Severia Snape

Dumbledore Vs. Fudge

Severia heard voices coming from the other side of the room. Harry was still sleeping peacefully in his bed and somehow Skull was sleeping under his arm. She opened her eyes just enough to see that Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

Slowly, she tapped Harry gently. She wanted to make sure the adults did not realize she was awake. She heard Harry groan softly in response to her touch.

"Harry," She whispered. "Listen."

The group in front of them carried on without noticing the pair of students wake up. They kept their eyes closed, but their ears open.

"How could you allow a dementor to take Barty Crouch? This was extremely irresponsible, Minister!" McGonagall said in a violent whisper.

Severia's heart sank down to her toes. She knew why the Dementor's kiss was so disheartening. Without Barty's soul, he would not be able to testify against Voldemort. This would leave Harry's word against everyone else's.

"How do you know the boy isn't delusional? He has been through trauma. He is clearly acting out!" Fudge insisted.

Severia clenched her fists at his words. "He has no idea what he's talking about. He's just some man behind a desk. Quite useless, really." She thought.

Dumbledore attempted to change Fudge's mind, but to no avail. Now he had come to an ultimatum.

"Cornelius, if you are not going to stand with me against Voldemort, we will have to part ways." Dumbledore said calmly. Nothing would stop him from protecting his school and the lives outside of it.

"So you'd rather stand by a grieving boy and a temperamental girl?" Fudge said hotly. Harry sucked in a breath and Severia felt her nails pierce her skin. Both of them were angry, but not because they wanted to defend themselves. They wanted to defend each other.

Snape would not let him speak this way about his daughter. He lifted his sleeve and pointed at the Dark Mark tattoo on his arm.

"Do you see this? This burned during the task. He was here and he called the Death Eaters to him. You're a fool to speak so confidently on matters you know nothing about, Cornelius." Severus snapped. Fudge raised his eyebrows and took a few steps back.

"I now see where the girl gets it from." Cornelius said under his breath. "You should probably get that checked out, Severus." He said before walking towards the door. Severia was about to get up, but Harry put two fingers on her shoulder reminding her to be still.

Snape held up his wand, but Dumbledore pushed it back down.

"Let him go, Severus. We wouldn't want to risk it." Dumbledore said, nodding towards Severia. Snape looked at his daughter sleeping next to Harry.

He walked over to her and whispered, "I know you're awake, so I assume he is, too. We will talk about all of this tomorrow, my dear. Go back to sleep."

She smiled slightly and cracked her eyes to look at him. His face was tired, but she found herself looking at the tattoo on his arm as he pulled his sleeve back down. She didn't want it to be true.

~~~

Harry woke up around six in the morning. The rest of the school would not be awake for at least another hour. All he could do was pet Severia's cat and glance at her as she slept.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered to her. She was sound asleep, which meant that he could tell her anything. He thought about all that he wanted her to know, but before he got the chance to continue, she woke up.

She looked over to make sure he was still there. She noticed him already looking at her and his face went pink.

"Hi, Harry. It's not nice to stare, you must've learned it from Ron." She laughed, quietly. Her laugh almost made him forget about the events from the night before, almost.

"I was thinking about how I should wake you!" He lied, but she believed him. She looked from him to Skull.

"My father probably brought her here, I'm sorry if she bothered you." Severia said gently.

"No, actually. It was quite nice since Hedwig can't sleep in my bed with me." He said.

The realization of where they were and why they were there was starting to set in. Cedric was gone. Voldemort is back. Fudge doesn't believe them. Severus was a Death Eater. Harry was in extreme danger.

Harry in danger frightened Severia the most. She couldn't stand not having a plan or knowing what to do. All she wanted was to ensure the protection of her friend.

She stood up and wrapped her arms around Harry. He was now sitting on the edge of his bed. As she stood over him, his arms found her back and her hands found his hair.

"I wish you'd have stayed that night in the common room." She said. She didn't know why this was the time she decided to mention it, but she did.

"I wish you would've came back through the door that night." He said back. His heart was racing. "Should I tell her?" He thought.

"Oh, you are awake. Hello." Hermione said, coming into the room. Ron and Hermione stopped in their path when they saw Harry and Severia pull apart.

"Did you two just-" Ron started.

"Of course not!" Severia laughed, playfully shoving Harry. He felt his stomach begin to form knots.

"I know you said not to ask questions, so we won't. We just wanted to be here for you, Harry." Hermione said sadly.

"And you, too, Severia." Ron added. As much as he didn't want to admit it, his heart broke for them. He had been Harry's best friend for years and Severia brightened his days ever since they met.

"Thank you." Harry managed to choke out. Severia heard the crack in his voice and put her hand on his. Ron and Hermione hugged him as he finally broke down.