Kassandra Bauer and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3)

Chapter 23: The Stag and the Wolf.

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

I heard the sounds. But I couldn't figure out who it was. It all sounded fuzzy.

"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?"

"That or Whompy got mad." 

"Whompy?" 

"The Whomping Willow." 

"Well, as a matter of fact, it was Potter, Weasley, Granger, Tyler, and Bauer that gave me this scar." 

"No!" 

"Black bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. It got Miss. Haywood too. Tis a pity I was delayed to stop him. They seemed to think 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-" 

It was Snape. And he was talking to the Minister.

"Ah, well, Snape... Harry Potter, you know... we've all got a blind spot where he's concerned. We all had a blind spot for Ethan when he was a student." The Minister was saying.

"And yet... is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat him like any other student. Him and his friends. Especially that girl, Kassandra. And any other student would be suspended, at the very least, for leading his friends into such danger. Especially Ryan Tyler. A boy with Special Needs and they've taken advantage of him. 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-" Snape put in.

"Precautions? Is that what you call the Dementors?" Another voice called out. It was Ethan. 

"Ethan. We've been over this." Fudge replied.

I couldn't open my eyes. But I could still hear everything. 

"And need I remind you that you only treat werewolves as monsters because that's what you call them. And you know for a fact that Chiara Lobosca wasn't a monster." Ethan shot at Snape.

"This is an entirely different situation." Snape countered.

"Well... there's no doubt the boy has undoubtedly been foolish." Fudge replied. "What amazed me most is the behavior of the dementors... you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?" He asked. 

"No, Minister... by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances..." 

"Extraordinary-" Fudge began.

But my head had suddenly shot up. I looked around me. I was in the Hospital Wing now. Harry, was unconscious. So were Ron, Hermione, and Ryan. Beatrice was no where to be found.  

Ethan ran over to me from outside the corridor. "It's okay, Kassie. It's okay. You're safe now." He told me.

"W-What happened?" I asked. "The last thing I remember was b-being attacked by D-Dementors."