A/N: Thank you, thank you for all you amazing readers who continue to read and review! I am so thankful to hear from you all with the craziness of the world right now. I have to say, as the series goes on, it's getting harder and harder to not write things from Severus and Minerva's points of view. Because this was originally a one-shot and has turned into this giant thing, I never realized how hard it was going to be to tell their story from only other people's points of view. I hope it's not getting too repetitive with points of views (I'm trying to throw in some random ones like Dobby, Sybil, etc.), but our solid Pomona, Poppy, Filius, Rolanda team make so much more sense in telling the story. Let me know your thoughts and who's points of view you want to see more of

"Wow, you went all out, Min," Rolanda commented, looking around at the perfectly decorated staff room. A banner that read "Thank you, Poppy and Pomona!" was plastered over the fireplace, along with streamers and balloons. The house elves had prepared a bunch of light snacks as well as an assortment of drinks, which Rolanda was more than thankful for. With a glass of wine in her hand, she took a seat next to Minerva.

Minerva smiled, looking pleased with herself. "I do hope they enjoy themselves," she replied, looking around the room. Rolanda noticed that she looked tired; as much as the party Minerva had put together was to acknowledge the amazing work Poppy and Pomona had done to keep the students safe, it should have also been for Minerva. "I'm so glad Poppy's nieces could come," Minerva said, pointing to the two witches in the corner of the staff room. "I wish Pomona's brother was still alive."

"It's a shame what happened to him," Rolanda agreed. "So much like what happened with Robert."

Her friend's eyes became glossy with tears for a moment; Rolanda knew she still ached for her brother who had died years before. "I know the feeling; we're the only family she has now. I'm thankful for Malcom and my father."

"I know, dear," Rolanda replied, squeezing her hand. "Look, even Sybil came down from her tower for this," she whispered with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

Rolling her eyes, Minerva took a sip of her own wine. "I couldn't not include the whole staff. Bets on Irma showing up?"

"Oh, absolutely not!"

"She knows Filius will be here, she might."

"I think he's the only person she'll talk to," Rolanda commented. It was true- none of them really knew much about the librarian. She was so anti-social, she made Severus look warm and fuzzy. "Where's Severus?" she asked.

Minerva shifted in her seat. "I don't know."

"Filius said you two had it out pretty bad last week."

"There was a lot going on," she replied, pressing her lips together.

"Are you okay?"

For the first time since she'd brought up Severus, Minerva looked at her. "I really just want to enjoy this surprise for the two of them. Whatever issues Severus and I have going on can be resolved later."

"I asked if you were okay," Rolanda repeated.

The door to the staff room began to jiggle, and Minerva sprang to her feet. "Everybody gather together!" Minerva called, motioning people to the center of the room.

When the door opened, room erupted into applause for the two women who both broke into tired smiles, tears immediately leaking from both sets of eyes. Pomona ran to Minerva and hugged her while Poppy looked like she was going to fall over when she noticed her two nieces in the corner. As everyone began to chatter, and Minerva continued to play hostess, Rolanda watched, shaking her head. "You get anything out of her?" came a voice from behind her.

Filius stood there, holding out a filled glass of wine. Thanking him, Rolanda took it and rolled her eyes. "Nothing. She won't talk. When I finally brought it up, Pomona and Poppy walked in."

Pomona came running to them, grabbing them both into a hug. "Thank you for all of this! It was such a nice surprise!"

"It was all Minerva," Rolanda said. "She was really excited about it."

"You did well this year, Pomona," Filius said, kissing her hand. "We are all so thankful for you. Enjoy the party."

"By the end of tonight, you better be so drunk that I'm dragging you back to your rooms later," Rolanda laughed, jabbing her in the ribs. "We know Poppy isn't any fun, so you better do enough damage for the two of you."

"Maybe we can loosen her up tonight," Pomona replied. "She's been just as stressed as I've been- she could use it."

"Any plans for the summer?" Filius asked.

Pomona shook her head. "I think I may stay around the castle this year- I could use the peace and quiet and the time to put the Greenhouse back together."

"I'm sure your rooms have basically been relocated there," Rolanda joked.

"More than I care to admit!"

The party continued on for a few hours which passed quickly as the house elves continued to replenish the food and drinks. A few hours into the party, the door to the staff room opened again. The room fell silent as the Headmaster sheepishly walked into the room with Severus trailing behind him. The light-hearted room was suddenly filled with tension, some relieved to see Albus, some angry at the way he had allowed the board to remove him, and others too exhausted to know what to think. Rolanda fell somewhere between all of the emotions that she knew were running through the room.

Eyes began to wander back and forth between Albus and Minerva, the woman who had taken his place upon his departure. Minerva's stress levels had been more apparent than Rolanda knew she would have liked them to be. Her frustrations with Albus, though never vocalized, were apparent. Everyone on staff had noticed the toll his absence had taken on her. Glamour charms only went so far. Whenever anyone had asked Minerva about needing anything, her response in the last few weeks had been, "He made it apparent that this was a possibility," completely avoiding speaking in his defense or against him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt what I see is a very enjoyable evening," he said, clasping his hands together. "But, I wanted to let everyone know that my suspension has been lifted." Minerva still said nothing, her eyes glued to him. "I think it goes without saying how thankful we are for Pomona and Poppy's hard work throughout the year. From the moment the first student was petrified months ago, the two of them have been working around the clock to not care for and find the cure for our students. I couldn't ask for a better pair to take care of our students." Pomona and Poppy were both crying and threw thanks to him from across the room. Albus stepped further into the room, towards Minerva and put a hand on her shoulder. "But there is someone else I would also like to acknowledge, who will never acknowledge herself in all this." Minerva was biting her lip; Rolanda knew how much she hated attention. "Minerva- thank you for taking my place in such a troubling time for our school. I know my suspension left you no other choice, but I know the school and our students were in good hands with you here. I think this party for our Mediwitch and Herbology professor speak to how well you take care of our staff as well. I don't acknowledge you enough, but I want to propose a toast to Pomona, Poppy, and Minerva for a successful year!"

Filius ran a glass of wine to Albus and Severus so that they could do a toast. "To Pomona!" Albus shouted. Everyone repeated. "To Poppy!" Everyone repeated once more. "To Minerva!" The entire room cheered and finished off their glasses. Tears were running down Minerva's face, and she allowed Albus to draw her into a hug. When Albus pulled away and began making his rounds throughout the room, Filius backed up towards Rolanda as Severus and Minerva made eye contact.

Pomona had joined them, all three watching the pair closely from across the room. None of them had to speak to know what the others were thinking: I hope that they make up. Severus was the first to move, walking slowly towards her. Though they couldn't hear what he said over the hum of everyone talking around them, it looked like he said Thank you. The Potion's master's hands made their way up her arms, cupping her cheeks. Out of character as it was, Severus drew Minerva into a kiss, right in the middle of the room. Some people were too caught up in conversation to notice, but others saw them and blushed, turning awkwardly away.

From beside her, Pomona grabbed her hand. "Damn, Severus," Rolanda whispered. "Going right for it."

The two kissed for a few moments, Minerva breaking it and leaning her forehead against his. Rolanda could see a smile on her face, tears still running down her cheeks. It was so unlike them to show such an intense public display of affection, but it was sweet. The room was crowded enough that people had easily lost interest in them. "I suppose they've made up," Filius laughed, patting both Rolanda and Pomona on the back.

"If Minerva keeps drinking, I bet we could get more than that out of them," Rolanda muttered. Pomona slapped her arm. Rolanda shrugged. "I saw them shagging before the staff party at the end of last year; the end of year seems to get them going."

"I'm glad that they're happy," Filius added, changing the subject. Rolanda looked down at him. "The last two years have seemed especially hard on them."

"Maybe next year will be better," Pomona said, finishing off her glass of wine.

A/N: AHH but next year is going to hard because Sirius and Lupin, oh my! Two authors notes- I'm getting really conversation starved with this pandemic! Always enjoy hearing from everyone- wishing you all to be healthy and happy!