"The Curse"
The hall had grown silent, the light tittering of the older ladies stopping abruptly while the Indian music faded away. Hermione stared up at the ceiling, face burning, to find that the miniature magic carpets were all in a ring around the center of the hall, as if observing them. A few tense seconds later, they burst into hundreds of white rose petals, littering the stone ground with smooth, snowy pieces of velvet.
Hermione looked down to her robes, which had faded from a blushing pink to a startling white with accents of silver. Thinking that it probably wasn't a great idea to be wearing a parasol-in-disguise around her neck, she immediately unfastened it just in time for it to burst into a bouquet of pink roses and daises, tied with a wide ribbon of white lace.
Snape stared at her, horrified. In what seemed to be taking tons of courage, he strode over smoothly and pushed his face close to hers. Hermione nervously noticed that his collar had transformed into a bowtie, and his overcoat had shortened and separated into two coattails.
"Did you plan this?" he asked her, his baritone voice filled with antipathy. "Is this some sort of prank?"
"No, Professor." From the tone of her voice, he could tell that she was stating the truth. "And I don't think this is much of a good joke, myself."
He turned and they observed their surroundings together, the bundle of flowers hanging limply at Hermione's side. Every single pair of eyes was on them, some confused, some amused, and some disgusted. The couple harboured all three of these emotions.
"What are you waiting for?" Dumbledore called our merrily. "Let the wedding begin!"
Hermione instantly found herself on a white aisle, Snape standing to her right, his face livid. Dumbledore stood before them, holding a book that greatly resembled a Bible.
He smiled widely. "Nothing pleases me more than bringing people I deeply care about together in love."
Snape finally snapped. Good thing, because if he hadn't, Hermione was sure that she would have. And she didn't need to be expelled quite yet.
"This isn't love!" Snape spat out. "This is complete insanity! You are trying to marry me off at your birthday party, and to a STUDENT! And not just any student, but Hermione Granger! She's only eighteen! And what would her parents think?"
"They are perfectly fine with it," Dumbledore sniffed. "They actually thought it was about time their daughter got a love life…and such that it involved a fine man like yourself."
Hermione's mouth snapped shut, her face flushed with an anger beyond words.
"But…but…" Snape stuttered. "I didn't agree to this!"
"Oh, but you did, dear boy." The roll of parchment appeared in Dumbledore's hand, both Hermione and Severus's signatures glowing gold. "So unless you would rather go and visit Lockhart, I suggest that you marry the girl. And if not, I've heard that our dear, former professor would like some help with getting to the hard-to-reach areas…"
Snape closed his eyes, and Hermione was doing the best she could to not vomit all over everyone present. Snape…her husband…it was more than she could bare. Perhaps they could divorce…yes, that would be an option. Right away…right after the wedding. She stared at him with disgust, him with his greasy hair…though now, actually, this close to him, it looked soft to the touch…the long ugly nose…it had character, and a sense of nobility…the vicious demeanor…that was mysterious and just a bit sexy…
Good Merlin, the madness would eat them all.
§
Snape was fighting the temptation to hex the entire audience into the next century. Nothing seemed more appealing right then than the feel of his fingers on the smooth wood of his wand, the pleasure of seeing Lupin (who's gentle laughter was loud and clear in the front row of the magically conjured pews), fall over, helplessly locked in the Body-Bind curse. Or to see McGonagall's bogies sprout wings and attempt to attack her tartan-sporting head.
He must have been smiling with the thoughts, because when he opened his eyes, Hermione was glaring at him with a sense of confusion and anger.
"Do you find something amusing, Professor?"
"No," he calmly replied, maniacal grin fading away. "Not at all."
"Splendid! Absolutely splendid!" Dumbledore nimbly opened the thick book, his fingers brushing over the old parchment. "Let's get this thing started, shall we?"
Hermione and Snape stood in stony silence as Dumbledore began to say words that neither of them were hearing. Her heart was thumping nervously in her chest, her thoughts filled with regrets in not trying to find a counter-charm to break the contract. But somehow, after seeing just for a moment a look of something…a feeling she had never seen…reflected in Snape's eyes, her mind tumbled into another whirlpool of emotion. And this one wasn't half-bad.
Severus wasn't quite sure if he was thinking, or feeling, anything. Or if he would any time soon. His eyes drank in his surroundings, the pure white of Hermione's robes, the flowers held delicately in her gentle hands, the large brown eyes…
Snap out of it man, he told himself. A student, remember? This will not happen!
"If anyone…"
Both Hermione's and Snape's hearts jumped, immediately recognizing the familiar words.
"…has a reason on why these two shall not be wed, speak now or…"
Snape began to open his mouth, but whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the Headmaster-On-Drugs.
"And must I remind you, Severus…sponge baths."
He flinched visibly as the guests broke into a loud roar of laughter. He had to admit, holding Hermione in his arms was a lot more appealing than getting intimate with Lockhart on a daily basis.
Oh Merlin, holding Hermione in his arms. That had been something he had forgotten about.
His eyes again met with the girls, and he had the fleeting feeling that she was thinking the same thing. Her chin lifted up defiantly, eyes locked, and her gaze seemed to say, "I'm strong enough for you."
Severus had no doubt she would be.
"All right, then! So…"
Suddenly a gentle, distinct cough came from the back of the hall, and the couple heard the creaking of the pews as people turned to see who had intruded.
"Hem hem."
Hermione and Snape whipped around, their eyes aglow with frustration, to see the woman they had heard, but had been dreading. There, in the center of the aisle, stood a squat woman with frizzy, curly hair pinned tightly to her head, a black bow pressed beside her ear. The flat nose, the double chin, and the sagging skin of her face held the unmistakable impression of a toad, and her voice was shrill and girly.
Umbridge was here.
The clear, high-pitched cough was released from the confines of her throat once again.
"Hem hem."
Dumbledore lifted his eyebrows and closed the book, keeping his place with his thumb. "May I help you?"
"I," she began, and everyone groaned, sliding down in their seats and covering their faces with their hands. Hermione and Severus saw Dumbledore slouch visibly in instant annoyance. "…am appalled and deeply hurt that I was not invited to this occasion."
"Yes," Dumbledore began. "But…"
"And of Professor Snape's! And I was not even informed! What nerve…"
Hermione and Snape exchanged nervous glances, knowing that this could be their chance to get out of this situation unscathed…or cursed into oblivion.
"Madam, I can assure you that…"
"I believe…" All of the girly-ness was gone out of her voice, resulting in a flat, harsh tone that sent everyone even lower in their seats. "that you did not even give me a benefit of a chance! And to think, after all of my services in this school…"
Hermione heard Snape sigh, and she managed to whisper.
"I don't know, maybe it will turn out well?"
"Hem hem. Miss Granger! Aha!"
Uh oh…
The toad-lady walked closer, quickly down the aisle, toward them. Hermione started backing away, feeling her back begin to press into something that seemed like a hand. Snape's voice whispered in her ear, "Wait."
"I should have known! Always the troublemaker, always the little know-it-all! And to a teacher! What have you done to this school? It used to be known as a fine institution…"
Hermione could no longer hear her. Snape's strong hand had grasped her arm, and she embarrassedly admitted to herself that her skin burned under his touch.
Her mind began to come into focus just in time to hear a shouted curse.
"Dormons romacier!"
Everyone watched in despair as Hermione's eyes fluttered closed, her body crumpled to the ground, Snape's hand still refusing to let go of her arm.
"HERMIONE!"
Umbridge chuckled lightly, and then cleared her throat again.
"Hem hem. I believe I shall be on my way now. Farewell, everyone!"
Her toad-like form just seemed to melt away, while the cackling of someone that can only be described as eviler than Voldemort faded into the depths of the school.
§
"She is still breathing, Severus. Relax."
Dumbledore's voice was calming, but the Potion's Master found that it did nothing to soothe his final nerves.
"Please, after all of this," he muttered. "Don't send me to St. Mungo's."
"Joking already, Severus?" Dumbledore replied, good-naturedly.
"No. I'm serious."
"Oh…well…of course, I won't. It's not your fault that this happened."
Snape flopped down in the chair beside Hermione's bed in the Infirmary, watching her with a depth that was impossible for the Headmaster to fathom. His temporary look of something resembling a tender side was suddenly replaced by a sneer.
"She sure is an annoying girl."
"You're doing nothing to cover your temporary blow, Severus," Dumbledore said with a faint smile. "You don't have to lie to me."
"Well…" he shrugged, crossing his arms across his chest. "I wasn't lying about that part."
"But you care for her."
"No. She's a student."
"So? She's of age."
Snape threw a hefty glare in Dumbledore's direction, but instead of the effect he had been hoping for…one that would make him shut up, the Headmaster instead took this as an encouragement to continue.
"She's a brilliant girl, and pretty, I suppose, in an odd way. You two make such a good pair."
"She's disappointing, couldn't even find a simple counter-…"
Dumbledore's smile widened into that sage, all-knowing, annoying-as-hell kind of grin. "Counter-charm to break the contract? I'm disappointed in you, Severus, I would have thought you knew that there was no such spell."
"I just thought…"
"That you wanted to see Miss Granger, again? Perfectly understandable, Professor. Another reason why your betrothal, on my part, was such an outstanding creation…"
"With all due respect, Headmaster, I think you're losing your mind."
Dumbledore chuckled lightly, placing a hand on the table next to Miss Granger's uneaten jelly. It had been placed there in false hope that Hermione would wake up shortly, but it was apparent that their expectations were not going to be met anytime soon.
Severus ran a hand through his hair before proceeding to poke the gelatin with a careful finger. "Odd creation."
"Yes, it is, actually. But stop changing the subject. Tell me that you like her."
"No."
"Fine, then you adore her."
"No, I do not."
"…madly in love with her."
"Headmaster, please shut up."
There was a pause as Dumbledore walked to Hermione's bedside and took her limp hand in his. His Cheshire grin had faded into one of sadness as he brushed a stray, bushy clump of hair from the girl's face. "I will do everything in my power to find out what she was cursed with," he said in assurance. "And what it will take to bring her back to full awareness."
"Let me guess," Snape replied bitterly, beginning to rise from the chair. "And then I must marry her?"
"I would not have it any other way."
Severus sighed as Dumbledore exited with a cheerful goodbye. The Headmaster had left he and Hermione alone, and probably by no mere accident. Surely, he must know by now that Severus was nowhere near being a sentimental man. Especially when it came to Hermione Granger.
There was just a moment where he observed her pseudo-sleeping form, listening to an unsteady breath that he realized was his own.
Despite himself, he let his long fingers linger over Hermione's hand, which was still warm with the life trapped inside of her.
"I-" He stopped speaking, immediately surprising himself. What was he thinking? Speaking to a girl that was as good as dead? But he couldn't help it. His hand curled around hers, intensifying the confused feelings that were reeling about in his mind. "I…do not love you."
Embarrassed, confused, and feeling like blowing something to pieces, Severus Snape exited the Hospital Wing. His signature black cloaks flowed behind him, fading away into the shadows of clichéd entertainment.
Thank you to: Romm (indeed, it does :)), The-Rouge-Thorn (I know, there does. One of the reasons WIKTT is so great), aPPle-FrrEAk (original? Wow, I seem to be on a roll :)), Rosmerta (ooh...a fan illustration would be nice...), KDarkMaiden, whyMMM, Electryone (Hm...hopefully I'll continue to be successful!), JennyRad (thank you for the compliment :)), Voldie On Varsity Track, piper, Meriadoc / Celithrathien, LJ Yolo, Amethyst9, nightcrawler7082 (I'm very flattered to be your favorite, though I wonder if you're just pulling me leg a bit...for reasons I don't know...or...yeah...), DarkShadowFlame (don't die too much, I still need you to review! :)).
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!
