A/N: Thanks for being my Beta, Bri892

Chapter 37: A courtin we will go

Minerva called a meeting with Severus after lunch. They finalized his travels to Beauxbatons and outlined plans to visit three other wizarding schools across Europe and Asia. It seems that many of the secondary schools were not pursuing a potions curriculum.

With school and ministry business put to rest, Minerva called for tea service. Never one for small talk, she asked, "Severus, you wanted to ask me about courting, didn't you?"

He sighed into his tea cup, "Filius."

"No, Filius didn't say anything. I know you, Severus. You have been seeing Hermione for several weeks now. You didn't want to say anything because you didn't want me to feel guilty since I cast the spell to create Sabrina. I jeopardized the courting process."

Severus sighed again, "Minerva, I do not fault you."

"I know that as well. You are so proper, you want to honor the Prince line and formally make Sabrina your heir. I also know you want to move forward with Hermione and you are terrified that she will be so vexed by wizarding courting practices that she will end the relationship."

Minerva leaned forward in her chair and took the tipping cup out of his hand, "I know you, Severus. You are an honorable man."

"Yes, I want to properly court Hermione without offending her. I want the Prince line to pass through to Sabrina."

Minerva leaned back and raised an eyebrow at her former student.

"Madame McGonagall, would you be so kind as to assist me in courting Miss Hermione Jane Granger and establishing Sabrina Jane Snape and any future children as heirs to the Prince line." Severus stood and bowed to her.

"Such cheek!" she continues, "I have already started with Goblins and the Wizengamot regarding the Prince line. They said the Unspeakables will need to scan Sabrina, however they are confident that the soul binding already made her a Prince."

Severus felt his knees weaken and he sat back down, "I have to say I am relieved."

Minerva returned his tea cup with a warming charm, "I think you will need to speak to Hermione about courting and letting her know about the Prince line."

"I am not sure if I will end up getting smacked or hexed."

Laughing, Minerva told him, "She's a Gryffindor through and through. You will end up seeing both her muggle and witch sides when she loses her temper."

~~~~O-O~~~~

"France, Russia, Turkey and Nepal."

"Again, that would be yes."

"Really?"

"Yes, dear, I will be going to France, Russia, Turkey and Nepal. Yes, I will be going over to these locations over the next six months. Yes, there are wizarding schools in each of those locations. And to confirm for the 100th time, they are France, Russia, Turkey and Nepal."

"Wow, Severus, you are so verbose. I cannot believe it."

He looked up from his grading and gave her a stern look. When she didn't shrink in fear, he turned to Sabrina. "Your mummy called me verbose."

Sabrina jumped on her mother and tickled, "Mummy, mummy, mummy! You can't call Daddy bad names. It's not nice. You say sorry."

Hermione tickled her back, "Verbose isn't a bad word, silly goose. It just means talks a lot."

Severus turned back to the essays, and began marking them again. "Do you want to travel with me? We can turn each of those trip into a long weekend perhaps even a holiday."

"That would be fun, especially Turkey. If we can figure it out, I would enjoy that. Let's talk after Sabrina's in bed."

An hour later, Hermione was straddling him on the couch. She was suckling at his neck and his hands caressed her back. Leaning back, she tried to pull her shirt off but he tugged it back down.

"What's wrong?"

"We need to talk."

Hermione climbed off of Severus and moved to the couch beside him; her eyes big.

"No, love, it's not bad." He pulled her back into his lap, "Well, not all bad."

Sighing, he began, "What do you know about wizarding customs when it comes to courting?"

"Not much. Wait, courting?"

His hand slid down her face and he grasped her chin pulling her in for a light kiss. "I love you and I see a future with you. I want to be married and have more children with you if you are ameable. I am not trying to rush you or force your hand. I would like to be committed to you formally."

With a soft laugh, Hermione kissed him back, "I already told you that I am fully committed."

"In Wizarding culture, a man courts his future bride. The courtship is completed in a binding ceremony that brings their family lines together. I believe you saw this at Bill and Fleur's wedding." He paused as she nodded, "In our case, Sabrina was born before we bound our families."

"Does this mean that Sabrina cannot be a Prince?"

"I was going to ask Minerva about this however she anticipated my inquiry and has already looked into this. That bloody woman thinks she knows me so well."

Hermione giggled and wrapped her arms around him, "That bloody woman does know you. How long ago did she look into this?"

Severus laid back on the couch, pulling her down on top of him. He held her close, weaving his fingers through her hair. "I think she started after our first date. The Unspeakables believe that since Sabrina was from a soul binding spell, she is already a Prince. They will need to scan her to confirm."

"They creep me out but a scanning spell shouldn't be too difficult."

His hands crept under her shirt, softly grazing the skin of her back, "Hmmm, now we need to discuss courting."

"Mmmm" She murmured, "Stop trying to distract me. Courting is old fashioned and misogynistic."

"I'll show you misogynistic." Severus demonstrated his feelings by trailing kisses from her breastbone up to her mouth, and pulling off her shirt.

They were still on the couch when Sabrina found them the next morning.