Gretna Green

A big hug of thanks must go to Madbrilliant and Alliean for all of their hard work beta-ing this chapter. Also another hug of thanks must go to RobisonRocket for all of her help too. And a hug of thanks to all of those who continue to read and review. You guys rock!

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Chapter 16 -- Gretna Green

Mid-morning light shone through the windows and scattered across the room, the pattern created by the strange shapes and textures of the glass.

In the room, Severus sat on his lounge with Hermione seated between his legs, leaning back against his chest comfortably. She was wearing a white cotton t-shirt and loose pants with bed socks on her feet. The way that the shirt was clinging to her allowed for Severus to see the subtle changes her body was going through from the pregnancy. Her breasts, while not huge, were slightly fuller and there were the beginnings of a gentle curve to her usually flat stomach.

Severus was very pleased to see it and thought she looked lush and beautiful. He stared at her stomach, placing his hand flat to it, and traced small circles with his long fingers over the fabric of the shirt. She was so warm and glowing; he could barely keep his hands off of her.

'You are the most beautiful pregnant woman I have ever had the good fortune to see,' he murmured low into her ear, lifting up her left hand and bringing it to his mouth to kiss her palm.

She laughed softly, snuggling further back against him.

'Charmer,' she accused teasingly.

'But you love it,' he insisted.

She nodded and turned to look over her shoulder just a little to see him. 'I do love it,' she agreed, kissing his chin before turning back to rest her head against his shoulder. 'I love you too.'

Severus smiled, kissing the top of her head. 'And I love you,' he replied softly.

They lapsed into silence which then gave them both time to think. They had only been engaged for about two weeks, and thus far, the only other people who knew about it were Harry and Ginny Potter. Hermione had been feeling a little frustrated and impatient in the last few days, wondering if Severus would want to talk about a possible day for their wedding. It wasn't as though she was waiting for him to do all of the work, but she just didn't want to push him. She wanted him to set the pace for their relationship, seeing as he was the one who had the least experience.

Hermione was so lost in her thoughts when Severus next addressed her, she nearly jumped from the lounge in shock.

'Hermione?' he asked.

'Yes?' she replied, turning once again to look at him.

'When do you want to get married?' he asked as though he had read her mind.

She mentally snorted as that thought crossed her mind. Of course, Severus was perfectly capable of reading her mind. He was one of the best Legilimens in the wizarding world. She wouldn't be surprised if he had managed to get in and out of her mind without alerting her to his presence. She quickly brought up her Occlumency walls and pushed him all the way back out of her mind. He chuckled and wrapped both arms around her to hug her tightly. The clever witch had found him out.

'No, really, Hermione,' he said with a sigh. 'When would you like for us to be married? I don't really mind at all when.'

Hermione smiled at him, despite his intrusion. 'Love, if I could marry you today, I would do it in a heartbeat,' she replied, sliding her hands along his thighs.

He pulled his arms away and then turned her to face him properly. 'Do you really mean that? Would you marry me today?' he asked seriously.

'Of course I would marry you today,' she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him to her for a kiss. 'I love you. I would be happy to marry you whenever you wanted to.'

Severus sat and contemplated what she was saying to him for a moment and nodded, looking at her and smiling. 'All right, let's do it,' he said firmly, detangling them from the couch and standing her on her feet before him before standing up himself. 'Let's get married today.'

Hermione's mouth fell open in shock. 'W-what do you mean? Are you being serious?' she asked. 'You really want to marry me today?'

He nodded emphatically and held one of her hands between both of his hands. 'I love you, and I would do anything for you,' he answered honestly. 'I want to be married to you as soon as I can. When better than today? We have nothing planned – it's a Sunday. Filius could easily cover for us here for a couple of hours. It's not even as though we are doing anything here today anyway. Let's get married.'

'Where will we go then? Can you do that sort of thing legally?' she asked, a little unsure about wizarding marriage customs. Seeing as they had only just gotten engaged, she hadn't really had a lot of time to do any research on the subject and so was totally unprepared.

'Of course we can. We won't even need a witness, but for the sake of harmony with your friends, I suggest we ask the Potters to come along,' he said, taking her hand and drawing her to the fireplace with him. 'Floo to your rooms and bathe and dress in whatever you would like. I will Floo the Potters, and I will Apparate us there when you return.'

Hermione was still stunned as he nudged her towards the fireplace. She turned to look at him and saw that his eyes were alive with excitement and joy. She had no idea that she could cause such a reaction in any person, but was proven wrong by the way he was looking at her. Beaming at him brightly, she walked back to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a kiss that he would be unlikely to forget during their bonding ceremony. When they parted, he was gasping for breath, and she winked before disappearing into the green flames of his fireplace.

The fire turned back to red and he tossed some more powder in, turning the flames green again, and sticking his head in to the flames. 'Potter Residence, Grimmauld Place,' he said clearly, and his face appeared in the fireplace of the room the Potters were in. 'I have a favour to ask of you,' he said immediately.

'Hello to you too,' Harry said in reply. 'What can we do for the Headmaster of Hogwarts this fine Sunday morning?'

'I need you and Ginevra to meet Hermione and I in Gretna Green,' he answered hastily, trying to sound calm.

Ginny sat up, suddenly alert. She understood exactly what he meant when he asked that, even if her husband was still pondering it over in his head. 'Are you, and are you?' she asked cryptically.

'Yes, we most certainly are, Ginevra,' he answered politely. 'I wanted Hermione to have people there for her. I'll have to ask Minerva too, I suppose.'

'Yes, you go ask her then. I'll get Harry, Lily, and myself ready and we'll meet you both there,' Ginny said firmly, and Severus withdrew from their fireplace.

He then Flooed Minerva and found himself in the fireplace of the library at Minerva's holiday cottage in Denver. 'Minerva, would you mind doing something for me?' he asked in greeting, gaining her attention over the book she was searching for on the shelves.

'Of course, Severus,' she said immediately. 'What can I do for you?'

'Hermione and I are getting married in Gretna Green today. As soon as we are ready, we and the Potters will be going there,' he explained. 'I would like for you to be there for me. You are the closest thing I have to family.'

Minerva blinked in surprise. 'You're getting married to Hermione?' she said in a shocked voice. 'Since when? When on earth did all of this happen without my knowledge?'

'Yes, yes, I apologize for keeping you out of the loop until now, but I would really appreciate it if you would stand witness at our binding,' he said a little impatiently. 'I am in love with her, she wants to get married today, and she is carrying our children.'

'She's pregnant too?' Minerva exclaimed. 'Severus, I thought you were more responsible than that.'

'I know, I know. But we both want the children, so please just say yes and get dressed in something nice so I can go back and get myself cleaned up,' he said curtly, resting on his last nerve with the woman. She was honestly such a Gryffindor sometimes.

'Alright, now go and get ready for your nuptials,' Minerva said briskly, waving him away dismissively.

Severus was grumbling as he removed himself from the fireplace. He went straight to the bathroom and undressed, tossing his clothes into the laundry hamper and heading into the shower. He washed his hair and body, making sure that it would be clean and presentable for Hermione's sake. He took a little extra time shaving the stubble from his face, wanting to be clean-shaven and smooth for the ceremony. Once he was pleased with the results in the bathroom, he walked to his bedroom and opened the closet, digging into the back where a cover held his finest dress suit. He pulled out the trousers and jacket, casting a charm on them to remove the starchy smell, and lay them out on his bed while searching for an appropriate shirt.

He found a dark green silk shirt and donned that quickly, pulling on his trousers and tucking the shirt in neatly when he was done buttoning them up. He left the top two buttons undone on the shirt and donned the jacket over it. He was pleased by the way it fit and realised that it was really as good as it was going to get. Charming his hair dry, he sat down on the bed and pulled on some socks and his shiny black dancing shoes that went appropriately with his black attire.

'Severus?' Hermione called from the sitting room.

He exited the bedroom and nearly fell backwards at what he saw. Hermione was dressed in a pretty, spaghetti strap, cream dress that fell to her knees. It was embroidered on one side with some slightly darker cream cotton in the pattern of roses and vines. She wore sheer stockings and three-inch pumps that matched the dress. Over the top she wore a white winter coat to ward off the cold and had a black scarf in her hand to wrap around her neck when they were outside. Her hair was simply pinned back from her face neatly, her curls falling beautifully down her back.

'You look ravishing,' he said, going to her and kissing her hand. 'We must get going now, however, if we are to meet the Potters and Minerva on time.'

Hermione nodded, and Severus picked up a small box on the coffee table and then grabbed his long, black winter cloak as they walked out. They walked briskly through the halls and upon reaching outside, hurried along the snow-covered path to the front gates.

He stopped them once they were beyond the gates and put his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her. 'Are you sure about all of this?' he asked seriously, wanting to be certain one last time.

'Let's go now, love,' she insisted, wrapping her arms around his waist.

He smiled and Apparated them both to Gretna Green, which was conveniently still green despite the coolness of the weather. He held her hand tightly in his and walked towards a small group of people that he knew. Ginny, Minerva, and Harry were standing to the side of a row of buildings, Lily resting comfortably in the oldest woman's arms. They were clearly dressed in their Muggle best and smiled at the two of them as they approached them.

'Hermione, you are beautiful,' Ginny gushed, hugging her best friend.

'You really are, Hermione,' Harry agreed with a grin, hugging her also. 'So, this is the big day, huh?'

Hermione nodded, and Minerva chuckled and turned to Severus.

'My, don't you clean up well,' she commented. 'I never thought I would see you wearing Muggles clothes again after that incident in '92.'

Severus scowled. 'Let's go,' he said simply, taking Hermione's hand again and leading the way to the anvil. He planned a traditional outdoor ceremony.

They arrived shortly after and were greeted by an elderly gentleman with a strong Scottish brogue that only Minerva could fully understand when he was speaking quickly. Severus stood on one side of the anvil and Hermione on the other, and they clasped both hands over it, with their friends standing behind either of them, and the officiating wizard at one of the points.

'Alright, well ye both picked fine day to be wed,' he started. 'And it looks as though ye are both in love with each other, so this mightn't take too long. Just repeat after me; On this day of all days...'

'On this day of all days...' they said in unison.

'I hereby promise my faithfulness, loyalty, love and soul to my beloved,' he said, and they both repeated firmly. 'I might be unkind, but it is not my intention to harm my love,' he continued and they repeated.

'Now, ye may make ye own vows,' he concluded.

Severus smiled. 'I, Severus Sebastian Snape, hereby take you, Hermione Jane Granger, to be my wife for all of my days on this earth, and for all of our life after we leave the world. I promise you my faithfulness, loyalty, love, warmth, and anything else that I can give to you,' he said with conviction. 'Will you accept these things that I offer to you?'

Hermione felt tears slide down her face and smiled. 'I accept what you offer me freely,' she replied. 'And will you, Severus Sebastian Snape, accept that I, Hermione Jane Granger, will be faithful, honest, loyal, loving, and true to you, for the rest of my life on earth, and all of our lives after we have passed?'

'I accept what you freely offer,' he said, giving her hands a squeeze.

'You may now exchange rings,' the officiating wizard said.

Severus released Hermione's hand and pulled out the box from his pocket, taking from it the simple gold band that he had made for her from it. It had the same Celtic pattern as the engagement ring, except without a jewel as traditional weddings bands went. He slid it on her finger to join the other ring before she pulled out an exact copy of that wedding band and placed it on his ring finger. He was stunned but before he could ask, the officiating wizard announced them officially bound.

Severus grinned and jumped over the anvil to her, kissing her without restraint despite their audience.