Dumbledore pulls me aside after dinner that night, I'm not sure what to expect after what happened with Snivellus earlier.
"Now the ministry has acknowledged that Voldemort has returned it is important that we get Sirius freed of the charges against him."
I grimace, "you remember what I already said about the possibility of that happening."
"Something about death eaters deflecting to our side when that happens. I feel it is important to remind you that one has already deflected to our side."
I groan. "Snivellus doesn't count."
"From this point on you will call him either Severus or Snape, do I make myself clear."
I wince, I've just made Dumbledore angry again. "Clear as crystal."
"Good. And that goes for Mr. Black as well, I'm sure you'll make sure he does so."
"Yes sir." I say quietly. Only Dumbledore has the ability to make me feel like I've done something horrifically wrong. Even in school, teachers had trouble doing it, and it drove my parents mad that they couldn't make me take a guilt trip so that I did what they wanted.
"Now I'm putting you in charge of the case to free Sirius…"
"Fudge hates me," I interrupt him. "Just in case you've forgotten."
"Yet he sent you letters requesting your help everyday since Sirius' escape."
"He hates you and yet he's often sent letters requesting your help," I bluntly remind him.
Dumbledore smiles. "You may find that now Fudge has been so horrifically wrong about Voldemort that he will do most things to keep himself in favour with the public."
"Then freeing someone who is known as a mass murderer would be like asking him to announce he's a death eater."
"Possibly." Dumbledore agrees. "But I'm sure you can find a way to convince him. Now I must be off."
And with that he sweeps from the room leaving me with what looks like an impossible mission.
The next evening I'm sitting in a chair outside of Fudges office waiting for him to finish the appointment ahead of me so that I can go in.
A witch walks out of his office and I stand up.
"I believe Dumbledore has the next appointment," Fudge says stiffly.
"I'm here in his place," I reply trying to keep the smallest amount of emotion in my voice as possible.
Fudge twitches. "Very well."
We go into his office and I close the door behind me before taking a seat across from him.
"Well," says Fudge sounding impatient.
"I'm here about Sirius Black." Before Fudge can say anything I continue. "It's time that the charges were dropped against him."
"Are you mad!" Fudge splutters.
"I'm saner then you are," I reply coldly. "Sirius was one of the people who helped repel Voldmorts attack on the ministry, as I'm sure you saw, so it is only just that you drop the charges against him."
"I…I can't do that," Fudge shrieks. "Can you imagine the uproar from the public if I were to pardon a mass murderer!"
"Except he's not a murderer," I say trying hard to keep my voice even so that Fudge doesn't know how close I am to loosing my temper.
"But…that…the public doesn't know…it would be to hard to explain. No it can't be done."
"It can and it will," I say icily, Fudge's glass of water has started to tremble slightly. "If you are worried about the public then by all means arrange a trial where his innocence can be proven."
"A re-trial…"
"He never had a trail in the first place so therefore it is impossible for there to be a re-trial," I interrupt in a snappish tone, the glass of water on Fudge's desk is shaking now.
"Fine," Fudge snaps. "I will contact you with a date for the trial later."
"You will have the date set by seven o'clock tomorrow night if you don't want both Dumbledore and I in your office tomorrow night at eight," I hold my breath hoping that he doesn't call me bluff.
"Fine," Fudge snaps. "Now if you don't mind I have other things to tend to."
I rise, give him and ironic bow, and leave.
Arriving back at 12 Grimmald Place I storm in the front door and run straight into Snivellus who is on his way out. With a crash we both fall to the floor.
The curtains on the wall fly open and a too familiar witch starts screaming;
"YOU CURSED MUDBLOOD FILTH BRINGING SHAME TO THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS,"
I attempt to stun the portrait but the witch continues screaming.
"HOW DARE YOU LAY FOOT IN THIS HOUSE HOLD IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU MY SON WOULD STILL BE ALIVE."
"Actually," I mutter. "I had nothing to do with Regulus' death, though I wish I did." Going over to the curtains I attempt to pull them closed, but they refuse to close she continues screaming.
Snivellus laughs at my efforts.
"You feel like helping," I snap.
"It's more fun to watch your pathetic struggling," he replies.
I almost go for my wand then I remember what Dumbledore did and punch him instead.
With a scream of pain he stumbles backwards blood spurting from his nose.
I go back to the portrait and a moment later Remus and Sirius arrive and help me pull the curtains closed and the house falls silent once more. Panting we make our way to the kitchen.
Proffesor McGonagall, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and two twin red-headed boys who I assume to be Ron's brothers are already in the kitchen. To my surprise so is Gen.
"What happened to you?" Gen asks. It takes me a moment to realise she's talking to Snivellus who walked in afterwards and not to me.
"Ruth punched me," he says attempting to use his hand to stop his nose from bleeding.
Gen pulls out her wand and mutters something and his nose stops bleeding. Then she turns to me, "for a respected Auror you seem to have a very quick temper."
"Hello to you too," I snap. "You know for a best friend you can be overly critical. But for your information there are very few people that I loose my temper on that quickly."
"I'm not surprised Dumbledore took away your ability to hex him," she snaps back. "Though I doubt he thought you'd hurt him muggle dulling."
"Yeah well it's easy to make someone's nose bleed." I reply. "And his is a rather large target." I then turn on my heel and storm from the room.
Everyone but Gen, McGonagall and Snivellus follow me.
"What?" I ask looking at them over my shoulder as I walk up the stairs.
"You punched Snape in the face?" says one of the twins.
"Obviously."
"You are our new hero," says the other twin.
I give them an incredulous look.
"How'd it go with Fudge?" Sirius asks as we go into one of the large sitting rooms.
I make a face. "It could have been worse. He wouldn't give you an outright pardon but he said he'd give you a trial. He's sending the date of it by owl by tomorrow evening."
"You think he actually will?" Remus asks.
I take my cloak off and throw it over the back of a chair before collapsing onto a couch. "I told him if he didn't then Dumbledore and I would be in his office to have a talk with him."
"Would you really?" Harry asks sitting down across from me.
"I would, I can't speak for Dumbledore though."
"But weren't you worried he'd know you were bluffing?" asks Hermione.
"A little. But Fudge knows better then to think I'm bluffing, there have been too many times before when I haven't."
"So nothing's decided then?" Sirius says looking concerned.
"Relax," I tell him. "The trial shouldn't be any problem."
Sirius sits down beside me looking anything but relaxed.
"So who are you two?" I ask gesturing to the twins.
"I'm Fred, he's George. We own a joke shop called Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes."
"We're semi responsible for all the trouble Umbridge had," George adds.
I grin and nudge Sirius. "Well there's the people who took aver as chief trouble makers from you and James."
"I thought that was you."
"Not to much. Gen wasn't interested in any rule breaking and it's not half as fun on your own."
"You ever seen the muraders map?" Fred asks leaning forward.
Sirius snorts. "We made the muraders map. I'm Padfoot, James was Prongs, Remus here is Moony, and Peter was Wormtail."
The conversation quickly turns into a comparison of all the trouble us and the Weasley twins managed to get into at Hogwarts. It last until Mrs. Weasley calls us for dinner.
"You know," says George. "It figures that the year we leave we get a cool defence against the dark arts teacher."
"Yeah," says Fred. "I'd give anything to see what happens between Snape and her next year. You better give us weekly reports little bro."
"I don't know about weekly," Ron replies. "But I'll try."
A/N: okay I'm done with hurting Snape, don't tell me he doesn't deserve it (cause I'm not listening).