Chapter 9: L'Amour
December. They had made it to December. This thought echoed through Hermione's head frequently; Adrian had successfully adapted to the third year students, and enjoyed a tight circle of friends. A little too tight, even, or so Hermione thought. She expressed this worry to Severus one evening in his office, "I'm glad he has his friends, but they're always together." "Much like you, Potter, and Weasley," he muttered, not looking up from his desk, where he was grading papers. "Yes, well, we were different." "How so?" She let out a sigh of frustration, "We weren't in Slytherin and Voldemort wasn't after us!"
He looked up and gave a large roll of the eyes, and finally she admitted, "Well maybe Voldemort was after us, but still, I don't like Adrian's friends. They might bring him nearer to the trouble we've worked so hard for him to avoid." "And what'll you do?" he cut her off, "Will you tell him to stop being friends with them? You honestly think the Dark Lord won't find that suspicious?"
Words failed her, but finally she spoke, "I know, I know. But...what do we do then?" "Nothing," said Severus simply, "we do nothing. If we were to act it would jeopardize too much; the Dark Lord would know we've been protecting him." Hermione shifted uncomfortably; then a thought struck her, "Severus...you're...you're still in his Inner Circle, aren't you?" He went back to grading papers, "Yes." "What did you tell him? I mean, how did you excuse the fact that you married me? Didn't he find that odd?"
His quill paused on the parchment, and finally he looked up at her. "There's really no need for you to know about that," he said easily, acting as if this were no problem whatsoever. Her eyes narrowed, "Yes, you're right, of course; you endangering yourself on my behalf is really none of my business, what the hell was I thinking?" He frowned at her sarcasm, "Since it bothers you so, I'll tell you." He put down his quill and shifted in his chair, sitting back, "The Dark Lord, Hermione, if you must know, has been interested in you for several years. He's watched you carefully in the past because you're so close to Harry, but also because of who you are."
"And who am I?" she said tartly. "An extremely powerful witch he'd just as soon not have to deal with," he replied, "and whether you like it or not, your brother is going to be a much more powerful wizard than you or I. It's already noticeable. And unfortunately, the Dark Lord has seen this. Regardless, his gaze has been fixed upon you for some time; he knew of the plight you suffered with Adrian. Marry a wizard of age or move in with a relative. That's why he ordered Malfoy to speak with you on the matter; he wanted to find out if you were engaged in any way. If not, then Adrian would go to an orphanage, and the Dark Lord would have his hands on the first of the Granger siblings.
"However, his plans were considerably altered when he met his demise at the end of last year; he did, however, make mention that he would be more than thrilled if I were to somehow use my powers of persuasion to convince you to marry me. Malfoy was against that plan entirely because he thought you would never fall for it, but then the Underage Wizardry Decree changed all that. Suddenly you needed a husband, and Malfoy explained this to the Dark Lord whom, I know now for certain, had been under Malfoy's close care for the past several months. After a month or so of indecision, the Dark Lord told Malfoy to convince me to let you alone so that he could get his hands on Adrian once he was in the orphanage." "So did you marry me to help Voldemort?" she asked flatly. "No!" he exclaimed, outraged, "Have you learned nothing since you've been in my company? I married you to protect you and Adrian both!"
"Won't he find out, sooner or later? That you did it not for him but for us?" asked Hermione. "More than likely, yes, but I don't care much since it doesn't matter at the moment." "But surely it will sooner or later," said Hermione hesitantly, "he'll order you to kill me or take my brother or...or do...well...something, certainly." "This is probable, yes," he replied, "but with any luck he'll be dead by then." She thought on this for a minute, then said, "So why did you marry me if Voldemort told you not to?" she asked. "Because I told Malfoy that it'd be better if I were to marry you so I could keep an eye on both of you. He managed to convince the Dark Lord of this despite the fact that Malfoy himself thinks this an error."
"Do you think he suspects?" "It's possible, but not probable," he said, "he's too busy with the Dark Lord to really worry about me at the moment." Hermione was silent, then, "So...is he...is he at the Malfoy estate?" "I think not," said Severus, "that would be the obvious place, and the Dark Lord never goes with the obvious. He goes with the devious." Hermione let out a frustrated sound, "Too bad we can't just find him and kill him." "I'm not certain he can be killed," muttered Severus beneath his breath. Hermione, though, picked up on it, "Well if he can't be killed then there's got to be a way to at least trap him or imprison him. Nobody's infallible."
He didn't voice his thoughts, and merely continued to think, until finally Hermione said, after much hesitancy, "Severus...have you...do you..." He looked up, "Yes?" She looked across the room as if searching for the right words, "Have you been...have you enjoyed...us...being together?"
He didn't say that his feelings for her hadn't changed since he had first explained them to her; he suspected she already knew that. Instead he said, "Hermione...what do you think?" Her eyes did not leave his, and finally she nodded slowly. A slight smile flickered on his face, "Then I don't need to answer." Hermione felt her heart bubble slightly, and she looked away, red in the face, "I...I love you." Severus felt as if he'd burst, but kept cool, "I love you too."
Hermione stood up abruptly, "I...er...I'd better go check on Adrian. I said I'd visit with him. I'll...I'll see you later." She left quickly, and he almost laughed at her embarrassment, then remembered his own, and, flushing, went back to grading papers.
December. They had made it to December. This thought echoed through Hermione's head frequently; Adrian had successfully adapted to the third year students, and enjoyed a tight circle of friends. A little too tight, even, or so Hermione thought. She expressed this worry to Severus one evening in his office, "I'm glad he has his friends, but they're always together." "Much like you, Potter, and Weasley," he muttered, not looking up from his desk, where he was grading papers. "Yes, well, we were different." "How so?" She let out a sigh of frustration, "We weren't in Slytherin and Voldemort wasn't after us!"
He looked up and gave a large roll of the eyes, and finally she admitted, "Well maybe Voldemort was after us, but still, I don't like Adrian's friends. They might bring him nearer to the trouble we've worked so hard for him to avoid." "And what'll you do?" he cut her off, "Will you tell him to stop being friends with them? You honestly think the Dark Lord won't find that suspicious?"
Words failed her, but finally she spoke, "I know, I know. But...what do we do then?" "Nothing," said Severus simply, "we do nothing. If we were to act it would jeopardize too much; the Dark Lord would know we've been protecting him." Hermione shifted uncomfortably; then a thought struck her, "Severus...you're...you're still in his Inner Circle, aren't you?" He went back to grading papers, "Yes." "What did you tell him? I mean, how did you excuse the fact that you married me? Didn't he find that odd?"
His quill paused on the parchment, and finally he looked up at her. "There's really no need for you to know about that," he said easily, acting as if this were no problem whatsoever. Her eyes narrowed, "Yes, you're right, of course; you endangering yourself on my behalf is really none of my business, what the hell was I thinking?" He frowned at her sarcasm, "Since it bothers you so, I'll tell you." He put down his quill and shifted in his chair, sitting back, "The Dark Lord, Hermione, if you must know, has been interested in you for several years. He's watched you carefully in the past because you're so close to Harry, but also because of who you are."
"And who am I?" she said tartly. "An extremely powerful witch he'd just as soon not have to deal with," he replied, "and whether you like it or not, your brother is going to be a much more powerful wizard than you or I. It's already noticeable. And unfortunately, the Dark Lord has seen this. Regardless, his gaze has been fixed upon you for some time; he knew of the plight you suffered with Adrian. Marry a wizard of age or move in with a relative. That's why he ordered Malfoy to speak with you on the matter; he wanted to find out if you were engaged in any way. If not, then Adrian would go to an orphanage, and the Dark Lord would have his hands on the first of the Granger siblings.
"However, his plans were considerably altered when he met his demise at the end of last year; he did, however, make mention that he would be more than thrilled if I were to somehow use my powers of persuasion to convince you to marry me. Malfoy was against that plan entirely because he thought you would never fall for it, but then the Underage Wizardry Decree changed all that. Suddenly you needed a husband, and Malfoy explained this to the Dark Lord whom, I know now for certain, had been under Malfoy's close care for the past several months. After a month or so of indecision, the Dark Lord told Malfoy to convince me to let you alone so that he could get his hands on Adrian once he was in the orphanage." "So did you marry me to help Voldemort?" she asked flatly. "No!" he exclaimed, outraged, "Have you learned nothing since you've been in my company? I married you to protect you and Adrian both!"
"Won't he find out, sooner or later? That you did it not for him but for us?" asked Hermione. "More than likely, yes, but I don't care much since it doesn't matter at the moment." "But surely it will sooner or later," said Hermione hesitantly, "he'll order you to kill me or take my brother or...or do...well...something, certainly." "This is probable, yes," he replied, "but with any luck he'll be dead by then." She thought on this for a minute, then said, "So why did you marry me if Voldemort told you not to?" she asked. "Because I told Malfoy that it'd be better if I were to marry you so I could keep an eye on both of you. He managed to convince the Dark Lord of this despite the fact that Malfoy himself thinks this an error."
"Do you think he suspects?" "It's possible, but not probable," he said, "he's too busy with the Dark Lord to really worry about me at the moment." Hermione was silent, then, "So...is he...is he at the Malfoy estate?" "I think not," said Severus, "that would be the obvious place, and the Dark Lord never goes with the obvious. He goes with the devious." Hermione let out a frustrated sound, "Too bad we can't just find him and kill him." "I'm not certain he can be killed," muttered Severus beneath his breath. Hermione, though, picked up on it, "Well if he can't be killed then there's got to be a way to at least trap him or imprison him. Nobody's infallible."
He didn't voice his thoughts, and merely continued to think, until finally Hermione said, after much hesitancy, "Severus...have you...do you..." He looked up, "Yes?" She looked across the room as if searching for the right words, "Have you been...have you enjoyed...us...being together?"
He didn't say that his feelings for her hadn't changed since he had first explained them to her; he suspected she already knew that. Instead he said, "Hermione...what do you think?" Her eyes did not leave his, and finally she nodded slowly. A slight smile flickered on his face, "Then I don't need to answer." Hermione felt her heart bubble slightly, and she looked away, red in the face, "I...I love you." Severus felt as if he'd burst, but kept cool, "I love you too."
Hermione stood up abruptly, "I...er...I'd better go check on Adrian. I said I'd visit with him. I'll...I'll see you later." She left quickly, and he almost laughed at her embarrassment, then remembered his own, and, flushing, went back to grading papers.