A/N: Hi readers, in case you don't read Not so Black and White, I've decided to alternate updates. So I can work on both stories. But I'm also in Quidditch League so I'll put those prompts first...I am captain after all, have to be a good example. But I'm hoping to do regular updating. We'll see, I still refuse to promise it, but I'm going to promise to try. I hope you enjoy as we see some of the ramifications of the wedding.

Chapter Three

Severus had woken early the next morning. He felt disgusted with himself he recalled the previous days events. She was his student for crying out loud. Still, he already felt the connection they had taking its hold on him. He always imagined that his soul mate was Lily. And here he was, married to a student who had proven him wrong.

He felt sorry for her more than anything. Sorry that the poor girl was tied to him against her will. And she would never have a choice about it. Not that he did either. He was perfectly happy to die alone with no bonds. It was a fate he long accepted. Now he had a wife, a soul mate, and anything could happen over the next several months. He only hoped that she wouldn't get attached.

Hermione woke up, momentarily forgetting the events of the last week and panicked. She did not recognize where she was and couldn't remember how she had come to be there. Then as she sat up, it all flooded back to her and she began sobbing. Not only were her parents probably half way around the world at this point with absolutely no memory of her, but she had been kidnapped, married to her professor who was also apparently her soul mate, and raped in a public setting. Her body tremored with the sobs.

When she heard the knock at the door to the bedroom, her first instinct was to hide under the covers. And she did, pulling them tight around her. The comforter muffled the sound, but she still heard the door open. Then she felt someone sit on the very edge of the bed. Her heart raced in fear.

"Miss Gran-Hermione, I know you're awake," Severus said, his voice calm and uncharacteristically gentle. Still Hermione refused to move. "I would like to discuss some things with you. Things that we really do need to talk about."

Fresh tears flowed from her eyes and her body was racked with another sob. She felt the blanket above her depress as he placed his hand there. She couldn't help it, she screamed and kicked and hit the blanket away, causing him to stand up and step back. With the blanket gone, she could see him through her frizzy hair. Fear, panic, anger, and depression all flowed through her at once.

"I've got breakfast mostly ready," he stated. "Come and join me."

"No thank you," she said, finally finding a bit of fighting power.

He sighed and looked at her sternly. "You will join me for breakfast. I could make you do it. So you either do it off your own free will, or mine."

Either way, she knew she didn't have a choice. She got up from the bed, making sure to be on the opposite side of Severus and walked around as he stepped out of the room. He reached for her hand and she flinched back, waiting for him to move.

Severus understood her reaction and began walking down the stairs. He heard her steps behind him and felt relief that she was cooperating. He had no desire to imperius her. As they passed the front door and he neared the hallway leading towards the kitchen, he heard the front door being opened.

"You needn't bother," he started without looking at her, "I've put barriers to prevent you from leaving."

Hermione looked at him and out the door. She could see her from just beyond the barrier, but the fact that he hadn't aparated straight into his own house, told her that he wasn't lying. But still, she couldn't help the finger that reached out. Her finger pressed against an invisible barrier and her heart sank. She closed the door and grudgingly followed behind her professor.

"Take a seat. How do you like your eggs?"

He still wasn't looking at her, and she felt relieved. She couldn't stand to look at him and didn't care to have him looking at her. Instead she focused on his hands as they picked up a pan and set it on the stove.

"How do you like your eggs?" He repeated.

"Um, scrambled," she said, just above a whisper. She worried that he hadn't heard her until he cracked the eggs into a small bowl.

Severus focused on whisking as he gathered his own thoughts. There were so many things that they needed to discuss and so many things that he felt awful about. He focused on the cooking as she at at the table in silence.

Hermione looked around the kitchen, aside from her own room, it was the only area she'd seen of the house that didn't look...filthy. She knew her professor had never been known for anything cleanly except for in potions. She felt disturbed to be living here. But she was trapped.

She jumped a little as he sweet a plate down in from of her and then took the seat on the opposite side of the table. She kept her head down and stared at the plate in front of her. Scrabble eggs, just like she had asked, bacon, and buttered toast. He had also placed a glass of Orange juice down by her plate.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I am deeply sorry about yesterday. I know that you have no reason to trust me, but I shall not hurt you again as long as I can avoid it. That is why I did what I could to help the situation last night."

"What did you do last night?" She asked, still only staring at her plate of food.

"I cast a pleasure and protection charm. I did not want you to suffer the pain. And I did not want you to face any additional consequences of last night."

"Oh." She finally picked up her fork and it hovered above the eggs as she debated whether or not she wanted to eat.

"Hermione, none of this is fair to you. Being forced to marry me, finding out we're soul mates. I didn't ask for any of it either. But I'm going to protect you to the best of my ability. I just need you to promise that you will listen to me when I ask you to do something. If you come off obediently, they will begin to trust you or at the very least, not want to torture you."

Hermione finally took a bite of the eggs, and found she enjoyed the taste. She wasn't sure why it shocked her that he could cook, but it did.

"Please say something," he asked softly. "I know that you of all people have a million thoughts running through your mind."

She did have a million thoughts running through her mind. But she couldn't piece them together. She had a million questions and was too afraid to ask for answers. "I should be happy, because I have found my soul mate and I've married him. But I can't be badly because none of it was voice, I was kidnapped and raped very publicly. I don't know where to start on how I feel. I'm furious and depressed and terrified all at once."

Severus nodded. He understood why she felt of that. "Why don't you just pick an event, and we can discuss it."

Hermione scoffed. As if she could discuss any of the effects with him. She needed a therapist, or at the very least, a friend.

"You keep flinching when I move even to touch your hand. You're afraid of me. That I'm going to hurt you."

It wasn't a question, she knew that he was sure of it and he was right. She nodded.

"And that is because of last night and what happened several nights ago."

She had almost completely forgotten about that event. But still she nodded again, eating in silence.

"I swear I will never touch you like that again, not unless it is with your consent. They will have to imperius me."

"Why?"

"You think I enjoyed doing that? I'm a private man. And I don't like that your first experience was like that."

Hermione almost laughed until memories flooded her and instead she wanted to cry. "I'm not a virgin professor. I haven't been for quite some time."

Severus almost choked on his food. After he regained his composure he responded, "That's still not how I would have liked our first time, forced or not."

"Our first time would never have happened if I hadn't been kidnapped."

"That is probably true."

They both sat in silence for moment, eating their breakfast.

"What does it mean to be soul mates in the wizarding world?" Hermione asked. It was something she had never seen, but was clearly important.

"It's a very strong bond. There are ways of knowing before a bonding ceremony, but usually over time. And the first time two soul mates code together they find a permanent increase in their power."

"Then why don't we?"

"It has to be completely consensual and uninhibited. Nothing to cloud their decision."

"Vol-"

"Don't say his name. You need to be practised to show him the respect he expects."

She rolled her eyes and continued, "He expects us to do that, because he wants the power on his side."

"Yes."

"It's never going to happen."

Severus sighed. A part of him hurt that she would say it, but he understood and even felt the same way himself.

"I can accept that."

an owl tapped incessantly at the kitchen window and Severus got up to let the owl in. A familiar red envelope fell from its clutches and sprang to life.

"Hermione Jean Snape nee Granger,

You are hereby ordered to attend a trial at the Ministry of Magic tomorrow at 12 O'clock pm. You are on trial for violating Wizengmont Law 3,321 article 1 subsection 3. If you are found guilty, you will be expelled from Hogwarts and spend 17 to life in Azkaban. Have a lovely rest of of your day. Mathilda Smith, Head of the Wizarding Healthcare Department."

Hermione was stuck, she couldn't breath and her heart pounded away furiously.

"Hermione, when did you have an abortion."

She couldn't hear anything past the blood rushing through her ears. I watched him fill out the paperwork. Out was right. There shouldn't be any problems.

"I asked you a question and I expect an answer," Severus commanded. He himself was shocked that this had happened.

She tried to hold back the tears, and felt more angry at him than ever. "The day I was kidnapped. They got me as I left St. Mungo's!"

She took off and ran for her room, slamming the door behind her.

Severus knew that he couldn't approach her. It was clear this had wounded her terribly. Instead he decided to look into the matter before getting her story.

And so he found himself in the waiting room at St. Mungo's.

"Mr. Snape?"

Severus stood up and walked over to a fairly scrawny man. "Hi, I'm Dr. Pomfrey. I heard you're looking to access your wife's medical records?"

"Pomfrey? Are you related to Poppy?"

"Oh, yea, my sister. You must be the professor she talks about that's grumpy."

Severus glowered. "Yes, whatever. I need to access the records of my wife."

"I just met with Miss Granger a few days ago and she wasn't married," the man eyed Severus with a suspicious glance.

"It's very recent. We were married yesterday, a quiet ceremony. We didn't tell a lot of people."

"I did check into it, and it seems legitimate. I guess I'm just hoping this doesn't ruin your marriage."

"Trust me, it won't."

"Follow me."

Severus did as he was told, following the man into a private office.

"Now, I assume that your hear about her abortion. The ministry came by adding for the paperwork already."

"Yes, I need whatever information you have on it. She is very distraught."

"Rightfully so. She came to me earlier this week for the test itself. She had taken a home test and came in for a confirmation. She wasn't sure about how far she might be so we did an ultrasound. It was tubal with fraternal twins. And unfortunately there wasn't any other choice. She would have died if she carried to term and if she carried much longer she would have lost all reproductive ability."

"How did she take the news?"

"Not well at all. She wasn't enthused at being a mother so young, but the idea that she couldn't carry to term crushed her."

"Would you be willing to appear in court tomorrow?"

"Without a doubt."

"I'll also need a copy of any and all paperwork you filed."

Severus returned to Spinner's end, paperwork in hand, prepared to talk with Hermione about whatever needed to be said. He placed the files on the desk in his study and then headed upstairs.

He knocked on her door and then opened it slowly.

"Go away," she said from the corner she sat in. Her knees were pulled up to chest and her face was buried in her arms.

"Hermione, we need to talk."

"I didn't break the law," she mumbled, "Everything was filed."

He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "I know Hermione. And I'm going to make sure that this is dealt with. But I need you to tell me what happened."

"How do you know?"

Severus sighed, Merlin she was only going to have more reason to hate him. "As your husband I have the right to access your medical files."

She sobbed a little, "Then why do you need to know."

"Because you should talk about it."

Hermione hiccupped through her tears. "Ron and I started dating secretly just before the battle on the astronomy tower. And we...we decided that it would be a good idea. He told me that I was his first, but then Lavender started talking about when she and Ron had and so I broke up with him. I felt so stupid for believing him. And then I started getting sick and..."

She couldn't finish, and she didn't need to. He knew exactly what happened from there.

"Hermione, get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day. If it would help, I have some vials of dreamless sleep potion."

She shook her head as she got up. She knew that she should have felt gross going to bed in the pajamas that she had written all day, but it was the least of her worries.

Severus moved to leave her alone, "No!" She exclaimed without understanding why. "Please, could you just wait until I call asleep." She had no idea why she felt the need to have him there at all, but she did.

"Hermione are you sure?" He didn't want to force anything on her, and he knew she was already wary of his presence.

"No," she admitted, "but I don't want to be alone."

"Okay then."

She crawled into bed and rolled up into a ball under the covers, her heart and soul aching. Severus took a seat awkwardly on the edge of her bed, trying to keep his distance.

"Severus?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you being so kind?"

"I don't know."

"What else comes with finding your soul mate?"

"From what I've been told, it depends on the relationship. Usually you can't discover your soul mate until after you've come of age, which explains why we never even felt any signs of it before. Being apart is extremely difficult, for some couples it's even excruciating. Their children are often extremely powerful to match the power of their parents."

"What about soul mates who started off as enemies?"

"It's complicated. Eventually it seems they fall in love."

"Fifth year me would be ecstatic," Hermione mumbled as sleep drew nearer.

"What do you mean?" He asked, wondering if she wasn't just exhausted from the day.

"In fifth year," she stopped to yawn, "I had a schoolgirl crush. I just started doodling your name on stuff. I burned most of it. And then one day I hated you again."

Severus remained quiet. He never thought of himself as a schoolgirl crush-worthy teacher.

"Hermione, I think you should mentally prepare yourself for tomorrow's outcome. Even if they don't find you guilty, there will be consequences."

Be hard her mumbled but when he looked at her it was pretty clear that she had fallen asleep.

He stood up and left her alone to her dreams.

He couldn't sleep yet himself so he went to the kitchen and pulled out a few ingredients. He had a secret love of baking. Much like brewing, the process was calming, only the outcomes were a bit more satisfying. His goal was to make something that would at least be relaxing after the day coming.

As he cracked the eggs, he thought about what he knew about the ministry. They were famous for punishing people even when they were found innocent. And in this case, he was more than certain he knew what that punishment would be.

They would certainly make them have children. After he promised that he wouldn't touch her again, he would be forced to break that promise. And he didn't want any children. He couldn't stand the idea of any children being forced to go through hell just for being connected to him. Merlin, Hermione deserved better. He almost wanted to let her go just to spare the both of them. But it would only worsen the situation. The Dark Lord had her in his clutches, and if she were lost, he'd freak out. He'd hunt her down and make everything fifty times worse. No, she was safest in his care.

He placed the finished product in the refrigerator and headed up to his own bed, hoping to protect her the following day. She wouldn't end up in Azkaban if he had anything to say about it. She would be safe from their tyranny.