5

Chapter 5

1 July 1999

Ms. Hermione Jane Granger-Snape has done it yet again. The young witch, only nineteen years of age, has again married Hogwarts' Potions Professor, Severus Snape, earlier today. You may remember that this young wanton of a woman was engaged to be wed to Mr. Ronald B. Weasley back in March of this year. As the Daily Prophet reported at that time, that wedding was called off as a result of extenuating circumstances. It was yours truly that uncovered the true nature of this cover-up. The marriage had been postponed to allow for tests to determine the paternity of the pregnancy that the young scarlet woman was attempting to cover-up.

If the girl previously had not proven herself to be a two-timing harlot, then this was certainly the eye-opener that was needed for young Mr. Weasley. It is nearly enough to make the witches of our world pity the Potions master, Professor Snape, for having to marry the wench in order to give his child a name.

"Oh, what an utter piece of rubbish!" Hermione shouted as she slammed the edition of the Evening Prophet on the dining table.

She felt him approach her from behind her chair and her breath hitched when he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "What is that? I thought there were a few bits of truth littered amongst the rubbish." He nipped at the ear and then guided her to stand whilst turning her around to face him. "Did you not marry me?"

She smiled slyly and answered, "Of course."

He ran his fingers through her hair. "And, are you not carrying my son?"

She reached her hands up to touch his face. "Proudly, yes."

Severus pulled her close to him and purred softly in his silkiest voice. "And, are you not feeling a bit wanton at this moment?"

Hermione did not trust her words to convey her thoughts or her emotions. She lifted her face up to capture his mouth with her own.

He gently bit her bottom lip as he ran his hand down along her bulging abdomen. As his hands rested there they were met by a gentle tapping from beneath the skin. Severus allowed his occupied lips to form a slight smirk at the attentions of his son. His wife pulled back slightly and looked at him curiously. "I believe that we still have the small duty of consummation to make this marriage legal, Madame Snape."

Her eyes shone with excitement as she smiled up at him. "I do believe you are right," she answered sweetly.

How did I wind up in this position? he wondered. She truly loved him, and though he rarely said the words, she knew that he felt the same for her. This woman was his wife, his partner in this crazy mixed-up life. She was every bit a part of him as he was of her. After forty years of loneliness, pity, and self-loathing, Severus Snape learnt that he was a human being.

He had never seen himself as one before. He had always relished the rumors about him being a vampire. What better way was there to describe me as the undead? He no longer felt 'undead.' He felt whole. That is the gift that Hermione gave him; she gave him his own life.

Severus was still the same snarky bastard he always had been. The students still feared him, he was still rather anti-social, and he was still commonly referred to as 'the great greasy bat.' No one could take that part from him, as the article had said about his lovely witch months before, witches do not change their warts. He was not a witch, but he felt the saying applied to him as well. Severus felt rather lucky, as he had sanctuary from his harsher and colder self, all thanks to her.

After the day he had confessed his feelings for his wife, he'd begun to court her. They'd spent time getting to know one another. She had returned to living at the castle with him, but Albus had been kind enough to offer Hermione her own quarters. Severus had agreed. Their relationship had been fragile enough and cluttered with complications; compounding those problems with having to live with one another again would not have been ideal.

He had thought that they would wait to marry until after she had the baby. He did not want to rush her into anything that she was not ready for. Then, in late May, whilst visiting Poppy for antenatal care, Poppy had informed Hermione that she was carrying a boy. Hermione had left the hospital wing and rushed all the way down to the dungeons, barging into the middle of the third year Gryffindor/Slytherin Potions class. To save himself from complete embarrassment, because he was quite certain that whatever this young woman had to say would harm his carefully groomed image in front of his students, he'd found it necessary to scream at the class of students so that they would exit the room immediately.

Once they were alone, he urged her to share her news, which she did happily. At first thought, Severus did not understand what the big deal was. The gender of the child mattered little to him. Hermione, however, was quite adamant that it was important that it was a son. She had insisted that this was his heir and important for carrying on the familial line. That was when she told him that she wished to marry as soon as the Hogwarts Express left for King's Cross.

As they had not been sharing quarters prior to her announcement, they also refrained from any intimacy aside from a few kisses. Again, Severus did not wish to rush her. He knew first hand that her sexual experiences had been anything but pleasant. It was yet another reason that he loathed a part of himself and wondered why she would ever want to be with him.

After she had informed him of her desire for a marriage sooner than he had anticipated, he had decided it best to not press her for sexual intimacy. He was pleased when his instincts proved correct. She came to him, saying she still needed time, but she would very much like to consummate their marriage once the ceremony was complete.

Their second ceremony, held in the afternoon, was different than their first. Her mother was present, although still not thrilled with their union. Her friends were in attendance as well. There was no rushing in the middle of the night, no secrets, and no Ministry officials forcing them to sign documents that would force them to comply with copulation requirements. It was a joyous union, not forced. So, this is what she was referring to when she told me that some people actually marry because they want to.

Copulation was only required as a magical binding, but there were no time constraints in force. However, his young wife had promised him that the day of the binding would be the day they would become one again. A feral grin grew on his face. "What are you thinking about, Severus?"

"Only how badly I want you right now, my wife."

"Then take me to bed, husband." He gazed in her eyes for any sign of fear or trepidation and was met with only looks of love, sincerity, and passion. Severus needed no further encouragement.

"As you wish," he whispered as he deftly picked her up and carried her to the master bedroom of his small home. He carefully set her on the floor next to the bed. Severus stood next to her and reached down to lift the skirt of her dress robes and guided the robe up over her head. He was pleased to find that she had complied with custom and worn nothing beneath the wedding garment. He leant towards her and kissed her on her mouth, tasting her desire. He trailed the kisses down her neck, marking her as his own whilst he guided her to lie back on the duvet.

His mouth found its way down to her breasts, swollen from pregnancy, but he hoped they were not too tender for his attentions. Severus kissed and suckled on each small peak as she softly moaned in pleasure. He continued his trail down her body, across her taut and swollen belly and settled himself between her thighs. He inhaled her musky scent and began placing his attentions upon that which he had neglected for so long. He mapped her with his tongue, ingraining each morsel of information into his memory...her scent, her taste, and her response to his careful ministrations. Severus slipped one finger, and then a second into her already moistened core. Not long after, he felt her walls squeeze around them as she screamed his name.

He removed his fingers, lifted himself up, and smiled at his wife. She responded by pulling at his arms to join her. Severus wasted no time in removing his own clothing and climbed back on the bed to claim her mouth again. Hermione began to kiss him in earnest as she reached down a hand to massage his throbbing sex. "I want you to make love to me," she whispered softly as she began nipping and sucking his ear.

Severus complied with her wishes as she moved her hands to his back, and he slowly guided himself into her waiting channel, carefully lifting his weight off of her protruding midsection. With his first thrust, he knew he was home. It was a wholeness that he had never felt before, one that he never allowed himself to feel before. With each move, he felt more complete. It was not long before he felt her nails drive into his back as she clenched tighter around him and came again, tipping Severus over the edge into oblivion.

A/N: Very special thanks to my beta, southern_witch_69, she worked on a very tight schedule to help me complete this project. Thanks go to Warlock_Vader_69 for giving this a once over. Also, thanks go to Meredith and Cocoachristy, both gals read through this story giving me both input and encouragement.

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Summary: Hermione is about to get married when a certain Potions master realizes she should marry him instead. He has forty-eight hours to stop the wedding and get her to marry him.

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