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A Snape/Hermione fic.

Chapter Four.

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A/N: See Ch. 1.

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Disclaimer: Well, I'm happy that most of you are enjoying this fic.

I'm just going to get my responses to reviews out of the way now:

"Anonymous": (clever name ...) It is unfortunate that you think the premise is weak, however you may have missed what I thought were less-than-subtle hints in the last chapter, being that Hermione's parents are in debt because of "shady" reasons. Such as gambling, for example. And perhaps you're unaware of the actual tuition of most private schools (never mind supplies) for a total of seven years ... not to mention doubled. Hermione's tuition would be significantly higher than Harry's because of all the extra classes and books. And because her parents' problems with money, with their income being on a yo-yo of sorts, they would not qualify for financial aid ... If there are any further misunderstandings, feel free to let me know.

Flamegirl5500: Hmm, will Hermione tell Severus, or will it be one of the boys? ... Wait and see, lol!

Everyone else: I'm happy you're enjoying the story, as well as the idea of the arranged marriage. I hope you'll continue enjoying the story, I know I will!

Let me add, I wrote the last chapter while I was taking notes in class, and finished and posted it two minutes before my midterm started. But it was worth it, I think. And the midterm was beyond easy ... except for the fact that my instructor waited until five of us had finished and handed in the exam to tell us that we were supposed to use two implications for part of the exam, instead of the ONE that the test stated, and then wouldn't let us take our exams back to add them. That was just awesome.

Sigh ... well, let's get on with the next chapter, shall we?

As always, please read and review, I live for feedback!

Time didn't exactly slow down, so much as it seemed as everything was happening in separate moments, each with their own time. The students nearest Hermione backed away with their hands over their mouths. Even the Slytherins were shocked, and some even had the decency to look ... concerned.

Harry and Ron bolted forward, trying to scramble around Snape to reach Hermione, their faces pale and wide.

He threw his long arms out, stopping them in their tracks and whipping his head towards them, his hair gliding around him wildly. "Don't be stupid!" he snarled. "You'll do more harm than good."

They glared at him with malice, but didn't take another step forward.

Hermione stumbled as she attempted to draw herself closer to the door, her hands clutching desperately to the right side of her abdomen, and had barely come within two steps of Snape before her legs refused to carry her any more, and she felt herself falling.

Strong arms clasped her awkwardly, keeping her from hitting the floor. She glanced up jerkily to see the it was the man her friends excessively referred to as "slimy git" that had caught her. For a moment, she was actually embarrassed.

"S-sorry," she breathed out.

His faced momentarily expressed something similar to confusion, but his question remained unspoken.

Maybe it was because she was looking so intently on his face ... almost as though if she looked away, she'd lose touch with reality and pass out, but she caught the beginning of the question in his eyes, and explained in a pained voice, "I'm bleeding on your robes."

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling before arranging her so that he could lift her without moving the shard too much. "Return to your houses immediately," he barked to the students watching him. "Anyone who attempts to follow me to the hospital wing will be deducted 50 points and gain a week's worth of detention." He eyed Harry and Ron as he moved out of the room, half-wishing that they would follow so he could give them detention. With Filch, preferably.

She hissed in pain, holding back a whimper as his jostling moved her around too much.

"Miss Granger, I need to set you down. Can you stand?" he asked her carefully.

He could feel her jaw clenching and the hand she had fisted into his robes tighten, but she nodded slowly. He eased her down as gently - to her surprise - as he could, steadying her with one hand while he retrieved his wand from his robes once more. He conjured up a plain stretcher and floated it behind her, lowering it until it was under her knees, and then eased her back onto it.

Hermione forced air out of her nose, unwilling to release her jaws from where they were clamped together. It wasn't really relieving the pain, but it was better than screaming and wailing her agony.

"Don't move," he instructed her shortly, trying to maintain his composure and force his wall back into place, but after she nodded her hand sought out his robes again, and clenched itself around his arm like a vice.

He paused with a hitch in his breathing before walking them forwards towards the hospital wing. He wasn't convinced she'd be able to stay still, but a body-bind curse might do more harm, and he didn't want her going into shock. There was a reason why he was not a medi-wizard. The times when he'd had to take care of his own wounds had left more scars than he cared to think about.

Her breathing was choppy and loud, and her stomach quivered with every inhale and exhale, but other than that, she remained perfectly still. Ghosts and stray students passing them in the halls stared at them as they went, but were ignored by both of them.

It seemed to be an eternity before they reached the hospital wing, but finally they arrived, and Snape forced the doors wide open with a flick of his wand before sending Hermione's gurney in. He tried to remove himself from her hand, but her grip was tight. Adrenaline from the pain, he concluded, putting her well-being before his discomfort. He ignored the warning bells that went off in his head at that thought.

"Poppy!" he called out, standing beside a hospital bed while Hermione hovered beside him.

The medi-witch moved into the room quickly, wondering what the commotion was about. She gasped flamboyantly at the sight in front of her, going to work immediately. Severus lowered the stretcher onto the bed before vanishing it, and then eased her down the remaining space. He took a step back to let Madam Pomfrey work her magic, but Hermione's fist tightened ever-more.

He shifted uncomfortably. "Miss Granger, I am no longer needed here. Remove yourself from my arm."

Hermione tried to control her shaking body, looking up at him with flickering eyes. "I'm t-try-ing, sir, but I c-an't se-em to let g-go," she choked out, ending the statement with a cough that contained red liquid. Blood spurted from her mouth and onto her arm, hand, and Snape's robes.

Madam Pomfrey increased her pace, working furiously to remove the metal without doing further damage, and stop the bleeding.

"Tha-at can't be g-good," Hermione commented, her eyelids drooping closed. She felt the muscles of Snape's forearm clench repeatedly before her hand finally released and slipped down and her body sagged.

Snape hauled Harry and Ron into the Headmaster's office, demanding an explanation for their actions. He had stormed directly from the hospital wing to Gryffindor Tower, forcing the portrait to let him in or be blown to pieces. When that didn't work, he instead forced a panicked first-year to give him the password. Damned Hogwarts portraits.

They wanted to know what was happening with Hermione, and were constantly glancing at the blood on his clothes and hand that he had to clean off.

Their questions remained unanswered, so they finally asked Snape and Dumbledore if they were aware of Hermione's "circumstances". Dumbledore admitted they had knowledge of the upcoming wedding, and Ron began to speak fast.

"Well, we discovered - well, forced it out of Hermione, really - that there's an "escape" something ..."

"Clause," Harry submitted.

"Right," Ron continued, "Some "escape clause" thing, and basically, if she could come up with twice that her parents borrowed for her to come here, before she graduates, then she wouldn't have to marry this bloke. Harry offered to buy her out of it, but she wouldn't let him. Turns out he'd only barely have enough money to pay for it all, and Hermione wouldn't let him spend all of his money on her. She told us to drop it, but we've been trying to come up with ways that we could help her out since then. We were talking about that in Potions, and didn't realize we were adding the wrong things. Then ... well, you know the rest."

Dumbledore regarded them thoughtfully, but Snape decided to save his "considering" for later. "Your sheer idiocy put the lives of all your classmates at risk, and has landed your friend in the hospital wing. Your carelessness is unforgivable. 50 points from Gryffindor, and detention for a week."

Harry opened his mouth, but Snape cut him off.

"Argue, and it'll be a month," he warned them, and Harry closed his mouth once more. They looked to Dumbledore for lenience, but he made no attempts to prevent the punishment, so they waited to be excused and returned to their dorms, planning to sneak into the hospital wing later that night under the invisibility cloak.

After they left, Dumbeldore spoke to his Potions professor. "How is she doing?"

Snape eased his glare ever-so-slightly. "When I left she was unconscious and bleeding. You'd have to ask Madam Pomfrey." He turned to leave, but was stopped by Dumbledore's voice.

"Astounding, isn't it?"

"What?" Snape wondered uninterestedly.

Albus Dumbledore smiled sadly. "How much trouble a thing like Hermione Granger getting married has caused."

Light streamed in through the windows of the hospital wing, and Hermione felt the warmth on her face before she opened her eyes. She remembered it being late-afternoon when she'd been in Potions, and somewhere she registered that she must have passed out.

"Hello?" she croaked, trying to sit up in the bed.

Gentle hands eased her back, and she looked to her other side to see Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood sitting beside her. She opened her mouth to greet them, but Ginny pressed a glass of water into her hands.

"Drink," the red-haired witch ordered, and Hermione obeyed, feeling the water soothe her throat.

"Madam Pomfrey said you'd wake up today, so she asked Professor McGonagall to have someone here with you when you did," Luna informed her.

"And Harry and Ron didn't want to come?" she asked, thinking they were upset with her.

Ginny shook her head. "McGonagall thought they might be too much of a disruption for you. They've been bloody disastrous lately ... well, I guess you know that first-hand."

Hermione let herself chuckle at that, and was pleased to find that it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. "How long have I been out?"

"You passed out nearly two days ago," Luna answered. "Snape was most furious."

Hermione groaned. "Ugh ... he's probably going to give me detention for touching him inappropriately."

Ginny's eyes widened at that. "Excuse me?"

Rolling her eyes, Hermione explained, "Not like that, Ginny. I just ... grabbed his arm and couldn't let go."

Ginny narrowed her eyes at her friend in the hospital bed, making Hermione nervous.

"What?" she asked.

Ginny shrugged. "Nothing. So, Madam Pomfrey wants you to stay at least one more night."

Hermione opened her mouth with a panicked expression on her pale face, but Ginny held her hand up, nudging Luna with her other elbow. The blonde-haired girl bent to pick something up off the ground.

"Don't worry, we've already gathered your homework for the yesterday and today," Ginny told her with a smile, and Luna hefted Hermione's book bag onto the bed in front of her. "Enjoy."

End of chapter four.

I think this is most likely going to be ten chapters. Definitely can't finish the entire thing in the next chapter.

Hope you guys are still liking this, I know I am.

Reviews are good and shiny, so don't be shy!

Until next time ...!