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Marriage Vows	By : selened Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 23720 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 16
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- 18
Marriage Vows

Disclaimer: This
story was inspired by the Marriage Law Challenge on WIKTT. All Harry Potter characters belong to JK
Rowling and those with whom she has agreed contracts. This story was written for practice not profit.

Chapter Sixteen Trouble Brewing

Severus did not return to his chambers until almost
11.30. Hermione had put her work away
and was curled up on the sofa in her dressing gown with a cup of cocoa when he
walked in. He walked straight over to
her and kissed her softly on her forehead.

�Did you get much work done?� he enquired.

�Yes. Madam Pince
let me bring down some books to finish my Charms essay and I�ve done the
reading for History of Magic. Did you
speak to Albus about Maria Abbott?�

�Yes I did. He
agrees with Melissa and myself. The
child needs to know her blood. I know
you think differently and I understand your argument but blood is too important
in our world to be ignored. Are you
hurt that we do not agree on this matter?�

�A little. I suppoI hoI hoped that you were more relaxed in your attitude than that. I was taken aback by Melissa more than by
you.�

�I suspect Melissa would not have taken Charlie into her
family if he hadn�t been a pure-blood.
She�s a good person. She would
not discriminate in her friendships or her treatment of students and she would
never harm a Muggle but her family bloodline is important to her.�

�You�re a pure-blood and our children won�t be. Does that bother you?�

�I have ng ong of regret that I am breaking a longstanding
tradition. Breaking tradition is not
something that comes easily to me. Some
of my lines go back more than two thousand years. The most recent Muggle-born was nine generations ago somewhere on
my mother�s side and you�d have to go back a lot further to find another. However you have gained more distinction
than anyone in the Snape family in the last three centuries and you�re barely
eighteen years old. In the future
descendants of the Snape family will be respected because they will claim you
as their ancestor. The more time I
spend with you the more I become convinced that I could not have been
luckier. I took you as my blood kin and
I will honour the relationship for as long as you will allow me.�

�Thank you. I was
just thinking about going to bed. Did
you want to��

�In a moment.yes"> We will only make the base tonight. It will need time to mature before the next stage. Would you like to have dinner with me
later?�

�Yes. That would be
nice.�

�We�ll need to eat early because I�m on the first duty
tonight. I�m sure you can entertain
yourself with some study while I�m out.
Set up your equipment at that end and I will work over here. That way if you have a mishap at a sensitive
stage it will not contaminate my brew.
You start with ten pints of water and bring it up to a gentle
simmer. Whilst you are waiting you can
shred and weigh four ounces of moon harvested sage and half an ounce of finely
ground mistletoe berries. We simmer
both of these for an hour and then leave to mature for forty eight hours.�

Hermione set about starting her brew. The first stage was relatively easy to
prepare and they were ready to supervise the initial simmering at roughly the
same time. They gravitated to the
centre of the room so they could stand together.

�How was your day?� she enquired sweetly.

�Relatively uneventful,� he replied. I had Advanced Potions this afternoon with
the Seventh years. Weasley kept his
head down. Longbottom managed
reasonably well in your absence. Draco
wasn�t there to exercise a malign influence over Pansy or Blaise. I didn�t have that awful first year class
today. No detentions. How about you?�

�It was good. I
haven�t seen Ron today. We don�t share
classes on a Wednesday anymore and he wasn�t around at breakfast or lunch. I�ll give him a while longer to cool off
before I try to patch things up.�

�I don�t see why you need to make the first move.�

�That�s because you�re a man. I don�t like being at odds.
I�m not cross with him. I just
want him to stop being stupid.�

�Yes well I suppose if you were to wait for that to happen
you would be old and grey.�

A knock came at the classroom door. Severus sighed and moved into the main
room. Hermione lingered in the doorway
where she could still keep an eye on the cauldrons. Severus hauled open the door to find Maria Abbott standing there.

�Come in Miss Abbott.�

�Professor Dumbledore said you wanted to speak with me.�

�Yes I do. I was
going to ask you to come and see me tomorrow.
Please sit down. Professor
Graceworthy-Plank and I went to visit your parents last night. We asked them if they knew anything about
the Malfoy family�. And it appears that they do not. Now the Sorting Hat is never wrong so we still have a puzzle on
our hands.�

�What are we going to do about it Sir?� asked the child.

�Genealogy and bloodlines are important to Witches and
Wizards so we can do a spell to create a family tree for you. This will tell you who you are related to
and how. However if we do the spell you
may find out things about your family history that make you unhappy.�

�Like Mum and Dad might have taken the wrong baby from the
hospital?�

�Er yes� What makou sou say that?�

�I saw a film once. Two babies got swapped around in a
hospital and no one knew until one child got sick and tests showed she wasn�t a
genetic match for her parents. That
could be like this, only I�m not sick, I�m a Witch.�

�We may discover something like that. Do you want us to do the spell?�

�We have to know don�t we?
If that Hat thing hadn�t put me in Slytherin I wouldn�t have known I
didn�t know. If I don�t find out I�ll
always worry. I think Mum and Dad would
still like me even if I�m not theirs.�

�Trust me Miss Abbott.
If you have a Malfoy as a blood parent I don�t think you should give up
your Muggle family for them.�

�Would I have to tell my Mum and Dad?�

�I don�t know. It
depends what we find. Your Mother
doesn�t know much about her own family so we might hide it quite easily at
least until you�re older.�

�Will we do the spell tomorrow?�

�Yes, Professor Dumbledore will do it for you. I will accompany you. We will probably do it in the morning. Now try not to worry about it and I�ll see
you tomorrow.�

The little girl scuttled off and Severus rejoined his wife.

�You�re good with her.�

�You sound surprised.
I�m not always an ogre to my precious Slytherins. I have to live with them.�

�She�s precocious.�

�No more than you were.
Have you given any thought at all to the children we will create between
us? I�m sure they�ll give Miss Abbott a
run for her money.�

Hermione perched on her stool and held onto his hand.

�Have you given any thought to the drendren we will have
Severus?� she asked quietly. �Like when
and how many?�

�Not specifically. I
thought we would wait until you were ready to start and then see how it
went. Have you thought about it?�

�I was thinking about next year.�

�That�s very soon.
Are you sure?�

�I think so. I
hadn�t ever thought about having children but then since you and I began to do
the things which create them it doesn�t seem such a remote idea. After I�ve done my NEWTs I�ll be free to
take some time out of formal education.
If I were to go to the university I don�t think I would learn anything I
can�t learn from you or Minerva and I won�t ever need to apply for a job so I
don�t need the piece of paper.�

�You are correct.
You have always been a very self-motivated worker. I�m sure Minerva would welcome you as an
assistant on a part-time basis if you were to ask. You don�t have to make the decision now. I will admit to a fantasy of seeing you
swell with my child but I can wait for you.
I would hate to see you feel you had lost your youth. Merlin knows it has been overshadowed enough
by the war.�

�You lost more time than I did. Look at what the war cost you.
Your wife, your baby and your health.�

�You are a great blessing Hermione. So much more than I deserve.�

�Don�t start this again.
You earned my affections fairly.
You are my future and I am yours.�

He bent down and kissed her lovingly. The couple started as they heard a
noise. Looking round they realised that
Ron Weasley was watching them through the doorway.

�Weasley,� said Severus tightly. �I presume you have a reason for being here unannounced.�

�I�m sorry. The door
was open. I was looking for Hermione
and I heard voices through here.�

�Well you have found my wife. I will give you two a chance to talk. I will be back momentarily to check on these cauldrons.�

He kissed Hermione again and swept out of the room.

�He�s got you making Potions for him then?�

�Actually these are for Remus.Severus is teaching me to make the Wolfsbane potion. Did you want to speak to me?�

�I had a note from Percy.
It seems that the new Marriage Law has been suspended now Lucius Malfoy
is facing corruption charges. If you
had held out a bit longer you wouldn�t have had to marry Snape.�

�Oh,�

�Is that all you�ve got to say for yourself?�

�What do you want me to say? I�m not unhappy with Severus although it seems you would like me
to be.�

��Mione, I don�t want you to be unhappy. I could never want that. I just don�t see how you can be happy with
him. I can see you�re being brave and I
respect that but you can get out of this farce of a marriage now. Wait a while and marry someone you love.�

�What if I love Severus?�

�You can�t. You�re
no fool. You know what he is. He won�t ever really change Hermione. He did a good thing saving you from Malfoy
but he surely won�t want to be tied to you forever. He�s playing you now to get his heir. Get out while you can.�

�I want to have his children Ron. Do you know how powerful the magic of that binding ceremony
was? He�s the one for me Ron, I know
it.�

Ron strode over to her and grabbed her tightly by her upper
arms. �Hermione what the hell has he
done to you? You can tell me. What�s making you act this way?�

�He hasn�t done anything bad to me. What we do alone together is private. I won�t discuss it with you.�

�What are you afraid of?
What will he do to you if you tell me?�

�You�re hurting me!
Let go!�

�Not until you tell me why you�re behaving this way!�

�Let go of my wife this instant.� Severus� voice cut through the room bringing Ron up short. He released his grip on Hermione and turned
to face Severus who was quivering with barely restrained fury.

�I left you alone with my wife because I know she wishes to
repair your friendship. I did not
expect to find you manhandling her when I returned. Please explain yourself.�

�I want to know what you have done to her. Why she�s like this.�

�Are you implying I�ve done her harm?�

�I suppose I am.
You�ve changed her. Ever since
you proposed she�s been different. She
seems to think she wants to be married to you and I just know it didn�t happen
naturally. She won�t tell me what you
did and I want to know!�

�Weasley, get out of here now before I hex you. How dare you insult us in this fashion? Were it not for the life debt I owe to your
mother I would have you suspended for this.
Do not go near my wife again until you�ve come to your senses.�

�I�ll go now, but don�t think you�ll get away with this
Snape. I will get her free of you if
it�s the last thing I do. You don�t
think anyone trusts you with her do you?�

This was one comment too many for Severus who grabbed a
small silver cauldron and threw it at him.
Ron managed to dodge it and made a quick exit before the enraged
Professor got round to drawing his wand.
Hermione, frightened that he might go in pursuit placed her hand on his
arm which served to calm him. Severus
turned and embraced her and dropped some comforting kisses on the top of her
head as he held her. Hermione pulled
away from him and exclaimed, �Cauldrons!�

They pulled apart to attend to their brews. When the cauldrons were safely settled to
one side Hermione said,

�Ron came to tell me that the Marriage Law was suspended
today. Lucius may be facing corruption
charges. He said I would have been safe
now if we hadn�t married so quickly.
He�s got it into his head somehow that you are forcing me to want you.�

�I don�t really know what to say. How did Ron hear about this?�

�Percy told him.
Percy got moved when Fudge lost office.
He�s doing press releases for the Wizengamot. It�ll be all over the Prophet tomorrow.�

�Be st wst with me Hermione, how did you feel when he broke
this news to you?�

�Confused. If this
had happened last week we wouldn�t have gohrouhrough with the ceremony. My life would be normal again but I would
have lost you and who knows if I would ever have found this. It may be quite selfish of me but I�m glad
we are married. Ron says I�m different
and I am. It�s not a bad
different. I think I did a lot of
growing up in a very short time. I�ve
been honest with you. Will you be
honest with me?�

�I worry that you didn�t have a free choice and that you
will one day feel trapped. However you
are still as much of a blessing as you were ten minutes ago.�

�I think we ought to talk to Albus about this. If we go now we can see him before
dinner. Time�s getting on I think we�ll
have to eat in Hall tonight. Will you
sit with me?�

�Of course I will.
What time will you be off duty tonight?�

�Ten o�clock.�

�I�ll try and finish my work by then so we can relax for a
bit.�

�Good idea. Let�s
take a walk up to Albus shall we?�

The password was jelly babies and Hermione relieved Severus
of the necessity of saying out loud. He
smiled at her and she giggled at him.

�Ah Severus, Hermione, come in. What can I do for you?�

�Well firstly, before I forget, I have spoken to Miss Abbott
and she is in favour of the spell. She
seems quite composed about the idea that her parents may have unwittingly
fostered her.�

�Did you tell her that?�

�No, she got there all on her own. She says she saw a film where babies were mixed up in
hospital. She wants to keep it from the
Abbotts though.�

�Well we�ll find out tomorrow. What else did we need to discuss?�

�We had a visit from Ron Weasley earlier. He is having difficulty adjusting to the
fact that Hermione and I are settling down well into our marriage. I imagine he�s jealous but he has an idea in
his head that I am somehow compelling Hermione to be affectionate with me.�

�Severus, may I ask, is your bond complete?�

�Yes,� he answered shortly.

�And you are happy about this Hermione?�

�Yes. He let me choose
when. He hasn�t treated me badly in any
way.�

�Have you any idea about how Mr Weasley came by his
beliefs?�

�Last Sunday I made a comment in passing which made him
realise that Severus and I were intimate.
He was shocked and said things.
He implied that Severus had bought my affection. I don�t really ustanstand why he was so
upset. He can�t have thought that I
would deny Severus what is due to him and anyway we needed to secure the bond.�

�Weasley came down to the lab earlier. We were in the workroom brewing
together. He wanted to speak to
Hermione so I gave them a moment alone.
When I came back he had grabbed hold of her and was shouting. Naturally I was angry with him and sent him
on his way. He told Hermione that he
had found out that the Marriage Law has been suspended.�

�He�s cot.

�We�re not sorry,� burst out Hermione. �We like being married.�

Albus� mouth twitched he lhe looked at Severus.

�May I gather that Madam Snape speaks for both of you?�

�Yes she does.�

�I am truly glad to hear it. I�ll ask Minerva to keep an eye on young Mr Weasley. Perhaps a word with Charlie and Melissa
wouldn�t go amiss either.�

�We would be grateful.
Hermione will be accompanying me to dinner tonight if that is all right
with you?�

�It will be a pleasure.�

A/N Thank-you to
NightQueen, kishkitten36, kat1441 and lisa for reviewing.

One of my reviews this time politely referred to �careless
spelling mistakes� and �incorrect use of words� and suggested I use a
beta-reader to correct �silly errors�.
Now I�ve looked back over the stuff I�ve put up so far but the only
errors I can spot relate to punctuation.
I haven�t enlisted the services of a beta before now because I thought
as an English graduate my spelling and grammar was up to the standard of the
board. However I am willing to admit
that I am not perfect so if any other reviewers could point out some specific
errors for me I might be able to work out whether I need to work with someone
else or not.

Anon- I haven�t read
the book you refer to but I looked it up online and was very interested to see
the author�s link to Tolkien. I may try
it over the summer.
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Marriage Vows