Disclaimer: Can be found in the first chapter.

~*~

Chapter 22: Preparing for Trial

~*~

Harry was up and about early the next day. He had a number of things to get done, including grading for his classes. After a few hours, he was done, and the rest of the school was up.

Harry made his way to the Great Hall, keeping his eyes open for Hermione and Draco.

"Hermione! Draco!" he called, spotting them through the throng of students.

"Harry?" Draco called back, turning around.

"We need to talk, bring Hermione to my rooms when you're done eating," Harry called. He recieved a nod from Draco as he turned to continue walking to breakfast with Hermione.

~*~

"What do we need to talk about, Harry?" Hermione asked, seated in the living room of Harry and Severus' shared quarters.

"Dumbles' trial is two weeks from Saturday," Harry said, sighing. "We're both going to be asked to testify."

"Really?" Draco asked, looking slighly confused. "Just you two?"

"Kingsley said something about us being the 'targets' or something," Harry said, looking to them both. "I didn't quite understand it, but the manipulation was to control me, and Hermione was involved."

"So we've got to prepare our testimony and be ready to be asked all kinds of questions?" Hermione asked, slightly worried.

"Yes," Harry said. "And there is probably going to be Veritaserum involved, to get the whole truth or something like that."

"Two weeks?" Draco asked. "Isn't that a bit rushed?"

"For Dumbles? No," Harry said. "The old fool deserves a fast, painful trail, and a nice, long rest in Azkaban's high security wing."

"I'll be back on Friday to go over parts of our testimony with you, Harry," Hermione said, getting up. "I've got grading and such to get done. I'll see you later."

"Bye Mione, Dray," Harry said, seeing his friends out.

~*~

Severus woke up to a warm bed and frowned. Harry was always in bed when he decided to get up. He looked around the room then heard the voices from the sitting room. After he heard the door close, he went into the room and saw Harry sitting with his head in his hands.

"What's wrong?" Severus asked, sitting next to Harry.

"Wasn't all this shit supposed to end when Voldemort was taken down?" Harry asked, aggrivated. "I mean, Dumbles got what he wanted. Evil was purged form the world and all that old man's other bullshit."

"I believe that he was afraid of you," Severus said, sliding an arm around Harry's shoulders. "You are the most powerful wizard in this age. He wanted to keep you under his thumb as long as he could."

"He's a bastard, and he deserves to fucking die," Harry spat, visibly pissed off. "He fucked with my life for 6 years. Wasn't that enough?"

"Apparently not," Severus said, kissing his lover's neck softly.

Harry calmed as he felt Severus' lips on his neck. He leaned his head away from Severus, giving his lover more access to his neck. The lips melted away his stress, a fact he was incredibly thankful for.

"Did you mean that?" Harry asked, after Severus slowed his movements. "What you said last night?"

Severus looked at Harry, knowing exactly what he meant.

"With all my being, Harry," Severus said, looking into Harry's expressive, green eyes. "I just haven't found your ring yet."

"I don't need a ring, Severus," Harry said, wrapping his arms around the older man. "I have you, that's plenty for me."

"I want to give you everything," Severus said, wrapping his arms around the younger man. "Including the big fancy wedding, the ring, the whole deal."

"I love you, Severus," Harry said, resting his head against his lover's chest.

"I love you, too, Harry," Severus said, holding the young man to him.

~*~

The week passed quickly for Harry and Hermione. They taught their classes, they worked on their testimony, and they still managed to make time for their lovers.

Harry,

I'll be down after dinner. We can go over everything then.

Love,

Hermione

Harry sighed and wrote a short reply.

Mione,

See you then. Severus is going to help.

Love,
Harry

~*~

Hermione made her way to the dungeons, intent on settling her nerves and her conscience. She had been slightly less than completely truthful with Harry, and now was a dangerous time to tell him that. She'd seen him almost snap in the Great Hall three times this week already.

"I have to do this," she said, steeling herself before knocking on the portrait.

"Hello, Hermione," Severus said, after opening the door. "How are you?"

"Slightly worried," Hermione said, before stepping in. "How's Harry's control tonight?"

"Precarious at best," he answered. "It's been a taxing week for him. I suspect it will only get worse until the trial is over."

Hermione visibly paled and nodded.

"Hey, Mione," Harry said, from the couch. He was reclined, a cool rag over his eyes.

"Hi, Harry," she said, forcing a smile. "How are you?"

"Horrible," he said, lifting the rag off his face. "You?"

"I've been better," she answered, wringing her hands. "Um, I've got something to tell you."

"What?" Harry asked, sitting up stiffly. Severus moved and sat next to him, his arm around the younger man.

"I've been less than truthful with you, Harry," she said, nervously. "I spied for Dumbledore a lot longer than I told you before."

Harry felt his control slip. He shot to his feet and glared daggers at Hermione.

"Why did you lie?" he asked, his voice deadly.

"I didn't want you to hate me, Harry," she answered, cowering visibly. "I'm so sorry."

"Get out," Harry said, pointing to the door. "Get your testimony straight on your own, seeing as you can't tell me the truth."

"Harry, please," Hermione begged, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"Out." he said, simply. His eyes were glowing with his bloodlust.

"Harry, look at me," Severus said, standing between Harry and Hermione. "Look into my eyes."

"I want to hurt her," Harry said, before looking into Severus' eyes. He tore his eyes away after a moment before he felt the intense need for blood.

"Take mine," Severus said, knowing what the red tinge in his lover's eyes meant. "I'll give you mine. You don't need to hurt anyone else."

Hermione watched in terror as Harry's eyes kept darting to her. She watched as Harry latched onto Severus' neck, sucking his blood. She was suddenly very aware of the problems she had waiting for her when she told Harry and the rest of the jury the whole truth.

"I'll see myself out," she muttered, leaving the rooms as fast as she could.

Harry's eyes turned back to fully green as he finished feeding from Severus. He licked the wound then kissed his lover's neck softly.

~*~

The next day found Hermione and Draco in Harry and Severus' rooms again. After Draco had found out the truth, he was angry with his girlfriend. He had shouted at her about telling the truth, especially since she was one of few people Harry trusted.

"Harry, I'm so sorry for lying to you," she said, after a scary silence. "I never meant to hurt you."

"Yet you kept the truth from me until damn near the last minute," Harry said, almost in a whisper. "And I call you my best friend."

"Harry," Draco said, leaning forward. "Trust me, she was beating herself up about this last night, and went through, what I would assume to be, a rather disturbing situation. I've never seen a Vampire feed, and I'm sure, if one is not prepared, it can be rather frightening. Give her a chance to explain everything before you pass judgement."

"I rather agree with Draco, Harry," Severus said, rubbing his neck where it was still slightly sore. "Let Ms. Granger tell her side of the story before we jump to conclusions."

Harry growled slightly, but agreed by leaning back into the couch and gesturing for Hermione to start.

"It started in the third year," she said, her eyes on her hands in her lap. "I reported to him every Saturday morning, when the majority of the school was still asleep. It was the easiest time for us both. I wouldn't be found out, and he could ask whatever questions he wanted.

"Things continued this way until the sixth year, when you killed Voldemort. I stopped going after that, because I had figured he only wanted to know how you were handling everything to do with the war," she paused, taking a couple breaths. "He got really mad at me, and he was so angry when I told him I was done doing his dirty work. I walked out of his office with every intention of telling you what he was doing, until he threatened to take away the Healer Program."

"I acted so stupidly," she said, putting her head in her hands. "I spied on you so I could get what I wanted, just like that idiot."

"Harry, you can see that she's very disturbed by her actions, and last night only made everything worse for her," Draco said, slipping an arm around his girlfriend. "And I made sure to give her a piece of my mind when she told me everything. I think she's had enough screaming and fighting. You're a good man, and you can find it in you to trust her still."

"Hermione, what you did was unintelligent," Harry said, "But you were acting with my best interests at heart, so I won't hold it against you."

"Oh, thank you, Harry," she said, launching herself into her best friend's arms. He hugged her close, rubbing her back as she wept into his shoulder.

"Come on, Mione," Harry said, lifting her chin so he could look into her eyes. "Who could deny that face?"

"You brat," she said, smiling through her tears. "If I'd have lost you, I doubt I'd have been able to testify next week."

"We'll be together, Mione," Harry said, smiling to her.

Draco got up and walked over to Severus. They exchanged glances.

"That went a lot easier than I expected," Severus said. "He was positively enraged last night, but he thought about it, and realized that she was never to blame. It was Dumbles, in all his idiotic glory."

"Amen to that, all of it," Draco said, watching the two, who were now tickling each other.

"Hopefully, they'll be able to put all this behind them," Severus said, watching the two on the couch. "Hermione means a lot to him."

"Yeah," Draco said, looking to her. "Should I ask Harry or her parents for her hand?"

"Both," Severus said. "Harry is the closest thing she has to family 8 months out of the year, and her parents are everything to her."

Draco nodded as his hand slipped into his pocket.

~*~

That night, Harry and Severus were walking back from dinner at the Three Broomsticks.

"Draco wants to marry Hermione," Severus said, looking to his young lover.

"That's great," Harry said, smiling. "They're great with each other."

"He wants to ask you for your permission, as well as her parents," Severus said, before getting on one knee before Harry. "Just as I asked Molly."

"Sev," Harry said, his eyes welling slightly.

"Will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?" Severus asked, pulling a ringbox from his pocket. He took out the ring and slid it onto Harry's finger.

"Oh, Severus," Harry said, wiping his eyes with his free hand. "Of course, I will."

Severus stood up and wrapped his arms around Harry before kissing him softly. Harry's arms wrapped around Severus and kissed him back. After a minute, there was a huge burst of applause.

"Congratulations!" the entire student body of Hogwarts chorused, causing Severus to go a deep shade of red.

"I never expected to get caught," he whispered to Harry.

"I told Draco and Hermione to make an announcement at dinner," Harry whispered back. "I had a feeling you were going to ask tonight. I hope you don't mind."

"It's alright," Severus said, kissing him again.

Harry gave himself over to the kiss, wrapping his arms around Severus again. The students and staff broke into catcalls and whistling before the couple broke apart again.

"When's the wedding?" Ginny called.

"No idea," Severus called, his blush fading rapidly. "We'll keep you informed."

"Alright, everyone back to your dorms," Minerva said, smiling as she ushered the students back into the school. "I'm sure there will be more details soon."

"You owe me," Severus growled into Harry's ear.

"I know," Harry said. "After the trial."

~*~

A/N: So, the beginning of the end. It's going to be sort fo angsty in the next chapter (which should be up no later than Friday morning) and after that, it's fluffy. This should be wrapped up by Sunday, but we'll see. I may write a handful of side stories, explaining Draco and Hermione and quite possibly one of Ron getting his head out of his ass.

If I get enough response, I may consider writing a short sequel, but you know.

Much love

-KD