𝔖𝔫𝔞𝔭𝔢'𝔰 ℜ𝔢𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔫 (ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔱𝔢, 18+)

๑۞ ℭ𝔞𝔫'𝔱 𝔄𝔩𝔴𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔊𝔢𝔱 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔚𝔞𝔫𝔱 ۞๑

     The longtime member of the Order of the Phoenix and Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, firmly shook my hand before waving me towards a chair, "Snape, please come in."

     "Minister," I greeted him. He was always so lively that no one would notice the tired look in his eyes unless they knew him, and I wondered how bad the situation with the Death Eaters had become.

     "I heard you'd been away for some additional treatment. How are you feeling?"

     "Better."

     Dark-brown eyes ran over me, "What can I do for you?"

     I lifted several newspapers from various publishers I'd brought with me, "I keep seeing the headlines."

     He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, conveying his exhaustion over the situation, "It's not looking too good in Scotland."

     "If that was the only location it wouldn't be quite as bad. Have you seen the mysterious attacks being mentioned in the muggle newspapers from Russia, Europe, and even Africa?" I tossed the stack of papers onto the desk for him to look at. "The fact that the Dark Lord's followers are causing trouble after his defeat comes as no surprise, but this..." I nodded at the stack. "Not good."

     He seemed to be debating over something before leaning back in his chair, "I have people working around the clock trying to clean up after Voldemort's loyalists, but my hands are full, and I've no more tricks to pull from my hat."

     I nodded, "I'm sure you've been overwhelmed, and I'm not here to chastise you, in fact, I'm here to offer my assistance."

     Shacklebolt looked as if someone had lifted a three-ton boulder off his shoulders while giving me a pearly-white smile. "Thank you, Severus. I'll make sure you're compensated, and you can work whatever case you wish to."

     "There is one thing I'm concerned over, and I believe that if I were to be involved, it might cause some additional trouble."

     "What is it?"

     "I worry that because I wasn't killed by Nagini, many uneducated people will come to the conclusion that it was the reason Potter was able to defeat Voldemort. This makes Hermione Granger a very likely target for the Death Eaters."

     "Has anyone made a threat?" Concern etched his face.

     "Not as far as I know, but I've been out of contact with her for some time now." I wasn't going to tell him that I wanted to owl her but wasn't sure if I should interrupt her studies now that she was back finishing up at Hogwarts. On top of that, she was dating Weasley and even though every fiber of my being felt like it would combust at the idea of him touching her, I needed to behave rationally and respect their relationship.

     Unfortunately, every time I thought about or was reminded of Hermione, I'd feel small daggers scathingly slice and twist around in my chest, knowing I'd never get to kiss her and be able to remember all of it. The taunting image of pulling her mouth to mine was driving me insane because I could only remember that little flash and the taste of strawberries, not how soft her lips were or if her face felt as smooth as it looked.

     On top of that frustration, the images of Bellatrix torturing her, and the emotional exchange of that whole experience was discombobulating, to say the least. To this day, I still couldn't figure out where my emotions had stopped, and hers began.

     Shacklebolt appeared to be reading my mind before nodding and digging into his desk and pulling out a photo. "I'd thought the same thing as soon as Miss. Granger informed me that she'd saved you, and when she told me she was your legal representation, I had them located." He handed me the photograph.