A/N: Hey. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. You all really seemed to like that chapter. I find it odd that I write the best when it is sad or morbid topics. Anyway this will get a little happier but still very angst-y.

For anyone who was confused or missed it in the original chapter, here is the color guide to the rose:

Bright red-anger Dark red-love Orange red- passion Light blue-tired

Bright blue-sad Dark blue-depressed Purple-confused Bright green-fear

Dark green-envy Yellow-flirty/friendly Pink-happy White- unheld /new

Grey-Dead/soulless Black-hidden/suppressed feelings or evil thoughts

Gold-destined love Boldface means most important to future chapters

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Chapter 21: Moving On

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Hermione set out her potions supplies on the table. As usual, she was five minutes early to class. She had to fight to not drop the jars and utensils as her hands shook. For once in her life, she was afraid of a class, or rather, the professor. Afraid and nervous. This was the first time since her return to the present that she would be forced into His presence. She had no fear that he would recognize her. If he had, he would surely have said something by now. She only feared that she wouldn't be able to hold herself together.

The Severus of the past was kind and tolerant of her seeming know-it-all-ness. The present one was cruel and sharp tongued. He hated her and her friends. She only feared that she could not hold herself together if he insulted her for trying to help Neville or answering a question too well. She was afraid that she would blurt out everything the minute she opened her mouth in front of him. She could not forget, even if he had.

She had tried. She tried to stop herself from dreaming about his kisses, the way he laughed when she turned Lucius into a ferret, the way he had looked nervous when he gave her the rose. She couldn't stop reminiscing about when rose turning gold. She could still feel his arms around her the night he proposed. She longed to be held just one more time. It was an ache that could not be relieved. Forever feeling the pain, with no hope of having relief, that was what she feared.

The rest of the class filed in as she organized herself. At the sight of black robes billowing past, her heart leaped as her stomach sank. He turned when he reached his desk at the front of the classroom. He swept the class with a steely gaze, smirking when his eyes rested on her. She tried to meet his eyes with diffidence but knew she failed.

"Miss Granger. How nice of you to grace us with your presence. Do try to keep up, despite missing three weeks of class. Your missed work has no doubt reached you. Since you know it all already, you should have it turned it to me by next Thursday's class," he sneered silkily. The Slytherins all snickered at this. There were four six-foot essays due just for Potions, not including all the other work required of her to make up.

She just sighed and resigned herself to the fact that Severus, no, Professor Snape, would never change towards her. As he turned to the chalk board and wrote their instructions for the day, she made this knowledge a part of her. She only hoped no one else could hear her heart breaking.

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Hermione sighed as she flopped onto her bed. It had been two weeks since her return and they had been totally exhausting. She had finally finished all her make up work along with her current work. She was back in the position of Head Girl as well. She was slightly disappointed to find that nothing had really gone amiss while Susan had taken over.

But her Head Girl duties and extra homework were not what was tiring her. It was the avoiding the questions of her friends, particularly Harry, that was exhausting her. She was sick of making up excuses to not say anything or changing the topic. There were only so many times she could listen to quidditch talk without getting a headache. She had half a mind to just tell him everything just to stop the pounding in her head.

She sighed again and rolled over to grab her book bag and parchment. She jumped when she saw someone standing next to her fireplace. She relaxed when she saw it was Harry. "Don't scare me like that, Harry. You almost gave me a heart attack. What were you doing in here anyway? Shouldn't you be studying for the Transfiguration test?" she reprimanded.

He shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips as he sat in the desk chair facing her. "I needed to talk to you. You were always busy or would never answer before. I figured maybe it was because it was too public or something. So I waited until we could talk more privately. I just want to know more about my parents from someone besides adults. I need to know. Please, Hermione, will you answer me?" he replied.

She smiled ruefully to herself and said, "I have been avoiding saying anything. I wasn't ready to talk about it yet. But you deserve to know, having never gotten to know them yourself. I will answer as much as I can but please understand it some things can not be answered." She sighed, "What do you want to know?"

They talked for the next three hours. She told him about his parents' relationship. She told him about the werewolf not-prank. He noticed the ring on the necklace and asked, so she told him about going out with Remus, blushing the entire time, but she never actually said that the ring was from Lupin. She told him about the night excursions to Hogsmeade and in the Forbidden Forest. She kept nothing back involving the Marauders and Lily. She only kept silent when he asked how the relationship with Lupin had ended. She told him they had separated, agreeing to be friends. She could not bring herself to mention Severus, and Harry did not ask. When she finally bid a much happier and more tired Harry to the door, she could only feel relief that it was over. For the first time since her return, she slept without dreams of the past.

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

The months passed uneventfully. The seventh years studied longer and harder. Several students were given detention for sneaking into the library after curfew. Hermione was not the only one seen pouring over advanced books of magic before breakfast. Even Ron was seen actually reading a book. Several students had reported to the Hospital Wing for treatment of nervous breakdowns. Everyone looked and felt exhausted.

So it was much to Harry and Ron's disgust that Hermione came into breakfast that Saturday, two weeks before the N.E.W.T.s, at a run, beaming brightly at them as she sat down. Ron peered at her through drooping eyelids and mournfully asked, "How can you possibly be this happy at seven in the morning? You look like someone just told you that you got Outstandings on all of your O.W.L.s again."

She only smiled wider and replied, excitedly, "I feel like it. Professor McGonagall just offered me an apprenticeship in Transfiguration next year. I will actually get to teach!" She looked at them for their reactions.

Harry offered her a congratulatory grin and continued to eat his toast while reading Twenty Tricks to Transfiguration. Ron was staring at her with wide eyes and mouth agape. He opened and closed his mouth several times before being able to speak "You're staying here? Working for McGonagall? But I thought you wanted to go into research at the Ministry?" he stammered, still looking stunned.

"I refuse to work for any government as stupid as ours. Ever since they passed that Muggleborn Marriage Act, I refused to work for them. I will not support a Ministry that degrades its followers to breeding stock. This offer is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I will still get to do research if I want to. I get to teach and learn from one of best witches in the Transfiguration field. Plus, to make a little more money, Dumbledore offered me a position as assistant librarian to Madame Pince. I will get to do what I love and work for and with people I like," she argued.

He held up his hands in defeat, smiling ruefully, "What ever makes you happy, Mione. I hope you have fun. I, for one, will be glad to be rid of classes, especially potions. I only hope I get high enough scores to make the Auror's training program. Harry's lucky; he already has five quidditch teams lined up to give him a job."

Harry looked up from his book and grinned, saying, "As much as I like it, I would rather be an Auror. But I guess it will always be my back up plan. Hey look, mail's here."

They all looked up to glance at the owls swooping in from the rafters. Errol crash-landed into the milk jug, soaking the tablecloth. Ron picked up the half-sodden package he carried as the brown owl took off again. It was more 'study food' from Mrs. Weasley.

To Hermione's surprise, five identical scrolls landed in her plate of eggs. She rarely received mail since she had canceled her subscription to the Daily Prophet in fifth year. She looked at the seal but didn't recognize the stamp. Breaking open the first one, she began to read as the boys watched, waiting for her to say something. She suddenly turned white. She slowly rolled the parchment up again without saying a word. She gathered the other letters without opening them and picked up her bag. To the boys' confusion, she stood up and left the hall. Worried, they stuffed the last of their toast into their mouths and followed her.

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

They finally tracked her down to her rooms. When they entered, they got a surprise. Their friend wasn't crying like they had half expected. She was lying in the middle of the floor staring at the ceiling. The five opened scrolls were strewn around her. They approached her cautiously, afraid of startling her.

They jumped when she suddenly looked at them and said, "I jinxed myself. I talked and cursed the Ministry for passing that stupid law. Now I'm forced to follow it. I'm honestly surprised. I never thought I would be chosen. Who would want a plain, bushy-haired, know-it-all bookworm like me? It's because of my stupid learning habits that I'm even eligible. Stupid timeturners. I'm never using one ever again, that's for sure." She was once again staring at the ceiling by the end of this speech. Of course the boys still had no idea what she was talking about.

Gingerly as if it might fall to pieces, Harry picked up the nearest letter and read the first paragraph. He paled suddenly and stared at Hermione incredulously, saying, "Hermione! These are marriage contracts! You're only 18. You have to be 20 to be eligible. Wait, you said something about a timeturner."

She looked at him, the shock fading, "The time accumulated from my third year and the spending the time in the past added a year and a half to my age. According to the Ministry records, I was 20 as of six a.m. this morning. They're legal. Any contracts that arrive with in one hour of each other are legal. I can only hope no one else has looked at the updated listing. I have 24 hours to pick one. I then have four weeks to get married. I am required to produce two children in five years or less. If I fail to do so, the marriage is annulled and I marry the second applicant if they are still unmarried. I have no choice. I must either marry one of them or break my wand and return to being a muggle. I refuse to waste the last seven years." She looked down at her hands, as tears ran down her face.

Ron and Harry pushed the offending letters out of the way, and knelt to hug her. She cried harder, leaning her head on Harry's shoulder, Ron stroking her back comfortingly. When her tears finally stopped, she said, "Thanks. You guys are the best friends I could ever have. I just don't know what to do?"

"Don't worry, Mione. We'll help you pick. We can just let anybody marry our best friend, can we Harry?" Ron said.

Harry nodded and tried to smile, "Of course. We'll help. So who are the candidates anyway?"

He gathered the scattered letters and put them into a neat pile. His mouth dropped open at the name on the first one. "Goyle?" he said not believing his own eyes. He flipped to the next one then the next. "Shit! Mione, you have to pick between Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and some other guy who looks about a hundred years old. These are the worst possible choices."

Ron just stared at the parchments, horrified. "Malfoy?" he squeaked. "No wonder you were crying, Hermione. I would too. But there is a fifth one. Who's the last guy?"

Hermione looked away. She knew, but was in denial that it was even there. It was too cruel for fate to play with her like this. She looked up when Ron said, "What's the matter, Harry?"

Harry was very white, though swiftly turning red, his eyes wide and unbelieving at the name staring up at him from the last letter. He looked at Hermione and saw that she knew. He looked at Ron and said quietly, "It's Snape."

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

They had been arguing for the last three hours. They could not agree on who she should pick. In her heart she had already picked, but she felt that she would only be torturing herself. If she married him, she would have to see him every day, touch him since the law required four hours physical contact every day, but she would always know that it was only because of a law. Snape himself had not applied for her. The letter said his head of family, his father Pernicious Snape, had applied on behalf of his son. She didn't know if she could live day in and day out with the man she loved that did not love her back. But she could hardly stand any of the others either.

"I say she should go with the Widdlebig fellow. Hopefully he will die or something before anything can happen. Hopefully they will repeal this law by then. He's got to be better than the others," Ron argued.

Harry shook his head and said, "We don't know anything about him. He could be another Death Eater for all we know. I say she should go with Snape. At least we know he's loyal to Dumbledore. Plus, they would be living here most of the time. The other professors could look after her here. He did save our lives that one time."

Ron, face turning purple, "But he used to follow You..."

She could take it anymore. "Enough. I choose Professor Snape. Not because I don't believe you Ron, but because I have my own reasons. With him, I would be safe in the Order. I know what to expect with him. I have no delusions that he won't make my social life hell, but I will be here. I can still take the job with McGonagall. I can go to Dumbldore if I need help. He is no longer a Death Eater, Ron. That argument no longer stands. I have chosen. I am sick of the arguments; can we just leave it be for now. Please? I am just so tired."

The both looked at her, faces contrite. "Of course. If that's who you pick then it's all right with us. Isn't Ron?" Harry said.

"Yeah. Of course, it is. It's your decision, Mione. Whatever you want," Ron replied, voice apologetic.

She sighed and rubbed the weariness from her face. She pulled Snape's contract to her. She paused looking at it one last time. Her face grim, she picked up her quill and signed. As they watched the ink dry, they pretended not to notice that she had started to cry again. The moment was finalized as the contract suddenly rolled itself up, resealed and disappeared up the chimney.

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

A/N: hey. I will fully explain the marriage law in the next chapter. But I needed to work out some details first. Thanks for reading. R & R! Later!