A Halliwell at Hogwarts: The Prisoner of Azkaban

Let's Mess With Time

"Shocking business... shocking... miracle none of them died... never heard the like... by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape..."

"Thank you, Minister."

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

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister."

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

Persephone's eyes fluttered open at this words.

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

"No!"

"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, 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 —"

Persephone gritted her teeth. She tried to sit when the room started spinning making her fall back on her pillow.

"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..."

Persephone wanted with every fiber of her being to stand up and yell at the greasy slimeball that was her Potions Professor, but she literally couldn't; she felt very groggy and the room had yet to stop moving. But the words she was hearing, even if they seemed to be traveling too slowly from her ears to her brain, were keeping her awake. It wasn't easy; her limbs felt like lead, her eyelids were heavy and the comfortable bed she was lying on was really tempting. And yet her anger was stronger than her weak body. She refused to close her eyes and let Morpheus take her back in his arms.

"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 Halliwell, and the other 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."

There was a pause.

Persephone decided it was time for her to try again and sit up. She leaned on her elbows and pushed her body up, letting escape a weak groan.

That was enough to catch everybody's attention; silence fell in the room. Madam Pomfrey moved briskly towards Persephone's bed, but she stopped when she looked into her eyes.

Persephone didn't mean to scare her, but she was furious and she couldn't move her body freely, so the only thing that came up to her to express her feelings, was to glare at the source of her anger: Severus Snape and Cornelius Fudge. While the latter trembled under her sharp cold glare, the former didn't even flinch and, acting smugly, sent her a victorious smirk.