Chapter Twenty One: Court Number 1994-1392
'December 2nd, 1994. Target: Abigail Heather Gates, Reason for Targeting: Un-Marked Death Eater.
During a training exercise I managed to wound myself pretty badly, something that left most of my muscles in a state of pain for most of the experience; I couldn't just stop what I had started however and so I continued through the pain. This proved both a good teacher, and a good memory of idiocy.
Abigail Gates was a monster of a woman, nearly 6'3" and roughly 200 pounds of raw muscle, she was a threat that needed to be stopped. My contact explained that she was wanted for multiple acts, most were arson and murder but she hadn't worked for the Death Eaters in some time and was classified as a Mercenary.
Using my contacts information network, a few bribes and some of my other ways of gathering information, I was able to find her current hidey-hole. The reason no one had been able to find her was stupidly simple, she wasn't in the Wizarding World at all, she was in the Muggle one. Swansea, a college town with an above average crime rate, thus making it perfect for her to hide away in.
Swansea isn't all that large but it took me several hours to find her current location, ward stones and very strong protection charms protected the establishment. This would a potential problem to a normal wizard, I however am not and with my Scholar's help; it wasn't an issue. Scholar came up with this rune stone, by finding the ward stone barriers and placing the rune on the stone, it would trick the ward into letting that magical signature in; if only for a few minutes.
Her apartment wasn't exactly clean, nor should it be livable with clothes, food and trash covering the floor and tables it made it very hard to remain hidden. She must have been a fan of Whiskey, being I nearly tripped over a bottle every two feet.
I found her in her bedroom, blond hair neatly shaved on one side and the other down to her shoulder. She had tanned scarred skin, almost the colour of caramel and on her left thigh she had a D.E tattoo but it wasn't the proper magic, this was Muggle.
She wasn't all that alarmed to see me, not much to my surprise either but she could have at least worn something. In my physically weakened state, it made it very difficult to fight her with a blade and she overpowered me fairly easily. She didn't use her wand however, she pulled a Muggle handgun on me and from the branding, it was a Smith and Wesson. She didn't get the chance to use it however, as she cocked the hammer, I drove my wrist launcher into her chest and sent all five wires through her flesh.
As had I started recently, I left my calling card, a large gear on her body. Abigail Heather Gates: Eliminated. I'm lucky the Scholar made me a pain potion, my body still doesn't feel right.
Sign, Steam.'
Harry placed the feather quill back into the ink well and let the ink dry before closing the rather large leather and brass bound book. He took a look at his surroundings, the Shrieking Shack hadn't seen better days. To the outside world, it still looked like the most haunted place in Britain but on the inside.
Sirius, Remus and Himself had spent hours repairing the damage that Remus had inflected on the poor estate. New walls were put up in a dark walnut color, the floors were repaired and so was the hidden entrance which now required either a magical signature or a code, depending. The bedroom was modified into his work station, a large desk was positioned next to his suit and tables filled the room full of gear.
Some of the gear was new armor pieces, different types of weapons, or helpful gadgets that could get him out of a jam. Some of the things could almost be called works in progress or simply had plans to be made, with their title and proper placements, it made the whole room neat.
On the walls of his office however, were little newspaper articles, each of the them had the latest kill of Steam or the current Wanted poster for his arrest or death. These were small reminders of what he had done, of what he was to the world with his mask.
The living room was still a living room, with a large couch and comfortable chair near the magical fireplace. This was the place Harry most enjoyed to research his target, to unwind after a battle or simply sit in silence for an hour before taking the passage back to the school grounds.
"I still can't believe you think writing that shit down is smart." Sirius said rather offhandedly from the mirror on the wall.
Harry shrugged, unlacing the ties on his collar and showing the thick white bandages "I don't use our names, I only use it to keep track of the things I'm doing, of the things I've done." He said very solemnly.
Sirius shook his head "Whatever you say pup, remember this is for the best." He pressed, and Harry believed him. Dumbledore was trying to make a weapon out of him anyway, he would rather be an active weapon than one only used once. He also knew that if Sirius could, then Sirius would.
"Of course, are you ready for the trial against Dumbledore tomorrow?" He asked, then grinned "Lord Black." He added as an afterthought.
Sirius visibly flinched, then glared at the young Potter heir "You are by far my least favorite God-Child." He seethed.
"I'm your only God-Child, that makes me your favorite regardless." Harry scoffed at the older man.
Sirius glared, shook his head with a laugh and sighed "Come back home Pup, you'll need your rest."
XX~XX~XX~XX
The thick robes of the Wizengamot covered his frame, it wouldn't do for the other lords to see him covered in his bandages; show no weakness. Each Ancient house was known for something, from his knowledge the Potter house was Silent and was likely a reference to their natural ability to Shadow-walk.
But it wasn't only that, the Potter family was known widely for their talents as informants and leaders of the Light. The last few generations however, the family leaned more towards the neutral side than the light. Dumbledore however had attracted James and Lily to their side with something, it made them move from Potter Manor into the unprotected cabin at Godric's Hallow; it made no sense.
He would pull everything that Dumbledore had worked so hard to hide in the shadows, out into the light; if anyone could, it was a shadow-walker.
As he entered the door for the court, he could see his seat waiting for him by the house of Bones and Greengrass. Near the seat of Malfoy and Oakley was Sirius, he looked to put it bluntly pissed that he was sitting next to his step-cousin.
"Good morning Harry, you're looking well." Amelia said with a smile.
"Oh I am ecstatic, I can't wait for this to really get started."
Jason coughed lightly, a cigarette hanging from his lips "I'm impressed though Mr. Potter, from what my daughter has told me." He could see the look on Harry's face, and held up a hand "Let me finish, my daughter hasn't given me much, but from what I know, I am merely surprised that you've made it this far." He breathed out a cloud of smoke.
Harry laughed, it wasn't a warm one either and Jason could see a flicker of glowing light in the young man's eyes "I survived because the Fire inside of me, burned brighter than the fire around me." He whispered out "My relatives, Dumbledore, Voldemort. I am Dragon's breath, compared to their flicker of light."
Jason and Amelia shared a look before Harry turned back to the witness stand, his face softened a little at the sight of Daphne. Jason couldn't shake something though, he knew that his daughter and the young man had recently had a spat. Daphne didn't really explain as to what they had fought about, honestly Jason didn't care; he was still a radiating target.
"Attention! Attention! We are ready to bring this session of the Wizengamot!" Fudge shouted from his spot at the front of the assembly "The date is December 5th, 1994. Those in attendance; the Substitute Chief Warlock Gregory Wallace, DMLE representative Rufus Scrimgeour and Court Scribe Jenkins Whiterun. Nature of the session, the trial and ruling of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."
When Harry had been here the last time, the court room had exploded with speculation and outrage at having the Mass murderer and Death Eater in the room, but the Death Eaters knew he wasn't with them. This time however, it was deathly silent.
"Auror's bring out the accused." Fudge said courtly.
Two Auror's who Harry didn't know brought out a slightly ragged looking Dumbledore, the man still had his head held high though. They placed him the iron chained chair, but even Harry could feel the runes on the chair from here; obviously the magic had been increased for the current Warlock.
Dumbledore smiled, but that twinkle had not been in his eyes "Good morning everyone, Lady Longbottom is that a new hat?" He spoke as if making idle conversation.
Wallace however snapped his gavel on the wooden desk "Silence from the accused! He shall only speak once spoke too!" He roared over the court.
Harry had never seen Wallace or Scrimgeour before, Wallace was a man in his late sixties with white hair and a strong jaw. If Harry hadn't read a comic that Dean had lent him, it would have been harder for him to come up with a way to explain him. The New Mutants #87, Cable was the best way to describe the man other than the long scar and glowing eye.
Scrimgeour reminded him of a lion, his hair was like a mane of tawny grey streaked hair and a thick bushy set of eyebrows over his yellow eyes. The only reason that he was able to get a good look at the man was simple, he was staring right at the young lord.
"I apologize, Warlock Wallace." Dumbledore said with a smile, though in his eyes Harry could see anger.
"The accusations are as follows, several accounts of binding a mages magic, several more accounts of youth endangerment, assault, thievery, the usage of the memory alteration charm on a minor's, the usage of the memory alteration charm on adults, child neglect, tampering with evidence and fraud."
"May I inquire as to the legitimacy to these charges?" Dumbledore spoke with a strange eerie sense of grace.
Wallace growled again "We have several witnesses that have been tested positive for magical blocks on their magic, the magical signature is closest in match to yours." He explained lazily "There are also more speculation as to the memory charms, as we can't know for a fact how many people you've tampered with."
Dumbledore chuckled weakly "Ah, you see my dear boy, it isn't hard for someone to hide their magical signature or to fake theirs with runes. Anyone could have placed those blocks on their minds and magic, and used such magic to frame me." He almost wanted to yawn at the idea.
Sirius stood up "I object!" He barked much like the Wolf-Hound he was "Not only were you caught in the act of attempting to put blocks on Harry Potter by both Hermione Granger and Daphne Greengrass! Then when they awoke you, you assaulted them!"
"Lord Black, please remain calm, let the accused state his peace." Wallace grumbled out, it was the law.
Dumbledore smiled up at Sirius "Was this before or after Lord Potter bound me and started to throw punches at me?" He asked sagely.
Augusta Longbottom stood up "If you really did try to bind this young man's magic, then I believe he was justified in attacking you Albus! You should be ashamed."
Dumbledore didn't answer, he merely moved on "What was that about youth endangerment?" He questioned calmly.
"Several of the Professors at Hogwarts all attest to your allowing of certain….creatures at the school in recent years. A Cerberus to name, these creatures while controllable to experts have no place near children! Then there were the random attacks and the threat of the Chamber of Secrets reopening, yet did you let the Auror's or Cursebreakers come in and do their job? No you bared them, and tried to cover it up. At the advisory of the Ministry, we wanted to place Dementor's on the fringes of the School bounds and thus as unfortunate as it is, that mistake is on us."
Dumbledore sighed, knowing there was little he could do about that one, largely because if his staff had spoken of it then it was likely to be true. "I still am confused as to how I am being charged with child neglect, I do not have a child and all the children in the castle are watched over by their heads of house."
Harry took this chance to stand up, his grip white on the brass bar in front of him "Well then I think you should think harder, ever since Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon weren't given their guardianship of me for different reasons, you have acted as my Proxy! My Magical Guardian, who gave you that right! Certainly not my parents! After all you placed me in the one home they didn't want, my aunt!" Harry roared out, his eyes glowing with rage.
"Court recognizes Lord Potter." Wallace spoke with a grin.
"But being you took the role of my Magical Guardian, you got accesses to my vaults, and my seat of this court! What you forgot was simple, you were in charge of keeping up with my wellbeing and I can tell you from first hand fucking experience that you failed there!"
"Oh my boy, you must be confused, being as to my knowledge you were never physically beaten nor were you tossed onto the street." He said simply.
"Bullshit, I have the scars to prove that's a lie and you won't dare lie to this court Dumbledore! As it stands my Aunt has agreed to speak if necessary as is Miss. Fig! Representative Scrimgeour, would like to tell the court about the wards around Number 4 Privet Drive?"
Scrimgeour grinned a little, making him look a cat that had found his prize "Of course, at the advisory of Lord Black, we at the DMLE took it upon ourselves to investigate these claims of Blood wards around Privet Drive." He explained, his voice was rough and had a hissing tone to it.
"What we found was most surprising, while the wards were no longer in working order and some of them in absolute ruin; we could identify the magical signature being of Albus Dumbledore." The lion like man was still grinning "However we couldn't find any known type of blood wards, nor any regarding the protection of Lord Harry Potter."
"I'm actually pretty curious as to what type of wards surrounded my residence of several years." Harry observed, with no protection or blood wards around the house, what had him kept there?
"We observed the ruins of several notice me not wards, observation and emotional enhancers. What wards were still active had been magical absorbers of sorts, and then going further as to remove magical signatures to an extent."
"So what you're saying." Harry recognized the man as Lord Nott "That these wards were absorbing the magic off of an Heir of an Ancient house? That is unacceptable!"
Dumbledore leaned back in the chained chair, making them rattle a little "As we can all tell from the young Lord Potter, his magic is uncontrollable. I placed those wards not only for his protection, but for the protection of Lord Potter's relatives." He assured the court, or at least tried.
"I must state once more, that none of the wards were designed to protect Lord Potter." Scrimgeour voiced.
"As for the tampering of evidence, I have a signature from Gringotts stating that you had ordered the Potter Will be sealed away as the Magical Guardian of the last Potter heir. This Will had hard evidence as to the case of Lord Black's freedom and on the subject of Peter Pettigrew." Amelia explained not even bothering to stand from her seat.
Fudge who had largely been silent through the entire case finally stood "Albus Dumbledore, do you have anything to say before we decide on the vote?" He questioned the man who had largely been the unofficial leader of the Ministry.
"Ah well this is a largely simple case, it is merely me against Lord Potter. I say this merely a game of a young man throwing a temper tantrum." The elder said rather calmly.
Harry chuckled "You can't honestly still be on that?" He questioned rather easily "Lord Greengrass, Proxy Bones, Lord Black and several witnesses saw you fighting students."
"Ah but I had been magically bound, and my wand had been stolen from me. I had to protect myself from two students who sought me harm, one being yourself Lord Potter."
"Oh I didn't wish you harm, I wanted to know why you had the urge to not only bind me but leave me weak when Death Eaters could make me a target." The young man spoke rather off handedly.
Dumbledore sighed "And as I have said, I can feel your core radiating from here. The blocks and wards were designed to absorb any magic that could harm yourself or your relatives."
"And I have evidence that states I was never meant to go to them."
"Miss. McKinnon was dead from a Death Eater attack, and Lord Black was imprisoned." Dumbledore began "The Death Eaters were still very much a threat, I had nowhere to put you."
"You mean nowhere else to control him!" Jason stood up a snarl escaping his lips "Not only did you leave the Heir of an Ancient House with Muggles, which is illegal! You did not explain anything to him, all of the mail from Gringotts was sent to you. "
"Which would be considered fraud, if I recall correctly." Lord Oakley's voice carried across the room.
"Enough!" Wallace barked, his gavial slamming onto the wood "This court has had enough time to cover the facts, several pieces of evidence has come to light and the accused has spoken his piece."
"I'm not done!" Harry shouted from his spot, his magic flaring around him "Albus Dumbledore, what did you do to my parents!"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Why did they move into Godric's Hollow, far away from the safety of the Potter Estate, an Estate which has survived several assaults from many different self-proclaimed Dark Lords! What did you tell them!"
Dumbledore smiled a little "Perhaps I'll tell you one day my boy, or perhaps you'll get that information from them first hand."
"Objection! The accused is making threats!" Nott shouted down.
"Enough!" Wallace bellowed "All those in favor of charging the accused with the cases of Youth endangerment, thievery and the illegal use of binding and memory charms?"
Most of the courts hands went up, though Harry could even see a decent majority couldn't turn against their master. Wallace seemed to glance at something, then nodded "The motion carries, Albus Dumbledore, based on the charges; you shall owe the Ministry 100,000 Gallons and Five years in Azkaban for these transgressions." He called down, tacking something on a sheet.
"On the charges of Assault, Child neglect and Fraud, those in favor of charging the accused?"
Once again nearly all the hands went up this time, every single hand from the Death Eaters, Neutral and Harry's crew. Fudge must have also spoken to his staff about this case, being most of the Ministry also raised their hands.
"The motion once again carries, Albus Dumbledore, based on the charges; the accused is to serve a twenty year sentence within Azkaban. No chance of bail, or early parole." Wallace looked down slightly at his sheet "There for Albus Dumbledore your current sentence is twenty five years within Azkaban and 100,000 Gallon fine, failure to complete this fine will result in another five year penalty."
Dumbledore was laughing slightly, his eyes trained on Harry's 'You want to know why?' His voice whispered throughout his mind. 'If they stayed in Godric's Hollow, they would've lived…..and I needed you alone and scared Harry Potter. I was so close to the perfect weapon with you, something to break off at Tom…but I digress…good luck Harry, without me in this war, your chances of survival just went from slim to none.'
Harry smirked at the words, his fingers clinched into a tight fist 'Well, if that's the case…..' He locked eyes with the man one final time before they pulled him away 'Then I'll see you in Hell, and this time I'll be the one that kills you.'
Dumbledore started to laugh once more as they pulled him away, this wasn't the sagely dignified laugh they associated with the old man; this was a laugh fit for Azkaban. Slowly, people began to whisper, to stand or to walk from their seats; the case was over and the biggest threat at the moment had been disarmed.
Now he just needed to heal and take out more Death Eaters, because with Dumbledore gone….Voldemort wouldn't be afraid to hide anymore.
XX~XX~XX~XX
"Harry, are you sure this whole thing wasn't rigged?" Daphne asked, looking up at the ceiling of his room. She had to admit, his bed was super comfortable and held his scent so perfectly.
Harry didn't even glance up from his book, fingering the next page for a moment in thought "I'm sure it was, most if not all Death Eaters voted against him….I'm sure they bought many other votes with him." He explained calmly "The second Dumbledore was arrested, his world came down all around him."
"McGonagall will be the Headmistress then?" She asked, glancing over at him and frowning a little. His hair had gone from shoulder length to crop cut and it wasn't something she was taking easily. He had explained that until he mastered his abilities, that his hair would change from time to time. His wild hair represented the oppressed boy, the length meant freedom in the form of Sirius and now, she had a feeling it meant duty; Steam.
Harry nodded at the words "That would be likely, I'm fairly sure that Babbling would take her place as Head of Gryffindor." He flipped the page "Medieval spells were brutal."
Daphne bit back a laugh, smirking widely though "You think that book is bad, my father has one from Japan. Those wizards were brutal to the highest degree, spells that boiled blood, torn men limb from limb." She explained, rolling over "Why are you all the way over there anyway?"
"The floor is comfortable."
"Get over here you git."
"I'm at a really good part though, this spell can control rats." He nodded thoughtfully "Was likely helpful during the plague."
"Potter." She growled.
Harry sighed, marking his place in the book and setting it down "Fine Fine, move over."
"Make me."
"I will." He crawled in next to her, using his strength to slid her gently over and pressing himself close to her "Better?"
"Oh yes, much better." She leaned over and pressed her lips to his gently "Now stop talking and relax."
"I was relaxed reading."
"Shut up, Potter." She silenced him with another kiss, rolling over onto him and resting on the tips of his hips. She leaned back, giving him a pleased smirk at the situation they were in now; her hands playing with the edges of his shirt.
Harry placed his hands on her bare thighs, the position that she was currently taking made her shorts ride up a little "Daphne." He whispered gently to get her attention, fingers danced lightly across her pale skin.
"Yes?" She whispered back, snaking herself along his chest and leaning towards his ear "What's on your mind." She spoke so softly, had she not been so close, he wouldn't have heard her.
"You." He whispered back, his fingers continuing to trace her pale skin, now though they touched the hems of her jean shorts. One of her hands was tracing circles on his neck, while the other was slipping near his hip and under his shirt.
"Oh how thoughtful." She giggled a little, nibbling on his ear. She brought the hand from his neck to his cheek and guided his sight to her.
Red eyes gazed back into his green orbs, a mouth drawn into a smirk full of fanged teeth and rot. "It's time to wake up though." The voice had warped, it changed.
XX~XX~XX~XX
Green eyes shot wide open, he lunged forward after being pushed from his dream and nearly falling from the bed. His breathing was loud, quick like his heartbeat and mind as it raced for answers. His scar was on fire, his scar hadn't hurt since before the ritual months ago but now that familiar prickly sensation coursed through him and it scared him to the bone.
"Harry?" A female voice mumbled tiredly.
He glanced to his left, her hair was a mess, sticking up on one side and flat on the other. Daphne was trying to rub sleep from her eyes, the shirt she wore covered well only letting her right should slip through the neck.
Harry twisted out of the bed, his shirt and her shorts rested near the bed; she was tired and didn't want to return home. While originally she started in the guest room, she of course snuck into his and curled up to him quite comfortably.
The Court had taken long after everything was said and done, they only took a small break and then had to return to other business. The day had started at nine, then ended at quarter to six, largely to find a replacement for the Dumbledore. Wallace was the obvious choice, but Lord Nott also threw his name in and someone from the D.M.L.E did as well Auror Shacklebot.
Wallace took it in the end, after that they needed to cover the monthly quota and a few other things that he tried to sleep through. Jason had advised Daphne to stay with them for most of the day, to "The kid is stressed out, having you around should help that." As he had put it.
"Sorry to wake you, I'm used to sleeping alone." Harry mumbled back, his fingers lightly playing with necklace.
Daphne yawned a little, glancing at the clock '3:29.' Then she groaned "Nightmare?" She inquired, tossing herself back into the bed.
"No I just like to wake up nearly falling from bed, it makes me all warm inside." He growled at her, rubbing his face; red eyes flashed in his mind's eye.
Daphne rolled her eyes, pulling herself up and wrapped her arms around his back "Relax, it'll be alright." She whispered in his ear, much like the demon did in his dream.
It made him jump out of her grasp "Stop." He snarled, not turning to face her but staying well out of reach.
"Harry…." She whispered, silent for a few pregnant seconds "It was about me wasn't it…."
"No-"
"Don't you lie to me, we've been over this." She glared at him, a frown pursing her lips "I did that curse on you, with the best of intentions."
"It wasn't even that, we're far away from that." He rubbed his brow, turning to look at her. Her bright blue eyes traced him, lips light, pink, showing no signs of the fangs that had been there "I….I just saw…."
Daphne didn't need him to fill in the gaps, she knew him well enough that only five things truly scared him. Vernon Dursley, Dumbledore, Dementors, Mental Probing, and Voldemort. If she had to guess, he had be either of the last two; the first being a side effect of living with the man for so long. Being that he had expressed his concerns over her actions with the Curse, it wasn't Mental Probing.
"He's not here, it's just us."
Harry gave her a long look, nodding his head a little after a few seconds and then shook it with a frown. He pointed to the bedside end table, it had a candle lamp on it, a picture of him & Sirius and a book on Spirits. "Under the drawer…"
She raised a brow, pulling the drawer open and showing nothing but simple babbles and ends. Daphne felt under the drawer for a moment, before her fingers felt something cold and metal. Deciding that it was what Harry wanted her to see, she pulled it free from its hiding spot.
In her hands was a pocket watch, two large serpents crossed in the center of the face. She looked at it for a moment, examining it closer and frowned even more. She could see the gears, they two were snakes, as was the hands to tell the time; which was off. Daphne held it to her ear "He doesn't love you, he'll use you and take it from you. Hahahaahaha Then, he'll move on. Stupid girl." The watch hissed at her, she dropped it instantly.
Harry had a blank look on his face, his green eyes no longer like jewels and now like paint "What did you hear?" He asked her simply "Something awful?"
"Harry what is this?"
"A parting gift from the man who ruined my life."
"Dumbledore did this?"
"Guess again."
XX~XX~XX~XX~XX
Hello, Hello. So guys we're starting to get deep into creation now, Dumbledore is no longer in the picture. Well for a while I should say, I've never really been in court or seen anything other than movies or shows. The way I thought this through, Dumbles would come up with a stonewall defense, figuring his past would be enough to prove he did it all for Good. He didn't realize though, that Harry had cast a stone into a pond; many people resented Dumbles.
I've haven't really heard anything about Steam, I don't know if this is something I should continue in the story as a focus; or make it something seen in the background. Harry has always had trust issues, and Daphne has helped him get out of many situations and into a better spot than before; he sees this. It is why he keeps trying to overcome it, why he keeps trying in the relationship.
So leave a comment, follow, rate; do your own thing people. I wish I could update more frequently but I'm going through something right now; I had problems even getting this one out. I'll see you soon guys. Demon.