Standing Against the Tides

Last time I looked at my driver’s license, it did not say J. K. Rowling. Yep, it’s just me, an unpaid and unknown aspiring writer. The characters of the Potterverse do not belong to me and I am making no money from this endeavor.

A/N: Spoilers through OotP. As I am still in denial, I refuse to acknowledge the events of HBP or DH at this point.

Unbeta’d as BabyGurl is busy with her own life.





Chapter 41 Reeling

Watching the spell hit her colleague in the back, Minerva twirled turned to face the coward who had fired on a man from behind. The Transfigurations Professor frowned when she saw the pompous Minister of Magic stride up the hill, several Aurors flanking him, with wands drawn. She quickly tucked the tea cup and empty potions vial in her robes before drawing her wand.

“What is the meaning of this, Minister?” Minerva demanded in clipped tones; her stance defensive as she stood guard over her fallen comrades. She heard Harry’s friends and the other professors move next to her as she faced the Minister of Magic. Glancing to the side, she saw that they too had trained their wands on the new arrivals.

“Minerva,” Cornelius Fudge gushed, “I see that we are victorious. This truly is a great day for our world. We have much to celebrate.”

“And what reason do you have for ordering your Aurors to Stupefy one of our professors, Minister?” the Deputy-Headmistress icily asked.

“Really, my dear. You don’t have to defend this man any longer. We all know that Snape is a Death Eater. He will be taken into Ministry custody, where he will await his trial before being sentenced to Azkaban Prison. He will finally get the justice that he deserves. After all, Dumbledore is not here to save him this time,” Fudge smugly announced.

Hermione had heard enough and cut in before her Head of House could respond. “Minister, Professor Snape is on our side. He trained Harry and devised the potion that destroyed the evil in V-voldemort. Professor Snape is a hero and deserves to be treated as such.”

Fudge had heard enough of this nonsense. Raising his hand and smiling beneficently at the obstinate fools before him, Cornelius said, “I don’t know what Snape has said or done to you, but it is obvious that this Dark Wizard has befuddled you all. Now step aside and allow the Ministry to do its job. If you continue to interfere, we will be forced to arrest you also as accessories in his schemes.”

Minerva frowned at hearing this. No doubt the idiot would do just that and though she was loath to allow the Ministry to take Severus, she knew that she and her students were needed here at Hogwarts. Once the young Headmaster awoke, the witch was certain that Fudge would quickly regret the day he had ever heard of Harry Potter. Reluctantly lowering her wand, the Deputy-Headmistress motioned for her students and the other professors to do the same. Minerva let her disdain bleed into her words as she addressed the pompous fool. “Very well, Minister, but I assure you that you will regret this decision. Professor Snape’s reputation will be cleared. I am not certain that the same can be said for yours when this is over.”

“Are you threatening me, Professor McGonagall?” Cornelius asked.

Minerva straightened her glasses before answering. “Not at all, Cornelius. Merely warning you of the foolishness of your actions in this matter.”

“I doubt that very much, Minerva,” the Minister smugly replied before turning to the Aurors with him. Puffing out his chest self-importantly, the Minister ordered them to do their job. He watched gleefully as the men moved forward and roughly hauled a still Stupefied Snape into custody before Portkeying away to the Ministry holding cells.


While the Deputy-Headmistress and the Minister of Magic traded words, Poppy Pomfrey had arrived on the grounds to tend to the injured after the battle. The Medi-Witch once again thanked the goddesses that the Weasley twins were on their side and that their marvelous inventions had helped to keep the injuries suffered by their side to a minimum. Now, Poppy approached Harry Potter and she swiftly kneeled on the ground next to him. Fearing the worst, the Medi-Witch immediately began running diagnostic scans on the young man who had just defeated the greatest evil being their world had seen since Grindelwald. Noting nothing worse than a severe drain on his magical reserves along with a few minor hex wounds, the woman nodded to the Deputy-Headmistress. Poppy then conjured a stretcher to transport her patient to the school’s infirmary so that he could properly recover from the day’s ordeal.


Deciding that there was nothing more to be done here, Minerva turned on her heel and swept away from the pompous politician. She may not have been able to do anything for Severus now, but she still had a school and its students to tend.

“Professor McGonagall, surely we aren’t just going to let them get away with that, are we?” Hermione Granger demanded of her Head of House once the Gryffindor had caught up to the older woman.

Minerva stopped and looked to see that both of Harry’s best friends were looking rather frantic. Drawing a breath in an attempt to calm her own emotions, the witch did her best to explain, “We cannot fight Minister Fudge now and win. He would gladly have us all chucked into Azkaban Prison along with Professor Snape if we had persisted in our objections. Unfortunately, we must also look after the Headmaster’s well-being. I have no doubt that Cornelius Fudge would jump at any chance to malign Mr. Potter’s character. Thus we must make sure that the Headmaster is fully recovered before we allow him to storm off after his soul mate. We can also use this time to properly plan our defense of Professor Snape. After all, I have no desire to face the Head of Slytherin’s wrath if we were to allow his mate to hare off like a typically rash Gryffindor.”

Sighing, Ron stepped forward to comfort his girlfriend. “Professor McGonagall’s right, Hermione. Fudge would love nothing more than to discredit Harry, since the bloody idiot likely sees Harry as a threat to his power.”

Ignoring the snort from the young witch, Minerva responded, “Correct, Mr. Weasley and fifty points to Gryffindor for such an astute assessment of character, despite your rather crude language.” The Deputy-Headmistress smiled tightly at two of her favorite students, not that she would ever admit it. “Now, since the Minister has finally seen fit to call his Aurors to the scene so that they can round up the Death Eaters and the other dark creatures, why don’t you find your DA members and get the other students up into the Great Hall? If there are any injuries, make sure that those people are sent to the infirmary so that they can be healed. Then after all that, I am sure that you two will be wishing to visit with another patient in the infirmary.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Hermione beamed as she dragged her boyfriend off to find their other friends and fellow students. The sooner they started this job, the sooner they could see Harry in the hospital wing.

Minerva sighed before straightening her back and calling out for Dobby.

“Professor is wanting Dobby?” the small house elf asked as soon as he appeared before the Deputy-Headmistress.

“Dobby, I need you to find Remus Lupin and ask him to come to the Great Hall to see me. There is still the matter of a certain guest who needs to be escorted back to his rooms,” Minerva informed the diminutive creature.

“Dobby is doing, Professor,” he said before popping out of her sight again.

Shaking her head at the nonsensical house elf, the Transfigurations Professor moved off to find the other Order members. The battle may be over, but there was still much to do.


Neville leaned heavily on Buckbeak while trying to regain his equilibrium after the battle. Two grim-faced Aurors came over and roughly hauled the still bound Bellatrix Lestrange to her feet before Portkeying away with her. Sighing, Neville turned his attention to the ridiculous interview that Minister Fudge was giving the reporter from the Daily Prophet. The Gryffindor snorted at listening to Fudge take all the credit for the outcome of the battle and the victory over You-Know-Who. Rolling his eyes at the politician’s outrageous claims, Neville whispered to his charge. The Gryffindor grinned as the hippogriff backed up behind Fudge and squatted before doing his business. Once Buckbeak was finished, the Gryffindor again mounted the great beast and took off to the skies. Neville patted the hippogriff and laughed, “Well done, Buckbeak. Let Fudge deal with that pile of dung.”


Draco proudly stood off to the side, watching his parents being Portkeyed away by the Aurors. Ignoring the slight pang of regret in his chest, he reminded himself that his parents had brought this upon themselves and deserved whatever judgment befell them. A soft touch to his arm brought Draco out of his thoughts and he turned to see Ginny Weasley looking up at him. Concern shone in her eyes and Draco felt something shift in him at that moment. Nodding to the young witch, Draco allowed her to take his hand and lead him back to the castle. Feeling the warmth of her hand in his, the young Slytherin smiled. Perhaps there was hope for the Malfoy family after all.


Fred and George laughed and high-fived each other. Their latest inventions had been a great success. Looking around, the twins could see several of their patented fireworks attacking some of the still-unconscious Death Eaters who had not yet been gathered up by the Aurors. Perhaps, with just a few tweaks and modifications, these fireworks might be a good addition to their store inventory.

“Well, brother,” began Fred.

“I think we’ve outdone ourselves,” continued George.

“This time,” finished Fred.

Bowing to his brother, George asked, “Shall we adjourn to the castle, my dear Gred?”

Holding out his arm, Fred laughed, “I believe we shall, my own Forge.”


Kingsley Shacklebolt moved away from his fellow Aurors to find Remus standing against the castle wall, eyes closed.

“Remus?” the bald Auror softly called.

“Hm?” Remus responded without opening his eyes.

Kingsley stood next to the werewolf, resting his own back against the rough stone walls. The Auror simply breathed in the air that still smelled of spell fire and magical fireworks while he waited for his friend to gather his thoughts.

Finally, after several long minutes, Remus spoke, “I killed him you know. I killed Fenrir Greyback and I’m glad I did. I’m even glad that he suffered before he died. Does that make me a monster, Kings?”

Kingsley was silent for a moment as he thought on how to best respond to his friend. “Greyback was the true monster, Remus. He delighted in turning people, children especially, into werewolves. You’ve stopped him from destroying any more lives. You’ve avenged each and every innocent life he ever touched. I can’t say that makes you a monster. I’d say that makes you the hero here.” Pausing to make sure that the gentle man was listening to his words, Kingsley continued, “Do you know what else, Remus? It’s all right to be relieved that this is all over. It’s even all right to be glad about the deaths, because in the end that’s what it took to protect our world.”

Running his hand tiredly through his graying hair, Remus sighed, “Do you think that I’ll believe that someday, Kings?”

Smiling broadly, the tall Auror replied, “I’m sure of it, Remus. I’m sure.”

“Thanks, Kings, for saying the right things,” Remus softly said.

“Sure thing, Remus. Well, I guess I’d better get back to my job now. See you later.”

Watching the Auror walk away, Remus turned at the sound of a quiet pop next to him.

“Master Lupin sirs, Dobby is being asked to tell you to see Professor Minnie in the Great Hall. She is saying that you is taking care of your guest, Master Lupin sirs,” Dobby dutifully informed the tired man.

Smiling, Remus thanked Dobby before pushing off from the wall and heading around to the main doors. It looked like he would be escorting Albus Dumbledore back to his room at Grimmauld Place. Hopefully Severus’ potion had done its job and the darkness had been purged from the old wizard.


Molly had been keeping herself busy after the battle, first in ascertaining that her clan had in fact survived the conflict and then in helping Madame Pomfrey tend to the wounded. The Weasley matriarch had been distressed to learn that her adopted son had exhausted his magical reserves in his fight against You-Know-Who, but when she had heard what that idiot Fudge had done to Harry’s soul mate, Molly was absolutely livid. Well, the pompous politician would dearly regret messing with a member of her family. For Severus Snape was now an honorary Weasley, whether the acerbic man liked it or not, and Weasleys always looked out for one another. For now though, Molly had wounded students and Order members to tend to. Then she would sit down beside Harry’s bed and wait for her adopted son to awaken.


Arthur Weasley tiredly wiped a grubby sleeve across his face. He and the other Order members had been helping the Aurors clean up after the battle. A muffled roar from the Forbidden Forest caused all nearby to cower for a moment before the witches and wizards returned to their jobs. Shielding his eyes, Arthur looked to the sky and could make out the unmistakable form of his second-born son astride a dragon circling overhead as they worked to help corral the remaining giants. Arthur knew that Hagrid and his half-brother were also helping to subdue the giants, which was a good thing, as the acromantulas were still running rampant through the forest and it was far too dangerous for witch or wizard to set foot in there presently. Shuddering at the thought of those nasty creatures, the tired man dropped his gaze back to the ground and turned his attention back to his task. There was still much to do before he could return to the castle and the comfort of his family.


Severus carefully bit back a groan as he attempted to make sense of his surroundings. He was lying on a cold, hard surface, but it was not grass or even dirt and the Potions Master would be willing to wager that he was no longer outside by the smell of the air around him. Concentrating, he thought back to the last thing he remembered before he awoke here. Harry! His eyes snapped open at the thought of his young lover lying unconscious on the battlefield. Severus attempted to sit up, only to find that he appeared to be held in a full-body bind. Forcefully calming himself, the former spy realized that the only thing he could move was his eyes. Even with his limited view of his surroundings, Severus quickly recognized where he was, as he had been an unwilling visitor here once before. The Ministry holding cells. It figured that the idiot Fudge would have jumped at the opportunity to capture him. Severus could only hope that his soul mate was all right. The former Death Eater knew that he likely deserved anything that he got, but he couldn’t bear it if anything had happened to his Harry.

Unbeknownst to him, the Potion Master’s dilemma did not go unnoticed. Per standard operating procedure, Aurors were on duty in a monitoring room, watching the prisoners via spell-walls. One Auror in particular was enjoying the show. ‘Payback’s a bitch’, Auror Clive Ainsworth thought snidely as he got up and prepared to do his rounds. As far as he was concerned, these Death Eaters would get everything they had coming to them.

Clive Ainsworth nodded to a fellow Auror, pleased to see that most of their prisoners were too magically drained to be of any danger. Still, one could never be too careful when dealing with Death Eater scum, so naturally all the prisoners were securely held with the strongest of spells in their cells. Finally the young Auror came to the cell that held the prisoner that Ainsworth was most interested in seeing.

“Enjoying your stay, Death Eater?” Auror Ainsworth sneered as he peered in at the occupant of the cell.

Dark eyes moved to take in the man who had spoken. Thanks to the Secure-spell, the prisoner was unable to move any other part of his body.

Chuckling at the frustration that he knew had to lurk in those dark eyes, the Auror continued taunting the prisoner, “What’s the matter, Professor Snape? Can’t terrify any children in here? I always knew you were a bastard, but now we learn that you are a Death Eater too. Well, at least you will finally be getting just what you deserve.”

Cold hazel eyes assessed the prone Potions Master. Clive casually leaned against the door frame as he sneered at the man before him. “Do you know the shame you brought on my family, Snape? Because of your incompetent teaching and your blatant favoritism towards your precious Slytherins, I didn’t get the required marks in Potions so that I could enter the Auror program and become an Auror as my father and his father and his father before him had been. My poor widowed mother was forced to sell her jewelry in order to hire a private tutor just so I could retake my NEWT Potions exams before I could finally follow family tradition and become an Auror.”

Snorting, Auror Clive Ainsworth straightened up. “And yet, here we are now. You in this Ministry holding cell, awaiting your transport to Azkaban, and me out here, wearing my Auror’s badge. Isn’t it funny how life works out? Oh, and you want to know what else is funny, Professor? This article in today’s special edition of The Daily Prophet. As it pertains to you, I think you will find it very interesting. Shall I read it to you?”

Of course Severus was incapable of any movement other than his eyes, so the upstart Auror, and yes the Potions Master did indeed recognize him as a former Hufflepuff, one Clive Ainsworth, who was barely more proficient in potions than Longbottom, though that wasn’t saying a lot. Under different circumstances, Severus would have gladly detailed to the insufferable man his many shortcomings in Potions. Turning his attention back to the insufferable man, Severus hoped to at least glean a bit of information about Harry and Hogwarts from the useless rag the wizard held in his hands.

“…Ah, here it is, ahem:
Ministry Discovers Deception at Hogwarts!
By Rigel Chatterling

“This reporter was given an exclusive interview immediately after the Battle of Hogwarts in which our fine Ministry played an important and decisive role. I must now tell you the true facts surrounding the bonding of the Wizarding World’s supposed hero, Harry Potter and the Death Eater and until recently the Potions Master at Hogwarts, Severus Snape.

“Oh my, this is indeed interesting, don’t you think, Snape?” Chuckling, the Auror again leaned against the door jamb and resumed reading the lurid account given to the newspaper by the Minister of Magic.

“Yes, that is correct, dear readers. ‘ Severus Snape is still to this day a loyal follower of You-Know-Who,’ said Minister Fudge. ‘We have incontrovertible proof of this fact. We also know without a shadow of a doubt that Snape was charged with the seduction and corruption of Harry Potter by You-Know-Who himself. That this man, this monster, has been allowed free rein around our vulnerable children at Hogwarts is an atrocity that simply cannot be allowed to continue.’

“Rest assured that the scoundrel Severus Snape has indeed been taken into Ministry custody and is awaiting trial before being carted off to rot in Azkaban Prison with his fellow Death Eaters. One has to wonder just how this Death Eater was allowed to roam free for so long and why he was allowed access to the Boy-Who-Lived. The Minister of Magic has promised a full investigation into the deplorable situation at Hogwarts.

“Finally, this reporter also must ask himself if the young Harry Potter is to be trusted now that he has been bonded to such a man as Severus Snape. And just what sort of magic did the young Headmaster of Hogwarts use to bring down He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Has the Death Eater Severus Snape been readying Harry Potter to take his place as the next Dark Lord?”

Clive closed the newspaper with a flourish and smirked meanly at his former professor. “How did you like that story, Snape? I told you that it was interesting. Well, I really must be off now. No, no, don’t get up on my account now,” Clive admonished the immobilized man before he turned on his heel and strode down the hall. ‘Yes, payback certainly is a bitch’, Clive thought cheerfully as he left a seething man behind in his Ministry holding cell.