Disclaimer: It's not mine, although I have loads of fun playing with them as if they were a slinky! I love slinkies!
A/N: The whole slinky thing was totally random, so you can totally ignore it! I'm hyper, could you tell?! I just made super-duper yummy fudge, and super-dee-duper delicious yummy Kentucky pulled cream candy, so, I'm happy, and high on sugar, so you can ignore the many ramblings of A.J. Sound good? Yup yup yup, thanks to those who reviewed, makes me happy, and as always, onto the story!
Take Time to Smell the Roses
Chapter Four
The walk to the England Alliance Church was made in silence. Their wedding was quick and also quiet with no one there except themselves, the minister, and the minister's wife who served as a witness to their marriage. Neither Hermione nor Severus spoke except for answering vows during the ceremony until the end when the popular phrase "you may now kiss the bride," came up. Severus told the minister they would not be doing that since a kiss was something private and they didn't want to share it (at least that was the excuse he gave). Both knew that they wouldn't be able to get around consummating the marriage that night, but for now they wanted to avoid physical or romantic, contact.
"Well Miss Granger-I beg your pardon, Hermione. Or would you prefer Mrs. Snape, or perhaps your maiden name?" Snape said in his usual drawling voice, except there was almost a hint of hesitancy hidden there.
"Hermione is fine," Hermione answered quietly, thinking about how she was now officially married, to one of her professors none-the-less! 'Oh gods, I forgot he's my professor! Stupid Hermione, what will everyone at school say!' His words wound their way into her sub-conscious, disturbing her thoughts.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention sir."
"I said you may call me Severus if you so choose, seeing as we are bonded," he glanced over at her. "May I ask where we are headed next?"
"If you don't mind, we are going to visit my parents so they can meet you, and I assume that as your wife I'll be living with you, so I'll also need to pack my things, which may take a while."
"It should take you no more than five minutes," Severus chided. "Due to the fact that you are now married, you have all the rights and privileges of an adult, and that includes using magic outside of school."
"Oh," she said blushing slightly at the reprimand, even though she knew he hadn't meant it harshly.
The drive to her parent's house was spent as much of their day had been: in silence. Arriving at her parent's house, they walked up to the front door. Hermione took a deep breath as she nervously smoothed out her dress. The slight pressure of a hand resting on her shoulder made her turn to look at the man standing next to her.
'My husband,' she thought as she looked up at him. 'Gods, that sounds weird, I don't think I'll ever get used to that. My professor is my husband.'
"It will be all right Miss Gra- Hermione," he said in an attempt to be reassuring. 'I don't know that I'll ever get used to calling her Hermione. In school- damn I forgot about that. I hope the fact I married my student won't cause problems with Albus, although Ministry law has no restrictions about that. Well, Albus always did say I should find a nice witch and settle down.'
Apparently his touch, while unexpected, had been reassuring since Hermione seemed to visibly resolve herself and knocked on the door before opening it with her key, letting herself and Severus inside.
"Mum, Daddy?" She called out as she headed to the back porch where she thought they might be since they had said they would cook out on the grille tonight with hotdogs and hamburgers and the like.
"We're out here dear, come on out," she heard her mom reply.
"Hi Mum," Hermione put a smile on as she and Severus walked outside onto the porch in the falling light. "Uh, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
Her parents both stood up and came over to greet their daughter and the man standing regally next to her. Noticing their squinting looks, Severus waved his wand and immediately some lights appeared, making it much easier to see everything.
"Mum, Daddy, this is my husband, Severus Snape," she nervously introduced them. "Severus, these are my parents, Marius and Helen Granger."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," he bowed slightly and shook their hands.
"Snape…hmm, why does that sound familiar?" Marius said out loud.
"Perhaps Hermione has spoken of me," Severus answered, inwardly nervous at what he was about to reveal. "I am the potions professor at Hogwarts."
"You're her teacher!?" Helen said sharply before passing out. Marius was quick to catch her and set her on one of the deck chairs.
"Enervate," Hermione quickly said after pulling her wand out. Helen took a few seconds to become fully coherent, but when she did, she began to shoot daggers at Severus. Seeing this, Marius decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to intervene.
"Helen," he said placing one arm around her and taking her hand in his. "You know Hermione, she's intelligent and a good judge of character. At least give her a chance to explain before you hurt anyone, all right dear?"
"Fine, explain, now." She crossed her arms and leaned into Marius' embrace.
"Mum, I know he's my professor, and he's also sixteen years older than me," seeing her Mom glare even harder she quickly moved on. "Okay, wrong thing to say, but Mum, age isn't a big deal in the wizarding world. People live to be 125 and older, easily, so that's not a factor. As for his being my professor, that's a plus for me. He's so knowledgeable about a number of things, and he's also more mature than someone my age. I'll be able to have a conversation that doesn't include quidditch."
Helen continued to just glare at Severus, but her eyes didn't hold quite so much malice in them as before.
"And Mum, he's from an old, respected, and wealthy family, titled I think, too." Hermione continued, looking to Severus for confirmation.
"Yes, the Snape family was given the title of Lord several hundred years ago. You are now Lady Hermione Snape," he said wondering how she knew.
"See Mum, I don't have to worry about a job if I can't find one, or someone putting me down because of my muggle heritage," Hermione got a little teary eyed with frustration at trying to make her mother understand. "He'll take care of me Mum, and he won't hurt me or exploit me, and he won't make me quit school like some of the other guys might've done. Please try to understand, he's done wonderful things for the wizarding world and my school, and helped Harry, Ron and I several times. He's a good man Mum, and he and I are more compatible than you might realise."
Hermione sat holding her mom's hand, hoping she wouldn't be angry anymore. Helen thought over everything her daughter had said. If what Hermione had said was true, than the two of them did have a lot more in common than she thought.
'I hadn't realised we even had that much in common,' Severus thought, touched by her defence of him and his integrity and character. 'Very Gryffindor-like of her, very Gryffindor-like indeed."
* * * * *
"Well, maybe I was a bit hasty," Helen apologised later after they had eaten dinner and finished discussing things. Hermione had gone inside a few minutes ago to pack her things. "I'm sorry Severus."
"No apology needed Mrs. Granger, but thank you just the same. I can understand your anger," he said diplomatically.
"That won't do, you're family now. Call us Mom and Dad," she insisted, causing Severus to colour slightly at the welcome he was now receiving.
"Mum, Daddy, as much fun as this has been, we need to be going," Hermione said coming back onto the porch with her things, shrunk of course, in her arms. Severus stood up and took them from her so she could hug her parents good-bye. Hermione had to stifle a giggle as he almost dropped them when his new mother-in-law gave him a kiss on each cheek. Not knowing the apparition destination, Hermione placed her hand on Severus' arm as they tandem apparated to his lake-side summer home, which she couldn't see very well in the dim moonlight.
"Welcome to my summer home," he said as the door opened on command and he led her inside. "Now yours also. Let me show you to your room."
His manner was once again, cool and distant, much like he was at school. He had been almost friendly when with her parents, which made her happy, since it had appeared to be a sincere effort. She followed him through the door which closed automatically behind them, and up a staircase and down a hall to a room where he opened the door. Walking inside, she gasped in delight. The room was light green, her favourite colour, with white trim. The four poster bed had white tulle curtains currently held back, but could be pulled shut to keep out flies, mosquitoes, and the like. The bed was covered with a green and white checked bed-spread that was unbelievably soft feeling under her fingers. Lining the walls were pieces of oak furniture: a nightstand with a lamp by her bed, a vanity between the two large, white curtained windows, and a large armoire with shelves and drawers on one side, and a bar on the other to hang her dresses.
"I hope this will suffice. The house elves prepared it for you only this evening after I sent word to them," Severus spoke calmly, yet he did hope she liked it. "I took a chance on the colour, but should you want to change it-
"Oh no, it's wonderful, thank you." She took her things from him and set them on the bed.
"My room is right across the hall should you need anything, otherwise, I shall see you in the morning for breakfast in the sun room?" He asked moving towards the door. "We have much to discuss."
"That's fine," she said, and he turned to go. "Um, Severus?"
"Yes?" he paused, really just wanting to go back to his room, unable to feel completely comfortable around her.
"About consummating the marriage…" she trailed off, embarrassed and red in the face.
"I know, it has to be done," he said, also turning red slightly. As an afterthought almost, he added, "I'm sorry."
"No, I understand," she said.
Coming to another silent agreement, he turned off the light and they both undressed and proceeded to completely seal the marriage, with much blushing on Hermione's part, although she knew he couldn't see her in the dark. It was quick and unpassionate, with neither saying anything, simply having sex. After finishing, Severus bid her good night once again and went to his own room, where after donning sleep clothes, he climbed into his own bed and went to sleep. They could talk more in the morning about up-coming things, such as the annual high-society summer ball on August first, held at the Malfoy Manor.
A/N: Okay, that's it for this chapter. I know, I know, I didn't write out their love scene, but the way I see it, is that they don't love each other, obviously. They are only doing it for the sake of the marriage, so it is simply sex. Trust me, sometime in the future, they will 'make love' to each other, have no fear. So don't hate me for that. And thank you for all the reviews and comments about the candidates and proposal scene. I can't really see Severus getting all mushy for a proposal, even if he was in love to begin with. He just seems like the type of guy to be direct, brief, and to the point. Once again, I'd love it if you reviewed, but its okay if you don't!