Hey, whaddya know? REVIEWS!

Jennifer (Guest): Wow. Those are some pretty good guesses. For the sake of secrecy, I'm not spoiling anything, but stuff will be answered over time.

Karolz101: Welcome to my small group of reviewers! I'm really glad you like this story. Heck, when people say that, it boosts my ego just a little ;)

Earth. bound. wolf: The fact that I got to witness your pain personally makes me feel good inside. *cackles*

Fires of Black Chaos: Heck, those are really good predictions. Who knows, maybe they're right? Anyways, make your reviews as long as you like - my eyes never hurt when it comes to these. *grins*

Anyways, read, review and I hope you enjoy!

Cheers!

~Ice.

14 – Broomsticks and Hearings

Remus

'Come on.'

Remus was ushered along the hallway, courtrooms with their respective numbers on either side of him.

'Fourteen, here we go,' his mother breathed, knocking on the black, wooden door, before pushing it open by the iron handle.

'Don't think the full court's assembled yet, so we're not late,' his father muttered, his eyes scanning faces that were probably familiar to him. Remus' mother bent her knees slightly so her face was level with his, and with a sad smile she brushed a hand over his neatly combed hair.

'It's going to be alright, okay?' she said, looking him directly in the eyes. 'Just tell the truth, and someone else will be handling the rest.'

'Won't – won't you get in trouble?' Remus whispered, his heart pumping. 'Because you technically let me loose in the streets.'

'Like I said, it will work out. Don't worry yourself, honey.' Despite her reassurance, she looked worried herself, and she spared his father a quick glance before turning her attention back to Remus. 'Now, be good, and make sure you're polite to whoever's up there.'

He nodded mutely.

'Go sit down now.' She pointed to a chair in the middle of the room. Chains were coiled around the arms and the back. Remus felt sick. It didn't help that he hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch.

On shaky legs, he made his way over to the chair and sat down. The chains twitched and he jumped violently.

About five minutes later, a witch with her brown hair pulled into a bun sat in the middle of the highest bench, and the slight hubbub subsided.

'Ready?' she questioned, looking down the row at a man holding a notepad and quill. When he nodded, she turned to the papers sitting on the bench before her.

'Disciplinary hearing on the twenty-sixth of August, into offences committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Control of Magical Creatures and the International Statute of Secrecy by Remus John Lupin, resident at 92 Cardelia Drive, Edgware, London.

'Interrogators: Elizabeth Caroline Dunning, Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures; Daniel Matthew Edgecombe, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Alistair Conall Hughes. Witnesses for Defence, Hope Clara Lupin, Lyall Scott Lupin, and Albus Percival –' She broke off, frowning slightly, before continuing slowly and hesitantly. ' – Wulfric Brian . . . Dumbledore.'

Remus blinked, eyes wide, before he strained to look around at the bench behind him. His parents were sitting there, and indeed, so was Dumbledore.

He slumped back in his seat, feeling shocked. The greatest wizard of the age . . . at his hearing. More importantly, to defend him. He felt as though "his world had been tipped on its side" as Kayla would have phrased it.

'The charges against the accused are as follows,' the witch - Elizabeth - continued. 'That he, as a fully fledged –' She cut off, and a look of distaste crossed her features. ' - werewolf, remained loose in a Muggle inhabited area on the night of the full moon, on the twenty-fourth of August at fifty-four minutes past eleven, which constitutes as an offence under Paragraph B of the Decree for the Reasonable Control of Magical Creatures.'

She surveyed him over the top of her papers.

'You are Remus John Lupin, of 92 Cardelia Drive, Edgware, London?' she prodded, looking him in the eyes. Feeling anxious, Remus cleared his throat.

'Erm, yes, ma'am.'

'You were fully aware of your location on the night in question?'

'Yes.'

'Were you outside, or not under any sort of containment?'

'No, ma'am.'

'Explain, please.'

'When I -' His voice came out slightly hoarse. Clearing it again, he had another attempt at speaking. 'When I change, Mum and Dad lock me in the shed. It usually keeps me contained. I don't know how, but I obviously managed to break out at some point.'

Mutterings began among the witches and wizards on the lower benches, and Elizabeth gave a slight nod. Alistair was jotting all of this down in his notebook.

'So, the official charges ought to be pressed upon your parents?' Elizabeth pressed after a moment. Remus' heart jumped violently.

'No!' he all but yelled, making to stand up, but the chains sprang into action, binding themselves around his wrists, knees and ankles. 'No,' he said again, trembling. Hesitantly, he sat back down. The chains made no effort to loosen themselves.

'Who then, shall take the blame?' she asked, raising a severe eyebrow.

'Me,' he forced out, still shaking. 'I have to, because I'm the werewolf. Not them.'

'But they are officially your parental guardians. Until you are legally of age, being seventeen, they are responsible for you.'

'That doesn't mean it's their fault,' Remus said.

'Pardon me, madam, but may I add to this?' A new voice cut over the top of them, and Remus twisted around to see Dumbledore had risen to his feet. Elizabeth gave a curt nod.

'As we all very well know, lycanthropy is particularly uncontrollable,' he said, pacing around the floor; around Remus. 'I don't see how either the accused or his family should face punishment. First of all, as stated in the Lycanthropy Rights document – Section D Part Two, I believe – that unless family members or close relations are directly affiliated with the incident, they hold no blame. Further down, in Section G, it is stated very clearly that unless the attacks were deliberately planned, the werewolf himself cannot be titled guilty either.'

'They have been directly affiliated, though,' Elizabeth objected, pointing her quill towards Remus' parents. 'They are the reason we are all here now.'

'The strength of a werewolf is unpredictable.'

'He should have been kept somewhere more suitable.'

'No matter what measures one goes to, they will always fail in the end,' Dumbledore said loudly, his voice ringing through the room and silencing everyone else.

'He ought to be expelled and moved away. An asylum in the least, Azkaban at the best.'

'Is your prejudice against werewolves getting the better of you, Elizabeth?' Dumbledore asked harshly. 'An asylum? The boy is not mad; in fact, his mental health is very good. And Azkaban is a place for criminals. Not twelve year old boys who go through more each month than what most of us here in this room will suffer in our entire lives!'

Remus breathed in sharply. He hadn't looked at his problem in that way. It made it seem worse than he really thought it was. Though, when he gave it consideration, he was used to it. It was something he had accepted he would be dealing with for the rest of his life, and he was quite used to it by now. He supposed that from another's point of view, it really was horrible, just with Remus it was a fact of reality.

'Very well,' Elizabeth said flatly. 'Those in favour of clearing the accused of all charges?'

Hands upon hands went into the air, and Remus blinked in surprise. That was . . . that was a lot of hands. He considered comparing them to the rest, but from the angle he was sitting at, it was impossible to tell.

'And those in favour of conviction?'

Almost just as many raised their hands now; both Elizabeth and Daniel Edgecombe the Senior Undersecretary were with them. Scanning the masses with a sour look on her face, Elizabeth turned back to her papers. 'Cleared of all charges,' she said irritably.

A surge of relief ran through Remus, and he nearly fell over as he stood, he was that dizzy. His mother rushed over to embrace him, and he grinned slightly, feeling giddy.

'You're cleared!' she whispered, holding his face between her hands and kissing his forehead. 'All cleared!'

His father came up beside her and clapped him on the shoulder, a look of relief on his features. 'That's my boy.'

As though remembering something, Hope straightened up to find herself face-to-face with Dumbledore. 'Oh, thank you, Albus,' she cried, flinging her arms over his shoulders. With a small chuckle, Dumbledore patted her on the back before she broke off, her eyes glistening slightly. Lyall shook his hand, and they exchanged words that Remus was too busy thinking to hear.

Cleared of all charges . . .

He couldn't help himself. He grinned.

Lily

'Aww, come on, Lil! Give it a try.'

Lily crossed her arms, feeling slightly nervous. 'No. It's a broom, Marley!'

'Just train with me, please? I really want to get on the team!'

'You'll get on it easily enough without me.'

Marley, who was sitting on her Comet Forty-Five, gave her an exasperated look. 'Give it a try. You might even like it, dare I say it.'

Lily sighed, giving in. 'Fine. But only for a bit.'

Marley whooped and zoomed off towards the broom shed a short distance away.

They were at Marley's place in the countryside. Personally, Lily really liked it. The house was a big, white mansion that stood out from the green grass, looking very pretty. Trees were scattered everywhere. There was an orchard nearby, and they were in a field at the present moment where on the ground it had been marked out to look like a Quidditch pitch.

Marley shot in beside her, another broom in hand. 'Here you go,' she said, grinning. 'Hop on.'

Tentatively, Lily took it. The only times she had been on a broom were during the classes they'd had at Hogwarts, and even then she hadn't done too well.

Well, here goes nothing.

She swung her leg over the handle and sat herself on it. She hadn't realised that she had started trembling.

'Now, just kick off,' Marley said unhelpfully.

Alright. She could do this. She could.

She breathed in, then out again. In, out, in, out, in . . .

She kicked off.

So to speak, she screamed. Loudly.

'See!' Marley yelled over the rushing wind. 'It's fun, isn't it?'

'No it's not!' Lily wailed back, zigzagging through the air and watching the world move violently underneath her. 'Nonononononononono . . .'

Marley came up beside her. 'You're a bit wild,' she said flatly, trying to keep up with her violent jerking. 'Straighten up a bit.' She reached out and steadied Lily's grip on the broom, and suddenly, she could see properly. 'Keep going straight,' Marley repeated.

'Keep going straight,' Lily muttered to herself. Marley pulled away, and Lily was on her own again. But she was doing okay.

Gliding over the countryside, Lily properly took in the view. Flying was actually kind of . . . relaxing.

Well, sort of, now that she wasn't going around like a lunatic.

'And, we're comin' in to land!' Marley called, diving downwards. Lily choked, before doing as she was bidden, angling downwards. But the ground was coming to fast. Oh god, she was going to die.

Panicking and practically having a fit, Lily screeched and yanked upwards at the last moment. She was flung over the end of the broom and landed on her backside in the soft grass. Marley came down beside her.

'You alright?' she asked, looking slightly worried. Lily laughed and nodded. 'I'm fine.'

Marley cracked a grin. 'So. Did I change your mind about flying?'

'No way in hell.'

Ending it up with some Lily and Marley because I'm pretty sure it makes us all smile.

Question: Favourite ship of all time?

Answer: CALEO! *has a little dance party, and does a bit of spontaneous karaoke*

Leave your answers in the reviews!

And I mean PLEASE crank up those reviews. Really need them.