Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, things, and ideas, (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J.K.Rowlings. Mordecai and Elisabeth are mine.
Chapter 31: Thursdays.
"Someone must have some idea of where Snape is," Lupin added as the members of the Order wracked their brains for ideas. He looked directly at Minerva and met her green eyes with a knowing look.
She faced the others and took a deep breath. "I might have a few ideas, London for one."
What had already occurred to Lupin a while ago began to register in the minds of the other members. "Minerva, it wasn't Mr. Malfoy you were receiving information from, was it?" Molly asked patiently.
"No," she answered in a near whisper, not meeting anyone's gaze.
"Bloody hell, Professor McGonagall, have you been talking to Snape?" Ron blurted out.
"Language Ron, honestly!" Hermione scolded. "You truly believe he is innocent, don't you?" the younger woman inquired.
"Astute as usual, Miss Granger. According to him, Pettigrew hit him on the back of the head and he was the one who killed Albus Dumbledore," she responded.
"Why on earth would you trust him? He was the Head of Slytherin, an outright arrogant git, and-"
"Ron, I think it's best if you stop there," Lupin remarked, noticing Minerva's irritation.
"He talked to me as well, before the battle last spring, and I believe him. That should be good enough," Harry added, stepping out from his place against the wall.
"You're going alone to find him, aren't you?" Lupin assessed.
Minerva nodded. "Bringing any of you along may cause him to flee, considering your varying views of his innocence."
The meeting was adjourned and Minerva lingered, watching the rest of them leave. Molly faced her before exiting. "You've left out some things, but you'll tell me when you're ready."
"Perhaps, if everything can be resolved," she responded.
Alone again, she dashed off to her office and gathered a few things. Why did I say London? I don't know where to find him; I only wanted to be the one who found him before the others could accuse him further. How am I going to do this? She left her office and walked in the direction of her usual quarters. Turning the corner a tad too quickly, she nearly ran into Mordecai and Elisabeth.
"We're sorry, Professor McGonagall," Elisabeth said quickly.
They all straightened themselves out. "It's alright, Miss Wellington, I was not watching where I was going either."
"Where are you going?" Mordecai inquired.
"I need to find someone," she replied cryptically. He did not need Legillimens to realize that she was looking for Severus.
"May we come too?" he implored.
She sighed and shook her head. "It's too dangerous and I don't know what I might find. I don't even know where to look."
"We could help you," Elisabeth suggested.
"You should begin looking in places that he may have wanted to hide in at one time or another," Mordecai added.
Minerva realized that she would not be able to talk them out of tagging along. "Alright, you two can come. We will be apparating to London. Have you two learned how to apparate yet?"
"Yes, we learned last year," Elisabeth told her.
After leaving the castle and apparating, they appeared near a few shops and a café. "I suppose he could be here somewhere in disguise," Elisabeth suggested.
They spent most of the day wandering through shops, looking for any signs of Severus. After several hours, they decided to take a break at a muggle café for tea. As they sat down, Mordecai glanced around the room and spoke. "Mum, why did you suggest London?"
She sighed and took a sip of the steaming liquid. "I don't really know. I was trying to think of anywhere else he might go on the island."
"So he could also be on the continent?" Elisabeth probed.
"He went there to find herbs sometimes," Minerva answered.
They sat drinking tea and brainstorming to figure out where he might have gone when someone near them was discussing a song with some friends. They could not hear the conversation, but suddenly the speaker began singing, "I'll be seeing you, in all the old familiar places."
Minerva listened for a while and then inhaled sharply. She quickly downed her tea and stood. The other two followed her in confusion. "What is it, Professor McGonagall?" Elisabeth asked as they stepped outside.
The Headmistress faced them. "I just realized where he might be. I have a muggle flat that I haven't been to for a while in this city and there was a time when he took refuge there."
"It sounds like it's worth looking into," Mordecai commented.
The first thing that Minerva noticed upon apparating to her flat with Mordecai and Elisabeth was that someone had been dusting it as she looked an a end table that held a half-full glass of water. Her gaze passed from the table to the floor and she realized that drops of blood sprinkled her otherwise grayish carpet.
"Stay there," she whispered to the other two.
She moved forward, following the trail to the couch. In the darkness she lit her wand to illuminate the room. A groan from the form on the couch at the sudden burst of bright light let her know that it was at least alive. Stepping closer she could make out a formerly black robe, now bloodstained, covering the face of her unexpected guest. Hand outstretched, she carefully pulled back the robe so she could see his face.
"Severus!" she gasped.
He blinked and squinted in the light of her wand. She leaned past him to light a candle so that the light would not be so direct. Then she bent down next to him. He tried to sit up, and managed to after a few painful moans. He looked up at her in near astonishment.
"Minerva? Is it really you?" he asked in a strained voice.
Not caring if he had gotten any blood on her couch, she quickly moved to sit next to his right and gasped him by the shoulders. "Of course it's me. You need medical attention," she assessed.
She could tell that one of his arms was injured. To her surprise he reached over with his right arm and pulled her to him in the best embrace he could muster. They stayed together for a while before he spoke again. "Is it Thursday?" he murmured, looking directly into her eyes.
Her heart nearly broke as she saw the pain and the longing in his eyes. Tears formed in her own and she touched her forehead to his. She understood the implication of what he meant, Thursday being not only a day when they played chess, but a significant day in general to them. "Yes, it's Thursday," she whispered back, her voice choking on emotion.
She had almost forgotten that she had not come alone when Mordecai cleared his throat. "What can we do?" he asked.
Tearing her eyes away from Severus, she looked over at Mordecai. "Could you two go to St. Mungo's and find a healer? He can't be moved like this. Tell them you have someone who was hit by the torturing curse," she instructed.
The two younger people nodded and left. Soon they reached the front desk and spoke with the receptionist. "Excuse me, ma'am, but could you tell me where to find a healer willing to make house calls?" Mordecai inquired.
The woman pushed her glasses up on her nose and looked at the two young people strangely. "Why? Can't you simply send the person here?"
"He was hit with the torturing curse and cannot be moved," Elisabeth explained primly.
"Who sent you two?" the receptionist demanded.
"Professor McGonagall sent us," Mordecai stated firmly.
The realization of the importance of the request registered on the woman's face. "I'll get someone immediately," she responded.
As she left the room, Mordecai faced Elisabeth. "I hope the healer can help him."
Elisabeth touched his shoulder. "He is a cantankerous, stubborn man and if he has lasted this long after the battle, he will survive," she tried to reassure him.
Minerva handed the glass of water she had spotted earlier to Severus. "How long have you been staying here?" she inquired.
He took the glass and drank, coughing a bit. "I somehow managed to apparate myself here after Potter killed Voldemort."
"Why here, of all places?" she questioned, helping him lie down on the couch.
"This was the only safe place I could think of that the wrong people would not know about, but the one person I actually wanted to see would. This actually isn't the first time I have used your flat. As you can see, I dusted," he replied with a wry smile, closing his eyes slightly. "My only question for you is what gave you the idea that I would be here?"
She sat on the couch by his side and stroked his face. "I heard a song that said, 'I'll be seeing you-"
"In all the old familiar places," he added. "Yes, that song made me think of you when I heard it. I've missed you, so very much. I'm glad that you came to see me one last time."
Her heart stopped for a second and she realized that he did not know she had sent for a healer. "Severus, you will not die," she ordered. "I've sent Mordecai and Elisabeth to St. Mungo's for a healer."
As if on cue, the two younger people appeared, as well as the healer. "Where's the patient, Professor McGonagall?" the healer inquired. She cast a few lighting spells to brighten the dim room.
"Right here," Minerva told her, looking at Severus on the couch.
The healer's eyes widened. "But he's…"
"Innocent and badly injured are what I would say. Can you help, or not?" Minerva questioned in her strict teacher tone.
"I… yes ma'am, of course," the healer stammered as she got to work.
Minerva turned to her son and his girlfriend. "You two should return to school now; here are a few passes you might need," she paused and handed some papers to them. "And please tell Professor Flitwick that I am taking care of an emergency and that I need him to take care of some of my paperwork," she instructed.
They nodded and then were gone. The healer treated Severus, telling him that several days of rest would help as well. After the healer had gone, Minerva spent the next three days taking care of Severus. By the third day he was more or less his usual grouchy self.
"Woman, you can return to the school now. I am not an invalid," he told her when she asked one too many times if he needed something.
"No, but you are becoming the blackguard I know so well," she mentioned with a smirk. "I suppose you're right and I should return."
They sat on the couch, curled up together. "What do you think will happen next? The battle is over, but I am not yet a free man."
She sighed heavily. "I have to convince the Order that you are innocent first. Then you will probably face an inquest."
"I suppose then I should make my way over to Grimmauld Place as soon as my ribs heal more," he grumbled.
"Yes. I think I shall leave you now. Goodbye Severs, I'll see you in a few days then?" she stated as she kissed him softly.
"Soon," was all he said before kissing her warmly. And then she too was gone.
It had been two weeks since the battle when Severus finally appeared at Grimmauld Place. Fortunately Minerva was the one to greet him. The other members had been chatting loudly about various events in their lives, not knowing what Minerva had planned. Suddenly the room grew deathly quiet as they all caught sight of Severus.
"What the bloody hell is he doing here?" Ron questioned.
Severus turned to Minerva and whispered over his shoulder, "You should at least have shown them the pensieve instead of letting me walk into the lion's den."
"I have a plan," she whispered back. She faced the others and put up a hand, as if to deflect further questions. "I am going to let Mr. Potter tell you how Severus Snape fought in the last battle. Then I will show you two pensieves, one with Dumbledore's own instructions, and one with the investigation of Snape's innocence."
She pulled the pensieves out of her handbag as Harry spoke, relating the details of the battle. Then the members were all able to view the pensieves. Through this explaining of events and evidence, Severus had been leaning against the wall, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. At last, Arthur looked in his direction.
"Severus, come join us. We were wrong and I volunteer to help your defense at the inquest," he relayed.
The former Potions Master nodded politely and looked at Minerva for some sort of direction in that awkward moment. She pulled out a chair for him and he graciously sat down, next to her. Hermione once again asked the question that was on the tip of everyone's tongue.
"Professor McGonagall, why was Professor Snape only talking to you?" the young lady inquired.
"Because, Miss Granger, she is the one I trust the most out of everyone in this room, and sending letters to her was the most convenient because, unlike sending letters to Arthur or Molly, it stirred up the least amount of disturbance," Severus replied.
After his response a silence sat in the room once again. Tired of waiting for the others to comment, Minerva stood spoke. "I am just going to ask all of you plainly, is he or is he not still part of the Order, now that we have at least partially proved his innocence?"
Severus tugged at the end of her sleeve, attempting to tactfully pull her back down. "If they do not want to involve me yet, then I hardly see the point in arguing anymore."
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and sighed. "I'm only trying to help you."
"Woman, I can fight my own battles. I may have been in bad shape recently, but that does not mean that I am feeling so poorly at this moment that I need a defense. I can speak for myself!" all this was said in a quiet, but intense tone.
The rest of the Order studied the two with curiosity, as if they were observing some private, domestic dispute. Minerva sat back down and sighed. "Alright, I yield," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
He snorted and gave her a half-smile. "I owe you a chess game, and a thank you," he whispered so that only she could hear it. Gathering himself so as not to appear weak to anyone observing, he stood. "I understand your reluctance to take me back, and I thank you for your patience. The only thing I ask at the moment is a place to sleep that you don't put me on a blasted couch."
Harry muffled a laugh and glanced over at Molly. "Mrs. Weasley, there should be enough room here, but if there isn't, he could transfigure something into a bed and share a room with one of us," he recommended.
"Why doesn't he just room with Professor McGonagall, since they're hanging out with each other anyway?" Ron stated, just loudly enough for everyone to hear some if it.
Hermione smacked him on the back of the head. "Honestly Ronald! Where are your manners?"
"Have you all bloody lost your minds? This is Snape, you know, deatheater and generally feared person?" Ron attempted to argue.
"Mr. Weasley, have you been paying attention to anything you have heard this evening?" Severus asked civilly. "If you had, then you would realize that sometimes people change, but circumstances trap them for a while."
"And hit them in the back of the head," Harry added.
"Oh fine, I'm going to bed then," Ron said as he left the table.
Hermione sighed and shook her head. "Just give him some time. This is a bit of a shock to all of us. And you know how he hates change."
"Don't worry Severus, we actually do have a few extra rooms. It would probably be a good idea if we all turned in for the evening," Molly advised.
Everyone left the table and headed off to their respective bedrooms, leaving only Molly, Minerva, and Severus. Molly led the two over to the staircase and then headed up the stairs. Severus hesitated and Minerva took his hand. "Let me help you. You'll be fine in another week, but it won't do to re-injure yourself."
"Minerva, if we keep ending up in situations like this, everyone here is going to figure out that we are more than just colleagues, if they haven't done so already," he reminded.
"Right now, everyone you are worried about has gone ahead of you," she pointed out.
He acquiesced and they walked up the stairs together. Molly led to him is room and then turned back to Minerva. "I don't mean to pry, but what is going on between you two?" the younger woman asked.
Minerva sighed and looked down for a moment. "It's a rather long story. Let me just say for the meantime that he and I are good friends." Molly nodded and the two parted. Minerva quickly fell asleep as her head hit the pillow.
A week later she met with the Ministry of Magic to discuss the inevitable inquest. A trial was set up to commence in November. Minerva was meeting with Arthur in her office to discuss strategies when she heard knocking. "Come in," she responded.
Mordecai and Elisabeth entered the room, each with several papers. "We know about the inquest and we want to help," Elisabeth began.
Her boyfriend picked up her train of though. "We have written several ideas and things to discuss. I would even be willing to volunteer as a character witness."
Arthur eyed the young man with scrutiny. "These are the students I told you about who found the polyjuice," Minerva explained. "I think they could be of help, as long as they don't miss classes," she said this more to them than to Arthur.
He noticed familiar features in the young man, but could not immediately place whom they belonged to. "I suppose more people couldn't hurt," he remarked. As they left the room he turned back to Minerva. "He looks like someone I've seen before, especially in the eyes." Arthur conveyed.
Having left the office, the two Ravenclaws were on their way back to the common room. "Do you really think we have enough evidence for a judge?" Elisabeth asked Mordecai.
"We have to, or they might sentence him to Azkaban. He's my father and I want to do everything I can to clear his name," he told her.
"Then I'll do everything I can to help you," she remarked with a smile.
(My thanks to excessivelyperky, Kimmy Malfoy, artemissan09, Leta MocGotor, for reviewing :D)