"Oh, 'Moine, it's exquisite!" gushed Ginny, looking at the face of her friend of many years.
"It's a blood emerald," Hermione said softly, and several people gasped.
"He gave you a blood emerald?" asked Arthur sharply, his gaze meeting his wife's.
"Yes… and I do know what that signifies."
"Are you sure you know?" asked Molly anxiously. She and Arthur looked very concerned.
"Of course: he told me. It's basically a bond oath." Her suspicions flared as they looked at her in shock.
"Is that all he told you?" Arthur asked, his hands moving to her. "Sit down, my girl… you may be in for a shock."
The entire room was bathed in silence as Arthur paced to gather his thoughts, and Molly wrung her hands.
"Hermione, a wizard of Severus Snape's… background, as you may know, will have less compunction in using… mixed-shade magic."
"He means borderline-dark magic, dear," interjected Molly, as the other occupants of the room murmured.
"Yes, and he's done just that here. This ring does not only bind his loyalty to you, but his life to yours, his emotional well-being to yours, his health to yours... And if you remove it - or it is removed from you - without his consent... it may well kill him."
Hermione's pleading eyes fell upon the occupants of the room. "Why would he do that to himself?"
"Because… he loves you and literally does not want to live without you," Arthur replied softly.
The room resonated with this statement, and all realized that the fierce dedication he'd shown in protecting the wizarding world would now cover their Hermione.
Her shock slowly dissolved, and her face soon carried an expression the occupants of the room knew well: Hermione determination.
"Right, then. I need to enlist your help."
He stood in front of a crowd of people, most of whom he knew - colleagues and former students - and scowled. Though his demeanor had changed for the better in the last months, he was still the Bat of the Dungeons, and preferred to act the part. He had started to pace when he felt a hand on his arm.
"She'll be here soon. Don't fidget - it's un-Slytherin." The semi-joking voice of his Godson calmed him somewhat, and he stood still, staring down any person who looked his way for too long.
What in blazes is keeping the woman? he thought viciously, snarling despite his want to keep a controlled face.
Music swelled, and suddenly his hands were clammy, his pulse raced, and then, his heart stopped. Well, it felt that way.
A vision of beauty moved into the room, and all eyes were on her - but she only had eyes for the man in front of her.
Hermione had enlisted the help of all her friends that had been there that night. Harry had helped the most, procuring for her a masculine pendant to which she could affix her blood emerald. She'd spent that entire weekend forming the binding article, and he was furious when she arrived Monday morning just in time for classes.
She put off her explanation, asking him to meet her in her quarters for supper that night. He was moody all that day, taking more house points than he had all during the previous month. She'd made his favorite herself: seared steak tartar with mustard greens, béarnaise sauce, and pear compote topped with Gruyere. Slightly mollified, he'd pleasantly chatted with her until she'd poured a glass of port for herself and a neat Firewhiskey for him, sitting herself on a settee in front of the fire.
"I suppose you're wondering why you received only one vague message all weekend." She began, making a gulp of the sip she'd intended.
"I believe it would be wise of you to slake my curiosity," he said, his glower almost sinister in the shadowy room.
"I found out what this ring means, Severus." She looked up at him with her heart in her eyes. "I couldn't let any time pass before I proved to you that… that I would rather die than be without you as well."
She flung her arms around him, his stunned response to yank her back and stare into her eyes.
"You did not do what I think you did? Hermione, tell me you didn't condemn yourself to me or nothing!" he shook her none too gently, and she struggled. Her hand found its target, and she secured the chain around his neck.
"WHY would I not do what you had committed yourself to, Severus Snape? Without my knowledge, consent, or understanding? WHY would you lie - albeit by omission - to me about my engagement ring?" Her voice lowered. "Why would I not want to commit myself the same as you? I love you! I want to be with you! And that includes possible tragedy."
She was furious with him, he saw, and hurt. He shook his head, and his voice was choked with emotion.
"My love, I could not bear the thought of you suffering on my account. I wish you to live a full and happy life after I am gone, and should that happen earlier than later… I cannot bear the thought of you dying because of me. Please, please remove this from me."
"My love, my only love…" Tears welled in her eyes and she brushed his lips with her own. "Removing it would only prevent a physical death. My existence would wither away slowly without you, and it would be a greater kindness to let me join you immediately should you leave me too soon."
Her words, her actions, had taken all the fight out of him, and they held each other late into the night, sleeping on the sofa in her quarters.
Draco nudged his godfather slightly. "Breathe, man, or you'll pass out and miss your own wedding."
Severus Snape shook himself back to the present, and drank in the sight of his bride.