"Mr. Potter, how did you defeat You Know Who?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "I used a spell," he said simply.
"Which one?" the reporter pressed on.
"An ancient spell," Harry was reluctant to explain any further, "don't bother with it. It can only be used under special circumstances."
"Such as this?" Rita Skeeter asked.
"Yes, such as this."
"So, you consider yourself special enough to…"
Harry was tempted to throw a hex, when Hermione suddenly appeared next to him, holding a glass jar.
"Harry is very special, though he refuses to acknowledge that fact," she smiled sweetly at the quickly paling reporter, "but I think he was referring to the circumstances, not his person."
"O-of course," Skeeter said, "So, Harry…now that You Know Who is defeated…will you be concentrating on settling down? Dating, marrying?"
"Lady, I have defeated Voldemort only yesterday," Harry said, exhasperated as the room flinched in unison, "oh for Merlin's sake people! He is dead! Anyway, I defeated him only yesterday and I woke up about an hour and a half ago. How much time do you think I've had to ask anyone out on a date?"
A few people chuckled.
"What about Snape, Mr. Potter?"
Harry narrowed his eyes. "What about him?"
The reporter squirmed a bit, but still asked his question. "We've heard all sorts of rumors…he hasn't been seen in a year…he is a Death Eater after all."
Growling, Harry snarled "No! My brother is not a Death Eater!"
Gasps filled the room. "B-brother?" the reporter stammered.
Resting his head in his hands, Harry sat down on the platform.
"Ok…from the beginning. Severus has been a spy for the Order of the Phoenix for many, many years, from the first war on."
"Really? We heard that was just something he claimed to save his skin," Skeeter scowled.
Hermione cleared her throat and fingered the jar pointily.
"It was not," Harry said coldly, "Albus Dumbledore vouched for him. He has saved my life many times over the years. Now, last year, at the start of summer, he was found out as a spy by Voldemort, who punished him with a most unusual spell. He turned him into a six year old again."
The room exploded with whispers, surprised cries and the various other reactions people produce when confronted with something they didn't expect.
"If you would all shut up, I can finish the story," Harry began to lose his patience.
"He stayed with me over the summer, and we both returned to Hogwarts at the end of August. He lived with his guardian, the Headmaster, and took some classes."
"Is it true that he and his Little League defeated the Gryffindor Quidditch Team?" a youngish witch asked.
Harry groaned. "Yes, that is true. My team wouldn't talk to me for weeks, considering I am the Little League's coach."
People grinned around the room, and Harry shot an apologetic look at the teammembers he saw.
"But why do you call him brother?" Skeeter insisted, her nose wrinkled in disgust.
"Because he is," Harry responded calmly, "we were both adopted by Albus Dumbledore. That makes us legally brothers. To me, however, we became brothers last summer. Now, if you will excuse me, Severus's transformation back to an adult was painful and draining, he hasn't woken up yet, and I'm worried."
"What kind of 'relationship' do you plan to have now?" the dim-witted Skeeter shouted after him, her tone making it very clear what ideas SHE had about their relationship.
Harry turned, his body glowing with power. Skeeter eeped, transformed into a beetle, and tried to make her escape.
"Accio Beetle Animagus," Hermione grinned wickedly as she caught the struggling insect and put it in the jar.
"I'll take care of her, Harry," she smirked, "you just go on and see to Severus."
The other reporters wisely kept quiet, and began to write down their articles for publication.
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"Nervous, Harry?" Dumbledore put an arm around his charge's shoulders.
The young man nodded. "Facing Voldemort wasn't half as scary," he admitted in a tiny voice, "or putting up with those idiot reporters."
The headmaster sighed. "I can't even promise you it'll be alright," he said morosely, "I have no idea how he will react, or how much he will remember. I will be there for you, for both of you, you know that, Harry."
The young Chosen smiled weakly. "I know. Let's hurry, I don't want him to wake up alone."
Entering the infirmary, it took a few seconds to take in the disaster area.
Potions vials were everywhere. Magical residue was on nearly everything. And Molly Weasley was on the floor, Silenced and in a Full Body Bind.
Dumbledore quickly released her, swatting at Harry's hand when Harry reached for his wand to do exactly that.
"No magic!" he scolded, his face pale and tense with worry.
"Where is Severus?" Harry panicked as he looked at the empty bed.
Molly sat up and burst into tears. "Oh Albus, Harry, I'm so sorry, I tried to stop them, but there were five, and I couldn't…"
Harry felt his knees go weak, and he sat down on the floor, luckily out of the way of the glass.
"What happened, Molly?" Dumbledore asked gently.
"F-Fudge…and A-Aurors," Molly sobbed, "Said they were rounding up Death Eaters. They…they took him! I tried…"
They couldn't get out another word, but it was enough. Harry's eyes darkened and he shone with power, despite his magical exhaustion.
"Fudge," he growled.
Dumbledore took his shoulders. "Easy, Harry. Control yourself. We are going to the Ministry, we'll get him back!"
As the boy stormed out of the room, the ancient wizard muttered to himself: "And I'll string Fudge up by his toes if one hair on my boy's head has been harmed…"
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The Ministry was rather empty. Most of the personel was working on the after-battle clean-up. Only a handful remained.
Cornelius Fudge had not joined the battle. First because he was no great wizard, secondly because he had claimed there was no evidence Voldemort would strike there.
Now he was staring at the two in front of his desk with a triumphant smirk.
"You cannot save him this time, Dumbledore," the gleam in his eyes was disgusting to see, "he is a Death Eater."
"Where is he?" Harry demanded.
"Why, in Azkaban of course, where he belongs," the Minister said, immensely pleased with himself.
"Release him!" Harry shouted.
"My boy," the Minister said condescendingly, "I can't do that. Death Eaters deserve to be punished. The Dementors have gone, so we are still discussing whether or not to execute them, but at the very least he will spend the rest of his life there. Just be grateful there is one less person out there who wishes to kill you. I am insuring your safety."
For a moment, Harry fully expected Fudge to hold out his hand so Harry could kiss it. But perhaps even the Minister realised that he would most likely lose his hand had he done so.
"I gave evidence at his trial years ago that he is a spy for me," Dumbledore's eyes were ablaze with power, "that has not changed. Release him."
"I'm afraid that's not possible," a girlish voice simpered. Harry's eyes narrowed in hatred. Dolores Umbridge had entered the office.
"You have adopted him, Headmaster. That means he is your son now, and your evidence is no longer considered valid. Testimony given by family members in cases like these are not considered valid."
Harry choked on his indignition. "You…you KNOW what he did! You KNOW all his pains and sacrifices in the war against Voldemort!"
Both flinched, but remained stubborn. "He cannot be released. I will let you know if he will be executed or not; if so, you are allowed one last visit as family members. Now, I have work to do; you may not realize, but there is a huge pile of administrative matters that follow a battle such as you started."
Seeing they wouldn't get anywhere, Dumbledore grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him from the office.
"Why didn't we just blast them through the wall!" Harry hissed in outrage.
"Because if we did, you would no longer be the hero of the wizarding world, my boy. You would be the boy with the overblown ego who killed the Minister in a quest for power. We must find a way to show Fudge's incompetence and have him removed."
"But Severus! We can't leave him there, even if they don't exe…" Harry bit back a sob, "he will already feel like we abandoned him!"
Dumbledore patted his shoulder.
"I know, child. Tell me this, Harry." He took the boy's shoulders and looked at him gravely.
"Are you prepared, just as you have gained your freedom, to lose it again? To be chased again? Live in hiding once more?"
Harry glared at him defiantly. "For Severus, I would!"
The headmaster smiled. "Get your most trusted friends together, then. We must plan, and we must hurry. Cornelius will not delay deciding on Severus's fate now that he knows how much we want him back."
A/N: Hermione's jar was an idea from Excessivelyperky. Thanks for another great thought! A cookie to you!