Disclaimer: Except for OCs, the characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling and her assigns.

In the days when Albus Dumbledore was Headmaster of Hogwarts School and Cornelius Fudge was Minister of Magic, a terrible wizard named Lord Voldemort came to power. Lord Voldemort only loved power and feared only one man, yet he was able to raise a following that threatened the fabric of the Wizarding World. He cared little for other people of any sort, yet he managed to amass his followers, known as Death Eaters, by targeting those of non-magical parentage. This Dark Lord's power was so great that few wizards and witches chose to resist him; yet a small contingent of people did.

Among this man's followers was a wizard named Severus Snape. This Snape was powerful in his own right, yet lacked the appearance and family connections that would allow him to make full use of his abilities. Voldemort dazzled him with promises of greatness, and Snape was ensnared. He soon realized that his new master cared only for his own greatness, but by that time, it was impossible to break free.

Snape's need for power and greatness were due to his love for a woman named Lily. Lily was a witch whose parents were not magical. She was therefore a target of Lord Voldemort. Snape's involvement with the Dark Lord was perhaps curious in this respect, yet he joined the Death Eaters hoping to impress or otherwise win the object of his desire. Lily, who did not return Snape's affection, joined the resistance and became enamored with a man who had been Snape's enemy in school.

Over time, Snape became aware of a prophecy concerning his Dark Lord and a child. He made haste to approach Voldemort and transmit this information. Such a task might provide him power or financial gain. His master was delighted to learn the information and rewarded the young wizard accordingly. Yet his next words filled the young wizard with dismay. He considered two children who might be designated by the prophecy and decided that one must die along with his parents. The child in question was the son of Snape's beloved Lily.

Snape turned to Albus Dumbledore, the only wizard whom Lord Voldemort feared. Dumbledore was not kind to Snape, but took him in. He had wished for several years to bring Snape within his circle of resistance to Lord Voldemort, and now was the moment. He would help save Lily if Snape would work for him.

If he had dreaded working for one master before, Snape now knew the drudgery of working for two. Dumbledore demanded much, but arranged everything so that Voldemort believed Snape was spying on the resistance for the Death Eaters. He worked hard and pleased both masters as it lay within his power. His reward was knowing that his beloved lived. His torture lay in knowing his beloved lived in happiness with her husband and son.

For a year Lily was kept safe along with her family. However, Lord Voldemort had many ways of gaining his ends, and eventually he compromised the friend of Lily's husband. This resulted in the death of Lily's husband. Unfortunately for Lord Voldemort, he had not considered the love of a mother for her child. His own mother had died at his birth, so he never knew such love. It proved his undoing, and although he killed Lily, he was unable to kill her child. Instead his lifeless body fell to the ground and his soul was cast to the wind.

As news of Lord Voldemort's demise circulated through the Wizarding World, many rejoiced. Some mourned the loss of the couple whose deaths brought it about. For Severus Snape, the sun went dark in his eyes, and he retreated to his rooms at Hogwarts, brought low by a grief he couldn't release.
* * * * *

At the end of several days, Albus Dumbledore sent for him. Snape arrived in the Headmaster's office to see the Headmaster as expected. He also saw a young woman. She was as lovely as a moonbeam. There was some sort of veil that did not hide the waist-length dark hair. The only features visible on her face were her soft brown eyes that took in everything that happened around her. Her trim body was covered by a long sort of coat or tunic that was worn over loose pants. Pointy-toed shoes peeked out from the bottom. She was small enough that she could easily be folded within Snape's cloak with no one the wiser.

Yet Snape did not look at the young woman except to acknowledge her presence in the room. He wished to complete this interview and return to his rooms, the darkness, and his liquor. "You asked to see me, Headmaster?"

"Yes, Severus. I know you mourn, but it is time to return to work. Voldemort has gone, but he is not gone forever. We must continue our vigilance and seek to destroy him entirely."

"I see. Well, if that is all, Headmaster, I shall return to my rooms and prepare for next week's classes."

"Indeed it is not all, Severus. The Aurors have been through Voldemort's rooms, and they made a surprising discovery." He indicated the woman in the room. "Have you ever seen this girl before?"

Snape now looked at the young woman, registering her loveliness. He would have remembered her if he had ever seen her, but he could not. There was only one woman for him and she was gone beyond his grasp. "I have never seen her before, Headmaster."

The Headmaster sighed. "It seems that no one knows who she is nor how she came to be in Voldemort's possession, for lack of a better word. Yet she was there, and now the question lies in what to do with her."

Snape looked her up and down again, as though assessing the potency of a rare ingredient. "Have you asked the girl herself? She appears to be sentient."

"She says that only one man can hear her story."

"That's easy enough. Find the man. Then you may return her to the place she rightly belongs."

"She says the man is her husband."

"And you needed me to tell you to find him? Helga's cup, Albus. It's not a complicated riddle. Get the name of her husband and return the baggage forthwith." He turned toward the door and even took a step before the Headmaster chortled behind his back.

"She's not married."

Snape turned and then looked into the Headmaster's eyes. He looked at the girl again and then at Dumbledore. There was no mistaking his purpose. "Oh, no, Albus. I've been your slave for going on two years now. Let me mourn my loss and go to the devil in peace."

"Severus, Severus..."

"Absolutely not."

"What will become of her, Severus? She doesn't come from England and she knows no one. Some sort of charm prevents her from speaking candidly with us, and our only option is to find someone to marry her."

"Marry her yourself."

"You know that's impossible."

"Find another person, then."

"Whom would you suggest, Severus? Alastor? There aren't many options, and she's a young woman."

"I'm not marriage material."

"Is there someone else whom you plan to marry?" It wasn't a fair question and they both knew it.

"She can't want me. She's attractive enough to charm the most violent of snakes... and did for all we know. She could have any wizard in the world. What would she want in someone like me?"

"Now, Severus—"

"I accept."

Both wizards turned and actually looked at the witch. She had rearranged her veils so that her whole face was now visible. Snape couldn't help noticing her soft coral-colored lips. She looked up at them and spoke again with quiet dignity. "I accept your proposal."

"There you go, Severus, she accepts."

"I haven't said that I accept her!" He should be ashamed of himself for saying it so churlishly, but this had gone on far enough. He turned to go, tired of the scene, and would have made it this time, except that he almost tripped. When he looked to see what his shin had bumped, he found that she was kneeling before him.

"Please be husband and my master. I won't trouble you."

She looked up at him with eyes he recognized, for he had cast a spell that conjured eyes just like them whenever he was alone and miserable. More even than Lily's, this girl-woman's eyes matched the shape of those on the Patronus he cast.

"I can't say no," he whispered to himself loudly enough that she heard. For Albus's benefit he said aloud, "All right, old man, let's get this over with."
* * * * *

He refused to have the marriage ceremony until Monday. "Such a business belongs on the worst day of the week. She'll regret it as much as I will, I'm sure."

He went back to his rooms and spent the weekend as nature intended, in drunken peace. He ignored the sounds coming from the suite of rooms next door. He knew his fiancée—abysmal word—was moving into those very rooms, preparing for the time when a door between their suites would convert the entire space into one rather large flat. Some of the sounds were rather odd, but he pretended he couldn't hear them as he drank his cheap brews.

On Sunday afternoon, he grew tired of the alcohol and switched to coffee. It was his normal procedure. He had long since timed, to the minute, when he needed to start sobering up for the school day to come. The house-elves were trained to bring him something to eat.

Today's elf didn't wear a Hogwarts towel, as so many did, but some sort of scarf-looking fabric made of silk and fringed with golden beads. "Mistress sends this with compliments."

Snape peered at the creature with squinted eyes. "And who might Mistress be?"

"Mistress's mother and father call her 'Kalinda,'" said the elf, as though that answered the question. She popped away with a soft tinkle, and he was left facing a covered tray. It didn't smell like the usual fry-up the kitchen sent him, but there was something interesting about it, so he gingerly lifted the cover and looked.

The coffee smelled like nothing he had ever known and tasted even better. He ate the eggs eagerly and looked for toast, settling for a flat sort of bread to eat them with. There was some sort of rice dish which he discovered was mixed with yoghurt. He would have to see about that later. He sneered at the fresh fruit and stared at some sort of mixture that seemed to contain far more than its share of spices and peppers. He looked back over at the rice and found it strangely tolerable. By this time his stomach had settled a bit and the spicy dish had started to smell good.

Before he realized it, all of the food was gone, including the fruit, and he felt comfortably full. He contemplated the essays he had to grade that evening. It would be much less tedious if there were more of that coffee. He tipped the pot to look into it and discovered it was empty.

"Elf!" A diminutive creature appeared, but it was one of the standard Hogwarts elves. "Where's the elf who brought me my lunch?"

This creature shrugged. "Zurie belongs to Mistress, not Hogwarts. Mistress needs Zurie today. Busy day tomorrow for Mistress."

He was oddly disappointed. "See if you can get me more of the coffee Zurie brought. If not, I'll take a pot of the blend I prefer."

The elf returned with a pot of herbal tea. "What is this swill?" asked the Potions master after sniffing it.

"Mistress says Master needs his rest tonight. Coffee keeps him wakeful. Tea is much better for Master."

"Mistress had better change her mind if she doesn't want Master to be angry. Go get me my coffee."

Some time later the elf came back. "Mistress says respectfully decline, Master." With a pop, the house-elf was gone.

He pinched his nose between his eyes. If she thought this was "no trouble," he would need to educate her. He threw open his door and stomped out and over to hers. He knocked the door. There was a titter of laughter and the house-elf who had brought his lunch opened the door a crack.

"Tell Mistress I would like to see her."

"Oh no, Master. Bad luck when Master sees Mistress before wedding. Master goes back to own room." The door shut.

For some reason, he found himself walking back to his own rooms. He poured himself some of the tea. It smelled good, and he sipped it while working through the fourth-years' essays. The task passed more quickly than he was used to, and although the tea didn't give him the jolt of caffeine he liked, it nevertheless gave him sufficient energy for the task at hand. He made a note to save a sample so that he could analyze it the next day.

A/N: This was written for the Snapecase community on LJ and originally posted there in January of 2011.

Stylistically, this is a bit of a stretch for me, but I couldn't get over the idea of trying this sort of situation out on poor Severus and he was quite obliging.

Thanks to Trickie Woo for beta reading!