𝐔𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥

Fuck you, Snape

When Blanche arrived in Minerva's office, neither Snape nor the students were there yet.

She greeted Minerva, who was seated at her desk; she looked tired, but she smiled in Blanche's direction. "Welcome, dear. We have some serious matter to discuss later."

Blanche felt a lump in her throat, but she nodded as tried to hide her uneasiness.

Does she know about Lorraine?

A shiver ran down her back. Minerva was about to say something else, but the door opened; Knight and Clover entered the room, quickly followed by Snape. "Sit.", he said to the two, who immediately obliged. Blanche remained silent, standing a couple of feet away from the desk; Snape took his place at the other end of the desk. She glanced at him briefly, just to see an utterly annoyed expression on his face.

The students were visibly upset. Before anyone could speak, Clover blurted out: "I'm sorry."

After a couple of seconds, Snape's voice replied: "Apologies are useless without sincere... regret."

Blanche didn't react, but she recognized the words in his mouth. Was he mocking her again?

He looked absolutely serious. Minerva let out a sigh, crossing her arms. There wasn't anything else to say; could they even comprehend the gravity of what they had done? To be honest, the situation was so futile that it bordered on ridiculous, but something had to be done.

"What was that potion for, anyways?" Blanche asked, maintaining a severe tone. She was beginning to feel quite annoyed, and she was frankly preoccupied with Minerva's affirmation from before.

Clover frowned and didn't reply. Knight looked down at her feet.

"Well, that's not relevant, is it?" said Minerva, looking older than ever. "It absolutely is. As I've already extensively explained, the reckless use of Amortentia is highly... unethical," said Snape, looking at Clover dead in the eye. Clover wasn't looking particularly remorseful; if anything, he was annoyed. Knight remained silent.

"Not as unethical as threatening the students with legilimens, professor." Clover finally said, pouting.

Minerva frowned, surprised. "Excuse me?" She said, shocked. Clover pointed at Blanche, and said with an accusatory tone: "She did."

Blanche crossed her arms. "I'm not interested in reading your idiotic ideas, Clover, and the same goes for your classmates."

She knew that she had crossed a line, that time. She felt uneasy, feeling Minerva and Snape's eyes on her; she didn't look at them and tried to remain as calm as possible.

Clover shrugged, pouting, and he crossed his arms. Minerva cleared her voice, apparently ignoring Clover's objection. After giving them a brief lecture, she dismissed them; neither of them seemed particularly happy with the outcome of the meeting, but that was the least of Blanche's concerns.

Fuck.

She could tell that Snape was quite amused. "Legilimens? Didn't you think that it's... inappropriate to intrude on someone else's thoughts?" he asked in a flat tone. His mocking was really getting on Blanche's nerves.

"Severus." Minerva was all but entertained, as she stopped Snape from humiliating Blanche further. She buried her head in her hands, letting out another sigh. After a brief pause, she firmly said: "I've been way too tolerant. I trust you both not to repeat such a tremendous mistake."

Snape was about to add something, but Minerva cut him off: "I said both of you. Don't make me repeat myself, Severus."

He pursed his lips, and Blanche was satisfied with his frustration.

"What serious matters need to be brought to our attention, Minerva?" she asked. She was feeling more anxious with each passing minute.

McGonagall leaned back in her chair, taking her glasses off to rub the bridge of her nose. She looked genuinely worried.

"We've had visitors."

Oh, Merlin.

"I can't exclude that we have unwanted guests among us. Considering your expertise, I need you both to pay very close attention and to work on a more efficient protection field. We can't risk our students' well-being again, and I expect you to cooperate." Minerva said. It wasn't a request, it was an order. Feeling both relieved and anxious, Blanche nodded. Snape was looking even more rigid than usual, but he also gave the smallest nod.

"You're excused. Goodnight."

Minerva put an end to the conversation and dismissed them.

They exited and were, again, alone, face to face. "Stop trying to make a fool out of me, Snape." She spat. She was feeling a lot of mixed emotions: relief, anger, guilt, frustration; but also nervousness, and a knot to her stomach, for some reason.

"Stop making it so easy, then." He murmured through gritted teeth. He gave the smallest bow, disappearing into the darkness.

She had no intention of following him; instead, she sent a loud thought in his direction.

Fuck you, Snape.

Cooperate? With him? Impossible.