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A Snape/Hermione fic.
Chapter Two.
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Disclaimer: See Ch. 1.
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A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far, you guys rock! I'm glad you're liking this story so far.
Yes, it will be longer than two chapters, but I don't know how long. While I'm in this writing frenzy, I really want to get my other stories updated, but we'll see how it goes.
Alrighty-roo, let's get on with it, shall we?
As always, please read and review, I live for feedback!
Hermione Granger couldn't help finding the silence in the Headmaster's office to be truly and actually deafening. She could hear a faint ringing in the base of her ears, and every other sound seemed to be magnified: the chirp of a flittering bird outside the open window, the shuffling of Professor Flitwick's shoes against the stone floor, even the grinding of Professor Snape's teeth could be heard.
Hermione rubbed absently at the tip of her nose, waiting with bated breath for their reactions to be done and over with.
"I'm sorry, Miss Granger, but you're going to have to repeat that," Minerva spoke after a long minute.
Hermione sighed with her whole body, digging deep into the inside pockets of her school robes and withdrew her hand, clutching a folded envelope within her fist.
"This should explain everything," Hermione told Dumbledore. "If you don't mind, I'd rather you read it when I'm not here. I have quite a bit on my plate at the moment, and I could do with some rest."
Minerva retrieved the envelope for Dumbledore, who was evidently lost for words. Hermione tipped her pale head down in acknowledgement to each of the professors before making her way out of the office.
She paused outside the door to steady her quivering breaths, then made her way resolutely to her dormitory to try for the seventh time to write her reply to the letter she'd been sent.
Back in the Headmaster's office, Minerva McGonagall carefully removed the thin paper from the envelope. It didn't bear the normal wax seal that she was accustomed to, but she managed to work the contraption without doing any damage to it.
She had begun to read the contents to herself when Flitwick spoke up.
"Perhaps you could read it out loud, Minerva? That way we don't each need to take a turn," he suggested.
The elegant, straight-backed woman nodded, swallowing the built-up saliva in her mouth before beginning.
"Our dearest daughter,
I'm afraid we bear unpleasant news. As you are nearing your graduation from Hogwarts, we have been contacted by your "sponsors". They have reminded us of the arrangement that we made, and are aware that we can't come up with the money to repay them. We're sorry to have to tell you this, but it's time for you to come home. They have agreed to let you remain at Hogwarts until graduation, but you are to be home the following evening. They have requested that you officially renounce your magic before meeting with Darius, as they don't want your impending nuptials to be tarnished by anything "magical".
We were hoping that over the years we would be able to accumulate enough equity and investments to "buy back your freedom", so-to-speak, but the price of your education was too high. Please understand that we've done everything we could to get you out of this, but they are refusing to budge, and as we signed a contract ... please forgive us, darling? We know that arranged marriages aren't something you're crazy about, but we were all aware of what could happen when we agreed to let them pay for your schooling.
We know that it's not much of an improvement, but we were able to negotiate the amount of children the contract required you to bear ... down from four to two.
We are hoping to hear from you soon. Do try to relax as best as you can, and enjoy the remainder of your time at Hogwarts.
With endless love, your parents."
Minerva flipped the crinkled letter over, hoping for more words - preferably explanatory, or at the very least comforting - on the back, but there were none.
"Well ... this is simply ridiculous," she concluded. "Miss Granger can't be expected to follow through with this?"
"An arranged marriage? Do muggles still do that?" Flitwick wondered.
"It would seem so, Filius," Dumbledore replied. "I can't imagine what circumstances may have brought this on, but it seems that Miss Granger has resigned herself to her fate. Why: I cannot say. But in two months time, the wizarding world will likely lose one of its brightest minds."
Hermione patrolled the dark halls of Hogwarts, following her duties as Head Girl to the letter. If anyone were to look too closely, however, they would see that she was paying very little attention to her patrol. Without meaning to, she'd ended up several corridors away from where she was supposed to be, not to mention on the wrong floor.
I wonder how long it will take for the rumors to spread, she found herself wondering as she passed a mostly-still suit of armor. The portraits around her yawned, eyeing her curiously while she walked around absentmindedly.
The thought that she wasn't alone hadn't even occurred to her until a silky voice uttered a greeting from beside her. "This is not your usual patrol, Miss Granger."
She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard his voice, but managed at the last possible moment to contain her shriek of terror.
Severus Snape nearly chuckled, but reminded himself that he never "chuckled" in front of his students, and as such maintained a blank expression on his face.
"Sorry sir," Hermione replied, rubbing at the skin above her thudding heart. "I suppose I was lost in thought ... got carried away."
Snape nodded. "I can see that."
If he felt odd conversing with a betrothed teenager, he didn't show it, so Hermione fell into stride beside him. The first few minutes passed by in silence before the Potions Master finally spoke.
"So, you are to be married in a matter of months?" It wasn't really a question, but his voice raised a fraction of a decibel at the end of the sentence, enough to make it sound like a casual inquiry.
A twinge of pink flushed Hermione's cheeks, but she did her best to ignore it. "Looks that way."
"Forgive me, but you don't appear to be overly thrilled about it," Snape noted.
Hermione sighed, scratching her forehead. "Perhaps I should return to my proper patrol ..."
He turned his body, cutting her off before she could turn around. "I am surprised at you, Miss Granger."
She had to tilt her head back to meet his eye, but she did so with determination. "And why is that, Professor?"
"For someone who is proclaimed by many to be the brightest witch of your age, you are incredibly daft. Agreeing to a marriage that is unappealing for you, at such a young age ... highly illogical."
Hermione sighed out her nose, clenching her jaw. "With all due respect, sir, you know very little of the situation, and it is honestly none of your business. If you don't mind, I'll return to my patrol now."
She sidestepped around him, her body heating up with both annoyance as well as embarrassment. She just wanted to curl up in a hole and die.
As she turned the corner away from him, she could have sworn she heard him reply in a soft tone, "All that fire ... such a waste."
End of chapter two.
I'll try to make the next chapter longer, but I wanted to get this updated before I went to bed.
I hope you guys are still liking this fic, I'll try to explain things in a little more detail in the next chapter.
Reviews make me happy, so don't be shy ... constructive criticism is always welcome!
Until next time ...!