Typical Disclaimers Apply
--
"This doesn't look too—ah!" Bellatrix apparated behind Esme and grabbed her by her hair. "Didn't I kill you?" Esme gasped as Bella wound her closer.
"You'd think so, but no. You have failed to end my life. Loser." She released Esme's hair and wrapped her hands around her neck, drawing their bodies close. She whispered, "Now, I shall do to you what you failed to do to me."
"Not today, Bella!" Sirius jumped out from somewhere and yelled, "Stupefy!" Esme, temporarily freed, leapt under a table. Coincidentally, her mother was also hiding there.
"Hi Mum." Esme said, brushing bits of grass out of her hair.
"Hello dear. Not fighting?"
"No. Don't you think it would be wiser for everyone to just disapparate to somewhere random and, over a period of several months, slowly come back together?"
"And leave them to ruin my clean house? Absolutely not! Now you get out there and defend the homestead." She gently pushed her (wandless) daughter back into the battle. She got back up on her feat, dusted off her skirt, adjusted her bra, and yelled.
"Hey people! Harry's not here. He and his little friends disapparated like ten minutes ago. Mad-Eye's dead, so you shouldn't bother looking for him. Oh, and if you come any closer to me or any of my other siblings, you'll be brutally murdered by a clan of redheads plus my husband. So, just, go away!"
The Death Eaters, who all seemed to be straight out of Hogwarts and used to obeying Esme, sort of shrunk back. Bella, probably the only one over twenty, was about to be stabbed by Sirius, and she disapparated without another thought. Slowly, they all began to follow suit, some even apologizing before they left. Sirius walked over to Esme.
"That was easy."
"He knew Harry wouldn't be here," Esme said darkly. "He just wanted to show his power. Although, his power does seem to be comprised of idiotic eighteen-year-olds running amok with Bellatrix as their babysitter." Sirius stared at her. "Well he's proved his army's quite large!"
"It doesn't matter their size, it matters their strength. If his whole army's full of nitwits like those, we have nothing to be worried about."
--
But, as it turned out, they did have something to be worried about. Every day, new articles appeared in the Daily Prophet: muggle-borns were being taken in for questioning, Harry was wanted for questioning about Dumbledore's death, false biographies were being written about Dumbledore. They hadn't heard from Remus and Tonks or Harry, Ron, and Hermione since the party. Bill and Fleur had left almost immediately. Charlie had gone back to Romania. The twins had been sent a letter telling them to close up their joke shop or it would be "closed up for them." Molly was even thinking of leaving The Burrow and spreading the family out over the island so they wouldn't be such an easy target. Suddenly losing the house wasn't such a problem.
Every day Arthur would come home with more news from the Ministry. Supposedly "vast changes" would be made under the new Minister. Of course, Arthur laughed when he said that, stating that what they meant by "vast changes" was really "mass genocide." When he mentioned he that their golden fountain was going to be demolished to make room for a chair made from the bodies of muggles, Molly had been reduced to tears and everyone else looked mad enough to kill. Molly had taken out her anger and sadness on Sirius and Esme, by cutting their hair to "respectable" lengths.
However, the worst news, for Sirius and Esme that is, came on a warm Friday only five days after the wedding and the attack. Esme had nearly screamed when she woke up to tapping on her window, but was relieved to see that it was only an owl. "Sirius. Sirius, wake up!" She hissed, shaking her sleeping husband.
"Nnngh. Wha' is it?"
"It's an owl! It looks like it's got a letter!" She opened the window, allowing the tawny owl in. "You know, in mythology owls were always thought to bring good news and sunlight." Sirius pulled a pillow over his face.
"No, they…oh, whatever. Who's the letter from?"
"Hogwarts," she whispered, opening it up. She began to read.
"Dear Valued Hogwarts Professor,
Due to Professor Dumbledore's untimely demise, Hogwarts is now under new leadership. With new leadership comes new rules and regulations for both students and professors. Unless it is your desire not to return to your post, you shall attend a seminar on these new rules and regulations, and also on the expectations of your new headmaster. A train will be leaving from Platform 9 ¾ on Sunday, August 7th. If you do not attend this mandatory seminar you will face repercussions from the new headmaster.
Sincerely,
Headmaster, S.T. Snape
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
When she finished reading this, Esme actually did scream. She screamed quite loudly. Loudly enough, in fact, to cause her parents, Fred, and George, to dash into the room, wands drawn.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Arthur gasped, looking about the room. "There's no one in here, is there?"
"No, it's worse than that!" Esme cried. She couldn't believe it. It was simply impossible. What idiot would give this man power?
"What is it then?" Molly wheezed, still clutching her chest.
"The new headmaster! It's-it's…"
"Who?" The twins said in unison.
"Him," she said in a small voice.
--
"They're coming today," Snape said to the floor. He stood apprehensively in front of Dumbledore's picture. "I don't know what to do, sir. She hates me. I know she does. If you'd seen her eyes that night…." He shuddered.
"Severus," he said in a calming voice, "Esme was a dear friend of yours. She's known you since she was a child, and she had a deep trust in you." He smiled, "And you completely betrayed that trust. She has every right to hate you."
"I betrayed her trust on your orders! Can't you just tell me what to say to her?"
"She has every right to hate you," he continued, "but I doubt that she actually does." His blue eyes did that annoying twinkling thing where he seemed to stare right through you into your soul.
"What?"
"I've known Esme since she was a very young child, and though she is the granddaughter of a very evil man, and was raised by two very hateful people, she doesn't have a hateful bone in her body, and her heart is filled only with love."
Meanwhile, on the train…
"I hate that man so much!" Esme screamed, practically tearing at her hair. As of late any mention of the school, Dumbledore, or worst of all, Snape; drove her to near insanity. "Dumbledore had so much trust in him, and he just betrayed him! It's like a fucking Shakespeare play, except it's not going to end all 'happily ever after'!"
"You know, Esme, as much as I love hearing you rant, couldn't you find a way to make this work?" Sirius asked.
"No!" she shrieked. "Absolutely not! Wait, what do you mean?"
"Well, you and Snape were close friends, and I'm sure he still likes you—"
"I don't like him."
"Yes, I know that. But he likes you, which means he's less likely to fire us or have us killed. In fact, if you were to show some kindness toward him, he might actually start treating the students fairly."
She looked at her husband long and hard before growling, "There is no fucking way I am ever going to interact with that man in a positive way. No fucking way."
Meanwhile, back in Snape's office….
"But what about my relationship with her?"
"There is no relationship!" A grey-haired witch to his left snapped. "She's married! And quite happily, I might add. There's no way she'd leave her husband for someone she doesn't even trust!"
"Oh, nonsense Harriet," laughed an old man down on Snape's right. "Women are always wanting more! You can't tire them out!"
"Don't make me come over there, Paul!" The witch, Harriet, growled menacingly.
"Why not? I wouldn't mind," the wizard, evidently called Paul, said lecherously.
Snape turned back to Dumbledore, who met his worried eyes with a twinkling smile. "I've got to lay off the Firewhiskey, sir."
And, back on the bus…
"Let's all show up to the meeting drunk!" Esme yelled, popping open a bottle of Firewhiskey.
--
Snape: Finally, I'm back.
Sirius: You were in the last chapter.