Rating: PG
Characters: Snape, McGonagall

---

Snape rolled over and felt the smoothness of crisp clean sheets beneath his face. Puzzlement drifted through his tired brain, and he slowly opened his eyes. His vision settled on the figure of Minerva McGonagall as she sat by his bed and watched him with a faint expression of concern on her face.

Slowly he reached out a hand and touched her cheek. She smiled in surprise and reached up to cover his hand with hers.

With a short exhalation of breath and a slight shake of his head, Snape withdrew his hand and shifted his weary body up in the bed to recline against the pillows.

�I was just trying to determine if you were real or not,� he explained looking faintly embarrassed. �You see, you�ve been visiting my bedside for a long time�but this is the first time that I�ve ever been able to touch you�known for a fact that you were real and not simply a figment of my imagination.� His voice trailed off uncomfortably.

She looked down to hide the dismay his words caused her. �I�m sorry, Severus. I�m so sorry. I failed you for far too long. I�m surprised that you�ll even still speak to me. You�d have every right to berate me for my taking so long in finding a way to help you. As it was, I almost waited too long.�

Snape shook his head, a scowl on his face. �It wasn�t your fault, Minerva. I know you tried your best. When I was first put in prison, as I recall, you were still in St. Mungo�s. Then once you�d finally been released�there were no doubt a myriad of things that you had to take care of immediately. I imagine that by the time you even noticed I was gone, it was too late to do very much about it. After all, there wasn�t any trial. Anyone with the Mark on his or her arm was simply transported directly to Azkaban immediately after the battle was over.�

�I know. I did notice you were gone, Severus. Honestly, I did. As soon as I was released from hospital, the first thing I did was try to find out what had happened to everyone. Albus had already been buried by then�as had Filius and Hagrid. Remus, though�� Her eyes glistened. �No one wanted to touch him�though they had moved him inside a makeshift shelter�I had to deal with that first. I had to see that he was properly buried�� Her hand trembled where it rested on the bedclothes, and he tentatively reached out and laid his own over hers.

She swallowed and continued, gaining strength from that very tangible connection. �As soon as I knew what had happened to you, I tried to get someone to listen to me. And I wasn�t alone. As they recovered, Harry, Hermione, Alastor, and others besides, all came forward to support me, but no one in power would listen. I thought them simply misguided�but I should�ve known better. I�m so sorry.�

Snape sighed. �When I came back to consciousness after the battle, I was already in a cell. At first, I couldn�t believe it. I raged and swore that a mistake had been made, but all they did was laugh. It seemed as if I was caught in a nightmare and I couldn�t wake up, but once I heard that Albus had died�I knew. He was the only one who could have made them listen�made them believe. I know you tried your best, but it wasn�t meant to be. At first, I tried to remain hopeful�your visits and those of the others�helped, but once those stopped� Well, I�d long ago given up.�

Minerva nodded. �Poppy said that you hadn�t much time left. If I hadn�t asked Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy to intervene when I did� Oh, I don�t even want to think about it.�

She pulled herself together and sat up straighter in her chair. �So, now that you�ve been officially cleared of all charges�and awarded the Order of Merlin, first Class�what are your plans for the future?� she asked softly.

Snape stared at her blankly for a moment. �You know�I haven�t the faintest idea. I�d given up all hope of ever having a life again. I�I don�t know what I want to do with it.�

Hesitantly she nodded and offered, �I have a Potions instructor at the moment, but as usual�I�m in need of a Defence Against the Dark Arts Instructor�are you perhaps still interested in that job?�

Raising an eyebrow, he snorted shortly. �You�re joking.�

She shook her head. �No, I�m quite serious. The job is yours if you want it.�

As he looked at her sitting there so nervously waiting for his answer, he realized that he�d missed her�and this place, more than he�d ever thought possible, and he had waited an awfully long time for this particular opportunity. However, he couldn�t give in just like that�even if this was his chance at last, to show everyone how this class really should be taught�what sort of precedent would that set after all?

So he leaned back against his pillow and smiled slowly. �All right, Minerva�I�ll consider it��

Comment

<< Previous Ficlet | Too Much Butterbeer | Ten Years After - Home | Next Ficlet >>

---

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all associated characters and concepts are the property of J.K. Rowling. These stories are fan tributes to her works, and generate no profit of any kind. No challenge to the intellectual property rights of Ms. Rowling, or any other author or artist whose works may be mentioned herein, is intended or implied. Story archived by permission of the author.