AN: I'm aware that the age of consent in England -- as well as many other European countries -- is 16 not 18 as it is here in the States. For the purposes of this story, however, I'm assuming they are referring strictly to the ability to give consent sexually. And that 18 years of age is the legal age for the signing of legal, binding contracts -- hence the need for Hermione to be 18 for the marriage agreement. That may or may not be the truth in reality, but hey, this is fiction, right? In reality there are no such things as magically binding marriage agreements. : )~ (At least, not that this author is aware of.) I would love it if someone could *prove* me wrong on that last statement. ::wink::
Completely aside from the part of the contract that appears here, this chapter is a bit tied up in the legalities and magical whyfors of what happened. I could have skipped this, but figured some people might want to know my reasoning for the very first part of this chapter -- and for why Serapha was so smug at the end of last chapter. I hope I chose right.
This chapter isn't as long as it looks, unless you care to read the devilish marriage contract Serapha Snape has roped them into. ::smirks:: If you don't want to read the whole thing, make sure you check out "Provision C". It's the kicker.
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Chapter Fifteen
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Serapha sighed as she stepped into her temporary chambers here at Hogwarts. She hadn't originally intended to stay more than one night, but due to current circumstances it looked like she was going to be here a while. Mentally listing all the owling she needed to accomplish for her stay here to remain virtually uninterrupted, Serapha crossed to her desk, the single parchment laying there, drawing her like a moth to a flame.
She grinned as she recalled her son's expression when she'd told him she'd already decided on the match the night before, revealing that it had been a necessary step for her to send the nightmare that had alerted Hermione to his danger. He'd been absolutely *livid* and it had been a sight to see, considering he'd had to restrain himself in the presence of muggles, muggles he had to convince to allow him to become 'engaged' to their daughter.
She hadn't had that much fun in years. Of course, she knew he'd get over it. It was all for his own good, really. The young man was a big pile of guilt and hurt feelings, right alongside great defensive walls that screamed leave me alone in vivid flashing colors. He'd never find someone on his own because of that, and without her help, he'd be stuck either marrying that harridan Trelawney -- the woman really was insane -- or hiding out here in the castle until Voldemort was finally defeated. Neither was an option Serapha Snape was willing to accept. Her son deserved to be happy. Circe knew, the boy had certainly had enough trouble in his life to have earned it several times over -- no matter the mistakes he'd made in his youthful rebellion.
With a shiver, she did have to admit that his . . . mistakes . . . carried a far higher price tag than most, but if the lives he had saved over the past 20 years along with the ones he continued to save, didn't make up for it, then she wasn't a Snape. And by Merlin's beard she was a Snape. Right now, she was far more proud of that name than the one she'd been born with. She and her late husband had a son that anyone in their right mind would be proud of -- prickly spines and all. The only thing that would make it better would be if her husband could be here now to see how well Severus had turned his life around. She was as sure as she was of anything that he too would feel as she did.
Swallowing tears of long-held grief, Serapha smiled sadly at the magical signatures at the bottom of the marriage agreement she had written out last night. When she'd been called to the Headmaster's office, it had borne only hers. They hadn't told her about their attempt to cut her out last night, but she'd known about it as soon as she'd returned to her chambers. The moment they'd spoken the simple ritual words they'd bound themselves to the contract they didn't even realize had already been created.
Even now; though Severus knew of the contract's existence, he did *not* know any of the specifics. Serapha knew her son far better than he thought she did, and had known he would try *exactly* what he had. That's why she'd created the actual contract last night. It was the only way. She knew also that even if push came to shove and he and Hermione had to carry through on the wedding -- due to Voldemort -- he would find any possible loophole to get out of it at a later date. She really didn't think she'd left any . . . not if she'd read Hermione Granger correctly.
Of course, there was the chance she had. She did not know the girl very well, so it was entirely possible. It was the one weakspot in her plan. If she was wrong about Hermione, then it would be possible for them to get out of the contract -- after they were married. They needed her permission to get out of the agreement, but not the marriage.
She read the words one more time before taking it to Albus' office to be signed by Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Their signatures were not magically required as Hermione was of legal wizarding age. **Thank Circe!** No, theirs was required only for tricking -- Serapha growled angrily -- Voldemort.
I, Serapha Lillian Snape, do hereby assert my right as head of the noble line of the Snape family by creating this marriage contract between one Severus Snape and one Hermione Granger. By the signatures affixed here-on, all parties agree to abide by all parts and provisions contained here-in. Should the signature of one Severus Snape be missing, let mine stand in his stead as head of his family line. If Hermione Granger's signature be missing, let that of her father stand in her stead.
Part 1 -- Agreement to Marry
Provision A -- The wedding shall take place no later than 6 months from the time and date of the binding of this agreement, and shall include all ceremonies and rites traditionally associated with such occasions.
Provision B -- Should the marriage subsequently be dissolved due to default of one or both of the marriage parties, the following rules will apply to the distribution of the assets within the marriage that each party had upon entering this contract.
Subsection 1 -- If the default lies with Hermione Granger, she will be entitled to the assets she brought with her upon entering the marriage plus ten percent of the growth of the shared marital assets from the time and date of said marriage to Severus Snape being entered into. Severus Snape shall retain the remainder.
Subsection 2 -- If the default lies with Severus Snape, he will be entitled to all assets entailed to the Snape family and any monies and incomes required to maintain said entailed properties. Of all monies and properties not entailed to the Snape family, he will be entitled to 10% of the growth in shared marital assets from the time and date of said marriage with Hermione Granger being entered into. Hermione Granger shall retain the remainder.
Subsection 3 -- If both parties are found in default, leading to the dissolving of this union, entitled properties and monies will be retained by the proper respective parties, and non-entailed marital assets will be distributed evenly as adjudicated by an unbiased third party agreed on by both marital parties.
Provision C -- The usual default of adultery by either party is hereby put into abeyance until such time as the marriage is consummated. Prior to consummation, adultery committed by either marital party will not be considered a valid default to the marriage contract. Subsequent to consummation, adultery will be returned as a valid default to this marriage contract. At such time, and in case of actual commitence of this default by either party, all normal conditions apply for the testing of dissolution of the marriage contract.
Part Two -- Other
Provision A -- Any other agreements, verbal or written, espoused by either marital party are only valid if they do not contradict or attempt to supersede this agreement.
Serapha looked up from reading and rose quickly, heading out of the privacy of her chambers. She really had delayed too long before returning. The rest was simply legal inheritance jargon in case the two of them got their act together and actually managed to have at least one child together. She knew it would not be soon, if they did manage. She certainly wasn't planning on holding her breath hoping to hold a grandchild a year from now.
She smiled as she approached the Gargoyle. She would give them two years before she began pestering them for children. That should be plenty of time for them to figure out they could be good together if they actually tried. As she rode the stone staircase up, it didn't even occur to her that it might be the case that neither of them wanted children.
As she strode into the office, she headed directly for the front of Albus' desk, smiling at the Grangers. "Before you sign this, I just wanted to reassure you that by doing so, you are not legally obligating your daughter to anything. She has already done so herself, by her own verbal consent to the agreement. Your signatures are necessary only in order to carry out the illusion we've all agreed to stand by in order to better protect my son from Voldemort."
Sighing, Mr. Granger rose, nodding that he understood what she'd said. As soon as he looked at the contract, however, his head snapped back up. "How is my daughter's signature already on a document she has not even seen?" he demanded angrily. "This is obviously a forgery, and I demand to know what kind tom foolery is going on here!"
Serapha sighed, she forgotten she was dealing with muggles, who couldn't be expected to understand all the finer nuances -- at least not with the sink or swim method which they'd been introduced -- of magical bindings. And no, she never thought she'd see the day she forgot the fact that she was dealing directly with muggles. She never had held the deep-seated prejudices of some purebloods, but she'd never had much contact with them either. So far, she liked Mr. and Mrs Granger, both Eva and David were quite charming -- during the moments they weren't feeling in entirely over their heads.
While she obviously hadn't met them under the best of circumstances, and didn't know what they were like normally. She could see with ease that they truly cared about their daughter and were quite protective of her. It reassured her that they would probably, eventually, understand why she'd done what she'd done. As a mother, she'd acted as she'd seen necessary for the protection of her only child -- even if that child wasn't exactly a babe in arms any more.
Several voices were heard after a brief silence, each of them intent on explaining what had happened. They all fell silent just as quickly. Severus impatiently held his hand out for the contract, frowning grimly, as Albus began speaking again, trying to calm David Granger.
Serapha gladly stepped back and let Albus take charge. She was good at planning, not placating. She instead, turned her attention toward the man himself. She had to admit Albus had an odd presence that seemed to cut through the emotional garbage and hit directly on the head of the matter. She just couldn't figure out how he did it, because as far as she'd seen, the man rarely dove directly into *anything*. He had a rather shocking ability to hedge around any given subject, all hints and smoke clouds. The wizard was as slippery as an eel to pin down to something you could actually quote.
In fact, most times she'd spoken in depth with him, she'd had as much fun during the conversations as she'd been disgustedly frustrated by them. Each and every time she'd left with the feeling that she'd been the one to dig out the finer points, only to look back on the conversation later and realize just how skillfully he'd directed the ideas that had flowed. She'd learned long ago to never be surprised to find afterward that he'd orchestrated the whole thing from beginning to end. It was a skill she deeply envied. If she'd had Albus Dumbledore's ability to manipulate and charm with the same breath, this whole thing would have been done as soon as said, and she'd have a daughter-in-law already. That she was sure of.
"So what happened," Albus explained as Serapha finally returned to paying attention, "is that because both Serapha here, *and* Severus -- for rather striking different reasons -- chose the same woman, and because of that, Miss Granger's agreement with Severus, rather than being solely with each other, actually completed the agreement between the three of them."
"So what would have happened," Eva asked quietly, "if Serapha and Severus had chosen differently, each of them choosing someone different than the other had, I mean."
Albus smiled. "Good question, that," replied immediately, reaching for the ever present cloth bag on his desk. "Lemon drop anyone?"
David took one nodding his thanks, while everyone else, with the exception of Eva, rolled their eyes before declining.
"Hopefully I understand what you're wanting to know. If, as an example, Serapha had chosen Miss Granger, and Severus had approached -- hypothetically -- our Professor McGonagall--"
Serapha hid her smirk at Severus' badly hidden shudder.
"--and the two of *them* had reached an agreement, Serapha's magical contract would have null and void, because it only had her intent, while Severus and Minerva would have had a two-sided intent. The contract requires both sides to be in agreement, just as with any muggle legal contract."
"Okay, I get that," David replied, still sounding less than happy, "and that's all well and good. For a minute there it looked like this woman had the right to marry off my daughter without so much as a by your leave."
"Quite the contrary I assure you," Albus assured, still smiling.
For her part, Serapha was surprised at how quiet her son was remaining. By now, he'd had plenty of time to read the contract she'd written, and that he -- all unknowingly -- had bound himself and his fiancee to. She risked a glance toward him.
**Ouch.**
"But what I don't get, is how our Hermione could bind herself to it. She's not old enough to *sign* contracts. She's only 17."
"Actually," Albus contradicted, "that's not technically true." He raised a hand to forestall both Grangers' immediate protests. "Yes, she was born less than 18 years ago -- linear time. She, however, was given the use of a time-turner in her third year which added to the length of time she has actually lived. Of course, this 'extra time' will never be translated to the muggle world, it is accepted as matter of course in the wizarding one, because she really has lived for 18 years. It's simply that 18 years have not gone by since she was born."
Severus rose suddenly, instantly becoming the center of attention. He nodded abruptly. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I'm sure Albus and," He threw a glare at her. "my mother can adequately answer your questions. Miss Granger and I need to speak, and both of us need to get to class." He turned toward Albus without waiting for a response, nodded and swept toward the door. "Miss Granger," he called as he passed by her.
She rose slowly, automatically turning to follow.
"Now wait just a minute," David demanded.
"It's all right, Dad. He's right," Hermione offered, managing a half-smile. "I'll see you later . . . after my classes?"
Both her parents nodded uneasily to her and she left quickly, before they could come up with anything to stop her.
TBC
Kiristeen
(Whew -- this one took some doing to write. I hope it meets with your approval)
Feedback -- it's the fuel that keeps me going. : )
Kiristeen@kiristeen.com
Completely aside from the part of the contract that appears here, this chapter is a bit tied up in the legalities and magical whyfors of what happened. I could have skipped this, but figured some people might want to know my reasoning for the very first part of this chapter -- and for why Serapha was so smug at the end of last chapter. I hope I chose right.
This chapter isn't as long as it looks, unless you care to read the devilish marriage contract Serapha Snape has roped them into. ::smirks:: If you don't want to read the whole thing, make sure you check out "Provision C". It's the kicker.
**********
Chapter Fifteen
**********
Serapha sighed as she stepped into her temporary chambers here at Hogwarts. She hadn't originally intended to stay more than one night, but due to current circumstances it looked like she was going to be here a while. Mentally listing all the owling she needed to accomplish for her stay here to remain virtually uninterrupted, Serapha crossed to her desk, the single parchment laying there, drawing her like a moth to a flame.
She grinned as she recalled her son's expression when she'd told him she'd already decided on the match the night before, revealing that it had been a necessary step for her to send the nightmare that had alerted Hermione to his danger. He'd been absolutely *livid* and it had been a sight to see, considering he'd had to restrain himself in the presence of muggles, muggles he had to convince to allow him to become 'engaged' to their daughter.
She hadn't had that much fun in years. Of course, she knew he'd get over it. It was all for his own good, really. The young man was a big pile of guilt and hurt feelings, right alongside great defensive walls that screamed leave me alone in vivid flashing colors. He'd never find someone on his own because of that, and without her help, he'd be stuck either marrying that harridan Trelawney -- the woman really was insane -- or hiding out here in the castle until Voldemort was finally defeated. Neither was an option Serapha Snape was willing to accept. Her son deserved to be happy. Circe knew, the boy had certainly had enough trouble in his life to have earned it several times over -- no matter the mistakes he'd made in his youthful rebellion.
With a shiver, she did have to admit that his . . . mistakes . . . carried a far higher price tag than most, but if the lives he had saved over the past 20 years along with the ones he continued to save, didn't make up for it, then she wasn't a Snape. And by Merlin's beard she was a Snape. Right now, she was far more proud of that name than the one she'd been born with. She and her late husband had a son that anyone in their right mind would be proud of -- prickly spines and all. The only thing that would make it better would be if her husband could be here now to see how well Severus had turned his life around. She was as sure as she was of anything that he too would feel as she did.
Swallowing tears of long-held grief, Serapha smiled sadly at the magical signatures at the bottom of the marriage agreement she had written out last night. When she'd been called to the Headmaster's office, it had borne only hers. They hadn't told her about their attempt to cut her out last night, but she'd known about it as soon as she'd returned to her chambers. The moment they'd spoken the simple ritual words they'd bound themselves to the contract they didn't even realize had already been created.
Even now; though Severus knew of the contract's existence, he did *not* know any of the specifics. Serapha knew her son far better than he thought she did, and had known he would try *exactly* what he had. That's why she'd created the actual contract last night. It was the only way. She knew also that even if push came to shove and he and Hermione had to carry through on the wedding -- due to Voldemort -- he would find any possible loophole to get out of it at a later date. She really didn't think she'd left any . . . not if she'd read Hermione Granger correctly.
Of course, there was the chance she had. She did not know the girl very well, so it was entirely possible. It was the one weakspot in her plan. If she was wrong about Hermione, then it would be possible for them to get out of the contract -- after they were married. They needed her permission to get out of the agreement, but not the marriage.
She read the words one more time before taking it to Albus' office to be signed by Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Their signatures were not magically required as Hermione was of legal wizarding age. **Thank Circe!** No, theirs was required only for tricking -- Serapha growled angrily -- Voldemort.
I, Serapha Lillian Snape, do hereby assert my right as head of the noble line of the Snape family by creating this marriage contract between one Severus Snape and one Hermione Granger. By the signatures affixed here-on, all parties agree to abide by all parts and provisions contained here-in. Should the signature of one Severus Snape be missing, let mine stand in his stead as head of his family line. If Hermione Granger's signature be missing, let that of her father stand in her stead.
Part 1 -- Agreement to Marry
Provision A -- The wedding shall take place no later than 6 months from the time and date of the binding of this agreement, and shall include all ceremonies and rites traditionally associated with such occasions.
Provision B -- Should the marriage subsequently be dissolved due to default of one or both of the marriage parties, the following rules will apply to the distribution of the assets within the marriage that each party had upon entering this contract.
Subsection 1 -- If the default lies with Hermione Granger, she will be entitled to the assets she brought with her upon entering the marriage plus ten percent of the growth of the shared marital assets from the time and date of said marriage to Severus Snape being entered into. Severus Snape shall retain the remainder.
Subsection 2 -- If the default lies with Severus Snape, he will be entitled to all assets entailed to the Snape family and any monies and incomes required to maintain said entailed properties. Of all monies and properties not entailed to the Snape family, he will be entitled to 10% of the growth in shared marital assets from the time and date of said marriage with Hermione Granger being entered into. Hermione Granger shall retain the remainder.
Subsection 3 -- If both parties are found in default, leading to the dissolving of this union, entitled properties and monies will be retained by the proper respective parties, and non-entailed marital assets will be distributed evenly as adjudicated by an unbiased third party agreed on by both marital parties.
Provision C -- The usual default of adultery by either party is hereby put into abeyance until such time as the marriage is consummated. Prior to consummation, adultery committed by either marital party will not be considered a valid default to the marriage contract. Subsequent to consummation, adultery will be returned as a valid default to this marriage contract. At such time, and in case of actual commitence of this default by either party, all normal conditions apply for the testing of dissolution of the marriage contract.
Part Two -- Other
Provision A -- Any other agreements, verbal or written, espoused by either marital party are only valid if they do not contradict or attempt to supersede this agreement.
Serapha looked up from reading and rose quickly, heading out of the privacy of her chambers. She really had delayed too long before returning. The rest was simply legal inheritance jargon in case the two of them got their act together and actually managed to have at least one child together. She knew it would not be soon, if they did manage. She certainly wasn't planning on holding her breath hoping to hold a grandchild a year from now.
She smiled as she approached the Gargoyle. She would give them two years before she began pestering them for children. That should be plenty of time for them to figure out they could be good together if they actually tried. As she rode the stone staircase up, it didn't even occur to her that it might be the case that neither of them wanted children.
As she strode into the office, she headed directly for the front of Albus' desk, smiling at the Grangers. "Before you sign this, I just wanted to reassure you that by doing so, you are not legally obligating your daughter to anything. She has already done so herself, by her own verbal consent to the agreement. Your signatures are necessary only in order to carry out the illusion we've all agreed to stand by in order to better protect my son from Voldemort."
Sighing, Mr. Granger rose, nodding that he understood what she'd said. As soon as he looked at the contract, however, his head snapped back up. "How is my daughter's signature already on a document she has not even seen?" he demanded angrily. "This is obviously a forgery, and I demand to know what kind tom foolery is going on here!"
Serapha sighed, she forgotten she was dealing with muggles, who couldn't be expected to understand all the finer nuances -- at least not with the sink or swim method which they'd been introduced -- of magical bindings. And no, she never thought she'd see the day she forgot the fact that she was dealing directly with muggles. She never had held the deep-seated prejudices of some purebloods, but she'd never had much contact with them either. So far, she liked Mr. and Mrs Granger, both Eva and David were quite charming -- during the moments they weren't feeling in entirely over their heads.
While she obviously hadn't met them under the best of circumstances, and didn't know what they were like normally. She could see with ease that they truly cared about their daughter and were quite protective of her. It reassured her that they would probably, eventually, understand why she'd done what she'd done. As a mother, she'd acted as she'd seen necessary for the protection of her only child -- even if that child wasn't exactly a babe in arms any more.
Several voices were heard after a brief silence, each of them intent on explaining what had happened. They all fell silent just as quickly. Severus impatiently held his hand out for the contract, frowning grimly, as Albus began speaking again, trying to calm David Granger.
Serapha gladly stepped back and let Albus take charge. She was good at planning, not placating. She instead, turned her attention toward the man himself. She had to admit Albus had an odd presence that seemed to cut through the emotional garbage and hit directly on the head of the matter. She just couldn't figure out how he did it, because as far as she'd seen, the man rarely dove directly into *anything*. He had a rather shocking ability to hedge around any given subject, all hints and smoke clouds. The wizard was as slippery as an eel to pin down to something you could actually quote.
In fact, most times she'd spoken in depth with him, she'd had as much fun during the conversations as she'd been disgustedly frustrated by them. Each and every time she'd left with the feeling that she'd been the one to dig out the finer points, only to look back on the conversation later and realize just how skillfully he'd directed the ideas that had flowed. She'd learned long ago to never be surprised to find afterward that he'd orchestrated the whole thing from beginning to end. It was a skill she deeply envied. If she'd had Albus Dumbledore's ability to manipulate and charm with the same breath, this whole thing would have been done as soon as said, and she'd have a daughter-in-law already. That she was sure of.
"So what happened," Albus explained as Serapha finally returned to paying attention, "is that because both Serapha here, *and* Severus -- for rather striking different reasons -- chose the same woman, and because of that, Miss Granger's agreement with Severus, rather than being solely with each other, actually completed the agreement between the three of them."
"So what would have happened," Eva asked quietly, "if Serapha and Severus had chosen differently, each of them choosing someone different than the other had, I mean."
Albus smiled. "Good question, that," replied immediately, reaching for the ever present cloth bag on his desk. "Lemon drop anyone?"
David took one nodding his thanks, while everyone else, with the exception of Eva, rolled their eyes before declining.
"Hopefully I understand what you're wanting to know. If, as an example, Serapha had chosen Miss Granger, and Severus had approached -- hypothetically -- our Professor McGonagall--"
Serapha hid her smirk at Severus' badly hidden shudder.
"--and the two of *them* had reached an agreement, Serapha's magical contract would have null and void, because it only had her intent, while Severus and Minerva would have had a two-sided intent. The contract requires both sides to be in agreement, just as with any muggle legal contract."
"Okay, I get that," David replied, still sounding less than happy, "and that's all well and good. For a minute there it looked like this woman had the right to marry off my daughter without so much as a by your leave."
"Quite the contrary I assure you," Albus assured, still smiling.
For her part, Serapha was surprised at how quiet her son was remaining. By now, he'd had plenty of time to read the contract she'd written, and that he -- all unknowingly -- had bound himself and his fiancee to. She risked a glance toward him.
**Ouch.**
"But what I don't get, is how our Hermione could bind herself to it. She's not old enough to *sign* contracts. She's only 17."
"Actually," Albus contradicted, "that's not technically true." He raised a hand to forestall both Grangers' immediate protests. "Yes, she was born less than 18 years ago -- linear time. She, however, was given the use of a time-turner in her third year which added to the length of time she has actually lived. Of course, this 'extra time' will never be translated to the muggle world, it is accepted as matter of course in the wizarding one, because she really has lived for 18 years. It's simply that 18 years have not gone by since she was born."
Severus rose suddenly, instantly becoming the center of attention. He nodded abruptly. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I'm sure Albus and," He threw a glare at her. "my mother can adequately answer your questions. Miss Granger and I need to speak, and both of us need to get to class." He turned toward Albus without waiting for a response, nodded and swept toward the door. "Miss Granger," he called as he passed by her.
She rose slowly, automatically turning to follow.
"Now wait just a minute," David demanded.
"It's all right, Dad. He's right," Hermione offered, managing a half-smile. "I'll see you later . . . after my classes?"
Both her parents nodded uneasily to her and she left quickly, before they could come up with anything to stop her.
TBC
Kiristeen
(Whew -- this one took some doing to write. I hope it meets with your approval)
Feedback -- it's the fuel that keeps me going. : )
Kiristeen@kiristeen.com
