Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, things, and ideas (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings. Mordecai and Elisabeth are mine.

Chapter 25: For lack of resolutions.

It was late in June when Severus received the news from Narcissa Malfoy on what had befallen Draco. Though he felt obligated to do something to help the young man out of this dangerous situation, he had reservations about making the Unbreakable Vow. On the evening when he was supposed to visit them, Minerva's face appeared in his fireplace.

"Severus!"

He walked over to the burning coals. "What is it?"

"I'm at St. Mungo's. I'm fine, but Mordecai is not. He was trying out a new potion and he just- Severus you're needed here. The potion did more than simply blow up and I don't have time to explain everything like this," she relayed.

He noticed the panic in her voice, though she hid it better than most people. Before leaving for St. Mungo's he quickly scribbled a note to Narcissa explaining that he could not meet with them because the Deputy Headmistress had called him away to fix a potion emergency. They may despise me for suddenly not coming, but I am not going to simply abandon my son when he is in trouble.

Using the floo network Severus stood next to Minerva a few minutes later. "Alright, now do you mind telling me what happened and where he is?" the Potions Master demanded.

"He is being examined by the healers at the moment, but I don't know if they will make any progress. I think he was trying to brew an advanced form of polyjuice, but something did not go as planned and he managed to turn himself into some sort of half-wolf, but not a werewolf, before the potion itself blew up and injured him," she explained. Her voice had been steady and he was not sure why she had bothered with St. Mungo's until he realized that she had been crying.

He knelt down in front of her where she sat and touched her face. "What aren't you telling me?"

"They said it might not be reversible," she said barely above a whisper.

Standing, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to find the healers and we will fix this," he commented with a certainty that surprised her.

After she had told them the room, he walked down the sterile hall until he came to the double doors. He pushed his way into the room and all five healers looked over at him in surprise. "I'm a Potions Master. May I see the boy?" it was not a request.

Severus looked down at Mordecai and sighed heavily, noticing that not only did he resemble a wolf, but there were also lacerations on him, probably from the explosion. Then he realized that the young man was conscious. "Well Mr. Maddock, what have I told you about using yourself for experiments?"

"I know it was a dunderheaded thing to do, but there was nothing else I could test it on. I didn't expect it to blow up though," Mordecai murmured.

"Nobody does, unless you're Longbottom and wish to torment your professor on a regular basis," he said sardonically. "But that is beside the point. Can you tell me exactly what potion you attempted and what you put into it?"

Mordecai was able to comply and soon Severus had what he needed. He asked if he could once again borrow the hospital's lab. They nodded and he left the room. Once inside the lab he began brewing the antidote, remembering what the potion was and having a fair idea what could make it blow up and cause cuts on the nearest person.

Just as in Minerva's case, Severus was able to brew what was needed and Mordecai was soon back to his old self recovering. Mordecai vanished into the floo and returned to Fiona's house. Before Minerva could follow him, Severus caught her by the elbow. As she faced him she realized how near they stood.

"I didn't interrupt anything important, did I?" she inquired.

He touched her face. "It's no matter. I was needed here, by both Mordecai and you. I won't be within reach for a while, Order business and a few other things."

"I understand. I'll see you when you come back," she commented. Making sure that no one else was around, he pulled her to him as she slipped her arms around his neck. They kissed soundly before leaving and going their own ways.

A few days before Severus was to return, Minerva sat playing chess with Dumbledore. "I don't know whom we should appoint for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. I do wish we had a way to un-hex the position. It is so tiresome to try to find someone else year after year," Dumbledore remarked.

"We are not letting the Ministry of Magic pick again!" she declared vehemently as her bishop hacked at his rook.

The Headmaster put his hands up in defense. "I understand your reserve in that area, and I quite agree with you. Perhaps you have a suggestion."

Calmer now, she smiled. "Why don't we just pick one of our own staff members? Since Quirrel had that position, those teaching it have either been incompetent, out of their minds, or vindictively evil! I suggest that we give Severus a chance."

Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully. "But my dear-"

"Albus, he's been here for fifteen years!" she interjected, not backing down.

Seeing that he was fighting a losing battle, both on the chessboard and with his Deputy, he sighed and nodded. "Very well, if you truly believe that he will do well in that position, then so be it." Minerva smiled brightly, looking forward to seeing Severus' reaction.

On the day before the students were to arrive, Dumbledore announced at a staff meeting who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would be. After the meeting everyone walked off in different directions. Severus had received the news with a reserved interest, as if he were trying not to seem excited in the least. As Severus left, Minerva smiled as she heard a loud "Yes!" in the direction he had been walking.

Unlike the rest of the student body, Mordecai was not exactly pleased about having someone else, this Professor Slughorn, teaching Potions. "Is dinner not sitting well with you, Cyrus?" Elisabeth inquired.

He shook his head. "It's not about dinner, Lisa. With someone else teaching Potions, am I still going to be working on more advanced potions and visiting the other classes, or am I staying with my own class?"

"I wish I could tell you," she said as she popped a carrot chunk into her mouth, noticing his discomfort. From the staff's table, Severus also noticed Mordecai's mood.

As they houses left, Mordecai felt a hand on his shoulder preventing him from leaving. "A word Mr. Maddock," the Potions Master requested.

He turned and nodded his head. "Are you still as interested in Potions as you were last year?" the man asked.

Mordecai nodded. "Most definitely."

Severus let a genuine smile seep through for a moment. "I have told Horace Slughorn of your potential, and he has agreed to let you visit the classes ahead of you from time to time. For your independent lessons in advanced and complex potions, you will still see me for those, as well as your other lessons."

Mordecai's countenance brightened dramatically. "Thank you, sir! You won't regret this."

The Potions Master smirked. "You had better return to your house, as well as your girlfriend, Mr. Maddock."

The young man snorted with good humour. "I will, sir, but she's not my girlfriend."

"We shall see," said the man quietly. Thinking that he was alone, Severus smiled with pride as the young man left the Great Hall.

Then he heard Dumbledore chuckle. "I believe the boy's taken a liking to you, as difficult as that is to believe," he commented behind twinkling blue eyes and half-moon spectacles. "But it would seem that the reverse might also be true. Don't be embarrassed, Severus. He's a lad any parent should be proud of."

"I wish that I could say the same for the reverse of that one. The less he knows about me, the better," Severus added moodily before he left the room.

The Headmaster sighed. "I think he knows you better than you realize, my friend."

With the start of the term, Severus taught Defense Against the Dark Arts with a flourish that was almost unexpected. Mordecai and Elisabeth enjoyed that class because they, being among the best students, were called upon often to show better demonstrations. However, some of the students in the room did not share their opinion.

"Boy, they must really have been scraping the bottom of the barrel if Snape's teaching this class," one obnoxious Ravenclaw boy said to his classmate, both seated in front of Mordecai and Elisabeth.

"I'll say. That overgrown bat belongs back in the dungeon," the other boy stated.

"Because he's not constantly over a potion, he doesn't look like such a greasy git anymore," the first one added.

Mordecai leaned toward them while Severus was on the other side of the room. "Will you two pipe down? Some of us are trying to learn here," he hissed.

One turned to glare at him. "Just because he's your favourite teacher, doesn't mean that he's ours."

Mordecai resumed his seat, slightly embarrassed, but Elisabeth picked up where he left off. "Favouritism and respect are two different things, boys. If you show respect, you receive respect, so pipe down about the class if you expect to have chairs tomorrow instead of burning coals, and don't think that I'll back down."

As she sat back down, Severus had heard the entire conversation and was doing his absolute best not to snicker. After class the two Ravenclaws stopped Elisabeth. "So you think you're so smart that you can look down on your fellow house mates?"

They had grabbed her by the arms, but she was not letting it show that it bothered her. "I wasn't trying to show myself as smarter; you completely missed the point. I was trying to teach you two what respect is, but apparently I'm lacking as an instructor."

"Let her go," Mordecai said behind them.

They whirled around as if it had been Professor Snape talking. "So he can stand on his own two feet. What will he do if we say no?" the boy to Elisabeth's right retorted.

"Just because we caught you two on a bad day does not mean that you have to give us trouble!" Elisabeth argued as she struggled.

"This is ridiculous. We have no reason to be fighting like this," Mordecai tried to appeal to their logic.

"We are trying to show you the cost of getting along with Snape. Showing anything but contempt for him will make you other forms of enemies," the boy on the left stated.

Mordecai's eyes widened at the implications and he made a sudden grab for Elisabeth. There was a struggle of arms to the point where no one knew whose arm was whose, but he had hold of her by the end of it. He faced them with an icy glare in his eyes. He could not believe that his own house mates could turn so coldly against him.

Elisabeth was suddenly released and the force with which Mordecai was pulling her arm to extract her from the other two caused them both to fall to the ground, her elbow accidentally hitting his nose. The others left as the two stood. "Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded and sighed as she looked at his nose. "I'm fine, but you're not. We need to find some sort of tissue or handkerchief for that."

He put his hand up to his nose and noticed the blood. Severus picked that time to walk out of the classroom and stared at the two with curiosity. "Mr. Maddock, why on earth are you bleeding? Were you in a fight?" the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor inquired.

The young man shook his head. "Though there was a disagreement between us and a few of our house mates, the bloody nose is because we tripped and I accidentally hit him in the nose with my elbow," Elisabeth interjected before Mordecai could speak.

Severus glanced from one to the other and sighed, pulling out his wand. He used a spell and stopped the bleeding, and then he spoke. "I overheard your discussion with those other two, Mr. Tucker and Mr. Simonson. Defending me will only get you into trouble that you don't need," he warned.

Mordecai raised an eyebrow and Elisabeth noticed that as Severus did the same, there was something similar between the two of them. "Sir, I have no reason not to. You haven't done anything but help me, though you do give other students problems," Mordecai stated in his rational logic.

The two headed off to their next class and Severus was left to ponder what kind of a young man his son was becoming. I want to give him something, something that will benefit him and add to his understanding of Potions, but what? Wait, where did I leave that book? I shall find it later and give it to him. I'll just tell him that it might prove insightful as he continues with his advanced potions, Severus reasoned.

A few weeks later he decided to check his personal library when he had finished his classes for the day. It was on there so he began searching his office. Not expecting visitors that afternoon, he jumped when he heard a knock at the door. Answering the door, he found Minerva.

"Severus, I- your owl, you know the little one, it came to my window, flew in, and just stationed itself on my bookshelf. I think it's sick," she relayed.

"That bird hasn't been sick since Quirrel left. I'll be right there," he commented, following her out. They came to her office and he found the owl curled up on her bookshelf.

"What are you doing here? Why did you not come to me?" he asked the creature as he lifted it into his hands.

On a closer examination of the owl, Severus realized that someone had sent a message, transfigured to look like another feather but of a slightly different shade. He turned it back into parchment and read:

Severus, you know what your godson's assignment entails. You had better find a way to help him or, so help me, I will avenge any harm that comes to him. You know he's all I have left and I'm not about to watch as he is taken from me as well. The bird accidentally ate something it should not have, but consider this a warning.

N.M.

He looked up to meet Minerva's questioning gaze. I do wish that Narcissa had better timing. "I- find myself in a rather sticky situation at the moment. As for the owl," he paused and performed a diagnostic spell, "fortunately he will be fine in a few hours. He is experiencing a bout of indigestion."

"Severus, may I see the letter?" she requested.

"I'm afraid that it would cause more trouble than it already has. There is a matter that I must deal with myself," he explained.

As he walked toward the door, she spoke again. "What were you looking for when I found you?"

He thought for a moment, having nearly forgotten the incident. "I wanted to find my old Potions text book from my seventh year, the one that I took the liberty of writing in to improve some of the potions. If I find it, I should like to pass it on to Mordecai, with the disclaimer that the spells in there are not to be used. I just wish I could recall where I left it and what I did with it."

"What if someone accidentally got hold of it? I hope there is nothing of the secretive nature in it," Minerva mentioned.

He knew what she meant and tried to recall some of his notes. He smirked, thinking back to the comments he wrote about Eygore. Suddenly everything came to a screeching halt when he realized what he had been foolish enough to write in it: strategies for the Black Knight to get Aphrodite's attention.

Minerva noticed his pensive expression. "Severus, what's wrong?"

"I may have written a few things concerning Aphrodite and the Black Knight, but I believe that the code of metaphors I have used will confuse the meaning to anyone with the exception of you and I. Either way, the sooner I find that book, the better," he explained as he left the office with the owl in his arms.

As Severus had predicted, the owl was only suffering from indigestion and was soon well enough to fly out on his way. Well into November Severus, Minerva, and the rest of the Order, were busy tracking Voldemort's movements. As a spy and now as he attempted to help Draco, Severus was hardly seen unless he was teaching his classes. The only exception was that he made time to meet with Mordecai for his potions and a few Occlumency lessons.

However, his meetings with Minerva had been few and far between. Neither seemed to have much time anymore, especially when he had not even been seen at meals regularly. Minerva became annoyed with this distance and owled him to meet her in her office Thursday after their classes.

Punctual as usual, Severus knocked and she told him to enter. He took a seat in front of her desk. "I'm sorry we haven't seen much of each other lately," he began.

"Severus, where in the blue blazes have you been? Wait, let me guess, you've been dragged who knows where doing who knows what for You-Know-Who!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms.

He placed a silencing charm on her office. "Minerva," he said in a tone that he hoped would calm her down, "I know that every single one of us is needed, but for the sake of the Order I have had to continue my spy work. What would you have me do, ask the dark lord for a few days off?"

She sank down in her chair and sighed. "I suppose not. I'm just tired of this war and all of the factors that accompany it."

Her hands where folded in front of her on her desk. He took them in his hands and she looked at him curiously. "It's Thursday and we both need a break from grading things and worrying. Let's play a game of chess," he suggested with a weary smile.

She smiled back and brought out the Wizard's Chess set. They had finished the first game and she was winning the second one when a loud bang at her window caused them both to jump and send the chess pieces in various directions. "So much for the old 'loser buys dinner' bet," she remarked with a smirk.

He dealt her a half-smile and helped her pick up the pieces after she let in a molting grayish owl. The letter she received was fortunately an early Christmas card from Fiona and she sighed with relief. "I suppose not everything has to be a doomsday message of sorts."

Glancing at it after the pieces had put themselves in the box, he watched her as she put the box back into its usual drawer. "Do you remember what you told me years ago about difficult situations?" he asked her.

She nodded. "I told you that during those times that true character is found and the metal of a person is forged."

They were standing in front of her desk and he pulled her into an embrace. "I am tired of living in difficult times. If I could make things safer-"

"And what would you do now if you did?" she questioned, pulling herself closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

He closed the distance between them and kissed her passionately. She responded and deepened the kiss. For those moments their world was right again. They parted when out of breath, but neither was in a hurry to return to reality and they continued to kiss ardently.

Neither was prepared though when the door suddenly opened and Dumbledore came wondering in. "Minerva, Severus, I need to…" he trailed off, completely mortified to find the Deputy Headmistress and the Head of Slytherin snogging.

They pulled apart immediately, Minerva blushing a deep crimson and Severus having a tinge of pink in his cheeks. "Albus, I can explain-" Minerva began.

The Headmaster was slightly embarrassed as well, turning a bit red. "No, it was my fault. I should have knocked. The owl for the next Order meeting never got sent and I was just going to tell you when the meeting was. Severus, I do need to speak with you though. I shall be in my study."

Minerva caught him before he left. "Now that you know, what are your feelings in this?"

Dumbledore sighed and smiled at his friend. "My dear, you two have selected a road that is ever increasing in difficulty, yet if you allow yourselves to care enough, the better may prevail in the end. Besides, what you do on your own time is your business, but I will remind both of you to use the utmost discretion."

He left and Severus paused at the door before following. "He gets more cryptic every day, doesn't he?"

She nodded. "I suppose you know what he wants to talk to you about. When are you going to discuss it with me?" she probed. Instead of answering, he kissed her tenderly and left. She sighed and sat back down to resume her work, wishing that the afternoon had offered her some clarity to ease the feeling of dread that was coming.

The last thing she expected to hear after Severus left was a knock at the door. "Come in," she called.

Elisabeth wandered in, covering her upper lip with her hand. "I was trying a lip gloss spell- something went wrong," she stammered.

As the girl removed her hand, Minerva raised an eyebrow to see a small blonde mustache. "Can you please make it go away before Mordecai finds me?" she implored.

Glad for a distraction, she smiled and with a few flicks of her wand, Elisabeth's face was back to normal. "Thank you so much, Professor McGonagall."

The Transfiguration Mistress smiled. "There are times when muggle ideas work better," she advised as another knock sounded at the door.

Minerva told the next guest to enter, who happened to be Mordecai. "Mum, have you seen-" he stopped himself at her perplexed expression and then looked up to see Elisabeth.

"It's alright. I know, but I promise that I won't tell anyone," she tried to reassure the woman.

Minerva still did not look convinced. "She was waiting for me when I came back from St. Mungo's. Lisa's my best friend," he tried to explain.

"And no one else knows?" the Deputy Headmistress pursued.

Both teenagers shook their heads adamantly. "We should probably be going," Elisabeth commented.

And Severus said that she wasn't his girlfriend. "Go on then," she said kindly.

"Thank you for your help, Professor McGonagall," Elisabeth added as they walked toward the door.

Mordecai eyed her curiously. "What did she help you with?"

Minerva smirked, hearing the young lady's comment as they left the office, "It was just a simple girly question. You wouldn't be interested." Having those two around reminds me of why we are fighting this war, and why we need to win, Minerva thought to herself.

(My thanks to Isabelle (), lullaby moon, excessivelyperky, Leta McGotor, Annette-Rose, artemissan09, and Underground () for reviewing :D)