Always For You. [Snape Romance] [Harry Potter]

Arc 1: Chapter 11: A Sweet Dream

I swallowed hard, my throat feeling dry, at the student I left for last.

"And finally, Lionel MacKenna. I owe you an apology. You taught me to take accountability for my actions and not hide behind the morals of others. For so long, I pushed away my responsibilities and emotions and decided it was merely part of my duty. I was wrong. I had the power to change so many things and I refused to accept that. Lionel, and to your father Damien, I offer you my sincerest regret. Though I cannot undo the role I played, I swear to you that it shall never happen again under my watch."

I hadn't noticed when it started, but tears flowed down my cheeks. The rain partly masked them but those in the closest rows could see them clearly. 

"To these five, I owe them everything. I am so sorry that I couldn't save you in time. I hope that one day you can find it to forgive me. Your memories will live on forever... Thank you." I finished and returned to my seat. Snape gently placed his hand on mine as comfort as we listened to Dumbledore begin to dismiss everyone...

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Once everyone had dispersed, Snape and I agreed to take a walk through the school grounds. At some point, we wound up on the hill overlooking Hagrid's hut. One had a great view of much of the boundary of the forest and the Quidditch pitch. Together we stood simply looking over the horizon in silence until Snape began to speak.

"You did well today." he said with his typical monotonous tone.

"I'm glad. To be honest, I was worried it was going to be horrendous. Maybe I'd choke on my words, say something offensive or pass out completely." I replied with an awkward laugh.

"You didn't have to speak."

"I know but... it felt like the right thing to do. Sad as it is, I probably knew the ins and outs of those kids more than anyone. Especially for Christina and Jessica... I don't think anyone would have said anything about them otherwise. I owed it to all five of them to perform the eulogy." 

Snape nodded in contemplation. It was good to know that I was at least making some sense.

"Everything's going to be changing now, huh..." I began. "I'm kind of nervous to finally be doing what I want. I never thought I'd be free from my father and the Ministry." 

"Did the Ministry say anything when you resigned?" Snape asked somewhat alarmed. 

"I had to do it through the Minister which was the worst part of it all. I was meant to be the next minister so now Fudge's successor is all up in the air. And then not to mention that I was doing half of his work so now his desk is overflowing. He probably delegated it to Umbridge, knowing him! She deserves it." The scars embedded into my hands hurt remembering her. "Fudge was furious. In a weird way, it almost sounded like he was begging me to come back but I refused. I'm done being tied down to him." That last sentence came out a little louder than I wanted it to but I felt proud enough to want to shout it from the hill for all to hear. 

"For what it is worth, Hogwarts is better with you here." he stated but his face refused to give away the intent of his words. 

I chuckled, "You think? I can say for sure my life is better being here." 

An idea popped into my mind.

"Now that we have some downtime, I always wanted to go see Hogsmeade. I thought about going during the main trip but... you know how it was." My entrapment. Thanks, Umbridge. 

"We may go tomorrow if you wish." 

"I'd love to."

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