Thanks to my beta, peskipiksi. She keeps me on the straight and narrow! Don't own, just play. Now, on to part II...

The Astronomy Tower. Winds raged and thrust fingers of heat and damp into every corner, ripping at robes and hair. The sharp tang of ozone filled the electric air and lingered on the tongue. Green lightening flashed over and over, brighter and brighter. Feral laughter rang through the halls. Old eyes, their perpetual twinkle dimmed by fatigue, pled with his. Reluctantly, hatefully, he raised his arm, his hand, the holly wand trembled slightly.

"Harry...please..." the old man begged.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry Potter jerked from his sleep, screaming. It had been this way ever since he, along with Arthur and Ron Weasley, had opened the secret cell in Azkaban Prison six weeks previously. He and Ron had been suspended from the Auror Office pending investigation, because of their part in holding a Ministry-declared innocent in the bowels of Azkaban, and to top this off, his wife had left him. Harry threw himself back on his pillow and tried to calm his racing heart and silence the voices in his head: Dumbledore pleading, Bellatrix Lestrange howling her demented laughter, Hermione crying. Of everything, it was the crying that tore at him the most; Hermione kneeling over Professor Snape, then her grandfather and accusing Harry of murder.

Harry scrubbed his hands over his face. Nights like this made him miss Ginny even more. "One more sin to lay at the feet of Severus Snape," Harry thought harshly. "Everyone I've ever loved has left me, and it's all Snape's fault."

And now, Severus Snape was somewhere in the world living his life while Harry once again had nothing. The unfairness of it all pierced Harry to his very heart. Snape, the murderer of Dumbledore and Sirius and so many others was alive and well, and Hermione knew something about it; at the very least she knew in which direction to search for him. Harry knew he couldn't rest until he found her and in turn he would find the last enemy that needed to be destroyed. He wouldn't be whole again until his family had been avenged.

Once more, Harry had refused to admit his own weaknesses, his own culpability in how his life was turning out. It didn't matter that he had first pushed Hermione away with his insistence that his own brand of justice be dealt to Severus Snape. He had now pushed Ginny away with his anger issues, his obsessive need to locate Hermione and the fact that he was at work more often than at home. Ginny finally had had enough of his mood swings and had taken the children to the Burrow.

For the past few years, Ginny had grown increasingly concerned for her husband. He had been acting out of sorts ever since the day Hermione had left, and if she hadn't been secure in her marriage, Ginny would have been jealous. Harry's mood swings and issues had steadily worsened over time. He obsessively chased after leads to Hermione's whereabouts declaring that nothing would be right until she came home, even going so far as to threaten George after he had finally returned to England. When Ginny challenged him on his newest obsession, Harry just told her that Hermione was his best friend and he deserved to know where and how she was. He never did understand why she left. He hated Snape and so took it for granted that every one of his friends would agree with him. At this point, Ron was the only one who still followed along.

Knowing that he wouldn't get back to sleep after the nightmare that woke him up, Harry made his way down to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. He reached for the soothing blend that Molly had given him, hoping that it would ease the tensions that had been a part of him for as long as he could remember. Cup in hand, he made his way up to the library and to his desk. He might not be working officially right now, but he could still do some research and work on the newest leads on Hermione's whereabouts. As soon as the sun came up, an owl arrived, tapping at the library window. Puzzled, Harry let the owl in and took the parchment tied to its leg. It was an official Ministry of Magic letter and Harry quickly ripped it open, hoping to find that his suspension from the Auror Office was over. He was ready to get back to work.

Auror Harry Potter (suspended)

12 Grimmauld Place,

You are hereby ordered to the Minister of Magic's office at 9:00 am to discuss your future with the Ministry and the Auror Office.

Signed,

Arthur Weasley, Minister of Magic

Gawain Robards, Head Auror

Harry grinned. Finally, he would be getting back to work and then he could start really searching for Hermione again. Then Ginny could come home and everything would be back to normal. Harry dropped the parchment on the desk and took off upstairs. He didn't have long to get ready and get to Arthur's office. As he made his way to the bathroom, a Patronus interrupted his thoughts. Ron's voice excitedly asked if he had got a letter, and where did they want to meet prior to going into the Ministry? Harry sent off his own Patronus and went to finish getting ready.

Harry Potter and Ron Weasley stood in front of the Minister of Magic and the Head of the Auror Office. The tension in the room was palpable. None of the four men looked pleased to be in this particular meeting. The Minister broke the tense silence and began reading from a scroll.

"Auror Potter, Auror Weasley, you have broken a sacred trust and dishonored yourselves, the Auror Office, the Ministry, and what it means to be a member of Wizarding Society. You took it upon yourselves, along with two others, to destroy an innocent man in the name of revenge. Because of your actions, another innocent life was destroyed. "

Ron flinched, but Harry remained impassive as Arthur continued to read the scroll.

"By Ministerial Decree and in accordance with Wizarding Law Fifty Six of 1345, you are sentenced to Azkaban Prison for a period of not longer than two years. As further decreed by the Minister's Office and the Auror Office, your suspensions from the Auror Office are hereby made permanent."

The office was deathly silent as Arthur allowed the scroll to reroll itself. A wave of his wand, a flash of blue, and the scroll was officially filed. Chief Robards ignored his former Aurors and turned to the Minister.

"Sir, you have fifteen minutes before I need to get the prisoners to Azkaban. I will leave you to it."

Arthur nodded and fell back into his chair. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply before facing his son and son-in-law. "Boys, I am sorry it came to this, but in order to put this behind us I had no choice."

Ron opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off.

"Son! What you two have done is beyond wrong! I know you had your differences with Severus Snape, but the Wizengamot saw fit to exonerate the man. Dumbledore exonerated him. I don't even know what else to say!" Arthur pushed himself out of the chair, and he began to pace frantically in front of the ornate fireplace that dominated the room. "Yes, I do know what to say. You were told, by me, by your mother, by everyone who heard your opinions of Severus. You were TOLD by your best friend that what you were doing was wrong! Hermione was right when she said you were acting no better than Death Eaters. I cannot believe that you would turn your back on everything we have ever taught you. Ron, you and Harry are never going to come back from this. Against my better judgement, but at the request of the Auror Office and the War Crimes committee of the Wizengamot, the true details surrounding your incarceration will not be revealed. As far as the general public is concerned, there was a terrible accident involving the Auror Office and the Muggle world, and you two are responsible. The crux of the truth is there, but no one will know that you tortured someone and planned an assassination."

Ron dropped to his knees in front of Arthur and started sobbing. "Dad, I am so sorry. I never meant anything bad to happen, Harry and Mad-Eye were so sure, and I just wanted to make sure that our world was safe! Please, forgive me; tell me Mum will forgive me!"

Arthur dropped a hand to his son's head and whispered. "It wasn't your place, son. You have to go through the proper channels as Severus did. It was bad enough the treatment he got while awaiting trial, but you intended to hurt him because you just didn't like him. That is hard to swallow, Ron."

Harry had been silent throughout the entire proceedings and after Ron's outburst he stood. "Minister, I apologize for hurting you and your family and for breaking the Auror Office's trust. I will take my punishment, but I still believe Snape is guilty, and one day I will prove it. I will get him for taking everyone I love away from me."

Arthur simply shook his head. "Harry, let this go. You have already caused the torture and death of an innocent man. You HURT your best friend's grandfather! You've also broken the hearts of your wife and children. Nothing good will come from you dwelling on something that you are so wrong about. Can't you see that what you, Moody, Ron, and Kingsley did was wrong? I wouldn't be Minister of Magic right now if the guilt hadn't led Kingsley to commit suicide. He thought you and Moody were right to begin with until he sat down and really studied all the evidence and talked again to Albus' portrait. I read his farewell letter. He broke the Unbreakable Vow he swore to you because he thought it poetic justice. You HAVE to let this go. Use your time in Azkaban to come to your senses. Come home and be with your family and become the man you should be."

As Arthur finished, Gawain Robards re-entered the room followed by two Aurors. "Minister, I got approval for you to retain the wands of the prisoners. They can get them back from you as soon as they have completed their sentences."

He nodded to the Minister and then the two Aurors. "Time to go. I want to get this done before anyone alerts the press."

Arthur embraced both boys tightly and then Ron and Harry were escorted to the fireplace and Floo'd to Chief Robards' office. From there they were taken to Azkaban to start their two-year sentences.