"You're going to marry Professor Snape?" Ginny questioned in astonishment. Hermione had put off telling her friends, but a week from when she got the letter; she'd finally cracked and mentioned it as casually as possible.

They were all up in the Common Room on a Saturday night, so there wasn't a lot of homework to do and nobody was too cranky, so she'd taken advantage of the atmosphere and gotten her friends together. Harry and Ron had been livid, shouting about how horrible Professor Snape was, how horrible the law was, how horrible this and that was, until Ginny had slipped a calming draught into their drinks. That had persuaded them up to bed, and now she had to deal with Ginny.

"It's for the good of the Order," had been her explanation all night, but Ginny didn't want an explanation, she wanted to talk about the actual impending marriage. Where was she going to live, was she still going to have classes as usual, what was she going to wear for the ceremony, all those little mundane details.

Hermione hadn't given much thought to the details. The marriage was necessary and she supposed they would live together for at least awhile. She would still be a student and attend all of her classes just has she had before this horrendous obligation on her person. What to wear? That hardly mattered.

She began planning her arguments for things he wasn't keen on her doing, like spending time with the friends he didn't like. Somehow they would live with this, and maybe even find contentment. After all, Hermione Granger never backed down from a challenge, and she was the brightest witch of her age.

҉

Weeks passed and nothing happened. Classes continued and the drudgery remained just as it was before that awful day when his world had tipped on its head. The only difference was that he knew what was coming and he wasn't happy about it. He had never wanted to get married, not since Lily, and now that he was being forced into it, he felt disrespectful of her and her memory.

At least she doesn't have red hair.

That would be awful, if she had red hair and he accidently called her the wrong name. Sometimes when he saw Ginny Weasley from behind he found himself back in a schoolboy's mind and almost had the urge to call after her to wait up, he wanted to walk with her. But of course it wasn't Lily and he wasn't schoolboy, which he had to remind himself sometimes.

Then, oh so suddenly, it was the Friday before the wedding, and his last Potions class held Miss Granger and her horrid little group of friends. She sat silent the entire class period, never talking nor answering any questions, even when no one raised their hands. He would wait, thinking maybe she was just formulating the perfect answer, but she never would. The class was awkward and quiet without the talkative girl, and he ended class early just so they would talk amongst themselves and add some noise to the depressingly quiet room.

The wedding is tomorrow, Severus, it's no wonder she isn't talking.

He had tried not to think about that. The wedding meant so much change would be forced upon him. Just looking at her and thinking about it all was disconcerting.

Then he was waking up and having to get ready for his wedding of all things. It would happen at seven in the evening, after dinner was over. Miss Granger would have the whole day to get ready, if she needed it, and then they would wed.

Is she nervous? Because I am, though Merlin knows I won't tell her that.

He showered and got dressed and went about his day as normal, trying to avoid any and all thoughts of the impending marriage.

҉

Hermione had gone wedding dress shopping over the weekends, a task forced on her by Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. It was slightly surreal to actually be putting on the dress to wear to the ceremony though.

Will he think I look pretty?

It didn't really matter, she told herself, and shook her head as she attempted to tame her hair. A bath that morning had left it wet, and when it was wet it was more manageable. Ginny and Professor McGonagall had helped her with her clothes, makeup, and hair, turning her into a real bride, a beautiful bride. She hardly recognized the girl looking back at her from the mirror, all pink lips and long lashes and shining locks.

She stepped into the Headmasters office and a moment later Snape entered. He wore a tuxedo and his hair wasn't greasy like normal, but she was still somber. Her emotions were fit for a funeral but the dress screamed of the wedding that was taking place.

White's not my colour.

After signing their respective names on the marriage certificate, Dumbledore was all smiles and told them a few other rules about the new marriage. Mandatory intercourse once a week until conceiving a child; there must be proof of pregnancy within six months of the wedding date; the list went on and on.

Finally, the Headmaster let them go down to Snape's quarters, an awkward, silent walk. Once they arrived he showed her which bedroom would be hers and left her to change, asking her to come back to the living area when she was done. She pulled on some jeans and a sweater, avoiding the sweatpants she normally wore in the evenings.

Don't want him to think you're lazy or anything.

He was in his normal robes, sitting in an armchair reading the paper when she came in. He gestured for her to sit down, and she picked the armchair opposite his. He folded up his paper and began.

"Though we will be sharing these quarters, I do have a few rules that I would like to instate, some boundaries, if you will. My study is off-limits. If you need me and I'm in there, knock on the door. That is my space and I intend to keep it that way. You are strictly forbidden from my laboratory. My experiments and notes are no business of yours, and there is nothing you need to see or know stored in there. We have separate bedrooms for a reason-keep your things in there, as I keep mine in my rooms. I have a house elf at my disposal should you need or want anything, his name is Alvar. Don't worry, he's free and works for me willingly. And you are to address me as Professor or Sir in public. Any questions?" She thought for a moment.

"What books am I allowed to read?" She gestured to the bookcases lining the walls of the living space, and he glanced at them. Of course her first care would be about books.

"Any book in here is at your disposable-if you want one from my study, bedroom, or lab, you'll have to ask."

"What are we going to do about a baby?" One of his eyebrows rose.

"You need to be clearer on that subject Miss Granger. What about a child?"

"I'm not Miss Granger anymore," she reminded him before continuing. "When we have the mandatory child, are you going to enlarge our quarters with a third bedroom for them, or are they going to stay in my room, or are we going to start sharing a room and the baby will have the second room?" He sighed.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

҉

Hermione didn't know how long she had been asleep, but she knew it had been a long time. It had been a restless night and she had tossed and turned for hours, had adjusted this and that about her new bedroom and then tried to go to sleep. But sleep had evaded her in these new quarters, in these new circumstances, and she wondered if that was ominous for the rest of her life, if her body didn't trust the place enough to let her drift off.

Snape would probably be up already, and with that in mind she pulled herself out of bed, showered and then went to the living room to see if he was there. She wondered if he would wait for her so they could go to breakfast together, or if his personal habits wouldn't be disturbed by her.

To her surprise he was waiting for her but appeared quite put out by it. He stood abruptly when she entered the room and went to the door, accepting that she would simply follow him. She crossed her arms and planted her feet, now determined to stay.

"I was thinking maybe Alvar could bring us breakfast and we could eat here. That way we could talk, get to know each other." He glared at her from the doorway.

"I'll deal with you later," he sneered and slammed the door shut. Now she definitely couldn't go to breakfast in the Great Hall as much as she wanted to. She wanted to go and talk with Harry and Ron and act as if everything was normal, as if they were all students, all Gryffindors, together still.

But it was probably best if she stayed here, that would mean fewer questions, fewer inquires about what had happened, what Snape's quarters looked like, etc. Things would be calmer here and she could relax, read a book while having some bangers and toast maybe. Yes that sounded perfect, an ideal way she would have spent a morning at her parents' home, so why not do it here?

She called Alvar and he brought up some food and then curled up with a book in the armchair, trying to balance everything and eat simultaneously. It was a good book about the repression of witches and wizards back in the 11th century. It had been on Snape's bookshelf, a surprising find but she had snatched it up since it was out here in the living area.

He came back and found her balancing an empty plate on her knee while engrossed in her book. The door slamming shut caused her to jump and the precarious harmony that she had struck shattered, along with the plate. That just caused his glare to deepen, even though she repaired the plate and Alvar came and took it back to the kitchens. Now she stood under his gaze, wondering what he had meant earlier by 'deal with you later'. She supposed 'later' had come, but what did 'deal with her' mean?

"Not only do you not show your face at breakfast, which aroused plenty of gossip, you make a mess of my living quarters." She opened her mouth to say all she had done was break one plate and then put it back together, but he cut her off. "Why did you refuse to come to the Great Hall this morning?" He seemed personally offended by her wanting to take breakfast here, a confrontation she had been unprepared for.

"I just didn't want to have to answer everybody's questions about the wedding and such, is that so awful?" He moved closer to her, within a few steps, and the volume of his speech increased to where he wasn't quite shouting, not yet.

"Do you know what people started whispering about when you weren't there to sit with those imbeciles you call friends? That I'd hurt you and worse, that you were in such bad shape that you couldn't get out of bed, wouldn't show how bad you looked in the dining hall. Do you know what that will do to my reputation?" Her nose wrinkled.

"I was under the impression you didn't care about your reputation, you being the bat of the dungeons and all." He moved so close to her he filled her whole vision, and she could feel his breath on her face when she looked up to meet his eyes.

"There is very little I care about in this world, Miss Granger, but I will not have children and professors alike running around saying that I abuse women. I shan't stand for it, and if I have to drag you out in public to prove that you are indeed fine, so be it. You will come to lunch and dinner in the Great Hall, understand?"

"I'm not a child, you can't order me around. In case you don't remember, we're married, and marriage is a partnership, which means we talk about things, we compromise. It would have looked fine if you had just stayed here this morning." He gripped her arm and shook it a bit, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to scare her a bit.

"You will not speak to me that way in my own house." This was worse than any time he'd been upset at students in the Potions classroom and for all his talk about not abusing women, Hermione felt her heart flutter.

"I am your husband and you will respect me. I did not want to stay for breakfast this morning, but perhaps if you had woken up on time we wouldn't have had such an issue. I'm not going to wake you up every day; you're old enough to do that yourself." She bit her lip and pulled her arm, but he held fast.

"Let go, Severus." Out of spite he gripped her tighter and she yanked harder, for the first time truly afraid of the man towering over her. "Please, it's starting to hurt, let go." She pulled harder and he freed her, leaving pink finger marks under her sweater.

She turned and fled back to her room, leaving him standing there. Her room needed refurbishing anyway, she told herself, and set about changing this and that. Avoiding Gryffindor and Slytherin colors, she made the walls lavender and the bedspread white. She'd have to ask Snape for a bookshelf to put all her books on- she'd shrunk them and brought them down here with her. Her pictures and such went on the walls, a desk in the corner, and a cat bed for Crookshanks. Of course the cat refused to sleep in it, preferring to sleep with Hermione herself, but it was there nonetheless.

Crookshanks had demanded to stay in Gryffindor tower instead of come with Hermione down to Snape's quarters, but perhaps a night without her would convince the stubborn cat. But would Snape be okay with a cat? That was another thing on a long list of things they hadn't discussed.

She ventured out fifteen minutes early for lunch, determined that he wouldn't find any more faults with her, at least not today. It was certainly a record for how fast a married couple had fought, their first full day of being married, and they were already at war with one another. But if Hermione was sure of one thing, she was sure she could at least learn how to live with the man. Her parents had had a wonderful marriage and going off their example, she could at least form a union she could live with. She wouldn't give up so easily, they just had to get used to this new life together. Her parents had told her as much.

This time she waited for him. Her book was still on the chair so she cracked it open and read it until he showed up several minutes later. She didn't want to look as if she'd been waiting for him, but she wanted to appear ready so as not to annoy him. When the door to his study opened and he came in she attempted a small smile and stood up.

"Did you get some good work done?" He looked at her suspiciously, as if wary of the fact that she was talking to him. Maybe a question wasn't the best way to start things, since he didn't like to talk about himself.

"I got my room decorated, and I like to think it looks pretty nice, although do you think we could move a bookshelf in there? I've got a pretty good collection going and I'd like to put them up. Oh, and Crookshanks, what are we going to do about him? I never got to ask you if you were okay with a cat." She blinked at him, waiting for him to talk, but he seemed overwhelmed by the sheer amount of words that had come out of her mouth.

"Certainly you can have a bookshelf," he finally stated, and she grinned. "Now about a cat... I've never liked animals, and I have no love for felines especially." The smile disappeared.

"But I can't just get rid of the poor darling! I'm the only one who loves him, he needs me, please can't I at least keep him in my room, just my room? Doesn't he count amongst my possessions, and you said you didn't care what I kept in there." The argument reminded her very much of a teenager begging a parent for something, not a debate between a husband a wife.

"'The poor darling'? From what I've heard about that cat of yours is a horrible hairball." She opened her mouth to beg, to protest, but he held up a hand. "But if you just love the beast so much then you can keep it in your room and your room only. If it gets out in this house and rips up my furniture and destroys the place he's out, no second chances, understood?" She nodded vehemently.

There was an awkward pause then of silence, neither of them really knowing what to say. Hermione remembered exactly why they were in the same room to begin with.

"Well, shall we go off to lunch?" She asked and he nodded, going to hold the door open for her and then walking beside her. They were a silent, odd-looking couple and they went their separate ways once they got to the dining hall.

But at least you've pacified him.

She sat and ate with Harry and Ron who talked and laughed with her and mercifully didn't ask her any questions. Luna surprisingly sat with them and if it looked like the boys were getting curious she would inject something into the conversation to steer them onto a different topic. Ginny sat with them too and quelled anything if the boys broke through the Luna defense, and Hermione realized with a sudden passion that she truly did have wonderful friends.

When lunch was over she trudged back to where Snape was standing, wondering what she was going to do for the afternoon trapped down in the dungeons. Of course she could always do homework, but she had wanted to that in the library and wasn't fond of asking if she could go someplace. More than anything she wanted them to talk about some things, but Snape wanted to do anything but talk.

They walked in silence back down to his rooms, and when they were inside she turned to him.

"Are we going to talk about things?" He looked at her questionably, as if he didn't know what they would have to talk about, or he at least didn't want to. "We need to talk about all of the little details of married life. It won't take long, come on, let's just sit down and chat." His eyebrow rose.

"I do not 'just sit down and chat'." He sighed, "What is it you want to discuss, because I have work to do and would like to get to it." She withheld the grin of triumph from her face and went down the mental list.

"What am I allowed to do and not do? Because I wanted to go to the library after lunch today, but I didn't know if you'd let me, so we need to figure out what we're okay with the other doing without having to ask. And what are we going to do with the Order, because technically I won't be in it until I graduate but if you're leaving in the middle of the night I'd like to know where you're going-" He cut her off then, as he always did, not letting her finish her thoughts.

"Personally I don't really care what you do or where you go so long as it's in the castle and it does not involve infidelity; you needn't ask me to go to the library of all places. This we business though is going to be difficult, because I'm going to do whatever I please just as I did before you invaded my personal space." Her brow wrinkled in indignation but he continued. "As for Order meetings or my disappearing in the middle of the night, all of that is my business and my business alone. One, it could endanger you should circumstances arise, and two you don't need to know where I'm going."

"You're my husband; I have every right to know where you're going!" He chuckled darkly and walked over to stand in front of his study door.

"Just because we are wed does not mean I have to change all my ways. Should I be going to a Death Eater meeting or an Order meeting that is up to me alone to know. If I am going to somewhere else entirely, that is, again, for me to know." Hermione raced over and stood on her toes in front of him, glaring threateningly.

"Should you be consorting with whores you will soon find yourself without a wife." He smiled dangerously and traced her hairline with a fingertip. An involuntary shudder of uneasiness ran down her spine.

"I will do as I please, now don't you have some homework to do?" His cloak snapped as he turned and closed the door to his study, leaving her fuming, especially because he was right, and she would have to get to work if she wanted some free time this evening. So she sat huffing at her desk trying to concentrate on her homework for a few hours, furious but trying to calm down.

This marriage is going to be the end of me at this rate.