Author's Notes: The usual thank you's to my beta-readers, Big Momma and Ria *Hands out a chocolate covered Snape cookie*, and also to PlatinumNacht for being my muse on the flash-back - Cheers, darlin!I've gotten lazy with looking up good chapter names in the family Bible. So I've gone for a slightly more obvious title name. This chapter's dedicated to all the reviewing possee, including Dave, Adrienne, Rachel, amythest, kiyuchan, Meg Carter, Geministarz, pauline, padfoots_bitch (big thanks to you!), Huntress Angel, kate, Dark-past, sev1970, t.a.g., ranger, evelia and Els-chan (These are all the people that reviewed chapter 11). This chapter is dedicated to you guys, for making the story worth writing!
The Defence
Snape sat heavily on the bench in the staff area of the Quidditch stands. He was slightly out of breath from the climb. 'I'm getting old,' he thought. It was only a short time before the seat next to him was also occupied. Snape made a general point not to speak to people first, and so was surprised when the man who had sat next to him laid a hand on his shoulder, and leaned over to whisper, "Surprise."
Snape raised an eyebrow, but made no other movement. "Indeed. What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to watch my son thrash the Potter boy, of course." Lucius removed his hand, sliding it slowly down his arm to brush against Snape's hand, stroking along the fingers idly, until Snape turned his hand over to grasp the other.
"I wouldn't be so sure. Harsh as it would be to deride my own house, the Gryffindor's team is superior. Mr Malfoy, after all, has only been with the team for a month or so."
Lucius shook his head. "Ever the pessimist, Severus. Whatever happened to the underdog?"
Severus said nothing. He simply raised an eyebrow in response, and squeezed Lucius' hand. For the moment, they were the only ones in the box.
"Did you miss me?" Lucius asked, at length.
Snape turned his head and frowned at Lucius. "I wasn't aware you had been away."
Lucius smiled briefly. "And they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I have been in France, visiting my Father."
Snape smiled wryly. "How is old Tiberius these days?"
Lucius sighed heavily. "Still alive, still cantankerous, still trying to convince himself that his only son isn't gay! I think he's like the Potter brat – he lives on to spite us all!"
Snape allowed himself a chuckle at that – after all, there was no one but they there to witness it.
"It's good to know I can still make you laugh."
Snape lifted his lover's hand and dropped a soft kiss on it. "There are many things you can still make me do – laughing is the least of them."
Lucius leant towards Snape and whispered conspiratorially, "Perhaps we can explore those avenues later, Professor."
Snape smiled, pressing his lips briefly to Lucius'. "Perhaps, indeed."
They separated quickly as Professor McGonagall entered the box. Snape shiftily flicked his robes to one side to cover their hands, still entwined together. "Good day Severus," she greeted him. Her face fell slightly as she saw Lucius. "Mr Malfoy."
Both nodded their greetings. Minerva sat on Severus' other side. "Ready for a good thrashing, I hope, Severus."
"Your optimism, as ever, is truly nauseating, Minerva. The chasers are evenly matched; our beaters carry more weight in their swing than yours, although I will own your keeper is marginally superior. In my opinion, it is down to the seekers. It is anybody's game."
Minerva gave a very un-ladylike snort of derisive laughter. "Potter is better on a broom than half the international seekers. There's no question as to who will catch the snitch."
Lucius leant forward and raised a very critical eyebrow, watching with some sadistic pleasure as Professor McGonagall's face flushed and her mouth puckered. He sat back in his original position, not missing the somewhat satisfied smirk on Snape's face.
"How is Mrs Malfoy?" McGonagall asked after a brief pause.
Snape's jaw clenched, but he forced his face into a mask of nonchalance. "Yes, how is Narcissa?"
Lucius squeezed Snape's hand before answering. "My wife is always in perfect health, thank you. She is only sorry she couldn't attend. She has an old friend in Austria who has become very ill, and has apparated to see her."
More people began to filter into the box, each nodding their greetings.
Snape looked at Lucius closely, leaning in so they could speak more privately. "Anyone I know?"
Lucius shook his head. "Some distant relative or friend of the family, I think." He dropped his voice so only the two of them could hear. "Wasn't paying that much attention, to tell you the truth."
Snape stopped the smile that threatened to spread across his lips for the sake of keeping up appearances. The box filled gradually, until there was only one seat empty – the one that was always reserved for the commentator, Lee Jordan. At length he entered, smiling briefly to his head of house, before taking his seat. He took out his wand and pointed it as his throat. "Sonarus," he said.
"Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Slytherins – Put your hands together and stamp your feet for…The Gryffindor team!"
The large stadium erupted into boos and cheers, as the seven small figures all dressed in scarlet and gold robes flew onto the pitch. Each did a brief lap, waving to friends and occasionally making rude hand gestures to enemies. Snape sighed heavily, wishing that Dumbledore hadn't banned him from deducting house points at Gryffindor matches.
"And now, give it up for…The Slytherin team!"
The green and silver stands went wild as the green clad figures flew into the air. They, too, performed a lap of honour. Draco raised a hand briefly to his father as he passed, and Lucius inclined his head in return.
"I forgot to thank you for your kind donation to our team," Snape said.
Lucius dropped his voice to a soft growl, stroking one of his fingers along the side of Snape's thigh. "You can thank me properly later." Snape suppressed a shiver, choosing instead to smirk and press his leg closer to Lucius'.
The game began at a fast moving pace. The quaffle passed quickly from hand to hand, each team occasionally scoring goals and fouls. Snape failed to notice a lot of this as Lucius' hand roamed over his left thigh, squeezing and soothing occasionally – being generally distracting. As his thumb brushed a particularly sensitive spot, Snape grabbed the hand and held it tight. "Mr Malfoy, I have found you committing lewd acts with a teacher. I have no choice but to award you a nine hour detention to be served in my rooms tonight."
Lucius smirked. "Yes, Professor. I am sorry."
"So you should be, you over-sexed brat."
Lucius laughed out loud, and Snape couldn't resist smiling at the rich, seldom-heard sound.
***
Snape was shaken from his memories as a loud 'bang' sounded the end of the court recess.
"I understand that during the recess Mr Malfoy has been administered with an extra truth potion?" Fictus frowned at the sheet of paper that had just been shoved under his nose.
"Yes, Minister," Harry replied.
"I am unfamiliar with this potion. Please explain why it is being used."
Harry stood from behind his desk, and lifted the small bottle that sat on it. "This," he said, "is Aspicio Draft, also known as the Seeing Potion. It is used to reveal the true truth behind the believed truth. I use it today because, as not many people know, Veritaserum forces a person to tell what he believes to be the truth. It is obvious to everyone here that Mr Malfoy is not in his right mind, and I believe that, as part of the abuse he has received, his mind and memories have been warped. Using this potion, I hope to find out what actually happened to this man."
"You have not tested this potion on Mr Malfoy before?" Fictus asked.
"No, Minister. Though, the potion has been tested by the MLE potions masters and passed as safe to use."
"So, you yourself do not know what will be revealed by this potion?" The pompous man now looked rather amused.
"No, but having spoken to the defendant, I have a fair idea of what will be said."
Fictus nodded. "Continue."
Harry nodded back, and then addressed Draco's nurse. "He's been dosed correctly, yes?"
"Yes, Mr Potter." The nurse swooned slightly, making Snape smirk. He had noticed Harry had that effect on quite a few women.
"Thank you." Harry smiled at Draco, who scowled back. Some things never change, thought Snape.
"Now, Draco. I just want to test the potion and see if it works. What do you think of me?"
"I think you're an idiot with an inflated ego, who can't catch the snitch for toffee. And you're a raving poofter!" Draco didn't stop scowling.
Harry grinned triumphantly. "It works!" There were a few titters of laughter. "Right, down to business. Could you please tell me about your relationship with your father, Draco?"
Draco opened his mouth to reply, but Ron got there first. "Objection. Minister, this has nothing to do with Professor Snape."
"But everything to do with the charges against him," Harry replied quickly. "I promise you, this line of questioning has a point."
Fictus nodded. "Answer the question, Mr Malfoy."
"I hate him."
"Why do you hate him, Draco?" Harry frowned slightly.
"I hate him because he only punishes. He punishes and punishes, and I've never been good enough for him. He's never once says he loves me. Or that he's proud of me. That's why I hate him." While the Veritaserum made Draco dull and lifeless, this potion seemed to bring Draco back to the boy he had been at school.
"When you say he punishes you – how do you mean?"
"I mean he used to hit me with that bloody cane of his. And when his cane wasn't close enough to hand, he'd use his fist. And when he was feeling too lazy to use his fist, he'd use his wand."
There were scattered gasps around the room. Snape would have relaxed at things running so smoothly, but he had seen the wounds Draco had received first hand. Hearing about them from his own lips simply wasn't something he found pleasure in.
"That must have caused a lot of wounds, Draco. How did you have them treated?"
"Mother was going to be a medi-witch before she married father. She dealt with anything basic enough to heal at home. Otherwise father would take me to St Mungo's and tell them I'd had falls playing Quidditch. I think they suspected something, but they never said. That's another reason I hate him," he added, bitterly. "He can stop people speaking with his money."
Harry nodded. "Draco, when you were under the Veritaserum you mentioned that Professor Snape had sexually abused you when you went to see him for tutoring. Do you still stand by this?"
Draco frowned, as though thinking about the question. "That's not what happened," he said slowly. "Snape…I did go to him for tutoring…and I didn't learn anything there…that was true. We talked, though. He let me talk to him about father. He said his father used to beat him, too. He promised not to tell anyone about it, but that I could trust him if I needed to talk to someone."
"Were you ever sexually abused when you were a child, Draco?"
"Yes."
"By whom?" Harry was resting heavily on the bar that divided them. Snape could see the hope in his eyes, and imagined it was reflected in his own.
"By Voldemort."
Gasps echoed around the room, and Harry frowned in confusion. "By Voldemort? Not by your father?"
Draco shook his head. "Voldemort used to use polyjuice to transform into Father. I always thought it was him, at the time. Although, Father gave his hair willingly for the potion, and he'd watch sometimes. Father also gave some of Professor Snape's hairs. When Voldemort and Father found out that Professor Snape wasn't a real Death Eater, they started to tell me that it was him doing it. They'd make me say his name, things like that. In the end, it was easier to believe them than get battered."
Harry's expression had turned into one of pity. "I'm sorry to make you go through it again, Draco, but I have to be absolutely certain. Professor Snape didn't abuse you, in any way?"
Draco shook his head. "Never. He wouldn't have done it. I see that now."
Draco turned his head, and met Snape's eyes. Both pairs had tears in, and Snape smiled gratefully.
"Thank you, Draco. No further questions, minister. But with the evidence given, I ask that the charge be lifted from the defendant."
"Of course," Fictus agreed. "Mr Malfoy, you are free to leave. Mr Weasley, kindly call your next witness."
Ron turned scarlet, as Draco was taken out of the court by the same door. "Uh…Actually, Minister…Um, I don't have any more witnesses."
Fictus sighed heavily. "Why not?"
"I thought the other charges were rather self-explanatory." Snape watched Harry's growing look of delight. "I mean we already knew from the previous trial that he's a Death Eater, and there are only three witnesses to his use of Avada Kadavra – Two of them are dead, and the other one is heading his defence."
Fictus was wearing the look that usually adorned Snape's face after he had endured a whole day of Slytherin-Gryffindor potions classes. Especially when they contained the cauldron-melting wonder, Neville Longbottom. "Sit down, Weasley."
Ron did as he was told, meekly.
"Mr Potter. Please tell me you have some witnesses?"
Harry nodded happily. "Quite a lot of them. But I now feel that not all of them will be needed to prove my point. I'll limit it to two."
Fictus nodded something that sounded like, "I'm not surprised." He spoke rather louder then, saying, "Call your first witness then."
"My first witness is Remus Lupin."
The witness door opened again, and in walked Lupin, looking as skinny and scruffy as ever. He smiled at Snape, and winked at Harry, before climbing into the witness box. Harry grinned back at his former teacher, before gathering himself and trying to look very serious.
"Professor Lupin. How long have you known Professor Snape?"
Lupin also wore a look of mock-seriousness. "Since my first year at school. Severus was in the year above me, in the same year as two of my friends. They didn't like him very much, so I got to hear a lot about him. He also gave me tuition in potions when I was in my fifth year. Since then, we have been somewhat thrust together through each of the wars, and in 1999 and 2002 we worked together at Hogwarts."
"You mentioned you worked with him during the war. How is it that you, a known member of The Order, associated with a supposed Death Eater?"
Lupin smiled amiably. "Ah yes, well, what not a lot of people realise is that Professor Snape was also a member of The Order. He was simply a little more modest in owning it than the rest of us. But yes, he was there. He led projects on inside information – no one gives inside information better, you know, than a man who attends all of the other side's meetings."
"During this time, you never once suspected that he was double crossing you?" Harry smiled.
"Not once. Professor Dumbledore trusted him, and that was enough for me."
"And after Professor Dumbledore died?"
"Well, after his death it was mainly he and yourself, Harry, that pushed for Voldemort's final demise. On top of that, Professor Snape always made it very clear that he didn't want much to do with other plans or information. He was very happy to be left out, because he didn't want certain people to think he was relaying information to Voldemort."
"Thank you very much, Remus. No further questions, Minister Fictus."
"Weasley? Can you be trusted to cross-examine?"
Ron's ears and cheeks went very pink. "Yes, Minister." He stood and walked towards the witness box. "Professor Lupin, what was the general impression people had of Professor Snape at school?"
Lupin shrugged. "I suppose he wasn't very well liked. James and Sirius, my friends at school, certainly despised him because he was a bit of a know-it-all in class." Snape raised an eyebrow at the werewolf, who studiously ignored him. "He's always been anti-social, to a certain extent. But some people just get on better with books than people. I do know those, however, that get on with him very well." Snape noticed that it was now Harry that was turning pink, and smirked. When Harry saw this, he went even redder.
"Isn't it true that Snape was very interested in the Dark Arts at school?"
"Objection, Minister," Harry said, almost lazily. "What Professor Snape's interests were when he was twelve can have little relevance to this trial. Furthermore, we know that Snape was a Death Eater, we are trying to ascertain whether or not he was when Voldemort died."
Fictus inclined his head in agreement. "Sustained. Anything more useful, Weasley?"
Ron shook his head and scowled at Harry.
"Professor Lupin, you may leave."
"Actually, Minister," Harry interrupted, as he rose once again. "Professor Lupin needs to stay. I'm the next witness, and I need someone to ask me questions. Professor Lupin has been given a list of questions."
"This is highly irregular, Potter."
"I apologise, Minister, but Ron's already said it. I'm the only living witness to Snape's use of Avada Kadavra."
Fictus sighed, and gestured for them to continue.
Lupin and Harry swapped places, and Lupin took up a sheaf of parchment, laden with Harry's scrawls. "Right," he read, "are you Harry Potter?"
"Yes, I'm Harry Potter."
Remus grinned. "Prove it."
Harry lifted up his fringe to show the scar on his forehead. More swoons were heard around the room, making Snape roll his eyes. There are far more remarkable parts of Potter's physique to swoon over than his forehead, he thought before he could stop himself.
"Right," the werewolf continued. "How long and-or well would you say you know or have known Professor Snape."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "I have known Professor Snape since I was eleven, and since I was about sixteen or seventeen I have considered him a friend."
"You fought together at the Siege of Hogwarts, did you not?"
"Yes, we did. Snape was by my side through most of that battle. It was his job to see that I was protected while the final part of our plan to destroy Voldemort was put into action."
"Just for those who don't know, could you please explain this plan and why you needed protection for it?"
Harry nodded. "The general idea was that we would imprison Voldemort's essence and life-force inside a very powerful crystal, leaving only his empty body behind. The crystal would then be returned from whence it came, effectively trapping Voldemort forever. Unfortunately things didn't go to plan, and the crystal was dropped from the astronomy tower." Here Harry blushed slightly, as not so many people knew that it had been dropped when he and Snape had embraced in pure joy at Voldemort's demise. "This turned out to be a good thing. When the crystal shattered, so did Voldemort's life force. We knew this because Professor Snape's Dark Mark faded and disappeared.
"To get back to the original question, I needed protection because the spell was a very powerful one that called on me to use my own life force, as it was so closely linked with his. I would not have been able to protect myself, had anything gone wrong."
"Something did go wrong, that caused Professor Snape to, by necessity, use Avada Kadavra. What was that?"
Harry nodded. "Well you see, while Snape kept Voldemort in the astronomy tower by telling him that he had sent a few Death Eaters to find me and bring me to him, I was hidden under my invisibility cloak doing what needed to be done. But then this other Death Eater, MacNair, came in saying that he'd overheard a kid say he'd seen Harry Potter come up towards the astronomy tower – he hadn't wanted to miss watching me die. While he talked, he happened to trip over me, and part of the cloak slipped off. I was so into what I was doing, I didn't even notice. All this was kind of on the periphery of my consciousness. I vaguely knew what was going on, but it didn't seem to matter. Anyway, Voldemort had made a beeline straight for me, so Snape put him in a bubble to stop him from moving. Then MacNair realised what was going on – that is, that Snape wasn't really a Death Eater, and was actually helping me – and started to raise his wand to me. He hesitated, though – he maybe couldn't decide whether to kill me or Snape first. It gave Snape enough time to kill him."
Lupin nodded. "No further questions."
"Thank you, Professor Lupin. Now you may leave. Unless Mr Weasley would like you to prosecute as well?"
"No, Minister." Ron stood as Lupin took his leave. "Harry, just one question. You said that when Voldemort started towards you, Snape put him in a protective bubble. But when MacNair started for you, he was killed. Couldn't MacNair have been put in a bubble, as well? Until such a time as the Ministry could deal with him?"
Harry shook his head. "It's possible, but you have to understand that we didn't know for certain that this would work. Also, at that time, we didn't know who in the ministry was one of us, and who was one of them. The ministry had only just decided to join in the fight – mainly because it looked like its position was going to be threatened."
"But it would have been possible for Snape to restrain MacNair, rather than kill him?"
Harry sighed, his jaw clenched. "Yes, it's possible. But-"
"No further questions, Minister."
Harry stood and, leaving the witness box, walked back to his seat."
"If that is all?" Both defence and prosecution councils nodded. "Very well. Court will recess while the jury comes to a verdict. Jury, you have one hour to come to a decision and, if necessary, a punishment." Fictus made his wand go Bang and stood to leave the court.
Harry walked over to Snape, smiling weakly. "Sorry about that."
Snape shook his head. "He had a point, Potter."
"I'll be so glad when all this is over and we can just get back to normal."
Snape raised an eyebrow. "Tired of me already, Potter?"
"I didn't mean like that," Harry said, lowering his voice. "I mean that I think we need to talk about some things. You know what I'm talking about."
Snape's expression was the very epitome of wide-eyed innocence. "We do?"
Harry shook his head. "I hate you, sometimes."
"Why Harry, I never knew you cared!"
Harry just shook his head again, and walked away. Snape was torn between the usual triumphant feeling of knowing that he had got under Potter's skin, and a rather unusual feeling of regret at his leaving.
Studying his nails closely, Snape listened to a small voice in his head. It was a voice he had always tried to ignore before; a voice that had first spoken up many years ago, when Dumbledore died, and the only person he could turn to was the one he should hate most of all. The voice then had said, 'trust him'. The voice now said, 'listen to him'. There had even been occasions when the voice had said 'kiss him'. But most often, the voice said something that scared him to his very core.
'Love him'.
***
AN: You've read...Now review...Please?....Only three more chapters to go, now. Next chapter: the verdict....And I hate to say this, but I think a lot of you will be unpleasantly surprised!