A Suitable Arrangement

Eight: Many Weddings

Hermione

I soon grew tired of attending wedding after wedding, wondering when my turn would come. The couple's classes were redundant and wasted most of the couple's times. I thought that time could be better spent planning for their weddings, but in the staff meetings I was overruled by that.

I did not care, I had been planning my own wedding in my head for quite some time, and I wanted it to be a clear representation that my loyalties had shifted to my fiance's school House. I came to this conclusion by examining my own pensieve memories. All of my time in Hogwarts, I was taught that Slytherin House was evil, and cold in their cunning and ambitious tendencies. Sure, the Founder Lord Salazar Slytherin wanted to restrict education to only pureblood children, but the times he lived in were so perilous to be a witch or wizard!

I was returning from a pensieve memory where I examined, really examined it through an adult's eyes, how my friends would use me, because I was so brainy and organized; this last memory was from Bill and Fleur's wedding. No one but Viktor Krum wanted to dance with me, or treat me like I wasn't a walking Wikipedia. I popped my head out of the pensieve, and broke down into tears.

"Are you alright?" Severus asked. "I promise I won't read your mind if you don't want me to."

He had stepped into the lab, and was labeling a vial of Veritaserum that he had made two days previously; it had only recently matured and he was attending to it. By necessity, we had to share the lab, which was fine, we stayed out of our hair most of the time since we taught different subjects now.

I wiped at my tears, and got my breathing under control. I shook my head, and he held me. "You know you can tell me whatever it is, you realize? We promised no judgments, remember?"

I let out a shaky breath, and nodded. "I know we did. But I've been examining my memories in your pensieve, and it's heartbreaking how much I was used. Ginny Weasley used me to get close to Harry Potter. He used me, because he wasn't intelligent enough to get through most of his classes. Ron? I think he acted like a third wheel most of the time, and used me for my knowledge. I mean, I was bossy and a nag, as they said, but it's only because I cared about them that I did it."

"May I?" He asked.
I nodded.

"Legilimens," He cast with his wand, and tucked it in his coat. I felt his presence in my mind, but it felt comforting, and almost pleasurable. After a few minutes, he withdrew, and he released me, looking into the pensieve for a long time before speaking.

I wiped at my eyes lost in thought. "Can you forgive me for being callous as a teacher? I had a cover to maintain as a spy. I was only aware of some of this mistreatment by your friends, but I was blinded by my own dislike of Potter and his son that I didn't realize how bitter I was."

I straightened my dress and sighed, "Severus, you were forgiven a long time ago. I understand, alright? I was a child to you, and you had more pressing concerns than to worry about my little teen angst and drama. It doesn't matter, we're together now, and that's all that matters."

Severus turned to me, and he cupped my cheek in his hand, and brushed his lips against mine. I kissed him back, and licked at his lips. My breath hitched in my chest as he grabbed me about the waist and deepened the kiss.

"Good gracious!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, startled. Severus broke our kiss, and glared at Minerva.

"Yes, Headmistress?"

"I..I came to ask Hermione if she had that anti-headache potion I asked for," The older witch stammered out.

Severus chuckled bitterly. "Yes, a likely story. Well, rest assured Minerva, your precious lion cub is still as pure as the freshly driven snow."