Another chapter as promised :) Would love to know your thoughts!

Also, when I was researching what happens in 1997 wiki said that Snape turns 37 years old in January! I don't know why but I thought he was older than that (maybe because of Alan Rickman playing Snape). Still... Snape is actually so much younger than I thought.

6 January 1997

Minerva pursed her lips at the pile of ash on her carpet as the last student finally scrambled out of the grate and then left her office. Pomona, who had joined her 15 minutes ago, followed her gaze.

"You should have seen my carpet," Pomona said. "It was as though all of my Hufflepuffs had decided to lather their shoes with as much mud as possible, only to dispose of it on my cream carpet later."

The corner of Minerva's mouth twitched upwards at this comment. "What a treat."

"I had to tell them to stop and clean their shoes before they left my office. Filch would have had a fit otherwise," Pomona replied. She took her wand out of her pocket and raised her eyebrows at her friend.

"Be my guest," Minerva said, nodding at the soot smeared carpet.

Pomona flicked her wand and the black and grey carpet returned to its original red. "Busy this evening?" she asked.

"Mm," Minerva said thoughtfully, pursing her lips and nodding gently. "A few letters need answering," she said vaguely, "and I must speak to Albus, now that I think about it."

Indeed, Minerva had spoken to Remus at the last Order meeting and he had shared some troubling news with her. She was not entirely sure if Albus was aware yet, but she thought he ought to be informed just in case. Also, she had spoken to Katie Bell's mother earlier that day only to discover that Katie would not be returning to Hogwarts any time soon.

The cursed necklace had weakened her body to a much greater extent than they had previously thought. Minerva needed to discuss with Albus the proper course of action now and what options Katie had - would she continue her seventh year, or would she put her studies on pause for the rest of the year and then try again in September. Minerva suspected she would also have to pay the Gryffindor a visit to see what Katie wanted to do, or whether she was in any fit state to continue her academics even if she wanted to.

Again, Minerva felt another surge of anger towards whoever had purchased the necklace in the first place.

Pomona nodded understandingly - she had always been able to read Minerva well. "How is Katie?" she asked.

"Not at all well, according to her mother," Minerva said. "But due to make a full recovery," she added quickly, noticing Pomona's expression. "It just may take longer than we hoped."

"I see," Pomona said, sighing sadly.

"It is getting late," Minerva said, changing the conversation topic.

Pomona looked up at the little clock on Minerva's desk. "So it is," she said, patting her knees and then standing up. "My poor husband will have been waiting for his tea for hours."

"I thought he was the one who cooked?" Minerva said, causing Pomona to smile.

"Yes, but he always waits for me to get back so that we can eat together."

Minerva smiled slightly. "Finn was like that too. Even if I returned at the most unsociable of hours." She then stood up too and packed away her belongings with a graceful swish of her wand. "Have a nice evening, dear. Do send my best to Albert."

Pomona smiled and came to give her friend a hug, before then hurrying out of the office. Minerva soon followed, though instead of making a right turn, she turned left and walked to Albus' office. It took her less than 5 minutes.

"Albus, are you in?" she asked, poking her head around the office door to find the room empty.

She waited a moment until she heard some creaking and then Albus appeared at the top of the staircase at the back of the room.

"I am, indeed," he replied, coming down to meet her. "How are you, my dear?"

"Perfectly well, Albus, thank you. I am in fine fettle," she added, causing Albus to smile slightly - though Minerva did not quite catch the look. She came to sit opposite him. "And yourself?"

"Very well, my dear, if a little on the tired side." Minerva frowned at these words, but Albus appeared calm and oddly contented. He did not allow her much time to question him any more either. "But I suspect you did not come solely for a chat?"

"Well, I do have a few matters to discuss with you," she admitted. "But we can certainly chat, as you said, afterwards."

Albus smiled slightly again, a small twinkle in his eyes as he watched his Deputy cross her legs and place her hands delicately on top of her knee. "Go on," he prompted.

"Well, I have recently received news that Katie Bell woke up at St Mungo's yesterday evening," Minerva informed him. "Still unwell but less so than before. She will make a full recovery."

"I am glad."

Minerva nodded. "The Healers still believe that it will take several months before she can return to school. That leaves us to decide what should happen about her education," Minerva added. She hesitated slightly before continuing, "It might be that Katie will need to retake the year."

"It is possible," agreed Albus thoughtfully. "I think it best if we discuss it with the family. Mr Bell—"

"Is still quite ill at the moment," Minerva cut in. Indeed, Katie's father had been battling an ongoing muggle illness for the past year and a half. It seemed unfair that his condition was only just alleviating when his daughter ended up in a life-threatening position in hospital. "I will write to Katie's mother and arrange for a meeting perhaps sometime next week."

Albus nodded to show his approval. "Thank you, my dear."

Minerva did not say anything as she quickly scribbled down a note to herself in her diary which she had brought with her. Once she was done, she slipped her book back into her pocket.

"I believe there was something else you wanted to discuss?" Albus asked.

"Yes," Minerva agreed, feeling a little apprehensive. "Rather a delicate matter I must warn you," she added cautiously.

Albus frowned slightly but bowed his head for her to proceed.

"I spoke with Remus and Arthur Weasley when I was at the Burrow visiting Molly last week," she began, "and they happened to tell me some quite peculiar news concerning Draco Malfoy..."

Albus raised his eyebrows.

"and Severus."

This time Albus' expression darkened. "Minerva," he started, though stopped himself when Minerva held up her hands - palms facing forwards.

"Before you jump down my throat, Albus, I am merely recounting what I was told. I thought it unusual so believed I should share the news with you. I am not accusing either Malfoy or Severus of doing anything untoward," she added.

Albus sighed, then tipped his head indicating that she could proceed.

"Arthur Weasley tells me Potter is under the impression that Mr Malfoy has replaced his father as a Death Eater."

Albus raised his eyebrows mildly. "A natural assumption," he murmured. "A son to follow in his father's shoes."

Minerva sighed. "Albus, Malfoy is 16-years-old—"

"There were students who joined Voldemort at a younger age, Minerva."

"I know that. I taught them, as did you," Minerva replied defensively. "But those students who went on to join He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were aggressive and violent throughout their time at Hogwarts. They were constantly getting into trouble and they made sure all knew about their views. I do not see the same signs with Malfoy. He has become subdued, he barely contributes in class anymore, I do not see him sitting with his friends and he hardly touches his food at mealtimes. Frankly, Albus, he appears scared and nervous - he jumps out of his skin at even the slightest of sounds."

"What are you trying to say, my dear?"

"I am saying that I am seriously concerned about the boy's welfare. Perhaps, God forbid, he has been branded," she conceded, "but I do not think he would have willingly wanted that. Arthur believes Potter thinks Malfoy has some ill-intent. Much as I understand why Potter would think that, I think it is more important to make sure that Malfoy is safe and that he feels safe. It is easy to prey on someone who does not feel that they are supported and believes that they have no options. We should have thought about this earlier, Albus, but a lot of our students whose parents were known Death Eaters will be vulnerable. Now, more than ever."

Albus pressed his fingers tips together and rest them against his lips for a while. "You are right, my dear," he said eventually. "As always. "

Minerva leaned back in her chair slightly, her eyebrows furrowed. "That does not help us very much now," she said pointedly.

Albus did not say anything for a moment and Minerva, in a sudden burst of exasperation and frustration, buried her head in her hands.

As a teacher, for so long Minerva had been the one with the solutions and the answers. Students came to her seeking help, Albus occasionally came to her for advice, and other professors spoke to her about school-related matters seeing as she was Deputy Headmistress. Minerva prided herself in being able to provide support to her students and offer helpful advice or practical solutions to her colleagues. Yet, recently she had found herself confronted by problems she did not know how to solve.

"This is a nightmare, Albus," she said eventually. "I do not know what to do."

She heard Albus get up from his chair, and come to sit opposite her. He reached out to hold her hands so that she was finally forced to look into his eyes.

"There is always a solution, my dear," he told her softly. "You will come up with something."

Minerva picked up instantly on his specific use of pronouns. "What about you?"

Albus hesitated for a fraction of a second, then shook his head. "I will speak to the Ministry regarding the next steps to support some of our more vulnerable students."

"I am glad," Minerva said. She caught his eye. "Thank you, Albus."

He shook his head. "I should be thanking you, my dear. I do not know what would have happened had we lost you to the Ministry all those years ago."

Minerva rolled her eyes, but a whisker of a smile crossed her thin lips. "You would have received fewer letters from Elphinstone, I should think," she said, and Albus smiled. What she said was true: Elphinstone had written many times to Dumbledore expressing his unabashed annoyance that Albus had lured Minerva from the Ministry to Hogwarts.

Minerva got up and tucked some stray hairs neatly back into her bun. She cleared her throat. "We have a busy day tomorrow," she said. "We had best get some rest."

Albus got up too and walked her to the door. Minerva paused before leaving.

"I hope you were not doing anything too dangerous while you were away," she said, trying very hard to keep herself from sounding accusatory — which she was being, mildly. "I would appreciate some forewarning next time before you leave."

Albus sighed. "I am sorry, Minerva. I did not expect to be gone for so long," he told her sincerely. He looked suddenly sad all over again. "I have not been fair to you."

"You are doing what you think is best, and that is nothing to apologise for," she said measuredly. "I can accept that you are speaking to others about your mysterious activities," she said, failing this time to hide her slight frustration, "but I would appreciate being kept up-to-date in future. Suffice is to say, if there is an emergency, I would not want to waste time hurrying to your office only to find that it is empty."

Albus nodded. "I understand, my dear," he said.

Minerva patted his arm and then leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. "Then I shall bid you goodnight. We can speak more tomorrow."

And it was only when Minerva had almost reached her quarters did she realise that she had never explained to Albus what it was she had heard about Severus. She knew the information would have frustrated him, seeing as Albus greatly believed in and trusted Snape. There was a time when Minerva would not have approached the man with a ten-foot pole. Even when he had started at Hogwarts, she had been wary of him. And yet, although they were not what you could describe as friends now, they were civil with one another and Minerva trust him more than she used to.

But the faint rumbles she had heard about his involvement with Death Eaters was not a fact she would soon forget. It had rattled her to learn what Arthur had heard from Granger, Weasley and Potter.