The Laws of Love

Chapter 7

Severus was gone when Hermione awoke the next morning. She'd slept surprisingly well considering how upset she'd been the night before. Poor Melanie! She had to do something, even if it meant going behind Severus's back.

She quickly showered and dressed, a smug smile tugging at her lips as she developed a plan.

When Hermione left the bedroom she saw her husband at the same table that had appeared the morning before. He was again reading the paper while sipping coffee.

Being as quiet as possible, she slipped passed him and headed for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked before her hand touched the knob.

She sighed and turned to look at him. "I'm having breakfast in the Great Hall this morning so I won't bother you," she said, only partly telling the truth. Hermione wanted to talk to Harry about her plan to get back at the Slytherins who'd hurt Melanie.

"No."

Hermione blinked.

"No, what?" she asked.

"No, you will not be eating breakfast in the Great Hall," he said, slowly.

She frowned. "Why not?"

Severus gave her an exasperated look.

"We're supposed to be on our honeymoon! If you show up for breakfast without me, they'll think that something is wrong," he pointed out as if she were an idiot for not thinking of it herself.

"Well, they'd be right, wouldn't they," she said and turned to leave again.

He stood up and stomped his foot.

"Wasn't last night bad enough? Don't tell me you enjoy being the center of attention," he demanded.

"Of course, not! But that was last night. Things will have died down by today. Especially when word gets out about Miss Walsh," Hermione countered.

"If you go to breakfast without me, then there'll be new talk starting, and I don't think either of us needs that now," he practically growled.

Hermione smiled at him.

"You are embarrassed!" she cried, laughing.

"What? No I'm not," he huffed.

"Yes, you are! You're afraid that the students and teachers will tease you if they know we don't get along."

"That's absurd! Teasing hasn't bothered me since I was a student. And trust me, after seven years of Potter and Black, I've become quite immune to the taunts," he sat back down and picked up his newspaper again.

Hermione felt a slight tug on her heart at his words. She knew that his peers had tormented Severus when he was a student, and as mean as he was she didn't want to do anything to cause him unnecessary pain.

"Okay, I'll make a deal with you," she said, finally.

He glanced at her warily above his paper.

"I'll stay and eat with you here, if you put down the newspaper and talk to me."

"No. I require silence while eating breakfast," he insisted.

"Well, I require conversation while eating breakfast," she retorted.

He glared at her.

"We tried it your way yesterday, it's only fair that we do it my way today," Hermione pointed out, smugly.

"My way yesterday? I'm sorry, do you remember what happened yesterday?" he demanded.

This time she glared at him.

"Fine, I'll just go find someone else to have breakfast with," she said, spinning on her heel.

She actually managed to take a step outside before he caught her arm and dragged her back in.

"Fine, we'll do it your way," he hissed, releasing her and stomping back to the table.

Hermione was all smiles as she sat down to eat.

Severus opened his mouth to attempt conversation, but couldn't think of anything to say. A minute later Hermione did the same thing.

They stared at each other in silence for almost ten minutes before Hermione said, "Nice weather we've been having."

Severus just groaned.

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Melanie awoke with a groan. She felt like she'd been trampled by a hippogriff. The events of the night before came back to her full force and she sat up with a frightened gasp.

Her eyes darted around the infirmary and she jumped when she saw Professor Potter asleep in a chair beside her bed.

His normally messy black hair was almost pointing straight up, and his mouth was opened, a puddle of drool gathering on his chin.

What was he doing there? He hadn't been there when she'd fallen asleep.

Curiously, having him beside her eased some of the fear. She didn't have to worry about being attacked again as long as he was there. Although, at the moment he didn't seem all that intimidating.

There was an uncomfortable fullness in her abdomen that prompted her to slip out of bed and go to the bathroom.

Melanie walked back out into the infirmary a few minutes later, shaking and weak. There was so much blood, and it wasn't even her time of the month.

Poppy was there waiting for her and quickly helped Melanie back in bed. The old nurse gave her a few potions, and informed her that breakfast should be arriving shortly.

Harry slept through it all.

Poppy pulled up another chair and sat down to explain to Melanie the extent of her injuries. Melanie paled even further at some of the more gruesome details.

"Madam Pomfrey? If Professor Snape hadn't got to me when he did, would I have died?"

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Charlie arrived at Rachel's flat at nine o'clock sharp. She gave him a bright smile as she invited him and ushered him into her small kitchen.

A man was seated at the table sipping tea.

"Charlie, this is my brother Tim," she introduced, shyly.

Timothy stood and shook his hand.

"I remember you from school," Charlie commented with a nod of recognition.

Rachel frowned remembering the previous evening and Charlie cringed inwardly.

"Have some tea, Charlie," Tim said, pouring a cup for him.

"I'm going to finish packing," Rachel excused herself.

Charlie sat down across from him, wondering why Tim was there.

"So, how's the re-populating going?" he asked, figuring he might as well try to be on good terms with his future brother-in-law.

Timothy gave him a weary look before sighing. "It's frustrating!" He stated simply. "I mean, the law was set with a specific set of rules that are constantly being broken by the rich purebloods that are after the 'best' candidates. The Malfoys, Crabbes, Parkinsons, Walshs, and several others with more money than Merlin have bribed their way around the system!"

Charlie's eyes widened. "Wait, did you say Walsh?" he demanded.

"What? Oh yes! Patrick Alan Walsh paid my boss Mr. Droms one hundred thousand galleons to save Harry Potter for his daughter. Can you believe it?"

Charlie just shook his head, speechless.

"Of course, we are talking about Harry Potter. He must have received at least five hundred petitions. Mr. Droms 'lost' them all but Walsh's."

Timothy shook his head.

"The whole system is being abused! At least You-Know-Who is gone for good. I don't even want to think about how he'd manipulate this situation," he said with a shudder.

"But why did Walsh want Harry? Was he a supporter of Voldemort?" Charlie asked when he finally found his voice.

Timothy flinched at the name.

"Oh, heavens no! He's just one of those rich purebloods that wants the absolute best for his daughter. Who better than Harry Potter? Think of what powerful children he will produce," Tim said with a gleam in his eye.

For the first time Charlie realized why Timothy had his job.

"So what about Malfoy? He has heard that Hermione didn't choose him, right?" Charlie asked.

"I'm sure he has by now. I haven't heard anything though. Lucius Malfoy went straight to my boss about Professor Granger. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time when the contracts were being issued. Mr. Droms was upset that I allowed Professor Snape's contract through for her, but there was nothing he could do, and legally, I hadn't done anything wrong," he explained.

"I'm afraid we haven't heard the last from Malfoy," Charlie said, taking a sip of tea.

"I heard a rumor," Timothy began, then hesitated.

"About Malfoy?" Charlie prompted.

"Yes. I overheard some of the ladies on my team gossiping about Draco Malfoy. They seemed to be under the impression that he was quite upset at the prospect of marrying Professor Granger. They seem to think that he has a witch stashed away at his home..." Timothy stopped and shook his head.

"It was just idle chatter, I doubt there's much truth to it."

Charlie nodded, but felt slightly bothered. Almost like there was something else he should be asking, but couldn't think of what it was.

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Harry awoke to an awful pain in his neck. He hesitantly stretched, wincing at the popping joints and straining muscles that were his reward for sleeping in a chair all night.

He looked over at Melanie and was surprised to that she was sitting up in bed. Upon closer inspection, Harry realized that she was shaking.

"Miss Walsh? Are you okay?" he asked, his voice rough with sleep.

She jumped, and turned frightened eyes to him.

Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself and she was rocking back and forth slightly.

"Melanie?" he asked, slowly moving closer.

She shook her head and slowly started crying. "Th-they were tr-trying to k-kill me," she stuttered, then dissolved into sobs.

Give him Boggarts! Give him Dragons, Hippogriffs, Vampires, or Werewolves. Anything, but a crying woman.

Harry started wringing his hands and shifting from foot to foot, not sure what to do. If she'd been Hermione, he'd have hugged her. But Melanie was nothing like Hermione and Harry was afraid of upsetting her even more.

"What can I do? Tell me what to do and I'll do it," he pleaded with her, desperately.

She quieted a little and seemed to consider his offer.

"I want my mother," she said finally and began sobbing again. It was at this point that Hermione and Severus arrived to check on the patient.

"Harry, what did you do?" Hermione demanded, hurrying over to Melanie, and pulling the crying girl close.

Melanie struggled briefly, then gave in and clung to Hermione, soaking the front of her robes.

Harry and Severus shared a bewildered look. Hermione glared at the two men over Melanie's head.

"Severus, you're the head of Slytherin, go owl her parent's immediately!" she snapped, then turned to Harry.

"And you look awful and smell even worse! You could very well be meeting your future in-laws soon, go make your self presentable!"

Harry looked down at his dirty rumpled robes and grimaced. She was right, as usual.

Melanie calmed quickly once the men were gone. She studied the Transfiguration Professor through tear-stained eyes. For the first time she began to appreciate that Professor Granger was a woman and not just a teacher.

Hermione gently brushed a lock of Melanie's hair behind her ear. "How are you feeling?" she asked, kindly.

The young girl sighed and pulled away from Hermione's embrace.

"My stomach is sore, but Poppy said that it would be for a few days," she said finally.

"How is your back?"

Melanie shrugged. "A little sore, but better than last night. Professor?"

Hermione gave her a warm smile.

"You're going to marry my best friend, please call me Hermione when we're not in class."

Melanie returned her smile.

"Hermione, what am I supposed to do? I can't go back to the Slytherin dorms, they'll try to hurt me again," she said with a shiver.

Hermione squeezed her hand, reassuringly.

"Professor Dumbledore is having a room prepared for you that is connected to Harry's. He'll keep you safe."

Melanie looked at her thoughtfully.

"Does Professor Potter know that?" she asked with a sinking feeling.

"Melanie you're engaged to the man, you can call him Harry," she chastised gently.

Melanie shook her head.

"I won't until he tells me to and you didn't answer my question."

This time Hermione sighed.

"No, Harry doesn't know yet, but I don't think he'll be mad."

"But he doesn't like me! He hates that he has to marry me!" She yelled and started crying again.

"If he doesn't like you, then why did he spend all night in an uncomfortable chair just so he could watch over you?"

The tears stopped and Melanie gave her a puzzled look.

"This new law is hard on everyone, but it is necessary. Harry will come around, you'll see," Hermione said, conjuring a wet cloth for Melanie to clean her face with.

"I just don't see how he could every want me," Melanie whispered.

Hermione regarded the younger girl for a moment.

"The only thing that Harry has wanted his entire life is a true family. You giving him this will make you very precious to him."

They remained quiet for a few moments, while Melanie cleaned herself up.

"I'm not usually so weepy," she admitted, sheepishly.

"That's alright. You're entitled."

Melanie smiled.

"Well, I'm going to let you get some rest," Hermione said, getting to her feet.

"Hermione? Do you think the house elves could bring me my things? I have some homework I need to work on."

Hermione suddenly got a mischievous glimmer in her eyes.

"Oh, sure the house elves could do that. However, I think it would be more fun if Harry and I did it ourselves, don't you?"

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"Well, that's the last of it," Hermione said, satisfied with her handy work.

She and Harry had personally collected Melanie's belongings from the Slytherin dorms.

It had been easy for Harry to bait Melanie's tormentors and challenge them to duels. Hermione and Harry had left a trail of thoroughly hexed students in their wake.

After their 'punishments' had been thoroughly delivered, the two Professors gathered Melanie's belongings, and levitated them to Harry's rooms.

When Professor Dumbledore had informed Harry at lunch that Melanie was to stay in his rooms, he had not objected. Hermione was proud of her friend, knowing that his privacy was important to him. She really believed that he and Melanie would be fine. And perhaps Hermione might find a friend and confidant in Melanie.

Melanie looked around her new room and nodded in approval. It would be very nice to have a room to her self. She especially loved the window seat that over looked the lake.

"Your parents' owl said that they'd be arriving tomorrow after dinner," Hermione said, placing a hand on the girl's back.

Melanie shrugged.

"I'll leave you to get settled then," Hermione said, and left her alone.

Melanie sat on the window seat and watched the sunset. She felt very melancholy, and more than a little anxious.

This morning she'd wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in her mother's safe embrace, but now it all seemed foolish. She was supposed to be an adult, not some weepy child.

A soft knock on the door jarred her from her thoughts.

"Come in," she called.

Harry hesitated for a minute, and then walked into the room stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"So, is the room alright then?" he asked.

"It's nice," she said, looking at the floor.

Harry walked over to stand in front her, and knelt down so that they were eye level.

"You're safe here," he said, grabbing one of her hands.

She felt her eyes burn at his words and quickly looked away from him.

Harry sighed and wondered what else he should say. It had been very satisfying to get back at the students that had hurt her, even if it hadn't been very professional. He had come to her to make sure she had everything that she needed. But as he walked in the room, it suddenly occurred to him that she was his. In his mind he'd thought of her as his responsibility, but she was so much more than that.

She would be his wife and the mother of his children. Something he had forgotten he'd wanted since Ginny died.

A single tear rolled down her cheek, and Harry pulled her into his arms unthinkingly.

She stiffened, and then forced herself to relax and just let him hold her.

Harry pulled away from her after a minute, and wiped the tear from her face.

"I swear I will protect you from everyone," he vowed and placed a kiss on her forehead.

He left without another word.

"But who will protect me from you?" Melanie asked the empty room once the door had shut.

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Hermione entered her chambers with a tired sigh. It had been a very long day, but much had been accomplished.

Severus was waiting for her in the sitting room, an unpleasant smile on his face.

"Could you please enlighten me as to why almost half of my Slytherins are in the hospital wing being de-hexed?" His voice was calm and yet so cold it made Hermione stifle shiver.

She shrugged.

"Harry and I collected Miss Walsh's things from the dorm," she answered, and walked past him into the bedroom.

Severus snarled as he followed her.

"And Potter hexed a roomful of unarmed children, is that right?" he demanded angrily.

"Oh don't be silly. He dueled with each one individually and they were all well armed. Besides, none of them were hurt unlike Melanie," she said, turning to the mirror and removing her earrings.

He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

"This was in retaliation for what happened to Miss Walsh. He punished my students after I already had!"

"Oh that's right! Two whole house points were removed, I'm sure that taught them a lesson," she bit out, sarcastically.

"The only students involved were mine, therefore I get to punish them as I see fit. He doesn't get a say," he retorted.

"Melanie is his fiancée'! He had every right to retaliate," she cried, pulling away from his bruising grip.

"He should have come to me!" Severus insisted angrily.

"What if it had been me? What if a bunch of Gryffindor students had attacked me? What would you have done?" she demanded, furiously.

She saw the flash of pain in his eyes, and felt a warmth feel her. The air seemed to crackle around them as the looked at each other.

They were suddenly kissing, neither knowing who'd moved first, neither one caring. Their clothes feel to the floor, piece by piece until they were naked and falling onto the bed.

His kisses and caresses told her how important she was to him. His fingers running through her hair told her that he would never allow anyone to hurt her. And his mouth against her breasts told her that she held his heart in her hands.

Her eyes watered at the words his tongue would never speak. And she gave herself over to the pleasure he was evoking, pushing their quarrel far from her mind.

Happily for both of them, Severus was able to last much longer and had Hermione screaming his name in no time at all.

After they were finished, he rolled off of her to the side.

"Bitch," he said teasingly.

Hermione snuggled against him, throwing an arm over his stomach.

"Bastard."

He snorted and kissed her forehead.

They feel asleep content for the first time in years.

End Chapter 7