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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
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Marriage Vows

Disclaimer: Thisory ory 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 Eight

Doing the Muggle Thing

That evening the dinner party had grown too large to be
housed in Severus� own chambers and a room off the Great Hall had been turned
over for the purpose. Around the table
were Severus and Hermione, Molly and Arthur, Charlie Weasley and his wife
Melissa Graceworthy-Plank, Minerva and Dumbledore, Mr and Mrs Granger, Ron,
Harry, Ginny and Neville. The
atmosphere was greatly ovedoved from the previous night�s effort. This was largely due to the pride the
Weasley family took in Molly�s victory over Lucius Malfoy and the wine
Dumbledore had brought out to celebrate.
Arthur fairly glowed with pride at his wife�s skill and grew more
talkative with every sip. He reached
over the table to hold her hand and she looked twenty years younger as she
looked back at him.

When everyone had finished eating Dumbledore tapped his
glass to quieten the gathering. When he
had everyone�s attention he began to speak.
�Ladies and gentlemen I am pleased to be hosting our gathering this
evening. This summer has been filled
with celebrations of our victory over Voldemort. We have received medals at official receptions but still the
greatest celebrations are those where we gather as friends and family to enjoy
the future that we have fought for.

We are here this evening to bless our friends in their
wedding tomorrow. We are all aware that
this wedding is happening under unusual circumstances. Severus and Hermione have a right to feel
aggrieved that they have been forced to lay aside the relationship they had
previously forged in favour of a new relationship of husband and wife. They have not had long to adjust to the
idea. Over the years they have moved
from the relationship of teacher and pupil to Master and Apprentice to comrades
in battle. Those who have seen them at
work know that they collaborate well and inspire each other in times of
crisis. No one could doubt their
bravery and loyalty to our cause.
Minerva and I both taught Severus when he was a child and can assert
that they are intellectually well-matched.
There are many positive aspects to this union and I would ask them to
consider their strengths and make each other happy.�

�Hear hear!� echoed Arthur.
�I�ve always said that marrying Molly was the best thing I ever
did. Even though I wasn�t old enough to
know how lucky I was at the time. We�ve
been blessed. Seven healthy if
occasionally spirited children��

�Occasionally?� piped up Ginny. �How do you think Mum got that good with �Expelliarmus�?�

�Be that as it may I still have a point to make. Marriage is the basis for the future of our
society. I come from an old family that
Grindelwald almost wiped out. I have
six sons. Five of whom will carry on my
name. Charlie�s kids will take
Melissa�s family names as she is the last of both her parent�s lines. All of my childree ale already distinguished
even though Ron and Ginny are not yet of age.
I have a daughter as bright and beautiful as her mother who may be
destined to restore the Longbottom family as Molly did mine, as long as we
repeal this bloody law that is. Cherish
your wife Severus, she is the most valuable gift you will ever receive.�

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Hermione looked at Severus who had a troubled look on his
face. Seeing her glance he shook it off
and smiled at her. Turning to the rest
of the company he said, �Thank-you for your kind words Albus and Arthur. I think Hermione and I have reached a level
of understanding over the past few days and we are ready to give each other
every chance.

Some of you round this table remember my first wife
Olivia. I mean no disrespect to
Hermione when I tell you that this affair has called her to my mind more than
usual these past few days. I loved my
wife.yes"> �I don�t like the damsel in distress routine Malfoy has foisted
on me. This is a partnership. We protect each other.�

�Gryffindor has a reputation for turning out lionesses,�
blurted Neville. �That�s what my Gran
says.�

�No man here is going to argue with that Neville,� said
Severus easily. �I can�t be alone in
recognising that we have five of them present this evening and you represent
your own mother and grandmother who also merit the title. A man would be a fool indeed not to
recognise their worth.�

�I never thought I�d hear you admit that in public Severus,�
shot Minerva. �Does this mean you�ll
give them a fair crack of the whip in potions lessons in future?�

�I think I shall continue to inspire your little clan in the
way I always have, Minerva. After all
without grit there would be no pearls, and a great many more exploded
cauldrons, with tedious visits to the infirmary etc. I�ve the lowest mortality rate of any potions professor in the
last two centuries in spite of the most demanding curriculum. They may hate me but they will know how to
brew if it kills me.�

�There is something in that,� said Ron. �We all dreaded the lessons but we did well
on the OWL.�

�I rest my case.�

�I don�t think we should go down the path of talking about
Severus� teaching methods. Let�s talk
weddings again,� said Molly.

�I would have thought you�d have had enough of weddings
Mum. We�ve had five in the last year,�
protested Ron.

�Every wedding is different. Anyway I�ve never been to a wedding of a Muggle-born before. It�s bound to be a bit different.�

�I don�t think so,� said Hermione. �We didn�t really get chance to work out anything special. It�s just a standard modern form binding
ceremony.�

�But aren�t there any Muggle traditions you want to
observe?� asked Arthur incredulously.

�I don�t know.
Severus gave me a ring which is a custom when a man proposes. I haven�t been to a Muggle wedding since my
Aunt got married when I was three.�

�Well surely your parents know. Come on Liz, Michael, what should we be doing now if this were a
Muggle wedding?�

�Well the night before the wedding we usually have Stag and
Hen parties,� said Mrs Granger.

�Bloodsports,� said Mr Weasley thoughtfully. �Well it�s unusual but if it�s
traditional�.�

�Er no Arthur.yes"> Going in he found it empty apart from one small flaxen haired
child curled up on the furthermost bed.
At first sight he thought she was crying.yes"> He released the child�s face, stood up and bade her follow him.

�Lemon drop?� he asked smiling and holding out a handful.

�No thank you,� she said firmly.

�Now our Head Girl says that some of the older students were
being unpleasant to you. Is that
right?�

�Yes.�

�Can you tell us about it?�

�I was talking to some of the other new children on the way
back from the Library. One of them
asked me if I was related to the Head Girl and I told them I was the first
person in my family to come here. Simon
asked me which magical school the others went to. I explained that I was the only Witch in my family and Simon
called me a Mudblood. He was shouting
and then the grown-up boys heard him.
Two of them grabbed me and the blond boy said I wasn�t allowed to be in
Slytherin any more because it wasn�t meant folth lth like me. He hit me and made my nose and my lip bleed
and then Hannah came and made them put me down. She cleaned up my nose and went to find Professor Snape.�

�Who were the boys Hannah?� asked Dumbledore.

�Crabbe and Goyle were holdier ser sir. They had picked her up between them and
Draco hit her. The first year making
the noise was Simon Lestrange.�

�Well Maria you�ve been a very brave girl today to tell us
about all this so calmly. I�m going to
ask Hannah to take you to Madam Pomfrey tonight. Hannah, please tell Madam Pomfrey about the incident and tell her
the Headmaster thinks Miss Abbott deserves to be pampered overnight after her
experience.�

Hannah led the younger girl out and the two men turned to
each other.

�A Muggle-born, Albus, In Slytherin? How did this happen?�

�I don�t know. It�s
definitely a first isn�t it?�

�Yes. We hardly ever
get anyone who isn�t a member of an old family. Riddle was a one off and he had a pure-blood mother. He was the most evil wizard of our age and
the sheer ruthless ambition must have carried him over. You don�t think that little child�. Who did
the home visit? She must have had one.�

�They were split alphabetically among members of staff who
blend a little better than we do. I
think Melissa took the first chunk.�

�And she didn�t think to mention it during the sorting?�

�She wasn�t there.
She was assisting at a unicorn birth.
It was twins and the mother was struggling. I announced her appointment if you remember but she wasn�t there
to stand up. She doesn�t teach first
years so she wouldn�t really take much of an interest in them after sorting.�

�No and it isn�t her job to notice either is it? It�s mine!
I just never thought to check for this� I mean there has to be some kind
of mistake� or is that pixie going to terrorise the entire wizarding world?�

�Well cuteness is no bar to the seeking of world domination
but it�s hard to imagine. What does
your instinct tell you?�

�Well if she weren�t Muggle-born I think she�d be in the
right place. She had what should have
been a devastating experience but she was angry rather than tearful. She wasnntimntimidated by us either and you
would expect a Muggle-born to be very wary.
She has a dignity or a presence I wouldn�t have expected. What do you
think?�

�On the whole I agree with you. She is not what you would expect. She looks like a pure-blood to me. Perhaps there is something in her history she is not aware
of? Perhaps she isn�t truly her
father�s child?�

�Well we need to get to the bottom of this. I�ll intimidate young Lestrange but may I
hand the seventh years over to you? I�d
rather not have any contact with Draco at the moment.�

�I understand that.
It�s only natural in view of today�s events. Actually we might take advantage of Lucius� circumstances to send
him home for a while. Crabbe and Goyle
also. I don�t think separation would do
them any harm. It�s about time they
realised there was more to life than being young Mr Malfoy�s henchmen.�

�Well I suppose it might let me have a more positive
influence on thhavihaviour in my house than I have in the past.�

�You can�t blame yourself for that Severus. You have walked a difficult line for
me. It has always been my decision to
keep you as Head of House. No one
expected you to be harsh with those boys.
You did your good where you were able.
You looked after the ones whose futures weren�t set in stone by their
parents.�

�Nice words Albus but I�ve produced three seventeen year
olds who think it�s acceptable behaviour to pin a little girl to a wall while
one of them punches her. How far would
they have gone if Miss Abbott hadn�t been on the ball? What then?�

�Their parents produced them Severus. Not you!
You have my respect and that of all your colleagues.�

�I should have stopped it.
It wouldn�t take a genius to realise Draco would be seeking a chance to
relieve some frustration tonight.�

�I agree that it was likely that Draco would let loose in
some way but you have other concerns at the moment. Besides you couldn�t have predicted where and when it would
happen. Unless, of course, you�ve
unearthed a deeply buried talent for Divination. The boys will be sent home for a few weeks. Now that all their fathers are in custody
you will have a fresh opportunity to be a good influence when they come
back. Little Miss Abbott will keep
until the morning. Perhaps we might ask
the Sorting Hat to elaborate on its decision.
It may give us a clue where to start.
Have the boys sent up to my office and I will deal with them there. Afterwards we can get on with the party.�

A/N

GEmory, Boojum &
raija- Thank-you all for your feedback.
I hope you will continue to enjoy the story.
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Marriage Vows