A/N: A fast update for you, though it will be some time before I can do so again. For those of you reading Bound to Him, I doubt I will get the next update written this week. In addition to the family reunion we're having this weekend, work is really hectic and I will be spending many hours cramming in data-crunching. We're presenting our research at a national conference next week. Needless to say, we're busy! Thanks so much for your understanding and patience!
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Chapter 4: Consequences
"LOVE?"
The girl's eyes widened and her mouth dropped in shock. Ignoring everyone else's outbursts, she turned and glared at Snape over Tonks's head. "This is what you meant by 'circumstances have changed'?"
Severus closed his eyes for a second and nodded.
Hermione gave a pained whimper and hid her face behind her hands.
"Love?" Moody shouted over the uproar. "You think it wise for a Death Eater to be in love with a Muggleborn?"
"In this instance, I do," Dumbledore nodded. "Riddle has already given his blessings to the arrangement and has guaranteed her safety in that situation."
"Oh, if You-Know-Who supports it, it must be a fantastic idea," Sirius snarled. "I'm all for it! Sign me up."
"Everyone SHUT UP!"
Silence befell the angered Order members as they all turned to stare at Tonks, who then wrinkled her nose and cleared her throat. "No offense sir, but if we're looking to get public opinion on their side, how do we do that with a 'forbidden romance'? It sells newspapers, but it isn't generally well-accepted in any society."
"Excellent question, my dear girl," Dumbledore twinkled. "And one that had Severus, Kingsley, and myself stumped for a better part of the night."
McGonagall glared at the Potions Master. "You knew this all along."
"It wasn't his place to tell, Minerva," the elder wizard responded. "I instructed Severus to remain silent on the topic until it could be safely discussed outside of the castle."
Hermione sighed and slipped a slightly apologetic glance towards her Potions professor. That would explain both his refusal to answer her question and his ill temper that morning. Of course he was always ill-tempered, but she suspected he was not looking forward to pretending to be in love any more than she was. A nauseating sensation washed over her as she realized that Tonks was right. It could not be as easy as that – no one would accept a teacher-student relationship as a good thing, regardless of whether or not they were in love.
Arthur was frowning and crossed his arms. "Was a decision reached then? Or are we here to figure out the story ourselves?"
Hermione glanced at the man she considered a second father and wished desperately that he did not believe her to be capable of what Rita Skeeter had written. He caught her gaze for half a second, and when his disapproving stare softened a bit, she allowed herself an inkling of hope that he was not as easily swayed by the media as his wife was. She gave a sad look towards the plump witch beside him and sighed softly when she realized that Molly was still refusing to meet her eyes.
"We have devised a plausible explanation, yes," Dumbledore smiled. "One that has everything to do with Corazón Verdadero."
"Cora – what?" Sirius grunted.
"Corazón Verdadero," Fred supplied helpfully, leaning forward and receiving a small glare from the man in return.
"Am I supposed to know what that is?" he growled.
"It means 'true heart'," George, Remus, and Tonks answered nearly simultaneously.
"Fantastic," Sirius muttered. "Now what the hell is it?"
"It's a potion, you ignorant buffoon," Snape snarled, earning a snort from the pink-haired witch beside him.
"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore said, interrupting Sirius's retort. "It is a potion. More importantly, it's a potion that is said to reveal your truest love."
Hermione wrinkled her forehead as she tried to remember where she had seen the name before.
"You may recognize it from Moste Potente Potions, Miss Granger," the Headmaster said with a wink.
She glanced up in surprise, but nodded quietly. She could see it now in her head. It had been a few pages away from the Polyjuice Potion entry, and had looked to be nearly a Masters-level brew. If she had remembered correctly, it had called for a significant contribution of the imbiber's blood and required a complicated series of wandwork that had been illustrated upon the pages.
"You're suggesting we say that Professor Snape spends his free time locked away in his classroom trying to determine his soul mate?" Tonks asked, her eyebrow raised in disbelief.
"Sounds just desperate and creepy enough for him," Sirirus muttered, causing Severus to roll his eyes.
"Quite the opposite, actually," Dumbledore answered. "I think it more believable to have Miss Granger do the brewing. It's been my understanding that young women are rather fond of the notion of finding true love."
This time it was Hermione and Tonks who rolled their eyes.
"And you think Granger competent enough to brew such a complicated potion?" Moody asked, narrowing his good eye at the girl, as if he could tell her level of skill by staring at her. Hermione shifted uncomfortably and stared at the arm of the couch.
"Yes, I find I do," Albus chuckled. "As Severus can attest, she has quite the penchant for potions."
"And thievery," Snape added, folding his arms and giving the girl an accusatory stare.
"She brewed Polyjuice as a second year," George grinned.
Hermione's gaze snapped to him in surprise.
Fred laughed. "Ickle Ronnie-kins isn't very good at keeping secrets."
Moody flicked his gaze towards Snape. "You let a second-year brew a NEWT-level potion? Not very responsible of you, Professor."
"Let?" Severus sneered. "I didn't let her do anything. She and her little friends pilfered my supplies and hid everything in the girls' lavatory. I wouldn't even begin to imagine how she managed to get that book out of the Restricted Section."
"Rule stickler, eh?" Molly huffed with a glare at her sons, who then shrugged and gave the girl matching looks of sympathy.
Hermione blushed in shame and closed her eyes to the handful of stares she received. "I didn't steal it, Professor. I had permission."
"Permission from whom?"
She winced and dropped her voice to barely above a whisper. "Lockhart."
A chorus of snorts echoed through the room and Snape looked at the ceiling in disgust. "That man would have given you permission to visit Azkaban if you only had complimented his hair."
"No worries of that happening to you, then," Sirius smirked.
"Pot calling the kettle Black," Severus returned, narrowing his eyes. "At least I've never taken hair-styling tips from dementors."
A spark of rage flared in the other man's eyes, but Remus managed to keep him in his seat. Growling, Sirius spat, "No, just your fashion sense."
With a whimper, Hermione slid farther into the couch. With a small smile Tonks nudged her in the arm. "Don't worry about it, love. Every meeting goes this way."
"That isn't exactly reassuring," Hermione muttered, sitting up again.
"Not exactly reassuring, no," Tonks agreed with a shrug. "Entertaining, though. At least until we have to physically separate them."
"Been there. Done that," the younger witch sighed.
"And I missed it? Damn."
"Are you two finished?" Snape interrupted.
Tonks glanced over at him with narrowed eyes. "Are you two finished?"
"Now that you're all finished, I suggest we get this nonsense out of the way," Moody grumbled.
"Thank you, Alastor," Dumbledore nodded before continuing with his explanation. "For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Corazón Verdadero was secretly developed for the Aragonese monarch Peter the First, who was unhappy with his betrothed, Agnes of Aquitaine. After consulting with one of his advisors, he commissioned an apothecary to develop a way to find his one true love. After three years of his marriage had already expired, the Corazón Verdadero was completed in 1097 and presented to Peter, who eagerly imbibed it. As was explained by the apothecary, his dreams and thoughts were said to be consumed by the image of an unknown woman. He could not rest for he was driven nearly insane by the need to find her. Fortunately, she was soon discovered to be one of the servants in the kitchens, known only by her given name of Bertha. At this time, Peter had his first wife poisoned, and soon after married in his true heart."
"Well, there's a cheery story," George snickered.
"And will our lovely Hermione be poisoning anyone today?" Fred grinned.
"I don't think she needs to, Fred."
"Quite right, George. Not unless someone's standing in between her and Snape's knickers."
"Wouldn't wanna be that guy," George responded, grinning wickedly at the gasp that had escaped the young Gryffindor witch.
"Boys!" Arthur shouted, while his wife spun around in her seat.
Molly narrowed her eyes at the twins. "If the two of you don't pipe down, I will poison the both of you!"
"Such a lovely woman," Fred whispered to his twin.
"Caring and considerate," George nodded.
Moody scowled at the redheaded twins and then leaned heavily on his walking stick as he glanced between the impassive face of the Potions Master and the beet-red face of the current Head Girl. He let out a small grunt before turning back to the Headmaster. "And you think the two of them will pass for soul mates?"
"Impossible," Sirius grumbled.
"Nothing's impossible," Remus shrugged.
"What? Don't tell me you agree with this, Moony!"
"I didn't say I agreed with it," he clarified. "I'm just saying that we can't label it impossible. Everyone thought it impossible to live with a werewolf until someone developed the Wolfsbane potion. Everyone thought it impossible to survive the Killing Curse until Harry did."
"That's completely beside the point! This is Hermione and Snivellus we're discussing!"
"Sirius, stop being unreasonable," Minerva grumbled.
"Unreasonable?" he shouted. "This whole thing is unreasonable! You can't not find it unreasonable, Professor!"
McGonagall took in a deep breath and turned her attention to the couch. "Severus, you were summoned last night, were you not?"
He raised one eyebrow and nodded stiffly.
"And what was You-Know-Who's reaction to the article?"
Snape glanced towards Dumbledore, who nodded. Turning back to the Deputy Headmistress, he cleared his throat. "Well, he had every intention of killing me right there until I proved to him that it was a lie."
"Proved it, did you?" Sirius sneered. "You lie to him about everything else…supposedly."
"Sirius!" Dumbledore and McGonagall warned in unison.
"What's to say he didn't just lie about this, too?" Black said, gesturing between Snape and Hermione.
"Oi!" George shouted while Fred smacked the man on the back of the head. "That's our honorary little sister you're talking about."
Sirius winced visibly as his head was still sore from when Snape had unceremoniously dumped him on the floor. "Well I wouldn't put it past him not to have influenced her in some way."
Hermione's jaw dropped and she launched out of her seat. "He never touched me, you arse! This isn't his fault! This whole thing is because Rita Skeeter has a vendetta against me! If anyone here is at fault, it's me!"
"Hermione, no one is blaming you," Arthur commented gently.
"No, they're not!" she hissed, keeping her eyes on Sirius and gesturing to Snape. "They're blaming him, and he didn't do anything!"
"So he says," Sirius muttered.
"So I say!" she countered angrily. "If you don't believe that I'm telling the truth, then give me Veritaserum!"
"Not if he brewed it."
Hermione moved to take a step towards him, but was restrained by Tonks, who had leapt up from the couch. As the Auror pulled the girl back to the couch, Minerva stood from her chair. "Sirius, I'm two seconds away from banishing you from your own house. I would advise you to keep your mouth shut from here on out."
The Marauder huffed angrily, but said nothing else.
"Severus, if you would please," Kingsley finally spoke in a booming voice. "I would like to hear the rest of what happened with You-Know-Who."
Several heads nodded, and Snape launched into a summary of what had occurred the night before. By the time he had finished, a few faces had paled while Sirius pouted in his chair.
"Reading between the lines, then, would it be safe to assume her life is in danger if she is not – as he said – attached to you?" Kingsley asked with a sober look on his face.
The Potions Master sighed and dipped his head. "I do not think that an unfair assumption."
Hermione gulped and, when Tonks loosened her grip, sunk back onto the sofa. All of the air had escaped from her anger as she listened to them discuss the likelihood that she would become a target. In all of the clamor of the past day, she not once considered that Voldemort would try to have her killed. Professor Snape she had worried about, but not herself.
"You alright?" Tonks whispered.
The younger witch swallowed and nodded slowly.
"If the threat to her safety is legitimate," Minerva stated boldly with a glare to Sirius, "then I don't find this at all unreasonable."
Hermione glanced up and was rather surprised to see everyone nodding – save for Sirius. The sullen wizard, however, was looking rather defeated as he bitterly stared at the fraying carpet.
"Then we are all in agreement," Dumbledore stated, which was followed by another round of nods.
"Erm, Professor?" Hermione asked softly. She chewed on her lip as the Headmaster gestured for her to continue. "Even if Professor Snape and I are to pretend to be soul mates, how does this solve our publicity problem? I mean, we would still have been engaging in an illegal relationship, right?"
"That is a fair question, Miss Granger," he nodded with a smile. "I sometimes forget that with how adept you are with magic, that you have not grown up in the Wizarding World."
She narrowed her eyes in confusion and noticed that everyone except for Snape was glancing at her with sympathy. Feeling self-conscious, she fidgeted in her seat and returned her eyes to the middle of the room.
Kingsley cleared his throat. "While in the Muggle world, the term 'soul mate' is an abstract idea, in the Wizarding World it is taken quite seriously. Though rarely ever found, soul mates share a bond between them which is a form of what we call Pink Magic – or Love Magic, if you will. Pink Magic, though not understood, is one of the most powerful forms of magic. The protection on Harry is one such example of Pink Magic – Lily Potter sacrificed herself to save him, which enacted it, and it was powerful enough to deflect the Killing Curse of one of the most powerful dark wizards of all time."
Hermione let out a deep breath and scrunched up her face in disbelief. "So you're saying that they'll all just give us a pass on the whole thing because we're supposedly soul mates?"
Dumbledore chuckled softly and smiled. "The Wizarding World does understand the pull of Pink Magic, undoubtedly, but you are right, my dear. The public will certainly be more forgiving if we submit to expectations."
"Expectations?" she repeated nervously. Her anxiety doubled when she glanced at Snape and noted that he had closed his eyes and bore a pained expression on his face. When Tonks grabbed hold of her hand, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"As I mentioned previously, the consequences are unfortunate," Albus said with a duck of his head.
"What consequences?" Her voice squeaked, and Tonks tightened the grip on her hand.
The Headmaster's face became somber and his eyes were sad as they met hers. "You and Severus must marry."
"What?" The girl's eyes widened into saucers as she glanced desperately about the room. When no one else raised an objection, she looked to Professor Snape once again. His eyes had yet to open – one could mistake him for having fallen asleep, had he not looked as though he had just swallowed a mouthful of glass. "You're all joking! This isn't funny!"
"I'm sorry, Hermione," Remus sighed. "But we aren't."
"I'm not just in love with him, but I have to marry him?" she screeched.
The Order members nervously glanced amongst each other. After a few seconds, Arthur cleared his throat and leaned forward. "You have to understand Hermione – the Wizarding World is not like the Muggle one. Sexual relations outside of marriage are frowned upon, and if we wish to avoid a negative public sentiment as we do, it is the only option."
"But we haven't –"
"I know you haven't." The Weasley patriarch shook his head, glancing pointedly at his wife, who finally had the decency enough to look ashamed. "But the two of you will be posing as soul mates. The pull of that type of magic most definitely requires a physical relationship as much as it does a spiritual one."
Hermione let out a sad sob and collapsed against the couch. "So in order to keep myself alive and keep Professor Snape spying, the only option is marriage?"
When no one said anything, she blew out a breath and stared at the ceiling. "Well, this ought to make the rest of the school year completely unbearable."
Dumbledore sighed. "I'm afraid I'm not quite through."
Her gaze snapped to him immediately. "What? Am I supposed to bear him children now, too?"
"No."
The strength of Snape's voice caused nearly everyone to startle. After looking at him, Hermione swallowed nervously and glanced back to the Headmaster.
"In order to eliminate claims of partiality on the part of Professor Snape, you will be required to withdraw from Potions," Dumbledore explained.
Her stomach dropped another notch and she took in a slow breath. "Will I at least be able to take the Potions NEWT at the end of the year?"
The elder wizard paused and shook his head sadly. "It is entirely likely that you will be unable to sit the NEWTs at all."
"WHAT?"
"Albus," Minerva interrupted. "That seems a bit harsh."
"I could not agree more," he nodded, turning back to the girl, "but the fact remains that the fate of your continued enrollment rests solely in the hands of the Board of Governors, a number of whom – as Severus has informed me – are in the pocketbook of Lucius Malfoy. I am confident that I can convince them to let you remain as a student and graduate with the rest of your class, however, they will likely demand a concession on your part regarding the NEWTs."
"Because I'm not making any concessions already," she spat bitterly. She yanked her hand out of Tonks's and covered her face with both hands. "Is that it? Or will I be required to concede my left arm as well? Perhaps my first-born child?"
The corners of Dumbledore's lips turned upwards for a moment before he became straight-faced once again. "In regards to this arrangement, I do believe your limbs and future children will be safe. Your position as Head Girl, on the other hand –"
"Oh, of course I'll have to resign," she interrupted irritably, her hands immediately flying to her chest where the shiny badge was still pinned to her robes. After quickly unfastening it, she tossed it onto the floor and stood from the couch. "Gee, why didn't I think of that before I started fucking my professor!"
Without another word, she strode angrily from the room and disappeared down the hallway.
Collectively, the group took in a deep breath and stared at the badge lying in the middle of the room.
"Well, I guess Rita's lucky she's in protection already," Fred mumbled a few minutes later, "because if You-Know-Who wouldn't have killed her, Hermione certainly would have."
A short while later, Tonks climbed the stairs to the third floor where she knew Hermione usually shared a bedroom with Ginny Weasley. Finding the door closed, she knocked and waited for a response. When none came, she knocked again.
"Hermione, love, are you in there?" she asked, placing one hand on the door knob. Leaning against the door, she could hear the muffled sound of tears from within the room. "I'm coming in, alright?"
As she entered the dark room, Tonks quietly closed the door behind her and crossed over to the window. Pulling back the drab curtains, she winced slightly as the bright sunlight spilled into the room. As she turned around, she frowned at the sight of the girl lying face down on one of the beds, sobbing.
With a sigh, the pink-haired witch crossed to the bed and sat down beside the girl. Frankly, tears made her nervous – which is why she had become an Auror and not a Healer – but she knew that Hermione needed someone on her side, and no one else had yet made the effort to go after her. Not that many of them would be well-received, but that was understandable given the circumstances.
Hesitantly, she placed a hand on the girl's head and stroked her hair. "I'm really sorry, Hermione. You don't deserve any of this."
When she was met only with continued tears, Tonks sighed and stared at the wall. Her mother had always said that she was not nurturing enough, and she was beginning to agree. Wrinkling her nose, she glanced back down at the witch beside her. Maybe time was best.
Resigning herself to guard duty, she placed her hand on Hermione's shoulder and stared off into space. After several minutes, the girl quieted her cries and shifted beneath her hand.
With a sigh, Hermione rolled onto her back and pulled herself into a seated position. She wiped at the tears running down her face. "Sorry. I shouldn't have lost it like that."
Tonks raised her eyebrows. "Don't apologize to me. I'm the one who is completely at a loss here. I mean, I could toss myself down a flight of stairs if that would cheer you up."
The girl giggled a few times and shook her head. "I wouldn't want to trouble you."
The older witch smiled. "No trouble at all, I swear. I do it enough on my own anyway. Besides, what's a few bruises amongst friends, right?"
Hermione laughed and wiped again at her eyes. "Can I hug you instead?"
"I dunno, can you?" Tonks grinned before opening her arms. "Of course you can, love. And it's completely on the house this time."
The younger girl smiled briefly and wrapped her arms around the slim Auror. As the seconds ticked by, she showed no signs of letting loose. Though mildly uncomfortable, Tonks relaxed her body and patted her on the back.
"You all must think I'm a horrible person," Hermione mumbled into her shoulder.
The pink-haired woman wrinkled her brow. "Why would we think that?"
"It's pretty selfish of me to complain about a stupid test when the entire war is on the line."
"No, it's not," Tonks shook her head. "It's not just a test, is it? I mean, we're practically asking you to sacrifice your entire future. A meltdown is entirely expected in that situation."
The bushy-haired girl groaned and felt a new round of tears coming on quickly. "I shouldn't have yelled so much and…oh, Merlin. Professor Snape must hate me now. I didn't mean to imply… I mean, it's basically his life on the line, and I was complaining about not being Head Girl."
"You know, I don't think he took it that way at all. This was all dropped in your lap rather suddenly, and I think he understands that. I highly doubt he took it personally."
Hermione sniffled and buried her face in Tonks's robes. "But it's my fault that all of this happened. It's my fault that he has to marry me. He must hate me for that."
Tonks sighed and tilted her head in contemplation. "I don't know that that's true. From what he said at the meeting, at this time yesterday, he was facing the probability of death. Today, he's not. I think he'd much prefer marrying you than being murdered in the middle of a pack of Death Eaters."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," she moaned miserably.
The older woman snorted. "Now you're just being ridiculous, Granger."
At the sound of a knock, they both looked towards the door. Cautiously, Molly Weasley pushed open the door and peered into the room.
"How are you holding up, Hermione?" she asked with a look of genuine concern on her face.
The girl sucked in a deep breath and pulled away from Tonks. Wiping her eyes, she swallowed nervously and shrugged her shoulders.
Molly let out a sad sigh and nodded, closing the door behind her. Shooing the Auror out of the way, she took a seat next to Hermione and pulled her into an embrace. "I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am that I ever doubted you. You're as good as a daughter to me, and I foolishly took that horrible woman's word over yours. I'm ashamed of how childish my behavior was towards you. Arthur and the boys are right – I should never have treated you that way."
Hermione looked up at her with teary eyes. "I was never with Harry – not then, not now, not ever. We're friends and I would never try to hurt him. I'm in this whole mess now because I only wanted to spare him humiliation."
"I'm sorry," the woman nodded, closing her eyes. "I should not have jumped to conclusions."
"And I was only with Viktor Krum for the Yule Ball, because he asked me," she continued. "We danced, he kissed me on the cheek, and that was it! He was interested in more, but I wasn't. I was fifteen – I didn't want a boyfriend then. I don't even know if I'd want one now.
"And I never slept with Professor Snape! I don't even see him outside of class or meals, for Merlin's sake. I can't believe that you would think me capable of that!"
"I know, dear," Molly whispered, smoothing her hand over the girl's hair. "I am so sorry. I don't know why I did – I guess I just didn't think Rita Skeeter was capable of completely fabricating a story like that. Blowing things out of proportion, maybe, but most times there's a grain of truth hidden in it. I was scared that it was true – scared that the little girl I watched grow into a competent witch could have found the wrong path."
"But I didn't!" Hermione pulled away from her and folded her arms against her chest. "I didn't do any of those things she said – ever! And it wasn't enough that you didn't believe me the first time, but you condemned me for the second time as well! I never slept with Harry! I never slept with Viktor! I never slept with Professor Snape! I never slept with anybody! In fact, the only person I've ever kissed was George, and that was only because Fred trapped us under the mistletoe last Christmas! And yet you still see me as some sort of scarlet woman!"
Mrs. Weasley dropped her gaze to her lap and nodded in shame. "I will understand if you cannot see it in your heart to forgive me."
"What does it matter, anyway?" Hermione sighed, flopping backwards onto the mattress. "Everyone's going to hate me now, so it's not like it actually matters if I forgive you or not."
"They're not going to hate you," Molly said softly.
"No?" Hermione propped herself up on her elbows. "I'm marrying the dreaded Dungeon Bat! I'm practically admitting to the entire Wizarding World that I've been carrying on in inappropriate liaisons with my professor while still sitting his class! Everything you read in that article, they're going to think is true! Even Ron and Harry are going to hate me when I tell them that I'll soon be changing my last name!"
"Ron and Harry won't hate you," she responded. "You're their friend."
"Oh, so they'll only hate my husband, then. How lucky for me." As soon as she realized what she said, Hermione grimaced and curled into a ball. She was going to have to marry Professor Snape of all people. She was going to be Mrs. Dreaded Dungeon Bat.
Molly sighed and shared a look with Tonks, who had since seated herself on the other bed. No one spoke for several minutes until a soft knock interrupted the silence. The young Auror pulled open the door to reveal a troubled McGonagall.
"Is she doing alright?"
"Better than I would have expected," Tonks answered truthfully.
Minerva nodded as she stepped in the room and glanced at the Weasley matron, who gave a sad smile as she gently stroked Hermione's back. "Albus thought you needed help in trying to convince her to accept the arrangement, and so that is exactly what I am doing."
The pink-haired witch let out a soft chuckle as she watched the Deputy Headmistress plop down on the extra bed and cross her arms defiantly.
"Your argument is extraordinarily convincing, Professor," Tonks giggled as she sat down beside her. "Why, I profess I find my own self quite willing to run down there and leap into his waiting arms and have him carry me off into the sunset."
The elder witch raised her eyebrows. "From the way you were behaving down there, I don't think it would take much convincing on my part at all."
Tonks snorted loudly and let a wicked grin cross her face. "After seven years of daily torment from that man, you have no idea how enjoyable it is to make him squirm now."
Minerva let out a hearty chuckle. "I had nearly forgotten how much you vexed him as a student. He thought you were surely sent by the gods to punish him. I daresay poor Pomona never heard the end of it."
"She did look rather perturbed when I refused to give up on becoming an Auror." A look of reminiscence was painted on her face as she shook her head good-naturedly. "Always volunteering alternative career paths that didn't require a Potions NEWT."
The older woman nodded slightly. "Oh, you should have seen Severus on the day he found out that you had earned an 'O' on your Potions OWL!"
The Auror's eyes grew bright as she laughed. "I've always suspected he must've about shat himself that day!"
Molly shot the pair a chastising glance as their laughter grew louder. When movement occurred beneath her hand, however, she looked down in surprise to see Hermione rolling over and pushing herself into a seated position.
"Professor Snape hated you that much?" she asked, wiping her face.
Tonks shared a look with the Deputy Headmistress and then nodded emphatically at Hermione. "The very first day he allowed us to enter his storeroom unsupervised, I tripped over Michael McDougan's foot and took out four shelves' worth of ingredients on my way down."
The girl slapped a hand over her mouth as her eyes widened. "Oh, my god – you didn't!"
"Oh, she did," Minerva said seriously. "I thought for sure he was going to turn inside out that day. If Albus hadn't have spoken to him, I'm sure he was two seconds away from resigning his post."
Hermione began to laugh softly and pulled her knees to her chest. "How are you even alive after that?"
The pink-haired witch shrugged her shoulders. "Great restraint on his part, I'm sure. Needless to say, I've been banned from his storerooms for life, which meant that I had to beg my classmates to get my ingredients for me for the next six and a half years, at a loss of five points each lesson for speaking out of turn. I swear, if I hadn't have been placed in Hufflepuff, my Housemates would have chucked me out in the cold faster than you could say You-Know-Who."
Shaking her head, Hermione let out a long breath. "And he still lets you speak to him now?"
"He does, indeed," Tonks nodded. "Which is why I know you're being ridiculous."
The two older women looked confusedly between the two, and the Auror gestured to Hermione with her head. "She thinks that her hubby-to-be is going to hate her for creating the situation in which he is forced to be her hubby-to-be."
Molly wrapped her arms around the girl supportively, while McGonagall fixed her with a pointed stare. "Don't be ridiculous, Miss Granger. Severus may be a hard man, but he will not hate you for something out of your control."
"He hates Harry."
Minerva and Molly exchanged a look and sighed in unison, "That's different."
"How is it different?"
The Head of Gryffindor let out a deep breath. "It's not our story to tell."
"You'll just have to take our word on it," Mrs. Weasley said softly as she tucked a strand of hair behind the girl's ear.
Hermione frowned, but opted not to press the issue further.
"Furthermore," McGonagall smiled, "out of all those men downstairs, Severus was only one who worked it out that the reason you ran from the room was not because you are refusing the arrangement, but was instead because you had already accepted it."
"What?" A horrified expression crossed the girl's face. "They all think that I…that I would put myself above everyone else? They all think that? Even Professor Dumbledore?"
She paused only long enough to glance at Tonks. "I told you everyone thinks I'm a horrible person!"
The elder women were opening their mouths to offer kind words in response, but were cut off by an exasperated Auror.
"Oi!" Tonks shouted, the tips of her hair darkening. "Now look here, love! If we all thought you were a horrible person, we wouldn't be concocting this whole sodding romance novel! Instead, we would confirm the rumors of love potions and Confundus charms, offer up Professor Snape as a poor, innocent victim, and ship you off to spend the rest of your days locked up with that Skeeter bint! But we don't, so we haven't!
"And so what if they all do think you'd refuse him? It doesn't mean they think you're a horrible person! It means they know you're facing a difficult situation, and it means they think you're a defenseless little girl! You want to know why I know this? Because you have tits; because you can cry; because they're MEN! They're planning a war down there, and I hate to break it to you, Granger, but they don't always use their big brains for it!
"So stop your blubbering, dry your eyes, march down there, and show them that you're the strong woman we—" she gestured to each of the witches in the room " – know you are! Tell them that you'd love for nothing more than to become the new Mrs. Snape, and then take a page out of your betrothed's book and don't take shit from nobody! Understand?"
Three pairs of large eyes stared back at the normally bubbly Auror. Hermione's eyes were wide with shock; Molly's with censure; and Minerva's with amusement. After a few seconds, Hermione began to nod and hesitantly stood from the bed. She let out a deep breath and met the witch's eyes.
"I can do this, can't I?"
Tonks smiled and nodded. "You sure as bloody hell can!"
"Okay," Hermione sighed.
"Brilliant!" The pink-haired Auror positively beamed as she launched up to pull open the door. Hermione gave her a grateful look before passing into the hallway. Mrs. Weasley's eyes tightened with a mix of disbelief and disapproval as she followed closely behind the girl.
"Not the most eloquent speech I've heard, but definitely effective," McGonagall smirked.
Tonks shrugged as they followed the other two witches down the staircase. "I didn't get through Auror training just on my looks, you know."
"Apparently not," Minerva smiled.
As the four of them reached the ground floor, Hermione paused outside of the library. She took in a calming breath and waited for the others to walk ahead of her before entering the room. When the women returned, the conversation in the room faded into silence.
"Ah," Dumbledore smiled. "I take it from Miss Granger's presence that an agreement has finally been reached?"
Hermione scowled at him, which prompted Minerva to speak in her stead. "Albus – there never was any question of her involvement."
"No?" he queried, glancing at the girl.
"No," the young witch answered before glancing about the room. Everyone met her with looks of approval, save for Sirius, who was still sullenly staring at the floor. When her eyes fell upon the empty sofa, she sighed worriedly and looked back to the Headmaster. "Erm, where's Professor Snape?"
Dumbledore met her questioning gaze with a full-fledged smile. "It is customary in the Wizarding World for the bridegroom to be separated from his bride for a period of twenty-four hours prior to the ceremony. To make the heart grow fonder while preparing for the union, I do believe."
"Oh," she whispered, before her eyes suddenly widened. "We're getting married tomorrow?"