Updated August 2016

The Ministry Men

Elena knelt by his side for what seemed like an eternity. She watched his chest rising and falling, relieved that he was still breathing. Her fingers absently stroked his face, gingerly probing the gash on his forehead and she murmured to him without noticing it. The words were sweet and tender, though in German. She was trembling all over now. Time and again, she turned over her shoulder, suspiciously checking on the huddled figure by the door.

"I'd tie him up if I were you", Lux remarked and Elena nodded. Good idea. And it would keep her busy, allowing her to not break down. She mustn't let that happen. She needed to stay alert as long as Snape was out.

She got up and hurried to the sitting room. She found the sash cord by the curtains and tore it off viciously. Coming back out into the hallway, she inhaled deeply before she dared to touch the black-cloaked man. With all her strength she dragged him away from the door, over to the stair-rail. With flying hands, she managed to tie the intruder up, though how long her knots would hold she could not tell. She merely hoped it would do for a while.

However, she needed a plan. What should she do? Call the police? Surely not. What would she tell them? That bad wizards had broken into the house, knocking out her neighbour and torturing him with a wand? They'd pack her off to an asylum. What did one do if a crime occurred in the wizarding world?

It was in this moment that Snape gave off another drawn-out groan. His eyes opened and she bent over him eagerly. His focus was better now, consciousness gained the upper hand. Elena breathed with relief, but didn't know what to say.

Snape lay still for a while and looked at her. His expression was hard to read. Then his body began to struggle.

"Help me up", he demanded hoarsely.

She complied, grabbed him by the arm and had him sit up. In a painfully slow process, she helped him to his feet. He was panting, coughing, spitting even, and the weight of his thin frame was surprisingly heavy on her shoulders. Beads of sweat ran over his face.

Elena supported him to the couch in the sitting room onto which he fell like a sack of potatoes, lying his head back against the rest. "Tell me", he croaked.

Quickly and suddenly with a heavy accent, she gave him the low-down of what had happened. He listened with his eyes closed, giving the occasional nod. Then he pointed towards the fireplace.

"Light it", he said, "and then give me the jar with the powder that you'll find on the mantelpiece."

Elena did as she was told, glad to have something to do. Concentrating on the task at hand and on the raggedly breathing man on the couch kept her from shaking. Amazed, she watched him taking a handful of the green powder she had brought him and hurling it into the fireplace. "Kingsley Shacklebolt", Snape said in a hoarse voice, "Ministry of Magic."

The flames in the fireplace turned green and after a few seconds, much to Elena's awe, a glowing face appeared in the embers. So there were means of communication in the magical world, after all. Her head spun. It was all becoming a little bit too much.

"Yes?" the face said, eyes blinking.

"This is Severus Snape", the wizard spoke to the fireplace. "I'm at my home at Spinner's End, Cokeworth. I've got two Death Eaters here that intruded into my house. I'd be obliged if you could send someone over to get them."

Again, the face blinked, saying nothing for a few seconds. In spite of the embers, Elena recognized astonishment in the fiery features. "Alright, Professor", the face finally said. "Stay put. We'll be with you in a sec."

When the face had disappeared, Snape gave another long sigh and closed his eyes again. Elena couldn't contain herself any longer. "What the hell are Death Eaters?" She knelt on the couch beside him.

He didn't reply directly, but murmured something which sounded like "Just wait". Too worked up to sit still, Elena jumped up and walked over to the low table on which a bottle of Fire Whiskey stood. She poured a generous amount into a glass and pressed it into Snape's hand. His eyes opened and a rare mild expression flitted over his face. He raised the glass to his lips and downed the liquid in a few greedy gulps.

Only a few minutes later, there was a knock on the front door. It made Elena jump in shock.

"That will be Shacklebolt", Snape sighed. "Could you open please?" He looked a sight, pale and bloody. However, the whiskey had brought back a little colour to his face and his eyes were more alert now.

Once again, Elena did his bidding. She shuddered when she passed the tied-up figure in the hallway. The intruder had started to writhe and moan, face mangled. He raised his head, focussing on her.

"Bloody slut", he hissed, struggling with the sash cord tightly wound around is wrists. "Wait until I get my hands on you …"

A chill ran down Elena's spine and she quickly made to the door, tearing it open, sucking in the nightly air that greeted her. Three men stood outside. She knew instantly that they were wizards, in spite of their ordinary clothes. One of them was quite burly, with dark skin, an ornate cap on his bald head, gripping a wand. He looked taken aback when he saw her.

"Is this Severus Snape's house?" he asked uncertainly.

"Who's asking?" she demanded, yet a long way from relaxing.

"We're from the Ministry, ma'am", the man replied cautiously. "My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt. We received a call from Mr Snape."

Elena exhaled and stepped aside. "He's in the sitting room", she said.

As the three men stepped past her, taking in the hallway and setting eyes on the bloody swearing figure on the floor, Elena's head began to swim. She couldn't feel her feet anymore and her knees buckled. The fear and excitement had finally overtaken her. Swiftly, one of the three men stepped forward and caught her in his arms. Like Shacklebolt, he was tall, but quite thin. He had light-brown hair flecked with grey, was wrapped up in a coat smelling of mothballs and his face was very worn-out and sad, although with an underlying kindness. Elena steadied herself by grabbing his arm, trying desperately not to faint. Just how embarrassing would that be!

"Thank you", she said weakly.

"Don't mention it", the man replied and a wan smile crossed his face. "Rough night?"

"You can say that again." She struggled to stand on her own two feet. "It's alright, it's alright …" Why did her words suddenly sound so slurred?

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. Absolutely sure." She attempted a brave smile to his kind and worried face.

The next thing she remembered was falling head over heels into a soft heap of grey, warm and soothing cotton wool …

The soft murmur of voices woke her up. She felt disoriented and opened her eyes. Above her, a spotty ceiling sporting a few cracks. Beneath her, a rough texture which she recognized as Snape's sitting-room sofa. Oh no! She hadn't actually fainted like some Victorian dimwit, had she?

Deeply embarrassed, she lay quite still and dared not to move. Instead, she concentrated on the voices which sounded far away and muffled. After a while, she was able to discern them.

"… must have gotten in by the back door." It was Snape's, still sounding laboured, yet silky as ever. "I usually have it protected, but … something got in the way."

Yeah. An exploding cauldron. Elena winced. She could have slapped herself.

"I hope you realize how lucky you've been, Severus." It was the voice of the kindly looking wizard.

"I do." The usual sourness was back. At least, Snape appeared to be alright.

"Hate to say 'I told you so', Professor", another voice chimed in, probably that of Shacklebolt. "But I did warn you, didn't I?"

"You did." Snape's tone was chilling. "And I'm usually very well able to look after myself. This was … an accident."

"Good thing the girl was around."

Elena couldn't quite make out who had said that.

An uncomfortable silence ensued.

"Who is she, anyway?"

"A neighbour."

"She one of us?"

"Yes."

So she only needed to pass out in order to hear Snape pay her some kind of thwarted compliment. Elena decided that it was stupid to pretend to be out of it any longer. She yanked herself to an upright position.

"Oh, hello. Welcome back." The kindly looking wizard had spoken. He was standing by the fireplace, arms crossed, smirking. She smiled back at him weakly. Four pairs of eyes were on Elena. Beside her on the couch sat the third man in the group of Ministry officials that she had let in by the door. This one was still very young, almost a boy, with black unruly hair and a pair of glasses behind which startling green eyes took her in curiously.

"I think introductions would be in order", said the kind wizard by the fireplace, "don't you, Severus?"

Snape was back to his usual scowl. The bloody gash had disappeared from his forehead, undoubtedly by some magical means. He stood by the window, leaning against the wall and holding himself very upright. Elena could only imagine what it must cost him, but she knew him well enough by now to guess that he didn't want his visitors to see him in bad shape.

"Of course", he said stiffly. "May I present my neighbour, Miss Elena Horwath." For the fraction of a second his black eyes held hers, then he jerked his head towards the burly wizard with the ornate cap. "This is Mr Kingsley Shacklebolt, our present Minister of Magic … Mr Remus Lupin who is currently working for the Ministry, as well …" By this, he meant the kind wizard who winked at her. "And this …", Snape indicated the boy, but strangely he managed to do so without looking at him at all; if anything, the scowl on his face deepened, "… this is Mr Harry Potter." Now Snape addressed the group. "Which, if I may add, will hardly impress Miss Horwath as she is foreign."

What the hell did he mean by that? Why would the boy impress anyone?

"Oh yeah?" The wizard named Lupin pushed himself away from the fireplace and came towards her. "Where are you from?"

"Vienna", she replied. Her voice was hoarse. "Austria."

"Beautiful city", said Lupin. He smiled, but as before, Elena noticed how sad and worn-out he looked. Of the few wizards she had encountered, a lot looked like that, Ollivander being another example. Elena wondered why that was. "I went there a couple of years ago", Lupin went on. "I bet you can dance a mean waltz?"

"Yeah, and my Dad's a Lipizzaner", she answered as she often did when confronted with stereotypes about her nationality, but in the same moment she regretted it since it might have come over as arrogant. Lupin, however, gave quite a hearty laugh.

"Did he teach you to mess up Death Eaters like that?" Shacklebolt asked her, grinning. "He looked really bad, what kind of spell did you use?"

"Brute force." It sounded hardly credible with her voice still shaky and not rising above a whisper.

"Really?" Now it was the Potter boy speaking. "You hit him?"

"I have six cousins", Elena explained. "All boys."

The men chuckled, except for Snape whose face was once more unreadable.

"Looks like Professor Snape here owes you one", Shacklebolt said amiably. "You saved his life."

Elena looked down at her hands. She couldn't bring herself to meet Snape's gaze. To her surprise, she realized that her fingers were still trembling. She heard her surly teacher in all things magic clear his throat.

"Lupin, maybe you'd be kind enough to take Miss Horwath home? She lives just across the street."

"Of course." Lupin stretched out his hand to Elena. "Are you alright again?"

"Ja, ja", she said, embarrassed, and let him pull her up from the couch. Suddenly, something that had been lurking at the back of her mind ever since she had woken up occurred to her. "What happened to the two … guys?"

"They're safely packed up and ready to go to the Ministry dungeons", Kingsley Shacklebolt assured her earnestly. "They won't bother you anymore."

Elena exhaled sharply. Dungeons. Great.

Lupin lay a hand on her shoulder and made to steer her out of the sitting room. She nodded politely to the Minister and the Potter boy. Shyly and very quickly, she let her eyes travel towards Snape. The mask that was his face looked back at her. The curt nod he gave was almost imperceptible.

Well. It would have to do for a 'Thank you'. Considering that this was Severus Snape, it was probably as good as it would get.

The night was quiet and carried a breeze. After the heat of the recent two weeks, it was a relief. The moon was out, the brightest light falling unto the streets due to all the smashed lamps. Not yet a full moon, though. Thank Goodness, he would have missed a treat.

Remus Lupin walked quietly, hands folded behind his back, not saying a word. Only after a while did he glance aside and took in the girl beside him who walked in silence as well, her head down. She seemed thoughtful. A little angry, too. Her dark brows were knit tightly together. But maybe it was just the shock.

The walk was a short one, her house was in fact very close by. A copy of Severus' abode, but Lupin had a sense that what was inside would be entirely different. She led the way towards her front door, obviously expecting him to come, then rummaged for her keys in the handbag she had insisted on retrieving from the cellar, but before she stuck the key into the lock she turned around abruptly, meeting his eyes. "Would you like to come in?"

Why not. Indulge his curiosity a bit. Take his mind off other things. After all, you didn't every day meet a woman in the company of Severus Snape. No doubt, Kingsley and Harry would not miss the opportunity of quizzing the man for a while now that he had called them in, so he had time. He also had the distinct sense that she didn't want to be alone just yet.

As he had expected, the sitting room was squashy. It also looked as if an old lady lived in it. However, the disarray of books, CDs and pieces of clothing scattered all over belonged to a young woman. She picked up a few items to make space on the couch and the glass table beside it and asked him straight out if he wanted wine. He said yes. It would make him sleepy and with any luck, he would have a dreamless night.

She poured the wine, turned on some music. He had heard the song somewhere before, probably on the radio. The singer proclaimed that he would try not to breathe.

The wine was red, dry and strong, tasting of berries. It occurred to him that the last woman he had drunk wine with had been Tonks. The realization gave him the usual stab. Not now, he told himself. Store it for later. These days, a proper organization of the mind was paramount to him.

"Thank you very much for coming with me", she said after they had sat down. "I'm glad to have company for a little while longer."

"I hope you feel better", he said sincerely.

"It was a bad day for me", she explained with a half-smile. "I was worn out to begin with, hardly ate anything, and the heat …"

"Don't tell me you're embarrassed about fainting. You saved a man's life today."

"Beginner's luck", she murmured.

"Was it the first nose you smashed?"

"Actually yes. I did, however, knock my cousin's teeth out."

"Well, I think you did a fine job. With the Death Eater, I mean, not the cousin."

She turned a blank face to him. "Mr Lupin, could you please explain to me what a Death Eater is?"

He looked at her astonished. Surely, even Austrian witches had heard of Death Eaters?

"'Death Eaters' is the self-coined name of the followers of who used to be known as Lord Voldemort", he said quietly.

"Lord Voldemort", she repeated, dead-pan. Something twitched around the corners of her mouth. "Would it surprise you very much if I told you that I never heard of him?"

"That would surprise me very much indeed", he replied. "Severus said you were a witch."

She gave a bitter laugh. "Ah, but he didn't tell you that I've only been a witch for about six weeks, did he?"

Lupin's face lightened up. Now things were beginning to fall into place. He had wondered about her. Her appearance, her obviously non-existent reaction to Harry (usually, women her age issued delighted squeals at the sight of him) and this sitting room which was comfortable but also very Muggle. "That's unusual", he observed with a warm smile.

"Yes. My life has become very unusual altogether. Particularly tonight."

"I can only imagine." He considered her for a while. "How do you know Severus?"

"I wouldn't say I know him", she countered. "I wonder if anyone knows him …"

She had a point there.

"… but as you can see, he's a neighbour", she continued, "and we sort of ran into each other. – He told me what I am."

Remus wanted to say something, but changed his mind. He also supressed a smile. So Severus had found a witch. Again.

Shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts, Remus Lupin had come into a rare privilege. It concerned certain memories which Harry Potter had shown him in Dumbledore's Pensieve. As far as he knew, he was one of the very few people who had seen them except for Harry himself. And although Lupin had been beside himself with grief and despair at the time, what he had seen had deeply touched him. Plus, it had opened up a whole new perspective on Severus Snape.

Remus considered what Elena Horwath had told him and put two and two together. "He's been teaching you?"

She nodded. "He has. But like I said, it's only been going on for a few weeks. There is still so much that I don't know about your world. – Death Eaters. Lord Vol-de-whatever …"

"And you never heard of Harry Potter", Remus concluded.

"The boy who came with you?" She shook her head. "I thought he was some kind of Ministry apprentice."

That made him laugh. "He is in fact doing a stint with the Ministry right now", he clarified. "But believe me, he is by no means an apprentice. He may be young, but he is a very capable wizard. In fact, in our world he's kind of a hero."

She frowned, but said nothing. The miffed look was back on her face. He could guess what she was thinking.

"I reckon so far Severus has been your only link to the magical world?" he hazarded.

"Yes", she confirmed. "And I'm grateful. He's been … well, quite patient actually, considering that I make cauldrons explode."

Again, he had to bite down on a laugh. "He's known as a very strict teacher", he explained. "Hogwarts students used to live in fear of him."

"I totally believe you", she said, grinning. He guessed that she was actually a cheerful person, always ready to smile and laugh if the circumstances allowed it. "But he's good, I think. I learn a lot. And yet …"

"He's granting you only limited access to the magical world?"

She swayed her head from one side to the other. "I wouldn't quite say that. He took me to Diagon Alley, after all. Paid for my wand. And my cat."

Remus had noticed the black cat that had snug into the house with them. It now sat on the headrest of the sofa, seemingly listening to their conversation. "But he never told you about the wizarding war?"

Now her eyes widened. "The wizarding war?" she repeated, taken aback. "What was that about?"

"It's a long story", Remus said. "And a complicated one at that. However, everyone in our world knows about it."

"Then why didn't he tell me?"

Lupin pondered for a while before he answered. "It may have something to do with Severus' own role in it", he finally replied. "Also, I guess he's not a storyteller."

"Certainly not." The bitterness was back in her voice. "I'm not allowed to ask him personal questions. I don't mind that. After what happened tonight, however …"

He knew what she meant. "You have a right to know", he told her.

"Fat chance", she mumbled.

"There are other ways of learning more about our world, you know. You don't have to rely on Severus Snape."

"Yes", she nodded fervently. "I already made up my mind to go to Diagon Alley on my own one of these days. It can't go on like this." She stared thoughtfully into mid-air for a couple of seconds. Then she looked up at him. "Do you know him well?"

"Severus? We were at school together. Same year, in fact. However, like you said before, there are probably not a lot of people who really know him."

"I'm not surprised. The man's the Berlin wall, only in his case, the Communists prevail."

He liked her dead-pan comments. In this, she was quite similar to her teacher. Lupin wondered if she realized it. He decided to change the subject. "Well, Miss Horwath …"

"Please, call me Elena."

"Alright, Elena. – I just wanted to say that you were very brave today, especially considering that you have only been a practicing witch for such a short time. You acted quickly and effectively. Severus has made that quite clear."

Amused, he remembered how Snape had spoken about her as long as she had still been out on his couch. 'Determined', he had called her, 'doing the right thing', which was probably as close to recognition as anyone would ever get with Severus. He had also noticed, however, that he had become more reserved after she had woken up.

She looked Lupin in the eyes again – she was all about eye contact, as if she was able to look into a person's soul by it – and her face had brightened up a bit. He realized that Snape's recognition meant something to her. He also realized that she cared for the man, though he didn't know what to think of it. Be glad? Amused? Or pity her?

"I had to do something", she explained now. "He was completely out of it. I guess I was very, very lucky."

"Luck is not enough in order to cast a stunning spell that blows a fully developed wizard off his feet", Lupin said reasonably. "You must have quite a bit of magic in you."

She grinned. "Don't you think it was more because you wizards don't expect anyone to use their fists?"

"That may have been part of it", he conceded. "All the same, I don't think that this was a bad day for you. In fact, you may find out that it was important. You took a big step today in your life as a witch. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

While she cast down her eyes with a glowing face, he downed the rest of his wine. Slowly, he got up from the couch, feeling a twinge of pity. He would have liked to learn more about her. "I am very sorry, Elena, but I have to go now. It's late and my little boy will be up by sunrise."

"Of course", she said and quickly got up, as well. "It's been nice talking to you. Although, now that I come to think of it, we only talked about myself, not the least bit about you."

He looked at her smiling face. She was quite pretty, actually. Not the kind of beauty that glared you in the face, but rather the type that snugged in by the back door and hit you hard when you least expected it. He made a spontaneous decision. "If you take that trip to Diagon Alley, please let me know. We could meet and I promise I will tell you more about our world. As a father, I've had some practice in telling stories."

"I'd love that", she said lively, but then her face fell. "How do I reach you?"

He winked. "I'll get in touch with you. You'll see."

She was the kind that liked surprises because her eyes immediately started to dance. "Alright, Mr Lupin …"

"Remus. Please."

She accompanied him to the door, like the polite British lady that she wasn't. He wished her a good and peaceful night and they exchanged their good-byes. When he stepped onto the street again, Kingsley and Harry were already waiting.

"Ready to go?" Kingsley asked.

Lupin nodded, smiling. "Quite a night, huh?"

"Did you see the beard?" Harry breathed, still brimming with excitement.

"Yes, but he's still very much Severus Snape, in spite of it."

"And what was she all about?" Harry wanted to know.

"She's a remarkable girl", Remus replied mysteriously. "She knows good wine."

"Yeah, but what is she doing with Snape?"

"Or Snape with her?" amended Kingsley.

Good questions, both of them. Remus frowned a little. A couple of things were going through his mind right now, positive and negative and some that he wasn't able to figure out at all.

"That remains to be seen", he said and led the way to the next convenient Disapparating spot.