"No one has green eyes like that except Harry."
"Not good enough." Snape growled. "Even if Dumbledore and the Ministry believed us, what would happen? They still believe that Potter is guilty of burning down Privet Drive. They would put our 'savior' on a leash. Potter would become even more resentful than he probably already is. The prophecy Dumbledore was talking about stated that 'he who holds the Black Rod will decide Voldemort's fate.' Notice that it doesn't say anything about someone else choosing for him."
"I see." Remus said carefully. "I think that we should secretly put our loyalties towards Harry. Then we can perhaps try to get him out of Azkaban and then help him defeat Voldemort."
Snape nodded grudgingly. It was the same conclusion that he had come to earlier. He didn't enjoy the thought of loyalty to Potter, but it was necessary. "My thoughts exactly. I would appreciate it if you would talk Tonks, Moody, and anyone else sympathetic to Potter's cause. Once we get a fair number of people on board, we can hold a meeting and discuss some options."
Lupin stood up. "I suppose I should probably get onto that right away." He turned to leave but paused. "How about seeing if you can get some students involved? We'll need all the support we can get."
"I'll do that." Snape said. In just a little over two weeks, Snape would get his opportunity.
Neville Longbottom deliberately took his time to put away his supplies after six-year NEWT level Potions. He watched from the corner of his eye and Ron and Hermione quickly cleaned up and left.
Harry Potter had not returned from the Christmas holidays and Neville was worried. Harry's best friends and teachers did not seem to know why he had not returned, nor did they really care. Neville had a sneaking suspicion that something was up. Snape was his last hope. All of the other teachers had put him off.
Gathering his courage, Neville made his way to the front to address Snape. "Sir, I was wondering if I could ask you a question."
The professor looked up from the stack of Potions essays that he was sorting. "What?"
"I was wondering if you could tell me why Harry didn't come back from the holidays, sir."
Neville observed as Snape carefully considered his answer. "Mr. Potter has been sent to Azkaban on a life sentence." he finally responded.
"B-but why!" Neville asked as his eyes widened in shock. "Do Ron and Hermione know?"
"He was framed for the mass murder of several Muggles. As for his friends, yes, they do know his fate. After all, they did testify to everyone that Harry had been practicing the Dark Arts to a large extent."
"That's preposterous!" Neville said vehemently. "Harry would never do that! If he was practicing the Dark Arts, it was only to help educate himself and the members of the DA."
Snape nodded tersely. "That's what several others have concluded. However, we are in the minority. Speaking of DA, what happened to it when Potter didn't return?"
The more Neville thought about the situation, the more outraged he was. "Ron got up at our first meeting and announced that, apparently, Harry was not going to return to Hogwarts and that we needed a new president for the DA. He nominated himself on the grounds that he was Harry's best friend. Hermione backed him up."
"Isn't that interesting?" Snape mused.
"Is there anything that can be done, Professor?" Neville inquired.
"Yes, there is." Snape said, looking around his classroom to make sure no one was listening in. "Some of us are trying to put together a movement in Potter's favor. There's no way that You-Know-Who is going to be brought down unless it is Potter that does it. You can discreetly get some other students in on it."
Neville nodded eagerly. "I think that would be quite simple to manage. There's loads of students that don't think Ron is a very good DA leader, and who think that foul play must be involved in Harry's disappearance. What would we do?"
"Mostly keep an open mind and be ready for when Potter gets out of Azkaban, whether it be from being proven innocent or by other means. He'll need assistance and friends. You might as well train up like you do in DA as well." Snape advised. "Whatever you do, keep Granger, Weasley, and his sister out of it."
"Of course. What should we call ourselves?"
Snape's lips curled into a sardonic grin. "Potter's Legion."
On the afternoon of the day before Valentines, Bellatrix Black found herself watching Harry Potter's sleeping form in their cell. Five weeks of extensive training and meditation had done a lot for Harry. In a matter of seconds, he could now draw in an amount of power that would require days of meditation by any other wizard or witch.
He had also showed an unusual talent for both Legillimency and Scrying and had invented a method to combine them for very profitable results. Bellatrix unconsciously shivered when she remembered him prying into her mind. Fortunately, she had managed to hide some of her more embarrassing thoughts from him, most of which happened to feature him.
His eagerness to learn had doubled when he spied on his two old friends with his Scrying talent. Apparently they too had betrayed him, perhaps even more than Dumbledore had. Mostly, he managed to set aside his feelings about them, but when they came to the surface, Bellatrix could feel his pain intensely. How dare they.
Bellatrix's thoughts soon turned to their growing friendship. Five weeks of extremely close proximity in the cell and no privacy whatsoever had forced them to become familiar with one another. Harry had done his best to ignore that though. That stopped their close friendship from going further, much to Bellatrix's dismay, which grew, day by day.
She reached over and ran her fingers through his filthy and uncombed hair. It was no use worrying about it anyway. She was a horrible person who had done horrible things. How could he love her? Besides, she was old enough to be his mother! She decided not to think about it.
As she rested, a grin crept across her face. Tonight, they would be free.