Chapter 1: The Emergence Of A Decree
{A/N: Here's another update}
My Thanks To My Readers and Reviewers...Enjoy-S.S.
Several Years Earlier...
12 Grimmauld Place, Muggle World...
Low hanging clouds swelled to the point of violently bursting leaving the feel of an inevitable downpour hanging in the air. An ominous sign of things to come, Arthur Weasley, The Head of The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office had anything to say about it. The lowly but tried and true father of the notoriously numerous Weasley clan made his way toward 12 Grimmauld Place the Headquarters of the second Order of Phoenix and home to the infamous Azkaban escapee, Sirius Black. On this most auspicious of days, Arthur Weasley had not been alone in the assessment of his inkling into the grimiest of fortunes, the ebony clad and notoriously pale figure of Severus S. Snape had been well on his way toward that very Headquarters with a grim bit of news of his own.
Of all the strange happenings in the wizarding word as of late, the inevitable fate of all those of muggle birth were about to be determined by an ambitious, and power hungry fool of a wizard's laws and their lives were forfeit as a result of impending misfortune. For word had reached the ears of the despot known to all as Voldemort, of the Ministry of Magic's desperate ploy to absolute control within the wizarding world.
Unfortunately for them, the dark lord was Slytherin and as such, saw this new decree as a way to achieve on of his ultimate goals within the wizarding world. In fact he had boasted to his loyal followers about the very "gift" they handed him in ensuring that the muggle-born menace would be eradicated rather easily given the new law.
With a crack of thunder, Severus Snape landed at a safe zone and walked toward the ominous house in the center of the muggle world and knocked on the large oak wood door. Much to his annoyance, Arthur Weasley had just arrived ahead of him and had turned in time to open the door while his weary wife shuffled their numerous children as well as the infamous Gryffindor trio off to their rooms while the meeting was called in the dining hall.
Albus Dumbledore had been anxiously awaiting word from his most treasured spy in a bid to better gauge Voldemort's plans.
"Severus." said the Headmaster with a pleasant smile. "I am pleased to see that you are well."
Snape simply nodded once in response to the elder wizard's greeting.
"Headmaster, if you have a moment...I wish to speak with you." he said as polite as he could manage. "What I have to say is not to be within earshot of common place eavesdroppers."
As Snape said this, his obsidian eyes flicked toward the stairs where he met the amber eyed gaze of an inquisitive Hermione Jean Granger whom gasped in shocked once Snape noticed her watching him. Initially, the fifteen year old witch had been attempting to wrangle both Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley before anyone caught them but the immediate implication of importance in the dreaded Potions Professor's tone caught her attention.
Severus Snape was not a man that enjoyed being kept waiting and he never wasted his words. If he had anything to say at all it was of the utmost importance, especially having traveled all this way. The young witch had known since her third year that Harry's godfather Sirius Black and her Potions Professor had animosity left over from when they were both children attending Hogwarts and despite being a member of the second Order of Phoenix, Snape did not frequent the headquarters.
Truth be told, his stays are mostly forced by Dumbledore if anything.
As such he chose the basement to turn into a makeshift bedroom whenever his visit was forced upon the house. Everyone mostly steered clear of the basement before and after Snape left. Not even Sirius had been so bold as to venture into that place. He often joked that Snape was doing horrific experiments down there on unsuspecting children.
Sometimes Harry would find it funny to joke about it with Sirius but Ron was more often terrified than amused at the prospect of Snape dissecting a student beneath The Black family Manor. Hermione simply thought the stories and jokes to be in poor taste and childish even for someone as stuck in the past as Sirius Black.
"I suppose you are right Severus." replied Dumbledore. "We do tend to have a good deal of delicate information being picked up on by equally delicate ears."
Snape rolled his eyes not wishing to engage the elder wizard in his word-play. He had not liked being under the same roof with Harry Potter or Sirius Black and the longer he stayed the more agitated he became.
"Come into the meeting room Severus." said Dumbledore in a serious tone.
Snape rolled his eyes once more. Any excuse to get him in the same place as Lupin and Black had seemed to be the old man's theme as of late.
"As you wish, Headmaster." replied Snape dutifully despite his annoyance.
Hermione watched Severus Snape look up at her once more before following Dumbledore into the meeting room.
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The Dining Hall, 12 Grimmauld Place, Muggle World...
Arthur Weasley had the floor. His information of Fudge and Umbridge's plans to unveil the Marriage Law degree very soon in terms of maintaining a foothold in wizarding politics. Harry's insistence that Voldemort had returned caused quite a bit of a stir in the wizarding world and questions of wither or not Fudge was a competent Minister of Magic had spurred this idea to get public attention on a more pressing topic. The continued succession of magical blood in the wizarding world.
"He fully intends to unveil this plot in a bid to overshadow the growing concerns about Voldemort." said Arthur Weasley slamming his hand on the long and elegantly carved oak wood table.
"Well that just tears it then...the bloody man's lost his mind." said Molly Weasley in full support of opposing this new law.
"It makes no difference wither he wants to admit Voldemort is back or now, the fact still remains that he is and he's gearing up for another war." said Lupin.
He had been a bit rundown in the wake of the last bout with the full moon.
"He's targeting Muggle-Borns." said Sirius Black leaning back in his chair as coolly as only he could manage. "The way I see it, this buys us time."
"Time for what exactly?" asked Snape with an arched eyebrow. "The Ministry is as unstable as it can get from the way Arthur describes the conditions and our so called Minster of Magic is staking the entire wizarding world's population on a popularity contest for public opinion instead of aiding the order's forces to prevent a second devastating war."
Sirius Black narrowed his eyes at the Potions Professor. He had been out of the loop for quite some time since the first Order of Phoenix was founded given his lengthy stay at Azkaban.
"Alright Snivellus." said Sirius enjoying his mocking. "What do you suggest we do, given you are the only resident death eater here...why don't you give us a glimpse into the mind of a deranged psychopath...you would know best after all."
Snape had been about to draw his wand and hex the cheeky mutt but Dumbledore intervened.
"That's enough Sirius." he said in a stern tone. "Severus is here to assist us and has assisted us for quite some time, had he not arrived with more news of how the dark lord plans to utilize this new law to his advantage we'd be stumbling about in the dark."
Sirius said nothing further but glared at Snape rather murderously.
"Severus, what news do you have on your end?" asked The Headmaster turning his attention to The Potions Master.
Snape turned his attention from the sulking mutt back to his employer.
"The Dark Lord intends to eradicate Muggle-Borns by having his eligible death eaters wed them then depose of them." said Snape bluntly. "There is no limitation to how many times a death eater may wed a muggle-born and given the misinformation about the dark lord's return...none will know that they are in immediate danger...nor will they know that their spouse is a member of the dark lord's faction...in a sense, this move plays well into the dark lord's hands."
"Spoken like a true Slytherin." muttered Sirius drawing Dumbledore's stern expression once more.
Snape did his best to hide the upturned smirk that filed briefly across his face while he watched the "dog" squirm.
"Thank you Severus...although I must say this news is even more unsettling than Arthur's." said Dumbledore looking a bit weary.
"There is another matter that comes to mind...there is the matter of Miss Granger." said Snape offhandedly mentioning what everyone else had appeared to have forgotten.
Molly Weasley's eyes widened.
"She's just a girl for Merlin's sake!" said the overly-concerned mother of quite a few.
"Indeed she is." agreed Snape. "But think of the implications of this new law...she is on the cusp of being of age...the age required for one to come under the Ministry's new law."
A few collective gasps of horror filled the room as everyone finally caught on to what Snape was trying to say.
"This new law means that Miss Granger is in grave danger." said Dumbledore getting the full scope of the implications.
"Exactly." replied Snape. "I suggest marrying the girl off before hand...perhaps Molly has a son available."
Hearing this Molly Weasley already could hear wedding bells.
"What a brilliant suggestion Severus...perhaps Miss Granger should be wed...but to someone the other death eater's could not necessarily impact." said Dumbledore seeming to be in deep though. "Whomever she chooses will most certainly come under fire from death eaters perusing her hand in marriage to please the dark lord."
"Naturally." replied Snape.
"We need someone who would be impervious to their assault as well as eligible for the Marriage Law's age requirements." said Dumbledore.
"We also need someone who isn't afraid of a bit of backlash in terms of Voldemort's wrath." suggested Lupin. "I'm afraid Fred and George are out as far as those requirements are concerned."
"What about Percy?" asked Arthur deep in thought. "He's..."
"A Ministry of Magic official and has no desire to marry." said Molly. "Besides, when was the last time you've even heard from our son now that he's moved up in the world?...you think he'd be bothered to call once in awhile."
"I'd be happy to marry Miss Granger." said Sirius Black breaking the silence. "I do not fear Voldy or his death eaters."
"You are still a wanted man." said Lupin. "The Ministry of Magic as more likely to give you the dementor's kiss than see you wed."
"Then why don't you do it Mr. Responsible?" replied Sirius Black annoyed at being reminded of his less than savory lifestyle and impending boredom.
"YOU KNOW VERY WELL WHY I CAN'T MARRY THE GIRL!" shouted Lupin still a bit testy from his excisions due to the full moon.
"Enough!" said Dumbledore in a stern tone getting everyone's attention. "I have chosen the perfect candidate to marry Miss Granger...and I will reveal this person in due time...for now meeting adjourned until further notice."
Severus Snape's eyes flickered with pain as his dark mark began to burn. The dark lord was calling him and it had only taken a quick glance in Dumbledore's direction to get the elder Headmaster to close the meeting.
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The Hall, 12 Grimmauld Place, Muggle World...
Hermione Granger had been exiting the kitchen with her newly retrieved cup of water. She had spent a good deal of the afternoon trying to figure out what Snape had been telling Dumbledore that had been so urgent. She had a bad feeling about the up coming school term but kept it to herself for the most part. While it was good to be back among her friends once more, she felt herself becoming more and more distracted by the prospect of the up coming war but knew not how to convey her concerns to those whom could do something about them. The adults treated her as a child and her friends were more or less children in their own right.
Being the eldest of a good deal of her friends, even the Weasley twins Fred and George in terms of maturity had it's disadvantages. With a sigh, she decided a bit of light reading would be a good thing to settle her wayward mind. The young witch made her way toward the sitting room, the other teenagers that occupied 12 Grimmauld place had been busy with Weasley brothers products and finding their own amusement.
As Hermione rounded the corner in a bid to reach the sitting room and found herself bumping into a ebony clad wall of some sort. Having just been jolted from her thoughts, the amber eyed young witch looked up to see the dreaded Potions Professor Severus Snape glaring rather murderously at her. He had been clutching his left forearm as if had been causing him a good deal of pain but he weathered it with a kind of determination Hermione had never seen before.
At first, she wondered if she had caused this intense pain before noticing the enormous wet splash on front of The Potions Master's ebony frock coat. The splash had gained quite a bit of height having reached the seething wizard's sallow pale face and it was unnerving to see a water pool at the tip of the dark wizard's infamously large nose.
"P-Professor Snape." stammered Hermione from the hardwood floor below. "I-I'm so sorry..."
"Why don't you watch where you are going!?" said Snape in a dangerously low tone.
He paid no mind that running into his surprisingly hard chest had caused her to fall. It was easy to see the man's contempt for physical contact especially from a student wasn't just limited to Harry Potter. As Hermione looked over her Potions Professor she could see his left sleeve drawn up to his forearm and what she knew without a shadow of a doubt to be the dark mark of Voldemort had been as black as mid night amid the surprisingly pale flesh of his the skin on his arm.
"I-I..." she began unsure what to say and equally unable to get the sight out of her mind.
Snape appeared to have noted the girl's eyes on his exposed mark and covered it almost immediately with his right hand. Annoyed that she had even more fodder for Potter's insufferable tales of "The Evil Potions Professor" for more than a few campfire tales, he scoffed and stepped around her in a bid to rush out the door. As he moved about, the young witch believed she could hear him mutter something about a "dark lord" and "contemptible pain" and "witches."
Before she reached her feet, Snape had been long gone. A violent crack of thunder signaled his exit from 12 Grimmauld Place indefinitely.
"He could have at least helped me stand." muttered Hermione annoyed at Snape's apparent rude nature when in the presence of a lady, even if she was a good deal young and his student.
"Miss Granger?" said the pleasant tone of Albus Dumbledore as his blue eyes focused on the now standing witch.
Hermione turned her attention to The Headmaster of Hogwarts.
"Oh...Hello Professor Dumbledore, I wasn't speaking about you." she said quickly.
Dumbledore smiled pleasantly at the young witch.
"Severus can be a bit barbaric when in a good deal of pain." he said. "I apologize that you had to witness such a display."
Hermione sighed.
"It's alright Professor." she said sadly thinking of Snape and all the spy work he has done over the years that they knew nothing about. "It's just Professor Snape's way I suppose."
"You really are a remarkable young witch, Miss Granger." said Dumbledore seemingly in awe. "I wonder...I wish to speak with you concerning a matter of grave importance."
"Of course." said Hermione giving the elder wizard her undivided attention.
"I shall contact you when everyone has gotten settled." said Dumbledore. "Until then enjoy your reading...and your drink."
Before Hermione could inquire as to how he knew of her plans, a newly poured glass had levitated before her as well as the book she intended to read for the evening.
"Thank you Professor." she said pleased to have her drink refreshed.
"Enjoy yourself Miss Granger." said The Headmaster.
"I will." replied Hermione making her way toward the sitting room in a bid to find peace and quiet.
Dumbledore watched her go without her having any knowledge of the twinkling being his blue eyed gaze.
Yes, Hermione Jean Granger was a remarkable young witch indeed.