HP - Shadow Monarch!

Chapter 102 - Minister for Magic.

[Chapter Size: 1900 Words.]
Third Person POV

Hogwarts.

...

...

Penelope was in the infirmary, enjoying another quiet day. She was happy that no students had come in today. However, with the fifth-year dueling classes and other classes happening today, she knew she would probably see someone soon.

They were also in the final weeks of school, with the end-of-year exams approaching, and the school would soon go into recess to prepare for the next school year. But Penelope knew that the upcoming weekend would see a few full beds, due to the Quidditch final between Slytherin and Gryffindor happening this Saturday. Knowing both teams, half of them would end up here.

She picked up a book and sat in a chair near the window to enjoy the silence, reflecting a bit on this year.

Amid the highs and lows, it had been a strange year, especially because of the sign she had placed in the middle of the infirmary and hadn't removed since then.

The sign read: "No mention of the name Snape allowed."

This was due to the constant trouble the boy had gotten into with other students earlier in the year. These incidents became less frequent midway through the year, until almost no students ended up in the infirmary because of him by the end of the year.

"How you've changed so much..." she couldn't help but murmur, looking at the sign and thinking about the Snape she knew.

She used to treat the boy whenever he returned hurt by other students playing pranks on him. He never escaped unscathed, often having to be treated multiple times a day... But this year was different: not once had Snape entered that place. The boy had undergone a radical change, and she still wondered how people had already gotten used to his new self in just one year...

He was no longer the student who came here injured, but rather the one who sent other students here. Thus, a fear of him developed at school, and no one bothered him anymore, which was a relief for Penelope. Finally, she wouldn't hear those constant disputes, yet she still kept the sign up because she didn't want to hear any more complaints about him from other students.

Penelope's moment of silence was broken when heavy footsteps began echoing in the hallway. She stood up, assuming that some student had gotten hurt, ready to treat them. Then, Professor Longbottom appeared, bringing a stretcher carried by some students with someone on it, accompanied by a small group, mostly girls surrounding the stretcher with worried looks.

"Nurse Penelope, we need your help here! This student was attacked by an Auror..." Professor Longbottom said, making Penelope raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, an Auror? An Auror attacked a student? What are you talking about?" Penelope exclaimed, confused by this absurdity, thinking it might be some sort of joke from the professor.

"It's complicated. But it's true... I thought it would be fine to let the Auror do a demonstration, I just didn't imagine he would simply attack the boy," Longbottom said, while Penelope raised her eyebrow, bewildered.

Then she approached to check the student and froze the next moment. After all, it was him: Snape, the very same mentioned on the sign. He was lying there, eyes closed, surrounded by the girls who usually followed him, and another who had stepped away but was also there.

"Didn't think I'd see you like this again..." Penelope murmured before springing into action.

"Quick, take him to the bed. Put him there, I'll make the diagnosis!" She wasted no time. Even though it was Snape, and she had let certain things go, she still had her job to do. Quickly, Longbottom and the other students carried Snape to the bed and laid him down, while Penelope began using her wand to check him.