CHAPTER TWENTY

I focused my energy on Severus first. I knew he'd be the easiest person for me to spot in a crowd.

But when I found him, he was in an empty room with Filch guarding him. I sighed, breaking my concentration, but I soon regained it and discovered the meeting in the Great Hall.

"We shan't allow a murderer to teach at Hogwarts Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry! It's simply appalling, and it's a danger to our students. If he has indeed killed, then he should indeed be kicked to the street. No man or woman, wizard or witch, should be hear that has criminal experience. And is he or is he not a confirmed member of the Dark Lord's followers? If he is, then he should definitely be removed!" Professor McGonagall hissed.

Many people clapped when she was finished. In fact, a good three-fourths of the room clapped for her. I didn't know if some were just being polite or if they all supported her. But I did know that things were tense and serious, and they had been for a while: Several professor were sweating profusely. In fact, the only calm one seemed to be Dumbledore, who stood from his large chair and approached the podium.

"Now that we've heard from everyone who is against allowed Professor Snape to continue teaching here, would his supporters please approach the stage?" Dumbledore called. I used my mind's eye to scan the room very quickly. No one stood, and I felt my heart drop. "If no one wishes to speak on his behalf, then I have no choice but to-"

I appeared in the back of the room without realizing what I was doing. Dumbledore withheld a gasp: He'd seen me appear, but he didn't see the door open. I'd been caught using my American witch abilities, and I'd been caught eavesdropping by the look of his grin.

"Ms. Breeze, would you like to speak on his behalf?" Dumbledore called to me. Heads turned, and gasps sounded from all directions. One figure stood, and I recognized her as Professor McGonagall.

"Headmaster, you wouldn't possibly let a mere child speak on his behalf. He's been her supporter this whole year: She's been brainwashed!" she exclaimed.

"That may be so, Professor, but since she is here, I wish to let her speak. Breeze?" Dumbledore called.

Slowly, I walked up the main aisle to the podium. The Great Hall was almost ominous without its large banquet tables and some form of decoration items floating above. Usually thousands of candles were there, but now there were merely clouds. It was as if they wanted the ceiling to be as out-of-the-way as possible so they wouldn't distract anyone. How anyone could be distracted in such a meeting was beyond me.

I walked up the steps and stood behind the podium. I was too short to see over it, so a chair was summoned to hold me up. I nodded to the producer, Dumbledore, before turning back to the crowd.

"I have a lot of respect for Professor Snape. I've had a predicament, a lengthy one, that he knew nothing about. The day he began teaching, this predicament was thrown into his lap. I had snapped at Professor McGonagall, and being the disciplinarian she is, he was called into the situation to help punish me.

"But he soon realized there was more to my problem than a bad attitude, and he decided to help me. There was no one else who could, and even Dumbledore hasn't been as big of a help as Professor Snape has been.

"He's the only one that notices, really. The students ignore me, the teachers ignore me, but Professor Snape never did, even during his hard time earlier this year. He knew I was in good hands the entire time, and I trust him to have those instincts in the coming years.

"But he can't help me if he's not here. He can't help me discover the reason I've been stuck like this for twenty years if he's locked in Azkaban for a hundred years. He's no help to anyone like that, and he is indeed a help. While I respected Professor Tanwick, he wasn't harsh enough on us. The seventh-years were never very stressed about his lessons: They knew their fifth-year work was enough. Professor Snape is the opposite: Even the first-years know to pay attention in his class because they'll fail otherwise.

"Professor Snape is the greatest Potions Master this school has ever had, and ever will have. If you decide to remove him over what could be a rumor, or a plot by the Dark Lord's followers to bring him down, then you're burying a good man. He doesn't deserve the treatment he's received over the years, yet people wonder why he's so bitter.

"Professor McGonagall, you wonder why I'm so bitter, and why I acted the way I did that first day. You aren't seeing the entire story, and until you walk a mile in my shoes, you have no right to judge me. The same goes for Professor Snape," I said sternly, looking her directly in the eye.

Half the room clapped when I was finished, and I stepped down from my chair quietly. I nodded to Dumbledore before leaving the stage.

But rather than leave the room, I took a seat on the last row. A few professors looked, but the rest ignored me. I then realized that I didn't need an invisibility charm: My curse already provided it free of charge. I pushed this from my thoughts as Dumbledore returned to the podium.

"Thank you, Breeze," he smiled, winking at me. I nodded to him in return, carefully monitoring the heads in the room. None turned my way. "I've made my decision as to how to handle this situation. Professor Grey, you brought hard evidence that shouldn't be handled lightly. You managed to drum up many professors to support your claims.

"But you provided no more research to back up your claims. Breeze mentioned a very valid point: Until we get the full story of Professor Snape's past, we have no right to judge him. Pending a full investigation by outside sources, Professor Snape may stay at Hogwarts Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Any professor who targets either him or Breeze will be removed immediately. I need my professors to be a strong force that stands together: I will not tolerate my professor singling out one of the others."

The murmurs began after he finished speaking. They didn't agree with his decision, but they had no choice but to accept it.

The room cleared quickly, and when no one was looking, I used my abilities to appear in my loft. The raven chirped happily when he saw me, and I smiled in return, but I had a lot on my mind. Severus might be allowed to stay for the moment, but we both had much bigger problems.