A/N: Once again thank you for the reviews – here's a new chapter for you to enjoy (and review :)
James Birdsong: Thank you – hope you like this one too!
When Potter eventually beckoned him to enter the Minister's office, Snape felt as if his trial had already begun. Getting the Minister on his side was crucial to his case; if he did not, he may as well start packing.
He found Shacklebolt seated at his desk, and though Potter had undoubtedly prepared him for the shock, the man still shook his head in disbelief when he saw him.
"Well, Snape," he said, rising to shake his hand, "what a turn of fate to see you here. If Harry hadn't warned me you would come, I'd hardly have believed it. We had all given you up for dead."
"I assure you, Minister, I was as surprised to find myself alive as you are," returned Snape, shaking the offered hand.
"Understandably so. Harry told me all about the snake's attack. But I'm sure we'll get to that later. Please, do take a seat. Would you like something to drink? Water? Tea? Wine?"
Obediently, Snape settled in a club chair opposite the Minister's desk, right next to Potter.
"Tea would be welcome, thank you."
Shacklebolt waved his wand and summoned a teapot, cup, milk jug and sugar bowl from a cabinet behind him, making all items land neatly in front of Snape.
"Please, help yourself."
Nodding his head, Snape busied himself with the tea while the Minister surveyed him thoughtfully. He only spoke when he felt he had Snape's full attention again.
"Now, tell me, Snape, what brings you here?" he asked. "I assume this is no courtesy visit."
Snape grimaced. "Acute as always, I see. I shall therefore not waste your time and get straight to the point. As a former Death Eater, I am curious to know where I stand with the Ministry. Potter has already told me you are aware that I was working on Dumbledore's orders. By rights, I am an innocent man. I would, however, like to see my name cleared officially. I wish to start afresh, free from my past. I want to be certain that when I apply for a job, I will not be rejected due to people's fear of me and what I might do. Which brings me to a crucial question: is the Ministry willing to release an official statement in this matter?"
Shacklebolt did not reply immediately; instead, he rubbed his chin for a while, obviously thinking Snape's words through.
"As much as I would like to grant you your request," he said finally, "I am afraid it will not be so easy. Personally, I have no reason not to believe Harry when he vouched for you, but as trustworthy as he is, convincing the rest of the wizarding world will be a harder nut to crack. Some people might argue you had put Harry under the Imperius Curse. Others might say you had hoodwinked him. There are grieving families out there, those that had lost their loved ones in the war. Some of them are out for blood. Unless all these people are presented with hard evidence, you can never hope to gain their complete trust."
Snape sighed. The Minister unquestionably had a point; the last time he had had Dumbledore vouch for him without sharing his reasons for doing so, he felt people had never stopped doubting him behind his back, speculating what he might have told the old man to convince him, and even going as far as questioning Dumbledore's judgement.
"I had feared as much," he said resignedly. "What do you propose is the best way to proceed?"
"Unfortunately, I do think a trial will be unavoidable. A purely formal affair, have no fear. Harry told me you had given him certain memories proving your innocence, which I believe would suffice as evidence, should you agree to sharing them with the court."
Although he felt queasy at the mere prospect, Snape nodded. At least it looked like he would not be going to Azkaban, compared to which embarrassing himself in front of the Wizengamot (as well as the entire wizarding world, once word got out) felt like a small sacrifice.
"I agree on the condition that Potter leaves out certain parts of the memories. They are of a private nature and have nothing to do with my Death Eater activities."
He glanced over at Potter, who was gazing back at him, looking decidedly unhappy.
"That ... that's a sure thing, but I still don't think you should be tried in the first place, Professor," he objected. "You should be given an Order of Merlin, not be sent to court like some kind of criminal. I've been tried by the Wizengamot too and it's not something I'd like to go through again."
"I appreciate your concern, Potter," said Snape wryly, "but you heard the Minister: if I do not want to be tainted for the rest of my life, it is something I have to endure, whether I like it or not." (Though an Order of Merlin did sound nice, there was no denying that).
"But-"
"But nothing, Potter. It is the only way." He then turned back to Shacklebolt. "Approximately when can I expect the trial to take place, Minister?"
"If I push the Wizengamot to make it their priority, it should not take more than a few days. I will inform you of the date and time by owl, of course. I presume it will find you at your usual address?"
"That is correct."
"All right. Now, since I will be pulling all the levers to give you the life you want in the shortest time possible, may I ask you to do me one favour as well?"
Snape had known this would come, and though he could not say he was happy about it, the Minister was right: he did owe him a favour. Innocent or not, he could have let the Wizengamot send him to Azkaban without lifting a finger to stop it.
Consequently, he gave a reluctant nod. "Of course, Minister. If it is within my power..."
"I am quite sure it is. You see, what I want from you is to help us identify all the Death Eaters that might have escaped our radar. Besides our own sources of information, I have a list of all known Death Eaters from someone who wishes to remain anonymous-"
"-and whose name just happens to be Lucius Malfoy," smirked Snape, making an educated guess.
Shacklebolt chuckled. "I have momentarily forgotten I'm dealing with a former spy. All right, so I got this list from someone who has proved to be extremely cooperative in this matter and who may or may not be called Lucius Malfoy. The point is that if I were to obtain a similar list from you, it would not only considerably speed up the process of sealing the cases that are already open, but perhaps also reveal the identities of Death Eaters we might somehow have missed. What do you say – can I count on you?"
"Certainly," Snape agreed readily, being careful not to let his disgust at the request show. "I can write the list right now if you wish me to."
Inside, however, he was cringing. He absolutely loathed being put in the role of a snitch, thus – in his eyes, at least – stooping to the level of Karkaroff or Malfoy (even if the Minister would not openly admit it, he was dead certain his guess had been correct). On the other hand, he highly doubted that Lucius, in his effort to ingratiate himself with the Minister, had knowingly omitted any of his former comrades, so it was not as if he would be telling Shacklebolt anything new. Furthermore, the sooner all the surviving Death Eaters were sent to Azkaban, the sooner he could stop fearing a surprise attack, as he had no illusions they would be out to get him once they found out whose side he had really been on all along.
"If you would be so kind. The faster we can close these cases, the better."
A moment later, he was handed a piece of parchment, a quill and an inkpot, and so the only sound that could be heard for the next several minutes was the scratching of said quill as Snape tried his best to write down the name of every Death Eater that he could, in his mind's eye, see sitting around the table at Malfoy Manor during the Dark Lord's gatherings. He hesitated for only a moment before writing the last name on the list, that of Draco, figuring that if Lucius had not mentioned him, then Potter surely had, having seen him that night on the Astronomy Tower. He did not, however, do so without speaking in the boy's defence.
"As you can see, Minister, I have included the name of Lucius Malfoy's son, Draco," he said, pushing the parchment across the table. "I do, however, wish to stress that he had only joined the Dark Lord's ranks under duress, and had done nothing to be tried for during his short time as a Death Eater."
"No need to worry about that, Snape. Harry has vouched for the entire family. We have also taken into account other factors," (like Lucius's willingness to cooperate, Snape filled in for himself) "which is why all the Malfoys have been sentenced to a mere year of home confinement."
Snape breathed a sigh of relief. The remaining Death Eaters could rot in Azkaban for all he cared, but he was glad Lucius and his family had got away with such light punishment. As far as he knew, the only thing they were guilty of, at least after the Dark Lord had risen for the second time, was fear: fear of being punished if they refused to obey orders, fear of being killed if they fled.
"I see. Will I be asked to testify against the others?"
It was one thing to denounce his fellow Death Eaters anonymously and quite another to do it openly, but he guessed he would have no choice in the matter if the Minister asked him to.
Fortunately, he did not. "I don't think that will be necessary," he said. "With Voldemort gone, it seems that once they find themselves facing trial, most Death Eaters will do anything to save their skins, testifying against their friends included. Not that it will help them, mind you, but it certainly helps us. But thank you for offering. And for the list as well."
As if to emphasise his words, he placed it on top of a large pile of papers on the side of his desk, tapping it with satisfaction, then leaned back in his chair, linking his fingers behind his head.
"Well, now that we've got the formalities out of the way, I hope you will finally satisfy my – and Harry's, too, I'm sure – curiosity and tell me: how on earth did you manage to survive that snake attack?"
Thus, Snape spent the next twenty minutes or so patiently answering both Shacklebolt's and Potter's questions (surprisingly, neither man seemed taken aback by the fact that the Lovegoods had taken him in while still thinking he was a Death Eater, but he guessed that, due to their reputation of always doing the opposite of what anybody else would do, it was easy for one more strange act to go unnoticed), until they could no longer think of anything else to ask and simply stared at him in awe.
"Moon Frogs, you say?" Shacklebolt repeated for about the third time. "Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. I'm sure the Healers at St. Mungo's would be thrilled to get their hands on that secretion."
"As a matter of fact, Minister, I have been thinking the same thing. I am planning to run a few experiments, perhaps discovering other uses of the secretion in the process, and once I deem it safe, without any undesirable side effects, I am willing to provide St. Mungo's with regular supplies, should they be interested."
"Excellent!" beamed Shacklebolt. "After all, I can't imagine a better man for the job than Hogwarts' own Potions Master. Which is why I shall not keep you any longer; you can go and start experimenting right away if you have no other matters to attend to. Have a good day, Snape. And welcome back to the land of the living."