HOGWARTS 1997

Part 7 - The new teachers of the school

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Very gently, he helped Minerva sit on the stone floor and lean her back against the wall.

"Thank you, Severus." she said with a weak voice while adjusting her sitting position to make it more comfortable for the parts of her body that were in pain. Those were the first words to come out from her lips since she had knelt down in front of him at the other dungeon.

"If you'd just let me put your shoulder back in place," he said, and as an answer he only received a glare from Minerva, so he stopped insisting on lowering her pain and walked to the door, "the girls are at the dungeon next door," he pointed, "I'm sure that if you talk loud enough they'll hear you." After having said that, he stepped outside, closed the door and made his way down the hall. When he passed by the seventh dungeon he noticed a pair of eyes scowling at him, but he ignored them, he just kept walking, with his head down and his mind distracted.

She hadn't screamed, he thought, not a single plea or cry had left her mouth while he punished her body and he wondered if she'd been quite because of her pride or to make his job easier. He couldn't take it away from his mind. The smell of her skin burning, the noise of her bones when being broken, the look on her eyes when he was done...

Her silence seemed to have made a deeper impression on him that the yellings of pain of any of other person he'd tortured before, although that hadn't been the only difference this time; Minerva was also the first of his victims he cared deeply about.


...*...


It was some day at the end of March. He had had an exhausting day: classes with the younger hufflepuffs on the morning, an argument about his tendency to grade the students very low at the professors lounge, a meeting with the Dark Lord and the after report to Dumbledore. He just wanted to pour himself a glass of firewhiskey, sit on his armchair and read a couple chapters of the book he'd received for Christmas on the Secret Santa gift exchange.

He only had enough time to opened the bottle of his favorite potion when a soft knock on the door made him say a curse word out loud.

It was past eleven, so unless there was fire somewhere, it could better not be a student. He opened the door rudely, hoping that would shoo away his late visitor, but after realizing who was standing at the other side, he regretted it.

"Is that how you receive people nowadays?" not other than professor McGonagall said.

"Good night, Minerva," Severus replied ignoring her comment, "Do you have any idea of what time it is?" he asked, not caring about politeness.

"I came earlier, but apparently you were gone," she answered, walking passed him to enter the room without invitation.

"So you decided to wait for me awake," he said with a hint of sarcasm, "how nice of you."

"I was watching the corridors and decided to try again," she explained.

Severus closed the door, this time in a more gentle way than he had opened it, and had a deep breathe before facing professor McGonagall. She was standing in the middle of his office, wearing her night clothes under a long tartan robe, and her hair was tied on a long plate that rested on her right shoulder.

"What should I thank your visit to?" he asked, walking back to the bar drawer and grabbing that opened bottle again, not caring at all about his company. "Don't tell me it's to talk about my grading method again, 'cause..."

"It's not that." she replied, and Severus wasn't sure if that was reassuring or not. "If you're going to drink in the presence of a lady," she pointed out while sitting on his armchair, "at least you could try to be a gentleman and ask her if she'd fancy a glass too."

"I am sorry, Minerva, sometimes I forget you are indeed a lady," he replied with the sharpest irony he could, "What would you like to drink?"

"Nothing, thank you, I don't drink while working and I have to finish my corridor vigilance," she answered and Severus clenched his punch trying hard not to lose his temper, but he was so exhausted!

"Minerva, I don't think you realize how insufferable you can get to be sometimes..." he said.

"What a coincidence, I usually think the same of you," she responded with a shadow of a smile on her lips as she noticed the Dostoyevsky book on his side table.

Severus moved his desk chair closer to the fire with a move of his wand and sat down at what he thought was a safe distance from the Deputy, who was now examining the thick book like if it was some cursed object.

"Crime and punishment," she said with a tone of voice he couldn't read, "are you enjoying it?"

"I am, indeed," he answered and she left the book back where it was and corrected her sitting position, crossing her legs and resting an elbow on the arm of the chair.

"Severus," this time he could actually notice the seriousness of her tone, "I have come to you because I am concern about the Headmaster's good wealth." she said, and he quickly understood where the conversion was going, "I have noticed you and Albus talking secretly more often than ever, and you do know that usually I have no interest of any kind in your mysterious plots, but this time..."

"Minerva, before you go any further," he interrupted her, "let me save you some time by reminding you that I am loyal to Dumbledore and won't tell you anything regarding him without his consent..."

"Don't do this," she said, and her voice changed completely, suddenly sounding less powerful, "I know there's something wrong with him, he keeps telling me things about Hogwarts that I'd never heard about and saying it will be good for me to know them once I become the Headmistress of the school..." she explained, "And since I really doubt that he's planning on to retiring to the Mediterranean coast when a war is about to begin, I can only find an explanation for his behaviour..."

"Which is it?" Severus asked, curious to know how close she was to the actual truth.

"His hand," she said, "the one he tries to hide the entire time and barely uses anymore. I've peeked at it a couple times and it looks like if his blood was becoming ink inside his veins," he could see the horror on her eyes, "it is cursed, isn't it? I have asked him but he insists that it's nothing."

"Then..." Severus muttered.

"He's lying!" she yelled suddenly, "Albus had never lied to me..." she added more calmed down and resting her back on the chair.

"You really care about him, don't you?" Severus asked, maybe with the most kind tone he'd ever used with Minerva.

"We're good old friends," she said.

"Then, don't you think he might be lying not to make you suffer?" he asked.

"Of course he is, but he's just making me more miserable. Please, Severus," she begged suddenly placing her small cold hand on his. It was the very first time she'd touched him, "you know I would never come to you if it wasn't important to me, and I am not asking you to betray Dumbledore, only to convince him that I shouldn't be left on the dark this time."


...*...


Although he really wished to be on his own at that moment, duty was more important, so after leaving the dungeons behind, Severus went into the Hospital Wing, only to find Alecto and Amycus carrow looking through the many cabinets in Madame Pomfrey's office.

"What are you two exactly doing?" he asked.

"Looking for the good drugs," Alecto replied.

"Do stop right now and come here," Severus ordered and they did so, "we're here to run a school, not to amuse ourselves," he said, completely hypnotized by the scratch on Amycus left eye, which went from his forehead to the tip of his nose.

"Did you punish the kitten?" Alecto asked.

"Yes, professor McGonagall was punished for escaping from my vigilance and attacking a Death Eater," Severus said finding it hard not to choke while he was saying it out loud, "now, let's go."

"Where is she? I'd like to say a couple things to that bitch!" Amycus demanded.

"I left her in the dungeons next to the female professors on her own," Severus had to tell, "but we have work to do now so, let's go," he insisted before they suggested to go downstairs again.

"Go where?" they asked together.

"To run this school."


Severus bringed the Carrows to his new office, took the letters Minerva had been writing just a couple hours ago, and handed them to Alecto while Amycus played around with the several curious things that were on display like if he was a little kid.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked.

"They need to be sent," Severus said, "the owlery is outside the castle."

"Do I look like your secretary?" Alecto pointed upset.

"No, but unless you want to deal with strangers applying for jobs during the entire day of tomorrow, I suggest you obey my orders and show yourself to the owlery, now!"

With no need of more words Alecto did as she was told and left.

"Stop playing around," Severus asked to the Carrow left on his office.

"Sorry," he apologized like a kid who had misbehaved, "what do you need me for?"

"There are two empty positions in the school right now, which one do you fancy more: Defence Against the Dark Arts or Care for Magical Creatures?"

"I don't know..." Amycus hesitated, "maybe we should let Alecto pick."

"Yes, maybe you are right," Severus said, "anyway, she's the one who takes the decisions and you only follow her wishes," he looked at his colleague from the corner of the eye and waited for his response.

"I don't!" Amycus got upset, "I am perfectly capable of deciding for myself, actually, you know what? I'll teach DADA, I am no good around animals of any kind."

"Good," Severus smirked, "then we'll leave Alecto with the beasts."


...


After letting the owls fly away with the letters Severus had given to her, Alecto Carrow left the owlery and came back to the castle, but instead of returning to the Headmaster's office she sneaked to the dungeons and walked directly to the eight door.

"Wake up!" she yelled tapping the feet of the unconscious woman lying on the floor with the tip of her pointy shoes, "Come on, kitten!"

Minerva moved on her sleep and, maybe because of the loud voice of the Death Eater, maybe because of the pain her own movement caused on her sore muscles and broken bones, she regained consciousness.

"Stand up!" Alecto ordered when she saw the prisoner opening her eyes.

"If you don't mind," Minerva said, sitting up with difficulty, "I'd rather stay on the ground." She looked up at her captor and enjoyed the little pleasure of seeing Alecto's face at her reply.

"You think you are smart," the Carrow sister said walking deeper into the dungeon and suddenly grabbing Minerva's dishevelled hair, "but you are a very stupid little cat," she whispered on Minerva's ear, "because the angrier you make me, the more pain I'll give to you." With a rude movement she pulled Minerva's hair up, making her stand up, and then stepped back to have a better look of the professor. "Severus was very gentle with you," she approached Minerva again, and the former Deputy of Hogwarts stood still, staring at Alecto with no fear, "I won't be."

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TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: I am really enjoying writing this fanfic, I think it's the first time I am able to go at such a slow rhythm of events (this sounded terrible...), but I like it this way... I am very sorry, and I wanted to apologize one more time, for my spelling and specially grammar mistakes because I know that if my English was any better this would be a good story. So I wanted to say thanks to the people who started following it despite of this, and to MissBeeFarm for leaving the first comments. I don't like begging people to review my stories but, I would appreciate it if more people could tell me what they think so I could know if I am doing things right or wrong and if I should change anything.

Anyway, thank you ^_^