Chapter 67: 67
CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN:
Minerva sat still as a statue, staring at the door Albus had been taken away through as Augusta Longbottom announced the verdict: Imprisonment for two weeks, then a Dementor's Kiss. So many emotions were warring inside her that she wasn't sure whether she wanted to cry or hit something, and so Minerva sat on the courtroom bench, her posture rigid and her face frozen in a hard expression completely unlike her usual strict demeanor.
"Let's go," Poppy said briskly to her colleagues, placing a firm hand on her friend's shoulder. "There's nothing left to do here."
"Yes," Minerva answered automatically, rising and heading for the door. She felt as though she were walking through water, and yet her sight was sharper than it usually seemed. Her brain, however, appeared stuck on one fact: That Albus, a man she had trusted and loved dearly, had been manipulating her the entire time.
Just then a hand took hers and she looked over to find that Severus had taken her hand and placed it in the crook of his arm. He wasn't looking at her, nor did he say anything, but Minerva felt inexplicably strengthened by the show of support. Here was a man who had also been tricked and manipulated by Albus, and had apparently known of it for some time already, yet who stood as straight and tall as ever. And that simple knowledge had something relaxing within her, finding her standing taller than she had been just a moment before and her face easing back into its usual expression. They walked out that door arm in arm, ignoring the photographers and journalists awaiting them, and made their way back to Hogwarts. Perhaps there Minerva would give in to the tears hiding just below the surface.
OoOoO
Severus led Minerva back to her quarters, keeping his left hand on hers where it rested in the crook of his right arm. He wasn't entirely sure where the urge to support her in such a way had come from, but he had remembered suddenly the way Harry had been grounded by his touch that day he first saw Hogwarts again. Walking with his hands on Minerva's shoulders had been out of the question, but such a formal hold, despite the attention it had attracted, had seemed to him the logical step to take.
"Cha dean cat miotagach sealg," Minerva said to the painting as they reached her quarters, keeping her hold on his arm as she stepped through the entrance.
"I confess to some curiosity regarding your password," Severus said as he walked alongside his older colleague, though he didn't know where she was headed. It was the first time he saw the inside of her quarters. "Does it have a particular meaning?"
To his surprise, the corners of her lips turned up ever so slightly – so little, in fact, that he wouldn't have noticed had he not been watching her. "The English translation is 'a cat in mittens won't catch mice'," she explained, and Severus found his lips twitching as well.
"A fitting choice."
"A motivating one, certainly," she replied drolly, stopping before a small cupboard. "A drink?" she offered, reaching out with her right hand to open the door and revealing three shelves – two with books, the third with an assortment of bottles and glasses.
"Please," Severus accepted the glass she handed him, the shape of it affirming what he already knew: The drink on offer would be scotch whiskey, Minerva's favorite. It also happened to be Lucius's favorite drink – used to be, he reminded himself – so Severus certainly knew the taste of high-quality scotch.
"I can offer you either Talisker or Glenfiddich single-malt scotch whiskey; the first is rather firm and spicy while the Glenfiddich has a more mellow taste," Minerva explained, and he hummed briefly in thought.
"I'll have a dram of the Glenfiddich, please," Severus decided, gesturing slightly at the bottle with his glass. He had never heard of either brand before, but he doubted that Minerva would offer him a subpar scotch. It also hadn't escaped his notice that while the Talisker had a fair amount missing from the bottle, the Glenfiddich was closer to being finished – either a sign that Minerva preferred it to the Talisker, or that she drank it less often and the Talisker was a newer purchase. That she then proceeded to pour them both a dram of the Glenfiddich gave the impression that it was the former.
Not that it should matter, Severus reproached himself for overanalyzing such a thing. She would hardly judge me for choosing either whiskey.
"This is a lovely scotch," Minerva said as she replaced the bottle and closed the cupboard, "and one I only recently discovered. It's from the Speyside region, which tends to have quite sweet and mellow whiskeys. I'm curious to see how you find it; I had pegged you more for the Talisker," she confessed.
"I have never heard of either, but I am sure that they are both excellent if you chose them," Severus replied smoothly, guiding her to the wide sofa against the wall. Her rooms were quite different from his – bright, due to the large windows, and very homey. The living room was primarily done in beige and red, with the occasional hint of tartan, and a large tapestry of a lion hung on the wall over the sofa. He supposed it had come with the room; there had been a similar tapestry of a snake in his living room until he bade a house elf remove it. It had not been a particularly restful image.
"Why, I never knew you could be such a smooth-talker, Severus," Minerva said, a hint of humor in her voice as she sat down.
"I'm afraid there is much you don't know about me, Minerva," Severus answered, his tone light but a serious note lurking behind it. Minerva caught it and her face instantly tightened.
"What did he have you under?" she asked, no thought given to tact. Severus took no offense; he would have asked as well.
"Much the same as you," he replied, "albeit with strong compulsion charms forcing me to hate Gryffindors, and especially Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and James Potter with a vengeance. And the love potion keyed to Lily Evans," he said, keeping his face perfectly emotionless.
"Yes," her voice shook slightly. "Whatever was that for?"
Severus took a moment to answer that, sniffing several times at his glass without registering the drink's scent. "It was only because of my love for Lily that I agreed to become a spy." He didn't look at Minerva.
"But it was only a potion?" she asked eventually, pain in her voice.
He inclined his head slightly, then turned to look at her. "I am not interested in witches, Minerva."
She grimaced slightly. "Yes, I see. I knew, of course, that Harry is your lover, but I did remember how close you were to Lily…"
"Close, yes," he agreed, "but love was… improbable without the aid of a potion. I unfortunately did not consider that possibility until Harry revealed it to me."
Minerva exhaled slowly. "I am surprised that you didn't kill Albus for it," she said evenly.
Severus raised an eyebrow at her with a slight smirk. "Why Headmistress, are you condoning murder?"
"I am considering it myself," she replied matter-of-factly.
"Ahh, to witness a Gryffindor considering murder," Severus smirked and took the first sip from his glass. Swirling it around in his mouth, he swallowed with a hum. "Indeed, a very nice scotch. It tastes rather more of honey than I had expected."
Minerva let out a huff of exasperation but accepted the change of topic. "I quite like that – especially how the taste of the spices intensifies until you're left with a finish of mild peppercorns," she rejoined, taking a sip of her own dram and relaxing into the sofa with a sigh. Silence fell, but it was neither strained nor companionable; rather a pause for his colleague to gather her thoughts.
"I admit, the morning did not go quite how I had anticipated," the Headmistress confessed quietly. "I find it hard to believe that it is only shortly after the time I would typically have my lunch." Severus merely hummed in reply, leaning back against the backrest. He would see where she was going with this.
"How can you be so calm in the face of his betrayal?" she asked him then, more than a faint note of helplessness in her voice.
Severus turned his head and found their faces rather closer than he was comfortable with. He remained there anyway, regarding her evenly. "Because in my heart, I always knew that he would betray me," he replied honestly. Minerva furrowed her brow, clearly not understanding how he could know that. "Minerva," Severus sighed, turning to look away again, "did you hear what he confessed to at the trial? He dosed all Hogwarts students with fealty potions keyed to him – but for the Slytherins. I believe he has been doing this since I came to Hogwarts, or even before that; simply thinking back to my time as a student here reminds me that all of my classmates adored the Headmaster – all, that is, but the Slytherins. Then, when I became a spy, he began dosing me with that same fealty potion. Even though I trusted him then, experience told me that he was not a man to trust. I may not have admitted it to myself, but I entirely expected him to cast me aside as soon as I had outlived my usefulness."
Next to him Minerva drew in a breath that sounded remarkably close to a sob. "Oh, Severus…"
"However, that does not mean I was calm when I first learned of the spells and potions," the man continued humorlessly. "When they were purged from my system I went and destroyed Spinner's End in my rage. It was no great loss, but the home I grew up in is no more."
"I see," Minerva shivered slightly. "I can certainly understand your reaction."
Severus tilted his head again slightly to look at his colleague's face. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but her face appeared more lined than it had previously, and her hair a shade greyer. Perhaps he had just not looked at her closely enough of late and missed the signs of the pressure she was under.
"I know of a place where you could vent magically, if you so wish," he offered lowly. His reply was a shaky laugh.
"Thank you, Severus, but I don't think expending magical energy will do anything but leave me drained," she replied, a few strands of hair escaping her bun at the shake of her head. "If it weren't so early in the day I would go to bed…"
"There is no reason not to," Severus retorted. "I can offer you several potions if you wish to sleep."
Minerva laughed again. "No, but thank you. I believe I will turn my mind to the future of Hogwarts. It is only now truly apparent to me how much needs to be changed, and planning positive changes will hopefully have a positive impact on my mood as well. I intend to see a different Hogwarts welcoming back students on September 1st."
"A commendable task," Severus nodded. "Harry and I discussed this very topic before; Hermione Granger has the notes."
Minerva snorted. "I should have known that Harry would have considered the topic of Hogwarts; that man is set to change all of wizarding Britain, and preferably all at once instead of step by step!"
"And yet I doubt he could have accomplished even this much had he taken his time with it," Severus countered. Draining his glass and setting it on the side table, the tall man rose to his feet. "I shall leave you to it." A brief hesitation, then, "Will you be announcing the result of Dumbledore's trial at dinner, or let the students find out about it with the Sunday paper?"
Minerva paused, pressing her lips together in thought. "Perhaps it is not the Gryffindor way, but I believe I will take the coward's way out and leave it for tomorrow," she replied eventually.
"There is no cowardice in being better prepared for a situation," Severus replied evenly, and her lips narrowed again in a smile that was tinged with thankfulness.
"No mention to anyone else, then," she said, standing and picking up his empty glass. "I'll see you at dinner, Severus."
He inclined his head silently before turning and leaving. As he stepped into the hallway he remembered that Harry had mentioned that morning the possibility of dealing with the younger Harry's emancipation on this day, so his lover would most likely be busy. Severus had already done his grading, so now he was left with the decision of what to do. Perhaps he should pay Draco a visit.
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