Special shout out to articcat621 for getting my (not so) subtle fangirl reference last chapter... I think this chapter will confirm your suspicions!
The next morning, Hermione awoke to the feeling of being held tightly. She snuggled herself deeper into the embrace and smiled. Was there anything better? Then, the events of the previous day and the conclusion that had been reached came back to her and she screwed up her face in distaste.
The problem was that she hated having others be responsible for her problems. She had no issue with helping others out of messes they'd created (otherwise Harry and Ron wouldn't have finished half their homework assignments), but when the shoe was on the other foot, she was completely out of her depth. She took great pride in taking responsibility for her actions. Having Severus become a regular and then buy out her contract had been two unbelievable strokes of good luck, but they had, at least, both been lucrative moves for him as well. Marrying her, though, gained him nothing. It saved him face with the press a bit, perhaps, but he didn't seem to give a damn what they thought anyways.
So he was marrying her mostly to help get her out of the hole she'd dug herself in. It chaffed to know that she was being an imposition to him to such a degree.
The most difficult part, though, was that he wasn't simply another customer to her. Any other man, and she would have happily gotten whatever she could from him and felt no shame in it. But with Severus... It wasn't just their past, although that played a part. He'd gone through hell trying to save her and her friends. Trying to save the world. And through all that he'd been derided and hated. Taking any more from the man who'd already sacrificed so much seemed so cruel. Worse, she actually liked him. In getting to know S, she'd seen another side of him. The man beneath the façade of domineering professor. She'd seen him laugh and play, be teasing and utterly sensual. He'd shown her the incredible gentleness he was capable of. The generosity. And no matter how hard she'd thought her heart had become, he'd somehow slithered his way inside it.
She cared about him. More than she wanted to admit. And it was obvious that he cared about her, at least to some degree, otherwise he wouldn't be so willing to go through with marrying her. So what did that make them? What had once been a simple situation was about to get very, very complicated.
At eleven, Hermione took Severus' arm and he Apparated them to a small, crumbling brick building in a very old section of town. Inside, the rooms were airy and clean but looked as if they had been decorated in the 1700s and not updated since. A chipper receptionist with blindingly white teeth politely asked them to have a seat while she let Solicitor Freeman know they had arrived. A few minutes later, an ancient wizard walked out to greet them. He was tall, taller than Severus even, but weathered and sporting a beard that would have rivaled Dumbledore's.
"Benedict," Severus greeted, taking the man's wrinkled hand and shaking it with both of his.
"Severus Snape," he wheezed. "I never thought I'd see the day you let a woman make an honest man out of you."
"Yes, well not everyone can be as lucky as you and find happiness so young."
The solicitor led them into his office and smiled at a picture that hung on the wall. In it, he had his arm around a much shorter wizard who was smiling broadly. The shorter man went up on tip toe and kissed a younger version of the solicitor on the cheek. Though the picture was in black and white, it was easy to see that he blushed deeply before grinning. "Ah well. Martin sends his regards, by the way. He wishes he could have been here but he's in the middle of some research and you know how he gets." He made a sweeping gesture by his head. Severus nodded and his lips quirked into a smile.
"I understand. Tell him I appreciate the sentiments."
"I will, I will. Now, this must be the lovely lady."
"Yes. Hermione, sir." She held out her hand to him and he shook it warmly.
"Now why does that name ring a bell?" He scratched his beard for a moment and Hermione's stomach dropped. Of course he was going to recognize her. Would he think less of Severus for his association with her? "Ah yes, that's right! Hermione Bell! My first kiss. Ah, she was quite the little lady. Of course that was before I knew." He winked and shrugged. "Anyway, why don't we get down to business? I'm sure you didn't come here to listen to me dotter on about my exploits. I'll just need to perform a few spells to make sure that you aren't related and that neither of you is under the influence of a curse or other coercion."
He sent a few waves of warm blue magic at them and hummed to himself as he worked. When he finished, he put an enormous sash over his shoulders and hefted a dusty tome into his hands. "Now then, onto the ceremony. You'll need to clasp wand arms." As they did, he squinted at the book, then began to speak in Latin. Scarlet and emerald bands began to circle their joined hands and spread up their arms. Slowly, their whole bodies were encased in the alternating colors and a comforting buzz settled in Hermione's stomach. Then, almost as quickly as it had begun, the lights faded away. On Hermione's left ring finger there was a small green band. On Severus' there was a slightly thicker red one. The solicitor grinned and gestured the two of them together. "This is the part where you kiss," he whispered loudly. Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at his obvious happiness. She went on tip toe and met Severus' kiss. She thought he would just peck her lips and then back away, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. When they parted, Benedict was holding a jar of honey in his hands.
"I almost forgot, Martin wanted me to give you this as a wedding present. Harvested it himself, you know. He'd nutters about bees. He did want to be here, of course, but he's doing research. You know how he is when-" He stopped, looking cross with himself. "I already said that, didn't I? Drat."
"We don't mind hearing it twice." Severus accepted the honey and shook the old man's hand. "Thank you again for seeing us on such short notice."
"Any time, my boy, any time. You bring this one-" he pointed at Hermione, "around sometime when Martin is back and we'll all play chess. You'll have to watch carefully, though. Martin cheats." With a fond pat, he sent them on their way.
They Apparated back to the house and Severus handed the honey to Hermione. "Congratulations, Mrs. Snape. Here's your consolation prize."
She unscrewed the top of the jar and dipped her finger into the sweet, sticky gold. As she sucked it off her finger, she watched his eyes widen and then narrow at her in arousal. "Not bad, considering I didn't need consoling. Your friend was absolutely charming, by the way." She dipped her finger into the honey again and this time let a few drops 'accidentally' fall onto her bottom lip before she licked them off.
"Benedict? Yes. Charming." His eyes followed the movement of her fingers and then he swallowed as he watched her finger disappear into her mouth again.
"I'd be delighted to meet his partner. Martin, was it?"
"Uh-huh..." A drop had fallen onto her chest and began to slide lower.
"We really must thank him for such a delicious gift." Another drop fell onto her cleavage. "Whoops," she said sweetly, pretending to be shocked. At her coy smile, Severus stalked over to her and pinned her against the counter.
"Temptress," he accused.
"You love it."
"Merlin help me, I do." He lapped the drops that had fallen onto her breasts and then lifted her till she was sitting on the counter. Impatiently, he pushed her dress up around her ribs and practically ripped the thong from her. With a generous hand, he dripped honey from her navel down to her pubic bone. At the rise there, he let a dollop fall and begin to slide toward her sex. After removing his shirt, he licked his way down the line he'd left until his tongue began to lap over her clit. She bucked, unused to such attentions. Ravenous, he pinned her hips with his arm and feasted on her, tasting remnants of the honey mixed with her own flavour.
His tongue swirled and dipped, lapped and teased until she was writhing against him helplessly. When she finally began to beg for relief, he sped up his movements and let her find release. As she orgasmed, he continued to make soft circles over her turgid flesh, enhancing her pleasure. After a few moments she weakly pushed him away, unable to take any more. He moved back just long enough to unbutton his trousers and push them out of the way, then slid her to the edge of the counter, urged her to wrap her legs around him and lifted her up. He spun them until he could press her back against the refrigerator. In one thrust, he filled her completely. With her back braced against the cool metal, all Hermione could do was cling to his shoulders and accept each rough ingress. The feel of his feverish skin against her already sensitized body was bliss. She let her lips move against his neck of their own accord and closed her eyes against the pleasure of his possession.
More quickly than he would have liked, Severus climaxed. He realized one hand was fisted tightly in Hermione's hair and immediately softened his grip. She didn't seem as if she even noticed. Slowly, she let her legs slide to the floor. It was a good thing he hadn't moved back right away because she wouldn't have been able to support her weight yet. She flashed him a smile that looked half drunk. "Well that was unexpected."
"Wouldn't want you to think me boring," he countered, somewhat abashed at how wild he'd been.
"You? Boring? Never." She finally found her balance and smoothed down her dress. "Ah...thank you." A slight blush pinkened her cheeks.
"My pleasure."
"Oh, no, it was mine, trust me." They laughed together. While Severus dressed himself, Hermione went to the table and tapped a quill to her lips thoughtfully. "What should our letter to the paper say?"
"How about something like this: To whom it may concern, the last two days articles have been printed that paint me in a very damning light. Despite my resolve to not even acknowledge such stupidity, it seems that intervention has become necessary. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I decided to withdraw from the public eye a few years ago. Though my personal affairs are none of the business of this newspaper, I will at least inform you that I was not in any way affiliated with a brothel. When your unscrupulous photographer took a picture of me, I was, in fact, shopping with my husband and not a 'customer.' Though Severus and I prefer that our private life be left just that- private- I will at least inform you that in no way was he procuring my 'services,' unless you consider buying his wife a present for her birthday a payment of some sort. Of course, the marriage is on file and easily available for anyone to find should they bother to take the time to check facts before writing inflammatory articles. In the future, please refrain from printing such obvious slander, unless you would like to be brought before the Wizengamot for defamation of character. Sincerely, Hermione Snape."
Hermione finished writing the dictation and looked it over. "I think that will do nicely! One to the editor, one to the HR supervisor, and one to the reporters' desks?" Severus nodded in agreement and Hermione quickly replicated the letters before sending them off. "There. Now I guess we just wait to see what happens."