Imprudence: Chapter 13

Finally back somewhere with working wifi! *Keep in mind this is a direct continuation of the last chapter!

*Warnings: Primarily just angst here...and an angry Vernon Dursley but what else is new?

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter and don't make any money off of it. I wouldn't need so many scholarships if I did.

Almost There!

Harry released a shaky breath as the defense attorney finally stepped back. He couldn't think of anyone else who would be called to the stand and for a moment believed that it was actually over.

"Don't return to your seat just yet, Mr. Potter-Snape." The small bud of hope withered and died in Harry's chest. He flashed confused and panicked eyes to his father, but Severus looked just as confused and uncertain (not that anyone but family could actually tell).

Judge Femdt didn't address the young Gryffindor or the Dursley's with her next words, but the judges on the panel.

"Judges, now is your time to ask anyone any further questions you may have." Many hands shot up and Harry subconsciously hunched down into his seat to try and get away from the onslaught he saw coming. The Head Judge looked around at the hands and raised a brow before saying, "Questions relevant to this case, ladies and gentlemen. I believe everyone here has been through enough without pointless questions dragging it out." With a bit of grumbling, over half of the hands slowly went back down leaving about six.

Judge Femdt called on a woman to her right.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, after hearing your nephew and others speak, do you still maintain your innocence and that the boy deserved his treatment?" Harry was exceedingly happy that the first question was not for him and that it seemed to be in support of him. His Uncle was the first to answer.

"I don't care if you Freaks seem to be swallowing this boy's codswallop, but I refuse to answer for his crimes. He's a damned menace that needs to be put down for everyone's sake!" Severus ground his teeth together in an effort to not curse the walrus of a man then and there. Lucius squeezed his wrist tightly and muttered,

"He will get what he is due, my friend. Just hang on a little longer." Severus simply nodded in acknowledgement and everyone's eyes turned to Petunia Dursley. Vernon had to be magically silenced again as he continued to rant and rave about the 'monster' Harry was.

Harry's Aunt was quiet and didn't answer at first. She was staring straight at her nephew, straight into her sister's eyes, and her own dull eyes began to water a bit. She sniffled and shook her head jerkily.

"I…I'm sorry, Harry." Harry felt like he couldn't breathe, his chest stopped up with emotion and a lump forming in his throat. He…his Aunt had never called him by his name before. "I…tell Dudley I still love him, won't you?" Harry nodded tightly and then looked down at his lap, trying to get his emotions under control. He knew it wasn't anything he really said that got his Aunt to change her mind. Harry knew full well that it was hearing what Dudley thought of the whole thing that got Petunia Dursley to realize the severity of what she'd done.

While Harry was thinking about his Aunt's words the Head Judge called on a man to her left, a wizard with a permanent scowl on his face.

"Mr. Potter," Harry immediately bristled at the man's deliberate use of his old name. "You mentioned there was a misunderstanding during your relationship with Mr. Malfoy. Elaborate." The younger wizard took a deep breath to stop himself from saying something he'd regret to the rude judge. Though Harry didn't see it, the looks the other judges had on their faces said they clearly didn't appreciate the man's attitude either.

"Because of my relatives' hatred for homosexuals and what they did to me last summer, I was…under the impression that same-sex relationships were viewed similarly in the Wizarding World. I did fancy Draco but I didn't think we were…dating…because I thought that wasn't acceptable. I just thought we were being really close friends. Most everyone was under the impression that I had been with a temporary magical guardian the previous summer and would have been taught about Courtship, but I wasn't. This all culminated into a bit of a misunderstanding. My guardian and the Malfoys all thought I knew what was going on, but I still thought I'd get killed if I admitted I liked Draco in that way. When it was all cleared up though, I was perfectly willing to continue the Courtship." The judge hmph'd and settled for narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Harry and his family.

Judge Femdt subtly rolled her eyes, making Harry's mouth twitch in amusement. She called on another wizard seated behind her.

"Professor Snape, what were your plans to handle this situation before it was…taken out of your hands, shall we say?" It amazed Harry and the others that Prosecutor Thornsworth still didn't seem to grasp the fact that no one appreciated what he had done, much less Harry and his guardian.

The Potion's Master stood as he addressed the council of judges and kept his facial expressions as neutral as possible.

"I had been including Harry in the decision process since he is considered an adult in the Muggle world and such an event as this would greatly impact his life. I informed him approximately eight months ago that I fully intended to bring his relatives up on charges of child abuse, assault and kidnapping. However, I left it up to him whether he wanted to be a part of the process or left completely out of it. He told me that while he would rather I just left the whole thing be, that we just forget everything and move on, he would rather be a part of it than not. I was compiling evidence and was getting ready to contact a solicitor of my choice to start the process, when I received a letter informing me that a prosecutor neither of us had ever met had decided to charge the Dursleys on Harry's behalf." The judge nodded his understanding and Severus sat down.

Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Prosecutor Thornsworth tense. He wondered if that meant the man was finally picking up on the fact that his clients were not grateful to him for what he had done. There were only three hands still raised so Harry turned his attention back to the judges instead of continuing to stare at his family.

"Mr. Potter-Snape, what would you consider an appropriate punishment for your relatives should they be found guilty?" The young Gryffindor was actually rather happy to hear someone who sounded professionally impartial in this case. It was refreshing in a surprising way. The question, however, did throw him off. He honestly hadn't thought much about what would/should happen to the Dursleys after the trial, so he took a few moments to think on it and come up with an answer.

"Well…I honestly don't want to have them given the Kiss, or any other sort of death penalty. Despite all that they've done to me, they are still some of my last living relatives. I also know that Mum still loved my Aunt." Harry sneaked a glance at Petunia and saw her looking down in shame. "I think time in Azkaban would be best to make them understand what they put me through. I was regularly kept in a small, dark space with little to no food. Wizarding prison would give them that experience. I'm not doing this for revenge. They just…need to understand that what they did was wrong."

Severus couldn't help but smile with pride at his son. Harry was so forgiving and mature; his heart was so like Lily's it astounded him at times. Everyone thought the boy was finished, but then Harry surprised them by having a little more to say.

"I…if Aunt Petunia could be allowed to write to Dudley and get letters too, I think that would be alright. I think she is starting to maybe understand and I know Dudley misses her." Mrs. Dursley started openly weeping at that and Harry felt…confused more than anything. He was still working on forgiving them for what they did and he knew they held no fondness for him…but he couldn't help but feel a little sad to see his aunt cry.

"Thank you, Young Man," the judge said. Judge Femdt turned in her chair to look for the last two hands, only to furrow her brow when one of those hands went down.

"Judge Rosemund, did you have a question?" The judge in question shook his head.

"The last question was similar enough to mine that my question was answered." After a thoughtful pause, he continued. "Actually, I do have another question for Mr. Potter-Snape. I would feel better asking this myself. Can you assure me that you are not being abused by your guardian, your Intended or the Malfoy family? As I'm sure you know, abuse is not just physical." Harry was getting rather tired of the question, but knew it was extremely important that he answered it. One slip and another fame seeking prosecutor could try and charge the Malfoys and his dad with abuse.

"I swear on my magic that they are not abusing me." Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Severus hissing at him for making a swear so carelessly. "I've lived with abusers most of my life, and I can tell you that the Malfoys are nothing like them. I also know that they will never abuse me or anyone. Trust me, if they were controlling me, manipulating me or abusing me I would not be sitting here wearing gaudy Gryffindor colors." That got a few huffs of laughter from around the room, and Harry relaxed a little. "I also have the Weasleys, Hermione Granger, the Minister of Magic, the Longbottoms, and the Lovegoods who would put an end to anything of the sort the moment they even suspect it. I'm finally in the care of people who love me and won't hurt me. I assure you."

Judge Rosemund seemed impressed with his answer, especially the names of the proper 'Light' families that would come to his aid, and nodded in acknowledgement. Finally the Head Judge turned to the last hand up.

"Though I know that the Defense will complain that memories can be tampered with, I would like to request that Mr. Potter-Snape provide us with the memories of his abuse, especially the violence he experienced last summer. If there are no objections from the judge's panel," here the judge paused with a significant look to the Defense Attorney, before turning her attention to Harry. "Would you please put the requested memories into this Pensieve?" With a flick of her wand a Pensieve floated out from the Head Judge's podium, only to stop right in front of Harry.

No objections came. With a gulp around the lump in his throat, Harry nodded and then closed his eyes to concentrate on the memories he wanted. It took a while, but he eventually had the most important memories in the shimmering water. Harry needed a moment to breathe as he both shook with exhaustion and his skin buzzed with power. It had been a while since he let his magic core have time to stretch its boundaries, and with his emotionally shaken state, it was pushing harder at them.

Once he had sufficiently calmed himself, the Head Judge dismissed him back to his family. Standing on shaky legs, Harry nodded as graciously as he could to the panel and walked back to the proscenium with his head held high. The panel conferred amongst themselves while he made his way back to his seat and made an announcement once he was settled.

"We will take a three hour recess to watch these memories and then determine a decision and punishment if appropriate. Those of the prosecution, feel free to leave the building for the allotted time so long as you are back before we reconvene." With that, the judges simply blinked out of existence, causing Harry to blink himself in surprise.

"Where did they…?" He gestured to the now empty seats and Mr. Weasley answered.

"There is a private viewing and deliberation chamber that the judges can essentially Portkey to. Because it is so close in proximity, it looks like they blink away like a house elf….oh! Or switching a Muggle light-swatch, rather!" Arthur Weasley looked so happy with his Muggle reference that Harry didn't bother to correct him for saying 'swatch' instead of 'switch.' Besides, he actually used a correct analogy which was a step up from usual.

"Well, Gentlemen, I would highly recommend you use this time to grab something to eat. It's an hour past lunch time and they won't be done until supper at least. I always add an hour and a half to the time they allot," Auror Winthrop suggested. Severus and the Malfoys agreed while Harry looked stunned.

"Has it really been that long? It…it felt like forever, but I figured it had only been an hour or so since we started." Severus pulled his son into a tight hug before releasing him to Draco for similar treatment.

"It has, Harry. They questioned each of us for quite some time. The lack of clocks in this room also does not help with your confusion. Now, come. You may think you will get away with pushing food around a plate, but I plan to watch you eat a full serving of something, even if I have to hand feed it too you." Harry's nose wrinkled in distaste causing those around him to laugh.

As expected, Severus's threat was enough motivation for Harry to try his best to eat something. They picked a slower moving sit-down restaurant a little walk from the Ministry building. Arthur and Auror Winthrop got a table next to the four men so as not to draw more attention to a large group. They set Severus, Harry, Draco and Lucius into the table next to the wall then took the table between them and the rest of the room.

Harry wanted to say that seemed a bit like overkill (if they insisted on testing all the food for poison he'd have to put his foot down) but then again with the way his life seemed to attract trouble from all corners…it was best not to tempt fate.

With some encouragement from his Intended and a stomach soother from his father, Harry managed to make it through a sandwich and tea. Despite his earlier nausea he did feel much better having something settle easily in his stomach. His family kept him distracted for the whole three hours they had to wait. Draco and Severus talked about Draco's Mastery project. Arthur talked about the kids, even Ginny who had been doing much better recently and was actually allowed visitors now. Lucius discussed all of the progress made with the charity and orphanage, and Auror Winthrop, being an orphan himself, actually had some helpful suggestions for and insight into the orphanage that Lucius graciously accepted.

Finally, and too soon all at once, it was time to return to the courtroom. Though Arthur and Auror Winthrop told them to expect to wait in the courtroom another hour or so, Harry was still anxious about returning.

He couldn't help but fear that they wouldn't believe him, or they would but they'd also try and take him away from Severus and Draco. Too many people of power had interfered with Harry's life for him to ever really trust the system again.

As they approached the room where they would hear the verdict, Severus laid an arm across Harry's shoulders and Draco took his hand. Gathering strength from them, Harry raised his head and walked in.

Almost done with the trial! Finally! Dragged that out longer than I thought I would! :)

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