Addicted to You

XX

[A/N: With my limited knowledge of court proceedings, I have composed the following chapters after doing some research and taking help from what I've seen on screen. And of course, I know, to have a more realistic depiction, more detailed dialogues of interrogation needed to be included, but I only kept the ones that were most relevant. Please don't be too critical. I've tried my best and hope you enjoy!]

The following week brought the expected media frenzy...

SNAPE LIVES!

Death Eater to teach at Hogwarts again?

One of the most notorious criminals from the war against The Dark Lord, it was believed that Severus Snape – best known for his murder of Albus Dumbledore – had been killed in the Final Battle. We now know that he is in fact alive. Not only that, but it is being proposed that he might be returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and resuming his teaching career, if he is cleared of all charges.

The question of just whose side Snape was on, has never been satisfactorily answered. Many high-standing members of the Order of the Phoenix, most notably Harry Potter himself, indicated that they were privy to information that the rest of us do not have and that everything Snape did was part of Albus Dumbledore's master plan for defeating Voldemort. [More details on page two]

In 1981 Snape was tried as a Death Eater, and escaped imprisonment solely due to the persuasive testimony of Dumbledore himself, who proclaimed that Snape was a spy for the Order of the Phoenix, contradicting the evidence of many other Death Eaters at their own trials (full story on page six).

Following his murder of Albus Dumbledore in the summer of 1997, Snape was named Headmaster of Hogwarts by Voldemort himself, and perpetuated a reign of terror with his fellow Death Eaters, Alecto and Amycus Carrow (see page four for a full account of that year) before fleeing the school during the Final Battle.

It is unclear just how Snape survived the war, when there were several eyewitness accounts of his death shortly before Harry Potter's defeat of Voldemort, nor is anything known of his whereabouts since that time. His current location is also a mystery at this time, except that he is being detained at the Ministry itself, but it is in fact being speculated that in September he might be returning to the scene of his worst crimes; he will once again resume his former employment as Head of Slytherin House and Potions teacher at Hogwarts; provided of course that he is let off from any punishment and also if he opts to take up that position again.

The fumes were given more air when the current Headmistress of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry- Professor Minerva McGonagall, herself a high-standing member of the Order of the Phoenix, was seen to be entering the Ministry headquarters- most likely to pay a visit to her ex-colleague. She was not available for comment, but has provided us with the following brief statement:

"Whatever Professor Snape may or may not have done in the past, nobody can deny that he is a highly competent teacher. I have received evidence that his actions throughout the war were part of the larger plan and in the end he proved necessary to Harry's defeat of Voldemort. In view of this, he has Hogwarts' full support."

We received news that he is currently being held in the Ministry Detention area but we have thus far been unable to locate the man himself, to ask him where he has been or why he has decided to reveal himself at this time; there is an unfortunate history between this publication and Snape and he has proved to be less than cooperative in the past. Our efforts are ongoing.

(The Daily Prophet, 1999)

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"I didn't know..."