Disclaimer: Anything you recognise here belongs to the wonderful JKR.
A/N: I have been toying with this story since reading the Half Blood Prince, I'm not sure this is a good effort on my part, but I do feel it is ready to be read. MA
This story hints at a same-sex relationship between Xiomara Hooch & Minerva McGonagall, if you have a problem with that you really should not be reading my stories. MA
I have no beta at the moment so this has not been proof read if you spot any spelling or grammatical errors please be kind. Morgana-Alex
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Losing the Least…
By Morgana-Alex
We fought, we lost the least and so we had won, a hollow victory in my eyes, Voldermort may be dead but after all that how could we have won when we had lost so much, when so many had perished or worse were shells of their former selves..
I'm standing by the lake watching the water ripple calmly across the surface, the lake is quite now, very little activity beneath in its dark depths, a potion of Severus's making had seen to that, a definitive act of senseless destruction, in which he had poured the last of the poison his master had had him create in to the lake, and watched as it turned black and the bodies of the creatures that inhabited this haven rose to the surface with an eerie silence.
Mere seconds after I had been standing behind him and knew without a doubt that this farce ended here and now, Voldermort's most faithful follower would die at my hand and we could all live in peace.
But then he had turned around, Xiomara had shouted 'NO' and my conviction had faltered even if my wand remained steadfast.
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FLASHBACK
"NO, Minerva." I heard her shout behind me, I had my wand raised to his heart – no that should be where his heart would be if he had one – this is Severus Snape he had no heart.
Mere seconds ago I had known that he had to die, and not after a lengthy trial or by his own hand but here on the sight of his most heinous crimes.
Yet now the rational, responsible part of me was trying to take over and Xiomara was helping it, though that part of me was not going to get an easy ride.
"NO, Xiomara by what right do you tell me no?" I screamed over my shoulder, not turning to look at the Witch I knew was regretting that she had been forced to try a stunt like that.
"The right as your colleague, the right as your friend, the right as the only person left alive who knows you better than you know yourself. Minerva I beg you not to do this, do not give him the final victory of turning Minerva McGonagall in to a cold blooded killer."
My wand still outstretched, the spell on the tip of my tongue, my rage fading, she continues.
"Bind him Minerva, torture him if you must, but do not lose yourself by speaking that curse, you will never forgive yourself if you do this. Please Minerva listen to your heart if you will not listen to me, listen to Albus, he would not have wanted you to do this." It broke my heart to hear my lover, so lost that she might not be able to save me from myself. I couldn't bear to do that to her, and realised that I could not cast Arvada Kadarva and keep her in my heart.
Ropes flew out of my wand and bound him, he struggled; but he would not break free, the ropes were a charm Albus had taught me, the more he struggled the tighter the ropes became and even if he stopped they would not loosen. I don't have the stomach for torture, I have seen the effects turn a persons mind inside out with pain; I have no wish to see it again and most certainly no wish to be its cause.
"Stupefy." He is now lying prone on the ground and my knees give way and I sink to feel the muddy grass below me, it's over my mind reels time and again; but I answer, if it is over why do I not feel relieved? Why do I feel empty and very much alone?
Xiomara wrapped her arms around my shoulders from behind, she is the only thing keeping me upright and I am more than grateful of her strength, I hear her summon Shackbolt but nothing else of what she says to him, I am not interested in the arrangements they are making to take the man before us in to lawful custody.
"Minerva my darling, he's gone and we need to get you inside, I don't want you catching a chill as well as going in to shock." Hands are on my shoulders now and she is gently trying to pull me to stand, I want to tell her that I am fine, that I am not going in to shock, and that none of this has affected me in the slightest. However not being in the habit of lying to myself or the people I love I say nothing and I let her lead me back to the castle
END FLASHBACK
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That was 2 weeks ago and while I have recovered from any physical trauma of that day, it will be a lifetime before I recover from the wounds inflicted on my soul.
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But his trial starts tomorrow and I will be there as the woman who brought Dumbledore's killer to justice, the trial is a mere formality, a farce, he has already been condemned to the dementors kiss and that sentence will be carried out the moment the show trial is over.
But that brings me no comfort, an eye for an eye does not give me back my best friend and mentor; it does not give me the all the time I never had with all the people whose lives were tragically cut short; it does not give me back my faith in Wizarding kind.
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Xiomara has been my rock; she has been my life for almost 40 years and I know that she will never willing leave my side, even here in the depths of the Ministry she is my shadow, her hand in mine, her presence a blanket around my soul.
I can tell that her focus is on me – so much so that should a duel break out between the judges of the Wizengamot she would not notice.
But this room is suffocating me, death eaters and judges, aurours and reporters, the nosey public and the people called here to give witness and to help seal the fate of the souls already lost to us.
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I stand to leave my task here is done; I will read about what happens in the prophet tomorrow. I will not stay to hear the deeds of others engorged for all to dissect, I saw those deeds close up, and I have no need to hear them transcribed.
The End
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A/N: A Short one shot that has been plaguing me; please let me know your thoughts. Many thanks for reading, see you soon. Morgana-Alex