AN: there's a small part in here that probably isn't very realistic, but I decided to have a little fun. If 90 pound muggle mothers can lift automobiles off their trapped children, then panicked teenage witches can probably do some rather surprising things as well. ::smirks:: Adrenaline -- the wonder power enhancer.

Oh, and Hermione goes a little bonkers in this one. : )~

Review response: I was asked why I don't accept anonymous reviews. In my experience most flamers do so anonymously. While I know that the occassional flame is part and parcel with writing. : )~ You can't please everyone all the time, and everyone is entitled to their opinions. (And no, I don't consider constructive criticism flames.) I do feel, however, that if someone is going to flame, they shouldn't do so while hiding who they are. ::shrugs:: Just my humble opinion. And my way of keeping out the trolls. My apologies if that causes problems for anyone.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review! : ) I really appreciate it.


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Chapter Sixteen
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"How? Why?"

"Eloquent as ever, I see, Miss Granger," Severus sneered. He didn't even know why he was bothering to talk to the chit. It certainly wasn't going to do any good if all she did was fall apart. Glad as he was to at least be in an empty classroom with the door sealed behind them, he was beginning to wish he'd been willing to hold off on this conversation long enough to have it the assured privacy of his office.

"Oh!" Granger exclaimed, suddenly stomping a foot. "Stuff it!"

"Ten points from Gryffindor for disrespect to a professor," Severus retorted smoothly, glaring. "Losing your temper isn't going to do either of us any good."

Granger glared at him. "Like I care about points when there's *this* to deal with!" she replied angrily, waving the marriage agreement in his face. He grabbed it from her hand as she continued ranting. "How are we going to get out of this, oh, King of Sneaky? You're the one who said 'let's agree before *she* can step in'. What do we do now?"

"Miss Granger!" Severus snapped. "Do calm yourself!"

"Look who's talking!" she snapped back, but far more calmly, and before he could find a suitable retort, her shoulders slumped. "I *liked* her," she said out of the blue.

"My mother?" he asked, incredulous.

Granger nodded. "She seemed so nice in the library."

"Of course she did," he huffed, "she wanted something."

Granger shook her head. "Not at first. She was happy someone had made her laugh."

Completely nonplused, Severus snorted. "You *liked* the fact that she laughed at you?" he asked before his surprise could fade.

"With, not at."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Semantics," he replied, then continued when curiosity got the better of him. "What did she laugh at you about?"

Granger bristled, frowning, then she winced and averted her gaze. "I told her the truth," she muttered under her breath.

**The truth? Must have been some truth!** Severus eyed the Gryffindor, waiting for more information. He was sure to get it, the know-it-all couldn't leave it at that. She'd certainly never been short with words before now. After several minutes of silence he began to suspect he was in error and that she could, indeed, 'leave it at that'. He frowned. Then she sighed, and he smirked.

"I'm afraid I didn't research the various ways out of a marriage, Professor Snape, I wasn't exactly researching them with the intent of getting out of one," Granger said suddenly, her voice quiet, her eyes still averted. "Other than--" She gulped. "Other than Part two Provision C, what *are* the ways out?"

**Well damn!** He had truly been curious about what had transpired between Miss Granger and his mother. Unfortunately, it didn't look like he was going to find out unless he asked outright -- which he was *not* going to do. He sighed, feeling entirely put upon. "Death, Miss Granger, as far as I'm aware."

"Well, that's certainly not an option!"

"Of course not!" he retorted his anger swiftly returning. "I'm well aware of that fact; though, you *do* tempt me."

Miss Granger's eyes widened and she gulped. "In what wa-ay, Professor?"

"To murder you, you stupid child!" he snapped, shocked -- and appalled -- at the rather startling shot of arousal her timid question provoked. He shifted uncomfortably, extremely grateful for the semi-darkness in which they were conversing. This was embarrassing in the extreme. Of course the fact that wizard's robes hid a great deal of sins was rather a comfort as well.

"Oh," she murmured in visible relief -- which unaccountably stung. "Oh God," she groaned. "Are we truly that stuck, Professor? I mean, I can't--" Her words cut off and she blushed furiously. "I can't sleep with you just to get out of this!"

"That isn't exactly in *my* plans either, *Miss* Granger!" he snarled, uncomfortably aware of a swiftly growing part of himself that wasn't *quite* so adverse to the idea as the rest of him -- and *that* didn't even take into account treacherous body parts with minds of their own.

He was suddenly, absolutely appalled as for only the second time ever, he was treated to Miss Granger breaking into tears.

"We-ell, excuse me for trying to help!" she shouted, ignoring the tears that streamed down her cheeks.

"The secondary battle-cry of the *brave* Gryffindors," he lashed out. "It lags behind only "I didn't think."

Granger gasped, outrage flashing in her watery eyes. "How *dare* you!" she hissed, surprising him. She wasn't usually so nervy.

"How dare I," he asked, smirking, thinking to let herself have enough rope to hang. "Oh, I *dare* the truth quite easily."

"Seems to me, *Professor*, you're forgetting one very large truth."

"Oh? And what could *that* possibly be?" he sneered.

"*You* would be even more *stuck* if I hadn't agreed. Where would you be, huh?" she spat. "Oh! Never mind!" she continued, spinning around and striding toward the door.

Shocked and frustrated, angry that he had to admit that she was right, and wanting nothing more than to revert back under the cover of being a Professor instead of a man with a very large problem, Severus called out. "Miss Granger, wait."

Granger stopped, but didn't turn around. "What is it, Professor?" she asked, her voice sounding far more tired than Severus had ever heard it.

"I'm . . . sorry," he said, wondering what the hell he was doing even as he did it. "We both find ourselves in a rather untenable situation, through the very direct fault of my interfering mother. It won't help us one bit if we keep . . . sniping at each other."

"Apology accepted, Professor," Granger replied immediately, turning slowly back around. "I'm sorry, too."

Closing his eyes, and taking a rather less than calming breath, Severus closed the distance between them. "This evening, I will begin researching ways to break this -- barring the chance we may actually convince my mother to be reasonable. For now, however, I believe we both have approximately ten minutes to get to our respective next classes."

"Oh!" Granger squeaked, whirling back around and racing immediately for the door.

Severus barely had time to unward it before she wrenched it open and fairly flew out into the hall. He actually chuckled as he followed -- at a far more dignified pace. After all, class couldn't exactly start without him. Granger was just about to disappear around the next corner when a voice stopped him cold.

"Severus!" Sybil Trelawney called out, sounding far too delighted for his comfort.

Turning toward the horrid woman, Severus felt as though he were facing Voldemort himself. "What do you want, Sybil?"

She grinned up at him as she approached. "We have much to discuss, Severus," she purred, reaching toward him.

Horrified, he grabbed her wrists before her palms connected with his chest. Apparently, she had no sense of privacy, dignity, nor any other adult concern in school full of children -- especially in a school *hall* full of children, half of whom had stopped to stare. The raging snarl he was about to let loose, stuck in his throat as a small form in school robes shot past him pushing Sybil Trelawney out of his grasp.

"BACK OFF, Professor!" Hermione Granger shouted angrily.

**Gods above and demons below!** was Severus' immediate, frantic thought. **The child's gone insane!**

"I may not have chosen this," the insane girl continued, oblivious of her frozen audience -- slack jawed professor and gobsmacked students alike. "I may hate it with every fiber of my being."

**Hey!**

"But until I find away out of it, I'll be damned if I let anyone else paw what's MINE!"

*Groan* **Merlin take it! She's beautiful when she's truly angry!**

"Yours?" Sybil screeched, the two women standing toe to toe, inches apart, each from the other, wild bits of magic whirling around both of them. "You're delusional child!"

"I have a marriage agreement that says otherwise," Hermione taunted, sneering perfectly. "So until your name is the one on the contract," she continued, her voice dropping to a low and deadly hiss. Her audience, as one, subconsciously leaning forward to hear better. "hands off," she finished, shoving the raging and startled Sybil Trelawney backward, who stumbled and fell to the stone floor.

"Miss Granger!" Severus barked, managing to find his voice; though it betrayed far more surprise than it did the anger he'd intended it to.

Granger spun to face him, her hair waving around her face as if she were standing in a strong breeze, her eyes sparking with electric flashes of uncontrolled power. "I will NOT be made a fool of, Professor!"

Gasps sounded from all directions, and seemingly brought the irate girl back to her mind. Her expression one of absolute horror, Hermione's eyes darted from Severus to the growing crowd, then down to Sybil Trelawney. She whimpered, her gaze flying back to Severus. "I'm *so* expelled!" she whined.

"Miss Granger, you--" Severus' words cut off and he blinked in astonishment. Hermione was nowhere to be seen. "Oh hell!" he bellowed, "I hope she didn't bloody well splinch herself."

Stalking forward, unheeding of stunned students, he held himself to his full height and stared down disdainfully at Sybil Trelawney. "I told you that I would rather wed a *muggle* than you, Sybil," he said, grinning maliciously as he continued, his voice raising *just* a touch. "Thanks to my mother's and the Grangers' bloody minded interference, I'm doing the next best thing. Hermione Granger is my fiancee, and I, too, will thank you to keep your unwanted hands to yourself!"

With that, he spun away from the downed woman. Purposely flaring his robes around him, Severus Snape, first class bastard extraordinaire, headed for the headmaster's office at a ground-eating pace. He didn't know how Hermione, a half-trained witch, without *any* training in apparation, had actually managed to apparate from the middle of a school with the strongest anti-apparation wards known to the wizarding world in affect, but the headmaster would have to be alerted.

Severus snorted, despite the seriousness of the situation. **If he doesn't already know,** he thought uncharitably. **Bloody bastard seems to know just about everything *else*.**



TBC
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