Art: 15. Trusting. (Minerva's Life)

[mothwing]

Title: Trusting.
Rating: G
Credits: =cloaks's  Vintage Texture Pack V, ~redheadstock's light brushes, ~Eterea86's beautiful corner brushes, and Hogwarts Crest, (C) Bloomsbury PLC. 

Characters: Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape.



Trust him, had been Albus' parting words.

If it had not been for the mask, this would not have been a problem, but it remained a fact that this was no longer the student she had known. The casualness with which he held it was more unnerving than the story he told, of clandestine meetings in graveyards and carefully omitted, hinted-at horrors the mask was a silent witness to. Minerva was not certain how much she could believe of it, but she had never been with any of his stories. 

His wand was still lying on the desk. The young man's gaze had been fixed on it as soon as he had sat down to answer her questions, though sometimes his curiously dark eyes had looked up and pinned her with that same intensity she knew of old. Never long, though, they stole back quickly, hungrily. 

She remembered something and noticed his pose, hunched on the edge of the chair, the troubled student rather than the man she was supposed to hire as a teacher. The former Death Eater whom Albus trusted. She made a decision. There was the briefest flicker in his expression when her hand closed around his wand and she raised it to him, but it was gone when he realised what she was doing.

"I believe this is yours," she said, holding out his wand. When his hand closed around it, his shoulders lost their hunch and she gained a first idea of the man he had become since she had seen him last.

Although this had been the question she had begun the interview with she thought it best to start fresh. She had not been interviewing the person who would be taking the position. 

"Why are you applying for the Potions position, Mr Snape?"

Other parts in the series:

00. Cover

01. Loved

02. Timid

03. Daring

04. Proud

05. Careful

06. Playful

07. Brave

08. Reckless

09. Busy

10. Talented

11. Responsible

12. Impartial

13. Stern

14. Disappointed

15. Trusting

16. Scarred

Comments

[cranky--crocus.livejournal.com]

This pair really struck me, especially with the moment captured in combination to its moment in the story, of her recognising the change in the man as she gives his power--and a bit of trust--back. Excellent. Especially when she acknowledged that she had only been interviewing one lesser version of the man, and not the one who would be her colleague if she hired him.