"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?"
"As a matter of fact, it was Potter and the Weasley girl, Minister..."
"No!"
"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behaviour. 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..."
Rose lay listening with her eyes tight shut. She felt very groggy. The words she was barely hearing seemed to be travelling very slowly from her ears to her brain, so that it was difficult to understand... Her limbs felt like lead; her eyelids too heavy to lift... She figured it was the fall finally getting the revenge of not killing her the first time. She just wanted to lie here, on this comfortable bed, forever...
