The Laws of Love

Chapter 5

"It looks like Professor Potter has a marriage contract," Melanie's friend Genelle commented at breakfast Saturday morning.

Melanie looked up from her scrambled eggs and scowled. "So? Who cares about the stupid marriage law," she said, irritably.

"What's wrong with you? It's not like we have to worry about it yet. We're only sixteen," Genelle reminded her.

"Genelle? Do you not remember what we did last night?" Melanie asked, trying to hold onto her temper.

"Yes, we celebrated your birthday- Oh! You're seventeen now!"

Genelle had been Melanie's best friend since they were first years, but she wasn't known for her mental abilities.

"Father said he'd be sending a contract out today, although he hadn't decided who it would be for yet."

"Does that mean you have to get married soon? Will you leave Hogwarts before you graduate?"

Melanie eyes filled with tears. "I hope not, but what choice will I have?"

"Don't cry, Lanie, maybe they'll let you go ahead and take your NEWTs. You're so smart-" Genelle broke off with a gasp.

Melanie looked up to see Professor Potter glaring down at her.

"Miss Walsh, my office, now," he bit out then spun on his heal and left the hall.

Melanie shrugged at Genelle and quickly followed after him wondering what she'd done this time.

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Harry was so upset he could barely speak. He gestured for her to take a seat and slammed the door to the office shut.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, throwing the contract at her. He watched her as she picked up the paper and read.

Her eyes widened and she looked up at him in shock.

"Well?" he asked, feeling some of the anger drain away, as it became obvious to him that she hadn't known about the contract.

"Well what? My father said he was going to submit a contract for me. He never said to whom. I'm just as much at the mercy of this law as you are you know," she retorted, crossing her arms.

He studied her face for a minute.

"You look relieved," he commented.

She actually smiled at him.

"I am. I thought I'd have to marry someone who'd make me quit school, but since you're a Professor I don't have to worry about that," she explained.

"I can't marry you. You're my student," he protested.

She rolled her eyes and stood up.

"Are you finished? I'm suddenly very hungry, and breakfast will only be available for a few more minutes," she informed him briskly.

He opened and shut his mouth a few times, silently. "We have to discuss this," he said finally.

"Can we wait 'til tonight? Maybe some of the shock will have worn off and you'll be more coherent," she sneered.

"Why you little..."

"What? Slytherin? Yeah I am in Slytherin. That's why you're so upset about marrying me isn't?" she demanded.

"What? No! That has nothing to do with it. You're my student!"

"Yeah right! If it were Janet Odom you had to marry you wouldn't be so opposed," she practically spat at him.

His mouth hung open and he was clearly at a loss for words.

She suddenly gave him a calculating look.

"Or maybe it's not the whole Slytherin/Gryffindor thing. It's me. My body. My breasts aren't large enough, and my legs aren't long enough..." she trailed off and turned her gaze to the floor.

Harry sighed and ran a hand down his face.

"I think you were right about waiting until tonight to discuss this. I need to think about it some more before we talk," he said, finally.

Melanie looked up at the clock on the wall and frowned.

"Breakfast is over," she said, sadly.

"Just go to the kitchens. The elves will make you anything you want," he said, absently.

"Kitchen? I don't know where that is," she said, curiously.

He looked up at her in surprise.

"What? Not every student here is a delinquent like you were. Wandering around where they're not supposed to after hours," she said, smugly.

She reminded him so much of Snape at that moment that Harry nearly laughed out loud. It occurred to him, that this was just the way Melanie was. She wasn't trying to be mean or disrespectful; she was verbally sparring with him.

"Well, your loss then," he said and sat down at his desk pretending to read over a parchment.

Melanie crossed her arms over her chest and settled down to wait him out.

Harry wondered how long it would be before she finally gave up and left. A loud growling filled the room and he was startled to realize that it was coming from the girl's stomach.

Sighing in defeat, he said, "On the first floor at the end of the hall there is a painting of fruit. Tickle the pear and you'll find the kitchens." He didn't glance up from the parchment, but heard the door open and slam shut a few seconds later.

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Harry pounded on the dungeon door for a good five minutes before a very peeved Professor Snape yanked it opened.

He sneered at Harry then promptly slammed the door shut in his face.

Hermione was soaking in the tub finally feeling the anger and hurt begin to fade, when the bathroom door was slammed open.

Snape barreled into the room practically screaming.

"Not here! I refuse to allow that arrogant bastard..." he trailed off as his gaze became transfixed on her naked breasts.

Hermione scowled, and quickly covered herself.

He blinked and shook his head.

"Make him leave!" he growled finally, and marched out of the room.

Hermione mentally counted to ten before she climbed out of the tub and grabbed her bathrobe. As she walked toward the door to their chambers, she could hear Harry pounding and yelling at Snape to open the door.

Severus had re-seated himself at his desk and was scribbling furiously on a poor third year's essay.

"Open the damn door!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and yanked the door open.

"What the hell is so important..." she began.

"Sorry, Hermione. But I need your help," Harry said desperately as he shoved the contract under her nose.

"Potter needs your help, imagine that," Snape called, sarcastically from his desk.

Hermione ignored him and quickly scanned the parchment in front of her. She looked up at Harry with an annoyed glare when she'd finished.

"So?" she huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

"So? I'm being forced to marry a student and all you can say, is 'so'?"

At this statement Snape began to laugh maniacally.

Hermione turned around and gave him her most putout look but he merely waved at her and turned back to his marking.

"I don't see the big deal, Harry. We all have to get married and start repopulating the Wizarding World, why should you be any exception?" she demanded.

"But... but I'm too old for her..."

Hermione snorted.

"Oh please, Harry. You're what, six or seven years older? Severus is twenty-two years older than I am!"

"Twenty-one and a half," came the indignant yell from her husband.

"But that's different..."

"How is that different? Harry I'm sorry that she's not who you would have chosen, but please remember that you're not the only one being forced into this. The poor girl is probably terrified of you."

"I wish," he grumbled.

She glared at him.

"What's wrong with her?"

Harry sighed and to his embarrassment felt a tear slip from his eye.

"She's not Ginny," he said simply.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione's annoyance instantly vanished and she pulled him into a hug.

"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Snape bellowed and was yet again, ignored.

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Charlie nervously fidgeted in a booth at the Leaky Cauldron that night. He'd arrived early, hoping that he could get settled and be more comfortable when she arrived. Unfortunately, with every passing moment he became more nervous and agitated.

Rachel Collins. The name seemed vaguely familiar somehow. She would have started Hogwarts when he was a fifth year, so it's very possible that he had seen her and heard her name before. He smiled ruefully; perhaps he'd just taken too many hits to the head in Romania.

Rachel absently ran a hand threw her long honey-blonde locks as her eyes scanned the pub. Charlie's bright red hair was easy to spot among the bland, dark colors that decorated the room.

He smiled at her when their eyes met, but it was an absent smile that you'd give a stranger.

Rachel felt a little disappointed that he hadn't recognized her, but then it had been several years since he'd seen her. She walked over and sat down opposite him in the booth.

"You don't recognize me, do you?" she asked, hoping she was wrong.

His warm brown eyes focused more intently on her face.

"Should I?" he asked.

Even if he didn't recognize her by now, he ought to have at least figured out who she was.

"Rachel Collins? You submitted a contract for me. Do you remember that?" she demanded and then blushed at her own rudeness.

"I'm sorry. I've had a very trying day. St. Mungo's rejected my application," she explained, lowering her eyes to the table.

"No, that's okay. You obviously know me, have I met you before?" he asked, feeling slightly embarrassed. Meeting a pretty blonde woman was just not something that Charlie would normally forget.

Her face fell, and she was dismayed to feel the tears stinging her eyes.

"It's been several years, don't worry about it," she said stiffly.

Charlie was truly stumped. Although there was something familiar about those lovely hazel eyes, he couldn't place her. However, he could tell that she had met him before and this meeting must have been important to her for it to cause such a reaction.

"Look, Rachel, I'm sorry, really I am. I mean, I must be a bigger idiot than I thought to forget someone as pretty as you," he apologized.

He was rewarded with a blush and a small smile. "Help me out?" he pleaded with his best puppy-dog look.

She rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. "I was the student you rescued from the tree," she said finally.

Charlie's jaw dropped and the memory of that night came back to him in vivid detail.

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It was the last Quidditch game of his Hogwarts career. They had won of course, clobbering Slytherin once again. The celebration was about to begin when he realized that he'd left his sweater at the pitch. It was one his Mum had made him and he knew she'd be cross if he lost it.

Telling his friends and teammates that he'd catch up, he headed back to the pitch, but stopped when he noticed a group of fourth year Slytherins snickering cruelly in a circle.

"You should have seen her face when she realized I was just gonna leave her there on that tree! Can you imagine? A witch terrified of heights!"

They laughed uproariously.

"A night in the forest on a tree ought to teach that stuck-up Ravenclaw where her place is."

Charlie's stomach lurched and without another thought he took off for the Forbidden Forrest on his broomstick.

His sharp brown eyes desperately scanned the treetops until he caught the sight of a tangle of blonde hair whipping in the breeze.

Tears were streaming down her dirty cheeks and her face was very pale with fright. She was tightly clinging to the tree while looking down at the ground below her as if she was considering letting go.

Charlie didn't give her the chance. As soon as he could reach her, he pulled her firmly to him, and felt her wrap her arms and legs around his waist.

She was petite and seemed so fragile against him, shaking like a leaf. He wrapped one arm around her, holding her tightly and was relived to feel her relax slightly.

He spoke to her soothingly, as if he was talking to Ginny and slowly flew them back to the school.

By the time he reached the castle, she had fallen asleep.

Charlie dismounted and gently lifted her into his arms. She sighed and tucked her head under his chin.

He could feel himself blush slightly at the attention they received as he made his way to the infirmary. The closer he got the angrier he became. It was unthinkable that anyone could do something so cruel to such a defenseless little girl.

He ran into Professor McGonagall on the way, and gave her a brief version of events. The stern Professor's face softened slightly as she gazed at the small girl curled up in his arms.

He left her in the infirmary after giving Professors Flitwick and Snape a thorough recounting of what had happened. And that was the last he'd seen of her. He didn't know her name and became so wrapped up in studies that he forgot to ask. His NEWTs had taken place a few days later, and then he'd graduated and moved to Romania. He really didn't give her much thought after that.

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Charlie reached across the table and took her hands in his.

"I never knew your name. I was so wrapped up in preparing for the NEWTs and then graduation and my apprenticeship in Romania, that I forgot to look for you," he explained.

Rachel could feel her pulse beginning to race. His warm hands gently held hers, his thumbs caressing her wrists. She could feel herself drowning in his coffee colored eyes.

A rude passerby who bit out, "Oh, get a room" broke the moment.

They both blushed and Charlie reluctantly let go of her hands.

"Why did you submit a contract for me then, if you really didn't know me?" she questioned.

"Your brother wrote me a letter..." he began.

Rachel groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"That meddling little..."

"He was concerned, Rachel, and rightly so. Everyone knows that the Crabbes were in deep with the Death Eaters. I would have done the same thing for my sister," his voice broke on the last word, and he looked down so that she wouldn't see the tears in his eyes.

Rachel felt a sharp pang of empathy. She'd read about the four Weasleys deaths in the Daily Prophet six years ago. At the time she remembered feeling a slight sense of relief that Charlie wasn't among them, but had never really given it much thought. So many had died, that all of the names that she'd read began to run together in her mind. If she had forced herself to stop and think about each individual that she'd known who'd passed, well, there's no doubt she'd have fallen into a deep depression.

She'd been a healing apprentice for three years at St. Mungo's when the war injuries starting rolling in. As a student, she'd learned more about healing in the final three months of the war than she had since. Years later, her dreams were still haunted by the screams and moans of the dying, and the unnatural silence of the dead.

Rachel knew that she was very lucky that none of her immediate family were hurt. She had lost several friends and acquaintances though.

She hesitantly took his hand in hers.

"I'm sorry about your family. I can't imagine how awful it must have been for you," she murmured softly.

His hand tightened around hers as if he was drawing strength from her.

"You'd think after six years the pain would fade. It hasn't," he confessed, looking up at her from under his lashes.

Charlie could see the sadness in her eyes, and nearly kicked himself for upsetting her. He released her hand and cleared his throat.

"We didn't come here to reminisce," he said firmly.

She nodded and took a deep breath to clear her head.

An awkward silence descended.

"So, tell me more about this healing position," she told him.

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The Great Hall was decorated in much the same way, as Dumbledore's office had been the night before. White and pink fabrics draped the walls, and carnations of the same color fell like snow from the ceiling disappearing before they hit anything.

A large pink and white wedding cake was displayed in the middle of the Head Table. On the top were two miniature figurines of Hermione and Severus. The Severus figurine had his back to the room, and was tapping his foot impatiently while glaring at Dumbledore. The Hermione figurine was smiling uncertainly at the students, pausing every few seconds to turn an icy glare at the Snape figurine.

Hermione and Severus groaned in unison as they entered the Hall for dinner. Upon seeing them, the Headmaster jumped to his feet and loudly cleared his throat.

All conversations stopped.

"May I introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Severus Snape," he declared raising his goblet in a toast.

A round of hesitant clapping lasting all of thirty seconds followed the announcement.

Hermione and Severus looked at each other and nodded. In a move that looked practiced, they spun around and walked right back out.

Dumbledore was nonplussed.

"Who wants cake?"

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Melanie slowly made her way toward Professor Potter's office. She was in a foul mood and instinctively knew that dealing with him now was not going to make her feel better.

Word had quickly spread that she and Professor Potter would be married and her fellow Slytherins had been awful to her.

Genelle had pulled her aside and explained that she'd been threatened by some of the older Slytherins. They would torment her, unless she ended their friendship.

"But I don't care what anyone says, Lanie! We've been best friends for years and I'll stand by you no matter who you have to marry," Genelle had declared passionately.

Genelle was sweet and loyal, and Melanie found herself wondering, not for the first time, why the girl had been sorted into Slytherin.

"No, Gen, I think it's better if we separate for a while. Those students can be really mean and I'd feel terrible if they hurt you just for being my friend."

Now she was separated from the only real friend she'd ever had and was about to be forced to marry a man who clearly didn't want her.

Melanie reached his office door and paused, frowning. She had no idea what kind of mood he would be in and honestly didn't think she could stand it if one more person was rude to her.

Sighing dejectedly, she knocked.

"Come in," he called, sounding much more relaxed and put together than she felt.

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Harry had been waiting for her knock. He'd spent most of the day coming up with a plan. Of course, it was mostly Hermione's idea, but he'd helped.

He felt much better now that he had "The Plan" and couldn't wait to tell her about it.

However, when she walked through the door, he was surprised to see how miserable she looked.

"What's wrong?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Melanie glared at him and then looked at the ground.

"What did you want to discuss?" she asked, snippily, not looking at him.

Harry just stared at her for a moment, wondering what she could possibly be so unhappy about. Just this morning she'd been relieved to be marrying him. What had changed?

"Please have a seat," he said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk as he sat in his own.

Melanie slowly sat down, still not looking at him.

"Tell me what's wrong," he commanded, unnerved at her silence.

"It's personal," she said, finally lifting her gaze to him, albeit defensively.

They stared at each other for a minute.

"Okay, I spent the day thinking and I've come up with a plan," he began.

She snorted.

"What?" he demanded.

"Nothing, please continue. I can't wait to hear what you've come up with," she smirked, feeling a bit of the day's tension start to fade.

Having Harry Potter as a husband would be amusing if nothing else.

"Hermione and I discussed it, and-"

"Who?" she interrupted eyes narrowing.

It hadn't occurred to her that Professor Potter might have a girlfriend or something.

"Professor Granger, well, Snape now. I guess that's one of the first things you need to know. She, Ron Weasley, the Quidditch coach, and I have been best friends since we were first years. So you can expect to see a lot of them."

Her eyes clouded over at the words 'best friends' and he wondered again what had upset her.

"Anyway, you have the highest marks in your year, and Hermione thinks that with some extra private tutoring, and if you don't take the summer off, you can be ready to take your NEWTs by next Christmas," he continued.

"Gee, that sounds like fun," she said sarcastically.

He glared at her.

"Okay, fine. I study really hard and take my NEWTs at Christmas, then what?" she asked.

He blushed and looked away from her as he continued.

"There is a potion you can take that can almost ensure you get pregnant the first time we... you know. Because of your age and status as a student, the contract allows us two years before we have to have a child."

Melanie almost laughed at him.

"But what about the wedding night? Aren't we required to sleep together then?" she asked.

She was amused again by how red he was turning.

"Yes, but you can take a potion to prevent pregnancy then," he said, wanting desperately to talk about something else.

"So, let me get this straight. You and I will marry in a month or so, and spend one night together, me taking a potion to ensure I don't get pregnant. Next we go back to being student and teacher until December when I'll take my NEWTs and graduate. Then we spend another night together, me taking a potion that will ensure pregnancy. Nine months later, I have a baby... Then what?"

"Then we'll have completed the requirements of the contract," he said.

"Okay, yeah that's not going to work for me," she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

End Chapter 5