Because I love all of you so much...two chapters today! Only one more chapter to go...

Chapter Nine – The Trial

They had asked him to go to the trial, so he had put on a nice suit and Apparated at the Ministry. It had been so long since he had been there. He had been fired two months ago for not ever coming to work. It had caused a big fuss at the time, what with him being Harry Potter and all, but he had enough money to happily live out his life without ever needing to work again, and if he kept up his drinking, it would only be another few years before his liver gave out and ended the agony that had become his life. He knew that he looked terrible; all of his friends had told him so, and had begged and pleaded with him to get some help, and that they were willing to help him get a job somewhere. But he didn't really want a job. He was fairly happy being unemployed and drunk all the time. The way he saw it, he had made his contribution to the Wizarding World by getting rid of Voldemort, and so if they didn't mind, he would love to just be left alone.

Snape looked even worse than he had when he'd been living with Harry. He was so thin as to be skeletal, and his hair – that long, greasy mess that had been reviled by several generations of students – was starting to fall out. His eyes still had that same blank, staring quality, and the way he moved as he was led into the room made Harry think of all of those old Muggle zombie movies.

Apparently, he still hadn't confessed – Harry wasn't surprised – but they'd decided to go on with the trial anyway. They'd made all kinds of speeches about setting a new precedent, but Harry suspected that they were just tired of waiting. He couldn't exactly blame them; this was Dumbledore's murderer and he deserved to be punished for what he'd done.

Hermione had spent considerable time trying to figure out what was wrong with Snape and had even had permission to go to Azkaban several times to try out one thing or another. Nothing had worked, just as Harry had guessed. Whether this was voluntary or a product of Death Eater malice, Snape was mute, and seemed pretty determined to stay that way.

Everyone knew that the trial was little but a formality. He was going to be convicted, and he was going to be convicted on Harry Potter's testimony. There was a big hush as Harry came up to the stand.

"Were you present at the murder of Albus Dumbledore?"

"Yes, I was."

"Do you see his killer anywhere here?"

"Yes, I do."

"Could you please name that person."

"Severus Snape."

"You're certain that it was him?"

"Absolutely positive." Harry launched into a summary of what had happened, but was quickly cut off. Everyone had heard it before and no one wanted to hear it again. It was still just too painful.

"You brought Severus Snape into your home a short while ago, is that correct?"

"Yes, he lived with me for about a week."

"What was the purpose of this?"

"To see if I could get a confession out of him. I did not think that being in Azkaban would give him much incentive to confess, and I thought that being somewhere else might."

"Were you able to procure such a confession?"

"No, I was not."

"Why were you not able?"

"As I am sure that anyone involved with this case knows, Severus Snape is functionally mute. It is not known whether this is voluntary or magically induced, but he is more like a walking corpse than a living person. Just look at him! He's not even paying attention to what's going on." It was true. Snape was just staring blankly at the wall in front of him, and had been doing so since he had been brought in. "How can you condemn a man like that, a man who doesn't even seem to be alive?"

"That's enough, Mr. Potter. You are not qualified to make judgments on the defendant's mental state and I will remind you to remember that."

"It's hardly out of place when everyone can see it." For some reason, a rebellious streak had risen in him. "If the Death Eaters did this to him, it means that there's something wrong with the way we're looking at things. We can't kill him."

There was a sudden hush in the courtroom and Harry felt all eyes on him.

"What did you say, Mr. Potter?"

Harry looked around the courtroom. They were all waiting to hear what he had to say, waiting to hear why he thought that they shouldn't kill the most dangerous Death Eater still alive today. He hadn't meant to do this, but as always, his knack for making trouble could never stay dormant for long enough, and popped up at the very worst moments.

"I don't know how much of this the Ministry would like me to say. Peculiar things have started to happen again, things that are very badly reminiscent of the Dark Lord, Voldemort. While I do believe that I killed him, I cannot be certain that he is dead. We all know of Lord Voldemort's powers, and I do not think it unreasonable that he could have risen a third time. I am not denying that Severus Snape killed Albus Dumbledore, I saw him do it. What I am saying is that maybe Snape knows something that could help us. Maybe that's why the Death Eaters made him mute. Maybe he could be the key to our victory."

"Albus Dumbledore felt the same way about Snape last time, that is well know."

"I agree. I do not doubt that Snape is very dangerous. But I think that killing him would be a huge mistake, one that the entire Wizarding World would come to regret. He needs to be kept alive, at least until we can figure out just what is going on." Harry stood up. "And that is all I have to say. Thank you."