Hidden Meanings

Disclaimer: Not mine, but Jo's.

snapeslave: The address is www.menofslytherin.proboards103.com and thank you for the review.

angel: Poor Sev, indeed, yep well Severus might have someone...

mary: Molly's reaction will be revealed soon.

JW: What will Hermione be doing before being pregnant? Hmm, possibly trying to get pregnant. Snape does need someone I agree.

pinkwands: You and that cap! I didn't want to put the cap on, it somehow looses the sexiness of it all for me.

citten: Yep, update for you sweetie.

BuckyKattGirl: The address is posted... hope to see you there, and as to what happened to Remus, well, he'll turn up...

The Wedding

Hermione was busy the rest of the day. Lucius had also said that she might as well go to Madam Malkins, and charge the dress up to the Malfoy account. Madam Malkins was extremely pleased to hear those two words. They were magic to her ears, because she could use all her expensive and favourite materials. With those two words, Madam Malkin could let her imagination free and not have to worry about whether the client could afford it.

Hermione stood on the stall. Madam Malkin came forward with various roles of fabric. She laid a green one against her, emerald green silk. Hermione nodded at the colour, if she was going to be marrying a Slytherin she might as well marry him in his house colours. Then Madam Malkin brought out a filmy silver fabric. Hermione smiled.

“I thought Mr Malfoy was in prison?” a shop assistant said.

“He was,” Hermione replied. “But he isn’t anymore.”

“I heard that Narcissa bitch divorced him?” Madam Malkin said as she threaded a needle. “And that pampered idiot isn’t really his son.”

“That’s why he’s marrying me,” Hermione said. “He’s desperate for an heir, I am as good as anybody else.”

“You mean you’re not marrying for love?” the assistant gasped.

“Have you met Lucius Malfoy, Hettie?” Madam Malkin asked.

“No,” Hettie replied. “From what I heard, I don’t want to.”

“He’s not the type to fall in love,” Madam Malkin answered. “Right cold blooded snake he is. Like all Slytherins.”

Hermione let these two think what they wanted to think about her dear Lucius, as long as they weren’t drooling over him that was fine by her.

“What house were you in, Madam?” the assistant asked.

“Gryffindor. You?”

“I was a Hufflepuff,” Hettie replied. “What about you, Miss?”

“I’m a Gryffindor,” Hermione said. “Or was, I’ve left school now.”

“What is a Gryffindor doing marrying a Slytherin? That’s practically unheard of.”

Not entirely, Hermione thought, I can’t be the only girl that’s done this.

They then cut the fabric to her size and shape. Hermione was there practically a whole afternoon, and Madam Malkin even had to put a closed sign on the door, just to accommodate the future Mrs Malfoy. Not that she minded, Malfoy Account, would be settled pretty quickly, and she’d make more money with this one garment than she would out of the several she might have to have done instead.

“We’ll be by tomorrow morning to finish it off,” Madam Malkin said, as she helped Hermione off the stall.

“Thank you,” Hermione said.

“You’re welcome,” Madam Malkin said politely. Once Hermione was out of the shop Hettie spied a greedy smile creep across her employers face. “Remember, Hettie, when someone comes into the shop and says those two magic words ‘Malfoy Account’ be sure to put the close sign on the door all the time.”

~*~*~

Lucius was actually getting nervous, he looked through his entire wardrobe and NOTHING would satisfy. He picked outfit after outfit and stood in front of a mirror looking at them all. He was about to put the last one against him when Severus walked into the bedroom.

Severus looked at all the robes flung right and left and rolled his eyes.

“I thought only women did this. I must be wrong,” Severus said.

“Shut up, help me find an outfit,” Lucius growled.

“You’ve been married before and you weren’t nervous then, so why are you so nervous now?”

“I was marrying Narcissa, and I was young then,” Lucius said, “and I wasn’t in love.”

Severus scoffed; it was as if his friend had taken some really strong love potion. He began to wonder if Hermione had slipped something else to Lucius the day she rescued him.

“What’s the difference?” Severus asked, “surely it’s easier marrying somebody you love rather than somebody you don’t?”

“You’d actually be surprised, Severus, it’s not as if you’ve been in either situation.”

Severus lips held that same self-mocking sneer on his face. He COULD have been in the latter situation, and he knew for certain he would not be in this state over what to wear. He’d just wear his dress robes. Lucius held up another set of clothes, and he sighed.

“Why don’t you just marry her naked?” Severus asked.

“With Arthur Weasley here, you have got to be joking!”

“It’ll put an end to the problem though, won’t it?”

Lucius just gave him a foul glare. Severus just leant against the wardrobe door with his arms folded across his chest with an impish, boyish grin on his face.

“What do you look so smug about?” Lucius snarled.

“I just can’t believe that the all powerful Lucius Malfoy is running himself ragged over a mere girl,” Severus said.

“She’s special,” Lucius said. “I don’t know why, but I have always liked her.”

Severus sighed, and moved towards the bed, and studied the outfits.

“As you’re marrying a Gryffindor perhaps you should wear your burgundy set of robes with the gold tunic,” Severus said. He picked the robes up and put them against his friend.

“Thank you, Severus, yes you are right, I should wear these robes.”

Severus smirked, as he helped Lucius put all his robes away and then he was just about to leave the bedroom when Hermione walked in, she looked really tired.

“What’s the matter, Miss Granger?” Severus asked.

“I need a good bath, then I’ll be able to talk.”

She walked straight to the bathroom and opened the door, she turned and saw Lucius, he smiled at her, and she smiled in return. She then slipped into the bathroom and the two men heard the taps running.

“She’s worth the trouble, Severus, any girl who did what she did is worth the trouble. She busted me out of prison for goodness sake, wouldn’t you give yourself to a woman that was prepared to do that for you. What did Narcissa do?”

“Left you there,” Severus replied. “I still wonder as to why she likes you so much.”

“Who, Hermione?” Lucius asked.

“Yes, Hermione, why does she like you so much?

Lucius looked into the mirror and smirked.

“I am not unattractive you know, she can’t help but fall for my dashing good looks, now can she?” Severus snorted in derision; he then turned towards the door to the room that he knew held a very naked Hermione. Lucius caught Severus looking at the door and he scowled. “I had no idea that door was so interesting, Severus.”

Severus turned his head slowly back to his old friend, and a blush crept along his face. He looked down on the floor and then mumbled something unintelligible. He then exited the room. Lucius smirked again, as he then walked into the bathroom. He pushed the door handle down, and then walked through the door, and he walked up to the bath. Hermione was fully soaked, and her eyes were closed.

“Are you awake?” Lucius asked.

“Hmm,” Hermione said, “what? Oh yeah, I’m awake.”

“You looked like you were drifting of into sleepy land there,” he said.

Hermione sniggered. “Sorry? Did Lucius Malfoy just say sleepy land?”

“Did I? It must have just slipped out,” he answered. He felt a bit uncomfortable.

“All right,” Hermione said. “I know I said I’d give up on the separate bedroom thing, but it’s actually tradition for the bride to have one the night before the wedding anyway. Besides, I don’t want you seeing any hint of my wedding dress until tomorrow morning.”

“All right,” Lucius sighed. Trust her to point that one out. “But after our marriage, no matter how much we’ll row or fight, you’ll still be sleeping in the same bed as me, okay?”

“Okay,” Hermione said. She looked at Lucius again. “Why are you so angry?”

“As soon as we’re married Severus is leaving, understood!”

Hermione nodded, a look of confusion spread across her brow, and she couldn’t help but nod.

“By the way, Arthur agreed to witness us getting married.”

“Told you he would,” Lucius said.

“Yes, you did.”

~*~*~

Hermione was settling in on her bed. She actually did want to share with Lucius, but felt she couldn’t. Dobby brought a plate of food up for her but she hardly ate any of it, as she was so nervous. She picked up a book and started reading it, when Severus slipped into her room.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Fine,” Hermione replied. “I am just a little tired that’s all.”

“That’s understandable,” Severus said. “I suppose standing up for hours on end to find the right dress and design is rather tiring.”

“Actually, it is,” Hermione replied stiffly. “Anyway I want to go to sleep.”

She turned her back on him, and flicked her lights off. She felt her mattress lower, and she turned around. She smelt Snape and felt his warm breath settle on her skin.

“Hermione, one word, that is all it would take. One word, and you could be mine,” he whispered in her ear. His soft voice made her shiver, as she heard the rustle of bed sheets and then she felt his hard body next to hers.

“What are you doing?” Hermione asked.

“You wanted to ask why I had a rough night last night?” Severus asked, as he placed his warm sensuous lips to her neck. He teased it with a few light pecks. “I had a rough night, because I thought of us making love, and it rendered me restless.”

He placed his hand on her stomach, and it caused her to moan. He slid his other hand up her leg and under her nightdress. Hermione moved closer to him. She stroked Severus face, and his lips and mouth captured hers, and he kissed her passionately, and wonderfully.

“Severus,” she moaned. She laid on her back, and he rolled his body on top of hers. He looked down on her. He then gently took her knickers off. He noticed that she was already beginning to react. “Severus!” Hermione exclaimed sharply.

“What?”

“We can’t,” she gasped. Severus leaned down and rubbed her nipple between his middle finger and thumb. She moaned again.

“Try telling your body that,” he purred. “I think it likes me.” He sucked her breast through the nightdress, but she pushed him off.

“I am enjoying it, really I am. But tomorrow I am marrying Lucius, and I can’t marry him knowing the night before I had sex with someone else. He’s already found out Draco wasn’t his son after all. What if something similar were to happen? I simply can’t do it.”

“You must really love him,” Severus said harshly. “Why though?”
“I – I don’t know,” she stammered. “But I care for him, deeply.”

Severus got out of the bed and she sighed as she felt the mattress lift.

“You wait, a few months from now, you’ll wish you never freed him from Azkaban.”

He walked out of her bedroom and Hermione sank back into her cushions a mix of confusion and anger. Why did Severus Snape have to pick NOW to notice her? Why didn’t he notice her when he had the chance? Her dreams were troubled that night, all she heard was a high pitched laugh, and a hissing voice saying, ‘well done, my slippery friend!’

~*~*~

The next morning Hermione awoke, but felt awful, and groggy. She knew what the day was and knew that by the end of it she would be baring a different name. She felt less comfortable now, obviously the wards have been let down, that meant someone was here. She crawled out of bed and tied a robe around her, and walked out of the door. She bumped into Dobby.

“Madam Malkin is here Mistress, where do I show her?”

“Is the food laid out in the breakfast room?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, Mistress, Dobby did that already.”

“Good,” Hermione said. “Then show her in there, let her have some of the breakfast if she hasn’t already eaten. And then when she has eaten her fill, show her up here. Oh and Dobby,” Hermione said. “Bring me up a sausage sandwich.”

Dobby bowed and then went back downstairs. Hermione walked back into her bedroom, she was not ready to meet people this early in the morning without something to settle her growling stomach. There, in the middle of her bed, was a sausage sandwich. And on the dressing table was a cup of coffee.

She ate the sandwich, and drank the coffee. She felt a growing sense of nervousness in he stomach. What was Lucius going to do to her? Would he revert back to his old ways if she didn’t get pregnant within six months? She was worried for the first time since she released him from prison. Perhaps she should have thought this more carefully. She shrugged her shoulders and then stood up. She opened the door that led to the en suite and had a shower. She felt a little better after that.

She thought she would have a few more minutes to herself, but then she saw that Madam Malkin, and Hettie were there, with the dress sewn.

“Fittings, and accoutrements,” Madam Malkin said. “Mr Malfoy wants this done before lunchtime.”

Hermione nodded, she looked at her watch. There were two and half hours before lunch. With magic, that should be enough time.

~*~*~

Arthur appeared with a marriage scroll, and a quick quotes quill to copy down the vows that Hermione, and Malfoy would say to each other. Arthur was surprised to see Dobby back here. Dobby had shown Arthur to the study, where Lucius was. Lucius was wearing a pair of black silk pyjamas.

“Arthur,” Lucius greeted coldly.

Arthur was tempted to point out how muggle Lucius looked, but decided against it.

“Lucius, I want you to understand, the only reason why I am doing this, is because of Hermione. You hurt her, and I will kill you, understood.”

Lucius smiled coolly. “Understood, although what makes you think I’ll harm her?”

“You would if she doesn’t start showing signs of being pregnant within six months.”

“Any detail, listen Arthur, as much as this may shock you I do actually love her. I wouldn’t harm her, and believe me there have been plenty of occasions when I should have done.”

Arthur was just about to bring back a scathing reply when Severus entered the room.

“Mr Weasley,” Severus greeted.

“Severus,” Arthur replied.

What was Hermione up to? Arthur thought.

“Do you know where Hermione is?” he asked.

“Probably upstairs in her room,” Lucius said. “Getting ready for our wedding, although I don’t know why she can’t wear one of her ordinary robes. It’s not as if it’s going to be a big wedding.”

“She had a wedding dress sorted out for her and Ron’s wedding,” Arthur said.

“Yes, well I suppose this is something she’ll only do once, and she is like any other ordinary female in that regard. I haven’t met a female yet who didn’t like to dress up and spend money.”

“If they’ve got money to spend, and robes to dress up in,” Arthur replied. “My wife prefers to spend money on other things.”

“I can imagine,” Lucius sneered, “anyway, I must get myself ready.”

He rose from his chair, and walked past Arthur. Arthur ignored him and looked at a blank space in the room. Once Lucius was out of the room, Arthur turned to Severus.

“Did you have anything to do with this?” Arthur asked him.

“Believe me, Arthur, if it were me I’d be MARRYING her rather than help my friend marry her.”

Arthur thought about it, yes, that would be typically Slytherin.

“Well,” he said, “I suppose I better make myself comfortable.”

Severus nodded. Arthur sat down on a chair that was next to the one Lucius had just got out from. Severus remained standing. He looked at the bookshelves and then walked up to one. He randomly selected a book and flipped through the pages.

“I don’t suppose Potter, and your daughter are making any advancements are they?” Severus asked.

“Yes they are,” Arthur said. “Harry came up to me the other day saying that he wished to make my daughter a future bride. I told him to wait though. She’s going through her last year of school, and it’s still shaken.”

Severus shifted his weight onto the other foot. He looked at Arthur, and Arthur saw a look of pain flit across the other mans eyes.

“I didn’t want -!”

Severus was interrupted by Dobby coming into the room.

“Would Mr Weasley and Mr Snape care to have some breakfast?”

“No, thank you, Dobby, my wife has already fed me up.”

Dobby turned to Snape.

“No,” he replied. “I am not hungry.”

“Did Hermione mention what her vows are?” Severus asked.

“No, but I bet they are different to the ones she went through with Ron.”

“Possibly,” Severus replied. “What the vows are, are quite astonishing. I could honestly say Lucius Malfoy has probably met his match.”

~*~*~

It was 1:00pm before Lucius stepped into his conservatory. This was where he wanted to marry Hermione, in this room. Dobby was told to fetch Mr Weasley, and Mr Snape, and then the Mistress.

Lucius looked like a King in his burgundy hose, and robes, with the gold tunic. Arthur was actually surprised that Lucius was wearing the Gryffindor colours. Even his boots were burgundy. Lucius had his hair loose, but well displayed around his shoulders, and back.

“The Mistress approaches,” Dobby announced. All the men turned to watch Hermione enter the Conservatory. And all three of them gasped in disbelief.

Hermione was wearing an emerald green satin bodice with silver stitching, and her skirt was made of some delicate silver fabric, with green stitching matching the silver at the top. Lucius breath was caught in his throat as she walked down the hall, her hair up with a few coils escaping to cascade down her neck. Arthur turned away.

Hermione, on the other hand, was caught looking at Lucius; he looked simply gorgeous in what he was wearing. He really suited the colours of Gryffindor.

“Shall we begin,” Arthur said.

“Yes, lets,” Lucius said, as he offered her his arm. She took it.

Arthur unrolled the parchment, and set it floating in the air. The quick quotes quill followed shortly.

“I, Lucius Julius Malfoy, offer to do the following for thee, my loving bride. Firstly, to be a good loyal husband to you. Secondly, to help you through all your difficulties, and campaigns, and to truly advice you. Thirdly, to provide a child for you so that there is a physical manifestation of our love, and lastly, to honour you as any man should honour a beautiful, brave wife.”

Hermione blushed as the last comment was spoken.

“I, Hermione Jane Granger, will do the following for thee, my adoring husband. Firstly, like you I wish to be good, faithful and honest with you, and to never let another man share my bed. Secondly, I will help you through any difficulties and trials you may face. Thirdly, I will bear you an heir not only for the reason you want but also as a physical manifestation of our love, and lastly, I shall honour thee, my husband.”

The quick quotes quill copied every word spoken by these two people. Severus handed her the quill first, Hermione signed it, then Lucius signed it, and then the scroll rolled up and disappeared. They were legally bound.

A/N So what do you think? A bit rushed? I know for a fact that I'd have that dress, and the man! Sorry for there being no smut...