I KNOW I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON. It's been forever, and I apologize! Typical excuse: school. The time drainer of my life. Still, I hope this chapter makes up for the two weeks I haven't updated. Review and tell me what you think! (I appreciate all of you who are willing to put up with me, you are awesome).
The door in the corner of the chamber was wretched open, and Ministry men appeared, pushing forward the man clad in black. He kept his eyes to the ground, complying with the forceful men. The room was in an uproar, people screaming violent slurs, others gasping at the sight. Hermione didn't blame them, he looked disheveled and exhausted. The men forced him into the chair before chains appeared, binding him to the wood. He never so much as flinched, but Hermione made a small choking sound as she saw the chains pressing harshly into his body.
"QUIET!" Kingsley shouted.
The room took longer to contain themselves, but eventually, everyone was silent, their eyes locked on Severus Snape. Hermione was very near gasping for air as she waited for Kingsley to speak.
"Will the accused put forth any defense?" he asked, looking down at Severus who had his eyes trained on his knees.
"No, sir, the accused does not wish to enter a defense," a skinny man said, eyes darting to Severus for a moment before looking back at the Minister.
"If the accused does not wish to make a defense, then a verdict must be reached,"
Kingsley nodded his head, and the cold men and women dressed in black stood and left the room. Hermione couldn't tear her eyes off of Severus. He was broken; he was allowing them to beat him. The lawyer who had spoken stepped forward and approached Severus. He whispered a few quick words, only earning himself a single shake of a head. The man was angry; Hermione could tell by the way his eyes blazed when he looked at Severus. No doubt he was trying to talk Severus into doing something other than sitting there, chained to a chair, and completely silent. The man retook his seat a moment later, fuming. It was during this time that Hermione began to second guess all of their plans. Everything was going to fall apart, and they were going to send Severus to Azkaban. As the minutes inched by, Hermione busied herself with searching the crowd for familiar faces. There was Remus and Tonks, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Minerva was seated in the front row, with Ginny beside her. Neville was there with his grandmother, and farther back-
Her thoughts froze as she saw two doors open. Men and women flooded back into their seats, each face as impassive as the next.
"Oh God," Hermione moaned quietly, her stomach flipping.
The entire room had fallen silent. The only noise that could be heard was shuffling feat and squeaking chairs. The rustling of robes filled the air as the men and women fixed their clothing. After a few moments, not a noise could be heard in the chamber.
"Have you reached a verdict?" Kingsley asked.
"Yes," an old man said, standing up.
"And?"
"We find the accused guilty of all charges,"
A roar filled Hermione's ears. People jumped up around her. Something was tugging on her sleeve, but she felt as if time was suddenly slowing down around her. Her mind was oddly empty, almost like she was floating in a dream. A noise was suddenly breaking through the roar. It grew louder and louder. Hermione was certain that she recognized that sound.
"Hermione!" Harry shouted over the crowd.
She blankly looked up at him.
"The memories! GO!"
And in a rush it all came back to her, the plans, her fierce desire to set Severus free, and her uncontrollable need to stand by him and support him.
Jumping out of her seat, she launched herself forward, jumping on the small wooden divider that separated each row of chairs. Jumping again, she landed on the next one, only one away from reaching the stone floor. Hermione pushed a man out of her way, before flinging herself forward again. A second later, she stumbled out onto the floor.
"No!" she cried as the Ministry men stepped towards Severus.
She ran forward, putting her body between Severus and the guards who were now drawing their wands. Hermione already had hers out, and was ready to fight until the end.
"NO!" she snapped again.
"STOP! LOWER YOUR WANDS!" Kingsley yelled.
Hermione took this moment to yank her hood back, causing the room to erupt into gasps of shock.
"Hermione!" Kingsley yelled, now standing and leaning over his podium. "Lower your wands, NOW!" he added to the men.
Each slowly lowered their wands, still keeping them firmly wrapped in their fingers. The crowd was still talking loudly, while keeping their eyes firmly planted on the scene in front of them.
"Everyone, get out!" Kingsley cried over the noise.
The crowd instantly fell silent and no one made a move.
"If you are not out of this chamber in two minutes, I will have you arrested," Kingsley growled.
Immediately people began to scramble from their seats, but Hermione noticed some remained, keeping calm expressions on their faces. Others were climbing over the railings, joining her on the floor. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were the first to the floor, followed by Tonks and Remus.
"That means all of you!" Kingsley added.
"We are here to support Severus," a man Hermione didn't know answered from behind her.
"You better have a good explanation for this because I'm going to have to arrest you," Kingsley said, looking down at her with an angry expression.
It was then that Hermione felt the box clutched to her side in her numb hands.
"There is something that you need to see," she said, still breathing heavily, more from fear than anything else.
She stepped forward, lifting the box up so Kingsley could take it from her hands.
"Those are memories, all the memories we could get in order to prove that Severus is innocent," Hermione explained.
He suddenly pulled out a piece of paper, opening it. Hermione watched his dark eyes flash over the words before they landed on her face.
"Is this authentic?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"Remus, it says here that you witnessed the union of Severus Snape and Hermione Granger,"
"I did,"
Hermione heard a growl behind her and chains rattling. Turning around, she saw Severus glaring at her fiercely.
"I told you that if you didn't get yourself out of this, I would," Hermione said quietly while evenly meeting his raging eyes.
Just as Severus opened his mouth to no doubt say something rude and insulting, spell fire suddenly rained down on them. Hermione was blown sideways, smashing her face on the ground as she rolled to a stop. Her mouth was filled with blood, but that didn't stop her from jumping up with her wand out and ready.
There were at least twenty Death Eaters that had suddenly filled the room. Some were attacking Severus, others, the box of memories. Without thinking, Hermione darted back to Severus, blocking numerous spells that headed towards him. Those who were on the ground formed a circle around Severus, making sure he was protected at all times. Hermione saw Kingsley mutter quietly as he tapped the box once, causing it to disappear.
The room around them was being demolished; chunks of wood were flying through the air as the stone at their feet was cracking. Hermione only had one goal: protect Severus.
"Would someone get me out of this bloody chair!?" he roared over the spell fire.
Hermione quickly turned around, and silently cast a spell to release the chains, but received a nasty shock instead.
"I can't!" she cried, trying again.
"Behind you"! he snapped.
Hermione whirled around, sending the strongest stunning spell she could manage in the Death Eater's direction, causing him to go sailing through the podium. Kingsley jumped to the ground, wand in hand. Without stopping, he waved it at Severus, causing the chains to vanish. Hermione watched as his lithe figure jumped from the chair's platform and to the ground.
"What are you doing?!" she shouted as he peered around the room, defenseless.
A Death Eater suddenly appeared in front of them, and just as Hermione was about to curse the man, Severus cocked his arm and slammed his fist into the masked face. The body hit the ground instantly, and Severus picked up the discarded wand. Without missing a beat, he began firing off spells faster than Hermione could register what they were. Death Eaters were crashing to the ground quickly now, and Severus barely blinked. Her eyes were suddenly pulled to the ceiling, where she saw a Death Eater aiming at the chair in the middle of the room, where most of them were standing.
"BOMBARDA MAXIMA!"
Hermione had just breathed in a breath she planned to use to warn the others, but she was suddenly blown backwards, through the air, coming to a violent stop three rows back from the main floor. She was still conscious, but everything had gone silent.
Hermione counted the seconds before she heard anything. One. Two. Three. Four. Someone groaned from across the room. That one groan inspired others to start moving. Wood was being moved, Hermione could hear it clattering to the stone floor, or whatever remained of it. People were coughing. Others were calling out names. Hermione didn't move. She simply didn't want to. Her body was aching, and she was exhausted. Now, she wanted to sleep. She had done her work. The memories and the license were delivered. It was all up to Kingsley now.
"Hermione!"
That voice caused her to lift her head slightly. She could hear the panicked digging of someone looking for something.
"Hermione!"
Severus. She closed her eyes, savoring the sound of his voice for a moment, before peeling them back open with a new wave of determination. Hermione moved her limbs feeling the pain, but not caring because she was alive.
"Hermione!"
"H-here! I'm over here," she finished with a groan as she fought a heavy piece of wood off of her legs.
He was suddenly there, quickly climbing over the small bit of railing that was left. Severus immediately bent down and took hold of the wood, lifting it with a groan and tossing it aside. Slowly she attempted to climb to her feet before he hauled her up to face him.
"Are you hurt?" he asked in a rush as he looked her over.
"I don't think so," she said, knowing that she must have blood all over her face.
His body instantly relaxed with relief before he pulled her into his arms, crushing her body to his. Hermione didn't waste any time wrapping her arms around him, knowing they would only have a few short moments, and this was the most emotion he had shown her in a very long time. Her mind was in frenzy at that point. He did care for her, she knew it all along. Even he couldn't hide forever.
"You stupid fool," he mumbled into her hair.
She smiled against his neck, savoring the feeling of his body and the silkiness of his voice. Hermione reciprocated silently, digging her nails into the fabric of his robes. He had lost weight since she had last embraced him, all those months ago outside Hogwarts.
"How many did we lose?" Kingsley asked.
"Five for us, seven for them," someone replied.
Hermione loosened her arms from around Severus' neck and wrapped them around his waist instead. She wanted to hang on to him for as long as possible. People were rushing around, but Hermione wasn't paying attention to that, she was listening to the breathing and steady heartbeat beneath her ear. For the first time in months, she was content.
Kingsley brushed off his robes and sighed deeply. A guard approached him.
"Bring the dead through the back door. When that's done, get a clean-up crew in here,"
The guard instantly went over to the other men and relayed the orders. Kingsley's eyes drifted over to the couple, and Hermione held her breath.
"Severus, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me,"
Instinctively, her fingers dug into his robes. His lips gently pressed against her forehead before his arms loosened from around her body. He pulled away, offering a small smile for her eyes only, and approached Kingsley.
"What happened to the memories?" Harry asked.
"They were safely sent to my office,"
The room was silent as Kingsley headed out with Severus following a short distant behind. Molly Weasley was suddenly in front of her.
"Let's get you cleaned up," she said softly, sitting Hermione down.
Hermione didn't say anything, but looked around numbly. It was over. Months of work and worry, and it came down to whatever was going on behind those closed doors. Molly cleaned Hermione's face and her clothing as people around them began cleaning up the demolished courtroom. Harry was soon seated beside her.
"They're probably going to arrest all of us," he mentioned.
"Probably," she replied not caring in the least.
There was a Ministry man asking questions and taking statements, and Hermione had no desire to talk to him or deal with his prying. People were bustling about, but Harry and Hermione continued to sit, taking in everything that had happened.
"What do you think that they're going to do?" Harry said quietly.
"Maybe they'll have a retrial,"
Just as the Ministry man asking the questions began to approach them, Kingsley came out from the door, looking exhausted. Hermione instantly jumped up and ran forward, pass the Ministry man.
"Did you look at the memories?" she asked as he handed the box back to her.
"Yes, and I've talked to jury. They wanted a retrial, but I refuse to sit through this nonsense again, so I gave Severus a pardon. They'll probably try and throw me out of office," he grumbled.
Hermione felt her eyes widen as her mouth hung open slightly in shock.
"You-you-he's free?"
"Yes,"
Those who were standing around gave cheers, celebrating their victory. Hermione hugged Harry, tears of happiness starting to fill her eyes. She felt as if a physical weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Once she had regained her ability to speak, Hermione caught Kingsley's arm before he could slip away.
"Where is he?" she asked breathlessly.
"He left out of the back door and Apparated. He didn't tell me where he was going,"
Hermione didn't respond as he left the room. Severus left? Where did he go? Why didn't he come back to her? A thought suddenly slipped into her head. Looking at her hand, she saw the band of silver on her ring finger. She turned the ring on her finger twice. Nothing happened. She didn't feel the usual warmth that she did when she called him in the past. Again she tried, and nothing happened. He wasn't wearing his wedding ring. If he was, he would have been beside her already.