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Chapter Eleven
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Severus dropped into the chair behind him, thankful it was there because he wasn't entirely certain he could have remained standing even if it hadn't been. Miss Granger's words stabbed through his mind with needle sharp affect, taking on a volume they had not possessed in reality.

//Am I so hideous a choice that you would rather die?//

It had been a *very* long time since he'd felt so ashamed of any outburst he'd made. "Of course not!" he replied sharply, not liking the feeling one little bit. "We already told you, I do not intend to obey Voldemort's order, so do not give your 'dream' another thought," he continued impatiently. **Really! The chit is taking this far too personally.**

//Oh! And you didn't, when you thought she was horrified about you?//

**Sod off!** he told his unwanted thoughts.

Miss Granger jumped to her feet, her eyes flashing angrily as she glared back at him. "That's *not* what I was referring to!" she shouted. "Do you think I'm so stupid that I can't see the danger you're in if V-Voldemort finds out you've lied to him?" The girl's voice was rising, but Severus' surprise at her outburst was such that he could find nothing to say -- which surprised him almost as much as the girl's rather shocking hysterics. "Harry doesn't go to him voluntarily, but he's still forced into protective hiding every year of his life simply because Voldemort wants him dead! I can assure you, I *do* have enough--"

"Miss Granger," Albus interrupted her flow of angry words, "you need to calm yourself down. Arguing will get us nowhere," he advised gently.

Her words cut off immediately and she sat back down abruptly. "I'm sorry I lost my temper, Headmaster. It won't happen again," she said so quietly Severus almost couldn't hear her.

"I'm sure it won't," Albus readily agreed.

Severus almost growled. He wasn't so sure. The chit was an over-emotional *teenager* with a chip on her shoulder the size of the whomping willow tree.

"Albus," Severus said, making sure to keep his own voice level and calm. Shouting never had made an impression on the headmaster. "Surely you see a student is utterly out of the question. It would raise far too many questions of impropriety. Too many people -- including those who have the power to force your hand -- would see nothing more than a professor getting involved with a student. You would be forced to fire me, Albus."

"Not," Albus began speculatively, "if we let it be known that your mother, being the sneaky sort, tricked you into it. Miss Granger is 18 years of age, fully old enough to grant informed consent. All we would have to do, is let it . . . leak that you are . . . furious with your mother's choice and that she neglected to consult you. That *is* why she is here, is it not?"

Unfortunately, for all the embarrassment entailed in Albus' plot, it would work, especially seeing as his mother had threatened exactly that. Severus couldn't argue that specific point logically -- which he'd discovered over the years was the only way to win a debate with the headmaster. He was about to switch tactics, bringing up Voldemort's likely reaction to Miss Granger's muggle-born status, when an outburst from the girl in question stopped him cold.

"Oh. My. God!"

Both he and the headmaster turned to her in surprise.

"You've had an epiphany, Miss Granger?" the headmaster asked, his amusement lacing his careful words.

Miss Granger nodded, her eyes once again wide. "That's why she asked me how old I was!"

"Who, Miss Granger?"

"Professor Snape's mother, Sir. We were talking in the library earlier today. Until Professor Snape came up, I didn't even know who she was."

The headmaster rose slowly, leaning over his desk, his eyes betraying an intensity Severus had seldom seen in the man. "Did anyone see or hear your conversation with her?"

"I-I don't know, Sir. There were several people there."

"I heard my mother question Miss Granger's age from the hallway. Whoever was in the library at the time could have *easily* heard most, if not all, of their conversation."

"Oh, dear!" Miss Granger gasped in obvious dismay.

Severus wondered what part of the conversation -- part of what he'd missed, he was sure -- had her upset about the probability of having been overheard.

"Excellent!" Albus exclaimed.

With growing horror, Severus realized he was well and truly stuck. With every angle covered, up to having ample, supposed evidence that this had indeed been planned *before* his unexpected call to Voldemort's side, Miss Granger was the most logical choice. He wanted to throw the biggest tantrum the wizarding world had ever seen, one that would finally and irrevocably convince his mother that he really *was* the rebellious teenager she still saw him as.

He didn't, though. Riling against the unpleasantness that came his way was not his habit. It was a waste of time.

"I think, perhaps we should arrange for Mrs. Snape to brought into this. She will have to . . . cooperate for this to be convincing."

Severus wasn't so sure his mother would cooperate. He could still hear her harping on the fact that as a Gryffindor, Miss Granger was entirely unsuitable. He didn't look forward to her discovery that the girl was *also* a muggle-born. That would most certainly put the tailspin on *this* plan -- at least if they had to have his mother's approval. That did cheer him, somewhat.

"What about the fact that I'm muggleborn, Sir?" Miss Granger asked the headmaster. "Won't that hinder Voldemort's belief, at least? And what about Professor Snape's mother? Will she. . . ?" Miss Granger's voice trailed off, clearly uncertain how to phrase her question politely.

"Voldemort will certainly object, Miss Granger, putting you in a great deal of danger. Since, however, I'm supposed to be blithely unaware of future bride, it will have little affect on how . . . convincing this all is. My mother--"

"Will not consider it a problem," Albus deftly interrupted.

"Excuse me?" Severus asked in shock. "She most certainly will."

"I'm afraid not, Severus. While you and she have been estranged for many years, I have had several delightful opportunities to speak with her. We have discussed a variety of topics -- muggleborn witches and wizards among those topics."

That was . . . surprising, Severus had to admit, and just as difficult to believe. Every witch his mother had thrown at him since the middle of winter break had been pure-blooded. Why was that the case if she didn't care about bloodlines?

//Well, is it just possible, dimwit, that perhaps she believes it's important to *you* . . . considering the choices you've made?//

Point, Severus admitted to himself. It was quite possible that was the reason. Of course, it was rather galling to admit that he didn't know his own mother as well as, apparently, the headmaster did -- someone he hadn't realized until now had even met her. Now, another part of Severus was screaming for his attention, making him review that dreaded conversation yet again, making him revise his assumptions about a *lot* of what his mother had been doing for the last several months. He frowned, the ideas forming now about his mother were . . . disturbing. He *really* didn't like being manipulated.

After the headmaster summoned a house elf to fetch Severus' mother, the conversation continued, evolving the plan down to every last excruciating detail. By the time his mother reached the stone gargoyle, it had been decided that Granger's parents would be called in to assist -- and to protect them from Voldemort's retribution -- due largely to the fact that within the muggle world, Miss Granger had yet to reach her majority, meaning she needed parental permission to legally marry -- at least in the eyes of muggles. And while that *might* be a loophole to deconstruct the magic involved at a later date that Severus wished he could latch onto, it was also a loophole that Voldemort could exploit and damn them all.

Miss Granger's friends, who -- despite Severus' strenuous objections -- would know the full truth, would help to spread the gossip. Beginning with the oddity, from the students point of view, of Mrs. Snape meeting privately with Miss Granger's parents. The "Golden Trio" would pretend to be mystified as to why, discussing the matter where it could be overheard by -- according to Miss Granger -- Gryffindor's biggest gossip, Miss Brown. Only to, later, be absolutely horrified by her parents agreement to engage in a 'barbic tradition of the vilest sort' -- again told to her closest friends, while conveniently located where the estimable Miss Brown could 'inadvertantly' overhear.

The news would be all over the school within the hour.

Giving time for such juicy gossip to be spread far and wide, Severus would then play his part, storming through the castle's hallways 'in a mood'. That certainly wouldn't be difficult. By that time he *would* be in the most vile of moods. He'd never enjoyed having his hand forced, and this was the very worst sort of circumstances to have it forced to. And worse than that, he was a very private man, preferring to keep his life to himself, and this necessity, by its very nature would rip that from him, making the mess that was his life fodder for the gossips and the rumor-mongers.

"Ah, Severus, I do believe your mother has arrived," Albus said out of nowhere, interrupting their final nitpicking. "I'll just go let her in."

"You do that," Severus replied drily, returning his attention to Miss Granger almost immediately. There was something still bothering him about this -- aside from the obvious -- he wasn't entirely certain Miss Granger truly knew what she was getting herself locked into. Oh, yes, he knew she was aware of the very real physical dangers, as well as the virtual social suicide this would be. That was a given. It was too obvious a thing for her to have missed.

"Miss Granger," he said firmly, then paused, not sure how to proceed. His normal manner of dealing with students would not be appropriate here. Getting her 'hackles' up, as it were, would not get him the information he wanted. It would do quite the opposite, in fact, it would make her defensive.

"Yes, Professor?" she prompted after a moment.

He frowned, but atypically ignored her push. "Miss Granger, I realize you suggested at the beginning of this meeting that you were aware of the magical nature of an agreement to marry," he said, lilting the last word so as to suggest a hint of a question.

"Yes, Sir."

**Well, that helped,** he thought sarcastically. **Of all the times for her to learn brevity!** "Do not be insulted if I make sure you *fully* understand what's happening, as I don't have time to ascertain it from you. "The 'agreement to marry', or what you would refer to as the engagement, is actually easy to nullify if *all* parties involved in the decision agree, complicated, by not difficult."

Miss Granger nodded to him, indicating she understood.

He loathed what he was having to say next, but forged ahead anyway. "My mother, as Head of House for the Snape family has the right by law and tradition to dictate when and to whom family members marry."

Granger's eyes widened. She obviously hadn't known that.

"My mother has taken it to mind to take that route with me. It is my belief that if we could end this without actually marrying -- say, for example Voldemort is actually defeated soon enough -- my mother just *might* not agree to the dissolution of the agreement. Do you understand what I'm saying."

"Yes, Sir. Even if we don't *have* to go through with it, your mother may see that it happens anyway."

"Precisely. Since it is bloody obvious there is absolutely no way around this, and to prevent giving her the chance to do just that, I wish for the two of us to form the agreement now before the headmaster returns with her. That way, only *our* agreement is necessary."

The voices of both the headmaster and Mrs. Snape were heard as the two of them approached the office. Both he and Granger stiffened. They didn't have much time before the two reached the office.

Granger nodded quickly. "Yes, Professor, I think that's a good idea."

"Very well. Miss Granger, I agree to marry you," he said in a whisper, not believing for a single moment that he was actually saying those words.

Gulping, Granger exactly copied his wording. She was pale, and from his position so near to her, he could tell she was shaking. "Professor Snape, I agree to marry you."

Even knowing they would be invoking it, Severus was surprised to feel the swirl of magical energy whirl around him. It was . . . unsettling, the feeling utterly unlike when he cast spells using his wand. Shaking off the oddity, he rose as his mother and Albus approached them.

"Mother," he greeted politely, "I apologize for the . . . necessity of you being pulled from bed at this late hour; however, a crisis has risen. Please, sit. It's not a short tale." No, certainly not; it was anything but short. He sincerely doubted any of them would be getting any sleep tonight. He just hoped he wasn't making a fatal mistake in revealing the sordid story at all.

Even as he began his sordid tale, his mind flickering to his potions stores as he mentally calculated whether there was a sufficient supply of pepper upper potion to get all of them through the next day, Severus couldn't help but noticed the most eerily satisfied smirk on his mother's face. In its wake, he felt a certain amount of vindictive glee that he and Miss Granger had stepped up and pre-empted her ability to control the issue at hand.

Oh, yes. He would most definitely enjoy her consternation when she realized what they'd done.



TBC
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