A/N: Wow, has it been chaotic around here! I've been in an absolute rush to get Grad School stuff turned in, and I'm starting a second research project. In addition to the class-load, I'm managing a group of teaching assistants and am serving as President of a departmental club that is super busy during the first few weeks of school. I am seriously exhausted.
But, I wasn't going to leave you hanging forever! I've appreciated reading all of your reviews, and I'm excited to say that there is a trailer for this fic on youtube! Thank you so much to Fifinella for creating it. Check out the link on my profile to see it!
Love you all!
Chapter 7: The Inquisition
With matching downtrodden looks on their faces, Harry and Ron silently made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast on Monday morning. They had spent the last five minutes pounding on the door to Hermione's private room, and had received the same response from the portrait of Hortatia Buttledump that they had all weekend.
Well, almost the same response. Of course portraits – like their human counterparts – tend to get a bit testy when their words go unheeded, and they may even blow their lid.
And so it was that Hortatia's polite 'She's not in' and 'the room is unoccupied' had gradually become 'Oi! She's not bloody here, alright?' before morphing into this morning's 'Pound this into your fat heads, you moronic imbeciles! She's not fucking there! The post is bloody vacant, so just toddle off and die, why don't you?'
"I don't care if she was the most revered Head Girl of all time, or that she saved an entire class of firsties from a vampire attack," Ron muttered, adjusting the strap of his book bag. "She's bloody rude."
Harry made an unintelligible grunt and nodded his head as they stepped into the Hall.
"It's not like she has anything else to do all day," the redhead continued. "Oh, there's Gin. Maybe she knows where Hermione's been."
"She doesn't," Harry answered. "I asked her last night."
"Last night?" A confused look crossed his friend's face. "How could you have asked her last night? You and I were together the entire time except when you had your meeting with Dumbledore, and Ginny went up to the girl's dorm half hour before you got back."
The dark-haired boy paled slightly as he realized his blunder. "Oh, erm, I ran into her in the hallway when I was walking to the Headmaster's office."
"Oh," Ron mumbled. "Maybe she's heard something since then."
"Maybe." Harry gave a quiet sigh of relief that his explanation had been accepted. He had not told Ron that Dumbledore had limited their exploratory sessions of Tom Riddle's mindset to once a week instead of twice. Nor had he told the redhead that he was using the extra time in his schedule to host exploratory sessions of the boy's sister instead.
"Oi, Gin!" Ron called out. "Know anything about Hermione?"
The girl looked to her brother and shook her head. "Not since that stupid article came out."
"It's not like her to just disappear, though," Harry muttered taking a seat next to his secret girlfriend. "We haven't had a word from her all weekend."
Ginny shrugged her shoulder and touched his hand beneath the table. "She's likely facing the Board of Governors today. I heard Michael Corner talking about it. His uncle's one of them."
"Oh, don't tell me you're still snogging that tosser!" Ron grumbled loudly.
Harry feigned disinterest as the witch narrowed her eyes indignantly. "I'm not! I'm not snogging any tossers!"
"Good," Ron stated forcefully as he grabbed a piece of toast. "Keep it that way."
"I plan to!"
"Took you bloody long enough!"
"Maybe it did!"
"'Bout time, too."
"I thought so," Ginny responded, lacing her fingers through Harry's.
Her brother shook his head and shoved half the toast in his mouth. "You're a pain in the arse."
"And you're just an arse," she countered.
He was about to offer a retort when he spotted the Head Boy sitting down at the Ravenclaw table. "Hey, there's Terry. Maybe he knows something. Come on, Harry."
The Boy-Who-Lived sighed and slipped his hand out of her grasp, glancing at his best friend who was already halfway over to the other table.
"It's frightening how clueless he is," he mumbled upon standing.
Ginny snorted and folded her arms on the table. "I have six brothers. Statistically speaking, one of them was bound to be an idiot."
"What about Percy?"
She rolled her eyes. "He's just a prat, not an idiot. He read me the impropriety act about you two years ago."
"But you were dating Michael then."
"So? Doesn't mean it was Michael I was thinking about, does it?"
Harry blushed and forced himself to follow after Ron. When he caught up to the boy, he caught Terry Boot mid-response.
"—haven't seen her all weekend. There's a hearing scheduled today, though, I know. Mike's told me it looks bad. I mean, I didn't believe it at all when it came out, but now…" He trailed off and shook his head.
"What the hell does that mean?" Ron sputtered defensively.
"It means," Morag MacDougal sneered as she leaned into the conversation, "that we caught them on Saturday morning. Together."
"Caught who?"
"Her and Snape." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, causing the ginger-haired boy to huff angrily.
"Together how, exactly?" Harry demanded, crossing his arms.
The girl snickered and her eyes lit up as she eagerly responded. "It was exactly like Rita wrote about. They were in the stairwell outside of her room – he had her up against the wall, and she wasn't fighting to get away, if you catch my drift."
"No, that isn't what you saw," Ron hissed. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"It was early in the morning."
"So?"
"Her hair was mussed up."
"Her hair is always mussed up! That proves nothing."
Morag shrugged. "Her clothes were all wrinkled, and she was blushing at him."
"She was not blushing at him!" Ron shouted, drawing the attention of several other students. "You're an idiot!"
"There had to be some other explanation," Harry sighed, cutting off the witch's next comment.
"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. "Don't believe me, then. But just so you know, there are four other students who saw the exact same thing I did. And you can bet at least one of them will testify to it. She's screwed. Marietta and I are hoping for expulsion. It would serve her right."
"Knock it off," Terry said forcefully before Ron could shout something worse.
"I'm just giving my opinion," she huffed.
"No one asked for it, though," the redhead grumbled.
Morag gave him a haughty smirk.
The Head Boy sighed and shrugged. "Sorry guys, but Hermione doesn't exactly have many friends at this table. I like her, but there's only so much I can do with things the way they are."
Ron opened his mouth to criticize the boy, but Harry grabbed hold of him and steered him away.
"Not worth it," he muttered as his friend glared.
"'Only so much I can do with things the way they are'," Ron sneered bitterly as they sat back down by Ginny. "Tell you what I can do; I can punch him in the face."
"What'd he say?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Ravenclaw's hoping Hermione gets expelled," Harry answered.
"Tossers," Ron spat.
The witch sighed and shook her head. "This whole thing is bollocks. Forget Hermione for a second. It's Snape, for Merlin's sake. I mean, does he even have one that works?"
Both boys choked on their own air and looked at her in shock.
"What?" she shrugged. "Girls talk."
"About Snape's prick?" Ron hissed, leaning across the table. "That's loads worse than snogging stupid blokes."
"I didn't say I did!" she corrected. "It's just that some girls in the past have attempted to improve their marks by suggesting certain things –"
"With Snape?" Harry spat in disbelief as the owls swooped in with the morning's post.
"Yes, with Snape," the girl nodded. "But not only did he turn them down, he turned them in. That's what happened to Sharlin Lavery last year, when she got expelled. I imagine Ravenclaw's still sore on that point, as well."
"Bloody hell." Ron rolled his lips in disgust and shivered as he picked up the rest of his toast. "Who would ever want to shag the creep? For that matter, who would even want to kiss him?"
His friend snorted and was about to vocalize his agreement when he was interrupted by Ginny's startled cry as she picked up her copy of the Daily Prophet. Her eyes were the size of saucers as she stared at the front page. "Apparently Hermione does."
"Not funny, Gin," the boys said in unison.
"I'm not kidding," she shook her head and held up the newspaper. "Look!"
The half-chewed chunk of toasted bread and jam fell out of Ron's mouth as he and Harry dropped their jaws in horror.
Across the Great Hall, students of all Houses had similar reactions as they watched the images of their Head Girl and Potions Master share a passionate-looking kiss… over and over and over again.
"What did I tell you," Morag MacDougal smirked as she nudged the Head Boy in the side. "She's so getting expelled."
With eyes widened in disbelief, Terry Boot slowly nodded his head.
Hermione woke up suddenly to the sound of loud pounding. Blinking rapidly she threw back the covers and quickly scampered across the floor to the door.
"What's wrong?" she asked breathlessly upon opening the door.
Snape met her sudden panic with a cool raise of one eyebrow. "You've slept past breakfast."
She swallowed back her adrenaline rush and covered her face with her hand. "That's it? I thought the room was on fire the way you were beating down the door."
He rolled his eyes. "Were the room on fire, Granger, I would not waste the time trying to rouse you from your slumber."
The girl frowned and crossed her arms. "Oh, I have no doubts that you would leave me to asphyxiate -"
"I would have used the time to extinguish the flames, you ungrateful twit," he snapped irritably.
"Oh," she muttered quietly. "Sorry."
"You're wasting time," the wizard stated coolly. "We meet with the Board of Governors."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Well is there time enough to shower?"
"If you manage not to dilly dally any further," he said with a sneer.
"I don't -" she hissed before deciding it a waste of breath and shaking her head. She had nearly shut the door before he cocked his head and fixed her with a calculating look.
"Do you normally wear your entire wardrobe to bed, Granger, or were you just concerned that I'd renege on my earlier promise and thought you'd curb my hypothetical amorousness by forcing me to remove clothing until I died of old age?"
The girl looked down and flushed in embarrassment as she remembered her late night dash for extra layers. The only way she could have felt any more self-conscious was if she had answered her door in the nude. Pushing aside that nightmarish thought, she spoke in a quiet voice. "I was cold."
"You were cold," he reiterated blandly as he stared at her in suspicion. "Have you suddenly forgotten how to cast warming charms? I seem to recall you have a particular penchant for setting fire to things."
Hermione gulped nervously, wondering how long he had known that she was the one to burn his robes. "Sorry about…erm… Warming charms only work so long as you're awake. They fade away when you fall asleep. Believe me, I tried, but I couldn't stay asleep in the frigid cold."
The man snorted. "You've lived for six years in a Scottish castle –"
"Not in the fricken dungeons!" she interrupted. "Heat rises you know."
Severus rolled his eyes and pointedly checked his wristwatch. "You have twelve minutes before I physically drag you to the Headmaster's office."
Her eyes narrowed into a cold glare, and she immediately slammed the door in his face.
With a smirk, he stepped away from her door and quickly moved to pull his own bedroom door shut. He did not want to risk her catching sight of the bunched up bed covers and hastily cast aside nightshirt. There was absolutely no way he would ever admit that he himself had only just awakened ten minutes prior.
When she popped out of her room with an armload of clothes, he cleared his throat loudly and glanced at his watch before sitting gracefully in his armchair. He crossed his legs when she rolled her eyes and grinned slightly when the bathroom door slammed shut with a bang.
He knew the girl was probably hurt by his sudden reversion into his usual cold persona, but he felt it had to be done. As long as they were in private, he needed to keep the distance between them. The weakness he had exhibited the night before could not happen again.
As the sound of running water drifted towards him, he closed his eyes and tried to ignore the rumbling in his stomach. He had not eaten anything for going on sixteen hours now and it was not likely that he would get anything until after the pompous windbags were done interrogating his new bride. If she could keep her mouth shut, there was a chance he could eat before they were done serving lunch.
Past experience, though, led him to believe it would be rather difficult for the soon-to-be -former Head Girl to keep quiet when her feathers were ruffled. It would not bode well for her academic career if she insulted any of the school's governors.
"Ahem."
Severus opened his eyes to see the girl staring at him. Thank the merciful stars, her ridiculous hair was back. Soon enough so would the shapeless clothing. If she were to lounge about in his quarters every day in the form-fitting outfits she suddenly seemed to possess, he would surely be in need of a new private retreat.
Hermione straightened the cuff of her blouse and shrugged. "I figured it would seem a bit presumptuous to show up in my school robes; would it not?"
He cleared his throat and dipped his head in acknowledgment.
She bit her lip as she smoothed the front of her pencil skirt. "Do you think this will be alright? I don't really have any formal wizarding robes."
The man dropped his gaze to his hands and slowly stood from the chair. "It will have to suffice."
Her face turned into a scowl as he pushed past her towards the fireplace.
"Shall we?" he intoned impatiently. "I would like to be able to eat sometime today."
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. "You didn't go to breakfast?"
He paused briefly, mentally cursing himself for bringing it up. "And let them all wonder why I've willingly left the confines of my nubile wife to dine alone?"
The girl blinked at the comment and tried to fight the heat rising in her cheeks. "Well you could have woken me sooner, and then I could have eaten, too."
"I'm not your keeper," he grumbled as he reached for the tin of floo powder.
She opened her mouth to offer a retort, but was cut off when threw his arm around her waist and yanked her into the green flames. As she had been caught off-balance, she immediately collapsed against his chest when they spun into the Headmaster's office. Her cheeks flushed at the contact, and she quickly pushed away from him.
"Ah, Severus, Hermione!" Dumbledore called out, rising from his desk. "I am glad to see that the two of you have not lost track of time, as it were."
Snape gave a heated sigh as he slipped his arm about his wife's shoulders.
The witch thinned her lips in frustration and attempted to shrug out of his grasp. When he responded by tightening his grip, she glared dangerously at him.
"Madam Snape," the Headmaster winked as he stepped into the center of the room. "You look positively radiant this morning."
Hermione's eyes widened at the insinuation and momentarily forgot her ire. She flicked her gaze to the old man before returning it questioningly to her husband. "Please tell me he knows –"
Severus silenced the rest of her statement with a pointed look. He glanced to where the wizard in question was staring at them expectantly as he stood next to an ornate door. Snape dropped his voice to a whisper as he guided her in that direction. "Of course he knows. He's merely providing you with the reminder that you seem to require."
Realization dawned on her face, and she closed her eyes. Taking in a calming breath, she forced herself to relax in his hold. As she opened her eyes and nodded, she plastered what she hoped was a believable smile on her face.
Dumbledore returned a bright expression as he pulled open the door and gestured for them to pass through it.
The young witch swallowed her anxiety as she caught sight of the dozen wizards seated around a long, curved table. As the doorway was only wide enough for one to fit through at a time, Snape moved his hand from her shoulder to her elbow and gently maneuvered her into the room ahead of him.
A single chair faced the panel of stony-faced men, and Hermione nervously glanced up at the Potions Master as he motioned for her to sit. When she had done so, he silently stood behind her, rested one hand on her shoulder, and stared at the Board as if issuing them a challenge.
The Headmaster closed the Boardroom door and quietly moved to a chair on the edge of the room. He offered the girl another smile before allowing his face to take on a more serious expression. He then nodded towards the table, where the eldest wizard sat forward in his chair.
"Miss Granger –"
Snape cleared his throat loudly causing each of the school governors to shift in their seats. Albus held a twinkle in his eye as the current speaker tilted his head in acknowledgement.
"My apologies, Professor. No disrespect was implied."
"I am sure none was taken, Governor Rames," Dumbledore said gently, though Severus held a piercing glare that suggested to the contrary.
Rames gave an uncertain nod and let his gaze settle on Hermione once again. "Mrs. Snape, while this morning's paper seems to have explained away some of the disturbing accounts previously reported, there are further details that we as the Board of Governors must hear before we are able to make a decision regarding the status of your enrollment at Hogwarts."
The girl took in a deep breath and tried not to squirm under the stares of the other eleven frowning members.
"Professor Snape," another man smiled, "If you would be so kind as to step out of the room so we may get started…"
The Slytherin Head gave a dip of his head and leaned around the back of her chair. Hermione internally startled as his lips grazed the side of her head.
"Whatever you do, don't argue," he whispered into her hair. She looked up as he straightened, and her eyes followed him as he disappeared back into the Headmaster's office. It was disconcerting how comforting she had found the warmth of his hand on her shoulder, and she wished he would have been allowed to stay.
"Ah," Dumbledore smiled, leaning towards the nearest school governor, "is the sight of love not a refreshing one, Governor Trubor?"
The sandy-haired gentleman flicked his gaze towards the rest of the Board before giving a hesitant nod.
"Now then, Mrs. Snape," Rames stated, pulling her attention back to the front, "is what was reported in the Daily Prophet accurate?"
Hermione straightened in her chair and cocked her head. "To which article are you referring?"
The man beside Rames held up that morning's edition, and her eyes widened briefly in surprise at the cover.
"Is it true that you imbibed the Corazón Verdadero?"
She swallowed hesitantly and nodded as she glanced briefly at the Headmaster.
"And what occurred upon your ingestion of the potion?"
The girl took in a breath and folded her hands in her lap as she remembered the background history she had read two afternoons before. "At first, nothing happened. I thought maybe it hadn't worked, but that night I started having the dreams."
"The nature of these dreams?" a dark-haired wizard asked hastily.
Hermione blushed and dropped her gaze to the floor. The depiction of the types of dreams associated with the potion had been rather meticulous, and she was not quite comfortable in sharing that with the Board of Governors - not that she would be comfortable sharing that with anyone.
"We are waiting, Mrs. Snape."
"Sorry," she stammered, fiddling with her skirt. "I, erm, dreamt of Pr-Severus… of us together. I could see us walking together, holding hands, and, erm, other things."
"Other things?"
She winced and sent a pleading look to Dumbledore, who cleared his throat.
"Governor Verpert, I believe you may presume upon the content of Madam Snape's dreams without her explicitly describing them for you."
A number of the other governors murmured their assent, much to her relief. Verpert seemed unfazed by the Headmaster's chastisement, and he quickly fired off another question.
"And so you then decided to act upon those urges?"
Hermione frowned slightly at his tone and crossed her arms. "No."
"No? The account previously published in the Prophet claims the opposite."
"Because Rita Skeeter likes to make up stories!" she argued, nearly jumping up from her chair in frustration. "There was no basis for the rubbish she wrote!"
"And yet the recent change in your marital status reflects otherwise."
The girl grimaced and let out a loud breath. "I…we… It isn't like I ran right out and bedded my professor. That's what the Prophet said, but it wasn't like that! I didn't do anything about it for some time. I tried to ignore the dreams, and then it was as though he was the only thing I could think about. I couldn't concentrate in classes, and it physically hurt to have to leave Potions lessons.
"When it became almost too much to bear, I approached S-severus, and confessed what I had done. Only then did we d-do anything, and it wasn't anything like what that woman wrote!"
"You pursued a sexual relationship with your professor, did you not?" Governor Verpert intoned.
"I didn't…I didn't…" she groaned in frustration and looked at Dumbledore. She sighed at the firm look on his face and dropped her voice several levels. "It wasn't intended."
"Your ingestion of the potion was not intentional?" Trubor asked, while the man seated beside him narrowed his eyes.
"Are you alleging that someone else forced you to –"
"No!" she cried, interrupting the wizard.
"No to his question, or to mine?" he recovered quickly.
"To yours, to his – to both of you," she said heatedly. "I wasn't saying someone drugged me with the potion or that I didn't mean to take it. I did that much willingly."
Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair. "What I believe she is trying to say, gentlemen, is that she did not intend for her true love to be someone forbidden by school policy."
"Yes!" Hermione hissed, pointing to him. "That's what I meant."
"Your nomination to Head Girl by Professor Snape was based upon the fact that your academic career was beyond reproach," Governor Rames stated. "Yet you did not foresee the consequences of your actions?"
She felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her and she bit her lip as she attempted to find an adequate response. When she had, she felt absolutely disgusted with herself. "I didn't realize what effect it would have. I thought it was… I don't know. I didn't quite believe in the description. I'm…I'm Muggle-born, and … soul mates are hardly anything more than myth –"
She fell silent when a few members of the board began chuckling to themselves. Her ears were burning in humiliation and she blinked quickly to relieve the sting of oncoming tears. A slight coughing caused her to glance in Dumbledore's direction, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod for her to continue.
With a sigh, she sat on her hands and stared at the floor. "I was just curious to know if it would show me anyone, but I never imagined that it would be my Professor. And when it was, I tried everything to ignore it, but it didn't work. It just made it worse."
Another man cleared his throat. "And in all this time, you never brought your situation to the Headmaster?"
"If I may, Governor Corner," Dumbledore interrupted gently. "I was apprised of the situation by both Professor and Madam Snape prior to the commencement of their affair, and it was I who encouraged the arrangement to be kept quiet until such a time as it could be presented to the public in as accurate a manner as was possible. I was hopeful that this would not occur until after Madam Snape had completed her education here at Hogwarts. Ms. Skeeter, however, forced our hand as it were."
The Board members exchanged glances, and an odd silence descended upon the room before Rames finally spoke. "The Corazón Verdadero, Mrs. Snape – you brewed it on your own?"
Hermione bit her lip and nodded slowly.
"If you would, please repeat for the Board the recipe which you used."
She said a silent prayer that she had committed that page to memory and recited it for the panel. When she had finished, she noticed that Governor Corner closed a copy of Moste Potente Potions and nodded toward the rest of the men. Rames sent a silent spell toward the door into the Headmaster's office and called for Snape to return.
The young witch nervously glanced up at her husband as he came to stand by her chair.
"Professor Snape," Trubor addressed, "were you aware that a student of yours was brewing the Corazón Verdadero?"
"I was not."
"You did not supply the ingredients?"
"I did not."
"You participated in the affair only after it became necessary for the well-being of your student?"
"That is correct."
"And you kept the Headmaster informed of the situation?"
"Yes."
"Your nomination for her role as Head Girl was based solely upon her scholastic record?"
"It was."
The Board of Governors whispered amongst themselves before the eldest spoke. "Professor Snape, with the testimony given here this morning, we find no cause for your continued suspension. You are hereby cleared of any alleged misconduct, and may return to your classes as soon as this afternoon. We apologize for the intrusion upon your schedule."
Hermione's eyes widened as she looked between the Board and the man standing beside her.
"As for your wife," Rames continued, "we will require the day to confer and will deliver our findings twenty-four hours hence."
Severus gave a stiff nod and turned to hold out his arm to the girl. When she did not immediately take it, he gave her a very pointed stare until she did.
"May I assume, Professor, that you still find the deliberation necessary?" Governor Verpert queried.
"You may," he responded, pulling Hermione from her seat and purposely ignoring her confused expression. With a polite dip of his head to the panel and his employer, he led the stunned witch from the room, through the Floo, and into their chambers before she had a chance to violently explode.
"Five questions?" she screamed as soon as they were alone. "I get a bloody inquisition, but you only get five measly questions and you're cleared? WITH AN APOLOGY?"
Hours later, Severus briefly glanced up at the sound of her door opening before returning to his book. "Unless you have finished your tantrum, I suggest returning to your quarters."
Hermione narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms as she stepped into the sitting room. "I'm not a child who you can send to her room."
"I beg to differ," he muttered blandly without looking up from the page.
She huffed bitterly as she analyzed how far into the volume he was. "I thought you were supposed to have been teaching."
"And cut short my happy honeymoon?" he questioned upon turning the page. "What a disheartening notion."
The witch rolled her eyes and looked about the room in boredom. Her gaze predictably drifted toward the bookshelves. As she moved in that direction, Snape closed his book with a snap and cleared his throat.
"As you will be living here for the remainder of the year, I feel it prudent that we set aside some ground rules."
Turning back to face him, she uncrossed her arms and sighed. "Fine."
The man fixed her with a strong gaze as he crossed his legs. "As was mentioned previously, my laboratory is strictly off-limits unless I have given you permission otherwise. The same applies for that bookcase. If you wish to borrow a book, you will ask first. And if I deny your request, you will respect my decision no matter how desperate you are to devour the knowledge contained within its pages. Do you understand?"
The girl scowled, but gave an affirmative response.
"Furthermore, these are my quarters, not a substitute Common Room. If you feel the need to chatter with your idiot friends, you will do it elsewhere. There will be no guests unless I have given prior approval. Similarly, you are not to answer the Floo when I am not present. In fact, it would be better if you did not answer it at all. If you must use it, you will –"
"Ask permission first," she interrupted, crossing her arms against her chest. "There seems to be a pattern."
Severus narrowed his stare until she sighed and flopped onto the couch.
"What else am I not allowed to do?"
A slight smirk graced his face as he folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Seeing as you no longer are required to do rounds, I will expect you to be in these chambers at least an hour before curfew."
"Do I have a mandatory bedtime, too?"
"Should I find it necessary, I would be more than willing to assign you one," he responded immediately. "In addition, I expect order to be maintained when in my quarters. If you feel the need to let your private room fall into a state of chaos, that is a matter to be handled amongst yourself and the elves. However, the sitting room and lavatory will remain in the condition they are at present."
The girl glanced about the room and shrugged in indifference. She was not by habit a disorganized person, and so she felt as though she could follow that requirement easily.
"As for your cat," Snape sighed. "It will stay with you."
"Good luck telling him that," she snorted. "Crooks doesn't generally take to following orders."
"Regardless, the beast will behave or it will have to find a new home. I will not tolerate it shedding, scratching, or shitting in my personal space."
Hermione bit down on her lip and averted her eyes to the ceiling to avoid laughing at his demand. "Anything else, sir?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "On that note, we will need to keep up appearances when in mixed company. We will need to treat each other as though we actually care for one another, which will unfortunately necessitate the use of given names when in public. I will not have the entire Wizarding Britain thinking that I require my wife to address me as 'Professor' in private."
A blush rose onto her cheeks as she considered the implications of the statement. "And when in private, what do I call you?"
He let out a long breath and dropped his hands into his lap. "If it will prevent any dangerous slips later, you may use my name."
"Okay, Severus," she smirked.
The wizard rolled his eyes. "Have your fun now, but bear in mind you will properly conduct yourself as a married witch when outside of these rooms."
"Which means?"
"Which means that you will have eyes for no one but myself. You will deter any attempts on Mr. Weasley's part to convince you otherwise –"
"What? Ron isn't –"
"Granger," he hissed. "Just because you are blinded by the copious amount of hair sticking out of your head does not mean everyone else is."
"You're wrong about that. We're just friends."
"Clearly, you are delusional, and I will not waste any breath to dissuade your misconceptions." Severus uncrossed his legs and stretched them out in front. "That being said, you will not be alone in his company - or any other male's company."
"But he and Harry are –"
"This is not open for debate, Granger," Snape snarled. "If you wish to spend time with your male friends, you will find a female escort first. I'm sure Miss Weasley will readily agree."
The witch wrinkled her nose and groaned at the prospect of sitting through Harry and Ginny sending each other secret glances over Ron's head. "You're being completely ridiculous."
He watched her stand up from the couch. "Where are you going?"
"Were there further infringements upon my freedom you wished to inflict?" she riposted. "Otherwise, there's a dress I'd like to return before Professor McGonagall goes down to supper."
"Fine." He glanced at the clock and picked up his book again. "Minerva will be in her office at present. It would be best if you weren't seen on your own in the corridors until after the Board of Governors has made their ruling. Use the Floo."
"Thank you ever so much for –"
"I have not asked for your sincere gratitude, Granger," he scorned. "What would give you the impression that I desire your false display of appreciation?"
Hermione's mouth snapped shut and she felt slightly shamed by his interruption. She realized that she had not actually thanked him for sacrificing his privacy to keep her safe. Tonks was right in that they could have easily tossed her reputation under the trolley in order to maintain the security of his position. She knew that she should really say something to that effect, but as she felt his conditions for living together were highly unfair, she could not quite bring herself to it. Instead, she cleared her throat and managed a quiet "Sorry" before escaping into her bedroom.
Severus stared at the open pages of his book until she had collected the gown and reappeared in the sitting room. He noticed that she very purposely avoided looking in his direction as she walked to the fireplace and she very quietly stated her destination so as not to draw his attention.
As the green flames diminished into embers, he let the book fall closed in his lap and he sighed as his gaze absently drifted to the ceiling. He closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself for the confrontation he knew would be arriving shortly.
When he heard the sound of the Floo activating several minutes later, he threw open his eyes and cursed internally at the sight of the head bobbing in his grate.