Chapter 8: The Hearing

"Is it possible for you to be still?" Severus sighed with exasperation.

Rose had been pacing up and down the room all morning. She would sit for only moments, change her mind, and then move around, desperately trying to find something to occupy her mind.

Rose paused to stare at Severus, her face etched with concern. "What?" she asked distractedly.

"What do 'you' have to be anxious about?" Severus pointed out roughly. "You are not the one standing trial today."

Rose forced a very unconvincing smile on her face. "I'm not anxious," she said, trying to sound calm. "Harry said this is just a formality, your name is already, 'practically' cleared."

"Right," Severus said unconvinced. "If Potter says so than it must be fact," his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

It had been a little over a week since Harry and his friends had visited. In that time, Severus had much improved. Improved enough to go in front of the wizengamot, then from there he would either go back to Spinner's End or Azkaban.

"Severus Snape."

Both Rose and Severus turned. Two men, aurors, were standing in the door frame. They were to escort Severus to the Ministry of Magic where his hearing would take place.

Severus stood silently and walked toward the pair of men.

"Your wand," said the shorter of the two aurors. He held out his hand expectantly.

Severus looked at them with disguised.

"That's so ridiculous," Rose chimed in, appearing at Severus's side. He shot her a warning look. "He's had his wand this whole time and no one said anything about it. Why should he have to give it to you now?"

"It's only procedure, Miss," the other auror said to Rose in a way one would speak to a small child.

Rose grimaced. "Well it's a stupid procedure."

"Are you capable of holding your tongue," Severus hissed at her, before reaching into his robes and handing over his wand.

Rose watched Severus do this with disbelief.

Severus looked at her through narrowed eyes, telling her, silently, that she was not helping. Severus had been much colder to her over the past few days. It all began when Rose had told him that she would be attending his hearing.

"What is the purpose?" he asked harshly.

Rose blushed and felt a prang of hurt from his tone. "I said that it might be a good idea for a healer to be present for you," she said self-consciously, "you know, just in case," Severus scowled at her. "I asked Harry and he vouched for me to go."

"I will not need a healer by then," Severus complained.

Rose bowed her head slightly. "I thought I could be there for moral support."

At that Severus shook his head and returned to the book he was reading. He turned the next page too forcefully and ripped it out.

Now as Severus stood in front of the aurors, he felt sick. Sick with himself for being so distant with Rose when he probably would never be alone with her again, but mostly sick with the idea of her watching the trial. He imagined seeing her look at him for the last time as he gets carted off to prison. Severus could clearly picture the disappointment visible in her eyes. She had told him once that she respected him, that she liked him even, and that she though he was brave.

Severus didn't want to see her face when she realized she was wrong about all those things.

"It's time to go," one of the men said.

Severus nodded once and then made to follow the aurors out the door.

"Wait," Rose said hurriedly, before flinging herself onto Severus in a tight hug.

Stunned, Severus's hands were frozen off to the sides. Rose's warm body was against his. Her head rested on his shoulder. Severus awkwardly rested his cheek against her hair and stiffy placed his hands on her back.

Her body fit against his and for a moment Severus forgot about where he was about to go. Rose always seemed to have that calming effect on him.

One of the aurors cleared his throat.

Severus sighed and pushed away from Rose, yet he kept a grasp on her shoulders, holding her at armlength.

Rose peered up at Severus expectantly. He had seemed to forget how young she really was until that moment. He noticed tears forming in her eyes. "It's going to be fine," he told her in a whisper.

Rose nodded up at him, eager to believe his words.

"We have to leave now," an auror said roughly; he took Severus by the shoulder and pulled him back from Rose. Severus's face burned with anger at being touch. Before anything else could be said, the three men disapparated, leaving Rose staring at the spot where Severus last stood.

"Dear reader, I am here, front row, at the trial for Severus Snape. Will he be found innocent or will he be condemned to a lifetime in Azkaban?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at the blonde curly haired woman in front of her. An enchanted green quill eagerly scribbled away on a floating piece of parchment.

Severus's hearing was not the only one that took place that day. Rose sat and watched as deatheater after deatheater was brought before the wizengamot, escorted by large aurors. They would be deposited in a solitary chair in the center of the circular room. The witches and wizards around them hissed and whispered judgements. The chair was attached to chains. Once the accused witch or wizard was seated the chains would spring to life and bind the wrists of the chair's occupant.

Rose felt sick as she listened to the crimes listed during each deatheater's hearing; murder, murder of a children, murder of whole families. Not one of the deatheaters was found to be innocent. Some even seemed proud of the things they had done as if they were great accomplishments. She felt horrified that Severus would be grouped with these people and she feared what crimes would be listed after his name.

Severus was brought in last by the same aurors that had come to collect him from St. Mungo's.

Severus's face was stoic. He looked straight ahead and did not make eye contact with anyone. This was not his first time in this room. He was younger then and sick with terror. He at least knew what to expect. He sat himself in the chair. The chains sprung forward and wrapped themselves tightly around his wrists.

Someone gasped. Severus cast his gaze upwards and saw Rose wide-eyed, with her hands clutched to her chest.

"That's not necessary." Harry Potter was standing from his seat. "This is an innocent man. There is no reason for him to run, for he has nothing to fear from this hearing today."

Severus grimaced as a senior member of the wizengamot pointed his wand at the chains and they fell loose. No one would dare refuse anything this '17' year old wanted.

The trial began.

"Severus Tobias Snape, hereby accused of being a follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, for being a willing witness and participant in muggle and wizard torture, for the use of dark magic, including the unforgivable curses, for passing classified information to deatheater and You-Know-Who, for causing bodily harm to Mr. George Weasley, and for the murder of Albus Dumbledore with the use of the killing curse."

Rose listened trying to process the allegations against Severus. Every one of them was enough to give him time locked up.

She hadn't known about him injuring someone, she wondered what Severus possibly did to George Weasley. The story about Dumbledore's death, however, was already reported on in length. Harry Potter defended Severus to all ends, stating that he was following Dumbledore's orders. He was doing 'everything' on Dumbledore's orders.

As for the witnessing and participating in torture, Rose was sadly not surprised. She would always know, by the deep-set horror in Tiberius's eyes, when he had watched someone be tortured. She knew, by the almost visible stains marking his soul, that Tiberius had raised his wand to another human.

Rose also knew that looking away or stopping the abuse was not an option if you wanted to stay alive. Though, she thought that she would rather die than live with herself knowing that she caused or didn't try to stop someone's suffering. She knew Tiberius felt that way too sometimes. Yet, she had to remind him that he just needed to hold on a little while longer. They would find a way to leave and disappear to a far-off country where Lord Voldemort couldn't find them.

"How do you plead to these crimes."

Rose was pulled from her reverie.

Severus thought about Charity Burbage, revolving upside down, pleading for his help. Severus thought of the amount of blood gushing from the side of George Weasley's head. Severus thought of the hard thud, that he had never heard but could never forget, as Albus Dumbledore's body hit the ground and shattered. "Not guilty," Severus said in an emotionless voice.

"Very well then," said the ministry official. "Let us proceed. Mr. Snape has sat before the wizengamot about 18 years ago, for the crime of passing the information to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named that resulted in the deaths of James and Lily Potter."

Rose watched Severus's face. He did not flinch or look more than impassive. Yet Rose could see him retreating deeper within himself.

"At that time," the official went on, "Mr. Snape was cleared of all charges with the understanding that he had begun work for the Order of the Phoenix and turned spy against You-Know-Who." The official paused to let the words revolve around the room. "How do you respond, Mr. Snape?"

"That statement is correct," Severus replied, again with no emotion in his voice.

Many surviving members of the Order of the Phoenix stepped up in Severus's defense: Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was now the acting minister of magic, Minerva McGonagall, Arthur Weasley, and of course, Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermione. Their arguments ranged back almost 2 decades, discussing his personal sacrifice for the Order, how he helped protect the Philosopher's Stone, and how he protected the students of Hogwarts when he was headmaster.

Rose felt her heart swell as she listened to the testimonies of Severus's bravery. Some of the things mentioned she had already heard, but everything new she learned just added to her admiration for him.

Arthur Weasley discussed the injury to his son. He looked Severus straight in the eye and assured him that he believed it to be an unfortunate accident. Severus kept his face blank as he looked back at Mr. Weasley.

Hermione Granger was specifically asked about Severus's treatment of muggle-borns. She expressed to the wizengamot that Severus treated her the same as he treated purebloods. Rose could attest to that. She was sure that Severus treated most people with distain no matter their parentage.

When Harry Potter spoke, the room was still and the air was thick with anticipation. Harry discussed how Severus aided him in destroying horcruxes and how he truly believed that he was always working under Dumbledore.

Then members of the wizengamot spoke about Severus's analyzed memories. This made Rose squirm uncomfortably in her seat. No one saw Severus's private thoughts during the hearing, but they might as well have. Wizards and witches of the wizengamot stood in turn and presented their findings. They gave direct quotes and described scenes in agonizing detail.

Rose watched Severus. She could almost see the furious steam radiating from him. He gripped the arms of the chair so tightly his knuckles turned white. Rose threw a glance at Harry Potter. He looked just as uncomfortable as she did.

"Were any of these memories tampered with?" the ministry official asked the wizengamot.

"No," a stout, older witch confirmed. "All the memories were crisp with no signs of alterations."

Next, a witch stood and spoke against Severus. She stated that it didn't matter the favorable motives of the accused. What really mattered was the harm caused and acts committed.

Rose found herself wishing she could jinx that horrible woman. What did she know of Severus and his motives? How could she possibly understand the struggles he had to overcome? What did anyone truly know about him?

Rose like to think that she knew Severus, the real Severus. Perhaps she did not know everything about his past, but she felt like she had an understanding of him, of his moods, of his body, of his needs. She desperately wished that she could stand in front of the wizengamot and make them see him the way she could see him.

The ministry official nodded once and then asked the wizengamot to vote on the fate of Severus Snape.

"By a show of wands," the ministry official said, "who finds this man innocent of the charges against him."

Rose held her breath as witches and wizards of the wizengamot slowly raised their wands above their heads. It was clearly unanimous. Rose allowed herself to breathe again. She looked down at Severus, his shoulders seemed to relax by the slightest fraction, but he kept his face determinately blank.

"Those opposed," the official said in a bored voice. Only a handful of people raised their wands. "Severus Tobias Snape, is found not guilty and cleared of all charges against him."

What do you think should happen next? Please review.

TJ