A few minutes later, a large gathering of witches and wizards burst into the hospital wing. Nearly all of them were glaring daggers at the unconscious man as Minerva unceremoniously dumped him off the stretcher onto a small cot. The bustling mediwitch briskly walked with her wand already drawn and running various tests on the unconscious man. Every now and then, she would glance towards the Head of Gryffindor House, but for the most part, she just tended to her patient as she always did. Even though, she knew what a lying son of a bitch the man was.

"I demand answers immediately, Dumbledore. Why is that man not being taken away by the finest Aurors I have at once?" Minister Fudge commanded, glancing towards the dark shrouded man who was glaring at the unconscious man. "Why must you continue to refute Scrimgeour's claims?"

"Respectfully speaking, Cornelius, it is because I know that Rufus Scrimgeour falsely accused Severus."

"Oh, you are just covering up for Snape like always," Fudge offhandedly said with a fierce shake of his head. "He's always been a soft spot in your heart, Dumbledore."

"Perhaps so, Cornelius, but I have evidence to back up my reasoning." Dumbledore then glanced towards Scrimgeour before shaking his own head. "Madam, I apologize for disturbing you, but perhaps you could allow him to regain consciousness."

"Albus, this man had—"

"I am well aware, Madam, but there is a troubling matter that must be resolved before he rests." Dumbledore instantly caught Madam Pomfrey's muttering under her breath that strangely sounded like 'crazy old coot' before he heard Scrimgeour's soft moans as he woke up. He waited, however, for the man to sit up.

"I apologize for this questioning, Rufus, but Dumbledore believes that you have falsely accused Severus of any misdoings on his part. Perhaps you could give your evidence for this matter," Fudge gently said.

"Just look at him, Minister. There's not a spot on his face that doesn't have cuts to it. She told me this morning how she tried to push him off her. She wasn't sure but she thought she had scratched him. Well, take a look at him, Minister," Scrimgeour replied calmly with a hint of somberness in his voice.

"Yes, I see exactly what you mean, Rufus. However, one could say it is pure coincidence."

"Then bring Aurora in here and ask her, Minister. She'll tell you what he did." Scrimgeour's eyes then widened as he caught the witch glaring at him. "Aurora, sweetheart, please tell them the truth."

"The truth?" she snarled. "You want me to tell the truth?"

"Aurora, don't. He can't hurt you anymore." Scrimgeour then glanced towards the Minister when her glare deepened. He has lost his control on her somehow. "Maybe it's not a good idea to ask her right now. It's probably still fresh—"

"The only thing fresh in my mind is the sight of the students defending Severus against you," she sneered, walking towards him. She then whirled around. "Rufus Scrimgeour is a self-righteous bastard that doesn't deserve to live. His claims that Severus hurt me are entirely inaccurate, Minister." Her dark eyes then wandered over to the familiar obsidian orbs staring at her. She drew in a deep breath to draw up the courage to say her next words since she knew numerous of her friends, colleagues, and students were in the room with them. "Because if Severus ever tried to force himself on me, I'd let him and I sure as hell would enjoy it too." Someone from the students' side whistled quietly, but mostly there were tons of gasps at her words. "So the truth is Rufus Scrimgeour physically assaulted me when I did not do exactly what he wanted me to do. If I didn't smile and tell everyone that I loved my life with him, he'd make damn sure I learned that night. He also used his power and influence of his office to claim that if I did not do what he said that either he'd murder Severus or he'd lock him up in Azkaban for the rest of his life on charges that were entirely false."

"Is this true?" Fudge asked outraged.

"No. Of course it's not true, Minister," he replied frantically. "Can't you see that Dumbledore and Snape are behind this entire thing in order to gain control of the Ministry, sir?" He nearly smiled when he saw Fudge's eyes glance towards both wizards with narrowing eyes. "All year, Minister, Dumbledore has claimed that You-Know-Who has returned in efforts to scare the public. We all know this. I mean, who better to rise to power and calm the public than the wizard who defeated Gellert Grindelwald?" He could see Fudge was falling for it. Then again, he was an excellent liar. "They're both somehow controlling this entire situation to make you seem weak. I mean, what will the public say when they hear that you terminated your head of the Auror office?"

"Perhaps they will say good riddance, Scrimgeour," Snape drawled with a nasty smirk on his face.

"Minister, listen to me. That man is a Death Eater. Dumbledore can claim it all he wants, but I have reports of sightings all over England proving that Severus Snape is in fact still in You-Know-Who's ranks. In fact, I have a very reliable source who would take Veritaserum just to testify that he saw Snape enter the home of a Wizarding family in Derbyshire two weeks ago. I believe you remember the case, Minister. We found the mother dead and tied to her bed with strong evidence of assault. In their rooms, we found her three children, ages 2, 5, and 10, brutally beaten to death while they slept in their beds. Lastly, we found the father slowly bleeding to death on the floor of his study with a curse that my source believes created by none other than Snape himself. Minister, what will the Prophet say if you take his word, a supposedly former Death Eater, over mine, a well-known and highly respected Auror?" Checkmate, Scrimgeour thought smugly.

"Yes, yes, you are right, Rufus. I have every reason to be inclined to listen to you, but—"

"Minister, you can't be serious," Scrimgeour exclaimed. "She's gone through a very traumatic event. I don't blame her at all for not taking my side. I understand her anger. She needs time to heal . . . to process. In response to the students, whatever lies Dumbledore feeds them they are going to believe. You cannot allow that man to be near the children. What would the parents say if they learned that you knowingly allowed a Death Eater to teach their sons and daughters?"

"Snape may be a git, but he wouldn't ever harm Sinistra. And you're an imbecile if you believe that."

"Ron," Hermione hissed as she dug her nails into his arm. "That's the Minister you're talking to."

"I'm with Ron," Neville exclaimed. He then lowered his head when Snape glanced at him.

"Scrimgeour hurt Professor Sinistra, so Snape just had to beat the hell out of him because he truly loves her. Who could blame him, though? Hell, we all wanted to join in, but Snape had him until the end."

"Be as it may, children, your professor—"

"Can do whatever the hell he wants, Minister," Harry quietly said, locking eyes with Fudge. "After all, if you can't protect the ones you love, then who the hell can you protect?" Loud laughter, however, drew everyone's attention to Scrimgeour.

"What's so funny, Scrimgeour?" Snape growled. He wished he had his magic back so he could hex the man to kingdom come. The Auror was sitting on his cot, grinning widely as if he was sure he won.

"Oh, you'll see, Snape. You'll see."

"What the hell does that mean, Scrimgeour?"

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun," Scrimgeour said, chuckling darkly.

"You mean the part where I throw you off the Astronomy Tower or the part where I push you into a vat of acid?" Snape replied, folding his arms across his chest.

"No. The part where I break you," Scrimgeour responded before throwing his head back and laughing.

"Many have tried, and many have lost their lives for it."

"Oh, how I wish I could see the look on your face when I break you. When I make you beg and plead, but it just won't be. That doesn't mean I won't enjoy it any less, though. I mean, just the knowledge that you will be in pure agony. That will last me a lifetime, Snape."

"Too bad your death won't," growled Snape. If Snape had his magic, Scrimgeour would already have blood pooling out of him. Snape couldn't keep his thoughts from turning dark. He badly wanted to kill this man, and each second was getting worse. If only the Death Eaters had captured Scrimgeour, then he'd beg the Dark Lord for the right to kill this monster. He'd first break all the bones in Scrimgeour's body, preferably very slowly. Then he'd cast the Cruciatus on him, just to hear him scream, and he wouldn't let up until Scrimgeour was left nothing but a shell. Finally, he'd cast his special spell and let him soak the earth with his blood.

"I take it that I won't be getting a kiss from you anytime soon?"

"I hope you choke to death on your own vomit," she snarled back.

"You'll pay for that one, my dear."

"No. I don't think I will." She then whirled around to leave.

As if he had watched a train wreck occur in slow motion, Snape watched Scrimgeour leap towards Aurora. Scrimgeour's hand painfully latched onto her wrist before he yanked her back. He then wrapped his arms around her chest to hold her in place, just as Snape stormed towards them. Snape was the closest to them. At first, the sound didn't even register in his ears as Scrimgeour said the word 'Death'. However, the widening of Aurora's eyes before she screamed 'Severus' registered clearly. It was too late, though. The portkey had already whisked her and Scrimgeour away to Merlin knew where, leaving Snape to stare at the empty cot.