An Innocent Man

Hello, dear readers. Although this fic is posted under Desertrain\'s name, it is a solo work by me, Caiaphas. Desertrain edited and offered her support, but the writing. . .that\'s all me! This is my first piece, people, and I would really appreciate it if, at the end, whether you loved it or hated it, you would tell me what you think. Please? If I put a cherry on top?

Oh, before I forget, neither of these characters are mine. They belong to JKR. And the song isn\'t mine, either, it belongs to Billy Joel. So no suing, got it?

On with our story!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

An Innocent Man

Harry looked down at the man in the corner of the cell. The prisoner\'s black eyes seemed fathomless as they locked on to him. His hands pulled his legs in for security and in an effort to make their owner disappear. Said owner\'s robes were filthy and certainly not enough to keep the prisoner warm. Harry crossed the cell in two quick steps, pulling his cape off and, in one fluid movement, had laid it on the man\'s shoulders. The man gave an involuntary shiver as the warmth of the cloth touched his ice- cold skin. The man spoke from his tucked position on the floor.

\"And just what are you doing here, Potter?\"

Harry grinned. It was not his normal grin, although it looked similar. It was the smile of someone who had seen too much too young in life, and had been made to endure things no child should. It was the same smirk that often graced the features of the prisoner in the corner.

\"I am here to inform you, sir, that I am to represent you and speak for you in your hearing tomorrow.\" He said as he slid himself down the wall to sit next to his former teacher. His voice, no longer boyish in tone, had grown deeper and was now rich and eloquent-hardly the of voice of a student. Snape turned his head slightly, as if hearing the voice as a blind man would, turning his ear and not his eyes toward the speaker.

\"Why? Why would they assign you, Mr. Potter, to such an unworthy and condemned candidate? You must have annoyed the hell out of someone. . .\"

\"Actually, sir, I requested to speak for you. If you will have me as your representative, sir. Of course you will have little choice in the matter, save for the record of your disapproval, but. . .but I would like to be your speaker, sir.\" Snape\'s black eyes moved back and forth, as if what he was contemplating was in front of him. He was still not looking at Harry. \"As to the why, sir, that is not so easy to put into words, as I\'m sure you can understand. . .but. . .well

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\"Some people stay far away from the door

If there\'s a chance of it opening up

They hear a voice in the hall outside

And hope that it just passes by

Some people live with the fear of a touch

And the anger of having been a fool

They will not listen to anyone

So nobody tells them a lie

I know you\'re only protecting yourself

I know you\'re thinking of somebody else

Someone who hurt you

But I\'m not above

Making up for the love\"/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry reached out his hand, putting in on Snape\'s thin, cold, arm, which trembled at the contact.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\"You\'ve been denying you could ever feel

I\'m not above doing anything

To restore your faith if I can\"/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry sighed and continued to speak.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\"Some people see through the eyes of the old

Before they ever get a look at the young

I\'m only willing to hear you cry

Because I am an innocent man\"/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He looked at Snape, whose eyes had the look of a skeptic who was hearing something even they had not heard before.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\"I am an innocent man

Oh, yes, I am\"/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry said in reply to the half smirk forming on the potions\' masters\' face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\"Some people say they will never believe

Another promise they hear in the dark

Because they only remember too well

They heard somebody tell them before\"/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Snape shuddered; the words were true, very true.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\"Some people sleep all alone every night

Instead of taking a lover to bed

Some people find that it\'s easier to hate

Than to wait anymore\"/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Snape turned his head the other way. Harry\'s words seemed to bite into him, and Snape was struggling not to let it show as Harry kept speaking

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\"I know you don\'t want to hear what I say

I know you\'re gonna keep turning away

But I\'ve been there and if I can survive

I can keep you alive\"/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry had stood up and after dusting his robes off he placed a hand on his teachers thin shoulder.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\"I\'m not above going through it again

I\'ve not above being cool for a while

If you\'re cruel to me I\'ll understand\"/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry started to walk back to the cell door, but turned to look at Snape\'s face, which had finally looked back at him to watch him leave. The face betrayed only a small amount of the emotions that Snape was feeling. The black eyes were staring into the completive face of his former student. Harry smiled and said, \"You know sir. . .\"he paused.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\"Some people run from a possible fight

Some people figure they can never win

And although this is a fight I can lose

The accused is an innocent man.\"/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Snape\'s mouth opened in surprise, and his eyes looked sad, teary and deeply moved as he realized that Harry thought he was innocent. Harry regarded the man looking up at him. He felt old and tired and haunted as he said to himself,

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\'I am an innocent man

Oh, yes, I am

An innocent man\'/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

And then, as if aware he was still in the cell, he leaned against bars and said to his teacher

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\"You know you only hurt yourself out of spite\"/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry felt the wait of depression sink into him and he felt his voice saying, in a defeated way, as if Snape had refused his help.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\"I guess you\'d rather be a martyr tonight

That\'s your decision\"/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry seemed to be gone in his own world, almost succumbing to his own feelings inside his head, as if he had said too much and as if every thing was hopeless. . .

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/\"But I\'m not below

Anybody I know

If there\'s a chance of resurrecting a love

I\'m not above going back to the start

To find out where the heartache began

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Some people hope for a miracle cure

Some people just accept the world as it is

But I\'m not willing to lay down and die

Because I am an innocent man

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I am an innocent man

Oh, yes, I am

An innocent man\"/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry looked back at the dark falsely accused wizard in the cell, at the man who had done so much and who had sacrificed his life, only to end up in a cell.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

\"Sir, please I just want to make sure you. . .I just want to. . .give. . .or. . .just. . .\" Harry searched for the words.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

\"I just want to find some way to say, thank you.\"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As Harry walked out the door, he heard from the back corner:

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

\"You\'re welcome,\" in a horse voice and then as Harry turned back to Snape and heard the formal words, which gave blessing to a Speaker in the Wizengamot trials \"I accept, Mr. Potter.\"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Thanks for reading, and I hope that you enjoyed this. As I said, it\'s my first solo fic, and I really want reviews telling me what you think! Thanks much, dear readers!

~Caiaphas