Chapter Text
There was a quick, solitary knock on her office door, and it opened within half a second, with no answer from her if he could actually come in.
“Miss Granger,” his silky voice uttered. It was a rather nice voice, she always thought, even if loaded with contempt. “Mail,” he said, and stretched out his hand as he held what seemed to be a Ministry official letter between two fingers only, his index and middle ones. She noticed contempt not only in his voice but also in his gestures and facial features. Of course. Severus Snape would resent being lowered to delivering mail on top of it all.
“Interoffice memo? You can handle those, Snape,” she said, looking up from her paperwork.
Contempt burned more fervently in his eyes, as well as disgust. She hadn't meant to be a bitch just then. She was just saying he could open the memo. He always did. She was depositing trust in him. She would think it would be appreciated, a kind gesture. But she could see how he would not interpret it that way, since she was usually a bit of a bitch. She didn't like being one, but being head of a department in the Ministry of Magic while being a woman - a muggle-born – was hard. She needed to impose herself, command respect. Or fear at the very least. And Snape... He was hard under normal circumstances… working under her, and working there against his will would of course only make it worse. She very much needed to be a bitch to him sometimes, to keep him in line, not let him dominate her. Because he still intimidated her, despite everything.
“I am very well aware I am able to handle a bloody interoffice memo,” he spat in rage. “This is personal mail,” he continued, and dropped the letter on her desk as if it were covered in hippogriff dung. He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to contain his rage before he turned on his heels and left, closing the door behind him a bit more firmly than needed.
Right after the war, Hermione had dedicated much time to finding a way to help her parents regain their memories. She had spent months at the Burrow doing research on every spell or potion, or combination of magic, that could be used, and finally managed to enhance an existing potion to work for her purposes. So she set off to Australia, to get her parents back.
She managed to stupefy them and feed them the potion. A long talk was had, explanations were given, and after a bit of outrage and disappointment, her parents managed to forgive and forget. Well, perhaps her father didn’t quite forget, but he had always been a bit difficult anyway. The important thing was her mother understood, and was even grateful to her for having saved them from a world of angst, at the very least, if they were to spend a whole year without news of their daughter.
Though they had made quite a comfortable life in Australia, it felt odd to stay there now. They would go back home. But first, a holiday was in order. They rented a house in the south of France to stay in for at least two months. They could afford it, for they had worked for the last year without having much to spend it on, being a nice quiet couple who needed only a good film on the telly and a bag of popcorn to be entertained on most evenings. And they hadn't been exactly spendthrifts before either.
Hermione went with them. Her relationship with Ron had been over for weeks now anyway, since she saw the light and noticed they had absolutely nothing in common. The rest of her friends were busy with their own lives, plans, and studies, and she needed to regain a bit of the lost time with her parents. They wanted to regain lost time with the rest of the family, who had lived in the south of France for a while now. Almost everyone in the family had invested in a vineyard long ago, except for her parents. So they had moved to France to tend to the vineyard, which is why Hermione needed not worry herself too much about them during the war. When she was younger, she had always visited, and during the Hogwarts years, she spent a week or so with them during the summer. But she didn't think that was enough for Voldemort to track them down. They didn't even know she was a witch.
She stayed with them in the south of France for nearly two months, and then felt it was time to get a move on with her life, especially since her parents had decided to prolong their stay. They had finally invested in the vineyard as well since it was very profitable, and they were to stay there for a few more months to see it through, and catch up with everyone. It was very odd that no one in the family could reach them for a year, so they felt they needed to stay a bit more to make up for the flimsy excuse they had given, of having joined Dentists Without Borders and having been uncommunicable in Africa. The Grangers were even considering relocating there permanently instead of going back to England. So, Hermione left without them.
Hermione had really adored having researched the potion that brought her parents’ memory back. Creating such a thing, being able to say she had achieved that all on her own, was an amazing feeling. She decided to pursue a career in potions.
As expected from the brightest witch of her age, she finished her apprenticeship within half the time it would usually take one to do it: a year. Only one person did it in less time, and only by a week or two, and that was of course Severus Snape. So it was not hard for her to find a job in the Potions Department at the Ministry. She would work, gain experience, and then start her master’s degree. But things didn’t go according to that plan.
Her fame - and competence of course – but mostly her fame she would wager, though she tried to not use it in her advantage, got her promoted rather quickly to head the department. She wanted to get there through her own merits though, and felt that hadn't been the sole reason, which it would have been in a perfect world, but she couldn't very well deny the position that was offered to her when the head of the Department retired. So there she sat, 5 years after the war, head of the department, excelling at it of course, but not a potions mistress yet. She couldn't quite find the time to do it now.
Severus had remained convalescing for months after the war. It had been a near-fatal wound and it was a bitch to heal. He was held at the hospital for the longest time, and even after he had been released to return home, he would need to go in quite regularly to have it checked, and sometimes even mended again, as it had a tendency to reopen in the beginning.
Then there was the trial. He couldn't very well live or be a proper person in society while doubts of his motives and crimes remained. So that took a few more months out of his life. Thankfully, he was acquitted on all counts. Still, when he was apt and ready to return to work, he received the news that parents would feel more comfortable if he weren't in contact with their kids. Minerva, feeling bad about her lack of trust and support to him since Dumbledore’s death when he was really working for the order all along, tried to defend him and hold his job, but the board of directors was adamant.
Severus was never crazy about teaching anyway. He was forced to do it. His savings weren’t insignificant, having worked for almost two decades like a slave and not having time to actually spend much, so he was kept for those months he wasn’t working by such savings. He however needed to return to work. But it seemed that no one was willing to hire him, a former Death Eater, even though he had been acquitted and had a good resume in his area.
Minerva, still worried for Severus, caught word of Hermione having been appointed as head of the Potions Department. She beseeched her former pupil to consider Snape for a position, and Hermione needed not much convincing. She of course knew Snape was brilliant at potions. Many of his teachings helped her during her apprenticeship. And she had always believed in him, even after he killed Dumbledore. She had been sure there had to be some explanation. Once Harry told her of Snape’s memories, peace filled her. He wasn’t a monster; she could be sure now, sure she had not been insane all along.
So the new head of the potions department, Hermione Granger, hired Severus Snape. There was no opening, since they had already appointed her to the position with a substitute for her old position in mind. So she hired him as a sort of assistant for herself. It was supposed to be temporary, on both sides. She fully intended on giving him a proper, decent position, and even one of the labs for him to run. She knew he full well deserved as much, and could certainly handle it. But it would have to wait. It wouldn’t be so bad, for it would give her time for her to not seem like she was playing favorites or be deemed an incompetent boss out right.
He was humiliated to have been offered a job by a former student, the Gryffindor Golden girl, obnoxious know-it-all. But he needed it, or else he would run his savings to the ground. It would be temporary, until he found something else.
But he was so good at everything. He anticipated trouble, he handled paperwork with ease, he knew how she liked the lab set – mostly because she learned to set a workstation with him – when she needed to brew... He also handled the staff well, keeping them in line. He was a genius who made her life easier, way easier, at work. So she selfishly kept him as her assistant, cut off his growth, and was a bitch to him. So he resented her. He resented her because he was practically her second-in-command in his duties, but when it came down to it, his title and salary were that of a simple assistant. He resented her because he very rarely actually got to brew – she actually hated that about the job too. In the end she did more paperwork and oversaw the research others conducted than actually brewed or researched herself. The little she did manage to brew was thanks to his help really. Of course he resented her. He resented her because he could not find another job. It really was absurd that he was still judged like that. Were people blind? He was good, he was acquitted... She snapped out of her wanderings and opened the letter.
Ministry of Magic
London, 8th September 2003
To: Hermione Granger
Subject: Marriage Law
Miss Granger,
The Minister of Magic informs that, due to the low rates in marriage and in wizard births, which have failed to give rise to the decrease in magical population occurred due to the Second Wizarding War, it is imperative that a policy be put in place to ensure the wizarding population does not die out. To that effect, a law has been put in place, which will pair up every single witch and wizard between the ages of 18 and 40, initially. Bear in mind that it is mandatory. Only those who are already married, or in a long-term relationship that will result in marriage without a doubt, will not be contemplated yet, along with those over the age of forty. If you have received this letter, it means you are in the age threshold above mentioned, and have no registered union within the ministry files. Please report to the appointed office to be registered for suitable pairing by the end of the week.
No, no, no, no! This was a fucking nightmare. It couldn't be. No, no! There had to be a way out of this. She would not be tied down to some random stranger. And this law that had just passed would certainly demand some form of magical marriage, which would ensure that one would reproduce. Couples united in magical marriages were only effectively bound when physical intimacy occurred, so the Ministry would certainly know. That means that the guy she would be paired with, whoever it would be, would own her basically. He could even make her quit her job should he want that. No, no, she had to get out of this. If Shacklebolt were still the Minister, she could talk to him... maybe… But the new Minister was...an ass. Panic began to fill her and cause her to hyperventilate.
And then it hit her. There was only one way.