A/N
A new scene this time, again, set before the beginning of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This will be a two-part scene – and I intend on sticking to that! Heh.
Well…on with it, I suppose. Enjoy!
Chapter Thirteen: Dreamless Potion and a Package
"Thank you, Poppy," said the dark-haired witch, as she took the potion from the school nurse, "You are a lifesaver."
"Minerva," started the nurse. "This is the fourth time that you have-"
"-Yes, Poppy, I am aware of that. I assure you, however, that I will replenish your stocks once they-"
"-I couldn't care less about my stock of Dreamless Sleep potion Minerva McGonagall, and you know it." There was a stern note in the Nurse's voice.
"Oh."
Madame Pomfrey crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at her friend.
"Minerva, please tell me what is going on. Why do you need so many large doses of the Potion?"
"To stop myself from dreaming at night, Poppy-"
"-I know that!" snapped Madame Pomfrey. "Why do you want to stop yourself from dreaming?"
There was a slight pause.
"Poppy, you of all people should know the…terrible dreams that I am prone to having. Did I not come to you after that first terrible dream…what was it…thirty eight years ago…?"
"Thirty seven years ago, actually," said Madame Pomfrey, quietly. "It was exactly one year after…he returned to Hogwarts, changed almost beyond recognition, seeking the…Defense Against the Dark Arts post…" Her friend grimaced at the mention of the event, but nodded.
"Yes, that's it. For it was in the year that followed his…reappearance that Wizarding Britain discovered the existence of the newest Dark Lord."
Madame Pomfrey suddenly desired the move on with the conversation.
"But that was ages ago, Minerva. There was a time when you did not need the potion…why have you started using it again?"
There was a sigh.
"I have been having dreadful dreams again."
"I figured that much, Minerva. What are they about?"
"Being a teacher, Poppy, is perhaps one of the worst and most demanding professions that exist…" Madame Pomfrey furrowed her brows.
"…Yes, it…can get demanding, I suppose," she said. "But somehow, I doubt if your dreams are related to school work…"
The dark-haired witch smiled humorlessly.
"No, they are not related to schoolwork," she said. "My students, Poppy…my students…"
"What about your students?"
"How many of them have I watched die? How many have I read about in the front page of the Prophet, concerning either the revelation that they were loyal supporters of the Dark Lord, or concerning their…gruesome deaths at the hand of those who support the Dark Lord?"
And just like that, Madame Pomfrey knew what it was that bothered her friend.
"Who is it this time, Minerva? The dreams…the nightmares, who do you see in them?"
McGonagall swallowed.
"Edgar and Sarah Bones…and the little ones, their children, Michael, Louise and Timothy…" She was referring to Amelia Bones' brother and his family, who had been murdered in the…first war, shortly before the 'fall' of the Dark Lord.
Madame Pomfrey shuddered; she remembered Edgar Bones. Why, he used to spend most of his days at Hogwarts in the Hospital Wing due to Quidditch-related injuries! And their children…Merlin, they had been too young to be…killed. "It's not just them. I see others." The dark-haired witch swallowed. "…Fabian and Gideon…Frank and Alice…Lily and James...and –" She stopped, shaking her head even as she clutched the bottle of Dreamless Sleep potion tighter.
"Minerva, it was a dreadful thing – I will admit that, but there is nothing that can be done about it now. We cannot change the past, and even if we could, it would be unwise to do so," she said, instead. "All we can do now is look to the future. The Ministry will see the error in their ways, and believe me they will be groveling at his feet asking for forgiveness for branding him a murderer…"
There was a small, tight smile on the Deputy Headmistress' face.
"And I do not think he will ever accept their forgiveness," she said. "It's not like he has accepted our forgiveness…"
"Maybe he doesn't know that you want him to forgive you?"
Her friend sent her an incredulous look. "Think about it, Minerva. Within the last few days, he has had so many people asking if he could ever forgive them their ignorance. How is he supposed to know that these people are being genuine? For all he knows, they are only asking for forgiveness so that they need not feel guilty…"
"I – but…we-" Madame Pomfrey shook her head.
"Just think about it, Minerva. That's all I'm saying…"
"…Fine, but still, he ought to know that we, at least, mean it when we ask for his forgiveness…"
"Maybe he doesn't know that," said Madame Pomfrey, simply. "Besides, you avoiding Headquarters probably does not help your case any…"
McGonagall sent her a dark look. "Minerva, apart from the Order meetings, you have spectacularly managed to come up with excuses to not go to headquarters. How many times have you forced Albus to send others in your place, when it came to playing messenger and the like?"
"That – that is – that was only because I had work to do! Yes, we may be on the brink of war again, but I am a teacher and I do have marking and-"
"-So does Severus, but…do you see him complaining or giving excuses?"
"Poppy, if you are suggesting –"
"-I am suggesting nothing, Minerva." The Transfiguration Professor stared at her for a moment, before shaking her head.
"Thank you, again, for the potion, Poppy. You let me know when your stocks run low and I will replenish them, alright?"
With a curt nod at the nurse, McGonagall stalked out of the hospital wing, leaving a helpless colleague behind her.
Of course, Madame Pomfrey did not stay that way for long.
The Headmaster will need to be told. I do not want anyone of us suffering from depression again. It has happened too often.
Later in the day:
By the time evening rolled around, Minerva McGonagall was still seated in her office, staring down at the almost blank sheet of parchment on which she had been trying to write for…well, quite some time now.
But try as she might, her mind refused to focus on the possible changes to the Sixth Year Transfiguration syllabus. It seemed more interested in recalling her earlier conversation with Madame Pomfrey.
Am I? she wondered, Am I really…making up excuses, so that I can avoid Grimmauld Place…?
She snorted. Of course she wasn't; what she had told Poppy was correct. She did have other things to do as well, apart from being a member of the Order.
Right?
"The way you work, it almost seems as though we are in the midst of a very busy first term of school." She jumped as she heard the sneering voice.
"Is there something you need, Severus?" The Potions' master glided into the office and, a moment later, was seated on one of the chairs before her.
"You are aware that you have missed two meals, are you not?"
"I assure you that I am a grown woman and thus, can take care of myself quite well. But thank you for your concern."
"Concern? Hardly. I just did not think that it would benefit the Order should one of its agents drop dead of starvation."
McGonagall sighed.
"What is it that you need, Severus?" she asked, as she rubbed the back of her sore neck.
"The Headmaster gave me an errand, concerning headquarters."
"I see."
"He wants me to deliver a package to Lupin."
"…Oh."
"The funny thing is, that I – for god's sake woman, stop staring in false fascination at that blank roll of parchment."
"I was not staring at it in false fascination," said McGonagall, indignantly. Snape smirked.
"As I was saying, the Headmaster wants me to deliver a package to Lupin," he drawled, dark eyes watching his colleague intently. "It might not come across as a surprise to you that I do not want to go to headquarters and deliver this package to Lupin."
"Now why would I not be surprised? I thought you and Remus were inseparable," muttered McGonagall, sarcastically.
Snape ignored her.
"I would like you to deliver the package."
There was a pause.
"No. Definitely not. I have work to do – as you can see – so I cannot waste my time."
"Oh yes, work. Tell me, Minerva, is that all that you have achieved after spending a whole day in here? A mere title?"
"I don't see how –"
"-I thought Gryffindors were supposed to brave, not cowards." Dark eyes narrowed.
"Excuse me?"
"You are certainly not acting in a Gryffindor-like manner, Minerva. And you are even the Head of the House – shame on you."
"I – I beg your pardon?"
"Cowardice – in your lovely terms – is a Slytherin trait, is it not? Strange, that you would display such a Slytherin trait in-"
"-Enough! How dare you? I am no coward, Severus Snape, and you know it!"
"Do I?" His dark eyes glinted. "If you are no coward, why are you avoiding Grimmauld Place?"
"I am not avoiding-"
"-I can understand the desire to avoid anything even remotely related to that…fool of a Black, but I never thought that you would be the one doing that."
"I am not-" Snape stood up abruptly, cutting the dark-haired witch off. He placed a fairly large package on the table after a moment.
"It is to be given to Lupin," was all he said, before turning on his heel and walking away. He paused by the door. "Oh, and Minerva?" She looked at him. "Getting over this particular…obstacle will help you concentrate better on changes to the Sixth Year Transfiguration syllabus."
With that, he was gone.
Oh Minerva, she thought, glumly, as she stared at the neatly wrapped package on the desk, he's right. Poppy was right. You have been acting like a coward. A Gryffindor, acting like a coward! That is just unheard of!
She forcefully put down thoughts of a certain Gryffindor student of hers, who had in the end, turned into a coward when he betrayed his friends to their deaths.
Damn that Severus; he is too smart for his own good!
A/N
Hehe, just a shorter scene this time – and not as…emotional as the last scene. Again, it will be carried over into a second chapter, but I can assure you that that will be it; not continuing on to a third chapter.
I like writing parts with Severus in it – I just realized that.
Well, that's it for now! I don't know if I'll be able to update until next weekend, because I have two assignments due in next week and…well, I would like to do them properly, unlike my last one, which I did at the very-last-minute and thus, am not happy with at all.
Hope that's alright with everyone!
Well…till next time,
Siriusgirl1