AN: I received some very good constructive criticism from a reviewer and have followed on with this. I hope it satisfies.

A shiver of incredible violence shot through Severus' body for the third time in a minute, finally drawing him out of his slumber. His eyes snapped open but he found his body paralysed under the weight of potion-masked pain. He remained still and silent, aside from the rush of air past his parched lips. The room looked different from last night. Smaller, and darker. The window was gone. Had they moved him? A lizard sat at the foot of his bed. It cocked its head to the side before slithering off, under the door and away. Severus pondered as to whether this meant he was not in fact in St. Mungo's, as he had assumed, but in another country altogether.

Severus felt trapped, which was a feeling he had hoped to escape with the end of the war. He sighed, knowing full well that he was doomed to a life of anguish; to be persistently faced with nitwits and dunderheads. He waited patiently for someone to come – they were bound to eventually. Not 3 minutes later (for he was counting) did a young healer enter his room.

"Mr Snape, it's good to see you finally awake." She smiled timidly at him, as he scowled back, wondering how long he had slept for. He opened his mouth to ask for a drink but she shushed him. "Please sir, don't attempt to speak. We're unsure about the state of your vocal chords and any talking could cause further trauma." His scowl deepened. Clearly she hadn't a clue what she was talking about. Just as he had foreseen – forever surrounded by dunderheads. His eyes flicked to the jug of water on the table, alerting her of his need. "I'm sorry, you can't sit up so ice cubes will have to do." She neatly transfigured a cup of water into crushed ice, before beginning to spoon the cool cubes into his mouth. He wished he could scowl further in his mortification, but the refreshment washed over him with chilled bliss, lessening the grove of his brow. "There are two aurors on their way to speak to you, and if you feel well enough we will give you a pen and paper so you can write your responses." He nodded stiffly.

The aurors stood over him, gazing down with contempt. They had eased up his charms and potions to allow movement in his fingers. It was too bad that every movement felt like lightning shooting through his body. He wondered again how long he had been asleep for, and what had changed since then. The elder of the two aurors cleared his throat and began to read gruffly from a scruffy piece of paper in his hand,

"Mr Severus Tobias Snape, we are here to conduct an investigation regarding several claims against your name for known committed war crimes. The aforementioned crimes include; crimes against the ministry and known affiliates; use of unforgivable curses including but not limited to the Killing Curse; murder; torture and hate crimes against muggleborns and muggles alike." Severus resisted the urge to scoff. He wondered how exactly these "hate crimes" tallied up against the ministry's own during the war. "War hero Mr Harry James Potter has provided evidence to suggest that these actions were dictated by both Albus Percival Wilfric Brian Dumbledore and Tom Riddle; otherwise known as Lord Voldemort or the Dark Lord to his followers. Following from this evidence we are here to question you on several events of significance that have occurred in recent years. Once our evidence has been compiled, it will be presented to the Wizengamot for their verdict. We shall now inform you of your rights and then proceed with our questions."

They stayed for 4 hours before the Head Healer demanded that they leave. It was a painful ordeal for Severus, and not just physically. Each "event of significance" as they had so eloquently put it, was a painful reminder of Severus' past. They began with the prophecy, when he truly was a member of the Death Eaters, and worked their way to Lily's death and the first fall of Voldemort. It was excruciating to recall his crimes that had been done with true malevolence and to once again be shown that if it were not for him and his power hungry youth, Lily may still have been alive.

The healers came to restore Severus' painless prison, but before they could he scrawled a question, each letter causing him agony.

Where is Miss Granger?

The head healer looked at him with confusion.

"I see you remember that Miss Granger was the one to save you Mr Snape." Severus looked at him like he was the biggest blithering idiot he had ever seen. "Unfortunately Mr Snape, although Miss Granger has requested to see you, the ministry has restricted your visitation rights to aurors and healers alone until a verdict is reached." Severus' anger turned to pure confusion – a feeling he was not at habit to indulge. With trembling hands he scrawled once more, What about when I last woke up? The healer's eyes glowed with concern. "Mr Snape, I am not sure when you are referring to as today was the first day since your being committed that you awoke. It has been 2 months since the Battle of Hogwarts, and the last time you were awake." Severus paled beneath a wash of charms that were being cast over him. What on earth is going on? Did I imagine everything from before? Can this be true? Could it be that Miss Granger was just a fever dream, telling me that it was time to wake up?

The healers left him, dimming the lights and drawing the sheets to his shoulders. A thousand thoughts ran through his mind, but he could not answer his own questions. The subtext of his unconscious mind worried him to no end. Why did he imagine her of all people? Was he just dying to be free and needed? Was her desire to see him live just a manifestation of his own survival instincts – no matter how deeply buried they may be. If he could have tossed and turned, paced and fidgeted he would have, but instead he remained encased in his own misery, trapped in his own mind.