Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all characters and the world of Harry Potter. I'm just here to have some fun and may through in some OCs here and there. I hope you like it.
Plot: Harry dies in the final battle and is taken to Valhalla, where he is told of betrayal and lies that have been committed against him. He will learn of a soul bond and how these betrayals have affected both their lives for the worst.
Dumble-bash/Weasley and Granger-bash
Pairing: HP/DG.
A/N: Hello, I split this into two parts has it became much too long. I am sorry if that disappointed anyone, but I hope you enjoy part two. Thank you for the reviews!
The Trial Part two
"I request that the media be removed from the court." She was granted this favor, and the reporters begrudgingly left the hall. "I would like to present a case of child abuse of the head of an Ancient and Most Nobel house." She said. In the visitor section, Harry paled considerably, earning him a tight squeeze of the hand from his wife.
"And just who is this head," Asked Lucius Malfoy. He may no longer have the money to back his politics, but he still retained his seat.
"The head of house Potter. Harry Potter was both physically and mentally abused by his maternal aunt, her husband, and son." Gasps came from many, and even more paled at the thought of the boy-who-lived being abused.
"I don't thi…" Albus started. This was not Albus' day either.
"I disagree, Chief Warlock. This is indeed necessary! Are you saying you condone child abuse?" Amelia wasn't pulling her punches. If he didn't allow this to go through, it would be a political nightmare!
"Nonsense, of course, I don't condone such things. I was just not sure this was the time as the victim is not present." Yup, this would do it. The boy was back at the castle with his new 'wife.'
"I took the library to invite Mr. Potter here for his godfathers' trial. Mr. Potter, would you mind coming forward?" Amelia had a small smirk at the look on the old man's face. She didn't like to have to keep the boy in the dark about this. It had all come together when she and her team visited the Dursleys. They had never cleaned up the cupboard and didn't do a good enough job covering up the blood from magic.
Harry shakily got to his feet and moved down toward the floor. He didn't want to do this, but he had decided to trust Madam Bones. If she thought this was necessary, then he would do his part. He could feel the eyes on him as he moved forward.
"Mr. Potter, I'm sorry to jump this on you. I understand that this is hard, but the evidence I found in your aunt and uncle's home demanded swift action." Harry just nodded, and she only hoped he would still trust her after this. "Could you please tell the court what you told me last night?"
Harry gulped, this was going to be difficult with all these people now staring at him, but he nodded. He proceeded to tell them of his childhood. His voice was halting in nervousness. He didn't want this to get out but knew it was only a matter of time. He had agreed to let Amelia go through with this trial in the first place. It had gotten more comfortable talking about it, though after telling his friends. They had discussed it on a few occasions, at least if they noticed him doing something odd. Something that he had done subconsciously due to his upbringing. By the end of his story, even the darker members were white as ghosts. How could someone do that to a child? Then he showed them his scars. He hadn't been prompted to do this, but he had started to realize that this was the best way to get back at them for years of beatings. As his shirt came off and they saw the scars, many members lost their breakfasts.
The only one not looking truly appalled, Harry noticed, was Dumbledore. The man had put on a front, but Harry could see in his eyes he wasn't surprised. No, he almost looked like he had expected worse. That sent a chill down his back. Had the old man planned for this?
"Thank you… Mr. Potter, you may return to your seat." Amelia was just as perturbed as she was the first time hearing this story. Harry nodded and returned to his wife, who was now softly crying into her mothers' shoulder. When he sat down, she immediately moved to wrap him in a hug. Sirius moved up to sit with him at this point, wrapping them both into his arms. "I would now like to bring the two defendants in. As Mr. Dudley Dursley is a minor, we cannot try him in a full session. As such, a different date must be made."
Four Aurors soon stepped onto the floor, leading a pale Petunia and a purple Vernon Dursley to the chairs that had been conjured at the center of the hall. Vernon had been silenced as he was screaming his head off for no one to hear. Harry didn't know how to feel at the sight of his longtime tormentors now in chains. They had been responsible for the worst times in his young life, and now they would finally pay for it.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY HUSBAND, YOU FREAKS!" Yelled Petunia. "Haven't you done enough to my family! That… that women who wanted to take us to that freak school. She… she turned my sister in law into a bloody DOG! This is unacceptable! We do not recogni…" An Auror quickly silenced her.
"Mrs. Dursley, your sister in law, will be fine. She just needs some time to… recuperate. I just doubt she will get another dog any time soon. As to you 'not recognizing our authority' that is of no consequence." Replied Amelia. The few people looked a bit quizzical at the comment of someone turning a muggle into a dog but didn't ask further questions. After what they had heard from Harry, no one felt bad for anyone in that family.
(Daphne's POV)
She couldn't help the tears that streamed down her face. It never got easier to listen to Harrys' childhood. She couldn't even begin to imagen what he must be going through at this moment. She had known it must have been hard to admit to them what he had gone through, but these were strangers. It was also surreal to think about how far she and Harrys' relationship had come in the short time they had been together.
Before she had met him in the ally, she could only admire him from afar. She had no real thoughts of being more than his friend when she had first tried to approach him in the first year. She remembered so vividly when Granger had told her in no uncertain terms that Harry would never be interested in being friends with her. Not when she was a 'pure blood slag who only wanted his fame.' She had also started to tell her that she should just go back and open her legs for the other snakes and leave the other houses alone, how she would never be good for anything but being a brood mother.
Then there was the second year and Weasley. He had called her all kinds of nasty names. Then he proceeded to hex her. With his broken wand, it was a wonder he had managed even to get them to work right. But worse was that it made the curse more potent. She had been covered with painful boils for a week. She had cried herself to sleep both years on many occasions. There had been other times she had tried to reach out to the raven-haired boy. She never managed to get past Granger and Weasley. But if nothing, she was determined to be his friend. Looking back, she was glad she had decided to go to the ally that day.
Now, as she held her husband tightly in courtroom ten and watched as his 'relatives' were lead-in, she felt anger. She hated them for making him suffer, but she knew she couldn't do anything to them. So instead, she did her best just to be there for Harry. She watched as they were chained to the chairs and given the serum. She only hoped that they would get everything they deserved.
Petunia was the first to be questioned. "What is your name?"
"Petunia Dursley."
"What is your occupation?"
"I don't work. I am a housewife."
"Is Harry Potter, your nephew?"
"Unfortunately, the freak is my nephew." Daphne and the rest of the room bristled at that.
"Have you ever hit, or physically abused Harry Potter?"
"Yes, I once hit him in the head with a frying pan for burning Dudders bacon." Daphne felt the anger build a little more but put on her mask. She was here for Harry; she told herself, holding him tight.
"Have you ever starved him?"
"Yes, when he would do freakish things or not do all his choirs."
"Did he have a lot of choirs."
"He was to do all the housework and cook all the meals."
"What did your husband do to Mr. Potter that you are aware of?"
At this, Petunia seemed to make a weak attempt to fight the serum. "H-he would beat him. He would do his best to whip the freakishness out of him. But he couldn't. No matter how many times he drew blood with his belt. Or when he would burn the words into him. We couldn't seem to break the blasted boy."
Fresh tears spilled from Daphne's eyes. 'How could they be so cruel?' The members of the court had mixed looks of respect for the Potter's heads resolve at such a young age, and rage at what this muggle was saying. Many had the same thoughts as Daphne. Simultaneously, many on the dark side wondered how strong-willed the boy would be when he joined them. It could spell disaster, and many would fallow such will. Dumbledore just hoped she didn't ask why they did all this.
Amelia finished her questions with a disgusted look. She then turned to a still purple Vernon. "Mr. Dursley, please state your name."
"Vernon Dursley."
"Is Harry Potter, your nephew?"
"Y-Y-YES!" He tried his best to deny his relationship with the boy.
"Have you ever physically abused Harry Potter?"
"Yes, I've beaten the little shite. Freaks deserve nothing but pain until they can be respectable members of society. The boy isn't normal, like my family and me. I just wish I could have beat the freakishness from him before you lot came and got him going to that blasted freak school!"
"For the record, who came to your house yesterday and turned your sister in law into a dog?"
"Some woman was claiming to be his head of house, whatever that means." Everyone knew Harry was in Gryffindor, but not that he no longer was. So were shocked that McGonagall would do this.
"Do you know why she would do this"
"I don't know Marge was yelling at here how Lilly was a no-good Bitch. If there was something wrong with the bitch then there was something wrong with the pup. She got really red, and then Marge was gone. In her place was a bulldog. Her dog ripper started to mou…"
"Ah, I don't think the court needs to hear that last bit." Said Amelia cutting off Petunia amongst quite a few guffaws. "I will be talking to Professor McGonagall."
"I think we have heard enough." Said Madam Longbottom. "I call for a vote!"
She was soon followed by a good number of seconds. This was not going to go well for the Dursleys. Daphne couldn't help the small smile of victory to cross her face for a split second. Dumbledore was sighing in relief that they wouldn't be asking anything too revealing. He didn't want them knowing of his yearly visits that he would obliviate from the boys' mind. He had gently egged them on in their efforts without coming out and telling them to beat the boy senseless but still wouldn't do for others to know he was involved at all.
"All those for innocent?" No one raised their wands. Even if they thought they should go free, there was no way they would go against the majority on a case like this.
"All those for guilty?" Ninety-eight percent of the wands went up. One of those who abstained, Daphne noticed, was the undersecretary of the Minister. Malfoy also abstained along with a very few other dark families. They didn't feel what the Dursley did was right, but there was no way they would openly side with Potter on something.
Albus sighed, even if he could have found a way to get the boy back to the Dursleys that was now gone. "As they are muggle and would not survive in Azkaban for long, I move to have them sentenced to life in a muggle prison."
While this isn't where most wanted them to go, many wishing for the veil to still be an option here, this would be good enough. Dumbledore called for a break at this point. It had been too much of a charged meeting thus far, and he didn't think it would get better. Luckily for him, the teens had come to do what they needed to. Sirius Black was now a free man. But the best part of it all, at least in her opinion, was Harry being free.
They were led back to the castle by a happy Remus. Sirius had gone with her mother to go to Saint Mungos for a checkup. When they got back, Harry begged off having a party to celebrate. It had been a long day, and he just wanted to go back to their rooms and relax a bit. Daphne had decided to join him. She could tell he needed the comforting that she could offer.
As the door snapped closed, she was surprised as Harry swept her up in a tight hug. It took her a moment to realize he was softly crying. They just stood there and held one another. Harry hadn't shed a single tear the whole trial and was now letting it all out. Daphne just rubbed his back and whispered comfortingly. She didn't know what else to do, but it seemed to be working.
Slowly, after what felt like forever, his tears subsided. "Thank you, Sunshine. Thank you for being their today." He said in a rough whisper.
"You don't have to thank me, Harry. We're in this together now. It's you and me now and forever, remember?" She gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Don't ever forget that, Harry. And please never hid your tears from me, ok?"
"I won't, you and me forever, Sunshine." He gave her another soft kiss as they moved to the sofa in front of the fire.
They sat there quietly, holding each other, taking strength from the other. They would steal soft kisses now and then. That when something clicked in Daphne's mind. "Harry, why do you keep calling me sunshine?"
Harry turned a lovely shade of Weasley red. "I-I don't know just seemed to fit. Yo-your hair reminds me of the sun shining off the black lake in the early mornings. It's one of my favorite sights." He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
Daphne was now sporting a soft pink too. "I-I like it." She said, giving him a gentle kiss.
The young couple sat in front of the fire for hours just holding each other. They had a long way in figuring out what life had in store for them, and what being married meant. But at that moment, they were well on their way. There was bound to be arguments and disagreements, but in the here and now, they had each realized that no matter what, they would always be there for the other.
