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Chapter 28

"Welcome to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. My name is Phyllida Finch. How can I help you?" asked an older woman sitting behind her desk without even looking up.

"We would like to report an unregistered animagus," answered Hermione dryly.

The woman called Phyllida looked up at the two of them before rummaging around in a drawer. She gave them a form and told them: "Please fill in all the empty spaces and then give the form back to me, Miss Granger."

The brunette witch nodded, took the form and went to a nearby table to fill everything in with Severus trailing along.

"Is there anything else I need to fill in or is that all?" asked Hermione as she handed the ministry worker called Phyllida the completely filled in form.

"This is all for now but there is a very high chance that you will have to attend a hearing of the person you just reported, where you most likely will have to give evidence for your accusation. Other than that there is nothing more for you to do as of now." 

Phyllida Finch didn't even look at the form but filed it away on a stack with other parchments. After bidding her their goodbyes, Hermione and Severus left that floor and took the elevator to the entrance hall.

A few minutes later the two of them entered the main hall of the Ministry of Magic, only to be bombarded by questions of ministry workers and reporters for various smaller newspapers who somehow knew that they currently were to be found at the Ministry.

After some time of listening to the many questions they were asked, Severus had had enough.

"If you would all please stop your incessant questions for a moment – thank you. Everything that we have to say has already been said, and whether you will know the truth or not lies within your hands. Read the Prophet for more information or don't, we don't care. We and all the people that we care about or that need to know, know the truth. We see no need to retell every little detail hundreds of times. If you were so kind to let us through so that we can actually go back and do our work we'd be very grateful. Good day." His voice boomed throughout the whole hall and everyone was silent as soon as he started to speak.

Once he was finished with his little speech, the crowd actually parted and made way for them to get to the fireplaces.

Not long after that, the both of them entered the headmistress' office to find the headmistress sitting on the ground playing with Harry and Draco. Hermione had to blink a few times to make sure that she saw everything just fine.

"Ah, Severus, Hermione. I hope that you were successful?" Minerva didn't even turn to look at them, she just knew that it was the two of them.

"I would say that we were quite successful, indeed," smirked Severus while watching her play with some bricks. This definitely was a sight to behold.

"You seem quite smug, Severus. Care to elaborate?" smirked the older woman back at him, now finally turning to see him.

"Well, we had a successful interview with a reporter who didn't seem to be as story-hunting as Skeeter, and he was genuinely interested in getting her removed from her post as the Prophet's main reporter from what I saw while being in his mind."

Minerva faked a gasp of surprise before laughing. "You really had to look into his mind, Severus, didn't you?"

"Well, of course. I've been a spy for so many years. It's some kind of reflex whenever I meet people. There are only a few I don't check, just like yours or Hermione's or Poppy's. Well, I do check Poppy's mind whenever I have the feeling she is hiding something from me." He trailed off and Hermione started to talk in order to distract the headmistress.

"After we finished that, we went to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and reported her."

"You reported her? What else did she do to have you that vengeful?" asked the headmistress getting up from her seated position on the floor.

"Do you remember my fourth year? The triwizard tournament? She was all over the place and wrote articles that included information she never in a million years could have gained from any interview she may have held. 

That was just possible because she is an unregistered animagus. She transformed into a beetle and spied on everyone. I caught her back then and put her into a jar. I put holes into the cap of said jar and I deeply regret that today. I just hope that she will be removed from her position very soon. She already ruined enough lives. Now it's my turn to ruin hers." Hermione had that small wicked smirk on her lips again and Minerva was just as shocked as Severus was earlier to see such an expression on the young witch's face.

"That certainly changes quite a few things. Let's just hope that the wizengamot will do the right thing just once," sighed the headmistress, taking a seat in her chair behind her desk.

Severus and Hermione nodded at that and took Harry and Draco by their hands leading them out into the hallway and into their chambers in the dungeons.

"Is there going to be ice cream for dessert today?" asked a very excited Draco once they were back in their chambers.

"I don't know, Draco. You will have to wait until it's time for dinner and find out on your own," answered Hermione putting her blazer away. 

The young blonde boy stood there with his blue eyes looking pleadingly up at her as she went to sit down on the couch in front of the fireplace.

Severus knew that this whole issue with Skeeter's article stressed her to a great extent, and he knew that some nosy and petulant children were the last thing she needed at the moment. Not after escaping a mass of reporters and other people just minutes ago, and so he went over to where the two boys were standing, still not finished with putting their shoes away, and got down on his knees in front of them.

"Please listen, boys. We really don't know whether there will be ice cream served at dinner. Hermione isn't feeling very well, and it would be great if you could just play or draw without disturbing her too much. Is that possible? And I promise that you will get some ice cream either at dinner or we will sneak into the kitchens to get some afterwards, okay?"

The two boys nodded excitedly as he smiled gently at them, fluffing up their hair.

"Now, off you go." They quickly put their shoes away and ran over to the big table in the living room. There they looked at each other and at the same moment began to smile. They quickly found something to amuse themselves with while sitting silently at the big dinner table in the living room of the potions master's chambers, giving Hermione the few moments of peace and silence she desperately needed at that time.