Second Place - Romance

Cornelius Fudge sat back in his large, comfortable chair in his opulent office in the Ministry building. The Dark Lord had been destroyed and he had managed to finally put that annoying Death Eater, Severus Snape into Azkaban prison. And the best part was that there was absolutely nothing that the fool Dumbledore could do to save his precious potions master. No, this time he, Cornelius Fudge, had bested the infuriating and meddling headmaster of Hogwarts.

Hearing his assistant nervously clear his throat, Fudge looked up at the man in irritation. "What is it, Wembly?"

"Uh, sorry sir, it's just that this came in and I thought that you would want to see it right away." With a trembling hand the assistant passed the official papers to the Minister of Magic.

Cornelius Fudge snorted as he took the papers from the younger man. His eyes widened as he quickly read through the parchment. Just to make sure, he read a second time and was disappointed to see that the wording hadn't changed. Standing quickly he started for the door to try to head off the impending rescue party.

Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin and Harry Snape-Potter walked purposefully through the halls of the Ministry of Magic. Just inside the door of Cornelius Fudge's office the three men met a very flustered Minister of Magic. "Ah, Cornelius, I am so glad to see you. We had come just with the intention of speaking with you. I believe that you should have already received the papers signifying the marriage of Harry Potter and Severus Snape? Yes? Well then, everything should be simple then. If you will kindly sign the release papers for our potions master and Harry's soul mate we will quickly be on our way."

"Now you just see here, Dumbledore. I do not see how this is legal. You cannot come barging into here and demand that we release a dangerous criminal on your word that this prisoner is the bond mate of Mr. Potter." Cornelius Fudge put on his best politician's smile and hoped for the best.

Albus smiled back and the bureaucrat inwardly cringed. Nothing good ever came from a smile such as that from the older wizard. "

Cornelius, you know as well as I do that the paper you received is a magical contract and as such cannot be forged. Young Harry is the soul mate to Severus Snape and has demanded his mate in marriage as is his right. As they are now bonded, Harry wishes for his mate to be released from custody." Albus looked meaningfully over to the flustered politician. "I trust there will be no problems, Cornelius. After all, I am sure that you do not want the public to think that you would keep Harry Potter's husband from him."

Cornelius Fudge was many things, but he never chose to be an outright fool. He was cornered and he knew it. The wizarding world was at Harry Potter's feet right now and the young man could have anything he wanted. And if that included one nasty, ill-tempered Death Eater, well, Cornelius supposed that he would just have to step aside and allow the man to go to his fate.

Putting on a hugely false smile, the politician put out his hand for Harry to shake. "Congratulations my boy. I cannot tell you how delighted I am to hear of your marriage. I was simply taken by surprise is all."

Unconvinced by the phony act, Harry reluctantly allowed his hand to be shaken by the oily bureaucrat. "There is something of a time issue, Minister. If you would just sign the correct papers so that we can get my husband?"

"Of course, Harry. Turning around the Minister waved his wand and produced the proper papers. With a practiced flourish he signed his name in the correct places and immediately the paper duplicated itself with one copy going directly to the warden's office at Azkaban and one copy remaining for Harry to hold. Quickly thanking the Minister, the three men took their leave and using the official Ministry floo, they went directly to Azkaban prison.

Having seen the release paper appear on his desk moments earlier, the warden was waiting for the men to arrive for the prisoner. He quickly covered his shock at seeing the identities of the visitors, as the man would never have imagined such important people to be concerned about a Death Eater. After verifying the papers Harry produced, the warden led the men to a small waiting room while he sent for Severus Snape.

Severus closed his eyes at the sensations slamming into his consciousness. Screams from other hapless prisoners mingled with the remembered terrors of his own life until it was impossible to tell them apart. Time seemed to not matter here and he had no idea of its passage. Keeping track of time was essential to a potions master and Severus had the ability down to an art form, with his strict punctuality carrying over into his everyday life. But here, one moment slipped unnoticed into the next until they were all a jumble of seconds, minutes, hours. That alone was enough to drive the perfectionist in him mad.

Gradually the potions master noted a difference in the atmosphere and gingerly he raised his head to look around for its cause. Seeing nothing, he instead heard distant footsteps out in the corridor. Surprisingly the sounds stopped outside his cell door and he heard the rattle of a key being fitted into the lock. As he had discovered that his daily food rations were sent in through a small slot in the bottom of the door, Severus was shocked by the fact that his door was being opened. The heavy door creaked on its hinges as it was pushed into the room by a pair of beefy hands. Severus blinked at the sudden change in light as the hall seemed to be significantly brighter than his cell.

"Well, come on then. What are you waiting for?" called a rough sounding voice.

Severus shakily pushed himself up off the floor and took a moment to make sure he would actually remain standing. With as much grace and dignity as he could muster, the proud man walked slowly toward the door. He had no idea why they had come for him and was afraid to hope that Albus had found a way to free him.

As Severus neared the door the guard grew impatient and grabbed the prisoner's arm. A frown was the only indication that Severus gave that the man had aggravated a battle injury. The door closing behind him startled the potions master, but he allowed himself to be led down the corridor and his uncertain fate.

Harry paced nervously as they waited for his husband to be brought out to them. The young man gulped as he contemplated the potion master's reaction to learning that they were now married. Harry's stomach turned as he thought ahead to the consummation of the marriage. Fortunately, Remus laid a soothing hand on Harry's arm at that point, seeming to understand the maelstrom in Harry's mind.

They turned as the door to the room opened, and Severus Snape was led in by a large guard. Albus immediately went over to his prot�g� and gently pulled the younger man into an embrace. Severus allowed the older man to hold him as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"My dear boy. I am so glad to see you. We have managed to get your release, so we may leave as soon as you wish. I have already been given your wand, so I believe we have everything."

"Albus," Severus began in a hoarse voice. "I am free?" He looked for any sign of duplicity in his mentor as he waited for the answer.

"Yes, my boy. You have been freed. Why don't we leave now and we can go over the details later." Albus tenderly took the younger wizard's hand and pulled him back out of the room and down the hall to freedom. They needed to take one of the prison boats back to the mainland, as the floo connection was one-way only for security reasons.

The evening was calm, with a soft breeze coming over the ocean and the stars were beginning to glisten in the moonless sky. Remus sighed as he gazed up at the new moon. He found himself thinking that there was no more beautiful sight. The men sat down on the hard benches in the boat and in the dim light, Harry looked closely at his new husband. Thankfully, the potions master had only had to endure a day in the dreaded prison, but even that short period of time had left a mark on the stoic man. Harry had had enough experience with the dementors to understand the haunted expression in the man's eyes.

As the boat silently moved out over the ocean the slight breeze became chilled and the rescuers were glad for their heavy cloaks. Harry looked over and noted that his mate looked to be less than comfortable as he had lost his cloak in his ordeal. Harry cautiously moved over to Severus and placed his own cloak around the potion master's shoulders. Severus looked up, startled, into the green eyes, searching for the young man's intention. Harry smiled slightly and moved closer to the stern man so that he could share in the warmth. Without a word, the older man lifted his arm and draped it around Harry's shoulders so that the cloak could cover them both. Severus refused to look up, dreading what he might see in the faces of the headmaster and the werewolf.

Albus beamed at the two men he considered to be family. Both had been through so much in their lives and he knew that if they would just give things a chance, then everything would work out for the best. Oh, he knew that Severus would throw a fit when he found out how they had managed to get him freed, but he was certain that the man could be made to see reason. Of course, the Slytherin in the potions master would see the situation for the opportunity it was and would take advantage of things to get his own way. And that would be perfectly fine with the headmaster, as he believed that both of their agendas were the same in this instance.

Remus quietly watched the scene play out between Severus and Harry. He knew that above all else the young man desired a family of his own and this was the chance for him to finally get that. He also thought that Severus would eventually come to accept the situation, although, not without some histrionics. And then there would be the inevitable backlash as others found out about the bonding. Remus was fairly sure that Harry's friends would be there for him, though once again, only after some tempestuous words. So, in the interest of being a support for his young friend, Remus determined to stay at the castle for the foreseeable future.

Severus watched the waves pass by the small boat as he marveled at his change of circumstances. A couple of hours ago he would not have believed that he could be a free man so quickly and easily. He closed his eyes as he felt the warmth of the lithe body next to him. Amazed at the calmness flowing through his mind, Severus could only imagine that the serenity he now felt was from the absence of the dementors feeding off of him.

Snuggling just a little closer to the taller man, Harry quietly sighed. For the first time since he had heard Albus' crazy plan he felt at peace. He supposed it might be from the relief that the plan had actually worked, but somehow Harry suspected that the truth lie in the bonding itself. For not until he had come into physical contact with his mentor and now husband did this feeling of contentment enter into his mind and soul. He only hoped they could all weather the storm when they had to tell the irascible potions master the truth about his rescue.

More quickly than was possible for Muggle means the boat crossed the expanse of sea and pulled up to the dock on the mainland. The men disembarked silently, not even stopping to thank the pilot. Albus pulled an old sock out of one of his many pockets and the others placed a hand on the portkey that would take them back to Hogwarts. Harry closed his eyes as the familiar tug behind his navel took hold and he stumbled as the portkey dumped the men in the infirmary at Hogwarts.

The young hero groaned when he saw where they had landed, as he felt like he had just left the place not too long ago. Hearing Madame Pomfrey come out of her office, the men all turned and greeted the medi-witch.

"Poppy, would you please check Severus as I am certain that the Ministry did not bother to treat him after the battle yesterday," Albus quickly said, knowing that his prot�g� would try to put off an examination.

Poppy withdrew her wand and advanced upon the reluctant patient. She had had enough dealings with the stubborn man to know how to handle him. "All right, Severus. No complaints and no protests. If you cooperate this will go much more smoothly," the medi-witch firmly said.

Finally satisfied with her findings and grabbing the necessary potions to speed the healing process, Poppy turned to the other men in the room. "Now that Severus has been taken care of, you might do me the honor of explaining just how you managed to get him released from Azkaban so quickly."

She noted the red face of Harry and the averted eyes of Remus Lupin as she demanded an answer. Whatever they had done, she mused; it would be interesting to see the resultant fireworks.

Severus looked up at his mentor and employer. Suddenly he realized that things did seem to be just a bit off and he wondered what the master manipulator had done this time.

"Ah, yes, Poppy, Severus. Indeed there is more to this tale than we had previously mentioned." Handing a parchment to Severus, Albus calmly smiled and waited for the explosion.

He didn't have long to wait as the potion master turned white and then red. The now incensed man tried to rip the paper to shreds, but the headmaster had foreseen this contingency and had taken the precaution of placing an impervious charm on the parchment. After a few futile attempts at destroying the document the man looked at his mentor and ground out, "Why? Why in Merlin's name would you do something like this to me?" Turning his angry gaze to the other men he continued, "And you, Potter, why would you go along with this ridiculous scheme? And Lupin, where were your brains when all this was going on?"

Without waiting for a response from any of the men, Severus rose and swept out of the room. He had had enough and would not stay around for more idiocy.

Poppy picked up the parchment that lay on the bed after her patient had discarded it. "Oh my," she gasped in shock. Looking up at the men she shook her head. "Well, now you've really done it, Albus. And, Harry, how do you expect to make up to your husband if you stand here like a statue?"

Madame Pomfrey's words spurred Harry to action and he turned to go after his mate. There were many things that needed to be said and a marriage to consummate before Fudge got the idea to try to interfere with the bonding.

The Flipside of Sanity - Chapter 9

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