Chapter 6: Home
a/n: Hopefully posting two days ina row can make up for the short chapter yesterday! Review's welcome.
While Minerva recovered at St. Mungos the wizarding world was turned up-side-down. Harry and his fellow "Dumbledore's Army" students had been lured to the hall of Prophecies in the Ministry of Magic by He-Who-Must Not-Be-Named. Severus had alerted the order of the Phoenix in time to thwart Lord Voldermort's plan to steal the prophecy. Albus Dumbledore had now returned to Hogwarts and the ministry finally admitted that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had actually returned. Rumors abounded about Harry being "the chosen one".
Severus had to be very careful about his whereabouts now so he had only visited Minerva once in St. Mungos on the pretense that Dumbledore had sent him to update her on some changes at the school and to find out when she would be released. There were now eyes and ears everywhere and even though he got to see her, they were not at liberty to discuss anything personal or related to the order of the phoenix. Death Eaters, both old and new, were springing up everywhere. It was hard to know whom to trust.
With Minerva at St. Mungos, Severus spent the first few weeks of the term at Hogwarts. Albus was off on a special mission that he wasn't open to sharing with the Order. Whatever it was that he was doing, it involved some very dark and ancient magic. When he returned from his mission his entire hand was black and shriveled from a magical potion that was slowly eating away at the rest of his body. Severus was able to stop its progression but the damage had already been done and Albus was now on borrowed time. Albus swore Severus to secrecy about his soon-to-be lethal poisoning, secrecy from the Dark Lord, , from the Order of the Phoenix, and from the Hogwarts staff. It bothered Severus that he was going to have to keep this secret from Minerva.
Whatever "relationship" they may or may not have been starting it was very clear that now they needed to be extremely careful. She would be lucky if she had any time alone with him until the new school year began. Due to her recent injuries, Minerva would be summering at Hogwarts but Albus felt it best that Severus stick to his usual tradition of returning to Spinner's End, his boyhood home, so that he could move freely among the Death Eaters and use the time to find out more about the Dark Lord's new plans.
Severus spent most of the summer dealing with the rumors, started most likely by Bellatrix LeStrange, that Severus Snape was a Death Eater not to be trusted by other Death Eaters. Bellatrix planted the seed of doubt by pointing out that he was still at Hogwart's as Dumbledore's "man" and he didn't show up at the Ministry to fight against the Order of the Phoenix.
In addition to feeling the need to placate his fellow Death Eater, he also had to share his abode with Wormtail which left Severus little time to think about the other complication in his life, his passionate liaison with Minerva McGonagall. When he did allow himself to think of it, all he wanted to do was take her into his arms, kiss her, touch her, and become one again. He wasn't naïve enough to call it love but the thought of her put his mind at peace and his body on edge and he couldn't wait to see her again.
Minerva had a less complicated summer. She was off doing tasks for the Order of the Phoenix and getting things ready at Hogwarts for the upcoming school year, the castle was quiet with no students and very few teachers in attendance. Poppy had delayed her summer holiday for a few weeks to ensure that Minerva was in complete health and perhaps to see if Minerva would take her in confidence but Poppy respected Minerva's privacy and never eluded to the scene she witnessed in the infirmary. Minerva was grateful for not having to discuss it with anyone. She still wasn't sure how she felt and what it meant for the future.
All the alone time was making her overthink her night with Severus. Yes, she was attracted to him, yes they connected in an amazing night of passion, but a relationship? A lover? Both seemed out of the question. Especially now with Lord Voldermort back to full strength and calling on his Death Eaters more and more. It was not safe for him to enter into any type of emotional or physical relationship. She convinced herself that he would come to the same realization over the summer and they could resume their friendship.
XXXXX
Summer faded into fall and two months passed by without either Minerva or Severus seeing or speaking to one another. The next morning the students would be arriving and Severus had finally made his way to the castle. After deposited his things in his dungeon quarters he skipped out on dinner in the great hall to allow himself time to prepare his new Defense Against the Dart Arts classroom. At least, that is what he told himself because he wouldn't admit that he was nervous about his first interaction with Minerva.
He woke in time for breakfast and made his way to the great hall. All the teachers were assembled and talking excitedly about their summer holidays. When he entered everyone looked up as he strode across the hall. Albus was the first to great him followed by Flitwich, Poppy, Pomona, and then Minerva. He was a little put off that her greeting was no more sincere then her colleagues. Since he was the last to enter he didn't have much choice in his seating assignment and he ended up next to Slughorn on the far end of the table. With Hagrid on Slughorn's other side, he essentially was completely obscured from her view.
When breakfast ended she was deep in conversation with Albus, which angered him for some reason, so he stormed off without so much as a glance in her direction. He headed straight to his quarters and silently hoped she would make her way to his rooms before the arrival of the students later that evening. As the hours ticked on and she made no attempt at contact, Severus got more and more angry so by the time the students began to arrive, he was in quite a state.
To top it all off, Potter once again couldn't seem to get himself to the sorting ceremony on time so Severus had to meet him and Tonk's at the gate to the castle. Then, to pour more salt in the wound, Tonk's message was received by Snape in the form on her new Patronus…a wolf. From his work with the order of the Phoenix Severus knew Tonks and Lupin were becoming an item and having their relationship thrown in his face just irritated him further.
The combination of Minerva's avoidance of him, Harry Potter's arrogance, and Tonk's Patronus reminding him of Lupin, which reminded him of his arch enemy James Potter, had Severus in quite a state. He practically tore Harry Potter's head off (along with seventy point's from Gryffindor) at his late arrival. Knowing that screaming at Potter and taking points from Gryffindor would piss off Minerva was icing on the cake.
By the end of the first night he was pretty much hating the world and everyone in it. He poured himself a fire whisky and collapsed into his favorite armchair. That is when the knock was heard on the door. He knew it was her just by the sound of the knock, it has that combination of strength and confidence, yet was gentle which were the unique combination of characteristics that made up Minerva.
Too annoyed at her to get up, he pointed his wand over his shoulder at the door and opened it for her. When the door swung wide open Minerva asked "May I come in" before crossing the threshold.
"As you wish" he answered without bothering to turn around. He heard her footsteps as she made her way over to where he sat sulking. One look on his face and she could feel his anger and disappointment in her. In true Minerva style, she chose to fight fire with fire.
"70 points from Gryffindor! Really, Severus, that seems a little extreme even for you" she said as she stood opposite him.
"Clearly the boy has no concept of order and rules" he retaliated but in his calm subdued voice. Trying to hide the rage he felt inside.
"Did you even ask him why he was late!" she demanded.
He was disappointed in her for hiding behind "the chosen one". "Come off it Minerva, are you really here at 11 o'clock at night discuss house points" he asked while meeting her eyes.
Her eyes and lips both got thin and long and her anger was palatable. "Fine" she uttered in a low drawn out voice "what I want to know is why you are full of such anger and hatred and are scowling at everyone, including me!"
He retorted in a matter-of-fact tone "what I want to know is how you could possible see me scowl when you haven't set eyes on me since I arrived"
That seemed to get her even more angry as she exhaled loudly while rolling her eyes and started to march straight to his door.
As angry as he was with her the last thing he wanted was for her to leave. As she was about to cross the threshold he stood up, turned toward the door in a quiet but strong voice "don't leave".
It wasn't the words itself that made her stop but his tone of voice, it was a pleading request more than a demand. She turned and stood still as he made his way over to her. When he stood in front of her he reached for her hand and gently caressed her finger tips all the while never losing contact with her eyes. She was never that good at hiding her strong emotions and despite herself, her eyes stared to fill with tears. Fighting with him hurt. It hurt more than she had ever realized.
He laced his fingers through hers and brought her palm to his lips, the tears began to slip out of her eyes and travel down to her chin. She was afraid to use any words as she was sure her voice would quiver. Luckily, she didn't have to speak because he embraced her and allowed her to bury her face in his neck as he held her tightly to him.
They stood like that for a few minutes without speaking. Once Minerva felt she had control over her emotions she whispered in his ear "Welcome Home, Severus". He wasn't sure if he had ever heard anything sweeter. I did feel like home, in Hogwarts with Minerva's arms wrapped around him.
Months of separation and months of uncertainty, all of it evaporated in that moment. They didn't need to apologize and they didn't need to explain their actions to one another. After holding her in his arms for a few minutes, Severus placed a hand on each side of her face so that he was framing her face with his hands. She stared up at him and her eyes spoke volumes. She missed him, she wanted him, and she forgave him for acting like a brat the last 24 hours.
He rested his forehead on hers and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He didn't pull away but just stood there connected to her. She laced her fingers in his and then lead him to her bedroom.
