Champions

The verdict

The murmurs settled an hour later when Madam Rosen banged her gavel on the podium in front of her. Harry sat between Fleur's legs with his back against her chest and her arms wrapped around him, and as she rested her chin on his head, she reflected that she enjoyed how much shorter he was than her. She hoped he wouldn't grow too much more.

They were both tired – it had been a very long day – but it was worth it. Severus Snape would hopefully soon be little more than a series of bad memories for Harry, which was as it should be. He would likely spend the rest of his life in prison, right where he belonged.

They sat in the front row, with a clear view of the greasy former Professor, who was staring stone-faced straight ahead. Only his slight sneer gave any indication of what he was thinking: the man was bitter and angry. From the stories Fleur had heard, he was, in many ways, much like Ron Weasley: he felt entitled to everything, and nobody but him deserved it.

In short, he was jealous of the carefree lives his students lived, and especially of Harry Potter.

Harry's memories had shown that the man believed him a spoilt child before he even met him. He railed against the fame that Harry himself despised. Had he been a decent human being, in fact, they might have been able to build a friendship based on that, and learned much from each other. It was truly sad that the man couldn't see that.

The reporters waited with baited breath, and for once they hadn't even tried to accost Harry and Fleur, so focused were they on perfecting their stories. This would be huge news in the Wizarding world: an entire generation of British Witches and Wizards had endured the man's hatred, and now they were going to get justice.

It would sell a lot of papers, that much was certain.

The room hushed completely as Madam Rosen rose gracefully to her feet. "This court will now pass judgement," she announced. "Severus Snape, please rise."

Snape stiffly pushed to his feet, a glimmer of anger showing that anyone would dare command him. Fleur was amazed at his appearance: he wore his usual billowing cloak, and his hair was as greasy as ever. Apparently he didn't think it necessary to dress up or wash prior to appearing before the court that would decide his fate.

Harry tensed and crossed his fingers in silent prayer, and Fleur drew him a little closer. This meant a great deal to him, for it was the first bit of justice he would have in his life. There was still a long way to go, but this was the first step on the path, and because of that, it was arguably the most important.

"We have seen the evidence, and listened to the arguments," Rosen began, "and I must complement the Chief Warlock on a powerful speech. However, I'm afraid the Chief Warlock missed two key points."

Snape stiffened visibly, his eyes narrowing in anger, and Dumbledore paled as he listened. Oh yes, he was going to lose his spy! Although, Fleur wondered whose side he was really on; he did not act the part of a Light Wizard.

"Firstly, while Pensieve evidence may or may not be biased emotionally, the facts of the memories remain. The evidence presented was, frankly, appalling in scope. Were it a small group of students then the argument might have merit, but there were hundreds, and each memory agreed with the last. No, I do not think there was bias present.

"And secondly, even if there was bias in the memories, there cannot be bias in Veritaserum-induced testimony. We have heard from twenty-seven students, including Harry Potter himself, as they willingly placed themselves at our mercy while we forced them to tell the truth. And the truth agrees with the evidence shown in the Pensieve.

"I agree with Madame Bones. A failure to convict would be a grave miscarriage of justice, and an abdication of our duty to the people of Magical Britain. To that end, on two hundred forty-six counts of child abuse, and one hundred sixteen counts of child endangerment, we find the defendant guilty of all charges."