Hey!

Keep the reviews coming! They're awesome! Still aiming for 10 a chapter! (You guys are great, I know you can do it!)

Sorry this is late, I'm back at school and have been working basically non-stop for about two days.

Enjoy!

The next day, Hermione was more depressed than ever before. She wasn't getting anywhere with her reading, Ron wasn't speaking to either of them, Severus was locked up and most likely going to be sentenced to death at the rate his trial was going, she didn't have her parents, and her exam date was quickly approaching. Hermione spent most of her day in her room, curled up on her bed.

"Hermione! Come here!" Harry called from the kitchen.

His voice seemed panicked, so Hermione jumped up and darted down the stairs with her wand at the ready. When she entered the kitchen, she didn't expect to see two figures there.

"Mr. Weasley?" Hermione asked, seeing a man covered in ash from the kitchen fireplace.

"Hello, Hermione," he said warmly, smiling at her like he did when she was small. The smile was replaced with concern when he saw her bruised cheek. "I'm sorry about that, Ron told me,"

"It's nothing," she muttered, gingerly touching her flesh.

"I came to talk to you, about Severus,"

"Is he alright? He's not hurt, is he?"

"He's fine, don't worry. They have him in the holding cells for now,"

"What's wrong?"

"I heard from Tonks that you've been wanting to go and see him, and I've come to tell you that you're not allowed to set foot in that wing of the Ministry, I've heard it from Kingsley with my own ears,"

"Why not?!"

"When they asked him if he had any requests, he said that you are not allowed into the trial or to see him,"

Hermione sunk into a chair. Did he hate her that much that he didn't even want to see her?

"I'm telling you, the man has lost his mind. He won't see any lawyer, won't consult with anyone. Even the lawyer the Ministry appointed him; he won't say a word to, just keeps asking when they're going to convict him. He's trying to play the martyr, and very few of us know that he's not guilty. Now, if rumors are true, I know that you two have a relationship – I'm not trying to pry, but-"

"We're married, Mr. Weasely," Hermione said quietly. "The rumors your son gave to the Daily Prophet are true,"

"I can see you care very much for the man, and I want you to go talk some sense into him,"

"You just said that I can't see him, he doesn't want to see me,"

"The Ministry and I aren't seeing eye to eye at the moment," he replied, with a smile that made Hermione smirk slightly.

"If you're ready, we can leave now. It's the least I can do to make up for Ron and thank you for everything you've done for all of us,"

"I'm ready," Hermione said, though she didn't think she believed the words.

Mr. Weasley had her wear a cloak, one that nearly consumed her body, and altered her facial features slightly. When they reached the entrance to the Ministry, he locked her hands in shackles and pulled out forged paperwork.

People were bustling around the room, going about their daily business, and Hermione couldn't help but look around in awe at how much the Ministry had changed since the last time she had been there. In general, there was warmth about the place. Regardless, Hermione's heart was beating in her chest. If they were caught, the two of them would be arrested, for real. Mr. Weasley would lose his job and Hermione knew she wouldn't be able to live with the guilt.

The two stepped into the elevator, alone, and immediately began descending.

"You'll have about ten minutes; I'll have to distract the guard in order to remove the charm on the holding cells,"

"Charm?"

"So the prisoners can't Apparate out. Once you're done talking to him, Apparate back to Grimmauld Place,"

"Won't the other people in the holding cells escape?"

"There isn't anyone down with Severus – they cleared out the cells because all of the prisoners were afraid that Severus would kill them,"

Hermione was too scared to argue with the prisoner's logic because the elevator had pulled to a halt. The two stepped off eyeing the guard at the end of the hallway. Hermione lowered her head so that her entire face was covered. Mr. Weasley was nervous, but tried his hardest to act casual.

"Arthur, what brings you down here?"

"Kingsley was busy at the moment, so he asked me to transport this prisoner,"

"You have to put him in the holding cells upstairs," the guard immediately replied.

"Can't – he's too dangerous to be with the others, he has to be here,"

"Is he aware that he's rooming with the man who killed Dumbledore?"

"I can assure you, Alfred, this one here has done worse,"

The guard took the paperwork and looked it over for a moment before handing it back to Mr. Weasley.

"Just put him in there…make sure you seal the door up tight," the guard said with a slight quiver to his voice.

Mr. Weasly pulled Hermione through an archway and down a long hallway lined with cells. The place was musky and cold, reminding her of the dungeons at Hogwarts, but worse. She kept tripping over the uneven floor, causing her heart to pound even harder against her ribcage. The hallway seemed to be never ending, but finally, as she glanced up, Hermione could see the far wall.

"Hello, Severus," Mr. Weasley greeted warmly.

Hermione shifted her eyes and saw Severus nod in their general direction. His eyes were locked on her form, no doubt trying to figure out who the new comer was. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, having nothing else to do.

"I hope you don't mind having a roommate for a little while,"

Severus didn't answer as Hermione was pushed into the cell beside his. The shackles were removed and her features were restored to their original appearance. Mr. Weasley locked the door and gave Hermione a slight nod.

"Can I get you anything?" Mr. Weasley asked as he passed Severus' cell.

"The newspaper, if you can manage," he said quietly.

"Sure, I think Albert has one under his chair, I'll smuggle it in with your food,"

Mr. Weasley's steps died away down the hallway and Severus' eyes never left her form. Hermione stayed perfectly still in the middle of her cell, keeping her face hidden in the heavy cloak. He was very obviously puzzled by the fact that they had placed another person with him, and finally, he couldn't help himself.

"Why are you here?" he practically barked out.

Hermione took this moment to pull back her hood and look him straight in the eye.

"To talk some sense into you,"

Severus jumped from his bed, eyes wide and in a panic, his face paler than when she had first walked in. He wrapped his fingers around the bars, seeming to need their support to keep himself standing.

"What are you doing here? And what the hell happened to your face!" he rasped out.

Hermione wrapped her hands just below his, so close to him, but unable to touch.

"We only have a few minutes. You need to stop being so damn stubborn – tell people your story; you can't just sit there taking it day after day. Stand up for yourself. It's all over the paper, how terrible you're trial is going, and none of us are just going to sit by and watch you throw your life away,"

"It is my choice what I do with my life,"

"Not when it concerns others!" she hissed back quietly.

Severus Snape was at a loss for words. Hermione sighed when she looked at his haggard face.

"Tell me what happened to your face," he snapped, changing the subject.

"I had a misunderstanding with Ron,"

"That weasel hit you?"

"I started it, I practically attacked him when he came to Grimmauld Place, and he just happened to move his elbow when trying to get me off of him,"

Severus just stared at her like he couldn't believe that she would physically attack another human being.

"Why won't you let me into the trial?"

He tore his hands off of the bars and began pacing his cell.

"The last thing I need is them attacking you. They'll discount your testimony anyway, drag your name to hell and back, and ruin your life. Even if you do finish school, how many people will want a witch who supported the man who murdered the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen?"

"How did you know I wanted to finish school?"

"Minerva told me, the insufferable woman sends me letters every day, mostly about how you've fallen off of the face of the Earth, yet here you stand. Not the best entrance after being so gone, I might add,"

"Shut up, I'm trying to be serious here,"

"Well I don't need your help,"

"That's a lie – you're practically throwing your life away. Harry and I have been looking through the library at Grimmauld place trying to form some sort of-"

"Potter?"

"What about him?"

"Potter is trying to helping me?"

"He's doing it for me, though he seems to have gotten over hating you. He's even defended you on the rarest of occasions,"

"Please don't tell me I'm indebted to Potter now,"

"We can talk about this later; right now we need to talk about how we're going to get you out of this whole mess,"

"First, you're going to go to my chambers at school and go into my desk drawer. You'll find a set of divorce papers. You are to sign those and immediately mail them to the address that is printed on the forms. Then, burn the license that you had framed. We need to destroy all evidence of this contract so they cannot implement you,"

"I will absolutely not do that!" Hermione nearly screeched.

"I don't see what the problem is! You sign your name and you burn a piece of paper!"

"I gave you my reasons the last time you tried to do this!"

The two fell silent, and Hermione knew that their time was running short. She could hear Mr. Weasley returning.

"If you don't get yourself out of this, then I'll get you out of it myself,"

"And just how do you expect to do that?"

"That's my problem, not yours,"

Severus was visibly affected by her words, knowing full well that she would do anything that she needed to do in order to free him.

"Sometimes I wish I could wipe your memory,"

"Too bad they took away your wand," she snapped just as Mr. Weasley arrived.

"Time's up – Alfred is getting antsy out there, I'm going to have to alter his memory after this,"

"What do you think you're doing, sneaking her in like this!" Severus snapped at the man.

"Well you won't listen to Minerva or I, so I thought I'd try someone who is close to you," Mr. Weasley replied, barely sparing Severus a glance.

He cast the charm, allowing Hermione a small window to Apparate.

"Thank you," she said to Mr. Weasley, who nodded at her. She turned to Severus and was met by his glare. "I'll be seeing you," she said coldly.

"Don't count on it,"

She Apparated quickly, too angry to be hurt over his last comment. When she entered Grimmauld Place, Hermione saw Harry anxiously heading towards her.

"What did he say?"

"Told me he wants a divorce, still, and on top of that, he's making no effort whatsoever towards his freedom. He refuses to speak a word in court,"

When the two settled at the kitchen table, Hermione began telling him more details of their meeting. It was then that something suddenly occurred to her.

"When I was in there, Severus said that he wished he could wipe my memory!"

"And?"

"Harry, that's it! His memories!"

"What about them?"

"Severus gave you his most important memories because he thought he was dying! He can't stop us from showing people those memories! He can only refuse to speak! And remember when you had Slughorn's memory? And there was a portion that was different from the rest because he had changed it? They can see that those memories are the real thing!"

"Hermione, as brilliant as that is, how are we going to do that? I'm sure Snape had banned all of us from the courtroom anyway,"

"I'll sneak in,"

"Again?"

"Why not? His freedom rests in my hands. Even if they do arrest me, at least I'll be able to give them his memories,"

"Hermione, from now on, we should make plans that do not require breaking into the Ministry of Magic,"

Hermione offered Harry a beaming smile before she began planning what to do.