For the Valentine Drabble Collection Competition using the pairing Kingsley/Minerva and the prompt of an Andrea Gibson quote of my choice: "What if the weather keeps changing, and we don't? […] I don't know what makes us human more than our crimes, and that just breaks my heart," from her poem July 13, 2013. Also for the Represent that Character Challenge.

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"Nothing's going to change any time soon, is it?" you asked uncertainly. You didn't want to come off as so pessimistic, but you were having real difficulty seeing the light at the end of this tunnel.

Kingsley smiled sadly at you. "Not with that attitude. Nothing'll change unless you do something about it. Surely you know that, Minerva." He gave you a knowing smile. Sometimes you thought he knew you better than you knew yourself.

"And if we change? I don't know what I'm more anxious about—if we do change or if we don't. It just seems like the whole world is crashing down around us, doesn't it?"

"I know. It's not easy, and circumstances won't magically improve overnight. If the world around us changes," he said calmly, addressing your questions. "We'll learn to adjust to it. We'll keep going, like we've always done."

You appreciated his calm, even though you knew it didn't reach his core. Any uplifting thought was welcome these days, in the heat of the war raging on around you. So many of your students hadn't returned to Hogwarts this year, and you couldn't say you blamed them.

"Simply look around, Kingsley," you muttered spitefully, voicing your thoughts. "Half the student body is at home or on the run or Merlin knows where. I promised Albus—" You shut your eyes for a second, trying to stay calm and collected. "I promised him I would keep the school and everyone in it safe. Look what's happened now. There are Death Eaters teaching my students, Kingsley. I should never have let this happen in the first place, how am I supposed to put a stop to it now?"

"Minerva," he murmured, taking your shoulders in his hands gently, looking into your eyes. "Listen to me. There was nothing you could have done to prevent this. You're still with them, they need someone as strong as you to keep them safe. You're their last hope. You and Pomona and Filius, Poppy, every other staff member dedicated to keeping the students safe. And you will keep them safe, I am certain." Coming from anyone else, you know you hardly would've believed him, but Kingsley's voice was deep and rich, one that you couldn't help but trust. And you did.

You weren't quite convinced, however. You thought about how people who had worked their way into your ranks as teachers and protectors of the students were the people who were harming them in what used to be one of the safest places in the world.

"It just seems as though the only thing that shows our humanity is our crimes. You've seen the kind of things they do. These are children we're dealing with here. I don't even know who I can trust at this point, the world's turned on its head."

"One thing's for certain, Minerva. There are always people you can trust. You can trust me."