Disclaimer: I didn't create Harry Potter, nor do I own it, and I'm not making any money from this story.

Warning(s): There's some language in this chapter.

Shoutouts: Thanks to enchantedlight for reviewing!

Recap:

The news of Lockhart's ineptness spread thought the rest of the castle rather quickly, and almost everyone's favorite class became the most despised.


Chapter 8: Freedom and Justice for All

Lockhart wasn't Harry's only problem. Remus's attempted murder trial was in two months, but before then, Harry had to deal with the Dursleys.

Three weeks after Mr. Townsend had stopped by Malfoy Manor, Narcissa showed up at Hogwarts to take Harry to the hearing with the Dursleys. She had decided that Draco and Neville should come along as well. She brought all of them sharp Muggle suits, silk ties, and expensive leather shoes to wear.

Once they was ready, they left the grounds and Mrs. Malfoy and Mr. Townsend side-along apparated the boys to an alleyway a few blocks away from the courthouse, and then the Malfoys' silver town car took them the rest of the way.

Reporters and paparazzi were waiting from them on the steps of the courthouse. They were mainly there so they could be the first to report on Narcissa Malfoy's new outfit, but the custody hearing was held some importance. After all, Harry, Draco, and Neville were the scions of the wealthiest families in Britain.

Mr. Townsend hustled the boys past the reporters, promising that they would all answer questions after the judge made a decision.

However, they didn't make it inside before the Dursleys showed up in their company car. Of course, they stopped and answered as many questions as they could.

"What unpleasant looking people," Draco said.

Petunia Dursley was wearing an unfortunate pink dress, while Vernon and Dudley Dursley wore suits with bow ties.

"He looks like a pig in a wig," Neville said about Dudley.

"Agreed," Harry said, managing to smother a laugh.

They all proceeded inside the courtroom, and the Dursleys sat at one of the tables in the front, and Mr. Townsend, Mrs. Malfoy, Harry, Neville, and Draco sat at the other.

"All rise," the bailiff said. After everyone stood up, he said, "Judge Rachel Gordon presiding in the case of the Dursley family claiming custody over Harry James Potter."

The judge entered, and once everyone sat down, she said, "Alright, everyone. Now I understand that the Dursleys wish to claim custody over Harry Potter. Does anyone have any objections to this?"

"My client does not wish to live with this family, and he had no intentions of ever being in contact with them," Mr. Townsend said. "Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy is willing to take him in, as he stayed with her and her family prior to attending school, and is staying with her family over the winter holidays."

"I take it that Harry goes to boarding school?" the judge said.

"Yes, your honor," Mr. Townsend responded. "He, as well as Mrs. Malfoy's son, Draco, and his friend Neville Longbottom, all attend a prestigious school in Scotland. All of them have had their names down since birth, as their parents all attended the school."

Harry saw Petunia's face tightened at the veiled mention of Hogwarts. Apparently, Vernon Dursley knew about the magical school as well, because his face turned an interesting shade of puce.

"We can send him to Smeltings!" Petunia said quickly, "Our Dudley goes there, and it's a top notch education."

"I would prefer to stay with my friends," Harry said.

Mrs. Malfoy jumped in and said, "Which is why, I would like to take Harry in," she said. "Harry, Draco, and Neville all go to the same school, so it wouldn't be any trouble for me."

"But my he's my sister's son!" Petunia wailed.

Harry and Neville were barely able to stop themselves from laughing. Petunia Dursley's act was more transparent then Harry when he was wearing his invisibility cloak.

"Your honor, I'd like to point out that Lily Potter, née Evans, was not actually related to the Evans family. She was adopted into the family when she was a baby. Technically, Mrs. Dursley has no claim over Harry because she's not actually related to him."

Petunia's expression changed from false hysteria to anger, "So," she snapped, "she's not related to him either."

"Actually," Narcissa said, "Dorea Potter, née Black, married Charlus Potter, who was Harry's grandfather. As I was a Black before I married my husband, and Harry's a Potter, we are related by marriage."

After Narcissa's short speech, Judge Gordon said, "I'll need a moment to make my decision." She then declared a ten-minute recess.

"'Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy," Harry said.

"I would have done it anyway Harry, but especially because you've already helped my family so much."

Harry and his friends waited inside the courtroom for Judge Gordon's decision. The Dursleys had had to step out when their son threw a temper tantrum, demanding a knickerbocker glory sundae.

They reconvened once Judge Gordon reentered the room. She said, "I award custody Harry James Potter to the Malfoy family."

Petunia looked like she had swallowed a sour lemon.

When Narcissa, Draco, Harry, Neville, and Mr. Townsend left the courtroom and went outside, they answered the reporter's questions sparingly, as not all of the reporters were Muggle.

Towards the back, there was a woman wearing jeweled spectacles and carrying a crocodile-skin handbag taking notes with an acid green pen.


Harry, Neville, and Draco went back to Hogwarts the day after the hearing. Of course, Lockhart still tried to recruit Harry to help answer his fan mail, but Harry and his friends had other things on their minds.

Remus' trial was coming up, and there was a small chance they would lose. Fudge and Umbridge were gunning for Remus' head, while Amelia Bones was trying to help prove Remus' innocence, and bring the real monster to justice.

After all, Fenrir Greyback was still out there.

Harry, Neville, Draco, and Hermione were excused from classes for the trial, as all of their professors agreed that it was more important than schoolwork.

Remus had been staying at Potter Manor, so he entered the courtroom of his own volition. It was a full Wizengamot session, so all of the members were there in their purple robes. All heads of Ministry of Magic Departments, plus Fudge and Umbridge, wore black robes.

"The werewolf known as Remus John Lupin is charged with attempted murder," Umbridge said in her high-pitched voice.

Of course, her statement sent turned the courtroom into a shouting match, until Fudge managed his table with a gavel.

"How does the accused plead?" Fudge asked.

"Not guilty," Remus said in a clear voice. Harry looked at his honorary uncle and saw that his eyes were a lot happier than they had been. Even though the next full moon was in less than a week, the time Remus had spent at Potter Manor had done him good.

"Minister Fudge," Mr. Townsend said, "My client recognizes the fact that he is a werewolf, and he was going to a safe place in order to transform away from the students. He is not to blame for the fact that four students tried to assist him."

"He's a filthy, dirty creature," Umbridge said. "He belongs in Azkaban."

Her statement threw the courtroom into discord again, and it took another few minutes for everything to quiet down.

Harry was furious, and he would have let Umbridge have a piece of his mind, except Neville tugged the back of his robes and made him sit down.

"Careful, Harry. She's one nasty woman."

Harry restrained himself and waited for the trial to begin. Fudge called Remus to the stand first.

"Mr. Lupin, were you aware that you were going to transform on the night of October 31, 1991?"

"Yes, I was."

"And did you willingly transform in the presence of four Hogwarts students, attacking them and endangering their lives?"

"I never transform willing. I didn't choose to be a werewolf," Remus said.

"Of course not."

Mr. Townsend refrained from questioning Remus, so Hermione was called to the stand next.

Fudge asked, "Miss Granger, were you aware that Mr. Lupin was a werewolf prior to the incident?"

"I found out that night," Hermione said.

"And were you aware that werewolves are dangerous creatures."

"Objection," Umbridge said in her sickly sweet voice. "She's a Muggleborn, clearly she didn't know the dangers."

Hermione bristled and before Fudge could respond to Umbridge's objection, she said, "Actually, I've read a lot about magical creatures. And technically, you can't object because you're not a member of the Wizengamot nor are you the Minister of Magic."

It was Umbridge's turn to bristle, but she settled for glaring at Hermione instead of responding.

Draco was called to the stand next, then Neville, and then Harry.

The court was shocked when Harry revealed that the four of them had managed to brew the Wolfsbane potion, and people were even more shocked by the fact that they had gone after a werewolf of their own volition.

In the end, Remus was exonerated, but he wasn't immediately reinstated at Hogwarts. To Harry and his friends chagrin, Lockhart would teach for the rest of the year.


Now that the Dursleys were no longer a threat, and Remus' trial was out of the way, Harry, Draco, and Neville were free to enjoy themselves.

Of course, this meant pranks.

They partnered up with the Weasley twins again, and with the help of Harry's invisibility cloak, the Marauders' Map, and the Marauders' Book of Pranks, the five of them took Hogwarts by storm, and kept all of the professors on their toes. Of course, Lockhart bore the brunt of their merriment.


Of course, Hogwarts wouldn't be Hogwarts without Quidditch. After the Easter holidays, Slytherin was gearing up for their rematch against Gryffindor. Harry was more than ready.

As always, Lee Jordan was the announcer, but this time, he was a bit more subdued because a Slytherin win would cement their wins for both the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup for the first time in several years.

Harry was getting ready in the changing room when Flint said, "You better catch the snitch, Potter."

The Slytherin team flew out in their green robes, ready to face Gryffindor, who was wearing scarlet.

The moment the match began, the pitch was a flurry of activity. Harry flew above it all so he could see better, and Towler, the Gryffindor seeker, followed him.

The score changed hands five times over the course of match, but then Harry dived towards the ground. He felt Towler close on his tail, and once he was a few meters from the ground, Harry pulled his broom up hard and headed back towards the sky.

Towler wasn't as lucky, and he plowed straight into the ground.

Oliver Wood called a brief timeout so Madam Pomfrey could try and fix Towler up, and then the game resumed.

Thirty seconds after they restarted the game, Harry saw the snitch. It was fluttering near the bottom of the Gryffindor goal posts.

He sped towards the ball, but then it took a sharp turn and took off for the middle of the pitch. Despite his injuries, Towler was tight on Harry's trail, desperate to catch the little, golden ball.

The snitch then dove towards the ground, and Harry had no choice but to follow it. At this point, all of the fan and other players were watching the chase. Flint took advantage of this and managed to score four more times without anyone noticing.

Harry barely managed to pull out of his dive, and his feet skimmed the short grass of the pitch.

The snitch was in front of him, just a little over a foot away. He reached out for it, but it was just out of his grasp.

Harry then pulled a stunt that made most people think he should have been in Gryffindor. He tucked his legs up under himself, and stood up on his broom.

His hand reached out for the snitch, and the last thing Harry felt before he fell was the cool metal in the palm of his hand.


Harry woke up to the stark whiteness of the Hogwarts hospital wing. The moment he opened his eyes, Madam Pomfrey bustled over and said, "You took quite a tumble there, Mr. Potter."

Harry found his glasses on the nightstand next to the bed and slid them onto his face.

"Did I catch the snitch?"

"Take a look for yourself."

Harry turned his head and saw the snitch waiting for him on a cart at the foot of his bed. The cart was also laden with cards and sweets.

"Can I go, please?"

"Not at all. Like I said, you hit the ground very hard. You've been out for two days. You'll be staying for another night at the very least."

At least those were two days that he hadn't had to sit through Lockhart's class. Harry sat in bed for the rest of the day, bored out of his mind. When classes were finally over, Draco and Neville came to the infirmary with Hermione in tow.

"Here's all your homework," Neville said, dropping Harry's satchel next to the bed.

"Merlin forbid you get behind," Draco joked.

"I was serious," Hermione said, even though her voice lacked the shrillness that it had had earlier in the year. She had certainly mellowed out.

"Flint's been really happy," Draco said. "It's a bit scary, actually. He hasn't stopped smiling."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, we did win. If only Pomfrey would let me out of here."

Draco, Neville, and Hermione spent the rest of the evening filling Harry in on what had happened, until Madam Pomfrey shooed them out for the night.


The remainder of the school year went very well for Harry and his friends, and they all passed their exams with flying colors. But before the closing feast, they had one last thing to take care of. Or one last person. Lockhart.

With the help of the Marauder's Book of Pranks, Harry and his friends devised the perfect plan for getting rid of Gilderoy Lockhart for good. All it took was a simple potion and another trip to the kitchens.

The night of the closing feast, Dumbledore present Slytherin with the House Cup, to Professor McGonagall's chagrin. But the fireworks started when the meal began.

Lockhart turned to say something to Professor Sprout, but all that came out was a loud cock-a-doodle-doo. Of course, almost every student in the hall thought it was hilarious, and even the teachers were more amused than scandalized.

Harry, Neville, and Draco had matching grins on their faces. After all, Lockhart would only be able to speak normally if it was to confess his crimes. Justice was served.


The morning after the closing feast, Harry, Neville, Draco, and the rest of their friends packed all of their possessions and prepared to head home for the summer aboard the Hogwarts Express.


And that's Chapter 8! I know it was a little bit shorter than the other chapters, but I hope you enjoyed it, and please review!