A/N: Happy Independence Day to all my American readers.

Also, lots of people have been eager to see Harry return to school. Next chapter, which will post on the 18th, will feature Harry's arrival on the Hogwart's Express! Whoo! (That's the sound the Hogwarts Express makes.)


Dudley was obviously uncomfortable on the witness stand. Being surrounded by over fifty wizards and witches was nothing that any Dursley would call as a good time.

"Dudley, do you know me?"

"Yes," Dudley said simply.

Harry waited for Dudley to elaborated, but it was clear that Dudley was planning to make this as difficult as possible for Harry. "How do you know me?"

"You're my cousin. You live with me during summers."

"Tell me what you know about magic." Harry was counting on Dudley's attitude to keep the answer short. He was not disappointed.

"You can use magic, I guess."

"When did you learn this?"

"When those owls brought you a letter about that Pigpimple school you go to."

"Hogwarts?"

"Whatever."

"Do your parents know I can use magic?"

"Yes."

Harry looked significantly at the members of the Wizengamot. That testimony should be enough to eliminate any Statute of Secrecy issues that Harry was facing, and prevent Ministry Obliviators from accosting Dudley after his testimony was finished. Harry turned back to Dudley.

"Do you like me?" Harry asked.

"No."

"Were you with me on August 2, 1995?"

"Yes."

"Did we run into Mrs. Figg on that day?"

"Yes."

"Please tell us about what happened, just before we met Mrs. Figg."

"I don't know."

"You don't remember what happened? Or you don't understand?" Harry asked.

"Something stupid and magic-y happened. I don't know what it was."

"Why don't you describe what you saw and felt," Harry said.

"You and I were in an alley. You pulled out that stick of yours and started waving it around." Harry could see Dudley begin to change and grow more confident as he spoke. But as Dudley's confidence grew, his voice began to tremble, and he hunched his shoulders. "It got cold, and dark. It was really scary, and I got scared. I didn't know what you were going to do to me. I knew that you weren't supposed to do magic outside of school, so I figured it would be something bad. You've always threatened me with that stick. So I just started doing whatever you said. You made me come into the alley, and then you started shooting white mist out of your stick. At some point, I got pushed into a pile of trash." It was a rather poor job of acting, but then again, Dudley's parents had never required more than a minimal performance before forgiving Dudley and blaming Harry. Harry had counted on this.

Dudley didn't know precisely why Harry was in trouble, but Dudley was used to falsely accusing Harry of wrongdoing. Dudley was describing in detail all the horrible things that had happened, hoping that Harry's punishment would be worse. But Dudley didn't understand a thing about magic; instead of damning Harry with his testimony, Dudley was actually proving that dementors had been present.

"Could you see what I was shooting the mist at?" Harry asked.

"There wasn't anything there. Then you made me stand up and run out of the alley, like I was some sort of slave. We ran into that weird Mrs. Figg, and you put your stick away, and we went home. That's it."

"Dudley, can you use magic?"

"No."

"You're jealous of me, aren't you? I mean, you'd want to be a wizard, if you could, right?"

Harry's sudden question caught Dudley off guard. Dudley's answer came fast, the sort of answer he would give around his parents. "No! You're a bunch of freaks, and I'm glad I'm normal."

A heavy silence fell over the room. Harry again cast a significant look at the members of the Wizengamot, and made no move to ask another question. It took Dudley a moment to realize that he had said something wrong. When Dudley remembered where he was sitting, i.e. in the Ministry of Magic, surrounded by wizards and witches, the look of shock and fear on his face was priceless. Harry made a mental note to ask to borrow Dumbledore's penseive, so that Harry could watch the moment over and over again.

"Nothing further of this witness," Harry said.

Fudge rose. "Dudley Dursely, did you see anything resembling a black cloak on August 2, 1995?"

"No."

"Are you aware that there are spells that can make the air cold?"

"I don't know what you can do with magic."

"Are you aware that there are spells that can make the daylight dark?"

"Er, I guess."

"Are you aware that there are spells that can make a person afraid?"

"That must have been what Harry was using on me!"

"Nothing further," Fudge said. "The witness is excused. You may go."

Dudley stood and lumbered out of the courtroom.

"No further witnesses," Harry said.

Fudge stood to address the court. "The charges against the Juvenile are clear, and have been clearly proved. Mafalda Hopkirk testified that underage magic was detected in the area of the Juvenile on August 2, 1995. No other wizards or witches were present in the area. The Juvenile's own witnesses have described the Juvenile's casting of the patronus charm. The juvenile should be found delinquent for Underage Use of Magic.

"Of even greater concern are the accusations leveled by Dudley Dursley. The Juvenile's cousin states that the Juvenile has previously threatened him with a wand. The Juvenile's cousin suspects that charms such as glacius, nocturnus, and confundus were used upon him to simulate a dementor attack. This unscrupulous use of magic should not go unpunished. Thank you."

Harry smiled as he stood. He removed another sheet of parchment from his pocket, this one containing notes for his final argument. Minister Fudge had been overconfident in his certainty that Harry would be railroaded through the hearing, and Fudge's lack of preparation was obvious.

Harry was going to tear Fudge apart.

"Wizards and witches of the Wizengamot, I thank you for taking the time to hear my case today. It is extremely unusual for a simple matter of Underage Magic to be presented to the entire Wizengamot, in such solemn surroundings as this. I recognize that my celebrity has made it necessary to conduct these proceedings in the same courtroom that held the trials of the Death Eaters almost fifteen years ago, and I thank you for your valuable time and careful consideration of the matter at hand." Harry could see that some of the members of the Wizengamot had begun to shift uncomfortably. Harry's points were subtle but well-made; Underage Magic was not generally presented to the entirety of the Wizengamot, and certainly not in the dramatic surroundings of Courtroom Ten.

"I ask you to consider the evidence before you," Harry said. "Underage Magic may be excused in circumstances of emergency, such as when the magic is used to prevent harm to the wizard or another. This is precisely the situation that occurred on August 2, 1995.

"Mrs. Figg testified that dementors were approaching my cousin and me, trapping us in an alley. She testified that I used the patronus charm to drive them off. There can be little dispute that this use of underage magic was performed in defense of myself and defense of my cousin. This alone is reason for acquittal.

"Dudley Dursely confirmed Mrs. Figg's testimony. Dudley Dursely confirmed the effects of a dementor attack: the cold, the looming shadows, the unexplained feelings of fear and dread."

"All of which could have been caused by other spells," Fudge interrupted.

"Then why am I not charged with casting these other spells?" Harry immediately countered. "If I cast these other spells, then why am I not charged with use of underage magic for glacius, or nocturnus, or confundus? If I cast these other spells, why didn't Ms. Hopkirk present a record to show that I cast those other spells?" Harry had stopped speaking to Fudge, and was now addressing the entire Wizengamot. "Why did Ms. Hopkirk present only a record of the patronuscharm? Most importantly, if I cast those other spells, why was I not charged with mugglebaiting, a far more serious crime than underage magic?

Harry spread his arms wide, as if he were a muggle magician showing that he had nothing to hide. "Then answer, wizards and witches of the Wizengamot, is that I did NOT cast those other spells. The effects that Mrs. Figg and Dudley Dursley experienced were NOT caused by my magic. The effects were caused by a pair of dementors that attacked my cousin and me."

Fudge couldn't resist interrupting again. "The boy is your family and the woman is your neighbor. Why should we believe what they said?"

"Because Dudley hates wizards, and he hates me in particular," Harry replied. "You saw it. Dudley was in a courtroom, surrounded by dozens of the most powerful and well-respected wizards in Britain, and he still couldn't resist calling us 'freaks.'"

Once again, Harry turned to the members of the Wizengamot. "You can trust what Dudley said, because he wanted me to get in trouble. He knows that I'm on trial for underage magic, and he wanted it to seem like the worst case of underage magic you had ever seen. He wanted me to seem like a malicious bully. So when Minister Fudge told Dudley about all the charms that could have made the alley dark and cold and scary, Dudley leapt at the chance to point the finger at me and accuse me of casting glacius and confundus and nocturnus.

"But we know that I didn't cast those charms, because Mafalda Hopkirk told us so. Mafalda Hopkirk told us that a patronus charm was cast on August second. Not glacius. Not confundus. Not nocturnus. Mafalda Hopkirk told us that I cast expecto patronum.

"And I freely admit that I cast the patronus charm. I'm proud of it. I used that charm to protect my cousin and myself. The use of magic by an underage wizard is not a crime if used in circumstances of extreme self-defense. If protection against the imminent loss of one's soul does not qualify as self-defense, then nothing qualifies.

"For these reasons, I ask that you return a verdict of not guilty to the charge of underage magic."

Harry sat down. He had said everything he wanted to say. He looked to his left, glancing over his shoulder, to see what Dumbledore and Snape were doing. The two older wizards were having a hushed conversation, leaning closely together.

"The juvenile will rise."

Harry turned his attention forward and stood. It was Madam Bones who had spoken.

"The Wizengamot will vote, based on the evidence that has been presented today. In order to be found guilty, a two-thirds majority must vote in favor of conviction. A simple majority in favor of acquittal will result in permanent dismissal of the charges. Any vote between the two will present the crown with the option to try your case again. Do you understand?" Madam Bones' severe expression seemed to suggest that Harry should answer 'yes,' whether he understood or not.

Harry nodded. "I do."

"Then we shall vote. All in favor of acquittal?"

Hands began to rise around the courtroom. It was immediately apparent that Fudge would not receive a two-thirds majority. Harry smiled… and his smile widened as hand after hand continued to rise. Not only had Fudge failed to prove Harry's guilt, but a majority of members were voting in favor of acquittal!

Madam Bones favored Harry with a small smile. "Harry Potter, by majority vote of the Wizengamot, you are acquitted of all charges. You are hereby discharged, and may go as you wish. These proceedings are terminated."

*!*!*!*

When Harry and Snape returned to Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Ginny was reading in the sitting room, just inside the door. She was reading the same book from the night before. Harry smiled; Ginny must have gotten the book from the library and specifically brought it to the sitting room, so she could be the first to see Harry when he returned.

"How did it go?" Ginny asked, looking up from her book.

"I won," Harry said. "Not expelled, and I get to keep my wand."

"That's fantastic!" Ginny said.

There was a noise from down the hallway, and the door to the kitchen burst open. Sirius charged out and into the hallway. "Harry, are you back? Did you win?"

"Yes, I won," Harry said.

"Well done!" Sirius clapped Harry on the shoulder. "Absolutely smashing!"

Behind Harry, from the darkness of the foyer, Snape spoke. "His victory was never in doubt. Perhaps a Gryffindor would have bungled the hearing and put his future in doubt, but Harry was sufficiently prepared."

Sirius waved his hand in the air. His excitement about Harry's news was so great that not even Snape's barb could ruin it. "Let's go have a celebratory drink. There's some butterbeer in the kitchen, and Kreature made you a sandwich for lunch." Sirius wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder and ushered him toward the kitchen. Harry cast a look at Ginny and gave her a wave, but didn't catch her response before he was dragged out of sight down the hall.

*!*!*!*

The hex came flying at Harry with frightening speed. Harry waved his wand, attempting to deflect the spell away, but his effort was futile. The orange bolt of light struck Harry on the forearm, twisting him into the air and hurling him backwards off his feet. Harrys struck the ground hard.

"Come on, now you're just not focusing!" Sirius was standing at the opposite side of the end of the study, tapping his wand impatiently against his leg.

Harry hauled himself upright. "You think I want to get thrown about?"

"No. I think you want your quidditch coordination to do all the work for you."

"You told me I needed proper timing!" Harry protested.

"Timing will help, but unless you focus, timing will just be the difference between a curse hitting you on the hand instead of the chest!" Sirius threw his arms in the air. "We've done this all week, Harry! You start out deflecting curses like an experienced auror, but an hour later you can't deflect a curse to save your life!"

"How many duels will I be in that will last an hour?" Harry snapped.

"At this rate? One! Because you'll be dead at the end!" Sirius frowned. "You told me you studied this last year. Weren't you bragging about teaching Pansy how to deflect curses?"

Harry winced at the mention of Pansy. She had come up in some of Harry's conversations with Sirius, but Harry didn't want to talk about their relationship. Harry didn't even know whether to talk about his relationship with Pansy in the present tense or past. Harry found himself willing willing to discuss things that he and Pansy had done—like practicing spell deflection—but the substantive issues of their relationship remained off-limits.

Generally, Sirius respected Harry's reluctance to speak of Pansy, but apparently Sirius wanted to provoke Harry into a better performance. Harry, having so recently been tossed around the den, was willing to be provoked.

"Whatever," Harry said, hauling himself to his feet. "Let's do this again."

"I don't want to spend my evening launching you around the house," Sirius said. "If you aren't going to focus, we should do something else."

Harry grabbed his shoulder and rotated his wand arm. His muscles ached, but he could still duel. "Let's go again. I won't get to choose when I have to duel. I might be hurt or tired, and I have to know what to do."

Sirius nodded. "Never give up. That's what I like to hear." Sirius fired a hex at Harry, without warning. Harry ducked to his right, avoiding the hex altogether. As he moved, he raised his wand a fired a quick disarming charm at Sirius. Sirius swatted the spell away. "That's how you deflect a spell," Sirius said.

While Sirius was busy speaking, Harry fired his next spell, a tripping jinx. Sirius hopped to one side, and the jinx harmlessly struck the floor. Sirius sent back an orange hurling hex. Harry focused and timed the slash of his wand with the arrival of the hex. Harry felt a ripple of magic run up his arm as the hurling hex bounced off his wand. Better still, he saw the hex deflect directly back at Sirius.

Sirius was able to raise a shield to stop the hurling hex, and Harry pressed his advantage. Harry followed with a high disarming charm and then a low tripping jinx. Sirius moved his shield up, stopping the disarming charm, but the tripping jinx snuck under his guard. Sirius's legs tangled together and the older wizard went to the ground. Before Sirius could stand, Harry hit Sirius with a disarming charm and claimed his wand.

"Nicely done," Sirius said. "I'm glad to see that some of these dueling lessons are sinking in."

Harry grinned. Sirius had emphasized movement during a duel, which allowed Harry to spend his time attacking instead of casting shields charms. More importantly, movement allowed Harry to avoid curses and hexes that were too powerful to be stopped by a simple shield charm. The targeted deflection was something that Sirius had taught Harry, as well. Turning an opponent's spell against him would allow Harry to shift from defense to offense in a duel. Varying the height of attacks was also strategy that Sirius had suggested; the sudden change would allow a spell to sneak above or below a shield.

The use of simple spells, however, was a something that Harry had devised all on his own. Complicated hexes and curses took Harry longer to cast, and he was not proficient with them. A simple tripping jinx, impediment jinx or jelly-fingers jinx, however, was something that Harry could cast quickly and reliably. The smaller jinxes and charms would disrupt Sirius's duel, and Harry could follow up with a quick disarming charm to end it.

"I think that's enough dueling for now," Sirius said, once Harry had returned his wand.

"Tired of losing?" Harry asked with a grin. The last duel had been the first time all evening that Harry had won a duel.

"No, but I think it's time that you learned some new spells," Sirius said. "Not every duel can be won with a tripping jinx."

"You're the one who made the rule about no curses," Harry said. "If you're ready, I'll bring on the fireballs and cutting curses."

"That's not what I meant. You need to learn how to cast a proper stunner. You don't have to kill your opponent in order to disable him."

"I thought that's what I've been doing," Harry said. "Weren't you just lying on the ground without your wand?"

"It took too long," Sirius said, shaking his head. "It was fine for our purposes, but what if you were in the middle of a larger battle? Those extra few seconds could allow you to help a member of the Order, or they could present an opening for a different Death Eater to attack you." Sirius motioned for Harry to stand next to him. "Now come over here, and learn how to cast a stunner. We'll use that painting of the deer next to the door for target practice."

Harry stood next to Sirius. Across the room, the deer in the painting was grazing peacefully on some grass, slowly moving from tuft to tuft.

"Now, the key to a good stunner is the snap of the wrist at the end," Sirius said. "It doesn't matter what your wand motion is, as long as you get a good snap. Watch this." Sirius brought his wand up from his waist and snapped his wrist. "Stupefy!"

A red jet of light shot out of Sirius's wand and struck the painting next to the door. The deer froze in place, eyes large with fright.

"Now you try," Sirius said.

Harry raised his wand and brought it down with a snap. "Stupefy!" The red light from Harry's wand wasn't as bright or as fast as Sirius's, but Harry's spell was just as accurate.

"Good!" Sirius said. "That's fantastic for your first effort!"

"It's just like throwing a quaffle," Harry said.

"You're not always going to be able to use that motion, though," Sirius said. "Cast it while moving your wand sideways, next."

Sirius ran Harry through a series of drills, practicing casting the stunning charm from a dozen different angles. Harry was best at casting stunners from the right side of his body, as if he were throwing a quaffle. His left side was weaker, and significantly less accurate—he scattered his left side spells all around the painting, striking the wall and the door several times.

"It's like throwing a fanged Frisbee," Sirius said, in an attempt to help Harry's aim. "You twist your torso, then bring your wand flat across your ribs. Snap at the end. Try again."

Harry wound up his body, twisting at the waist. As he uncoiled and snapped his wrist, the door to the room opened, next to the picture. Mrs. Weasley walked inside the room, but her head was turned behind her and she was speaking to someone in the hall.

"We have to check all the rooms for doxies, Ron," Mrs. Weasley was saying.

"Stupefy!" Harry cast the spell before he realized that Mrs. Weasley was in the room. The red bolt of light flew across the room and struck the wall directly next to Mrs. Weasley's shoulder. She let out a cry and dropped to the ground, arms covering her head. Ron charged into the room, wand drawn.

"Mum!"

"Stop, stop!" Sirius was shouting. "Harry and I were just practicing some spells!"

Mrs. Weasley looked up from the floor, glaring at Sirius. "PRACTICING some SPELLS? I could have been killed!"

"Stunned, actually," Sirius said.

"You're teaching the boy to cast stunning spells? What are you thinking!"

"That he might need to protect himself," Sirius said defensively.

"Didn't it cross your mind that he might go looking for trouble?" Mrs. Weasley was on her feet now, advancing toward Sirius, brandishing a can of Doxie Spray.

"Trouble seems to find me, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said.

"There will be no more of this," Mrs. Weasley said, waving her arms about and ignoring Harry's protest.

"Are you telling me that I can't teach my own godson how to protect himself?" Sirius folded his arms, as if he had effectively ended the discussion.

"I'm telling you that Harry is not James Potter, and you need to stop treating him like he is!" Mrs. Weasley folded her arms, as well.

Sirius frowned. "It's not about that. It's about Harry being able to defend himself."

"Which he can do quite well already, if you haven't noticed."

"Not well enough," Harry said. "Last year, Barty Crouch, Junior nearly killed me because I was rubbish in a duel! I need to learn!"

"DUELING!?" Mrs. Weasley's voice reached new heights in volume. "You said you were teaching SPELLS, not teaching him how to DUEL!"

Sirius gave Harry a look, and Harry hung his head. He couldn't believe he had just let that slip.

"Molly," Sirius was saying gently, "If you think Harry's going to get through this without ever being in a duel…"

"If you insist on acting like a child, Sirius Black, then I will treat you like one. We'll see what Dumbledore has to say about this!" Molly stormed out of the room.

Harry met Ron's eyes, and Ron shrugged.

"Sorry, mate," Ron said. "You went about that all wrong. You have to distract her, right at the start, with something completely different. Once she gets wound up into a good yell, there's no stopping her."

Harry turned to Sirius, but his godfather seemed to be cowed by Mrs. Weasley's rage. "We'd better end it for tonight, Harry," he said. "Pick up where we left off tomorrow, eh?"

Sirius could not have been more wrong.