enchantement - SOULBOUND I̲̅ || SS/HG ✔️

26. Vows

A/N: Slight smut ahead. (I just realised this book has quite a few smuts 🙈🦊)

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"You came to me the day before Slughorn's party, troubled. I was concerned, you looked abnormally pale, but I associated it with your role during the war. It wasn't the first time you appeared dreadful after an encounter with the Dark Lord - but you never admitted to being a death eater. Truthfully it was eating me alive. I felt like you didn't trust me enough, but I knew it, that you were one I mean." She started, her fingers all the while grazing his lips, as if hypnotised by the way they would sway at the simple touch of her index finger on them. "We had been together for a little amount of time, but it was our imperfect-perfect relationship." She giggled, remembering how much teasing was involved in their relation. "You always liked to have the last word in any argument, and unfortunately for you, you feel in love with me."

Severus grinned at that, realising how similar they were. "I guess opposites attract didn't work with us, didn't it?"

Capturing his hips with her legs, enclosing around him, she went on, "no but we were ideal for each other, in every way. That evening you had me worried, you were for the first time rambling. I was positively frightened, your usual well-spoken ways had been thrown out the window. And then, out of the blue, you asked me to marry you."

Noticing the change in her eyes, the sadness reflected through them, Severus pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. "I was one crazy chap wasn't I?" He joked although he knew his vision a few minutes ago was foreseeing the real reason why he had asked her to bond through the Anima Victum Vow. "You must have known how to tame my snake to get me so hocked!"

"Stop smirking" she scowled, hitting playfully his shoulder."

"How did you know I was smirking?"

Placing a chaste kiss on his lips, she smiled, "because I know you, every bit of you."

A comforting silence installed itself around them before Hermione interrupted it. "You said you couldn't wait to wed me. I knew deep down you were afraid the war was going to separate us, so I believed this vow was our way of binding each other for the remaining time we had."

"So you were not completely-utterly-madly in-love with me?" He asked in absolute turmoil, his eyebrows wrinkling at the centre. "You agreed to wed me to reassure me?"

"Of course not you dunderhead!" She pulled his ebony hair, drawing his face towards hers. "I wanted to be with you forever. I simply believed you were worried our time was limited and wanted to make the best out of it."

As her answer seemed to please Severus, she continued, "you then told me about the Anima Victum Vow. You said it was one of the most powerful promises, binding our souls eternally to each other. To avoid me asking further inquiries about the vow you played it off by saying you were a protective man and needed to know you had a strong grasp on me."

"I wasn't completely lying to you" winked the man, kissing her lips eagerly, unable to resist the temptation. "You'll make any man ready to unite himself to you only to know your his."

"The next evening we pronounced our vows, but I knew that behind yours a secret was hiding." Severus listened carefully, his mind writing down every word that followed, "I pretended I didn't notice but my curiosity got the best of me. We had an argument after that, a big one really. It was the worst. We both suffered a lot from the words that were roared. I felt like I was worthless to you, and you pretended there was never real love between us, just chemistry." He noticed the tear that strolled down her cheek and kissed it, the taste of her salty sorrow reaching his lips. "It was ridiculous, as if we had never bonded to the other a few days prior. You said all you've been doing was trying to protect me, but then I snapped, and you finally admitted to being a death eater. I knew, of course, but I felt like a heavy weight was lifted off my shoulders."