Determination
She missed him. She missed everything about him. But she missed his voice the most. He'd tell her what to do… who to trust… wouldn't he?
Come to think of it, in all the time she had spent with him, had they really talked? Somehow, her life had fazed out into a blur, and she had just gone along with it…
Was she really ready to openly declare herself in love with Severus?
Wow! Where did that come from? Love, it couldn't possibly be…
No, this is stupid.
Stupid and pretentious.
Love. Ha! Love is a romanticism of words. Nothing more.
Nothing less…
'Toast?'
'No.'
'Come on… just a little bit… with honey. Everyone loves honey' Remus ladled a large dollop of the sickeningly sweet stuff onto a bit of brittle, slightly burnt bread and held it out for her. She couldn't resist a small, slight smile as she took it, cautiously avoiding those almond eyes of his.
'Thought about what your going to say yet?'
'Yes… and I don't particularly feel like discussing it'
'What would you like to discuss?'
Had she ever spoken to Remus so much before? She didn't think so. He was just a sweet guy, perhaps one who had been more intent on Harry's well-being rather than hers, until now…
… now things had changed.
Rufus Scrimgeor. Clever, strict and smart. Remus had seen him on many occasions. He had admired the man…
But he had never…
… never…
… thought the man would have the audacity to bind a teenage girl to a chair and opt to interrogate her in front of the whole Ministry board.
Who was he kidding. Hermione had the dark mark. For all intensive purposes, she was their enemy. They had finally gotten hold of a marked Death eater.
Now her fate resided within their judgement and Remus had agreed to it. Now he sat on a crowded bench, in the sweltering heat, flanked by a nervous set of Weasleys and half the Order. He would have felt sorry for Harry, sitting their so tense and horrified of what he might hear, if he didn't feel more sorry for the little girl facing the full jury in front of him.
Because Hermione was and always will be a little girl to him. Oh, its true she'd done some questionable things, but she was still the brightest witch of her age. Deep down, she had her heart in the right place.
He was awakened from his thoughts by the sound of Scrimgeor's voice ringing out through the silence. 'You received the Dark Mark and chose to obey orders that put others at risk, did you not?'
'Yes I did. And I would do it again if I had too' brown eyes bright as she stared defiantly up at the Minister for Magic, choosing to ignore the harsh whispering that had broken out at her words.
Jaw set…
… face serious…
… body tense…
'I see. So you do not deny it. Interesting. And it has been notified of your allegiance with other offenders.'
'I suppose you might say that. But what you… YOU…' she nodded her head toward the jury, eyes burning '… failed to notice, is that my intentions were only ever moral. I sacrificed my flesh for the order… because I had no choice' her voice was bold, no longer soft… edged with a harshness that unnerved Remus.
'And as for Severus… I believe him to be innocent…'
'He is a murderer… He has been sentenced already -' Scrimgeor retorted vindictively.
'Your wrong' she sat forward in her chair, straining as her arms were bound tightly 'he… he did it because he had to… like I did. And you forget one thing Minister. We are your most valuable assets… without us… you will never know what the Dark Lord plans'
Any feedback would be most welcomed… the story is coming to its climax…
XxPeridoxX