On Marriage

Chapter Sixteen - The Morning After

The morning following her wedding, Hermione woke alone and 'unmolested', as promised. This was a definite source of relief, if a situation that led her to ponder uncomfortable questions. The traditional acts of the wedding night had been overlooked for the time being, but would have to be dealt with sooner or later. On one hand, Hermione knew that it was simply a part of the contract she and Severus had entered into. It was, she felt, remarkably kind of him to have not pressed the issue immediately, though on reflection he had seemed almost as uncomfortable as she. Perhaps, since it was merely a formality of their contract and neither of them was of the overly emotional variety, it was something that they could approach with a kind of clinical detachment. That wasn't exactly the type of situation that Hermione might have hoped for, but it was sure to be preferable to what would have been the Malfoy alternative. Her mind dancing with the question of whether 'sooner' or 'later' would be preferable, Hermione readied herself for the day and stepped into the sitting room.

It was no real surprise that Severus was already there, looking as foreboding as ever. He was sipping a cup of tea and pouring over the same book he had been reading the evening before. Quickly brushing bedroom thoughts from her mind, Hermione felt her cheeks warm in embarrassment. 'Later', definitely.

"Good morning," she murmured, only narrowly dropping the traditional 'sir' from the end of her greeting. Severus raised his eyes above the top of his book and made a noncommittal noise as he studied her. Hermione tried not to fidget.

"Good morning," he returned a moment later. He set the book aside and got to his feet, tea cup still in hand.

"I didn't expect you to be such an early riser," he said, his voice carrying just the slightest hint of a question to it, "but your timing worked out well. Breakfast has just been served." He nodded his head towards a sideboard at the back of the room and when Hermione turned to look at it, she was greeted by the sight of a meal. It was light - fruits and cheeses and flaky pastries and her stomach very nearly growled. Hermione had been too wound up to eat much the day before, and found that her body craved sustenance. She did not, however, move towards the sideboard. After another moment's silence, Severus did.

"I can assure you, Hermione, that I have not poisoned the meal." To further punctuate his point, Severus picked up one of two small plates that had been set beside the breakfast trays and placed several items atop it.

Hermione felt her cheeks warm and she struggled to keep from rolling her eyes at her own foolishness.

"I didn't think you had," she said, following Severus' example and putting together a plate. He moved to sit on one end of the sofa and, though she briefly eyed a more distant chair, Hermione did the same. The clink of tea cups on saucers and gentle rustling of fabrics were the only sounds in the room as the Snapes nourished themselves. The quiet was extremely unsettling to Hermione, who was much more used to the chattering of students at meals. She wondered where the somewhat stilted politeness of their afternoon teas had gone. Those had never been entirely comfortable, but were preferable to this silence that had her ears ringing.

Taking a small sip of her tea, Hermione turned ever-so-slightly towards Severus. He seemed intensely focused on the last bites of a pastry.

"So," she said, her voice, though it had been quiet, seeming to ring though the room rather loudly. She cleared her throat when Severus looked at her expectantly, and then tried again. "What happens now?"

"Now?" he asked, not seeming to understand the question.

"Yes," Hermione said, her cheeks turning the slightest bit pink as she found herself feeling somewhat foolish. If the plan was to spend the entire holiday at their current location, things were going to get rather boring rather quickly if they spent them confined to two bedrooms and a sitting area and barely spoke to one another. She said as much, which Severus greeted with a quiet "Ah" and the slightest nod of understanding.

"You were hoping for something more...exciting, I presume," he said dryly.

"Not at all," Hermione said in reply, careful not to answer too quickly. Harry and Ron might have noticed the slightest hint of annoyance in her words, though she felt it lucky that Severus didn't know her well enough yet to hear it. She doubted he would be at all pleased if she were to pick a fight quite so early in their marriage, much less quite so early in the morning. "Though had I known we were going to be quarantined, I might have brought more homework with me. I'll finish my NEWT revisions in no time, now."

Severus' eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly and he did not break his gaze even when he took a drink from his tea cup. Hermione clenched her teeth together, determined not to flinch under his stare, and was relieved, when he finally spoke, that his tone was even, almost dismissing.

"You may visit the remainder of the estate," Severus said. "There is a library on the first floor, which I'd imagine that you might find entertaining. Don't waste your time looking for secrets," he added, looking at her sideways as he took another sip of his tea. "Any items that would be forbidden to you have already been removed."

Hermione tried not to look offended.

"You may explore the grounds as well," Severus continued, "though I would warn you not to stray from the estate. While you are on the grounds, you are protected by a series of rather complex charms. It may be more than is necessary," he said, forcing through when Hermione opened her mouth to speak, "but there are those who are quite unhappy with this union and would do you harm. We will take no chances."

Hermione pulled her lips into a thin line in annoyance. Severus couldn't honestly think that she had no idea of the danger that was involved, could he? It had been the entire basis of their union; she certainly wasn't going to forget about it and waltz directly into Malfoy's waiting arms the day after their wedding. An exasperated noise escaped her as she relinquished her breakfast plate to the small end table.

Severus got to his feet. With the grace with which he typically swooped through the Hogwarts corridors, though lacking the attendant drama in the absence of flowing outer robes, Severus moved towards the door of the sitting room.

"I have work to do," he said dryly, pausing with his hand on the latch. "Do try to stay out of trouble." Hermione felt the corners of her mouth tug upwards in wry appreciation of his warning, but Severus had disappeared into the corridor before a full smile could form itself on her lips.