I hope you all enjoy the fic. I am not an English speaker, so please be patient with me. If you wish to help me, please send me a message. I will be grateful for your help.

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, just the plot. Whatever you can recognize belongs to Harry Potter and JK Rowling. This fanfiction is just for fun and I don't expect any profit from it.

Summary: No one had ever said that to him before; perhaps only Dumbledore.

Prologue: Short and simple.

"No." Short and simple.

"No?"

For the expression on his face, as soon as the word slipped out of her lips, Hermione Jean Granger remembered that he was not used to hearing it that often.

Hermione watched as Severus Snape strode across the room, his black robes billowing dramatically behind him. It had been years since the war had ended, but the tension between them was still palpable.

Severus had always held a grudge against Hermione for her friendship with Harry Potter and her role in the downfall of Voldemort, but now it seemed that he had another reason to dislike her. He had been given an ultimatum by the Ministry: either get married or go to Azkaban.

"Yes, well, I mean, no."

The look, holding a bouquet of roses and all the turmoil of feelings unguarded on his face, was, ironically, a living poem that she was eager to hear.

There was indeed something crumpling in one of his pant pockets.

"What do you mean by that, Granger?"

"Would it be so difficult for you to call me Hermione at least once, Professor Snape? I'm not even your student anymore." Hermione sighed, not wanting to repeat herself and make the moment even longer and more embarrassing than it already was. "What I mean is that I'm sorry for ruining your intentions by saying no, but that is my answer and I'm not changing my mind. Thank you for thinking of me in such a lovely way, I guess."

Then his expression shifted back to the anger she remembered from Hogwarts.

"Even after everything I had to do to look like this and get these flowers!? I even wrote a stupid love poem!" Severus Snape exclaimed, throwing down the beautiful bouquet with all the anger he could must at that moment.

"You look nice indeed, but I'm not going to marry you, Professor Snape."

Stepping over the discarded roses, Severus Snape appeared livid. Hermione couldn't tell which part was scarier: The idea of Snape writing a love poem for her, or showering, shaving, and dressing up to ask for her hand.

"You cannot simply present yourself at a witch's apartment and expect her to say yes to you after all that happened back at Hogwarts. For all I care, you hated me back then, Professor Snape. Why the sudden proposal?"

Looking surprised was an understatement. Fighting Lord Voldemort seemed like nothing compared to seeing Severus Snape standing at her front door with a ring in one of his pockets.

He seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, mumbling incoherently or, at least, words that she couldn't understand because of his clenched teeth. "It's a difficult matter," he said slowly. "As you know, I have been on probation for my actions during the war. But there is a way out, albeit a distasteful one." "If I don't get married, Miss Granger, I will end up in Azkaban. And, as you might have guessed, there aren't many willing candidates who would have me."

Hermione was taken aback by the reveal. She felt a pang of pity for him. "I see," she said. She could hardly believe her ears. This was Snape, the man who had made her life miserable during her time at Hogwarts. And yet, there was also something in his voice that spoke of desperation and vulnerability. "Why me?"

"You're also single," he replied. Hermione rolled her eyes at the last part. So charming.