Disclaimer: I so much wish I was in control of the Harry Potter universe, unfortunately I'm not. But here I can pretend I am, if only for a little while.
Author's Note: Many, many, many thanks to all the people who commented on my last chapter, my inbox almost exploded with messages! You guys are the greatest; I'm so excited to have received so much feedback for my writing. If anybody's ever bored and wants something to do, make sure you go to mugglenet.com, and look through it. Definitely read the Editorials - The North Tower is especially good. Anyways, on with Chapter 5.
Hermione grimaced as she saw the pained look on the faces of her parents once she told them about her engagement. It had been hard for her to even get up the courage to tell them to begin with, but she had a mission and it was a well known Granger-trait that when she set out to do something, it never remained unfinished. Looking at her mother's tearstained face and the immeasurable anger that rendered her father speechless, her first instinct was to run and then inform Snape that his presence would not be necessary that afternoon, as her parents would never want to see her again, let alone her hateful fiancé. "I know you had high hopes for me, mom, and the law is barbaric - I don't understand how wizards, no matter how advanced their skills are, are so behind when it comes to social customs. But I have no choice, they will find me whether I am in the wizarding world or here, at home. Although I am by no means fond of Professor Snape, he isn't a monster. He will allow me to continue my education, accomplish my dreams...at least some of them...and he will not abuse me."
"How could that man they have the nerve to refer to as the 'Minister of Magic' do this? Leaders of the wizarding community should take all types of wizards into mind before making laws such as these!" her mother exclaimed indignantly.
"Cornelius Fudge is by no means a good Minister of Magic. He has made countless mistakes in his position, and judging by the number of problems which resulted from this, I am shocked he has remained Minister of Magic. That does not, however, mean that I am exempt from this law simply because the man who controls our government is an idiot." With those words, Mrs. Granger broke down into hysterical tears for the second time that afternoon, leaving Hermione to stare helplessly at her parents. "Professor Snape will be stopping by soon. I assumed you two would want to meet him. But we won't stay long - I'm going to back to Hogwarts with him this afternoon," she said softly. It pained her to cause her parents this much heartbreak.
The meeting with Snape did not go smoothly, as could be assumed by any individual with an IQ over 30. Hermione's mother's already-horrified expression amplified even further at the first sight of the dark, brooding professor, and her father refused to even shake his hand. Casting a look at Snape that was both exasperated and frightened, Hermione shakily tried to properly introduce the three. "Professor Snape is very talented in both the art of potion making and in defense against dark arts - you know, bad spells," she said, hoping to skillfully win over her parents to at least be civil to him. Although she didn't know why she was worrying so much about his well-being, although nobody could argue his wizarding skills, it didn't take a genius to figure out that his personality was far from kind.
"How old are you, you perverted bastard?" cried her father, shocking both Hermione and her mother into silence at his sudden outburst. Ever since he had received the news of Hermione's betrothal, he had been silently fuming in a sullen stupor. It was shocking to hear those words out of his mouth, as he had usually been very laid-back and gentle when it came to his family, especially his beloved daughter. "I know she has no choice but to marry the man who puts a contract on her, but you must be nearly twice her age! Do you realize your lust after her, an innocent girl, has ruined her life forever!?"
Snape stared at him, his pale face slowly filling with color as he fought to maintain composure. "I am thirty five, and as well all know, Hermione is 17. I have been called a bastard several times throughout my life, and though I do, unfortunately for this circumstance, have a father, I can't argue that the term is entirely wrong when used in reference to my personality. Lustful, or perverted, for that matter, are not words that describe me. My father put out the contract on Hermione for me, I have as little choice in the matter of marriage to her as she does, and I can assure you that I am about as thrilled as she, as well. Hermione is a very intelligent young witch, she has goals and aspirations which will be tainted by our marriage and the child she is obligated to conceive, but you have my solemn promise that I will never attempt to suppress her intelligence. I, in fact, encourage her to use all of her knowledge to the best of her abilities. And you can be assured that my hand will never harm her."
Hermione stood there, staring at her future husband. Had Professor Snape, the infamous bastard, who complimented no one, actually spoken in her favor? Praised her, the 'insufferable know-it-all'? The entire family stood silent for a moment, the stillness breaking only when Mr. Granger stalked out of the room, rendered speechless by the entire situation. Mrs. Granger turned as if to follow her husband, and then changed her mind in mid-step, turning to Hermione. "When is the wedding?" she asked softly, her voice quivering.
"This Wednesday night, at Hogwarts. Will you come?" Hermione answered. She wanted her parents to be there so badly, knowing that things between the family would never be the same after her marriage.
"I will, I can promise you that. I'm not so sure about your father - but I will speak to him, dear. How will I get there? I don't know where it is."
Before Hermione could answer, Snape spoke, his voice much calmer than it had been a few moments before. "I will arrange for you, and your husband, should he desire to come. We will probably have to travel by floo powder, which will be new and perhaps uncomfortable for you, but it is the most effective and safest way. I will arrive in your fireplace at half past six on Wednesday night. Professor Dumbledore, I'm sure, will aid you in your journey home that evening. Does that sound alright?"
"Yes, that would be wonderful," answered Mrs. Granger. Casting a glance at her daughter, she looked back at Snape. "Take care of her, alright? I know we have been somewhat less than open towards the idea of her marrying you, but she is our only child, and we love her and want her to be happy."
"I understand that, Mrs. Granger. I will try my best to provide for both her safety and happiness, although I am not sure I will succeed, at least on the latter of the two matters," he responded, his voice gentler than Hermione had ever heard. Turning to her, he asked "are you ready to go back?" Hermione nodded, tears filling her eyes.
"I love you, Mom," she said softly, giving her a hug. "Thank you for trying to understand". Her mother nodded in understanding. Hermione then found her father, standing by himself in their back yard. "Dad?" she said timidly, looking at his sullen face. "I'm going back now; I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. My wedding is on Wednesday...Sn-Severus will be coming to pick mom up, he said he'd take you there too if you would come. And I really, really want you to be there, Dad."
Mr. Granger turned and looked at his daughter, a pained expression on his face. "I'm sorry, honey. I will be there. This whole ordeal has just come as a shock to me. I love you, Hermione."Running to him, Hermione hugged her father, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I love you too, Dad. And I'm sorry all of this happened, but I guess I have no choice." After she rejoined Snape, both of them silently apparated back, landing right outside the Hogwarts grounds. Looking at her, he mumbled softly, "I'm sorry all this is happening to you. Is your Dad going to come to the wedding?"
Hermione nodded. "Yeah, he's coming. He's not happy about it though, although I entirely understand what he's thinking."
"Have you told Potter and Weasley yet?""Yeah, I told them yesterday before I left.""How did that go?""Not well. They're both really worried about me, and Ron is kicking himself for not petitioning for me first...he didn't realize how imminent the situation was, with both your father and Malfoy. But he swears that he was going to petition for me...he wanted to marry me."
"And how do you feel about that? Would you have wanted to marry him?"
"I'm not sure. I like Ron - he's one of my best friends in the world. But I think we'd drive each other crazy if we were married - I'm too much of a know-it-all, and he can be awfully thick sometimes."
Smirking, Snape nodded. "I agree. What about Potter? What did he say?"
"He basically promised that if you were ever a bastard towards me, or hurt me, or anything, that he'd come and rescue me and blow you to pieces."
"Oh. Excellent," was Snape's sarcastic reply. "Just what I need, two hormonal teenage boys fighting with me over a woman. I suppose seeing the two of them is inescapable, as they are your two best friends."
"You're right about that one. I've had so much of my life pulled away from me already - those two and Ginny are all I have anymore, please don't take them away from me."
He sighed, looking at her. "I know you think I'm a cruel, malicious bastard who would want to suck all the happiness out of your life, Hermione, but I assure you, I'm not. Potter and Weasley are annoying little shits sometimes, Potter especially upsets me by constantly thinking that he's the one in charge of the worlds' events and by putting both his life and others' in danger without much foresight. But nevertheless, he cares about you, and he's got a good soul. Miss Weasley I have no problems with whatsoever, she is intelligent and seems to be a very suitable and trustworthy friend for you. I would not try and separate you from those you love, believe me."
Hermione stared at him, surprised by the respect and kindness he had shown to her over the course of the day. True, he had a very snarky and sarcastic side, but she was beginning to think that it wasn't such a bad thing - besides, if he didn't have some sort of sarcasm or the like added to his words at any given moment, she might faint from shock at it.
"Thank you. I promise that I'll try not to let them annoy you too much. And I know you have your own life to live too, that I'll probably get in the way sometimes. I'll try not to let that be the case."
"That would be admirable, yes," was his simple response. Surprised by the small understanding they had arrived at, Hermione and Snape completed their journey back to the castle in silence.
Author's Note: I've been in a writing sort of mood lately, as you can tell. But I have a request from all of my faithful readers here. I am currently searching for a beta, someone who could read my work, proofread it, and offer me suggestions. I'm looking for somebody who is very good at English, and has extensive knowledge (or an obsession) with Harry Potter, to make sure I don't contradict anything the high-and-mighty JK Rowling says, because as we all know, she is the Goddess of all things Harry Potter. Also, I am going to try and make my story a little bit more unique from other Marriage Law stories - so far I've been going by the guidelines of the challenge, but the plot is turning out almost identical to other stories I've read, so I need some ideas to get the plot going more. If you'd like to be a beta, or just have some suggestions, email me and let me know! My email is skittle72913hotmail.com, or you can reach me through AIM, my screen name is skittle72913.