"Hermione! What is this I hear that you're engaged?!"

"To who?! "

"Do we know him? "
"Why him?"
"Where did you meet him? "
"Muggle?"

"Non-Muggle? "

"Guys! "
Hermione had barely sat down at the table to sit down for breakfast the following day, and before she could prepare herself, all her friends started to ask questions. How did they hear so quickly? She wondered.

She didn't think anyone would know that she was engaged but apparently her absence from school was all people could talk about. She didn't know if she was ready to tell them about her engagement yet. However if she didn't then they would find out another way eventually, right? She didn't think that was right.

Should she tell them that nothing was set in stone and once it was she would tell them? Did she just tell them and leave it at that? God… What did she do?

Hermione sat down next to Harry, and smiled at him. Ron sat staring from across the table at her. It wasn't just him staring, she noted when she looked around. She frowned, "I'll tell you later... In private. " Then she began to serve herself when Ginny grabbed her hand.
"Holy cricket! Hermione, your ring! Oh gosh! Guys! Look! Look!" Ginny squealed as girls rushed up and over to look at the sparkling dark emerald green gem on her finger.
"It's stunning!" Cooed a twins together and giggled. They were pushed out of the way by other girls to get a better view.
The only one not impressed with the ring was Ron, "It looks like an antique. What's so cool about that?" He scoffed. "Is he that cheap? "
Hermione felt her throat tighten and her anxiety start to take over her. She didn't know how she was going to get herself out of this one. It seemed that she was stuck with everyone demanding questions and expecting a straightforward answers.

She managed to take her hand away, placing it on her lap under the table and tried to use her other hand to serve herself something to eat. Why hadn't she thought of taking the ring off before coming down to eat?

"Someone asked me to marry him, and I agreed. Then he gave me this ring, and we had a meeting with my parents yesterday. " Hermione said as calm as she could be, but when Ron slammed his fist down on the table silencing the gushing girls around them, she realized that hiding wasn't going to help her.
"Hermione just bloody tell us who the hell he is. " He said lowly.
"Ron... Hey... She said she would tell us in private… Back off. " Ginny whispered.
"Dammit! You all are acting like this marriage law is time to bloody play house! Gushing over a ring, as if she is actually in love, we are being forced into marriage and I want to know who she is being forced to married!" Ron stated bitterly, darting his eyes from her to Harry and back again.
"Ron... " Hermione frowned but she was apparently missing something because Harry was laughing.
"Forced? Not all of us are being forced Ron. I asked Ginny fair and square. I understand you are mad at me for going behind your back, and dating your sister for almost a year, but take it out on me. Not Hermione. " Harry stated shamelessly.
"Besides, you were just talking about how happy you were to be engaged to Lavender Brown... Why does it matter who Hermione is engaged to?" Added Ginny.
"You two are engaged?!" Hermione gasped. "That's lovely to hear!"
That was an honest reaction. Both her friends were engaged! The only thing she couldn't tell was how she felt was Ron being engaged to Lavender Brown, Lavender was such a piss pot to be honest. Hermione didn't really want to see her at christmas or friendly gathering every year. But then she remembered who she was marrying and frowned. She might not be wanted around either...
"I want to know. " Ron stated looking to Hermione.

"Who is he?"
"Come off it, Ron! Christ! You're acting a bit much!" Ginny groaned as Hermione managed to take a few nibbles of food.
"Shut up, Ginny!" Ron snapped. "I want to know who, and I want to know why them! I asked her first and she gave me some piss off reason to why she didn't accept me. I have the right!"
Hermione nearly choked on the toast she had bitten into, "The right?!" She fumed feeling her anger push aside her anxiety and flare up.
"Do you mind lowering your voice, Mr. Weasley? "
Everyone turned to see that Severus was standing behind Hermione, and frowned looking away to their breakfast. Severus had tried to flag Hermione from the head table but after several failed attempts he gave up and decided to approached her, quickly coming up with a reason to see her. Then he stopped a few feet away and started listening to the conversation as he got closer.
He didn't know if it was childish of him to see Ron's reaction when he found out his best friend was marrying him, but he was curious. "I'm sure everyone would greatly appreciate it if you did.
"Sorry, Sir. " Ron bit out slowly. "I'll be more mindful. "
Severus rose a brow to Ron's sass, and made his decision. "Hermione, " He said turning his attention to his bride-to-be.
"Yes?" Hermione asked looking up, continuing to eat her slice of toast with jam while everyone was busy hiding from Severus. It was then she saw the dangerous gleam in his dark brown eyes and realized what he was going to do, and she had a mouth full of toast making it hard for her to stop him. Nonetheless, she tried to plead him with her eyes.
"The Ministry has responded. They asked that we come today at noon for a special briefing. Unfortunately, that means you will not be in class again today. Please finish your breakfast, and then meet me in my classroom so we can leave." With that he continued on his way out, a satisfied smirk on his face from watching Ron's face turn an awful pale shade as the realization set in.
Ron didn't say anything.

What does one say to something like this?

He certainly didn't know! He suddenly felt completely drain. As if all the happiness he had ever felt had been sucked away.

This couldn't be real... No way... He thought.
"Hermione... Are you-" Ginny began.
"No way. " Harry whispered shaking his head in disgust.
Hermione didn't know what to say now, nor did she know if she really should say anything.
She could tell them that she wasn't engaged to him. But... She was engaged to Severus. She had hoped this wouldn't affect her friendships with them but by the looks on their faces, she knew that it already had. They didn't agree with her decision at all.
Why did Severus do that?
Probably because he just wanted to get it out there and over with, maybe that was for the best.
"I'm engaged to Severus. My parents okayed me to marry him. "
"You... You chose him? Him? The greasy bat of Hogwarts?" Ron snapped.
There was no way in hell the Ministry had okayed this. They were going to arrest Severus for being a child predator!
"Hermione he's old! "
"Are you feeling alright, Hermione? Oh wait! No you're not! You're engaged to our potion's master!" Harry hissed and held back a gag. "Does Dumbledore know about this? He mustn't otherwise-"
"Dumbledore's the one that suggested the proposal to both of us!" Hermione stated angrily and lifted her head. "And he's not that old, so cut it out. " Hermione's cheeks redden as she remembered what she had said yesterday. She shook her head and looked away.
"And he's not greasy, he's quite delightful! "
"Are you serious?! He's as old as our parents!" Harry laughed, "He went to school with my parents! This is just sick! "
"You aren't even an adult... " Ginny agreed with a frowned.
"Yes but-" Hermione tried to explain but was again cut off by Dean now.
"You do realize you're going to have to sleep with him... "
"As in intercourse... " Seamus said as if it wasn't obvious.
Hermione was already mad, and now to hear them bash Severus without allowing her to defend herself, she was just livid. When her friends turned on Seamus to tell him to be quiet, she listened to them start to plot together a way to stop the engagement.
Hermione's appetite was now gone, she stood up angrily and glared at them all.
"His older, yes!" She began, laughing surprising them all, " I will be marrying him even if you don't like it. I want to." She smirked raising her arms up in a 'oh well! ' way before grabbing her things.
"You can't marry him, Hermione!" Ron blurted out getting up as well.
"Watch me!" She yelled over her shoulder. "It will be the wedding of the century!"
"Hermione!" Harry called going after her as well, "Seek reason! "
She was actually excited to be getting married to Severus, and although she knew her friends wouldn't be, she never thought that they wouldn't stop to listen to her. That upset her more than anything. She needed to have her say and no one was letting her have that. This was why she wanted to tell them in private.

Hermione came to a stop when Ron appeared in front of her out of the blue.
"You can still marry me, Hermione!" Ron begged causing Lavender to shoot up from her place at the table. "I might not be what you want now, but I can grow with you and be who you want. "
Hermione looked back at him, and sighed. "Ron. No. You're engaged to Lavender, she likes you, and wants you. I do not. Ron, listen to me good, I do not want to marry you. Ever."
"Oh but you'll marry Snape!"

He was just the peachy little kumquat of a friend that he had always been.
Hermione's eyes widen as all eyes shot to her, and the mumbling started at all the tables.

No... No, no, no, no, no!

She looked at them all, but there was no stopping it now. She didn't have a chance stop the rumors, the judgement, or anything else that was going to sprout because Ron couldn't just be quiet. She ran out of the Great Hall and to the bathrooms nearby to hide.
Maybe she was crazy. . .
But... so what, she was bound to not be the only one, there was no way.

How many others were losing their mind over this law? How many others felt anxious about being married so young? She looked at her ring, with a perplexed look on her face wondering if she was really making the right decision by marrying Severus.

He made her feel so safe, always taking precautions to make sure her safety was insured when she was in his presence. Was that so wrong? To want to feel safe?

She liked how she seemed to drive him crazy. Her! She could make Severus weak with want and that was something she didn't think she could do to anyone! In the beginning of their relationship she didn't even think he would find her so appealing. But he did.
She smiled wiping her face and laughed. Who cares what the others think... She thought. She wanted to be with Severus, and there would be bumps in the road but she wasn't going to change her mind. Honestly what was the worst thing that could happen?
She walked out of the stall and looked in the mirror to make sure she didn't look bad before heading back into the hallway. There was a few girls heading to the bathroom, and when they saw her, they stopped...

Acting as if they got close to her they would catch something. She frowned, but then lifted her head, and walked down the hallway to Severus' classroom. She wasn't going to let others ruin her mood or how she felt for Severus.

"What?! "
Hermione and Severus said together when the Minister of Magic read them the terms the Ministry had come up with in order to agree to their matrimonial request.
They couldn't have heard him right, or he was out of his mind! Well... Obviously since this marriage law was going to work according to him.
"I said, we are agreeing to your proposal. However, let me summarize the conditions. You have to be married in two months, and conceive a child in three months after that. " The Minister said again.
"I'm not ready to be a mother! Sir! I'm seventeen!" Hermione stated shaking her head. "Do you even know how dangerous it is for a teenager to conceive a child and give birth in between the ages of fifteen to twenty?" She demanded standing up from her seat.
"Miss. Granger-" the Minister began but Hermione caught him off.
"In my twenties I will have to be careful and take extra vitamins to make sure my health doesn't crash. For the rest of my life! Not to mention I have to take even more prenatal vitamins because my body isn't completely developed! I am at high risk for premature birth, low birth weight, and hypertension! My body is not equipped to have a child! I mean, I'm still waiting for my hormones to balance out, and my breast to fully mature. I am not ready!" She stated.
"I am well aware... " The Minister started slowly but Hermione laughed.
"So you do know? And you're still going to ask I birth a child?!" She snapped. "I refuse. I will not ruin my body and health to make you happy! "
Severus didn't know whether to be proud of Hermione, or ask her to tone it down, but before he had a chance to really think about one or the other the Minister was talking again. Apparently he had prepared himself for a logical and raging Hermione Granger, and if the Minister won this battle, Severus would wonder just how he had managed.
"Severus is an older man-"

Here we go again, Severus thought bitterly, a scowl reaching his eyes now.
"Severus' chances of spawning children starts decreasing at age forty-one, he is thirty-seven. However that is only in the case of being with a woman the same age. My pheromones and high sex drive will cause that rapid decrease to wane, and instead he may become infertile by age fifty-five to sixty. Maybe even later!" She said tilting her head to the side as if to tell him to try again. "I demand the same respects of my fellow comrades. " She told the Minister flat out.
Someone had done their homework... Severus thought.
The Minister looked at Severus, but Severus just smiled. What could he say? She was a smart woman!

Hermione was auguring her body rights, but also protecting him from any scrutiny, and for that he felt no need to say a word.
"Hermione. It's either you choose to have a baby, or you don't get married to Severus. " The Minister said shrugging, acting as if that was the only way.

Severus smirked.

He hadn't prepared himself for Miss. Hermione Granger in the slightest. . . He realized.
"No, it's either I marry Severus, or I go to the Papers and tell them how you want me to have a child strictly because you think my fiancé-to-be is infertile. There are tests, hell there is a potion to test infertility. " Hermione pointed out. "You choose. "
The Minister was dumbfounded. No one dared stepped into his office and argued their way or no way. That wasn't how things were done, and yet here was a young witch doing just that. "Hermione... Let me make another deal with you then... " He said softly.
"One baby... One, by the time you 19... and another before you are 21. " He smiled looking at them both.
Severus felt like he had just got punched in the stomach.

What the hell?! He thought and Hermione glanced to him. He didn't really want children. Now they were talking two?! 'Sure, one' he had thought, ' but two?' He suddenly felt light headed.
Hermione didn't like the odds herself.

However it was a gain for her. She could start planning for her pregnancy so that they didn't kill her body. She wondered if Severus would be okay with two children, but before she could ask, the door opened.
The Minister's secretary came in holding a rough looking package and apologized.
She said an important document had come for him and that she had to give it to him immediately. The paper was placed on his desk and then without another world she quickly left.
The Minister opened the package slowly, wondering just what could be so urgent that it couldn't wait till after his meeting, and then looked at the paper confused. It was a petition?
"A Ronald Weasley is petitioning your offer-" he said.
"We'll agree. Two children, and if you want you can marry us now. " Severus stated quickly and the Minister frowned.
That infuriating rat! Severus thought, and wondered if this was some sort of bad karma coming to bite him in the ass. There was no way he was letting this Weasley weasel his way into another marriage proposal for Hermione. He would do the two children.
The Minister looked back to the paper and then they couple in front of him.
If he didn't take them up on their offer, and gave considered the petition... And the petition fell through they would have to renegotiate. They had worked this hard to get an agreement out of the two of them for nearly two hours, it would be horrible to back track but Ronald Weasley was considerably younger...

"Right now?" The Minister asked and Hermione nodded.
She must really want to be with Severus, otherwise she wouldn't be here trying desperately to get their marriage okayed.
What he didn't know was that she wasn't going to let Ron try and wiggle his way into her life. This was low even for him! She thought and glanced to Severus.
"Unfortunately, I cannot ask you to be married sooner than in two months time, but I will pretend I never saw this." The Minister informed them and, without a further thought, set the document on fire.
He quickly changed the contract he had written up and then placed it in front of them. "Please sign. "
Hermione and Severus took the pens in front of them and read the document again to make sure nothing had changed other than what they had negotiated and then signed the dotted line.
"Okay... I expect Hermione to be living with you as soon as you're married, and paperwork, blood work, proving you are fertile Severus. " The Minister said before excusing them.
"What is everyone's obsession with thinking I am too old to have children?" Severus stated seriously as they walked out.
Hermione looked up to Severus as they walked to the chimneys, and laughed.

First she had said it, then someone made a comment on it, and now the Minister. That had to be a blow to his ego, she thought. As they came to the line to wait their turn, she nudged him gently. "It doesn't matter what they think... You and I both know how well endowed you are..." She teased. "Or was I mistaken for what I've felt? "
Severus smirked and gave a quiet chuckle. She was trying to make him feel better about the slap to his manhood he had just received again. However, he didn't react to her playfulness to avoid any altercations between those coming and going to the Ministry.
When it was time to floo, he surprised her by requesting to go to Diagon Alley. She looked around surprised and then to Severus wondering just why they would come here.
"Severus... "
"You are in need of lace underwear. I do remember placing lingerie and lace on my list of requirements, and you had them on your willing to try list. I will give you the gold to do that. " He said without a care if anyone was listening now.
Hermione couldn't believe her ears!

Severus wanted her to do what?

Now?!

Surely he had lost his damn mind. She thought biting her lip looking at the shops when Severus carefully slid her the gold needed. He wasn't joking. "Once we are married, this type of shopping will be easier... " He grumbled referring to how he wouldn't be able to go in with her.
She smiled.

He was grumbling about them not being married already...

That sort of made her heart skip a beat, and made her smile widen.

Perhaps she was thinking too much, but he was grumbling... To her that meant that he was looking forward to being with her.
"I'll be right back. Any specific color?" She asked stopping abruptly three feet away.
"Pink, white, or grey. "
With a bounce in her step, Hermione hurried away to find something for Severus's eyes to feast on. He liked to spank her, so something with a little ass cheek was sure to excite him. She started looking at the cheeky underwear, and grabbed three pairs before grabbing a outfit she thought he might like as well.
She walked around the store looking for something to catch her eye but nothing jumped out at her. Surely something would pop out at her, she thought, but no. Maybe another store might have something... She walked to the counter a little bummed.
"Did you find everything you were looking for?" The sales assistant asked politely.
"Um... No... Not really. " Hermione admitted.

In the Muggle world, there was beautiful place that had everything a woman needed to seduce a man in the means of clothing, and it was their secret mission she wished she could go there.
The sales lady frowned.

"Really? Well what are you looking for?" She asked curiously.
"Well... I'm looking for something pink, white or grey, that will just make a man weak in the knees and want to rip it off of my body but doesn't because it is just so gorgeous… something that was flattering to the curves and showed a little bottom... " She rambled. "I mean that might be childish, but... I want something that will make me feel so beautiful I'll never take it off... "
The smirk on the woman's face told her that she had just what she was looking for. A true secret behind the counter?

"If you go to dressing room one, I'll meet you with what I think you are looking for. Its stunning. " She assured her.
Hermione wondered what she had in mind. Then in the dressing room she saw it.

Her eyes widen in surprise at the beautiful soft fabric and Hermione knew just the four piece item would make Severus melt. It made her hot just thinking about it! She couldn't wait to wear it!
This was definitely it! She thought asking to have it wrapped up and packaged secretly. She looked outside, and saw Severus scoping out a potion shop. He was examining the ingredients on display and it made her smiled.
When all was paid for, she practically skipped out to meet him, and couldn't help but grin.

"What did you buy?" Severus asked curiously, carefully looking toward the bags hoping to sneak a peak, but Hermione hide the bags behind her.
"You'll have to wait and see. " She said smugly and walked ahead of him.
Christ.

Severus didn't want to wait and see, but he also did. He liked all the foreplay they had and wondered if it would really be worth it all. He hadn't slept with her once, so was this really worth all the trouble?
Hermione tripped over a jagged stone and stumbled to get her footing, but in the process of trying to regain her balance, she fell forward giving Severus a nice shot of her shaped ass.

As she straightened herself, and grabbed her bags hoping nothing had fallen, Severus felt his nether regions stir and pulse almost violently.
Oh yes...

This was all worth the trouble.

Then some and more even, he thought as she turned to him and told him to hurry up. He smiled, and caught up to her, his long strides carrying him ahead of her, causing her to tell him to slow down.
Oh Hermione...

What have you done to me?

And just what are you going to do to me? He wondered.