Harry felt the itchiness of the tag of his shirt at the back of his neck as he followed Snape and Mr Weasley through the hallways of the Ministry. Mr Weasley seemed to know without question where the hearing was being held, and though he got them there quickly, Harry noticed that several people still recognised and were staring at him along the way. Snape wore his full teaching robes, black fabric swirling around his legs as he walked and looking even more intimidating than he usually did at Hogwarts, taking away at least some of the focus.

Snape had given Harry a blue suit jacket to wear with some dress trousers, and he hoped it made him look more mature and confident, instead of betraying the anxious teenage emotions he was fighting in his fear that he'd be kicked out of Hogwarts for doing magic to defend himself. He swallowed back the why me? question rising in his throat as they entered the room, the one that made him want to throw throw things now that he'd defeated Voldemort and he was still being singled out.

"Please have a seat, Mr Potter," a wizard wearing official Ministry of Magic robes said, as Harry was led to the chair in the middle of the room.

Snape followed silently, summoning a chair from the side of the room to sit down beside Harry. The room was dark and conical in shape, with the ceiling rising high into darkness above. There were about thirty witches and wizards in matching uniforms sitting in wooden high-back chairs on a heightened platform facing Harry, their curiosity unhidden as most watched him with steady gazes as he settled in the seat.

A few more people entered the room to move to the galley behind Harry, including Sirius, and Mr Weasley. The hearing hadn't been kept closed, but it also hadn't be advertised, so there was only a small audience. Two more people slipped in just as the doors were closing, a black wizard in rich blue robes, and to Harry's annoyance, Rita Skeeter.

Someone from the Wizengamot, a stern looking witch in slightly overlarge Ministry robes, coughed as she unrolled a parchment she was holding.

"Professor Snape, isn't it?" she said, peering down at them. "If you would join the audience galley, we can then get started."

"No," Snape said, methodically tugging his sleeves up slightly so that his hands were not covered by material.

"I beg your pardon?" she said, glancing over the scroll and looking annoyed that he'd refused her.

"I believe this case is about the use of magic by an underage wizard," Snape said. "And underage wizards appearing before the Ministry are permitted to have a parent or guardian with them. I am that parent."

There was a solid second of silence and Harry watched people's reactions as the words set in. Snape had warned him that people would find out, but Harry hadn't realised they'd start the hearing that way. He could tell by the murmuring behind him that the audience were also surprised by the news.

"Right," the witch muttered, taking down a note on her parchment. She looked up at the speaker again and opened her mouth, then snapped it shut.

"I did not think this would be a surprise," Snape continued, staring impassively at her, "given that his adoption records at the Ministry have had attempted access within the past fortnight."

She narrowed her eyes at this, and Harry saw that most of the Wizengamot seemed genuinely surprised by this information.

"I am not privy to the workings of all departments of the Ministry, Professor Snape," she finally answered.

Snape didn't appear bothered by her response. Harry could feel the room was becoming tense though and he hoped that it wouldn't affect his outcome.

"Well, if that's everything," a new voice said, and attention shifted back to the middle of the group on the panel.

There was wizard sitting in the centre wearing the same Ministry of Magic black robes of the others, but his with a stripe of gold along the lapel. He had a patchy moustache that did not match his crisp uniform and monocle.

"I am Nigel Witton, of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and I will be leading these proceedings. Please state your name for the record."

A microphone materialised in front of Harry, and he leant forward whilst staring ahead at Witton.

"Harry Potter."

"Thank you," Witton finished. "Mr Potter, you are accused of doing underage magic outside of school grounds and in front of a muggle. How do you plead?"

"Shall we not hear the story, first?" Snape interrupted. Harry took a second to glance at Snape's impassive face before turning back to Witton. "I expect you'll want to know why he felt the urge to do magic outside of school."

"And in front of a muggle," Witton gravely added, looking down at both Harry and Snape. "Professor Snape, I will run these proceedings."

Snape said nothing at that, and he also did not look contrite for his interruption. Harry realised the following silence was for him and spoke up.

"We were out at the shops. A dementor came round the corner as we were leaving Tesco's, and I defended us from it. And it's not just a muggle, it's my grandad."

"But you are not allowed to do magic outside of school," Witton sternly said. "You are aware of this."

"Yes he is," Snape said, clearing his throat and sitting straighter in the chair. "And yes, he is."

"Professor Snape," Witton started, holding his wand as if he were going to point it at Snape and admonish him. Several others on the Wizengamot had looks of incredulity that Snape was speaking again.

"If I may," Snape said, in a tone of voice that made perfectly clear he was going to continue regardless of what they thought. "He is fully aware of the rules of using magic outside of school. Further, he has been taught that he may use magic if at any time his life is threatened."

"But in front of a muggle," an elderly witch to their right interjected. The two other witches sitting near her nodded.

"That muggle, as you call him, married a witch and had a wizard son. He's not exactly a stranger to magic," Snape dryly replied.

"As true as that might be," the elderly witch said, tapping her quill against the ledge in front of her, "he's still not to perform magic outside of school bounds. And dementors roaming the West Midlands? I should think not."

"Which is the question, is it not Madame?" challenged Snape. "Why was a Ministry controlled dementor roaming about? They are in employ at Azkaban only."

"You'd know about Azkaban, wouldn't you, Snape?" a gruff voice in the back row asked. From somewhere over his left shoulder Harry heard a short bark of a laugh that sounded suspiciously like Sirius'.

Harry's eyebrows raised but instead of lashing out, Snape instead gave a fake smile and gazed in the director of the commenter.

"I've never been," Snape replied, in a sweet-ish tone that Harry knew was completely superficial.

Witton rapped a gavel on the desk in front of him and looked sharply at Snape. "To the matter at hand, thank you. Dementors are under the employ of the Ministry, as noted, and are not to leave Azkaban. So why would one, allegedly, be near Mr Potter?"

"I don't know," Harry said, unsure of what would be the right answer, or even if it was his question to answer. "We'd just left the shops and one appeared in the alley we were walking through. I knew what it was; I knew that feeling of absolute dread and like I'd never be happy again."

Snape drummed his fingers on the chair arm as most of the council took notes.

"And then what?" the elderly witch prompted.

"I cast a patronus spell to chase it away," Harry continued, flexing his fingers on the fabric of his trousers, over his thighs. It was a nervous fidget that he was aware of but couldn't stop.

Several eyebrows raised in the gallery and a whisper of comments could be heard behind Harry.

"You can cast a patronus spell?"

"Yes," Harry said. He shifted a bit, unsure if they'd ask him to demonstrate. Unsure if he'd be able to, given how nervous he was. Snape tapped the floor once with his foot though, and Harry kept still.

"Dementors bring out a person's worst fear. For a boy who faced Voldemort as a baby, and was present at the murder of his parents, we thought it prudent to teach him the spell as the castle was at the time surrounded by dementors."

Snape had slipped into lecture mode, which Harry strangely found comforting. It didn't escape his notice that nearly everyone in the room flinched when Snape had said Voldemort's name.

"That's a very powerful spell, Mr Potter," Witton said, and Harry could tell that he didn't believe Harry could do it.

"I was determined to learn it," Harry immediately replied. "And it worked. The dementor went away long enough that I could contact Professor Snape and he came to get us."

Harry glanced quickly around the room and saw that most of the witches and wizards on the panel were watching him very intently, but a select few were taking detailed notes every time he spoke.

"And how did you get home?" the elderly witch asked, nodding.

"We apparated," Harry replied. One of the few things Snape had told him before coming to the hearing was to not offer more information than absolutely necessary, and Harry was determined to follow that guidance.

"So not only did you perform underage magic outside of school, in front of a muggle, but you illegally apparated. You are not old enough to learn that no matter what is around Hogwarts."

Witton stared down at them with a disapproving frown, and Harry thought it was a bad sign that the person running the proceedings already thought he was guilty.

"I apparated them," Snape said, shifting calmly in his seat.

"Three at once?" Witton said, with another disbelieving look.

"For some of us, it is not a difficult task," Snape slowly said, as if he was explaining a difficult concept to a slow student.

"There is no need to be insulting, Professor Snape. How exactly did he contact you?" Witton asked, looking down at his parchment instead of at either Snape or Harry.

"A muggle mobile phone," Harry lied, pulling one out of his pocket. Snape had given it to him just before they'd arrived at the Ministry. Several people leaned in to get a look at the weird muggle technology.

"He's not allowed to do magic outside of school," Snape said, with a smug tone.

Witton narrowed his eyes at this but one of the wizards at the back of the room smirked.

"I see," Witton said, glancing at his colleagues. "You were there very quickly Professor Snape, so we wanted clarification."

"I was there quickly?" Snape asked, sitting up straight. "I hadn't realised my reaction time to a call for help was being timed. Were you there, Mr Witton? Watching this attack?"

A heavy silence hung over the room for a second or two before Witton spoke in a very crisp tone.

"No, I was not. To summarise, Mr Potter claims that there was a dementor at his local Tesco and this is the reason for his use underage magic in front of a muggle. The Ministry, on the other hand, has no record of any dementors being anywhere in the West Midlands."

"In Potter's defence, we can bring in the muggle who was there, to explain exactly what a dementor experience is like. However, I'm very certain that any council member with a fifteen-year-old boy would know that if they were going to do magic in front of a muggle, a patronus charm would not be the first choice," Snape said.

There were a few titters from the galleys and Harry desperately wanted to smile or look around to see if he was gaining favour with the Wizengamot and the audience.

"The muggle could have been drunk," Witton mused.

"No," Snape firmly responded. "Not that one."

A few eyebrows rose at the sternness of the answer, and Harry made a mental note to ask Snape what he'd meant by it. Not that one.

"To return to your earlier statement," said a small witch, with an ugly look on her face that Harry supposed she thought was a smile. "He does know how to apparate?"

There was a second's silence and Harry felt his stomach drop. Would this be the point he'd fully get in trouble for? He hadn't apparated this time, but earlier…

"Yes," Snape said, his voice clipped and defiant.

The witch's ugly smile turned into a malicious look of glee.

"I may be mistaken Professor Snape, but students are not allowed to apparate until they turn seventeen, are they not?"

"And they cannot learn unless they are on Hogwarts grounds. Which, if the Wizengamot will recall, is our primary residence for the majority of the year. Neither point which matters much in this case, as I was the one to apparate us home."

"But you do admit that you have taught him magic that is too advanced or inappropriate for his age?" she pushed.

"I live to teach," Snape monotoned.

"Professor Snape, that is improper and against the law," she admonished.

"For a teacher, perhaps," Snape said. "Not for a parent. Had he not used his learnings we would be having a different hearing now – how a Ministry-controlled dementor killed the Boy Who Lived."

"Well now," Witton coughed. "I do not like what you are insinuating about how this dementor found Harry Potter. I think we've heard enough and it is time we move to vote."

Snape gestured with his arm as if to say go ahead. He relaxed back in his chair, looking like this was a slight inconvenience to him and nothing more. Harry thought it was rather unfair how Snape could hide his nervousness like that.

"All in favour of expelling Mr Harry James Potter?"

A few hands rose and the bottom of Harry's stomach dropped. There appeared to be less than majority though, and when the call to keep him in school was made, it was evident that more voted for that verdict.

"Nod once, and then we leave," Snape quietly said, as the gavel banged. There was another warning from Witton to be mindful of his magic, but Harry barely heard hit. He followed Snape out into the hallway instead, smiling as he saw a triumphant looking Mr Weasley standing with Sirius.

"Well done, Harry!" Sirius said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Severus," Arthur said, nodding. "Dumbledore sends his regards and congratulations."

Snape nodded toward the lifts, mindful of the other witches and wizards exiting the courtroom around them.

"We'll discuss further outside the Ministry," Snape quietly said.

Snape's serious expression did not change on the way out, as he both led their group toward the lifts and ensured that Harry kept pace without being stopped by anyone. He walked quickly as if passing through the halls of Hogwarts, causing other witches and wizards in the hallways to dart out of his path. Harry was still feeling slightly anxious and relieved that the hearing was over, and rather appreciated that people were paying more attention to Snape than to him.

All but one.

"My, my; we do love a little attention."

Harry stuttered in his step at the tone. Skeeter's voice was dripping with irritation, no doubt fuelled by her hatred of Hermione and Harry's proximity to her.

"Slow news day, Ms Skeeter?" Mr Weasley asked, in a chipper tone that Harry thought covered most of his annoyance. Snape had slowed and Harry saw his robes whip around as he turned back.

"Certainly not," Skeeter said, watching as Snape returned to them, a disdainful look on his face. "Underage famous wizard accuses Ministry of sending a dementor after him to excuse his illegal magic," Skeeter said. Yes, Harry thought, still very angry about Hermione. She'd promised not to write about Harry for a full year, but Harry wondered if she was planning to pass her info along to someone else to publish. "And it worked didn't it, Harry Potter? Or should I say, Harry Snape."

Harry scowled and took a step toward her.

"My name hasn't changed."

"But you are a Snape now, are you not? Your little secret's out after that court hearing, and people will be very interested to know that."

"Will they?" Snape asked in one of the most bored tones Harry had ever heard. "I would think the private affairs of a teenage boy would hardly be of anyone's interest."

"Don't be so naive Professor Snape. The head of Slytherin adopting perhaps the most well-known Gryffindor? The rivalry headlines are in the making."

Snape rolled his eyes. Skeeter scrolled her hand across the air as if writing a headline.

"Boy Who Lived becomes son of sworn enemy?"

"What?" Harry asked, at the same time that Snape harrumphed.

"Orphaned child is adopted. A non-story."

"Don't you have better things to do, Ms Skeeter?" Arthur asked. Rita Skeeter ignored him completely.

"But why you, Professor Snape?" Her green quill poised menacingly above her parchment as she prodded.

Snape had turned to leave again and Harry saw his foot twitch as his step landed; as he made a decision.

"I am a long-time acquaintance of his family, and felt it unwise that he continues without proper guidance in the wizarding world," Snape answered.

Harry thought it was a diplomatic and very vague answer and before Skeeter could ask anything else, Snape had put his hand on Harry's shoulder to steer him away.

Harry stood by his bookcase, staring out the window and past the mill wheel. He still felt very protected in the little house, tucked away behind the wheel, down behind the bridge. But there was an uneasiness to the evening that he hadn't felt in a few months.

He picked up his journal, where he'd begun notes on writing his own autobiography, before tossing it back to the bed.

The court hearing was one thing and he was very glad he'd not been expelled. But it hadn't been an accident, and Harry wondered what was coming next. He had a slight thought to the years before, a what if that had been niggling in the back of his mind. What if this had happened two years ago, when he was still at the Dursleys, when his aunt had blown up? When Snape hadn't been on his side, there to defend him. Could he have talked his way out of it?

Maybe Snape was getting tired of helping him. Voldemort being dead should have stopped the weird things from happening to him, and nearly being expelled after a dementor attack was definitely not something other students had to deal with.

"Why are you moping on a summer evening?"

Snape stood in the doorway, glasses still on as he stared into Harry's room. Harry had changed into pyjama trousers and a shirt long ago, but Snape had only just switched.

"I'm not," Harry said. He kept Snape's gaze. "People are going to think this is a big deal, aren't they?"

Snape tossed a small jar toward Harry without warning, which Harry reflexively snatched out of the air.

"Yes. They were always going to, John." He nodded at the jar. "For the burn on your hand that you keep trying to hide from me."

Harry deliberately didn't look to the burn mark, but put the jar on the shelf beside his pillow.

"Are you all right with that? People think..." Harry frowned. "What do people think of you? I know what students think, but no one really knows you were a death eater, do they?"

Snape scowled a bit.

"There was suspicion when I was younger, but the Headmaster cleared my name," Snape said, with a significant look that Harry understood immediately. Dumbledore had covered for Snape, for both his original involvement and his spying.

"I'm sure The Prophet will write about it," Harry said. "That's why you wanted to know if my friends knew already. Because it's not just Head of Slytherin adopts Harry Potter."

"Perhaps," Snape said, watching Harry. Harry had already been feeling drained and it hadn't helped his mood to know that he was now going to be the reason that Snape's life was put under a microscope.

"The real headline you should worry about is: 'Fifteen-year-old boy slaughtered at Nintendo by adult.'"

Harry's head snapped up with a look of outrage.

"What? No way! I'm better at Mario Kart than you!"

Harry jumped to his feet, set to defend the challenge Snape had just issued. He got to the door, where Snape was still standing with a small smirk and a piercing stare as his eyes darted back and forth, looking for something in Harry's expression.

"You're aware that I was prepared to do far worse things than be disparaged in a newspaper to defeat the Dark Lord once he'd returned?" Snape said, cutting straight to the point.

"I know," Harry said. "But… Skeeter writes the worst things about people, no matter what you say."

"I've been teaching for nearly twenty years, and I assure you I am well aware of what pupils think of me. The general public is comprised of many former students."

Harry smiled a bit at that, remembering people darting out of Snape's way at the Ministry. Snape had certainly made an impression upon quite a few adults in the wizarding world.

"My promise to keep you safe does not have an end date," Snape told him, keeping eye contact with Harry so Harry couldn't misinterpret his meaning at all. "Now, go choose your player."

…..

The door to the Minister of Magic's private office was overly large and ornately decorated, and require passing by two assistants in order to reach it. Both the assistants had left for the day, and the office appeared as if it was empty. Once inside, the air felt stifling and stale, with a lingering bitter coffee scent from a long day. The candles burned lowly, giving an exaggerated yellow glow to the room.

"Come in," Fudge said, watching from his tidy desk. His hands were steepled in front of his face, as if he'd been waiting on this report all evening. A few purple office memos zoomed neatly in before the door closed, and lazily circled above the empty owl roosting stand next to the desk.

"Not suspended."

Fudge showed no reaction at that. He hadn't been able to figure out why a dementor had gone to visit Harry Potter of all people, and knew that news of it would not be a good look for the Ministry. He'd sent his top auror to find out who had ordered the attack, but so far had found nothing.

"Some interesting things came out of the trial though, Minister. Confirmation that certain teachers at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are illegally teaching students how to apparate, for one."

Fudge raised his eyebrow at that. He'd known, from their secret meeting at Hogwarts a few weeks earlier, that Potter could apparate. Dumbledore had tried to underplay that little titbit, but it hadn't escaped Fudge's notice. For it to come out in court though; Fudge wondered if Dumbledore was trying to hide something darker.

"Have a seat, Dolores," Fudge finally said. "What else?"

"They accused the Ministry of sending the dementor, of course, which should be punishable as slander," Umbridge firmly said, sitting in the chair and stretching her short legs uncomfortably so the tips of her pink shoes rested on the floor. "Confirmed that he can cast a patronus spell as well, which a level beyond his year at Hogwarts and rather unnecessary."

"Not particularly," Fudge said. "There were dementors stationed at the school whilst Sirius Black was on the loose and it was reported that they had a serious effect on him."

Umbridge puckered her face slightly before twisting her head up with a small and insincere smile.

"That's very true, Minister, but I doubt he was the only pupil affected. Why is only he being taught skills beyond the Ministry-set curriculum? Patronus and apparition, why one would almost think they were preparing him for something," she said, and she gave a little laugh of disbelief but Fudge saw her hard eyes and knew she suspected it was true.

"As far as I am aware," Fudge authoritatively said, "nothing untoward has happened at the school over the past few years that should be of concern."

"Of course, but – if you'll forgive me for saying this Minister," Umbridge innocently said, "those reports are coming from Dumbledore himself, are they not? He's very familiar with the Ministry here, and on the Wizengamot as well, but one never knows what happens at that school of his."

"Yes," Fudge said, and his expression turned stony. "I do meet with Dumbledore on the regular regarding matters with the school."

"In that case, shall I arrange for the next meeting to take place at Hogwarts?" Umbridge said, her tone of voice going up as she made her suggestion. "I'm certain that Albus Dumbledore would be happy to give his report with you there, and the children would appreciate knowing that the Ministry is taking an active stance to see that their learnings are in line with Ministry regulations."

"Of course," Fudge muttered thoughtfully. "If there's nothing else…"

"Just one, probably small, little thing, Minister," Umbridge said, standing again and smoothing out her garishly pink skirt. "I'm sure you're already aware that Harry Potter has been adopted by Severus Snape. That was mentioned in court as well and I thought you might like to be prepared should the paper report it."

"It is common knowledge that the boy's parents are dead, Dolores," Fudge said, rubbing the side of his head.

"Certainly, Minister," Umbridge said, giving him a nod. She wished him a good night and her heels clacked strongly on the floor as she left the office.

Fudge waited a moment before summoning a pad of paper and starting to take notes. It hadn't sat well with him that chilly June night when a patronus summons from Dumbledore had arrived to tell him that Voldemort had returned, had been killed, and the Ministry needed to go get the body. There's not been any warning before that about a potential fight, nor even that the corporal return of Voldemort had happened. Not that Fudge had wanted them to take out a newspaper advert of course. Fudge turned his head slightly and a concerning cracking noise sounded from his neck as he thought of the few times Dumbledore had tried to tell him that all was not right. That the peace time they were living in was an illusion.

Fudge was not a stupid man. The cover up had been what he thought the best idea at the time, but he felt growing anxiety about his precarious position and career should anyone let slip the truth.

He didn't know Severus Snape as well as Albus Dumbledore, but he knew the latter well enough to know that they wouldn't want the truth out either. Fudge stared back down at his notes, his vision blurring after a long day of pacing and analysing in his office.

If none of them wanted the truth out, the fact that a dementor has specifically gone to target Harry Potter was more concerning than he wanted to admit.