The Cat's Decision is Law.

Disclaimer: see first chapter.

Somigliana and DacianGoddess have made this chapter better.

‘Is having a cat against the rules?’ wondered an Azkaban guard. The wizarding prison’s staff was indeed in a quandary; never, ever before had a prisoner arrived with a familiar in his arms—the animals were usually confiscated before their arrival. Besides, this one was impossible to remove from his master’s arms; it was as sweet-tempered as the ex- professor. ‘To hell with it! It’ll share its master’s fare!’

“Keep your beast!” the guard finally snarled at Severus. “Just make sure it doesn’t wander too much; you never know what’s lurking in here!”

Severus and Crookshanks just sneered at him.

-----

While man and familiar were shown to their new quarters, Hermione was taking the brunt of her friends’ heinous reactions. This she’d expected and braced herself to face it. What was unexpected, and therefore most welcome, was the Weasley family’s support—minus Ron and Ginny, who hadn’t known about the tip that had saved their father.

“You leave her be,” Arthur said venomously to an Auror ready to take her to the Ministry for a close interrogation. The Ministry official had seen Arthur Weasley in battle and wisely chose to back down.

“Thank you, Mr Weasley,” Hermione told him afterward.

-----

“For my part, I’d like to know how you came to be in contact with Snape, and to work with him to boot!” Remus was so angry that he was nearly growling; Molly surreptitiously checked the moon—only the first quarter.

Hermione conceded. “All right, but neither here, nor now. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow at nine a.m. at Order Headquarters. In the meantime, I’ll be at my parents’. I need to shower and to sleep.”

She went to her parents, but after she’d taken a dark robe covered with ginger hair from Spinner’s End; it’d make a nice nightdress.

-----

The air was thick in the Grimmauld Place kitchen the next morning. Two camps could be made out by the way people were sitting: a red-headed one, except for Hermione, and the rest. They all had something in common, though: they questioned and cross-examined her at length, hardly letting her use the loo if they themselves didn’t feel the need to.

“And you thought Christmas had come early, and Santa Severus would have all the answers on how to defeat You-Know-Who?” Moody grunted.

“He wouldn’t be caught dead wearing red! But his information proved to be invaluable!” Hermione replied testily.

-----

“That it did.” Arthur had given her his support, as had all his family, even if Ron and Ginny were reluctant.

“You took a great risk by trusting that man,” Molly told her in her most motherly voice, “but in the end, it’s saved my Arthur.”

“How did you come to trust Severus?” McGonagall asked.

“I trust my cat.”

She was faced with blank expressions.

“Crookshanks, my cat, was the one to find Severus, ah, Snape. I found my cat at his home.”

Bedlam followed her statement. Her cat had found him while the best Aurors and the Order couldn’t?

-----

She could make out words like “that orange cat” and “squashed nose”. Suddenly, there was silence.

“You’re worse than the Hogwarts professors in a staff meeting!” McGonagall cried. “Miss Granger,” she said, looking at Hermione, “is that cat the ginger one whom I’ve seen with you at school?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Is he reliable?”

“Very, professor. He’s half-Kneazle, and he knows when to trust people. He’s already shown it in the past.”

Hermione cast a significant look towards her two best friends. They understood the message, and, having been made unable to speak, courtesy of the Headmistress’ spell, nodded their agreement.

-----

Things became as easy for Hermione as her first Wingardium Leviosa as soon as Harry conceded that Crookshanks had never been wrong in his assessment of people. McGonagall lifted her Silencio spell, and the Order’s members listened to her intently. In less than two hours, the split around the table was between Mad-Eye Moody and the rest.

‘Leopards, especially old leopards, never change their spots,’ Hermione reflected rather uncharitably.

“Now, we ought to organise Snape’s defence in court,” announced Arthur, who’d become the Order’s de facto leader.

Hermione was in her element; that sounded like planning her friends’ revisions.