Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I'm getting tired of saying this.

AN: Well, we finally reach the trial. I expect that the first part will be finished in less than ten chapters. I'm supposed to have a week off from school because of Typhoon Onday which recently struck the Philippines. Hopefully this is true so I can finish off 1-2 more chapters.

Chapter 35: Trial and Error

Ionos…

"I'm telling you now Rigan, this is our only chance at rescuing the Heir!" Faren exclaimed.

"The time is not yet ripe. If we choose to engage now, we would have an underage ruler according to the law governing this land. That law is bound by magic need I remind you. We would be no better of. Even then, the Azkabanian Council has accepted our request to keep the boy under strict surveillance if he gets sent there. They have agreed to keep the dementors away from the boy as much as possible. The act is done. We have done all we can to save the Lord as much pain as possible while keeping our people from being exterminated. Besides, do you really think I do not have men already working on freeing the Heir?" Rigan said with a tone of finality.

"That is not enough. We need active force. The council will never accept this. We cannot and will not risk the safety of our Lord to the hands of those Azkabanians." Faren said, hissing out the last word more than saying it.

"You cannot let your grudge against the Azkabanians affect your thinking. This is what is best for the Heir. I am not allowing you to move against the Auror Escorts. Do not force my hand against you Faren." Rigan said.

"Technically, you don't have the authority to do such a thing since I am appointed by the Council. You'd have to reveal a group you sanctioned. You know as well as I do they'd turn on you. Counselor Hyde will be like a shield to hide behind for me. Sinther will not tolerate our disbanding either." At this, Rigan looked shocked.

The old man hesitated continue. After an awkward silence, he finally gave in. "If I empower you to strike against the Aurors, you will have to dress like mercenaries; no standard equipment, no official battle armor or uniforms, no emblems, standards or flags, nothing that will reveal your origin. And you will strike only when I tell you too. Do you accept these terms?" Rigan said regretfully.

"Yes, I do."

"Very well then, I am authorizing the use of lethal force against the Aurors, but do so at your discretion. We need a loyal legion of trained men for the Heir, not an army of outcasts, murderers, and fanatics with no discipline." Rigan said. "Commander Sinther will provide you the transportation you need via Abraxans. You must keep in mind though; there will be no air support of any kind permitted. You must truly appear to be a band of renegades. Before you are forced to act, think about what your doing if our old Lord was still alive, dismissed."

"Of course sir, by your leave." He saluted briskly before leaving.

Faren has become what he was destined to be, a fanatic defender of the Dragon. I have forged him, shaping him into what I needed him to become, and in the end, he overpowered even I. He is completely devoted now to the Heir and to no one else but the Heir. Was I wrong, perhaps, in my choice? He may become too rash, something the Heir does not need in one of his Commanders. If that happens, then I fear he will be replaced. However, he is but a man. I will not condemn my brothers and sisters for the sake of a man who has lost his sense of reason and patience. He will have to be tamed soon.

Tame the dragon while it is young, less he consumes you when you are weak.

Ministry of Magic, Department of Law Enforcement, Holding Cell…

"How are you feeling Harry?" Alex asked, concerned.

"Fine, just a little nervous about this is all." Harry replied. It was the first time Alex had seen his brother so…bothered by something. He couldn't blame him for that.

"Don't be Potter. I need you calm and reserved during the trial. I'll take care of the rest." Lucius said. "Your father has instructed your family barrister, William Vaunt, to lead your defense until he returns." He turned to the barrister in question. "I wish you luck Vaunt, you will need it against the team Slivenson has managed to round up. We leave the young Mr. Potter in your capable hands." Alex and Lucius turned and left leaving Harry with Vaunt.

"When did you get appointed by my father? I don't seem to recall having known of this." Harry said rather suspiciously.

"I was asked to replace your old barrister due to his failing health. Do no worry, I have sworn under oath to do my best to keep you out of Azkaban." Vaunt said. He saw his look of regard. "I am a freelance barrister if you must know. Your father has expressed his…faith in my ability to stall court actions along with the goblins. Now, I would advise you to answer any questions with utmost caution. You will have to rely on yourself in deciding about this. Try not to reveal anything discriminating unless absolutely necessary."

A knock on the door was heard before three Aurors entered. "Mr. Potter, your presence has been asked for by the Wizengamot. They are ready to proceed with your case." The one leading them said.

"Thank you for informing us Auror. Come along Mr. Potter, we have work to do." The two got up and followed their escorts out of the room.

Flashback three days ago, Gringotts…

William Vaunt was led by a goblin runner through the mysterious interior office network of Gringotts. The goblin stopped at a door that had a silver outline to it. On the door, these words were inscribed:

Senior Manager Chamlore Ironfist

Directorate of the Distribution of Wealth

(Dot-DoW)

Those words implied several things. The most important one to Vaunt was that he had been called by a Senior Goblin, an honor most wizards would never receive. There were two possible reasons he could have been called. 1) He had insulted this goblin's honor and now he had to duel him to the death. That could jeopardize everything he had worked for. That choice wasn't as appealing to him and considering he had done nothing against them in general, he opted that the second choice was more reasonable. 2) His services were being required. Of course, it could always be succession of wealth but he was not from an ancient family, so to speak.

He entered the room tenaciously, making sure to knock first. In his mind, dozens of rules about Goblin courtesy flooded him as he tried to recall them. A single mistake here could cost him his life. The goblin, without looking up, called out to him. The fact that the goblin did that vaguely unnerved him. "Ah, Mr. Vaunt, please take a seat. We have much to discuss."

Vaunt looked at him, somewhat perplexed at the sign of friendliness. "As my sources have found out, you have decided to go for the position of Barrister in the House of Potter. Mr. Potter has informed me that you have been chosen to replace that French fellow. Now, as you might have known, Mr. Potter's youngest son is being sued."

Oh yes, I know all too well, goblin. All too well. Vaunt thought silently.

"Since you are a freelance originally, we have been asked to provide the best support team we could find for you. We have already sent the team in advance to the Ministry to gather information. You will see them there. We wish you luck, William Vance, you will need it." The goblin said, grinning toothily.

End Flashback

Vaunt snapped out of his daze upon entering Courtroom 3. Inside, the Wizengamot were already seated. They would be the jury, in essence. All major cases were required the Wizengamot to act as the jury. Otherwise, for smaller cases, only four Wizengamot juries were allowed along with four civilian juries, two juries from the law enforcement department and two ministry juries.

But this was not the case. This was not merely a case of punishing some child; for that would be buy the Board of Governors or the Department of Education instead. No, this was far more controversial then that. This was about sending a Noble's underage child to Azkaban, which in itself was a preposterous thought. It was unheard of. The Nobles were protected by law from ever being sent there against their will. It was for this reason the Trial had two fronts Fudge needed to win.

First and foremost was finding a way to legally throw him in Azkaban. Secondly, they had to prove his guilt.

"Members of the Wizengamot, we are gathered here today for the trial of Harry James Potter accused of masterminding assault and attempted murder on 9 counts, treason, and provoking anarchy. Due to Chief Warlock Dumbledore's relationship to the accused, he may not preside over the trial. In his stead will be Minister Fudge." A scribe announced.

"Lord Slivenson you have the floor." Fudge said.

"Thank you Minister. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wizengamot, I will admit that Mr. Potter is one of our best and brightest. He has a brilliant mind. However, what's to say he hasn't and won't use this mind of his for evil. That would have a devastating effect. He could grow to be even greater then Voldemort. And with his charismatic personality, I have no doubts he would have a large gathering of men and women under his command.

Even before, he has shown to be a dangerous force, one which we cannot hope to control. He has delved into the Dark Arts, with no hope of recovery. There is not a doubt in my mind that he is the one behind these attacks. Therefore, I believe it is best to contain a threat before we have another Dark Lord on our hands. I ask the Wizengamot to support me in stopping this new menace from growing any further. Let us stop the threat before it begins. Let us join hands to spare our youths, the future of wizard kind, from war and the terrors that come with it."

"Thank you for that statement Lord Slivenson. Barrister Vaunt, your opening statement please."

"Honorable People of the Wizengamot, my client has shown no violence or act of aggression to others unless they ad started a feud with him. He has been remarkably well behaved and I am certain that if you interrogated each and every professor he has, none of them would complain about lack of manners or disrespectfulness. He is charismatic, yes, but he is also loyal and caring. What's to say charisma and cleverness are necessarily bad things? Most of you fine gentlemen and ladies have plenty of both, I don't see any of you on trial.

The Potters have always believed to be prepared at all times for all situations. Many of you share their beliefs. For this reason, they trained their children to defend themselves from threats. That training was justified when the young Potter was attacked by a group of students, and even at one point had to fight the Dark Lord himself!" Gasps and shudders swept through the room following his statement.

"We owe this boy a debt of gratitude for stopping the Dark Lord's rise. As for the threat he poses, well, we have no proof he will be a threat or will even choose to be one. What's to say he will not become a developer of spells or an Auror; choosing to defend us instead. He would be a powerful asset. Innocent until proven guilty I say!" Silence met Vaunt's speech. Then a man in the crowd started clapping, followed by another and another until the whole room had burst into applause for him.

"That was a very nice counter speech." Harry remarked.

"Thank you. I had it written before the trial." Vaunt said, quite pleased with his performance.

"You mean it wasn't extemporaneous?" Harry asked, surprised.

"No sir, I had figured out what they would be saying before hand or at least the general idea of it. From there, I built up my speech. I merely had to add and erase some parts, but that was basically it."

"Impressive, very impressive."

Lucius…

"That's quite a barrister." Alex said quietly to Lucius.

"Yes, he is. I wonder where your father got him. I would have loved for him to be my defense." The blond noble said.

"This is just the beginning though, I wouldn't want to get to over confident about his skills." Alex said cautiously.

"Perhaps your right."

"…despite initial advantages and disadvantages in the Trial of Harry Potter, no side held a clear majority in the final voting. In the end, underhanded methods such as bribery, coercion, blackmail, and threats were employed to win. The Department of Justice has verified this fact though has refused to move against the people identified claiming they had ' immunity' or had been pardoned.

It has also been proven that the workings of the trial had been rigged. Several States had been involved in this Trial and each had tried to affect the outcome of the Trial…"

-excerpt from: a report on the Trial of Harry Potter by Clarence Gyler.