Chapter 6
Severus, only through Minerva dragging him along and feeling a small sense of debt to Granger, stood at the front gates to see her off the next morning.
“I had better get going. I know that this has only really been a fly-in visit but I’ve had rather a nice time of it,” Hermione spoke softly, looking between those who had joined her to bid her farewell. She briefly glanced at Severus with a slight grin. She then turned to Minerva with a reassuring smile, “I’ll have the report back to you as soon as I can. Obviously, it will be glowing, as always. Truly earned. I have to thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you are doing and have done for Hogwarts. I appreciate it more than i can say.”
“Of course, Hermione. We always appreciate you taking the time to come see us yourself when you could so easily send someone else to do the work for you. It shows you care, so it’s only right we return the favor,” Minerva said with a smile, reaching forward to squeeze her hands. “Until next time, my dear.”
Merlin, she’s not going off to die, Severus thought grumpily in the back of his mind. He watched Granger go one by one to say her farewells until she stopped in front of him and gave him a lingering handshake.
“I’ll be in touch shortly. Expect to hear from me within a few days, at the most.” She then moved to pick up her things, before walking down and out into the front courtyard. Severus watched her as she twisted away with a crack at the edge of the grounds, but could feel Minerva staring at him, so he decided to bite. “What is it?”
“You and Hermione seem to be getting on well,” she said with a smirk.
“I suppose so. One ought to be polite when asking a favour,” Severus shrugged. “She isn’t as… annoyingly chipper as I remember, which is a good thing for her. It made speaking to her much more tolerable.”
“Mhm…” Minerva hummed. “She’ll get your research approved. I haven’t a doubt in my mind.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Severus muttered. He had a habit of assuming the worst-case scenario, purely because that was all his life had been thus far. It was becoming almost like a pattern. Just because Hermione was the Minister for Magic did not mean she could walk on water or perform miracles. However, he was grateful that she even gave him the time of day. It was much more than anyone else in her bloody building was doing.
//
Severus sat at breakfast mid-week, his eyes scanning over the room to snuff out troublemakers. The kids usually weren’t too bad at mealtimes, considering they were busy eating, but the odd fight or argument broke out every now and then. Or pranks. Merlin help him when the Weasley twins were here. He was sure he aged two decades in their tenure.
The post came and owls flew through the hall. Severus found it highly unsanitary, considering they were eating and they had birds flying over their food. Birds shit whenever they wanted, and he’d both been on the receiving end and witnessed a bird ruining meals.
However, he was surprised when a letter dropped in front of him. He never got post. He furrowed his brows and picked it up. He’d be a fool not to recognise the handwriting, given he’d spent years marking her too long essays. He took a deep breath and carefully opened it, before reading the contents.
Professor Severus Snape,
I hope this letter finds you well and you’re having a good week. Things are busy here. I’m writing to inform you that your research proposal has been approved. I’d like to see you Friday after your lessons – I remember from your schedules you take half-days then, so let’s say 2 p.m.? – to meet with the Board of Researchers and me to discuss official funding. Please come with your budget proposal in hand and ready to present.
I look forward to seeing you. Congratulations.
Hermione Granger-Weasley, Minister for Magic
Severus stared down at the magical seal of the minister next to the signature and re-read it twice more.
“Everything alright, Severus?” Minerva asked quietly whilst leaning over. His breathing had changed and started to worry her.
“They accepted all my research proposals,” Severus murmured. He wasn’t sure how to thank her. What could he reply? Did he get her a gift? He really wanted to thank her personally, face-to-face, because this was that important. Severus wasn’t sure any flowery words could properly convey how thankful he was for her efforts.
“Really?” Minerva responded, interrupting his inner conundrum. “Congratulations! That’s amazing news!”
“Yes,” Severus agreed, allowing a sliver of a smile to show on his face. “Yes it is.”
//
Hermione sent the letter off to Hogwarts in the owlery, then made her way back to her office. She had more than enough work to catch up on and the Hogwarts audit to file. She felt like she was drowning some days. As she stepped out of the lift and walked down the hall toward her office, she was stopped by one of the pompous arseholes who somehow got appointed to a position of mild authority before her employment.
“Why are you quite so invested in this?”
“Pardon?” Hermione said with a frown.
“This Snape business. You personally vouched for him, didn’t you?”
Hermione arched a brow, narrowing her eyes at her colleague, “And? I happen to believe that the man is a hero, and should be treated as such. He received the First Class Order, did he not? He and his proposals were entirely deserving of our time and energy. It is certainly important, entirely needed research that he has put forth. I have all the faith in the world that he will meticulously follow through on his word. We will inevitably be so glad that we granted this funding, I’m certain of it.”
There wasn’t a single doubt in her mind.
She didn’t feel as if she had to say much more on the matter, nor did she want to. Honestly, she shouldn’t have to defend the man. She simply couldn’t understand why they didn’t see his worth, and that he had very much made up for any past misdeeds. She felt like she had to put her foot down about something every other day. Perks of being a young and female minister.
//
Hermione sipped her glass of wine, weaving through the crowd, smiling as she reached their table. “Evening all,” she spoke softly, moving to hug Ginny. “It’s busy in here tonight.” They tended to all meet up once a week for a brief catch-up. Her job made everything more difficult, especially socially. This was really important to her, it was something that she’d never drop the ball with. Her friends were truly her rock.
Especially at the moment. It wasn’t as if those around them hadn’t noticed the deterioration of her relationship with Ron. They had. No-one would verbally acknowledge it though, but they all knew. She didn’t want to talk about it. It probably wasn’t healthy to keep it all inside, but what else could she do? Their lives were all so closely intertwined. That was going to make everything so much more bloody difficult to have to deal with. She knew that it was ridiculous to think about it that way, but it would be hard not to. She was strong-willed, but she truly wasn’t that strong, not when it came to her marriage.
“I heard a rumour on the grapevine that a certain someone is wanting to leave Hogwarts,” Harry stated, side-eyeing her, “Do you have anything to do with that?”
“Perhaps,” Hermione replied, taking another sip of her wine. “I’ve only approved funding for his research. I think it’s a bit premature to be tendering his resignation. It’s the middle of the year.”
“Who are we talking about here?” Ron asked, clueless as per the norm. Admittedly, this wasn’t something that she’d discussed with him. There hadn’t really been any need for her to do so.
“Snape,” Harry said.
“I thought that had all been rejected, multiple times. Poor bloke, story of his life…” Ron muttered, smirking slightly. Hermione nudged him harshly; that had not been appropriate. “I don’t wish any ill on the man, but come on, he never liked us. Regardless,” Ron continued with a scoff.
“That’s petty, Ron,” she responded, rolling her eyes as she sipped her drink. “His work is good. Really bloody good. We’d be fools not to give him a chance.” She looked amongst her friends, before shrugging, not entirely sure why they felt that their opinion on the matter was important nor actually needed in the first place. The man was allowed to live a life beyond the four walls of Hogwarts, just as they all were.