The Girl Who Fought | h.p |

Hermione's Secret

"Thank you, Minister." 

"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wrangle it!" 

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister." 

"Nasty cut you've got there. . . . Black's work, I suppose?"

"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, Weasley, and Granger, Minister. . . ." 

"No!"

"Black had bewitched them, as well as his daughter, I saw it immediately. A ConfundusCharm, to judge by their behavior. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape. . . . They obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They've got away with a great deal before now. . . . I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves . . . and of course Potter has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster —" 

"Ah, well, Snape . . . Harry Potter, you know . . . we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned." 

"And yet — is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat him like any other student. And any other student would be suspended — at the very least — for leading his friends into such danger. Consider, Minister — against all school rules — after all the precautions put in place for his protection — out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer — and I have reason to believe he has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too —"

 "Well, well . . . we shall see, Snape, we shall see. . . . The boy has undoubtedly been foolish. . . ."

Nova's dislike for Snape had only grown. 

While she had been "asleep" she listened to the conversation that was happening before her. 

Nova had not been confounded. Harry, Hermione, nor Ron were confounded. Snape did not "catch" Black. 

Black was not trying to kill Harry. Black didn't betray Lily and James Potter. Black did not kill twelve muggles, not one. Black didn't kill Peter Pettigrew.

Sirius Black is innocent. 

One of Nova's fathers was wrongly accused. 

Nova's father isn't trying to kill Harry. Nova's father didn't betray her godparents; Lily and James. Nova's father didn't kill those muggles. Nova's father didn't kill the rat. 

"What amazes me most is the behavior of the dementors . . .you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?" 

"No, Minister . . . by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances. . . ." 

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry, and the girl —"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to the castle."

"And his daughter-" Fudge began to question. 

"Unconscious and severely injured," Snape stated in his normal drawl. "Probably fought against her father."

Technically, she did fight her father, but not the whole time. Even when she did, she caused more damage to him than he did to her. Yet . . .

Snape hated Nova. She wondered why he said something relatively decent about her. 

"She has always had problems with authority figures. Black probably got sick of her, tried to silence her." Snape stated. 

Awe! Nova thought to herself in a false fond tone. There is the insult! The Snape we all know and love is back!