𝐔𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥

We did it

Before it had even properly started, Severus' day had taken an awful turn.

Minerva's only, loud bang on his door at 6 a.m. had been dreadful, although expected; and the violence with which she had burst into his study uninvited would have been unexpected for those who didn't know her well. However, Severus did know her nature well enough to anticipate it. He had been observing her for a while now, wondering when it would happen: as stoic as Minerva was, she had little patience for what she regarded as foolishness. Her ostensible tolerance had caught his attention from the beginning, and as the days had gone by, her attitude had become more and more transparent, frustratingly so. She was an educated woman who carried herself with resolution; her actions were usually well calculated and, for this reason, Severus understood fairly well what her silence was concealing.

They both knew that, as the Headmistress, she was perfectly capable of stopping the project and of casting a satisfying Barrier herself; however, she was willingly refraining from doing so. There was no need to. Minerva had played her cards well: formally, she had taken a firm stand of disapproval; however, on the practical front, she hadn't actively followed up on it leaving the final, formal decision to Blanche and him. That way, she could have both the moral high ground in case of failure, and the credit in case of success; her hands would be clean either way. In this scheme, Minerva had successfully set a double set of safety nets: the first was Severus, who'd assure a higher chance of success; the second was Blanche, who'd possibly take the fall.

He couldn't help but feel used. Minerva seemed to be the worthy heir of Albus, in that regard; the only difference was that she cared enough to give him the possibility of shifting the responsibility of failure onto Blanche. To him, her motives had been obvious from the moment Minerva had brought her into the equation. Blanche seemed to be oblivious to them, and Severus couldn't blame her: Minerva's caring, motherly charm was reassuringly captivating. Of course, she was worried for the school's safety; however, there was much more to her than that most superficial layer, as she was an educated, wise woman who knew well how to protect herself and her image. However, he knew that Minerva's game had eluded her control the moment he had put his own safety on the line. For these reasons, her ambiguity alarmed Severus way more than her remarks.

Minerva hadn't even attempted to be discreet, as she knew he was intelligent enough to read through her course of action; however, even if she hadn't tried to be deceitful, she had done him dirty: he was once again in the position of doing someone else's dirty work, and formally by choice. Severus had been left with only two options: the first was to renounce, diverting the blame onto Blanche; the second was to proceed at Blanche's and his own risk, with uncertain developments ahead.

Bizarrely enough, Minerva and Severus had been dialoguing only on a surface level. He was playing a part he didn't enjoy in the slightest, and she was playing the part of the worried Headmistress; everything else, luring under the surface of their relationship, had been left unspoken.

"Severus, explain yourself this instant."

From then on, it had only gotten worse. After arguing for a good hour, they had agreed to keep the discussion behind closed doors; however, by the time they had arrived at the Great Hall's entrance for breakfast, they had already resumed their fight. Minerva had just managed to calm down when the sight of Blanche's blatantly exhausted state had upset her again.

The woman looked like she hadn't slept a single hour in her life, let alone the night before. She sat slumped on the teacher's table, looking into the void with a vacuous stare that betrayed an unsettling level of fatigue; her black turtleneck emphasized her paleness, and her usually straight braid was crooked. Overall, her look was all but put together: she looked right on the verge of going off the deep end, and Severus hadn't managed to convince Minerva of her right state of mind. At that point, she had physically dragged him away.