Disclaimer: I do not own the original canon nor am I making any profit from writing this piece. All works are accredited to their original authors, performers, and producers while this piece is mine. No copyright infringement is intended. I acknowledge that all views and opinions expressed herein are merely my interpretations of the characters and situations found within the original canon and may not reflect the views and opinions of the original author(s), producer(s), and/or other people.
Warnings: This story may contain material that is not suitable for all audiences and may offend some readers. Please exercise understanding of personal boundaries before and during reading.
Author's Note (Generic Note for the Houses Competition): All my works should be considered to be Not Epilogue Compliant and I treat everything that is not the HP books and the Hogwarts Library Collection as apocrypha (supplementary to canon but still outside of it) and treat it as such (including ignoring it unless it suits me). I also make a policy of not ignoring abusive and distasteful actions/decisions of characters and not handwaving the effects of trauma experienced by characters. If you feel that a character isn't acting like their "canon self" chances are good that it's because of one of these two things and they are merely displaying a more realistic response than they did in canon. Such changes are not considered AU elements, and therefore do not have the same requirements.
Author's Note(s): On a possibly unrelated topic, I have always found it interesting how many people are fine with characters being shown differently than how JKR displayed them until the difference involves not handwaving trauma or the abuse perpetrated by "good" characters.
Dedication: to the Lady Justicia, who is blindfolded to ensure that all are the same before her and armed with the sword of Truth & Knowledge. May all remember that Your scales are tipped in favor of those to be judged, not in favor of those authorized to judge, and that Your sword smites those who use the authority entrusted to them to spit upon Your edict of impartiality.
Challenge/Competition Block:
Stacked with: Houses Competition (Term 3); Shadows of Consequence; Paranormal Phantasm; Lessons Learned; Not Commonwealth; Seriously Important (Not); Terms of Service; Fem Power Challenge; Gryffindor MC; Slytherin MC; Hufflepuff MC
House: Hufflepuff
Year: 6th
Category: Standard (750-1500 words)
Prompt: "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark" by Fall Out Boy
Representation: Albus Dumbledore; Magic; Life Lessons; Harry Potter; Barristers & Judicial Officials; Andromeda Black Tonks & Amelia Bones
Bonus Challenge(s): Call Me Dantes; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Ladylike - Aggression; Mouth of Babes; Middle Name; Tomorrow's Shade; Unwanted Advice; Some Beach; Sitting Hummingbird; Uncivil Obedience)
Word Count: 1491
-= LP =-
Sparks to Ignite
-= LP =-
I'm in the details with the devil …
I just gotta get you off the cage
– Fall Out Boy, "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'em Up)"
-= LP =-
Harry eyed the tiny post owl that greeted them the moment they exited the Underground. Mr. Weasley didn't seem bothered by it, continuing to walk towards what had to be their destination. The little owl made an agitated swoop around Harry's head, ruffling his hair with its wings as well as the scroll clutched in its claws. Drawing a breath to soothe his nerves, Harry raised his right hand to give the thing a place to land—which it did with a delicacy that Harry had learned to not expect from any owl other than Hedwig.
Opening up the scroll that the owl let him take, Harry immediately recognized the handwriting of the barrister that Sirius had gotten Harry in contact with using an old box that transported things. Andromeda Tonks was very different from her bubbly daughter who was a part of the Order, and Harry could tell even through letters that the reason her socks fold themselves was probably due to intimidation. Harry certainly would if he were a sock being ordered to pack himself by her. As if realizing that Harry should know whose it was now, the owl fluttered to his shoulder and nipped affectionately at his ear before taking flight again. Harry focused on the actual words of the note before he took off running after Mr. Weasley.
"Mr. Weasley," Harry panted after catching up near a phone box, "they've moved the hearing! It starts at eight in Courtroom Ten! We're going to be late!"
"What? Why would they—How do you even know?"
"Owl," Harry answered, still struggling to catch his breath. Mr. Weasley winced, not even asking who the owl would have been from, and hustled Harry into the phone box, which turned out to be an entrance to the Ministry of Magic.
As they rushed to the new location, all of Harry's nerves were coming back full force. What if he had just accepted everyone's reassurances that it was an obvious case with no reason to worry instead of trusting that Dumbledore would 'help' just as much as he had always helped in the past? What if Sirius hadn't still had a way of reaching his cousin or if she hadn't answered? Would he had found out too late about the changes? Would they have snapped his wand and sent him back to the Dursleys with no hope of ever leaving again?
They were both clearly in stitches by the time they reached a door so dark with age that it looked grimy and with such an ominously large lock that Harry dreaded walking through it. Mr. Weasley pointed at it, wheezing too hard to speak. Harry swallowed hard and didn't even question why he wasn't coming in with him. His heartbeat almost drowned out the whine from the door's hinges as he opened it.
Then he took another deep breath and walked into the courtroom with his chin high, refusing to show his fear. He flinched when the door snapped shut behind, but he did not jump, so he was counting that as a win. Empty benches surrounded him on either side but ahead of him, the benches were full of shadowy figures who were whispering amongst themselves.
"You're late," announced a cold voice as soon as Harry had reached the end of the public seating. In the center of the clear area was the chair he remembered from Dumbledore's Pensieve with its chains to bind the person who sat there. Harry swallowed the bile rising in his throat at the thought of being bound helplessly as they snapped his wand and exiled him. It didn't help that he couldn't see anyone clearly due to the darkness and he didn't see anyone who could possibly be—
"That's actually incorrect, Your Honor," Andromeda announced as she came up beside Harry. Her dark hair had been pulled into an intricate bun up the back of her head and her eyes were a match for Sirius' in both shape and color. Harry saw very little of Narcissa Malfoy in the woman, despite them being sisters. She made a tisking sound before clapping once. Immediately, the chamber brightened to reveal the fifty or so individuals wearing matching plum-colored robes along with three individuals who did not have them but sat in the very center of the front row. Centermost was Cornelius Fudge in sludge-green robes while a square-jawed woman in muted red robes sat to his left and a toad-like woman in baby pink sat to his right. "That's better. Now we can all see each other properly. As I was saying, Your Honor, we still have five minutes until the just-rescheduled time. Thus, you'll find that my client is not late."
"Your client, you say?" asked the same voice as before and Harry could see him now, sitting one row behind the square-jawed woman. He was a grumpy-looking man that had the same rock-like face as the Slytherin captain in Harry's first few years playing Quidditch. Something about the way he frowned made Harry think that he would agree with the socks as well. The man nodded to himself before tapping the pendant of the necklace he was wearing. A clock sprung into existence for a brief moment before the man grunted. "I stand corrected. Though you are both cutting it rather close, don't you think, Counselor?"
"My apologies to the court," Andromeda replied. Her voice was dark and smooth like the wood that made up the box Sirius used to send her letters. "But our notifications of the changes to time and location arrived only fifteen minutes ago. To that end, I will be filing a motion to inquire who was in charge of both the change and the notification."
"I look forward to that inquiry, Counselor Tonks," said the square-jawed woman in the front row in a no-nonsense tone. She finished polishing her monocle and replaced it on her face. It made her look very forbidding. "I'm sure it will be quite enlightening."
Fudge looked like that declaration worried him. He smoothed the front of his robes before clearing his throat several times in rapid succession. Then he gestured towards the very end of the front bench. Looking in that direction, Harry saw Percy looking intently at the parchment in his hand. Fudge snapped his fingers, drawing Percy's attention.
"Are you ready?" Fudge demanded. Percy nodded.
"Yes, sir," Percy said officiously. "I was just looking over the case notes." The redhead looked back down at his parchment, missing Fudge's gesture to stop speaking. "It appears that Madam Umbridge ordered the change to venue and time only a half hour ago."
"Interesting," the square-jawed woman stated.
"Very interesting," Andromeda agreed. "Madam Bones, I motion that these proceedings be suspended until a full investigation into this matter be concluded and that Madam Umbridge be removed from adjudicating it entirely."
"The court hears the motion and agrees that it would be in the best interests that Madam Umbridge be recused," the same woman returned, causing the toad-like woman to sputter indignantly. Talking over the sound, she continued. "However, the motion to suspend proceedings is denied. We will continue now to minimize the waste of the court's valuable time. Escort your client forward, Counselor."
Andromeda touched the back of his arm, encouraging him to move forward until they were both standing beside the chair. The chains rattled slightly, making Harry glad that nobody ordered him to sit. Andromeda squeezed his arm briefly before addressing Madam Bones again.
"In light of the current political situation," Andromeda began, only to be interrupted by an angry sputter—this time from Fudge himself. Bones closed her eyes like she was struggling for patience. "In light of the current political situation, I motion that Minister Fudge be recused from adjudicating as well, on the basis of potential bias towards my client."
"The court agrees," Bones stated. Though her face remained sternly blank, her eyes were sparkling like she wanted to laugh. "One magistrate should be enough to hear a simple case of underage magic. It was a bit unorthodox to convene the whole Wizengamot for it in the first place. I will hear this case myself and whosoever wishes to remain may do so provided they don't disrupt proceedings. Understood?" Everyone nodded, some more reluctantly than others. "Very good. Scribe, read us in."
From there, it was over fairly quickly. Just like Tonks had said, Bones listened. The whole thing was over in under ten minutes. Dumbledore arrived just as they were leaving the courtroom. Harry had never seen him look so confused. That confusion shifted to disappointment when he realized what Andromeda was. Harry refused to feel guilty about being proactive about his protection.
He left with his chin held high.
-= LP =-
An End
-= LP =-