I neither own nor profit from the world of Harry Potter.

Severus entered the Ministry early on the morning of the 28th. Amelia had summoned him the day before and informed him that he was to give evidence regarding the scope of the abuse and his discovery of the evidence.

"We're concerned that some of the Pure-bloods knew about the quill." The note had read. "Alastor is running into serious difficulties finding out where Umbridge acquired the item in the first place. If you stand against the abuse - and champion the non-muggleborn victims - we are hoping that at least the lower level Death Eaters and sympathisers will realise that they too can oppose Umbridge without directly working against Voldemort."

Indeed, Severus had been contacted the night before by Goyle, who wanted to know whether it was the Dark Lord's doing, and by Lucius, who in a roundabout way hinted that his business was being looked into. Amelia seemed to be onto something, though he sincerely doubted that anybody else knew about Goyle's owl. Lucius would have put a stop to it for sure. He had ignored both.

So now he was here, giving his wand to be weighed and making his way downstairs to Alastor's department, ready to be escorted to the witness bench. The ministry was busy. The trial had been announced three days prior, per the Wizengamot rules, though all that was officially known was that Albus was to step down. That alone had almost caused a panic in the Atrium of the Ministry. Dumbledore himself had been forced to intercede and personally announce that it was so that he could devote more of his time to his school and to the fight against Voldemort that he was stepping back: that it was a show of strength rather than weakness.

When he arrived in the auror department, Severus found Alastor in a bad mood. "This way Snape." He growled. "I'm to brief you before they go down. Andromeda should be elected as we speak, but just in case somebody else gets the spot we need a pre-recorded version of your evidence, and I have a couple of points that I want clarity on regarding the curses." "Certainly." Said Severus. He ran through his testimony succinctly. "You could say I've almost done your job for you, Auror Moody." He ended silkily.

Alastor looked at him with dislike. "You were a Death Eater." He said bluntly. "And now you're supposedly a spy, yet you failed to notice that a fellow Death Eater was impersonating me for nine months even when he was stealing polyjuice from your fucking stores. Discovering that torture was occurring under your nose months after the fact does not constitute you doing my bloody job, no." Severus winced. The dig had been an obvious mistake. A small paper bird fluttered onto Alastor's shoulder and he opened it clumsily. "Damnit Bones." He muttered. "Use fucking aeroplanes like normal people why can't you." Severus waited as the auror read the missive. Moody hoisted himself to his feet using his cane. "Amelia says that they're letting people in for the trial now. We should go." Severus nodded and followed Moody to the lifts.

The trial was held in courtroom ten, and it was full. The Wizengamot were all in attendance, marked out by their purple robes. There were the two legal teams, the investigative branch of the auror department, and then the victims and families. Not many were in the courtroom. Severus knew that most wanted to avoid both subjecting their children to such an ordeal and broadcasting their bloodlines and alliances before so many Death Eaters and sympathisers.

Best represented was Potter's group. Not only were they on average older, they were more likely to have a magical parent than many of Umbridge's younger victims. Lee Jordan, four of the Weasleys, Hermione Granger, and all three of the Gryffindor chasers sat furthest forward. A smattering of others were sat a little further back with their families, though as Severus watched, Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein moved forward to sit beside Hermione, who turned to them, gesturing at a large book she had on her lap. Severus was willing to bet that it was some kind of legal volume, though what the girl hoped it would contribute during the trial he could not imagine.

He was clearly one of the last to arrive, and he realised as he did so that the fallout from Albus' departure was ongoing. Theodore and Lucius stood together, with Lucius and a Flint shouting in turns with a Macmillan, who was red in the face. Elsewhere furious conversation had broken out and the hall was filled with sound. Albus and Andromeda stood together, not looking at each other, in the centre of the floor.

"It's clearly Albus Dumbledore on trial!" Shouted Flint. "I recognise some of those children in the witness box, he's clearly stepped down because he can't judge himself!" Severus noted that Lucius did not correct Flint's assumption regarding the trial, but was looking closely at Severus as he arrived.

"Albus Dumbledore on trial in front of the Wizengamot?" Shouted Macmillan. "Have you lost your mind, sir?"

"Whoever is on trial" Lucius' voice rose angrily above the others. "The person presiding over the Wizengamot should be a wizard of standing! Not a muggle-loving cunt who shut herself away from decent society for two decades!"

"How dare you?" Macmillan rounded on Malfoy. "Madame Tonks-"

"Tonks! How on earth is a-"

"What a goddamn mess." Grunted Alastor. "Polifuckingticians. How many do you think the pair of us could stun before any of them noticed.

Across the floor Scrimgeour roared "Enough!"

Andromeda stood tall and there was a sudden silence. "I have been elected" she said calmly "by a cross section of the Wizengamot and of the Ministry. I thank Theodore of the House of Nott for his challenge. I thank Albus of the House of Dumbledore for his long leadership." There was a grumbling of applause. "And I thank the Wizengamot for their faith in me." She took the chain from Albus' outstretched hands. "May this body politic comprise those of courage, strategy, knowledge, and kindness." She said calmly. "And live in harmony as though under one roof." She stepped up to the throne-like seat that the Headmaster had vacated. "May this Wizengamot find wisdom - as much a product of debate as of any diadem." She bowed low before the assembled witches and wizards. Severus could see Miss Granger mouthing the words along with Andromeda. "And may I serve this Wizengamot as the elder wand serves its caster: with true aim and righteous power."

There was a short pause and then, led by Augusta Longbottom on one side of the chamber and Theodore Nott on the other, the Wizengamot bowed to Andromeda. She placed the chain around her neck and stood while the courtroom settled.

"This way." Said Alastor, and took them to the back of the witness box. Severus sat.

Amelia Bones took the centre of the floor. "As was announced before Madame Tonks was sworn in." She said. "The Department of Magical Law has called an emergency criminal trial which the Wizengamot must judge."

Andromeda nodded. "We are gathered, and will attend today, Madame Justice."

Amelia smiled. "The accused is Dolores Jane Umbridge, former Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic and former High Inquisitor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." There was an audible gasp around much of the courtroom. The parents of children affected sat grim faced, and a few others - notably Lucius Malfoy - looked unsurprised, but the clearly the news had not leaked too far. Even Andromeda looked shocked. Severus had assumed that Minerva had given the new Chief Warlock some hints as to the nature of the case, but apparently she had not. Most flustered was Percy Weasley, who sat slightly behind Rufus Scrimgeour and appeared to be trying to use the new minister to shield himself from his family.

The doors opened and Umbridge was escorted to the seat of chains in the centre of the courtroom, flanked by Kingsley Shacklebolt and an auror unfamiliar to Severus. She was dishevelled, her pink suit grubby and creased, and she looked furious. She was placed in the chair where, with a tap of Amelia's wand chains wrapped around the woman's limbs. Severus realised for the first time that the woman was under a silencing charm.

Amelia took one side of the courtroom, while a young man that Severus didn't recognise took the other. He looked nervous as he spoke up. "I am the legal counsel for the defence, erm, Harry Briarfield." He said nervously.

Amelia's voice was crisp. "I will be the prosecutor." There was a further outbreak of muttering. It was unusual but not unheard of for the prosecution to be handled by the ministry department. More often than not the injured party contacted their own lawyer.

Alastor got up from beside Severus and made his way to the floor. His wooden leg echoed as he made his way up the steps to Andromeda's chair, where he presented her with a sheaf of parchment. She took a brief moment to read the cover before her face grew stony and she tapped it with her wand. A duplicate copy appeared before every member of the Wizengamot, and Severus heard cries of outrage as they too scanned the charges.

Andromeda glared down at Umbridge for a moment, fury clear in her eyes, before she raised her wand. An invisible barrier leapt up in front of the stands, effectively separating the Wizengamot from those to take part in the trial.

For Severus it was suddenly very quiet. He could make out the muttering of the children and their parents, alternately impatient and reassuring. Umbridge was fidgeting with her hemline, and Moody was tapping away beside him.

"Fudge knows." Moody's voice was gruff and quiet. "He's under caution. I don't doubt a few more do too." Severus nodded and the auror carried on. "We're not sure what Rufus is going to do, what side he'll come down on. He was a good auror and he's a sharp man, but he won't be seen grovelling for Fudge's crimes. This could get nasty."

Before Severus could get any more information, there was a flash of light behind the barrier. The Wizengamot members were sitting back down, and as he watched, a Andromeda cancelled her spell. The courtroom came alive once more.

"Dolores Jane Umbrige." Andromeda's voice was furious. "You stand accused of using an illegal blood quill to torture numerous students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You further stand accused of preventing these students from discussing their ordeal and therefore of obstructing justice and freedom of speech." There were cries of outrage, and many of the faces were peering in horror at the teenagers who sat in the witness benches.

"A blood quill!" Severus heard Theodore Nott exclaim in horror. "You used a blood quill on children?" Severus watched as Nott flicked further through the evidence - and grew quieter. Others were less reserved, and the lighter and neutral half of the room in particular were stood up in outrage.

"The agenda will proceed as follows." Said Andromeda. "The witnesses will be called in the following order, and questioned first by the defence, then the prosecution; Severus Snape; Lee Jordan; Katie Bell; Angelina Johnson; Fred Weasley; Poppy Pomfrey; Darren Hartland; and Cornelius Fudge." Severus knew that Hartland was one of the healers who had accompanied Minerva on some of her visits. "There will then be a pensive statement by Astoria Greengrass." There was a visible reaction to this name - the Greengrass family was a well known Pureblood family, and not even the eldest daughter Daphne was of age yet. "Following this, Madame Umbridge will be questioned. We will then have the chance to ask our own questions of the prosecution, though not of the witnesses, and we will then vote. I will remind the members of this courtroom that, as the case concerns minors, they will be unable to speak freely of what is discussed here."

Amelia stood. "My thanks, Chief Warlock." There was a shuffling in the seat, though nobody challenged the appropriateness of the title. "I call Severus Snape, witness for the prosecution, to the floor."

Eyes upon him, Severus stood and smoothed his robes. He felt oddly exposed on the floor, though it had been many years since he himself had stood accused. An echo of the fear ran through him, and he suppressed it viciously.

"Please tell us of your discovery, Professor Snape."

"I have recently been appointed Defence Instructor at Hogwarts." He said. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ronald Weasley almost jump out of his seat, held back by Miss Granger. He suppressed a smirk: the appointment had not been revealed to the students ahead of time, then. "I discovered that Madame Umbridge had kept all of the lines set as detention in a filing cabinet and enquired as to why the parchment had not been removed by the House Elves. I was informed that blood magic must be left alone by the Elves, and so deduced that a blood quill had been used."

The council for the defence was scribbling - though surely he had read Severus' testimony. As Severus continued his narrative he unobtrusively watched the gallery. Miss Granger too was taking notes - though she seemed to be paying more attention to the Wizengamot than to his words. The other students were either staring at Severus or at Umbridge with almost equal dislike.

There was a silence when he had finished.

Briarfield stood. "Master Snape." He said quietly, shuffling his papers nervously. "I, erm, Severus Snape, why were you able to break the compulsion charm so easily? Do you really suggest that students forced to carve into their own flesh would not have more willpower and reason than yourself? Why didn't any of them break it?"

Severus' eyes narrowed. Umbridge's defence must have been chosen for his incompetence to ensure that Umbridge, not Fudge, got the brunt of the blame. He sneered. "I was able to break the compulsion firstly because my blood was not a part of the spell, secondly because I am a highly skilled wizard trained in the arts of the mind and therefore able to recognise interference with my own, and thirdly because I am a Potions Master and therefore entirely cognizant of the procedure for ridding oneself of the compulsion." He raised an eyebrow and the young man actually backed away slightly. "None of this is even slightly related to "will"."

There was more muttering, but it quickly died down as the red faced lawyer searched desperately for another hole to exploit. "As a teacher at the school, why were you not aware of this earlier? We understand that a minority of the students were in your own house. Do you not have a duty of care to your students? How did you fail to notice their pain?"

A faint flush touched Severus' neck - but Alastor had warned him that the defence might take this route. "I do." He said quietly. "And I am appalled beyond measure that we on the staff did not find out much sooner. That is inexcusable, and it will take time for us to repair the trust that this society puts in us. There are, however, mitigating factors. Firstly, the aforementioned compulsion charm. Secondly and more importantly however, the authority with which the defendant meted out these punishments was seemingly limitless. The ministry provided Madame Umbridge with authority to disallow staff and student from conversing of subjects not directly related to their subject." His voice was a sneer. "We were constrained by the ministry's protocols, and did what we could under the circumstances."

There was an outbreak of muttering. The young man grasped it. "You would like to curtail the ministry's authority?" Severus saw smirks on the faces of a number of prominent purebloods.

He chose his words carefully, and delivered with enough distain to silence a Mandrake. "I would curtail Minister Fudge's authority, but he no longer has any."

"There was a snort from the gallery but he did not look up.

"You would accuse Minister Fudge?" "Madame Umbridge is on trial today. I would think it remiss of her defence to neglect the source of her authority."

Umbridge's counsel seemed to glance up and, apparently gaining some kind of approval - though from exactly who Severus could not work out - proceeded. "Are you a Death Eater, Severus Snape?"

"I was cleared in this very courtroom."

"I speak in the present tense."

"I am cleared of all charges."

"I suggest" he turned his back on Severus and spoke to the Wizengamot at large, seeming to gain in confidence. He did not look at Umbridge. "I suggest that Severus Snape, whose Dark Mark was revealed in this very courtroom, seeks to destabilise the Ministry for the benefit of his master!" There were murmurings of disquiet. "He knows that discord will only further the goals of the so-called Dark Lord, and so instead of seeking to place the blame on a single perpetrator who, we must assume, did not know the ins and outs of arcane laws and rules banning obscure magical artefacts, he sees an opportunity to limit rather than strengthen this institution!"

Severus just managed not to snort. As though a blood quill could be an innocent mistake. At least this cleared up the question of exactly who was paying him.

Scrimgeour's eyes were cold as they looked on Severus, and he knew that the Minister was likely to be a hard sell, as all aurors were. Briarfield gestured in a self-satisfied way for Amelia to take over. She did so, leaving her parchment at a small conjured desk.

"Master Snape." He nodded politely. "Could you tell me what Hogwarts has done since finding out about Madame Umbridge's actions?"

"We have contacted, as far as possible, all students involved." Weasley and Granger looked at each other, and Miss Granger shook her head. "They have been assessed by mind-healers who will continue to provide support when the students return next week. I can confirm that I have personally visited Miss Greengrass and her peers. We have also re-written the parameters of approved punishment and the recourse that students have when they feel bullied. We are in contact with the auror department to improve security at the school. This will likely be an ongoing endeavour." He looked directly at Briarfield and coloured his words with a hint of displeasure. "The Board of Governors has been informed and they have, in turn, informed us that they wish to take a more active role in the school. Madame Longbottom" his voice was sour with dislike "has been particularly insistent. I would remind the counsel that the ministry holds a third of the seats on the Board."

He saw Augusta's vulture quiver as she stood, confirming his testimony. Amelia nodded. "Then the ministry is not being cut out of Hogwarts?"

"On the contrary. We are working closely with healers from St Mungo's and the auror department, and the board is receiving more complete updates. I would suggest that this debacle has not only created a headache for the staff but the ministry is more involved than ever at the school."

"Who would you place the ultimate blame with?" This was a question that they had not rehearsed. His eyes narrowed.

"Minister Fudge had authority over Dolores Umbridge. He should have known what she was doing. She was directly responsible for the crime: he is either guilty of not preventing it or, if he knew not of it, of neglect."

Amelia nodded, turning as Briarfield had to the stands. "Severus Snape has testified both of the severity of the defendant's crime and of the considerable steps that the school has taken to ensure that this does not happen again. I suggest that whatever Mister Snape's motivations" she did not look at him "he has defended his students as well as any other professor and he is working with the Ministry to rectify the situation. Furthermore, Severus Snape is not on trial today. It is Madame Umbridge and - by extension - the previous administration, who we are here to question. I thank Master Snape for succinct testimony and for attempting to right this wrong."

He looked at her, an eyebrow raised, and she nodded. A glance around the room saw that most attention was focused either on Briarfield, who was looking sheepish, or on Umbridge, whose head was bowed. Severus left.

It was mid-morning before the occupants of the castle got a fuller picture of what had occurred at the trial. Most of them had gathered in the staff room the night before - including the newly arrived Remus Lupin - to listen to the wireless bulletin on the trial when it had finally ended. And that morning the Prophet had been almost exclusively dedicated to the previous day's Wizengamot. The main story had been sober and well written, mentioning only the names of the older students who, Severus knew, had given express permission for their identities to be revealed.

Further into the paper, Rita Skeeter emerged. The focus of the article was supposedly the election of the first Witch to the seat of Chief Warlock, and Rita had somehow outwardly disparaging the disrespect to tradition while only badly hiding her glee that all these Wizards were quite so outraged that a woman were above them.

What had enraged him had been the section in which she has discussed the trial, supposedly to discuss Andromeda's conduct. Her words were vague, but hidden between the lines were enough clues. Severus was sure that, by the end of the day, everybody would know that it was Astoria Greengrass who had been tortured. Well - not everybody - but those who knew enough about the subtleties of particularly pureblood and society politics would have no trouble picking out the information. It wasn't direct enough for the confidentiality spells or the libel laws to pin the with down with, but it was clearly purposeful.

Lupin didn't seem to have picked up on it. He closed the paper quietly and picked up his goblet. "There's a small part of me that feels relieved." He said, looking sideways at Severus. "The news may be grim, but at least it isn't new news. There haven't been any more disappearances in the last week."

Severus scowled. Where the Dark Lord was concerned, silence was rarely golden. "I imagine that the Dark Lord is hoping that Wizarding society will destabilise itself without his help. There's a short article on page fourteen about the appointment of a dangerous Werewolf at Hogwarts. A werewolf known to have had at least one near miss."

Lupin had the grace to flush. "Madame Pomfrey will be supervising my, erm, taking of the potion." He said. "She refused to accept my appointment on any less."

Severus grunted. "I shall deliver it directly to your babysitter in that case."

Lupin didn't respond, and Filius filled the silence with plans for duelling classes.

"I should like both of your help" he said, spearing asparagus on a sharp fork. "You have distinct duelling styles that I believe the children will learn from."

"I would be happy to assist." Lupin, of course, was there at once. "How many classes will you run, do you think?"

Severus interjected. "I will also help with the more advanced classes, but I imagine you will need to divide the classes by ability rather than age, Filius. The teaching has been... patchy."

Lupin, surprisingly, agreed, though Severus should have realised that it was for quite different reasons. "I agree Filius. Harry's defence group covered some rather advanced magic last year. I imagine that some of their peers will be in need more of basic protection spells than the advanced duelling that I imagine they are hoping for."

"Advanced duelling?"

"They've already faced off against Death Eaters, Filius."

There was a short silence.

"I would prefer not to train my students for a war." The diminutive professor said quietly. "Particularly not one in which they are likely to hurt one another."

Severus scoffed, but Lupin was more gentle. "We grow up, you know." He looked at Severus, who looked away. "We grow up and we have to fight. That's how it works."

Severus nodded stiffly, agreeing for once.

"I suppose if we focus on defence and teamwork?" Filius was more enthused now. "I suspect that this will be more fighting than duelling, but what if we-" Severus tuned Filius out, only half registering his colleague's plans and allowing Lupin to respond appropriately. His mind jumped back once more to the sheaves of bloodied parchment.

Mudblood.

All children grow up, sooner or later.

When the meal was over, Severus was forced to join Lupin once more as the pair of them, along with Minerva, met Alastor Moody in the entrance hall for the preliminary security scan.

Thank you Alastor." Minerva said, her voice crisp. "I have asked Remus and Severus to accompany us. Severus is of course our Dark Arts professor and Remus-" she gave him a narrow look that nonetheless hid a smile "I think it would be fair to say that Remus knows rather a lot about the ins and outs of this castle." Remus chuckled and Severus' scowl deepened.

"It played out well in the end, you know." Alastor grunted. As far as Alastor could see the auror was simply poking his wand at things. Walls, portraits... it didn't seem to matter. "Andromeda made it clear that she would be taking an active but entirely documented interest at Hogwarts, and Albus' stepping down to dedicate himself to the school went down well. It got a bit dicey in the middle... Malfoy was all for weakening laws over dark artefacts as it would curtail the independence of the school - as though he hadn't tried to have Albus removed the other year! Augusta stepped up though. She made a bit of a speech about being concerned about the origin of the quill and of the obvious corruption in the old administration." He gave a bark like laugh. "Malfoy didn't like that but there wasn't much he could do, not with all Augusta's old cronies at her back. She secured a vote on thorough investigations into corruption in a number of departments."

Severus gave a genuine smile, reflected on Lupin's face. "We should have approached Augusta years ago." Lupin sighed. "Just think how much progress we could have made well before-" He broke off awkwardly.

"The clincher was the testimonies." Moody jabbed his wand at a tapestry, then turned around slowly, looking carefully at the wall. "Jordan's a likeable chap, and subtly political. I reckon he'd make a mean politician if that weren't an insult. The little girls though... Umbridge is going to Azkaban for life and Fudge is claiming a lack of knowledge. They're looking at the Weasley bootlicker now. He's already got ties to bloody Barty Crouch Junior through those messages from his dead fucking dad."

Severus' brows rose. He certainly hadn't liked Percy Weasley but he couldn't imagine that the child had had an active role in torture at his siblings' school. Then again, family was no indication of love. One only had to look at the Blacks to see that.

"What's here?" Moody asked. "I didn't attend Hogwarts, you know, so I'm blind as a fucking bat in this school."

Minerva frowned. "There isn't anything there Alastor. It's just wall." Remus echoed her. "I don't know of anything here either."

A thought came to Severus. "The defence association - Potter's little club - they were discovered near here in some kind of hidden room, according to Slytherin gossip."

Moody turned. "A hidden room?"

"Why?"

"There's something there." Alastor said. "I don't know what, and it's bloody faint." His voice trailed off as his wand moved in more familiar, complicated motions. His fake eye was spinning and Severus felt nauseous. "I suppose I'll have to ask Albus, or perhaps young Potter when he's finally reachable."

They continued along the corridor, Remus pointing out more passages and hidden openings than even Severus had discovered in the long decade he'd spent as a teacher. It was decided that a new set of wards would be raised to overlay the old ones. Alastor would also return for a comprehensive security scan accompanied by a team of curse breakers.

It had been an unsettling trip, if Severus were honest. There was a lot about the school that he had not bothered to investigate even after the knowledge that it had long sheltered a Basalisk, and the amount of frankly dangerous contraband that had been either stashed or abandoned in the castle had made even Minerva swear.

His mind kept flicking back to the thought of the children soon to return. Was the castle any safer than the world outside of it? A year ago he'd have scoffed at the notion that it was not - now he was less certain.