Harry Potter The Surprise

Harry was behind the privacy screens Madam Pomfrey had positioned around his bed. He was currently changing into the pyjamas she had also provided when a loud commotion hit the infirmary. Harry heard Hermione's shocked squeal and was out of there like a bullet fired from a gun. Snape had rushed into the infirmary and pulled back the wrong screen, the ones behind which Hermione was also getting changed.

She had her nightgown already on and had been reaching for her housecoat when Snape burst in, said housecoat was currently draped in front of her like a protective shield. Harry pushed right past Snape and soon inserted himself between the pair, Hermione's arms going around him from behind as he faced the greasy-haired git.

While Harry's sudden appearance was like waving a red rag to Snape's enraged bull, their new rings allowed Hermione to feel that Harry's anger at their potions professor was totally off the scale.

She actually received glimpses of a memory from Voldemort that must have been released with Snape's appearance, causing Hermione to tighten her grip on her betrothed. The memory was of a much younger Snape kneeling in front of Voldemort, enthusiastically telling his master of having overheard a prophecy about a child to be born who could defeat the Dark Lord. It was no surprise then that Harry was three streets past livid at the man standing in front of them.

"What the fuck are you playing at, Snape?" The venom Harry put into those words rocked Snape back on his heels for an instant, before he came right back at the boy in front of him.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that, Potter. I know you were behind these shenanigans tonight, and I'll prove it…"

Harry didn't back down an inch. Hermione was sure only her tight grip of him prevented her betrothed attacking their now even more hated potions professor. "You - you're going to prove nothing! You're so incompetent, you can't even work out what screen I'm behind - or did you deliberately burst in on my betrothed as she was getting dressed?"

It seemed all about to kick off as Snape began reaching for his wand. "Why you insolent…"

Snape never got to finish what he intended to say, nor manage drawing his wand, another wand positioned mere inches from his hooked nose stopped the enraged professor dead on both counts. The angry person holding that wand brooked no argument either, her orders would be obeyed - or else.

"Severus Snape, how dare you disturb my patients - while they're undressing too! I don't know what you think Mr Potter has done but he hasn't been out of either mine or the headmaster's sight since he recovered consciousness - after being attacked by those abominations some idiot placed around a school."

Poppy's glance shifted for an instant to the Minister of Magic, leaving no one in any doubt who she had just referred to as an idiot. Her wand though never wavered, nor did her determination to end these outsider interruptions in her infirmary. "You will leave at once, or you'll be staying the night in one of these beds - while being treated for the spell damage I'm about to inflict on you - the choice is yours to make."

Faced with the utter certainty she would carry out her threat, and that Albus had no intention of seeing Poppy's ire switch to him by interfering on his behalf, Severus was left with no option but to flounce out of the infirmary with his tail between his legs.

Only then did Hermione release Harry from the somewhat death grip she had held him in. While she appreciated his desire to attack Snape, they needed a lot of training before the outcome of that particular action would swing in their favour. Harry needed an outlet for his anger though, and impressed the hell out of Hermione by using his ire constructively.

Bowing to the healer, he surprised everyone there. "Madam Pomfrey, the houses of Potter and Black thank you for the care you have always shown me and mine. The list of adults in magical Britain I can say that about is extremely short. In truth, yours is the only name on it."

After leaving Madam Pomfrey blushing at his gratitude, Harry then turned his attention to the two remaining adults present. "Minister Fudge, earlier tonight you listened to that thing that just left - instead of us - and were about to end a man's life because of it."

While Albus tried to intercede on Severus' behalf, and deride Harry on his treatment of a professor, he was summarily ignored by the teens as they waited on the Minister's response.

"Harry, my boy, Black's guilt was established years ago…"

The Minister of Magic wasn't used to being interrupted. After the night he'd just had, Harry was way beyond caring about petty little things like social niceties.