AN: So here I am again for another chapter, I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for all the support you've give so far, I really do appreciate it. I hope you all continue to read and enjoy and leave review.
Thanks for reading.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
( - )
(Last Time)
'Of all the fucking courtrooms.' Harry thought internally when he recognised the courtroom that his Hearing would be in.
Seeing the expression on Harry's face, Arthur gave his shoulder another squeeze. "I am sorry Harry, but I can't go in there with you, unfortunately. You'll do fine though. Just remember stick to the facts, trust in Dumbledore and it should all work out alright in the end."
"Right, I am sure it will…" Harry replied after a few moments, giving Arthur a nod before he opened the door to the courtroom and stepped inside.
( - )
Chapter 4
( - )
(Inside the Courtroom)
It was an outwardly confident Harry Potter that walked into the courtroom, a nonchalant smile on his face, and a confident spring to his step as he threw open the door and strode inside. With him easily ignoring the reaction his arrival brought about from the several dozen wizards and witches in the room.
This of course was all a carefully crafted façade, as internally Harry was distinctly off kilter, far more so than he should have been for some minor, petty disciplinary hearing.
His sudden nervousness though wasn't too surprising to Harry though, after all the moment he entered the courtroom and looked around he could tell without a doubt in his mind that this was the same cold, forbidding courtroom that he had once been convicted, and later sentenced to life in Azkaban for his crimes, six months or so back. With the mental picture of his last trial in this room being completed in his head by the rows upon rows of tiered seats all around the walls, all of them positioned so that they would be looking down into the centre of the room.
On top of that these seats were all filled with witches and wizards clad in plum coloured robes, the traditional Wizengamot garb. Almost immediately Harry recognised some of the people present, all whom he noticed turned to focus on him the moment he entered the room, with varying expressions on their faces.
Some of those present were just looking on coldly, their thoughts on him as a person clear for all to see. Others meanwhile sat back in their seats, their faces blank, showing neither support nor animosity towards Harry. That being said, there were a couple though, only a couple, that seemed to perk up slightly at his present.
Either way from his initial observations Harry could tell he might have a harder fight on his hand than he had previously thought, as some of those present looked to have already made up their minds on his guilt.
Focusing back on those around him, Harry quickly noticed who was sat front and centre in the rows of seats, in the most prominent positon in the room. It was Cornelius Fudge the Minister of Magic, his normal lime green bowler hat and pinstriped suit gone, with it instead having been replaced with a set of purple, Wizengamot robes.
Flanking the short, portly Minister of Magic on either side were two quite distinct looking women. Both of whom Harry recognised, one with trepidation, the other with distain and dark amusement.
The one who engendered his disgust was on Fudge's left side, and was a short, squat woman, with a toad like face, bulging eyes and a black bow in her hair. This was Delores Jane Umbridge, a repulsive, incompetent, sadistic woman, one who Harry knew was possessed of low cunning and a fanatical obsession with Cornelius Fudge.
She was someone Harry was vaguely familiar with due to his own history with her back in his world, when for a time she had been the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, High Inquisitor, and later Headmistress of Hogwarts. Suffice to say she had not made a good impression, either on Harry or on the rest of the school. With her completely disgusting Harry in part due to her general ineptness when she taught at Hogwarts, but also due to her needless and wanton cruelty.
Being ruthless and cruel he could understand, he had done some pretty fucked up and evil stuff himself. But he had always had a reason, a method behind his madness. Everything he had ever done was done in order to elevate his position and standing in society, and to ensure that he had riches, power and above all a comfortable life.
Madame Umbridge though had done terrible things for nothing more than her own pleasure and self-gratification. It was a small difference, Harry knew that, but there was a difference in how they acted and their reasoning for it. Nor did Harry go as far, as for one he had never lowered himself to hurting or torturing children.
The woman on Fudge's right hand side though, she was a whole different story. She was a tall, stout woman, with short, greying red hair and a monocle set into one of her eyes. More than that though was her demeanour, she was sat stiffly in her chair her a no nonsense expression on her face as she inspected Harry imperiously.
Yes, Amelia Bones, the current Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, definitely made him nervous. After all in his time she had been quickly elevated to the positon of Minister for Magic after Fudge was booted out of office, with her having survived several assassination attempts during her tenure as Minister. Each of which had made her more and more ruthless and vindictive when it came to dealing with Death Eaters and Voldemort's supporters, especially the last attempt which had claimed the life of her last living family member, her niece Susan Bones.
Suffice to say after Susan's death, any mercy or pity Amelia Bones might once have had was gone. She had come down hard on Voldemort's supporters, sanctioning the use of Unforgivable Curses for her Aurors and Ministry Workers, pretty much relegating all Death Eaters and supporters of the Dark Lord to less than human. On top of that she had sanctioned raids on houses and homes with no required evidence, and demanded the use of both the Imperious Curse and the truth potion, Veritaserum, in all trials.
Inconveniently this very woman had been the one that had sentenced Harry to Azkaban the first time around. The trial had not been pleasant, especially after Harry had been force fed Veritaserum and put under an Imperious Curse, a deadly combination that not even his own exceptional skill with the mind arts could fight against.
This had of course led to him singing like a bird, telling the court and assembled spectators his every sin, and there had been a lot. He had told them of the people he had killed, the ones he had betrayed, the plots he had engineered. He had told them of his manipulations even whilst in the Order of the Phoenix, and still at school.
There was a reason many considered him to be as bad as the worst of Voldemort's Death Eaters, and why he had been sentenced to 'the Pit'.
Of course that was in his timeline, in this alternate world Amelia was hopefully slightly mellower and the other Harry didn't have the same… history that he had, otherwise this trial might be a lot harder than he thought.
Tearing his gaze away from the Minister of Magic and those around him, Harry instead walked to the chain clad, wooden chair in the centre of the room. His gaze shifting over the chains he could see hanging from the arms, his throat becoming dry at the sight of them. After all, he knew from personal experience that those chains could come to life and bind the person sat in the chair in place. He had seen it before, and experienced it too for that matter.
Gingerly sitting himself down in the chair, which thankfully didn't come to life and bind him, Harry looked inquiringly up at Fudge. The man had said something when Harry had first entered the room, but with the familiarity of the room and his trip down memory lane he had complete missed what had been said.
"I'm sorry did you say something?" Harry asked, shifting uncomfortably on the chair, his movement causing the chains on the arms to rattle and clink slightly.
"I said you were late, Mr Potter." Fudge sneered, his voice as cold as ice as he looked down at Harry, a hint of irritation flashing through his eyes at the teen's apparent calm and nonchalance.
"Well that tends to be the case when the time of the trial is changed and no notice is given, either by owl or through any other form of communication." Harry shot back dryly, quickly regaining his composure as he looked up at the scowling Minister of Magic.
"An owl was sent to your residence, it is not the Ministry's concern if you did not receive it." Fudge replied careless, his tone becoming slightly more irritated at Harry's pointed response.
"Well considering I am the guest of honour for this trial, I would have thought it was the Ministry's concern that I receive notice that the time had changed. On top of that isn't it at least polite, even if not strictly a legal requirement, that notice of any change in time be sent at least twenty four hours ahead of time." Harry replied, his gaze shifting around the courtroom as those present began to murmur to each other, some scowling at what they deemed Harry's impetuousness, whilst others nodded, acknowledging that he had a point.
Fudge's face noticeably reddened at Harry's words, whilst Amelia sent the portly man a disapproving look, before her gaze flicked back to Harry.
Opening his mouth, the scowling Fudge looked like he was about to speak again, only for Harry to cut him off before he could, as he continued speaking.
"But I suppose it doesn't matter now though, I mean I am here, and you're here too, which means that this Hearing can proceed without any more issues. I just thought I would raise it as a point though, just in case a blunder like this happens again in the future." Harry continued, his smile not fading as he ignored the grumbling and locked gazes with Fudge.
"So yes anyway, I think we should probably get on with this 'disciplinary Hearing' of yours. I've been looking forward to clearing my name." Harry forged on, his lips quirking upwards minutely as the muttering increased, and the expression on Fudge's and the as till now quiet Umbridge's faces turned uglier, or at least uglier than usual.
From where he was sat Harry could almost hear Fudge's teeth grinding. On top of that though, he also noticed that Dumbledore was also not present yet, which was surprising considering that according to Sirius and Arthur, the Headmaster had claimed that he would be here defending Harry today.
"Mr. Potter." Fudge's voice suddenly rang out 'imperiously', the portly, older man standing up now, and conspicuously looking down on Harry, as he attempted to regain control of the room. His words quelling the muttering, shuffling and mumbling from the other members of the Wizengamot that had been going on since Harry's entrance.
"You have been summoned before this court, on the count of performing magic outside of school, and in the presence of a muggle, no less. And since this is the second instance in which you have used magic in such a situation, with a warning having been given to you in your second year for use of an illegal hover charm. It has therefore been decided that the penalty for so severely breaking the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Magic is expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and your wand being summarily snapped. With it then being made illegal for you to possess one indefinitely from that point onwards." Fudge continued outlining Harry's charges and the potential punishment if he were to be found guilty, his voice gaining in strength as he glared down at Harry, condemnation burning in his gaze.
Harry tilted his head to the side as he heard his charges, and potential punishment. Granger and Weasley had mentioned before that the alternate Harry getting in trouble in his second year for magic. According to them though he had been innocent in that case, with the actual culprit having been a demented and obsessive House Elf called Dobby. On top of that he had also apparently blown up his aunt, some muggle bint called Marge, in his third year too, only he hadn't been charged in that case.
"But I presume that is only if I am found guilty without a shred out doubt, Minister, of unreasonably using magic outside of school. Of course taking into account the laws on the reasonable use of magic when a wizard, and or witch is in peril…" Harry tagged on, his tone perfectly polite, but his emerald eyes twinkling as he locked gazes with the irritated Minister.
Yeah, he knew his rights and the laws, deal with it Fudge.
"Do not speak out of turn Mr Potter, you are the one being tried at this Hearing! You should know your place!" Fudge snapped, his temper flaring, even as the other members of the Wizengamot began to mutter to one another. With Umbridge leaning across so that she could whisper something in Fudge's ear.
"No, no Minister, Mr Potter is quite right. There are indeed circumstances when an underage wizard or witch can use magic outside of school and for sake of clarity that should be noted in the minutes of this Hearing. So yes, although he spoke out of turn, he is correct in his clarification." Amelia Bones piped up, her lip twitching upwards as she looked over at Fudge, before back down at Harry and then over at the court scribe, some vaguely familiar looking ginger kid. "See to it that Mr Potter's words are added."
"Yes Madame Bones!" The minute taker replied immediately, sending Harry a searching look as he did so, before he quickly got to work. The quill in his hand rapidly scribbling back and forth on his sheaf of parchment.
"Yes, it is as you say Madame Bones." Fudge bit out, giving her a short nod as he did, before looking down at Harry. "Then back onto the matter of the charges, did you or did you not use magic in the presence of a muggle Mr Potter?"
A silence followed that, as Harry looked coolly up at Fudge.
"Once again for the sake of clarity I think it should be confirmed that the muggle in question, is my cousin who I live with, Dudley Dursley, someone who has been aware of magic for a number of years now." Harry eventually spoke up, his tone strong and his words carefully chosen as he looked around at all of the watching wizards and witches.
"That is not an ans…" Fudge snapped, his cold tone still tinged with his growing irritation.
"Minister, please." Harry cut him off, his tone still polite as he raised his hand and cut the leader of the government off like a teacher would an errant schoolchild. "I am getting there, please let me finish."
If looks could kill, Harry would probably have died several times over by now from the intense look of anger and hatred Fudge was giving him.
"Now as I was saying before I was interrupted. The muggle in question is my cousin and therefore is very much aware of magic, which is a factor that should be noted, especially since it puts a big question mark on your comment that I 'severely broke the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Magic', if I did indeed, hypothetically, use magic in front of my cousin." Harry forged on, the smile on his face widening as he heard and saw the surrounding members of the court shifting and stirring.
"A straight answer Potter, did you or did you not use magic in front of a muggle, regardless of his connection to you?!" Fudge snapped, rising to his feet now, his tone bordering on hysterical, even as Umbridge leant forwards in her seat and gave Harry a nasty look.
"Minister, comport yourself!" Amelia snapped, her dark eyes locked warningly on Fudge, which caused the man himself to flinch slightly before he slowly, grudgingly took his seat. "Now Mr Potter, the question asked, if you please. Did you or did you not use the Patronus Charm outside of school and in the presence of a muggle?"
"Of course Madame Bones, I was just providing additional context." Harry replied easily, before he caught her sending him a warning look, and decided to get on with it. "Now your question was did I use magic in front of my cousin. To which I will admit yes, yes I did use magic in front of my blood related cousin."
Almost at once the assembled witches and wizards began mumbling and muttering to each other. With Fudge himself gaining a sudden gleeful expression, like a kid at Christmas. Umbridge meanwhile just looked shocked and wary, her bulging eyes fixing on Harry suspiciously as if waiting for the 'but'.
"Of course there was a reason for the magic used." Harry forged on smoothly, not allowing the suddenly off-guard Fudge to get a word in. Already he had decided on his strategy for this case, his alternate self, had indeed used magic there was no getting away from that fact, and since for all intents and purposes both Harry and the alternate one were the same person, that meant that Harry himself was guilty, in spite of him having not been the one to commit the crime.
That is not to say Harry was about to lie down and face the consequences, especially since he could prove that there were reasonable circumstance which caused his alternate self to use magic.
"A reason?" Asked Amelia immediately, her eyebrows furrowing, her monocle flashing in the light from a nearby lantern.
"No doubt another spurious clai…" Fudge cut in his tone now amused as he looked down at Harry with a predatory smile, no doubt thinking that he had him exactly where he wanted him.
"Yes a reason, after all why else would I use a special as niche and esoteric as a Patronus Charm." Harry interrupted, speaking over Fudge loudly as he addressed Amelia Bones, deliberately snubbing the Minister. "I am sure there are many here today who have likely thought it strange that I would use a spell such as that, instead of a flashier spell if I were trying to show off as some likely believe, or a more amusing spell if I was just acting out like teenagers tend to do!"
The muttering around the chamber intensified at that. With many a witch or wizard turning to their neighbour, more than a few of them nodding, or acknowledging Harry's point.
"Very well Mr Potter, what cock and bull story do you have for us this time?" Fudge sneered. "And it had better be good, or do you just see yourself as above something a 'petty' as the law?"
"Now I don't think anyone is accusing Harry of that," The soft, yet firm voice of Albus Dumbledore rang out as the man in question silently entered the courtroom, immediately catching the attention of all of the occupants in the room.
Harry seeing the man cocked an eyebrow, he had finally shown up it appeared. Honestly Harry had been expecting the man to bail despite him having been assured otherwise, his previous experience of Dumbledore likely biasing his view of the man. Then again considering the length to which the Dumbledore he had known had gone to for the sake of the 'Chosen One', Neville Longbottom, maybe he should have expected the man to turn up.
"You are late, Dumbledore," Fudge spoke up snippily, the man's countenance deteriorating even further as he lost much of his poise and was once again caught off-guard, his irritation quickly leaking back into his voice.
"Am I Cornelius? Well I suppose that is likely due to the Hearing having been moved up by two hours with no prior notice. Suffice to say it was fortunate that I decided to arrive at the Ministry a whole four hours ahead of the hearing." Dumbledore responded mildly, his twinkle free blue eyes surveying those present, before flickering over to Harry, meeting his gaze with a curious glint in them. "That being said, the sudden change of venue and time is not the only thing that caught me by surprise. I am sure you can imagine my absolute astonishment when I discovered that this trivial case of underage magic was to be presided over by the entirety of the Wizengamot, and that it would be taking place in a courtroom that is usually set aside for criminal trials as well."
At this Harry could see several witches and wizards in the stands shifting around uncomfortably, many of whom were looking anywhere but at the Headmaster. Whilst even more began to mutter to one another, some of them shooting Fudge curious, analysing looks.
"Also," Dumbledore continued lightly, his gaze boring into the suddenly nervous Fudge now, "The Wizengamot appears to be in full attendance as well. Remarkable for such short notice, as I remember, back when I was the Chief Warlock of this body, similar situations of far greater severity only getting a fraction of the number that are here today. Alas, a mystery that I am sure will remain forever unsolved."
Shrugging at the awkward silence and uncomfortable looks he received from his words, the elderly wizard then turned to Harry, addressing him for the first time since he arrived. "Harry, it is wonderful to see you. Are you well?"
"As well as ever." Harry replied dryly, watching Dumbledore carefully for a moment, before he then looked back up at Fudge again. "I was just getting to the point of explaining the reasoning behind why the Ministry detected a Patronus Spell in my neighbourhood."
"Yes Dumbledore, you're just in time to hear the boy spin yet another one of his fantastical tales!" Fudge chipped in derisively, getting a couple of half-hearted titters from some of the people in the courtroom, though noticeably most were just watching on speculatively, with some of them sending irritated looks at Fudge over his lack of decorum.
"Really now?" Dumbledore asked, looking down at Harry curiously.
"Yes, I was just about to tell them about the pair of Dementors that attacked me in Little Whinging. You know the same ones that kissed my cousin Dudley, removing his soul and leaving him in an irreversible coma…" Harry replied easily, his gaze moving from Dumbledore to the rest of the room now. "After all why else would I cast the Patronus Spell other than to attempt to protect both myself and my cousin from harm? Something which I am deeply ashamed I wasn't able to accomplish, hence my cousin's current condition…"
Harry put on a look of intense sadness as he said this. Forcing himself to look contrite and regretful about the condition of this boy he had never met.
"Dementors! In Little Whinging!" Fudge erupted, his tone derisive.
"Yes Minister, Dementors, they guard the wizard prison of Azkaban, surely you know that?" Harry shot back quickly, a flicker of cruel amusement passing through his eyes as he saw Fudge flush with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "Well anyway, I believe my cousin is being kept in a muggle hospital somewhere in Surrey, I am sure I can get an exact location and some Healers can be sent over to verify my claim!"
"Oh there is no need for that my boy, I've already taken the liberties in having several qualified St Mungo's Healers go and look young Dudley over. I have several verified, and irrefutable reports at hand right now for the Wizaengamot to peruse at their leisure." With that said Dumbledore pulled a large sheaf of parchment from out of his voluminous robes and proffered it to a curly, ginger haired boy who was still currently scribbling away taking notes. "If you would Percy, or I suppose since you are no longer one of my students, Mr Weasley?"
Percy seemed to twitch at the sudden question, before he looked over to Fudge, as if seeking advice on what to do.
"Well what are you waiting for Weasley, get to it." Amelia Bones snapped before Fudge could say a word, an impatient look on her face as the now named Percy Weasley leapt to his feet and took the thick sheaf of parchment from Dumbledore.
"I've also got a witness to the whole event as well. One Arabella Figg, a neighbour of Harry's, who although a squib is more than capable seeing Dementors, witnessed the whole thing. I have her waiting just outside if you want me to call her in?" Dumbledore offered, looking around at all of the members of Wizengamot as they leafed through the medical reports Percy Weasley had passed around.
"Hn, might as well send her in." Amelia Bones grunted, her brow furrowed as she read through her own copy of the report. "Though these reports are pretty damn conclusive, I just want to know why Dementors were just lurking around a muggle neighbourhood."
"Well I would assume they weren't there by accident, after all it would be quite the coincidence that these creatures just happened to be in the very neighbourhood I lived in, and also happened to run into me." Harry chipped in dryly, sitting more comfortably in his chair now as he saw things were going his way. This Amelia Bones was far easier going, and with a bungling incompetent like Fudge in charge, he was pretty much guaranteed to get off.
"Hem hem," a high pitched girlish voice coughed out, drawing Harry's attention to Umbridge as she finally decided to make her presence known. "Forgive me Mr Potter I think I might have misunderstood, but it almost sounds like you're once again making wild and unfounded accusations, only this time you're throwing accusations at the Ministry of Magic!"
"I'm not sure about wild or unfounded, Madame…" Harry trailed off, an expectant expression on his face as he looked at Umbridge. "Sorry I've no idea who you are?"
"My name is Delores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic…" Umbridge began, her toad like face twisting into a simpering smile as she looked down at Harry like he was a juicy fly she was about to swallow.
"Oh, if you say so." Harry cut in dryly, the moment he saw her open her mouth to continue talking. "But yes anyway as I was saying I don't think any accusations here would be either unfounded or wild as you call them. I mean the Dementors had to have been sent there for a reason, and unless there are any free ones roaming about, or ones not under the Ministry' control then logically it stands to reason that they were sent to Little Whinging by someone in the Ministry… I'm not sure who, but I'm sure that's Madame Bone's department. That or perhaps they are no longer under in the Ministry's control, and instead have a new master? Of course that last part is just speculation."
The muttering the courtroom got louder at his words, even as Dumbledore sent him a look of surprised amusement, before he nodded his head a slight smile on his face.
As for Amelia Bones, she merely gave him a curt nod at his words as if acknowledging that it will be looked into, even as Arabella Figg, some batty looking old woman that Harry had never seen before was brought into the room, with Dumbledore conjuring both her and himself a pair comfortable looking armchairs out of thin air as she did.
Umbridge however ignored Figg as she introduced herself to the court, instead she stared down at Harry, her protuberant eyes bulging with contained anger at Harry's previous comments.
"Mr Potter is of course correct, the matter of why these Dementors were in Little Whining will be investigated by my Department in the coming weeks. For now we should be getting on with the Hearing. Once we've heard Ms Figgs testimony, and so long as it matches Mr Potter's version of events, we will hopefully be able to come to a swift conclusion." Amelia Bones rattled out, her own opinion on the result of the Hearing pretty much obvious for all to see.
There was a general mumble of agreement from the rest of the assembled wizards and witches at Amelia's words, even as some of them leant forwards and looked expectantly down at Ms Figg.
As for Harry he could only sit back in his chair and smile in satisfaction.
Absentmindedly listening as Arabella Figg gave her vivid account of events, burning it to memory just in case he was questioned about it at some point. With Arabella's testimony apparently meeting with Amelia's approval, and with the acceptance of the majority of the Wizengamot. And no amount of wheedling and whining from Fudge seemed able to discount the evidence given, or discredit the witness as Dumbledore easily stepped in and supported her.
After that it all just came down to a matter of voting on Harry's fate, though by this point the final result was pretty clear cut.
"All those who believe as I do that Mr Potter is guilty of breaking the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Wizardry Law, please raise your hand!" Fudge's voice rang out.
A scant half dozen hands rose into the air. The sight of which seemed to take the air out of Fudge's sails as he deflated slightly, even as Amelia took over for him.
"And those who believe Mr Potter acted in a way that was suitable to the situation, and so should be acquitted of all charges?" Amelia's strident voice rang out next as she raised her hand into the air, a full half of the room joining her. With only a dozen or so abstaining from the vote entirely.
"Very well, very well." Fudge grumbled churlishly as he looked around, before fixing his irritated gaze on Harry. "Then following this vote, the charges against one Mr Potter are dropped."
A smile spread across Harry's face at that proclamation. Honestly this had been much easier than he had thought it would be, of course having a medical examiners report on Dudley Dursley's comatose body was some pretty strong evidence. Obviously enough to convince most of the Wizengamot, with the Figg woman's testimony only adding more weight to the mounting evidence in Harry's favour.
"Very good." Dumbledore acknowledged with a tilt of the head to the angry looking Fudge.
Harry meanwhile held back his desire to gloat, as he instead continued to look around at the members of the Wizengamot as they began to break apart and leave the chamber. Burning their faces into his memory, after all you could never know when such information could come in use, especially since this body represented one of the most powerful political bodies in the magical world.
"Harry." Said Dumbledore as the members of the Wizengamot began to shuffle off, some leaving the room immediately like Fudge and Umbridge, whilst others took their time, cheerfully conversing with other members as they trotted out of the room.
"Dumbledore." Harry replied, looking to the older man as he stood up. "That seemed to go well."
"Indeed it did my boy, very well. Honestly it barely looked like you needed my help at all." Dumbledore said jovially as both he and Harry began to head out of the room together following the rest of the crowd. "Yes, I am very impressed, and surprised, by just how well you did."
"Thanks." Harry nodded curtly, not sure what else to say. His previous interactions with his Dumbledore had always been short, and always had a point behind them, either due to Harry wanting something or Dumbledore wanting something. They had never engaged in small talk or idle chitchat.
"So tell me, how are you doing? Are you still having trouble with your memory?" Dumbledore asked quietly, reaching out to lightly clasp Harry's shoulder as they near the door, pulling him back a bit, even as the last of the Wizengamot members left, one or two of them giving both Dumbledore and Harry a nod and a smile before they left the room. Until it was just Harry and Dumbledore inside.
"Yeah fine, I've not been having many issues at all. I mean I am still a bit fuzzy on some of the details, but yeah for the most part I'm fine and getting better every day." Harry said with a nod, watching Dumbledore carefully as the old man gave him an inscrutable look.
"What about your scar? Is it still troubling you?" Dumbledore pressed, his gaze moving up to the faded lightning bolt scar on Harry's forehead.
The alternate Harry, Harry knew, had once suffered twinges of pain due to his cursed scar, and even the occasional vision. The exact reasoning for this, neither Ron nor Hermione had been able to explain, save for a cryptic reason Dumbledore had given the other Harry in his first year, that for one reason or another Harry and Voldemort were connected.
Yep that was helpful. That being said Harry was aware that Neville's scar had used to hurt him on occasion, though since he had never been all that close to him in school, and had become his enemy not long after leaving, he had never been told the reason. Voldemort had certainly never shared it with Harry, the Dark Lord after all wasn't the trusting type, nor one who was eager to share with anyone, let alone a known turncoat like Harry.
"Nope, not so much as a twinge of pain." Harry replied after a couple of moments of silence. "Not that I'm complaining you know. I mean I would be pretty happy if it never hurts again!"
"Good, good." Dumbledore nodded absently, his gaze still locked on Harry. Though to him it looked like the Headmaster was barely seeing him now, instead it was like he saw through him. His blue eyes calculating, as if he was pondering on a very complex problem.
"There is one thing though," Harry pressed, since he had Dumbledore here, he knew he might as well try and take advantage of it.
"Oh?" Dumbledore replied curiously.
"Yes, my wand." Harry nodded, reaching instinctively for his pocket, before he then remembered he had had to hand it in at the desk in the front.
"Yes, Sirius had mentioned to me that you were having compatibility issues with it." Dumbledore nodded, a sudden twinkle entering his eyes now as he smiled slightly. "Nothing to worry about though I am sure. No, it's mostly like due to your recent run in with the Dementors. As far as I have theorized, it appears whatever connection you and Voldemort might once have shared, has been severed."
"Ok…" Harry nodded slowly, waiting for more information on exactly why that would affect his compatibility with a wand. If that even was the reason, as personally Harry thought it likely that the compatibility issues were due to Harry being a fundamentally different person to the previous Harry.
"Yes, well anyway like I said it shouldn't be a problem. I have already instructed Molly and Remus to take you to Diagon Alley before school starts, and have sent an owl to Ollivander informing him of the situation so he is already expecting you and eager to match you up with a new partner." Dumbledore replied briskly, before he released Harry's shoulder and swept towards the door to the room. "Now come along Harry, we don't want to stay down here for any longer than we need too."
"Right." Harry nodded dryly, he was happy that he was getting a new wand, and would have a chance to head to Diagon Alley. But he wasn't so impressed with Dumbledore's explanation, or rather lack of explanation. The man clearly knew something, he just didn't want to tell Harry, and if there was one thing he hated, it was being kept in the dark about something. Especially if that something directly concerned him.
Exiting the courtroom not long after, Harry was given a swift goodbye from Dumbledore, after which the man then quickly swept off down the corridor, claiming as he did that he had other matters that required his attention and that he would likely see Harry at the beginning of the school year.
Following on from that Harry ended up accompanying Arthur back through the Ministry of Magic, passing the ever nasty and unctuous Lucius Malfoy and Fudge as they did so, both of whom gave both Harry and Arthur dismissive looks. With Malfoy attempting to prod and poke at them both to get a response, only to be summarily ignored.
Mainly because Harry wasn't in the mood to deal with a Malfoy today. Not when he had other more important things on his mind.
Which is why instead they headed for the Ministry's atrium, after which Harry used the floo to head back to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, after giving a swift thankyou and goodbye to Arthur Weasley for his help.
( - )
AN: So honestly the court scene took a lot longer than I thought it would, I was hoping to cover the rest of summer and Diagon Alley this chapter too, and then end it with him about to get on the train. But it appears that will have to be next chapter, which isn't a problem really as it means that I can put in some more interactions and development than I was originally planning.
Still other than that I hope you enjoyed the chapter and leave a review.
That being said in answer to a couple of messages and reviews I have received, I will be endeavouring to avoid clichés or common fandom things that I don't like.
Such as all of the bollocks about the Noble Houses, which was entertaining the first few times I read it, but has now become dry and tedious, or at least to me it has. That being said I won't just ignore the wealthy of material, as there are some clever ideas I might adapt and make my own.
Also seer/ savant Luna, yep don't like this at all. Sorry I just find it a bit silly. Greedy and conniving Weasleys (all of them), honestly I don't like this either, a good bashing story is a guilty pleasure, but doing it to the entire family for no reason I think is pointless. That being said I don't like writing flawless characters, I like all my characters to have flaws. On top of that I enjoy conflict.
Then the worst of the worst, Sirius and Remus referring to Harry as 'pup' or 'prongslet', this annoys me so much, and I'm not sure why.
But yeah those are just some of the things I will be trying to avoid, mainly due to my own tastes.
Other than that I hope you enjoyed the chapter and leave a review.
Thanks for reading and I'll catch you later.
Greed720.