Severus Snape and His Predictably Inexplicable Trial
Summary:
Severus's life had always had its strange moments. He has personally been attacked by a werewolf. He can fly without a broom. He was the youngest ever to get potions mastery and become a Hogwarts Professor. He is a master spy, trusted by both inner-circles. But even he didn't expect his war crimes trial to be this bizarre.
Disclaimer:
Standard. I own no part of Rowling's characters/universe/etc.
This is my first story so don't expect miracles!
Notes on my AU:
Here Snape survived the snake attack and is hence delivered to the mercy of the Ministry of Magic justice system.
I believe that since Snape knew he was going to battle with Nagini, he would have had the Arthur Weasley antidote and a strong beozer already ingested.
Plus all wizards, or at least the smart ones, would have a standard battle potions kit that would certainly address the top 10 ways wizards die in battle. For example, if the leading cause of death is blood loss from a cutting curse or explosion of some type. Fender's Elixir for Lion Tamers is generally recommended as the preventative for this by the International Guild of Peaceful Potion Masters although they warn that blood replenishers must be administered within six hours.
Snape could have easily covered the suffocation threat category by an especially fresh does of Beatty's Skin Breathing Potion, which was a potion he found when researching for Harry's second task in the Tri-wiz. Snape wouldn't have had the obscure Mediterranean herb 'gillyweed' in his stores if he hadn't been practicing brewing this skin breathing potion.
The Inner Organ Liquid life Jackets potion was the standard suggestion against being crushed (all or in part) but Snape preferred his own wickedly complex potion; Severus Snape's Stasis Shock Stopper because it covered a much wider range of situations where he was in deep, deep trouble. He argued that it was true that wizards (Gryffindors) could actively fight longer with the Liquid Life Jacket. However, the large amounts of dittany in the life jacket potion made the application of most class 2 or above healing potions after the battle dicey at best. As a Slytherin he would rather play dead and so that he may snatch at victory on a different day.
The larger point is that there are a finite number of threats for which Snape could easily predict and were easily avoided for a wizard and potion master of his caliber. Snape believed it was inevitable that his death would come just as quickly (and probably more painfully) from a threat he couldn't predict, but at least he would not be embarrassed.
And just because he didn't expect to survive the war didn't mean he didn't have an obligation to try. And just because everybody was calling this "the final battle", it didn't guarantee that it was. And just because he had fought to hang on to the world with only his bloody finger nails and toes and teeth for 20 years doesn't mean he wasn't going to fail now.
However, the snake's poison was enough to throw him into stasis and that is what Harry saw when he thought he saw him die. And for this story's purposes, Shape was retrieved, healed and then sent to Azkaban to await being executed and tried.
