Slander

Disclaimer: I love Harry Potter. Unfortunately, that doesn't give me any rights to it.

Hermione woke late the next morning. She was hungry, but didn't want to hide away in her rooms. She decided that she would take breakfast in the Great Hall. People needed to see that she wasn't hiding her face in shame because of her husband's imprisonment. She got dressed and let her feet carry her to the Great Hall while she was lost in thoughts of George Epps and what information he would provide. Ernie was still waiting on a reply from the Epps family. They, by law, had to respond within a week from the date of receipt.

As Hermione got closer to the Entrance Hall, she noticed more of the students. Some were stopping and looking at her; others were whispering to their friends. Granted, behavior like this wasn't unheard of to her. She was married to the least-liked professor currently at Hogwarts. However, there seemed to be more open gestures of hostility today. Telling herself not to dwell on it, she entered the Great Hall.

Upon her entrance, a lot of the sound died away. Now rather nervous, she moved a little quicker than normal to her seat at the high table. The mail had already been delivered. Taking her seat next to Filius Flitwick, she asked to see the paper.

A large, sneering picture of her husband took up most of the front page. The article that followed made Hermione's blood boil.

Insider's Look Into the Life of a Murderer

By Rita Skeeter

My dear readers, this article will not shock most of you. We will be taking a close look at a well-known figure within our community. He has been in the spotlight before for numerous things, including treachery and murder.

Severus Snape has stood trial on two separate occasions for heinous crimes. The murder of former Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore, is the most infamous trial Severus Snape has had to endure. Due to technicalities and liberal use of his connections, he managed to escape punishment. The former Professor Snape should be rotting in Azkaban Prison.

At long last, this man of questionable affiliations will get his comeuppance. This reporter has it on good authority that he will soon be enjoying the view from inside a prison cell in Azkaban for the murder of a Hogwarts student. (Story continued on pages 2, 4, and 5.)

'How dare she!' Hermione thought furiously. She stood and started to leave when another lone owl entered the Great Hall. It was heading straight to her seat at the staff table. Looking around, she noticed that most everyone was either looking at her or at the seemingly confused owl. Moving quickly, she went back to her seat and took the parchment from the owl. After handing it a scrap of toast, it flew away.

Hermione didn't recognize the writing but decided it would be better to get out of the Great Hall. Being in the Snape chambers alone depressed her, so she decided to head outside. A walk by the lake had always worked at calming her.

She sat on a rock on the far side of the lake. She wanted to be as far away from students as she could get. Whatever this letter was, she had a feeling that it was only for her eyes. Turning it over in her hands, she looked for any sign of identification. None could be found by the naked eye. A few whispered words showed that there were no curses placed on the parchment.

Taking a deep breath, she broke the plain wax seal.

Hermione,

I have always told you he would do something else like this. Why, when you're so smart, do you willingly overlook that you've married a murderer? I'm not the only one to think he's guilty. Actually, I wonder how much your husband gave McGonagall to get her on his side.

Harry

Hermione was exceedingly glad at her choice to sit. The letter from Harry had rattled her. She had known there was bad blood between Harry and Severus, but she hadn't realized it was this bad. It had been smart of Harry to use a dict-o-quill for the address. She probably would have opened the letter right away if she had seen Harry's handwriting.

Heaving a sigh, Hermione stood and started to move back toward the castle.

After having lunch in her chambers, Hermione decided to pen a reply to Harry's letter. As she sat down, Ernie's head appeared in the fireplace.

"Hello, Hermione. Can I come through?"

"Certainly." She stood as the fire roared green and Ernie stepped into the room. A quick charm from his wand later, he stood in pristine robes.

"I have finally received a reply from the Epps. They are willing to meet with us in about half an hour."

"Where are we meeting them?" Hermione looked up quickly, excitement spurring her movements.

"I don't know. They provided a Portkey that will activate in twenty-five minutes," Ernie replied, checking his watch. "Until then, let's discuss possible topics. Is there anything in particular you want to ask them?"

"What he and Anna were doing out repeatedly that night. Also, what does he gain from Severus being imprisoned, or worse."

"Yes, those are definite questions to ask. I want to know what he thinks of Professor Snape, and what he has against him."

"Those are given questions in my head, so I didn't voice them. Though I have a question for you: Do you see Minerva McGonagall as someone who could be bought?"

Hermione fiddled with the hem of her robes as she asked.

"Goodness no! The Headmistress is much too strict for something like that. Why do you ask?"

"It was mentioned to me that people may come to that conclusion because of her stance on Severus's innocence."

"Whoever said that to you is either daft or doesn't know the Headmistress at all," Ernie assured her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Ernie checked his watch and took a plain piece of parchment out of his pocket.

"We have about a minute before this activates, so we should get ready."

Hermione grabbed on to the side of parchment facing her. She looked up at Ernie and the world was tugged away.

After what seemed like the longest moment of her life, Hermione and Ernie landed hard in a small clearing inside a forest.

Ernie looked around and pointed to a path that led out of the trees. Hermione followed him into the bright sunlight. Ahead of them stood a small cabin, and an older man was sitting on the front steps, wand aimed at them.

They both stopped abruptly when they reached the edge of the trees.

"I am Ernie Macmillan and this is my assistant, Hermione Snape." He gestured to himself and Hermione in turn.

"I am Matthew Epps, George's father. I was under the impression I would only be talking to the lawyer."

"As my assistant in this trial, Mrs. Snape has every reason to be here."

After a while of staring, Mr. Epps nodded. He rose and beckoned them to follow him into the house.

George Epps was sitting at the table when they entered. He looked a little scared once he noticed Hermione. George kept looking from her to his father.

"Have a seat," Mr. Epps said once he had secured the door.

Hermione chose the seat across the table from George. This seemed to make the child even more nervous. She wondered about this reaction.

"Mr. Epps, we are here to ask your son some questions in regards to the murder of his friend Anna Bloom," Ernie said with authority.

"Yes, yes, I knew you would come. That man, Dawlish, was going on about how we needed to tell everyone what my son saw."

"Well, that leads in nicely. George, will you tell us about what you saw the night Anna was murdered?" Ernie asked.

George looked around the room for a moment, not meeting eyes with any of them before he said, "Anna and I were out after curfew. We ran into Professor Snape. He was cruel as usual. He even took one hundred points from Gryffindor! We were out looking for Anna's pet. Her cat liked to get out of the tower. We saw Mrs. Norris but she didn't see us. I'm sure she heard us trying to hide. After a few minutes, we decided to come out of our hiding place. As we were walking along, looking for Anna's cat, that jerk found us again. He took two hundred points this time. He also looked furious; he was yelling about the idiocy of Gryffindors and how stupid we were. He informed us that he would expel us and let some of his friends take care of us. I was scared because we had heard about his duties and friends from the war."

"What do you mean his duties and friends?" Hermione asked.

"He was a spy for You-Know-Who! He had to be friendly with the Death Eaters. He also killed the most beloved man in our world. He's cold-hearted and vicious."

Hermione noticed George Epps was trembling. Looking closer, she thought she noticed something off about his posture and actions. Though, he wasn't looking at her, so she couldn't be sure.

"Do you remember what else happened after your encounters with Professor Snape?"

"We were scared! He told us he would escort us back to the tower. We got up there, but Anna was still worried about her cat. Snape said not to worry about the stupid animal and get some sleep. I realize now we should have done what he said, but Anna was really worried. We searched the common room again in the hope that Sabian was sleeping in a hidden spot. Of course, the cat was nowhere to be found. We snuck back out of the common room and went a different way than before. At some point, Anna and I got separated. I was calling for her when I saw Mrs. Norris. I found a tapestry that was hiding a shortcut to the dungeons. Snape had been in a different part of the castle before, so I didn't worry about running into him. I was surprised to see a man in one of the classrooms. It had to have been Snape. The robes and stature were the same. I knew something was wrong but didn't want to get caught. I made my way back to the tower and figured I would tell Anna about Snape in the morning."

Hermione was watching George intently. He had tears running down his face.

"George, I know this is hard, but you mentioned you thought it was Professor Snape because of the robes and stature. Did you happen to see the person's face? That would be very important," Hermione asked quietly.

George nodded. "It was the professor." He spat the last word.

"Do you need a moment to compose yourself?" Ernie asked in a kind voice.

"No, I just want that bastard put to death for what he did! I know it was him; there was blood on his hands. No, I didn't see his face, but I've seen him in class for years. I know how he moves... It had to be him..." George's voice trailed off so the end of his speech came out as a whisper.

Hermione was taking deep breaths, trying to calm her roiling emotions. She looked around attempting to find something to focus on rather than the terrible image her mind had created.

Ernie stood and helped Hermione up.

"Thank you, George, Mr. Epps. You have answered all of our questions. We will be in touch. Please, if you think of anything else, anything at all, don't hesitate to contact me." Ernie shook hands with George and his father. Hermione nodded to both and let Ernie lead her away.

Author's Notes: A huge thank you to Sophi and Zen Lady for beta reading.

For those who are wondering, I've completely written this story and it will be updated in a timely manner.