"You're up." he said.
"Yes."
"You will help me, is that acceptable?" he said.
"Of course, whatever you need, sir." she said.
"Follow me." he ordered and she trailed him down the stairs. She could see people watching them go, whispering.
"Professor –" she began.
"You are not my student and I am no longer your teacher. You may call me Severus." he said. She was almost running to keep up with his long strides that, in his robes, made him seem as if he was floating.
"Severus, what are we to be doing?" she asked.
"Rebuilding the ministry of magic." he said before unlocking a door and ushering her inside. It was, what looked like, his personal office and there was an enormous fireplace inside. "We'll travel by floo."
"Why me?" she asked, stepping into the fireplace with him.
"Because you were good at every subject and I need a knowledgeable witch." he said. He held out the jar of floo powder and she took a handful. They threw it down together as he yelled, "Ministry of magic!"
They were spit unceremoniously out of the fireplace on the other end. Ginny sprawled across the floor and yelped when he landed right on top of her. She stared into his dark eyes and gave a reassuring smile. She could have sworn he almost blushed.
"Forgive me. Things are still not running smoothly." he said, scrambling off of her. She sat up and brushed herself off. The main foyer, which had once been ornate and beautiful, was now in shambles.
"How do we fix it?" she asked.
"One step at a time." he replied. "Dumbledore will be here, as well as other order members. There are many secrets here, Miss Weasley, that you will be privy to. Can we trust you?" he asked.
"Virginia," She said. "You may call me Virginia and yes, you can trust me." she said. He smirked.
"Yes, Virginia." he said. He put his hand on the small of her back and led her to a bank of elevators that, thankfully, were working. She liked the feeling of his hand there, the slight pressure telling her when to turn and what direction. When did Snape become that kind of man? When did Snape ever touch anyone?
Dumbledore was in the basement room he guided her into.
"Ah, Miss Weasley!" he greeted. "Excellent choice, Severus, I know just what to do with her." he said. She turned to Snape.
"You aren't staying?" she asked.
"I'll be back in a while." he assured her and left. Dumbledore took her to a room. It was filled with Cornish Pixies; a hive of them had infested the room which looked to be filled with various body parts in jars of liquid.
"Get rid of them and come find me. There is plenty to do." Dumbledore said and left. Sighing, she fished out her want and went to work. It was only a few hours later when Snape returned, looking tired. He had a basket of food.
"I brought lunch." he said. He was limping.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Because there is so much magical energy here, magical creatures are drawn here. The whole building is infested. We have to be bloody exterminators before we can even begin to reconstruct the building. It's hard, doing it so the muggles don't notice anything." They found an empty office with two chairs and had a seat. He handed her a pastrami sandwich. It was her favorite. They chewed silently for a while.
"Severus?" she said, breaking the quiet. "How did you know I was at the burrow? I mean, my whole family is… how did you know I was alive?" she asked.
"I didn't." he said. "I saw Ron and Arthur… I saw it. But I didn't see you and I was just hoping, I suppose." he said.
"I didn't treat you with the respect you deserved at school. I was so loyal to Harry that I couldn't see the real you. I didn't even give you a chance. I was stupid." she said.
"You were a child, then." he said, forgiving her.
"I'm not a child anymore." she said, thinking of how drastically different her life was, now.
"No, you aren't." Snape said. "Virginia – you can stay with me as long as you need to. You can stay with me forever, if that's what you'd like." he said.
"Thank you." she replied. They had finished the food. He held out his hand and helped her up. It felt like the beginning of something and she was excited to see what would happen.