Better Than Life

Part 3: Life II

The day of the Minister's re-affirmation vow dawned warm and muggy. Tempers will be flying today, Snape thought as he shaved and dressed. Potter hadn't contacted him since he had left after that ridiculous little kiss. Snape hated himself for turning that kiss over and over in his mind, analysing each possible nuance. And he hated the answer more. It was purely a platonic kiss. Perhaps Potter was beginning to think of him as a friend. Or worse, a parental figure.

Snape wasn't sure he could ever stand to be a parental figure, especially to Potter. For one thing, it was ridiculously irresponsible for a parental figure get a hard-on about the person he was supposed to consider his surrogate son.

The first time Snape had gotten a hard on over Potter had been just after Potter had graduated. The expression of complete freedom and determination on that young face had haunted Snape in his dreams until when he woke up he found himself tumescent. Wanking to Potter's face had been a guilty pleasure, one that had taken him through six years of lonely nights.

Then of all damnable things, Potter had to show up at his door and ask for his help. And what's worse, he had to kiss him on the cheek of all ridiculous places. Snape could think of far better places for Potter to kiss him, but doubtless the younger man would be running for the door if he mentioned any of them.

The only time he ever thought that Potter might feel the same as he did was that moment just before they emerged from the Better Than Life potion. It had been a glimmer in Potter's eyes and he hadn't seen it since.

Snape gave himself a firm mental kick. It was useless to be thinking about that. He needed to get ready for the ceremony. There was bound to be a furore and he didn't trust the Dark Lord's offer of his Death Eaters as 'peacekeepers' in case of a riot. Just the thought of Death Eaters as keepers of any kind of peace brought a wry, cynical smile to Snape's lips. They would be more likely to keep peace with Unforgivables than with normal spells.

Of course, Snape mused, the Dark Mark on his own left arm still burned as black as charcoal. It wasn't any more likely that the general public would take to him being a peacekeeper than they would to any other person with the Dark Mark. The prejudice against him in the wizarding world wasn't overt by any means. Anybody less attuned to the emotions of others would have taken it as respect. Very silent, frightened respect. That was one of the main reasons he rarely bothered to go back into 'normal' wizarding society any more. He hadn't been to Diagon Alley in over two years. Everything was done by owl post. Far easier for everybody concerned. Terrified politeness wasn't so obvious in writing.

Of course, all this could be a bonus. They would actually be likely to listen then.

Still, it was with apprehension shadowing his face, that Snape Apparated to Diagon Alley. As he appeared, he could almost feel the fear coming from the people around him.

Briefly, Snape wondered whether he was just being paranoid. Was it all in his imagination? Perhaps people weren't actually like that. Somehow, he doubted it.

He stepped around several people who were abnormally silent and made for the door. Outside in the sunlight, Snape squinted and found one of the many phone booths that led to the Ministry. He opened the door of the booth, stepped inside and dialled.

When he arrived at the other end, in the Ministry proper, Snape could immediately hear the hustle and bustle. It sounded like a thousand people were chattering away like tiny little birds. As he walked into the Ministry, he could have sworn several people gave him strange glances, but Snape ignored them. He hovered at the edge of the crowd.

Snape jumped as a hand was laid on his elbow. As he turned, he found himself staring into the bright green eyes of Harry Potter.

"Nice to see you made it," Potter said.

Snape couldn't help a ghost of a smile that flickered across his face. "I wouldn't have missed this day. I have the feeling it will go down in the history books."

"Let's just hope that it's as something good," Potter said grimly.

Awkwardly, Snape laid a hand on Potter's arm. "You don't have to do this."

Potter's eyes are dark green as he stared up into Snape's own. "I believe you've already told me that once already," he said lightly. "Besides, I do need to do this."

Snape watched as Potter walked off, mingling once more into the crowd and suppressed a shiver that crawled down his spine. There was something about the other man that was so familiar. He didn't want to think about why.

As Snape watched the crowd, he could tell most people were slowly making their way into the mahogany-finished conference hall, which was off the main Ministry entranceway. Casting dark glances at the people around him, Snape edged his way in. At the end of the room, he could see a podium, which was obviously the place where Arthur would give his speech Even as he watched, more people came into the room behind him and Snape found himself pushed into the centre of the crowd. He frowned in annoyance.

One of the side doors opened, and Snape saw Arthur Weasley walk out. The man was far better dressed than when he had last seen him. There was an aura of power and authority around him that hadn't been there before. He saw Arthur nod to the men around him - possibly bodyguards? Snape wondered whether they would be a problem.

Arthur stepped up to the podium, took out his wand and tapped his own throat with it. Snape could see his lips forming the word Sonorous even though it was too far for him to hear.

"My fellow witches and wizards, could I have your attention please?"

There was a small upwards surge in the general volume in the room before everybody quietened down. Snape used the moments to slip unobtrusively into the edges of the crowd.

"It's been four years since I've stood here before you, and I'm afraid little has changed. Except maybe my girth," Arthur said, rather jovially.

There was general friendly laughter around the room.

Snape mentally raised an eyebrow but kept an interested expression on his face. It wasn't like the Arthur Weasley he once knew to be so in tune with public perception. Then again, the Arthur he knew was before the man become the head of the Ministry. That position was known to change even the most naive man. Even Fudge had been full of ideals when he had first taken the job.

"But all joking aside, we're still in the middle of a war." Arthur's voice was serious. "This is a time of sacrifice for all of us. We must all be vigilant. We must be alert but not alarmed. It is a dangerous time for us to be living in but also a time of great triumphs. For my second term in office, I pledge that we will emerge out of this time of darkness and into the light."

There was tumultuous applause and Snape resisted the urge to snort. Who wrote the speeches nowadays anyway, he wondered. They were getting worse and worse. Be alert but not alarmed? He shook his head minutely.

"To give all of you an update on the war, I call war hero Harry Potter."

Again, there was thunderous applause. Snape could see Potter walking up to the stage, looking nervous but also with a steely glint in his eyes. Snape was surprised to feel that he was slightly apprehensive himself. Be careful, he thought. You need to get the public on your side first. The public is the most important part. If they're convinced then the battle's half won.

Snape saw Harry take a visible breath before he cast the Sonorous spell on himself and began. "I'm sure all of you have seen the Daily Prophet articles about how the tide of the war is turning in our favour." There was a general murmur of assent in the crowd. He hesitated. "Let me give you a few statistics on the war."

There was a general surprised murmur in the crowd who obviously expected yet another 'we will prevail!' speech. Snape could see Arthur exchange a worried glance with a Guard and he had to stop his lip from curling upwards. Apparently the Ministry didn't trust the Aurors much anymore.

"The war has been going on for nine years," Potter said quietly. All the more effective, Snape thought, because of his low tone. "During that time, we've had more than nine hundred casualties. Out of a population of barely 20, 000 in Britain that is a massive proportion."

The crowd seemed to shift around and Snape could hear somebody muttering, "I didn't think it was that long."

His lips twitched. It was a common phenomenon. When anything dragged on for too long, people had the tendency to think that it had been around forever. It happened in the first war and it would happen in wars in the future. Let's just hope that future wars don't happen for some time, Snape thought.

"We've had a staggering number of attacks on Ministry installations, Hogwarts, as well as private citizens' homes. Oh last count, over the past year alone, more than 600 attempts by Death Eaters to gain access to our resources were recorded. Out of these, few were successful, but those few had devastating consequences." Harry paused slightly.

Snape saw Arthur walk back onto the stage, turning his back to the audience to speak to Harry. He had obviously turned the Sonorous spell off but there was agitation on every line of his body. His shoulders were hunched and tense while his hands made small stiff gesticulations.

"I'm sorry, Arthur." Harry spoke softly, but the entire hall could hear. "I'm afraid I'm not finished yet."

Arthur cast a glance around the hall, his eyes narrowing slightly, before he nodded and walked off the stage once more. Snape saw him conversing with one of the Guards who had been on the stage before, both talking in low hushed tones.

Harry barely looked in their direction but simply took hold of the podium again. "During the past year, we also launched over 400 of our own attacks on the Death Eaters. Less than one percent of those attacks yielded positive results and many resulted in collateral damage. For those of you not versed in Auror lingo, collateral damage means that our people died on those failed raids. Over thirty of our people, in fact. I'm sure everybody in the audience knows of at least one of those people personally." He swallowed audibly. "Thirty people. I simply cannot accept this any longer. So I decided to do something about it."

A ripple of surprise spread across the audience. There was a shift in the group nearest to the far wall from Snape and as he narrowed his eyes, he could see somebody raise a hand from the group.

"Yes?" Harry said, obviously seeing the hand too.

The crowd parted slightly around the person and Snape could see the slight figure of a woman standing there, quill poised over paper. Obviously a reporter.

"Padma Patil, here," the woman said crisply. "Mister Potter, what gives you the right to decide for the entire wizarding world what is right and what isn't?"

Snape held his breath for the answer.

Potter looked somewhat surprised to be asked. "Since we seem to be stuck in a never-ending war," he said. "I'm a senior Auror, we have the right to question strategies."

"But not to make them," Patil pointed out. "You implied that you have already done something. What is it?"

Snape could see out of the corner of his eye that Arthur was conversing rapidly with the Guard. Several other Guards were moving to Guard the exits to the room. The public seemed oblivious to this and had their attention fixed on Harry.

"This wasn't a new idea by all means. I had it suggested to me during Hogwarts by a teacher I ... respected a lot." He paused. "The idea was that I should go to Voldemort and suggest a truce to him. A truce that would benefit the entire ..."

Patil interrupted him, her eyes wide as she was scribbling furiously without looking at the notebook. The crowd had gone deathly silent. "Are you suggesting that we look for a truce with You-Know-Who? A truce with an insane despot?"

Harry's jaw clenched slightly, before he relaxed it. "I'm afraid that you have not much choice in the matter," he said. "The truce has already been signed."

Snape could almost feel the temperature in the room rising. From where he was standing, he saw Arthur's eyes widen as his mouth dropped open slightly. Several of his Guards immediately reached for their wands and now were holding them in front of themselves. The entire audience was awash in whispers as people began to give nervous looks around. Snape saw several people staring pointedly at Harry's left arm which was resting on the podium. Harry's mouth was set in a thin line as he saw all of this.

The only person in the room who looked even remotely excited was Padma Patil. Her eyes were gleaming. The scoop of the century, Snape thought dryly.

"Let me get this straight," Patil's voice rang out loud and clear in the din. "You signed a truce with You-Know-Who."

"Yes," Harry said.

Two of the Guards split up from where they were congregated near Arthur. One of them circled the stage and came up on Harry's left while the other came up from Harry's right.

As Snape watched, they spoke several words to Harry. "I'm afraid I cannot let you arrest me," Harry said calmly and before anybody could see, he had his wand out. "Surely you would rather listen to my reasoning before anybody tries any drastic action?" His voice hardened. "After all, I was able to come to a truce with the man who murdered my parents.

Patil, who seemed to have taken the job of spokesperson for the audience, raised her hand again. When Harry glanced her way, she said, "And what exactly are the terms of this truce."

Harry gave a few more looks at the two Guards still hovering near him before answering. "The terms are that are that all harming of Muggle-borns, Muggles and half-bloods will immediately halt. In return, I agreed that all Muggle families who produce a Magical child will be forced to sign a blood oath to keep it a secret. Muggle-borns and half-bloods will be given the same rights as purebloods in our world. However, in exchange, the introduction of Muggle culture will be halted immediately pending further notice by the Wizengamot."

Snape could see several members of the audience near him giving each other surprised glances. "That sounds perfectly reasonable," one old man muttered to his wife.

"You lead us to believe that You-Know-Who agreed to this?" Patil said, sounding disbelieving, raising her black eyebrows.

"He isn't as insane as some would have you believe," Harry said quietly.

The old man near Snape said in an audible whisper, "Brainwashing, I've seen it all before. As if You-Know-Who could be sane after his sojourn in the land of the dead."

Sanity isn't that easy to rid yourself of, Snape thought.

"And before any of you begin to think that I've taken leave of my senses or that I've turned to the Dark Side," Harry continued, "I'll have you remember that my mother was Muggle-born. As for my sanity or lack of brainwashing, I'm afraid I cannot convince you except with the peace that will follow from this truce."

"And what about the rights of the Muggles and Muggle-borns in the wizarding world," a clear, cold voice inquired.

Snape could immediately recognise the voice. After all, she was one of the few students at Hogwarts ever to get the top number of NEWTs. Hermione Granger. He remembered hearing a few years ago that there had been a falling out between the Trio. He wasn't entirely sure of the reason but he suspected that there were hurt feelings abound when one of the missions Harry was assigned to as an Auror failed to save Granger's parents.

"Mrs. Weasley," Harry said in an equally icy tone,"the rights of the aforementioned are provided for in the truce."

"Not adequately enough," she replied. "Blood oaths? A halt of progress?"

"I'm afraid some may have a different idea of progress to you," Harry told her. "During my years as an Auror, I have heard people refer to the introduction of Muggle items into our world as 'contamination'. And that is one of the kindest descriptions of it."

"Is that what you think of it, Harry?" Hermione asked, her voice barely audible.

"Perhaps we ought to discuss this afterwards," he said. A small twisted smile appeared on his face. "If I am not arrested for high treason for ensuring the peace of our world."

Snape strained his ears and could hear the same old man saying, "If you ask me, young Potter did the right thing. This war's been going on too long." That was a good sign, Snape thought. He just hoped the rest of the crowd felt the same way.

Obviously Arthur didn't. His eyes were flashing as he walked up the steps to the stage, past his Guards and towards Harry. "You will be fortunate if you do not receive a life sentence in Azkaban for this," he told Harry, loud enough for the crowd to hear.

There was a loud murmur from the crowd.

Somebody called out, "Even if this peace lasts?" and there was sounds of agreement from everywhere.

"And how likely is that?" Arthur said loudly. "This is You-Know-Who we're talking about."

"How do you know it won't work?" Harry pointed out. "Has this ever been tried before? There is no precedent in wizarding history. Besides it is readily apparent that the current policies aren't effective at all."

"They just need time," Arthur snapped.

"My policy doesn't need time," Harry spoke back, equally angrily. "We will stop the killing once and for all. How long do you think before the Muggles decide to take advantage of us in our vulnerable situation?"

There was definitely a shifting in the crowd now. Muggles were a sore topic with all wizards, Snape thought. History was just far too soaked with the blood of wizards taken at the hands of Muggles for the topic to be taken calmly.

"They wouldn't do that," Arthur said, but he sounded rather feeble.

"Have you even bothered to look at Muggle politics recently or have you simply been fiddling with those gadgets of yours," Harry spat. "The British PM knows about us. I have no doubts that his parliament knows too. When will it be before they see that we're too fractured to work properly and we become annexed into their culture? If that happens, do you really think the Muggles have become more tolerant in their view on witches and wizards during the past two hundred years?" His green eyes were dark and flashing.

Snape silently applauded him and then wondered why he was putting such support behind somebody who wasn't long past boyhood. There was a niggling feeling of discomfort in his stomach.

"They are more tolerant," Arthur retorted. "I'm not completely ignorant of Muggles, despite what you may think, Harry. They have recently given voting powers to non-whites."

"Well it depends on what you define as recent," Harry said. "And it is not exactly in the Muggles favour that they have been so prejudiced in the past." He tilted his head and stared at Arthur.

Snape was faintly amused by all of this, but he sensed that the rest of the crowd was getting restless with the goings-on. There seemed to be several different conversations going on in different parts of the crowd.

"Well are you going to arrest me?" Harry asked mildly. "For 'high treason' or whatever you called it before?" His hand was still on his wand.

Arthur paused, re-considering. He glanced around the hall, obviously trying to gauge public opinion. "I don't believe arrest is necessary," he said finally, motioning for his Guards to stand back. "However, you are confined to your house until further notice. All visitors must report to the Ministry first."

Potter stared at Arthur. "If you feel you must."

Snape smirked. He didn't think that would hold Potter for very long.

-

Harry was somewhat amused at the statement released by the Ministry a day after his shock public announcement.

The Ministry Declares a Temporary Ceasefire against Death Eaters

It was so obviously in response to his speech that even the most avowed Ministry supporter would be able to tell. Harry hoped so anyway.

He was rather disappointed at Hermione's outburst during his speech. He had somewhat hoped that his old friend would support him in this, even though they were no longer close anymore. He thought that the policies he and Snape had come up with were perfectly fair, but obviously Hermione didn't think so.

They had fallen apart over something that Harry knew he had no control over. It wasn't his fault that his Auror team had arrived two minutes late. It wasn't his fault that the Death Eaters had escaped. It wasn't his fault that her parents were dead, but Hermione blamed him anyway. And Ron had sided with his wife on the issue.

With a sigh, Harry made himself a cup of tea and nursed it in his hands. It was about two o'clock in the afternoon and he was feeling terribly alone. Although he could easily have broken the wards placed around his house by the Ministry, he decided not to. From the Daily Prophet it seemed that Voldemort was upholding his end of the bargain. For that Harry was glad because it meant that he was right. He wasn't entirely sure how he was going to implement the policies agreed upon. Perhaps the Ministry would begin to talk to Voldemort, to come up with mutually satisfactory (or as he thought wryly, mutually unsatisfactory) policies.

Suddenly, Harry jumped as he heard a knock on his front door. He stood up, still holding his cup of tea and walked to the door. Opening it, he saw Hermione standing there.

"Hello," he said, awkwardly.

Hermione held out her wand and touched it to the warding system. It immediately shimmered into being visible for a second before disappearing. When she stepped in the front door, it shimmered back behind her.

"I see you've been to the Ministry," Harry said, unable to keep some of the bitterness out of his voice.

"How else would I get past the wards?" she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I suppose you want to see me about the truce I signed," Harry said, after a rather uneasy silence. He motioned for her to enter the actual hallway, then closing door behind her, he walked towards the kitchen. In the kitchen, Harry put his tea cup on the bench and pulled up a chair. Hermione did the same.

"You signed a blood oath, didn't you?" she said abruptly.

He was surprised. "Yes," he admitted.

"That's stupid," she snapped.

Harry closed his eyes, trying to stop the flow of nasty words that were going through his mind. "You decided to come here to tell me that I am stupid," he finally said. "Why, Hermione? Why after so long?" He let out a long breath. "Why do you still blame me?"

She pursed her lips. "I don't blame you."

He stared at her. "But..." he began.

Hermione lifted a hand. "Let me finish. I don't blame you intellectually, but I can't help but blame you in my heart. You need to let me get over this."

"Hermione," Harry said, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice, "it's been two years."

"I need time," she said tightly. "Besides, you seem perfectly capable of doing without my friendship. You even managed to work out a truce with the thing which killed my parents."

"Perhaps you've forgotten," he said, "but Voldemort also killed my parents."

"Yet, that didn't stop you from working out a truce with him," she pointed out.

"It's for the good of the wizarding world," he said uncomfortably, taking a sip of his tea. The truce made perfect sense inside his mind. It was just rather difficult to explain to other people.

"Explain to me why it is good for our world that we make Muggles swear a blood oath, an oath they don't even understand?" she asked.

"We can explain it to them," Harry told her. "Besides, it's for the good of our world. Don't the Muggles also work on that concept? Each country works for the good of that country only. Other countries are allies, on speaking terms or not on speaking terms depending on the benefit for the country concerned."

"I'm not saying that Muggles are inherently better than wizards. There are many problems in the Muggle world that need fixing."

"But..." Harry said. "I sense a 'but' in there."

"But the Muggle parents of wizarding children aren't going to hurt the wizarding world?" she snapped.

"No?" Harry said, his eyes narrowing. "What about Voldemort's Muggle father. If he never left his mother then it's quite possible this war wouldn't exist."

She stared at him and drummed her finger on the bench. "You can't blame the entire war on his father. That's ridiculous! He bears most of the responsibility. 99% of it, I'd say."

"True," he said, "but, nevertheless his father bears some. There are some... intolerant people in the Muggle world. This will ensure that they a) do not tell anybody about the wizarding world and b) care for the witch or wizard. If they break any of these or are unable to comply, then the child will be given to wizarding foster parents."

Her face suddenly softened. "Harry, this isn't about you and the Dursleys, is it?"

Harry felt an irrational surge of anger through him. It wasn't personal. Far from it! He was doing this for the good of the entire wizarding world. If it was personal, he would still be trying to kill Voldemort. "No," he said shortly.

"I hope it isn't," she said quietly. "Have you thought about how it would work?"

He found himself shaking his head. "I thought truce first, details later. At least now nobody is being killed."

"But everybody is on tenterhooks. Nobody knows what is going to happen."

"But nobody is being killed," Harry repeated. "It will be worked out, I'm sure of it."

"I hope you're right," Hermione said. "I really do."

Harry couldn't help silently hoping that he was right as well.