49: Arranging a Trial

Chapter 49: Coming Clean and Arranging a Trial

Hermione had wanted to stalk to the edge of the wards and Apparate home, but it was impossible to get through the crowds of people around her. Aurors were questioning everyone about the day's events; Order members were congratulating her and each other, mourning over the dead, helping the wounded. Reporters were making their way through the crowd, snapping pictures right and left and harassing people for quotes. She didn't want to talk to anyone, though. Only her husband.

Tonks came over and wrapped Hermione in her arms. "Hey, I saw them take him. It'll be OK, I'll do everything I can."

"What if we can't get him released? What if he goes to Azkaban for the rest of his life? What about our baby?"

"Calm down. I know everything is a mess right now, but I'll make sure they take decent care of him. We'll see if we can get him a speedy trial so he can get out again. For now, why don't you go home and rest. I'm sure you're exhausted. Most of us will meet back at Headquarters later to compare notes." Tonks took her by the shoulders and led her toward the edge of the wards. "You have a baby to take care of, so make sure you do. Otherwise Severus will cuss you when he gets back home, and that man has a formidable temper."

Hermione nodded and followed directions, even though she was far from convinced by Tonks reasoning. She Apparated to the cottage, but after walking around what amounted to being a love nest she had spent so many hours in with her husband, she couldn't stay there. She didn't feel much like talking to anyone either, however, so she walked over to the manor house.

When she left the cottage, Hermione had thought she could use the walk to clear her mind, but when she arrived at the manor, she was exhausted, barely able to lift one foot in front of the other. One of the house-elves whose name she couldn't remember opened the door. "Mistress, you is here." The elf looked Hermione over, seeming to note her bedraggled appearance. "You needs a bath and nap. Brownie will take good care of you."

As if she had been summoned, a small female elf appeared at the front door and hustled Hermione up the stairs and down the long hall to what must have been the master bedroom. All the while the elf fussed over her, commenting on Hermione's appearance, how tired she must be, and how she must take care of the baby. Normally it would have driven her crazy, but Hermione only heard one word in four, she was so tired and in shock. As soon as they reached the room, Brownie waved her hand and water began running in the bathroom. Another wave of her hand and Hermione's dirty clothes disappeared and a robe covered her.

"Where is the master?" Brownie asked as Hermione reached into the sinfully large tub and tested the water temperature.

Perfect, absolutely perfect. How did they always know? "He's been taken to Azkaban." Tears began to flood her face again. She was tired, hungry, and dirty and her husband had been carted off like a common criminal. Not caring if the entire staff of house-elves was watching, Hermione slid out of her robe and into the water until she was up to her chin.

"No, Mistress. He can't be."

"He is. They . . . I can't talk about it now. Later, after I've rested, had something to eat."

"Food, yes, Brownie will gets you food right away."

Hermione spent the rest of the day lounging around in the tub, lying in bed, and eating. She cried throughout the day, not only for her husband, but for the other losses they had sustained that day. Hagrid, sweet, loveable, gullible Hagrid. Hestia Jones, the pink-cheeked, black haired woman who had always had a smile for everyone. How many more were lost whom she didn't even know about? How many families had been destroyed today? Not only Order members, either, but those Death Eaters who regretted joining the Dark Lord, but had no way out. Their lives and families would be forever changed.

Harry sent Hedwig with a note asking her to come see him at Headquarters, telling her he would try to help. She read it, then tossed it to the floor. She was not up to dealing with the current round of problems.

When a special edition of the Daily Prophet was delivered to her that evening, Hermione didn't look at it. She didn't want to see the full list of dead and injured. She didn't know if she could take it. Then Twinkie came in with refreshments. While setting the table, he flipped the paper over to the front, and gasped. "Master, oh master."

Hermione snatched the paper up and found a screaming headline, "What's His Name Gone for Good." There was a picture of her, Harry, Ron and everyone else zapping Voldemort with the final spell, and the look of horror that had filled the madman's face as he realized what was happening. Clear as day was her husband standing behind her, assisting in the spell.

Below the fold was a picture of Severus, filthy and still unresponsive from the spell the Auror had used on him. The headline proclaimed: "Dumbledore's Killer Now in Chains: Dementor's Kiss Expected." The story said how he had been taken forcefully after a great struggle by half a dozen Aurors after they had torn him from the Imperio-ed Hermione Granger, whose friends had been unable to stop the evil professor.

Below that was a lead in about his secret life and predilection for teenaged girls; story, page three. Hermione glanced at the other stories on the page, but decided to push through to page three. There was a picture of her and Severus kissing like no tomorrow. Her face flamed as the gossip-mongering writer began spewing out hearsay, speculation, and flat out lies in a tale of a crooked teacher using his dark skills to seduce the sweet, innocent friend of Harry Potter and using her as his sex slave.

"Rubbish. It's all a bunch of rubbish." She tossed the paper across the room and rubbed her face. It was rubbish that would hurt their case, she knew. And if her parents got the evening's edition of the Prophet, as they undoubtedly would even in Majorca, they would have plenty of questions as well. She should really pop over there and face them in person, but maybe they wouldn't get this paper until tomorrow, and she could face them in the morning over breakfast. Or perhaps when she finished up at Headquarters, she should head over and see them tonight.

Deciding she ought to head over to Headquarters to let everyone know she was well enough anyway, and the rest could take care of itself, Hermione got out of bed and began to do her hair and makeup. "Brownie."

"Yes, mistress," the elf said when she appeared at Hermione's side.

"Can you and some of the others collect my personal items from the cottage and bring them over tonight and tomorrow. I'll need a few clothes right away to go to Headquarters, and I'm going to try and see if I can send some things over to Severus, wherever they're holding him. If you can gather his things as well and place them in the room here with mine, I'd appreciate it. There's no real rush on anything but a few of my outfits for now." She felt guilty asking the house-elves to take care of this for her, but she knew she didn't have the strength and patience to deal with the task herself, and Brownie looked so thrilled every time she was given a job to do.

"Oh, yes, mistress, as soon as we can, mistress!" The elf popped away and Hermione returned to trying to tame her hair into some acceptable form.

She had some things she would have to do in the immediate future. Of course she needed to care for the baby, care for herself. And if nothing else, she could spend the time between now and Severus' trial working on his defense. If things didn't go their way at the trial, it could be months before she saw him again. She could tell he was uncomfortable where he was, grieving. It made her want to pull the covers over her head. The thought of not seeing him, touching him for seven more months, was more than she could bear. Her hand itched to pick up her diary, but she knew he would have written if he had his on him, so he wouldn't get her message anyway.

Hermione was finished with her hair and rudimentary makeup when seven house-elves appeared in her room with all of her clothes and personal items from the cottage. She blinked, then realized she should have expected the entire task to be completed with alacrity. Without any directions, the house-elves began putting her things away in exactly the places she would have chosen, if they had asked. The house-elves at Hogwarts had never been so efficient, she was sure.

"Mistress," Brownie asked when they had finished. "We is going back for the master's things, but we is wondering if we should move his potions things. Master is brewing something, and we is not wanting to get into trouble for disturbing it."

"Leave the lab untouched. I'll go there myself on my way to see my friends and check the brew. We'll find somewhere to set up the lab here before he returns. Thank you for being so efficient; I couldn't get through this without you."

Brownie's face all but glowed. "Yes, mistress, we is happy to serve you any time." With a crack, all seven elves disappeared again and Hermione turned to her armoire, pulling out the first jumper and pair of jeans she saw. At this point, she really didn't care what she wore as long as it was clean. Though she could have Disapparated from her room, Hermione chose to walk down to the front door to give her more time to think and because she felt it was a courtesy to the elves if they knew she had left. Not that they had visitors to tell she was gone. No one but her and Severus could get to the house. Harry and Ron might, she supposed, if they had any inkling that 'Hermione's Field' was connected to the structure, but then, they didn't know the manor existed.

When she reached the front door, the same elf who had let her in rushed over to open it for her. When Hermione thanked the elf, she had answered, "Mistress is always welcome."

Hermione got partway through the door, then turned back and looked at the elf. "What is your name?"

"Cupcake, mistress."

"Cupcake. I'm not sure if I'll be back tonight or not, Cupcake, let Twinkie know, will you?"

"Yes, mistress, of course."

Nodding, Hermione walked down the first three steps, then Disapparated to the cottage door and walked in. "Cupcake," she muttered to herself. "Cupcake, Brownie, Twinkie. What is this, a Muggle sweetshop?"

During her visit to the cottage, Hermione realized the potion Severus was brewing was more of her prenatal vitamins. According to his notes, there were twelve more hours for it to simmer, and then it would be finished. The Felix Felicis wouldn't be so easy. She made a note to herself to come back the next morning and take it off the flame, then Apparated to the park across from Grimmauld Place. Since the paper had reported the death or capture of over a hundred Death Eaters, Hermione figured she was safe crossing the street without a Disillusionment Charm. What she hadn't counted on was the reception she would get when she entered the house.

Mrs. Weasley was the first to come across her. The woman eyed her for a long moment, as if trying to piece together what she knew of Hermione with what she had read in the Prophet. Then she opened her arms and enveloped Hermione in a hug. "You poor, poor girl."

Hermione hugged her back, grateful for the understanding she was receiving. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley."

"We'll make sure you get appropriate help, my dear," Molly patted her on the shoulder. "Kingsley!"

Hermione cringed as the woman all but shouted in her ear.

The door from the kitchen opened and the tall black Auror came out. "Oh, good, I was hoping to get a crack at you."

Confused, Hermione didn't say anything, just watched as he pulled out his wand. Mrs. Weasley backed off, leaving only one arm around Hermione to allow Kingsley better access.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking for curses of course," Mrs. Weasley said.

Kingsley began chanting something under his breath, and his wand tip glowed, but as far as Hermione could tell nothing happened. He tried something different, then a third spell.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Hermione asked.

"The Imperius, of course. We should have known all along..." Mrs. Weasley stopped talking in shock as Hermione shoved her away.

"Are you kidding me? Have you forgotten that little conversation we had in your house a few months back about how your sons were responsible for my having a soul mate, or finding my soul mate, or however you want to put it? How could you believe that Severus put me under the Imperius Curse when you know why I'm with him? How could you think, after everything he's done to help us, that he could be involved in something like that?" She stamped her foot and ignored the fact that it probably made her look like a three-year-old. "How can you believe that complete and utter tripe in the Daily Prophet?"

Throwing up her hands and stomping through to the kitchen, Hermione stopped short when Ron shot from his chair and stared bloody murder at her. "Snape? You and Snape? You did that? You're having his . . . Snape? It makes me ill to even think about it." He pushed past her and stomped out of the room.

"Rotten luck on the soul mate draw deal," Fred said, standing from his chair. "I think you were far too easy on us, under the circumstances. I best get back to the shop; it's another business day tomorrow." He grinned at the others through his flashing freckles and disappeared through the doorway.

Arthur Weasley stared at Hermione for a long while. Then, finally, "Are you all right?"

Hermione sat in a chair with a sigh. "Finally, someone who's reasonable."

Molly came bustling back into the room, Mad-Eye on her heels.

"I mean," Arthur continued, "you aren't under the Imperius or anything, are you?"

Hermione looked around at Charlie and half a dozen other Order members. Harry, Bill, Tonks and Remus were all missing from the room. Seeing everyone in the room seemed to think there was something wrong with her, that she had been ensorcelled or something, Hermione stood up, cast Sonorus on her throat so everyone in the house could hear her, then clearly enunciated, "For the last time, I, Hermione, am not under any kind of evil spell, I am not under Imperius. I have not been mistreated or taken advantage of by Severus Snape. I was affected by the Soul Mate potion the twits who run the joke shop decided to put in our school dinners.

"Albus Dumbledore himself married the two of us last March, and we are going to have a child together next spring. I love my husband and intend to fight for him in court. Thank you." She hadn't known how to end her tirade, but the thank you seemed enough. She ended the loud-speaker spell and turned to look at everyone in the room. "Does that clear things up for you? Oh, and for those few of you who haven't figured it out yet, Tonks is not having a baby, she bought those damned books for me."

She turned and hurried from the room, intending to leave the house she had mistakenly looked to for a spot of comfort and friendship and ran into Harry in the hall...literally.

When Harry was able to extricate himself from the jumble enough to see who he'd landed on, he smiled. "Hermione. I was starting to worry about you. All of that rubbish they wrote in the Prophet, you have seen the Prophet, haven't you?"

"Yes, and first thing tomorrow I'm going to file a lawsuit on my husband's behalf for defamation of character." Tears began pouring from her eyes, and she found herself wrapped in Harry's arms, sobbing.

"Hey, it's going to be all right. I know things look bleak right now, but we'll work it out, even if we have to steal him from the Ministry so you can run off together to Majorca or something."

That reminded Hermione. "Majorca. My parents are there. They expect me to pop in to visit sometime in the next week. I know they'll read this rubbish in the paper. How do I explain it to them?"

"They're your parents, they love you. They'll understand." This from Ginny, who had come down the stairs looking like she had just come from a good snog. Hermione took a closer look at Harry and noticed he too looked well kissed.

"Come on into the library and we'll see what's going on." Harry led her to the library and sat her in one of the chairs. "Tonks should be getting here soon for her dinner break before she pulls an all nighter. She'll have some idea where to start."

"I'd ask Kingsley if I could send some things to Severus, but he believed the rubbish in the Prophet." Hermione rubbed the back of her hands along her wet cheeks.

"We'll straighten all of that out soon enough," Harry said.

"So, you really married him, and you're going to have a baby?" Ginny asked.

With a great feeling of relief, Hermione began the whole tale from the beginning, skipping over the intimate portions. It felt good to finally come clean about everything, and she wished Ron could have been there to hear, but he was off sulking somewhere. She feared it was the end of things for their friendship. This might be too big a blow for him to get over. He was still reeling from the announcement of her pregnancy the previous week, and he had thought he liked the man she was married to then.

When Hermione did finally get home, she was again exhausted. Remus and Tonks had never shown up. Neither had Bill. Hermione figured they were all spending time with their loved ones, reaffirming their mortality and happiness at surviving. Damn them all.

Deciding her parents could wait until morning, Hermione didn't bother with the front door; instead she Apparated directly to her bedroom where she stripped down to her underwear and crawled between the sheets. If it hadn't been bad for the baby, she probably would have taken a sleeping potion. Instead, she lay awake a long time, then slept fitfully, reliving those last seconds with Severus over and over in her dreams. What if she had called for Twinkie the second it had ended? What if he had been glamoured to look like Sebastian? What if, what if, what if . . .

*****

When the sun arose the next morning, Hermione was still tossing and turning from her restless night. Every time she had reached out for Severus in her mind, she had felt his misery, so eventually she had shut him off for a while, hoping it would allow her to sleep. Besides, that kind of depression couldn't be good for the baby.

Finally deciding at seven o'clock that she wasn't going to sleep anymore anyway, Hermione arose and got into the shower. It didn't take long for her to finish her morning routine. When she returned to her room, Brownie was waiting for her.

"Mistress, is you wanting to eat up here, or in the small dining room this morning?"

"Here, please." Brownie nodded and winked away, and Hermione talked to herself while she pulled clothes out for the day. "We'll have to find a breakfast nook here someplace. That dining room is ridiculous."

Brownie popped back with her breakfast tray and set them out on a small table in the corner. Hermione ate quickly, then debated on her next move. Should she try to find out what she could about Severus, or go try to calm her parents? The office she needed at the Ministry of Magic wouldn't open for more than an hour. It didn't take long to decide to track her parents down, then come back and see what Tonks had been able to find out for her. The woman had promised to help, after all.

After turning the heat off the vitamin potion, it took two dizzying Apparitions to get across the channel and to Majorca. Hermione ended in a wizarding pub near one of the beaches and stopped at the front desk to ask about the location of her parents' hotel and the closest owl mail station her parents could use. Luckily, both were within a few blocks.

When Hermione emerged into the sunlight after her stomach calmed, she turned her face upward and soaked in the heat it radiated. This was a beautiful spot, one she would have loved to visit under different circumstances. Tourist shops, food stalls, and hotel after hotel dotted the street. Between the buildings, she could see glimpses of white sand and blue ocean.

The walk to the hotel didn't take long, and when she arrived at the front desk, the woman called up to her parents' room right away to let them know she was there. Her father arrived at the front desk a few minutes later, explaining that they were still eating breakfast. Hermione smiled, as the Grangers were usually up and on their way much earlier in the day than that. He wrapped her in a tight hug, kissing her cheek and asking if she was OK. "We got last night's paper a little while ago. Needless to say, we were quite shocked," he said cryptically.

"Yes. Well, that rag is nothing more than a piece of rubbish," Hermione said as he led her to the elevators at the back of the reception area.

"Are the pictures rubbish too?" he asked blandly.

"Of course not. But ninety percent of the text was lies and speculation without any basis in fact. I promise to tell you everything when we can all sit down."

He didn't respond, but took her to the room where her mother was cleaning up from breakfast. She looked fresh and healthy, though there was a definite strain in her face that hadn't been there last time Hermione had seen her. Her mother wrapped Hermione tight in her arms, then set her back to look her over. "You don't look hurt. Even the cut from the picture is gone."

"Magic has its uses." Released, Hermione sat on the chair in the little parlor attached to the bedroom. Her parents took the sofa nearby.

"So?" her father asked.

With a sigh, Hermione looked at the rolled up paper on the coffee table and opened it. "I suppose there's nowhere to begin, but the beginning." She proceeded to tell about accidentally ingesting the potion, though she didn't explain how, and the results. She told of the Headmaster's demand of marriage and showed her wedding ring, then talked of the event Severus had been required to accomplish by both vows. She explained the strength and seriousness of an Unbreakable Vow, and then began detailing all of the things he had done to protect wizards and Muggles since Dumbledore's death. She talked of the meeting they had where he had made the vow to her, and of his work to create the spell that killed Voldemort. Then she told them of her experiences the day before, the battle, the final spell that ended it all forever. She didn't tell them about her pregnancy or the manor and house-elves. Those would wait for another moment.

When she was finished, her parents sat for a long time and internalized everything she had told them. When she thought they were accepting her story, she focused on the future. "So I'll have to return to England to see what steps can be taken to get him out of prison, to get the courts to release him to me."

"You don't mean you intend to help this man, to take him back after he's killed people. The man is a murderer; he's probably been using you all this time. I can't believe you married him and didn't tell us. If he's in prison, surely you can get your marriage nullified." This came from her mother.

"Absolutely. You can move back home and finish your schooling, then attend Uni," her father added. "We can get you a great psychiatrist to work out your confusion."

"I'm not speaking to a Muggle psychiatrist. They'd put me in the loony bin, say I'm mad when there's nothing wrong with me except that I'm not with my husband. I'm not going to Uni, I'm going to study for my N.E.W.T.s and work to get my husband out of prison.

"I'm pregnant. Neither of us had planned for this to happen so quickly, but there it is. You're going to be grandparents and there's nothing else for it. I love my husband, and I can't be separated from him or I will die. I mean that literally, Mum. I won't last through the four years of Uni without him. But before I die I will go slowly insane, leaving my child to become an orphan. I can't let that happen."

"Pregnant? Are you out of your mind?" Her mum shot from the chair, throwing her hands in the air, then lowered them to her own head to tug on her hair. "I thought you said it would be years before you got pregnant. He's no good for you."

"Mum, it happened, it sometimes does, even when one is on the pill or uses condoms." Hermione omitted the fact that he had deliberately gotten her with child. "I love him, I can't live without him, and I refuse to even try."

"Surely you're being overly dramatic," her mother said with a huff.

"I'm not. Just write and ask the Weasleys, would you? Or how about Minerva McGonagall; she's my professor. She's the new headmistress and with Voldemort out of the way, she'll no doubt be opening the school again before long."

"How can you go back to school if you're married and pregnant, Hermione?" her father asked. He and his wife were both very angry with her.

"I don't know, but I'm sure they'll work something out. I've got to go now and start work on trying to free my husband. I love you both, but I'm not giving up my life with him. When you really understand the seriousness of the situation, I hope you will forgive me for keeping secrets from you. There's an owl post near here where you can send me a message. I'll try and come back to visit within the week. Owl me if you wish to see me earlier." Hermione gave them the directions to the owl post, then Apparated away.

*****

The Ministry of Magic was teeming with people, and Hermione noticed dozens of reporters standing together in a group. Disillusioning herself so she wouldn't draw any unwanted attention after the lovely newspaper coverage she had received the previous evening, not to mention whatever had printed in that morning's paper, she shifted away from the crowd. Though she considered sneaking upstairs without having her wand weighed, Hermione decided to follow protocol and made herself visible when she reached the guard station, though she kept her face turned away from the reporters.

"Wand." The man said and Hermione gamely handed it over. She hadn't done so the last time she had been in this building, as it had been after hours and they were there on a mission to rescue Sirius. That had been a fiasco and a half, but at least the Ministry had no longer been able to deny Voldemort's return. She waited while the man dropped her wand in the strange brass scale and the bit of parchment came out of one end of the contraption. "Ten inches, vine wood with a dragon heartstring core. Been in use six years, is that right?" The man looked her in the eye for the first time.

"Yes. Can you tell me which floor the Auror Headquarters is located on?"

His eyes widened and she knew he recognized her. "You're Hermione Granger. You were at the battle yesterday. I read the Prophet..."

"The Daily Prophet publishes nothing but rubbish. Can I have my wand back?" Hermione held out her hand. The man gave it back but couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Is it true you were put under the Imperius by Severus Snape?"

"Excuse me." Hermione brushed past him and made his way to the elevator, knowing she could ask someone else what floor to stop on. She wasn't about to answer impertinent questions like that. When she got into the elevator though, it told her at each level which offices were located there, so she was able to get off at the second floor and head in the right direction without meeting anyone else's eye.

The Auror Headquarters was hopping with people calling back and forth to each other, memos zooming around and Aurors talking to prisoners in a series of rooms to her right. Hermione wasn't sure where to go, who to talk to, until she saw a flash of pink above a cubicle a bit ahead and to the left. Bless Tonks' predilection for pink hair.

When Hermione arrived at the opening of the cubicle, Tonks was dictating notes to her quill about some Death Eater. She looked wan, as though she hadn't eaten properly and didn't sleep at all the previous night. Not a surprise, Hermione figured, but she still felt sorry for the woman. When the dictation was done, Tonks picked the parchment up, dried it with a tap of her wand and slid it into a file.

"Hello, Tonks."

The Auror turned toward her and then grinned up at Hermione. "Oh, it's good to see you. Sorry I didn't make it to Headquarters after all, Remus and I got, er, tied up." A glint in her eye managed to make her shamed expression not quite believable.

"I bet. Look, I need to know what the charges are against my husband, if he's being taken care of, if I can send him anything . . . Oh, and there was a small notebook, a diary on him when he was taken away, he needs to have that, as it's how we communicate."

"They took it away because they weren't sure what spells were on it. It didn't look dangerous, but it was clear the writing was made to look different than it actually was. I'll see what we can do about that though. He's being held in Azkaban, which without the Dementors should be a much nicer place to stay than the first time he was held there, anyway." Tonks pulled a face at that.

Hermione felt her stomach turn. He had been there once before, just after the Dark Lord's first disappearance. She had forgotten that. Even without the Dementors there, it must be horrible to be back there. "What can I do for him? Can I see him?"

"I'm afraid not." Tonks directed her to a chair nearby, and Hermione sat. "They aren't letting anyone in to see the prisoners. I haven't been able to get information about trial dates or anything. My worst fear is that they won't hold trials at all. Those found with the Dark Mark might get shunted into Azkaban without question."

"No!"

"Shhhh, calm down. I don't know what's planned at this point, but it could be a long time before they get to him, or it could be next week. I'm working on getting some answers, but it wouldn't hurt for you to go speak with Gawain Robards, he's head of the department. You're a famous witch now, you might garner his sympathy."

"Not if he believed that rubbish the Daily Prophet printed."

"Give him a little credit, will you. Precious little, but a little all the same. His office is down the hall; I'm sure he'd like to get your angle on yesterday's events anyway. There was only so much I could put into Severus' file from personal experience and have it come out positive, you know, but your testimony might help push his court date forward if you don't get shirty with him."

"Me, shirty?" Hermione feigned innocence and Tonks rolled her eyes.

"Of course, what was I thinking?" She nudged Hermione out the door so she could get more work done.

Hermione felt her stomach turning as she approached the head's office. A few Aurors seemed to notice her and watch her progress down the hall, but no one stopped her. She was sure some of them had recognized her.

When she reached the door, she could see through the window that Robards was speaking with an Auror, and she leaned back against the wall for the conversation to end. Nearly forty-five minutes later, the door opened and the Auror came out. He saw her, then blinked in recognition and turned back. "Hey, there's a visitor out here to speak with you."

"Not another reporter."

"No, someone who's been in the paper lately, as it happens." The man looked back at her, lifted a brown eyebrow and walked down the hall. Robards, a rotund graying man came to the door and invited her in. "Miss Granger, I've been wanting to talk to you."

"I'm sure." Hermione took the seat he indicated and folded her hands together on her lap so she wouldn't fidget. "I came to speak to you about Severus Snape."

"Want to add your testimony, do you? Well, here's the documentation. We'll want to know how long you were under the Imperius Curse, of course, and what things he had you do while you were under his control."

"Will what I write here be used in his court case?"

"Absolutely. Though some of the Death Eater's guilt is so clear they may not be going to trial. Waste of time and galleons of course when written testimony is sufficient." He waved his hand and smiled reassuringly.

"Do you expect Snape to be one of these?" Hermione asked opening her eyes wide, as though she couldn't believe her luck, while she was inwardly seething at the practices the Ministry was willing to go through, yet again.

"Most likely. He is the man who killed Dumbledore, after all. We have the Boy Who Lived as a witness to that. It almost makes me wish we still had Dementors in Azkaban."

Her hands shaking with rage, Hermione carefully placed the pen back on the paper on the top of the desk with only her first name written on the top. She folded her hands together again and blinked rapidly at him. "I'd really like to see him go to trial, Mr. Robards. I can't tell you how much it would mean to me for everything he has done to be brought out into the light of day. I'm afraid if I write it here, everything will be shunted away, and no one will know the kind of man he truly is. He should pay for everything he's done in the eyes of the public, not just in the time spent in prison, don't you think?" She allowed tears to leak from her eyes. They were honest tears, even if the way she twisted things made them seem completely different than they were.

"Oh, well, yes, of course. You do have a point, though the media circus..."

"Will give him exactly the kind of recognition the secretive, manipulating bastard deserves, don't you think." She allowed a smirk to form on her face, as she was feeling a bit smug. The man was eating this up. "I can guarantee Harry Potter will be in favor of the trial and will certainly speak out if the Ministry doesn't follow through with the public's right to know the full truth. Snape's hated Harry his whole life and worked his hardest to make Harry miserable. Do you think it's right that Harry shouldn't have a chance to see Snape in court?"

The man's face brightened and he shook his head. "No, no I don't. You're absolutely right. I'll see to it that a trial is set shortly. Next week if at all possible." He stood and called down the hall to his secretary. "Have a trial date set for Severus Snape as soon as possible," he told her. Then turning back to Hermione, he smiled. "I'll send you information about the court date as soon as I have something official."

"That would be wonderful!" Hermione said through her tears and wiped her face. "Could you also send a full list of the charges brought before him? I'd love to know what all you were accusing him of, so I can come up with any testimony that might be fitting. I might be able to find additional people to testify on some points too. After all, before he murdered Dumbledore he was involved with the organization who took out Voldemort yesterday. I'm sure I can find information there you couldn't."

"You are a bright witch, you are. I'll do that as soon as possible." He shook her hand and led her to the door. "Keep in touch if you have anything more you'd like to tell us."

"Thank you!" Hermione smiled brightly through her tears; she turned and left the office, not allowing the anger and hatred she was feeling to enter her face until she was well away. Severus would have his day in court, and she would do everything in her power to ensure it was a fair trial. Hermione wondered how Rita Skeeter was doing for insider tips lately? She would certainly salivate at the opportunity to show up at the trial of Severus Snape.

First, she had to face that wall of reporters downstairs. And to make sure the Ministry was forced to hold the trial, she would announce to all and sundry that the date was being set for next week and the wizarding public had a right to see it. Purpose filled her chest, and Hermione considered her options for the best way to present it.

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AN: A huge thanks to all my reviewers, my apologies for not responding to all of them individually.

Thanks to my beta, countrymouse, and to ladyinthecloak for helping me clean up my chapter.