A/N: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling

Chapter Two

Slipping out of bed, Hermione was careful not to wake Ginny as she donned her robe and slippers, grabbed her bag, and headed downstairs. It had been over two weeks since she had looked at the letter from the Ministry. She had been busy working with McGonagall at Hogwarts and then with Order business when she had returned to 12 Grimmauld Place. She couldn't delay the inevitable any longer, but she wanted to peruse the list in peace.

Alone in the kitchen, she made herself a pot of tea, and then reluctantly turned to her bag. The list was quite long, the scroll curling over the edge of the table. Hermione felt an unwanted rush of pleasure at the knowledge that so many men wanted to marry her. But upon closer inspection, pride turned to terror as she realized that it was not her charming personality or good looks that had attracted them to her—not even her formidable intellect. Names like Nott, Lestrange, and Crabbe, littered the list. And Hermione realized that once again her connection to Harry had endangered her.

'It's a good thing he's worth it,' she thought, smiling to herself at memories of Ron and Harry the last few days they had spent as students at Hogwarts. The two had finally pulled Hermione away from the library, and convinced her to join them in a few last adventures.

Scanning the list again, she noticed that every available Weasley was there, Ron, George, and Charlie, as well as many of the Order members. She gave a slight shudder after reading Moody's name and was surprised to see Snape's. Getting to work, she eliminated any known Death Eaters and then categorized the rest into 'Needs more research,' 'Possible Candidate,' and 'Unlikely.' Next she began compiling pro and con lists. She paused at Ron's name, unsure of which category to put him in. She had thought that he had returned the feelings she had developed for him in their fifth year, but he never did anything but pick fights over other boys showing her attention. He didn't want her but he didn't like the idea of anyone else dating her either. It was similar to the way he reacted to Ginny's boyfriends. It was an awkward situation. She had romantic feelings, but was it love, was it enough to sustain a marriage? And did he feel the same way?

No, she decided. She couldn't marry Ron, not like this anyway. If they were to be together, she wanted it to be because he wanted her, not because he felt duty-bound to marry her to 'save' her from this marriage law. She would soon grow to love him and he would feel something less. It would be unequal, and Hermione couldn't stand the thought of that. Sadly, she moved his name to the 'Unlikely' category before turning to the other names.

She worked long into the night, falling asleep slumped over the table, her brown mess of curls fanned out over a pile of parchments and quills. Remus discovered her in the morning, waking her gently.

"Oh sorry," she said groggily, her hair going every which way with ink stains on her cheeks.

"Have you made a decision yet?" he asked, picking up her extensive lists.

"I've narrowed it down to two," she said, yawning.

"I see....Charlie Weasley," he said, shuffling the papers, "and...Hermione is this right?" She blushed and looked away.

"Yes," she said softly.

"But....Severus?" he seemed lost for words. Hermione had to admit that she had been surprised herself to find that along with Charlie, Professor Snape's pro list was the longest of any of her possible candidates. He had only made it into the 'Possible' category after she decided all the Order members under the age of 40 should be considered her best and most likely options. Charlie's con list was actually longer than Snape's, but on the merit that just being Snape was quite a convincing con. It left her confused about what to do. Did she take the risk that her husband most likely would want to live in Romania? Or risk staying in Scotland with a man she respected but could hardly stand to be in a room with and who she knew felt the same way about her?

"What about Ron?" Remus asked. He, like everyone else, had assumed that this choice would be easy for her, that she and Ron would marry.

She explained her reasoning from the night before, adding, "I think what I felt for Ron are silly schoolgirl longings. Nothing we could base a marriage on, especially because I am sure he doesn't feel the same for me. If he did, he would have done something before now."

Remus nodded, "I think you're right. You're his best friend and he will always love you, but I've seen him looking at Luna with his own dreamy look in his eye recently." Hermione had too, and it helped with her decision to not include him in her list of possible choices.

"So...Snape?" he asked, handing back her lists.

"I think so," she replied.