I do hope that all of you have enjoyed following Snape and Sicily this far. I have enjoyed writing it and reading your reviews. There is at least one more coming after this, so keep an eye out for it, for it will be coming very soon! Look for The Consort of the Headmaster.

And as always... Read. Review. ENJOY!

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The Murderer’s Shadow

Epilogue

“Boss,” Matthews said as he opened the door.

“What?” snapped Sicily, looking up from the parchment she was attempting to write on. “I’m trying to do reports. Leave me alone unless it’s urgent.” She winced as she tried to write with her quill, ink splattering upon the surface of her desk. Her right wrist was bandaged tightly, keeping it in place so the sprain could heal.

“What did you do to your hand?”

Sicily nearly growled with frustration. “I fell up my stairs,” she lied. She held one hand up to block the tiny flood of light that Matthews was letting stream into her office from the corridor. “Get in here and shut the door. You’re letting light in.”

“And you have something against light, boss? Is that why you’re sitting in here in the dark?”

“It’s not dark. I have a candle,” she replied back, rummaging in her desk drawer for another piece of parchment.

“And you meant that you fell down your stairs, right, boss?” Matthews asked, still not closing the door.

“No, I fell up them.”

Matthews chuckled to himself. “Only drunk people fall up... Boss, do you have a hangover? “

“What does it matter to you, Matthews? Now what do you need?” Sicily screamed, causing Matthews to jump and her own head to ache even more.

“The Minister wants to see you about the attack on Hogwarts last night,” Matthews said, his voice shaking with shock.

“I’ll be there soon,” Sicily said as she reached for the glass and bottle of fire whisky she kept stashed in her office.

“He wanted to see you now, boss.”

Sicily slid the liquor back into the drawer and stood up, leaving the glass sitting on her desk. “Fine, I’ll go now.”

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“You wanted so see me, Minister?” Madame Sicily said as she strode into Scrimgeour’s office. She glanced around at the Aurors lining the walls. “Is there a problem?”

“Yes, I did wish to see you, Madame Sicily,” the man said gravely. “And there might be a problem. I’d like to ask you about the events that occurred at Hogwarts last night.”

Sicily’s eyebrows raised with fake surprise. “I’m afraid I don’t know anything other than what the reports and this morning’s edition of The Daily Prophet stated. If, Minister, I was allowed to investigate the scenes, I would be able to discern more information.”

“No, Madame Sicily,” Scrimgeour said, tapping his fingers upon the desk with every syllable. “I am afraid I cannot allow you to investigate the scene due to your close relationship with Professor Snape.”

“I see. So that is what this is about. You believe that I had information prior to the attack that I failed to pass along to the proper authorities, that I was too close to the situation?”

Scrimgeour stood and braced his hands against the desk. “Not entirely, Madame Sicily. I do not believe that you are ‘too close to the situation’. I believe that you were directly involved in it.”

Sicily allowed her jaw to drop. “Excuse me?”

“I have recieved eye witness reports stating that not only were you there, but that you are branded with the Dark Mark and fought against Hogwarts’s defenders.”

“This is an outrage! Scrimgeour, I will not tolerate anyone making false allegations about me, certainly not to my face. May I reming you, Death Eaters are responsible for my brother’s death and these as well!” Sicily dropped her Glamor with a furious flick of her hand and revealed the terrible scars on her face. “Do you truly believe I would cast my lot with them?” she hissed dangerously at the man before her.

Scrimgeour shook his head. “I want to believe you, but there is only one way to prove it; roll up your left sleeve.”

Sicily glared at the Minister as she did what he had demanded. She thrust her arm forward for him and all in the office to see nothing but he rpale white skin and the occasional rigid scar. Her eyes bored hotly into his as she said, “Satisfied with your proof?”

Scrimgeour sank dowin into his chair as if she had greatly disappointed him. “You are free to go, Madame Sicily.”

Sicily stormed out of the office, slamming the door with tremendous force. She raged through the crowds in the corridors towards the elevator. Once she was in the elevator, she jammed her finger onto the button for the Department of Mysteries.

Sicily stepped quickly into her office and shut the door behind her. She leaned back against the door as the tremors began to overtake her; the Polyjuice Potion was wearing off. Sicily looked down at her left arm as the Dark Mark returned.

She had, prior to recieving the dark Mark from Voldemort himself, removed all of the hair from her hairbrush and used it to brew a large batch of Polyjuice Potion; when the potion took affect, she once again took on the appearance of herself before she had Voldemort’s brand. It was untraceable, unlike her Glamor.

Sicily smiled to herself as she sat down behind her desk. Sitting back in her chair, she poured herself a glass of fire whisky and sipped on it, silently toasting herself for a wonderful acting job. “I make a wonderful double agent as well,” she muttered to herself.