"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, Gibson, 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 –"
"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 to 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 pro-tection – 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 ..." My eyes were still closed. I felt very groggy. The words I was hearing seemed to be travelling very slowly from my ears to my brain , so that it was difficult to understand. My limbs felt like stone. My eyelids too heavy to lift ... in fact is was as if I could only move one.
"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 the 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." I was barely ware of the pain and numbness from the right side of my face. I felt something covering my face. Except for my left eye and there had to be some sorta small hole for my nose to breathe. I could also feel it stopped around my lips. I tried to part my lips but they didn't seem to want to do anything. After a while of effort I felt them crack and open slightly. My left eye was slowly becoming active.
Harry POV
She was carrying the largest block of chocolate he had ever seen in his life. It looked like a small boulder.
"Ah, you're awake!" she said briskly. She placed the chocolate on my bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer.
"How's Ron?" me and Hermione together.
"He'll live," said Madam Pomfrey grimly. "As for you two ... you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're – Potter, what do you think you're doing?'"
I was sitting up, putting his glasses back on and picking up his wand. I looked at the bed next to me. Lying there was a red haired girl. Her face was all bandaged except for her left eye and small nose holes and barely enough room for her lips. I started to wonder what had happened to her. I could see her hands had dried blood on it and there was obviously something big because of the amount of medicine next to her. I couldn't see any sign that she had waken,
