renewed.
"What is it, Hermione?" He asked in a much softer tone whilst wrapping a long, black, silk robe around himself.
Finally, she acknowledged his presence and handed him the unopened envelope. He wondered what could possibly have her so shell-shocked on an unopened correspondence but as he took it from her and looked at the addressees, he understood. In neat, block lettering, written in the purple ink of standard Ministry correspondence were the words he would have more chance understanding if he had been confounded.
MR & MRS S. T. SNAPE
ROOM 4
THE LEAKY CAULDRON
LONDON
A Master at keeping emotions in check until later, Severus guided Hermione back to the bed and urged her to sit down before requesting tea and toast from the service menu. He could understand Hermione's shock and even though they had both felt the insistence of magic that surged as they spoke intimate promises to each other the night before, even he held a high level of surprise at this turn of events. He inwardly cringed at the thought of the headlines in the Daily Prophet when Rita Skeeter got wind of this latest development.
"Let's have some breakfast and make sure we're fully awake before we read this. I have a feeling we're going to need to have our wits about us. Are you okay, Hermione?" He asked belatedly, realising the young witch was practically catatonic.
He stroked her back lovingly as he watched her eyes slowly come into focus and stare at him.
"I… I promise I didn't do this on purpose. I never wanted to take such a choice away from you as to who you should marry, or even if you wanted to. We've barely even… I mean, it's literally been a day. Severus, I'm so sorry. If I'd known this would somehow tie you to another set of vows, I would've been so much more… I don't know… careful… and… and less forward."
By the end of her words she was trying, unsuccessfully, not to sob and Severus felt her words pierce his heart. Though the reality of him being married to the Gryffindor Princess hadn't quite sunk into his mind yet, from her reaction, she was remorseful about the committed turn their relationship had taken. Being the self-deprecating man he was, Severus couldn't help but wonder if she had had a change of heart; if he was just a prize to be won. He knew that not to be the case considering her romantic interest in him had been present for more years that he knew were possible for her; he couldn't help that niggling doubt that she was so discombobulated at the thought of being his wife. He had no time to consider what being her husband would mean for him as he was interrupted by the pop of a house elf bringing them breakfast.
The elf settled the worn wooden tray on the bedside table and popped away without a word as Severus worked Hermione into a more comfortable position – namely leaning against his bare chest as he settled against the headboard.
She sipped tea blindly after he poured it for her and nibbled on the toast that he fed to her.
"Are you upset by this?" He asked her after a painfully silent few minutes. His words made harsh by his own anxiety at her reaction and the effort it took to resist reading her mind.
Startled by his return to the formidable professor persona, Hermione looked at him directly, his sharp piercing black stare narrowed back at her and smiled her sweetest, most indulgent smile in an attempt to placate his own misgivings.
"No, I'm not upset." She stated with determination as she turned around to face him, kneeling between his legs. "Just… taking in what it means and the… erm… repercussions. We're… Severus, we're apparently… married. I just… it's a lot to take in. I promise you though, I am not upset."
His scowl softened a little at her words but he was by no means as reassured as he was sure she meant him to be. Her reaction had somewhat dulled the elation he had felt upon waking to the feeling of an intelligent and sexy young witch in his arms and the smile she now had plastered on her face felt as though it was forced in order to make his mood less sour. It had worked a little but his mood could still curdle butterbeer at a hundred paces.
"We should open it and find out what we are really reacting to. It is utterly pointless to assume we have all the answers until we do." He stated, his face turning away in little less than disgust as he began to break the Ministry wax seal.
"Was that a dig at my know-it-all-ness?" She whispered into his ear with a playful tone, her left hand shamelessly moving up his thigh.
His shoulders unclenched a little at her return to their genuine rapport and he smirked unashamedly in support of his statement.
"If the encyclopaedia fits…"
"Well… what do they have to say then?" She asked with more anticipation in her voice now, ignoring his slur, and seemingly having accepted her surly husband.
He read the Ministry words out to her.
Dear Mr and Mrs Snape,
I am writing to inform you that as of late yesterday evening, the Department of Magical Births, Deaths and Marriages received an alert that an unauthorised binding took place between yourselves… Mr. Severus Tobias Snape and Miss. Hermione Jean Granger at 3.09pm on 13th May 1999. As from the receipt of this correspondence, you have twenty four hours to attend said Ministry Department and submit for questioning as to whether this binding was entered into willingly and/or intentionally.
Given your statuses as Professor and student respectively, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this union is either unintentional or illegal. In either case, the Ministry will work to dissolve the magical bond that has forged this marriage.
Yours sincerely
Apalapachia Vine
Marriages Division
Department of Magical Births, Deaths and Marriages
"Well, that is certainly…" Severus started but was unapologetically interrupted by an irate shriek.
"How could they think it would be unwillingly? It may not have been completely intentional but I would never be unwilling. Stupid fucking Ministry, making assumptions again." Hermione ranted as she got up and began angrily getting dressed.
Severus watched, speechless as she yanked her denim monstrosities on without stopping to even consider her knickers and summoned a t-shirt from her beaded bag and threw it over her head to shield her bare breasts. He recognised the disappointment as they vanished from his vision but was captivated more by her words as she continued ranting to herself as if she was talking to him but not really registering his presence.
"I swear, if they even try to dissolve this binding, they will be praying Voldemort was back and trying to kill me; it's clearly not enough for them that I'm of age and capable of making my own choices. It's not even enough that even though I was clearly smart enough, clever enough to send off on a suicide mission finding and killing horcruxes at the tender age of what they thought was seventeen but it's of course so obvious that I can't know my own heart, my own desires. I was a good girl… for years and years, I followed their moronic rules and stupid demands; I lived with two teenage boys alone for six months and kept my fucking virtue. They have no say, no right to take away what is mine and if they try... if they even try, they're not going to know what hit them."
Bending over and gasping from barely taking a breath she looked at Severus with her hands on her knees…
"You'll still want me if I switch sides won't you…? If I decide to take on the Ministry and fight for you using any means necessary, you'll fight too, right?"
The sudden change in her voice, mood and attitude - from warrior witch who would defend him and fight for him, claim him as her own into the deflated, defeated, completely insecure mouse-like creature that was now panting before him - almost gave him whiplash. She doubted him; after the last twenty four hours, after the last eight years, after knowing his heart and how incredibly hard it was for him to open up, she still doubted him. And it hurt.
He understood that she was fighting her own insecurities, perhaps even comparing herself to Lily and his past love of childhood obsession but how could she doubt his current devotion. Realising that if he voiced these concerns, she might very well think of it as a rejection, he swallowed his own doubts, reminding himself that she had just offered to launch a full scale attack on the Ministry if they even tried to dissolve her union with him, and moved to put his arm around her in a gesture of comfort.
"Mrs. Snape…" he began, with all the inflection that he knew would make her smile, "I intend to fight just as fiercely as you claim you will do for me, to keep my little lioness from the controlling arm of the Ministry. You're mine, Hermione," he said with a growl, tightening his grip, "…and they're not taking you away from me either."
He felt her shiver at his growl and a hit of pure lust flooded his groin at how easily both he affected her and she affected him. It was obvious to Severus that they had more talking to do but he couldn't bring himself to care. It was barely 8am, they were apparently newlyweds and even if he was willing to go straight to the Ministry to put them straight, her next words would have had him dropping all and every priority in order to claim her mouth.
"Good…." She began, diving in to kiss at the sensitive skin of his neck, licking just around the edges of the snake bite scar which she had learned during the course of the previous night made his grip on her tighten and his hips to thrust involuntarily. It was a good little trick which she intended to use to her full advantage. "Because when you growl like that, it gets me so, so wet." She whispered.
This time there were no words that left his mouth, just a growl as he grabbed her by the hips and flung her to her back before lowering his full weight over her, delighted that her legs opened without prompting and crashed his lips to hers in a moment of pure abandon.
"Mine…" he growled, his hands reaching under her t-shirt to palm her breasts and toy with her quickly pebbling nipples.
"Mine!" She whimpered breathlessly, biting his bottom lip as their tongues began to dance with each other once more.
A/N: Well, here we are at the end of another little TWP instalment. Hopefully it was fun, dramatic and full of nail-biting need to know more, can't read quick enough suspense. If not, well maybe next time. As I am now starting to draw to a close with this if anyone has suggestions for my deleted scenes chapter, please leave them in the reviews.
Love & Blessings
Moon Out x