Journalistic Integrity

Witch Weekly is proud to present the following update on the condition of Muggle-born witch Hermione Granger Snape, penned by a close friend to Mrs. Snape who wishes to set the record straight, not only on The Marriage, but also on the heroic nature of Professor Snape, whose loving care has led to her imminent recovery. This article presents a very different picture from that drawn by Rita Skeeter's piece in the Daily Prophet, which caused such outrage in the wizarding community.

In the interests of journalistic fairness, Witch Weekly has invited response from Professor Snape, Ms. Skeeter, Department Head Umbridge, and Albus Dumbledore. While Professor Snape and Ms. Umbridge declined to comment, Witch Weekly has received a letter of rebuttal from Ms. Skeeter, and one of confirmation from members of the Inner Circle of the Order of the Phoenix, joined by Mrs. Snape's medical care providers. Both responses are appended to this article.

Sleeping Beauty: The Tragedy and Triumph of Hermione Granger Snape

by G.P.

Few individuals connected with the Order of the Phoenix have aroused more controversy since the Battle of the Great Hall than Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Snape. Professor Snape's many years as a spy among the Death Eaters, coupled with his and Albus Dumbledore's cunning plan to trick Voldemort and his followers into believing that the Order of the Phoenix was headless and weak, perhaps make him a natural recipient of such attention. His wife, however, should be less controversial.

For those who were fortunate enough to miss Rita Skeeter's so-called expose on Professor Snape's unorthodox marriage to Hermione Granger, entitled "Exploitation: The Enslavement of Muggle-Born Heroine Hermione Granger", I will recap the chief points stated in the article. Following that, I will tell the true story, and I will show where Ms. Skeeter distorted the facts, either out of ignorance or malice.

I do not pretend impartiality here; Hermione has been my friend for seven years, and Professor Snape, my teacher. I have fought beside them both and have spent many hours since the Battle helping him tend her. I (along with her other friends) am outraged at their treatment by Ms. Skeeter and submit this solely as an attempt to set the record straight.

Ms. Skeeter made the following claims in her article:

1. Professor Snape played both sides in the years following Voldemort's return. He participated in Headmaster Dumbledore's restoration only when it became clear that Voldemort would fail. Had Voldemort appeared to be ascendant, Professor Snape would have left the headmaster for dead.

2. Hermione Granger had more contact with Professor Snape over the years than most other students, seeing him outside of the school during Holidays on many occasions. This exposure led her to form a deep and obsessive attachment to him. The inappropriate relationship was "confirmed by a highly placed Ministry employee, who was in a position to observe the day-to-day interaction between Ms. Granger and Professor Snape."

3. Professor Snape, as a Slytherin and Death Eater, had the utmost contempt for Ms. Granger as a Muggle-born witch, and did not hesitate to exploit her infatuation, to the consternation of her friends.

4. Hermione went against the wishes of her friends Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley when advocating Professor Snape's return to Hogwarts during their seventh year.

5. Ms. Skeeter claims that Ms. Granger was given to Professor Snape, to do with as he pleased by Headmaster Dumbledore, the payment for Professor Snape's return to the Order last year.

6. Hermione Granger was cursed, not by Lucius Malfoy, but by Professor Snape or by Headmaster Dumbledore (depending on which section of Ms. Skeeter's article you are reading), in order to complete her enslavement to Professor Snape.

7. Hermione Granger Snape is kept bound to a bed, helpless, and at Professor Snape's mercy (of which he has none, according to Ms. Skeeter). Her medical and magical condition goes unmonitored.

8. Harry Potter has been completely taken in by the tale that Lucius Malfoy cursed Hermione during the Battle of the Great Hall. Ironically, he is pathetically grateful to Professor Snape for his exploitation of his friend. All other members of the Order are part of the plot, and have completely abandoned Hermione to the evil professor.

The true story is quite different and rather less scandalous, at least where Hermione and Professor Snape are concerned.

Hermione Granger, Muggle-born witch, arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry nearly eight years ago. It quickly became clear to her teachers and schoolmates that she had an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and the potential to become a powerful witch. After a period of settling in, she formed a deep friendship with fellow Gryffindor first-year students Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley.

Over the course of the following years, Hermione developed friendly relationships with most of her teachers. The exceptions were her Divination Professor, Sybill Trelawney, and Hogwarts' Potions Master, Severus Snape. She dropped Divination midway through her third year, but continued with Potions through the N.E.W.T. level. Professor Snape, who had little patience for Harry Potter and his friends (including Hermione), taught Potions through her fifth year, and Defence Against the Dark Arts in her sixth year. Her Outstanding grades in Professor Snape's classes are perfectly consistent with the marks she earned from other professors, as well as with her O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. results.

There is one other exception to Hermione's record of maintaining good relations with her Hogwarts professors; she despised her fifth year D.A.D.A. teacher, Dolores Umbridge. That situation is discussed below.

At the end of Hermione's fourth year, as we all know, Voldemort returned, and our world was thrown into uproar. The Ministry of Magic, under Cornelius Fudge, attempted to deny that the threat existed, and used the Daily Prophet to discredit the testimony given by Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. Headmaster Dumbledore re-formed the Order of the Phoenix, so that the wizarding world would not lie undefended. Minister Fudge moved to take control of Hogwarts from the headmaster, appointing Dolores Umbridge first to the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, then Hogwarts High Inquisitor, and finally Headmistress. While at Hogwarts, Ms. Umbridge persecuted Harry Potter and his friends, gutted the D.A.D.A. curriculum, led Aurors in physical attacks upon other faculty members (Professor McGonagall was critically injured and hospitalized for several weeks as a result of one such assault), administered controlled substances to students, and threatened them with torture. She admitted before witnesses that she had sent Dementors into Harry Potter's Muggle neighborhood during the previous summer in an effort to silence Harry. When he was successful in saving both his Muggle cousin and himself from the creatures, she attempted to have him expelled from Hogwarts because of his use of magic in his own defence. She forced Harry to stand trial before a closed session of the full Wizengamot at the age of fifteen. Fortunately, he prevailed.

That year, Hermione was pivotal in the formation of the DA, a group of students who undertook to study Defence on their own, in defiance of Dolores Umbridge and the Ministry. Many of these same students formed the core of the student resistance to Voldemort's attack in the Great Hall, ultimately defeating the Death Eaters and assisting Harry Potter to destroy Voldemort forever.

During their sixth year, Hermione's friendship with Ronald Weasley developed into a romantic attachment. Hermione and Ron were deeply in love and planned to marry, although they had agreed not to become formally engaged until the war ended. Both of their families were very pleased with the relationship.

While Hermione had the utmost respect for Professor Snape as a teacher and as a member of the Order, I can state with certainty that she did not have any romantic or sexual interest in him. They were not friendly. Professor Snape does not possess a gregarious nature, and he never displayed any fondness for Harry Potter or his friends. He taught them (and taught them well), he protected them from harm, but he did not like them. He certainly showed no personal interest in Hermione Granger.

When Professor Snape "killed" Professor Dumbledore at the end of Hermione's sixth year, fleeing with the Death Eaters to join Voldemort (and so laying the groundwork for that evil wizard's final defeat), he had the opportunity to capture or even kill Harry Potter. Not only did he intervene, in order to save Harry from the other Death Eaters that night, he also advised him on effective fighting strategy. Far from playing both sides, Professor Snape continued to risk his life in service to the Order of the Phoenix.

Hermione played no part in the restoration of Professors Dumbledore and Snape to Hogwarts in the middle of her seventh year; she, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter were, at that time, absent from Hogwarts, searching out and destroying the Horcruxes containing the fragments of Tom Riddle's soul. Both men were well established at the school when the three completed their mission and returned to review for and take their N.E.W.T.s.

During the Battle of the Great Hall, witnesses report that Lucius Malfoy cursed Hermione twice. His first attempt was the Killing Curse, which struck her beloved Ron instead. As she knelt beside the body of her fiancé, she was hit by Malfoy's second spell, apparently a combination of a stunner, a sleeping charm, and a magical leeching curse. She has not regained consciousness since that day.

The witness statements regarding these curses are contained in Auror reports on the Battle of the Great Hall, and are part of the public record. I am at a loss to understand how Ms. Skeeter could have not had access to them for her research. No witnesses reported seeing either Professor Snape or Headmaster Dumbledore curse Hermione.

All of the surviving members of the Order of the Phoenix have dedicated themselves to Hermione's protection and ultimate healing. When her parents, at the instigation of certain Ministry officials, attempted to remove her from the Magical world, we knew we had to act. Removal to a Muggle facility would have killed her, as the leeching curse would have drained her completely. Professor Snape married Hermione, not because he desired her, not so he could exploit her, but to keep her alive and at Hogwarts. He has cared for her night and day since that time. A potion of his devising has led to her partial return to awareness, although she is not yet fully awake. The final deed necessary to restore Hermione Granger Snape to health is to un-cast the curse, which can only be done on the anniversary of its casting. All members of the Order plan to be present for that event, and Gringotts' Curse Breaker, William Weasley, will cast the counter-curse himself. We are extremely optimistic that Hermione will be able to move forward with her life from that moment.

Until that time, Hermione Granger Snape will remain surrounded by those who love her. Ms. Skeeter claims that she is kept isolated, and bedridden in horrible conditions. Nothing could be farther from the truth. She receives multiple visitors daily, friends who speak to her, read to her, and care for her. Hogwarts' Mediwitch, Madam Pomfrey, checks on her daily as well. Harry Potter visits at least once a week, and brings her parents to see her every other Saturday. Hermione is not abandoned; in truth we often joke that she can't wait to get better just so that she'll be able to have some time alone!

Were we always so optimistic? No. For the first six months after the Battle, as Hermione lay completely unconscious, most of us despaired at least once. Even Harry Potter, whose hallmark has been perseverance in the face of apparently insurmountable odds, has wept in despair at his inability to help his dearest friend. It was Professor Snape who showed us, every day, how to begin with renewed hope and purpose. And progress was made, great progress.

The photograph which accompanies this article is of Hermione, as we see her every day. She looks much like the old Hermione, merely at rest. We know that when she awakens, she will be the same brilliant, loving young woman that she was before the Battle. And we know that she approves of what we have done on her behalf. How can we be sure, you might ask? A brief anecdote, then I will close.

Ms. Skeeter's article ignited a firestorm of recrimination against Professor Snape. He has received Howlers and threats daily since its publication. Of course, we kept Hermione unaware of this, although it took a terrible toll on the Professor. Cruelly, the Grangers' Ministry contact gave a copy of the article to them. I am sure you can imagine their reaction. When they met Harry Potter in Professor Snape's rooms during their next visit to their daughter, Mrs. Granger demanded angrily that he remove Hermione from Hogwarts, and deliver her to her parents' care. She called Professor Snape a pedophile and repeated the tale put forward by Ms. Skeeter; that Hermione was being artificially kept in a coma so that her husband could exploit her sexually, and drain her magic for his own use. Mrs. Granger was quite graphic in her denunciation of Professor Snape and in her calls for retaliation against him. Suddenly, the tea service on the table before Hermione began to shatter, piece by piece. When Harry cast a spell to locate the source of the magical pulses, he found that they had originated from Hermione herself. Every time Mr. or Mrs. Granger would criticize Professor Snape, another piece of china or glass in the room would explode. This was Hermione's only way of defending her husband, and she expressed herself quite clearly.

Ms. Skeeter's motivation in publishing these lies is murky. Perhaps she is merely misguided. It is a fact that the Ministry confirmation of many of these tales comes from the Department headed by Dolores Umbridge, who can scarcely be called Hermione's friend. In fact, after the episode described above, the Grangers identified Ms. Umbridge as their contact, at which point the glass in all of the room's photographs exploded.

Professor Snape will not thank me for writing this article. He is not looking for praise for his actions. That does not make them any less praiseworthy. The Heroes of the Second War against Voldemort are not perfect, nor are they glamorous men and women – indeed, they include a werewolf, a thief, and a Squib. They are Aurors, teachers, shopkeepers, Ministry employees, parents, and schoolchildren. They are the people to whom we all owe our freedom today. Hermione Granger Snape nearly lost her life fighting to protect our world; we owe it to her to protect her from those in the Ministry and at the Daily Prophet who would exploit her situation to justify their own actions (and inactions) during the war.

G.P.

*****

March 16, 1999

Gentlemen,

I have read your libelous article purporting to be written by a friend of Mrs. Snape's. When I was conducting my extensive research, I found no such friend. In fact, all of Mrs. Snape's schoolmates appear to have abandoned her to her fate. No doubt this individual (if she even exists), is writing out of guilt for her neglect of the poor woman, unless she is herself, part of the conspiracy.

I attempted on many occasions to speak with Professor Snape, Harry Potter, Professor Dumbledore, or any other member of the faculty of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but my owls went unanswered.

As for Dolores Umbridge, she is a highly regarded Ministry official who attempted to remove Mrs. Snape from an abusive situation. Were she guilty of any of the actions listed in G.P.'s article, she would have been removed from office immediately. Instead, she remained in place for the remainder of Minister Fudge's administration and has charge of the Muggle Liaison Office under Minister Scrimgeour. It is clear that G.P.'s accusations are made in retaliation for Ms. Umbridge's attempt to rescue Mrs. Snape from her husband's abuse.

I urge you not to publish this scurrilous article. Witch Weekly is opening itself to major civil damages by doing so.

Sincerely,

Rita Skeeter

Senior Investigative Correspondent

Daily Prophet

*****

Editor's Note: An investigation into the actions of Dolores Umbridge during the period immediately preceding and throughout her tenure at Hogwarts has been launched by the Wizengamot. In addition, Ms. Umbridge's actions as Head of the Muggle Liaison Office are under review, particularly with regard to that Department's statements or actions pertaining to Hermione Granger Snape. Harry Potter and the Grangers are said to be cooperating fully with these inquiries.

*****

March 20, 1999

Dear Sirs,

You had requested comment from Albus Dumbledore on this very fine piece written by G.P. He, in turn, invited us to participate with him in his response. Many of Ms. Skeeter's allegations were offensive to us all, and we all wished to support G.P. in her brave stand.

In addition, we have obtained a copy of Ms. Skeeter's letter in rebuttal to G.P.'s article. We can assure you that G.P. exists and that she is completely truthful in her statements. She is in a position to know all the facts that she has reported. She shows great discretion in her refusal to speculate; would that Ms. Skeeter had shown the same restraint.

Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Snape are true heroes of the war. They both made enormous sacrifices, and continue to do so to this day. Severus is untiring in his efforts to bring healing to his former student, now wife. An intensely private man, he has opened his home to her friends, her family, myriad Healers, and his Order associates; all to benefit her. It is a terrible injustice to accuse him of exploiting her when he has done nothing but act to protect her, often at the expense of his own comfort.

Following publication of Ms. Skeeter's slander, Healer Argento of St. Mungo's Hospital (the Head of the Clinic for Abused and Exploited Women) examined Mrs. Snape to determine whether she has been in any way mistreated. By signing this letter, he attests that this is not the case. In addition, Madam Pomfrey has asked to sign this letter to affirm that, in the course of her daily monitoring of Mrs. Snape's medical condition, she has observed nothing to suggest that Professor Snape has behaved inappropriately.

Note well that Healer Argento wrote a letter to this effect to the Daily Prophet following his visit to Mrs. Snape. That letter was never acknowledged or published.

Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Arthur Weasley, and Harry Potter met with the Grangers when they last visited their daughter. They explained the full history of these events and gave an account of Ms. Umbridge and Ms. Skeeter's past animosity toward Hermione. The Grangers now stand united with the Order in its quest to heal their daughter and to defend Professor Snape against the terrible accusations leveled against him.

We ask that the wizarding community not attempt to further contact Professor Snape or his wife, but to allow them to move forward with their lives. This does not mean, however, that we do not wish you to take action. These two people have paid a high price for their opposition to Voldemort; please acknowledge their sacrifices by standing up for them with the Ministry and by writing to the Daily Prophet, insisting on fair and balanced reporting, not only about these two fine individuals, but in all things.

Thank you to Witch Weekly for giving us all the opportunity to right this egregious wrong.

Sincerely,

The Order of the Phoenix

Albus Dumbledore

William Weasley

and

Healer Argento (St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries)

Mediwitch Pomfrey (Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry)

*****

A/N: All standard disclaimers apply...all the characters mentioned are the creation and property of J.K. Rowling. I just put them in amusing situations for my own entertainment (and, I hope, the pleasure of others).

Thank you, as always, to the fabulous Somigliana, who is the kindest, most competent beta reader on the planet. She makes me look so good!