Author's Note: First let me thank everyone who had reviewed, alerted, or put this story on their favorites it means a lot to me. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Do I really need to say that I don't own them? I'm just playing with someone else's toys and do return them in the same shape I have found them (well that may not always be the case).
Severus woke this morning, not wanting to drag himself out of bed today. It was two years today that he let her sign the divorce parchment and leave, yes in the last year he had come to the conclusion that he allowed it to happen. He could have stopped it at anytime, one word or just a few would have led her to turn around. Would have stopped the quill from scratching her name on the parchment. He was sure of it, but he didn't say a word.
This last year had been strange, Minerva contacted him again to ask him to reconsider taking the post of potions professor again. It would seem that since Slughorn retired the position had become like the defense against the dark arts during the time Riddle had cursed it. In the seven years since Horace retired the position has had a different professor every year, mostly due to incompetence in the professor they hired. Two of them had gotten themselves killed teaching the class, the other five were let go due to the number of accidents during the school year.
Did he really want to go back to teaching children who didn't want to be there, who didn't pay attention so that he scared them into doing so. But then he saw the statics that she sent along with her request this time and it galled him that the board hired incompetent potion instructors that allowed so much to happen in classes. He had heard the rumor that went around the last few years, it was said that he cursed the class. Nothing was further from the truth, he would not endanger the lives of children like that. But when they had at least four bad accidents a year he could see how a rumor like that started.
He had until mid July to give her his answer, until they went on the hunt for another incompetent dunderhead who had no idea how to teach potions. He was leaning toward taking the post, only to have something to do. If it did nothing else but take his mind off of Hermione it would be worth it to him.
He sat up in the bed, opening the bedside table drawer he pulled out the journal. Her journal that he placed in the drawer a year ago, he wondered if her words would have any less impact this year as they did last year when he read it. He opened the book and started reading.
Almost twenty four hours later he was finished with it again, and no it was the same this year as last. He saw in her words what he had done to her over the five years of their marriage from her perspective, he had been right last year he had done to her what was done to him only he had increased it by tenfold.
He placed the book back into the drawer as he went to shower, his mind still going over what he had read. Was it even good to look back at this once a year? It only severed to remind him of what a downright bastard he was, how he could be cutting and cruel to someone.
For some reason a memory came to him, the day his representative came to tell him that there might be a way to avoid Azakban.
~~^~~ Flashback~~^~~
"There may be a way for you to still be able to avoid Azakban, but I don't think you're going to like it much."
Severus only grunted at the man he didn't care, why didn't they just leave him alone? This is what he deserved for all he had done, he wasn't meant to live past the war but yet here he was his purpose fulfilled but his life still carried on.
"Do you want to hear it or not?"
Severus stared at the wall behind the man.
"You know you would think that with all the people who are working to see to it that you go free you might be a little more grateful to them."
Severus only snarled at the man.
"Fine, here is what is being put into the works. I don't know if you've heard or not but the ministry passed a marriage law, someone had come forward with the idea of being betrothed to you as a way to show the wizengamotthat you are reformed and can be trusted."
Severus was shocked by this, not about the law he had heard the rumors about it and guards talking about it, no what shocked him was that someone wanted to use it to free him.
"And who is this fine upstanding member of the community that would lower herself to marry and bed a death eater?" he finally asked as he saw the flash across the other man's face and Severus knew the other man thought that if he talked fast enough Severus would be on board with this idea.
"Hermione Granger."
"Absolutely not." He spat out, leave it to that insufferable girl to come up with an idea like this. She was his student, young enough to be his daughter there was no way he was going to marry her.
"Why not, between herself, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley they pull a lot of weight in the wizarding world. By this one action on her part it would show the wizengamot that she truly believes you to be an upstanding member of the community and in your innocence."
"No, you go back and tell that child that this will not happen."
"You do realize where you are right? You do realize that you have no rights as it stands right now. You do realize that she could file the papers of betrothal and you are powerless to stop her."
Severus slammed his fist down on the table drawing the attention of the guards in the room to them, but when they saw that it was just a small outburst they went back to talking amongst themselves.
"I will in no way accept this, that girl is young enough to be my daughter it's not right and I will not let it happen. Why can't they see I am where I belong?"
"She's more than old enough to have made her own choices, I also disagree with you this is not where you belong or I wouldn't be here now."
"I don't give a damn if she's old enough by law, I will not accept this proposal."
"You still think you have a choice in the matter."
"Are you saying that it's already done?"
The man never answered Severus he stood leaving the room, and he took that the answer was positive.
~~^~~End Flashback~~^~~
Severus stood under the spay of the shower wondering where that memory came from, he hadn't thought about it for years. Then another thought flitted across his mind, what if the man had led him to believe that the betrothal papers were already filed when they were not. Winning Severus' freedom sure propelled the wizard's career higher.
He had known somewhere in his mind that Hermione wasn't that underhanded, but he had been so angry that his future was being planned out for him again that he never saw past it to really think about it. Now that he was years removed from it she never acted like she had done it to control him, matter of fact it was the opposite.
As he dressed he thought over Minerva's offer again…..
Author's Note: Comments really do make me smile and brighten my day. Also I wanted to let you know that I have a couple of Severus/Hermione videos on youtube, the link is in my profile.