Getting to know S. (Severus x OC)

3- The honeymoon

Selene looked nervously at the mirror, trying to get ready for dinner that night.

For the occasion she was wearing a dress that Severus had left her that morning on the bed, as a gift, although neither of them had said anything about it. Selene had gotten used to those small details that Severus had with her, and even though he pretended to ignore her, Selene knew that he did not miss a detail of her gestures or words.

It had been just over eight months since their marriage had taken place, and looking in the mirror, Selene couldn't help but remember how it had all started.

***

Selene Corine was born into an ancient and prestigious family of wizards, closely related on her maternal side to the Selwyn family. Her father was an influential political figure, as was her older brother. Her sister, a renowned beauty, had made an advantageous marriage a year earlier.

Selene had just finished her last year at Hogwarts, and was preparing to study law, and contribute to the success of her family, when her father gave her the news that he had decided to offer her as a future death eater. Mr. Corine thought that this gesture would bring him closer to lord Voldemort, and that, in the long run, it would help his political career.

Selene had been a very good student, being very skilled in incantations and transformations. And although her beauty did not match that of her sister, her potential as a witch surpassed that of the rest of the family.

The day he said goodbye to her, her father simply told her to do her best and not embarrass the family.

This is how Selene moved to one of the many secret headquarters used by the death eaters, to be trained in the dark arts. Her tutor turned out to be the bloodthirsty Bellatrix Lestrange, who enjoyed torturing her for any mistake or provocation, both real and imagined.

It was in one of those tortures in which Selene was seriously injured, spending several days between life and death. When she recovered, Selene discovered to her dismay and shame that she had lost the ability to do magic.

Upon hearing the news, lord Voldemort simply got rid of her, but not before marking the word "squib" on her left arm as a mockery, so that it would be a reminder of her weakness, and a constant cause of shame. If Selene was not executed, it was because of the importance and purity of her family's blood, and because she could always be useful to the dark side in another way.

When she returned to her family home, a year after being handed over to Voldemort, Selene was not welcomed. Her father was disappointed and ashamed of her. He took her wand away as punishment and ordered that no one in the family speak to her again.

The following months were very hard for the young woman, who had gone from being one of the best students in her year to being a squib that everyone avoided. She fell into depression, and at night she was plagued by horrendous nightmares, in which Bellatrix tortured her. She spent her days in panic, thinking that at any moment she could be returned to the death eaters, to be used as a victim during their training.

And then, lord Voldemort called for her father, and let him know that he had already found a way to make Selene useful to the wizarding world. He wished to marry the young woman to one of his new favorites, and thus, with her lineage and his magic, they could both father children who would increase the number of followers of the Dark Lord.

The chosen wizard, Severus Snape, also had no option to reject the marriage. On the one hand, it was not possible to disobey a direct order from the Dark Lord, and furthermore, the union with Miss Corine seemed to be full of apparent advantages. For Severus, Selene was a gift that his lord gave him in exchange for the services provided and represented a connection with an important family of wizards, which could open many doors for him in the Ministry.