The store had been busy all day. There was finally a lull in the activity shortly before closing time, and Susan took advantage of it to get herself a cup of tea and take a peek at today's Prophet. Sipping her drink, she unrolled the paper. The headline screamed at her, and Ernie's smiling face peered out from the page.

Ernie Macmillan. Murdered.

The cup slipped from her finger, hitting the floor with a crash and splattering her robes with tea.

"No. Oh my God. No!"

Severus heard the crash and scream and drew his wand before bursting through the door in hex position. On seeing his shopgirl was alone, he lowered his wand and said, "Miss Bones, I do not believe spilled tea calls for this sort of reaction."

She didn't answer him, just stood at the counter staring at the page and shaking her head. The Minister, Alicia Spinnet, Wayne Hopkins, and now Ernie? Ernie with the quick smile and easy laugh, who she'd just seen two weeks ago. Tears began to fall from her eyes, dripping onto the paper and blurring the ink.

"He's dead," she said quietly.

Picking up the paper in front of her, he looked at the photo and closed his eyes. "Macmillan... Your House and year, wasn't he? Was he special to you? I seem to recall the two of you roaming the hallways together on occasion."

Looking at him with a dazed expression, Susan answered, "He was my friend. We'd lost touch some in the last couple years, but I saw him at Wayne's funeral not long ago. We were all there for Hannah." Her breath caught. "Oh God, poor Hannah. She and Ernie were so close, and after Wayne..." She was crying in earnest now. Hannah had been closer to Ernie than she was. With Justin, the three of them had been almost as notable a trio as Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but they were friends. And now he was gone. She'd never even gotten around to owling him after the funeral.

"I see." And he did, having lost compatriots on both sides of the struggle. The problem was that he didn't know what to do that would help her.

For a starting point, he flicked his wand to the door, locking it and turning the sign to 'closed.' "We'll remain closed until either Miss Johnson can come in to cover or you are feeling up to resuming your duties - however long that takes."

She looked up at him, wiping her eyes, and shook her head. "No. It's fine. It's just a surprise. I'll just go to his - his funeral, whenever it is. You don't need to close the store." She didn't want the time to dwell on it. What would she do? Sit around wishing she could change what couldn't be changed. It wasn't as though she'd be of any use anywhere else. Hannah had Justin, and Blaise Zabini. She didn't need Susan hovering around, too. No, it was better to stay busy. Ernie was gone, and that was that. Wallowing in her sorrow wouldn't make him any less dead.

The girl was apparently more like him than he'd imagined. He sighed. "If that's what you wish, we'll reopen shortly. For now, follow me."

She followed him down into the living area beneath the store. Professor Snape went past the kitchen, towards his personal quarters. Stopping in her tracks, she looked at him quizzically. He'd never invited her into his rooms before.

"Come along," he said impatiently, holding the door open. "I'm not going to ravish you or cook you or whatever lurid gothic scenario you might be imagining."

Giving him a weak smile, she went ahead. The room was dark and it took a minute for her eyes to adjust. He directed her to a sofa. She obeyed, sitting stiffly in one corner.

Rolling his eyes, he poured two drinks, ostentatiously using the same bottle for both and then taking a sip from each glass. The show being done, he thrust one of the glasses in her hand and sank into his favorite armchair. "To those that have gone before us."

Susan nodded and took a sip. It was strong and felt warm going down her throat. Grimacing, she coughed a little. She'd never been much of a drinker. The numbness that liquor brought seemed like a nice idea, though, so she brought the glass to her lips again. The second try went down more easily.

"Thank you, Professor."

He placed the bottle conveniently nearby and took a meditative sip. "Tell me about him. I mostly remember a prissy boy who attempted to quote my own rules in order to avoid a bad grade."

Smiling sadly, she thought back to those days at Hogwarts. Ernie had been a solicitor even then. "Ernie could've been a Gryffindor as easily as a Hufflepuff, I think. The difference, I guess, was that his bravery was reserved for the people who had his loyalty. His friends, his family. He was protective, of Hannah especially, but of me, too." She laughed, taking another long pull of her brandy. "Once Zach made me cry, and Ernie laid him out. Zach was beside himself. He didn't speak to either of us for weeks."

Sniffing disdainfully, Severus said, "Smith always was a puling little brat. Didn't have the stones for Slytherin, but he did have some of the uglier traits."

"Zach was in the right place. He never told. Professor Sprout would've given Ern detention for a month; she didn't approve of fighting." Lifting her glass, Susan was shocked to find it empty. Squinting at her companion, who seemed to be rocking back and forth a bit - or maybe that was her - she asked, "May I have some more?"

The bottle floated through the air, guided by Snape's wand, and her glass was promptly refilled. "What else? I don't remember him being involved in any love affairs offhand."

She thought for a moment. "He saw a few girls here and there. He never said, but I think he mooned over Han for a long time. Wouldn't have risked it, though." Tears welled in her eyes. "He wouldn't have wanted to lose her as a friend if things went wrong." She downed the alcohol and set the glass aside, cradling her head in her hands. "He was just a really good person. I don't understand why someone would kill him." Her shoulders jerked as she started to sob. "He wasn't like that b-bastard Wayne. Ernie was..." She broke off, unable to speak through her tears.

"Good people are killed as often as bad ones. More, it seems." He spoke softly, more to himself than to her.

"It scares me," she said quietly when she was finally able to talk. "People haven't died like this since... Who would do this?"

"A lunatic. Someone who enjoys the taking of human life, just because they can." He sighed, feeling tired of the world. "It's part of the balance. For every hero, there is a villain. For every saint, there is a sinner. The only comfort in knowing that there will always be mad dogs in human form is knowing that there is a matching angel somewhere - and that justice will come, even if it's not meted out by human hands."

It might have surprised her to find that Professor Snape was a spiritual man, if she'd been in condition to think about it. As it was, Susan simply nodded emphatically and slumped against the arm of the couch.

Snape rescued the glass from her hand and swept her off the couch, using wandless cantrips to open the doors as he moved to the girl's bedroom with her in his arms. He removed only her shoes, but once she was under the covers, he used another spell to loosen any fastenings so that she'd be more comfortable as she slept. He stepped out long enough to fetch a hangover potion and a glass of water, which he left at her bedside table.

Just before he left, he traced a finger over her cheek and marveled at how very young she looked, much too young to have to learn this particular lesson about the world.

{Summary: Susan learns about Ernie's death, and Snape shows his softer side.}