Status: In progress - COMMENTS = CHAPTERS
Double Dare
Chapter 17
A week before Christmas; Voldermort arrived at Malfoy Manor. I refused to leave my room whilst he was came. Draco came into my room and sat on my bed.
“You know you’re going to have to face him...He won’t let make you marry Snape otherwise”
I sighed and nodded; “I guess...But, I just don’t want to be around him...”
“Yeah; but still...C’mon. You can hide behind me or Snape or someone...”
I nodded and went downstairs with him. Everyone was in the living room listening to Voldermort. I grabbed onto Draco’s arm as we stood behind the sofa. I felt someone rest their hands on my shoulders; I looked up, my mum smiled down at me. Lucius, Bellatrix and Snape were the only ones talking to Voldermort. I stood, trying to ensure he didn’t notice me. Luckily he didn’t, after the meeting I practically ran out. I was halfway up the stairs when Snape called me down. He put his hand on my shoulder and smiled meekly.
“You looked tense in there”
“I was”
He sighed and led me to the library; no one ever really went in there. We sat down in the two large armchairs. He sat on the edge and held my hands tightly.
“You know you’re going to have to face him sooner or later? He’s going to want to, assess you”
I sighed and nodded; “I just don’t want to...The plan sounded great until he actually got here”
He squeezed my hand; “you’ll be fine, just answer his questions as short as you can”
“Ok”
We stared at each other for a while.
“...Will Voldermort go for it?”
“Huh?”
“This whole, arranged marriage business”
“I suspect he will; Lucius can be extremely persuading”
I nodded. We sat in silence for a while until he stood up.
“Come on, let’s go join people”
He helped me up. We went to go find people. Draco was talking to Lucius at the bottom of the stairs. They both smirked when they saw us.
“Where did you two disappear to?” Lucius asked.
“I was just checking she was alright” Snape said.
“Why would she need consoling?”
“She’s terrified of Voldermort” Draco replied. Lucius nodded.
“Fair enough, anyway Severus, I need to speak to you”
Draco and I left and went to the kitchens. We got some drinks and sat talking.
“What are you so afraid of?”
I looked at him; as if to say ‘are you kidding?!’
“You are aware he has no qualms about killing anyone?!”
“Well...Yeah...But, he wouldn’t!”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“Uh...”
“Thank you for verifying that!”
It went silent between us.
“...So, Snape was prepping for your meeting with him?”
I nodded; “telling me to just answer questions and things”
“Yeah...He’s not that bad...I’m sure he’ll go easy on you because of like, well, my family, and your family, and the fact you’ll be marrying Snape...”
I shrugged; “he could still be pretty harsh”
“He could, but I doubt he will...Just relax!”
I sighed and looked around.
“Anyway come on, drink up. I think we should go shopping”
“...You? Want to go shopping?”
“Yeah! Why can’t I want to shop?”
“No reason”
He smirked and hit me playfully.
“I still own you! Hit yourself!”
He sighed and slapped himself.
“Happy? Can we go now?”
“Yes”
We went upstairs and got ready to go out. We then went to the living room to floo to Diagon Alley.
“And where are you two going?” Narcissa asked before we could leave.
“We’re going shopping...It’s something to do” Draco replied. She nodded.
“Don’t be getting into mischief!”
“We won’t!”
She kissed our cheeks before letting us go. Draco rolled his eyes and wiped it away. I laughed and grabbed a handful of floo powder. Draco and I wandered around Diagon Alley for a while, it was beautiful at Christmas.
“Right...We need to get presents” I said. Draco nodded.
“Who first?”
“...Parents!”
“Let’s buy mumsy and nice piece of jewellery”
I laughed and dragged him to the jewellers. We browsed at all the necklaces and bracelets.
“Fuck buying for mother, I want some of this shit!”
Draco laughed; “I’ll buy you something too...What do you want?”
I grinned; “I love you Blondie!”
I pulled him over to a gothic black choker. He smirked and checked the price.
“Is that all? Don’t you want anything else?”
“I’ll find something...Anyway...Back to mother dearest”
Eventually after a few hours of shopping we’d gotten all the presents. We sat in a cafe drinking some coffee.
“Well this has been a busy day!”
“It has! We got a lot done!”
“I think this Christmas is gonna be great”
“Of course it is! I’m here! AND, I’m gonna marry Snape”
Draco laughed; “oh dear, you’ve got yourself a fair few issues!”
I laughed too; “what? You should be happy you at least have my company! And if you were marrying the girl of your dreams you might just be as happy as I am!”
He shrugged; “I guess...But still...”
“Stop trying to bring me down! I’m happy! Leave me be!”
“Ok ok! You do your little happy dance!”
“I will! Don’t you worry about it!”
He laughed and finished his coffee; “anyway, we should go”
I nodded and finished my drink too. We went back home. We had to run upstairs to ensure no one saw us. I hid all my presents in my wardrobe. I flopped down on my bed and sighed. Someone knocked on my door and came in. It was Lucius. He sat down next to me on my bed. I looked up at him questioningly.
“Did you have fun today?”
I shrugged; “yeah...Draco and I usually have fun”
He smiled; “good...I spoke with Lord Voldermort today. He’s actually thrilled with the idea of you marrying Snape. He believes it’ll pull you closer into becoming one of us. He’ll speak with your parents shortly; if all goes to plan you could be Mrs Snape before you go back to school”
I grinned; “really?”
“Yes”
“Wow...Does he not want to speak to me?”
“Not right now...As far as he’s concerned you’re not actually involved in this, you’re to be married whether you want to be or not. He’ll speak to you with Snape...You must know, when he announces the marriage you have to act shocked”
I nodded; “I’ll try...Does Snape have to act surprised?”
“Yes, though it’ll be easier for him because we all know, Snape shows no emotion”
I laughed; “very true...So, I’ll have to practise my shocked face?”
He smirked; “shall I leave you to it?”
“Please”
He patted my shoulder and left. A few minutes later I dashed across the landing to Draco’s room. He was sat on his floor looking at his presents. He looked up and smirked.
“Hey”
I grinned and sat opposite; “hey”
I looked around the room. I got up and went to put Draco’s dinner jacket on.
“You love that jacket”
I nodded and looked in the mirror.
“I do! I want my own...In purple”
“I thought you had one”
I shrugged; “I can’t remember...If I do...I want another one”
He laughed; “put it on your Christmas list, maybe Santa will get you one”
I laughed and wandered round his room. For some reason my pirate hat was in the corner. I put that on too before lying on my stomach on his bed.
“So what are you doing?”
He shrugged; “nothing...Thinking about wrapping the presents”
“Need help?”
“If you want”
I nodded and slid down next to him. I helped him wrap all the presents.
“Your father came to speak with me before”
“...Oh yeah? About what?”
“He’s spoken to...The Evil One!”
He laughed; “so, is all going to plan?”
“It seems so...Probably by tomorrow he’ll be talking to Snape and I about the wedding”
“Nice...I bet you’re all giddy”
“Is it that obvious?”
“”Actually, you’re nice and calm”
“Hold on...”
I pulled my wand out and put a silencing spell on the room again. I began shouting inaudibly, jumping on his bed. I jumped off the bed and grabbed Draco by his top. I pulled him an inch from my face.
“I’M MARRYING SEVERUS SNAPE!”
He looked genuinely terrified. I shouted for a while longer before collapsing down on his bed. He looked at me worriedly.
“...Okay...You are excited...”
I grinned and began giggling. He rolled his eyes and continued wrapping presents. I finally came back to Earth and sat next to him.
“All calm?”
I shrugged; “ish”
“What time is it?”
“I dunno, your clock is right there”
He looked up; “half six...Should be dinner time soon”
I nodded; “this is going to be slightly awkward...I wonder if Voldermort’s spoken to my parents yet”
“He probably has...It may be the topic of conversation tonight”
“Yeah...I have to pretend to be shocked”
He laughed; “this should be funny”
“I’m glad you’re entertained!”
“Oh I am!”
Just then the dinner bell was sounded. I went to leave when Draco pulled me back.
“Take off the hat”
I laughed; “forgotten I had that on”
I threw it onto his bed and raced Draco down to the dining room. Everyone was looking at me as I went to sit down. I sat between Draco and Lucius. Snape was sat opposite. No one spoke higher than a whisper until after the main course. Voldermort cleared his throat, demanding everyone’s attention.
“For once it’s nice to have some good news...Miss Page; I have been approached with a brilliant idea. I’ve spoken to your parents about it and they’ve agreed; you, are to marry our very own Severus Snape”
I pretended to be shocked as the rest of the room was genuinely shocked. I saw Snape flash me a quick smirk.
“How do you feel about this Lenore?” my mum asked. I shrugged; trying to contain how excited I actually was.
“I guess I’m alright, not that I have much choice...”
“I’m sure he’ll make a good husband” Lucius said. I nodded.
“Yes”
Everyone began talking amongst themselves about it. Snape and I smirked at each other. Draco elbowed me occasionally, smirking at me. I laughed and elbowed him back.
“You know you’re going to have to face him...He won’t let make you marry Snape otherwise”
I sighed and nodded; “I guess...But, I just don’t want to be around him...”
“Yeah; but still...C’mon. You can hide behind me or Snape or someone...”
I nodded and went downstairs with him. Everyone was in the living room listening to Voldermort. I grabbed onto Draco’s arm as we stood behind the sofa. I felt someone rest their hands on my shoulders; I looked up, my mum smiled down at me. Lucius, Bellatrix and Snape were the only ones talking to Voldermort. I stood, trying to ensure he didn’t notice me. Luckily he didn’t, after the meeting I practically ran out. I was halfway up the stairs when Snape called me down. He put his hand on my shoulder and smiled meekly.
“You looked tense in there”
“I was”
He sighed and led me to the library; no one ever really went in there. We sat down in the two large armchairs. He sat on the edge and held my hands tightly.
“You know you’re going to have to face him sooner or later? He’s going to want to, assess you”
I sighed and nodded; “I just don’t want to...The plan sounded great until he actually got here”
He squeezed my hand; “you’ll be fine, just answer his questions as short as you can”
“Ok”
We stared at each other for a while.
“...Will Voldermort go for it?”
“Huh?”
“This whole, arranged marriage business”
“I suspect he will; Lucius can be extremely persuading”
I nodded. We sat in silence for a while until he stood up.
“Come on, let’s go join people”
He helped me up. We went to go find people. Draco was talking to Lucius at the bottom of the stairs. They both smirked when they saw us.
“Where did you two disappear to?” Lucius asked.
“I was just checking she was alright” Snape said.
“Why would she need consoling?”
“She’s terrified of Voldermort” Draco replied. Lucius nodded.
“Fair enough, anyway Severus, I need to speak to you”
Draco and I left and went to the kitchens. We got some drinks and sat talking.
“What are you so afraid of?”
I looked at him; as if to say ‘are you kidding?!’
“You are aware he has no qualms about killing anyone?!”
“Well...Yeah...But, he wouldn’t!”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“Uh...”
“Thank you for verifying that!”
It went silent between us.
“...So, Snape was prepping for your meeting with him?”
I nodded; “telling me to just answer questions and things”
“Yeah...He’s not that bad...I’m sure he’ll go easy on you because of like, well, my family, and your family, and the fact you’ll be marrying Snape...”
I shrugged; “he could still be pretty harsh”
“He could, but I doubt he will...Just relax!”
I sighed and looked around.
“Anyway come on, drink up. I think we should go shopping”
“...You? Want to go shopping?”
“Yeah! Why can’t I want to shop?”
“No reason”
He smirked and hit me playfully.
“I still own you! Hit yourself!”
He sighed and slapped himself.
“Happy? Can we go now?”
“Yes”
We went upstairs and got ready to go out. We then went to the living room to floo to Diagon Alley.
“And where are you two going?” Narcissa asked before we could leave.
“We’re going shopping...It’s something to do” Draco replied. She nodded.
“Don’t be getting into mischief!”
“We won’t!”
She kissed our cheeks before letting us go. Draco rolled his eyes and wiped it away. I laughed and grabbed a handful of floo powder. Draco and I wandered around Diagon Alley for a while, it was beautiful at Christmas.
“Right...We need to get presents” I said. Draco nodded.
“Who first?”
“...Parents!”
“Let’s buy mumsy and nice piece of jewellery”
I laughed and dragged him to the jewellers. We browsed at all the necklaces and bracelets.
“Fuck buying for mother, I want some of this shit!”
Draco laughed; “I’ll buy you something too...What do you want?”
I grinned; “I love you Blondie!”
I pulled him over to a gothic black choker. He smirked and checked the price.
“Is that all? Don’t you want anything else?”
“I’ll find something...Anyway...Back to mother dearest”
Eventually after a few hours of shopping we’d gotten all the presents. We sat in a cafe drinking some coffee.
“Well this has been a busy day!”
“It has! We got a lot done!”
“I think this Christmas is gonna be great”
“Of course it is! I’m here! AND, I’m gonna marry Snape”
Draco laughed; “oh dear, you’ve got yourself a fair few issues!”
I laughed too; “what? You should be happy you at least have my company! And if you were marrying the girl of your dreams you might just be as happy as I am!”
He shrugged; “I guess...But still...”
“Stop trying to bring me down! I’m happy! Leave me be!”
“Ok ok! You do your little happy dance!”
“I will! Don’t you worry about it!”
He laughed and finished his coffee; “anyway, we should go”
I nodded and finished my drink too. We went back home. We had to run upstairs to ensure no one saw us. I hid all my presents in my wardrobe. I flopped down on my bed and sighed. Someone knocked on my door and came in. It was Lucius. He sat down next to me on my bed. I looked up at him questioningly.
“Did you have fun today?”
I shrugged; “yeah...Draco and I usually have fun”
He smiled; “good...I spoke with Lord Voldermort today. He’s actually thrilled with the idea of you marrying Snape. He believes it’ll pull you closer into becoming one of us. He’ll speak with your parents shortly; if all goes to plan you could be Mrs Snape before you go back to school”
I grinned; “really?”
“Yes”
“Wow...Does he not want to speak to me?”
“Not right now...As far as he’s concerned you’re not actually involved in this, you’re to be married whether you want to be or not. He’ll speak to you with Snape...You must know, when he announces the marriage you have to act shocked”
I nodded; “I’ll try...Does Snape have to act surprised?”
“Yes, though it’ll be easier for him because we all know, Snape shows no emotion”
I laughed; “very true...So, I’ll have to practise my shocked face?”
He smirked; “shall I leave you to it?”
“Please”
He patted my shoulder and left. A few minutes later I dashed across the landing to Draco’s room. He was sat on his floor looking at his presents. He looked up and smirked.
“Hey”
I grinned and sat opposite; “hey”
I looked around the room. I got up and went to put Draco’s dinner jacket on.
“You love that jacket”
I nodded and looked in the mirror.
“I do! I want my own...In purple”
“I thought you had one”
I shrugged; “I can’t remember...If I do...I want another one”
He laughed; “put it on your Christmas list, maybe Santa will get you one”
I laughed and wandered round his room. For some reason my pirate hat was in the corner. I put that on too before lying on my stomach on his bed.
“So what are you doing?”
He shrugged; “nothing...Thinking about wrapping the presents”
“Need help?”
“If you want”
I nodded and slid down next to him. I helped him wrap all the presents.
“Your father came to speak with me before”
“...Oh yeah? About what?”
“He’s spoken to...The Evil One!”
He laughed; “so, is all going to plan?”
“It seems so...Probably by tomorrow he’ll be talking to Snape and I about the wedding”
“Nice...I bet you’re all giddy”
“Is it that obvious?”
“”Actually, you’re nice and calm”
“Hold on...”
I pulled my wand out and put a silencing spell on the room again. I began shouting inaudibly, jumping on his bed. I jumped off the bed and grabbed Draco by his top. I pulled him an inch from my face.
“I’M MARRYING SEVERUS SNAPE!”
He looked genuinely terrified. I shouted for a while longer before collapsing down on his bed. He looked at me worriedly.
“...Okay...You are excited...”
I grinned and began giggling. He rolled his eyes and continued wrapping presents. I finally came back to Earth and sat next to him.
“All calm?”
I shrugged; “ish”
“What time is it?”
“I dunno, your clock is right there”
He looked up; “half six...Should be dinner time soon”
I nodded; “this is going to be slightly awkward...I wonder if Voldermort’s spoken to my parents yet”
“He probably has...It may be the topic of conversation tonight”
“Yeah...I have to pretend to be shocked”
He laughed; “this should be funny”
“I’m glad you’re entertained!”
“Oh I am!”
Just then the dinner bell was sounded. I went to leave when Draco pulled me back.
“Take off the hat”
I laughed; “forgotten I had that on”
I threw it onto his bed and raced Draco down to the dining room. Everyone was looking at me as I went to sit down. I sat between Draco and Lucius. Snape was sat opposite. No one spoke higher than a whisper until after the main course. Voldermort cleared his throat, demanding everyone’s attention.
“For once it’s nice to have some good news...Miss Page; I have been approached with a brilliant idea. I’ve spoken to your parents about it and they’ve agreed; you, are to marry our very own Severus Snape”
I pretended to be shocked as the rest of the room was genuinely shocked. I saw Snape flash me a quick smirk.
“How do you feel about this Lenore?” my mum asked. I shrugged; trying to contain how excited I actually was.
“I guess I’m alright, not that I have much choice...”
“I’m sure he’ll make a good husband” Lucius said. I nodded.
“Yes”
Everyone began talking amongst themselves about it. Snape and I smirked at each other. Draco elbowed me occasionally, smirking at me. I laughed and elbowed him back.