Epilogue

"Miss O'Kenly, this is all very interesting, but what concern is it of ours? It is a foreign affair."

Mallory stood at the podium, presenting to the Irish Ministry her report on the situation in England. She was shocked at the question after she finished. Shouldn't it have been obvious? "Minister, Britain is very close to us, and not only geographically. Our people work there, our children go to school there. A threat to them is a threat to us as well. We must show our support. If Voldemort-"

"Miss O'Kenly!" the chief Auror barked, "I thought you would have the decency to not mention that name!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Denny. Does a name frighten you? Especially when we are not threatened by its owner."

"Miss O'Kenly!" The Minister of Magic stood. "When You-Know-Who was in his prime, Ireland exhausted many a wizard, witch, and Galleon in supporting Britain and protecting our selves. In the end, many good people died, and their efforts were in vain."

Mallory stiffened at the remark. "Are you saying that those people's lives were wasted? That my father died in…how can you say that!?"

"The fall of You-Know-Who had nothing to do with Aurors, or anything like that. His fall came from a freak accident. He never came near our shores. Let him have Britain if that's what he's on about. We'll deal with him when and if our own time comes."

"If you would pardon me, Minister, but you're sounding like Minister Fudge." The man bristled, just as she knew he would. He held Fudge in such contempt, any comparison was bond to ruffle his feathers. In fact, whenever he was upset, he reminded Mallory of the owl from the Muggle animated film The Sword in the Stone, and it amused her to no end. "He's been blind to the urgency of the situation, holding off until there's some real proof of Voldemort's return. We must act on prevention, not when the time comes."

"I've heard enough, Miss O'Kenly! Remember your place. You are a Potions Maker, not an Auror. Now, I declare this meeting adjourned." As the gavel sounded, and men and women filed out of the room, Mallory remained at the front, head bowed.

She looked up as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Severus looked at her with sympathy. He accompanied her there and heard the entire meeting. "You're right, you know, he's just like Fudge." She gathered her papers and walked out the door with him. "You know, maybe you could have used me as evidence."

"Don't even joke about that! I would never expose you like that!"

Severus sighed. "Well, not much we can do now for them. Still, what do people do for a bit of fun in Ireland?"

Mallory looked up at him and smiled. "Just wait, you'll find out."

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Well, that's that. The End. A Big thanks to all the lovely reviewers who have endured me to the end. My biggest thanks to Iphigenia, Anna-my Beta, and everyone I met through fanfiction.net! So…who wants a sequel? ;-)