Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Geth342: There will be two more chapters after this one. The next update will be on 12th April - earlier, if i can manage it. Anyway, i hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 26: Relationships

Professor Rowland was called up at the beginning of the fourth week. It was quite strange to think that I had spent a month going to court; when an Owl arrived with my results, I got a shock: I had completely forgotten that I had even taken exams.

The OWL results were actually good news; I had gotten Outstanding in Potions, Charms, Herbology and Ancient Runes; Exceeds Expectations in Arithmancy, Defence Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic; Acceptable in Transfiguration and a Dreadful in Astronomy (so, clearly, the North Star was supposed to stay in the north). I was pleased that I had not failed Transfiguration and that I had done so well in Potions and Charms. Astronomy was a pity but I had never been any good at it anyway.

In the course of everything that was happening, it became minor news. While this might have irritated me once, I felt the same way – I barely looked at my results sheet after reading it the first time.

By the time court started, I was so used to the proceedings that the moment I saw the usher open his mouth, I stood up, as did several other people. We listened to the Judge call us all to order and to the clerk explain what the case was and then they asked for Tamara Rowland to take to the stand.

She looked terrified. It surprised me because I had never seen Professor Rowland being scared. She had always seemed so calm in the face of anything. What was so different now? Whatever her face looked like, it didn't show in her voice. She spoke calmly and quietly, no tremble present in her tones.

Mr. Malfoy managed to uncover the fact that Rowland had seen Zac on 18th February – that had been when she had told Zac about Rune's assault on me – and had met with him several more times; more times than I had.

Because I had brought it up, Mr. Malfoy also asked about the Battle but chose to ask about the aftermath - emphasising how much Zac regretted it and how good a person he was – and before it. This included Zac apparently warning her to escape before it happened and a few other incidents. She mentioned that Zac had told her later that nothing malevolent had happened until he was gone for a few days. The court seemed to think he had gone because of an emergency with my father.

When had my father ever been ill, I found myself wondering. Or at least, so ill that my brother would have to leave Hogwarts? I didn't remember anyone ever mentioning that to me. Not even in casual conversation. Now why was that?

I thought about it a bit more. This was around mid-June. That would have been a month after I had been born. Why had no one mentioned my father being ill to me since?

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I felt sorry for Mrs. Blackmore. All the unexpected points and queries seemed to be raised with her questioning and this was no different.

She started off by asking Rowland about the visits and her alibi and it seemed to go well enough, although I could see that some of the Jury doubted Professor Rowland. Then, she asked about the Battle. It was the first question which got her.

"My learned friend seems to have missed out the actual details of the battle, so, Tamara, could you tell us what happened?"

Rowland looked bemused. "Well … no. Sorry."

"Why not?" Now the Prosecutor also looked confused.

"I thought you knew," she said quietly. "I don't remember anything about that day." People muttered amongst themselves. "Mr. Malfoy seemed to know so I thought it was written down."

Mr. Malfoy stood up. "My lord, this is an error on my part," he said graciously. "Miss Rowland told my client that she could not remember the events – he informed me of this and I thought I had put this in the Record. It seems I did not."

The Judge sighed. "Very well. Jury, note that down. Mrs. Blackmore, you may continue."

"Now, Tamara, you say you can't remember the day. Why is that?" She sounded as though she was having a bad day. I thought it might actually be a bad month.

"I was badly injured in the fight. One of the injuries was to my head. The Healers told me the memory of the actual day might never come back and I guess it hasn't." She shrugged. "I'm not sure I'd want to remember it."

"Why is that?" asked Mrs. Blackmore immediately, thinking she had gotten something.

Rowland stared at her. "Because," she said slowly, "Shelly – Michelle Grant – was my best friend and I don't want to have a memory of her being murdered."

"Right, yes." Mrs. Blackmore blushed.

"I remember some things from afterwards, if it helps?"

"Afterwards?" She brightened up.

"The coma."

"Yes, well, if it's relevant…" The woman gave up all hope.

"I don't know. I mean, people came and told me different versions of what happened that day whilst I was asleep."

"Which version do you believe?"

She shrugged. "I believe the version which says Adam Etasyl started the Battle. And the one which says Zac was sorry for everything that happened." She hesitated and then added, "By the way, you do know that Zac never met Tom Howell, right?"

Mrs. Blackmore sighed. "I am aware of this, yes."

"Oh. Okay."

"Now, you say Zac was sorry for everything that happened. How do you know?"

"He told me. He really regrets it. I don't think he ever wanted Shelly to die."

"And you believe him?" She sounded scornful. "Zac Carew was known as a talented liar. I propose that he lied to you."

"Haven't you ever been in a situation where you just know someone is telling the truth?" The poor prosecutor was being asked a lot of soul-searching questions this month. Once again, I felt sorry for her.

"No," she replied bluntly.

"Oh." Tammy thought for a moment. "Well, I guess I can't explain it then."

I resisted the urge to put my head in my hands. Somehow, I doubted that Rowland's response would have much use.

Suddenly, Mrs. Blackmore perked up. I had a sinking feeling. Whilst it was good that the woman was now less depressed, this very fact was undeniably bad for us. "Tamara, you said you preferred the version of the Battle which said Adam Etasyl began it and that you heard this in your coma."

"Yes…"

"Now, my question is, you were in a coma for a year?" Rowland nodded. "And everyone who would visit you would have been your family. This being the case, why would they think that Adam Etasyl started the Battle? After all, they didn't even know he existed."

"Well, maybe someone heard something…" Rowland tried to look innocent. "I don't know who visited me. I didn't even know how long I'd been asleep until I woke up."

"Do you know that sneaking into the rooms of St. Mungo's is illegal?"

"Yes."

"Now, who do you think could have told you about Adam Etasyl?"

"No idea."

"I propose that it was Zac Carew, sneaking in to tell you."

"I … I disagree." Rowland replied haltingly. People looked past her to stare at Zac, who looked surprisingly startled that he was being involved in this. Surprising because this was a trial against him.

"On which grounds?"

"There's no proof!"

This turned out to be the wrong thing to say. Mrs. Blackmore instantly explained exactly how much proof there was and, by the end of it, Rowland was blushing furiously.

It was strange to see her react like me.

By the time her interrogation finished, I was filled with a hopeless feeling. She had given Zac an alibi. And she had more or less damned him in every other aspect.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Maybe someone should have warned Rowland before she got there," a voice murmured thoughtfully to me, as we waited to get food after the case had been closed for the day. We needed to discuss something with Mr. Malfoy, who was busy with another case. "That wasn't the smartest thing to say."

"Yeah, well, I guess she was nervous," I replied, turning to look at the speaker. "Oh," I said with disgust. "It's you."

Rune smiled. "Nice to see you too."

"Go away."

"That's a bit hard when I'm behind you in the queue."

I rolled my eyes. "You've always got to be so bloody smart." What was he doing here anyway?

He grimaced. "Sorry. I keep annoying you, don't I?"

I looked at him. He did look sorry. I sighed. "Don't worry. I'm just annoyed because I owe you now, after everything you did."

Now he looked confused. "You owe me?"

"Yeah, for, you know, sticking up for my brother. Even if you did decide to embarrass me in the process."

He smirked. "That's part of the fun." I scowled at him, so he added, "Besides, you don't owe me. You're supposed to tell the truth in court. So I did. Mostly."

"Mostly?" I couldn't help asking.

"Well, the odd misconception of the truth never hurt anyone."

I laughed without thinking, and stopped myself. Forcing my features into a scowl, I asked him what he had lied about.

"Oh, that stuff about not caring about whether your brother got arrested or not. I cared."

"You did," I repeated sceptically.

"Yep."

"You hate my brother," I pointed out.

"I don't hate him. I just think he's an idiot," he said as though that made it better. "Besides, I did care. If he hadn't been arrested, we'd still be friends."

I shrugged. "I doubt it. You promised you wouldn't do anything to hurt our friendship. You're not good at keeping promises."

"I also promised that if I screwed things up, I'd find a way to fix them," he replied quietly. "And I tried."

"So where does that leave us?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know what else I can do."

"I don't think there is anything," I muttered. "I just don't know if I can trust you." It felt odd to talk about trusting someone, when not doing that had lost me my own friends in Ravenclaw.

"So, give me a chance," he replied. "Nothing wrong with chances."

"You had a chance. You messed it up."

"I know."

"So."

"So."

"I guess that's it," I said. "I guess there's no way out of it."

"I guess so."

"Next, please." I moved up and ordered my food.

Before I turned to go, Rune suddenly said, "I'm going to get out of it. That's what I do best. You'll see, Holly. I'll keep my promise."

I stopped with my tray. "Tell me when you do it," I replied sarcastically.

He grinned. "I will do it. Where's the fun in being friends, otherwise?"

Next, please," the worker called impatiently.

"We're not friends."

"Yet," he said. "But, tell me, Holly. Are you really that much happier with me gone?"

"Yes," I snapped.

He laughed. "And you said that in the tone of voice which means you want to prove me wrong."

He was right but I couldn't admit it.

"I don't miss you."

"Next, please."

"Say that calmly."

"Fine," I snapped and took a deep breath. "I do miss you." I stopped. "No, wait, I meant don't."

We both knew what I really meant though.

He smirked. "Okay, if we're going that way, I don't miss you either. Now we're both liars."

"Goodbye, Rune," I said, trying to sound exasperated. Oddly, I didn't feel annoyed anymore. The corners of my lips were trying to smile, but I refused to let them.

"Bye, Holly," he called back cheerily. I walked away, trying to scowl. I'd already decided I couldn't trust him. One good act didn't change that.

But I did miss him.

"I'm glad you settled that," an irritated voice said from behind me, "but next time, could you and your girlfriend have soul-searching conversations after you order your food? Now what do you want to eat?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Professor Langtree was the last witness to be called. Unlike Rowland, he looked quite normal. Almost as though being asked to testify in trials was a normal occurrence for him.

Mr. Malfoy instantly brought up the question of 18th April, establishing whether he had been in the cave. His confirmation was so strong that even Mrs. Blackmore – later – had trouble disputing it. He had a very confident way of speaking which seemed to leave you in no doubt that what he said was nothing less than the gospel truth.

He talked his way smoothly through the murders, stating how well he knew Zac and the victims and how unlikely it was that Zac was the murderer. He even managed to explain the Battle of the Snakes. For the first time, I heard an account of what happened when Zac went to visit my father; how Adam convinced people that Zac wasn't taking his position as the 'leader' of their plan seriously; how he threatened some people and ignored those closest to Zac. How Zac had stopped the torture of a young girl.

For the first time, I wondered exactly what Zac had been like when he was my age. He sounded very different than me. He sounded confident, brave and even kind. If it wasn't for the similarities in our looks, I had a feeling it would have been impossible to guess we were related.

Mrs. Blackmore took up the questioning the next day with trepidation. She seemed to be alright with the alibis, furiously interrogating him about exactly what was said – trying to trip him up in comparison to what I said. But still, Langtree took it confidently.

Then she questioned him about the Battle of the Snakes and, again, he answered confidently. The only thing he said which shocked everyone was what he thought Rowland and Zac's relationship had been like.

"Well, they were boyfriend and girlfriend so I'd say…" The room fell into stunned silence. Zac and Rowland both had a look which clearly indicated that they would like to hurt him. "Okay," he said hastily, "I guess I meant-"

"Boyfriend and girlfriend?" asked Mrs. Blackmore. She looked at Mr. Malfoy who shrugged. This was news to him too.

"Ah, yes, well, you know."

"Mr. Langtree, would you please elaborate?" interjected the Judge. Langtree opened his mouth. "And use full sentences. With substance."

I had to admit, the Judge made me laugh.

Langtree looked sheepish. "It's not like it was for very long. Just a few weeks I think. They were close." Looking around the room, he added, "and I'm guessing no one mentioned that, did they?"

Rowland put her head in her hands. Zac looked like he might kill his best friend if he ever got his hands on him again.

"No, Seifer, they didn't," Mrs. Blackmore said.

"Ah. Yes, well, I imagine they were getting around to it." Exactly how either of them could have been 'getting around to it', I wasn't sure but Mrs. Blackmore seemed to have decided not to pursue the point. Maybe because anyone could see that he was lying.

"You say they were close?"

"Yes."

She smiled. "Would you say they're close now?"

"Well, he's in prison…" He saw the look on her face and remembered that joking wasn't a good idea. "I don't know. Possibly. I know she met up with him a lot." Seeing her look, he protested, "What? It's not like I kept a marker of everything the pair of them did."

If anything, he was worse than Rune.

"Indeed," murmured Mrs. Blackmore, her face as bland as possible. "But would you say they were 'dating' again?"

An odd look passed over his face as he glanced, first at Zac, then at Rowland. He seemed to be considering the idea, but there was still something strange about his expression. Finally, he said, "No. I don't think so. Not many dating opportunities when you're on the run."

And, suddenly, the expression disappeared and he was his normal, confident self.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After Langtree's questioning, the only parts left were the Judge's speech and the decision by the Jury and Judge – something which I didn't quite understand: apparently, the Judge could make a separate verdict on separate issues. This was all due to start the next day; 6th August. Judgement day.

In the evening, we stayed behind to speak with Mr. Malfoy and Zac. My brother looked frantic. My parents looked worried. Mr. Malfoy looked tense. I probably did not look much better.

Zac breathed in. "So, what's the status report?"

"Good news and bad news," replied Mr. Malfoy. "Which one first?"

We glanced at each other. Then, Zac said, "What the hell, I gotta hear them both. Let's go for good."

"Okay. The good news is I think the only murder you could be convicted of is Adam Etasyl's, and that one's questionable. I think our case was solid."

"Yes!" shouted Zac, swinging a fist up in the air. My parents smiled with relief and hugged him.

"What's the bad news?" I asked.

"The bad news is," Mr. Malfoy took a breath, his face deadly serious, "there's a very good chance that the Jury will have Zac found guilty of causing the deaths of Michelle Grant and Tom Howell by starting the battle and the Judge may use this in his separate verdict."

Zac's face dropped. "What?"

"I discussed this with Mary – that's Mrs. Blackmore, obviously – and we both think that Zac's activities in the years since and the Battle will count against him. There seems a high chance that the Judge will rule that Zac will never improve his behaviour and is a danger to society."

"I am not!" Zac spluttered. "I never did anything."

"The company you ran?"

"Well, apart from that. It's not like I could have gone to the Job centre and said 'hey, sign me up, will you?'"

"Feel free to explain that to the Judge."

Zac glared at him. "Very funny. Almost like it's not my life on the line here."

"Oh, it isn't. You'll probably get a long prison sentence."

"Oh, joy," muttered Zac under his breath. "I'm beginning to hate that Judge."

"Don't. That Judge is one of the nicest ones. We were lucky to get him. Any other Judge would probably not have allowed us so much leeway."

"We had leeway?" This was news to Zac. And me.

"A fair amount. But he's a real 'sweetheart'. He likes to make sure that everything which can be said is said."

"Good for him." Zac was now in a bad mood.

"It's not certain," said Mr. Malfoy softly. "There's always the off-chance you'll be found completely innocent."

Zac laughed sarcastically, shaking his head. "No offence, Mr. Malfoy, but off-chances don't just happen. You've got to create them. And we've run out of time."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was my parents who gave me the idea.

When we got home, I asked my dad what he had been ill with. I don't know why I asked. Maybe I needed something to focus on, other than the possibility of my brother being put in Azkaban for ages.

He told me that it was scurvy in a very absent-minded voice. I considered that. Scurvy was not a common disease and, somehow, I thought it unlikely that my father had had it. So I asked my mother.

She informed me that he had had Glandular Fever. This seemed more likely but, why would Dad say scurvy? Why were their stories different?

It occurred to me that, once again, I was being lied to. What else could have happened at that time, to make Zac come home? That would be June. After his OWLs.

When I finally realised why he had come home, I felt incredibly stupid. The answer was obvious and I should have guessed it straight away. But, then, a crazy plan snuck into my head and, through the night, I plotted.

Mr. Malfoy had said that Zac was in danger of being sentenced on three things. One, that Zac had been the cause of the Battle. Two, that Zac was a potential danger to society and three: that he would never improve from his illegal activities. And only an off-chance would help him now.

Well, as Zac said, off-chances had to be created.

As we sat down in court the next day, my body hummed with nervousness. What I was about to do was stupid. But I couldn't let me talk myself out of it. I had to be brave. After all, there had been a time – once – when I had been just as brave as Zac. In my first-year, I had been brave. I had stood up to people and I had stood up for myself. I may have changed but surely, what could change once could change right back. Surely I was still Holly Carew?

Even if I wasn't, I could at least pretend to be brave. I was a good liar. That's all I had to do. Lie to myself. Pretend I was brave enough to do this. That would make it easier.

The case was re-introduced and, as soon as the Judge began to speak, I stood up.

"My lord," I called out loudly, "may I speak?"

People turned to stare at me. My mother asked me what I thought I was doing. The clerk and usher did not look impressed.

"What do you want to say … Holly Carew, isn't it?" His voice was interested.

I gulped. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry for interrupting but, I really want to say something. And, I think it's really important."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really important?" he asked and, suddenly, I knew I had a chance. Mr. Malfoy was right. This Judge was different.

"Very."

He considered this for a minute and then sighed. "It is unorthodox. Only the advocates should speak. But," he pulled a face, "this whole case has been unorthodox. I was genuinely surprised to get to the end in one piece. This being true … if it really is important then you have my permission to speak." He sighed again. "Try to make sure it's relevant. And short. I'd like this case done soon."

"Yes, sir," I squeaked. "Thank you." Then, praying my legs wouldn't just give way, I slowly made my way out of the public gallery at the back of the room and over to the Witness Stand. This was it. Time to put my plan into action. Time to create an off-chance.