Chapter Text
Bride.
That simple word echoed in his head, in his very existence for a fortnight. The dark Lord had told him in passing, as if he was presenting Severus with a simple trinket. So quickly and effortlessly had he hissed it out, that no one. Himself included, could even begin to do anything more than nod in acknowledgement. Though no one dared outwardly spoke their annoyance within his presence. He could feel it, through their burning stares. No matter, he thought.
"Let the young fools be angry, I've done my time. Paid my dues and now I'm being rewarded..."
Granted he knew, as well as the rest of them. That he had done most of his strenuous work for Dark Lord during the pervious Wizarding Wars. At that thought a pair of venomous green eyes flashed within his mind, albeit briefly. The shape and exact shade of them had dulled. And much to his dismay without The boy, her boy. They had dimmed even more so. While he lived and breathed, her eyes did as well. But without him...
Severus Snape had been formidable through the second war but he became downright feared, especially by those in their new society. The first years after the birth and upbringing of their Glorious Cause. Severus became nothing more than a glorified murder. He had killed before, no one could escape war without spilling blood. But the years that followed, turned his blood cold and left him with a dependency on Dreamless Sleep potions and the consent removal of months worth of memories. Vials of silver vapor like liquid currently lined the walls of his basement. Casting the room in a perpetual glow.
"Get rid of the lot!" Exclaimed Regulus once after catching sight of the monsterus shrine like wall. But he could not force himself to. With each new life snuffed out by him and each new drop of memories, he felt more and more of himself being etched away. And this wall, was a reminder to himself that at one point, he had cared. At one point or another he too was remorseful and pained. He wasn't just an empty shell of a man.
Unfortunately for himself and fortune for The Cause. Severus' new found void made him a even more perfect Death Eater. No request from the Dark Lord was too preposterous, no execution too ghastly. No mater the age of that man, woman or child. Magical or otherwise...
But alas that was ancient history. A decade had passed and he had grown accustomed to it all. The empty, monotonous, somewhat leisurely flow his life had fallen into. For a society with such a bloody upbringing, it's inhabitants acted with such a aristocrat airs it left him gaging.
Bloody balls with never ending punches in goblin made silver bowls. Picnics and sunday walks under laced parasols had replaced the explosions and atrocities. And somehow these new things, were even worse. He knew where he stood in the old world and in this new one, he did not belong.
Regulus Arcturus Black however did. Reggie was from this world, though new and young to most. He was brought up in it, bred for it. Lived it even while it was still the old world. For Regulus and the other pure blood families, this was business as usual. Just another day, the only difference was now the outside world finally mirrored the world they had created in their elaborate and ornate homes.
One of the more frustrating things for Severus were all the protocols and rules. Who was higher than who in status. Blood purity of course still rang supreme but other things were also too now taken into account. Money of course but also ranking. The ranking amongst the Death Eaters now trickled down to their households as well. And with peace being established and thriving, and quarrels referring to no more than who slighted who at the latest charity ball, rankings amongst them stayed at a standstill. With Severus, himself being ontop.
No one truly remembered that though.
"Could you imagine Snape, here at the ball, asking me to waltz? Merlin, I would die of laughter!" The high pitched voices of the women would shriek and they all covered their fits of laughter with their delicate laced fans. The women in this society, Severus thought absent-minded got the worse end of the deal. Reduced to no more than living dolls and children producers. Not mothers he thought with a slightly annoyance. A mother would imply mothering but most of these woman left their broods in the care of the nannies and governess.
No, not mothers.
The children were the crown jewel of any respectable man's treasure trove. Look at me! A birth of a child would say, look at me furthering my line and our magical cause. So special was a birth of a child to their new society that the newborns, were presented to The Dark Lord himself in a type of sacrilegious blessing. A ceremony for those born in the beginning of the year and another ceremony held for those born at the end of the year, dark red eyes scanning over delicate soft flesh and cooing blanketed bundles.
Yes, magical children were a blessing.
But one couldn't have a child without a wife. And to have a wife one needed to find a bride. The shift of turning them into a softer and weaker sex was pushed hard in the first years. The witches that survived the reconstruction and that fought trying to pushed back against the patriarchal rule. Were weeded out. Simple as that. Which was a task overseen by himself.
Between The Great Weeding of the fairer sex and The Great Misfortune, were a larger part of the farming land were cursed and poisoned causing most of the fatalities to be women and children. The two where in short supply. Widows young enough to bare children married off against their will. Widows with older children married to men wanting any child to carry their name. And girls old enough to begin to bare children...
The young mother's didn't bare well. It was thought that the younger the tree the more fruit it would bare but the young mother's proved that notion to be false. So this fad was being seen less and less amongst his peers his age and older. Still socially exceptable should a idiot decide to do so. The idea of taking a school girl and removing her quills and dolls. and thrusting a white veil upon her head while giving her a house to oversee and expecting anything else but failure from the little snot nosed creature was pitiful at best.
It was all too much. The children, the wives, the pretense of it all. Leave that to the other foolish men, young and old. Severus would have been content to live the reminder of his days as he had been. Alone.
"It's alright Sev!" Regulus would exclaim before much to Severus annoyance slapping him hard on the shoulder causing the drink in his hand to tip over the rim, trickling down his front.
"We can be perpetual spinsters together" His gray eyes twinkling in good humor.
Regulus was unmarried for choices Severus couldn't begin to even fantom or even wanted to fathom.
A step inside his foyer would prove that even with his outlandish ways and lack of Dark Mark many clamored to have him as a a husband/ son in law. On top of the goblin's silver platter in his 'summer home' since he no longer held any residency at number 12. Laid a large pile of letters proposing marriage to this woman or that one as soon as she came of age. It seemed to Severus the more letters the long legged blasé fool got the more outlandish his public behavior got. Regulus lived for fine food and drink. To be the best dressed in any given moment in any room he so stepped into and to be, unfortunately the talk of the town.
But since these rules where the very ones Reggie grew up in, it was very easy for him to do all his rule breaking within the parameters of what society saw fit for a man of his breeding and standing. And though not a Death Eater himself but one of the oldest if not THE oldest remaining Pure Blood families in all of the UK and the sole male heir, he was, indisputably, the highest ranking of civilians. When it was time to show his disgraced face for his public apologies he did with such airs and spectacular display of cavalier, that all was quickly forgiven by the most. Not the older families though, who could see through his dazzling smile and gray down cast eyes. Regulus Black conducted himself as a damn near caricature of what a gentleman should be. Making a complete mockery of himself, his upbringing and in turn a mockery of themselves.
"A bride?" Regulus echoed when he recounted the story to him that very night.
"A bride." Severus replied in return.
The silence seemed to stretch between them, each both lost in their own sea of thoughts. Causing both to drift further and further from one another until Reggie spoke up again. Bringing them back to being only several feet apart. The tone of bewilderment gone from his ringing voice.
"The Perpetual Spinsters have turned into one!"
Severus days hadn't had this much spontaneity in years. Where before the announcement of his betrothal, to one unnamed witch of unknown original. The days, weeks, melted into one long seemingly unending waltz of repeating, mundane tasks. And now a constant buzz of excitement followed him wherever he went and the new found attention was too much for him. He at best would have bursts of anger when questioned about ridiculous happenings concerning...the wedding...his wedding.
"What flavour cake would you like Mr. Snape?"
"The Bride's relations would like to know if Mr. Snape would like to send over a portrait of himself."
"Does Mr. Snape have a list of friends and or family members he would like to have be hand delivered innovations to?"
"Does Mr. Snape have a preference on the cut of the wedding dress?"
"Does Mr. Snape have a location in mind for the wedding?"
"Does Mr. Snape have his dress robes picked out?"
"Does Mr. Snape-"
Regulus who had invited himself to these proceedings was glad he did. With each inquiry thrown at Severus, Regulus was reminded of a frozen lake, cracking under the weight of it all. Small and slowly at first but the cracking became bigger and faster. His friend was never talkative, even his first memorires of him as a gangling 13 year old, where proof of that. And now as a man pushing 50...
The young flittering wizard did not or had not yet realized the annoyance etched all of the tall broody figure. He continued to recite his questions as he moved like a busy little bee around the room. Taking down his own personal notes all the while being shadowed by a quill and parchment, bewitched no doubt to jot down Mr. Snapes' responses.
"Why would I care about some bloody dress." He snapped.
The young sandy blonde wizard who hadn't stopped moving since first arriving, stood dead in his tracks. Regulus knew that to Severus this chatter box was just some nobody sent to annoy him but he knew better. This was Barnaby, no need for surname. THE most sought after wedding planner, woman in the community clawed and clambered to have him plan their weddings.
By the looks of it Severus was a last minute add in to what Reggie could only imagine was a triple booked schedule. He had also heard through word of mouth at a gathering a week ago that Barnaby was going to start undertaking clients of other events, outside of weddings. Which was something the young wizard swore he would NEVER do. Just goes to prove thought Regulus if you throw enough gold at someone they'll move. The young man wasn't used to being treating with anything less of reverence. Barnaby's blue eyes ablaze, quill in his hand shaking, repeated the question with such indignation and a slight tone of hurt one would have thought he had just been asked to snap his wand in half.
"Why would you care about a bloody dress?"
Severus who now was glowering down at him wasn't used to anything less than being ignored or feared, usually a combination of both. He had taken such offense to this complete nobody of a civilian barking questions at him. As if he was some sort of performing beast ready to jump when the whistle rang.
Reggie let his bright laugh echo through the room as he stood up taking a few quick steps to be right beside his friend.
"Oh Barnaby, you have to excuse our Bridegroom. A little nervous you see." He smiled sweetly whispering the latter half of the sentence.
As if Severus stood on the opposite side of the room and not right next to him. In fact the two men where so offened with one another that Reggie had to psycialy slip in-between the two of them and the ever closing gap. Regulus stood at least a three if not four inches shorter than his friend depending on the choice of his footwear that day. But the height difference never stoped him from constantly manhandling him. He placed his arms comforting around Severus shoulders, both of his hands squeezing and rubbing in a fashion usally saved for those really young or very old and febal. Severus made a sounds of disgust and threw him off. Stomping off and away from the two idoits.
Reggie's smile never faultred as he kept speaking.
"Mr. Snape would like his bride to be dressed in the best style suiting her figure. If she has no preference. We'd like you and your expert eye to have the last say."
Reggie watched as his eye contact and words began to smooth the young man down.
"If you like Barnaby, send me over a list of any questions or details you need answered. I will personally see that they are returned before the day is over. That way you can get back to more pressing matters." Regulus voice had the silky matter of fact tone Severus despaised. No room for agurment as if although pleasant, it was law. No matter how long now he knew Regulus that was one thing he could never get use to. The way him and other eliet would just go about life, talking and walking and existing as is if everything was just fashioned for them. The ground was paved just only for them. As if the very sun came out behind the clouds for just him.
Barnaby glanced down at his quill as if debating this offer. He nodded.
"Of course, as you wish Mr. Black." With a snap of the young man's fingers the parchment that trailed behind him rolled itself up with a audible snap and was handed into Regulus out stretched hand.
Barnaby seemed more than glad to resume his fast paced momentum as he gathered his things. Throwing a icy look of contempt back at Mr. Snape.
"Oh, that's right. Usally one would plan a intimate dinner or small gathering but I figure Mr. Snape wouldn't mind the presentation on my be half-" he trailed off as he retrieve a small square parcial from the table.
"A portrait from the Bride."