A/N: Nothing interesting to add...just enjoy...
PS: It's not mine...
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Severus Snape lay in bed for hours that night, dark green down comforter pulled up to his bare chest, hands resting behind his head, eyes staring up at the ceiling.
He had kissed Hermione Granger, a mere wisp of a girl, only 18 and still a student, albeit an extremely intelligent and mature one. Kissed her and enjoyed it. And what was more...she had seemed to enjoy it too, of all the strange things.
Oh yes...she had been breathless and crimson when he had unceremoniously pushed her out the door in an effort to save his own dignity. After that he had finished the rest of his brandy in one swallow and slunk out of his office to hide in his own rooms for some contemplation.
At least she enjoyed kissing him, certainly a good thing if they were to be married and were expected to produce children at some juncture....
Children. Now that was a frightening thought. He had never thought of himself as a father. And 'children' as opposed to the more singular 'child' was even more alarming. His family had been producing one child per couple for as long as he could remember. Looking back, it was probably the most sensible thing to do in order to prevent inheritance squabbles and over population. The result of this fine planning was, however, that Severus Snape never had contact with more than one child at a time before attending Hogwarts and was severely lacking in social skills.
That thought caused a smirk. It was odd how circumstances of youth lead to behaviors of adulthood.
Sighing to himself, Severus turned his thoughts to more mundane matters, such as his 3rd year potions classes and the possibility for a pop quiz for his 5th years. It was with that happy thought that he finally drifted off to sleep.
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The next morning found Snape staring listlessly into his porridge, trying to avoid glancing towards Hermione Granger, who was staring just as adamantly at her toast and fending off questions from her friends.
When the morning mail arrived, a note was dropped into the aforementioned porridge just as an identical note drifted down towards Miss Granger's breakfast.
Sighing, Severus opened it, read it, and nodded at the Headmaster as a means of accepting the 10:15am meeting time. He failed to notice a similar look pass from Hermione to the Headmaster. ..............................................................
At 10AM precisely, the time noted on her breakfast postcard, Hermione Granger stood outside the gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office. She was trying her luck with various sweets phrases, trying to coax the door open, when she finally happened upon "Cauldron Cakes" and was able to enter.
Following the spiral staircase upward, she entered Albus Dumbledore's office with no small amount of apprehension.
"Ah. Miss Granger. Have a seat please. Lemon drop?" The wizened wizard wore a large smile across his face and his eyes twinkled with obvious mischief.
"No thank you sir. It's a bit early for candy." Hermione replied as she took her seat, her voice was soft but solid.
"As you wish Miss Granger. Always full of logic you are. I assume you know why I have asked you here?"
"Yes sir. To make my decision regarding the Marriage Law. But I think you already know that I'm going to choose Professor Snape. You knew that when you presented the choice to me. Didn't you?"
Dumbledore's smile didn't falter, nor did his eyes stop their twinkling. "Merlin no Hermione. I would never presume to guess at a young woman's heart, but I did have my hopes." He winked at her.
Hermione sighed, knowing that if the old wizard didn't want to admit his knowledge or his interference there was little she could do about it. "Well sir, that's my choice, for better or worse." She had to stop herself from smirking at the irony of that choice of phrase. "Will that be all professor?"
"Oh not quite yet Miss Granger. You and your 'chosen' must sign the marriage contract, and there are a few other points to discuss. Just give it a moment, I believe Severus will be arriving shortly."
Just as Hermione was going to ask just how he knew that, there was the sound of the door opening below and Severus Snape's face arrived in Dumbledore's doorway shortly after.
"Headmaster? You wanted to see- oh. Miss Granger. This is about the Marriage Law then?" Snape entered with casual ease and certainty, sitting beside Hermione and folding his hands upon his lap.
"Indeed Severus. Right as always. Miss Granger has chosen you out of all of her propositions, I am happy to report. I asked you here for the contract signing and to arrange a date for the wedding."
He waved his hand and with a ::pop:: two copies of the same document appeared in front of them.
"There. Now if you two would kindly just sign on the bottom line? I think we're all aware of the specific points of the contract? The marriage cannot be ended unless the conditions of are not fulfilled, in which case the marriage will be annulled by the ministry and the non-pureblood witch or wizard be put 'back on the market' as it were. And Miss Granger," his voice grew less light and took on a serious, reassuring tone, "I want you to know that no matter what this law entails we will not allow it to hinder or affect your life any more than absolutely necessary. I won't let you be harmed. Do you understand my dear?"
Dumbledore was staring so hard into Hermione's eyes that she could only nod. She knew he was referring to the pregnancy clause...nothing else in the contract warranted that sort of miniature speech. She also realized he was being discrete for Snape's sake, who he thought still in the dark on that little detail.
"Excellent, now sign away children!" He settled back into his large chair, grin back on his face, his hands forming a steeple upon his desktop. The minute Severus and Hermione's quills lifted from the contract the papers disappeared with another ::pop:: .
"Ah yes. You two are now officially betrothed according to the ministry's records." The Headmaster relaxed even further, which Hermione had thought would be impossible given the circumstances of their meeting, and grinned. "So, when's the wedding? Technically, you have two months to remain engaged."
Hermione spoke up before Snape could demand the longest engagement possible. "Excuse me, professors, but the Christmas holiday is only two weeks away and well, under the circumstances, I don't know that a long engagement would be terribly safe for Professor Snape or myself. Plus the break would give us a chance to settle living arrangements and the like. I don't think any of us were expecting a large ceremony, so we don't need much time to prepare." She looked back and forth at the two men, hoping they would see the logic in her argument. She really didn't want to drag this out anymore than necessary.
Dumbledore stroked his long beard and smiled again. "Excellent planning Hermione. What do you think Severus?"
Severus Snape's eyes were as wide as Hermione had ever seen them. "Liv- Living arrangements?" His voice quivered in surprise. "I thought that could surely wait until after graduation."
"Certainly not Severus my boy! We can't have Miss Granger alone in Gryffindor tower, too dangerous, and too suspicious, as if the marriage were a farce. Can't have people thinking that, can we?"
"Oh heaven's no, let's not let them suspect the truth." Snape muttered under his breath, but he couldn't argue with Dumbledore on this point, that much he knew.
"Exactly! There will be separate beds, of course, though in the same bedroom to keep up appearances. Otherwise there's more than enough room in your quarters for an extra person." Dumbledore's tone brooked no argument. "Well then, that's settled. Hermione, you may return to your dorms my dear. Severus will be along after lunch to retrieve you."
"Retrieve me for what sir?"
"Why, for your trip into Hogsmeade of course. To get anything necessary for the wedding...a dress, candles, you know! I'm sure he wouldn't mind if Miss Weasley accompanied you, would you Severus?"
Severus' eyes had widened even more at the mention of a shopping trip but he was in no position to argue so he simply nodded his acquiescence.
Hermione likewise nodded and gave her farewell to Dumbledore and Snape before leaving the room, noticing as she was leaving that Snape was pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
The two professors watched the young woman leave before settling their gaze upon each other.
"Well Headmaster. I'm sure you have a very good reason for not telling me about the child Miss Granger and I are supposed to produce?" Severus gave Dumbledore his best disapproving glare and was pleased to see something akin to guilt pass across the Headmaster's face.
"Ah, you found out about that bit did you?" A sheepish grin and a twinkling eye quickly replaced the look of guilt.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. It came up when Miss Granger was looking for me in the middle of the night to discuss how that little matter would affect her schooling."
"I should have realized Hermione would be too bright to miss that part of the contract. Yes well...I didn't think to mention it to you Severus because I don't ever intend to fulfill that part. I was hoping to use both your influence and mine to delay it until she's at least out of school. If this absurd law isn't retracted by then."
Dumbledore's face suddenly seemed tired, and Severus had little difficulty discerning why. There was little in this world that Albus Dumbledore loved more than his students, and the affect this law was having on many of their lives was surely having an effect on the beloved headmaster as well.
"Between the two of us and given the fact that even the Ministry has high hopes for Hermione, we should be able to put off this 'child' business for a little while at least. Nothing, absolutely nothing, should be allowed to harm her or prevent her from becoming all that she can be. You understand me in this Severus?" The kind old wizard's eyes were suddenly steely, and Snape was once again reminded that the Headmaster was many things, not the least of which was a revered general, and an extremely powerful wizard.
"Merlin Albus, I'm not going to rape the girl if that's what you're implying! I'll keep my hands to myself, you needn't worry." Severus sneered at the Headmaster. Really! As if Severus Snape would want to impregnate his student. Last night's behavior aside, of course.
"I knew you'd see it my way Severus. Now off with you, and don't forget to pick up Miss Granger and Miss Weasley this afternoon!" Dumbledore waved him off with a cheerful wink and Snape merely nodded in acknowledgement before leaving the room.
As he walked back towards his rooms Severus shook his head at the gathering thoughts. Any preconceived notions he may have had about a young bride and an intelligent partner were quickly becoming dashed against a stone wall. What he was gaining was a chaste marriage and female invading his privacy.
Typical sneer on his face, he deducted 20 points from two unfortunate Hufflepuffs who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time before making it back to his rooms and pouring himself a brandy. He hated shopping.
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A/N: Well that's the end of chapter three. I know it was short and yucky, but it was mostly filler, just moving the plot along. And I'm sorry it took me so long to update but, well, it's difficult to read everyone else's stories and then write my own knowing it's not nearly as good. Read and Review,
PS: It's not mine...
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Severus Snape lay in bed for hours that night, dark green down comforter pulled up to his bare chest, hands resting behind his head, eyes staring up at the ceiling.
He had kissed Hermione Granger, a mere wisp of a girl, only 18 and still a student, albeit an extremely intelligent and mature one. Kissed her and enjoyed it. And what was more...she had seemed to enjoy it too, of all the strange things.
Oh yes...she had been breathless and crimson when he had unceremoniously pushed her out the door in an effort to save his own dignity. After that he had finished the rest of his brandy in one swallow and slunk out of his office to hide in his own rooms for some contemplation.
At least she enjoyed kissing him, certainly a good thing if they were to be married and were expected to produce children at some juncture....
Children. Now that was a frightening thought. He had never thought of himself as a father. And 'children' as opposed to the more singular 'child' was even more alarming. His family had been producing one child per couple for as long as he could remember. Looking back, it was probably the most sensible thing to do in order to prevent inheritance squabbles and over population. The result of this fine planning was, however, that Severus Snape never had contact with more than one child at a time before attending Hogwarts and was severely lacking in social skills.
That thought caused a smirk. It was odd how circumstances of youth lead to behaviors of adulthood.
Sighing to himself, Severus turned his thoughts to more mundane matters, such as his 3rd year potions classes and the possibility for a pop quiz for his 5th years. It was with that happy thought that he finally drifted off to sleep.
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The next morning found Snape staring listlessly into his porridge, trying to avoid glancing towards Hermione Granger, who was staring just as adamantly at her toast and fending off questions from her friends.
When the morning mail arrived, a note was dropped into the aforementioned porridge just as an identical note drifted down towards Miss Granger's breakfast.
Sighing, Severus opened it, read it, and nodded at the Headmaster as a means of accepting the 10:15am meeting time. He failed to notice a similar look pass from Hermione to the Headmaster. ..............................................................
At 10AM precisely, the time noted on her breakfast postcard, Hermione Granger stood outside the gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office. She was trying her luck with various sweets phrases, trying to coax the door open, when she finally happened upon "Cauldron Cakes" and was able to enter.
Following the spiral staircase upward, she entered Albus Dumbledore's office with no small amount of apprehension.
"Ah. Miss Granger. Have a seat please. Lemon drop?" The wizened wizard wore a large smile across his face and his eyes twinkled with obvious mischief.
"No thank you sir. It's a bit early for candy." Hermione replied as she took her seat, her voice was soft but solid.
"As you wish Miss Granger. Always full of logic you are. I assume you know why I have asked you here?"
"Yes sir. To make my decision regarding the Marriage Law. But I think you already know that I'm going to choose Professor Snape. You knew that when you presented the choice to me. Didn't you?"
Dumbledore's smile didn't falter, nor did his eyes stop their twinkling. "Merlin no Hermione. I would never presume to guess at a young woman's heart, but I did have my hopes." He winked at her.
Hermione sighed, knowing that if the old wizard didn't want to admit his knowledge or his interference there was little she could do about it. "Well sir, that's my choice, for better or worse." She had to stop herself from smirking at the irony of that choice of phrase. "Will that be all professor?"
"Oh not quite yet Miss Granger. You and your 'chosen' must sign the marriage contract, and there are a few other points to discuss. Just give it a moment, I believe Severus will be arriving shortly."
Just as Hermione was going to ask just how he knew that, there was the sound of the door opening below and Severus Snape's face arrived in Dumbledore's doorway shortly after.
"Headmaster? You wanted to see- oh. Miss Granger. This is about the Marriage Law then?" Snape entered with casual ease and certainty, sitting beside Hermione and folding his hands upon his lap.
"Indeed Severus. Right as always. Miss Granger has chosen you out of all of her propositions, I am happy to report. I asked you here for the contract signing and to arrange a date for the wedding."
He waved his hand and with a ::pop:: two copies of the same document appeared in front of them.
"There. Now if you two would kindly just sign on the bottom line? I think we're all aware of the specific points of the contract? The marriage cannot be ended unless the conditions of are not fulfilled, in which case the marriage will be annulled by the ministry and the non-pureblood witch or wizard be put 'back on the market' as it were. And Miss Granger," his voice grew less light and took on a serious, reassuring tone, "I want you to know that no matter what this law entails we will not allow it to hinder or affect your life any more than absolutely necessary. I won't let you be harmed. Do you understand my dear?"
Dumbledore was staring so hard into Hermione's eyes that she could only nod. She knew he was referring to the pregnancy clause...nothing else in the contract warranted that sort of miniature speech. She also realized he was being discrete for Snape's sake, who he thought still in the dark on that little detail.
"Excellent, now sign away children!" He settled back into his large chair, grin back on his face, his hands forming a steeple upon his desktop. The minute Severus and Hermione's quills lifted from the contract the papers disappeared with another ::pop:: .
"Ah yes. You two are now officially betrothed according to the ministry's records." The Headmaster relaxed even further, which Hermione had thought would be impossible given the circumstances of their meeting, and grinned. "So, when's the wedding? Technically, you have two months to remain engaged."
Hermione spoke up before Snape could demand the longest engagement possible. "Excuse me, professors, but the Christmas holiday is only two weeks away and well, under the circumstances, I don't know that a long engagement would be terribly safe for Professor Snape or myself. Plus the break would give us a chance to settle living arrangements and the like. I don't think any of us were expecting a large ceremony, so we don't need much time to prepare." She looked back and forth at the two men, hoping they would see the logic in her argument. She really didn't want to drag this out anymore than necessary.
Dumbledore stroked his long beard and smiled again. "Excellent planning Hermione. What do you think Severus?"
Severus Snape's eyes were as wide as Hermione had ever seen them. "Liv- Living arrangements?" His voice quivered in surprise. "I thought that could surely wait until after graduation."
"Certainly not Severus my boy! We can't have Miss Granger alone in Gryffindor tower, too dangerous, and too suspicious, as if the marriage were a farce. Can't have people thinking that, can we?"
"Oh heaven's no, let's not let them suspect the truth." Snape muttered under his breath, but he couldn't argue with Dumbledore on this point, that much he knew.
"Exactly! There will be separate beds, of course, though in the same bedroom to keep up appearances. Otherwise there's more than enough room in your quarters for an extra person." Dumbledore's tone brooked no argument. "Well then, that's settled. Hermione, you may return to your dorms my dear. Severus will be along after lunch to retrieve you."
"Retrieve me for what sir?"
"Why, for your trip into Hogsmeade of course. To get anything necessary for the wedding...a dress, candles, you know! I'm sure he wouldn't mind if Miss Weasley accompanied you, would you Severus?"
Severus' eyes had widened even more at the mention of a shopping trip but he was in no position to argue so he simply nodded his acquiescence.
Hermione likewise nodded and gave her farewell to Dumbledore and Snape before leaving the room, noticing as she was leaving that Snape was pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
The two professors watched the young woman leave before settling their gaze upon each other.
"Well Headmaster. I'm sure you have a very good reason for not telling me about the child Miss Granger and I are supposed to produce?" Severus gave Dumbledore his best disapproving glare and was pleased to see something akin to guilt pass across the Headmaster's face.
"Ah, you found out about that bit did you?" A sheepish grin and a twinkling eye quickly replaced the look of guilt.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. It came up when Miss Granger was looking for me in the middle of the night to discuss how that little matter would affect her schooling."
"I should have realized Hermione would be too bright to miss that part of the contract. Yes well...I didn't think to mention it to you Severus because I don't ever intend to fulfill that part. I was hoping to use both your influence and mine to delay it until she's at least out of school. If this absurd law isn't retracted by then."
Dumbledore's face suddenly seemed tired, and Severus had little difficulty discerning why. There was little in this world that Albus Dumbledore loved more than his students, and the affect this law was having on many of their lives was surely having an effect on the beloved headmaster as well.
"Between the two of us and given the fact that even the Ministry has high hopes for Hermione, we should be able to put off this 'child' business for a little while at least. Nothing, absolutely nothing, should be allowed to harm her or prevent her from becoming all that she can be. You understand me in this Severus?" The kind old wizard's eyes were suddenly steely, and Snape was once again reminded that the Headmaster was many things, not the least of which was a revered general, and an extremely powerful wizard.
"Merlin Albus, I'm not going to rape the girl if that's what you're implying! I'll keep my hands to myself, you needn't worry." Severus sneered at the Headmaster. Really! As if Severus Snape would want to impregnate his student. Last night's behavior aside, of course.
"I knew you'd see it my way Severus. Now off with you, and don't forget to pick up Miss Granger and Miss Weasley this afternoon!" Dumbledore waved him off with a cheerful wink and Snape merely nodded in acknowledgement before leaving the room.
As he walked back towards his rooms Severus shook his head at the gathering thoughts. Any preconceived notions he may have had about a young bride and an intelligent partner were quickly becoming dashed against a stone wall. What he was gaining was a chaste marriage and female invading his privacy.
Typical sneer on his face, he deducted 20 points from two unfortunate Hufflepuffs who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time before making it back to his rooms and pouring himself a brandy. He hated shopping.
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A/N: Well that's the end of chapter three. I know it was short and yucky, but it was mostly filler, just moving the plot along. And I'm sorry it took me so long to update but, well, it's difficult to read everyone else's stories and then write my own knowing it's not nearly as good. Read and Review,