Melody Riddle and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 19: Back in Time

I opened my eyes to find myself in the hospital wing. I tried to remember what happened to me, and then – Sirius proved himself innocent to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Remus; Peter was proven guilty; Remus turned into a werewolf as we approached the castle; and... I used my wand to return Peter to Lord Voldemort before passing out. I had a light headache so I continued to lay there, and little by little overheard a conversation going on just outside of the hospital wing door. I slowly turned my head to face the door, noticing it was slightly ajar.

I was fully conscious to hear an unknown voice say, "Shocking business... shocking... miracle none of them died... never heard the like... by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape...."

"Thank you, Minister." I heard Severus say. Minister?! As in the Minister of Magic? Holy....

"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, Weasley, and Granger, Minister...." And me, I thought.

"No!"

"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior."

Oh, please, he knows very well they weren't under any type of Confundus Charm. God...

He continued,"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 gotten 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." Liar, liar, pants on fire, Severus. "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.... What amazes me most is the behavior of the Dementors... you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

Dementors?! What happened when I was knocked out? Did Dementors come? Is Sirius all right? Was the Dementor's Kiss performed? Something must have happened... the Minister did say he was going to give Severus an Order of Merlin, Second Class — maybe even First Class. So something happened... the Dementors retreated for some reason, so maybe they were forced to retreat by someone who could perform the Patronus! I do hope that happened.... ugh my head is killing me. I placed my hand to my forehead as it began pounding thickly against my skull. What happened to me?

"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 –"