Innocence Proclaimed

Now that she was held firmly in the grasp of both Potions, he could summon Professor Dumbledore and possibly the Minister. The facts that those potions had been administered almost immediately after she had been discovered and that she had talked to only to Snape would add strength to whatever she told everyone when she woke up.

If all went well, she could back up her earlier statement that Harry was innocent. Now that she was safe, his job was to immediately notify Dumbledore and the proper authorities. Any more delay on his part could ruin the integrity of her testimony, especially considering his past connections with the Death Eaters.

Filch was left stationed in the Hospital wing with Nearly Headless Nick as Snape left the castle and journeyed for London where Dumbledore and the Ministry were. He sighed regretfully as he realized that Harry would be unhappy at not being the first to know of her return considering that he had been the last to give up on her. He would know eventually though, he might even be considered innocent by then too.

.....

Hermione felt herself wake up very slowly. The first thought that crossed her mind was that the sleeping potion must have been stronger than Snape had claimed. She was too tired to feel outraged.

Her mind slowly regained its conscious functions and within seconds, the memory that Harry was innocent crossed her mind. All traces of the potion's effect dissolved as a spurt of adrenaline shot through her system. Her droopy eyelids flew open to find several people standing around her bed in the Hospital wing.

On one side of the bed, Professor Dumbledore stood looking at her cheerfully. On the other side, Ron was standing there and looking overjoyed. The look on Ron's face made Hermione's heart skip a beat. He was a git a lot of the time, but a loveable one.

Also grouped around the bed were Ron's parents, sister, and the twins. Madam Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, stood behind Dumbledore with a slightly confused expression painted on her face and Hermione was quite sure that she could see Minister Fudge holding back behind the crowd.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked.

"All night and a good part of the day as well, Miss Granger." Dumbledore stated. "You've been missing for quite a while as well. Do you remember what happened?"

The phrase 'Harry is innocent' immediately popped up in her mind, but then so did some memories that had not been there earlier. The memories detailing the attack on the village and the presence of Malfoy and Voldemort.

"V-V-Voldemort attacked the village I went to." Hermione explained eagerly. "Draco Malfoy was with him and they kidnapped me. Before they knocked me out, Malfoy told me that they were there to ruin Harry's reputation. Harry is innocent!"

The reactions to Hermione's statements were varied. Ginny's face lost all trace of color and she nearly fainted before silently steadying herself with the help of a nearby bed. The twins grinned, Ron looked at her with a confused expression, Mrs. Weasley's eyes flared with disbelief, Mr. Weasley avoided looking at her, and Madam Bones looked from her to Dumbledore who was studying Hermione with concerned eyes, his upheld hand preventing a livid Fudge from saying anything.

"How did they 'knock you out?'" Dumbledore inquired quietly as everyone in the room kept silent and watched Dumbledore and Hermione quietly. The only one not particularly interested in the conversation were Ginny and the twins. Ginny was too busy trying to stop herself from hyperventilating and the twins seemed to think the rest of her statement to be irrelevant.

"With some sort of spell." Hermione replied. "I think it was Dark."

"What happened between that and your discovery by Professor Snape?"

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. I woke up and then some people put me into the coffin and transported the coffin to where Snape found it."

"Did you see who specifically put you into the coffin?"

"No." Hermione said, shaking her head.

Dumbledore seemed to consider his next question carefully. "Could you remember the details about the attack on the village when Snape found you?"

Frustration welled up in Hermione. "What does that have to do with anything! Harry is innocent and you can't waste any more time dawdling around."

"Please answer the question, Miss Granger."

"No, the only thing I could remember was that Harry is innocent." Hermione said with a deep sigh.

Before Dumbledore could ask another question, Snape and Moody entered the wing. "The team couldn't find anything." Moody reported. He then shot an unreadable face at Minister Fudge. "If they had been able to come sooner, I suspect that they would have been able to find more evidence."

"It's all right, Alastor." Dumbledore said calmly. "I did not expect that the Ministry team would find anything that could reveal who put Miss Granger's coffin where Severus found it."

...

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