Severus' breath hitched when he could feel every eye in the room was on him. He hated the attention. He was used to having his students' attention on him when he was teaching in class, but now he was in a room full of Death Eaters, with some who was happy for him while the others were praying for his downfall.

It was as if they were waiting for him to slip up and make a mistake as he stood at the altar.

Their eyes moved towards the end of the aisle, and Severus' heartbeat quickened as the soft music played. It was time. It was really happening. He was getting married.

He saw you. You stood at the end of the aisle, arm around your father's who happened to be Severus' best friend, a smile was forced on your face. He had seen you so many times before to know that your smile was not genuine, and a part of him ache to know that his future wife despised him.

He did not blame you. How could he when everything you had planned in life was flushed down the drains because of your family. It was too painful for you. The Dark Lord gave you a choice, it was either for you to have the dark mark burned on your skin or for you to marry a Death Eater to show your loyalty.

There was no way out. Lucius Malfoy failed to save his children from them. He knew Draco had to have the dark mark, thus he did not want you, his first born to bear the same fate. So he did what he thought was right, forcing his darling daughter into a loveless marriage that he hoped would give you happiness.

Severus' heart was heavy, as your father placed your hand forward for Severus to take into his hold. But as you glanced at him, nodding with a small smile, he did it oh so gently and tried his hardest not to cry at the sight of his bride.

His bride— You were so pretty. Your eyes were kind and your smile was sweet. Severus felt so guilty. You were supposed to live your life like you wanted to. But now you were prisoned in a marriage with him, of all people. He was a broken man, and it was hard for him to convince himself that he would be able to take care of your heart without breaking it too.

You deserved so much more than him.

"Hi."

Your voice was small, as if you were trying not to burst into tears in front of everyone. He wondered if you wanted to cry out of happiness or frustration. He believed it was the latter.

"You look beautiful."

He managed to get the words out, watching as a smile blossomed on your face. It did not reach your eyes, but at least it was genuine. You were already so brave to go through this marriage, the least Severus could do was making this easier for you to bear with.

As the ceremony continued, the world around him disappeared as his mind was on you. Suddenly he had forgotten that he was marrying someone who was not in love with him. It felt like he deserved to be there, getting married to the prettiest woman he had ever seen.

But he saw a lone tear rolled down upon your cheek, and he knew, you were not happy.

. . .

"Severus."

Severus was shook from his train of thoughts at the sound of your voice. He was standing in the balcony, eyes on the darkened skies, trying his hardest not to look at you as you went to stand next to him.

"You can't even look at me."

You chuckled, but he did not miss the dejection in your voice. Not wanting you to get the wrong idea, he quickly glanced at you, only to see how gorgeous you were under the moonlight.

"What are you doing here?"

He asked, and he cursed himself at how harsh his words might sounded to you. But he was relieved when you shook your head at him, a small smile was painted on your face.

"My husband left me alone at the party downstairs."

"Oh."

Severus replied curtly, and he had to blink a few times to realise that you were talking about him. He was your husband, and he had left you alone downstairs. What a fool he was.

"Forgive me, Miss Malfoy—"

"Have you forgotten my name?"

Severus bit the inside of his cheeks, embarrassed with mistake he had done. You seemed to be humoured by it though, so he could only nodded.

"Forgive me, Y/N. I don't really like to be in the party. I know it's our wedding celebration. I know I wasn't supposed to leave you alone. I wasn't thinking straight and I'm sorry."

You were shocked. You were not expecting your Death Eater husband to be apologising to you. You knew Professor Snape, of course you did. But when you married him this morning, your mind reminded you that he was still a Death Eater and you should not trust him so blindly. After all, he was not a good man, but could he be a good husband?

"It's alright. I thought you wanted to get away from me."

Severus frowned, and he blamed himself for making you think that way.

"No, why would I want to get away from you?"

"I do not know. Perhaps because you are not happy with this marriage, Severus."

You tore your gaze from him, unable to see if there was adoration or hatred in his dark eyes. Severus did not know what to say, but he just wanted to be truthful with you.

"I worry you are the one who is not happy, Y/N. I do not want to make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry you had to marry me."

Heart beating rapidly against your chest, tears welled in the corner of your eyes. Nobody cared what you wanted. No one asked if you were happy or not with the arrangement. It felt so out of place to know that someone prioritise your happiness before his.

"I'm willing to try, Severus."

Severus could not but smiled, his heart was warmed. It was hard to believe he was married to you, but he was not going to let you down. Not when your whole life now was destined to be with him.

"No one told me about my future husband before this morning. I did not know anything about him until I saw you."

You told him, fiddling with your fingers. You were nervous to see how he would react once you started to open up to him. On the other hand, Severus was flabbergasted. He thought you knew you were marrying him. It made him even more insecure now about himself.

"Are you disappointed?"

His question struck something in you, and you gave him a smile, assuring him that you were far from it.

"I'm glad it's you, Severus."

. . .

It had been a few months you became Y/N Snape, and it was not as bad as you thought an arranged marriage would be. He respected your boundaries and never treated you like you were someone below him. All your fear dissolved just a few days into the marriage, knowing that your husband was the right person for you.

You remembered the first time he brought you back to his home. You noticed how restless he was, and when you walked into his home, he almost looked as if he was ashamed.

"Welcome home, Y/N. I know it's not as pretty as your home but I'm afraid it's all I have."

Your heart almost broke at how ashamed he sounded. You put a hand on his arm, smiling as he looked you in the eyes, ready to hear insults coming from your mouth. He was so used to being treated so badly by others that he thought no one could treat him like you did.

"This is our home, Severus."

Your words made him breathed of relief, and he knew you were the right person for him. So pretty and so kind, and you were his wife. Oh, how lucky he was.

Both of you spent your days like usual, except now Severus' days were a lot brighter since you came. You were like his sunshine, and if Severus hated the light before, well now he did not know how to live in the darkness.

You had learned to understand how vulnerable Severus was when it came to his feelings. He had his insecurities, and he always saw you as someone who deserved more than him. Hence, you made it your mission every day to make him see that you deserved him and no one else.

He loved waking up next to you, when you would place your head on his chest, not knowing how it flustered him. Severus was happy to have you feeling safe with him. That was all he wanted. He did not want his wife to feel threatened or scared of him.

Growing up, he saw his mother cowered in fear at the sight of his father. It was something that he remembered vividly in his head, how much he hated his father for treating his mother like a toy. He never wanted you to fear him. He wanted you to love him.

Love and fear should not go together and that was what Severus believed in. He was going to be a better man than his father. You believed he was a better man.

When he finally told you about his family, you listened to him. He was expecting you to scoff or laugh at him, but you did not. You wrapped your loving arms around him and let him cried. For the first time, Severus let his guard down and he cried into the crook of your neck, seeking for comfort in the arms of his wife.

You were beginning to love your life now. It was not what you expected it to be, since you thought you would be devastated in the loveless marriage. You were falling for him, and from the look in his eyes, he was falling for you too.

Coming back to the Malfoy Manor was not something that you hated, but it was for a Death Eaters celebration so if you could choose, you did not want to attend. However, you knew you had to be there with Severus, and both of you had no choice but to go.

Severus' hand never left yours during the celebration, not even when you met your parents. You and Severus were inseparable, and to see a smile on your face, it was enough to convince your father that he did the right thing by marrying you off to Severus rather than letting you become a Death Eater.

You were glad Severus never left your side, as you could feel the men were watching you, as if you were a prize to be possessed. Severus noticed how tense you were when Corban Yaxley approached him, trying to start a conversation with him but Severus was not a fool. He could see Yaxley's wandering eyes at you. It took everything in your husband not to hex him right there and then.

"How lucky you are to own such a beautiful woman, Severus."

Yaxley's words did not help the rising anger in Severus' chest. You frowned when Severus let go of your hand, but then he wrapped an arm around your waist, letting you lean into him. You felt safe and protected.

"Indeed, I am very lucky to have her as my wife. But I do not own her. You are wrong about that."

It was clear that you were uncomfortable and Severus was annoyed, but Yaxley did not seem to get the hint. He chuckled at your husband's words, thinking that the professor was joking.

"Of course, you own her. I wonder if you're willing to share?"

Your eyes widen, shocked that he dared to talk that way about you. You believed he was drunk, and he did not even realise the consequences of his words as your husband grabbed his collar and yanked him close. Severus towered over him, trying to control his urge to blind Yaxley's eyes so that the man could no longer lay his eyes on you again.

"No one can disrespect my wife that way, Yaxley. If I ever see you look at her again, I won't hesitate to take your eyes out."

His words were harsh and low, that you could feel fear in your heart. But you knew his rage was not directed to you. As Yaxley scurried away, muttering something under his breath, Severus was quick to bring his attention back to you.

"Are you alright, my love?"

A rosy blush wandered across your face, as his sweet words surprised you. You opened your mouth to say something, but you could not. It was amazing. You felt like you were dreaming.

Severus took your silence in the wrong way, thinking that you were not alright. Yaxley must have had frightened you so much that you could not even form a sentence to answer him. He caressed your face in his hands and looked into your eyes, trying to get you back to him.

"Severus, I'm fine. It's just that.."

You smiled to see how worried he was. Severus knitted his eyebrows in confusion and you knew you had to tell him.

"What did you call me?"

Severus froze at your question, realisation hit him hard in the face. He had called you with such a lovely name, forgetting that perhaps you did not even look at him the way he looked at you.

"I'm sorry, Y/N—"

"No, don't apologise. I like it."

You told him, grinning as his face flushed at your confession. Severus could only stare at you, a soft smile was cracked on his lips.

"Alright, my love."

. . .

Leaving the celebration, you and Severus found yourselves in the same balcony when you found Severus on the night of you wedding. Only this time, he did not leave you alone downstairs with those people. How could he leave you when his heart hurt every time you were not around?

"Thank you, Severus."

He looked at you, wondering what did he do to deserve such gratitude from you. He was the one who was supposed to thank you for the life you had given him. Severus' heart crumbled when you looked up at him, tears threatened to fall from your eyes.

"Love, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, Sev. I'm happy. I'm so happy with you that I can no longer see myself without you."

You said, wanting to get the truth out. It had been months of bottling up your feelings and you could no longer ignore them. Looking into your husband's eyes, you just wanted to get lost in them and fall into his arms.

"Why are you so kind to me?"

You asked, wanting to know if he felt the same towards you, or if he was just doing your father a favour by taking care of you. Severus lost his words, afraid if he tell you the truth about his love, you would run from him and never come back again.

"Everyone told me that I would suffer in this marriage. I was so scared but then you saved me. I'm the happiest I've ever been because of you, Severus Snape."

Severus felt like air was forced out of his lungs. He wiped your tears and took your hands in his, loving how you would sigh in content every time he hold your hands. It was the little things that he noticed, making him believe that maybe you were in love with him too.

"I know our marriage was supposed to be loveless. But I'm in love with you, Y/N."

He breathed out, expecting you to push him away and leave. He was ready for your rejection. After all, he dared to love someone who was far too good for him. But his heart soared when a huge smile grew on your face, and a chuckle escaped your lips.

"I'm in love with you too, Severus."

He did not wait any longer to lean down and place his lips on yours, arms wrapping around your body as you melted into the kiss, clinging onto him. Heat rose from your stomach to your chest, as you put a hand on his cheek, deepening the kiss.

"When I look into your eyes, I see something that I haven't been dreaming of for a long time. I see a future with you."

He whispered, and you smiled, pulling him in for another kiss that chase all of his insecurities away, knowing that you were there to stay and nothing could bring you apart.

-
hello everyone! it's been six months i guess. how are you? 💗

17th February 2022