Originally, I divided this into two chapters, but when putting them here, I decided to combine it into one longer chapter since they were both kind of short. Thanks for the reviews so far!
Chapter 13 - Thorne Residence and The Court Hearing
Danielle's POV
I can Apparate now! Severus trained me to Apparate when I wasn't attending the summer classes this week for the blind. The court trial is the week after next. We're going to my house right now.
"Ready?" I ask him this time.
"Ready," he says, smirking, "If you get me splinched I will curse you."
I have successfully Apparated around the house, but never so far as my home, which I have now learned isn't as far as I thought.
I turn on my heel, Severus hanging onto me, and the world goes around.
Just think of the 3 D's, Determination, Destination, Deliberation.
And we land on my front steps, as planned.
"Excellent," Severus praises.
"Would I earn an O from you for that?" I ask.
"I must admit, yes, you would," he admits.
I go around the side of the house to find the key. It can't be called by an Accio charm. I slide my hand behind the gutter and pull the key off. Running back to Severus, I unlock the door and we both step inside.
"It's considerably larger than my home," Severus says, "and there are more stairs."
"Yeah, but I know these by heart. I've been up and down them a thousand times in the dark."
I show Severus around the place, which, while big, is old, but still nice.
"You said this place wasn't fancy," Severus states.
"Well, I guess it is, but in an old way. Most of this has been here since the house was built. Come on, I'll show you my room!" I say excitedly.
Severus's POV
I follow her up the stairs. She does seem to know them pretty well as she runs up them. She leads me down the hall and up another flight, I'm assuming the attic.
When I reach the top of the stairs, she casts Lumos (since she dropped out she is allowed to use magic outside of school now, hence the Apparating. She had to take an exam and the Apparating test. She passed both with flying colors).
"Can you light the lamps?" she asks me, so I do. When I finally get a look around, I'm pleasantly surprised. Her room is painted light lavender to lighten things up a bit, and there are posters and drawings all over the walls.
"I didn't know you liked to draw."
"Yeah, I used to draw a lot over the summers," she says quietly, finding her way to her bed and sitting down. I look around at everything in her room and say, "Would you rather stay here or at my home?"
She thinks about it a moment and then says, "Well, my house actually does have a spare bedroom."
I smirk and say, "I can grab my things and we can stay here if you like."
"Thanks, Severus. You're the best."
I Apparate back home and pack. I'm sure Danielle will be fine by herself for a while. I just pack the same things that I pack for school. When I Apparate back to her front door and enter, the house is better lit. I suppose Danielle thought about me and lit some of the place up. I find her in the kitchen lighting more things.
"I'm back," I declare.
"I heard you come in," she responds. "I didn't set anything on fire that wasn't supposed to be lit, right?" she asks.
"No, it all looked good to me," I assure her truthfully, looking for stray flames. "I've got my things; anywhere in particular you want to put me?"
"Mm, well…I guess you can take either of the spare rooms on the second floor. The one on the right at the end is…was my parents', so it's full of their stuff, but the other too are fairly empty I think," she tells me and leads the way.
Danielle's POV
The Court Hearing
I'm so nervous. I'm going to be facing Canon again, and even though I know he can't hurt me, the question is whether I can go the entire trial without killing him. Actually Snape would probably kill him first since I'd be afraid of hurting someone else by accident.
Apparently Canon is pleading guilty, since it's pretty obvious that he was.
If all goes well on my part, Canon can be tried as an adult and sent to Azkaban. But that's not really what I want. What I really want is him to tell me how to remove the curse. Maybe it's too much too hope for, but it's something to hang onto as I enter the courtroom.
But, the catch to Canon pleading guilty is that he's also pleading insanity, and the evidence from his drawings and past experiences might get him off with counseling and mental help in St. Mungo's.
I'm also very uncomfortable because 1) I can't see anybody around me, 2) I'm dressed up and have absolutely NO idea what I look like, though Snape assures me that I look amazing, and that makes me feel amazing because I've never heard him compliment anyone before, and 3) Some of my friends, and the others from the orphanage are here.
I hear reassuring words around me, and recognize a few voices. Dumbledore is here since he's my lawyer and I trust him. I met with him last week to discuss the trial and he said he would do most of the talking. I hope he's right because my tongue feels like sandpaper on the inside of my mouth.
Once the trial has ACTUALLY started, the accused is brought in (that's Canon) and the session begins.
Canon Newhart is found guilty of the accused crimes, (he lists them, and I guess Canon planned on fighting his way out of the Ministry because there is quite a list) and will be sentenced to no less than 15 years in Azkaban. The sentence is suspended until the defendant has served no less than 3 years, or however long doctors feel necessary, in a mental institution. Court is adjourned, and he bangs his gavel.
As Canon passes me, he says, "I never invented a way to reverse it."
"I don't care," I lie. "I'll find a way. I hope you have a nice stay in Azkaban, and say hi to the Dementors for me; make sure they kiss you while you're there," I say sarcastically.