A/N: Hey my regular followers and hopefully some new people. Welcome to The Ties That Bind. I don't own anything besides the plot and potential OC's. I do plan on finishing The Letters We Wrote. I have several chapters of this finished and will probably post them on a weekly to biweekly basis. Thank you and enjoy.

One:

Poppy Pomfrey brushed the curls out of Miss Granger's face. The poor dear was still in the stasis charm she'd put her under hours ago. The mediwitch was exhausted, three hours of healing the frail body of the, nearly eighteen year old, witch on her table.

Poppy ran a few more scans. Hermione's magical core wasn't healing. The young witch had depleted her magical core in one last burst of magic to save herself and her family. The poor girl, she has no one left. She needs a partner. Someone to see her through this war.

Severus stormed into the infirmary, "Is she?"

"Still alive, but just. I have her in a stasis. Severus she's not going to live unless we find someone her magic is extremely compatible with. A bonding is the only thing that will help her core heal," Poppy said.

Albus came into the infirmary, with less theatrics, than the young potions master. "We found someone Poppy."

"Please tell me it isn't Mr. Weasley, the youngest," she whispered, stroking Hermione's hair once more.

"No Poppy, it's someone with far more intelligence than that barbaric dunderhead," Severus said, looking down at the young woman. If he was going to go through with this, he couldn't see her as a student any longer.

"Who Albus? Severus?" she asked.

"Severus here, is the only one, with a core compatible with Miss Granger's, enough to heal her,"Albus said.

Severus exhaled, "Once we're bound to each other, I'll be the only one to touch her, healing or other wise. I don't want to damn this woman to death."

Poppy cupped his cheeks with her hands, "My dear sweet man, you'll live through this war. You both will."

"I don't want to damn her to me. Potter said, anything that will help her, anything." Severus looked down at the young witch again. "I hate myself enough as is."

Poppy sighed, "I'll give you time, Severus." She turned on her heal, leaving Severus with Hermione.

"You deserve a choice in this Miss Granger," he whispered.

"She'd choose to live, my boy," Albus said, from his newly acquired spot across the infirmary. "We all choose life. Severus. Especially in the darkest of times."

"Then do it. We'll deal with the ramifications later. She's too young to die like this," Severus said, stroking the girl's blood matted hair.

Dumbledore nodded, "Severus if you die before her magic is fully restored, she'll die too."

The potions master nodded. "Understood."

Dumbledore took his wand out of the pocket of his robes, he exhaled. The binding enchantment rolled off of his tounge.

Severus looked down at Hermione, "I bind myself to thee. I bind my magic and my soul to you, to heal, to strengthen, to care, to...love."

A blinding white light surrounded the pair, forcing Hermione's broken body out of the stasis. She gasped choking on the blood pooling in her mouth. Severus touched her arm, stilling her. He pulled out his want and set to work healing his wife.

...

Several hours later Severus sat across from her bed, holding her hand. For his core to truly heal hers either they would have to consummate their marriage, not an option, or they would have to physically touch one another, often. He sighed, "I tried to save you. I'm sorry my... wife. I tried to stop this. Hermione I'm sorry."

Dumbledore came back into the infirmary, "How is she?"

"Stable. Critical, but stable. Her magic seems to be enjoying mine. I can feel hers, tingle," Severus said, wincing at the last word.

"When will she wake?"

"Could be hours, could be days." Severus stroked her hair. "She might never. Her magic will never be the same."

"How do you tell your prized pupil you married them to save their life Albus? How dare I condem her to this?"he snapped, hitting the arm of his chair. "How dare you condemn her to this?"

Albus sighed, "Marriage is a rocky road my boy." With that he disappeared through the floo.

"Arse."

He looked down at Hermione, "Wake up. Please wake up."

...

Severus ran scanning spells on her multiple times before dawn finally broke over the horizon. Poppy came to him with a tray of breakfast, "You need to rest."

"You can't touch her now that I'm bound to her," he said.

"Severus, I can't heal her but I can run scans, and call for you if there is a problem. Just sleep for a few hours," Poppy said.

"I have to continue to touch her. Her health will decline rapidly, she'll die." He looked over at Hermione.

"Severus the bond will affect you differently, you'll-"

"Develope feelings for the girl?" he scoffed, "Hardly."

Poppy handed him the tray. "Eat. Sleep. Don't argue. The minute she wakes or her condition changes I'll come for you. Guilt. It isn't a way to start a relationship. You did what you could."

"I knew this was going to happen. I knew someone was going to be attacked. A muggleborn. I didn't think and now her family is dead, and she's barely clinging to life and I'm not supposed to feel guilty. She's my student. I wanted her to apprentice under me this year. The god damn letter is still sitting on my desk, waiting to be owled."He looked down at Hermione. "I've failed once again."

"Go to bed Severus, I've heard enough. Use the private ward off of my office. Rest, you can't heal her if you're exhausted." Poppy touched his arm. "Go now. I'll watch over her."

He nodded once, doing as he was told. The young potions master sank onto the stark white bed feeling every bit of his thirty six years, plus another fifty or so.

He laid back closing his eyes. All he could see was the young woman on the cot in the next room covered in blood, her family home burning around her. Dead Lucius Malfoy, and Bellatrix Lestrange. Her burst of magic took out the death eaters her wand hadn't.

Severus ran into the Granger family home the wards he'd set going off. He'd warded himself against the blaze looking for Hermione. He crosses over the body of her father, throat slashed, tounge cut out to stop the screams. Bellatrix must have been bored.

He saw her mother naked , Lucius and Rastaban had their fun. Severus held his stomach, as bile rose to his throat, he hoped the poor woman had already been driven mad. He prayed her daughter hadn't seen her mother violently raped, and mutilated. He prayed Hermione wasn't in the same state. He searched the house; finding her in the library.

He crouched down checking for her pulse and closing what wounds he could. She was alive but barely. He sent Albus a patronus to lower the wards. He had to get her to Poppy now.

He gathered the whisp of a girl and apperated into Hogwarts.

He slammed his fist on Albus' desk. "You're asking me to bind myself to my student. I got her almost killed tonight. I got her family killed. She could die in Poppy's hands."

"Severus you're magic is the only one that's compatible with hers, the only one who can truly heal her. If you don't do this she'll die. You know what the prophecy said. We won't win if she dies. She's your partner. She's your equal. She's the great spy's handler. She's you're other half in every way." Albus roared.

"Yes, and I've treated her like shit. I had a plan. A plan to train her. It surely wasn't going off to marry her," Severus said, "I had a fucking plan. And yet again I have no control over our futures. She's my student."

"If she dies, you won't be far behind her. The pressure will finally kill you, think about that Severus," Albus stated.

"You and I are the only ones that know about the prophecy, and I plan on keeping it that way," Severus stormed of the Headmaster's office, and back down to the infirmary.

He'd had a plan damn it.

He sat up in the bed, checking his pocket time piece. He'd slept for nearly six hours. He rushed out of the ward, and into the infirmary. Poppy was sitting in his chair, reading. Hermione was still asleep.

"No change. Her core is still weak. Your magic seems to hover around hers, coaxing it, trying to get hers to heal." Poppy sighed, "What am I missing here Severus?"

"The magic is compatible. I can't explain it," he said.

"You can and you won't. I know the difference dear boy," Poppy said, standing up. "Since you're back and lying I'll leave and talk to Albus."

He nodded, taking her seat to keep watch. He read until almost midnight. Checking his time piece again he whispered another, "I'm sorry."

"Will you stop apologizing. You're guilt makes me want to throw up," a raspy voice snapped.