Author's Note: This chapter has a special treat, a visit from our dear friend Lucious Malfoy! Though we've never had any canon exchanges in the books or movies between Snape or Lucious, I've always thought that they might have been friends since before the whole Death Eater thing, like brothers who just developed different views on the war, and were able to remain friendly despite being on opposite sides.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Hermione wandered the grounds of the estate for hours, her mind clouded. How could she have been so insensitive? Allowing her parents to go about accusing Severus of the worst, and she didn't do a thing to stop them!

Severus heard every word; surely he was out right now looking for a way out of the binding-if there even was one. Probably not, but after what she had done, Severus had to be devising a way for him to get rid of her.

She sat down on one of the large, decorative boulders that lined the gardens, and tried to think of a way to mend the damage she'd done. Very few ideas came to her, each more useless than the last.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a slight commotion coming from inside the house. She could hear the muffled voices of the house elves and men. Hermione came closer to the house but paused at the doorframe, trying to decipher the men's voices.

One was the deep, silky voice of Severus.

The other wasn't quite as deep, but certainly commanding and perhaps a bit arrogant.

Hermione poked her head into the doorway to see Severus with none other than Lucius Malfoy!

Fear gripped her heart. Lucius was a frightening character-not only was he an amazingly powerful wizard, but also one of the most fearsome-surpassed only by Voldemort himself. He had made several attempts on Dumbledore's and her friends' lives.

Severus handed their cloaks to Jenny and asked, "Would you like a brandy in the library?"

Lucius seemed less evil somehow-but then again, he wasn't threatening her with his wand at the moment. "Yes, I'd love one."

The two men went inside, closing the door behind them. Hermione remembered that Severus had remarked something about Death Eaters coming to them, but she didn't think he meant they'd come on social visits!

She crept closer to the library door, careful not to be seen by any of his elves.

"…coming along quite well. How are you and your little Missus getting along?" She could hear Lucius ask.

"Not as well as I'd hoped." Severus replied. Hermione was worried about what he might tell Malfoy, but at the same time she wanted to hear how he felt about her and their situation.

Reading the journal was no contest to hearing it from his lips.

"Don't tell me she was the one to give you that bruise," Lucius asked, his voice dripping with mockery.

"No, she didn't. It was her father, actually."

"Her father?"

"Yes, I invited her parents over here for Yule. They stayed for less than a day and the time they were here they made no secret of what they thought of me." Severus sighed.

"And that is?"

"A lecherous, conniving bastard. You know, the usual."

Lucius set down his drink and started pacing, anger etched on his face. "That's the problem with Muggles, Severus! They don't understand our ways and what's worse is they think they can just waltz into the magical realm whenever they please and tell us what's what. It makes me sick!"

Severus smiled, "Their presumption does astound me at times."

"I don't know why you didn't just help us kill Dumbledore when we had the chance-he's the reason Hogwarts is so overrun by the half-breeds and Mudbloods. You probably had a million chances to rid us of him, but you had to let your loyalties lie with that old fool." Lucius growled bitterly.

"Oh, Lucius, don't be a sore loser. Dumbledore saved my life after Voldemort tried to kill me. I couldn't let any harm come to him after that. Sorry, but I stand by my choice."

"Your loyalty to Dumbledore has led to the downfall of our beloved Hogwarts, that I can forgive; it's just a school after all, only one of a thousand. But look where it's gotten you, Severus. Forced to marry a Mudblood Gryffindor whose parents seem to think they can get away with throwing punches in your house."

Severus sipped his drink as Lucius sat down again and he let out a short, bitter laugh. "It didn't help that they made her promise to run all the way back to London if I so much as laid a hand on her."

Lucius rolled his eyes. "Well that's a classically stupid Muggle thing to do! Telling her to run from your touch this late in the marriage, it's too ridiculous…"

Severus sighed heavily, Lucius looked at him strangely. "Wait, do you mean to say that you haven't…?"

"Well of course not! She is a student-" Severus began, but Lucius cut him off.

"If I have been informed correctly, Severus, she was a student of yours, but dropped out of your classes over two years ago. Am I right?"

"That does little to change matters." Severus said sulkily.

"She's your wife, Severus."

"We've managed to make this marriage work without involving anything other than a civil sort of understanding. She sleeps in my bedroom at Hogwarts, alone, and nothing has to come of it."

Lucius set down his near empty glass and leaned forward. "Well that has to change soon, Severus." He said earnestly.

"What do you mean?" Severus's brow was furrowed.

"You haven't gotten the notice yet, have you?" Lucius asked with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

"What notice?"

"As much as I hate to miss the look on your face, I'll let you find out for yourself." Lucius said, failing horribly at hiding his delight in Severus's ignorance.

"It must be big," Severus remarked.

"We'll let Hermione be the judge of that." He downed the last of his drink and stood up. "I must go now, Severus. There are demons to conjure and laws to break."

"Business as usual, eh, Lucius?"

Lucius smiled. "You could say that. Goodbye Severus."

"Goodbye Lucius."

Malfoy took a few steps away and then vanished from sight, disappearing out of the room completely. Hermione was dumbstruck. What the Hell had she just witnessed?

Severus Snape inviting Lucius Malfoy over for tea and crumpets?! The world was going mad, she decided as she went up to her room.

Once she was in her room, Hermione flopped on the bed and screamed her frustration into a pillow-Snape had revealed a lot to her, even though he didn't know it. She felt infinitely guiltier and knew that she had to do something.

Maybe if they sat down and talked-she could explain that she had only relented to her mother's pleas to ease her mind and that she wouldn't run from the magic world, she wouldn't run from him.

She could apologize again for her parents' behavior; maybe placate him with a gift? No, he'd see right through it, Severus was smarter than that. He would know if she were just trying to get back on his good side.

'Why did I have to get assigned to him?!' she asked herself again in a fit of frustration, 'He's so suspicious of everything and he won't take me seriously if I apologize. Stupid Slytherins, I can't stand them!'

Hermione got off her bed and went down the hall to find Dolly cleaning some silver figurines. "Dolly?"

The elf turned to her and smiled, "Hello miss, can Dolly get you something to eat?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine. But thank you, um, have you seen Severus?" she asked.

"Master is still in his library with Sir Malfoy, but he warned us all to keep our distance whenever he has Marked visitors." Dolly said, her eyebrows rising high on her face to make sure Hermione understood her point.

Hermione smiled. "I see, but don't worry. Malfoy is gone, he's been gone for almost an hour." She was going to leave it at that, but decided to ask, "Dolly, does Severus have many Marked visitors?"

Dolly shook her head. "No, only Sir and Lady Malfoy. Sometimes the younger Malfoy, but You-Know-Who was gone before he could get Marked."

"Thank you, Dolly."

The elf went back to polishing the small statues as Hermione went back on her way towards the library. Severus obviously had close ties with the Malfoys, and she'd heard Lucius herself: he knew that Severus was no longer on the dark side. Yet Severus had brought Lucius over for drinks and some 'guy talk'.

She couldn't imagine having Death Eaters over to her home after all that she had seen them do-it was bizarre. Hermione reached the double doors to the library and knocked.

"Come in," Severus called from the other side.

Hermione turned the knob and stepped in. Severus was on the far end of the room, perched on a ladder, a few volumes in hand. She'd caught him in the middle of alphabetizing some of his more…valuable tomes.

He frowned just the tiniest bit once he saw it was her and not one of his elves, but being so far away, Hermione didn't notice. Severus said nothing, he only stared at her.

She shifted her weight under his scrutiny. "Um, good evening, Severus. How are you?"

The question was lame, and they both knew it. Still, it was a start.

"I'm fine, Hermione. And you?" he didn't move from his position on the ladder.

"Yeah, me too."

Silence stretched for a while more, and Hermione went over to the fireplace that was now slowly building flames. She knew that Severus had set all of his fireplaces to slowly build up whenever evening began to settle in. It must be getting late.

Days were short to begin with because of winter, but here at the Snape estate it sometimes felt that the days were cut in half.

"So…what'd you do while you were gone?" she asked.

Severus set the thick books in the proper order and made his way down the ladder. He skipped the last four rungs and quietly jumped down-his robes fanned out; he seemed to glide back down to the floor.

The library was very dim now; the fireplace and a few other low points of candlelight gave the only illumination. Snape came forward, his black eyes drilling into her. "I…what is that you're wearing?" he asked, openly staring at her outfit.

Hermione hadn't changed out of her Muggle clothes. "Oh, it's just some of my Muggle clothes. Jeans, a t-shirt, you know."

"No, I do not know. I am a wizard, I've only been to the Muggle world a few times and it wasn't to study their fashions. Muggle women wear pants?"

Hermione shrugged. They weren't having a real conversation, this was just meaningless small talk, but it was a start…sort of.

"Yes, more often than not, actually."

"Strange." Severus said. He moved past her and went to the brandy decanter left from his visit with Lucius. "Do you drink?" he asked.

Hermione had only drunk butterbeer, never any hard liquor; and brandy in the magical world was one of the most alcoholically potent drinks available. But she figured she could handle just a little.

He had seen her grow oversized teeth in her fourth year; if she got a little tipsy she wouldn't be horribly embarrassed.

"Um, yes, thank you."

Severus nodded and poured her a glass, and then one for himself. He handed the glass to her and sat down in one of the leather wingchairs. Hermione sat down across from him and took a sip.

The alcohol was bitter and burned her throat, but she didn't let her distaste for it show.

"Do you like it?" he asked, studying her.

"Yes, it's lovely." She responded, lying through her teeth.

"Good."

They drank in silence for a little longer, but Hermione was uncomfortable. Severus was too quiet, too…introspective. Usually they'd chat, but what had happened the night before hung over them like a great black cloud.

Hermione gulped down the last of her drink, wincing at the taste, but hoped it'd give her the courage to bring up the subject she knew that Severus was mulling over.

"Would you like some more?" Severus asked, reaching for the bottle.

"No, no thank you. I'd like to apologize for what happened last night." Hermione declared. "It was cruel an-"

"But it was true." Snape said quietly.

"What?"

"It was true, what you told me you dreamt."

Hermione shifted in the chair. "Well, yes."

"Then you have nothing to apologize for. I asked you why you were screaming, and you told me."

"No, I said it to hurt your feelings because I was angry." Hermione said, trying to explain.

"You didn't have a disturbing dream of us together?"

"No, I did."

"And the thought of me caused you to cry out like that?"

Hermione was getting irritated at all of his questions, "When you were raping me in the dream, yes!" she blurted out in anger.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "And what if I hadn't been? What if it had been…of mutual consent?" he asked, purposefully asking her a most embarrassing question.

Hermione's eyes were wide, she suddenly felt as if the whole of Hogwarts was watching her. She felt exposed and vulnerable-she hated him for it.

Still, though he was trying to embarrass her this way, the topic had never come up between them. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Well, Lucius mentioned something earlier today. I'm not sure what he was getting at, but I know we'll find out soon enough. He mentioned something about notices from the Ministry and you know how they love to help their faithful citizens."

Hermione nodded and swallowed anxiously. The Ministry had 'helped' her into this marriage.

"So, please refer back to my question. Should the event come up, what are your thoughts on it?"

Hermione's body pulled her mind in two directions: one towards her little girl self, the one that immediately became uncomfortable and defensive at the mere mention-the very idea of a physical encounter.

Get away from me, don't touch me, no, leave me alone, I don't want to

The other was her hormonal teenage self. The part of her that longed for a mate, the part of her that kept noticing how alluring Severus's voice sounded, how inviting his bed had felt on their wedding night.

Speak to me softly, don't rush me, take your time, you must show me what to do

Hermione swallowed. "I'm…not sure." She said. It was the truth: despite spending this much time with him, she still didn't really know Severus, and wasn't quite sure what to make of him yet.

Severus nodded. "Neither am I. As pleasant as I find you to be, as a companion, I don't know what to make of you as a lover." His voice caressed the last word, causing Hermione's eyes to flutter under his spell for a moment, and a pleasant chill to run up and down her body.

"What are we going to do?"

"As I said, I'm not sure. Perhaps we'll know when the time comes. Though, from what Lucius implied, that time may come sooner than we expect."