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Harry Potter and the Expert Potions Master	By : SickPuppy Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 21304 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter universe. I make no money from this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 37 - The Trial of Harry Potter and Severus Snape

Now that Harry was working with an Auror, Severus was very grateful for the bracelet on his wrist that let him know the younger man was not in mortal danger. Of course, all other kinds of danger, up to, but not including mortal peril, were still possible, but at least Snape was assured that Harry would always come home.

The offer on the house had been accepted (at £155,000 as Severus had predicted) and with a speed that seemed almost magical to the estate agent, they were taking possession of the keys and moving in.

What with moving, Auror work, visiting Harmony and Jamie, seeing Teddy, organising the museum at Twelve, Grimmauld Place, and now supporting Ginny as her son – Harry Fred Weasley – had been born, Harry barely felt he had a minute to breathe. In fact, September had disappeared without him even noticing it, and there was a brittleness to the air that told of winter beginning to make headway now that they were firmly into October.

Luna kept him updated on the progress of her campaign. Mostly, she said, the letters she received from people were supportive of same sex couples being treated with dignity, although she had received a few threats and unpleasant insults, and even, a jinx. Being Luna, she had accepted it all with perfect equanimity and had blithely carried on. The letters had all appeared in the next edition, along with Luna's editorial that those against the idea had only offered hatred, not reasoned arguments against the proposal.

Severus had had his Expert status confirmed once it was clear that Yolanda and Beth's offspring were no different to any other children. That news had been reported, but not the potion that had given him the rank. Kingsley was still tangling with the legal department to get the same sex law repealed, an unpopular move from what was generally considered a popular Minister.

Really, Harry felt, everything was just slotting into place. And once Yolanda and Beth felt able to carry his and Severus' children, their lives would be complete. With care, he and Severus were creating a life together based on actually sharing things, and it was even starting to work! He should have known it was all going too well.

Delia, pinned down behind a three foot high brick wall (which was almost high enough for her without crouching), and under attack from three dark magic users, threw a desperate cry at Harry to help her.

Harry, who was usually kept away from these kinds of dangerous situations - after all, he was still very new to this Auror business - dug his invisibility cloak out of the pouch, hauled it over his head and skirted the area. He saw the three wizards attacking Delia, and tucked away at one side, a fourth who was clearly waiting to get into a good position and finish her off. Feeling the pressure of having someone's life in his hands, Harry crept closer, not wanting to cast a spell, miss, and alert their enemies to his presence. Clearly the wizards didn't know he was nearby, as he rather tended to attract trouble when enemies knew the famous Harry Potter was in the vicinity.

Edging ever closer, he wasn't looking where he was going. His eyes were fixed on the three wizards.

“Shit!” he screamed as he took a step, expecting to find ground, and instead felt his leg vanishing into a deep hole up to his thigh. He bit back a shriek of agony as his muscles burned in protest. Struggling to cling onto the cloak, his wand, and pull back up, he didn't realise he had given away his position, and that three wizards were crowding close to where they could see glimpses of a person appearing and disappearing as the cloak shifted about him.

“Watch out!” Delia screeched, seeing the wizards surrounding Harry. She drew a breath, ready to make a run for him, but the hidden fourth wizard began aiming at her, and she skidded to a stop before she'd even gone three paces, and ducked back out of sight.

“Oh, shit,” Harry breathed, looking death squarely in the face. He'd done that before, but it didn't make it any more pleasant. Especially as he was pretty sure he didn't have a 'Get out of Jail free' card this time. Severus is going to kill me if I die like this.

At their house, known officially as Monyhull Hall and unofficially as Juniper Hall, Severus was tidying the laboratory. It was never very untidy, but Harry tended to leave things in different places to Severus, meaning the next time he wanted to work he had to spend twenty minutes laying his hands on all the items he needed. It was just easier to go in after Harry and put things back where he, Severus, wanted them.

His wrist burned and he stared in horror at the glowing bracelet. “Go!” he shouted at it, not wanting to waste a second when Harry's life was in the balance. He felt the familiar tug behind his navel and landed to a stumbling stop on a derelict building site. The bracelet was glowing and arrows were floating in mid air, pointing him the way he needed to go. Running, dodging the large chunks of concrete, Severus raced towards his partner, fear gripping him.

He skidded around a corner and saw three men surrounding something. A fourth was aiming spells at a low wall. Without thought he Petrified the single man and sprinted to the three, casting any spell that came to mind.

They roared. One had had his face slashed with Sectum Sempra; a second was flying backwards, having been hit with Depulso; the third was snarling as ropes wound tightly around him, twisting around his legs and toppling him onto broken lumps of concrete.

“Harry?” Severus gasped, reaching for the blank space between the men. He barely spared a glance for the four wizards, knowing the accuracy of his spells, and far more concerned about the well-being of his idiotic and desperately loved partner.

Harry tugged off the cloak and reached up for Snape. The older man hauled the Auror up from the hole and held him tightly, eyes closed as the terror receded. Feeling very shaky, Harry clutched at Severus, apologising over and over for scaring him.

Delia had been forgotten by Harry, but she hadn't forgotten him, nor missed seeing the passionate way the two men clung together. She gasped loudly enough to be heard, even over their hammering hearts and whispered words and Severus let go, a different fear in his eyes.

“Merlin,” she whispered, her face pale, “you're – you're one of those Unnatural types! You've – you've been hiding that from me?! How could you be so foul?”

“Delia....” Harry began, his mouth too dry to continue. He took a step towards her but she backed away.

“Stay away! Get away from me! I don't want you infecting me!”

“It – It's not a disease,” Harry choked out, green eyes swinging helplessly to Severus for help.

Her face showed she thought differently, and was horrified by the very notion of breathing the same air as him. She curled her lip and disapparated, leaving the two men to stare at the spot where she had been and try to convince themselves that the sky hadn't just fallen.

“Now what?” Harry asked miserably, the wizards that Delia had been fighting completely forgotten.

“You go into hiding,” Severus decreed. “Whatever happens, I'll take the punishment. You need to stay out of it.”

“Not a chance!” he cried, pulling Snape towards him. “This mess covers both of us. And anyway, if you end up in Azkaban, I get just as punished, don't I? I lose you!”

Standing in the desolate wasteland of a Muggle building site, neither man could find anything comforting to say. The happy peace they had enjoyed for nearly a year was about to be torn away, and their lives ripped apart by Aurors and the media. Even the threat of Azkaban paled in the light of losing their hard won privacy and happiness.

Severus kissed the top of Harry's head. “We have two choices – voluntarily give ourselves up and go out with some dignity, or let them chase us down and destroy us like the animals they think us.”

Squaring his shoulders, Harry's face hardened. “We'll go down with dignity, but we'll go down fighting too!” He took Severus' hand and together they apparated to the Ministry.

In the atrium, it was clear that Delia had preceded them, as they were met with whispered comments and hostile stares as they walked through, still holding hands, heads held high, even if they both felt horribly vulnerable and more than a little embarrassed.

They were standing by the lift when the doors pinged open and they found themselves face to face with Kingsley. His eyes widened, and he took in the tight grip they had on one another. His face closed down, all traces of emotion wiped from it as he nodded gravely to them. Behind him, hidden by his bulk, was Delia. The witch screamed shrilly when she saw them.

“See! They don't even hide it! Filth!”

“Shacklebolt,” Severus said, “we'd like to make a statement. But, we'd prefer not to make it in the presence of that bigoted witch.”

Harry, even in the depths of fear, admired how controlled Severus was, how he took command of even this desperate situation. Kingsley gave him another nod, almost a bow, as if he too recognised a man to be admired.

“My office?” he suggested in his slow voice, although it wasn't really a question.

Leaving the entire floor full of people staring at them, Harry, Severus and Kingsley let the lift doors close and seal out the curious.

“I'm sorry about this, Severus,” Kingsley said in the small space, “Had you told me, even unofficially, I could have done something to protect you both. Now though, Mrs Little has exposed your secret to a world that is not ready to accept you. And the same sex law has not, as yet, been repealed. I will have to try you both.”

It was Harry who answered, sounding far calmer than he felt. “We understand. Maybe this had to happen to force the issue. I'd rather it hadn't, but maybe this is necessary.”

The corridor to Kingsley's office was blessedly free of gawpers, so the three men made their way along the hall, each mentally preparing themselves for what was going to be an unpleasant time.

“Do, please, sit down, both of you.” Kingsley indicated two chairs and they settled, hands unclasped, but so close that their knees touched.

Shacklebolt was clearly unhappy, but he followed the letter of the law, giving them the warning they were entitled to, setting up the magical quill that would accurately record every word, and formally telling them what was being investigated.

After giving their statements, they were taken down to the cells and locked up. As a courtesy, Kingsley put them in adjoining rooms so that they weren't completely isolated. He left to set up a trial as quickly as possible, little as he wanted to, but he couldn't stand the thought of these two heroes being kept under the Ministry like a dirty secret.

So it was that on Tuesday, October 31^st, nine days after their arrest, the two men faced their trial together, staring up at the Wizengamot with expressionless faces but eyes that searched over and over for friendly faces; but most of all, they looked over and over at one another.

Kingsley opened the proceedings and after hearing their responses to the charges: “Not applicable” he had bowed his head. In the wizarding world, defendants could enter extra pleas, but only if the law itself was under review. As the same sex law was close to being repealed, they had both made clear that the law was no longer fit for purpose, and therefore couldn't give the usual Guilty/Not guilty answer. After all, he knew full well that they had engaged in all manner of activities that were illegal under the law, but knew that the law itself was unjust; and, given the potion Snape had developed, the law was no longer necessary.

What happened here, and the outcome, would go a long way to either ending or keeping the law.

“Mr Potter, we'll start with you. You have been in a physical relationship with Mr Snape for ten months now, is that right?”

“Yes.”

“What did you know of the wizarding laws surrounding same sex activities?”

Harry related what he knew. He understood that Kingsley was trying to show that Harry had acted, despite knowing the risk, thereby implying that their hero had felt compelled to do so. And that was the case. Not sleeping with Severus, once he had known he wanted the other man and that Severus felt the same, would have been impossible. And had been, during that short time when Snape had been unwilling to have sex with him.

“Can you explain, then, why you have engaged in activities with Mr Snape that you knew to be illegal?”

Silently thanking Kingsley for giving him this chance, Harry took a breath and spoke simply, but no-one listening doubted his sincerity, “I fell in love with Severus at some point during 1999. I don't know precisely when it happened, just that I somehow woke up to the fact that I had to have him in my life, that I couldn't face the world without him by my side. At that time we were friends and I longed for there to be more between us, but never expected that to be the case. I had resigned myself to pining for him and never getting anywhere, so it was a great shock when he admitted, on December 17^th last year, that he cared about me as well.

“After that, it was completely natural that we should want to be as close physically as we were emotionally, and it never crossed my mind to obey a law that wanted to penalise us for falling in love and needing to do what other couples take for granted. We, well I, wanted children, even before I got together with Severus. And yet, despite that, we're being tried. What about all the couples out there who decide not to have children? Why aren't they here being forced to account for their relationships? Severus and I have done nothing wrong. Nothing.”

There was muttering amongst the wizengamot at that bold statement, but Severus could tell that Harry's words had affected some of them. Being a war hero, and idolised by many, sometimes had its advantages.

The questions continued, one particular one thrown at Harry by a witch who clearly thought she could trap him.

“Miss Weasley has had a son, named Harry,” she emphasised the name. “You expect us to believe the child has nothing to do with you?”

Harry ground his teeth for a moment. He didn't want to throw Ginny under the Knight Bus, but he wasn't going to take responsibility for her bastard. “He's also named Fred,” Harry said, “I don't imagine you're going to say her deceased brother had anything to do with the birth?” There was a smattering of laughter and Harry went on, “Ginny asked me to support her – emotionally - after her child was born, as she didn't want people questioning its parenthood. And, she knew I was gay, and pretty much threatened me to help her out, or she'd start spreading more rumours about me. I'm not her greatest fan, but I won't hold it against her son that his mother is bat-shit crazy.”

There was some more laughter. Beside him, Severus snorted at the description of Ginny, and then it was Snape's turn. He knew he was not a popular figure, and that many there who might have felt some sympathy for a young man falling in love or being blackmailed would grant him no such compassion. Kingsley though, gave him the same chance Harry had had.

“I won't repeat what Harry said, but that covers so much of what I felt, and still feel. Both of us feared going to Azkaban, but even that wasn't strong enough to stop us from doing what felt completely normal and natural. Sometimes, not touching one another was more than we could bear. We have already been punished for the choice that was no choice. Harry and I can't express all the things we feel if there is the chance of being overheard; we have to keep a crucial part of ourselves hidden from friends and colleagues to avoid rejection and prison. I want to tell the world I somehow became the luckiest man alive, because Harry picked me.” Snape paused, blushing as all the things he'd never been able to say to his partner were expressed to a group of people who were waiting to judge them. Beside him, Harry was crying silently, finally realising the depth of feeling Severus had for him.

“This thing between us is more than just physical, it is a matter of need. As Harry said, he felt he needed me in his life. That is nothing to the way I need him. Without Harry I am a bitter old man who will always be alone, stuck inside a shell of my own making. With Harry, I become a better person. It is as simple as that. Harry makes me a better man. He makes me want to be a better man, to be the man he sees when he looks at me.”

There was a long silence as Snape finished speaking and, from the back of the wizengamot, came the sound of applause. Gradually, more and more of the jury joined in until well over half were clapping, some wiping eyes surreptiously.

Kingsley allowed the applause, smiling at the two men who had just won their case even without a verdict being reached and who, between them, had smashed a hole in the same sex law.

“Mr Snape. One final thing, you developed a potion to allow couples like yourself and Mr Potter to reproduce. Do you intend to take advantage of it?”

Harry had already given his answer, and now Severus said clearly, “Yes. We are somewhat reliant on a womb in which our child can be carried, but we have an agreement with some good friends who will allow us to have offspring in around two years time. We would prefer to have our young before that, but know we are asking a lot of any woman – to allow us to use her womb.”

Kingsley nodded, then asked the wizengamot to vote. “The question,” he explained, “is not whether or not these two men have broken the same sex law. We know they have; they admit it freely. What we are here to judge is whether that law is fit for purpose any longer, given the potion that Mr Snape has made. Do we have the right to deny a couple in love from being physically intimate?”

One of the witches sitting at the end spoke up, “I say the law is not fit for purpose. All those in agreement?”

A sea of hands went up. Not all, but far far more than half.

A small smile on his face of pleasure (and relief), Kingsley apologised to the two men for having had to go through the trial, and allowed them to leave.

Their difficulties were mostly over, his were now just beginning as he would need to meet each opponent and gain their views on how the law should be altered so that they felt their views had been considered. Kingsley longed, some days, to not be the Minister for Magic during such a time of upheaval.
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Harry Potter and the Expert Potions Master