3. [ The Bond ]

It was dark outside when she awoke. The afternoon had turned into evening and for a moment she wondered where exactly she was. It was warm, very comfortable and she was no longer dressed in her jeans and shirt but wore a man's black shirt. This somehow triggered something inside her. Black. Who would wear a black dress shirt, who would  carry her to a room which looked clearly like somebody already lived here with books filling a shelf, and who would most importantly lie underneath her, cradle her body and snore.

Okay granted not all the answers were Snape but turning around her face she found her worst suspicion confirmed- she was obviously in Snape's bed- with him her hysteric mind added- and right now he was apparently sleeping. Carefully as not to wake him up she turned around so that she rolled off him and laid next to him curled up watching his face.

Never in a thousand years would she have imagined seeing Snape like this. He looked astonishly different from what she now knew was a mask during school hours. His features seemed relaxed, no sneers anywhere on his face and as she had already noticed- he snored. Not loudly only some cute little sound that seemed quite calming to her.

I am doing it again. I place words in sentences that don't belong there. Like Snape and cute.

Sighing she looked at her surroundings and found herself faced with a strange realization- Snape loved books. Well not really strange but at least new to her. Of course considering what Harry had told her in one letter about what he had seen in the pensieve Snape had once been a bookworm like herself. The whole wall facing the bed was covered with shelves which were overflowing with books of all kinds. Next to the bed was a simple table with a chair which was of course also full of books and parchments of various sizes and forms. The rest of the room was empty not even a wardrobe was anywhere to be seen. There were three doors obviously leading somewhere else.

Having finished her inspection of the room she slowly got up- careful not to disturb the professor- and had a closer look at the shelves. The titles there made her heart jump. These were books she knew existed somewhere but not even the restricted section in Hogwarts' library contained those. It appeared that Snape still loved books and had a huge collection. For some reason she was sure that the collection was just a little excerpt from a bigger one. Oh, to get her hands on these. To just have something like eight weeks left to read all of these books.

With another look to assure her that the potions Master was still  sleeping she carefully sat down on the chair and opened one of the books already on the table. It was about Sleeping Potions and soon she was lost in the words.

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Of course, the first thing she would do would be to read!

Why he was surprised was beyond him. When she had woken he had pretended to sleep to see what she would do. Now as he watched her tiny form curled up on the no doubt uncomfortable chair, her face hidden behind the covers of the book with only her dark brown curls showing he noted with interest that almost without him realizing it she had changed. Not that he knew how much of that change went beyond her looks or if inside she still was the annoying little know-it-all from her first year in Hogwarts. It was almost funny how he had never paid enough attention to her to know it. She was a brilliant mind, he knew that and her potions along with her assignments were always flawless. She had of course reached an O in her potions exam- it wasn't really a surprise for him. But if he remembered correctly in the last two years she hadn't been as much a show-off as before.

Now he couldn't help but notice how much the green of the emeralds on his pendant contrasted nicely with her pale neck. Oh yes, his pendant. It had been Dumbledore's brilliant idea to protect her with his pendant. Strangely enough Minerva had supported him, Snape, in his position that it was clearly impossible to force a girl as young as Ms Grange into such a situation but since nobody could come up with anything better as always Dumbledore had won. It bothered him more than Snape wanted to admit that the symbol of a pureblood family like the Snapes, always proud Slytherins, was now resting on a neck of muggleborn Gryffindor. It wasn't that bloodlines bothered him very much- he had never cared much about that for quite a while now- it was the very fact that the student he disliked the most besides Potter was now wearing a token of his love. Because in the end that was what the pendant was about. It was given from a Snape family member to a loved one to protect him or her from harm. And now he was quasi engaged to Ms Granger according to wizarding laws. Of course that tiny information didn't bother Albus very much. As the fact that Severus Snape had no idea what apart from the engagement the necklace really meant. He only knew that all wives of the first son in the Snape family had worn this necklace.

Clearing his throat he silently moved from the bed next to the sitting girl obviously still entranced in the book and cast a curious lock inside. Ah, the book about Sleeping Potions. It was indeed very old and a rare edition but at least she valued it.

"Nice reading, Ms Granger" he murmured into her ear silkily and to his surprise she leaned into his body slightly.

"Very much so. Did you know that Salazar Slytherin himself held a theory that it was possible to brew a potion strong enough to kill a person temporarily if you strengthened the Sleeping Drought enough?" Her voice sounded excited and she looked up to him with shining eyes full of the joy of sharing information.

For a moment he was stunned by this. He didn't like the fact much that for some reason she felt comfortable with him.

"I do. But do you know that I will test this theory on you Ms Granger if you don't get the hell away from my books." To his inner satisfaction she blanched and instantly draw back from him. The feeling of loss in this moment surprised him.

"I-i-i am sorry Professor but you were still sleeping and I got bored and-…"

"Please spare me this." Cutting her of harshly he noticed her state of undress for the first time. He used a spell this morning to change her clothes but right now it bothered him for some reason to see so much of her body. "If you don't mind Ms Granger I would very much appreciate it if you could make yourself decent so that we can go downstairs to have dinner."

Blushing furiously she stood up and placed the book gently on the table. No question how she had gotten to that state of undress, no reply, she only took the few steps to the bed and sat down there. As Snape watched her he realized that the pendant had changed. The material emitted coldness and the emeralds had turned almost translucent. When his eyes rested on the back of her head his hearing picked up a strange sound- it sounded almost like a stifled sob.

With horror he realized that for some reason Ms Granger was crying! No, he corrected himself, you made her cry you old bastard. Of course, the pendant was made for lovers and for some reason it seemed to influence Ms Granger's and his emotions as well. Relieved that this was surely the only explanation he carefully sat down next to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Instantly she threw herself into his arms and loud sobs emitted from her. Shaken inside for some reason Snape put his arms around her and gently stroked her bushy hair. He felt a strange stabbing somewhere he suspected his heart was placed and breathed soft kisses on the honey-scented curls.

"Hermione, please don't cry. Hush my dear, no reason to cry, whatever it is I make it okay again I promise." He tried to sound soothing and somewhere the evil sneering bastard screamed in outrage. But right in this moment his heart was attacked by a thousand emotions at once, grief, love, sorrow that he simply surrendered to them.

After what seemed like forever Hermione raised her tear-stained eyes still brimming with wetness and all he could look at was the swollen red lips, the wonderful curve of her cheekbones and the depth of her eyes that still shone with hurt and sadness.

Gently he placed his pale spidery hands at her cheeks and cradled her face. Like a cat she moved into the caress and after a moment's hesitation he trailed the other hand over her lips. Softly touching the silken feel of her lips, he carefully placed his lips on hers as if afraid she might run away. It was chaste this kiss but it felt like an electrical charge to his groin and when he moved away the girl's eyes had darkened with passion.

Some part of him was aware that the emeralds on the pendant by now had turned ruby red and the material was burning hot. But unfortunately that part wasn't in control. Placing his lips once again on hers she this time opened them a fraction and without hesitation he swept his tongue inside. It wasn't chaste and gentle this time but brutal and passionate. He wanted to claim her, make her his, wanted to make sure that the world knew that she belonged to him.

The moment their tongues touched the spell broke and he jerked away as if she was on fire. Her eyes filled with horror but before he could do a thing two similar chains placed themselves around their arms engraved with the same runes as on the pendant. The material felt warm and had no fastening and with a sudden feeling of complete and utter horror Severus Snape realized that in this moment the girl beneath him was bonded to him.

It took only a couple of seconds and the door was opened with a loud crash and they had an audience. Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore stood in the doorway; the first with a look of utter horror on her face and the headmaster with a shocked expression.

"Two witnesses, the lovers and the act make this complete. So be it."

The voice apparently from nowhere sounded amused and Severus felt a feeling of utter despair wash over him. What had he done? What the hell had he done? What had happened?

Behind the two figures in the doorway he saw other people emerging and he felt anger boiling up in him.

"OUT! INSTANTLY OUT!" he bellowed and after a second the door was closed again. For a brief moment he wondered if he had looked so intimidating but then all thoughts were washed away when he looked into the shocked face of Hermione.

"P-p-professor Snape?" Her voice sounded terribly small and wounded and he softened his expression. It would do no good to have her crying again.

Look where that got you last time.

Gently he rolled off the bed and to loose no further time dressed them both with a wave of his wand. Then he turned around and saw that she still lay motionless on the bed her eyes seemingly staring into space. To his relief this time there were no tears but the lock of emptiness on her face was even worse.

"Hermione." He gave his voice a gentle touch as not to startle her more. Why all in a sudden her feelings mattered so much was beyond him but here he was trying to be gentle- and probably failing miserably. He simply wasn't used that kind of behaviour. He either tried to intimidate people or barked orders or sometimes on rare occasions he tried to flatter people to achieve his goals. Dealing with a girl in obvious distress was completely beyond him.

Carefully sitting down on the bed he looked at her inquiringly. Still her face seemed frozen and only her ragged breathing showed him that she was still alive. What now? He had to think through everything rationally. For some reason he had kissed Hermione Granger, 15 year old Gryffindor know-it-all and one of his students, then obviously somebody had decided that this was enough to warrant a wedding, they were now linked by some kind of chain which made him acutely aware of the girl's emotions and on top of it all it seemed the whole house had seen them both quasi in the act- ad he doubted not one moment that Albus and Minerva had felt the energy and knew what had happened.

"Holy shit." His voice sounded roaring in the silent room.

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"Holy shit."

Turning her attention to the man sitting next to her on the bed- her husband a nasty voice added- she smiled faintly.

"Exactly." Her voice sounded husky and somehow that made her flush. Remembering what had happened right here on that bed was embarrassing enough as it was but for some reason the feeling of him kissing her followed her. It had felt absolute right in the situation but right now of course in the harsh light of day it turned out to be terribly wrong.

He hates me now. That sentence reverberated through her head leaving nothing but devastation. The darkness threatened to swallow her and she curled up on her side away from him trying to hide from his no doubt sneering gaze.

Gentle arms encircled her after a second and she was pulled on his lap instinctively closing her arms around his neck. Nestling her head into his black robes which reminded her so sharply that he was her professor she felt almost all tension leaving her body. The sigh left her mouth before she could stop him and in response he tightened his arms around her.

"Please, don't cry." The voice was like the soft caress of wind against her cheek and she closed her eyes tightly to not let him see that again the tears threatened to fall.

They stayed like that for an eternity- at least it felt like that for her. After she felt completely safe in his embrace she raised her head and looked into his dark depths which were in that moment filled with the strangest mix of feelings: confusion, love, relief, sadness, comfort and a good deal amusement. His lips twitched as if he prevented a grin and he turned his face to the window.

"Hey." Her voice had found strength again and she even managed some reproach. "Are you grinning about me?"

Slowly he turned his face towards her again and it was completely serious again. Instead of pushing her away as she was sure he would do now that she had calmed down he pulled her even tighter against his body.

"Listen to me closely for I shall say this but once: You are bonded to me now and even so you are an insufferable Gryffindor know-it-all right now you are quasi the wife of a Slytherin Head of house. It's okay if you want to cry and for reasons beyond me I even feel an urge to comfort you but do so in private. A Slytherin never cries in front of others."

"No wonder most of you turn out such pricks." For a moment she wondered if he would get mad now but he stared into her eyes as if looking for something.

"I might even agree with you and you can behave the way you want to here in front of your friends and people from the Order but if we are to leave that house and especially in Hogwarts you have to behave like a Slytherin, Hermione. I am a Death-Eater officially." He sounded almost as if he was pleading with her.

"But I am a Gryffindor." The words left her mouth before she could do anything to prevent them. And it was right, she was still a Gryffindor.

"No." He looked almost aghast. "You are married to a Head of house. You cannot stay in your dormitory. You belong into the dungeons, to me."

"I am not a possession. I am not YOUR possession Severus Snape! I am not a potion you won somewhere." She felt anger rise in her chest but for some reason it was more at the general situation than directed at the man in whose lap she was sitting. Somehow she found that this was an unfavourable position to argue with her husband.

He tilted her head up with two fingers and bend down so his face was mere inches from hers. His eyes looked amused again as if he had expected her to say something like this.

"But still you are married to me my dear. And that means we are going to have to share quarters." His voice sounded silken again.

She groaned. "I want a divorce." She was dead serious.

Seeing his puzzled expression she relented. "It's a muggle thing. If somebody doesn't want to be married any longer they get divorced. There is something like that in the wizarding world right?" She looked horrified at the prospect that there might not.

He nodded and she relaxed only to tense up again when he added "But it doesn't apply here."

"Why?"

"Because this was not an ordinary wedding, Hermione. Look at these chains." He tugged at her right arm and she lifted it next to his. The chains glowed even in the semi-darkness they were in now. "It seems that these chains bind us together. So far I can feel your emotions, at least I get a vague idea what you are feeling. And it makes me care." The last was almost said in disgust and Hermione tried hard to stifle a giggle. It didn't work and he shot her a deathly glare. "However I think a 'divorce' as you called it would only be possible if we can get rid of those chains."

Dropping her shoulders Hermione pressed her face into his chest again. Because even she had a fairly good understanding that these chains would refuse any spell. So that meant that she was Severus Snape's wife now and had to live in the dungeons with him. She had to name herself Hermione Snape and was to share bed and everything else with her potions Master. It was a nightmare. That was it. Surely this was only a horrible nightmare and she only had to wake up.

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Silently Snape watched her pinch her arm. What was up with this girl now? She was irritating him again. Plus it looked like she was hurting herself on purpose and through the strange connection he felt her pain remotely.

Gripping her arms he stilled the movement.

"What are you doing now?" He sounded at the end of his rope and he was. Quite frankly this situation was more than he had ever bargained for and it was beginning to affect him.

When she looked up her eyes were bright again. Please no more tears.

"I have to wake up myself. I have to wake up from this nightmare."

Of course! A nightmare! That was what it felt like to her. Being married to him was like a nightmare to her. After all he was the greasy git, the ill tempered potions Master and had absolutely nothing to offer.

Feeling pain so far beyond anything he had ever felt he turned to rage, the only other emotion he was capable of feeling right now. Standing up abruptly which in the end landed Hermione on the floor he took quick steps to the window and stared outside.

"I am sorry that you feel that way but unfortunately this is no nightmare. Of course I understand your reluctance to give up everything, I am almost sure that we will find a way to let you live in your dormitory." His voice was detached and cold but if you listened closely you heard the underlying hurt and pain.

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Hermione listened. And felt horrible. Would she ever learn to not only think about herself? Of course Snape hadn't volunteered to marry her. He was trapped inside this situation the same as she was. She remembered all the insults students in Hogwarts used to call him and all in a sudden she knew that he was aware of those. And it hurt him. It hurt him that she might be feeling the same way.

Tentatively she stepped behind him and felt more than see that he tensed. Carefully placing her arms around his middle she rested her head on his back in the soothing material of his robes.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean it like this, Severus." At the mention of his given name he tensed up even more but she had to make him see. Had to make him see that it was the general concept of being married that scared her not the fact that it was him. "Of course I am going to live in your dungeons with you." She was at a loss for words. What could she else say? That she liked being married to him? That would be a lie. She wasn't sure at all about her feelings concerning him and was desperate to have some time to herself to figure out what it meant. But at the same time she felt a deep pull towards him, something in him that was calling for her. That wanted her to help him. But she couldn't tell him that either. He hated when he needed help. So she turned to something that had worked before when she had been upset.

Gently she placed her hands on his chest and leaned against his backside so that almost all her weight rested on the potions Master. Not doing anything she inhaled deeply noticing for the first time that he smelled like something she couldn't place for a moment. She had smelled this before, during a lesson with Hagrid. Then knowledge hit her- it was the same smell that lingered in the Forbidden Forest. Wood, herbs, earth and all kinds of plants- all mixed into a wonderful intoxicating scent that she realizing with horror liked.

Oh my. This is not good. Not at all. I shouldn't even think about these kind of things. He is one of my professors for heaven's sake!

Slowly he detangled himself from her embrace and turned around gripping her arms almost bruising. His dark eyes were now unreadable again and she saw he had closed himself to her.

"Listen Ms Granger, I know a lot of things have happened here, none of those things was planned or even wanted so please do not think that I am turning into a fluffy bunny here. I am still Severus Snape, Potion Master of Hogwarts and Head of Slytherin, the unfeeling, mean, malevolent and sneering bastard, so please do try to keep that in mind. Obviously this necklace does things to both of us that have to be researched. Until then we try to keep at least one feet physical distance between us and refrain from behaving like we have forgotten who we are. Understood?"

Mentally sighing and scolding herself for even feeling the slightest bit of compassion for this man she nodded mutely not trusting her voice at the moment.

A timid knocking saved her from no doubt some more harsh words and silently she send a prayer of thanks to whoever might listen.

"Ehm, Hermione, Professor Snape?" It was Ginny and she sounded scared.

"Yes." Snape's voice sounded steady and as usual quite intimidating.

"Professor Dumbledore wants you to come downstairs. He said you should both eat something."

Snape looked into her eyes and she saw the unspoken question there.

"In a minute." Hermione's voice quivered a bit but besides that sounded almost normal.

Small steps were heard outside that left down the hallway.

Gulping down the last bits of disappointment and hurt Hermione followed the Professor out.