Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Anything.Sad, right?
There was nothing left for Hermione to do. Her parents had been told, as had her friends and the Weasley family. The order knew, too. She really didn't know who to expect to show up for the small ceremony she had planned. Her parents were shocked—and understandable so—by the news that their daughter would be marrying a man nearly as old as they were. They didn't like the idea in the least and had wasted no time telling Hermione as much. Many tears were shed by both Hermione and her mother and angry words were shouted by her father. All in all, the scene had gone little like Hermione had secretly hoped it would.
The rest were a bit more understanding, but only in the sense that they knew fully the repercussions of ignoring the marriage law and the other choices Hermione had had when deciding on a future husband. They knew that no other choice would let her stay in school, let alone get a job or go anywhere they weren't. As much as they understood the reasons, they still didn't like the only good choice. The Weasley's were especially indignant. They saw themselves as the Wizarding family that Hermione didn't have, the family that could understand and protect the young girl from the Wizarding things in life that her real parents could not. Snape was one of those things that they felt they needed to protect her from. He was too old to marry an 18 year old girl, came the reasoning from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. He would hurt beyond her wildest nightmare, was the thought process of the Weasley brothers. He was ugly and foul, was the only Weasley girl's protest. Hermione only shook her head and restated her reasons for accepting his petition: she could stay in school, she knew him and knew he would never treat her the same horrible way any other man who had petitioned her would, Dumbledore would never let him lay a finger on her if he didn't believe it right. And didn't they all trust Dumbledore's instinct? The members of the Order of the Phoenix all felt nearly the same way the Weasley family felt, perhaps not to the same protective degree, but there was still an apprehension to their feelings of the upcoming union. Harry was rather understanding of the entire thing. Of course, he had his doubts and his moments of protectiveness—especially when goaded on by Ginny—but, for the most part, once Hermione had explained her stance on the subject, he wished her congratulations and good luck and gave her a hug. Hermione couldn't have been happier that finally someone understood.
There was one other thing she had to do and that was go through with the marriage. She had to stand before Dumbledore and whoever else decided to show up and vow to spend the rest of her life with Severus Snape. Vow to love him in sickness and in health, for better or worse. Could she do it? She found her mind often going to that question wondering if she could utter the words that would tie her forever to the old potions professor. Hermione found herself quite afraid that her tongue would betray her, that her vocal cords would go numb and that she would scream "No!" when it came her turn to utter "I do." It was an unfounded fear, she had never known her subconscious to turn on her brain and it was unlikely to do so now. So she shrugged the fear off as a major case of cold feet and went about her business of getting ready to become Hermione Snape.
There weren't many wedding preparations that she had to take care of. Professor McGonagall took care of the simple decorations of the Great Hall, leaving Hermione only one task to complete: choosing a wedding gown. It was an easy choice for Hermione; she knew which it would be the second she laid eyes on it in Madame Malkin's. Simple and long, it formed a puddle on the floor when she stood still, but flowed behind her elegantly when she walked. There were no sleeves, only small straps that fit on her arm, about an inch below the shoulder. The neckline went straight across her chest, simple, yet beautiful on Hermione. She wasn't the most beautiful girl when only in her school uniform, but when dressed to the nines, she could be stunning. And with the simple dress, her hair left wild and curly, only pulled back on the sides slightly and no veil, Hermione Granger was a bride to beat any bride. No one but Professor McGonagall had seen her in the dress yet, but the old witch assured the young bride that no eye would be dry when they saw her in her wedding gown. Even Severus would appreciate the simple beauty that Hermione held. Hermione had her doubts, but knew that she could wear a rag and Severus Snape would still marry her. There was no way he couldn't, she laughed bitterly to herself. They were tied, legally, through the signed petition. The only way out was death and even Snape would choose marriage over death at this point in his life.
As the wedding day drew near, Hermione couldn't help but feel her feelings of dread turn to slight moments of excitement. Yes, it was Snape she was marrying, but she was a girl after all. It seemed only natural that she become excited and even curious as to what marriage entailed. There were the added benefits of only sharing a room with one other person, having a private sitting area and more than likely a private library. She was only guessing on this last part, having never been in Snape's private quarters, but she thought it would be a good guess in any case. There were other things that she was excited about, but she wasn't so sure about that part of marriage. She had little, barely any, experience with the opposite sex. A couple of chaste kisses with Ron, quickly leading her to the conclusion that they were better off friends. That was as far as her knowledge of the interactions between males and females went. Naturally, her excitement peaked when she thought of discovering what all the other girls whispered about behind closed doors.
But as her curiosity rose, so did her fear. It was Snape after all. He had to have much more experience than she did. He was older, wiser—as he never let any of his classes forget—he must have been wiser in all aspects of knowledge. Again, she could only assume, but she had the suspicion that her assumptions were right. She would have to wait and see. Only another day to go and she would find out. She would find it all out.
a/n: I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope you've stuck with me and Look through it all. I'm in college now and loving every minute. I will try to update more often, as long as people still want more.