You're Married, Professor! Part 3
Teen · Romance · Drama · Humor · Post-War · Established Relationship · Multi-chapter · On Hiatus
I declare that the whole world of Harry Potter is the sole property of J.K. Rowling and that this story was not written for profit.
Hermione felt like she was in seventh heaven. She sat in Transfiguration, mulling over that whole lovely morning. When they left the flat, they walked together almost all the way to school. Severus kissed her properly and ran an appreciative look over her once more, which pleased her immensely.
As she sat there, she propped her head on her hand and suddenly noticed the others getting up and leaving. Grint stopped by her desk and asked her something. She looked at him until she came back to reality, and then she panicked. "Good God, Grint! I somehow drifted off. What did you say?" It was clear he didn't really want to repeat it. He cleared his throat. "You're married, Hermione?" She blinked as she tried to process his question. "Ah, yes. I am. Erm." She had completely forgotten she had put the ring on the day before. She wondered whether it had been a mistake, but then waved it off. "I hope that's not a problem?" Grint shook his head. "No. Er, I wanted to ask whether you'd like to come to lunch with me and our group?"
She smiled at him. "Of course, I'd love to!" With that she finally packed her things and went with him towards the university canteen. There she met several students from different years and programmes. What didn't please Hermione was the topic everyone shared. Severus.
"Have you seen him? That man has a gorgeous arse! And those muscles," said a blonde girl across the table, and Hermione pictured her husband. "Hmm," she hummed flatly, and then Lucy, sitting next to Grint, chimed in. "Yeah, and that voice of his. Every time he lectures, I feel like I could come just from his voice." Hermione pictured Severus's voice again and groaned inwardly, because yes, exactly that. She had to agree. "I heard he's seeing Perry from third year..." Grint remarked, and Hermione froze. "Impossible," she blurted, and immediately realised her mistake when the whole table turned to her. "Why?" Grint asked. "Well, he's a professor. I strongly doubt he'd risk his career by having something with a student!" Lucy nodded, but Jennifer, the blonde, shook her head. "It's not forbidden at university!"
For the rest of the conversation she sat completely stunned, while gossip about Severus poured in on her from all sides. But was it only gossip?
Severus stood at the lectern and looked over his students. It was the last double period and he was supposed to have Hermione. When he saw her come in, he smiled. But he didn't see the smile returned. Hermione deliberately avoided his gaze. He wondered what he had done all day that might have upset her. When he couldn't think of anything, he told himself he would try to talk her round in class. Then he dismissed the idea, because it would go wrong a hundred percent! So he let it be, and when he checked the clock and found it was time, he began the lesson. For that day it was Polyjuice Potion. Every student knew it in some form, because it was part of their earlier studies, but few knew that Polyjuice Potion had many variants that could be brewed, and that they differed in the ingredients needed and in the final effect. Severus truly loved his work. Finally.
Hermione walked into the classroom and caught Severus's look and smile. But she was unsettled and had no intention of returning that smile. First she would have to have it out with him. Did he even know what kind of talk was going around about him? She tried to remember who Perry was and what she looked like. On the one hand, she felt deep inside that Severus wouldn't cheat on her. He would never hurt her like that. But on the other hand, it seemed to her that he had changed terribly. The new haircut had been the last drop in her trust. Now she was unsettled. So she firmly decided that she wanted him to show it. She wanted everyone to know he was hers. But she had a feeling it wouldn't be that simple.
All through the lesson Severus tried to draw her into the discussion somehow, because he knew she knew as much about Polyjuice Potion as he did. After all, she had brewed the basic version back at Hogwarts in her second year. But Hermione answered sparingly and without enthusiasm. So Severus decided they would go home together and stop for dinner. While explaining, he walked all the way to her desk. "Miss Granger, stay after class." When she nodded, he smirked as was his habit and went back to the lectern. He thought about where they could go. And then he smiled as he wrote the possible variations of Polyjuice Potion on the board.
Hermione did as he said. She waited until the lesson was over and walked up to the lectern. She looked around, and once the classroom had emptied, she began. "What is it, Severus?" He turned and suggested with a smile, "I'm finished for today too, and I thought we could go out for dinner. What do you say?" Joy shot through Hermione. "Yes, that would be great! We haven't been anywhere together in ages!" Severus nodded. "Then wait a moment, I'll get my coat from my office and we can go." Hermione came back down to earth a little. "Should I wait outside? Or where?" Severus thought about it. "Probably, yes. Outside would be best." That sparked a very unpleasant feeling in Hermione, but she turned and went to wait.
She had been standing in front of the door for several minutes when she ran out of patience and set off into the depths of the school to find Severus. She went with confidence, because she knew very well where his office was. But she ran into Grint, who held her up with an interesting Herbology question, and Hermione, as always, fell completely for the chance to help someone. And she began explaining to him how to tell angelica from hogweed.
Severus was clearing things off his desk, ready to take his cloak and go after Hermione, when there was a knock on his office door. "Professor?" A red haired girl peeked in. Severus looked at her for a moment, sighed lightly and invited her in. "What do you need, Miss Golden?" He didn't even look at her, he kept rummaging through his documents and waited for her to sit down, so he was surprised when she appeared close to him behind the desk. She put her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Severus blinked in surprise and was horrified. He pushed her away and growled the way only students at Hogwarts knew. "What was that supposed to mean? You're an empty head, so you came to seduce a professor to get a better grade?" Cold and venom dripped from his voice. "Do you really mean that, Professor?" Miranda asked sweetly. "I've fallen in love with you..." She smiled shyly, completely ignoring his look and his entirely negative body language. Severus grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up slightly. "This. Is. Unacceptable. Behaviour. Towards. A professor! You're lucky I don't have time to deal with you right now, otherwise I'd gladly have you scrubbing cauldrons, or better still, drag you to the dean's office and have you expelled! Now get out while you still can!" At that moment Miranda knew she was in trouble. She straightened up to at least appear composed, and before the door closed behind her, she murmured, "We'll see each other again, Professor..." Severus stared at the closed door, trying to breathe through the outrage. Belatedly it occurred to him that he should have wiped her memory, although he suspected nobody at the university was a Legilimens. Since the war it had been a forbidden discipline all over the world, and after the deaths of Dumbledore and the Dark Lord, he remained its only master. He looked at his hands and remembered Hermione's pleas about the ring. In a second he decided to put it on. He took his cloak and ran down the corridor towards the exit, when he ran into Hermione inside, talking to that awful clown who reminded him of the dim Weasley. "Hermione!" he blurted out as he strode up to her, because he couldn't run straight at her like a madman.
"Angelica's stem has a whitish bloom, it's often purplish and." She stopped short when she heard Severus's voice. She watched him come up to her somewhat out of breath and tried to suppress an unpleasant feeling. He never ran. She looked at Grint, who was also openly staring at him, and then it hit her. Grint wasn't staring because he had run. Severus had called her Hermione! "Erm, good afternoon, Professor. Is something wrong?" Her eyes darted to Grint so that Severus would get it.
Severus, of course, was no fool, so he got it very quickly. "I apologise. Miss Granger, I'd like to ask you for a few minutes of your time, could you come with me?" Grint excused himself and left them alone. Severus tried to act as if nothing had happened. He gestured towards the exit without a single word.
Outside, in a secluded alley, he took her hand and Apparated with her to the restaurant he had originally chosen. He decided he wouldn't change anything about his plans. He walked into the restaurant and turned to offer her his arm. The waiter seated them at a table for two, and Hermione sat down stiffly and looked at Severus, waiting to hear what he wanted to tell her that had caused such a stir. A truly big one in her eyes, given how hard he had tried to keep their marriage secret.
Severus looked at his hands and stroked the ring with his thumb. Then he raised his eyes to her and told her, "I've decided to admit that I'm married, and I've put my ring on." Hermione opened her mouth and then sank into her chair with a smile and a tender look. "That upset you so much that you ran to tell me and nearly gave us away to the whole university?" Severus shook his head. "I don't run!" he said, trying to sweep it under the carpet. "I won't say that my wife is my student, but I hope you'll be calmer now." He smiled and picked up the menu. "What will you have?" He made it clear that he considered the previous topic closed. Hermione sighed and nodded. "Alright. You know what I like, Severus." With that she left it to him. There was something strange about his behaviour, but she let herself be gradually lulled by his gallant manners…
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Mimosa Confiante
By day, I work somewhere between marketing, copy and campaigns; by night, I usually end up somewhere between fanfiction, cosplay and yet another “what if” that refuses to leave me alone. I write mainly in the Harry Potter and Mo Dao Zu Shi fandoms, most often Snarry, Snamione, HarryLu and WangXian. My healthcare background means that anatomy, medicine and far too much research occasionally find their way into my stories. Cosplay is another way for me to play with the characters I love, whether I stay close to canon or turn them into my own fanfiction and AU versions. In Diary of a Slytherin Girl with ADHD, I write openly about life with a brain that usually has far too many tabs open at once.
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