The Potter Twins and the Prisoner of Askaban {3}

26. The Stag and the Doe

"You took my hand and then we both started running, both started running, there's no place to go" ~ Circles, Pierce The Veil

"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 manage 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 the Potters, Weasley, Saunters and Granger, Minister..."

"No!"

"Black had bewitched him, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behaviour. They seemed to think there was a possibility that 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 gotten away with a great deal before now...I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves...and of course, the Potters have always been allowed extraordinary amounts of licence by the Headmaster - "

"Ah, well, Snape...Harry and Haylee Potter, you know...we've all got a bit of a blind spot where they're concerned."

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

"Well, well....we shall see, Snape, we shall see...they have both been undoubtedly foolish..."

My fingernails dig into the sheets of the hospital bed as I lay, wide awake, with my eyes squeezed shut, listening to the conversation between Snape and Fudge. The sickening feeling that the Dementors brought upon me is entirely gone. And now a new feeling radiates inside me; absolute anger for Snape.

"What amazes me most is the behaviour 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, Haylee, and the girl - "

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

The conversation pauses. Everything seems to be moving a little faster now, like a well-oiled machine. With this feeling comes a gnawing sensation that burns inside my stomach.

I open my eyes.

At first, everything is slightly blurred and extremely bright, but as my eyes grow accustomed to the light again, everything comes into focus, like I'm looking through a camera lens.

At the very end of the ward, I can see Madam Pomfrey with her back to us, bending over a bed. Ron's red hair is visible beneath her arm. And beside Ron is Tay, fast asleep, or at least pretending to be, with a plaster around her elevated ankle.

I make a move to close my eyes again, but Madam Pomfrey walks briskly towards me, and I'm forced to stay awake.

"Ah, you're awake!" she sais briskly, placing a massive chocolate bar on my bedside table.