IV

Disclaimer: JKR owns it all. Not mine. Never was. Never will be.

Thank you to my beta readers, JuneW and DeeMichelle. And also to my ever supportive cheerleaders.

It had been an excruciatingly long night, even more so than most school balls he'd been forced to chaperone. Though, if he were to be completely honest with himself, he'd have to say that his chaperoning duties had been largely limited during last night's Valentine's Day Ball due to more pressing matters.

There were many spells which caused blood-red writing to appear on the back of a person's hand. The first such spell that came to mind was Dolores Umbridge's blood quill. When he'd initially seen the writing on the back of Miss Granger's hand, that had been his first guess. He'd not known whether it was due to childish pranks, hexes from her classmates or something that the Granger girl had done herself, but the very idea that she'd allow something like that on her hands had disgusted him.

Nothing could have prepared him for the truth of the situation. It ultimately equated to him being correct: the writing, the hearts, the foolish wand-waving...all of it had been the result of immature, irresponsible, dunderheaded teenagers.

He'd solved the problem the only way that he could think of. Granted, he'd not been entirely in his right mind, but Severus Snape was not the sort of man who wished to dwell on such inadequacies. The fact of the matter was that he'd dealt with the situation and, hopefully, rectified things....

He took a sip of his lukewarm coffee and glared out at the sea of students who were already assembling for breakfast and he froze. How could he have been so utterly stupid?

He hadn't even bothered to look at Miss Granger's hands after he'd kissed her last night. What had he been thinking?

Severus shifted slightly in his seat. Well, he knew what he'd been thinking at the time, but the fact remained that he rarely reached a point where all logic and all rational thought flew out the window.

Then again, the point had been to be snogged senseless or to do the same to her... he wasn't sure which, perhaps both. Either way, they'd both succeeded.

And just as he was thinking it, he saw the object of his thoughts walk into the room. It seemed that she'd started to raise her head up to look in his direction, but her eyes quickly darted back to the floor. And just as she moved to sit down at the Gryffindor table, he saw her remove her hands from her pockets...

Her heavily bandaged hands.

Severus dropped his head into his hands. Oh, fuck!

He heard someone talking beside him and it was only after he felt his arm slightly jostled that he looked up.

'A long night, Severus?' Filius asked with a small wink.

'A long week,' Severus replied shortly. 'Topped off with Albus Dumbledore's idea of matchmaking teenagers to ensure the continuation of the wizarding world.'

The Charms professor nodded. 'Ah. Then you weren't with a woman last night.'

Severus turned his head sharply and stared at Flitwick.

'Well, when you left the ball after that dance with Miss Granger...that was quite interesting, by the way, whatever possessed you to dance with her?' he added as an aside, 'Anyway, after you left, Albus was looking for you everywhere.'

'Albus gave me no choice but to dance with the girl,' Severus snapped. Albus had been looking for him...that didn't bode well. 'Did he happen to say why?'

Filius snickered slightly causing Severus to grimace. 'He had invited a woman here last night. A Miss Moon, I believe. She wanted to meet you.'

Severus groaned. Why in Merlin's name had the headmaster forced him to dance with Granger if he'd invited a woman to the bloody ball for him to meet?

After another moment, Filius added conspiratorially, 'I do hope that you weren't off with a particular female student, Severus. I shudder to think of how surly you'd be after you'd received the same treatment as Kettleburn.'

Severus actually did shudder. Professor Kettleburn had been the former teacher for Care of Magical Creatures, the position that Hagrid now held. As Snape recalled, at the Welcoming Feast five years prior, Dumbledore had announced to the students that Professor Kettleburn had retired to spend more time with his 'few remaining limbs'. The other teachers, however, knew that Professor Kettleburn was enjoying the fact that he was still in possession of his favourite limb after Albus caught him with his pants down (quite literally) with a seventh-year Slytherin.

He looked to the centre of the table where the headmaster typically sat, and saw that the chair was still empty. Severus pushed his chair back so he could leave while he was still safe. He had some thinking to do and the last thing he needed was Dumbledore interfering... whether because the seemingly omnipotent fool had learned of his indiscretions, or because he still had this Miss Moon staying at the castle for Severus to meet.

It was the sounds of the owls that caused Severus to look up and decide to wait another moment before rising from his chair. If nothing else, he'd have his copy of the Daily Prophet to keep him company while he was trying to figure out what to do about Granger's hand problem.

But it was not the delivery owl from the Daily Prophet that settled down in front of him moments later. Recognising it as a Ministry owl, Severus anticipated yet another letter outlining suggested changes in his current curriculum and began to remove the missive. It was then that the first owl was joined by three more, each clamouring for Severus' attention.

'Popular this morning,' Filius noted, amused.

Severus glowered and then returned his attention to the owls, removing three letters in turn and then, eventually, paying for his copy of the Daily Prophet. All four owls remained at the table, waiting to be fed, and Severus simply shoved his nearly full plate of breakfast towards them before gathering his post in his hands and heading to his office.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The purpose of going to his office had been for some peace and quiet. He wasn't allowed to spend his entire day in his rooms, as he would have preferred. Besides, Dumbledore was bound to seek him out sooner or later in regards to Miss Moon and Severus' failure to be present during the majority of the Valentine's Day Ball. Severus preferred Albus to visit him in his office rather than in his private rooms.

He opened the door to his office to find a rather irritated looking headmaster already sitting behind Severus' own desk.

'Albus,' he grumbled in acknowledgement.

The headmaster remained seated behind the desk and motioned for Snape to have a seat in the chair that was normally reserved for errant students. Begrudgingly, Severus sat down in the hard, uncomfortable chair and began to feel every bit as guilty as a first year who was receiving his first detention.

'I see that you haven't opened this morning's post,' Dumbledore said, nodding towards Severus' hands. 'Why don't you do that now? Don't worry, I'll wait.'

Though there was a question in Professor Dumbledore's words, it was very clear to Severus that he had no choice in the matter, and a knot of unease began to grow in his stomach. And he suddenly realised that perhaps the letters from the Ministry were not, as he'd assumed, new curriculum recommendations or book lists. He placed the items in his lap, and taking up the first letter, he opened it and read:

Dear Mr Snape,

Department of Wizarding Statistics

The knot was now a lead weight, sinking faster and faster into the pit of Severus' stomach. How the fuck had he'd been married last night? And more importantly, to whom? Though, he thought that he already knew and that didn't bode well for him or for his favourite limb.

Severus looked up to the headmaster and opened his mouth to speak, to defend himself, but Dumbledore held up a hand. 'Keep reading,' was all he said with a nod towards the remaining letters in Severus' lap.

With even more trepidation, Severus took up the next letter.

Professor Snape,

Chairman of the Board of Governors for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, allowing the offensive letter to fall to the floor. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

'There is more, Severus,' prodded Dumbledore.

Severus' eyes shot up to the non-twinkling eyes of his superior. Fuck!

He grabbed the final envelope, slit it open and read.

To: Severus Snape, Esq.

Department of Magical Military and Defence

Severus dropped the last letter to his lap with a smile beginning to form on his lips as the weight in his stomach lifted. The old man had finally managed to pull one over on him, or nearly. Severus had to give him props for being able to tug Severus along this far, but Albus had made too many fatal mistakes in that last letter.

With only a hint of a smile on his face, Severus said, 'You truly had me going, old man, until I read that it was from the Department of Magical Military and Defence.'

Severus felts as if he'd been kicked in the stomach as soon as he noticed that Albus Dumbledore was still sitting before him, sadly shaking his head, with a grim expression.

'I'm afraid that this is no joke, my dear boy.'

'But this is preposterous!' Severus shouted, jumping up and waving the last letter in Dumbledore's direction.

'I quite agree with you, Severus, though I find all of it to be preposterous, not simply the pledging of your and your wife's firstborn child.'

Oh... Yes.... That's right. And as Severus suddenly acknowledged the full impact of everything that had been stated in the letters, his blood began to boil.

'What you did last night was foolish, Severus.'

'I didn't do any...' Severus began to rage, but he was cut-off.

'You sought her out and you kissed her. Now, I may know that much, but I'm not even going to pretend that I know what your motives were, but the fact remains that you are just as much at fault in this matter as she is.'

Severus fought the urge to defend himself. He knew Albus well and since the old man was already blaming him, there was no talking himself out of anything now. As usual, Severus would be left with ensuring that those who were really at fault...Gryffindors...paid for their crimes.

The two men sat in silence for several minutes before curiosity about how much Albus truly knew got the better of him. 'How did you know?'

'As you well know, Severus, I have many eyes and ears within these walls. And, I happened to be walking towards the Gryffindor common room when I saw my Potions master emerge from an abandoned classroom in a highly agitated and dishevelled state. Once I looked inside the room and saw an equally flushed and rumpled seventh-year prefect, the pieces clicked immediately into place.'

'What do you know about the spell?'

'Not much more than you do.'

'I swear, Albus, that it was not an ancient charm. Miss Granger told me that her friends had simply created it."

'Rest assured, I intend on interrogating Miss Patil and Miss Brown this morning, as well as the others who were involved. You and Miss Granger were not the only ones who were wed as a result of this mess. Now, if you'll excuse me,' Dumbledore said as he stood from his seat, 'I have to go extend some invitations to my office. I expect to see you there in two hours, Severus. That should give you plenty of time to brood.' The headmaster stood, hovering over the chair that Snape occupied and waited until Severus gave a small nod of acknowledgement before Albus, at long last, left Severus alone with his thoughts.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Up in his office, Albus went to his fireplace and with a handful of powder called, 'Minerva!'

When the Deputy Headmistress' head appeared in the flames, he beckoned her through and Summoned some tea for them.

They sat on a small sofa that he had Conjured in front of the fire as Albus prepared tea for them both.

'This must be something serious, Albus. Usually when you ask me to tea you insist that I be mother.'

He pulled from the pocket of his robes a small stack of letters and placed them on the coffee table in front of them.

'What are those?' Minerva asked suspiciously, lifting her cup to her lips and taking a sip.

'Today's post for a few of our seventh-year students that I took the liberty of intercepting this morning.'

Minerva lowered her cup and placed it back in the saucer. 'Now, I know that this is serious. Have you spoken with Severus yet about what his Slytherins are up to?'

Albus sighed and picked up the top letter and handed it to Minerva. 'I'm afraid, Minerva, that the students involved are from all houses, but the main culprits this time are from Gryffindor, and it's not good. Not good at all,' he said sadly, as he watched her face fall when she began to read one of the letters.

'Albus?' was all Minerva could say, in a soft, questioning voice.

'I know. It seems that Miss Brown tried a hand at spell creation a few nights ago and inadvertently triggered a bit of ancient magic. If we can find out exactly what happened, perhaps we can stave off the worst of it.'

'It gets worse than this?' Minerva asked, waving the letter in her hand.

He nodded. 'Much worse.'

~*~*~*~*~*~

When Hermione had looked at her hands last night, after her... well, after the snogging session with a certain Potions master, she'd been on the verge of tears to see that the writing was still there. What was worse was that her left wrist now had what looked like a tattoo of a bracelet, which had two interlocking hearts on it. One heart held the letters 'SS', the other, 'HG'.

She'd tried to go to bed, but tossed and turned all night, barely even able to sleep. Her brain simply wouldn't shut down. But really, how could it have? It had been a horrible day that ended with the best kiss of her life, only to find that what she had been told was a cure to her affliction had only made things worse.

Insomnia didn't hit her very often, but when it did, it meant that she wouldn't be able to sleep even a single wink. As a result Hermione had spent a good portion of her night sitting in the Gryffindor common room with parchment, quill and ink, trying to see if she could figure out what to do about her problem.

Unfortunately, because it was the middle of the night, her resources were limited to the books she had in her trunk. And, although she had a rather impressive library, she had very few books on Divination and love spells. So, in reality, it had all been an exercise in futility.

This morning, before the other girls had awoken, she'd bandaged her hands again, hoping that the writing would not show through long enough for her to eat her breakfast and grab a few books from the library. Sitting in the Great Hall, where she could feel Professor Snape watching her, had been disconcerting and she couldn't help but think about what he'd say to her as soon as he realised that his name was still on the back of her hands. When she'd finished eating her small meal, she glanced up at the Head Table to realise that he had already left and she made her way to the library.

After thumbing through the card catalogue, Hermione collected a stack of books and found a table off in the far corner to begin her research. While on her third book and fifth sheet of notes, she was interrupted by someone sitting down in the chair opposite to her.

Without looking up from her current page, she asked, 'Can I help you with something?'

'What are you looking for?' the friendly voice countered.

'What do you think?' Hermione asked, exasperated.

'The writing didn't go away?'

Hermione looked up from her book and looked at her friend before shaking her head. 'No.'

'I'm sorry.'

'Well, I'm certainly not blaming you.' Hermione looked back down at her book and resumed her note-taking. When her friend didn't leave, Hermione asked, 'Was there something else? I need to research.'

'I just ran into Professor McGonagall. She's been looking for you.'

Dropping her quill, Hermione looked up again. 'She has?'

Ginny nodded. 'She told me that if I saw you, that you're wanted in Professor Dumbledore's office.'

A jumble of thoughts suddenly ran through Hermione's head, but all formed into a single thought: He knows.

'Um. Thanks, Ginny.' Hermione took a deep breath and, after marking the page of the book she was on, collected her reference material. She checked-out the books and then left for her impromptu meeting with the headmaster.

After dropping off her books in her room, Hermione reluctantly made her way to Professor Dumbledore's office. It wasn't like her to dawdle, but... he knew, she knew that he knew, and facing the headmaster over something like this wasn't something that she was rushing to do. What would Professor Dumbledore say? What would he do? Would Professor Snape lose his job for kissing her? Would she be expelled? Well, if either of those things happened then she just had to prepare her defence well.

Mentally preparing herself for what she thought was the worst, she made her way to the gargoyle.

'Coconut ice,' she said, as she began to rub her hands. The itching, bubbling sensation that she'd felt the night before had suddenly returned. She looked down at her tightly bandaged hands to find that, once again, what was on her skin had bled through the covering. Irritated, Hermione pulled out her wand and Vanished the bandages.

'I don't know why you're even bothering trying to hide that. As I told you already, it brings more attention to it when things like that happen,' came a snarl from behind her.

Hermione turned around. 'Professor Snape,' she acknowledged in what sounded like a relaxed, calm voice. She wasn't calm and she certainly wasn't relaxed, not by a long-shot, and now that Professor Snape was standing so near her, she didn't know how she'd be able to appear relaxed in front of Dumbledore. The fact that Dumbledore had obviously summoned Professor Snape for this meeting confirmed Hermione's suspicions. 'Merlin, Professor Dumbledore must be furious,' she said softly.

He studied her for a moment, as if he was expecting her to say more, but when she remained silent, Snape simply nodded towards the staircase. 'The Headmaster will be even more irate if we keep him much longer.'

Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Hermione stepped onto the staircase and it slowly began to move up. When Professor Snape moved onto the step behind her, she nearly held her breath in hopes that it would slow her heartbeat back down to a reasonable rate. She wanted to ask Professor Snape what to expect, wanted to know what all Professor Dumbledore knew, but just as she opened her mouth to say something she decided that it was easier not to know.

So, when she at last arrived at the door to Professor Dumbledore's office, she had no idea what to expect.

Professor Snape's arm came around the front of her and grasped the door knob, pushing the door open for them. 'After you.' Hermione thought he'd said something else, but didn't have time to try to decipher the words in her mind as she felt herself pushed into the room full of people.