Married by Contract
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
4
Views:
5,582
Reviews:
11
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
4
Views:
5,582
Reviews:
11
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
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.
Married by Contract
Married by Contract
I recently wrote a story called Marriage Vows which I posted on AFF.net and Ashwinder. It was a response to the Marriage Law Challenge on WIKTT and depicted Severus as a widower. This story has been written as a companion piece and is best read after Marriage Vows even though it takes place twenty years before and is about his first marriage.
*WARNING* The girl Severus marries is 16 years old which is the age of consent in the UK. If this is likely to offend you please don\'t read on.
All canon characters belong to JK Rowling and those with whom she has agreed contracts. This story was written for practice not profit.
The Wager
“Bugger it Severus,” joshed Lucius. “That’s another ten galleons I owe you. How in Merlin’s name did you know what was going to happen?”
Severus rewarded his old friend with a smirk. Suddenly the penny dropped with Lucius.
“You’re up to those old parlour tricks again. Mind reading. That’s the last time I have a friendly wager with you.”
“I don’t read minds. I merely gather impressions. Perhaps that’s too subtle a distinction for you?”
“All the same Severus, some might see it as cheating.”
“You wished to bet because you believed your judgement to be superior to mine. You were wrong.”
“You’re a cold fish these days my man. Too much thinking and not enough action. That’s your trouble. If I were you I’d use my ill-gotten gains to buy a couple of tumbles with a good whore.”
“You think sexual excess is the solution to all a man’s ills.”
“There’s a lot to be said for it. It’s unhealthy for a man not to have a regular outlet. It’s time you married if you’re not content with anonymous exchanges.”
“Don’t you start with that. I ran across my sad excuse for a father last week in Knockturn Alley. I hadn’t seen him for three years and he managed four distinct slurs on my masculinity in the five minutes I managed to tolerate his company.”
“You should cultivate that man you know. What if he leaves his property to someone else?”
“He may leave it where he chooses. I inherited my grandmother’s estate directly and that’s more than adequate. How many houses does one man need?”
“As many as he can acquire. If the man has any sense that is. I know you’re a scholar Severus but you can’t spend your whole life stooping over your cauldron and your calculations.”
“I think I could. Anyway where am I going to find a wife? The Dark Lord and my father wouldn’t accept anyone who wasn’t a pure-blood. How many unattached pure-blood women are there? More importantly how many would be happy to be courted by a Snape?”
“It isn’t necessary to court one Severus. You know our Lord encourages us to by-pass the trivial objections of young witches which prove a bar to unions he favours.”
“You mean I should negotiate a contract? Have you a candidate in mind?”
“Olivia.”
“Olivia? As in your sister Olivia? She’s a child.”
“She turned sixteen three days ago. Old enough in terms of law. She’s grown a lot these past couple of years.”
“Is she still pretty?”
“So you found my twelve year old sister pretty?”
“She’s a Malfoy. Your family has more than its share of looks. You haven’t answered my question.”
“She’s very pretty. So much so that Narcissa won’t have her in the house. She sees her as competition for my affections.”
“Your own sister… Have you?”
“No sadly. Not that she isn’t tempting but she made it clear she wasn’t interested and it would have been too risky. I couldn’t have let her go back to Dumbledore afterwards unless she was sharing guilt for an encounter. I’d like to get her out of school actually. I’m not happy about her being so close to him and Flitwick.”
“I daresay Dumbledore would be annoyed at her removal,” observed Severus idly.
“She’s quite the little scholar. I imagine he’d be upset. Upset but powerless.”
“She was brilliant when she was young. I’d hate to have ended up with a stupid woman.”
“She’s still quite the academic. She’d make a good assistant. Of course you’d need to have her firmly under your control. Having seen your temper I don’t imagine she’d want to cross you too often.”
“It would be a good alliance in terms of the bloodlines,” observed Severus. “Both of us are pure-blooded but we aren’t closely related.”
“It would make us brothers. A fitting development given our history.”
“If I were interested, how would it be managed? Doesn’t my father technically have to purchase her for me?”
“Technically yes. My father made me Olivia’s guardian for practical reasons so I would receive the payment. It need only be a nominal sum. If you were to write off my tallealleon debt for example it would be enough. I’m sure I could talk your father into signing the paperwork. From what I have heard of him, organising a contract for you would be agreeable to him.”
“Particularly if he thought I was ambivalent about the whole arrangement.”
“It would give him an illusion of control.”
“Would the arrangement be pleasing to the Dark Lord?”
“I think so. I’m surprised he hasn’t encouraged you to make a match before now. He is very keen for his elite to conform to a pattern. You don’t imagine Bellatrix married of her own volition do you?”
“I was surprised at her limiting herself to the younger Lestrange certainly. What did happen?”
“Even I don’t know all the details. Let’s just say that young Lestrange is not the best person to appreciate Bella’s abundant charms but he is very keen to win our Lord’s approval through lending her to him and others in his favour.”
“I suppose it provides her with an outlet.”
“You never had her did you?”
“No. She might have tempted me a few years ago but not any more.”
“She’s still a beauty. She hasn’t aged that much. Perhaps you prefer them young?”
“No actually. I would just prefer one that didn’t strike me as capable of eating her own young.”
“You like them soft?”
“I wouldn’t want her to be an active Death Eater. We do ugly things. I can handle that and so can you but a witch is easily tainted.”
“I won’t argue with that. Much as I enjoy Bella’s appetites I wouldn’t want my Narcissa to follow in her footsteps. How serious are we here? Would you like me to approach your father?”
“Why not. You make a persuasive argument and such a young witch should be ly tly trained. I will need an heir at some stage and she would make a useful assistant in the lab. Go ahead. See if you can persuade the old bastard round to your way of thinking.”
“I’ll go tomorrow.”
I recently wrote a story called Marriage Vows which I posted on AFF.net and Ashwinder. It was a response to the Marriage Law Challenge on WIKTT and depicted Severus as a widower. This story has been written as a companion piece and is best read after Marriage Vows even though it takes place twenty years before and is about his first marriage.
*WARNING* The girl Severus marries is 16 years old which is the age of consent in the UK. If this is likely to offend you please don\'t read on.
All canon characters belong to JK Rowling and those with whom she has agreed contracts. This story was written for practice not profit.
The Wager
“Bugger it Severus,” joshed Lucius. “That’s another ten galleons I owe you. How in Merlin’s name did you know what was going to happen?”
Severus rewarded his old friend with a smirk. Suddenly the penny dropped with Lucius.
“You’re up to those old parlour tricks again. Mind reading. That’s the last time I have a friendly wager with you.”
“I don’t read minds. I merely gather impressions. Perhaps that’s too subtle a distinction for you?”
“All the same Severus, some might see it as cheating.”
“You wished to bet because you believed your judgement to be superior to mine. You were wrong.”
“You’re a cold fish these days my man. Too much thinking and not enough action. That’s your trouble. If I were you I’d use my ill-gotten gains to buy a couple of tumbles with a good whore.”
“You think sexual excess is the solution to all a man’s ills.”
“There’s a lot to be said for it. It’s unhealthy for a man not to have a regular outlet. It’s time you married if you’re not content with anonymous exchanges.”
“Don’t you start with that. I ran across my sad excuse for a father last week in Knockturn Alley. I hadn’t seen him for three years and he managed four distinct slurs on my masculinity in the five minutes I managed to tolerate his company.”
“You should cultivate that man you know. What if he leaves his property to someone else?”
“He may leave it where he chooses. I inherited my grandmother’s estate directly and that’s more than adequate. How many houses does one man need?”
“As many as he can acquire. If the man has any sense that is. I know you’re a scholar Severus but you can’t spend your whole life stooping over your cauldron and your calculations.”
“I think I could. Anyway where am I going to find a wife? The Dark Lord and my father wouldn’t accept anyone who wasn’t a pure-blood. How many unattached pure-blood women are there? More importantly how many would be happy to be courted by a Snape?”
“It isn’t necessary to court one Severus. You know our Lord encourages us to by-pass the trivial objections of young witches which prove a bar to unions he favours.”
“You mean I should negotiate a contract? Have you a candidate in mind?”
“Olivia.”
“Olivia? As in your sister Olivia? She’s a child.”
“She turned sixteen three days ago. Old enough in terms of law. She’s grown a lot these past couple of years.”
“Is she still pretty?”
“So you found my twelve year old sister pretty?”
“She’s a Malfoy. Your family has more than its share of looks. You haven’t answered my question.”
“She’s very pretty. So much so that Narcissa won’t have her in the house. She sees her as competition for my affections.”
“Your own sister… Have you?”
“No sadly. Not that she isn’t tempting but she made it clear she wasn’t interested and it would have been too risky. I couldn’t have let her go back to Dumbledore afterwards unless she was sharing guilt for an encounter. I’d like to get her out of school actually. I’m not happy about her being so close to him and Flitwick.”
“I daresay Dumbledore would be annoyed at her removal,” observed Severus idly.
“She’s quite the little scholar. I imagine he’d be upset. Upset but powerless.”
“She was brilliant when she was young. I’d hate to have ended up with a stupid woman.”
“She’s still quite the academic. She’d make a good assistant. Of course you’d need to have her firmly under your control. Having seen your temper I don’t imagine she’d want to cross you too often.”
“It would be a good alliance in terms of the bloodlines,” observed Severus. “Both of us are pure-blooded but we aren’t closely related.”
“It would make us brothers. A fitting development given our history.”
“If I were interested, how would it be managed? Doesn’t my father technically have to purchase her for me?”
“Technically yes. My father made me Olivia’s guardian for practical reasons so I would receive the payment. It need only be a nominal sum. If you were to write off my tallealleon debt for example it would be enough. I’m sure I could talk your father into signing the paperwork. From what I have heard of him, organising a contract for you would be agreeable to him.”
“Particularly if he thought I was ambivalent about the whole arrangement.”
“It would give him an illusion of control.”
“Would the arrangement be pleasing to the Dark Lord?”
“I think so. I’m surprised he hasn’t encouraged you to make a match before now. He is very keen for his elite to conform to a pattern. You don’t imagine Bellatrix married of her own volition do you?”
“I was surprised at her limiting herself to the younger Lestrange certainly. What did happen?”
“Even I don’t know all the details. Let’s just say that young Lestrange is not the best person to appreciate Bella’s abundant charms but he is very keen to win our Lord’s approval through lending her to him and others in his favour.”
“I suppose it provides her with an outlet.”
“You never had her did you?”
“No. She might have tempted me a few years ago but not any more.”
“She’s still a beauty. She hasn’t aged that much. Perhaps you prefer them young?”
“No actually. I would just prefer one that didn’t strike me as capable of eating her own young.”
“You like them soft?”
“I wouldn’t want her to be an active Death Eater. We do ugly things. I can handle that and so can you but a witch is easily tainted.”
“I won’t argue with that. Much as I enjoy Bella’s appetites I wouldn’t want my Narcissa to follow in her footsteps. How serious are we here? Would you like me to approach your father?”
“Why not. You make a persuasive argument and such a young witch should be ly tly trained. I will need an heir at some stage and she would make a useful assistant in the lab. Go ahead. See if you can persuade the old bastard round to your way of thinking.”
“I’ll go tomorrow.”