Chapter 2: Re-established Principles
Hermione awoke the next morning feeling warm and encased in softness; her comforter was wrapped around her, and she was hugging it tightly. Six days until Adrian had to leave. She still hadn't told him. Finally she stood up and stretched; she should take him to Diagon Alley today, as a treat. That's a good idea.
She dressed quickly and brushed her hair, which had gone from bushy to scattered, but she didn't care anymore; beauty critics were the least of her worries at the moment. "Adrian! Adrian, are you up yet?" she called through his door. "Yeh, I'm up Hermione," he yawned, opening the door, "Morning." "Good morning," she said, "since it's Saturday I thought we'd do something for fun. Wanna go with me to Diagon Alley?" His eyes grew wider, and the sleepiness disappeared, "'Course! Let's go!" "Well get dressed then," she added, "I'll be waiting for you. Hurry it up."
The majority of the day was spent at Diagon Alley, and it wasn't until five o'clock in the evening that they finally returned, their shopping bags bulging with sweets, books, potions ingredients, and other items. "I can't wait to go to Hogwarts!" said Adrian excitedly, "I can't wait to learn magic!" She smiled, "It's a lot of fun Adrian, but a lot of work. You'll enjoy it though. Especially with the friends in your house. You'll love it." He grinned up at her happily, and for a minute Hermione saw a bit of herself in the ten year old boy. "Go on, go put your things in your room," she said, giving him a little shove, "I'll have dinner ready in about an hour. Until then, I'll expect you to be nice and quiet!"
He laughed, "Don't expect anything from me!" and tore off to his room, eager to look at all the sweets and books.
Hermione smiled morosely; she still hadn't told him. She sighed out loud and went into the kitchen; this little apartment had served her well, and she loved the kitchen. It was small and neat, and it reminded her vaguely of the old house in which she had grown up. But since her parents' deaths they had to downsize to something cheaper; fortunately there were a row of flats up for rent right above Diagon Alley. It was very lucky for her and for Adrian.
She bustled about in the kitchen for about ten minutes until she heard the distinct 'pop!' of someone Apparating, and she looked into the living room to see who it was. She almost jumped out of her skin and let out a yelp of shock, "Professor!" she cried, clutching at her chest, "Don't do that!" He almost smirked but decided not to, "I apologize Miss Granger; I've been trying to contact you all day via Floo Network but you were not answering. I came to make sure nothing was the matter."
"The matter? Oh no, no, I took Adrian to Diagon Alley, that's all," she said, heart slowing down, "as a treat. I...I still haven't told him yet. I figured I'd try to make his last week with me as good as possible before he-" "Miss Granger, before you say anything else," he interrupted, and she was annoyed, "Yes?" "I've been discussing this problem of yours with a few members of the Order," he said, "because, as much as I hate to admit it, it bothers me. Mostly because Malfoy is involved." She almost smirked, "Please continue."
He inhaled deeply, "I've explained this to a few members of the Order such as Alastor Moody and Arthur Weasley, them being Ministry members, but none of them can do anything about the law. It's final. There's no getting around it." "Well I could have told you that," she replied, "Malfoy's got all those sniveling little bastards in his pocket. He's bought them all. There'll be no changing the law." "If you'll allow me to continue," said Snape finely, bordering a sarcastic retort. She fell silent, "Of course sir. I'm sorry; please go on."
Snape looked down at her for a long minute, tracing his mouth with a long, white finger, deep in thought. Finally he continued, "However, the fact remains that you can keep your brother if you were to marry a wizard of age. That means a wizard not engaged or married." She almost said 'Duh,' but decided against it, allowing him to continue; she could tell he looked a little unnerved. "As I...I consulted the Order, talking to a few different people, I discovered that there is nobody in the Order in such a position to marry you, even for such a short time, with the exception of one."
She waited, and finally he said, "And that would be me." He waited for her to let out the characteristic, "SICK!" but she merely blinked at him. After about a minute of silence she said, "Let me see if I understand this correctly; you are suggesting that I marry you in order to keep Adrian?" "I'm not suggesting it, I am merely providing the information," he said, albeit a little too quickly.
She sat down at one of the stools at the kitchen island, "I see. Does this bother you sir?" He almost said "Not really, no," then decided against it; "If it doesn't bother you Miss Granger, then it doesn't bother me." There. That sounded better. She nodded, "Well...you're...that's...that's a very noble thing for you to suggest sir. That...that really means a lot to me." He waited for her to say, "But no thanks," but instead she said, "I'll do it."
He almost did a double take, then, "You...ah...you will?" "Of course!" she said, as if this were obvious, "I mean if I get to keep Adrian then who cares? I most certainly don't!" "And the notion of living with me doesn't bother you," he said plainly. "No! I could be a lot worse off you know!" she said, tears of happiness in her eyes, "Oh sir, you've made me so happy! I was so worried about Adrian that I-"
"What about me?"
Snape and Hermione turned to see Adrian standing there, holding a book entitled Hogwarts, A History, with a confused look on his face. "Er," said Hermione stiffly, "I...hi Adrian! Uh, it was nothing!" "Yes it was!" said Adrian indignantly, and Hermione had a sneaky suspicion he had heard a lot more than he was letting on about. "You were talking about me going away!" he said, eyes welling up with tears, "You don't like me do you?! You tricked me into thinking you liked me!" "What? No! Adrian no that's not true!" she replied frantically, trying to think of a better story than the truth.
Suddenly she felt an arm around her, yanking her up off the stool, "Come on Hermione, I think we should tell him the truth!" said Snape cheerfully. She almost fell over with shock, "I...what?" "He's going to find out eventually anyway, so we had might as well tell him!" he said, an unnaturally bright smile on his face. "Uhh..." said Hermione, facing Adrian, "Adrian...this is Prof-" An elbow dug her hard in the ribs, "I mean, Severus Snape. He's just...he's asked me to marry him."
Adrian looked back and forth at them, eyes darting with eager knowledge, "Really?" They both nodded with fake smiles and finally Adrian said, "And what are you going to say?" "Why, yes of course!" she replied cheerily. Adrian's eyes narrowed on Snape, "May I speak to you for a minute sir?" Snape untwined his arm from around Hermione's waist and said, "Sure."
He followed the boy to his bedroom, which had many Quidditch posters plastered all over the walls and little toy broomsticks all over the floor, "Yes?" Adrian shut the door behind them, and turned to face Snape, a slightly mistrusting look in his eyes, "I don't know who you are, but if you think you're gonna marry my sister without having to deal with me, then you're dead wrong!" Snape almost laughed at threats from a ten-year old boy but remained stoically quiet as he continued, "So if you mess with her at all, I'll come after you!" he said, pounding his fist into his hand for emphasis.
"I won't sir, I promise," said Snape, a smirk threatening to twang across his face. Adrian puffed out his chest and held up his chin, "That's right! Okay...you can go now." Snape left the room, Adrian trailing him and still glaring at him. Hermione gave Snape a look that said, 'What the hell was that all about?' but he merely muttered through gritted teeth, "Later."
"Well," said Hermione brightly, "I know you have to leave now but-" "What, he's not staying?" asked Adrian. "For what?" retorted Hermione. "For dinner!" exclaimed Adrian, "You're getting married and you're not even going to eat dinner together?!" "Oh, right you are," said Hermione awkwardly, turning to Snape, "Prof-er, Severus, would you like to stay for dinner?" "Yes I'd love to," he replied, still smiling plastically; his muscles were starting to hurt.
"Okay, well, I'd better finish making dinner," she said, hurrying into the kitchen and hiding her expression of shock as she stuck her head in the refrigerator to look for something. Adrian observed Snape for a minute, then clambered onto the kitchen stool Hermione had seated herself on only minutes before, "Sit!" he said, pointing to the other stool. Snape sat. Silently he wondered how he was going to deal with this kid for the next two years.
"So what do you do?" asked Adrian, pulling out a little toy Firebolt and watching it zoom around the kitchen table. "I'm a teacher," said Snape, feeling awkward. "What do you teach?" "I teach Potions," he replied. Adrian froze, "Potions? You teach Potions?" "Yes, why?" said Snape curiously. Adrian gasped, and suddenly Hermione knew what the problem was, 'Oh I'm going to kill Harry and Ron...!' she thought silently. "You're the Batman!" gasped Adrian, and Hermione almost leapt at him, "Are you sure you're not feeling tired Adrian? Maybe it's time for a nap huh?" she rambled quickly. Surprisingly, rather than seeing a look of hatred on Snape's face, he laughed, and it rang throughout the air.
She almost did a double take as he said, "It's all right. I haven't heard that one in a while. Don't worry, I'm not offended. It's always interesting to see what each new class of students comes up with." Hermione's jaw dropped, "I...er...yes of course," she muttered, going back to making her London Broil. Adrian grinned, "Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron told me that!" "ADRIAN, THAT'S ENOUGH!" shouted Hermione, red in the face with embarrassment. "I suspected as much," drawled Snape with a suspicious smile. Adrian snorted a laugh as he watched them, and he giggled, "Sorry."
"It's not your fault Adrian," said Snape, giving Hermione a look of 'I know exactly whose fault it is.' "So," said Snape, turning back to Adrian, "are you looking forward to Hogwarts next year?" He nodded happily, "Yup! I can't wait! I really want to learn all about Charms and Transfiguration! I want to be able to turn into an animal! Like a lion! Or a snake!" Snape smirked silently, thinking of the Gryffindor and Slytherin house symbols.
"All done!" announced Hermione. A few minutes later the three of them were situated at the dinner table, and Snape was surprised that he was actually rather enjoying his London Broil. For a few minutes the table was in silence as they ate, and Snape silently thought that perhaps this wasn't so bad. Maybe he could live with this for two years. Maybe.
Dinner ended abruptly when Adrian said he was feeling ill, or as Hermione put it, "A tummy ache," and put him to bed. She crept down the hallway quietly, so as not to wake him, and approached Snape, "So what did he talk to you about earlier?" she whispered. He told her, and she almost laughed, "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't think he'd act in such a way," she said quietly. "It's all right, I find it amusing taking orders from a ten year old," said Snape softly.
She smiled slightly, "Thank you for this evening. If it hadn't been for some quick thinking on your part I might have blown the whole thing." "It's all right," he said eventually, "I just didn't want your brother to be hurt by this whole thing. It's Malfoy's doing, and the last thing I want to see is his imprint on someone like him. He's too innocent for that." Hermione nodded gravely, "You're right." She hesitated, "So...Professor...when are we...are we getting...married?" "You had might as well call me Severus," he retorted, "and I'm not sure. I suppose I could arrange it in two days." "Two days would be fine," she said, keeping her voice low, "whatever works for you."
He nodded, "All right. Two days. I'll owl the Ministry and tell them to scratch their trip here next week." Hermione's heart lightened at knowing that she could keep her brother, "Yes, of course." Severus turned to leave, and was halfway out the door when Hermione caught his arm; he turned back, "Yes?"
She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, and lightly kissed his cheek, "Thank you so much." Severus felt his face growing red, "Yes, well, you're...you're welcome." She let him go, "Sorry." "It's all right Miss Gr-, er, Hermione," he said easily, "I know your brother means a lot to you. Goodnight."
And with that, Severus Snape was gone.
Harry and Ron were not at all happy about this. Hermione marrying the Batman, even if it was for just two years, was a completely ludicrous idea that neither of them wanted to hear about. "You could have just asked one of us you know," said Ron angrily. "No I couldn't because neither of you are of age! Do you want me to lose my brother?" she snapped. "Hermione, you know perfectly well that neither of us wants that," said Harry, "but marrying...him. I mean that's just...it's weird Hermione. I don't like it. Why don't you just write Viktor and ask him?" "Because unfortunately Viktor stopped swinging that way about a year ago," she said flatly. Harry and Ron did double takes, and finally Ron said, "Oh. Well. That explains a lot."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Look, Professor Snape has already exhausted every possibility, and he told me so last night. There's no other way out of this." "Yeah, but how do we know that?" said Ron suspiciously, "I mean what if he said that but he was really lying? What if he's doing it just so he can...you know..." Hermione felt her temper flare, "Ronald Weasley, you know perfectly well that that's NOT true! Besides, we're not sleeping together you dolt!" Ron's ears went red with embarrassment, "Right...s-sorry..."
'How did I ever befriend these two dunderheads?' she thought silently as Harry said, "Hermione, really, we're sorry, we know he means well. We trust him. If you need any help from any of us, let us know, okay? We're here for you." "What about Fred or George?" asked Ron suddenly, "You could marry one of them!" "Yes, and I'm sure Gisela and Angelina wouldn't mind that at all would they?" she replied sarcastically. Harry and Ron both thought of the twins' girlfriends for a minute, and finally Ron said, "Yeah, they probably would." "Look, I've already thought of anyone possible, and Professor Snape's the only one, so just give it up," said Hermione.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, then sighed in unison, "Okay Hermione," said Ron, "we give up."
Hermione awoke the next morning feeling warm and encased in softness; her comforter was wrapped around her, and she was hugging it tightly. Six days until Adrian had to leave. She still hadn't told him. Finally she stood up and stretched; she should take him to Diagon Alley today, as a treat. That's a good idea.
She dressed quickly and brushed her hair, which had gone from bushy to scattered, but she didn't care anymore; beauty critics were the least of her worries at the moment. "Adrian! Adrian, are you up yet?" she called through his door. "Yeh, I'm up Hermione," he yawned, opening the door, "Morning." "Good morning," she said, "since it's Saturday I thought we'd do something for fun. Wanna go with me to Diagon Alley?" His eyes grew wider, and the sleepiness disappeared, "'Course! Let's go!" "Well get dressed then," she added, "I'll be waiting for you. Hurry it up."
The majority of the day was spent at Diagon Alley, and it wasn't until five o'clock in the evening that they finally returned, their shopping bags bulging with sweets, books, potions ingredients, and other items. "I can't wait to go to Hogwarts!" said Adrian excitedly, "I can't wait to learn magic!" She smiled, "It's a lot of fun Adrian, but a lot of work. You'll enjoy it though. Especially with the friends in your house. You'll love it." He grinned up at her happily, and for a minute Hermione saw a bit of herself in the ten year old boy. "Go on, go put your things in your room," she said, giving him a little shove, "I'll have dinner ready in about an hour. Until then, I'll expect you to be nice and quiet!"
He laughed, "Don't expect anything from me!" and tore off to his room, eager to look at all the sweets and books.
Hermione smiled morosely; she still hadn't told him. She sighed out loud and went into the kitchen; this little apartment had served her well, and she loved the kitchen. It was small and neat, and it reminded her vaguely of the old house in which she had grown up. But since her parents' deaths they had to downsize to something cheaper; fortunately there were a row of flats up for rent right above Diagon Alley. It was very lucky for her and for Adrian.
She bustled about in the kitchen for about ten minutes until she heard the distinct 'pop!' of someone Apparating, and she looked into the living room to see who it was. She almost jumped out of her skin and let out a yelp of shock, "Professor!" she cried, clutching at her chest, "Don't do that!" He almost smirked but decided not to, "I apologize Miss Granger; I've been trying to contact you all day via Floo Network but you were not answering. I came to make sure nothing was the matter."
"The matter? Oh no, no, I took Adrian to Diagon Alley, that's all," she said, heart slowing down, "as a treat. I...I still haven't told him yet. I figured I'd try to make his last week with me as good as possible before he-" "Miss Granger, before you say anything else," he interrupted, and she was annoyed, "Yes?" "I've been discussing this problem of yours with a few members of the Order," he said, "because, as much as I hate to admit it, it bothers me. Mostly because Malfoy is involved." She almost smirked, "Please continue."
He inhaled deeply, "I've explained this to a few members of the Order such as Alastor Moody and Arthur Weasley, them being Ministry members, but none of them can do anything about the law. It's final. There's no getting around it." "Well I could have told you that," she replied, "Malfoy's got all those sniveling little bastards in his pocket. He's bought them all. There'll be no changing the law." "If you'll allow me to continue," said Snape finely, bordering a sarcastic retort. She fell silent, "Of course sir. I'm sorry; please go on."
Snape looked down at her for a long minute, tracing his mouth with a long, white finger, deep in thought. Finally he continued, "However, the fact remains that you can keep your brother if you were to marry a wizard of age. That means a wizard not engaged or married." She almost said 'Duh,' but decided against it, allowing him to continue; she could tell he looked a little unnerved. "As I...I consulted the Order, talking to a few different people, I discovered that there is nobody in the Order in such a position to marry you, even for such a short time, with the exception of one."
She waited, and finally he said, "And that would be me." He waited for her to let out the characteristic, "SICK!" but she merely blinked at him. After about a minute of silence she said, "Let me see if I understand this correctly; you are suggesting that I marry you in order to keep Adrian?" "I'm not suggesting it, I am merely providing the information," he said, albeit a little too quickly.
She sat down at one of the stools at the kitchen island, "I see. Does this bother you sir?" He almost said "Not really, no," then decided against it; "If it doesn't bother you Miss Granger, then it doesn't bother me." There. That sounded better. She nodded, "Well...you're...that's...that's a very noble thing for you to suggest sir. That...that really means a lot to me." He waited for her to say, "But no thanks," but instead she said, "I'll do it."
He almost did a double take, then, "You...ah...you will?" "Of course!" she said, as if this were obvious, "I mean if I get to keep Adrian then who cares? I most certainly don't!" "And the notion of living with me doesn't bother you," he said plainly. "No! I could be a lot worse off you know!" she said, tears of happiness in her eyes, "Oh sir, you've made me so happy! I was so worried about Adrian that I-"
"What about me?"
Snape and Hermione turned to see Adrian standing there, holding a book entitled Hogwarts, A History, with a confused look on his face. "Er," said Hermione stiffly, "I...hi Adrian! Uh, it was nothing!" "Yes it was!" said Adrian indignantly, and Hermione had a sneaky suspicion he had heard a lot more than he was letting on about. "You were talking about me going away!" he said, eyes welling up with tears, "You don't like me do you?! You tricked me into thinking you liked me!" "What? No! Adrian no that's not true!" she replied frantically, trying to think of a better story than the truth.
Suddenly she felt an arm around her, yanking her up off the stool, "Come on Hermione, I think we should tell him the truth!" said Snape cheerfully. She almost fell over with shock, "I...what?" "He's going to find out eventually anyway, so we had might as well tell him!" he said, an unnaturally bright smile on his face. "Uhh..." said Hermione, facing Adrian, "Adrian...this is Prof-" An elbow dug her hard in the ribs, "I mean, Severus Snape. He's just...he's asked me to marry him."
Adrian looked back and forth at them, eyes darting with eager knowledge, "Really?" They both nodded with fake smiles and finally Adrian said, "And what are you going to say?" "Why, yes of course!" she replied cheerily. Adrian's eyes narrowed on Snape, "May I speak to you for a minute sir?" Snape untwined his arm from around Hermione's waist and said, "Sure."
He followed the boy to his bedroom, which had many Quidditch posters plastered all over the walls and little toy broomsticks all over the floor, "Yes?" Adrian shut the door behind them, and turned to face Snape, a slightly mistrusting look in his eyes, "I don't know who you are, but if you think you're gonna marry my sister without having to deal with me, then you're dead wrong!" Snape almost laughed at threats from a ten-year old boy but remained stoically quiet as he continued, "So if you mess with her at all, I'll come after you!" he said, pounding his fist into his hand for emphasis.
"I won't sir, I promise," said Snape, a smirk threatening to twang across his face. Adrian puffed out his chest and held up his chin, "That's right! Okay...you can go now." Snape left the room, Adrian trailing him and still glaring at him. Hermione gave Snape a look that said, 'What the hell was that all about?' but he merely muttered through gritted teeth, "Later."
"Well," said Hermione brightly, "I know you have to leave now but-" "What, he's not staying?" asked Adrian. "For what?" retorted Hermione. "For dinner!" exclaimed Adrian, "You're getting married and you're not even going to eat dinner together?!" "Oh, right you are," said Hermione awkwardly, turning to Snape, "Prof-er, Severus, would you like to stay for dinner?" "Yes I'd love to," he replied, still smiling plastically; his muscles were starting to hurt.
"Okay, well, I'd better finish making dinner," she said, hurrying into the kitchen and hiding her expression of shock as she stuck her head in the refrigerator to look for something. Adrian observed Snape for a minute, then clambered onto the kitchen stool Hermione had seated herself on only minutes before, "Sit!" he said, pointing to the other stool. Snape sat. Silently he wondered how he was going to deal with this kid for the next two years.
"So what do you do?" asked Adrian, pulling out a little toy Firebolt and watching it zoom around the kitchen table. "I'm a teacher," said Snape, feeling awkward. "What do you teach?" "I teach Potions," he replied. Adrian froze, "Potions? You teach Potions?" "Yes, why?" said Snape curiously. Adrian gasped, and suddenly Hermione knew what the problem was, 'Oh I'm going to kill Harry and Ron...!' she thought silently. "You're the Batman!" gasped Adrian, and Hermione almost leapt at him, "Are you sure you're not feeling tired Adrian? Maybe it's time for a nap huh?" she rambled quickly. Surprisingly, rather than seeing a look of hatred on Snape's face, he laughed, and it rang throughout the air.
She almost did a double take as he said, "It's all right. I haven't heard that one in a while. Don't worry, I'm not offended. It's always interesting to see what each new class of students comes up with." Hermione's jaw dropped, "I...er...yes of course," she muttered, going back to making her London Broil. Adrian grinned, "Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron told me that!" "ADRIAN, THAT'S ENOUGH!" shouted Hermione, red in the face with embarrassment. "I suspected as much," drawled Snape with a suspicious smile. Adrian snorted a laugh as he watched them, and he giggled, "Sorry."
"It's not your fault Adrian," said Snape, giving Hermione a look of 'I know exactly whose fault it is.' "So," said Snape, turning back to Adrian, "are you looking forward to Hogwarts next year?" He nodded happily, "Yup! I can't wait! I really want to learn all about Charms and Transfiguration! I want to be able to turn into an animal! Like a lion! Or a snake!" Snape smirked silently, thinking of the Gryffindor and Slytherin house symbols.
"All done!" announced Hermione. A few minutes later the three of them were situated at the dinner table, and Snape was surprised that he was actually rather enjoying his London Broil. For a few minutes the table was in silence as they ate, and Snape silently thought that perhaps this wasn't so bad. Maybe he could live with this for two years. Maybe.
Dinner ended abruptly when Adrian said he was feeling ill, or as Hermione put it, "A tummy ache," and put him to bed. She crept down the hallway quietly, so as not to wake him, and approached Snape, "So what did he talk to you about earlier?" she whispered. He told her, and she almost laughed, "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't think he'd act in such a way," she said quietly. "It's all right, I find it amusing taking orders from a ten year old," said Snape softly.
She smiled slightly, "Thank you for this evening. If it hadn't been for some quick thinking on your part I might have blown the whole thing." "It's all right," he said eventually, "I just didn't want your brother to be hurt by this whole thing. It's Malfoy's doing, and the last thing I want to see is his imprint on someone like him. He's too innocent for that." Hermione nodded gravely, "You're right." She hesitated, "So...Professor...when are we...are we getting...married?" "You had might as well call me Severus," he retorted, "and I'm not sure. I suppose I could arrange it in two days." "Two days would be fine," she said, keeping her voice low, "whatever works for you."
He nodded, "All right. Two days. I'll owl the Ministry and tell them to scratch their trip here next week." Hermione's heart lightened at knowing that she could keep her brother, "Yes, of course." Severus turned to leave, and was halfway out the door when Hermione caught his arm; he turned back, "Yes?"
She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, and lightly kissed his cheek, "Thank you so much." Severus felt his face growing red, "Yes, well, you're...you're welcome." She let him go, "Sorry." "It's all right Miss Gr-, er, Hermione," he said easily, "I know your brother means a lot to you. Goodnight."
And with that, Severus Snape was gone.
Harry and Ron were not at all happy about this. Hermione marrying the Batman, even if it was for just two years, was a completely ludicrous idea that neither of them wanted to hear about. "You could have just asked one of us you know," said Ron angrily. "No I couldn't because neither of you are of age! Do you want me to lose my brother?" she snapped. "Hermione, you know perfectly well that neither of us wants that," said Harry, "but marrying...him. I mean that's just...it's weird Hermione. I don't like it. Why don't you just write Viktor and ask him?" "Because unfortunately Viktor stopped swinging that way about a year ago," she said flatly. Harry and Ron did double takes, and finally Ron said, "Oh. Well. That explains a lot."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Look, Professor Snape has already exhausted every possibility, and he told me so last night. There's no other way out of this." "Yeah, but how do we know that?" said Ron suspiciously, "I mean what if he said that but he was really lying? What if he's doing it just so he can...you know..." Hermione felt her temper flare, "Ronald Weasley, you know perfectly well that that's NOT true! Besides, we're not sleeping together you dolt!" Ron's ears went red with embarrassment, "Right...s-sorry..."
'How did I ever befriend these two dunderheads?' she thought silently as Harry said, "Hermione, really, we're sorry, we know he means well. We trust him. If you need any help from any of us, let us know, okay? We're here for you." "What about Fred or George?" asked Ron suddenly, "You could marry one of them!" "Yes, and I'm sure Gisela and Angelina wouldn't mind that at all would they?" she replied sarcastically. Harry and Ron both thought of the twins' girlfriends for a minute, and finally Ron said, "Yeah, they probably would." "Look, I've already thought of anyone possible, and Professor Snape's the only one, so just give it up," said Hermione.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, then sighed in unison, "Okay Hermione," said Ron, "we give up."