Harry Potter gets smart and takes control - The Goblet

Chapter 84 What Happened with Minerva

Some notes and translations at the bottom.So this has taken me a good few weeks to nut out!

"Come, Minerva, we're going to have tea. You've been working entirely too hard," Filius said breezing into her office with a more sedate Severus gliding behind him.

She looked up startled, "but-"

"No buts," said Severus sternly.

"You need a break from work and all the students", Filius informed her..

"But it's a Hogsmeade weekend, There is no break in going to the pub there!" Minerva protested, letting her colleagues heard her out the door.

"Ah my dear cat, we are not going to the Three Broomsticks", Filius said

"We better not be going to the Hogshead!" she cut in, "I like Aberforth, but the place is a foul!"

Severus snorted, and Filius said, "no, we're going to another place I know. We just going to the Three Broomsticks to use their fireplace," He said taking her by the arm and leading her out of the school.

He kept up a steady stream of staff gossip so that it did not even occur to her to question why they were using a public fireplace and not the staff fireplace in her office.

It was masterfully done, Severus thought as he followed them, occasionally adding in a snarky comment. His colleague really could have been a Slytherin, even if he had been a little slow on the uptake in regards to his Ravenclaws. But then, goblin children were raised rather differently to human ones Severus thought, so the mistakes of giving human children too much independence was understandable.

Of course, the real reason they were leaving school was to take Minerva to Gringotts, and they didn't want the destination to be recorded in the school floo logs. But she didn't need to know that, he thought with a smirk as they entered the pub and Filius led Minerva to the floo.

Severus was momentarily stunned when Bill Weasley waved at him in friendly greeting from a table by the floo. It had been so long since he'd had a friend, or anyone other than a colleague that didn't mind being seen with him in public, that he was momentarily dumfounded. He stared for a moment, and the smile on Bill's face seemed to falter a little. Which seemed to knock Severus out of his surprised stupor. He quickly nodded his head at the man, and couldn't suppress a slight smile as warmth filled his chest. It was nice having a friend again.

It was such an odd feeling having people that liked him.

*

Minerva was not happy when she followed Flitwick through the floo only to land in Gringotts, in Filius's cousin Ripsharp's office, instead of a pub or tea shop like she'd expected. She was not at all impressed.

"What are we doin' here?" she asked her Scots brogue coming out in her irritation, "do you know how much paperwork I still have waiting for me? I've been cleaning up the mess Potter made with that bloody article!"

"You need a check-up, my dear, and my cousin was kind enough to offer to do it for you," Filius started.

But the woman only seemed more confused and irritated, "I am in perfect health! We have our own mediwitch! Why on earth would we need to come all the way out here, and pester your cousin?"

"We suspect someone has been compelling you, as Severus has been," Filius said reasonably trying to calm the increasingly irate woman. Flitwick's cousin just sat back and watched the byplay with a harshly amused smirk.

Minerva glowered at her colleagues, "Yer aff yer heid!" Her accent coming out again in her irritation.

"Then you won't mind consenting to a check, it won't take a minute." Severus cut in smoothly, "then you can go back to school and keep overworking yourself putting out fires Dumbledore has started with this whole mess of a tournament."