Chapter Three

A/N: Pretty please review!

For the first time in years, Severus Snape was utterly and completely dumbfounded. When he had come to stand before the dark lord he had been expecting the worst.
"Was is it you wish of me, my lord." Severus had asked, cursing at himself when his voice had cracked. This was not a time for weakness.
Voldemort had only said one word, but it was all he needed to say.
"Marriage."
Severus was sure his heart had stopped. It must have, because he could feel his entire body going cold. Of the countless scenarios that had run through his head in the past two days, this had not been one of them. Suddenly, he could not force a single thought to stay in his head. His mind was racing with frantic disbelieve. What was the meaning of this?
Lucius Malfoy, standing proudly to right of his master, had been more than happy to explain. She was a death eater, and Snape was to pass her off as his wife. He was to bring her into Hogwarts, and convince that fool Dumbledore and the rest of the staff and students that she was in fact his loving spouse. He was to bring her home tonight, just in time for the new term. Surly he could find a way to explain the sudden marriage, temporary insanity perhaps? The instructions ended there, with Lucius grinning like a fool and Severus searching desperately for a way out.
"If I may ask, why?"
Severus knew that he should not ask, but he couldn't help himself.
"She will be useful to us." Lucius explained, cleaning dirt from under his fingernails as he spoke.
"It will never work." Severus tried to desperately explain. "Dumbledore will never believe it, I will be exposed as a spy."
"Not if you try hard enough. A lack of effort on your part will not reflect well on you Severus, so I suggest you do your best to convince him."
Lucius looked dangerous in the candle light, like a coiled snake ready to strike.
"You have a better think of a plan fast. You'll be taking her home with you when you leave"
Severus began to wonder exactly where this woman was. He glanced around the room, but it was nearly impossible to distinguish a single person from the next in the sea of white masks.
"Don't worry, she's here."
Lucius sneered at him, looking extremely pleased with himself. So the bastard thinks he can read minds now as well? In that moment Severus was convinced that this was all Malfoy's idea. He could kill him, he really could.
"And how are you so sure that she'll go alone with this?" Severus asked, well aware that he was treading on thin ground.
"Enough!" The dark lord suddenly chimed in. He had grown tired of this game. "Crucio."
For once Severus was almost grateful for the distraction the dreaded curse gave him. At least the pain drew him away from the fact that his life had been ruined. Completely and utterly ruined.

"Severus, aren't you forgetting something?" Lucius called out with a false sense of gaiety in his voice.
The meeting was over, and Severus had decided to run for the door. If he made it out alive there was a chance he might make it back to Hogwarts. He would simply have to explain the situation to Dumbledore. It would hurt for the order to lose their spy, but they couldn't expect him to...
"Your wife?"
Lucius was leading a cloaked figure along by the elbow, whispering something in her ear. He gave her a less than gentle shove towards Severus, and strode on without pausing.
"We'll be watching you." He called over his shoulder.
The figure looked up at Severus, but reminded silent. Her face was hidden behind her white mask, but Severus could still see her eyes. It struck him that they were the most astounding shade of green, and they were also shining with tears.
Great. The last thing he needed was to drag a sobbing woman back to Hogwarts. That would go over just beautifully.
"You're not going to cry and carry on, are you?" Severus didn't even try to hide the disdain in his voice.
The woman narrowed her eyes, and then rather violently stomped on his foot. Severus let out a small cry of pain and surprise, and did not attempt to stop his new wife as she fled past him and out into the safety of the dimly lit hallway. Once the pain his foot settled back into a dull throb Severus rather dramatically limped outside, and found her standing against the wall waiting for him.
"If I may say so, that was very mature." Severus said in the most sarcastic tone he could manage.
The woman crossed her arms and turned her head. Severus sighed, and reached up to take off his mask. What was he going to do? Fleeing now was not an option, at least not alone. He could always bring her back to Hogwarts only to have someone from the ministry come and arrest her, but that could be dangerous and would carry the unwelcome consequence of ending his career as a spy. What was the worse that she could do anyway? Serevus knew that Voldemort was probably not going to do something rash with her, not after he had gone through all this troube. He probably intended to keep this woman in Hogwarts merely as a spy, using Severus as a means to an end. If he was very careful, and watched her like a hawk...
No! He would have to tell Dumbledore. It would simply be too dangerous. He suddenly almost felt sorry for the woman with the stunning green eyes, who was now fated to spend a life in Azkaban. But then again, if she had not gone and nearly broken his foot he might have had a little more pity for her.
"Are you going to take that mask off? It might look a little suspicious." Severus nearly spat.
The woman turned around sharply in anger to face him, but after a moment reached up to take off her mask all the same.
For reasons that he would never understand, Severus had expected the woman to have the cold beauty of Narcissa Black. After all, it would have been very befitting of her attitude. Instead, he found himself greatly surprised. The woman looked not much older than a girl, with a warm round face framed by a few wisps of stray black hair. Her skin was a soft pink colour, dotted with a few freckles around her nose and cheeks. She was probably someone who had been called pretty or fair a great deal of times in her life. All in all she was nothing extraordinary. Oddly though, at the same time she was very extraordinary. Maybe it was those green eyes that seemed to shimmer even in the faintest light. Yes, it must have been her eyes.
"Let's go then." Severus sighed, trying to pretend that he had not been staring at her. However, he was aware that just as he had been staring at her, she had been doing exactly the same thing to him.
Severus held out his hand to her, so they might apparate out together. She eyed him coldly, and he grabbed for an elbow instead. She pulled away, and instead roughly grabbed onto the sleeve of his robe.
"Are you always so delightful?"
She did not answer his question, but instead gave him a taunting smile. Severus noticed that her otherwise perfect white teeth were a bit crooked. On any one else it might have been a fault, but for some reason on her it was strangely enduring.
Severus Snape like to consider himself a rational person. He had only made one decision in his entire life on a whim, but now he was about to make another.
'I'll keep her.' Severus thought, as if she was some sort of small animal and not a person.
It was not because it was a good decision. In fact this was a horrible decision. He would have to lie to Dumbledore, ruining the strong trust they had built between them. If he slipped up and allowed this woman to do something dangerous it could mean death to him and possibly to many others. Severus did not want to be revealed as a spy and tortured to death by Voldemort either, and if he turned her in as a death eater that could quite possibly be his fate.
Plus, he suddenly could not bare the thought of the woman with the extraordinary green eyes and enduringly crooked teeth alone in a cell in Azakaban.

Yes, Severus Snape was not being a rational man at all.