Contracts

JW-Yes you are correct. I made the corrections from Shanair to Shaman in Chapter 6. The dates with Severus not having sex for a year and the fact that his daughter is only about 6 months old is correct. That will be explained in more detail in The Wife Chapter.

Hermione is reticent with Professor Snape because she is currently intimidated by him. He doesn’t think that his sons will have the same effect. With or without a wand Hermione can be dangerous. As all will shortly find out. Shaman is a little confused.

SiriusLives689--The dates with the baby and wife will be explained. Glad you like the ceremony. The discipline chair takes on the façade of our “boogey man”. Something has to in a world of witches, wizards, giants, vampires, and trolls. The unknown or unexpected is always so much more intimidating. Thanks for the encouragement…I’ve not gotten much of that.

Caroline--This is not my dream world. I would be the first one kicking and screaming. Someone told me to take what you know and twist it about as far as you can and you’ve got an interesting story. This is an experiment it is my first fanfic. I‘m getting some decent criticism. (I‘ve never written anything but a children’s strictly “G” story.)

Allzugern--I have relabeled thank you. What is chan? It is not in the codes!
AnyuBoo-Thank you.
olka-polka--Thank you. It is a bit twisted.
Ruby Snape--Thank you.
RomanticBetty--I hope I last that long! I have the outlines for each. It’s a little lengthy.
Severina V. Snape--Lovely name. It’s an ongoing process for now.

For those of you that don’t like this please don’t read. It is not my intentions to offend anyone.

As far as Chapter 6 posting twice. I had tried 4 times to get it to post. I could not get back in to correct.


*****Chapter 7-- In The Bathroom***

Hermione quickly bathed and attempted to dry her hair. She was really lost without a wand or electricity. She used the heated towels that the house elves provided, it felt wonderful on her body, but it did nothing for her hair.

She knew she should hurry, but she didn’t really care. Professor Snape would find a way to punish her irregardless of her attitude. Maybe he was taking his frustrations with the Golden Trio out on her. She was basically at his mercy.

Her mind processed what she had learned of contracts and reviewed her own binding ceremony. There were several hints that the evening could have turned out worse. Remus had said Snape had taken it easy on her.

Hermione snorted.

What the Hell did that mean? She had been embarrassed yesterday in front of who knows how many guest. Her body had been assaulted by Professor Snape and his spawn and about ½ a dozen other men. She had been spanked…SPANKED…in public and whipped in private. She had been groped, leered at, and molested by several of the Snape family.

This morning she had been forced to parade around naked in front of her Potions teacher. She had also been whipped. Not just whipped but WHIPPED while naked, and she had seen the tent under his robes. The bastard had gotten off on her pain, or worse, by gawking at her body.

She flung the brush she had been using at the mirror.

“Watch it. I don’t care if you are not a morning person. I am not use to such abuse.”

Hermione started and looked around. She saw the face in the mirror of a women of indeterminate age looking back at her. She had a smirk on her face. A Snape smirk.

Hermione moaned, “Can’t I have any privacy even in the bath? Go away!”

The mirror snorted. “What a charming little addition you are going to be to this family.”

When Hermione didn’t say anything immediately the mirror continued. It seemed like it was determined to get a response out of her.

“Do you often wallow in self-pity? In my day it really didn’t do us any good, but you’ll have to let me know if things have changed so much that it is the usual attitude for a properly brought up pure blood!”

Hermione yelled at the mirror, “I AM NOT A PURE BLOOD!”

The mirror smirked, “That is very apparent from your manners. What are you one of Lord Severus little trollops? Couldn’t wait for Lady Elizabeth to kick off could you?”

Hermione started to respond to the mirror in like, when something the mirror said caught her attention. “Who is Elizabeth?”

The mirror replied rather snottily, “It’s LADY Elizabeth to you. Something you’ll never be.”

When Hermione didn’t respond to the insult the mirror continued, “Lady Elizabeth was Lord Severus Snape’s wife. She was cursed by an unknown attacker when she was almost a month pregnant. Lord Severus did all he could to save her, but the birth of the child took what little energy she had. She died within a few months of giving birth to the little girl that she had so desperately wanted.”

Hermione was a little confused by this story. It didn’t match the one her parents had been given. “When did Lady Elizabeth die?”

The mirror gave her a look that clearly said it was none of her business, but replied anyway. “Lady Elizabeth was put to rest almost a month ago. The whole family was devastated. The little snippet will be raised by house elves and never know the love of a mother.”

The mirror said the next as if it was torn from her against her will, “Lady Sarah is delicate. Since the loss of her mother she won’t eat. Her father makes her restorative and calming potions, but nothing works. She has been inconsolable since her mum died. Her shrieks can be heard all over the manor. The house elves and the men have no idea what to do with her.”

The mirror suddenly realizing that she had said too much, faded into the glass.

Hermione was trying to work out some details. Professor Snape had approached her parents about going ahead with the binding , perhaps even before his wife had died.

She had only found out a few weeks before school was out. Her parents words came back to her, “…Severus almost died with grief when his wife died.” She snorted again. That was an unlikely story.

For some reason the bastard had planned on adding her to the Snape family for years. If she could believe the stories her parents had told her. She wished that she had the foresight to test her parents and see if their memories had been tampered with. It would have been worth the threat of expulsion to know. According to both of them Professor Snape had been a visitor to their house for the last 4 years. That couldn’t be true. Slowly the fog that had clouded her judgment for months was gone. In it’s place was cold clarity.

Snape had either deluded her parents or placed false memories. What purpose would he have in seeking out her parents approval while he was still happily married.

Hermione knew her parents would never willingly give her up to be contracted to a family. They were too much believers in the sanctity of SELF. Her mother was a feminist!

Either they were coerced-no the binding ceremony would have illuminated any deceit when her father had stated that he freely gave her. Maybe the spell didn’t sense a potion that could alter their minds. Yes that must have been it.

There had to be a particular reason he chose her and not another one of her classmates. Yes she was intelligent, but she was obviously no match for her Potions professor. Well now she was warned!

Hermione should have been suspicious from the onset.

Yes, she was shocked that her parents had proposed she be contracted, but she knew herself better than that. She should have questioned everything. Argued her case. At the very least, she would have expressed her displeasure at Professor Snape (or any Snape) being chosen. She went over her feelings, or rather the lack of them, over the past month or so. She became certain that something or someone had altered her in some way. Now that she thought about it. She had not been feeling herself.

Whatever it was it shouldn’t have been a dulling potion because she felt that she had preformed out standing on her end of year test. IT BETTER NOT HAVE BEEN A DULLING POTION. SHE WOULD AVADA SOMEONE.

Perhaps a spell.

Or a potion that could restrict itself to a specific event. Was that even possible? She needed access to a library that had extensive potion text. Well now wasn’t she lucky! If she could sneek away from the Snapes she could see to a solution.

She was determined to get answers as quickly as possible.

She was unsure of when her parents had been told of the marriage law. According to his own confession in Dumbledore’s office he didn’t have confirmation of Lord Voltemort’s return until after the final task. So either he was lying to Dumbledore or to her parents. That knowledge chilled her.

She really hoped that he had lied to her parents. Lying to Dumbledore implied that he was not a trustworthy Order member. When he had shown them his Dark Mark he wasn’t concerned. He had already decided on taking Hermione into the family and as for Harry, if it had been a ploy in order to gain his trust it hadn’t worked.

Harry!

Wait until he finds out that Hermione was now a Snape!

She looked in the mirror and saw a faint mark around her neck. It brought back the discipline of this morning. She needed to discover his agenda without getting her butt whacked repeatedly.

One thing was clear Professor Snape had his own agenda and Hermione intended to find out what it was.


*****

I don’t own any of the wonderful Harry Potter Characters. I do own several copies of the books.