A Working Relationship

A Working Relationship


Disclaimer: All canon characters are the property of JK Rowling and those with whom she has agreed contracts. This story was written for practice not profit.


The Outcome

The top floor of the house was devastated. Some partition walls had blown out and ceilings had collapsed covering the debris with rubble and white plaster dust.

The first body he found was directly at the top of the stairs. It was Percy Weasley. He was dead and cold and the back of his head was caved in. From the looks of it he had been thrown backwards into the heavy newel post at the top of the stairs. His eyes were open and he hadn’t even dropped his wand. What were the chances of Hermione having survived? With a sinking heart Severus walked along the landing. More bodies… Death Eaters this time. Dolohov and McNair. Not dead, merely unconscious. They must have been on the floor before the blast or they’d have been blown towards the stairs as young Weasley had. Damn fool teenagers with their soft hearts. You couldn’t merely stun an enemy in a confrontation of this kind. What if they’d woken up first?

He felt for the knife… not there. Where on earth had he left that? He settled for removing their wands and chaining them tightly together with a spell. No point in using an unforgiveable now the danger was passed. He didn’t need to use the door to make his way into the first room beyond.

This room had been furnished as a sitting room. Was that surprising? The Dark Lord could hardly have lived in his ‘throne room’ all the time after all. It looked as if this had been a long term residence, probably Muggle in origin. What on earth was in the room beyond? It looked like a damned greenhouse. Who on earth would put one of those in an attic bedroom? Severus trod carefully over the rubble and shattered ornaments. As he grew closer the smell of the magic in the room was overtaken by the scent of something else. A scent Severus was all too familiar with… burnt flesh! Bile rose up to burn his throat and he covered his mouth and nose with his hand in the attempt to block out the pervasive smell. He soldiered, on wand still drawn. The explosion of power had definitely happened through here.

Voldemort hadn’t created a greenhouse… it was a fucking jungle! It was hot and humid. Obviously the Charms had survived the blast. It was also hard to see what had happened in the heavy undergrowth. He tensed as he saw a foot, a naked foot, sticking out of the foliage. Hermione hadn’t been wearing proper shoes! Was this her? He went forward at a run and stripped back the foliage with his wand. A naked woman, disfigured by burns. Not Hermione! His heart was pounding, but even in his panic he realised that this woman could not have been her. The body was too tall and too full in the breast. The hair was gone and there was no sign of any clothing, but Severus would lay money that it was Bellatrix, up here to sate her master’s lusts and probably her own too. Lusts fuelled by watching him perform with Hermione in the cellar earlier. Severus let the foliage fall again and continued his search.

A loud hissing noise drew his attention. Snakes! Instinctively he jumped to the side as a large snake fell out of the tree above where he had been standing moments before. Heat, humidity... it was a habitat for snakes… possibly for the Dark Lord himself since he acquired his new semblance of mortality. He burned the snake and carried on.

A few more steps took him through the trees to the place that had been the epicentre of the blast. Two more charred corpses lay in the burnt out vegetation. Potter and the Dark Lord. Dead and this time the corpses remained to prove it. That left three members of the party to be accounted for. Hermione, Ron and Neville. Poking around the edges of the clearing he found the boys. Both struck dead, although less damaged than the corpses he had seen so far.

“Severus!”

It was Fred Weasley.

“In here!” he replied. “Stay where you are, I’ll come out to you.”

He made his way to the sitting room, where Fred was standing. He had tear tracks down his cheeks, but was making a valiant effort to hold himself together.

“I saw Percy,” he began. “Do you know what happened?”

“I think he sustained brain damage in the blast,” said Severus. “The one that knocked us out came from in there and its effects were more powerful in the immediate vicinity. I’ve found five more bodies through there. Ron, Neville and Harry were among them.”

“You-know-who?”

“He’s dead. They paid with their lives, but they succeeded. I can’t find Hermione. I’m sure she came up here… I’m sorry about your brothers Weasley.”

“They knew the risks. We all did. We wanted it over and we went ahead anyway. I don’t know how I’ll tell my Mum though.” Tears began to flow again and he wiped them away with his sleeve. Severus turned away slightly to allow him to pull himself together. It was then that he spotted it… a hand peeking out from underneath the over turned sofa, a small, almost child sized hand.

He righted the sofa as he began to move towards it. Hermione lay under there, ashen pale, with Voldemort’s snake familiar lying on her. The snake raised its head and hissed, eyes gleaming. Severus could see the livid marks of the bites it had placed on her bare legs. It drew back as he stood in the traditional duelling posture. Fred looked on as though hypnotised. He could never say afterwards which had moved first. All he knew was that the Potions Master had severed the head of the snake as it came towards him and flung it to the far side of the room.

“Wow!” was all he could say as Severus fell on Hermione’s body, searching desperately for any signs of life. He found it. She was alive, struggling, but alive.

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Severus paced up and down at the side of Hermione’s bed in the Infirmary. He had taken her back to Hogwarts because he held a supply of anti-venom specially brewed to counter that particular poison. He had developed it soon after Arthur had had his run in with the snake two years earlier. It was indeed fortunate that he had had the foresight to do so. Hermione had received a far greater amount of poison and had a much lesser bodyweight to help delay its absorption.

Hermione’s parents were also present. They didn’t look at him and he didn’t look at them. Poppy kept bobbing up and down beside the bed, monitoring Hermione closely for changes in her condition. It was just past two in the morning when she pronounced her out of danger.

“I’d advise you lot to go and get some rest,” she said sternly. “Severus, you saved her life. I don’t think even St Mungo’s would have sorted her out without you. There’s nothing more you can do now. Leave her to me. I suppose you’ll dose yourself with something when you get back to the dungeons?”

“I will,” he said. “Thank-you Poppy, for all you’ve done. I’ll see Mr and Mrs Granger to their rooms on my way.”

Poppy gave him a hug. He was too tired by this stage to even attempt to avoid it. He just stood and endured.

“We’re so proud of you,” she said tearfully. “Between you all… you’ve changed the world.”

“He’s gone for good now. Harry, Ron and Neville saw to that. I’m only sorry we couldn’t bring them back alive, Percy too. Take good care of Hermione for me.”

“Are you still going to marry her?”

“That remains to be seen. Goodnight.”

He ushered the Grangers out of the door and off in the direction of their suite.

At the top of the stairs Mr Granger halted and turned to face him.

“I understand that I owe you my daughter’s life!” he said pointedly.

“She was instrumental in our first escape from the Dark Lord. The potion was developed some years ago in case of an incident such as this. There can be no question of obligation.”

“That’s good, because my daughter would never have been in any danger if it hadn’t been for her involvement with you and your kind. What kind of teacher salivates over a pupil in the way you do over my little girl? There are punishments for your kind in my world. You’ve staked your claim on her before she’s even out of school. I sent her here to get an education, not so you could have first pick of her. As soon as she’s well enough I’m taking her out of this place and back into our world. I think she’s learned more than enough from you. You are not to go near her again! We can find our own way back.”

He turned back and practically dragged his wife down the stairs after him.

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Severus lay restlessly in his bed. It was now the third night after the Final Battle, as it had been officially dubbed. Staff were making a half hearted attempt to keep the school running normally, but the shock of losing Albus and the boys was too great. Judging by the bits he had read in the newspaper, witches and wizards everywhere were celebrating without restraint. For those close to, however, there was little to celebrate. The Weasleys had lost two sons. Longbottom and Potter would never live out of the shadow of the Dark Lord. He had been questioned again and again by Aurors and representatives of the Wizengamot and the Ministry. It seemed his only reward was likely to be immunity from prosecution and publicity regarding his activities as a spy.

Hermione had been allowed out of the Infirmary that afternoon. Since the run-in with Mr Granger, Severus had made no attempt to see her. Minerva had kept him informed on her status, but he had admitted no other visitors. He wondered if her father had explained his absence from her bedside. Did she know why he was no longer there for her? He turned over again and debated over whether or not to take another potion. He would have to face his demons eventually, but he had the option to delay if he wanted to.

He tensed and went for his wand as he heard the door creak.

“Lumos!”

It was Hermione. He had not re-adjusted his wards to keep her out, he realised. She still had access through the connecting door. She stood in the dim light, still wearing her Infirmary gown, which fell just past her knees.

“I thought you were in the guest quarters with your parents,” he said.

“I was. I had to wait until they went to sleep to leave. Does Fawkes live with you now?”

“I seem to have been adopted. Are you well?”

“I’m healed from the snake bites… everyone else seems to think everything else will soon be all right because ‘time is a great healer!’”

“I imagine that seems very inadequate.”

“Very. My dad says we can get anti-depressants when we get home. I wish I could be as confident as he is…. I mean… taking a tablet doesn’t mean that my friends didn’t die and I won’t remember it all.”

“I’m sure your father feels he is acting in your best interests,” said Severus, weakly.

“He’s taking me away from here… away from you. I’ve already lost my friends! How can that be in my best interests?” She was highly emotional and Severus wasn’t sure what to do for the best.

“They fought and died. You fought and lived. You have a future to consider.”

“Did he make you stay away from me… or was that all your idea? Was all that talk about commitment just a way of you convincing yourself it was all right to sleep with me after all?”

Her tears were flowing now and she brought her hands up to cover her face. Severus slid out of bed, walked over to her and embraced her.

“I meant every word I said to you,” he said calmly. “You are a beautiful powerful young witch. How could I not respond to your interest? Before… even though we didn’t know it… we were connected by our involvement with the prophecy… just as Potter and even Longbottom, to an extent, were connected to the Dark Lord. The prophecy is fulfilled. I used illegal means to find you because of our attachment, my feelings, if you will. Potter was able to utilise this breach of mine to bring about the confrontation. It’s bad for you I know. You’ve suffered greatly in this, with Lucius and all that came after, but you are free now to make choices about the future. Your father is understandably keen to safeguard you in the world he knows. If it is your wish, you may return to your parents and embrace the traditions of your family. I would be keenly aware of your loss, but I know that I am not truly deserving of you and that you may risk separating yourself from your family by favouring me.”

“My father is very against you. I didn’t realise he knew anything about us until tonight. I was heart-broken in the Infirmary. I was so lonely without Ron and Harry and you….and I didn’t know why you didn’t come. I only knew you were alive because of Madam Pomfrey. For all I knew you’d died after I left you in the corridor to go after the others and it would have been my fault.”

She sobbed hot tears into his nightshirt. He scooped her up in his arms and walked over to bed. He laid her down on it and lay down beside her. She held him and he held her. He had to wait quite a time, but when she calmed, he asked,

“What happened tonight? With your father, I mean?”

“I left the Infirmary this afternoon and went to stay in the guest suite so I could be near Mum and Dad. They don’t quite get magical healing and they can’t understand that I’ve got better this quickly. I managed to persuade them that I’d be all right to sit on the sofa and read for a while, but then after we’d eaten they said I had to go to bed. The house-elves had brought my clothes and they’d got the new ones you’d ordered for me. When Dad realised you’d bought me lingerie he really lost it. He’d ripped the nightgown before I even got a chance to have a look at it. He was ranting and raving and then he tried to take your ring off me… you never told me it was enchanted.”

“It was the old way. You can take it off and I can take it back, but no one else can interfere with it. That’s why they weren’t confiscated with the estate. I think the curses associated with ours are fairly mild compared with some, but you’d never find a buyer for them. Did it hurt him?”

“It shocked him. I think, at first, he thought I’d done something, but my Mum managed to talk some sense into him. He still says he’s going to have you fired though.”

“He won’t be able to do that. I have not violated any rules where you are concerned. If you were a fifth year there might have been some confusion, but you are a seventh year and you were more than a year and a half past full majority when our courtship began. In the days when marriage was an arrangement between families rather than individuals it was commonplace for a girl to arrive at school already betrothed to an older student or a younger master. Conventions have changed in the last hundred years, but that has not resulted in a change of school policy. Until this affair of ours came about I would have regarded myself as too old to consider a student as a potential wife, but as long as the student in question is of age, I am not prohibited from seeking permission from the Headmaster to pay court.”

“Do you think of me as a potential wife?”

“More than any other woman since I was younger than you are now.”

“Who was she?”

“She’s long dead and there were many men who offered her more than I could. It was before you were born and has been long buried.”

“I still love you. It’s all that’s keeping me sane right now.”

“Do you wish to keep my ring and the promise it implies?”

“I do.”

“Then it is settled. When you have had time for healing and grieving and are fit to focus on the next stage of your life… you may claim my pledge. We will be married.”

“Can I stay with you now?”

“Certainly… I will never ask you to go. If you choose to you may sleep with me until one of us dies… perhaps, one day, you will even bring forth children in this bed and name them for your friends. Life goes on and you must make the most of it.”

“Do you want to have sex with me?”

“Regularly and frequently, but not just now. You’ve cried yourself dry and it’s very late. I’m going to wrap you in Albus’ blanket and I’m going to hold you until I sleep myself. In the morning we might find time to think only of each other and seek pleasure, but you are under far too much strain tonight.”

He got up off the bed and went over to fetch the blanket from the chair.

“Severus?”

“Yes,”

“Do you know a lot about sex? You’re older than me…. I assume you’ve studied it?”

“Well I didn’t do it for NEWTs, but it’s traditional for a Slytherin of my class to be accomplished in that area. It’s a useful tool for certain situations… an extension of understanding people and their motivations.”

“Oh. A tool?”

“In our case it would be one means of my securing your faithfulness and loyalty. If a wizard takes a powerful wife he cannot dictate to her or rule her. If he wishes to keep her, he must keep her content by providing for her. A witch will forgive a man a great deal if he pleasures her to her liking.”

“Oh!”

“Indeed. I’m already looking forward to introducing you to these experiences, but it is not on a fixed timetable. You have been through more in this last week than some people go through in a lifetime and I will allow for that.”

He covered her with the blanket and she yawned as she asked,

“What can I do about my Dad?”

“Sleep now. I will speak to him in the morning. I respected his wishes until you had the opportunity to make yours clear. You have done so and it is now my business to ensure that he respects your wishes. Do you doubt my ability to manage him?”

There was no answer. She was already asleep. He planted a tender kiss on her temple and moved into place behind her. He fitted the length of his body against hers and held her to him with his right arm. He could feel the influence of the charmed blanket and allowed it to lull him into slumber.

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“Arthur, a word, if I may!”

Arthur turned and the early morning light hit his unshaven face. He’d aged twenty years with the loss of the children he loved.

“What can I do for you Severus?”

“I’m sorry to burden you at this time, but I have a problem and I think you might be the best person to help.”

“If it weren’t for you Severus I probably would have lost all my sons. I know what you did that night. I’ll do what I can.”

“Hermione wishes to remain engaged to me. We came to an understanding before the battle. Her father is violently opposed to our relationship and I fear he will try to force her to choose between marrying me and being their daughter.”

“That bad?”

“He sees me as a predator… on some fronts I cannot argue with that, but as regards his daughter, she has made all the running.”

“I remember you fought the prophecy.”

“I did…they were all too young to die Arthur…you don’t need me to tell you. I was hoping you might convince the Grangers that no difference of opinion is worth risking the loss of their only child. Hermione’s life from here on in is going to be as smooth as I can make it and she should not have unhappiness forced on her because that Muggle is pigheaded. I know you know them. They might listen to you.”

“I’ll do my best. Is she with you?”

“She came to me last night. I will not reject her.”

“Gryffindor women make good wives, Severus. I speak from experience. Value her every day.”

“I have every intention… I should go back to her. I would like to be with her when she wakes.”

“Leave it with me. I’ll do what I can.”

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Hermione was still asleep when he got back to his bed. He pulled off the robe he wore over his nightshirt and climbed in beside her. She stirred with the motion of the bed and opened her eyes. He kissed her softly on the lips. She returned it and the kisses grew in intensity. He placed his hand on her breast, over the top of her nightgown and pulled away from her mouth to whisper,

“May I go further?”

She nodded and reached up to touch his hair.

“If I go too fast or it’s too much, stop me… I need to learn you… May I learn you?”

She nodded again and raised herself up to meet his lips and the lesson and the future began.

This is the final chapter of this story. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I may be persuaded to add an epilogue if people are interested. My next story is already partly written and is called, ‘A Man of Faith’. It will be the fourth instalment of the ‘Marriage Vows’ series and picks up the story of ‘Love and Parenthood’ eleven years on. I expect to start posting in two weeks time.