A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, and I apologize for that. I've got the whole story outlined, though, and this is the natural stopping place for this chapter.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read (and review ;D ) my work. It means a lot to me. I'm very sorry that this chapter took me so long to post! I've been incredibly busy recently, and I have had so little free time! Hopefully the next wait won't be as long.

"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."

-Muhammad Ali

Chapter 4: The Meaning of Friendship

No one else was in the Owlery when Hermione arrived, for which she was grateful. She wanted privacy to send her response to the Ministry. Her petition from Professor Snape had arrived with the morning post, and she felt as if it were burning a hole in her bag all through Defense Against the Dark Arts.

She had barely been able to even look at her professor. Not that it mattered—he didn't spare a single glance in her direction. She had felt totally invisible, and while that would normally have irritated her, today it had been a relief. She wanted desperately to appear calm, and she needed plenty of space in order to keep tight control of her emotions.

The envelope was in her hand. It simply contained the Ministry's form for the acceptance of Severus Snape's marriage petition, bearing Hermione's signature. She stared at it for a moment, hating it and everything it represented with an intensity she hadn't known she felt. After all, it was essentially a formal contract to sign her life and freedom away. The contract seemed to declare her defeat, as if she were sending a letter to Voldemort bearing the words "Hey! It's fine- you win. Feel free to take control of my destiny."

She used a school owl, as she had none of her own. She'd always secretly thought that Crookshanks made a much better companion than any owl. After all, the school owls were always available for the use of the students, so she'd never really needed her own. A large barn owl flew to her at once, and she attached the message.

"Bring this to the Ministry of Magic, please," she said, before sending the owl on its way.

Watching the bird soar through the skies over the Forbidden Forest, Hermione was filled with a sense of impending dread. She knew nothing would ever be the same, and a part of her mourned the loss of normality.

By the time she returned to the dorm, Harry and Ron had returned from their afternoon quidditch practice and were chatting comfortably on a plushy couch in a corner of the Common Room.

Hermione joined them, pulling up a comfortable crimson armchair. They greeted her warmly, and she tried her best to act as if everything was fine. She found it difficult to focus on what they were telling her about the team, though, and as unperceptive as her friends normally were, they seemed to notice her strange behavior.

"Are you alright, Hermione? You seem very… distant lately," Harry ventured hesitantly.

She glanced around quickly before answering. The room was mostly empty, but a few students sat chatting by the fire. She cast muffliato to ensure no one could overhear. "I have something to tell you. This is rather difficult for me to explain, so just hear me out, okay?" She waited until her friends could see that she was quite serious. When it appeared that they were paying attention, she pressed on. "Two days ago, the Ministry notified me that I've been selected as one of seven witches forced to marry by the Law for Perpetuation."

She explained briefly about the law without going into too much history, trying to keep it simple. When she was done, she searched her friends' eyes for their judgments. Predictably, Ron's ears had reddened considerably, and he wore and expression that hovered somewhere between shock and horror. Harry looked thoroughly confused, as if her were trying to puzzle out a mystery.

Ron was the first to explode. "So, you really have to get married now? That's crazy! You just turned seventeen!"

"There's no way Dumbledore would let that happen, Hermione." Harry reached over to offer a supportive hug.

She returned the hug. "That's just it… there's no way out, unless I flee the magical community and go into hiding. And it gets worse." She sighed heavily.

"As it turns out, this is all a plot by Voldemort to get control over me. Only Death Eaters have petitioned, and they're blocking any other petitions from getting through the Ministry."

Now Harry wore the expression of horror.

Ron sat up straight, his face brightening. "I'll petition! I'm sure my dad can find a way around them!"

Hermione smiled sadly. "Ron, that's really sweet. You can't, though—you aren't seventeen." His face fell.

"Does Dumbledore have a plan, Hermione?" asked Harry.

"Yes, but you're not going to like it. His solution is to have a member of the Order who is also a Death Eater petition for me." She let that sink in for a moment, hoping the boys would come to their own conclusions.

Harry caught on first. "You're not saying…. No…"

Ron glanced at Harry, and his face hardened as he came to the same conclusion a few moments later. Hermione rushed to speak before he could react.

"Yes. Professor Snape's the only one. Dumbledore wants me to marry Severus Snape in just a few weeks." Her voice choked slightly on the last words, and she paused. With embarrassment, she realized that her eyes had grown wet with tears. She realized with a pang that this was the first time she had dared to verbalize the truth of her situation outside of the Headmaster's office.

She swallowed thickly. "Please, believe me. Professor Snape doesn't want this any more than I do, but it's what has to happen. I need both of you, though, to help me with this."

Harry's eyes widened as he realized she was going to cry. "Shh, Hermione. It's not your fault." He reached out to grab her hand.

Ron seemed to push aside his anger for the moment and awkwardly patted her back, looking helpless. "You know we'll always be here for you, right?"

Her friends' kindness broke the dam of Hermione's pent-up emotions, and she suddenly found herself sobbing violently. Through her tears, she gasped, "I've tried to be so calm about it. I just can't, though! I just want everything to be like it used to be."

"I know, Hermione. I wish it could be like that, too," Harry said sadly. "You're being so brave about this."

Her shoulders continued to shake, and she leaned into Ron's offered arms for a hug. After a moment, she looked up, meeting Harry's eyes.

Fury glittered in her eyes. "Damn Voldemort. Damn him." She felt Ron twitch at the name. In Harry's eyes, she saw a mirror of her own emotions. Unspoken, she felt the words in his expression. I feel that same deep hatred, every day.

Her tears slowly subsided, and Hermione rose from her own chair to sit between her friends on the couch. The three friends remained in a silent embrace for some time, as if by holding on to each other, they could hold out all the forces threatening to tear their world apart.

Alone in his office Severus found himself re-reading the same paragraph of Ernie Macmillan's essay on magical shields for the fourth consecutive time. His eyes passed over the words, but their meanings failed to reach his brain. Realizing the futility of trying to grade, he dropped the parchment on his desk.

He hadn't realized just how preoccupied he was. His whole day had been one long headache, starting with breakfast when he had watched the Ministry owl deliver his petition to Granger. Teaching sixth-year Gryffindor Defense Against the Dark Arts had been even more awful than usual. He was uncomfortably aware of her presence in his class, her very existence a reminder of his unfortunate circumstances.

He longed for simpler days, when he could easily dish out a few scathing remarks on her insufferable and habitual recitation of textbook answers and then watch her stew in righteous anger as he casually moved on to other likely targets.

Nothing was ever simple these days, it seemed.

Dumbledore had asked him to meet with Granger to discuss details of the wedding. Severus had acquiesced with a curt nod, but inside, he could almost have laughed at the absurdity. After all, this sham of a marriage hardly even deserved a proper ceremony.

It wasn't as if it this travesty could ever fulfill a teenaged girl's fantasy wedding, anyways. His mind presented a brief image of Granger prancing down the aisle of some stately church in a voluptuous, white princess gown. She'd probably dreamed of some sort of asinine fairytale marriage since childhood. Wasn't that the vision of all little girls? Hell if he knew. The only girl he had ever known well was Lily Evans, and they'd certainly never discussed weddings.

He abruptly turned his thoughts around, alarmed by the path they were taking.

He pushed Macmillan's essay aside and poured himself some water from the pitcher on the corner of his desk.

Staring into the cool water, he lost himself in thoughts again. He had honestly never even thought about the specifics of a marriage ceremony. Severus Snape was not the sort of man to take a wife, so it had never really been a consideration for him. He decided to look into arranging the most simple and bare-boned ceremony that could be legally possible.

Other thoughts nagged at him. This marriage had to be more than the legal binding, after all. With a shudder, his mind turned to the inescapable subject of living arrangements and the wedding night.

Merlin. He had absolutely no desire to take Granger to bed. That thought shouldn't even exist. He prided himself on professional integrity, and this situation crossed so many lines it seemed there were no more to cross. His students were children. Damned as his soul was, he at least abided by the codes of morality within the walls of Hogwarts. It seems I no longer have even that to stand behind. I'm twisted in every possible way. What did it matter, though? He wasn't sure he would survive the year, much less live to see the end of the war.

The girl damn well had better not be a virgin. He couldn't deal with that on top of the requisite awkwardness of having to consummate this farce. Surely some likely dunderhead had already done the honors? After all, she was seventeen, and no matter how hard the Hogwarts staff worked to keep illicit behaviors in check, he was not unaware that many couples found ways to evade them. Summer holiday always provided ample opportunities for romance, as well. He reassured himself that she would surely not be arriving to their marriage as an innocent.

Even so, he would have to make certain arrangements for her inevitable cohabitation. The Ministry would certainly be monitoring their relationship to verify its legitimacy.

His much-valued privacy would be just another casualty of the war.

A/N: REVIEW PLEASE!

I hope to get the next chapter up by next week.