For The Defense!
Our beloved Potions Master is in trouble. He's awaiting trial and a conviction would mean a life sentence in Azkaban or worse! Whoever will save him? Well, we don't call Hermione our heroine for nothing! Join our intrepid know-it-all as she either acts as defense attorney for Severus or in some way makes all the difference in Snape's trials and tribulations.
This week's quiz was chosen by leandra713 who has a definite case of Button!Lust.
Do you want the chance to pick next week's quiz theme? Just play the quiz by commenting with your answers at any time before the answers post on Monday, Eastern Standard Time. We'll draw a winner from all those with the correct answers. You could win!
Match the quote to the story title. Watch out for those tricky red herring titles!
Seven Types of Ambiguity by shiv5468
Affected Recollections by little_beloved
Before I Die...I Promise To... by Corazon
Second Life by lariopefic
Rule of Law by arsenicjade
The Trial of Severus Snape by apollinav
And So It Comes to This by odogoddess
Tempestuous Trials by dacian_goddess
Beyond All Doubt by dolefullydsired
Friends, Teachers, Chocolate by peskipiksi
Atlantis is Sinking by grinnifer
Voice of Truth by ginny_weasley31
1. He stared straight ahead. "Why have you come?"
She pursed her lips and admitted, "I've been busy."
This was an understatement. He had no idea she had spent the last four months from early sunup to well past sundown filing petition forms, arguing, and acquiring a social network at the Ministry. She had pursued tedious and sometimes seemingly pointless meetings and performed demonstrations and sat through endless questioning and bargaining sessions, simply to gain a chance for his release.
"I finally received permission from the Ministry to allow use of a Pensie--"
"No."
"A retrieved and untampered memory is allowed by the Wizengamot now."
"No. I won't."
She sighed. She did not bother to tell him it had taken a lot of favours and funding to get to this point. She knew such exhortations would not move him.
Hermione knew he was innocent. Severus knew he was innocent. Hellfire, even Harry knew he was innocent, but Snape was more persistently stubborn than a horny Cornish pixie.
2. Hermione always had time for Harry. She imagined she always would. "I know what you're going to ask."
"One trial, Hermoine. One chance. And I figure you probably don't want to spend it on what could very likely be a lost cause, but I need you to."
"I've already chosen my defendant."
"Hermione, please. He saved my life. He bloody well saved the lives of everyone Voldemort didn't agree with."
"Which is among the reasons I've chosen to re-open his case as my trial run. Pardon the pun."
"I know that his crimes- What?"
Hermione smiled tiredly. "I'm taking up his case, Harry, you can relax."
"Re- Really?"
"Yes."
"Without my even asking."
"As you said, he saved our lives. Repaying that with seven years of jailing seems rather a travesty, yes? I set out to reform the system for a reason, you know."
3. “You’ll have to forgive me,” Lucius said. “I have developed a taste for warmth during my time in Azkaban. Feel free to cast a cooling charm on yourself. It is not my intention to stand in the way of the Ministry’s investigation in any way.”
She looked at him again, noticing the little changes that time and privation had wrought - fine lines around his mouth, that could have been laughter lines, but weren’t - and the smooth assumption of superiority had been replaced with caution and tension, though the hair still filled her with bitter envy. So soft, so straight, and utterly wasted on a man.
He had the look of a man who had his nuts in a vice, but was pretending that he had always intended to put them in there, just as an experiment, honest.
“Your freedom depends on helping me, doesn’t it?”
He inclined his head. “Severus said you were a bright girl, always good at asking the right questions.”
“That doesn’t sound like Professor Snape at all.” She cocked her head, considering what question might be the right one to ask. “Can you tell me the terms of your agreement with the Minister?”
“I am to aid Hermione Granger in all things pertaining to the investigation into the murder of Albus Dumbledore.”
“Me, specifically, and not the Ministry? And just the investigation?”
“Now that is very much the right sort of question.” He smiled, baring his teeth. “Yes, specifically you.
4. “Please escort this child from my room,” Severus snapped.
“Child?” Hermione spat, her eyes wild.
“Get her out of here, now!”
Albert and Hermione exchanged a bewildered glance.
“But she’s got a permit to see you, Severus. I can’t just evict her!”
“Permit?” Severus asked, his dark eyes narrowed. “What permit?”
Albert snatched the parchment from Hermione and held it up. “Signed by the Minister himself, giving her permission to interview you for a maximum of two hours every day for the next three months.”
“What?” Severus snarled. “What is going on? Surely they have not sent a mere child to act as my legal counsel?”
5. Slamming his fist on the table, Fudge was yelling, "SILENCE!" The crowd quieted down. "How do you plead?"
"Not guilty," Severus said smoothly.
"Not guilty?! You didn't even show up to the final battle Snape! You claimed that your loyalties lie with the Order of the Phoenix, yet you didn't even show up."
Very slowly, Severus repeated himself, "Not - guilty."
"Then I will prove that you are guilty. I have a key witness who will testify to your whereabouts during the final battle." Fudge yelled, "Bring out the first witness, Hermione Granger!" The crowd gasped.
The doors flew open and in walked Hermione. The crowd turned and watched her enter. They were all familiar with the highly intelligent, bushy haired Know It All, but today she surprised them all.
6. “What about him?” I cried, and she looked slightly startled at the vehemence of my outburst. “Surely they plan to give him the opportunity to defend himself against the charges verbally? I’ve been keeping a tally of all the crimes he committed versus all the times he himself was victimized-”
“Hermione,” she said gently, putting down her toast and sighing, “they have promised to give him another opportunity to defend himself, but you and I both know that he stands little or no chance against them. Unless there is a memory contained within that vessel in which Albus specifically orders Severus to murder him atop the castle, which will prove beyond all doubt that he deserves to be freed-”
My stomach was literally sinking through my body and into the floor. I thought of the hours he'd spent at his father's mercy and the sight of that small, frail boy crouched in his room, biting down on his tongue until it bled in an effort to repress the need to scream with terror and pain.... No one, having seen the misery and loneliness which comprised his life, could possibly doubt that he had paid his dues and served all the time necessary for his sins. Yet there was nothing concrete-nothing that would offer him the Wizengamot's unquestioning exoneration. Dumbledore had mentioned the Vow that Severus had been insisting from the time of his capture he had agreed upon, but they might consider that circumstantial.
What if they claimed he had tampered with the memory, altering it somehow so that if he were ever caught, he would have something to substantiate his false claims?
They’re not false, I thought furiously, recalling the look of misery that had crossed his face when Dumbledore had openly stated the fact that his death would likely be at Severus’ hand.
7. Kingsley’s face was unreadable. He knew. She knew he knew, she was certain of it, and yet there was nothing, no hint in the set of his mouth or color of his eyes, that told her what she needed to know. He shook her hand with the same warm pressure as he always had, and she sensed neither eagerness nor reluctance in the way he grasped Snape’s arm to Apparate him into the Ministry.
Hermione’s perception seemed suddenly to have an unnatural crispness: the stones of the hallway walls were each uniquely pitted and somehow indelibly printed upon her eyes. The worn carpet runner that covered the floor was also deserving of her attention--the way the red faded to a kind of fibrous pink in the center, where countless wizards had tread upon it. And yet, at the same time that she saw everything, she saw nothing, and she jumped slightly in her seat, surprised to find Kingsley already calling the room to order.
The courtroom was packed to the gills. More than twice the number of witches and wizards were present today than had been here at their last gathering, and the press swarmed around the exit, snapping photographs of those who were entering. Hermione saw the collected staff of Hogwarts, Molly Weasley corralling the entire Weasley clan, Neville Longbottom and his gran, Andromeda Tonks with baby Teddy on her hip. She could not shake the nagging feeling that these people had all come to watch her fail, that they had come to take pleasure in Snape’s defeat.
As the crowd settled into the stands, Kingsley’s voice rolled once more through the courtroom.
“The first of August, nineteen hundred and ninety-eight. The Ministry of Magic vs. Severus Snape. I wish to thank the court once more for its careful consideration of the facts of this complicated case and all those who gave the court their time and testimony. The Wizengamot has reached its decision.”
8. “Are you going to explain yourself, Granger, or are you going to hide under that ridiculously small cup of coffee all afternoon?” Rita growled impatiently, her eyes narrowed.
“I want Snape,” Hermione repeated, a wickedly mischievous glint in her eyes. “I want to know everything, and I do mean everything that will be going on at his trial.”
“Are you daft, you silly girl? There’s a reason Scrimgeour has waited this long and has left Snape’s trial for last. Security for these blasted hearings is rumoured to be higher than when You-Know-Who came back and everyone was under suspicion of Polyjuice or Imperio.” Rita seemed to rattle off her explanation in a single breath, ignoring the fervent nods that showed Hermione was well aware of all of these details.
But of course Hermione knew. Scrimgeour’s plans for Snape’s trial had been all anyone had talked about at the Burrow for the past several weeks. Scrimgeour had rather high ambitions for this final Death Eater hearing; he thought it would be all he needed to secure his position as Minister for Magic. The irony of it all was that without Rita’s activities for the past two months, Scrimgeour would have tried to get as many spectators in as possible; either way, Snape was poised to be the Minister’s example.
9. Auror Williamson smirked, eyebrows raised as Hermione Granger looked passed him into the dark cell. A black bedraggled scarecrow of a man slumped against the far wall of the cell, despondent.
“Severus? Severus Snape?” she called out.
The dark bundle of rags unfolded slowly, terribly, and Severus Snape was there, sitting against the wall, his pale flesh glowing in contrast with the dark dripping moss around him. Severus stared at her for a long moment, and Hermione found herself silenced by his gaze. For a long moment, neither of them said anything, and then Severus muttered something insulting, his voice darker and richer sounding from weeks of disuse in the dark cells.
Even though she couldn’t hear what he’d said, she caught the tone clearly and felt her face flush red, the heat of blood spreading along her neck and chest, blossoming in her cheeks and the tips of her ears.
“Your trial has been set for tomorrow Sev- Mister Snape. We, that is, Mad-Eye and I have been trying to talk to the Wizengamot on your behalf but they-”
“Oh dear,” Severus drawled, “And you’re to be my lawyer? Oh my goodness, am I ever so glad to see you,” he spat into Hermione’s shadow. “A crack pot and a know-it-all. How very comforting.”
10. ‘What do you know of Muggle law, Miss Granger?’
‘My uncle is a barrister. I know enough to know they’ve got the procedure for cases like this right.’ (We don’t throw people in jail without trial for a start, she thought.) ‘They have a hearing before a crown court case - a serious charge like murder,’ she explained, seeing Kingsley’s blank look. ‘They examine the evidence to see if there’s a case to even answer. Then, if there isn’t, you don’t waste time and money on a full trial (and put a man who’s just beginning to rebuild his life through hell, she added silently).
Kingsley had become thoughtful and seemed to be considering it. Filthy lucre, thought Hermione, cynically. Speak to politicians of human suffering and they don’t care, but mention saving money and, suddenly, they’re all ears.
‘All you’ll need is a Pensieve and some Veritaserum.’
‘Veritaserum we have, but no one has access to a Pensieve - they’re very rare.’
‘I’ll borrow the one at Hogwarts.’
‘Dumbledore’s? I’m not sure that’s ethical - using the victim’s personal effects in his own murder trial.’
Hermione bit her tongue. Insulting the Minister for Magic would probably not be the best way to get Snape freed. ‘Once you actually use the thing, you’ll see that Dumbledore would have been quite happy to lend it to save Professor Snape from an undeservedly wretched future. Professor Snape’s memories are central to this case, Minister.’
This week's quiz was chosen by leandra713 who has a definite case of Button!Lust.
Do you want the chance to pick next week's quiz theme? Just play the quiz by commenting with your answers at any time before the answers post on Monday, Eastern Standard Time. We'll draw a winner from all those with the correct answers. You could win!
Match the quote to the story title. Watch out for those tricky red herring titles!
Seven Types of Ambiguity by shiv5468
Affected Recollections by little_beloved
Before I Die...I Promise To... by Corazon
Second Life by lariopefic
Rule of Law by arsenicjade
The Trial of Severus Snape by apollinav
And So It Comes to This by odogoddess
Tempestuous Trials by dacian_goddess
Beyond All Doubt by dolefullydsired
Friends, Teachers, Chocolate by peskipiksi
Atlantis is Sinking by grinnifer
Voice of Truth by ginny_weasley31
1. He stared straight ahead. "Why have you come?"
She pursed her lips and admitted, "I've been busy."
This was an understatement. He had no idea she had spent the last four months from early sunup to well past sundown filing petition forms, arguing, and acquiring a social network at the Ministry. She had pursued tedious and sometimes seemingly pointless meetings and performed demonstrations and sat through endless questioning and bargaining sessions, simply to gain a chance for his release.
"I finally received permission from the Ministry to allow use of a Pensie--"
"No."
"A retrieved and untampered memory is allowed by the Wizengamot now."
"No. I won't."
She sighed. She did not bother to tell him it had taken a lot of favours and funding to get to this point. She knew such exhortations would not move him.
Hermione knew he was innocent. Severus knew he was innocent. Hellfire, even Harry knew he was innocent, but Snape was more persistently stubborn than a horny Cornish pixie.
2. Hermione always had time for Harry. She imagined she always would. "I know what you're going to ask."
"One trial, Hermoine. One chance. And I figure you probably don't want to spend it on what could very likely be a lost cause, but I need you to."
"I've already chosen my defendant."
"Hermione, please. He saved my life. He bloody well saved the lives of everyone Voldemort didn't agree with."
"Which is among the reasons I've chosen to re-open his case as my trial run. Pardon the pun."
"I know that his crimes- What?"
Hermione smiled tiredly. "I'm taking up his case, Harry, you can relax."
"Re- Really?"
"Yes."
"Without my even asking."
"As you said, he saved our lives. Repaying that with seven years of jailing seems rather a travesty, yes? I set out to reform the system for a reason, you know."
3. “You’ll have to forgive me,” Lucius said. “I have developed a taste for warmth during my time in Azkaban. Feel free to cast a cooling charm on yourself. It is not my intention to stand in the way of the Ministry’s investigation in any way.”
She looked at him again, noticing the little changes that time and privation had wrought - fine lines around his mouth, that could have been laughter lines, but weren’t - and the smooth assumption of superiority had been replaced with caution and tension, though the hair still filled her with bitter envy. So soft, so straight, and utterly wasted on a man.
He had the look of a man who had his nuts in a vice, but was pretending that he had always intended to put them in there, just as an experiment, honest.
“Your freedom depends on helping me, doesn’t it?”
He inclined his head. “Severus said you were a bright girl, always good at asking the right questions.”
“That doesn’t sound like Professor Snape at all.” She cocked her head, considering what question might be the right one to ask. “Can you tell me the terms of your agreement with the Minister?”
“I am to aid Hermione Granger in all things pertaining to the investigation into the murder of Albus Dumbledore.”
“Me, specifically, and not the Ministry? And just the investigation?”
“Now that is very much the right sort of question.” He smiled, baring his teeth. “Yes, specifically you.
4. “Please escort this child from my room,” Severus snapped.
“Child?” Hermione spat, her eyes wild.
“Get her out of here, now!”
Albert and Hermione exchanged a bewildered glance.
“But she’s got a permit to see you, Severus. I can’t just evict her!”
“Permit?” Severus asked, his dark eyes narrowed. “What permit?”
Albert snatched the parchment from Hermione and held it up. “Signed by the Minister himself, giving her permission to interview you for a maximum of two hours every day for the next three months.”
“What?” Severus snarled. “What is going on? Surely they have not sent a mere child to act as my legal counsel?”
5. Slamming his fist on the table, Fudge was yelling, "SILENCE!" The crowd quieted down. "How do you plead?"
"Not guilty," Severus said smoothly.
"Not guilty?! You didn't even show up to the final battle Snape! You claimed that your loyalties lie with the Order of the Phoenix, yet you didn't even show up."
Very slowly, Severus repeated himself, "Not - guilty."
"Then I will prove that you are guilty. I have a key witness who will testify to your whereabouts during the final battle." Fudge yelled, "Bring out the first witness, Hermione Granger!" The crowd gasped.
The doors flew open and in walked Hermione. The crowd turned and watched her enter. They were all familiar with the highly intelligent, bushy haired Know It All, but today she surprised them all.
6. “What about him?” I cried, and she looked slightly startled at the vehemence of my outburst. “Surely they plan to give him the opportunity to defend himself against the charges verbally? I’ve been keeping a tally of all the crimes he committed versus all the times he himself was victimized-”
“Hermione,” she said gently, putting down her toast and sighing, “they have promised to give him another opportunity to defend himself, but you and I both know that he stands little or no chance against them. Unless there is a memory contained within that vessel in which Albus specifically orders Severus to murder him atop the castle, which will prove beyond all doubt that he deserves to be freed-”
My stomach was literally sinking through my body and into the floor. I thought of the hours he'd spent at his father's mercy and the sight of that small, frail boy crouched in his room, biting down on his tongue until it bled in an effort to repress the need to scream with terror and pain.... No one, having seen the misery and loneliness which comprised his life, could possibly doubt that he had paid his dues and served all the time necessary for his sins. Yet there was nothing concrete-nothing that would offer him the Wizengamot's unquestioning exoneration. Dumbledore had mentioned the Vow that Severus had been insisting from the time of his capture he had agreed upon, but they might consider that circumstantial.
What if they claimed he had tampered with the memory, altering it somehow so that if he were ever caught, he would have something to substantiate his false claims?
They’re not false, I thought furiously, recalling the look of misery that had crossed his face when Dumbledore had openly stated the fact that his death would likely be at Severus’ hand.
7. Kingsley’s face was unreadable. He knew. She knew he knew, she was certain of it, and yet there was nothing, no hint in the set of his mouth or color of his eyes, that told her what she needed to know. He shook her hand with the same warm pressure as he always had, and she sensed neither eagerness nor reluctance in the way he grasped Snape’s arm to Apparate him into the Ministry.
Hermione’s perception seemed suddenly to have an unnatural crispness: the stones of the hallway walls were each uniquely pitted and somehow indelibly printed upon her eyes. The worn carpet runner that covered the floor was also deserving of her attention--the way the red faded to a kind of fibrous pink in the center, where countless wizards had tread upon it. And yet, at the same time that she saw everything, she saw nothing, and she jumped slightly in her seat, surprised to find Kingsley already calling the room to order.
The courtroom was packed to the gills. More than twice the number of witches and wizards were present today than had been here at their last gathering, and the press swarmed around the exit, snapping photographs of those who were entering. Hermione saw the collected staff of Hogwarts, Molly Weasley corralling the entire Weasley clan, Neville Longbottom and his gran, Andromeda Tonks with baby Teddy on her hip. She could not shake the nagging feeling that these people had all come to watch her fail, that they had come to take pleasure in Snape’s defeat.
As the crowd settled into the stands, Kingsley’s voice rolled once more through the courtroom.
“The first of August, nineteen hundred and ninety-eight. The Ministry of Magic vs. Severus Snape. I wish to thank the court once more for its careful consideration of the facts of this complicated case and all those who gave the court their time and testimony. The Wizengamot has reached its decision.”
8. “Are you going to explain yourself, Granger, or are you going to hide under that ridiculously small cup of coffee all afternoon?” Rita growled impatiently, her eyes narrowed.
“I want Snape,” Hermione repeated, a wickedly mischievous glint in her eyes. “I want to know everything, and I do mean everything that will be going on at his trial.”
“Are you daft, you silly girl? There’s a reason Scrimgeour has waited this long and has left Snape’s trial for last. Security for these blasted hearings is rumoured to be higher than when You-Know-Who came back and everyone was under suspicion of Polyjuice or Imperio.” Rita seemed to rattle off her explanation in a single breath, ignoring the fervent nods that showed Hermione was well aware of all of these details.
But of course Hermione knew. Scrimgeour’s plans for Snape’s trial had been all anyone had talked about at the Burrow for the past several weeks. Scrimgeour had rather high ambitions for this final Death Eater hearing; he thought it would be all he needed to secure his position as Minister for Magic. The irony of it all was that without Rita’s activities for the past two months, Scrimgeour would have tried to get as many spectators in as possible; either way, Snape was poised to be the Minister’s example.
9. Auror Williamson smirked, eyebrows raised as Hermione Granger looked passed him into the dark cell. A black bedraggled scarecrow of a man slumped against the far wall of the cell, despondent.
“Severus? Severus Snape?” she called out.
The dark bundle of rags unfolded slowly, terribly, and Severus Snape was there, sitting against the wall, his pale flesh glowing in contrast with the dark dripping moss around him. Severus stared at her for a long moment, and Hermione found herself silenced by his gaze. For a long moment, neither of them said anything, and then Severus muttered something insulting, his voice darker and richer sounding from weeks of disuse in the dark cells.
Even though she couldn’t hear what he’d said, she caught the tone clearly and felt her face flush red, the heat of blood spreading along her neck and chest, blossoming in her cheeks and the tips of her ears.
“Your trial has been set for tomorrow Sev- Mister Snape. We, that is, Mad-Eye and I have been trying to talk to the Wizengamot on your behalf but they-”
“Oh dear,” Severus drawled, “And you’re to be my lawyer? Oh my goodness, am I ever so glad to see you,” he spat into Hermione’s shadow. “A crack pot and a know-it-all. How very comforting.”
10. ‘What do you know of Muggle law, Miss Granger?’
‘My uncle is a barrister. I know enough to know they’ve got the procedure for cases like this right.’ (We don’t throw people in jail without trial for a start, she thought.) ‘They have a hearing before a crown court case - a serious charge like murder,’ she explained, seeing Kingsley’s blank look. ‘They examine the evidence to see if there’s a case to even answer. Then, if there isn’t, you don’t waste time and money on a full trial (and put a man who’s just beginning to rebuild his life through hell, she added silently).
Kingsley had become thoughtful and seemed to be considering it. Filthy lucre, thought Hermione, cynically. Speak to politicians of human suffering and they don’t care, but mention saving money and, suddenly, they’re all ears.
‘All you’ll need is a Pensieve and some Veritaserum.’
‘Veritaserum we have, but no one has access to a Pensieve - they’re very rare.’
‘I’ll borrow the one at Hogwarts.’
‘Dumbledore’s? I’m not sure that’s ethical - using the victim’s personal effects in his own murder trial.’
Hermione bit her tongue. Insulting the Minister for Magic would probably not be the best way to get Snape freed. ‘Once you actually use the thing, you’ll see that Dumbledore would have been quite happy to lend it to save Professor Snape from an undeservedly wretched future. Professor Snape’s memories are central to this case, Minister.’